Saturday, 16 August 2008
Day in Pictures
Thai soldiers (right) stand guard as Cambodian soldiers sit near a pagoda close to the Preah Vihear temple
Cambodian soldiers stand guard on a road near a pagoda close to Preah Vihear temple
Troops pull out after temple row; Talks are scheduled for Monday in an attempt to resolve the crisis [AFP] 
Fathia Ali Bourrale of Djibouti (front) and Titlinda Sou of Cambodia look at the scoreboard after their women's 100m heat in the athletics competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium August 16, 2008.REUTERS/Mike Blake (CHINA)
Valentina Nazarova of Turkmenistan (L), Chandra Sturrup of Bahamas (2nd L), Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago and Titlinda Sou of Cambodia (R) sprint during their women's 100m heat in the athletics competition of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium August 16, 2008.REUTERS/Mike Blake (CHINA)
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) listen to Foreign Minister Hor Namhong (L) as they walk to greet the arrival of King Norodom Sihamoni from Beijing at Phnom Penh international airport on August 15 , 2008 .REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni (R) is greeted by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen upon arrival from Beijing at Phnom Penh international airport August 15, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Cambodia's King Norodom Siham exits a plane upon his arrival at Phnom Penh international airport August 15, 2008. Norodom was in Beijing for the Olympic Games.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
A Cambodian girl at a resettlement village for people evicted from a slum on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Cambodian, Thai troops pull back from disputed area
Monks walk past a soldier to attend a Buddhism ceremony praying for peace called Krong Pealy at Preah Vihear temple compound atop Dang Reak mountain, about 245km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, August 1, 2008. (REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea) August 16, 2008
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from a disputed border area on Saturday, Cambodian army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centering on a 900-year-old temple.
"Both sides are pulling out their troops and we expect this to be done before sunset today," Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy told Reuters by phone from Preah Vihear temple.
"Everyone looks happy to see the Thai troops leaving the area. Villagers are going back to run their businesses near Preah Vihear temple," he added.
About 1,000 troops from the two countries were sent to the border area after a long-simmering row over ownership of the temple was fuelled by domestic politics.
Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, 1.8 square miles
of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.
The rest will move to border areas in their own country that are not in dispute, officials said.
The foreign ministers of both countries are expected to meet in Thailand in the coming week to discuss the dispute.
Preah Vihear has been claimed by both countries for decades but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962. The latest row erupted in mid-July when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a United Nations World Heritage site.
The dispute was fuelled by nationalist sentiment during an election campaign in Cambodia, but tensions have eased since Prime Minister Hun Sen's re-election at the end of July.
In a marked toning-down of his campaign rhetoric, Hun Sen said a week ago the two sides must resolve the dispute and "maximize bilateral cooperation, including trade."
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by David Fogarty)
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian and Thai troops started to pull their troops back from a disputed border area on Saturday, Cambodian army officers said, after a month-long stand-off centering on a 900-year-old temple.
"Both sides are pulling out their troops and we expect this to be done before sunset today," Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy told Reuters by phone from Preah Vihear temple.
"Everyone looks happy to see the Thai troops leaving the area. Villagers are going back to run their businesses near Preah Vihear temple," he added.
About 1,000 troops from the two countries were sent to the border area after a long-simmering row over ownership of the temple was fuelled by domestic politics.
Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, 1.8 square miles
of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.
The rest will move to border areas in their own country that are not in dispute, officials said.
The foreign ministers of both countries are expected to meet in Thailand in the coming week to discuss the dispute.
Preah Vihear has been claimed by both countries for decades but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962. The latest row erupted in mid-July when protest groups trying to overthrow the Thai government attacked Bangkok's backing of Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear as a United Nations World Heritage site.
The dispute was fuelled by nationalist sentiment during an election campaign in Cambodia, but tensions have eased since Prime Minister Hun Sen's re-election at the end of July.
In a marked toning-down of his campaign rhetoric, Hun Sen said a week ago the two sides must resolve the dispute and "maximize bilateral cooperation, including trade."
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by David Fogarty)
Cambodian PM dismisses rumor of senior officials reshuffle
www.chinaview.cn
2008-08-16
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government had noplan to reshuffle police commanders, provincial and city governors as well as their deputies, said Prime Minister Hun Sen in a statement received here Saturday.
"As prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, I confirm that the government has no plan to reshuffle your positions as some gossip had alleged," he said.
"I also request you all to keep on working as normal for the benefits of the people and the nation," he said.
"We will find the rumor mongers and punish them by law," he said, adding that the rumors have spread widely and therefore created unrest among senior government employees and police officers in recent weeks.
Cambodia just concluded its fourth general election at the end of July. The official results of the polling are expected to become public later this month and a new government to be established in September.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government had noplan to reshuffle police commanders, provincial and city governors as well as their deputies, said Prime Minister Hun Sen in a statement received here Saturday.
"As prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, I confirm that the government has no plan to reshuffle your positions as some gossip had alleged," he said.
"I also request you all to keep on working as normal for the benefits of the people and the nation," he said.
"We will find the rumor mongers and punish them by law," he said, adding that the rumors have spread widely and therefore created unrest among senior government employees and police officers in recent weeks.
Cambodia just concluded its fourth general election at the end of July. The official results of the polling are expected to become public later this month and a new government to be established in September.
Editor: Bi Mingxin
Cambodia's UN tribunal launches internal graft watchdog
Radio Australia
Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has launched a new "ethics monitor" to grapple with ongoing claims of corruption within the court.
The new watchdog comes after the UN Development Programme raised fresh allegations of kickbacks on the Cambodian side of the court in late June, forcing international donors to withhold funding for July.
The anti-corruption committee headed by one of the court's top judges, Kong Srim, and tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis, will field complaints from tribunal staffers and look into any graft claims within the joint Cambodian-UN court.
Cambodia's UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has launched a new "ethics monitor" to grapple with ongoing claims of corruption within the court.
The new watchdog comes after the UN Development Programme raised fresh allegations of kickbacks on the Cambodian side of the court in late June, forcing international donors to withhold funding for July.
The anti-corruption committee headed by one of the court's top judges, Kong Srim, and tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis, will field complaints from tribunal staffers and look into any graft claims within the joint Cambodian-UN court.
Demonstration of support in Preah Vihear: standoff between the CUF and the municipality
Cambodge Soir16-08-2008
Two teacher’s and worker’s organisations want to put pressure on Thailand. The authorities fear law and order problems in Phnom Penh.
The organisers of the peaceful demonstration of Sunday 17th of August still haven’t obtained the permission from the authorities. However, 30,000 leaflets have already been distributed in the streets of Phnom Penh, following the initiative of the Cambodian Union Federation (CUF).
On Wednesday 13th of August, the secretary of the CUF, composed of the Cambodian Independent Teacher’s Association and the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has stated that the goal of the demonstration was to protest against the invasion of the site by the Thais.
The leaflet invites all the teachers, officials, employees and workers from the textile industry, but also citizens, taxi drivers and motodops to join the procession at 7.30am on Sunday, in front of the former National Assembly.
“Through these actions we want to put pressure on our Thai partner”, explains the CUF president, Rong Chhun. According to him, if nothing happens after the third round of negotiations on Monday 18th of August, the Cambodian Government will have to ask for the intervention of the UN.
Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh municipality has requested the CUF to change the demonstration into a meeting which would be held in its offices or at a press conference. The municipality fears a repeat of the events of 2003 which ended with a fire at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. A reluctance which Rong Chhun dismisses, inviting the authorities to join the peaceful march.
But the union trader considers that: “The municipality doesn’t have the right to forbid the demonstration”. He has brought the case in front of the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry spokesman, General Khieu Sophak, has, just like the municipal authorities, asked both organisations “to remain calm and to let the government do its work”. On Friday morning around 11am, the latter has received a letter from the municipality stating that the final decision hadn’t been taken yet.
For the time being, the CUF president still wants the demonstration to take place on Sunday. In other words, Rong Chhun isn’t asking for the permission to hold the demonstration, he only announces his intention to do so to the authorities, in conformance with the constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. It must be said that this demonstration is happening quite late, while the conflict lasts for several weeks already.
Positive start for the new taxi company
Cambodge Soir16-08-2008
The Sino-Khmer joint venture is transporting between 200 and 300 customers a day. In September, 60 cars will join the fleet of vehicles.
One month after the first rides of his 12 taxis, Lim Sovann, Executive Director of the Global Cambodia Trade Development Company gives a positive assessment. “We strongly believe that our business will become successful over a long term period. We don’t expect to make any money during the first year”, explains the director who considers his prices and the quality of service encouraging. Every day, between 200 and 300 customers are using the taxi service. For the moment the fleet includes 12 cars.
This taxi company is a Sino-Khmer joint venture. Its particularity: each vehicle is equipped with a taxi meter. The first two kilometres cost one dollar, then every 200 meter is charged 10 cents. The director of Global Cambodia Trade Development declares having invested more than a million dollars. By the end of September, 60 new Chinese-made cars will join the taxi fleet.
It is now the question whether this company will succeed. Six months ago, a Vietnamese company offering a similar service closed down. A few years ago, the public bus service launched by the government ended as a total failure. A sign of how difficult it is for the Cambodians to change their transportation habits. Indeed, how can one compete against the string of motodops and tuk-tuks which are available at every street corner?
Cambodian soldiers stand guard on a road near a pagoda close to Preah Vihear temple
Thai soldiers (right) stand guard as Cambodian soldiers sit near a pagoda close to the Preah Vihear templePREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodian and Thai troops have begun to pull back from disputed territory around an ancient temple, an official said Saturday.
More than 1,000 soldiers from both countries have been stationed around a small pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodia-Thai border for a month in a fraught standoff.
But after a military agreement was reached on Wednesday, troops have started to withdraw "step-by-step", said Preah Vihear provincial governor Preap Tann.
"It is just step-by-step... troops from both sides have been leaving the pagoda since last night," Preap Tann told AFP.
Thai troops were gathering their tents and belongings to leave, the Cambodian military said.
They declined to give exact figures of those remaining but Cambodian General Neang Phat, a top defence official, said most troops would leave on Saturday evening.
"They will withdraw this evening and there will be only around 10 or 20 troops from both sides remaining stationed there," Neang Phat told AFP.
Security around the temple was tightened mid-afternoon with visitors prohibited and journalists banned from taking pictures of the site.
Relations between the neighbours flared up last month after Preah Vihear, which belongs to Cambodia, was awarded heritage status by the United Nations, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the 11th century Khmer temple.
On July 15, Cambodia arrested three Thai protesters for illegally crossing the border to try to reach the temple, sparking the deployment of troops from both sides on a tiny patch of disputed land near Preah Vihear.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but surrounding land remains in dispute.
