Workshop and Exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province

Villagers look at a painting by artist Chan Pisey about the Khmer Rouge genocide during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (2nd L), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, explains a painting to villagers during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Villagers look at a painting by artist Vann Nath, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Chan Pisey explains her painting about the Khmer Rouge genocide to villagers during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Villagers visit an exhibition titled "The Art of Survival" by artist Vann Nath, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, explains a painting to villagers during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (2nd R), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, speaks to Cambodian Buddhist monks during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A Cambodian Buddhist monk draws a picture depicting the arrest of a Cambodian civilian by Khmer Rouge soldiers, during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Artist Vann Nath, who spoke at the workshop, was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (R), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, gives drawing tips to a villager during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (L), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, speaks during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (L), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, gives drawing tips to Cambodian Buddhist monks during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Artist Vann Nath (C), a survivor of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, gives drawing tips to young artists during an art workshop and exhibition project titled "The Art of Survival", at a pagoda in Kamport province, 146 km (91 miles) west of Phnom Penh, July 25, 2009. Nath was detained during the regime at the S-21 interrogation centre, where more than 14,000 people died, and said his life was only spared because chief torturer Duch liked his paintings of "Brother Number One", Pol Pot.
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Cambodia Calls

http://online.barrons.com/

By LESLIE P. NORTON

REMEMBER FRONTIER MARKETS? Those in Pakistan and Vietnam, the high-octane sector of the developing world, promising even swifter growth than the more mature emerging markets?

They've been left in the dust this year as investors swarmed to so-called BRIC funds -- those that trade in shares of Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese companies -- as well as to emerging-markets funds. The MSCI BRICs index has returned 53% in 2009, while emerging markets have returned 43%, and the corresponding frontier markets index, just 4.8%. (The Templeton Frontier Markets Fund is up 23%.)

Says Michael Hartnett, Merrill Lynch's global equity strategist: "Interest in frontier markets has lagged because of liquidity issues." But if enthusiasm about growth in China and almost anywhere outside the developed world gathers steam, expect new interest in frontier markets to jump.

David Wilton, chief investment officer of the International Finance Corp.'s private-equity and investment-funds department, thinks a change is already under way: "The mood has shifted noticeably from February. Now the listed equity markets have recovered, and they're thinking about investing."

The latest market to get attention is Cambodia, where a handful of investors familiar with Vietnam and Thailand are trying to set up funds. Cambodia is very poor, with rampant corruption and crony capitalism. But economic growth is robust, even if the economy is just $8 billion. Douglas Clayton, managing partner of Phnom Penh-based Leopard Capital, has raised just under $30 million and is trying to raise more; sitting on his board is markets commentator and Barron's Roundtable contributor Marc Faber.

Cambodia doesn't have a stock market yet, but Clayton believes it could by year's end. There are numerous foreign-sponsored companies, including banks and cellphone operators, though the economy is largely agricultural. The median age in Cambodia is 21, the lowest in Asia. Clayton reckons that about 70% of the population, which numbers 14 million, wasn't yet born during the horrific regime of the Khmer Rouge, estimated to have killed two million Cambodians.

"Cambodia is back open for business," says Clayton, who is applying for citizenship. "This is a failed state that's back on its feet."

Conservative investors aren't impressed. Says Peter Newell, managing director of Vontobel Asset Management: "We look for a $50 million bottom line, low leverage, high ROA [return on assets]. Can you find that in a frontier market? No. Not even in China, not easily."

David Wilton of the International Finance Corp. agrees: Investing in Cambodia may be, as he delicately puts it, "a wee bit nascent," and there are few deals to support private-equity funds. Still, Wilton concedes that the IFC is very close to seeding a fund to invest there.

E-mail: leslie.norton@barrons.com

Vietnam Deputy PM visits Cambodia

People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn

July 25, 2009

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday to pay three-day official visit to Cambodia.

