Sunday, 10 August 2008
Cambodia Town Inc. raises cash for neighborhood library
Press Telegram Long Beach
Members of the nonprofit organization Cambodia Town Inc. will be presenting a check representing a five-year pledge to raise $150,000 at the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library at 1401 E. Anaheim St. on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The celebration will also honor the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library. The celebration will feature special programs, highlighted resources and refreshments during Mark Twain's working hours, noon to 7 p.m.
The donation by members of Cambodia Town Inc.'s Ambassador Circle of Giving will go towards the Mark Twain Family Learning Center Endowment Fund.
For more information about the event, contact the Long Beach Public Library Foundation office at 562-628-2441.
Members of the nonprofit organization Cambodia Town Inc. will be presenting a check representing a five-year pledge to raise $150,000 at the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library at 1401 E. Anaheim St. on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The celebration will also honor the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library. The celebration will feature special programs, highlighted resources and refreshments during Mark Twain's working hours, noon to 7 p.m.
The donation by members of Cambodia Town Inc.'s Ambassador Circle of Giving will go towards the Mark Twain Family Learning Center Endowment Fund.
For more information about the event, contact the Long Beach Public Library Foundation office at 562-628-2441.
12 Chinese teachers to work in Cambodian schools
www.chinaview.cn
2008-08-10
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Association of the Chinese People in Cambodia (ACPC) here Sunday welcomed 12 teachers from China's Shandong and Jiangsu provinces to work at six Chinese Cambodian community schools with Chinese language education on curricula.
Under the arrangement of the Chinese government and the coordination of ACPC, which is the largest Chinese Cambodian community organization in the kingdom, the teachers arrived here Saturday and will soon go to work at four schools in Phnom Penh, one in Bantey Meanchey province and one in Kampong Speu province, on their one-year term.
"Your arrival embodies the care and support from the Chinese government for the education cause of the Chinese Cambodian community schools," said ACPC secretary general Ming Lean at the welcome ceremony.
Duan Jinzhu, political counselor at the Chinese Embassy, said that the teachers are expected to fulfill their glorious task and contribute to the bilateral cultural and educational exchanges between China and Cambodia.
In the past decade, the Chinese government sent at least two batches of experts and teachers here to help train the personnel at the Chinese Cambodian community schools.
Meanwhile, more than 100 teachers at Chinese-teaching schools were invited by the government to China to accept professional study.
In the whole country, there are currently some 70 schools that teach Chinese language, with about 30,000 students and over 1,000 teachers, according to ACPC.
Editor: Lin Liyu
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Association of the Chinese People in Cambodia (ACPC) here Sunday welcomed 12 teachers from China's Shandong and Jiangsu provinces to work at six Chinese Cambodian community schools with Chinese language education on curricula.
Under the arrangement of the Chinese government and the coordination of ACPC, which is the largest Chinese Cambodian community organization in the kingdom, the teachers arrived here Saturday and will soon go to work at four schools in Phnom Penh, one in Bantey Meanchey province and one in Kampong Speu province, on their one-year term.
"Your arrival embodies the care and support from the Chinese government for the education cause of the Chinese Cambodian community schools," said ACPC secretary general Ming Lean at the welcome ceremony.
Duan Jinzhu, political counselor at the Chinese Embassy, said that the teachers are expected to fulfill their glorious task and contribute to the bilateral cultural and educational exchanges between China and Cambodia.
In the past decade, the Chinese government sent at least two batches of experts and teachers here to help train the personnel at the Chinese Cambodian community schools.
Meanwhile, more than 100 teachers at Chinese-teaching schools were invited by the government to China to accept professional study.
In the whole country, there are currently some 70 schools that teach Chinese language, with about 30,000 students and over 1,000 teachers, according to ACPC.
Editor: Lin Liyu
Ailing Khmer Rouge leader leaves hospital: court
Former Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary seen at the Extraodinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia in Phnom Penh
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Ailing Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary has been discharged from hospital after one week of treatment and returned to the custody of Cambodia's genocide tribunal, a court official said Sunday.