The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated, in part because the border is littered with landmines left from decades of war in Cambodia.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday he had approved a 1.4 billion baht (41.7 million dollar) mine clearing operation on the border.
More than 1,000 soldiers from both countries have been stationed around a small pagoda near the Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodia-Thai border for a month in a fraught standoff.
But after a military agreement was reached on Wednesday, troops have started to withdraw "step-by-step", said Preah Vihear provincial governor Preap Tann.
"It is just step-by-step... troops from both sides have been leaving the pagoda since last night," Preap Tann told AFP.
Thai troops were gathering their tents and belongings to leave, the Cambodian military said.
They declined to give exact figures of those remaining but Cambodian General Neang Phat, a top defence official, said most troops would leave on Saturday evening.
"They will withdraw this evening and there will be only around 10 or 20 troops from both sides remaining stationed there," Neang Phat told AFP.
Security around the temple was tightened mid-afternoon with visitors prohibited and journalists banned from taking pictures of the site.
Relations between the neighbours flared up last month after Preah Vihear, which belongs to Cambodia, was awarded heritage status by the United Nations, angering nationalists in Thailand who still claim ownership of the 11th century Khmer temple.
On July 15, Cambodia arrested three Thai protesters for illegally crossing the border to try to reach the temple, sparking the deployment of troops from both sides on a tiny patch of disputed land near Preah Vihear.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but surrounding land remains in dispute.
The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated, in part because the border is littered with landmines left from decades of war in Cambodia.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday he had approved a 1.4 billion baht (41.7 million dollar) mine clearing operation on the border.
Troops being withdrawn
BangkokPost.com, agencies
Tension along the Thai-Cambodian border began to ease on Saturday as troops from the two country began to pull out from disputed area around Preah Vihear temple, Cambodian officials said.
Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority, a government agency managing the historic site, said that troops started putting away from the temple on Friday and the move was continuing on Saturday.
The pullout is expected to be done before sunset on Saturday, according to Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy.
The move ends a month-long standoff around an ancient border temple, where about 1,000 troops from Thailand and Cambodia have been facing off as the two countries claim the ownership of the temple.
Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, about 5 square kilometres of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.
Tension along the Thai-Cambodian border began to ease on Saturday as troops from the two country began to pull out from disputed area around Preah Vihear temple, Cambodian officials said.
Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority, a government agency managing the historic site, said that troops started putting away from the temple on Friday and the move was continuing on Saturday.
The pullout is expected to be done before sunset on Saturday, according to Cambodian Lieutenant-Colonel Sar Thavy.
The move ends a month-long standoff around an ancient border temple, where about 1,000 troops from Thailand and Cambodia have been facing off as the two countries claim the ownership of the temple.
Under the terms of an agreement reached between army officers on Wednesday, each side will leave just 10 soldiers at a Buddhist pagoda on the disputed territory, about 5 square kilometres of scrub that sits on a jungle-clad escarpment dividing the two countries.
Troops pull out after temple row
Talks are scheduled for Monday in an attempt to resolve the crisis [AFP]Al Jazeera
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thai and Cambodian troops are withdrawing from a disputed border area around an ancient temple after a month-long standoff.
The pullout from the Preah Vihear temple area began on Friday and was continuing on Saturday, Hang Soth, director-general of a Cambodian government agency managing the site, said.
The standoff erupted near the 11th century shrine on July 15 after Unesco, the UN cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand have been facing off in the area for a month.
Talks scheduled
On Thursday, Genernal Neang Phat, the Cambodian deputy defense minister, said the two countries agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes next Monday in Thailand.
Samak Sundaravej, the Thai prime minister, had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed it would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he sent troops to occupy another disputed temple compound adjacent to Preah Vihear to appease his nationalist critics.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favours Cambodia.
Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thai and Cambodian troops are withdrawing from a disputed border area around an ancient temple after a month-long standoff.
The pullout from the Preah Vihear temple area began on Friday and was continuing on Saturday, Hang Soth, director-general of a Cambodian government agency managing the site, said.
The standoff erupted near the 11th century shrine on July 15 after Unesco, the UN cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand have been facing off in the area for a month.
Talks scheduled
On Thursday, Genernal Neang Phat, the Cambodian deputy defense minister, said the two countries agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes next Monday in Thailand.
Samak Sundaravej, the Thai prime minister, had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed it would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he sent troops to occupy another disputed temple compound adjacent to Preah Vihear to appease his nationalist critics.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favours Cambodia.
Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
Thai, Cambodian troops leaving disputed territory
By SOPHENG CHEANG
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A monthlong standoff between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be ending as both sides pulled back their troops Saturday from disputed territory around a temple near their shared border, a Cambodian official said.
The redeployment from the Preah Vihear temple area began Friday evening and was continuing on Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority. The authority is the government agency that manages the historical site.
The standoff near the 11th-century shrine began on July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site.
Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand had been in the area.
The Cambodian military refused to answer questions about the pullout and it was not certain when it would be completed.
On Thursday, Cambodian Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Neang Phat said the two countries had agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks Monday between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed the temple's new status would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he had to take action to appease his nationalist critics. On July 15, Thailand sent troops to occupy the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda — claimed by Cambodia and near Preah Vihear.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment. The two sides came close to a shootout on July 17 when Cambodian monks sought to celebrate Buddhist lent in the pagoda.
Troops on both sides raised their weapons, but no shots were fired, and the Cambodians eventually backed down.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favors Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A monthlong standoff between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be ending as both sides pulled back their troops Saturday from disputed territory around a temple near their shared border, a Cambodian official said.
The redeployment from the Preah Vihear temple area began Friday evening and was continuing on Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority. The authority is the government agency that manages the historical site.
The standoff near the 11th-century shrine began on July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site.
Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand had been in the area.
The Cambodian military refused to answer questions about the pullout and it was not certain when it would be completed.
On Thursday, Cambodian Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Neang Phat said the two countries had agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks Monday between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed the temple's new status would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he had to take action to appease his nationalist critics. On July 15, Thailand sent troops to occupy the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda — claimed by Cambodia and near Preah Vihear.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment. The two sides came close to a shootout on July 17 when Cambodian monks sought to celebrate Buddhist lent in the pagoda.
Troops on both sides raised their weapons, but no shots were fired, and the Cambodians eventually backed down.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favors Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
Thailand: Mass Demo Planned In Phnom Penh Ahead Of Preah Vihear Meet
MY sinchew.com
2008-08-16
BANGKOK, THAILAND: Hundreds of Cambodians plan to protest in Phnom Penh Sunday (16 Aug) to demand the withdrawal of Thai troops from the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple in an attempt to influence a ministerial meeting next week.
Foreign minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will meet on Monday (18 Aug) and Tuesday (19 Aug) at the beach resort of Cha-am to follow up the redeployment of troops in the area, which was agreed at a meeting in Siem Reap last month.
Military commanders on the ground agreed this week to reduce the number of soldiers on both sides in the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple to only ten.
The Cambodian Confederation of Unions said it had asked Phnom Penh municipal governor Kep Chuktema for permission to hold a gathering of at least 300 people and then parade around the capital, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, said the purpose of the demonstration was to bring Cambodians together to show their desire for the withdrawal of Thai forces and to urge the government to seek the intervention of the UN Security Council to resolve the dispute.
The military stand-off began on 15 July after Preah Vihear was made a world heritage site.
Thailand feared a loss of territory after Cambodia built community housing, a road and a temple in the disputed temple periphery, over which both sides claim sovereignty.
Both countries called a meeting of the General Border Committee and a ministerial conference last month but have yet to find a way of ending the dispute.
Meanwhile Cambodia has raised questions on the presence of Thai troops at other temple ruins at Ta Muen Thom and Ta Muen Touch which, it claims, are on Cambodian territory.
Thailand's foreign ministry, however, wants next week's meeting to focus on the dispute over Preah Vihear.
Many issues related to Preah Vihear, including the establishment of a Cambodian community in the disputed area, need to be cleared up first, said foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.
(By SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDE/ The Nation/ ANN)
2008-08-16
BANGKOK, THAILAND: Hundreds of Cambodians plan to protest in Phnom Penh Sunday (16 Aug) to demand the withdrawal of Thai troops from the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple in an attempt to influence a ministerial meeting next week.
Foreign minister Tej Bunnag and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will meet on Monday (18 Aug) and Tuesday (19 Aug) at the beach resort of Cha-am to follow up the redeployment of troops in the area, which was agreed at a meeting in Siem Reap last month.
Military commanders on the ground agreed this week to reduce the number of soldiers on both sides in the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple to only ten.
The Cambodian Confederation of Unions said it had asked Phnom Penh municipal governor Kep Chuktema for permission to hold a gathering of at least 300 people and then parade around the capital, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association, said the purpose of the demonstration was to bring Cambodians together to show their desire for the withdrawal of Thai forces and to urge the government to seek the intervention of the UN Security Council to resolve the dispute.
The military stand-off began on 15 July after Preah Vihear was made a world heritage site.
Thailand feared a loss of territory after Cambodia built community housing, a road and a temple in the disputed temple periphery, over which both sides claim sovereignty.
Both countries called a meeting of the General Border Committee and a ministerial conference last month but have yet to find a way of ending the dispute.
Meanwhile Cambodia has raised questions on the presence of Thai troops at other temple ruins at Ta Muen Thom and Ta Muen Touch which, it claims, are on Cambodian territory.
Thailand's foreign ministry, however, wants next week's meeting to focus on the dispute over Preah Vihear.
Many issues related to Preah Vihear, including the establishment of a Cambodian community in the disputed area, need to be cleared up first, said foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat.
(By SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDE/ The Nation/ ANN)
Official: Lao flooding not danger for Cambodia
August 16, 2008
The current flooding in Laos wouldn't cause any serious danger for Cambodia, although the two neighboring countries share water from the Mekong River, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily Saturday quoted an official as saying.
"The water (here) hasn't risen (to those levels in Laos) and there is nothing to be worried about," said Nhim Vanda, vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management.
He had contacted his equivalent department in Laos for information about rising water levels and then became confident that the problems there wouldn't extend downstream to Cambodia, he said.
Cambodia was well insulated from rising water levels in Laos because of the number of lakes available here for any excess water to drain into, he said.
The Mekong River in Kratie province was around 20 meters high, a normal level for this time of the year and the secondary rivers, lakes and the Tonle Sape River were all at safe levels, he said.
"Even if the water comes strongly, we have a lot of places to store," he added.
The Mekong River Commission Friday reported that the Mekong River hit its highest level in Laos in 100 years, adding that Cambodia would likely suffer from the after-effects as the flood water moved downstream.
Source:Xinhua
The current flooding in Laos wouldn't cause any serious danger for Cambodia, although the two neighboring countries share water from the Mekong River, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily Saturday quoted an official as saying.