During his visit, Truong Vinh Trong, who is also a representative of the Vietnamese prime minister, will attend a signing ceremony on the Declaration of the Establishment of Cambodia National Carrier -- Cambodia Angkor Air -- and the inauguration of the representative office of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in Phnom Penh, according to the statement of government.

Moreover, Truong Vinh Trong, to be accompanied by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Council of Ministers Sok An, will take the first flight of the Cambodia Angkor Air from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the location of world famous Angkor Wat, on Sunday.

Truong Vinh Trong will also pay courtesy calls on Cambodian National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen during his stay here.

Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) is a joint venture between the government and state-owned Vietnam Airlines. Hun Sen is to preside over CAA's official launch on Sunday.

Only two ATR 72 planes will be first operational and will expand upon demands. It is the first national air carrier since the first of its kind went bankrupt in 2001. Cambodia's national airline Royal Air Cambodge, a joint venture with Malaysia Helicopter Services, closed down in 2001, after it lost about 20 million U.S. dollars since it began operations in 1994.

Over the past few years, Cambodia has been seeking foreign partners to re-establish its own new national airline, but was unsuccessful.

Source: Xinhua

China plans ethanol plant in Cambodia

Australia Network News
http://australianetworknews.com

AN official at Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says China National Petroleum Corporation is looking to invest US 58 million dollars in an ethanol plant that would use cassava as its raw material to generate fuel.

CNPC is China's largest oil and gas producer and this project would be funded by a Chinese government loan.

The official told the Phnom Penh Post no decision has been taken as the factory would require 40 million to 50 million tonnes of cassava annually, about 15 times current domestic production.

Wishing to remain anonymous, the official says the project would require a huge amount of land, and with concessions a contentious issue, the ministry needs to confer with other ministries.

Cambodian law states that a land concession cannot be larger than 10,000 hectares.

Fake and Substandard Drugs Threaten Malaria Treatment in Cambodia

Online NewsHour
http://www.pbs.org

By Talea Mille
July 24, 2009

TASANH, Cambodia A stream of poor-quality and counterfeit malaria drugs coming into Cambodia is contributing to a growing resistance to treatment for the disease near the Thai-Cambodian border.

Many of the drugs are cheaply made and don't contain the right chemistry, or are stored at incorrect temperatures, while others are deliberate fakes that have authentic-looking pills and packaging but contain only a small percentage of the active ingredient in each pill.

People in Cambodia are unknowingly using "improper drugs and fake drugs which create resistance," Duong Socheat, director of the nation's malaria control program said. The problem is fueled by the country's many informal pharmacies and merchants that don't have the proper training to provide the correct drug regimen, he said.

Of the drugs the country has confiscated, most were traced to China and Thailand, according to Socheat. India is also known to be a large manufacturer of counterfeit and substandard drugs.

There have been some attempts to crack down on the lucrative industry, such as putting in place greater penalties for counterfeiting, but without much effect, said Roger Bate, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute who researches counterfeit drugs.

"They do not regulate -- and cannot regulate -- things as well as the U.S. or Europe. It's not that they don't want to but they have a massive counterfeit problem and they don't have the money," Bate said.

Fake and substandard drugs of all kinds are a problem around the world, but the scale is difficult to gauge. The World Health Organization estimates that as much as 25 percent of the drugs sold in the developing world are counterfeit. A 2009 report from the International Policy Network found that fake tuberculosis and malaria drugs alone may kill about 700,000 people a year.

In Cambodia, the risks extend even beyond loss of life because the area of western Cambodia near the Thai border has historically been at the heart of development of resistance to antimalarials. Resistance to chloroquine surfaced there in the 1970s, followed by resistance to sulfadoxinepyrimethamine and mefloquine.

Recently, two independent studies carried out in western Cambodia found that early stages of resistance is developing for artemisinin, now considered the first-line treatment for malaria.

Being exposed to low levels, or incorrect dosing of a medication can help grow resistance. A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that 68 percent of anti-malaria drugs found in Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia did not contain the correct amount of active ingredient.