The 82-year-old former foreign minister of the ultra-communist regime was rushed to Phnom Penh's Calmette Hospital on August 1 after he found blood in his urine.
He was taken back to the court on Friday afternoon, said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath.
"He is getting better now. However, the doctors are still taking care of him because he has many illnesses," he told AFP.
Ieng Sary is one of five top Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained by the United Nations-backed court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during their 1975-79 rule.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.
Ieng Sary was previously hospitalised in late January for treatment of a chronic heart condition. He was in hospital again in February, spending a week there after he began urinating blood.
Ieng Sary has suffered from deteriorating health since his arrest last November, highlighting the fragile condition of the tribunal's likely defendants, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s.
Their age and failing health has increasingly raised fears that some will not live long enough to be brought to trial.
Tribunal officials have said they expect the court's first trial to begin in September with proceedings against Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Duch," who ran a notorious torture centre in Phnom Penh.
The 82-year-old former foreign minister of the ultra-communist regime was rushed to Phnom Penh's Calmette Hospital on August 1 after he found blood in his urine.
He was taken back to the court on Friday afternoon, said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath.
"He is getting better now. However, the doctors are still taking care of him because he has many illnesses," he told AFP.
Ieng Sary is one of five top Khmer Rouge leaders currently detained by the United Nations-backed court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during their 1975-79 rule.
Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork or were executed by the Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.
Ieng Sary was previously hospitalised in late January for treatment of a chronic heart condition. He was in hospital again in February, spending a week there after he began urinating blood.
Ieng Sary has suffered from deteriorating health since his arrest last November, highlighting the fragile condition of the tribunal's likely defendants, who are mostly in their 70s and 80s.
Their age and failing health has increasingly raised fears that some will not live long enough to be brought to trial.
Tribunal officials have said they expect the court's first trial to begin in September with proceedings against Kaing Guek Eav, also known as "Duch," who ran a notorious torture centre in Phnom Penh.
The opposition still challenging the election results of the 27th of July
Cambodge Soir09-08-2008
One day before the NEC announced the preliminary results of the elections, three political parties once again threaten to boycott the parliamentary opening session in September.
“Unacceptable”, declare the three main opposition parties in advance, the SRP, the HRP and the NRP, the day before the announcement of the preliminary election results of the 27th of July by the National Election Committee (NEC).
During a press conference on Friday 8th of August, the gathered representatives of these political parties have disputed the analysis of the NEC in advance. They also requested the committee to dispense justice on the “incorrect” use of the 1018 form and on the “abusive” radiation of names from the rolls.
The head of the SRP has eloquently explained a parallel between “the Pol Pot regime which killed more than two million people and now the CPP which destroys the civil rights of approximately two million voters”.
Muth Chantha, spokesperson for the NRP is directly attacking the committee: “The NEC has committed a serious crime; it has denied the citizens the right to vote.”
Concerning the continuation of the events, the representatives of the opposition were clear. If their complaints aren’t processed according to the law, they won’t join the parliamentary opening session on the 24th of September.
Moreover, Sam Rainsy doesn’t think that the King will be there. “Why would Hun Sen take decisions instead of the King”, did he say, before adding: “two million people didn’t get to vote. These are King’s subjects, the King represents the people.”
The opposition will take the matter further. The parties are thinking about introducing a complaint with the countries that signed the “Paris Agreements” of 1991, in which was stated that Cambodia had to follow a democratic system.
This whole excitement doesn’t seem to bother Khieu Kanharith, the current Minister of Information. Interviewed by “Cambodge Soir Hebdo”, he reacted to the threats of the SRP, the HRP and the NRP not to join the first session of the National Assembly in September. His answer is radical: “Usually, if a party member dies or resigns, his party has to appoint a successor. If a party doesn’t acknowledge the Assembly, it means that it withdraws and its seats will then be shared.” The opposition has now been warned.
