.: 21 Sept 2009

Monday, 21 September 2009

CAAI News Media; Cambodian Buddhist monk holds a peace flag during a ceremony to mark International Day of Peace

A Cambodian Buddhist monk holds a peace flag during a ceremony to mark International Day of Peace, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist monks pray for peace during a ceremony to mark International Day of Peace, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The banner in the background reads: 'Welcome to participation.' (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist monks and nuns, in white, sit to pray for peace during a ceremony to mark International Day of Peace, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian Buddhist monks are transported on three-wheeled cycles during a ceremony to mark The International Day of Peace, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

CAAI News Media: A means to an end

http://www.ubspectrum.com

Monday, September 21 2009
Rachel Lamb, Asst. Life Editor

Girls and women are kept in steel cages in dark back alley slums until eager men are escorted in, pick one out and then give money to have sex with them on tattered cots.

This is reality for over 55,000 young women in Cambodia that are trapped in sexual slavery. It is estimated that 35 percent of those girls are younger than 16 years old.

Vintage On Campus, a student Christian group, is trying to end sex trafficking in Cambodia. They are teaming with Agape International Missions, which has a station in Asia where sex trafficking is most prevalent.

On Sept. 16, VOC held an event in the Student Union to raise awareness and money to help stop human sex trafficking in Cambodia. Members of VOC also rocked on a giant seesaw for one-hour timeslots.

“The seesaw was mainly to catch people’s eyes and have them come over,” said Jay Perillo, VOC’s campus minister. “But we also wanted to get the message across that we were ‘tipping the scales of injustice.’”

Many students milled around the event last Wednesday, where there were plenty of brochures, pamphlets and literature to read about the event. VOC also offered Web sites, like Agape International Mission’s Web site, aim4asia.com, where people can make donations.

VOC also supplied orange bracelets, claiming that orange is the color of freedom. The group encouraged students to wear the color to show that they are a part of finding an end to sex trafficking.

“We need to do whatever we can to stop human trafficking,” Perillo said.

Along with the money raised by the VOC members and their sponsors, Perillo estimates that donations brought in over $1,000. All of the proceeds will go directly to AIM’s site to help rescue young girls who are sex slaves.

According to Perillo, AIM helps those who are enslaved by pulling them out of the alleys, educating them, and giving them food, shelter and safety in its Restoration Center in Cambodia. The program also provides therapy and spiritual guidance to the traumatized victims.

“[AIM] is a great organization and we want to help them in whatever way we can,” Perillo said.

According to its Web site, AIM has helped thousands of people and has opened over 600churches in Cambodia since its inception in 1988 in California.

AIM also provides financial support, disaster relief, medical supplies and personnel.

The VOC is relatively new to UB. It was started in the spring 2009 semester. Dave Ashby, a UB alumnus and head of the set-up and teardown team, hopes that the VOC will make a difference with the sex trafficking in Cambodia.

“The VOC would like to eventually expand and do mission trips and raise more money,” Ashby said.

Ashby raised money and sat on the seesaw for an hour with a fellow member of the VOC.

“I wish I could have raised more, but I’m glad that I was able to help,” he said.

VOC would like to put together more events to help end sex trafficking not only in Cambodia, but also all over the world.

“I hope that VOC will expand over the next few years so that we can have more support on campus and so that we can raise more money for all the people that we want to help,” Ashby said.

E-mail: spectrum-features@buffalo.edu

CAAI News Media: Vietnam goods popularity soars at new Cambodia border crossing

While duty-free shops at most border crossing points with Cambodia are full of imported goods, the Tinh Bien border gate economic zone in the southwestern province of An Giang stocks mostly Vietnamese high-quality goods.

Cambodian shoppers at a duty-free shop on the Vietnamese border. The Tinh Bien border gate economic zone in An Giang Province stocks mostly Vietnamese high-quality goods and has been doing roaring business since opening on August 22 (Photo: TT)

http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn
Monday ,Sep 21,2009

Since opening on August 22, trade has been flourishing here with large volumes of goods exported to Cambodia every day.

It sells a range of Vietnamese goods, including food, cosmetics, clothes, household appliances, and furniture.

Thousands of shoppers flock to Tinh Bien daily, mostly from the Cambodian side.

Many of them say they used to buy Chinese and Thai products but have now switched to Vietnamese after many supermarkets opened along the Vietnamese side.

Many Cambodian retailers come to buy goods in large quantities to sell in remote parts of their country.

At Tinh Bien, Vietnamese shoppers can buy duty-free goods worth up to VND500,000 a day.

Nguyen Minh Tri, head of the An Giang border gate economic zone’s management, said the zone has an average daily turnover of VND1 billion, and three times that on weekends.

Many of the supermarkets at the zone regularly order large quantities of goods and ask to be their distributors in Cambodia.

Nguyen Thi Hong, deputy chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said Cambodia is a promising market.

The city is promoting its relations with An Giang and Tay Ninh Provinces to build warehouses there to facilitate export of its goods to Cambodia.

Trade between the two countries has risen by 37 percent in the five years to 2008.

Official agencies forecast it to reach US$2.31 billion in 2010 and US$6.55 billion in 2015.

More than 150 Vietnamese firms have established branches and shops in Cambodia.

Vuong Dinh Ngan, deputy head of the Trade Promotion Department under the Industry and Trade Ministry, said the zone is not only a place for duty-free shops but also a place for local producers to introduce their products and establish relations with Cambodian importers.

By Huynh Phuoc Loi – Translated by Hoang Yen

CAAI News Media: Cambodian scholars ask Thai "Yellow Shirts" to respect international laws

http://www.chinaview.cn
2009-09-21

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian historians and scholars have appealed to the Thai "Yellow Shirts" protesters to stop demanding the land of 4.6 square kilometers near the 11th-century Khmer Preah Vihear temple, the website of DAP News said on Monday.

