Saturday, 21 February 2009
Khmers rouges amers English Version
Khmers rouges amers English Version
Uploaded by khmers_rouges_amers
Recorded: 15 May 2007Location: Paris, France
Will the Khmer rouges leaders, responsible for the deaths of 2 millions compatriots under the Democratic Kampuchea regime (1975-1979), be brought to trial one day ?
Do the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC), placed in the courts of Cambodia with the help of the UN in 2006 to accomplish this task, have the will and means to shed light on this Cambodian tragedy ?
While the judicial plan of action has difficulty getting started and former leaders disappear one by one, Bruno Carette and Sien Meta led their own investigation with the former Khmers rouges.
What they deliver is a startling account based largely on the testimonies of the former leaders and patriots responsible for this human catastrophy.
ASEAN to increase fund of contributions to US$120bn on global economic slump
MCOT English NewsBANGKOK, Feb 21 (TNA) -- Finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to expand their countries' financial cooperation to multilateral from the current bilateral status and will increase their fund contributions to US$120 billion from $80 billion during their one-day meeting with three East Asian partner countries, Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said.
The ministers' meeting will be held Sunday in Thailand's Andaman Sea resort of Phuket, with ASEAN's secretary-general and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) president also scheduled to participate.
At the meeting, the 10 ASEAN ministers and the three East Asian partner nations -- Japan, China and South Korea (ASEAN+3) -- will confer on upgrading their financial cooperation to multilateral from bilateral to allow a regional-pact response to ASEAN member country facing a financial problem, Mr. Korn said.
He said the agreement, if concluded, will help boost the short-term liquidity of whatever country encounters problems as the global economic recession worsened.
The ASEAN+3 finance ministers will also discuss the progress of the Chiang Mai Initiative, a programme of financial cooperation launched in Chiang Mai in 2000, Mr. Korn said.
Under the terms of the Chiang Mai Initiative, ASEAN members will contribute funds from their reserves to $84 billion, but Sunday's meeting is expected to upwardly revise the amount to $120 billion.
The concluding joint statement of the Phuket meeting will be discussed at the ASEAN summit at Hua Hin February 27 to March 1.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. (TNA)
Vietnamese, Cambodian militaries step up cooperation
MCOT English News
PHNOM PENH, Feb 21 (VNA) – Vietnam’s Minister of Defense, General Phung Quang Thanh, signed a protocol of cooperation with his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Banh, on Feb 20.
The signing took place following the talks between the two officials on the first day of Gen. Thanh’s official visit to Cambodia.
During the meeting, they reviewed the past cooperation between the two ministries and exchanged experiences regarding the maintenance of national security and defence.
Both parties spoke positively of the sustained traditional cooperation and friendship between the two countries and two ministries and agreed to strengthen this relationship even further in the future.
During his visit, Gen. Thanh and his delegation were received by Senate President Samdech Chea Sim, Chairman of the National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin, and the Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen.
The visiting minister laid wreaths at the Independence Tower and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Statute in Phnom Penh.(VNA)
PHNOM PENH, Feb 21 (VNA) – Vietnam’s Minister of Defense, General Phung Quang Thanh, signed a protocol of cooperation with his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Banh, on Feb 20.
The signing took place following the talks between the two officials on the first day of Gen. Thanh’s official visit to Cambodia.
During the meeting, they reviewed the past cooperation between the two ministries and exchanged experiences regarding the maintenance of national security and defence.
Both parties spoke positively of the sustained traditional cooperation and friendship between the two countries and two ministries and agreed to strengthen this relationship even further in the future.
During his visit, Gen. Thanh and his delegation were received by Senate President Samdech Chea Sim, Chairman of the National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin, and the Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen.
The visiting minister laid wreaths at the Independence Tower and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Statute in Phnom Penh.(VNA)
Defence Minister visits Cambodia
VOV News
02/21/2009
Defence Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh signed a protocol of cooperation with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh after their talks in Phnom Penh on February 20.
During talks, they reviewed the cooperation between the two ministries and shared experience in maintaining national security and defence. They spoke highly of the traditional cooperation and friendship between the two countries and two ministries and agreed to strengthen this relationship in the future.
Gen. Thanh also met with Senate President Chea Sim, Chairman of the National Assembly Heng Samrin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The visiting minister laid wreaths at the Independence Tower and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Statute in Phnom Penh.
02/21/2009
Defence Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh signed a protocol of cooperation with his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh after their talks in Phnom Penh on February 20.
During talks, they reviewed the cooperation between the two ministries and shared experience in maintaining national security and defence. They spoke highly of the traditional cooperation and friendship between the two countries and two ministries and agreed to strengthen this relationship in the future.
Gen. Thanh also met with Senate President Chea Sim, Chairman of the National Assembly Heng Samrin and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The visiting minister laid wreaths at the Independence Tower and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Statute in Phnom Penh.
Surviving the Killing Fields
Sony Lay with his family in Cambodia. He says he still lives in fear of men wearing black, and not having enough to eat. Photo / Chris LeatherNew Zealand Herald
Saturday Feb 21, 2009
Chris Leather
Sony Lay was 11 years old when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975. Thirty years on, he began to share his memories with Chris Leather, a New Zealand Volunteer Service Abroad worker at the Cambodian Ministry of Health. This is Sony's story as told to Leather
We were so hungry we ate things we had never eaten before, like worms, grasshoppers, snakes and rotting plants. This was only one of my Khmer Rouge memories.
In 1975, I was an 11-year-old, living with my parents and four brothers and sisters, in Phnom Penh. I loved going to school and playing in the streets with my friends - although it wasn't quite so much fun anymore.
There were too many soldiers leaning against walls and waving guns around. Some buildings had barbed wire around them. Planes flew low overhead at night and disturbed my sleep. Some dropped flyers that said something about the Khmer Rouge but I didn't understand. I heard guns in the distance. I asked my parents what was happening. They told me not to worry.
On April 17, 1975, I was at home. I refused to go to school that morning because there were soldiers everywhere. I was frightened. My father stayed home from his government job too. We sat around the house quietly, waiting fearfully for something to happen. Every now and then, there was a burst of gunfire.
Then my father said, "They are coming". We peered out the window. A single file of black-clothed young men with guns, was marching along the street. I didn't know who "they" were and why they were coming. Trucks followed with people yelling through megaphones - "everyone must leave Phnom Penh".
No one believed the announcements. They locked their doors and stayed hidden. The black-clothed men banged on doors and fired guns in the air. They told people to come out of their houses or they would be killed.
My mother gathered some food and we all went out on to the street to join the hundreds of people emerging from their homes. Some were running, others crying. Soon we were walking with them. We had no idea where we were going; we just followed the others.
By the end of the first day, we reached the Intercontinental Hotel, a distance of 2km from home. Families shared food and water and lay on the footpath to sleep. The next day the masses of people seemed even bigger. People shuffled along and stopped for long periods. The children played chasing games. We thought it was like going on a picnic.
By the end of day two, we had moved only one more kilometre. On the third day, we reached the Vietnamese Embassy - another kilometre. All the time there were soldiers hitting people with sticks, telling us to hurry up and threatening to kill anyone who hadn't left the city within three days. I noticed the soldiers looked about the same age as my 14-year-old brother, but their eyes were cruel.
On the fourth day, we reached the bridge over the Tonle Bassac river, 6km from home. It was so jammed with people it took several hours to cross the 200m-long bridge. We continued walking, carrying our few meagre possessions, and sleeping on the roadside. The Khmer Rouge soldiers beat people who sat down to rest during the day, especially the old people.
After several days, dead bodies started to appear by the side of the road. Curious children took a closer look and poked the bodies. Some were puffed up, covered with flies and smelled bad.
The road followed the Mekong River. Children jumped into the water to swim and then ran out to catch up with their families. One day I leaped into the water and landed on something soft - it was a body floating in the water with no clothes on. I screamed. I didn't go in the river again. This was when I started to feel very scared.
We just kept on walking for days and nights. I heard someone tell my parents that many people had been kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge and had their heads cut off. My mother cried.
Soon we ran out of food. We had not been able to bring much because we could not carry it. We went into the forests and fields to get roots and small plants to eat.
