PHNOM PENH, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and Thailand is still on the rise in spite of recent deadly clashes between the two countries'troops over the border conflict, statistics showed on Sunday.
Total bilateral trades mounted to 716 million U.S. dollars in the first three months, up 36 percent from 527 million U.S. dollars at the same period last year, according to the statistics provided by Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh on Sunday.
Cambodia's export to Thailand was 55 million U.S. dollars, up 139 percent from 23 million U.S. dollars, while Thailand's export to Cambodia worth 661 million U.S. dollars, up 31 percent from 504 million U.S. dollars.
According to the statistics, Thailand's exports to Cambodia include petroleum, processed goods, consumer products, construction materials, fruits, vegetables and cosmetics, while Cambodia primarily ships agricultural products, second hand garments, recyclable metal, and fishing products.
Jiranan Wongmongkol, director of Foreign Trade Promotion Office at Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, said the rise is due to mutual trust between Cambodian and Thai businesspeople and Cambodians' faith on Thai products.
"We still see a sharp rise in bilateral trade exchange from January to March this year despite there was a border fight in February," she told Xinhua by telephone on Sunday. "We expect the rise trend continues throughout the year."
Cambodian commerce officials agreed that the sporadic border clashes have slight impacts on trade activities.
"Trade is for profit, when merchants think it is profitable they still do," said Chan Nora, a secretary of state for the commerce ministry.
Cambodian and Thai border has never been completely demarcated. The conflict has occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
So far in this year, two major deadly clashes had occurred. One was on Feb. 4 to 7 at Preah Vihear temple and the other was from April 22-May 3 at Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province, leaving dozens of both sides' soldiers and civilians killed and tens of thousands of locals fled home for safe shelters.
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Sunday, May 22, 2011
Cambodian, Thai trades up 36 pct in Q1 despite border row
Khmer Rouge court 'damaged' by new case row
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S UN-backed war crimes tribunal has come under fire from observers and Khmer Rouge victims as it weighs a controversial new case that is strongly opposed by the government.
The court's third case - which targets two unnamed individuals - has proved so contentious that Cambodian and international prosecutors openly argued about whether to pursue it this month.
'There is definitely already damage to the court because of the controversy,' said tribunal monitor Clair Duffy from the rights group Open Society Justice Initiative.
So far only one member of the murderous 1975-79 regime, former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, has been successfully prosecuted. He was sentenced last July to 30 years in jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case is now under appeal. A second trial involving the regime's four most senior surviving leaders is due to start next month.
But the government want the court's activities to end there, arguing that going after more suspects further down the chain of command could plunge the country back into civil war. Prime Minister Hun Sen - himself a mid-level cadre before turning against the movement - last year said the third case was 'not allowed'.
Little information has been made public about case three, but the suspects are believed to be former Khmer Rouge navy and air force commanders. A possible fourth case, thought to involve three mid-level cadres, is still under investigation but is also facing political pressure. -- AFP
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Cambodian, Thai border talks make headway: Cambodian official
The negotiations on the border row between Cambodia and Thailand have made headway as Thai defense minister Prawit Wongsuwon promised to receive a joint Indonesian survey team to evaluate the situation at the conflict area near Preah Vihear temple, said Cambodian defense minister Tea Banh on Saturday.
"Mr. Prawit Wongsuwon has verbally promised to accept an Indonesian survey team into the disputed border as a prerequisite to holding a General Border Committee meeting," Tea Banh said at Phnom Penh International Airport when arriving from attending the 5th ASEAN defense ministers meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.
During the meeting, Tea Banh and Prawit Wongsuwon discussed the border conflict on May 18 under the preparation of Indonesian defense minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
"Mr. Prawit demanded Indonesia to issue an announcement about the dispatch of the survey team to the conflict border in a proper time and suggested that they dress as civilians," said Tea Banh.
"Prawit is likely to be willing to solve the border issue with Cambodia,"he said, adding "this can be considered as a progressive step in the border talks between Cambodia and Thailand. "
"As soon as the Indonesian survey team arrives at the border near Preah Vihear temple, Cambodia will hold the GBC meeting with Thailand bilaterally without Indonesian presence," Tea Banh said.
Meanwhile, he said that on May 20, there was also a meeting between ASEAN defense minister and Chinese defense minister in Indonesia.
"At that time, Chinese defense minister Liang Guanglie has encouraged Cambodia and Thailand to accelerate the negotiations in order to end the conflict soon,"he said.
Cambodian and Thai border has never been completely demarcated. Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 square km) of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.
Source: Xinhua
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Cambodia observes ancient ploughing rite
PHNOM PENH, May 20, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Cambodia on Saturday held the ancient royal ploughing ceremony to mark the annual beginning of rice growing season.
The rite, held at the Meru field near the Royal Palace, was presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni and participated by President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin, diplomatic corps, officials, farmers, students and thousands of onlookers.
At this year's event, the King designated Say Chhum, the second vice-president of the National Assembly, as the king of the ploughing ceremony, and Keo Chan Mony, assemblywoman, as the queen of sowing ceremony.
Traditionally, the designated king ploughs the rice field by using royal oxen and the appointed queen sows seeds on the furrow as the symbol of planting.
After the ploughing, the oxen are offered plates of food, including rice, corn, green beans, sesame, fresh-cut grass, water and wine.
Depending on what the oxen eat, a court soothsayer makes a superstition-based prediction on whether the coming growing season will be bountiful or not.
Meanwhile, the oxen ate only corn, green bean and grass.
The soothsayer predicted that this year corn and green bean crops will yield well and average respectively, while there will be the spread of cattle disease as the oxen ate grass.
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Friday, May 20, 2011
BD set to emerge as the fastest growing apparel exporter to USA
Bangladesh is set to emerge as the fastest growing clothing supplier to the US market in 2011, with Cambodia closely following it, according to a global market report.
The US apparel imports from Bangladesh so far in 2011 rose, in value terms, by 39 per cent. The exports of apparel by Cambodia to the USA witnessed a 31 per cent growth, in value terms during the some period, turning out to be the second fastest growing supplier in 2011. El Salvador and Honduras follow Cambodia with their apparel export growth to the USA being 23 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
The report also said products from Bangladesh, Cambodia, El Salvador and Honduras -- along with Pakistan -- were the cheapest among the USA's leading 10 clothing suppliers' in 2010. Their success reflects the fact that the US buyers continued to seek low-cost supplies as the recovery of the US economy still remains tentative.