"Those Thai protesters have confused the history and their demands are incorrect," IV Chan, a deputy chairman and historian of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) was quoted by DAP Cambodia news as saying.

"We also requested those Thai protesters to respect international border treaty between Siam ( Thailand) and French colony (representative of Cambodia) in 1904-1907 and the verdict of international court which claimed in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia."
"There is no overlapping area at the area and both countries have boundary line for over 100 years," he said.

Additionally, Kim Saron, a senior member of history and culture affairs department of RAC said that Cambodia and Thailand have already established the committee of Khmer-Thai culture and they have met each other for several times to write important documents of the two countries.

"Those Thai extremists have to know about their history and culture, and should also know the cultures and histories of neighboring countries like Cambodia," Kim added.

A group of Thai protesters from People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), also called "Yellow Shirts," held a rally near Preah Vihear Temple at the weekend to protest the mishandling of Thai governments over the disputed border area with Cambodia, and planned to move into the are that is claimed by Thailand to hold the protest rally at the areas.

Cambodian and Thai armed forces have tightened security at border near the temple to prevent any rally protests.

The two neighboring countries share a nearly 800-kilometer-longcommon border and they have never fully demarcated their land border.

The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) approved Cambodia's bid to list Preah Vihear Temple as the World Heritage Site, in July 2008. Since then, the temple and its adjacent area have become the sites of border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.

Editor: Lin Zhi

CAAI News Media: Decision on Preah Vihear case Tues

Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 21/09/2009

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is ready to decide on Tuesday whether to indict 36 people including ministers of the Samak Sundaravej cabinet and state officials charged in connection with the cabinet approval on June 17 last year for Thailand to sign a joint communique with Cambodia without seeking advice from parliament, NACC member Somluck Jadkrabuanpol said on Monday.

The joint communique was to support Cambodia's application to list the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

The NACC on Nov 13 last year decided to press charges against the Samak cabinet members, except four who were absent, for negligence of duty and violation of Article 190 of the constitution, and certain state officials for malfeasance.

Mrs Somluck said the anti-graft agency has thoroughly studied the investigation report on the case and would tomorrow decide whether to indict the 36 accused.

Of the 36, four are members of the current government. They are Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pattaraprasit, Information and Communication Minister Ranongrak Suwanchawee, and Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul.

CAAI News Media: PAD vows to uphold Thai sovereignty over disputed aera

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/

By The Nation
Published on September 21, 2009

Yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid yesterday vowed to uphold Thai sovereignty over 4.6 square kilometres of terrain near Preah Vihear Temple claimed by Cambodia. Veera also threatened to take legal action against officials condoning the encroachment.

Veera also threatened to take legal action against officials condoning the encroachment.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his government was trying to resolve border problems via the legal process and not force.

Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Twitter that Preah Vihear actually does belong to Cambodia by a decision of the International Court of Justice.

He accused the government of favouritism for letting the yellow shirts, who clashed with local villagers in Si Sa Ket on Saturday, read out a statement reaffirming Thailand's dominion over the temple area.

Local villagers had tried to block access to the area by the yellow shirts.

To pacify the rival groups, authorities allowed Veera and about 30 yellow shirts to climb up to Pha Mor-I-Daeng, a cliff inside the Phra Wiharn National Park located in Kantharalak district opposite the temple, to read the declaration.

"We Thai patriots want to declare our intent to form a people's network to restore Thai sovereignty to the surrounding areas of Prasat Phra Wiharn," Veera said.

He pledged to pursue every legal means to reclaim Thai territory. He also warned officials that they would be penalised if they were caught involved in the territorial violations.

He went on to complain against the Cambodian government for allowing Cambodian villagers and soldiers to settle and build a road on Thai soil.

He called for an immediate withdrawal by Cambodia from Thai property. He urged the Thai military to take action under martial law to repel the transgression.

The five co-leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy have remained in close contact with Veera and the people's network over the temple issue, PAD spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said.

The PAD fully backed the attempts to protect Thai territorial integrity and was not back-pedalling from Veera as alleged, he said.

The scuffle between the villagers and yellow shirts was instigated by the authorities, he said, adding that the yellow shirts were not going on the warpath to recover land lost to neighbouring countries.

"We agree with the option for a negotiated settlement of the border dispute and do not want war, but the government must be clear about the timetable and guidelines for negotiations," he said.

Abhisit said police were trying to mediate between the rival groups but the running battle broke out because the barricades were inadequate.

He insisted that Thailand has not surrendered sovereignty over the disputed areas and that the two countries have already agreed to forge a peaceful settlement.

He said his government had no hidden agenda but just the desire to safeguard Thai territory.

He admitted, however, that several border issues were too sensitive to bring up in public, so interested parties should hold discreet discussions with the government in order to update themselves on the status.

Democrat MP Boonyod Sukthinthai said Veera and the PAD should soften their stance on the temple issue in order to avoid inflaming the stand-off.

"It looks like Thais are fighting Thais and becoming the laughing stock for Cambodians," he said.

CAAI News Media: Disputed area is scene of violent clash

SI SA KET, Thailand, Sept. 20 (UPI) --
Marshal law has been declared in Si Sa Ket following a clash between villagers and supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, Thai officials said.

The village is in a disputed area on the Thailand/Cambodia border, The Bangkok Post reported.

PAD supporters marched Saturday to assert Thai sovereignty over disputed territory near the Preah Vihear temple. They were protesting a Cambodian plan to build new houses on a 1137-acre area.

The two countries both claimed the temple until the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.

Villagers and riot police confronted the PAD protesters, trying to keep them out of the disputed area. Scores of people on both sides were injured before the PAD broke through the opposition and arrived in the disputed area.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejiajiva allowed 76 PAD representatives to read a prepared statement Sunday near the disputed area. He said it would help restore peace and added anyone breaking the law at the gathering would be punished.

