"Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong

Buddhist monks march during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Buddhist monks march during the annual Vesak Bochea ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Buddhist monks march during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Buddhist monks prepare food for lunch during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A woman arranges food during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

People offer rice to a Buddhist monk during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

People carry food before offering it to Buddhist monks during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A policeman stands guard as Buddhist monks wait for the offerings during the annual "Vesak Bochea" ceremony at the ancient Cambodian capital of Oudong, 45 km (28 miles) north of Phnom Penh, May 19, 2008. Buddhists in Cambodia celebrated Vesak Bochea Day on Sunday to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Japanese company finalizes Cambodian deal with Australian miner

Mon, 19 May 2008
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp has formally committed to invest 4.5 million dollars in a joint venture in Cambodia with the Australian gold-exploration company Southern Gold Ltd, the company said Monday. Adelaide-based Southern Gold said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that the deal would accelerate exploration on three Cambodian gold and base-metal projects in the north-east of Cambodia.

The announcement confirmed a March letter of intent.

Under the now formal terms, the Japanese firm must spend a minimum of 1 million dollars on the projects over the next 12 months and would make a total investment of 4.5 million dollars over three years to earn a 51-per-cent interest in the three tenements, it said.

Southern Gold has previously posted promising gold and base-metal predictions on the three projects from early exploratory research.

The Japanese firm said its objectives in the deal were securing a stable supply of oil, natural gas, nonferrous metals and minerals for Japan and, if exploratory results were positive, the equity interest would be transferred to a private-sector Japanese company.

Southern Gold's other investors in the project include Chinese resource investor CITIC as well as Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd.

CAMBODIA: Poor farmers hit by high cost of fertiliser

A school-feeding programme near Siem Reap. According to WFP, an estimated 2.6 million Cambodians live in extreme poverty and face food deprivation

Humanitarian news and analysis
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

PHNOM PENH, 19 May 2008 (IRIN) - The spiralling cost of fertiliser is affecting up to half of Cambodia's two million farmers, including Lam Leng, a 30-year-old farmer from Kompong Speu Province, who told IRIN how he had been forced to collect fruit from palm sugar trees to feed his impoverished family.

The price of food is soaring, but he is particularly hard-hit by the cost of inputs for his crop. Leng is desperate. The cost of fertiliser has doubled, the father of five said, which meant he was unable this planting season to afford chemical fertiliser to tend his one-hectare rice paddy.

"If I don't use fertiliser, I don't get a good yield of rice," he said. With his rice field dry and infertile, Leng said it was necessary for his wife to seek work at a garment factory where she earns US$50 a month labouring long days stitching clothing. But even with that additional income, the Leng family can only just make ends meet. Lam Leng said pork and beef were just a distant memory, and he was scavenging for crabs and frogs in the rice fields to add protein to his family's diet.

Yaing Saing Koma, executive director of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture, told IRIN that approximately 50 percent of Cambodia's estimated two million farmers have been badly affected by the soaring price of fertiliser.

"Small farmers need loans so that they can afford fertiliser," he said, adding that if the price of rice remained high, the farmers could, perhaps, break even.

The introduction of better seeds and modern technology could increase their rice yields from two to three tonnes per hectare, Yaing Saing Koma said, adding that increased yields also depended on the fertility of the soil.

In Cambodia, 78 percent of the country's 2.5 million hectares of agricultural land is used for rice production and about 6 percent for fruit and vegetables. Another 16 percent is planted with grains, rubber and other crops, agricultural officials said.

2.6 million Cambodians in extreme poverty

According to a 2006 analysis by the World Food Programme's Food Policy Research Institute, an estimated 2.6 million Cambodians live in extreme poverty and face food deprivation due to the poor management of agricultural resources.

About 40km west of Phnom Penh, the capital, in Kompong Speu Province's Samraong Tong commune, farmers are spreading cow dung they have collected throughout the year over their rice fields in the hope it will nurture a better harvest. These subsistence farmers say they have been forced to reduce their reliance on chemical fertiliser because of the sky-rocketing cost. But while the cow dung is useful, they worry that the harvest will be far smaller than in previous years when they were able to afford chemical fertiliser.

Por Bien, a 55-year-old farmer, who works a 1.5 hectare piece of land, told IRIN that it was difficult for him to afford even several sacks of fertiliser for his rice field. One bag cost $20 last year, he said, but has now doubled to more than $40.