"The water (here) hasn't risen (to those levels in Laos) and there is nothing to be worried about," said Nhim Vanda, vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management.
He had contacted his equivalent department in Laos for information about rising water levels and then became confident that the problems there wouldn't extend downstream to Cambodia, he said.
Cambodia was well insulated from rising water levels in Laos because of the number of lakes available here for any excess water to drain into, he said.
The Mekong River in Kratie province was around 20 meters high, a normal level for this time of the year and the secondary rivers, lakes and the Tonle Sape River were all at safe levels, he said.
"Even if the water comes strongly, we have a lot of places to store," he added.
The Mekong River Commission Friday reported that the Mekong River hit its highest level in Laos in 100 years, adding that Cambodia would likely suffer from the after-effects as the flood water moved downstream.
Source:Xinhua
Thai, Cambodian troops leaving disputed
In this July 21, 2008 file photo, a Cambodian soldier stands guard on an entrance gate of Preah Vihear temple, on the Cambodian-Thai- border in Cambodia, Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh. Thai and Cambodian troops were ending a monthlong standoff Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 as both sides continued to withdraw troops from disputed territory around the ancient border temple, a Cambodian official said. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)By SOPHENG CHEANG
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A monthlong standoff between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be ending as both sides pulled back their troops Saturday from disputed territory around a temple near their shared border, a Cambodian official said.
The redeployment from the Preah Vihear temple area began Friday evening and was continuing on Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority. The authority is the government agency that manages the historical site.
The standoff near the 11th-century shrine began on July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand had been in the area.
The Cambodian military refused to answer questions about the pullout and it was not certain when it would be completed.
On Thursday, Cambodian Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Neang Phat said the two countries had agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks Monday between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed the temple's new status would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he had to take action to appease his nationalist critics. On July 15, Thailand sent troops to occupy the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda — claimed by Cambodia and near Preah Vihear.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment. The two sides came close to a shootout on July 17 when Cambodian monks sought to celebrate Buddhist lent in the pagoda.
Troops on both sides raised their weapons, but no shots were fired, and the Cambodians eventually backed down.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favors Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A monthlong standoff between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be ending as both sides pulled back their troops Saturday from disputed territory around a temple near their shared border, a Cambodian official said.
The redeployment from the Preah Vihear temple area began Friday evening and was continuing on Saturday, said Hang Soth, director-general of the Preah Vihear National Authority. The authority is the government agency that manages the historical site.
The standoff near the 11th-century shrine began on July 15 after UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency, approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Both countries have long held claim to the temple, but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.
About 800 troops from Cambodia and 400 from Thailand had been in the area.
The Cambodian military refused to answer questions about the pullout and it was not certain when it would be completed.
On Thursday, Cambodian Deputy Defense Minister Gen. Neang Phat said the two countries had agreed to a gradual redeployment of troops from the area ahead of talks Monday between their foreign ministers on territorial disputes.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had backed Cambodia's World Heritage site bid, sparking demonstrations by anti-government protesters who claimed the temple's new status would undermine Thailand's claim to the surrounding area.
The protests left Samak politically vulnerable, and he had to take action to appease his nationalist critics. On July 15, Thailand sent troops to occupy the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda — claimed by Cambodia and near Preah Vihear.
Cambodia responded with its own troop deployment. The two sides came close to a shootout on July 17 when Cambodian monks sought to celebrate Buddhist lent in the pagoda.
Troops on both sides raised their weapons, but no shots were fired, and the Cambodians eventually backed down.
The border dispute has not been resolved despite two rounds of talks since last month, with the countries referring to two different maps.
Cambodia uses a French colonial map demarcating the border, which Thailand says favors Cambodia. Thailand relies on a map drawn up later with American technical assistance.
Education: 54 to study on Chinese scholarship
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Mom Kunthear
Friday, 15 August 2008
Fifty-four Cambodians, including 10 women, are to leave for China at the end of the month on year-long government scholarships, the Chinese embassy secretary said Thursday. In a news release, the embassy also stated that the recipients "are recommended by different ministries and institutions, and they are awarded the scholarships after rounds of strict selections." The students are comprised of 21 bachelor's degree candidates, 29 master's degree candidates, two general scholars and two doctoral degree candidates. "I am very proud that the friendship between our two countries has created opportunities for Cambodian people and students who win scholarships to go and study," said Lav Chhiv Eav, rector of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
Written by Mom Kunthear
Friday, 15 August 2008
Fifty-four Cambodians, including 10 women, are to leave for China at the end of the month on year-long government scholarships, the Chinese embassy secretary said Thursday. In a news release, the embassy also stated that the recipients "are recommended by different ministries and institutions, and they are awarded the scholarships after rounds of strict selections." The students are comprised of 21 bachelor's degree candidates, 29 master's degree candidates, two general scholars and two doctoral degree candidates. "I am very proud that the friendship between our two countries has created opportunities for Cambodian people and students who win scholarships to go and study," said Lav Chhiv Eav, rector of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
Pagoda housing throws lifeline to poor students
Heng Chivoan Kang Rotha, a second-year information technology student, lives at Svay Popey pagoda. He says his family is so poor that a university degree would be out of reach without free accomodation at the pagoda. The Phnom Penh Post
Written by May Titthara
Friday, 15 August 2008
Phnom Penh pagodas offer free accomodation to poor but talented students from the provinces who otherwise couldn’t afford to complete their degrees
TEMPORARY residence in one of Phnom Penh's many pagodas remains the best and sometimes the only way for provincial students with limited resources to pursue their dream of a university education.
"I was worried after graduating from high school because I had no relations in Phnom Penh," said Kang Rotha, a second-year information technology student at the University of Sachak Asia.
In a book-lined room filled with hanging monks' robes, the young scholar considered his good fortune to have been given accommodation at a pagoda.
His parents came to the capital to find him housing at one of the capital's temples. They eventually found space at Svay Popey pagoda.
"My family is poor, so without the option of living at the temple I could never achieve my dream of attending university," Kang Rotha said.
He added that life at the pagoda can be strict. The gates close at 11pm, so stragglers could find themselves out on the street for the night.
Despite such restrictions, Kang Rotha is quite happy living with the monks. "It is quiet here and good for studying. The monks always give us good advice," he said.
The pagoda boys
Chea Ly, secretary general of The Khmeng Wat Association, said that some 4,000 students currently live at pagodas in the capital while they complete their university studies. Children in Cambodia's provinces have few opportunities for higher education, and the cost of living in Phnom Penh makes the goal of a university degree a difficult one to achieve.
Even students with family in the capital find that life as a "pagoda boy," as the poor scholars are commonly known, has its advantages.
"I have family in Phnom Penh, but I don't want to live with them because they always disturb my study time," said Veng, who lives at Dam Dek pagoda.
Tip Sao, a monk at Wat Botum, explained the basis by which students are chosen for residence at a pagoda.
"They must come from poor families, mainly in the provinces," Tip Sao said.
"They also must be committed to their studies.
"Residents live at the pagodas during their four years of university study, after which they move on to make room for a new crop of needy students.
In addition to their course work, residents must spend one day each month - at the full moon - studying the Pali language, Tip Sao said, adding that about 1,000 students currently live at Wat Botum.
"We have a great concern for students from poor provincial families who have such a strong desire to continue their education," said Tip Sao. "We are happy to help them as best we can."
Written by May Titthara
Friday, 15 August 2008
Phnom Penh pagodas offer free accomodation to poor but talented students from the provinces who otherwise couldn’t afford to complete their degrees
TEMPORARY residence in one of Phnom Penh's many pagodas remains the best and sometimes the only way for provincial students with limited resources to pursue their dream of a university education.
"I was worried after graduating from high school because I had no relations in Phnom Penh," said Kang Rotha, a second-year information technology student at the University of Sachak Asia.
In a book-lined room filled with hanging monks' robes, the young scholar considered his good fortune to have been given accommodation at a pagoda.
His parents came to the capital to find him housing at one of the capital's temples. They eventually found space at Svay Popey pagoda.
"My family is poor, so without the option of living at the temple I could never achieve my dream of attending university," Kang Rotha said.
He added that life at the pagoda can be strict. The gates close at 11pm, so stragglers could find themselves out on the street for the night.
Despite such restrictions, Kang Rotha is quite happy living with the monks. "It is quiet here and good for studying. The monks always give us good advice," he said.
The pagoda boys
Chea Ly, secretary general of The Khmeng Wat Association, said that some 4,000 students currently live at pagodas in the capital while they complete their university studies. Children in Cambodia's provinces have few opportunities for higher education, and the cost of living in Phnom Penh makes the goal of a university degree a difficult one to achieve.
Even students with family in the capital find that life as a "pagoda boy," as the poor scholars are commonly known, has its advantages.
"I have family in Phnom Penh, but I don't want to live with them because they always disturb my study time," said Veng, who lives at Dam Dek pagoda.
Tip Sao, a monk at Wat Botum, explained the basis by which students are chosen for residence at a pagoda.
"They must come from poor families, mainly in the provinces," Tip Sao said.
"They also must be committed to their studies.
"Residents live at the pagodas during their four years of university study, after which they move on to make room for a new crop of needy students.
In addition to their course work, residents must spend one day each month - at the full moon - studying the Pali language, Tip Sao said, adding that about 1,000 students currently live at Wat Botum.
"We have a great concern for students from poor provincial families who have such a strong desire to continue their education," said Tip Sao. "We are happy to help them as best we can."
Ethnic minorities to protest clearing of their ancestral lands
AFP; A minority tribe woman enjoys a pipe in Ratanakkiri province in this file photo. The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Friday, 15 August 2008
Ratanakkiri community claims their forest has been stolen by a local businessman and fear that they will lose more if he is not stopped
A GROUP of 50 ethnic minority Tampoun and Kreung villagers have said they will stage a demonstration today at the provincial governor's office in Ratanakkiri province to protest the clearing of 10 hectares of forest by a local businessman, according to Vin Sokhin, a community representative in Dong Kampoul village.
"Ten of the 20 hectares have been cleared of trees, and we are afraid that we will lose the rest of it if we don't protest," Vin Sokhin said.
He added that 46 families, or nearly 250 people, rely on the lands for collecting wood, vegetables and other supplies, and that since July they have been warned by labourers to stay away.
Legal title to the land
The local businessman, Seng Piseth, claims to have purchased the land legally from O'Chum District Governor Bean Thveun.
"They can protest or go to the courts if they choose, but I have all the necessary documents to prove my case," he said.
The district governor said the deal was accepted by members of the community in return for a payment of US$2,000, to be used for the benefit of all the villagers.
"We have received the $2,000 dollars and are using it for the benefit of the whole community," said Vong Doung, a village chief involved in the deal.