It took 10 days to reach the Neak Louen ferry across the Mekong River where Khmer Rouge soldiers took people across in small boats. On the other side walking was more difficult because the road had been destroyed to stop tanks driving along it. Two weeks after leaving Phnom Penh we walked into the small village where my parents had been born. The family home had been taken over by Khmer Rouge soldiers. We were told to share a house with relatives.
Some people had to live in the fields because there weren't enough houses. Others tried to build them. They went into the forest and cut wood and bamboo and used leaves to cover the walls and roof. They were city people and didn't know how to build - sometimes the houses fell down or were washed away in the rain.
My father had worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He risked being killed if the soldiers found out. My parents dressed in clothes like the villagers so they wouldn't be noticed, but I knew they were scared.
For the first few months, families could live and eat together and have their own food. Adults were put into teams to work in the rice fields or dug canals, and a children's team looked after the animals and made compost from the animal dung.
After a while the soldiers made everyone eat communally and eat only food provided by the Khmer Rouge. I thought it would be fun to eat with others and share food, but it didn't work out that way. We got a small amount of rice porridge with watery soup once a day and had to make it last. We were hungry all the time.
Soon there was no rice left, no fish in the ponds and canals, no food anywhere. All the rice being farmed by the villagers was taken away by the soldiers. We didn't know where it went. One day my father helped some soldiers to push a wagon full of rice, hoping they would give him some but they gave him nothing.
Sometimes we went to the rice paddies to dig for crabs in the mud, even though we knew we might get bitten by poisonous snakes. If we were caught picking wild berries we would be killed but it was okay to eat weeds. Some people died from eating poisonous plants.
I cried because my mother was so thin.
I remember the leaflets distributed in the village, with photos of Khmer Rouge soldiers killing people. I was frightened all the time. The soldiers would ask us children questions about our parents.
People would disappear from the village. We all knew what happened to them but didn't talk about it. We would see people floating dead in the rice field. I worried that my parents would disappear.
One day all the children in the village were gathered up and taken to live in a camp together, about 10km from our parents. My father told me to work hard so that I would stay alive.
One year merged into the next. Twice in four years I got a pass to walk the 10km, with my brothers, to see our parents. They weren't allowed to visit us and risked death if they tried.
We were ordered to wear only black. We had no toothbrushes or soap to wash ourselves. When clothes became torn we wore them torn; when they were wet we wore them until they dried. When our shoes wore out our feet got cut from walking barefoot.
The work day started at 5am. Some children made compost and the older ones dug ditches. We didn't get any food until halfway through the morning, when we had watery porridge and cassava leaves. Then we carried on working until it got dark. Sometimes we found potato leaves and lotus roots for extra food to eat in the evenings.
We were tired and hungry but told not to cry because the soldiers would kill us. Some children just died because they were starving or sick. We had to bury their bodies.
Hunger one day drove me to a nearby mango orchard before daylight to steal fruit. I climbed a tree when I heard people shouting and walking towards me. Khmer Rouge soldiers walked past with a group of men and women tied together with their arms behind their backs. The group went to a clearing and I watched while the soldiers shot each person in the head. For a long time I was too frightened to move.
In 1979, news filtered through that the Khmer Rouge had been defeated by the Vietnamese. My father walked for several days to Phnom Penh to find out whether it was safe to return. He came back two years later to take our family back to Phnom Penh. In 1981, I went back to primary school at the age of 17.
I am now 40. I am still frightened by men wearing black clothes. I am terrified by loud noises. My soup has to have a strong flavour or it reminds me of Khmer Rouge porridge. I eat too much because I am afraid that food may run out.
* Chris Leather worked in Cambodia from 2004 to 2008, including two years with Sony Lay.
Top Chinese political advisor meets Cambodian King
Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Feb. 20, 2009. (Xinhua/Liu Jiansheng)www.chinaview.cn
2009-02-21
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met here Friday with visiting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.
Jia spoke highly of the contribution of the Cambodian royal family to promoting Sino-Cambodian ties.
He said the China-Cambodia relationship remains solid and has been growing stronger with joint efforts of the two peoples and cultivation of leaders of the two sides.
China highly values its relations with Cambodia, and would work with Cambodia to advance high-level exchanges, promote practical cooperation, so as to realize common prosperity and cement bilateral relations, he said.
Sihamoni said China is the "most reliable friend" of Cambodia, expressing his gratitude for China's long-term support and economic assistance and for its contribution to Cambodia's national reconciliation, peace and development.
He said Cambodia would join hands with China to continue to promote the bilateral relations to a higher level.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
Cambodia's empty dock
International justice is a farce while those in the west who sided with Pol Pot's murders escape trialJohn Pilger
The Guardian, Saturday 21 February 2009
At my hotel in Phnom Penh, the women and children sat on one side of the room, palais-style, the men on the other. It was a disco night and a lot of fun; then suddenly people walked to the windows and wept. The DJ had played a song by the much-loved Khmer singer Sin Sisamouth, who had been forced to dig his own grave and to sing the Khmer Rouge anthem before he was beaten to death. I experienced many such reminders.
There was another kind of reminder. In the village of Neak Long I walked with a distraught man through a necklace of bomb craters. His entire family of 13 had been blown to pieces by an American B-52. That had happened almost two years before Pol Pot came to power in 1975. It is estimated more than 600,000 Cambodians were slaughtered that way.
The problem with the UN-backed trial of the remaining Khmer Rouge leaders, which has just begun in Phnom Penh, is that it is dealing only with the killers of Sin Sisamouth and not with the killers of the family in Neak Long, and not with their collaborators. There were three stages of Cambodia's holocaust. Pol Pot's genocide was but one of them, yet only it has a place in the official memory.
It is highly unlikely Pot Pot would have come to power had President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, not attacked neutral Cambodia. In 1973, B-52s dropped more bombs on Cambodia's heartland than were dropped on Japan during the second world war: equivalent to five Hiroshimas. Files reveal that the CIA was in little doubt of the effect. "[The Khmer Rouge] are using damage caused by B-52 strikes as the main theme of their propaganda," reported the director of operations on May 2, 1973. "This approach has resulted in the successful recruitment of a number of young men [and] has been effective with refugees."
Prior to the bombing, the Khmer Rouge had been a Maoist cult without a popular base. The bombing delivered a catalyst. What Nixon and Kissinger began, Pol Pot completed. Kissinger will not be in the dock in Phnom Penh. He is advising President Obama on geopolitics. Neither will Margaret Thatcher, nor a number of her retired ministers and officials who, in secretly supporting the Khmer Rouge after the Vietnamese had expelled them, contributed directly to the third stage of Cambodia's holocaust.
In 1979, the US and Britain imposed a devastating embargo on stricken Cambodia because its liberators, Vietnam, had come from the wrong side of the cold war. Few Foreign Office campaigns have been as cynical or as brutal. The British demanded that the now defunct Pol Pot regime retain the "right" to represent its victims at the UN and voted with Pol Pot in the agencies of the UN, including the World Health Organisation, thereby preventing it from working in Cambodia. To disguise this outrage, Britain, the US and China, Pol Pot's main backer, invented a "non communist" coalition in exile that was, in fact, dominated by the Khmer Rouge. In Thailand, the CIA and Defence Intelligence Agency formed direct links with the Khmer Rouge.
In 1983, the Thatcher government sent the SAS to train the "coalition" in landmine technology - in a country more seeded with mines than anywhere except Afghanistan. "I confirm," Thatcher wrote to opposition leader Neil Kinnock, "that there is no British government involvement of any kind in training, equipping or co-operating with Khmer Rouge forces or those allied to them." The lie was breathtaking. In 1991, the Major government was forced to admit to parliament that the SAS had been secretly training the "coalition".