"Fertiliser is very expensive, how can we earn enough money to buy it?" Por Bien asked while carrying great heaps of cow dung to his field.

Kith Seng, director of the Agriculture Ministry's Statistics and Planning Department, said the government had no funds to provide fertiliser or seed rice to impoverished farmers except when their rice fields had been affected by natural disasters, such as drought and flooding. He added that farmers should have collected more manure to safeguard against their inability to purchase chemical fertiliser.

"The farmers have to use more cow dung instead," Kith Seng said.

Cambodia's most powerful union declares itself non-political

M&G Asia-Pacific News

May 19, 2008

Phnom Penh : The leader of Cambodia's most powerful labour union, Chea Mony, on Monday said the organization would no longer support any one political party and was no longer politically aligned.

His announcement comes ahead of national elections scheduled for July and is seen by analysts as a blow for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) - the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia's former staunch ally.

'I am not a member of any party,' Mony said by telephone. 'The union should not be tied to one party so it can be more credible.'

The union was formed in 1996 by Mony's late brother, Chea Vichea, who was also a founding member of the SRP, and the some 80,000 mainly garment worker members often provided the numbers for SRP rallies.

Chea Vichea, a activist who often mobilized strikes and rallies of garment workers, was gunned down and killed in broad daylight on a busy city street in January, 2004.

Traditionally, unions in Cambodia have been aligned with, or simply an extension of, one political party or another.

Mony said that must change to help extend member bases and allow unions to push their own agendas free from the perception their complaints were purely politically motivated.

Cambodia plans to open nine hydropower dams by 2019

The brown waters of the Mekong River (or Lancang River in China) seperate China (L) from Myanmar (R)

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia will construct controversial Chinese-funded dams as part of a plan to feed its electricity-starved economy, according to government documents obtained Monday by AFP.

The Southeast Asian country will open nine dams of various sizes between 2010 and 2019 to generate 1,942 megawatts of power, according to a government report to parliament obtained by AFP. At least four of the dams will be backed by China.

The US-based International Rivers Network last year said that two Chinese-funded hydroelectric dams already under construction threatened to flood huge swathes of Cambodia's protected forests.

The group said the Kamchay and Stung Atay dams, unchecked by public scrutiny, will wreak havoc on local communities and slow development.

The new government report said the Kamchay hydropower plant will open in 2010, while Stung Atay hydroelectric dam will open in 2012.

"By 2020, all villages will have electric power. (And) by 2030, at least 70 percent of the families countrywide will have electricity use," the report said.

The government also plans to build nine coal-powered plants between 2011 and 2020, the report said.

Only some 20 percent of Cambodian households currently have access to electricity.

Spiralling utility prices, driven by this lack of supply, are a major obstacle to attracting foreign investment, and the government has struggled to find a way to bring down the cost of power.

Cambodia confiscates 'Burma Daily' publication

The Bangkok Post

Phnom Penh (dpa) - The Cambodian government on Monday confiscated the Cambodia Daily newspaper from newsstands over a supplement called The Burma Daily, the Information Ministry and the newspaper's publisher said.

The official ministry explanation was that the confiscation was ordered because The Burma Daily, which had appeared since last week as a four-page insert with an identical masthead as its sister publication, was not licensed.

But publisher Bernard Krisher argued that the paper did not need a license because it was a supplement and the decision to confiscate the English- and Khmer-language daily, which has a circulation of about 5,000, reflected badly on the government.

He vowed to continue to print The Burma Daily for several more days as planned even if it were confiscated. After its printing is finished, it is to become an online and mail publication for distribution in Burma.

"The Burma Daily has no political agenda," he said by telephone. "It is designed to introduce to the Burmese people what a free and responsible newspaper looks like."

Krisher said he had not spoken to the ministry about the reasons for confiscating the paper, which is viewed by expatriates as a primary source of daily news in English.

"I don't have to explain to anyone," he said. "The New York Times does not explain to President [George W] Bush."

Media analysts speculated that the government might fear that the often anti-government Cambodia Daily might embarrass it by taking a similar approach to the Burmese military junta.

Cambodia and Burma have maintained warm relations despite an international outcry over the junta's appalling human rights record.

The nation's largest journalism association, the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said it was investigating the confiscation of the newspapers.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith was not available for comment Monday.