But Vin Sokhin disputed the claim that the villagers have received any benefit from the sale.
"We are protesting this deal, made between only a few community members," he said.
"We have not received any of this money and we don't want it. We want the land back," he added.
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Friday, 15 August 2008
Ratanakkiri community claims their forest has been stolen by a local businessman and fear that they will lose more if he is not stopped
A GROUP of 50 ethnic minority Tampoun and Kreung villagers have said they will stage a demonstration today at the provincial governor's office in Ratanakkiri province to protest the clearing of 10 hectares of forest by a local businessman, according to Vin Sokhin, a community representative in Dong Kampoul village.
"Ten of the 20 hectares have been cleared of trees, and we are afraid that we will lose the rest of it if we don't protest," Vin Sokhin said.
He added that 46 families, or nearly 250 people, rely on the lands for collecting wood, vegetables and other supplies, and that since July they have been warned by labourers to stay away.
Legal title to the land
The local businessman, Seng Piseth, claims to have purchased the land legally from O'Chum District Governor Bean Thveun.
"They can protest or go to the courts if they choose, but I have all the necessary documents to prove my case," he said.
The district governor said the deal was accepted by members of the community in return for a payment of US$2,000, to be used for the benefit of all the villagers.
"We have received the $2,000 dollars and are using it for the benefit of the whole community," said Vong Doung, a village chief involved in the deal.
But Vin Sokhin disputed the claim that the villagers have received any benefit from the sale.
"We are protesting this deal, made between only a few community members," he said.
"We have not received any of this money and we don't want it. We want the land back," he added.
European Union poll report dismissed by main election body
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Chann Chamroeun
Friday, 15 August 2008
The National Election Committee disputes EU claims the July 27 elections failed to meet international standards, demands clarification
The National Election Committee has criticised the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM)'s preliminary election report, requesting that the EU clarify its claim that the July 27 poll "[fell] short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections.
"In a nine-page statement issued Wednesday, the NEC said the EOM's July 29 Preliminary Observation Statement created an impression in the international media that Cambodia's election was "not 'democratic'."
"The headline of the EU EOM Preliminary Statement... clearly implies a strong and negative statement on the overall 2008 election. Such [an] assertion should only be made if supported by concrete and specific references," the statement said, adding that the report "fails to discuss the shortfall [in] standards" noted by the EU.
The NEC also requested the EU provide "further objective explanations and ... concrete suggestions related to the missing [democratic] standards."
The NEC statement disputes EOM reports that nearly 50,000 voters were mistakenly removed from voter lists, claiming the observers misinterpreted data from a pre-election audit of the lists.
On the question of the pre-election media environment, the NEC questioned the EOM's view that there was "unfair and unequal" access to media in favour of the ruling party.
"The opposition parties were able to freely convey their ideology and criticism of the government to listeners through Voice of America radio and Radio Free Asia," the statement said, although it admitted the issue would have to be "review[ed]" in future.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of the NEC, said that he was confident the elections were conducted freely. "The NEC followed the regulations in the Election Law, meaning that the election was free, fair and just," he said.
"The EU observers have a right to say the NEC is not up to international standards, but around 20 international observers were positive about the election," he added.
The EOM could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Chann Chamroeun
Friday, 15 August 2008
The National Election Committee disputes EU claims the July 27 elections failed to meet international standards, demands clarification
The National Election Committee has criticised the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM)'s preliminary election report, requesting that the EU clarify its claim that the July 27 poll "[fell] short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections.
"In a nine-page statement issued Wednesday, the NEC said the EOM's July 29 Preliminary Observation Statement created an impression in the international media that Cambodia's election was "not 'democratic'."
"The headline of the EU EOM Preliminary Statement... clearly implies a strong and negative statement on the overall 2008 election. Such [an] assertion should only be made if supported by concrete and specific references," the statement said, adding that the report "fails to discuss the shortfall [in] standards" noted by the EU.
The NEC also requested the EU provide "further objective explanations and ... concrete suggestions related to the missing [democratic] standards."
The NEC statement disputes EOM reports that nearly 50,000 voters were mistakenly removed from voter lists, claiming the observers misinterpreted data from a pre-election audit of the lists.
On the question of the pre-election media environment, the NEC questioned the EOM's view that there was "unfair and unequal" access to media in favour of the ruling party.
"The opposition parties were able to freely convey their ideology and criticism of the government to listeners through Voice of America radio and Radio Free Asia," the statement said, although it admitted the issue would have to be "review[ed]" in future.
Tep Nytha, secretary general of the NEC, said that he was confident the elections were conducted freely. "The NEC followed the regulations in the Election Law, meaning that the election was free, fair and just," he said.
"The EU observers have a right to say the NEC is not up to international standards, but around 20 international observers were positive about the election," he added.
The EOM could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Government warns villagers to watch for flash flooding
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Cheang Sokha
Friday, 15 August 2008
Water levels are rising earlier than last year along upper stretches of the Mekong River, higher floods anticipated
THE Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has warned residents living along the upper stretches of the Mekong River to stay vigilant for flash flooding and prepare to flee quickly to higher ground.
Mao Hak, director of the Department of Hydrology and Water Works, said three notifications of rising waters had already been issued to people in Stung Treng, Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces.
"Based on our forecast, the water levels this year will be a little bit higher than last year," he told the Post on Thursday.
"Residents in Phnom Penh have no need for concern, but residents along the upper Mekong need to be alert at all times as the water level can change very quickly.
"Mao Hak said the current flood forecast is still tentative, as the wet season is setting in. An official forecast is scheduled for release in late September.
He also said that readings taken at provincial river stations on Thursday showed river levels in Stung Treng at 9.25m, in Kratie at 20.33m, in Kampong Cham at 14.38m and in Phnom Penh at 8.71m.
Ath Samang, a fisherman in Kandal province's Muk Kampol district whose riverside home regularly fills with water, said he has noticed the Mekong gaining greater depth earlier than usual this year.
He said he has already hauled his belongings uphill to his wet season storage shelter.
"When there is more water, it is more difficult for my family to move around, but it's good for me too because there will be more fish in my nets," Ath Samang said.
Uy Sam Ath, director of disaster management for the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), said his department has 100 tonnes of rice on hand for flood victims and each Mekong province CRC office has about five tonnes ready for quick distribution.
Written by Cheang Sokha
Friday, 15 August 2008
Water levels are rising earlier than last year along upper stretches of the Mekong River, higher floods anticipated
THE Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has warned residents living along the upper stretches of the Mekong River to stay vigilant for flash flooding and prepare to flee quickly to higher ground.
Mao Hak, director of the Department of Hydrology and Water Works, said three notifications of rising waters had already been issued to people in Stung Treng, Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces.
"Based on our forecast, the water levels this year will be a little bit higher than last year," he told the Post on Thursday.
"Residents in Phnom Penh have no need for concern, but residents along the upper Mekong need to be alert at all times as the water level can change very quickly.
"Mao Hak said the current flood forecast is still tentative, as the wet season is setting in. An official forecast is scheduled for release in late September.
He also said that readings taken at provincial river stations on Thursday showed river levels in Stung Treng at 9.25m, in Kratie at 20.33m, in Kampong Cham at 14.38m and in Phnom Penh at 8.71m.
Ath Samang, a fisherman in Kandal province's Muk Kampol district whose riverside home regularly fills with water, said he has noticed the Mekong gaining greater depth earlier than usual this year.
He said he has already hauled his belongings uphill to his wet season storage shelter.
"When there is more water, it is more difficult for my family to move around, but it's good for me too because there will be more fish in my nets," Ath Samang said.
Uy Sam Ath, director of disaster management for the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), said his department has 100 tonnes of rice on hand for flood victims and each Mekong province CRC office has about five tonnes ready for quick distribution.
Last orders at the lakeside?
HENG CHIVOAN; The lakeside area in Phnom Penh is a favourite of low-budget travellers, but its days are numbered and business owners are not happy about their pending eviction.The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Nguon Sovan
Friday, 15 August 2008
With developers closing in, the future of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake is in doubt, but business owners say no one has told them what the future holds
OWNERS of businesses in Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak lakeside district say that they are being kept in the dark about the impending development of the area, despite municipal officials saying the project could begin as early as next month.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheat Vong told the Post Tuesday that the filling-in of the lake will begin in September and be finished within 18 months.
The planned 133-hectare commercial and housing development is likely to force the closure of hundreds of local businesses in the bar-lined "lakeside" district.
"We don't have any information about [the project]," said Pouv Pensareth, manager of the Lazy Gecko bar. "People don't know exactly what will happen."
He said that the closure of the tourist district will deprive many business owners of their livelihood.
Ean Vichet, the owner of Murphy's Lakeside Bar, said that he had no idea when he would be evicted, or what would happen to the district's businesses.
"I am the owner of the bar but not the owner of the building. So I have no idea what they're going to do with this area," he said, adding that the tourist industry supported many people in addition to bar and hotel owners. "Tourism means that there is work for many people here," he said. "I have no idea where they're going to go if we're evicted."
" These people must understand that the lake belongs To the state. "
According to Pa Socheat Vong, the lake and surrounding land is owned by the government and has been illegally occupied by many lakeside residents.
"These people must understand that the lake belongs to the state," he said, adding that residents could accept relocation, on-site replacement housing or US$10,000 cash in compensation for leaving. But lakeside business owners have rejected the offer, saying their market value was much greater.
Compensation claims
Khea Samy, owner of the five-story Grand View Guesthouse at Boeung Kak, said that he paid $200,000 to build the hotel in 2001.
"I demand $3,000 to $3,500 per square metre, otherwise I will oppose eviction to the end," he said.
Khea Samy said he had no land title, but had lived on the land since 1990, which is long enough to enable him to claim ownership under the "possessory rights" clause of the Kingdom's 2001 Land Law.
Roza Guesthouse owner Ty Sarun said she and 12 family members have occupied her property since 1983 and although they also lack a land title, she said they have invested $100,000 and expect fair compensation from the government.
"We aren't demanding much compensation, but I want a fair solution," she said.
Sung Bonna, president of the Bonna Realty Group, said that the market value of undeveloped lakeside land was around $800-$1,000 per square metre, but confirmed that developed lots could fetch over $2,000.
"It is possible that once [the land] is developed it will be very valuable. It's a prime location," he said.
Written by Sebastian Strangio and Nguon Sovan
Friday, 15 August 2008
With developers closing in, the future of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak Lake is in doubt, but business owners say no one has told them what the future holds
OWNERS of businesses in Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak lakeside district say that they are being kept in the dark about the impending development of the area, despite municipal officials saying the project could begin as early as next month.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheat Vong told the Post Tuesday that the filling-in of the lake will begin in September and be finished within 18 months.