CAAI News Media: Cambodia marks International Day of Peace

www.chinaview.cn
2009-09-21

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 300 people from schools, universities, pogodas and NGOs as well as other international and social groups gathered in downtown of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh Monday to mark the International Day of Peace.

The "peace biking" celebration to mark Peace Day started from National Assembly to Wat Phnom and finally stopped in front of the Royal Palace. And before the end of the event, all marchers prayed at the famous spiritual sanctuary of Dorng Keu in front of the Royal Palace to beg for peace for all people around the world and at the same time, the Khmer Buddhist monks chanted Dharma for peace and non-violence for this day.

"We also appealed to our leader and world leaders to support and respect the peace principles in solving the conflict matters even in internal affairs or with neighboring countries," said a joint statement from the event organizer.

Prok Vanny, representative of the event organizer for the peace working group in Cambodia said that "today we all celebrated the world peace day. And we want to raise awareness for peace for all people and spread peace message for all Cambodians."

"We also want to contribute in building and keeping peace in Khmer society as whole, and also building peace for lovely world and peace for all," she added.

"We have to cooperate each other to work for peace, and our message for this year is that we have to strengthen peace ideas, and reduce the tension, solve the conflict with peace deal, terminate all violence and disputes in the whole world. And today is the day of no violence, and stop all armed clashes in the world."

The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.

In 2002. the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.

Editor: Li Xianzhi

CAAI News Media: Gold thieves explode grenades in heist, injure six

Mon, 21 Sep 2009
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - Two thieves hurled several hand grenades into a local market in eastern Cambodia before robbing a gold vendor of a small amount of gold and cash, national media reported Monday. Provincial police chief Sann Sothea said six gold vendors were injured Friday's attack on the market in Kampong Cham province. The robbers escaped with 250 US dollars and an unknown quantity of gold.

"It is the first time that the gold robbers used grenades to rob the market vendors like this in Kampong Cham province," Sann Sothea told the Cambodia Daily newspaper.

Two vendors were seriously injured in the blasts and four others were slightly hurt, he said. Seven market stalls were destroyed.

Sann Sothea said the number of injuries was low because many vendors had left the market to prepare food for the annual Pchum Ben festival, when the country's majority Buddhist population visit pagodas to leave offerings for their deceased relatives.

Police had made no arrests in connection in the incident.

Many Cambodians store their wealth in gold as they do not trust banks. This year has seen a spate of attacks on gold vendors in the capital Phnom Penh and other parts of Cambodia.

CAAI News Media: Cambodia marks International Day of Peace

CAAI News Media: Prawit: No more clashes over P. Vihear

Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 21/09/2009

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has ordered the military to coordinate with police and local officials and prevent any further fighting between Thais over the disputed border with Cambodia around Preah Vihear temple.

Yellow-shirt protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) clashed with Si Sa Ket villagers on Saturday as they tried to enter the disputed border area. Many injuries were reported on both sides.

Second Army Region commander Lt-Gen Wiboonsak Neephan will coordinate with the police, provincial governors and other agencies to prevent this sort of incident happening again, Gen Prawit said.

"The government, particularly the security units, will make sure the country does not lose sovereignty. But everything must be done in line with procedure," said the defence minister.

It would not be necessary to deploy more troops at the disputed border near the ancient temple at the moment.

"Cambodia understands the situation in Thailand, and the two governments have been closely working together," he said.

Gen Prawit said he was in favour of invoking the Internal Security Act during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Hua Hin and Cha-am next month, but it must not affect local people in the area.

He had discussed this with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of security affairs.

"I would be preferable if the red-shirt protesters do not gather when the summit is being held, as it is an international event," he said.

CAAI News Media: Chopsticks just the beginning, as Cambodia eyes Japan

Kyodo

Cambodia plans to export chopsticks to Japan early next year to meet the demands of Japanese markets.

Chan Sophal, president of Green Field Cambodia, says he's signed an agreement with a Japanese company to produce and export chopsticks.

Mr Sophal says the factory in Kompong Speu province, about 120 kilometres west of the capital Phnom Penh, will produce 100,000 pairs of chopsticks a day.

Cambodia's Commerce Ministry says the government is reviewing other export possibilities to Japan.

San Phiruna, director of multilateral relations department of the Commerce Ministry, says the Japanese market will be Cambodia's ''next destination'' because Japan has given Cambodia duty-free and quota-free export status.

CAAI News Media: Thailand's premier calls for peace on a tumultuous weekend

'Please don't hurt each other,' Abhisit Vejjajiva says in a nationwide address after a protest in Bangkok and a clash on the Cambodian border. Meanwhile, King Bhumibol is hospitalized for fatigue.

Thai ultranationalists push through a police barrier toward an 11th century temple in a disputed region on the Cambodian border. (European Pressphoto Agency / September 19, 2009)

By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong

September 21, 2009

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand - A bloody clash at an ancient Hindu temple on the Cambodian border. Security forces deployed in the capital to quell a huge anti-government protest. A popular former prime minister calling his country a "dictatorship." And a beloved 81-year-old monarch hospitalized for the second time in less than a week.

These are some of the scenes from a tumultuous weekend in Thailand, prompting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call for peace and lament his nation's image in the world.

"We can express different opinions, but please don't hurt each other," Abhisit said Sunday in an address to the nation.

Abhisit, a 45-year-old British-born economist, heads a fragile coalition government that came to power last year after two of his predecessors were ousted. His Democrat Party came in third in the last elections but is expected to ride encouraging economic numbers in a strong run to national polls in 2010.

But divisions in the country run deep.

Authorities sent more than 9,000 police and military personnel into the streets to protect government offices from more than 20,000 mostly red-shirted protesters who gathered in Bangkok this weekend in support of their leader and benefactor, exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Our country has deteriorated and risks being a failed state," Thaksin told supporters Saturday in a video call from an undisclosed country. "The whole world thought Thailand was already developed, or almost developed, but it has gone backward to dictatorship."

