via CAAI News Media
Japan Provides US$180,000 to Local Authorities
Friday, 26 March 2010 02:58 DAP-NEWS
Under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, an economic cooperation framework, the Japanese government has agreed to provide a total of US$185,010 to three organizations in Cambodia, a press release from the Japanese embassy said on Thursday.
The grant contracts were signed today between Ambassador Extraord- inary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Cambodia Koroki Masafumi and representatives of the organizations.
A bridge in Teuk Phos District, Kam- pong Chhnang Province will receive US$84,336; the Cheap Commune Council in Teuk Phos District, Kampong Chhnang Province will construct a concrete bridge for the replacement of an old and rotten wooden bridge, which has been repaired several times by the commune council. The new concrete bridge will provide community access throughout the year and around 5,000 villagers are expected to benefit.
The second project to receive funds is Improving Mother and Child Health in Kampong Thom Referral Hospital, which will get US$23,426. The Provincial Health Department will use the money to improve mother and child health (MCH) facilities, and construct one post-delivery ward and roofs for the MCH Education space in Kampong Thom Referral Hospital. “This project will provide appropriate care after delivery to mothers and infants and MCH education to mothers and their families. Approximately 63,000 people in the region will be able to access and utilize public MCH service,” said the embassy statement.
A third Project to construct a Science and Mathematics Laboratory in Prey Veng Provincial Teacher Training Center is allocated US$77,248. The Prey Veng Provincial Teacher Training Center will construct a science and mathematics laboratory for 326 trainees, who will be primary school teachers in Prey Veng province. Approximately 180,000 students in Prey Veng province are expected to receive improved education from the teachers. In addition, the laboratory will be also used for lecturer training in JICA technical cooperation projects.
Japan’s Kusanone Grant Assistance started in Cambodia in 1991 in order to support Cambodia’s reconstruction and development efforts at the grassroots level. The assistance is aimed at protecting vulnerable individuals from such poverty and misfortunes that directly threaten their lives, livelihood and dignity, as well as at promoting self-reliance of local communities. Since 1991, the government of Japan has provided over US$44.7 million for local authorities and non-governmental orga -nizations to implement 439 projects throughout the country.
Rainsy: VN Border Markers Cost Cambodian Land
Friday, 26 March 2010 02:57 DAP-NEWS
Cambodian Opposition Party Leader Sam Rainsy on Thursday maintained that border markers around Kosh Kbal Kandal village, Samrong Commune, Chantrea District, Svay Rieng province is within the internationally recognized Cambodia -Vietnam border, a claim that suggests Cambodia has lost land to Vietnam.
Speaking via video link from France, he claimed that border markers 184, 185, 186, 187 and others are located between 300 to 500 meters in Cambodian territory.
The accusation was strongly rejected by Cambodian Government officials. Tith Sothea said that Sam Rainsy’s allegations are just an old, oft-repeated story, but said that the Cambodian Govern-ment will still take action against him.
“If Sam Rainsy have enough map documents, he should bring to the court in the upcoming days,” Tith Sothea told DAP News Cambodia. “All his words are useless.”
Var Kimhong, the head of the Cambodian Border Committee, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Sam Rainsy yesterday called on the Cambodian Government to release two villagers imprisoned by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court for pulling out border markers with Rainsy on October 25, 2009. Sam Rainsy was sentenced to two years in jail and fined nearly 60 million riel in the same case.
Hun Sen to Attend Thai Summit Despite Row over Thaksin
Friday, 26 March 2010 02:55 DAP-NEWS
BANGKOK- Cambodian leader Hun Sen will attend an April summit in Thailand, officials said Thursday, his first visit since the neighbours downgraded ties in a row over former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thailand and Cambodia, which have a history of rocky relations, recalled their ambassadors in November after Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as an economic adviser and then refused Thai requests to extradite him.
Thaksin is living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption in his home country, but continues to rally his red-shirted supporters who have mounted mass rallies in Bangkok this month.
Thai officials said Hun Sen had nevertheless agreed to attend the first Mekong River summit, involving Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, in the resort town of Hua Hin south of Bangkok on April 5.
“We received a letter of confirmation that Prime Minister Hun Sen accepted an invitation to attend the Mekong River Commission summit,” a official at the Water Resources Department told AFP.
Cambodian cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan confirmed the trip, but said it would focus purely on the Mekong issue and said there were “no plans at all” for a bilateral meeting between the Cambo-dian and Thai leaders.
“He’s (Hun Sen) not prejudiced against Thailand at all. He’s not interfering at all in Thailand’s internal political problems,” he told AFP.
The Thai official said the leaders of all four countries would attend the summit, which will address a severe drought that has lowered levels on the important waterway.
Cambodia and Thailand have been locked in nationalist tensions and a troop standoff at their disputed border since July 2008, when clashes erupted near the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Hun Sen openly criticised his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, during one of Thaksin’s recent visits to Cambodia, and made a high-profile visit to the temple, dressed in full combat uniform.
Thailand summit ready for PM Hun Sen
The Thai government will provide special security measures for Cambo-dian Prime Minister Hun Sen during his visit to the first Mekong River conference to be held on April 4-5 in Hua Hin, Thailand said Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Thursday.
If the Thai Internal Security Act was to be used, it would be imposed only in the vicinity around the meeting venue so that daily life would not be affected, Gen Prawit was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
The minister called for a halt to protests outside the summit.
Gen. Prawit said he would consult with commanders of the Thai armed forces about security measures to be used and he would be in Hua Hin to receive the Cambodian prime minister and oversee security.
Koy Kuong, Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the Thai government is right to take security measures for PM Hun Sen’s visit. The Thai government must also provide security measures for other members who will attend the meeting, he added.
Four countries will attend; Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.
Peaceful Demonstration Law Workshop
Friday, 26 March 2010 02:55 DAP-NEWS
The Ministry of Interior will host a workshop on Cambodia’s new Peaceful Demonstration Law, a statement from event sponsors said on Thursday.
The workshop will apparently educate key stakeholders about the law, and bring together government officials and civil society to discuss what demonstrators must do to comply with the law and how government officials should apply the law.
The March 29 event at the Sunway Hotel will see the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Interior Sar Kheng and Flynn Fuller, mission director of USAID, as keynote speakers.
Passed into law in December of 2009, the law is designed to ensure freedom of expression of Cambodian citizens through peaceful demonstration.
The event is being co-sponsored by the US Agency for International Devel-opment (USAID) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), with support from the East-West Management Institute (EWMI).
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