The planned 133-hectare commercial and housing development is likely to force the closure of hundreds of local businesses in the bar-lined "lakeside" district.
"We don't have any information about [the project]," said Pouv Pensareth, manager of the Lazy Gecko bar. "People don't know exactly what will happen."
He said that the closure of the tourist district will deprive many business owners of their livelihood.
Ean Vichet, the owner of Murphy's Lakeside Bar, said that he had no idea when he would be evicted, or what would happen to the district's businesses.
"I am the owner of the bar but not the owner of the building. So I have no idea what they're going to do with this area," he said, adding that the tourist industry supported many people in addition to bar and hotel owners. "Tourism means that there is work for many people here," he said. "I have no idea where they're going to go if we're evicted."
" These people must understand that the lake belongs To the state. "
According to Pa Socheat Vong, the lake and surrounding land is owned by the government and has been illegally occupied by many lakeside residents.
"These people must understand that the lake belongs to the state," he said, adding that residents could accept relocation, on-site replacement housing or US$10,000 cash in compensation for leaving. But lakeside business owners have rejected the offer, saying their market value was much greater.
Compensation claims
Khea Samy, owner of the five-story Grand View Guesthouse at Boeung Kak, said that he paid $200,000 to build the hotel in 2001.
"I demand $3,000 to $3,500 per square metre, otherwise I will oppose eviction to the end," he said.
Khea Samy said he had no land title, but had lived on the land since 1990, which is long enough to enable him to claim ownership under the "possessory rights" clause of the Kingdom's 2001 Land Law.
Roza Guesthouse owner Ty Sarun said she and 12 family members have occupied her property since 1983 and although they also lack a land title, she said they have invested $100,000 and expect fair compensation from the government.
"We aren't demanding much compensation, but I want a fair solution," she said.
Sung Bonna, president of the Bonna Realty Group, said that the market value of undeveloped lakeside land was around $800-$1,000 per square metre, but confirmed that developed lots could fetch over $2,000.
"It is possible that once [the land] is developed it will be very valuable. It's a prime location," he said.
Making merit
The Phnom Penh PostWritten by Heng Chivoan
Friday, 15 August 2008
Cambodian society ladies hand out alms to the poor along the Phnom Penh riverside on Wednesday, creating a momentary press of outstretched hands. The square opposite the Royal Palace is a popular spot for those seeking to make merit in the next life by releasing birds or making offerings, making it a popular haven for beggars and lotus-blossom sellers.
Mekong "100-year flood" threatens Indochina
By Ed Cropley
BANGKOK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Four people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said on Friday.
The government and ordinary people in the landlocked Southeast Asian country have been rushing to complete a 2.5 metre (8 ft) wall of sandbags to stop the chocolate-brown waters inundating the capital, Vientiane.
Police have closed roads leading to the riverbank to make it easier for trucks delivering sandbags, the official Vientiane Times reported.
"We've been fighting very hard day and night for four days, but after today the water level should recede," government spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy told Reuters in Bangkok.
The Mekong, which flows 4,350 km (2,700 miles) from the glaciers of Tibet to the rice-rich delta of southern Vietnam, hit 13.68 metres (44.88 feet) in Vientiane on Thursday, trouncing a high of 12.38 metres (40.61 feet) recorded in 1966, the worst floods in living memory.
That depth -- measured roughly from the river's lowest level in the dry season -- could rise slightly on Friday before retreating, Yong said.
In Vientiane, a levee was built along the river's northern bank after the 1966 flooding but has been overrun in places, causing flooding in parts of the city of 200,000, one resident said.
There was widespread flooding upstream, although the former royal capital of Luang Prabang had escaped any damage to its ancient Buddhist pagodas, Yong said.
Downstream, eastern Thailand and low-lying Cambodia, where the annual flooding of the Mekong is crucial to rice and fish production, are braced for major flooding as the water surge moves slowly south.
Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, sits right on the bank of the river. Officials said they had warned people living near the Mekong in the provinces of Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng to move their families and livestock to higher ground.
"We are not worried today but will be three or four days from now," Hydrology Department director Mao Hak told Reuters.
The high waters will ultimately flow down into Vietnam, where at least 130 people were killed and 36 were missing this week after the worst floods in decades due to the remnants of a tropical storm.
Forecasters said the waters in the delta had risen to an initial alarm level two weeks earlier than last year, although it was likely to have little impact on rice production as most of the current crop had already been harvested.
BANGKOK, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Four people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong river has hit its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain, officials said on Friday.
The government and ordinary people in the landlocked Southeast Asian country have been rushing to complete a 2.5 metre (8 ft) wall of sandbags to stop the chocolate-brown waters inundating the capital, Vientiane.
Police have closed roads leading to the riverbank to make it easier for trucks delivering sandbags, the official Vientiane Times reported.
"We've been fighting very hard day and night for four days, but after today the water level should recede," government spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy told Reuters in Bangkok.
The Mekong, which flows 4,350 km (2,700 miles) from the glaciers of Tibet to the rice-rich delta of southern Vietnam, hit 13.68 metres (44.88 feet) in Vientiane on Thursday, trouncing a high of 12.38 metres (40.61 feet) recorded in 1966, the worst floods in living memory.
That depth -- measured roughly from the river's lowest level in the dry season -- could rise slightly on Friday before retreating, Yong said.
In Vientiane, a levee was built along the river's northern bank after the 1966 flooding but has been overrun in places, causing flooding in parts of the city of 200,000, one resident said.
There was widespread flooding upstream, although the former royal capital of Luang Prabang had escaped any damage to its ancient Buddhist pagodas, Yong said.
Downstream, eastern Thailand and low-lying Cambodia, where the annual flooding of the Mekong is crucial to rice and fish production, are braced for major flooding as the water surge moves slowly south.
Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, sits right on the bank of the river. Officials said they had warned people living near the Mekong in the provinces of Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng to move their families and livestock to higher ground.
"We are not worried today but will be three or four days from now," Hydrology Department director Mao Hak told Reuters.
The high waters will ultimately flow down into Vietnam, where at least 130 people were killed and 36 were missing this week after the worst floods in decades due to the remnants of a tropical storm.
Forecasters said the waters in the delta had risen to an initial alarm level two weeks earlier than last year, although it was likely to have little impact on rice production as most of the current crop had already been harvested.
(Additional reporting by Ek Madra in Phnom Penh and Ho Binh Minh in Hanoi; Editing by Alan Raybould and David Fox)
Win-win possible at Preah Vihear
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Ronnie Yimsut
Friday, 15 August 2008
Dear Editor,
It is most unfortunate that Thailand is making deeper incursions into Cambodian (Khmer) territory following the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation of Preah Vihear temple.
The reported additional incursion (and immediate denial by the Royal Thai Government) into Ta Moan Thom temple by Thai armed forces only adds additional fuel to the already raging inferno of nationalistic pride – in both countries.
Was it really pride or prejudice?
Either way, this silliness will only lead to even more tension, if not bloodshed, between the two neighbours, which have been enjoying a rather cosy relationship since the 2003 fiasco.
A “lesson” never learned is really a “mistake”. It is sad because it need not be this way.
Needless to say, much of the present-day land where Thai people now stand (aka Thailand) was once Khmer territory – simply annexed by way of invasion (aka robbed and stolen and other politically incorrect terms) by Thailand. It is never enough for Thai folks. They wanted and needed more, now that the Khmer have been weakened by internal strife.
Now it is this new incursion into Khmer territory (onto legally binding and recognised Khmer land) yet again by Thailand. How much more will be enough for Thailand? Of course, it is never enough for greedy folks.
There is a Khmer prophecy that stated: “Bangkok rolom, Phnom Penh roleiy, Saigon kjat Kjai, Sabay Angkor Wat (in Cambodia not Thailand).”
It is an old saying that has been repeated for generations.
Today, Saigon is already Kjat Kjai, or broken apart, Phnom Penh already roleiy, or melted (now being rebuilt – with Korean and Thai money, mostly), and Angkor Wat is already sabay, or happy with some 1.1 million tourists and growing as of June 2008.
The only thing missing thus far is this: “Bangkok Rolom, or fallen”. Perhaps this latest temple row might just do the trick and fulfill the old saying – who knows?
At any rate, there is no need for armed confrontation or conflict, which neither side will win.
Besides, Thai soldiers don’t really have the stomach for a real fight with the Khmer even with all of their fancy weaponry.
Perhaps economic cooperation between the two countries is a better way to go, as both will greatly benefit from tourism development in this poor and remote area. Yes, I am merely suggesting Thailand’s money (and ingenuity) and Khmer temples. It would be a win-win situation, the smarter way to go.
Besides, both Thailand and Cambodia will eventually share a common union, like the United States and the European Union. Yes, a deeper and more meaningful Asean ... where common money and people flow freely throughout the region, where everyone prospers under one roof. That day is coming and so this immature act by Thailand’s military along the two neighbours’ common border will look rather silly.
Do send the soldiers back home to their respective families and warm beds before it is too late; that’s [advice] for both sides. Do leave the silliness of politics to silly folks in Bangkok and Phnom Penh – that is my suggestion.
Ronnie Yimsut
Oregon, United States
Written by Ronnie Yimsut
Friday, 15 August 2008
Dear Editor,
It is most unfortunate that Thailand is making deeper incursions into Cambodian (Khmer) territory following the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation of Preah Vihear temple.
The reported additional incursion (and immediate denial by the Royal Thai Government) into Ta Moan Thom temple by Thai armed forces only adds additional fuel to the already raging inferno of nationalistic pride – in both countries.
Was it really pride or prejudice?
Either way, this silliness will only lead to even more tension, if not bloodshed, between the two neighbours, which have been enjoying a rather cosy relationship since the 2003 fiasco.
A “lesson” never learned is really a “mistake”. It is sad because it need not be this way.
Needless to say, much of the present-day land where Thai people now stand (aka Thailand) was once Khmer territory – simply annexed by way of invasion (aka robbed and stolen and other politically incorrect terms) by Thailand. It is never enough for Thai folks. They wanted and needed more, now that the Khmer have been weakened by internal strife.
Now it is this new incursion into Khmer territory (onto legally binding and recognised Khmer land) yet again by Thailand. How much more will be enough for Thailand? Of course, it is never enough for greedy folks.
There is a Khmer prophecy that stated: “Bangkok rolom, Phnom Penh roleiy, Saigon kjat Kjai, Sabay Angkor Wat (in Cambodia not Thailand).”
It is an old saying that has been repeated for generations.
Today, Saigon is already Kjat Kjai, or broken apart, Phnom Penh already roleiy, or melted (now being rebuilt – with Korean and Thai money, mostly), and Angkor Wat is already sabay, or happy with some 1.1 million tourists and growing as of June 2008.