Use of monotherapies can also breed resistance, leading to a World Health Organization ultimatum for artemisinin to only be produced and sold as part of combination therapy, called ACT. However artemisinin monotherapy, a fraction of the price of the combination therapy, has continued to be produced and sold as a cheaper alternative.

In Thasanh, Cambodia, the site of U.S.-funded resistance trials, researchers say patients have brought in a wide range of medications. Some are monotherapies, some are clearly just "fever packs," plastic baggies filled with a variety of pills not really intended for malaria, while others appear to be ACT but may not be the real thing.

In an effort to provide access to good quality malaria medications, and also decrease manufacture of fakes, monotherapies and cheaply made medications, the Global Fund and international partners are launching a $225 million program called the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria, known as AMFm.

The program aims to flood pilot countries with cheap, high-quality malaria medications to reduce the use of improper or fake medications by patients, and to make the market less desirable for producers of the products.

"If there is an economic incentive for illegal production of a product in all likelihood it will happen," said Dr. Olusoji Adeyi, director of AMFm at the Global Fund.

"So by introducing into the market high quality drugs at rock bottom prices it will reduce the economic incentive for the producers and marketers of fake drugs."

Cambodia is the only non-African country among the 11 invited to participate, and was included because of its history with development of drug resistance, said Adeyi.

Once approved, each country will decide how to implement the program through the public and private sectors. If the drugs are not offered for free to the public by the country, they will be available for a small amount of money said Adeyi.

By negotiating with the manufacturers of ACT and subsidizing the cost of the medicine, AMFm would reduce the cost of ACT treatment for the buyer from about $6 to $10 down to 20 to 50 cents.

The group is moving quickly to start the pilot programs and is aiming to begin distribution in early 2010. But not everyone is convinced the scheme will work.

"I like the idea in principle but I have gone on the record as against it in practice as it currently stands," Bate said. There is not yet a complete understanding of how this intervention will affect the market in each country, he argues.

The United States has also not backed the plan yet, citing a lack of data showing the subsidies will work once implemented.

Adeyi counters that time is short and the pilot program is a smart way to move forward before any attempt at a larger roll out.

"As of today, collectively the global health community has tried many things to achieve universal access to malaria medication and collectively we have not succeeded," he said.

"If we stay on this track we will lose artemisinin [to drug resistance] ...we need to have open minds to a new approach."

US And Asian Allies On High Alert - Bloomberg

Bloomberg

US will sign treaty of amity and cooperation as a symbolic gesture to get a foot in the region as a major ally with all the Southeast Asian nations. (The Trade)

Closer ties with US

Mrs Clinton and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem shake hands as foreign ministers and representatives from the Asean look on after they pose for group photos during the ASEAN Regional Forum in Phuket on Thursday. -- PHOTO: AP

The Straits Times
http://www.straitstimes.com

July 24, 2009

PHUKET - ASEAN foreign ministers on Thursday wrapped up four days of meetings, saying the 10-member grouping has been given a boost by a new and closer partnership with the United States as well as specific progression in setting up a new human rights body and a�dispute settlement mechanism.

The ministers also decided on measures to deepen regional integration, most prominently�a plan to improve road, rail, air, shipping and electronic connectivity within and beyond Asean.

It would eventually link China's extensive transport infrastructure with India's expanding�highway system.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation on Tuesday, bringing new life�to the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), which met on Thursday.

'The ARF is a central pillar in the (region's) evolving security architecture,' Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said.

In a�significant development, Mrs Clinton held a first-ever meeting with the Lower Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

The meetings with ministers from Laos and Cambodia consigned to the past the last vestiges of the Cold War and signalled greater US strategic and investment interest.

The issues of North Korea and Myanmar dominated the ARF meeting. Mrs Clinton spelt out the US and international position on North Korea, and predictably the US position drew a sharp response from Pyongyang.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said that while Asean was not a major player in North-east Asia, the grouping stood with the international community in urging North Korea to return to six-party talks with the US, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

On Myanmar, its minister, in response to unequivocal messages from Asean, gave the assurance that its elections�would be free and fair.