Earlier this year, Thaksin's "red shirts," who call themselves the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, or UDD, broke into a meeting of regional heads of state and fought street battles with troops that left at least two people dead and hundreds injured.

Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon and fugitive from Thai justice, was ousted in a bloodless military coup three years ago. He faces corruption charges stemming from his time as prime minister, but retains wide support in Thailand's rural northeast for his populist policies.

"The longer this government stays, the bigger the disaster is for the country. Give me just six months as prime minister, and I will bring this country back," he told his supporters, who have vowed to continue their protests.

On the border with Cambodia on Sunday, an estimated 2,000 anti-Thaksin protesters wearing their emblematic yellow shirts ended a standoff with Cambodians at an 11th century cliff-top temple by presenting a protest letter to both governments.

The protesters, who call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, gathered at Preah Vihear to protest what they consider a land concession given to Cambodia by Thaksin. At least 15 were injured when PAD supporters burst through Thai police lines and raced for the temple, where they were pushed back by Cambodians armed with slingshots, sticks and other crude weapons.

"Seems like we lost this time, but at least we delivered a message to the whole world that Thai people will no longer stay in the shadow of politicians like Thaksin. We will call back for what belongs to us," said PAD supporter Mai Ghoshachandra, 24, who was at Preah Vihear over the weekend.

The temple, built by a Khmer king, stands on land awarded to Cambodia by an international court in 1962. The ruling did not include the surrounding grounds, which Cambodia has targeted for development to the displeasure of the PAD.

Thai and Cambodian troops have been dug in at the temple for more than a year. Sporadic fighting has led to several deaths, and last week there were accusations that Thai troops burned alive a Cambodian logger.

The PAD has been largely dormant since occupying the prime minister's residence for three months and shutting down Thailand's busiest airports last year. PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul, a media mogul who narrowly escaped assassination in April, was sentenced to six months in jail this month for defaming a former government official.

Later Sunday, the royal palace confirmed that King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, was admitted to Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital for fever and fatigue. He was also hospitalized Wednesday, according to local news media, but Abhisit has described the king's health as "not a problem."

Bhumibol, a jazz musician and aficionado once photographed with Elvis Presley, is a unifying figure in Thailand's tough times. In August, he broke his silence to caution that the country could collapse if its polarized political factions could not work together.

Thai law forbids open discussion of the monarchy, and the king's health is a touchy subject. Some analysts believe the eventual succession, which presently favors Prince Vajiralongkorn, will expose the country to the demands of rival political groups and the military.

McDermid and Kaewsangthong are special correspondents.

CAAI News Media: Ex-reporter helps Cambodia face up to past

Norimasa Tahara / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

PHNOM PENH--Thirty years after the end of the Khmer Rouge regime that killed nearly 2million people, a former Japanese news reporter has been appointed as a public relations officer at Cambodia's special war tribunal.

Yuko Maeda assumed the post at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which was jointly set up by the United Nations and the Cambodian government to try former senior members of the regime led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

Since taking up the post, Maeda has been up to her ears dealing with media interviews.

"I believe that after these trials end, Cambodia at long last can become a normal country again," Maeda, 45, said.

After working as a reporter for The Kobe Shimbun, Maeda studied journalism at Michigan State University.

She first became interested in Cambodia in 1996, when she came across The Cambodia Daily, an English-language newspaper, while studying war and media coverage in Michigan. After graduating in 1997, Maeda became a reporter for the daily newspaper in 1998.

Maeda worked day in and day out reporting on how the country was rebuilding itself.

During this time, "I started feeling that I wanted to play a role in reconstructing a country," she recalled. This ambition inspired Maeda to go to Liberia in 2005 and work as a public relations officer for the U.N. mission in the African country.

When she returned to Phnom Penh, the skyline showed more high-rise buildings than before as the city showed definite signs of growth.

However, Maeda strongly believes the psychological scars of the Cambodian people have yet to heal.

"That's precisely why the special tribunal's role in helping to settle the past is so significant," Maeda said. "When I have time, I'd love to sit with a group of Cambodian people and listen to their stories about the Pol Pot era."

Maeda's spirit as a passionate reporter remains undimmed.

(Sep. 21, 2009)

Genocide survivors seek justice

Audrey K. Redmond, legal adviser, documents Rosan Ang's life. The Santa Ana resident shares her story to preserve history during a two-day workshop held by the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia in Santa Ana.CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Anthony Kim, of Long Beach, attends a two-day workshop held by the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia. Survivors tell their stories for the legal system in their native country and New York University archives at The Cambodian Family in Santa Ana.CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Rosan Ang of Santa Ana, left, bursts into tears when recalling the death of her husband and four children during the Khmer Rouge regime. She shares her story to help preserve history during a two-day workshop held by the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia in Santa Ana. Kieng Seng is the interpreter.CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MORE PHOTOS

Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge submit testimony for court.

BY COURTNEY PERKES
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA Rosan Ang never saw her husband or four oldest children again after the Khmer Rouge seized them more than 30 years ago. But on Saturday she finally caught a glimpse of justice.

Ang, 67, wiped tears as she recounted the horror of losing her family at The Cambodian Family, part of a national effort to collect information from survivors for the upcoming international justice tribunal trial of four Khmer Rouge leaders.

Audrey Redmond, a Washington, D.C., attorney, gently asked Ang what happened after the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia in 1975. Under dictator Pol Pot, roughly 2 million Cambodians were starved, murdered or worked to death.

"They sent us to live in the forest," said Ang, who lives in Santa Ana. "They separated my children. Only my youngest daughter survived because she was too young (to work) and she stayed with me."

Her husband went back and forth from a work camp. One day, he was tied up and taken away. She never saw him again.