Cambodian Buddhist monks and believers march on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea

Cambodian Buddhist monks march with a Buddha statue on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea, at Udong, Kandal province, about 40 Kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, May 19, 2008. The holiest day of the Buddhist calendar marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on the day of the full moon in May.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian boy are ordained to participate in a march on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea, at Udong, Kandal province, about 40 Kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, May 19, 2008. The holiest day of the Buddhist calendar marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on the day of the full moon in May.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist Nuns gather on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea, at Udong, Kandal province, about 40 Kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, May 19, 2008. The holiest day of the Buddhist calendar marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on the day of the full moon in May.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist monks march on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea, at Udong, Kandal province, about 40 Kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, May 19, 2008. The holiest day of the Buddhist calendar marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on the day of the full moon in May.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist monks and believers march on the Buddha's enlightenment day, Visakha Bochea, at Udong, Kandal province, about 40 Kilometers (25 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, May 19, 2008. The holiest day of the Buddhist calendar marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha on the day of the full moon in May.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodians killed after falling from crane

The Bangkok Post
Monday May 19, 2008

Four Cambodians died at a construction site in Chatuchak when a steel sling attached to a crane hoist came off, sending them crashing to the ground. The accident took place about 1.40pm at the construction site of the 12-storey Life Ratchada Condominium project at Soi Lard Phrao 36 in Chatuchak district. The four were being lifted to work on the 11th floor when the sling attached to the crane broke, sending them crashing to the ground. All four died instantly.

The victims were identified as Sinon Sith, 29, Vibon Han, 24 and Weun Shin, 22. The fourth victim was not identified.

Khampun Boontrai, 35, an engineer for the CL Construction Life Co, said Asian Property Co, the developer of the condominium project, had commissioned his firm to build the 12-storey building.

His firm employed construction workers while the crane and hoist belonged to another company, he added.

He said the four workers boarded the crane's hoist, which also carried 25kg of construction materials. The victims were not wearing safety harnesses, he said.

Police said they would summon those responsible for the crane's hoist, building construction as well as the project developer for questioning before pressing charges against those involved. The tragedy was believed to have been caused by overloading.

CAMBODIA: Sees Opportunity in Rising Food Prices

By Andrew Nette

PHNOM PENH, May 19 (IPS) - Cambodian government sees opportunity for this impoverished country in the global rise in food prices that could help turn the fortunes for its agrarian economy.

But, while Khmer and foreign experts agree that there is considerable room for Cambodia to improve its production of rice, fruit, vegetables and other crops, they also say that the economic, physical and geographical challenges are huge.

Even if Cambodia can increase the production of crops like rice, doubts exist as to whether small-scale farmers are positioned well enough to take advantage of the situation.

Cham Prasidh, minister for commerce, told the English-language Cambodia Daily newspaper in early May that the food crisis provided an opportunity for the country to transform itself into one of the world’s rice bowls. "For Cambodia now, we see rice as gold," he was quoted as saying.

The minister said the increased value of foodstuffs, particularly rice, was moving the government to reconsider its economic strategy and place greater emphasis on agriculture. He said the government wanted to double the area under rice cultivation to five million hectares.

The government and donors are also pinning their hopes on agriculture as a way of alleviating endemic rural poverty. Eighty percent of Cambodia’s 14 million people live in rural areas, as also an estimated 90 percent of the country’s poor.

"We estimate that only 7 to 8 percent of (Cambodia’s) total rice production is traded on the international market," said Mahfuz Ahmed, Senior Agricultural Economist in the South-east Asia department of the Asian Development Bank (AsDB).

"An additional three million tonnes would make the country a major player in the rice market but first they have to improve quality and production."

"We have the potential to become a key supplier of rice on the world market after Thailand and Vietnam," said Yang Sang Koma, president of the Centre for the Study and Development of Cambodian Agriculture (CEDAC).

"We might even be able to replace Vietnam, which has peaked in its capacity."

"It is realistic but they have to have clear policies. On the one hand they talk about Cambodia becoming a green basket, on the other they push industrial zones. What do they really want?"

The World Bank and other donors agree Cambodia needs to place more emphasis on agriculture, and point out that successful agricultural production in China and Vietnam acted as a stimulus for broader industrial and manufacturing growth.

It is generally accepted that Cambodia now grows more rice than it consumes, approximately 2 to 4 million tons per year and has done so since the mid-nineties.