Unless international justice is a farce, those who sided with Pol Pot's mass murderers ought to be summoned to the court in Phnom Penh: at the very least their names read into infamy's register.
johnpilger.com
Thai military commanders brought a letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks to the media after a meeting with Thai military commanders at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. The Thai military commanders brought a letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land, government TV reported.REUTERS/Stringer (CAMBODIA) 
Jeradej Kotcharat (L), vice commander of the Thai military, shakes hands with Cambodia's vice military commander Chea Savorn (R) after offering a letter of apology as Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) smiles during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Thai military commanders brought the letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land, government TV reported.REUTERS/Stringer (CAMBODIA)
Jeradej Kotcharat (L), vice commander of the Thai military, offers a letter of apology to Cambodia's vice military commander Chea Savorn (R) as Prime Minister Hun Sen watches during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Thai military commanders brought the letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land, government TV reported.REUTERS/Stringer (CAMBODIA)
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) shakes hands with Viboonsak Neepan (R), the Thai military commander of its second region, as Jeradej Kotcharat, vice commander of the Thai military, watches during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Thai military commanders brought a letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land, government TV reported.REUTERS/Stringer (CAMBODIA)
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) shakes hands with Dusit Kruayai (R), the Thai military's chief of communication for neighbouring countries, as Jeradej Kotcharat (2nd L), vice commander of the Thai military, and Viboonsak Neepan, the Thai military commander of its second region, watch during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. The Thai military commanders brought a letter to apologise for Tuesday's accidental firing of a mortar shell onto Cambodian land, government TV reported.REUTERS/Stringer (CAMBODIA) Lawyers for Samphan lost an appeal at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal to have his case file translated into French for his famed attorney
Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan sits in a court room at Extraodinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh on December 4, 2008. Lawyers for Samphan Friday lost an appeal at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal to have his case file translated into French for his famed attorney.(AFP/POOL/File/Mak Remissa)
A camera records a live feed of Khieu Samphan, a former Khmer Rouge leader and head of state, while he sits in the dock during his third pre-trial chamber public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Kieu Samphan is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
A vehicle transports Khieu Samphan, a former Khmer Rouge leader and head of state, from his cell for his third pre-trial chamber public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Kieu Samphan is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
A live feed shows Khieu Samphan, a former Khmer Rouge leader and head of state, sitting in the dock during his third pre-trial chamber public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2009 .Kieu Samphan is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
A video grab shows Khieu Samphan, a former Khmer Rouge leader and head of state, sitting in the dock during his third pre-trial chamber public hearing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2009. Kieu Samphan is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. REUTERS/ECCC/Handout (CAMBODIA). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.)Kenya: Framework for the Special Tribunal
Yash Ghai
20 February 2009
With the 'Waki' Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence identifying several politically-prominent figures in Kenya, Yash Ghai argues that the Kenyan people will increasingly regard their government as illegitimate if those responsible are not effectively brought to task. Contending that some form of international arbitration is required to make up for the deficiencies of Kenya's domestic courts, Ghai considers the recommendations of the commission and the composition of a special tribunal, arguing that these will represent a key means of developing ordinary Kenyans' trust and restoring the country's international reputation.
The 'Waki' Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence was clear that an essential component of the process for the return to a peaceful and democratic Kenya, where the rule of law is respected, is the trial of persons with most responsibility for the violence. It seems that the list of persons prepared by the Waki Commission for further investigation includes some who are in politically powerful positions, even in the cabinet. Many Kenyans are outraged that these persons still hold important posts and may continue to do so in the future. The ethnic violence that followed the 2007 elections traumatised the whole nation, threatened its unity and led to senses of deep grievance. If those responsible are not brought to justice, the impunity which has characterised Kenya's political and public life will continue unabated, and the sense of betrayal and of the illegitimacy of the government will become acute.
A compelling reason for an international court, or at least a hybrid court (with significant participation of international judges and prosecutors) for the trials is the weaknesses in the national legal and judicial system. The Kenyan system has the appearance of independence, competence, and effectiveness (at least when compared to Cambodia). But the Waki report points to the lack of political will to prosecute persons in high authority for serious offences, whether illegal appropriations of land, embezzlement of astounding sums of money, incitement to ethnic hatred and violence and killings. The initiation and termination of prosecutions are politically driven, so that when private groups have tried to bring highly placed suspects before the courts, the attorney general has terminated the trials. The judiciary has the reputation of extreme corruption, and subservience to the government. The Commission on the Goldenberg scandal describes how the courts have been used to launder stolen public funds and to whitewash perpetrators of theft. The Waki Commission says, 'nothing short of comprehensive constitutional reforms will restore the desired confidence and trust in the judiciary'. [p. 463]
Added to the political manipulation of the legal and judicial process are deficiencies in the system, as the attorney general himself admitted to the Waki Commission. Particularly weak is investigative capacity; the commission cites many cases of prolonged delays in investigations. Capacity for the conduct of prosecutions is also weak. The commission concluded, 'In view of the lack of visible prosecution against perpetrators of politically related violence, the perception has pervaded for sometime now that the Attorney General cannot effectively or at all deal with such perpetrators and this, in our view, has promoted the sense of impunity and emboldened those who peddle their trade of violence during election periods, to continue doing so'. [p. 455]
The commission has provided a number of carefully considered principles for the structure and jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. If the legislation does not fully implement them, then the commission's conditions will not have been met and the list of suspects could be handed over to the Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
This article discusses the recommendations of the commission. Unfortunately, the bill for the tribunal has still not been published, so near the commission deadline for its enactment. The law is not a matter for horse-trading between politicians but of the greatest public interest, and full public discussion of the bill before parliament passes it is essential.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL
A SELF-CONTAINED TRIBUNAL
Given the past record of the prosecution and judiciary, the commission recommends that the Special Tribunal should be detached from the other courts and the attorney general. They will have no jurisdiction in relation to the proceedings of the tribunal, which will have its own judges, prosecutor and investigators. Appeals from the tribunal's Trial Chamber would go to the Appeal Chamber (also part of the tribunal).
INTERNATIONALISATION
A majority of judges would be foreigners, drawn from the Commonwealth, and appointed on the nomination of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister. The prosecutor would be appointed on the nomination of the panel in the same way, and presumably be an outsider qualified to be a judge in a Commonwealth country. Reflecting its hybrid nature, the tribunal will have two Kenyan judges, one presiding over the Trial Chamber and the other the Appeal Chamber. They will be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister, both acting on the advice of the chief justice (which means they must accept that advice). The hybrid nature is also reflected in the jurisdiction of the tribunal, covering both Kenyan penal law and international crimes.
INDEPENDENCE
The tribunal will have authority to recruit and control its own staff, which will consist of Kenyan and international persons. Investigations will be conducted under the direction of the tribunal's prosecutor. The head of investigations and at least three other members of the team will be non-Kenyans 'so as to provide an independent approach to the investigation function of the Tribunal'. Similarly, having judges and the prosecutor from outside and detached from local politics will enhance independence. The tribunal will take custody of all investigative material and witness statements and testimony collected and recorded by the commission. The commission seeks to ensure non-interference with the tribunal by requiring that holders of public office (including civil servants) who are charged by the tribunal shall be suspended from duty.
CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS
The commission wants the tribunal to be 'insulated against objections on constitutionality' by anchoring it in the constitution. It is no doubt concerned that the typical Kenyan ploy, under which culprits in conjunction with lawyers, judges, and the government, conspire to derail important cases or processes, should not be available to subvert the tribunal. The provisions to be entrenched must be carefully drafted, not merely to give the tribunal constitutional status, but to ensure its independence, internationalisation, detachment from the ordinary court and legal processes (specifying, for example, that the attorney general's powers of investigation and the initiation and termination of prosecutions do not apply in relation to the tribunal). There may also be questions over the retrospective application of the international crimes legislation (dealt with later) although some offences there were also effectively prohibited in Kenya (like torture).
GOOD FAITH AND INTEGRITY
The Special Tribunal is a hybrid, but with a clear twist. In Cambodia if the government were to subvert the purposes of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the UN would withdraw. By contrast, if the local process was subverted, the cases would be 'internationalised' by reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It remains to be seen whether, given Kenya's political culture, this threat will be sufficient to ensure an honest process at home.
SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENT
The commission recommends three measures to create a supportive environment for the tribunal. To lay the legal foundation for its jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, it wants the speedy enactment of the International Crimes Bill, which was gazetted in April 2008 and appears to have languished since. Secondly, it wants the Freedom of Information Act enacted 'forthwith' so that both state and non-state actors can have full access to information leading to the arrest and prosecution of persons responsible for gross violations of the law. Thirdly, it wants the operationalisation of the 2006 Witness Protection Act to ensure protection for informers and witnesses.
These principles provide an effective framework for the tribunal. As is well known, the commission was not allowed time to produce more comprehensive proposals. I discuss below how some of its proposals could have been strengthened and suggest a few others to ensure that the spirit underlying the commission's recommendations is better reflected.
IMPROVING ON WAKI?