Outcry over thousands of evictions in Cambodia

A family eats breakfast outdoors as the community in which they lived is demolished by the Phnom Penh municipality last Friday. Jared Ferrie / The National

The National

http://www.thenational.ae

Jared Ferrie, Foreign Correspondent
July 22. 2009

PHNOM PENH // Cambodia’s government is facing criticism from international donors concerned about an apparent clampdown on civil society while tens of thousands of people are being forced from their homes to make way for private -developers.

About 150,000 Cambodians are in danger of being evicted from their land, according to Amnesty International. A local organisation, STT, estimated that 11 per cent of the capital’s population has been forcibly relocated since 1991. Reports of forced evictions throughout the country routinely appear in local newspapers.

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party has launched a series of legal actions designed, critics say, to silence opposition. Journalists working for opposition newspapers have been targeted and some have been sentenced to prison. The country’s most popular opposition newspaper recently ceased publication after its editor was threatened with criminal charges.

Rather than using the civil code, which does not include jail terms, the government has chosen to pursue legal action through criminal laws written by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (Untac), a peacekeeping mission. Those laws were intended to be temporary and were drawn up specifically to enforce security during the 1993 national elections when the country was still racked by civil war.

“It appears that the courts are being used to silence critics of the government by relying on the outdated Untac disinformation statute instead of the 1995 press law, which was designed to promote fair, balanced reporting,” said John Johnson, a spokesman for the US Embassy.

“We hope that in the future, charges of defamation or insults will be handled through personal arbitration whenever possible or mediated by using the civil code,” he added.

Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, said Cambodia is simply using the legal means at its disposal to ensure that journalists do not threaten stability with flawed reporting.

The government has also launched lawsuits against human rights activists and opposition politicians, including Mu Sochua, a member of the Sam Rainsy Party. Ms Mu will defend herself in court tomorrow against defamation charges filed by the prime minister because her lawyer stepped down after being threatened with a lawsuit and disbarment.

Ms Mu said she hoped the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, would raise human rights issues when she meets Cambodian officials today during a regional security conference in Thailand. She said she has been in contact with people working for Mrs Clinton, whom she first met in the mid-1990s through her work as a women’s rights activist.

“Hillary knows of my problem for sure,” said Ms Mu, but added that Mrs Clinton will probably choose to put her case into the broader context of human rights violations.

The government has filed at least nine politically motivated lawsuits in recent months, according to -Human Rights Watch. Ms Mu said the lawsuits have a dual purpose of silencing opposition voices while distracting attention from such controversial issues as mass evictions.

The most recent eviction in Phnom Penh began at dawn last Friday, when workers hired by the municipality began dismantling the remaining homes of a community of about 150 families as police and soldiers in riot gear stood by. The community had been fighting for legal title of the land since 2004. A 2001 law decreed that residents who had occupied public land for at least five years up until that point should be given ownership. But the law has rarely been enforced.

Just before midnight last Thursday, a group of 11 international donors and aid agencies issued a statement calling on the government to halt forced evictions in Cambodia “until a fair and transparent mechanism for resolving land disputes is put in place”.

“In an environment of escalating urban land values in Cambodia and speculative land buying and selling, urban dwellers are under threat of being moved to make way for high value property development,” said the statement, which was signed by the World Bank and the UN, as well as embassies, including those of the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the eviction the next day: “The relocation was not voluntary, as families left under duress and were presented with no other option but to accept inadequate compensation.”

Officials said the houses, which included several two-storey wooden homes among other less impressive structures, were removed to make way for a “beautification” project.

Mann Choeun, Phnom Penh’s deputy governor, told reporters the relocation was done in a “respectful and humanitarian way”. He noted that municipal workers were instructed to save building materials so residents could use them to construct new homes on plots of land provided by the government.

