Pardoned Cambodian prince returns from exile

Prince Norodom Ranariddh

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Prince Norodom Ranariddh arrived back home in Cambodia on Sunday, ending his self-imposed exile after receiving a royal pardon for his fraud conviction.

Ranariddh, who had been living in Malaysia, was pardoned by his half-brother King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday after being sentenced in absentia last year to 18 months in jail for a 3.6 million dollar illegal property scheme.

The court ruled he improperly sold his former political party headquarters and used proceeds from the sale to purchase another property in his own name, but he was pardoned last week upon the order of premier Hun Sen hours after the prime minister was re-elected for another five-year-term.

The smiling prince arrived at his residence in northwestern tourist hub Siem Reap on Sunday and made a speech showing "his deep gratitude to King Norodom Sihamoni for the royal pardon and Prime Minister Hun Sen for finding a solution to help him return to the country," said the prince's spokesman Suth Dina.

"The prince also said that he had served the country with former King Norodom Sihanouk for nearly 25 years but was still happy to further serve the country and his people if the (new) government needs him," Suth Dina added.

Ranariddh faced jail once before in 1998 but was spared by a royal pardon from his father, former king Norodom Sihanouk.

He had been sentenced to 35 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup with the Khmer Rouge a year earlier while he was co-prime minister with Hun Sen.

High food prices in Cambodia increase dog meat or rats consumption

People clean up the rats and ready for eat

Restaurant saling dog meat

Anonymous anti-king leaflets to be probed, prime minister says

Click here to read an "alleged copy" of the leaflet in Khmerposted on the public bulletin board "Camdisc"

Sacravatoons :" Golden Cage "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons :" N.Ranariddh "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons :" My Royal Pardon "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons :" The Boycott "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Foreign minister leaves for UN General Assembly

The Bangkok Post

Newly-appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat leaves here late Friday to attend the United Nations General Assembly now taking place in New York.

Mr Sompong, who assumed his duties Friday, told journalists he would represent the Thai government in addressing the world body which is scheduled on Monday. He said his speech would not relate to any Thai government policy because the government is scheduled to 
present its policy to the House of Representatives in Parliament on October 8 and 9.

Major issues to be informed at the UN General Assembly, Mr Sompong said, are Thailand's current role as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and talks with Cambodian Foreign Minister
Hor Nam Hong on the sidelines of the UN meeting regarding disputed ancient temples on the unclear border 
of the two neighbours.

Also, Mr Sompong said he would assure Cambodia as well as other ASEAN members that Thailand could definitely hold an ASEAN summit late this year as planned in this country.

He said he planned to pay official visits to both Cambodia and Laos on October 10 before Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat visits the two neighbouring countries.

On the sensitive issue concerning revocation of the so-called 'red' or diplomatic passport of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now seeking political asylum in Britain, he said the decision must be made by Mr Somchai. (TNA)

SELF-RELIANT VILLAGE IS BORN

The Bangkok Post
Sunday September 28, 2008

JAKKRIT WAEWKRAIHONG

TRAT : A border village in Cambodia's Koh Kong province has become economically self-reliant after Thai authorities introduced the sufficiency economy philosophy to its community.

Koh Kong governor Yuth Puthong and Trat deputy governor Somsak Yonokphan on Thursday jointly presided over a ceremony to launch the self-sufficient village at Bang Khayak in Monthon Sima district in Koh Kong.

Ban Khayak was chosen under a pilot project to make a village self-reliant. The project, carried out by the Foreign Ministry and the Community Development Department last year, introduced His Majesty the King's concept of the sufficiency economy.

The project provided occupational training, showed residents how to make development plans, urged local people to cut spending and showed them how to increase their incomes, said a source involved in the project.

Village head Seng Sinard said that before the concept was introduced, residents had illegally encroached on mangrove forests, causing environmental problems.

Many residents had faced financial problems as natural resources depleted.

Koh Kong is the Cambodian border province across from Khlong Yai district in Trat.

Law used against housing activists in Cambodia

Amnesty International USA

26 September 2008

Some 150,000 Cambodians live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land grabbing and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects in 2008.

Tens of thousands have already been forcibly evicted in recent years, many left homeless, others relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with limited access to work opportunities.

Rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes in Cambodia are increasingly using their power to silence opponents through the criminal justice system, according to an Amnesty International briefing paper "A risky business - defending the right to housing."

