Cambodia : Angkor Wat

The ruins of Angkor are one of the most striking monuments to the past glory of Cambodian civilization.

At Angkor Wat there is an overwhelming sense of history, both ancient and recent. The ancient is obvious with overgrown ruins of temples from the time of the Khmer Kings in the 11th Century. The legacy of the recent history can be seen in the faces and heard in the words of the survivors of the Killing Fields in the 1970's.

During that time as many as three million of the seven million people in Cambodia were murdered by the despotic Khmer Rouge let by Pol Pot. Any person with education, even those with glasses were killed by the cadres of soldiers so young that they were almost children.

Many of those soldiers and the families of the victims are living side by side in this nation still suffering. The feelings and memories will take another generation to become part of the past that is gone, like the days of the ancient kings.

Sacravatoons : " The royal plowing ceremony "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon at http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

Reuters: Cambodia crop boom prediction

May. 24 - Astrologers foretell a healthy harvest during the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony.

Despite the reassuring prediction the nation is praying for more rain and better irrigation in the face of rising food prices and a regional rice shortage.

Paul Chapman reports.

Cambodian Government Protecting Burma's Junta From Foreign Press Scrutiny

Saturday, May 24 2008
EDTEdited by: Kandy Ringer

Suspension Undercuts Credibility of ASEAN Initiative on Burma Cyclone

BBSNews 2008-05-24 -- New York (HRW) The Cambodian government should stop protecting Burma's junta from foreign press scrutiny by lifting the ban on copies of the Burma Daily, a new English-language insert in the Cambodia Daily newspaper, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Burma Daily was launched on May 16 as a four-page insert in the Cambodia Daily and carried primarily English-language wire service reports about Burma and Cyclone Nargis, which struck on May 2-3, killing tens of thousands. With the publication of its second edition on May 19, the Cambodian Ministry of Information illegally ordered police to remove copies of the Burma Daily from newsstands.

The newspaper's suspension comes ahead of a May 25 "pledging" conference in Rangoon organized by the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-country bloc that includes Cambodia, to address Burma's reconstruction and how to deliver aid to cyclone victims. ASEAN operates by consensus, so any country, including Burma or Cambodia, can stop coordinated action by the grouping that insists Burma open up to aid and humanitarian workers.

"Cambodia's press censorship on behalf of Burma's abusive military government is shameless," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "When ASEAN members like Cambodia go to bat for Burma's generals, it makes it hard to believe that the association will genuinely lean on Burma to allow international aid for desperate cyclone survivors."

Cambodia Daily publisher Bernard Krisher, who said he launched the Burma Daily only temporarily as an insert in the Cambodia Daily before launching it as an online publication at Burma Daily announced on May 21 that the Burma Daily would no longer appear in the Cambodia Daily. At present, the online version has articles only until May 21.

In a speech on Cambodian national television last December after Burma's crackdown on widespread protests, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen criticized the United Nations for "opposing and putting pressure" on Burma, rather than letting Burma solve its own problems.

"Now, Burma has proceeded smoothly, but they go and disturb it again," Hun Sen said.

On May 21, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith threatened to file a legal complaint against the Cambodia Daily for launching the Burma Daily without obtaining government permission.

Kanharith stated that the Burma Daily could negatively affect relations with Burma, according to the Cambodia Daily. Despite the prohibition on the English-language insert, Kanharith has publicly stated that the government will allow the Cambodia Daily -- which has been registered with the government since 1993 -- to cover news about Burma in its regular international section.

Cambodia's 1995 Press Law requires new publications to submit names and addresses of their editor and printing house to the Ministry of Information and authorizes the government to ban, suspend, or confiscate publications deemed to violate "national security and political stability."

While publications that do not file applications with the Information Ministry are subject to fines, the Press Law does not specify that such publications are illegal or subject to confiscation.