THE APPOINTMENT AND TENURE OF JUDGES
The ultimate decision on the appointment of the Kenyan judges seems to be left to the chief justice. This would be unfortunate, for in practice the initial and the ultimate decision would be the president's, leaving little discretion for the prime minister or chief justice. To overcome the problem of a chief justice who is widely perceived to be allied to the president, and a Judicial Service Commission which is heavily under the influence of its official members, the rule could be revised to require the chief justice to send the president names of three persons for each chamber, in consultation with other members of the Court of Appeal. Preferably the Kenyan judges should be drawn from senior practitioners, rather than serving judges.
In principle, the role of the president, prime minister and the chief justice should be minimised as each might, in different ways, be deemed implicated in, and share in the responsibility for, the chaos that followed the elections.
The tenure of judges should be specified for the duration of the tribunal. Provision should be made for removal for misconduct, with the determination to be made by a tribunal constituted of Commonwealth judges appointed by the panel. There should also be immunities and other privileges of judges (and other tribunal staff).
FUNDING OF THE TRIBUNAL
Such tribunals tend to be expensive, and the source of funds also affects the independence of the tribunal. No doubt the usual donors and lenders will assist, and it is to be hoped that funds will be sufficient and timely. In particular, the salaries and expenses of foreign judges and staff should be provided from such sources.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
The commission envisages a defence component of the tribunal but is short on detail. The tribunal should be allowed funds to set up a defence office or provide payment to lawyers chosen by the accused. Unfortunately, no scheme of official legal aid exists, despite a long standing constitutional requirement. Also, in keeping with the internationalisation of the tribunal, foreign lawyers briefed by the accused should be permitted to represent them.
TRIBUNAL'S JURISDICTION
Jurisdiction is restricted to 'serious crimes, particularly crimes against humanity, related to the 2007 election violence'. It is necessary to specify the jurisdiction clearly (at least as elaboration of 'serious crimes', such as murder, rape and other sexual violations, torture, forced disappearances, massive destruction of property - most of these are to be found in Kenya's penal laws). Crimes comprehended by the concept of 'crimes against humanity' are well understood now (and the International Crimes Bill adopts the definition in the statute of the ICC). But that bill is not yet law, and even when it is, its application could be challenged on the grounds of retrospectivity. It is therefore all the more important to clarify that Kenyas's penal laws covering charges of the 'serious crimes' mentioned above are made applicable.
Jurisdiction in respect of persons ('persons bearing the greatest responsibility for serious crimes') also needs to be specified. The tribunal will start with a list of potential accused and the evidence against them collected by the commission, but the tribunal should be free to investigate others. But only the most reprehensible persons should, additionally, be charged, in order to bring the trial to closure within a reasonable time. Kenya cannot afford the luxury of the trials going on and on. Among the suspects are leading politicians and the early determination of responsibility and remedial action are essential for peace, stability and justice. The law on the tribunal should specify that the ordinary process of investigation and prosecution should apply after the tribunal process ends.
EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONALISATION
In Cambodia and other instances of hybrid tribunals, the role of the international community, particularly the UN, has been crucial. The 'international' status of the tribunal comes from its association with the Panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by Kofi Annan. The commission urges that its recommendations should be implemented under the auspices of the panel, and, in addition, gives it specific tasks (as in the appointment of judges and prosecutors). Oversight by the panel should be expressly stated in the law. The panel in turn should be free to use such institutions as it deems appropriate to discharge its responsibilities.
MONITORING AND AUDITS
Monitoring by local and international NGOs and UN audits have played an important role in the accountability of the Cambodian tribunal. This is also important here, and should be provided in the law.
FINAL OBSERVATIONS
It is imperative that the government and parliament get a proper and credible system in place, for a great deal depends on it. Quite apart from dispelling the reputation we have established abroad for violence, impunity and unprincipled politicians, we have also to convince Kenyans of the ability and willingness of political parties to end impunity and to punish those who place the security of the people and the integrity of the country at risk. And we have a chance to learn through the participation of foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators, how a proper criminal justice works. Over the years, as we have so shamelessly politicised our legal system that not only have people lost all confidence in it, but the government and the judiciary have forgotten the professional competence, skills, and integrity necessary for a just and effective legal system.
* Yash Ghai is a professor of constitutional law. He is the head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal and a Special Representative of the UN secretary general in Cambodia on human rights.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org/.
20 February 2009
With the 'Waki' Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence identifying several politically-prominent figures in Kenya, Yash Ghai argues that the Kenyan people will increasingly regard their government as illegitimate if those responsible are not effectively brought to task. Contending that some form of international arbitration is required to make up for the deficiencies of Kenya's domestic courts, Ghai considers the recommendations of the commission and the composition of a special tribunal, arguing that these will represent a key means of developing ordinary Kenyans' trust and restoring the country's international reputation.
The 'Waki' Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence was clear that an essential component of the process for the return to a peaceful and democratic Kenya, where the rule of law is respected, is the trial of persons with most responsibility for the violence. It seems that the list of persons prepared by the Waki Commission for further investigation includes some who are in politically powerful positions, even in the cabinet. Many Kenyans are outraged that these persons still hold important posts and may continue to do so in the future. The ethnic violence that followed the 2007 elections traumatised the whole nation, threatened its unity and led to senses of deep grievance. If those responsible are not brought to justice, the impunity which has characterised Kenya's political and public life will continue unabated, and the sense of betrayal and of the illegitimacy of the government will become acute.
A compelling reason for an international court, or at least a hybrid court (with significant participation of international judges and prosecutors) for the trials is the weaknesses in the national legal and judicial system. The Kenyan system has the appearance of independence, competence, and effectiveness (at least when compared to Cambodia). But the Waki report points to the lack of political will to prosecute persons in high authority for serious offences, whether illegal appropriations of land, embezzlement of astounding sums of money, incitement to ethnic hatred and violence and killings. The initiation and termination of prosecutions are politically driven, so that when private groups have tried to bring highly placed suspects before the courts, the attorney general has terminated the trials. The judiciary has the reputation of extreme corruption, and subservience to the government. The Commission on the Goldenberg scandal describes how the courts have been used to launder stolen public funds and to whitewash perpetrators of theft. The Waki Commission says, 'nothing short of comprehensive constitutional reforms will restore the desired confidence and trust in the judiciary'. [p. 463]
Added to the political manipulation of the legal and judicial process are deficiencies in the system, as the attorney general himself admitted to the Waki Commission. Particularly weak is investigative capacity; the commission cites many cases of prolonged delays in investigations. Capacity for the conduct of prosecutions is also weak. The commission concluded, 'In view of the lack of visible prosecution against perpetrators of politically related violence, the perception has pervaded for sometime now that the Attorney General cannot effectively or at all deal with such perpetrators and this, in our view, has promoted the sense of impunity and emboldened those who peddle their trade of violence during election periods, to continue doing so'. [p. 455]
The commission has provided a number of carefully considered principles for the structure and jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal. If the legislation does not fully implement them, then the commission's conditions will not have been met and the list of suspects could be handed over to the Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
This article discusses the recommendations of the commission. Unfortunately, the bill for the tribunal has still not been published, so near the commission deadline for its enactment. The law is not a matter for horse-trading between politicians but of the greatest public interest, and full public discussion of the bill before parliament passes it is essential.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL
A SELF-CONTAINED TRIBUNAL
Given the past record of the prosecution and judiciary, the commission recommends that the Special Tribunal should be detached from the other courts and the attorney general. They will have no jurisdiction in relation to the proceedings of the tribunal, which will have its own judges, prosecutor and investigators. Appeals from the tribunal's Trial Chamber would go to the Appeal Chamber (also part of the tribunal).
INTERNATIONALISATION
A majority of judges would be foreigners, drawn from the Commonwealth, and appointed on the nomination of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister. The prosecutor would be appointed on the nomination of the panel in the same way, and presumably be an outsider qualified to be a judge in a Commonwealth country. Reflecting its hybrid nature, the tribunal will have two Kenyan judges, one presiding over the Trial Chamber and the other the Appeal Chamber. They will be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister, both acting on the advice of the chief justice (which means they must accept that advice). The hybrid nature is also reflected in the jurisdiction of the tribunal, covering both Kenyan penal law and international crimes.