The information was revealed in the Trade and Trade Policy: The US Clothing Import Market, published in the latest issue of Global Apparel Markets by the UK-based business information company, Textiles Intelligence.
Admitting the fact, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin told the FE Friday the confidence of the US buyers in Bangladesh and its apparel products "is growing".
"We have already proved our worth showing that we can do. We are performing better than Cambodia or China," he added.
A BGMEA source said 58 per cent of the country's total apparel export goes to the market in Europe, 34 per cent, to the USA and the rest, to the other parts of the world.
The Textile Intelligence report said growth in the case of El Salvador was slower so far in 2011 than in 2010 and in the case of Honduras it remained the same, indicating that major buyers are placing bigger orders with manufacturers in Asia as consumer-confidence returns.
The overall ready-made garments (RMG) export by Bangladesh in the first ten months of fiscal 2010-11 grew by 42 per cent against the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, coming to around US$ 17 billion.
"We expect to cross the target by touching about $18 billion after the June closing," Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, the first vice-president of BGMEA told the FE.
He said, "It's true that Bangladesh is the fastest growing supplier to the US apparel market, but it could be more if a few problems were addressed to bring more dynamism to the sector."
"In Bangladesh, there are some problems, which Cambodia does not have. The major problem in the sector is energy -- power and gas in particular. Also both the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and capability of railway as well as efficiency of Chittagong port should be improved," he added.
According to a recent statement by BGMEA that was placed to the government, the country's export-oriented garments sector is hard hit by shortage of power and gas.
The association leaders stated that the sector requires about 710 megawatts (mw) of power every day. But the RMG industries have been facing an average of five hours' load shedding per day.
Among other elements, Mr Nasir said there is a shortage of skilled workers. At present, the sector suffers from a 25 per cent shortage of adequately trained or skilled workers.
"In the absence of the right quality of manpower, the garments sector is heavily dependent on foreign technicians. Also productivity is compromised for a lack of an adequate number of technical people," he added.
At present, the total number of garments workers in the country stands at approximately 3.5 million. Manufacturers say productivity in the garments factories is not improving because of the low skill of the workers.
The country lacks training institutes to produce an adequate number of technical people. The supply of manpower in the sector is still inadequate, with its demand for quality human resources swelling to meet the needs for enhanced production capacities and more factory units, the apparel makers said.
The flow of orders from international buyers is increasing rapidly as production costs in China have climbed sharply. Work orders from international buyers are also rising as the country now enjoys duty-free, quota-free (DFQF) market access under liberalised rules of origin criteria in the European Union (EU) member-countries.
All the four countries mentioned earlier increased their product prices in the first two months of 2011 -- and so did their competitors, in response to the recent surge in raw material prices. There was an increase in the average price of US clothing imports as a whole, after price falls in the previous four years, the report said.
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Cambodia’s up-and-coming seaside towns
By Dustin Roasa, Friday
As the sun sank over the tree-lined Kampong Bay River, Kampot, a town on Cambodia’s southern coast, stirred to life. The locals, who’d spent much of the day hiding from the heat in their homes and shaded alleys, emerged into the atmospheric streets, where sun-stained, mustard-colored French colonial shop houses provide the backdrop to the rhythms of daily life.
Old men with fedoras and graying sideburns gathered at a corner cafe to play chess, triumphantly thwacking hand-carved pieces against thick wooden boards. Small groups of boys fished on the banks of the river with homemade bamboo poles, while groups of teenagers with mussed and shaggy haircuts and wearing glittery T-shirts yelled “Hello!” and giggled at strolling tourists, who are a small but growing presence in this largely unexplored corner of Southeast Asia.
My wife and I had come here to escape the grit and bustle of Phnom Penh, where we live, and to show my visiting mother-in-law a slice of authentic provincial life. With crumbling historic architecture, largely unspoiled countryside and specialty regional cuisine, Kampot and Kep, seaside towns separated by a 30-minute car ride, are unlike anyplace else in Cambodia.
Although tourism has taken off in the past decade — for much of the 1980s and ’90s, the area was off limits due to the presence of the Khmer Rouge — the two towns have avoided the dizzying and sometimes tacky growth of places like Siem Reap, where busloads of visitors swarm the ancient Angkor temples, and Sihanoukville, which caters to backpackers looking for a cheap alternative to coastal Thailand.
Instead of mega resorts and budget dives, Kampot and Kep have attracted a smattering of boutique hotels, bars and restaurants that draw on the area’s history as a stylish retreat in the last century, when the French and Khmer elite spent weekends here soaking up the Riviera-like vibe.
Now, a new wave of expats and tourists is discovering the place. Ben O’Reilly, an Irishman who runs Mea Culpa, a guesthouse and wood-fired pizza restaurant set in a shady garden in Kampot, arrived as a tourist in 2004 and never left. “It stole my heart,” he said. “The stunning beauty of the people and the area makes it stand out unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been.”
A large part of the area’s appeal is its time-capsule quality: While much of Southeast Asia has been eager to demolish remnants of the past and modernize, Kampot and Kep have preserved a century of Cambodian history in their streets and surrounding hills. As we rode into Kampot with our taxi driver, a 56-year-old local named Eav, we watched the past flash by through the windows of his Toyota Camry.
There, on the left side of the road just outside town, Eav pointed out a salt plant built by the Khmer Rouge. “They exported salt to the Chinese in exchange for arms,” Eav said. Farther in was the columned and pleasingly dilapidated governor’s mansion, a symbol of colonial power, and its necessary counterpart, the French-built prison, which is still in use. Next came the Chinese school with its elegantly curved roof, a reminder of the sizable influence of the entrenched Chinese-Cambodian community here.
“The people here are proud of these buildings, and we want to keep them,” said Eav. “The local authorities are doing their best to preserve them.” So, too, are the entrepreneurs who have come here, many of whom have restored old villas and shop houses.