The paper provides examples of abuses of human rights defenders working for the promotion of land rights and against forced evictions in Cambodia in the last two years. Amnesty International is calling for greater protection for human rights defenders.

Informal village leader Chhea Ny was arrested in August 2006 over a long-standing land dispute with local officials, business people and high-ranking military in Boeung Pram village, in Battambang province. He was released in December 2007 after 16 months in prison.

Chhea Ny told Amnesty International: "I was chained and held in a dark prison cell for one week. I was so miserable. And I was not allowed to wash. After one week they removed the chain from my legs.

"When they took off the chain they let me stay outside in daylight, and they offered an apology; they said they had made a mistake and [punished] the wrong man."

Brittis Edman, Amnesty International’s Cambodia Researcher, said that Chhea Ny's case is a blatant example of what happens when the legal system fails to protect human rights and to serve justice.

"The rapid increase in the number of peaceful land activists in prison is a serious concern in its own right. But every imprisoned human rights defender becomes a tool for intimidation of other activists, demonstrating that detention, trials and imprisonment are a real threat," said Brittis Edman.

According to local human rights groups, over the past two years, the number of land activists arrested has practically doubled from 78 in 2006 to 149 in 2007. This rise corresponds with an increase in the number of reports alleging that police have unfairly arrested land activists; prosecutors have pressed groundless criminal charges against them; and law enforcement and court officials have threatened people protesting against forced evictions with arrest or imprisonment.

"The Cambodian authorities must ensure that the legal system fairly protects all parties involved in land disputes and in protecting human rights, and must investigate all credible allegations of intimidation and unlawful arrests of human rights defenders," said Brittis Edman.

In a report released in February 2008, Amnesty International showed how the Cambodian authorities are failing to protect – in law and practice – the population against forced evictions.

By contrast, those with political or economic power are allowed to act with impunity in arbitrarily expropriating land. They do so by colluding with local authorities in ways that lead to the issuing of dubious land titles and eviction orders, and the misuse of the court system to prevent victims from acting to defend their rights.

Read more:

Cambodia burns homes of the poor (Report, 11 February 2008)

Cambodia's Human Rights Defenders Silenced Through Legal System in Land Disputes, Charges Amnesty International

Amnesty International
Press Release
For immediate release:
Friday, Sept. 26, 2008

Cambodia's Human Rights Defenders Silenced Through Legal System in Land Disputes, Charges Amnesty International

__

Human Rights Organization Urges Protection for Land Rights Defenders Against Forced Evictions in Cambodia

Contact: AIUSA media office, 202-544-0200 x302, lspann@aiusa.org

(Washington) --Rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes in Cambodia are increasingly using their power to silence opponents through the criminal justice system, said Amnesty International today, as it called for greater protection for human rights defenders.

In the briefing paper, A risky business - defending the right to housing, Amnesty International provides examples of abuses of human rights defenders working for the promotion of land rights and against forced evictions in Cambodia in the last two years.

Informal village leader Chhea Ny, released in December 2007 after 16 months in prison, told Amnesty International: "I was chained and held in a dark prison cell for one week. I was so miserable. And I was not allowed to wash. After one week they removed the chain from my legs. When they took off the chain they let me stay outside in daylight, and they offered an apology; they said they had made a mistake and [punished] the wrong man.”

He had been arrested in August 2006 over a long-standing land dispute with local officials, business people and high-ranking military in Boeung Pram village, in Battambang province.

"His case is a blatant example of what happens when the legal system fails to protect human rights and to serve justice," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International’s Cambodia researcher.

According to local human rights groups, over the past two years, the number of land activists arrested has practically doubled from 78 in 2006 to 149 in 2007. This trend corresponds with an increase in the number of reports alleging that police have unfairly arrested land activists, prosecutors have pressed groundless criminal charges against them, and law enforcement and court officials have threatened people protesting against forced evictions with arrest or imprisonment.

"The rapid increase in the number of peaceful land activists in prison is a serious concern in its own right. But every imprisoned human rights defender becomes a tool for intimidation of other activists, demonstrating that detention, trials and imprisonment are a real threat," said Edman.

"The Cambodian authorities must ensure that the legal system fairly protects all parties involved in land disputes and protecting human rights, and must investigate allegations of intimidation and unlawful arrests of human rights defenders."

Background

Attacks against such activists violate international human rights law provisions guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and the right to participate in public life. They run counter to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which reflects and details these rights. In many cases, other rights of human rights defenders have been violated, including the right to equality before the courts and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.