Outspoken editors and journalists in Cambodia are regularly threatened, subject to physical attacks, or even assassinated. The government also periodically confiscates, bans, or suspends controversial publications. In 2007, the Khmer Amatak newspaper was suspended for refusing to retract a story alleging that political rivals of Funcinpec party leader Norodom Ranariddh had removed his name from a school. Publications that were confiscated by authorities in 2007 included a report by Global Witness, an international environmental advocacy group that alleged government complicity in illegal logging, and Free Press Magazine, a Cambodian-language publication that carried articles critical of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodian authorities have recently threatened Buddhist monks with eviction from their pagodas or deportation to Vietnam for circulating bulletins published by the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKKF), an organization that advocates for the rights of Khmer Krom people (ethnic Khmer originally from southern Vietnam). One of the allegations against Khmer Krom monk Tim Sakhorn, who was arrested and deported from Cambodia in June 2007 and subsequently jailed in Vietnam, was that he had circulated copies of the KKKF bulletin.

"The Cambodian government has a sad tradition of using its press law and other tactics to silence criticism not only of Hun Sen and other top leaders, but of neighboring countries with which Cambodia has strong economic and political ties," said Adams.

While foreign-language publications in Cambodia have generally been more immune to threats of confiscation or closure, in 2007 the owners of the French-language daily Cambodge Soir buckled to government pressure by firing the paper's Cambodian news editor for publishing an article about the Global Witness logging report. The paper's management decided to close the paper after staff went on strike to protest the editor's dismissal, reopening several months later with a much less critical editorial tone.

War isolated temples, beaches emerge back in Cambodia

The Rising Nepal
By Arun Ranjit

The Angkor monuments in Cambodia are famous throughout the world as an important cultural asset of Southeast Asia. These monuments were simultaneously added to both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1992.

The structures, built mainly of materials such as sandstone and laterite, have been steadily deteriorating due to the harsh climate, wind and rain.

However, Angkor Wat was removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger by the United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) some years ago. This removal is certainly due in large part to the successful in the preservation efforts of international community.

Prepare for divine inspiration! The temples of Angkor Wat, capital of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer empire, are the perfect fusion of creative ambition and spiritual devotion.

The temples of Angkor Wat are the heart and soul of the Kingdom of Cambodia, a source of inspiration and national pride to all Khmers as they struggle to rebuild their lives after years of terror and trauma. No traveler to the region should miss their extravagant beauty.

Located near the small town of Siem Reap, the Angkor Wat temple complex is comprised of countless ceremonial structures built between the 9th and 13th centuries by the once mighty Khmer Empire.

Angkor Wat at sunset is also spectacular, and to cap it, move to Bayon where setting sun casts interesting shadows on the array of carved faces.

Angkor Wat could be explored within a week or two. Visitors could spend a whole day reading book amid the calming carved Buddha faces at Bayon, or a contemplative and explobnary time at Ta Prom.

Once home to 600 exquisite dancers, this temple has succumbed to the forces of nature as the forest gradually takes a firmer hold over its ruins.

Anyway, make no mistake: Angkor will have lots of tourists in the not-too-distant future. It is a place where visitors can admire the ruins in peace and contemplation.

This scribe was in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia last week to attend the international conference of journalists where 86 media-associated people from 54 various countries had participated in.

All the people who attended the international conference were given opportunity to explore and experience the various culturally rich to tourism-view point important places, politically hot to economically developed places, socially to historically remarkable spots in Phnom Penh and around Cambodia.

Likewise, Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, was a bustling commercial hub during French colonial days and today has re-established itself as the political and financial center of the country.

Its rich historical past can be traced to the Khmer and French influence evident in the ornate Khmer-style temples and the grand colonial buildings and villas.

The most obvious examples of this include the National Museum and the Silver Pagoda and Tuol Sleng Museum, a testament to Cambodia’s recent bloody past under the Khmer Rouge regime.

While traveling to Cambodia, exploration of the magnificent ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, the world’s largest ceremonial structure with its dazzling array of beautiful bas-reliefs and ornate carvings is a must.

Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, retains an undeniable charm despite its tumultuous and often violent past. The crumbling colonial architecture makes an attractive backdrop to bustling street-side cafes and the redeveloped riverfront precinct - a particularly lively part of town on Friday and Saturday nights.

And the charms of the capital Phnom Penh, regarded by many as the most beautiful of all the French-built cities in Indochina. Phnom Penh was a bustling commercial hub during French colonial times. Its rich historical past can be traced to the Khmer and French influence evident in the ornate Khmer-style temples and the grand colonial buildings and villas.