One such business is Epic Arts Cafe, a nonprofit that employs people with disabilities, where we had coffee and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. After a stroll through the streets surrounding the abandoned market at the center of town, we reserved seats on a boat trip down the Kampong Bay River and into the Gulf of Thailand.
As we puttered along the mangrove-lined river in a long-tail fishing boat with Capt. Chim, a man in his early 30s, we passed villages of wooden shacks with corrugated metal roofs suspended over the water on stilts. Although Kampot is not as cosmopolitan as it once was — it was the country’s primary port until the emergence of Sihanoukville in the 1950s — its access to the ocean continues to draw a mixed crowd.
We passed a fishing village with a white minaret poking out from a clump of palm trees, home to Cham Muslims, an ethnic minority that makes up 5 percent of Cambodia’s population and tends to live apart from the majority Khmer. Several minutes later, on the opposite bank, ethnic Vietnamese fishermen waved to us from moored boats as they prepped their nets for the night’s work ahead.
Gradually, the river widened until it deposited us into the Gulf of Thailand. Capt. Chim stopped the boat at a large sandbar some distance from land. Nearby, a hulking sand-dredging barge, pitched on its side, sat idle, a sign that the area’s small-scale approach to development would not last forever. A joint Cambodian-Vietnamese firm is building a resort and casino here on reclaimed land, Capt. Chim told us.
That night, back on Kampot’s sleepy riverside, we had well-made gin and tonics at the breezy Wunderbar before sampling the area’s famous fresh seafood at open-air and candlelit Rikitikitavi, where the fish amok, a coconut-milk mousse made with white fish, was superb.
The next morning, we were ready to tackle the nearby Elephant Mountains, a series of jungle-covered hills that rise toward the coast before sloping dramatically into the sea. A trip up Bokor Mountain, which can be arranged through travel agencies in Kampot, is one of Cambodia’s essential experiences.
As our car wound its way up the mountain, gaps in the thick roadside foliage revealed breathtakingly clear glimpses of the flat rice plains and salt fields that stretch for miles below. Near the top, tucked away in a small valley, is Bokor Hill Station, which the French built in the 1920s as a retreat from the sweltering Phnom Penh heat. They abandoned the area during fighting with Cambodian nationalists after World War II, and apart from some short-term stays by Khmer Rouge guerrillas, the Catholic cathedral, villas and four-story Bokor Palace Hotel have sat empty.
Rust-colored lichen and green moss have made primitive splatter canvases of the buildings’ gray stone and reinforced concrete exteriors. As I wandered through the empty hotel, the wind whistled down empty corridors, the hand-painted floor tiles covered in layers of dust and grime. On the back veranda, where colonialists would have sipped aperitifs and enjoyed the fresh air, I chatted with a large family of Cambodian tourists from Phnom Penh. “There are ghosts in there,” said a man named Hang, to nervous laughter from his family members. “People lost money at the casino and jumped to their deaths. They haunt these buildings.”
Kep, the seaside retreat 15 miles southeast of Kampot, has its share of ghosts, too. Less a town than a collection of small resorts and seafood shacks, in the post-World War II years it was a glamorous weekend getaway for the Khmer elite, who vacationed in Le Corbusier-inspired villas built by the country’s premier architects.
These villas reportedly hosted wild parties with actors, pop stars and artists who were driving a cultural renaissance in the 1950s and ’60s. Now they’ve been reduced to little more than their foundations and a few walls. You can wander through them and imagine their former grandeur, but the only signs of life are the graffiti scrawled on the walls and the disused clotheslines left by squatters.
One exception is Villa Romonea, a six-room hotel that was designed as a private villa by leading Cambodian architect Lu Ban Hap in the late 1960s. The modernist-style house was the lifelong dream of a local businesswoman who grew up across the road. But she lived in the house for only a few years before the Khmer Rouge took over the area and eventually executed her. Her vision lives on, though, in the house’s exquisite design, with its curved rear facade, which mimics the bend of the shoreline it faces, and the walls of windows that keep the minimalist interior airy, cool and light.
Life in Kep revolves around its rocky beaches, so in the late afternoons, it’s best to head there to watch the locals gather to buy snacks such as the scrumptious num ompong, tubular rice cookies covered in black sesame seeds, from street vendors. The cookies go well with Campari and sodas at the Sailing Club, a nearby sky-blue bar and veranda.
Kep is known for its fresh crab, and the best place to sample it is Kim Ly restaurant, where metal cages containing the day’s catch bob in the gentle surf. Sitting at a table facing the water, which glistened through tiny cracks in the floor below us, we devoured a heaping plate of crab, which is prepared with fresh green peppercorns from local farms. The way the sweetness of the crab meat interacts with the richness of the coconut milk and the spiciness of the peppercorns has made this dish a local institution.
The area’s peppercorn is also renowned. Once a prized ingredient in the world’s best kitchens — particularly in France — the crop was all but destroyed during Cambodia’s 30-year civil war. It has made a comeback in recent years, and in 2010 the European Union and the Cambodian government granted it “geographical indication” status, which has raised its profile.
I wanted to see these farms firsthand, so we rented motorbikes and drove up into the low hills half an hour outside Kep, where peppercorn plantations thrive. Down a rutted dirt road is the Heng Kimean farm, run by 55-year-old Saem, who showed us around the clumps of vines growing on wooden poles spaced several feet apart.
He pulled a fresh sprig from a mature vine and offered it to us. We munched happily, the spice’s mild piquancy tingling in our mouths. “I’m selling more and more to France,” said Saem. “The chefs in Paris have found us again.”
After years of inaccessibility, the world is also once again discovering the charms of Kampot and Kep.
Roasa is a writer based in Phnom Penh.
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
Yingluck takes centre stage
Thaksin proudly claims his sister is 'his clone'
The Pheu Thai Party has voted Yingluck Shinawatra as its No.1 candidate on the party list system to compete against the Democrat Party's Abhisit Vejjajiva for the next premiership in the July 3 election.
Pheu Thai's de facto leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives in self-exile in Dubai, has confirmed he chose Ms Yingluck, his younger sister, for the post but denied that she is his proxy.
"Some said she is my nonimee. That's not true. But it can be said that Yingluck is my clone," Thaksin said in an exclusive interview with Post Today editors in Brunei.