The only thing missing thus far is this: “Bangkok Rolom, or fallen”. Perhaps this latest temple row might just do the trick and fulfill the old saying – who knows?
At any rate, there is no need for armed confrontation or conflict, which neither side will win.
Besides, Thai soldiers don’t really have the stomach for a real fight with the Khmer even with all of their fancy weaponry.
Perhaps economic cooperation between the two countries is a better way to go, as both will greatly benefit from tourism development in this poor and remote area. Yes, I am merely suggesting Thailand’s money (and ingenuity) and Khmer temples. It would be a win-win situation, the smarter way to go.
Besides, both Thailand and Cambodia will eventually share a common union, like the United States and the European Union. Yes, a deeper and more meaningful Asean ... where common money and people flow freely throughout the region, where everyone prospers under one roof. That day is coming and so this immature act by Thailand’s military along the two neighbours’ common border will look rather silly.
Do send the soldiers back home to their respective families and warm beds before it is too late; that’s [advice] for both sides. Do leave the silliness of politics to silly folks in Bangkok and Phnom Penh – that is my suggestion.
Ronnie Yimsut
Oregon, United States
Anti-Thai protest set for Sunday in Cambodia
The Bangkok Post
Cambodian union members have been called out for an anti-Thailand protest in Phnom Penh on Sunday, and demand withdrawal of Thai troops from around the Preah Vihear temple.
The Phnom Penh Post said that the Cambodia Confederation of Unions expects hundreds of participants for the peaceful demonstration.
A letter informing the government of the protest "stated that at least 300 people would gather at the former National Assembly building and march through the city" on Sunday, the newspaper said.
Union leaders intend to demand the government press the UN Security Council to intervene in "an invasion by Thailand".
While nationalistic fervour over the controversial Cambodian temple and dispute grounds has eased in Thailand, anti-Thai protests and economic boycotts have increased in Cambodia.
Cambodian union members have been called out for an anti-Thailand protest in Phnom Penh on Sunday, and demand withdrawal of Thai troops from around the Preah Vihear temple.
The Phnom Penh Post said that the Cambodia Confederation of Unions expects hundreds of participants for the peaceful demonstration.
A letter informing the government of the protest "stated that at least 300 people would gather at the former National Assembly building and march through the city" on Sunday, the newspaper said.
Union leaders intend to demand the government press the UN Security Council to intervene in "an invasion by Thailand".
While nationalistic fervour over the controversial Cambodian temple and dispute grounds has eased in Thailand, anti-Thai protests and economic boycotts have increased in Cambodia.
Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos Join to Promote Tourism in the Triangle Zone
Posted on 16 August 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 573
“Phnom Penh: Experts in tourism from state institutions from several provinces of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos met together on 8 August 2008 in Gia Lai province, Vietnam, to seek methods to promote tourism in the Triangle Zone of the three countries.
“Mr. Tra Nut Seang, the director of the Ratanakiri provincial tourism office, who attended the meeting with other delegates from Mondolkiri and Stung Treng, said that this meeting focused on the Green Triangle Zone which covers ten provinces. These ten provinces are Ratanakiri, Mondolkiri, and Stung Treng in Cambodia, Attapu (also Attapeu ), Xekong (also Sekong ), and Salavan (also Saravane ) in Laos, and Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Đăk Lăk, and Đăk Nông in Vietnam. The meeting sought to identify the needs to promote tourism in each province in the Green Triangle Zone of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, like to find agreements on joint requests which had been sent to the governments of each country, to facilitate the provision of visas for tourists, and to construct infrastructure for tourism in this zone. As for the Cambodia side, Mr. Tra Nut Seang said that our country has difficulties of traveling, which makes it necessary to improve the national road from Ang Snuol, Kartie, to Mondolkiri and to the border with Vietnam, as well as a road from O Pong Moan in Ratanakiri to the border.
“After the meeting, the delegations will continue to visit the provinces of each country before making a final report about the requirements to donor countries.
“Mr. Thok Sokhom, head of the Heritage Triangle Zone program [for Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand], said that the Imperial Government of Japan announced in 2007 to grant approx. Yen 1,000 million, approx. US$10 million, to promote the development of tourism in the Green Triangle Zone. Out of this grant, Cambodia received approx. US$700,000 as the first step to construct tourist stations at a Cambodian-Vietnamese border crossing point and at a Cambodian-Laos border crossing point.
“To contribute to promote understanding about tourism, experts of the Mekong Sub-Region, including Gai Mary, Nec Rice, and Mr. Benny Rosenbloom [all phonetic] had cooperated with each other to write and publish a tourist guide book with 148 pages which presents tourist activities in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
“Mr. Thong Khon, the Minister of Tourism, said that tourists visiting Cambodia during the first six months of 2008 increased by 13%, compared to the same period in 2007, which had more than 1.1 million tourists. Among them were 67,502 tourists from Thailand.
“Mr. Thong Khon predicted that tourists from Thailand will decline because of the disputes between both countries over the Preah Vihear Temple.
“However, the Minister of Tourism said that Cambodia plans to attract tourists to stay for longer periods and plans to promote developments of other tourist attraction areas. It should be noted that in 2007, the number of tourists to Cambodia increased to more than 2 million, earning approx. US$1,260 million for Cambodia, and employing more than 30,000 citizens. There were 360 hotels in 2007, and more than 300 tourist agencies.”
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1720, 15.8.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Friday, 15 August 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 573
“Phnom Penh: Experts in tourism from state institutions from several provinces of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos met together on 8 August 2008 in Gia Lai province, Vietnam, to seek methods to promote tourism in the Triangle Zone of the three countries.
“Mr. Tra Nut Seang, the director of the Ratanakiri provincial tourism office, who attended the meeting with other delegates from Mondolkiri and Stung Treng, said that this meeting focused on the Green Triangle Zone which covers ten provinces. These ten provinces are Ratanakiri, Mondolkiri, and Stung Treng in Cambodia, Attapu (also Attapeu ), Xekong (also Sekong ), and Salavan (also Saravane ) in Laos, and Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Đăk Lăk, and Đăk Nông in Vietnam. The meeting sought to identify the needs to promote tourism in each province in the Green Triangle Zone of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, like to find agreements on joint requests which had been sent to the governments of each country, to facilitate the provision of visas for tourists, and to construct infrastructure for tourism in this zone. As for the Cambodia side, Mr. Tra Nut Seang said that our country has difficulties of traveling, which makes it necessary to improve the national road from Ang Snuol, Kartie, to Mondolkiri and to the border with Vietnam, as well as a road from O Pong Moan in Ratanakiri to the border.
“After the meeting, the delegations will continue to visit the provinces of each country before making a final report about the requirements to donor countries.
“Mr. Thok Sokhom, head of the Heritage Triangle Zone program [for Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand], said that the Imperial Government of Japan announced in 2007 to grant approx. Yen 1,000 million, approx. US$10 million, to promote the development of tourism in the Green Triangle Zone. Out of this grant, Cambodia received approx. US$700,000 as the first step to construct tourist stations at a Cambodian-Vietnamese border crossing point and at a Cambodian-Laos border crossing point.
“To contribute to promote understanding about tourism, experts of the Mekong Sub-Region, including Gai Mary, Nec Rice, and Mr. Benny Rosenbloom [all phonetic] had cooperated with each other to write and publish a tourist guide book with 148 pages which presents tourist activities in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
“Mr. Thong Khon, the Minister of Tourism, said that tourists visiting Cambodia during the first six months of 2008 increased by 13%, compared to the same period in 2007, which had more than 1.1 million tourists. Among them were 67,502 tourists from Thailand.
“Mr. Thong Khon predicted that tourists from Thailand will decline because of the disputes between both countries over the Preah Vihear Temple.
“However, the Minister of Tourism said that Cambodia plans to attract tourists to stay for longer periods and plans to promote developments of other tourist attraction areas. It should be noted that in 2007, the number of tourists to Cambodia increased to more than 2 million, earning approx. US$1,260 million for Cambodia, and employing more than 30,000 citizens. There were 360 hotels in 2007, and more than 300 tourist agencies.”
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1720, 15.8.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Friday, 15 August 2008
Khmer Woman Seeks Lost Sister
Photo: Courtesy Valerie Nong.Valerie Nong's family in the Philippines, without her second-youngest sister, 1982.
Radio Free Asia
2008-08-14
A Khmer-American woman launches a new quest to find a sister who disappeared in Cambodia 33 years ago.
WASHINGTON—Sophonna Valerie Nong recalls in detail the day in 1975 when her younger sister vanished in a crowd of Cambodians being force-marched out of the capital, Phnom Penh, by the Khmer Rouge.
The car carrying her mother, four sisters, grandmother, and uncle suffered a flat tire six kms (three miles) northwest of the city, and the family had to get out and walk. “But there were too many people,” she said.
The second youngest of the girls was Nong Watana, nicknamed Srey Noech, who was then aged two or three. She was swept into the crowd with the children’s grandmother and uncle and never seen again, Nong said.
Three decades after the Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia upside down in a frenzy of bloodletting, a U.N. tribunal is at last under way to bring the faction’s surviving leaders to justice. Thousands of Cambodians worldwide, however, seek a different kind of closure.
They want to find or account for loved ones who vanished during those dark years from 1975-79, during which the Khmer Rouge killed, tortured, starved, or worked to death somewhere between one million and two million people.
Searching without luck
Nong, like many Cambodians, said she was aware of the U.N. tribunal but takes little comfort from it. She wants to find her missing sister.
The members of her family who survived the murderous Khmer Rouge regime returned to Phnom Penh for two years in 1979. They later spent six months in the Kao Y Dang refugee camp in Thailand and then left for the Philippines, before proceeding to the United States in December 1982, she said.
For years, Nong said, they busied themselves making a home in their adopted country, but they never stopped missing Nong Watana. Her mother asked after her lost child for years, with no luck, Nong said.
Thirty-three years later, Nong, 36, a naturalized American and a legal assistant in California, has taken up searching for her baby sister, inspired by the Christian faith she embraced in her new country and aided by communications technology that wasn’t available in the 1980s and 90s.
Nong has started a blog, contacted the Red Cross, begun advertising in Khmer-language media, and blanketed the Internet with pleas for information about Nong Watana, her grandmother Meas Kim Orn, and uncle Kang Pirun.
No photos of them have survived, and even Nong’s mother has largely abandoned hope of finding them.
“I have faith in God, and with faith and his guidance, it gives me hope and motivation to find my sister who is missing,” she said. “And with today's media and technology, I believe it will be possible to find my sister, my grandmother, and my uncle.”
A Christian friend has assured her, she said, that her sister is “still alive, living somewhere not in the United States, and she has some children but I don’t know how many.”