INDEPENDENCE
The tribunal will have authority to recruit and control its own staff, which will consist of Kenyan and international persons. Investigations will be conducted under the direction of the tribunal's prosecutor. The head of investigations and at least three other members of the team will be non-Kenyans 'so as to provide an independent approach to the investigation function of the Tribunal'. Similarly, having judges and the prosecutor from outside and detached from local politics will enhance independence. The tribunal will take custody of all investigative material and witness statements and testimony collected and recorded by the commission. The commission seeks to ensure non-interference with the tribunal by requiring that holders of public office (including civil servants) who are charged by the tribunal shall be suspended from duty.
CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS
The commission wants the tribunal to be 'insulated against objections on constitutionality' by anchoring it in the constitution. It is no doubt concerned that the typical Kenyan ploy, under which culprits in conjunction with lawyers, judges, and the government, conspire to derail important cases or processes, should not be available to subvert the tribunal. The provisions to be entrenched must be carefully drafted, not merely to give the tribunal constitutional status, but to ensure its independence, internationalisation, detachment from the ordinary court and legal processes (specifying, for example, that the attorney general's powers of investigation and the initiation and termination of prosecutions do not apply in relation to the tribunal). There may also be questions over the retrospective application of the international crimes legislation (dealt with later) although some offences there were also effectively prohibited in Kenya (like torture).
GOOD FAITH AND INTEGRITY
The Special Tribunal is a hybrid, but with a clear twist. In Cambodia if the government were to subvert the purposes of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the UN would withdraw. By contrast, if the local process was subverted, the cases would be 'internationalised' by reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It remains to be seen whether, given Kenya's political culture, this threat will be sufficient to ensure an honest process at home.
SUPPORTING ENVIRONMENT
The commission recommends three measures to create a supportive environment for the tribunal. To lay the legal foundation for its jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, it wants the speedy enactment of the International Crimes Bill, which was gazetted in April 2008 and appears to have languished since. Secondly, it wants the Freedom of Information Act enacted 'forthwith' so that both state and non-state actors can have full access to information leading to the arrest and prosecution of persons responsible for gross violations of the law. Thirdly, it wants the operationalisation of the 2006 Witness Protection Act to ensure protection for informers and witnesses.
These principles provide an effective framework for the tribunal. As is well known, the commission was not allowed time to produce more comprehensive proposals. I discuss below how some of its proposals could have been strengthened and suggest a few others to ensure that the spirit underlying the commission's recommendations is better reflected.
IMPROVING ON WAKI?
THE APPOINTMENT AND TENURE OF JUDGES
The ultimate decision on the appointment of the Kenyan judges seems to be left to the chief justice. This would be unfortunate, for in practice the initial and the ultimate decision would be the president's, leaving little discretion for the prime minister or chief justice. To overcome the problem of a chief justice who is widely perceived to be allied to the president, and a Judicial Service Commission which is heavily under the influence of its official members, the rule could be revised to require the chief justice to send the president names of three persons for each chamber, in consultation with other members of the Court of Appeal. Preferably the Kenyan judges should be drawn from senior practitioners, rather than serving judges.
In principle, the role of the president, prime minister and the chief justice should be minimised as each might, in different ways, be deemed implicated in, and share in the responsibility for, the chaos that followed the elections.
The tenure of judges should be specified for the duration of the tribunal. Provision should be made for removal for misconduct, with the determination to be made by a tribunal constituted of Commonwealth judges appointed by the panel. There should also be immunities and other privileges of judges (and other tribunal staff).
FUNDING OF THE TRIBUNAL
Such tribunals tend to be expensive, and the source of funds also affects the independence of the tribunal. No doubt the usual donors and lenders will assist, and it is to be hoped that funds will be sufficient and timely. In particular, the salaries and expenses of foreign judges and staff should be provided from such sources.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
The commission envisages a defence component of the tribunal but is short on detail. The tribunal should be allowed funds to set up a defence office or provide payment to lawyers chosen by the accused. Unfortunately, no scheme of official legal aid exists, despite a long standing constitutional requirement. Also, in keeping with the internationalisation of the tribunal, foreign lawyers briefed by the accused should be permitted to represent them.
TRIBUNAL'S JURISDICTION
Jurisdiction is restricted to 'serious crimes, particularly crimes against humanity, related to the 2007 election violence'. It is necessary to specify the jurisdiction clearly (at least as elaboration of 'serious crimes', such as murder, rape and other sexual violations, torture, forced disappearances, massive destruction of property - most of these are to be found in Kenya's penal laws). Crimes comprehended by the concept of 'crimes against humanity' are well understood now (and the International Crimes Bill adopts the definition in the statute of the ICC). But that bill is not yet law, and even when it is, its application could be challenged on the grounds of retrospectivity. It is therefore all the more important to clarify that Kenyas's penal laws covering charges of the 'serious crimes' mentioned above are made applicable.
Jurisdiction in respect of persons ('persons bearing the greatest responsibility for serious crimes') also needs to be specified. The tribunal will start with a list of potential accused and the evidence against them collected by the commission, but the tribunal should be free to investigate others. But only the most reprehensible persons should, additionally, be charged, in order to bring the trial to closure within a reasonable time. Kenya cannot afford the luxury of the trials going on and on. Among the suspects are leading politicians and the early determination of responsibility and remedial action are essential for peace, stability and justice. The law on the tribunal should specify that the ordinary process of investigation and prosecution should apply after the tribunal process ends.
EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONALISATION
In Cambodia and other instances of hybrid tribunals, the role of the international community, particularly the UN, has been crucial. The 'international' status of the tribunal comes from its association with the Panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by Kofi Annan. The commission urges that its recommendations should be implemented under the auspices of the panel, and, in addition, gives it specific tasks (as in the appointment of judges and prosecutors). Oversight by the panel should be expressly stated in the law. The panel in turn should be free to use such institutions as it deems appropriate to discharge its responsibilities.
MONITORING AND AUDITS
Monitoring by local and international NGOs and UN audits have played an important role in the accountability of the Cambodian tribunal. This is also important here, and should be provided in the law.
FINAL OBSERVATIONS
It is imperative that the government and parliament get a proper and credible system in place, for a great deal depends on it. Quite apart from dispelling the reputation we have established abroad for violence, impunity and unprincipled politicians, we have also to convince Kenyans of the ability and willingness of political parties to end impunity and to punish those who place the security of the people and the integrity of the country at risk. And we have a chance to learn through the participation of foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators, how a proper criminal justice works. Over the years, as we have so shamelessly politicised our legal system that not only have people lost all confidence in it, but the government and the judiciary have forgotten the professional competence, skills, and integrity necessary for a just and effective legal system.
* Yash Ghai is a professor of constitutional law. He is the head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Programme in Nepal and a Special Representative of the UN secretary general in Cambodia on human rights.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at
http://www.pambazuka.org/.
Top Chinese political advisor meets Cambodian King
www.chinaview.cn
2009-02-21
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met here Friday with visiting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.
Jia spoke highly of the contribution of the Cambodian royal family to promoting Sino-Cambodian ties.
He said the China-Cambodia relationship remains solid and has been growing stronger with joint efforts of the two peoples and cultivation of leaders of the two sides.
China highly values its relations with Cambodia, and would work with Cambodia to advance high-level exchanges, promote practical cooperation, so as to realize common prosperity and cement bilateral relations, he said.
Sihamoni said China is the "most reliable friend" of Cambodia, expressing his gratitude for China's long-term support and economic assistance and for its contribution to Cambodia's national reconciliation, peace and development.
He said Cambodia would join hands with China to continue to promote the bilateral relations to a higher level.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met here Friday with visiting Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.
Jia spoke highly of the contribution of the Cambodian royal family to promoting Sino-Cambodian ties.
He said the China-Cambodia relationship remains solid and has been growing stronger with joint efforts of the two peoples and cultivation of leaders of the two sides.
China highly values its relations with Cambodia, and would work with Cambodia to advance high-level exchanges, promote practical cooperation, so as to realize common prosperity and cement bilateral relations, he said.
Sihamoni said China is the "most reliable friend" of Cambodia, expressing his gratitude for China's long-term support and economic assistance and for its contribution to Cambodia's national reconciliation, peace and development.