Yesterday's vote at the Pheu Thai Party was taken in the absence of Ms Yingluck. She was told to travel to the party to hear the decision at about 2.20pm, an hour after the vote.
She thanked all party members for their support and said she felt honoured to be nominated.
She said she was confident Pheu Thai's policies could answer the needs of the public.
"I intend to enter politics and work for the people. I want unity and reconciliation to return to the country," Ms Yingluck said.
- First interview: Yingluck backs Thaksin on national reconciliation
She offered an assurance she would "make use of being a woman" to bring about reconciliation and to move the country forward and address the economic problems and create justice.
Thaksin said he had trained Ms Yingluck to improve her management skills since her graduation from university and that he and his sister shared similar management styles.
"Another important thing is that Ms Yingluck is my sister and she can make decisions for me. She can say 'yes' or 'no' on my behalf," Thaksin said.
He said his selection of Ms Yingluck was aimed at paving the way for reconciliation.
He said he would have chosen his cousin Gen Chaiyasit Shinawatra, a former army chief, as the top party list candidate, instead of Ms Yingluck, if he wanted to retaliate against his political rivals.
He said Ms Yingluck's femininity would be Pheu Thai's strength.
Ms Yingluck said she had no personal grudges against anyone in politics and could talk "with all sides to promote harmony".
Thaksin conceded Ms Yingluck lacked the experience to adapt to the unique nature of Thai politics, which often seeks to topple political leaders.
However, Thaksin said if politics entered a reconciliation mode, the conflict would ease.
Ms Yingluck was born on June 21, 1967. She is the youngest of nine children of Lert and Yindee Shinawatra. She is married to Anusorn Amornchat, president of M-Link Asia Corporation. They have a son.
She graduated from Chiang Mai University's political science and public administration and obtained a master's degree in public administration from Kentucky State University in the US. She worked at Shinawatra Directories Co and then became chief executive of AIS in 2002. After the sale of AIS to Singaporean company Temasek in 2005, she left AIS and became chief executive at SC Asset, Shinawatra's property business. She is now a member and secretary of the Thaicom Foundation.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday congratulated Ms Yingluck on her endorsement as the No.1 candidate on Pheu Thai's party list and becoming a candidate for prime minister.
He said voters now know who they could vote for in the general election. He was willing to meet Ms Yingluck for a debate.
Deputy Prime Minister and Democrat Party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban was more critical of Ms Yingluck's nomination.
He said if Ms Yingluck became prime minister, the people would find it difficult to imagine how she could handle the country's administration while always having to wait for a long distance call from abroad before making any decision.
Bhumjaithai Party spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the nomination of Ms Yingluck as Pheu Thai's No.1 candidate on the party list was Thaksin's "final card"in his political game and from now on the general election would be fiercely contested.
Chart Thai Pattana Party leader Chumpol Silpa-archa said Ms Yingluck's foray into politics would add colour to the general election. However, it remained to be seen if she would succeed.
People's Alliance for Democracy spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said if Pheu Thai won the election and Ms Yingluck became prime minister, the country's unrest would continue. Read more!
Prawit permits joint survey team
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has agreed to Cambodia's proposal to allow a joint survey team into the disputed Preah Vihear area as a prerequisite to holding a General Border Committee meeting.
Gen Prawit met his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh on Wednesday during the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen demanded that Thailand sign terms of reference for the presence of Indonesian observers in disputed areas and form a joint survey team to collect data, a source close to the meeting said.
"It was demanded that Thailand form the joint survey team first. Then Cambodia would agree to host the 8th GBC [General Border Committee] meeting," the source said.
"Thailand had to compromise on some points to save face for Hun Sen. Otherwise, a deal would be impossible. Without a GBC meeting, solutions to border problems can never happen."
However, Gen Prawit said the government could not sign the terms of reference now as the House has been dissolved for the general election.
The GBC is expected to urge Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw their soldiers from the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area next to the Preah Vihear temple in Si Sa Ket province and in other disputed areas near Ta Kwai and Ta Muen temples in Surin province, the source said.
Then the Indonesian Observer Team will enter the disputed areas. Finally, Thailand and Cambodia will remove their soldiers completely to pave the way for demarcation by the bilateral Joint Boundary Commission.
Thai Defence spokesman Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said from Indonesia the talks between Gen Prawit and Gen Tea Banh went smoothly and would lead to the 8th GBC meeting being hosted by Cambodia.
"The defence ministers of the two countries agreed to solve problems through peaceful means. They do not want to see any more clashes or suffer any more losses which will affect the livelihood of the people living along the border," Col Thanathip said.
Meanwhile, in Surin yesterday, where classes include Thai and Cambodian children, everything went smoothly on the second day of the new school term at 26 schools near the border.
Only Ban Nong Khanna and Ban Ta Miang schools in Phanom Dong Rak district remain closed as they are closer to Ta Muen Thom temple and areas of recent clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers.
Although the clashes stopped over two weeks ago, the military postponed classes at both schools as a precaution. They are now expected to open either on May 24 or June 1.
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ICJ set to hear debate over Hindu Temple
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 19 (UPI) -- The International Court of Justice said Thursday that hearings were scheduled next week on a request to review a 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear temple.
Public hearings are set for Monday and Tuesday at the Hague to consider the 1962 case, a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over sovereignty.
Cambodia called on the ICJ to clarify the meaning of a ruling on the Preah Vihear temple. Cambodia notes that the court ruled that it has sovereignty over the temple as a "direct and automatic consequence of its sovereignty over the territory on which the temple is situated," the court said in a May 3 summary. Furthermore, Thailand is under an obligation to pull its forces out of the area.
"Cambodia asserts that Thailand disagrees with all of these points,'" the summary read.
Conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand are centered on the 11th-century temple listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008. International courts ruled in 1962 that the temple was in Cambodia though parts of the temple grounds are in Thai territory.
Thai and Cambodian forces agreed to a shaky cease-fire in late April following a week of border clashes between the Asian neighbors over the area. Read more!
Lake Residents Seek Land Measurement
Residents have reduced their demands for 15 hectares of land, set aside from the 133-hectare development, down to 10 hectares, said Ly Srey Mom, another village representative. Under that scheme, 744 plots of land would be established for 1,500 families, she said.