Officials and Staff of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Have Not Received Their Salaries because of a Corruption Scandal
Posted on 10 August 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 572
“Recently, the UN Development Program office [UNDP] decided to delay the transfer of funds for the salaries of more than US$300,000 for Khmer officials and staff of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, after there were complaints about corruption at the Cambodian side. The delayed salaries for around 250 Cambodian officials and staff are for July.
“Ms. Amy Brown [phonetic], UNDP public relations officer, explained by e-mail that the decision to delay the transfer of salary funds for the Khmer staff was made after new claims about corruption had been made. At present, UNDP and donor countries are reviewing everything related to the case. She explained that the UNDP had decided to delay the transfer of the salaries in order to assure the integrity of the funds.
“The UN spokesperson of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Mr. Peter Foster, said that some Cambodian officials and staff had lodged complaints to the UN relating to corruption and to some other irregularities. A UN oversight office in New York checking internal problems is investigating these cases.
“Regarding the aforementioned problems, Ms. Helen Jarvis, a public affairs official of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, did not explain the reasons for the delay of the Khmer staff salaries, she just considered it to be related to a late availability of the funds for the salaries. She said, ‘As it is known already, there are US$300,000 for the salaries for July, but we do not yet have the possibility to provide the July salaries. However, all together we are still waiting for much bigger funds than the funds to provide the salaries.’
“Both Ms. Helen Jarvis and Mr. Peter Foster explained that negotiations are proceeding to solve these problems, and solutions will be found soon. It is not the first time that the Khmer staff of the Cambodian side of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal receive late salaries, but it is the first time that the UNDP delays the Khmer staff’s salaries in order to investigate corruption.
“In early 2007,an organization concerned with law reform activities, which has its seat in New York in the USA – the Open Society Justice Initiative – revealed that it had received information about Cambodian staff paying part their salaries as a kick-back to officials of the Khmer government in return for having been employed at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. What the Open Society Justice Initiative had raised made Sean Visoth, the head of the administration of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, very angry, and he announced to stop cooperating with this US organization.
“It should be noted that the UNDP administers the funds to provide the salaries of Khmer staff from the Cambodian section of the site.
“This new scandal makes the public aware that the international community starts to have less and less trust in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, because the scandal of 2007 is not yet solved, and now there is another shameful scandal. It is therefore not so easy for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to seek additional millions of dollars to operate until the end. So far, in addition to Japan, France, Australia, and Germany, no other countries provide additional funds for this mixed tribunal [with a Cambodian and a United Nations component].
“Recently, officials of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal reported that the trial of Kang Kek Ieu, called Duch, the former chief of the Tuol Sleng Prison, will be conducted in September or October, but what causes serious concern is that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is facing a serious financial crisis - and it is facing a shameful corruption scandal. So this crisis might delay the trial of former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, where all the suspects, who are being detained in the special Khmer Rouge Tribunal detention center, are old and have serious and alarming illnesses.
“Nevertheless, Khmer citizens in Cambodia and abroad want the trial of Duch, as well as of other former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, to happen as soon as possible as long as they are still alive and are able to reveal facts while standing trial. But if the trial is still delayed, the suspects detained for trial might die one by one, and the secrets of the Killing Field regime will be buried with their deaths. Therefore, the sooner the trail of the former senior Khmer Rouge leaders is held, the better, because the health of Khiev Samphan and of Ieng Sary is getting worse.
“Observers of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal since it was started said that, if this mixed tribunal has the intention to find justice for more than 1.7 million Khmer citizens who were killed during the Killing Field regime, the trial of Duch has to happen in September or October as planned. If not, it means that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has no intention to find justice for the victims, and Khmer citizens will never see the light of real justice. Therefore the international community and donor countries must press on with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, to try the suspects soon as a warning for the next Khmer leaders not to repeat a cruel massacre like the former Khmer Rouge leaders committed.”