In 2008, some 150,000 Cambodians were known to live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land-grabbing, and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects. Tens of thousands have already been forcibly evicted in recent years, many left homeless, others relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with limited access to work opportunities.

In a report released in February 2008, Amnesty International showed how the Cambodian authorities are failing to protect - in law and practice - the population against forced evictions. By contrast, those with political or economic power are allowed to act with impunity in arbitrarily expropriating land. They do so by colluding with local authorities in ways that lead to the issuing of dubious land titles and eviction orders, and the misuse of the court system to prevent victims from acting to defend their rights.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

# # #

For more information about land rights in Cambodia, see Amnesty International's February 2008 report, Forced evictions in Cambodia: homes razed, lives in ruins at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGUSA20080215001

Sri Lanka supports Cambodia at UN Human Rights Council

Mr. O.L. Ameerajwad,
Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva

Item 3 on Review, Rationalization and Improvement of the mandate of the Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia Speaking under the above item at the 9th Session of the Human Rights Council on 15 September 2008, Mr. O.L. Ameerajwad, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, stated the following :

Mr President,

Operative Paragraph 5(a) of the Human Rights Council founding resolution 60/251 mandates the Council to promote human rights education and learning as well as advisory services, and to provide technical assistance and capacity-building in consultation with and with the consent of Member States concerned.

It is against this backdrop, Mr President, that my delegation views the Review, Rationalization and Improvement of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia. We heard the statement made by the Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the Council providing details on Cambodia’s records of success and achievements in political, economic, social and cultural sectors through its reform process over the past 10 years.
Cambodia has begun to transform itself into a new political, economical and social landscape from a post conflict country. Cambodia is taking steps further to advance the democratic process and to improve human rights.

Therefore, Mr. President, my delegation wishes to point out that the Council should take into consideration the initiatives taken by the Government of Cambodia and the new developments that are taking place in that country, when the Council reviews, rationalizes and improves the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia.

The Council should consider the request of the State concerned regarding the needs of that country for capacity building and technical assistance. Only this constructive approach will help to attract the cooperation of the State concerned and bring about the expected results in the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground.

Therefore, Mr. President, the renewal of this mandate should be decided in consultation with and with the consent of Cambodia based on her need assessment.

My delegation appreciates the initiative taken by Japan in a constructive and cooperative manner in order to help Cambodia in this regard.

Thank you Mr. President.

PM Lee and Foreign Minister Yeo congratulate Cambodian counterparts

Channel News Asia
Sunday, September 28

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen following his re—election.

Mr Lee said the Cambodian people have given Mr Hun Sen a renewed and strong mandate.
He added he looks forward to working closely with Mr Hun Sen to further strengthen and deepen the good relations between Singapore and Cambodia.

Separately, Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo has congratulated Mr Hor Namhong on his re—appointment as Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister as well as Foreign Affairs and International Co—operation Minister. — CNA/vm

Dramatic images of Cambodia

PICTURED at the opening of the Images Of Cambodia exhibition at the Lithgow Red Cross House at Elizabeth Park this week were Lithgow Red Cross president Judy Alexander, regional manager Stephen Cashel and Lithgow branch member Pat Charlton.

Fairfax Media.
27/09/2008

The Images Of Cambodia exhibition at Lithgow Red Cross House focuses on the tragic impact on the Cambodian population of the land mines scattered throughout the countryside in the wake of the conflicts involving the brutal Khmer Rouge and armies of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam during the period 1978 to 1989.

The exhibition is touring Australia under the auspices of AusAID.

It is intended to create a greater understanding of the legacy of the landmines and the work in Cambodia of the Red Cross to help peasants break free of the circumstances that force them to farm in heavily mined areas.

The free exhibition is open today and tomorrow from 11 am to 2 pm.

Ho Chi Minh City donates communal house to expats in Cambodia

Nhan Dan
September 27, 2008

The Vietnamese Community Association in Cambodia on September 26 inaugurated a communal house built by the Ho Chi Minh City Association in Support of Poor Patients at a cost of US$11,000.

The house is a gift to overseas Vietnamese living in Phach Sangday village, Kompong Svay district, Kompong Thom province, by the Tonle Sap lake.

The donor went on to present a variety of gifts at the inauguration ceremony, including rice, sugar and instant noodles for families in need during the rainy season.