But residents said they were not happy with the relocation site, which is more than 20km outside the city.

“It’s not good – no electricity, no water. Everything is bad there and I don’t want to live there. It’s so far from my school,” a tearful Kim Soa said as crews demolished neighbouring houses.

Her father tried until the last -moment to negotiate a better price for his house, but in the end he was forced to accept the US$8,000 (Dh29,000) offered by the government.
Families were given the choice of taking $8,000 cash, $5,000 and a plot of land, or $1,000 and an apartment at the relocation site.

Daniel King, a lawyer with the Community Legal Education Centre, said an independent market assessment of the eviction site valued the land at more than $15 million.

Mr King noted that international donors gave Cambodia almost $1 billion last year, which accounts for about half the national budget. He welcomed statements from the international community, but added that donors have failed to take action against the Cambodian government.

“There isn’t follow-through on the words that the international community is speaking,” he said.

The Ministry of Interior Refused to Allow Chea Mony to Visit the Convict Heng Pov – Friday, 24.7.2009

Posted on 24 July 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 622
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“The Prisons Department of the Ministry of Interior rejected to allow the president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union of Workers, Mr. Chea Mony, to visit the former Phnom Penh police chief, convict Heng Pov.

“In a letter to the trade union on 23 July 2009, signed by he head of the Prisons Department, General Heng Hak, said that the convict Heng Pov is jailed at the Prey Sar Prison, and he is taken care of carefully by a doctor who checks his health regularly, his lawyer goes often to work and to observe him, his family frequently visit him, and he has received regular support. Therefore the Prisons Department thinks that a visit by Mr. Chea Mony to the convict Heng Pov, jailed at the Prey Sar Prison, as an humanitarian act, is not necessary.

“What is mentioned above by the head of the Prisons Department of the Ministry of Interior is in response to a request, dated 19 June 2009, to visit the convict Heng Pov by the president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union, Mr. Chea Vichea.

“While Mr. Heng Pov was the Phnom Penh police chief, he was in charge of dealing with the murder of the former president of the Cambodian Free Trade Union of Workers, Mr. Chea Vichea, on 22 January 2004, whereas the perpetrators have not yet been arrested for prosecution, besides the two men: Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen, who had been accused as murderers and then were convicted and imprisoned. Anyway, the two men, considered by civil society, [by UN instititions,] and by Mr. Chea Vichea’s relatives [as well as by the ILO and the former King] as murderers, were released [on bail] by the Supreme Court on 31 December 2008 [but no information about the ongoing investigations is made public].

“After having been refused a permission to visit the former Phnom Penh police chief, Mr. Chea Mony, the younger brother of Mr. Chea Vichea, expressed his regret and considers it as a new form of discrimination in Khmer society.

“Mr. Chea Mony said that Mr. Heng Pov used to be the Phnom Penh police chief and used to crack down on many offenses and crimes. He has both good and bad achievements. Therefore, to visit this former police chief is just to encourage him, while he was prosecuted to serve in prison for the rest of his life for many murders.

“Asked whether his visit to the former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov was intended to ask him about the murder of Mr. Chea Vichea about 5 years ago, Mr. Chea Mony responded that first, he just wanted to visit Heng Pov with his conscience being a Khmer national, the same as he is himself. His plan was not related to the murder of Mr. Chea Vichea yet.

“It should be noted that since Heng Pov was arrested in 2007, he had been accused and convicted for many murders and kidnappings. Heng Pov is now 50 years old, and he was convicted for at least 60 years in prison. This does not include the possible future convictions for some other cases that have not yet been solved by the court.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4954, 24.7.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 24 July 2009

Court Puts Off Verdict in Defamation Case

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 July 2009

An unruly gathering of opposition supporters on Friday caused Phnom Penh Municipal Court to postpone a verdict in the defamation case against Mu Sochua until August.

Mu Sochua is being sued by Prime Minister Hun Sen for defamation, following her own suit against the premier in April. The municipal court was swarmed with more than 200 supporters Friday, while observers from the diplomatic and civil rights communities looked on.