As Ang spoke, Redmond patted her arm and took notes for the court's victim information form. She said the Cambodia-based tribunal is not obligated to use the information in the trial, but may choose to. The tribunal, which is currently trying one leader, is comprised of Cambodian legal officials as well as an international group from the United Nations.

More than a dozen survivors of the Khmer Rouge's brutal four-year reign attended the first day of a two-day workshop put on by the nonprofit Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia. They came to tell their stories for the legal system in their native country and also for the archives at New York University.

"They've been silent for 34 years," said Leakhena Nou, founder of the research institute and a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach. "Now is the time to break the silence."

Volunteer Kenneth Long, a 30-year-old chemical engineer from Long Beach, thanked the group for having the courage to share their experience so that his generation would not forget. During a lunch break, he described hearing his father recount the pain he lived through for submission to the tribunal.

"It was the first time I'd ever seen him break down," Long said. "All his friends were wiped out. He was studying to be a lawyer. They killed his professors, his classmates."

Collecting the stories and filling out the official paperwork for submission to the court can take anywhere from two to eight hours.

"I had an interview with a woman the day before yesterday and she was systematically gang raped by three Khmer Rouge soldiers from morning to nightfall while she was six-and-a-half months pregnant," Nou said. "She was left to die at the rice paddy."

Nou also gave the survivors a presentation on post traumatic stress disorder. She showed photos of victims who were put to death and asked the group how they felt seeing them.

"My name was on the list of people targeted for execution but I escaped," responded 72-year-old Samien Thong of Arizona.

The testimonies will continue at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at The Cambodian Family in Santa Ana.

Contact the writer: 714-796-3686 or cperkes@ocregister.com

KRouge trial can heal wounds

The trial has heard Duch (left) repeatedly accept responsibility and beg forgiveness for his role overseeing the torture and killing of over 15,000 as chief of Tuol Sleng prison. -- PHOTO: AFP

Sep 20, 2009

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S first war crimes trial has unearthed painful ghosts from the brutal Khmer Rouge era, but as testimony ends in the case there is growing hope that it will put past traumas to rest.

Moeurn Sarath, whose father and husband were among the two million people who died under the 1975-1979 communist regime, said it was too painful for her to watch the trial of Duch, the movement's main jailer.

Yet while she said that the proceedings made 'all those feelings come back to me again,' she believes that the UN-backed tribunal is good for victims and their families. 'It is good to try those leaders because they have killed a lot of people,' she said. 'I pray that those people who died are at rest because now justice is being found for them.'

The six-month evidence phase of the trial at the UN-backed court ended on Thursday, with the prosecution and defence due to present their final arguments to the judges on November 23. A verdict is not expected until early 2010.

The trial has heard Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, repeatedly accept responsibility and beg forgiveness for his role overseeing the torture and killing of over 15,000 as chief of Tuol Sleng prison. Proceedings have been shown on a weekly television show in Cambodia and the court said that an average of around 300 people a day came to the tribunal to watch from behind bullet-proof glass.

Few Cambodians told AFP they regularly watched proceedings, but all held some hope it would heal the mental wounds in a country that remains strewn with mass graves and bone-filled memorials.

'Every day I have to work and spend less time with the news on TV or newspaper,' said motorcycle taxi driver Sok Rorn, 45, whose mother was killed under the Khmer Rouge. 'But of course, I am aware of the trial. For certain, those people responsible for the death of my parent and many other Cambodians must be held accountable,' he added, with tears in his eyes.

Led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge emptied Cambodia's cities in a bid to forge a communist utopia.

This year the Cambodian government has agreed for the first time to include a text on the Khmer Rouge in its high school curriculum, a key move in a country where more than 70 percent of the population was born after 1979.

'I have heard and learnt very little about the regime and all those stories. Maybe because I've not experienced it, I am not interested to find out more about it,' said Dav Sam Ath, an 18-year-old high school student. 'I'm sure the trial will help heal (victims') pain because if nobody can give them the answers of the past, how can they go on?' -- AFP

Thai protesters clash with police - 19 Sept 09

Thousands of troops were on the streets of Thailand as a day of rival political protests continued into the night. In Bangkok, the capital, the "red shirts", as they're known, were marking three years since the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed. While on the border with Cambodia, clashes broke out between nationalist protesters, known as the "Yellow Shirts", and police. Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports.

PAD makes demands on Preah Vihear

Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 20/09/2009

The yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) called on the Cambodian government to quickly move its villagers and troops out of the disputed border area around Preah Vihear temple.

About 300 Thai soldiers at Preah Vihear national park in Si Sa Ket province allowed 33 PAD protesters led by Veera Somkwamkid to enter the site on Sunday.

After arriving at Mo I Daeng cliff in the national park, PAD core member Veera announced that the ancient temple and the areas around it are within Thailand's territory in reference to the border demarcation in 1904.

"Now, the Cambodian people have encroached on our country. The PAD would like the Cambodian government to quickly move its people and soldiers out of this area, or else Thai people will have to do their duty in protecting the country's sovereignty," Mr Veera said.

The Suranaree Task Force commander, Maj Gen Chavalit Choonhasarn, and a group of army officials were present when Mr Veera read the PAD's statement.

The PAD members later left the national park.

PAD calls off Preah Vihear temple protest

Veera: Accusations against Cambodia

Hard-liners vow to 'maintain the rage'

Writer: KING-OUA LAOHONG and PRADIT RUANGDIT
Published: 21/09/2009

The People's Alliance for Democracy has called off its protest to force Cambodians out of a disputed area near Preah Vihear temple, but is vowing to return should the government fail to ensure Thai sovereignty in the area.