Anyway, while seeing the development of the Cambodia, it is true that ancient temples, empty beaches, mighty rivers, remote forests emerged from decades of war and isolation are well and truly back.

Thai efforts to ban trade in rosewood fails

The Bangkok Post
Sunday May 25, 2008

Laos and Cambodia oppose restrictions

By Apinya Wipatayotin

Laos and Cambodia _ major exporters of rosewood _ have opposed a Thai proposal to ban international trade of this most prized hardwood for fear of an adverse impact on their timber exports. Bangkok pushed for the listing of rosewood, or payoong, on the protected list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) during a three-day meeting of Asean experts on Cites in Chon Buri, which ended on Friday.

Watana Vepayaprasit, chief of the wildlife and flora conservation division, said Thailand failed to convince Asean members to put the payoong tree on the Cites list.

Delegates from rosewood-rich countries, including Laos and Cambodia, disagreed with the Thai proposal, saying a ban would pose problems for their timber exporters, according to Mr Watana.

''We understand that this is a very sensitive issue for countries which export rosewood. But our purpose is not a total ban on trade. What we need is to ensure that the rosewood trade does not threaten its survival,'' he said.

He said Thailand would not give up and will continue to campaign for protection of the species.
Rosewood is listed as a protected species under Thai law, which also bans the timber trade.

However, the illegal trade of rosewood has increased recently, reportedly due to strong demand from China and Japan.

Police have made hundreds of raids since October last year and seized more than 50,000 logs of rosewood and arrested 527 people.

Most of the illegal timber was from the northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani, Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Si Sa Ket, Surin and Mukdahan.

The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has estimated there were about 300,000 rosewood trees left in the conservation zone.

Meanwhile, the 10 members of Asean agreed in principle to Vietnam's proposal to set up a wildlife rescue centre in each country to take care of wild animals confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade.

The centres will also be responsible for the repatriation of confiscated wild animals to their original habitats, said Mr Watana.

In cases where no country claims to be the owner, the animals will be donated to zoos or wildlife breeding centres.

Land around site excluded from Unesco bid

The Bangkok Post
Sunday May 25, 2008

By Post reporters

Thailand and Cambodia have broken a deadlock in their dispute over Preah Vihear after Phnom Penh agreed to only nominate the famous Hindu-style temple, and not territory around it, to Unesco as a world heritage candidate.

The decision, reached during a Unesco-brokered meeting in Paris on Thursday, puts an end to a dispute involving the 4.6-square-kilometre border area near the temple over which sovereignty has not been settled.

Cambodia's previous proposal submitted to Unesco included disputed land between Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and Preah Vihear province as areas to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

Thailand protested because it was worried that if Unesco approved the proposal, the entire area on which sovereignty was not yet settled would be implicitly recognised as Cambodian soil.

Unesco _ the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation _ rejected the Cambodian proposal and called for the two countries to settle the issue first before it would consider whether the temple should be given world heritage status.

Cambodia agreed to the changes in exchange for Thailand's backing of the new proposal, said Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, who led the Thai delegation in talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and his team.

Unesco assistant director-general for culture Francoise Riviere represented the UN agency.

Mr Noppadon called the outcome of the Paris meeting a ''success and an important step forward'' after the talks were held in an amiable atmosphere.

Asked why the Cambodian government had changed its stance, he said both governments had a cordial working relationship.

The next step is for Cambodia to draw up a new map, proposing only Preah Vihear be named a World Heritage Site, and send it to Thailand and Unesco by June 6, as promised by Mr Sok An, he said.

A Foreign Ministry official said the new map was an important step, ensuring Thailand that Cambodia will not include an area awaiting clear demarcation.

If the ministry agrees to the new map, it will forward it to the National Security Council and then to cabinet for approval. Cambodia will then send it to Unesco to apply for heritage listing. The UN agency will make a decision in late June.

Mr Noppadon promised Thailand would not delay seeking cabinet approval if the ministry agrees to the new map.

He denied rumours of a disagreement between the ministry and the armed forces over Preah Vihear, adding that Niphat Thonglek, director-general of the Border Affairs Department under the Supreme Command, did not join his Paris delegation because he had been in Russia with the National Defence College of Thailand.