He said Cambodia would join hands with China to continue to promote the bilateral relations to a higher level.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
KRouge court rejects leader's translation appeal
Former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan
A live feed of former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan during a pre-trial chamber public hearingPHNOM PENH (AFP) — Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan Friday lost an appeal at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal to have his case file translated into French for his famed attorney.
The genocidal regime's leader and his lawyers have argued that in the absence of the translation of the documents into French -- one of the court's three official languages -- Khieu Samphan would not have a fair trial.
Khieu Samphan, 77, is being defended by famed French lawyer Jacques Verges, who has acted for some of the world's most infamous figures including Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan terrorist "Carlos the Jackal".
Judge Prak Kimsan, head of the tribunal's pre-trial chamber, said Friday that the "appeal is inadmissible" because the court's rules do not provide for appeals relating to translation issues.
The judge also said that the defence team already had legal assistants who understand the languages used by the hybrid international-Cambodian court, which was set up in 2006 after years of haggling with the United Nations.
Verges, who is representing Khieu Samphan along with Cambodian lawyer Sa Sovan, said during an appeal hearing last December that only 2.5 percent of the 60,000-page case file had been translated.
Sa Sovan said he was "very regretful" at the ruling.
"The suspect's rights have been violated. So there is no justice at this court," the lawyer said.
But the prosecution welcomed the decision, with Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang saying it was "very important" to make proceedings move forward quickly.
Khieu Samphan is one of five Khmer Rouge leaders who have been detained by the court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge's brutal 1975-1979 regime.
He went before the court for the first time in April last year to appeal against his pre-trial detention.
The judges adjourned that hearing and warned Verges over his behaviour after he said he was unable to act for his client because court documents had not been translated.
A fierce anti-colonialist, Verges, who was born in Thailand, reportedly befriended Khieu Samphan and other future Khmer Rouge leaders while at university in Paris in the 1950s.
Up to two million people are believed to have been executed or died of starvation and overwork as the communist regime emptied Cambodia's cities, exiling millions to vast collective farms in a bid to forge an agrarian utopia.
The long-awaited first Khmer Rouge trial started earlier this week when the regime's notorious prison chief, Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, went before the court.
Chevron Suspends Undersea Oil Exploration in the Khmer Sea - Friday, 20.2.2009
Posted on 20 February 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 600
“Too much corruption and bureaucracy at the National Petroleum Authority and at the Council of Ministers of the Hun Sen government motivates the big US petroleum company Chevron to suspend exploring natural oil and gas in Block A, offshore at the sea, 150 km from the Sihanoukville Port.
Note:
In the Yellow Pages directory for Phnom Penh, the Business Listings section has only the name, address, phone numbers, and an e-mail address of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority – but no Web address, as it is usual for the entries of enterprises and institutions, and the section “Profile” of the company does not provide any information: it is empty.
See also the Mirror of 4.12.2008:
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 600
“Too much corruption and bureaucracy at the National Petroleum Authority and at the Council of Ministers of the Hun Sen government motivates the big US petroleum company Chevron to suspend exploring natural oil and gas in Block A, offshore at the sea, 150 km from the Sihanoukville Port.
Note:
In the Yellow Pages directory for Phnom Penh, the Business Listings section has only the name, address, phone numbers, and an e-mail address of the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority – but no Web address, as it is usual for the entries of enterprises and institutions, and the section “Profile” of the company does not provide any information: it is empty.
See also the Mirror of 4.12.2008:
US Oil Company Pays US$120 Million to Buy Oil Exploration License for Explorations at the Bottom of the Khmer Sea
“An official of Chevron said that the company has finished exploring oil and gas at the concession region in Block A, but cannot continue to start producing oil at this time, because there is much demand for under-the-table kickbacks, and another point is that the price of oil now dropped down dramatically. Therefore oil business activities in Cambodia will probably start again only in 2012.
“Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance [and Permanent Vice Chairperson of the Supreme National Economic Council] Hang Chuon Narong said during a forum on Cambodia’s Future Economic Development, on Wednesday 18 February 2009, that at present, Chevron is playing a game of waiting in Cambodia after they saw that the price of oil was drooping during the last six months. Hang Chuon Narong added, ‘The accusation that there is too much corruption and bureaucracy in Cambodia is not true, and this accusation is just a pretext of Chevron to delay the production of oil from the bottom of the Cambodian sea.’
“Hang Chuon Narong continued to say, ‘At this step, Chevron already finished exploring for oil in Block A. If Chevron would continue their development now, the first oil productions would start in 2012.’ He said also that the scenario that he predicted is expected to produce income of US$200 million in the same year 2012. Hang Chuon Narong predicted that Chevron will wait longer before beginning to produce oil from the gulf in Block A, because oil prices are declining in a serious crisis both in Cambodia and in the world.
“However, an official of Chevron, who asked not to be named, said that the falling oil prices in Cambodia and in the world are not the cause for suspending the process of oil exploitation in the Cambodian offshore sea. The obstacle is that the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority and the Council of Ministers require Chevron to negotiate new documents for oil production, for oil discovered in Block A, since the previous documents were only for exploration, not production. Now, exploration is finished. Therefore, there have to be new documents for oil exploitation for production, which require to spend a lot of under-the-table kickbacks. Moreover, also because of the declining oil prices, it makes the Chevron Company reluctant to continue oil exploitation, and it might suspend its operations until 2012, to reconsider. If the Chevron Company suspends the process until 2012, Cambodia will lose the US$200 million income from oil exploitation between 2009 and 2012.’
“As for Hang Chuon Narong, he said that Chevron will continue to produce oil in 2014 or 2015, depending on oil prices – everything depends on prices of oil only [by implication denying that there is corruption and bureaucracy as additiional factors].
“The assessment by Hang Chuon Narong over activities of the Chevron Company in Block A indicates another breakdown of hope of the Chevron Company to develop Block A in the future. On 5 February 2009, the spokesperson of the Pacific Regional Office, Mr. Gareth Johnston, announced that Chevron is trying to find a solution to develop the complicated issues in Block A.
“He emphasized, ‘We are in a process to evaluate many development decisions for resources in Block A to get profits from this difficult task. Mr. Gareth Johnston did not comment on oil prices in the world, and how it impacts on the suffering of the company for the development of Block A. One barrel of oil was only US$34.92 on 18 February 2009, which shows how much the price dropped from the highest at US$145 in July 2008.
“Mr. Gareth Johnston added that at present, Chevron is not in any discussions about the setting of a date to exploit oil in Cambodia, unless a real assessment is finished.”
“An official of Chevron said that the company has finished exploring oil and gas at the concession region in Block A, but cannot continue to start producing oil at this time, because there is much demand for under-the-table kickbacks, and another point is that the price of oil now dropped down dramatically. Therefore oil business activities in Cambodia will probably start again only in 2012.
“Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance [and Permanent Vice Chairperson of the Supreme National Economic Council] Hang Chuon Narong said during a forum on Cambodia’s Future Economic Development, on Wednesday 18 February 2009, that at present, Chevron is playing a game of waiting in Cambodia after they saw that the price of oil was drooping during the last six months. Hang Chuon Narong added, ‘The accusation that there is too much corruption and bureaucracy in Cambodia is not true, and this accusation is just a pretext of Chevron to delay the production of oil from the bottom of the Cambodian sea.’
“Hang Chuon Narong continued to say, ‘At this step, Chevron already finished exploring for oil in Block A. If Chevron would continue their development now, the first oil productions would start in 2012.’ He said also that the scenario that he predicted is expected to produce income of US$200 million in the same year 2012. Hang Chuon Narong predicted that Chevron will wait longer before beginning to produce oil from the gulf in Block A, because oil prices are declining in a serious crisis both in Cambodia and in the world.
“However, an official of Chevron, who asked not to be named, said that the falling oil prices in Cambodia and in the world are not the cause for suspending the process of oil exploitation in the Cambodian offshore sea. The obstacle is that the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority and the Council of Ministers require Chevron to negotiate new documents for oil production, for oil discovered in Block A, since the previous documents were only for exploration, not production. Now, exploration is finished. Therefore, there have to be new documents for oil exploitation for production, which require to spend a lot of under-the-table kickbacks. Moreover, also because of the declining oil prices, it makes the Chevron Company reluctant to continue oil exploitation, and it might suspend its operations until 2012, to reconsider. If the Chevron Company suspends the process until 2012, Cambodia will lose the US$200 million income from oil exploitation between 2009 and 2012.’