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3534, 9-10.8.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Saturday, 9 August 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 572
“Recently, the UN Development Program office [UNDP] decided to delay the transfer of funds for the salaries of more than US$300,000 for Khmer officials and staff of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, after there were complaints about corruption at the Cambodian side. The delayed salaries for around 250 Cambodian officials and staff are for July.
“Ms. Amy Brown [phonetic], UNDP public relations officer, explained by e-mail that the decision to delay the transfer of salary funds for the Khmer staff was made after new claims about corruption had been made. At present, UNDP and donor countries are reviewing everything related to the case. She explained that the UNDP had decided to delay the transfer of the salaries in order to assure the integrity of the funds.
“The UN spokesperson of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Mr. Peter Foster, said that some Cambodian officials and staff had lodged complaints to the UN relating to corruption and to some other irregularities. A UN oversight office in New York checking internal problems is investigating these cases.
“Regarding the aforementioned problems, Ms. Helen Jarvis, a public affairs official of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, did not explain the reasons for the delay of the Khmer staff salaries, she just considered it to be related to a late availability of the funds for the salaries. She said, ‘As it is known already, there are US$300,000 for the salaries for July, but we do not yet have the possibility to provide the July salaries. However, all together we are still waiting for much bigger funds than the funds to provide the salaries.’
“Both Ms. Helen Jarvis and Mr. Peter Foster explained that negotiations are proceeding to solve these problems, and solutions will be found soon. It is not the first time that the Khmer staff of the Cambodian side of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal receive late salaries, but it is the first time that the UNDP delays the Khmer staff’s salaries in order to investigate corruption.
“In early 2007,an organization concerned with law reform activities, which has its seat in New York in the USA – the Open Society Justice Initiative – revealed that it had received information about Cambodian staff paying part their salaries as a kick-back to officials of the Khmer government in return for having been employed at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. What the Open Society Justice Initiative had raised made Sean Visoth, the head of the administration of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, very angry, and he announced to stop cooperating with this US organization.
“It should be noted that the UNDP administers the funds to provide the salaries of Khmer staff from the Cambodian section of the site.
“This new scandal makes the public aware that the international community starts to have less and less trust in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, because the scandal of 2007 is not yet solved, and now there is another shameful scandal. It is therefore not so easy for the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to seek additional millions of dollars to operate until the end. So far, in addition to Japan, France, Australia, and Germany, no other countries provide additional funds for this mixed tribunal [with a Cambodian and a United Nations component].
“Recently, officials of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal reported that the trial of Kang Kek Ieu, called Duch, the former chief of the Tuol Sleng Prison, will be conducted in September or October, but what causes serious concern is that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal is facing a serious financial crisis - and it is facing a shameful corruption scandal. So this crisis might delay the trial of former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, where all the suspects, who are being detained in the special Khmer Rouge Tribunal detention center, are old and have serious and alarming illnesses.
“Nevertheless, Khmer citizens in Cambodia and abroad want the trial of Duch, as well as of other former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, to happen as soon as possible as long as they are still alive and are able to reveal facts while standing trial. But if the trial is still delayed, the suspects detained for trial might die one by one, and the secrets of the Killing Field regime will be buried with their deaths. Therefore, the sooner the trail of the former senior Khmer Rouge leaders is held, the better, because the health of Khiev Samphan and of Ieng Sary is getting worse.
“Observers of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal since it was started said that, if this mixed tribunal has the intention to find justice for more than 1.7 million Khmer citizens who were killed during the Killing Field regime, the trial of Duch has to happen in September or October as planned. If not, it means that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has no intention to find justice for the victims, and Khmer citizens will never see the light of real justice. Therefore the international community and donor countries must press on with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, to try the suspects soon as a warning for the next Khmer leaders not to repeat a cruel massacre like the former Khmer Rouge leaders committed.”
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3534, 9-10.8.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Saturday, 9 August 2008
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