Mu Sochua was present for the proceedings, which lasted all day, but she was unable to find a lawyer, after her first counsel resigned in the face of his own defamation suit and other attorneys were not found. Mu Sochua invoked her right to remain silent, saying in a statement to the court she was being denied a right to a fair trial.

“This right can only be guaranteed when I, as the accused, am judged by an independent and impartial tribunal,” she told the court.

Mu Sochua had sued Hun Sen for allegedly derogatory remarks made during the 2008 election campaign, but the court dropped the suit against her while maintaining the countersuit of Hun Sen. She had her parliamentary immunity suspended by the National Assembly in June.

“As an elected representative of the people, as a woman verbally attacked in public, I seek justice,” she said in her statement to the court. “The decision you are about to make will require conscience, impartiality and your own determination to stay above all forms of political pressure. If your choice is dictated by those who use the court as an instrument to silence their critics, then there can be no justice. There can be no rule of law.”

Hun Sen’s lawyer, Ky Tech, demanded the court punish Mu Sochua “according to the law” and fine her 10 million riel, about $2,500.

Court prosecutor Sok Kalyan said the evidence showed Mu Sochua was guilty of defaming Hun Sen and the law called for a fine of up to that amount. The law did not call for a prison term, he said.

At the end of the day, court judges said they would announce a verdict Aug. 4.

Police Wrap Up Training in Artifact Protection

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 July 2009

The US FBI and national police on Friday wrapped up four days of training to prevent the theft of cultural artifacts.

The training included speakers from the US National Parks Service and State Department. The US supplied $12,000 worth of computer and electronic equipment “designed to assist the force with the apprehension and prosecution of those involved with the theft of artifacts and relics,” the US Embassy said in a statement.

Police underwent two days of training in Siem Reap, the gateway city to the temples of Angkor Wat, and two days of training in Phnom Penh. This was the second of two planned training courses.

Free Expression Severely Deteriorated: Groups

By Im Sothearith, VOA, Khmer
Original report from Washington
24 July 2009

Freedoms of expression and the press have been seriously damaged in recent months, which can have a ripple effect throughout the region, rights groups and analysts said recently.

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance and other concerned groups sent an open letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen July 17, denouncing a “rapidly and palpably deteriorating environment for free expression in Cambodia.”

The open letter, signed by 12 advocacy groups from across Southeast Asia, marked concerns that political speech and press freedom have been severely restricted after harsh attacks against parliamentarians, advocates, lawyers and journalists over the past year.

SEAPA stressed in the letter that Cambodian leaders and the ruling party must be aware that violations of people’s rights to free expression are ultimately a regional problem and concern.

Roby Alampay, SEAPA’s executive director, told VOA Khmer by phone that over the past year, there have been a lot of worrying trends, which the letter sought to bring to national, regional and international attention.

The 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting this week will adopt the terms of reference for the formation of an Asean Human Rights Body, to be launched in October, and Southeast Asian nations should take notice of what is happening in Cambodia, he said.

“In anything, awareness of the matter is good,” Alampay said. “At the same time in Cambodia, we want the Cambodians to know that this is something that we are bringing to the attention of the region; they are not alone.”

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and one of the signatories of the open letter, told VOA Khmer in a phone interview that the letter is to address concerns of the advocacy groups in the region about free-expression violations in Cambodia.

The letter was not intended to put pressure on the Cambodian government, but to bring awareness to the government that the measures it has been taking are really restrictions to the freedom of expression, which must be avoided, he said.

“We understand that the oppression of free expression, of whatever sort, makes a negative picture for Cambodia,” he said. “Recently the government has used the court to oppress and threaten its critiques. The court is an issue because it is not independent; it cannot protect people fairly before the law. I think the government is taking advantage of a biased judicial system to oppress its critiques.”

Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst, told VOA Khmer by phone that as Cambodia is one of the signatories of some international laws, including for free expression, Cambodians have an obligation to abide by them.