Although land under cultivation has also increased over the last decade, surpassing 2.5 million hectares in 2006, according to figures from the ministry of agriculture, this is still amongst the lowest in the region.

According to AsDB’s Ahmed, the average amount produced hovers around 2.5 tons per hectare, with some farmers producing 3 tons, and most 1 to 1.5. This compares with Vietnam’s 4 kilos per hectare.

"Most farmers are poor and live from harvest to harvest. They are subsistence orientated and focused more on survival than increasing production,’’ Koma said.

Cambodia exported 1.48 million tons of milled rice during the 2007-2008 season, a figure the government wants to increase to 5 million, besides boosting production of crops such as soya beans, cashew and corn.

"Ten years ago they did not have enough food, so the fact that they export as much as they do is a considerable achievement," said Ahmed.

"They could probably produce more and export it. The area currently under cultivation is still below that in the mid-sixties."

"The increased value of rice should be good for Cambodia," agreed Thomas Keustas, the World Food Programme’s country director in Cambodia.

"The question is how much can the rice harvest increase given that the costs of inputs are also increasing.’’

Farmers are facing the full brunt of the inflationary pressures hitting Cambodia. Fertilizer has doubled in price, and fuel has increased by 6 to 7 per cent in the last six months. But price rises are just one obstacle facing increased farm production.

Others include lack of seed production, uncertain land tenure in much of the country, lack of technical information, and poor infrastructure such as roads and irrigation.

Lack of access by small-scale farmers to rural credit is a particularly pressing constraint. According to some figures, only four percent of loans from banks went to agriculture in 2007.

These barriers make it difficult for Cambodia to compete with the productivity of farmers in Thailand and Vietnam, where transport, fertilizer and pesticides are all cheaper.

"How do you compete with the sophistication of agricultural produces in Vietnam, where strawberries are picked and on the shelves of supermarkets in Phnom Penh in 24 hours?" said one long-term foreign observer.

"People talk about buzz words like improving value chains. At the moment when it comes to agriculture all you have is a pile of links that no one has welded together."

"All these factors mean farmers are not well placed to take advantage of increased prices,’’ said the observer who did not wish to be named.

‘’They sell their crop after harvest because their production costs are so high compared to their revenue, much of it to Vietnamese and Thai traders who travel from farm gate to farm gate, within days of it being harvested." sDB’s Ahmed believes that storage facilities are important.

"Small farmers cannot take advantage of the marketing realities unless they can hold onto their crop for 3 to 4 months rather than 60 days as is currently the case.’’

"Even if Cambodia can increase its rice harvest, any increased profitability is likely to be captured by middle men and their agents unless the farmer has some choice about who they sell to and when,’’ said Ahmed.

"This bargaining power will only occur when they have greater access to storage facilities, roads, credit, and so on. At the moment the point at which they sell is the point at which the price is lowest."

The question now is, does the government have the political will to shift the balance of power across the board to increase the bargaining power of farmers?

While experts believe the government’s emphasis should now be on getting a good harvest next year, work is needed to ensure that farmers can take advantage of this.

"In the long term the question is whether enough resources can be mobilised and whether they can be delivered to the households that need them on time," said Ahmed.

"Government alone cannot do this, it requires a joint effort with donors and NGOs."

"Physical facilities are important but it will not solve the problem on its own," argues CEDAC’s Koma, who works with farmers on marketing organically grown produce, including locally certified organic rice.

"Our farmers are very subsistence oriented. We need time to develop more commercially oriented farmers."

"We also need to re-orient the people who work with the farmers, the extension workers and NGOs.

They have a basic knowledge of agriculture, perhaps some community development experience but no business skills,’’ said Koma.

Cambodia’s potential can be gauged by the fact that large investors, including several private equity funds, are beginning to see opportunities in this country’s agricultural sector.

Cambodia to demarcate border with Thailand clearly

www.chinaview.cn

2008-05-19

PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is to install more markers along its border with Thailand for a clear demarcation of the state line, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times on Monday quoted official as saying.

"We have to install more border poles because the 73 (colonial-era) markers installed by France are inadequate," Var Kim Hong, chief of the National Border Committee, told the paper.

"We are examining markers planted by the French in Pailin and we hope to finish this task soon," he said, adding that it is not clear when the work will begin or how many markers will be needed.