“I strongly believe she is alive,” she said.
Shared quest
Countless other Cambodians, many of them resettled abroad, are engaged in similar searches.
Back in Phnom Penh, the Documentation Center of Cambodia has received some 200 letters from Cambodians searching for relatives through the “family tracing” project the center launched back in 1995.
The Documentation Center plans to publish the names and details of every reported missing person in 2009.
Most of the letters come from Cambodians abroad, who write in English, but some also arrive in Khmer from Cambodians who remain in their native country.
“It’s our most important project and has been done on a volunteer basis. We call it a service of the heart,” Peoudara Vanthan, deputy director of the Documentation Center.
The project is staffed by more than 2,000 volunteers, most of them young Khmers and civil servants, Peoudara Vanthan said.
Volunteers collect as many clues as they can in a Khmer- and English-language database about the hundreds of thousands who remain missing. But unique challenges remain in this developing country, where literacy rates are relatively low and only 0.3 percent of the population has Internet access.
“People who have searched for lost family members are more from abroad because Internet access is easier than in Cambodia,” Peoudara Vanthan said.
“In Cambodia, the post office is still limited in terms of sending letters back and forth from the provinces, especially in rural areas. They sometimes come in person to our office or through the government office or taxi,” he said. “We also are planning to publish all the names from our database as a family tracing book and hope to deposit it in every commune office across the country.”
Mixed feelings
Accounting for family members and holding a U.N. tribunal, however, can only go so far. Polling by the Documentation Center between September 2002 and June 2003 found Cambodians remain ambivalent about their country’s grim history and how to move forward.
Asked if they could forgive the Khmer Rouge for the suffering it inflicted, more than 67 percent responded “no.” But asked if they would seek revenge if they found out that surviving villagers were responsible for the deaths of their lost relatives, nearly 69 percent said they wouldn't.
Roughly 57 percent said they might be able to forgive Khmer Rouge cadres if they were to stand trial.
Asked whether she's prepared to learn her sister may not have survived, Nong said she was. "If I don’t find anything about my sister, or find out that she has died, I would feel sad, but at least I’ve tried my best and put [forth] all my effort and love to find her," she said.
"I want her to know that my family and I still love her and [are] thinking about her and searching for her, and don’t want to give up until we know the truth."
Original reporting by Yanny Hin for RFA’s Khmer service. Khmer service chief: Sos Kem. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written for the Web in English by Sarah Jackson-Han. Edited by Luisetta Mudie.
2008-08-14
A Khmer-American woman launches a new quest to find a sister who disappeared in Cambodia 33 years ago.
WASHINGTON—Sophonna Valerie Nong recalls in detail the day in 1975 when her younger sister vanished in a crowd of Cambodians being force-marched out of the capital, Phnom Penh, by the Khmer Rouge.
The car carrying her mother, four sisters, grandmother, and uncle suffered a flat tire six kms (three miles) northwest of the city, and the family had to get out and walk. “But there were too many people,” she said.
The second youngest of the girls was Nong Watana, nicknamed Srey Noech, who was then aged two or three. She was swept into the crowd with the children’s grandmother and uncle and never seen again, Nong said.
Three decades after the Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia upside down in a frenzy of bloodletting, a U.N. tribunal is at last under way to bring the faction’s surviving leaders to justice. Thousands of Cambodians worldwide, however, seek a different kind of closure.
They want to find or account for loved ones who vanished during those dark years from 1975-79, during which the Khmer Rouge killed, tortured, starved, or worked to death somewhere between one million and two million people.
Searching without luck
Nong, like many Cambodians, said she was aware of the U.N. tribunal but takes little comfort from it. She wants to find her missing sister.
The members of her family who survived the murderous Khmer Rouge regime returned to Phnom Penh for two years in 1979. They later spent six months in the Kao Y Dang refugee camp in Thailand and then left for the Philippines, before proceeding to the United States in December 1982, she said.
For years, Nong said, they busied themselves making a home in their adopted country, but they never stopped missing Nong Watana. Her mother asked after her lost child for years, with no luck, Nong said.
Thirty-three years later, Nong, 36, a naturalized American and a legal assistant in California, has taken up searching for her baby sister, inspired by the Christian faith she embraced in her new country and aided by communications technology that wasn’t available in the 1980s and 90s.
Nong has started a blog, contacted the Red Cross, begun advertising in Khmer-language media, and blanketed the Internet with pleas for information about Nong Watana, her grandmother Meas Kim Orn, and uncle Kang Pirun.
No photos of them have survived, and even Nong’s mother has largely abandoned hope of finding them.
“I have faith in God, and with faith and his guidance, it gives me hope and motivation to find my sister who is missing,” she said. “And with today's media and technology, I believe it will be possible to find my sister, my grandmother, and my uncle.”
A Christian friend has assured her, she said, that her sister is “still alive, living somewhere not in the United States, and she has some children but I don’t know how many.”
“I strongly believe she is alive,” she said.
Shared quest
Countless other Cambodians, many of them resettled abroad, are engaged in similar searches.
Back in Phnom Penh, the Documentation Center of Cambodia has received some 200 letters from Cambodians searching for relatives through the “family tracing” project the center launched back in 1995.
The Documentation Center plans to publish the names and details of every reported missing person in 2009.
Most of the letters come from Cambodians abroad, who write in English, but some also arrive in Khmer from Cambodians who remain in their native country.
“It’s our most important project and has been done on a volunteer basis. We call it a service of the heart,” Peoudara Vanthan, deputy director of the Documentation Center.
The project is staffed by more than 2,000 volunteers, most of them young Khmers and civil servants, Peoudara Vanthan said.
Volunteers collect as many clues as they can in a Khmer- and English-language database about the hundreds of thousands who remain missing. But unique challenges remain in this developing country, where literacy rates are relatively low and only 0.3 percent of the population has Internet access.
“People who have searched for lost family members are more from abroad because Internet access is easier than in Cambodia,” Peoudara Vanthan said.
“In Cambodia, the post office is still limited in terms of sending letters back and forth from the provinces, especially in rural areas. They sometimes come in person to our office or through the government office or taxi,” he said. “We also are planning to publish all the names from our database as a family tracing book and hope to deposit it in every commune office across the country.”
Mixed feelings
Accounting for family members and holding a U.N. tribunal, however, can only go so far. Polling by the Documentation Center between September 2002 and June 2003 found Cambodians remain ambivalent about their country’s grim history and how to move forward.
Asked if they could forgive the Khmer Rouge for the suffering it inflicted, more than 67 percent responded “no.” But asked if they would seek revenge if they found out that surviving villagers were responsible for the deaths of their lost relatives, nearly 69 percent said they wouldn't.
Roughly 57 percent said they might be able to forgive Khmer Rouge cadres if they were to stand trial.
Asked whether she's prepared to learn her sister may not have survived, Nong said she was. "If I don’t find anything about my sister, or find out that she has died, I would feel sad, but at least I’ve tried my best and put [forth] all my effort and love to find her," she said.
"I want her to know that my family and I still love her and [are] thinking about her and searching for her, and don’t want to give up until we know the truth."
Original reporting by Yanny Hin for RFA’s Khmer service. Khmer service chief: Sos Kem. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written for the Web in English by Sarah Jackson-Han. Edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Prosecutors Reviewing Duch Indictment
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
15 August 2008
Khmer Rouge tribunal prosecutors are reviewing a recent closing order by investigation judges in the case of Kaing Kek Iev, to ensure the document and its indictments are agreeable.
Co-prosecutor Robert Petit said Tuesday his office was reviewing the closing order, which seeks charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the former prison chief better known as Duch.
Investigating judges forwarded the closing order to the Trial Chamber of the courts Aug. 8, but the prosecuting office has a chance to review it before the trial stage for Duch can begin.
Tribunal observers said the closing order could contain some fine points the prosecution may want to revise.
Co-investigating judge You Bunleng told VOA Khmer Thursday he hoped the document would suffice, moving the case to the trial stage.
Original report from Washington
15 August 2008
Khmer Rouge tribunal prosecutors are reviewing a recent closing order by investigation judges in the case of Kaing Kek Iev, to ensure the document and its indictments are agreeable.
Co-prosecutor Robert Petit said Tuesday his office was reviewing the closing order, which seeks charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the former prison chief better known as Duch.
Investigating judges forwarded the closing order to the Trial Chamber of the courts Aug. 8, but the prosecuting office has a chance to review it before the trial stage for Duch can begin.
Tribunal observers said the closing order could contain some fine points the prosecution may want to revise.
Co-investigating judge You Bunleng told VOA Khmer Thursday he hoped the document would suffice, moving the case to the trial stage.
Youths Seek to Raise Climate Awareness
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
15 August 2008
More than 600 Cambodians participated in International Youth Day in Phnom Penh Aug. 12, where participants like Srean Lalune and Sim Virak discussed global climate change.
More than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 24, and as it grows older, the generation will produce leaders who seek to mobilize communities and raise awareness of climate issues in Cambodia.
This week's forum, "Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action," sought to draw out such leaders.
"On this International Youth Day, 2008, we commit ourselves to believing in generations beyond our own and to taking action now to ensure the world is cleaner for us," said Sreang Lalune, who recently became the first female "Youth Leader" to win a trip to the US. "Young people can be the solution to many environmental concerns."
The forum gathered representatives from the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Environment, the UN, and young people from various youth associations.
"By just changing our habits and by just saving water or electricity, each can help the country," said Sim Virak, a student from Kampong Cham province. "So as young people, we seek to add our voices to the call for every effort to be made by governments and international bodies towards climate stabilization. With the support of governments and international bodies, young people can be a great force of positive change."
Original report from Washington
15 August 2008
More than 600 Cambodians participated in International Youth Day in Phnom Penh Aug. 12, where participants like Srean Lalune and Sim Virak discussed global climate change.
More than 60 percent of the population is under the age of 24, and as it grows older, the generation will produce leaders who seek to mobilize communities and raise awareness of climate issues in Cambodia.
This week's forum, "Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action," sought to draw out such leaders.
"On this International Youth Day, 2008, we commit ourselves to believing in generations beyond our own and to taking action now to ensure the world is cleaner for us," said Sreang Lalune, who recently became the first female "Youth Leader" to win a trip to the US. "Young people can be the solution to many environmental concerns."
The forum gathered representatives from the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Environment, the UN, and young people from various youth associations.
"By just changing our habits and by just saving water or electricity, each can help the country," said Sim Virak, a student from Kampong Cham province. "So as young people, we seek to add our voices to the call for every effort to be made by governments and international bodies towards climate stabilization. With the support of governments and international bodies, young people can be a great force of positive change."