Veera Somkwamkid, who led the protest in Si Sa Ket near the border with Cambodia, was allowed yesterday to read a protest statement at Pha Mor E Daeng inside Khao Phra Viharn National Park, which is close to the 4.6 square kilometres of disputed territory and stairway leading to the ruins of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

The permission followed Saturday's clash between PAD supporters and Si Sa Ket residents which left many injured. The movement demanded in its statement that Cambodian soldiers and villagers leave the disputed zone.

"We do not accept the World Heritage Committee's decision to grant Cambodia the right to list the Preah Vihear temple as well as land around it as a World Heritage site," the statement said.

The statement was read out in the presence of 2nd Army Corps commander Wiwalit Chornsamrit.

Mr Veera accused the Cambodian government of allowing its people to build houses, roads and temples in the disputed area, and said the protesters were only exercising their constitutional right in their struggle to protect Thai sovereignty.

He also accused Thai authorities of mobilising villagers to confront the PAD protesters in a clash which left scores injured on both sides.

Mr Veera later said army chief Anupong Paojinda should use martial law as a tool to push back the Cambodians into their own territory. He said protesters would return if the government failed to do what had been demanded.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said the government was not turning a blind eye to the dispute and was using every possible channel to resolve the problem.

It had sought to nullify the joint statement a former government signed with Cambodia to back Phnom Penh's bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site, he said.

The prime minister said peaceful negotiations were being undertaken to achieve the ultimate goal of seeing Thailand and Cambodia withdraw their troops from the area.

He said Thailand had not lost an inch of territory to Cambodia.

Boonrerm Khobut, a village headman in tambon Phupha Mok in Kantharalak district, said villagers had warned the PAD not to return to renew its protest and stir up trouble between Thailand and Cambodia.

PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said Chamlong Srimuang, a joint PAD leader, was misquoted in media reports as saying PAD leaders would distance themselves from Mr Veera after Saturday's protest turned nasty.

Although none of the PAD leaders sanctioned the Si Sa Ket protest, all five leaders backed calls to reclaim Thai sovereignty over the disputed area, Mr Suriyasai said.

If state officials had not coerced the villagers to turn against the PAD and mobilised them to confront the protesters, violence would not have broken out, he said.

The government should set a clear time frame for negotiations to settle the border dispute with Cambodia and the army needed to force Cambodians occupying the disputed area to move out, he said.

The PAD leaders will hold a meeting soon to discuss a plan to renew their struggle to reclaim Thai sovereignty over the area, Mr Suriyasai said.

Thai 'Yellow Shirts' allowed near Cambodia temple

A view of the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodia-Thai border. Authorities in Thailand have allowed "Yellow Shirt" protesters to gather near the religious site, a day after clashes between police and villagers left dozens injured.
(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

Sun Sep 20

BANGKOK (AFP) – Thai authorities allowed "Yellow Shirt" protesters to gather near a disputed temple on the Cambodian border Sunday, a day after clashes with police and villagers left dozens injured.

Around 30 members of the movement which blockaded Bangkok's airports last year were granted access to the entrance of ancient Preah Vihear temple and read a statement urging the government to ensure Thai sovereignty in the area.

"The government and army should do everything under the law to regain the area around the temple for Thailand," protest leader Veera Somkwamkid said, reading from the statement in footage shown on local television.

Veera also attacked Cambodia for allowing its residents and soldiers to stay on the disputed five square kilometres (two square miles) around the 11th-century temple.

Around 5,000 Yellow Shirts fought with Thai residents and police on Saturday after trying to reach the temple.

The ruins were granted to Cambodia by the World Court in 1962 but tensions resumed when they gained UN world heritage status last year. At least seven people have died in skirmishes between Thai and Cambodian forces since then.

Saturday's violence took place as 26,000 rival "Red Shirts" rallied peacefully in Bangkok on the third anniversary of the coup that toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The royalist Yellow Shirts led street campaigns that helped oust Thaksin in 2006 and also pushed out a government of his allies in December last year, but have now grown angry with the current government.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power on the back of the airport blockade, apologised for the temple incident.

"I am sorry that there was a clash and injuries to people," Abhisit said in his weekly television programme.

"The government is not ignoring this problem, we are working on it. What we are doing is not causing the country to lose territory or sovereignty."

Cambodian foreign affairs ministry spokesman Kuoy Kong said police from his country had been deployed at the temple.

"But we're not worried at all because the Thai government said they would handle it and prevent the protesters from entering the temple," Kuoy Kong said.

Thaksin supporters vow new protests in Thailand

A supporter of the exiled Thai former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra holds up a placard during a rally in Bangkok on September 19. Supporters of the ousted Thai premier have vowed to hold further protests, a day after rallying in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of a coup that toppled their leader.

September 20, 2009

BANGKOK (AFP) - Supporters of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra vowed Sunday to hold further protests, a day after rallying in Bangkok on the third anniversary of the coup that toppled their leader.

The troubled kingdom was rocked by two separate demonstrations on Saturday, with hardline anti-Thaksin protesters also clashing with police near an ancient temple on the disputed border with Cambodia.

In the capital, around 26,000 so-called "Red Shirts" dispersed early Sunday after gathering outside the main government offices the previous day to hear a speech by exiled billionaire Thaksin.

"We will continue to stage our rallies. The fight will not end until democracy is restored in Thailand," Nattawut Saikuar, one of the main leaders of the Red Shirts, told AFP as the protesters went home.

He said the movement, which draws its support from Thailand's rural north where people benefited from Thaksin's populist policies, would now open schools to "educate people about democracy."

In his videolink speech on Saturday night, Thaksin urged current prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call fresh elections to foster reconciliation, warning that Thailand was becoming a "failed state".

The charismatic Thaksin is living in an unknown foreign location to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption but he remains a vastly influential figure in Thai politics.

The Red Shirts say Abhisit came to power unfairly after protesters from the rival "Yellow Shirt" movement blockaded Bangkok's airports and effectively forced the previous, pro-Thaksin government from power in December.