She added that human rights violations, including freedom of expression, are a regional problem because what happens in one country can create difficulties in neighboring countries. Therefore, countries in the region have the right to raise their concerns.

“Severe human rights violations in a country make its people flee for refuge in other Asean member countries,” she said. “In this case, although human rights violations happen in your country, if we don’t take timely action, the difficulty will spread to other Asean countries.”

SEAPA called for Cambodia’s leadership to demonstrate its commitment to constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression as well as to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a signatory.

As Cambodia is a member of Asean, it must live up to the values and spirit addressed in ASEAN charter: “respect for the fundamental freedoms, promotion and protection of human rights,” the group said.

Violations committed by Cambodia’s leadership and its ruling party against the country’s activists over the past year undermine the values, principles, and directions of the Asean community to which it belongs, the group said.

Economy Brings Worries of Exploitation

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 July 2009

Human trafficking and sexual and labor exploitation are likely to become more prevalent in Cambodia as the economic crisis continues, senior officials and UN observers say.

The economic slowdown is limiting job prospects, forcing some workers to look abroad, where they could be in danger of exploitation, while others could fall into dangerous entertainment sectors.

“Because of the world’s economy has changed, it will cause trafficking more severely,” Oeng Kantha Phavy, Minister of Women’s Affairs, told a recent conference. “Whenever people can’t find a job in their home country, they will decide to go abroad with high risk and insecurity. That will lead to exploitation.”

Cambodia typically legally sends between 7,000 and 8,000 workers abroad each year, mostly to Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. An estimated 20,000 Cambodians work in Thailand illegally, in construction, tourism and domestic services. Remittances for these workers add up to $300 million per year.

But with the increase in joblessness this year, those numbers are climbing, by as much as 30 percent from January to April, officials say.

The financial crisis has also caused a small bump in the number of workers in the entertainment industry, around 3 percent, according to the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region, or UNIAP.

UNIAP recently surveyed 357 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49.

“This is an unprecedented situation,” UNIAP’s regional manager, Matthew Friedman, said. “The job losses will probably lead to more exploitative, trafficking in the future.”

The agency is concerned the lower employment numbers will lead to less security and more exploitation over time, he said.

Cambodia remains a source and destination for international and internal human trafficking. Women and children are trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia for labor and sexual exploitation—or they are moved around the country, feeding demand in cities like

Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Preah Sihanouk province.

Cambodian PM calls for peaceful border with Thailand

http://english.sina.com

2009-07-24
xinhuanet

PHNOM PENH, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia and Thailand should try to prevent armed conflicts and to secure a border of peace, security and development, the official news agency AKP (Agency Kampuchea Presse)reported on Friday.

Hun Sen made the remarks when he met with visiting Thai Parliament President and speaker of the House of Representatives Chai Chid Chob on Thursday. The premier stressed that "any dispute could have negative impacts on Cambodia-Thailand trade," according to Ieng Sophalet, assistant to the premier.

Meanwhile, Chai Chid Chob asked Hun Sen to help maintaining good relationship between Cambodia and Thailand and praised him for his right decision to reduce tension between the two neighboring countries.

On the same day, Chai held talks with Cambodian National Assembly President Heng Samrin. During the meeting, Heng Samrin asked once again the Thai Parliament to push the Thai government to accelerate the negotiations by using bilateral existing mechanisms and to withdraw its troops from the Preah Vihear Temple's area.

According to Koam Kosal, cabinet chief and assistant to Heng Samrin, Chai affirmed to bring these recommendations to the Thai government.

During his meeting with Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim, Chai Chid Chob shared the same idea with Chea Sim, especially withCambodia's stance to solve the border dispute peacefully and to avoid confrontations, Pheng Kunthea Borey, head of protocol of Chea Sim, told reporters after the talks.

The delegation of Thai Parliament arrived here on Thursday for a two-day official visit. It was also granted an audience by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia on Friday.