Cambodia should emulate Malaysia which has planted over 10,000 markers along its border with Thailand, he said.

Cambodia has an 805-km border with Thailand with only 73 markers now. The absence of markers has made quarrels common.

Editor: Wang Hongjiang

Noppadon to visit Paris next week to discuss Preah Vihear registration

May 19, 2008

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Sunday that he would attend a meeting of the Unesco World Heritage Committee on Thursday and Friday.

He said he would attend the meeting to discuss the dispute over Cambodia's attempt to register the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site.

Thailand is opposing the attempt on ground that the ruins were located on a disputed land at Thailand's border.

Noppadon said he hopes to reach an agreement for mutual benefits with Cambodia over the issue.

The Nation

Don't make preah vihear a political football

The Nation
May 19, 2008

Competing claims to area around temple must not devolve into nationalistic one-upmanshipFunny things happen during election time and Cambodia is no exception in this regard. Vietnam used to be on the receiving end of vitriol from Cambodian politicians (those on the royalist side of the house) looking to score quick political points. But with overlapping claims to Preah Vihear Temple currently the centre of attention, there is a growing concern that Thailand will replace Vietnam as the preferred target for verbal attacks.

The two countries took their dispute over the temple to the International Court of Justice in 1962. Thailand lost as the court ruled that the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia.

Thailand accepted the ruling with a heavy heart. But the point of contention that has yet to be resolved concerns the 4.6 square-kilometre area around the temple.

Cambodia last year put the Preah Vihear Temple forward as a potential Unesco world heritage site. The UN body will decide on its status in July, which is about the same time that Cambodians will go to the polls. What has been eating Thailand about the proposal is that it includes the 4.6 square-kilometre area around the temple.

Both sides comfort themselves by saying that Unesco's acceptance has no bearing on national sovereignty. But in reality, Thai policy-makers, especially the military, which oversees the disputed areas, think an unwanted precedent would be set if Unesco accepts the proposed boundaries.

In political terms, it would be another feather in Cambodia's cap in its effort to claim the entire disputed area.

Given the fact this is an election year in Cambodia, it would be damaging for any politician to back away from this. They can't be seen as giving in to Thailand or anybody else for that matter.

Moreover, the fact that Thailand is experiencing political turmoil doesn't help.

But regardless of the political atmosphere in the two countries, this dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is still an important issue. After all it's about national sovereignty, a human-invented notion that boxes citizens inside political borders. Modern nation states demand loyalty from their citizens and unquestioning respect for these man-made political boundaries.

Problems surface when these boundaries overlap with those of neighbouring countries. Nations have gone to war and friends have turned into foes because of it.

Fortunately for Thailand and Cambodia, there is no lingering mistrust between the two countries, so there should be plenty of political will from both sides. But what is needed is a demonstration of sincerity from both sides to address this dispute in the spirit of friendship.

At the moment, all kinds of proposals are being floated, but so far Phnom Penh has yet to show any sign that it favours one over another - if it is even interested at all. Any sign of willingness could be translated as the country softening its sovereign claim to the disputed 4.6 square kilometres. Both countries could, for a start, begin to look for ways to demilitarise the areas, as this would send a positive signal to all sides that the two countries are sincere in looking for a peaceful solution to the problem.

Moreover, the two sides need to shelve nationalism for now and put the interests of the Hindu temple first. After all, this was an important historical site for local people centuries before there was such a thing as the International Court of Justice, or Thailand and Cambodia for that matter.

There are a lot of hang-ups from many Thais who still remember the day when the International Court of Justice ruled in favour of Cambodia. It doesn't help anybody if we are still clinging to the bitter past.

Most importantly, we need to de-link Preah Vihear from politics on both sides. Unless this is done, there will be no peace for the temple.

Thailand, Cambodia to discuss disputed temple's World Heritage status in Paris

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2008-05-18

BANGKOK, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Sunday he would travel to France on May 22-23 to meet with Cambodian and UNESCO officials to discuss the Cambodian government's plan to register the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

Noppadon said he had met Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An recently and discussed the plan, with the Cambodian official becoming more flexible and wanting to settle the dispute with Thailand amicably, according to state media Thai News Agency.

He emphasized that both countries would receive equal benefits and that the Thai government would not give away overlapping areas claimed by both countries.