The Yellow Shirts were back in action on Saturday, clashing with police and villagers at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodian border. Dozens of people were injured including a villager who was shot in the neck.

Authorities were to allow them near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple on Sunday to read a statement urging Thailand to push Cambodian troops from the area, where there have been several cross-border battles in the past year.

"We will reaffirm Thailand's sovereignty in the five square kilometres (two square miles) around the temple and ask Cambodia to leave our territory," said Veera Somkwamkid, one of the Yellow Shirt leaders.

Ownership of the temple was awarded by the World Court in 1962 to Cambodia, but a dispute over the surrounding land was reignited after the crumbling ruins were awarded UNESCO world heritage status last year.

Oxford-educated Abhisit apologised for the temple incident.

"I am sorry that there was a clash and injuries to people," Abhisit said in his weekly television programme, adding that his government was not conceding territory to Cambodia.

"The government is not ignoring this problem, we are working on it. What we are doing is not causing the country to lose territory or sovereignty," he said.

Thailand remains deeply divided three years after the September 19, 2006 coup, which ousted Thaksin while he was out of the country attending the United Nations general assembly in New York.

Abhisit was due to leave Thailand on Sunday to fly to the same event, but the chief of the kingdom's powerful army scotched rumours that there would be another putsch in his absence.

Abhisit is largely backed by the Bangkok-based elites in the palace, military and bureaucracy -- the same groups that loathe Thaksin and want to keep him and his allies out of government.

Thai Authorities Allow Rally a Day After Violent Protests

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
20 September 2009

Thai authorities allowed protesters to rally peacefully at a disputed temple site on the border with Cambodia, a day after violent clashes that injured about 20 people. Analysts say the threat of violence may have eased as more people focus on economic recovery.

Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yai, center, president of executive council of UNESCO, views Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple (File Photo - 13 Mar 2009)

A tense standoff on the Thai-Cambodian border ended peacefully after authorities cleared the way for Thai nationalists to gather near an 11th century Khmer temple that has been at the center of raised tensions between the two countries during the past year.

The demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy, who are known for wearing distinctive "yellow shirts", read a statement calling for the Thai government to ensure Thai sovereignty over the area.

The event stood in contrast to Saturday when about 5,000 yellow-shirt supporters clashed with local residents and soldiers, injuring several people.

Thailand and Cambodia have sought to ease tensions after Cambodia unilaterally sought U.N. World Heritage status for the Preah Vihar temple. Thailand had sought a joint application over the site that is easily accessible only from Thai territory.

The yellow shirts were at the center of demonstrations leading up to a 2006 coup that ousted then prime minister Thaksin Shinatwatra, who is in exile.

The group occupied the Bangkok international airport in November, calling for the resignation of a pro-Thaksin government. Thousands of tourists were stranded, costing the country millions of dollars in lost revenue.

An author and commentator on Thai politics and business, Chris Baker, says the People's Alliance for Democracy protests on the Cambodia border appear to be aimed at defining the group as an ultra-nationalist party before general elections expected next year.

"The temptation is to see it that they are really playing a very crude nationalist game that a lot of issues that the PAD has been representing over the last couple of years rather have fallen off the agenda," said Baker. "There is really nothing substantial at stake there at all, but groups are trying to build it up and use it to make political capital. In the end both countries are suffering."

Ousted Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra talks to his supporters in front of the Anan throne at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, 19 Sep 2009

During his weekly television broadcast, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed regret over the violence and said the government is working to ensure there is no loss of sovereignty or territory.

On Saturday, more than 20,000 Thaksin supporters rallied peacefully in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of the coup that ousted him from power. But initial fears of violence during the anti-government demonstration were put to rest after Thaksin addressed the crowd by video conference link.

Analysts and government officials say the passing of the weekend without further violence indicates an improving political climate.

In April, pro-Thaksin "red shirt" supporters forced the cancellation of an ASEAN summit and street protests in Bangkok led the government to declare a state of emergency.

A Thai government spokesman told VOA he is not expecting a repeat of the trouble earlier this year because people want political stability and economic recovery.

PAD vows to uphold Thai sovereignty over disputed aera

Protesters read statements; PM expresses regret over clashes near temple

September 20, 2009

BANGKOK, Sept. 20 — Representatives of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) read out two statements at Pha Mor E-Dang, close to the disputed area, claiming Thai sovereignty in the matter while Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday he is saddened over clashes between protesters and local residents near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border zone in Si Sa Ket.

Thirty protesters of the PAD Sunday read out two statements at Pha Mor E-Dang, close to the disputed area, asserting the demand that the disputed area around Preah Vihear temple belongs to Thailand.

Veera Somkwamkid, a leader of the PAD protesters, told a news conference that Thai Army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda should use martial law as a tool to push back the Cambodians to return to their homeland.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday he is saddened over clashes between protesters and local residents, and police who tried to end the discord near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border zone adjacent to the ancient temple of Preah Vihear which left many persons injured on Saturday.

In his weekly television and radio address, Abhisit said his government is not sitting idly over the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area and that negotiations continue with the Cambodian government which will lead to an eventual troop withdrawal from the area.

Several dozen PAD protesters and villagers living in Si Sa Ket province and police were injured in Saturday’s clash.

Emphasizing that Thailand has not lost its sovereignty in the area, Abhisit said the border problem is being solved through negotiations and that Thailand would be impacted if clashes occurred and it would also affect relations with its neighbour as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Both Thailand and Cambodia are ASEAN members. Security officials permitted the demonstrators to read statement so that the situation could return to normal, said Abhisit, adding that the protesters should end their activities after reading them.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border, especially at the disputed area, have been seen after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted Cambodia’s application for Preah Vihear temple to be designated a World Heritage Site in July 2008. (PNA/TNA)

Sister of Khmer Rouge murder victim John Dewhirst hopes for UN trial

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk

Sep 20 2009
by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

KHMER Rouge murder victim John Dewhirst’s sister has revealed how she hopes good can come from his killer’s trial.