Lt-Gen Niphat previously intended to go to Paris as part of the Thai team.

A senior armed forces spokesman could not be reached for comment yesterday about the Preah Vihear compromise.

But department deputy director-general Maj-Gen Supot Thammarongrak said on Friday that the armed forces would be satisfied if Phnom Penh included only Preah Vihear in the proposal to Unesco.

Adul Wichiencharoen, chairman of the National Committee on the Convention for the Protection of World Culture and Natural Heritage, was not impressed with the outcome of the Paris meeting.

Mr Adul said it was ''bad news'' for Thailand because the country would gain no benefit from seeing Preah Vihear temple become a World Heritage Site.

The border near Preah Vihear which has not been demarcated will be settled by the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, the Foreign Ministry said.

Sar Kheng Said that the Government Does Not Dare to Arrest Drug Trafficking Chiefs

Posted on 24 May 2008.
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 561

“This week Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng admitted that the Cambodian People’s Party [CPP] government has not yet done anything noticeable over drug cases in Cambodia.

“He added, ‘The real chief has not been arrested yet, and drug trafficking chiefs still live freely. They are still acting freely and recreate their networks.’

“Over the course of time, the police had arrested some members of big drug networks in Cambodia, but there was no legal action taken to bring any drug trafficking chiefs to court; therefore drug trafficking and the production of drugs still continue and lead to the distribution and to the use of drug countrywide.

“When Mr. Sar Kheng said, ‘They know them, but they do not dare to arrest them,’ we do not know to which drug trafficking cases this refers, because previously, only small drug traffickers were arrested to be punished according to the law.

“The Minister of Interior Mr. Sar Kheng seems to take the opportunity to also criticize the ineffectiveness of the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s CPP.

“He said that previously, only small drug traffickers had been arrested, but the drug trafficking chiefs have not been arrested, and therefore drug trafficking still exits, together with the creation of new networks.

“The Minister of Interior Mr. Sar Kheng did not explain the reason why his ministry, which is in charge to deal with these cases, does not fulfill its work efficiently to arrest the drug trafficking chiefs.

“However, the fact that the minister made this comment is assumed by other people as a sign that he probably knows who the drug-trafficking chiefs are on the national level, but the government does not dare to take action because of some issues which are kept secret.

“However, what the Deputy Prime Minister said is quite different from what the Prime Minister and CPP Vice President Mr. Hun Sen had said – Mr. Hun Sen has never dared to raise the problem of drug trafficking.

“The police of the government, with help from international anti-drug-trafficking agencies, has frequently found many big drug manufacturing sites and planting areas in Cambodia. On 1 April 2007, a big drug manufacturing site and nearly four tonnes of substances used for producing drugs were found at Traeng Trayueng Commune, Phnom Sruoch District, Kompong Speu, after having received information from international anti-drug-trafficking agencies from outside the country.

“The owners of the site, which pretended to be a cow farm, were the Chinese national Chea Chung and his partner Oknha Om Chhai, both of whom had close relations with senior officials in the government and in the National Assembly of Cambodia.

“Chea Chung used to be an advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay, the Funcinpec secretary-general. According to many documents received from Funcinpec, Nhek Bun Chhay had appointed Chea Chung to hold high positions, like he had been appointed to work in the investment sector in the Nhek Bun Chhay group.

“Oknha Om Chhai was an advisor to the President of the National Assembly and Honorary President of the ruling CPP Mr. Heng Samrin. After his arrest and after he was brought to the anti-drug-trafficking section in the Ministry of Interior, carefully guarded by police, it was reported that Oknha Om Chhai had committed suicide by jumping from a window of the building. We do not know whether or not, what Mr. Sar Kheng said, ‘They know them, but they do not dare to arrest them,’ refers to the case of Chea Chung and Om Chhai, who have had relations with senior officials of this regime.

“Mr. Sar Kheng said, ‘The chiefs must be found,’ but we do not know whether these words are political words to agitate the public to restore the reputation of the ruling CPP, which is defamed by the Prime Minister Hun Sen who rules the country but lets corruption and land grabbing happen and does not arrest drug trafficking chiefs.