“We detailed the completion of our land plots and sent this to the city,” she said. “We want to talk with the city representatives and end land disputes that have taken place over four years with no resolution.”
The city has so far not responded to a May 9 request for a meeting, despite numerous protests by the residents, who say a buyout package from the developer, Shukaku, Inc., is too little. Last month, police clashed with resident protesters in front of city hall, injuring several and briefly detaining a number of them.
Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema has already promised residents the city would measure land plots, but that has not yet taken place.
Meanwhile, the World Bank, which was reprimanded by an internal investigation for failing to title the people living around the lake under a titling program, issued a statement this week calling on both parties to “reach a resolution.”
The bank said it had been assured the government was “taking a number of steps to improve resettlement processes more generally in Cambodia.”
Ly Srey Mom said the World Bank titling project had failed residents around the lake, so the bank now had a duty to support them, which would provide “transparency and justice.”
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Cambodia sees spike in lightning deaths: official
PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Lightning strikes have killed 56 Cambodians so far this year, twice as many as over the same period last year, an official said Thursday, blaming an early start to the rainy season.
Just 27 people were struck dead by lightning in the first five months of 2010, when 114 were killed over the whole year, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).
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| Young Cambodian men carry Buddhist monks through a flooded street next to Royal Palace after a heavy rain |
"This may be related to the rain that started in early February this year, compared to April last year," he said. Cambodia's rainy season normally runs from May to October.
"Many people are more scared than ever of lightning strikes because they just happen more often," Keo Vy added.
Lightning deaths happen every year in Cambodia, especially in rural areas.
Many of the victims have been farmers and the government has warned people to stay indoors during storms.
Keo Vy said the government couldn't afford to distribute lightning rods but it had distributed information pamphlets to help communities in areas prone to lightning strikes.
"It's a natural disaster happening in other countries as well, but Cambodia can't afford advanced equipment to (protect against) lightning strikes yet."
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Human Rights Party Plans for 2012 Election
Leaders and supporters of the opposition Human Rights Party met in Philadelphia on Friday, marking the fourth anniversary of the party and planning for upcoming commune elections in 2012.
In an interview with VOA Khmer after the meetings, party president Kem Sokha said the party will campaign next year on providing more public services to local communities and mitigating discrimination against people of different political beliefs. HRP officials will also seek to eliminate bribes for public services, he said.
“We will create effective and efficient mechanisms, by providing services across the country to meet the needs and demands of local people,” he said. “We will install computers and generators in all the communes led by [the Human Rights Party] to help speed up the processing of people’s documents.”
More broadly speaking, Kem Sokha said Cambodia faces three main threats, what he called “foreign invasion,” dictatorship and poverty.
In national elections, scheduled for 2013, Kem Sokha said the party decided to focus on national integrity and reducing illegal immigration. Cambodia’s current immigration law goes unheeded, due to “foreign influences” that his party is not influenced by, he said.
The party would also like to amend the constitution and set a two-term limit on the office of prime minister. The Human Rights Party already practices such a term limit, he said.
Meanwhile, party lawmakers will also seek better separation of the branches of government while also promoting the agricultural sector, he said.
Education for the young is another priority, he said.
“We will set up a loan system for those who want to go to university and make technical schools available for those who do not want to go to university, so that they have skills to work,” he said. “These are only possible if corruption is eliminated. HRP has a strategy to eliminate corruption from the top. We aren’t going to go the way the party in power has. Asset declaration must be made publicly, not in a closed envelope.”
The Human Rights Party currently holds three seats in the National Assembly, well behind the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, which has 26. However, party leader Sam Rainsy is facing a prison sentence at home and remains in self exile abroad, which observers note could present organizational and political difficulties for the party.
Talk of alliance between the two opposition parties has surfaced occasionally since the last election, in 2008, but neither side has been able to fully agree with the other.
Kem Sokha said that “even if we cannot merge” the parties should not “color one another.”
“I appeal to all people not to be hopeless,” he said. “We are still able to work together, once we have set a democratic system. The HRP has been working on this and has implemented it. So you can join us.”
Read more!
Funcinpec Widow Files ACU Complaint for Lost Land
The wife of a royalist general who was killed in the 1997 coup has filed a complaint with the national Anti-Corruption Unit, saying a group of officials and judges conspired to sell her husband’s land after he died.
Chea Kim, the wife of Ho Sok, who was a Funcinpec secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and a three-star general, says 29 government officials and six judges worked together to sell 13 hectares of land in Kandal province in 1998.
Ho Sok and other Funcinpec generals and officials were either killed in fighting or executed during the two-day coup in July 1997, as then co-prime minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party seized power.
In her May 6 complaint, obtained by VOA Khmer, Chea Kim states that the Supreme Court overturned a 2007 decision that awarded the land to her.
Chea Kim names Yos Sokhourn, a Supreme Court judge, and five other judges, as conspirators in the alleged land theft.
Yos Sokhourn said “no one” complained after the court decision and declared the case “over.”
“So now why does Ho Sok’s wife file a complaint against us?” he said.
Chea Kim also names as one of the conspirators Prak Savuth, a former Kandal deputy governor and the current chief of the provincial council.
Contacted Wednesday, Prak Savuth declined to comment, saying he was in a private hospital for a medical check up.
A police official with knowledge of the case, who requested anonymity, said Prak Savuth had “masterminded” a land grab after Ho Sok was shot in 1997.
Another official accused in the case, Ieng Moly, a former information minister, said Wednesday he had legitimately bought the land eight years ago and subsequently sold it. He would consider a defamation suit against Chea Kim for accusing him of theft, he said.
Officials at the Anti-Corruption Unit, which has made a number of arrests and at least one high-profile prosecution under new anti-corruption legislation, declined to comment or could not be reached Wednesday. Read more!
Outside the Comfort Zone: Flying Doctors of America in Cambodia
By James Schantz, DC
For many chiropractors, success is about comfort, predictability and ease. We strive to make our practice run smoothly, with as few ups or downs as possible. What if you were to purposely throw a monkey wrench into your daily routine? Willingly put yourself into a practice setting that was uncomfortable, ill-equipped and unpredictable?