Not All Tribunal Complaints Valid: Official
Keat Bophal, head of the Khmer Rouge tribunal's Victims Unit, and spokesman Reach Sambath.By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
15 August 2008
The Victims Unit of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has received around 1,800 complaints from purported victims of the regime, but not all of them are within the jurisdiction of the special courts, tribunal officials said Thursday.
"Those who want to file a complaint must make a charge for the period between April 1975 and January 1979," said Keat Bophal, chief of the Victims Unit, as a guest on "Hello VOA." "That is the jurisdiction of the court."
Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath, who was also a guest, said some of the complaints were not valid, such as a complaint that France had cut Cambodian land from neighboring countries.
Keat Bophal said those with complaints about the regime, within the jurisdiction of the courts, could call the unit, at 023 214 290.
The tribunal was designed to help facilitate reconciliation, in part by providing a means by which victims of the regime could file against defendants, five of whom are so far in jail.
Formerly Jailed Editor Exits Cambodia
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (839 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (839 KB) - Listen (MP3)
Dam Sith, the opposition newspaper editor who was jailed for a week in June, has left Cambodia temporarily, but not due to security concerns, officials said Friday.
Dam Sith left for the US last week at the invitation of opposition supporters there, Sam Rainsy Party Secretary-General Eng Chhay Ieng said.
He did not leave out of fear or intimidation, and he plans to return "soon," Eng Chhay Ieng said.
Dam Sith was jailed June 8 following an article he published in Moneaksekar Khmer that quoted opposition leader Sam Rainsy accusing Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of collusion with the Khmer Rouge.
Moneaksekar Khmer reporter Khim Sambor was killed a month after Dam Sith was jailed, on July 11, two weeks ahead of national elections.
Dam Sith had been editing the newspaper from the safety of his home since Khim Sambor's killing, which remains unsolved.
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (839 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (839 KB) - Listen (MP3)
Dam Sith, the opposition newspaper editor who was jailed for a week in June, has left Cambodia temporarily, but not due to security concerns, officials said Friday.
Dam Sith left for the US last week at the invitation of opposition supporters there, Sam Rainsy Party Secretary-General Eng Chhay Ieng said.
He did not leave out of fear or intimidation, and he plans to return "soon," Eng Chhay Ieng said.
Dam Sith was jailed June 8 following an article he published in Moneaksekar Khmer that quoted opposition leader Sam Rainsy accusing Foreign Minister Hor Namhong of collusion with the Khmer Rouge.
Moneaksekar Khmer reporter Khim Sambor was killed a month after Dam Sith was jailed, on July 11, two weeks ahead of national elections.
Dam Sith had been editing the newspaper from the safety of his home since Khim Sambor's killing, which remains unsolved.
Five Men Sentenced in Monument Bombing
By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (960 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (960 KB) - Listen (MP3)
Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday sentenced five men between 15 and 17 years in prison for the attempted bombing of a monument in Phnom Penh in July 2007.
Kin Toeurn, 53, Sok Kim Sovat, 51, Soeng Khang, 42, Lim Phen, 32, and Soeng Vy, 31, were each fined 500,000 riel, about $125, in addition to their jail sentences, lawyers said.
Judge Suon Samnang, who presided over the case, said three men were sentenced to 14 years under the charge of terrorism and received an extra year and the fine for the illegal use of explosives. Two other men were sentenced to 16 years for conspiracy to commit terrorism, plus a year and a fine for illegal use of explosives.
The charges stem from a July 29, 2007, attempt to blow up the Cambodian-Vietnamese Friendship Monument, which overlooks a park in Phnom Penh's Daun Penh district. After one trigger explosion, police found three unexploded buckets of chemical fertilizer. No one was injured and no property was damaged.
The five men were apprehended within days of the event.
Four of the five belonged to the Khmer Kampuchea Krom ethnic group, lawyers said.
At least two of the men were beaten in police custody and forced to sign a confession, according to the lawyers, Khun Sovanrithy and Lueurn Sovann, who work for the Cambodian Defenders Project.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak denied the accusation.
"It is not surprising, because when they lose the case, they always accuse the police of doing that," he said. "But in general, we have never done like that."
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (960 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (960 KB) - Listen (MP3)
Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday sentenced five men between 15 and 17 years in prison for the attempted bombing of a monument in Phnom Penh in July 2007.
Kin Toeurn, 53, Sok Kim Sovat, 51, Soeng Khang, 42, Lim Phen, 32, and Soeng Vy, 31, were each fined 500,000 riel, about $125, in addition to their jail sentences, lawyers said.
Judge Suon Samnang, who presided over the case, said three men were sentenced to 14 years under the charge of terrorism and received an extra year and the fine for the illegal use of explosives. Two other men were sentenced to 16 years for conspiracy to commit terrorism, plus a year and a fine for illegal use of explosives.
The charges stem from a July 29, 2007, attempt to blow up the Cambodian-Vietnamese Friendship Monument, which overlooks a park in Phnom Penh's Daun Penh district. After one trigger explosion, police found three unexploded buckets of chemical fertilizer. No one was injured and no property was damaged.
The five men were apprehended within days of the event.
Four of the five belonged to the Khmer Kampuchea Krom ethnic group, lawyers said.
At least two of the men were beaten in police custody and forced to sign a confession, according to the lawyers, Khun Sovanrithy and Lueurn Sovann, who work for the Cambodian Defenders Project.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak denied the accusation.
"It is not surprising, because when they lose the case, they always accuse the police of doing that," he said. "But in general, we have never done like that."
Tribunal Staff Sets Up Anti-Corruption Team
By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 16 August 2008 (841 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 16 August 2008 (841 KB) - Listen (MP3)
The Cambodian side of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has established a committee to solve corruption issues, following allegations of kickbacks in the courts.
Administration Director Sean Visoth and Cambodian prosecutors and judges met with more than 250 staff met Friday, appointing tribunal judge Kong Srim, chief of the Cambodian judges, and tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis to investigate corruption within the Cambodian side of the tribunal, spokesman Reach Sambath said.
"The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the mechanisms to fight against corruption, which has been alleged in the tribunal," he said.
Kong Srim could not be reached for comment Friday, but Reach Sambath said all Cambodian staff who have heard about corruption or faced it themselves will be encouraged to provide information to the judge or Jarvis.
The Cambodian side of the joint UN tribunal has been beleaguered by corruption allegations, including reports in June by staff of kickbacks. The new allegations led to the freezing of the July salaries of all Cambodian staff by the UNDP.
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 16 August 2008 (841 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 16 August 2008 (841 KB) - Listen (MP3)
The Cambodian side of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has established a committee to solve corruption issues, following allegations of kickbacks in the courts.
Administration Director Sean Visoth and Cambodian prosecutors and judges met with more than 250 staff met Friday, appointing tribunal judge Kong Srim, chief of the Cambodian judges, and tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis to investigate corruption within the Cambodian side of the tribunal, spokesman Reach Sambath said.
"The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the mechanisms to fight against corruption, which has been alleged in the tribunal," he said.
Kong Srim could not be reached for comment Friday, but Reach Sambath said all Cambodian staff who have heard about corruption or faced it themselves will be encouraged to provide information to the judge or Jarvis.
The Cambodian side of the joint UN tribunal has been beleaguered by corruption allegations, including reports in June by staff of kickbacks. The new allegations led to the freezing of the July salaries of all Cambodian staff by the UNDP.
On King's Return, Heavy Election Duty
King Norodom Sihamoni will preside over a swearing-in ceremony that the opposition has threatened to boycott.Original report from Phnom Penh
15 August 2008
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (1.08 MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 15 August 2008 (1.08 MB) - Listen (MP3)
As King Norodom Sihamoni returned from the Beijing Olympics Friday, he was scheduled for key election functions, but opposition officials said they would ask him to delay a swearing-in ceremony for the formation of the new government.
Opposition leaders are maintaining a boycott of July's election results, claiming widespread fraud undermined free and fair elections.
Their complaints of fraud were dismissed by the National Election Committee, but they have appealed to the Constitutional Council. Ruling party officials say the opposition risks losing its seats if it maintains the boycott.
"The opposition still has a strong stance against the election results and requests a revote, because of many irregularities," Kong Kom, Sam Rainsy Party vice president, said. "If the king invites [new government members] to join the swearing-in ceremony…we will deny. But we request the king to reschedule the swearing-in ceremony on another day, until the National Election Committee, Constitutional Council and the international community recognize the election as free and fair."
A denial of the king's invitation by the opposition would invite "political assassination," Nguon Nhil, Cambodian People's Party senior official, told VOA Khmer Friday.
"If the opposition denies the king's invitation…the opposition looks down on the king and breaks the constitution," Nguon Nhil said. "The presence of the king and the majority win of the CPP will disqualify the opposition boycott."
Lao Monghay, a senior researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission, said the king could face a complication on his return from Beijing.
"The king also has much concern about the boycott," he said. "I don't have hope the king can solve the problem, because the king has limited political experience to administer the state. But the CPP's big win, if it will use its potential power over the king, maybe it will ask the king to take action as stated in the constitution, which will be difficult for the king to deny."
Meanwhile, King Sihamoni will also need to address a request by the Norodom Ranariddh Party to pardon the prince, who remains in exile following sentencing over breach of trust.
"The pardon is not a priority," Lao Monghay said. "But the opening of the new National Assembly is the priority."
Opposition leaders are maintaining a boycott of July's election results, claiming widespread fraud undermined free and fair elections.
Their complaints of fraud were dismissed by the National Election Committee, but they have appealed to the Constitutional Council. Ruling party officials say the opposition risks losing its seats if it maintains the boycott.
"The opposition still has a strong stance against the election results and requests a revote, because of many irregularities," Kong Kom, Sam Rainsy Party vice president, said. "If the king invites [new government members] to join the swearing-in ceremony…we will deny. But we request the king to reschedule the swearing-in ceremony on another day, until the National Election Committee, Constitutional Council and the international community recognize the election as free and fair."
A denial of the king's invitation by the opposition would invite "political assassination," Nguon Nhil, Cambodian People's Party senior official, told VOA Khmer Friday.
"If the opposition denies the king's invitation…the opposition looks down on the king and breaks the constitution," Nguon Nhil said. "The presence of the king and the majority win of the CPP will disqualify the opposition boycott."
Lao Monghay, a senior researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission, said the king could face a complication on his return from Beijing.
"The king also has much concern about the boycott," he said. "I don't have hope the king can solve the problem, because the king has limited political experience to administer the state. But the CPP's big win, if it will use its potential power over the king, maybe it will ask the king to take action as stated in the constitution, which will be difficult for the king to deny."
Meanwhile, King Sihamoni will also need to address a request by the Norodom Ranariddh Party to pardon the prince, who remains in exile following sentencing over breach of trust.
"The pardon is not a priority," Lao Monghay said. "But the opening of the new National Assembly is the priority."
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