“It should be noted that the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the anti-drug-trafficking chief, Sar Kheng, had announced publicly, at the time when police arrested the people and collected many pieces of evidence in the form of equipment used for producing drugs in a farm in Kompong Speu, that – even if the drug trafficking chiefs are backed by officials of any rank - he will arrest them to be punished. After this announcement, the national and the international public, hating drugs which destroy our social fabric, were happy and waited carefully to see the actions that would be taken by Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng. However, so far, there was no action taken over this Kompong Speu big case, a fact that also the US ambassador to Cambodia observes.

“For a long time we did not see that the Deputy Prime Minister and anti-drug-trafficking chief takes actions and expresses his commitment; it is just recently that the Deputy Prime Minister, who is second in power after Prime Minister Hun Sen, stated that there is no noticeable action used to persecute drug trafficking chiefs. This announcement makes observers think that those who are behind the big drug trafficking chiefs may be higher in position than the Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng.”

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #3317, 24.5.2008

Siem Reap port rehab plows ahead

Lionel Courty Bringing down the house! Houses are being dismantled as part of the road upgrade

Written by Cheang Sokha

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post at http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Chong Khneas Boat Association in Siem Reap says it plans to hold a demonstration unless provincial authorities do something about South Korean port investor Sou Ching Investment Co.'s collecting of money from tourists without ongoing development of the area.

Association chairman Roeun Thoeun said Sou Ching is taking $1 from each foreign tourist at the port south of Siem Reap city but is not upholding its part of an agreement to provide the community with proper roads, parking and toilets.
____________________
The problem has been occurring since the company started the project. So far the problem between villagers and Sou Ching has not been resolved.
Minh Bunly FACT
____________________

"I see the company has lived up to about 20 percent of the agreement," Thoeun said. "We want to take that money (provided by tourists) and develop the infrastructure in the area ourselves."

Thoeun said some 220 locally owned boats take tourists from Chong Khneas to visit the Tonle Sap and many boat owners have complained that the construction activities of Sou Ching Investment are disrupting their livelihoods.

"Since the company arrived (in May 2007), there have been a lot of problems for villagers in the community," Thoeun said, pointing to environmental concerns arising from pollution caused by the port's development.

On January 2, the Boat Association of Chong Khneas, together with the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), wrote a letter to Siem Reap Governor Sou Phirin requesting provincial authorities stop Sou Ching from collecting money from foreign tourists as of January 15.

So far the company has not stopped.Thoeun said the association's next step would be to organize a demonstration targeting local authorities for their perceived lack of support for boat owners and the Chong Khneas community. A date for the protest has not been set.

Meanwhile, Siem Reap district authorities on January 21 dismantled about 300 homes, moving them back five meters to allow Sou Ching Investment to widen a road.

CATA president Ho Vandy said Sou Ching has a contractual obligation with the local authorities to develop the area, first by building roads, parking lots and public latrines.

The provision of infrastructure would then justify collecting fees from tourists, he said."Chong Khneas area is very messy; a bad environment with a lot of beggars disturbing tourists," Vandy said.

"We do not oppose the company's development but the company wants to make cake without flour."

Vandy estimated that each day Sou Ching collects $1,500 to $1,800 from tourists to clean the area but said many tourists continue to complain about the cleanliness.

"We want to keep the area's future potential as tourist attraction," Vandy said.

In May 2007, the Council for the Development of Cambodia granted a license to SouthKorean firm Sou Ching Investment Co. Ltd to invest $2 million in a project to build a port at Chong Khneas, but the project was stalled by villagers' protests.

Sou Ching representative Var Chhoudeth said there was only a small core of protestors and they had been inciting unrest in the wider community.Chhoudeth said his company has been developing the area with a canal for the boats, expanded roads and a car park, and was also cleaning the area.

"The boat association wants to take the money themselves but they cannot develop the area," Chhoudeth said.

"What our company is doing is based on the agreement with the provincial authority."

Minh Bunly, project officer for the Fisheries Action Coalition Team, a local NGO working with the fishing community at Chong Khneas, said the company had provided the community with little infrastructure.

"The problem has been occurring since the company started the project," Bunly said. "So far the problem between villagers and Sou Ching has not been resolved."