Each Flying Doctors mission is composed of volunteers who are willing to practice without the amenities (or restraints) of our modern, high-tech health care system. Mission sites are selected by a board of directors, each of whom leads at least one mission each year. Locations are selected based a number of different considerations including cooperation from the respective country's ministry of health, logistical assistance available on the ground, and safety. Missions usually involve one to two days of travel, four to five days of clinics and one to two days of exploring archeological and historic sites.
Each volunteer contributes to cover the costs of transportation, lodging, food, logistics and administration. I raised money for my latest mission by soliciting donations from colleagues and vendors. My office also ran a Flying Doctors Day: new and established patients could receive chiropractic services in exchange for a donation to Flying Doctors. Our team featured three surgeons, five MDs, six nurses, two dental professionals, two non-medical spouses, one physician assistant and me - the chiropractor.
Our mission destination on this occasion was Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world. Eighty-five percent of the population is subsistence farmers or fisherman trying to get by on about $1 a day. Cambodia was thrown into an extremely dark period in the 1970s, and it is still struggling to recover. The Khmer Rouge regime of the ultra-Maoist dictator Pol Pot devised a plan to turn the country into an agrarian utopia. Pol Pot cut off foreign trade, closed down the banks and universities, and then took anyone with an education or money and had them executed or forced into labor camps. The horror of the Killing Fields is fading from the national psyche, but economic recovery is stymied by corruption and lack of infrastructure and education.
The first rite of passage on our Cambodian mission was a one-stop flight from Atlanta to Siem Reap, Cambodia that took 24 hours. You feel more like a prisoner than a passenger in economy class. At least they let prisoners lie down to sleep. The following day, I joined our team leader, an anesthesiologist who specializes in pain management, at the local hospital. Our job was to perform screening exams on about 100 patients for the ENT surgeons. I was soon busy palpating goiters, checking for broken eardrums, inspecting nasal polyps and scoping infected tonsils. My partner nearly dropped his otoscope when he heard the pop as I performed an auricular adjustment on a patient complaining of fullness in the ear.
Our next day was designated as a rest day so everyone could get their biological clocks in sync. My wife, Dixie, and I were already recalibrated to Cambodian time, so we opted to hold an impromptu chiropractic / acupuncture clinic in the courtyard of the Siem Reap hospital where our surgical team operated.
"How will you explain to people what you are going to do, we don't speak Cambodian?" Dixie asked me. "Just lie down on the table, and I will start working on you. They'll get the idea," I replied. Dixie and I got translation help from a university student named Kosal who speaks some English. Soon we had people crowding around, curious and eager to be next. Folks on crutches, wheelchairs; there was even a fellow without any legs in a wagon circling the portable chiropractic table.
One of the things that I love about practicing chiropractic on missions is that bedsides being a wonderful healing, it also makes great entertainment. People love to see and hear the groans, moans, winces, cracks, pops and smiles. After we have treated about 40 patients, we are ready for a break. Kosal invited us back to his home for lunch. We were excited to see how a Cambodian family lives, so we accepted his offer.
His place looked like a studio apartment for one, but we soon found out that his mother, aunt, sister and two brothers all shared the 12' x 20' room. The only furniture: a bed and a plastic stool. Lunch was prepared and served on the floor. We realized that given these conditions, we were exposing ourselves to a host of microorganisms, but figured that our medical compatriots would help us if we got in trouble.
We were treated to a traditional Cambodian dish called amok. It is chicken with rice and vegetables, cooked in coconut milk and lemongrass, and it is served in a woven banana-leaf basket. Wow, was that spicy, but really tasty. It didn't seem to make us any sicker than any of the other food we had eaten since we arrived. (For the entire mission I fought a stomach ache, nausea, fever and malaise on a daily basis. Not enough to knock me out of commission, but just enough to make me feel like I was hitting on only two pistons most of the time.)
The next four days, we boarded a bus each morning and traveled to different villages on the outskirts of Siem Reap. With the help of interpreters, we would triage the awaiting throng of villagers and assign them to our clinics. We had general medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, dentistry, pharmacy and chiropractic / acupuncture. We had no X-rays, no lab tests and no specialized equipment. All the doctors and nurses must rely on a scant history, a few physical findings and their intuition. One doctor said, "This is like practicing veterinary medicine!"
I have been in active practice since 1986, and have volunteered at inner-city clinics and rural settings in Peru, Guatemala and Vietnam. Nonetheless, there were some unique patient encounters in Cambodia, including adjusting the blind and villagers who had limbs missing from landmine explosions; diagnosing Parkinson's disease in a farmer; improvising a splint for a little girl who had been run over by a motorbike; and performing acupuncture on a Buddhist monk.
Each day I ended up hot, sweaty, smelly and dirty. A hot shower, clean clothes and a cold beer were anticipated rewards for my work. I felt very fortunate that I had these waiting for me back at our hotel, and at the same time saddened because the patients I had seen during the day had no such respite from their daily life.
On our last day I was able to realize a long-awaited dream: a visit to Angkor Wat. I had first gazed on the sublime temples of Angkor Wat in a book of poems by Alan Ginsburg back in 1972. Since those teenage days, I have wanted to explore these mystical ruins. Angkor Wat ranks among the world's most magnificent treasurers, on par with the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal. If you have ever seen the movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" then you have caught a glimpse of the Buddhist temples being engulfed by the jungle.
Volunteerism Has Its Challenges and Its Rewards
Mission trips can be exotic, exciting and exhausting. You work long hours alongside many fine professionals who share a passion for adventure and helping the poor. You may have the honor of treating native people with a heritage that goes back thousands of years. But let me caution you - more than once I have returned from a mission feeling disenfranchised from my practice and my culture.
In the Third World countries where I have worked, the people do not have material possessions to make them happy, so they rely more on their interpersonal relationships. What little they do have they seem to be more willing to share. It doesn't seem like that here in the U.S. But despite our materialism, we do promote humanitarianism. The U.S. produces many fine individuals who give of themselves to people of different races, cultures and religions.
There are many ways that doctors of chiropractic can volunteer their services both at home and abroad. Several chiropractic colleges and chiropractic mission organizations send students and licensed DC's to places in the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. Mission trips coordinated by churches and other religious organizations are beginning to include chiropractors as part of their medical teams. Locally, you can find homeless shelters, group homes and charities that will consider including chiropractic in their package of services.