Thailand has said it welcomed the Cambodian government's move to register the historic Phreah Vihear temple complex as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but also said the Phnom Penh government must settle a disputed 4.6 square kilometer area surrounding the temple, so that both countries could jointly manage the area.

UNESCO's stance is that the two neighbors must first settle their differences before the registration of the heritage site can take effect.

The issue regarding the ownership of the historic site, dated back to the 9th century, has been long disputed between the two neighbor countries. Previous rulings by the International Court of Justice, commonly known as the World Court, in Hague have recognized the temple as belonging to Cambodia.

It is widely understood by both sides that the Preah Vihear temple building itself stands atop a cliff inside the Cambodian territory, but the only convenient access to the temple lies on the side of Thailand in Kantharalak district of the northeastern Thai province of Si Sa Ket.

Editor: Amber Yao

Burma's children 'starving to death'

(Photo: AP / )

The Australian
May 19, 2008

RANGOON: Thousands of children in Burma will starve to death in two to three weeks unless food is rushed to them, an aid agency warned yesterday as an increasingly angry international community pleaded for approval to mount an all-out effort to help cyclone survivors.

The UN said Burma's isolationist ruling generals were even forbidding the import of communications equipment, hampering already difficult contact among relief agencies.

A UN situation report said yesterday that emergency relief from the international community had reached an estimated 500,000 people. But the regime insists it will handle distribution to victims of Cyclone Nargis.

The World Food Program, which is leading the outside emergency food effort, said yesterday it had managed to get rice and beans to 212,000 of the 750,000 people it thinks are most in need after the May 2 storm, which has left at least 134,00 dead or missing.

"It's not enough. There are a very large number of people who are yet to receive any kind of assistance and that's what's keeping our teams working round the clock," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has been unable to sway Burma's leaders by telephone, said UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was expected to arrive last night in Burma's largest city, Rangoon.

"He's going at the request of the Secretary-General to find out what's really going on the ground, to get a much better picture of how the response is going and ... to see how much we can help them scale up this response," said Amanda Pitt, a UN spokeswoman in Bangkok.

Mr Holmes is expected to meet ruling members of the junta and hand over a third letter from Mr Ban, to junta leader Than Shwe, who has refused to talk to Mr Ban on the phone since the cyclone and its massive sea-surge slammed into the delta.

The UN report said all communications equipment used by foreign agencies must be purchased through Burma's Ministry of Posts and Communications - with a maximum of 10 telephones per agency - for $US1500 ($1572) each.

State-run radio said the Government had so far spent 20 billion kyat (about $US2 million) for relief work and has received millions of dollars worth of relief supplies from local and international donors.

It said the Government was distributing assistance promptly and efficiently to the affected areas. Aid agencies were not convinced.

Save the Children, a global aid agency, said yesterday thousands of young children faced starvation without quick food aid.

"We are extremely worried that many children in the affected areas are now suffering from severe acute malnourishment, the most serious level of hunger," said Jasmine Whitbread, who heads the agency's operation in Britain. "When people reach this stage, they can die in a matter of days."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused authorities in Burma of preventing foreign aid from reaching victims and said the military regime cared more about its own survival than its people's welfare. "This is inhuman," Mr Brown told the BBC.

"The farther you go, the worse the situation," said a doctor in the town of Twante, southwest of Rangoon. "Near Rangoon, people are getting a lot of help and it's still bad. In the remote delta villages, we don't even want to imagine." The Government flew 60 diplomats and US officials in helicopters to three places in the Irrawaddy Delta, the hardest-hit area, on Saturday to show them progress in the relief effort. The diplomats were not all swayed.

"It was a show," said Shari Villarosa, the top US diplomat in Burma. "That's what they wanted us to see."

A French navy ship that arrived on Saturday off Burma's shores loaded with food, medication and fresh water was given the now-familiar red light. France's UN ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, called it "nonsense".

"We have small boats, which could allow us to go through the delta to most of the regions where no one has accessed yet," he said. "We have small helicopters to drop food, and we have doctors."

The USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship, and its battle group have been waiting to join the relief effort. US marine flights to Rangoon from Utapao, Thailand, continued on Saturday - bringing the total to 227 tonnes of aid delivered - but negotiations to allow helicopters to fly directly to the disaster zone were stalled.

Burma been slightly more open to aid from its neighbours, accepting Thai and Indian medical teams, which arrived on Saturday.

The International Red Cross said the death toll was probably about 128,000.

AP