Siem Reap Deputy Governor Chan Sophal, who is in charge of overseeing the port development at Chong Khneas, said he was too busy to comment on the project when contacted by the Post.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, about two million foreign tourists visited Cambodia in 2007. Chong Khneas is one of the best-known destinations in Siem Reap.

Strange But True: Inflating Cambodian Children

Anorak News

TO Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where a father and mechanic “learned the hard way not to inflate children when he inserted an air hose designed to fill car tires into his 5-year-old son’s anus and blew him up”.

The Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea daily reported Try Sienghym was “playing” with his son Sok Sambo when the incident took place.

The paper said the child’s stomach became distended and his concerned mother rushed him to hospital, where he remains in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

“The father very much regrets playing like this now,” the paper quoted a family member as saying.

Police were not expected to take action against the father, blaming the incident on pure stupidity, against which there is currently no law.

Nepal beats Macao of China 3-2 in AFC qualifying match

www.chinaview.cn

2008-05-24

PHNOM PENH, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's National Football Team here Saturday beat Macao of China 3-2 in first qualifying match of Group D of the Challenge Cup of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The teams played under heavy rain through the second half of the match. Player Ju Manu from the Nepalese team scored two goals alone at minute 57 and 65. Another player Sandip scored the first goal for the team at minute 42.

Captain of the Macao team Che Chi Man scored a goal at minute 29 in penalty and Chan Kin Seng scored the second goal at minute 60.

"My team had difficulties for the match because there was heavy rain. We will try more for next match against Cambodia," Macao coach Leung Sui Wing told a press conference.

"We were happy for the match with Macao and my boys pass the ball to each other in long kick because of the rain," said Nepalese coach Flath Thomas.

Palestine, Cambodia, Nepal and Macao are in Group D for the qualifying matches, but Palestine withdrew last week.

The matches will determine the sole team to advance from Group D to the eight-team finals to be held in July and August in Hyderabad, India.

Editor: Jiang Yuxia

Thai FM: Cambodia will register Preah Vihear temple only, prepare new map

MCOT English News (Thai)

BANGKOK, May 24 (TNA) -- Cambodia has agreed to register only the ancient Preah Vihear temple ruins themselves as a UNESCO World Heritage site, leaving the surrounding area disputed by Thailand and Cambodia unresolved, and to prepare a new map showing the ruins for consideration by UNESCO and Thailand, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Saturday.

Mr. Noppadon, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) officials met in Paris for 10 hours on Thursday.

The Thai foreign minister told a press conference that the meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere.

The Cambodian government agreed to limit its registration of the Preah Vihear temple only as a World Heritage site, and would submit new map of temple premises to the Thai government and UNESCO for consideration on June 6.

Thailand supports Cambodia in registering the ancient temple ruins as a World Heritage site, Mr. Noppadon said, indicating that he would forward the outcome of the meeting to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and related government agencies as soon as possible .

Agreements reached at the meeting were contained in a joint communiqué and must be approved first by both the Thai and Cambodian governments, he said.

The revised map, prepared by the Phnom Penh government and submitted when it applied for registering Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site last year, must be studied again whether it was appropriate, said Mr. Noppadon. Thailand earlier held that the dispute over the disputed 4.6 sq. km. area adjoining the temple ruins has yet to be settled.

Historically, Thailand and Cambodia have both laid claim to the temple, which sits astride the border in Thailand's Si Sa Ket, but easy access is only through Thailand.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

Water buffalo rampage injures 15 in Cambodia's capital

A runaway water buffalo rampaged through Cambodia's capital, injuring 15 people and damaging several cars and motorbikes(AFP/File/Keith Bacongco)

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — A runaway water buffalo rampaged through Cambodia's capital, injuring 15 people and damaging several cars and motorbikes, police said Saturday.

The female buffalo ran through the crowded streets early Friday morning, causing chaos before it was harnessed with ropes, local police chief Vy Sokhon said.

"The buffalo looked very surprised and hit people along the streets," he said.

The buffalo will not be killed but authorities will keep it away from people, the police chief added.
Authorities have not determined where the animal came from, but local Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper reported it had escaped slaughter at a nearby field.