We have a safe, drug-free method of alleviating human suffering that can help so many people. When you volunteer, you help grow your profession, your practice and your soul.
Author's note: I would like to recognize Lhasa OMS, Lifetimer Tables, Cryoderm, Dee Cee Labs and Bettis Electrical Contractors for their donations, as well as my colleagues and patients who gave their support.
For more information on Flying Doctors of America, visit www.fdoamerica.org. Dr. Schantz has written about his experiences with Flying Doctors of America on several occasions including 1997 ("Chiropractic at 11,000 Feet: Flying Doctors of America," Jan. 1 issue, detailing his mission trip to Chinchaypucjio, Peru) and 2004 ("Mayan Healing: Mission Trip to Guatemala," May 20 issue).
Dr. James E. Schantz, a 1986 graduate of the National College of Chiropractic, practices in Roswell, Ga. He received the Chiropractic Award of Excellence for Community Service from Prevention magazine and the Alliance for Chiropractic Progress in 1998, and is a two-time recipient of the Humanitarian of Year Award from the Georgia Chiropractic Association. Contact Dr. Shantz with questions or comments at schantzchiro@earthlink.net . Read more!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
As UN Security Council Takes Up Ethiopia-Eritrea at Portugal's Request, Empty Thai Cambodia Talk
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 17 -- Alongside Yemen in this afternoon's Security Council consultations are two other conflicts: Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Thailand - Cambodia.
Portugal requested that the Department of Political Affairs provide the first briefing, based on reports of escalation received from its embassy in Addis Ababa, sources say, and the United States backed Portugal's request.
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| DPA's Pascoe and Araud, answers to question not shown |
On Monday evening, two Security Council members' political coordinators told Inner City Press that it was Russia, often described a blocking Council meetings, which provided the initial support for Cambodia's request for a formal meeting.
“This is actually bullets across borders, what the Security Council was formed for,” one of them said, contrasting it to recent Council action on Libya, and talks without action on “internal” conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
Another joked that if the Thai - Cambodia conflict were in Africa, the UN would be all over it.
Meanwhile, as the Council ended one of its Tuesday morning sessions, President Gerard Araud as has become his practice refused to take questions. He even read a press statement on Haiti -- only in French -- and refused to take questions on it.
Portugal's Ambassador Cabral consented to speak on camera, about North Korea sanctions. He dodged questions about what he called the “independent” panel.
Inner City Press asked him about reports that one of the experts on the panel, at the behest of the government of his country, was refusing to sign off on the report. “I've heard that,” Cabral said, then maintained again that these sanctions panel members are independent. There are allegations flying all in directions. Watch this site. Read more!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cambodian residents report threats over railway development
Impoverished Cambodians say they are being forcibly moved out of their houses to make way for the country's redeveloped railway system.
The ABC's Southeast Asia correspondent, Zoe Daniel, says more than 160 families from a community in the capital, Phnom Penh, have been offered a few hundred dollars' compensation for their houses by local authorities.
The residents say the compensation they've been offered isn't enough. Some say they will lose buildings they live and work in, while others are angry that they've been told to move about 20km out of the city.
Residents who don't want to leave say they've been threatened by local officials.
One resident says she was asked to accept the deal by giving a thumb print.
"If I don't, they will bulldoze my house, they will hire [a] drug user to burn my house," she said.
The railway project being is built with funding from the Australian aid agency AusAID and the Asian Development Bank, and that marked buildings within 3.5 metres of the line are scheduled to be partially or fully demolished.
ADB spokesman Peter Bloch has rejected reports of intimidation and threats.
"Resettlement is always a horribly difficult thing to do in this part of the world," he said.
"We have what's known as a safeguards policy, which sets certain minimum standards that must be upheld when resettling people."
But residents, together with NGOs, are preparing a complaint to the ADB's highest level, while Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC), a prominent NGO, is also advocating on residents' behalf.
The organisation's founder, David Pred, says the project bears the characteristics of corporate welfare.
"You have Australian tax dollars and Cambodian debt to the Asian Development Bank bankrolling a project, whose primary beneficiaries thus far have been major Australian and Cambodian corporations," he said.
Failed resettlement
Last year, our correspondent says more than 50 families were relocated to Battambang, a town north-west of Phnom Penh, and that many reported having no power or clean water when they arrived.
Sok Cheun says two of his children drowned when they went to get water from a deep pond nearby.
"If we had enough food, enough water, my children would not have died," he said.
Following the deaths, AusAID and the Asian Development Bank say they increased their monitoring of the government resettlement program.
Power has also reportedly been connected to houses but at the resident's cost, and many of those resettled are understood to have left.
The Asian Development Bank's criteria for resettlement outlines the need for people to be in the same or better circumstances after they are moved.
Mr Pred says BABC believes the large number of families that have left Battambang is an indication that the resettlement process has failed.
"Obviously, if people are not happy to stay here, where they've been moved, then that shows that they weren't resettled adequately," he said.
AusAID declined to comment but has said that relocating people affected by the new rail line is the responsibility of the Cambodian Government.
The new railway is expected to be operational by the end of next year, and is to be run by an Australian firm, Toll Holdings.
Our correspondent says Toll Holdings, which has a 30-year concession to operate Cambodia's train system, has indicated that it is not responsible for either fixing the tracks or moving the people.
Read more!
Tiny nation can take rightful place in ASEAN
OUR desire to join ASEAN is a longstanding one and in the past 10 years, we have shown unequivocal determination to join the organisation. Geographically, we are very much part of Southeast Asia. Indonesia has shown statesmanship, vision and a real sense of history by being among those most strongly advocating Timor-Leste's membership.
Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, The Philippines, Cambodia and Burma have expressed public support. When I visited Cambodia a few weeks ago, I was told by Prime Minister Hun Sen that in preparation for Cambodia's chairmanship of ASEAN next year, they are already making additional arrangements to accommodate Timor-Leste as the 11th member. But Singapore, while agreeing with Timor-Leste's ASEAN membership, objects to early membership, arguing the country is not yet ready to deal with the challenges and complexities of ASEAN membership.