“As for Hang Chuon Narong, he said that Chevron will continue to produce oil in 2014 or 2015, depending on oil prices – everything depends on prices of oil only [by implication denying that there is corruption and bureaucracy as additiional factors].
“The assessment by Hang Chuon Narong over activities of the Chevron Company in Block A indicates another breakdown of hope of the Chevron Company to develop Block A in the future. On 5 February 2009, the spokesperson of the Pacific Regional Office, Mr. Gareth Johnston, announced that Chevron is trying to find a solution to develop the complicated issues in Block A.
“He emphasized, ‘We are in a process to evaluate many development decisions for resources in Block A to get profits from this difficult task. Mr. Gareth Johnston did not comment on oil prices in the world, and how it impacts on the suffering of the company for the development of Block A. One barrel of oil was only US$34.92 on 18 February 2009, which shows how much the price dropped from the highest at US$145 in July 2008.
“Mr. Gareth Johnston added that at present, Chevron is not in any discussions about the setting of a date to exploit oil in Cambodia, unless a real assessment is finished.”
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.16, #36920.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 20 February 2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 20 February 2009
Thailand says sorry for mortar shell landing in Cambodia
People's Daily News
February 20, 2009
Thailand on Friday sent a letter to Cambodia to apologize for the wrong shooting of mortar shell into Cambodian land on Feb. 17, according to a press release from the Cambodian foreign ministry.
"I am writing to express to you my sincerest apology for the unfortunate incident that took place on Feb. 17, 2009," said Anupong Paojinda, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, in the letter.
"The mortar shell that landed in the Kingdom of Cambodia was a result of the miscalculation during one of our training exercises. We have since launched a full investigation into the incident," he said.
"Please be assured that the Royal Thai Army has been strictly following the Kingdom of Thailand's policy to maintain peaceful and cordial relationship with all our neighbors. I would like to reassure you that we will use all means to prevent such an incident from happening again in the future," he added.
According to the press release from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the letter was addressed to Meas Sophea, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF).
Also on Friday, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted a RCAF military commander based in the border region as saying that in this week's incident the shells landed two kilometers inside the Cambodian territory.
The 81mm and 106mm shells came down near the Ta Krabey temple and the Bos Thom village, 6 shells exploded in the forest, another2 failed to go off, no one was injured, and no property was damaged, the commander said in condition of anonymity.
Tension between Thailand and Cambodia ratcheted higher in 2008 when troops from both countries clashed at the Preah Vihear temple and soldiers on both sides died in fighting in October, before an uneasy peace was restored.
Source:Xinhua
February 20, 2009
Thailand on Friday sent a letter to Cambodia to apologize for the wrong shooting of mortar shell into Cambodian land on Feb. 17, according to a press release from the Cambodian foreign ministry.
"I am writing to express to you my sincerest apology for the unfortunate incident that took place on Feb. 17, 2009," said Anupong Paojinda, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, in the letter.
"The mortar shell that landed in the Kingdom of Cambodia was a result of the miscalculation during one of our training exercises. We have since launched a full investigation into the incident," he said.
"Please be assured that the Royal Thai Army has been strictly following the Kingdom of Thailand's policy to maintain peaceful and cordial relationship with all our neighbors. I would like to reassure you that we will use all means to prevent such an incident from happening again in the future," he added.
According to the press release from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the letter was addressed to Meas Sophea, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF).
Also on Friday, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted a RCAF military commander based in the border region as saying that in this week's incident the shells landed two kilometers inside the Cambodian territory.
The 81mm and 106mm shells came down near the Ta Krabey temple and the Bos Thom village, 6 shells exploded in the forest, another2 failed to go off, no one was injured, and no property was damaged, the commander said in condition of anonymity.
Tension between Thailand and Cambodia ratcheted higher in 2008 when troops from both countries clashed at the Preah Vihear temple and soldiers on both sides died in fighting in October, before an uneasy peace was restored.
Source:Xinhua
International Labour Organisation disappointed that Thach Saveth remains in prison
Ka-set
By Ka-set
20-02-2009
In a statement published on Friday February 20th, the Bangkok office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said it was “disappointed” after the Court of Appeal of Cambodia upheld the 15-year prison sentence against Thach Saveth.
The former military had been found guilty in February 2005 of the murder of trade unionist Ros Sovannareth, killed one year earlier.
ILO has always condemned the assassination of the prominent member of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) and the organisation has also repeatedly called for Thach Saveth to be released from prison and the unionist's murder be investigated “in accordance with international standards of due process, so that the true perpetrators can be brought to justice.”
ILO concludes by expressing its strong hope that an appeal will be swiftly passed to the Supreme Court for the release of Thach Saveth.
By Ka-set
20-02-2009
In a statement published on Friday February 20th, the Bangkok office of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said it was “disappointed” after the Court of Appeal of Cambodia upheld the 15-year prison sentence against Thach Saveth.
The former military had been found guilty in February 2005 of the murder of trade unionist Ros Sovannareth, killed one year earlier.
ILO has always condemned the assassination of the prominent member of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) and the organisation has also repeatedly called for Thach Saveth to be released from prison and the unionist's murder be investigated “in accordance with international standards of due process, so that the true perpetrators can be brought to justice.”
ILO concludes by expressing its strong hope that an appeal will be swiftly passed to the Supreme Court for the release of Thach Saveth.
Nordic Support for Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge Trial
Public viewing Pre-Trial Hearing on Khieu Samphan appeal. See http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english/default.aspx
From scandasia.com
By Charlotte Lund Dideriksen
2009-02-20
The war crimes tribunal in Cambodia against five of the leaders of Khmer Rouge regime that has finally started, is supported among others by all the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries contribute not only through their contribution to the UN or through the EU but also with direct financial support of the tribunal which is officially called Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
The first accused on the stand is 65-year old former math teacher Kaeng Kek Eav, also known as the Duch, who was the inspector on the infamous prison Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh during the totalitarian regime from 1975 to 1979 in the wake of the revolution. A lot of Cambodians, especially from the ruling class, underwent torture and a documented number of 12800 people died in the prison.
The other accused are ex-president Khieu Samphan, the former minister of foreign affairs Leng Sary, the former minister of social matters Leng Tirith, who is better known as brother number two, and chief ideologist Nuon Chea. All of them are charged for war crimes and Sirius violations on the Geneva convention.
From scandasia.com
By Charlotte Lund Dideriksen
2009-02-20
The war crimes tribunal in Cambodia against five of the leaders of Khmer Rouge regime that has finally started, is supported among others by all the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries contribute not only through their contribution to the UN or through the EU but also with direct financial support of the tribunal which is officially called Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
The first accused on the stand is 65-year old former math teacher Kaeng Kek Eav, also known as the Duch, who was the inspector on the infamous prison Tuol Sleng in Phnom Penh during the totalitarian regime from 1975 to 1979 in the wake of the revolution. A lot of Cambodians, especially from the ruling class, underwent torture and a documented number of 12800 people died in the prison.
The other accused are ex-president Khieu Samphan, the former minister of foreign affairs Leng Sary, the former minister of social matters Leng Tirith, who is better known as brother number two, and chief ideologist Nuon Chea. All of them are charged for war crimes and Sirius violations on the Geneva convention.
Sam Rainsy Could Face Immunity Battle
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
20 February 2009
Cambodian justice officials have proposed the suspension of parliamentary immunity for opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has refused to pay a fine levied by the National Election Committee over allegedly disparaging remarks toward ruling party leaders.
Sam Rainsy has said he will not pay the 10 million riel, or $2,500, fine, but will appeal to the Supreme Court to have charges dropped against him. The NEC and the Constitutional Council both found Sam Rainsy in violation of election laws for remarks he made during the 2008 campaign.
However, government officials speaking on conditions of anonymity say a proposal to lift the opposition lawmaker’s immunity has been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, which is planning to forward it to the National Assembly in coming days.
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party won a vast majority of National Assembly seats in the July 2008 election, which would allow voting along party lines to lift the immunity.
Sok Roeun, a deputy prosecutor for Phnom Penh Municipal Court, would not discuss Sam Rainsy’s immunity Thursday, but said if the opposition leader doesn’t pay his fines, the courts will take legal action. Asked what that action would be, he declined further comment and hung up the phone.