The 60 square metre wide, moveable communal house is made of timber and floats on the surface of the lake, making it suitable for people living on water resources. It is used as a conference hall for the local Vietnamese community to hold meetings and gatherings during traditional festivals, for wedding parties or memorial ceremonies.

It is the third such gift given by homeland donors to overseas Vietnamese living on the Tonle Sap lake.

The Overseas Vietnamese taskforce of the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Community Association are planning to raise funds for another five communal houses to be donated to overseas Vietnamese living in other parts of the Tonle Sap lake. (VNA)

A bold challenge to the grim crime of sexual slavery

THE AGE

Nicholas Kristof
September 28, 2008

WORLD leaders paraded through New York last week for a UN General Assembly reviewing their (lack of) progress in fighting global poverty. That's urgent and necessary, but what they aren't talking enough about is one of the grimmest of all manifestations of poverty — sex trafficking.

This is widely acknowledged to be the 21st-century version of slavery, but governments accept it partly because it seems to defy solution. Prostitution is said to be the oldest profession. It exists in all countries, and if some teenage girls are imprisoned in brothels until they die of AIDS, that is seen as tragic but inevitable.

The perfect counterpoint to that fatalism is Somaly Mam, one of the bravest and boldest of those foreign visitors pouring into New York City this month. Mam is a Cambodian who as a young teenager was sold to brothels and now runs an organisation that extricates girls from forced prostitution.

Now Mam has published her inspiring memoir, The Road of Lost Innocence, in the United States, and it offers some lessons for tackling the broader problem.

In the past when I've seen Mam and her team in Cambodia, I frankly didn't figure that she would survive this long. Gangsters who run the brothels have held a gun to her head, and seeing that they could not intimidate Mam with their threats, they found another way to hurt her: they kidnapped and brutalised her 14-year-old daughter.

Three years ago, I wrote from Cambodia about a raid Mam organised on the Chai Hour II brothel where more than 200 girls had been imprisoned. Girls rescued from the brothel were taken to Mam's shelter, but the next day gangsters raided the shelter, kidnapped the girls and took them right back to the brothel.

Yet Mam continued her fight, and, with the help of many others, she has registered real progress. Today, she says, the Chai Hour II brothel is shuttered. In large part, so is the Svay Pak brothel area where 12-year-old girls were openly for sale on my first visit.

"If you want to buy a virgin, it's not easy now," say Mam in English, her fifth language.

Mam's shelters — where the youngest girl rescued is four years old — provide an education and job skills. More important, Mam applies public and international pressure to push the police to crack down on the worst brothels, and takes brothel owners to court. The idea is to undermine the sex-trafficking business model.

In her book, Mam recounts how she grew up as an orphan and was "adopted" by a man who sold her to a brothel. Once when Mam ran away, the police gang-raped her. Then her owner, on recovering his "property", not only beat and humiliated her but tied her down naked and poured live maggots over her skin and in her mouth.

Yet even after that, Mam occasionally defied him. Once two new girls, about 14 years old, were brought in to the brothel and left tied up. Mam untied them and let them run away. For that, she was tortured with electric shocks.

As Cambodia opened up, Mam began to get foreign clients, whom she vastly preferred because they didn't beat her as well, and she began learning foreign languages. Eventually, a French aid worker named Pierre Legros married her, and together they started Afesip, a small organisation to fight sex trafficking. They have since divorced, and Mam works primarily through the Somaly Mam Foundation, set up by admiring Americans to finance her battle against trafficking in Cambodia. It's a successful collaboration between American do-gooders with money and a Cambodian do-gooder with local street smarts.

The world's worst trafficking is in Asia, but teenage runaways in the United States are also routinely brutalised by their pimps. If a white, middle-class blonde goes missing, the authorities issue an "amber alert" and cable TV goes berserk, but neither federal nor local authorities do nearly enough to go after pimps who savagely abuse troubled girls who don't fit the "missing blonde" narrative. The system is broken.

A bill to strengthen federal anti-trafficking efforts within the United States was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives, led by Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat. But crucial provisions to crack down on pimping are being blocked in the Senate in part by senators Sam Brownback and Joe Biden, who consider the House provisions unnecessary and problematic. (Barack Obama gets it and says the right things about trafficking to the public, but apparently not to his running mate.)

With UN leaders focused on overcoming poverty, Mam is a reminder that we needn't acquiesce in the enslavement of girls, in this country or abroad. If we defeated slavery in the 19th century, we can beat it in the 21st century.

NEW YORK TIMES