According to the just-released UN Development Program Human Development Report, Timor-Leste's Human Development Index value is 0.502, placing it in the medium human development category, ahead of ASEAN members such as Cambodia, Laos and Burma and just behind Vietnam in the overall measure of human development.
School enrolment jumped from a modest 63 per cent in 2006 to 82.7 per cent in 2009. Illiteracy will be eliminated by 2015. Child and infant mortality, as well as post-birth mother mortality, have been halved. Life expectancy at birth increased by more than two years and now averages 62.1 years. Incidences of malaria and dengue fever have decreased significantly in the past four years and poverty has also lessened.
Gross national product per capita increased 228 per cent during the same period to more than $US5000.
Timor-Leste has no foreign debt, and according to The Economist 2010 Pocketbook, it has the highest surplus in the world - over 280 per cent as a percentage of gross domestic product. Our economy has continued to show robust growth for four consecutive years, and Timor-Leste is among the nine fastest-growing economies of the world.
In the past few years, the political situation has been remarkably free of tension. On the security front, Timor-Leste does not have ethnic or religious conflicts, organised crime or armed insurgency. Political and social tensions and, in some instances, sporadic violence have flared up but we have been able to quickly overcome these spasms, which are typical in nation-building. We have rebounded from these periods of crisis even stronger.
The London-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative rates Timor-Leste the best performer in Asia and third in the world in terms of accountability and transparency in the management of our petroleum resources.
In the pursuit of good governance and transparency, and to get rid of the worldwide phenomenon of corruption, parliament has passed the Anti-Corruption Law and we have created an anti-corruption commission. With active support from Indonesia, Australia and the US, we are strengthening our national police, enabling them to better prevent, intercept and fight organised crime. from sex slavery to people-smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering.
We are proud of what we have achieved since 2002. We have a dynamic multi-party democracy with nine parties in the national parliament. Almost 30 per cent of the elected MPs are women, and several women hold key ministerial portfolios.
Timor-Leste stands out with its very liberal and humanist constitution that prohibits the death penalty. We have ratified all major International Human Rights treaties and have complied with our reporting obligations. Timor-Leste, according to Reporters Without Borders, has one of the freest media in the region.
Since our independence, we have made every effort to harmonise our foreign and security policies with those of our ASEAN neighbours. We have been sensitive to our neighbours' views on regional and global issues, always making every effort not to stray from the ASEAN view whenever there is a consensus on a specific country situation or thematic issue. We have friendly and pro-active relations with emerging powers such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil while maintaining special relations with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the US.
In the past decade, we have not had a single diplomatic or security incident involving any neighbour. Relations with Indonesia are exemplary.
In view of Timor-Leste's financial circumstance and its proven ability to engage regionally and internationally, Timor-Leste is ready to join ASEAN this year or next. We concede we have many weaknesses and shortcomings, but ASEAN could admit Timor-Leste now and give us a five- to 10-year transition period, during which we would expand efforts to catch up to the more advanced ASEAN members. This would make sense, in line with past ASEAN practice in relation to other members and with the EU practice of admitting new members and supporting them until they are able to fully meet their obligations.
ASEAN fellow members should not have to worry about any financial costs as Timor-Leste will not beg for economic or financial support.
Jose Ramos-Horta is the President of Timor-Leste. A longer version of this article was published on the East Asia Forum, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/.
Read more!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
PM kicks off construction of southern coastal road
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 14 issued an order to kick off construction of the Minh Luong-Thu Bay section and the Rach Gia bypass as part of the southern coastal corridor road project in Chau Thanh district, the southern province of Kien Giang.
Once operational, the road is expected to facilitate travels and goods circulation in the region and open up possibilities for exporting goods to Cambodia through the Ha Tien International Border Gate in Kien Giang province.
Together with the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway, Can Tho and Rach Mieu Bridges, Southern Hau River and Quan Lo-Phung Hiep routes, the southern coastal corridor route will form an extensive and uninterrupted road system that helps the Mekong Delta take off.
Tours & cruises: Cambodia and Vietnam
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| Vietnam's Mekong Deta ( Jason La/ Los Angeles time) |
Special to the Los Angeles Times
Pacific Delight’s eight-day Mekong River cruise from Cambodia to Vietnam aboard La Maguerite or Amalotus makes it possible for travelers to visit pagodas, shop Cai Be’s floating market, see a catfish farm and tour small villages as well as important sites and cities. Onboard are dance and musical performances, cultural discussions and themed dinners.
Itinerary: Cambodia: Tonle Sap Lake to Kampong Tralach, Oudong, Chong Koh, Phnom Penh to Vietnam: Tan Chau, Sa Dec, Xeo Quyt, Cai Be and Ho Chi Minh City
Dates: Departures through December
Price: From $1,599 (prices rise later in the year), double occupancy, including lodging, all meals and alcoholic beverages, and guides. The rate does not include international airfare or transfers (which can be purchased from Pacific Delight), taxes or gratuities.
Info: Pacific Delight Tours, New York; (800) 221-7179. Read more!
Friday, May 13, 2011
China, Cambodia new venues for oilmeal exports
India’s deoiled meals would remain in high demand in the overseas markets, as China and Cambodia emerge as the key export destinations for the commodity. According to the details provided by the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), oilmeal exports from India have seen a sharp rise over the past one year, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming months.
According to the SEA estimates, China is now emerging as a key export destination for oilmeals. The neighbouring country is buying large quantities of extractions of rapeseed, soybean and groundnut from India. The total exports from India are expected to be around 500,000 tonnes per annum, valuing over Rs 600 crore.
A SEA delegation, led by its president Sushil Goenka, visited China and Cambodia during April 23 and May 3, with an objective to strengthen the relations with the end users of Indian deoiled meals (extractions). India being a producer of non-genetically modified variety of oilmeal, there were better prospects for overseas demand.
The delegation found China to be a potential market for exports of Indian deoiled meals, particularly for rapeseed. The exports can be doubled in the next three years from the present level of half a million tonne, SEA noted.
In order to promote the export of oilmeals, SEA has decided to participate in various exhibitions being held across China from time to time to create further awareness about Indian oilmeals, as well as create confidence in the minds of the Indian buyers being a serious and regular source of supply for oilmeals.
Read more!