Original report from Washington
20 February 2009
Cambodian justice officials have proposed the suspension of parliamentary immunity for opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who has refused to pay a fine levied by the National Election Committee over allegedly disparaging remarks toward ruling party leaders.
Sam Rainsy has said he will not pay the 10 million riel, or $2,500, fine, but will appeal to the Supreme Court to have charges dropped against him. The NEC and the Constitutional Council both found Sam Rainsy in violation of election laws for remarks he made during the 2008 campaign.
However, government officials speaking on conditions of anonymity say a proposal to lift the opposition lawmaker’s immunity has been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, which is planning to forward it to the National Assembly in coming days.
The ruling Cambodian People’s Party won a vast majority of National Assembly seats in the July 2008 election, which would allow voting along party lines to lift the immunity.
Sok Roeun, a deputy prosecutor for Phnom Penh Municipal Court, would not discuss Sam Rainsy’s immunity Thursday, but said if the opposition leader doesn’t pay his fines, the courts will take legal action. Asked what that action would be, he declined further comment and hung up the phone.
Hun Sen Wants Thai Rocket Investigation
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 February 2009
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday called on a Thai military delegation to open an investigation into the firing of Thai rockets over the Cambodian border earlier this week.
Hun Sen met with a delegation led by Gen. Jeradej Kotcharat, deputy commander of the Thai army, which carried a message of apology for the firing of six to eight rockets into Cambodia on Tuesday.
The Thai side has said the rockets, which fell near Ta Krabey temple, in Odar Meanchey province, were fired on accident, but Hun Sen told reporters after the meeting he would like an extended investigation.
“The first rocket, no problem,” Hun Sen said. “But it’s not only one. It’s the second or third rocket in Cambodian land.”
Hun Sen said it was fortunate the rockets were fired into sparsely populated Cambodia, as a similar incident from Cambodia to Thailand would likely “kill Thai people.” “The Thai side should correct this mistake,” he said.
Jeradej declined to comment following the meeting.
Deputy army commander Lt. Gen. Kun Kim told VOA Khmer that debris from the rockets, which appeared to be 106 mm, had been found scattered in Banteay Ampil district, Odar Meanchey.
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 February 2009
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday called on a Thai military delegation to open an investigation into the firing of Thai rockets over the Cambodian border earlier this week.
Hun Sen met with a delegation led by Gen. Jeradej Kotcharat, deputy commander of the Thai army, which carried a message of apology for the firing of six to eight rockets into Cambodia on Tuesday.
The Thai side has said the rockets, which fell near Ta Krabey temple, in Odar Meanchey province, were fired on accident, but Hun Sen told reporters after the meeting he would like an extended investigation.
“The first rocket, no problem,” Hun Sen said. “But it’s not only one. It’s the second or third rocket in Cambodian land.”
Hun Sen said it was fortunate the rockets were fired into sparsely populated Cambodia, as a similar incident from Cambodia to Thailand would likely “kill Thai people.” “The Thai side should correct this mistake,” he said.
Jeradej declined to comment following the meeting.
Deputy army commander Lt. Gen. Kun Kim told VOA Khmer that debris from the rockets, which appeared to be 106 mm, had been found scattered in Banteay Ampil district, Odar Meanchey.
Start Young for Heart Disease Checks: Doctor
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington
20 February 2009
Screening for dyslipidemia and coronary heart disease should began at the age of 20 and continue every five years, a doctor said Thursday.
Tests will look for cardiovascular risk problems as well as cholesterol counts between LDL-C, or “bad cholesterol,” and HDL-C, or “good cholesterol,” said Dr. Taing Tek Hong, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
Dyslipidemia is a disruption in the amount of fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, and other molecules in the blood, which can come from poor diet and an unhealthy lifestyle.
Major risk factors for coronary heart disease in people with high bad cholesterol include cigarette smoking, hypertension, and a family history of premature coronary heart disease, Taing Tek Hong said.
“Treatment should include a diet low in animal fat, high in fish, high in fruit, vegetables and nuts and exercise,” he said. “Sometimes medications might be necessary.”
Washington
20 February 2009
Screening for dyslipidemia and coronary heart disease should began at the age of 20 and continue every five years, a doctor said Thursday.
Tests will look for cardiovascular risk problems as well as cholesterol counts between LDL-C, or “bad cholesterol,” and HDL-C, or “good cholesterol,” said Dr. Taing Tek Hong, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
Dyslipidemia is a disruption in the amount of fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, and other molecules in the blood, which can come from poor diet and an unhealthy lifestyle.
Major risk factors for coronary heart disease in people with high bad cholesterol include cigarette smoking, hypertension, and a family history of premature coronary heart disease, Taing Tek Hong said.
“Treatment should include a diet low in animal fat, high in fish, high in fruit, vegetables and nuts and exercise,” he said. “Sometimes medications might be necessary.”
Khmer Rouge court rejects leader's translation appeal
ZEENEWS.COMPhnom Penh, Feb 20: Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan Friday lost an appeal at Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal to have his case file translated into French for his famed attorney.
The genocidal regime's leader and his lawyers have argued that in the absence of the translation of the documents into French -- one of the court's three official languages – Khieu Samphan would not have a fair trial.
Khieu Samphan, 77, is being defended by famed French lawyer Jacques Verges, who has acted for some of the world's most infamous figures including Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan terrorist "Carlos the Jackal".
Judge Prak Kimsan, head of the tribunal's pre-trial chamber, said today that the "appeal is inadmissible" because the court's rules do not provide for appeals relating to translation issues.
The judge also said that the defence team already had legal assistants who understand the languages used by the hybrid international-Cambodian court, which was set up in 2006 after years of haggling with the United Nations.
Verges, who is representing Khieu Samphan along with Cambodian lawyer Sa Sovan, said during an appeal hearing last December that only 2.5 per cent of the 60,000-page case file had been translated.
Bureau Report
Soldier Defends Tuol Sleng Film
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 February 2009
A Vietnamese soldier and cameraman defended as “true” a film he shot of Tuol Sleng prison during the ouster of the Khmer Rouge, which could be used as evidence in tribunal proceedings.
Ding Phong, now 71, shot footage of Tuol Sleng prison as Vietnamese forces liberated Phnom Penh in Januray 1979, but the film has come under criticism from defense lawyers for former Khmer Rouge leaders facing atrocity crimes trials.
“The documentary shot in Tuol Sleng is true,” Dinh Phong said Thursday, before returning to Vietnam after a six-day visit to Cambodia to deliver his film to researchers. “What we shot 30 years ago is the truth.”
Lawyers for Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, who is the first to face trial under the tribunal, said the films were not unbiased.
“This is a documentary which has a political character,” said Kar Savuth, an attorney for Duch, or Kaing Kek Iev, who saw his initial trial hearing this week. “It cannot be used [as evidence] in the trial.”
“What he mentioned is an accusation,” Dinh Phongsaid, denying the political assertion.
Tribunal prosecutor Chea Leang has requested that two Vietnamese filmmakers, who have donated their films to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, be brought before the Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, to defend their work.
Dinh Phong said Thursday he would only answer questions outside the court.
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 February 2009
A Vietnamese soldier and cameraman defended as “true” a film he shot of Tuol Sleng prison during the ouster of the Khmer Rouge, which could be used as evidence in tribunal proceedings.
Ding Phong, now 71, shot footage of Tuol Sleng prison as Vietnamese forces liberated Phnom Penh in Januray 1979, but the film has come under criticism from defense lawyers for former Khmer Rouge leaders facing atrocity crimes trials.
“The documentary shot in Tuol Sleng is true,” Dinh Phong said Thursday, before returning to Vietnam after a six-day visit to Cambodia to deliver his film to researchers. “What we shot 30 years ago is the truth.”
Lawyers for Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, who is the first to face trial under the tribunal, said the films were not unbiased.
“This is a documentary which has a political character,” said Kar Savuth, an attorney for Duch, or Kaing Kek Iev, who saw his initial trial hearing this week. “It cannot be used [as evidence] in the trial.”
“What he mentioned is an accusation,” Dinh Phongsaid, denying the political assertion.
Tribunal prosecutor Chea Leang has requested that two Vietnamese filmmakers, who have donated their films to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, be brought before the Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, to defend their work.
Dinh Phong said Thursday he would only answer questions outside the court.
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