John was the only Briton among 17,000 to die after being captured during the communist Khmer Rouge’s rule over Cambodia in the 1970s.

Now, 31 years after his death, his murderer, Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, is being tried by a UN-backed tribunal on genocide charges.

He has already confessed to John’s murder and invited victims of the regime to visit him.

But John’s sister Hilary Holland, 53, a solicitor from Brampton, Cumbria, has refused to attend and says she has not even been able to bring herself to utter John’s name in more than 30 years.

An aspiring novelist, John left home after finishing his A-levels to explore and bought a one-way ticket to Tokyo, where he got a teaching post and a part-time job on a newspaper.

He quit in 1978, aged 26, after deciding to join pals on travels around the Gulf of Thailand in their boat The Foxy Lady.

But when they drifted into Cambodian waters, a Khmer Rouge military launch swooped.

Stuart Glass was shot dead instantly and the other two were taken to the S21 torture centre – a former school – where, after enduring a catalogue of horrors, they were forced to sign confessions they were CIA agents.

John’s note even said his father, who died before his capture, was a CIA agent whose cover was as head of Benton Road Secondary in Newcastle.

Hilary said: “I have experienced death and grief. This is different. It’s everlasting.

“I can accept death completely. It’s what happened to my brother that I can’t accept.

“The fact that torture was so extreme, lasting not half a day, but months, makes it an inhuman act. It takes the humanity of the person.

“The person my brother had been was taken away during that torture. For a human being to do that to another human being, that’s not a human act.

“What happened in Cambodia isn’t generally known to today’s generations. It should be a part of history lessons. People should remember what happened there.

“I don’t know how my brother died. I have heard reports of people bleeding to death and having their heads smashed from behind beside mass graves. I don’t know if knowing what really happened can make me feel any worse. If I feel like this after 31years, a whole country must feel the same.”

MediaWATCH: HM The King in Hospital, says Palace

By Phuketwan Reporters
Sunday, September 20, 2009

Associated Press
Eighty-one-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-serving monarch, has been hospitalised after suffering from a fever and fatigue, the palace announced Sunday. A statement from the Royal Household Bureau, read on the evening television news, said the king was taken to Siriraj Hospital on Saturday night on the advice of his doctors. It had been rumored since late last week that the king had visited the hospital, but the Thai press only reported the matter widely Sunday.

Agencies Australia's Michael Katsidis, who reportedly trained at Tiger Muay Thai camp in the ''jungle'' at Chalong on Phuket, has won his interim lightweight boxing world title bout at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. Katsidis scored a split points decision over American Vicente Escobedo. Katsidis is now the mandatory challenger to fight World Boxing Organisation lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

Phuketwan MediaWATCH
TWIN protests damaged Thailand's image internationally on Saturday as red shirts and yellow shirts continued to show that Thailand remains a nation where unity is not a priority.

PHUKET'S red shirt leader, Suntorn Tomas, told Phuketwan yesterday that three mini-bus vans of supporters from the island had gone to Bangkok for the protests there. ''If the protest concludes tonight, there will be no reason for more of us to go,'' he said. No live television coverage of the event is being permitted by the government, he said.

Phuket's yellow shirt Peoples' Alliance for Democracy leader Aparat Chartchutikumjorn, one of the 21-member board charting the directions of the New Politics Party (Karn Muang Mai), said two min-bus loads of Phuket supporters had headed for the temple protest on the Cambodia border. Southern provinces had each sent about 20 protesters, she said. That protest was violent.

bbc.co.uk Headline: 'Thailand rocked by rival protests' Thousands of troops were deployed in Thailand as rival political groups held separate protests, one of which turned violent. Crowds of demonstrators turned out in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of the coup which ousted controversial Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. On the Cambodian border an anti-Thaksin group clashed with police as it tried to enter a disputed border temple.

aljazeera.net Headline 'Thaksin: Thailand risks failure' Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's former prime minister, has urged his supporters to bring him back to power, saying the country risks becoming a ''failed state''. His comments on Saturday came in a live video link to about 26,000 Red Shirts rallying in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the current prime minister. Three years after he was ousted in a bloodless coup, Thaksin told the crowds: ''Our country has deteriorated and risks being a failed state. There is no justice in society.''

cnn.com Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Bangkok on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of a military coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. About 30,000 protesters, who wore red shirts in support of Thaksin, gathered in the country's capital near the Government House, said police Lt. Gen. Tritote Ronnarithvichai. The crowd was calm and there was no sign of violence, he said.

Straits Times Tensions soared from the Cambodian border to the Thai capital on Saturday as protesters from rival political groups rallied at separate locations. On the border, Thai nationalists bent on stopping Cambodians from building on alleged Thai territory overwhelmed police and clashed with local villagers near the Preah Vihear temple. In Bangkok, a rally by the red-shirted United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to mark the third anniversary of the September 2006 coup attracted up to 20,000 people, despite a prolonged downpour in the afternoon.

scmp.com Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra last night pleaded for national reconciliation in a live video speech to thousands of his supporters, who amassed in the capital to mark the third anniversary of the billionaire's ousting by the military. Thousands of protesting ''red shirts'' defied the presence of several thousand riot police and soldiers, and rallied in front of the main government offices to demand elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

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Cambodian King returns home from China

www.chinaview.cn
2009-09-20

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni returned home on Sunday from Beijing, China.

Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim, Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials, and royal family members as well as Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng welcomed King Sihamoni at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

Sihamoni, along with former King Norodom Sihanouk and former Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, left for Beijing on Sept. 3 for his father's medical checkup.

During his stay in China, Sihamoni met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Sept. 16.

Sihamoni was crowned King in 2004 from his father Norodom Sihanouk who had maintained close relations with China.

Editor: Fang Yang