Western Siem Pang - Land of the Giants

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April 15, 2010

Western Siem Pang in Cambodia is one of the few sites in the world that supports five Critically Endangered bird species. It is perhaps best known as the home of the world's largest population of White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davidsoni. However, its importance for another species of ibis is now becoming clear.

A recent BirdLife survey team recorded an astonishing 16 Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea over a ten day period during a rapid survey of the western sector of the site.

"At the height of the dry season one would expect a greater encounter rate as Giant Ibis along with other wildlife become concentrated at seasonal wetlands (trapeangs) in the forest and grasslands, but to record so many birds in such a short period from such a small area suggests the population at Western Siem Pang is much larger than we previously thought", said Jonathan Eames, Programme Manager for BirdLife International in Indochina.

Giant Ibis © James Eaton/ Birdtour Asia, from the surfbirds galleries.

This is good news for Giant Ibis, Cambodia's national bird, which has an estimated global population of only 200 individuals. The global range of Giant Ibis has shrunk and it now only occurs in southern Laos and northern Cambodia.

Giant Ibis has declined as a result of hunting, wetland drainage for agriculture, and deforestation. The destruction of dry dipterocarp forest and the associated wetlands in Thailand and Vietnam during the 20th Century, lead to its extinction in those countries and the same processes continue in Cambodia.

It relies on seasonal pools, which in the past were created by the now much depleted megafauna. The species appears to be very sensitive to human disturbance, particularly during the dry season when birds are concentrated around available waterholes, and this is almost certainly the greatest threat, rendering much apparantly suitable habitat unusable.

"The Giant Ibis shuns people", continued Eames, "it is a magnificent bird, that with its evocative call, will only be saved from global extinction when more people recognise that the economic values of the dry dipterocarp forests of Cambodia extend beyond cassava plantations and poorly conceived biofuel projects."

23 indicted in marriage fraud plot in Kentucky

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by Anna Prendergast

Wednesday, Apr 14

LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – A massive marriage fraud ring has been busted in Kentuckiana.

The U.S. attorney's office in Louisville says free vacations and cash were given to Americans so that they would marry people living in Cambodia.

Nearly two dozen people have now been indicted. Most of them live in Louisville and southern Indiana.

WHAS11’s Anna Prendergast has more on this story.

23 people were indicted Tuesday at Louisville’s federal courthouse, but the investigation has been going on for a while. Authorities have been looking into claims that these fake marriages have been going on for the past ten years.

The 36-page indictment reads like a script from a movie.

It claims that more than 20 people from Louisville, southern Indiana, and nearby cities were involved in over a dozen fake marriages.

The indictment says Americans were recruited to marry people from Cambodia so the Cambodians could obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States.

The willing Americans were rewarded with payments up to $10,000.

The U.S. attorney's office says there was a group of people that did some of the recruiting out of nail salons they own and work at across Louisville and southern Indiana, including the Pretty Nails Salon on Charlestown Road in New Albany.

When WHAS11 News went there today, we asked if anyone there knew about the owners being indicted. Employees there said they had no idea what was going on.

In the indictment it says a lot of the Americans flew right out of Louisville’s Standiford Field to meet their bride-or-groom-to-be in Cambodia.

The U.S. attorney's office says once the Americans landed in Cambodia they got what you call an all-expense paid vacation that included free hotels, meals, drinks, and entertainment

Also while in Cambodia, investigators say to try and make the marriages look real the phony couples would fake engagement ceremonies, and take pictures in hotel rooms and on the beaches.

Federal authorities wouldn't go on camera, but in a statement, immigration officials say marriage fraud results in an illegal short-cut to U.S. citizens and poses concerns to our national security. They also say that all of those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable.

The indictment also says that at least one of the phony marriages has ended in divorce.

If convicted, the 23 people charged could face years in prison and big fines.

Several Kentuckians accused of setting up fake marriages for money

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A federal grand jury has indicted 23 people in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to set up sham weddings in exchange for cash, free vacations to Cambodia and sex, according to documents unsealed Tuesday.

Posted: Apr 14, 2010

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Video: Several Kentuckians accused of setting up fake marriages for money

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal grand jury has indicted 23 people in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to set up sham weddings in exchange for cash, free vacations to Cambodia and sex, according to documents unsealed Tuesday.

The 10-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, alleges a series of efforts to marry American citizens to Cambodians, with the goal of obtaining citizenship for the foreign nationals.

An interpreter read the indictment to 12 people in federal court Tuesday afternoon during an initial court appearance for some of those indicted. None spoke during the presentation of the indictment, and court records did not list attorneys for those charged.

"Marriage fraud results in an illegal shortcut to U.S. citizenship and poses a concern to our national security," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton said in a statement. "All of those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable."

The indictment spells out a scheme starting in January 2000 and lasting through April 2010 in which 12 U.S. citizens were recruited to marry Cambodians, allowing the foreign nationals to obtain visas to enter the United States and gain citizenship or permanent legal status.

In exchange for the wedding, the American citizens were paid anywhere from $500 to $1,000, according to the indictment. At least one person received sex with two young Cambodian girls, while others were given discounted service at nail salons in Kentucky and southern Indiana, the indictment states.

In nearly every instance, the indictment states, an American citizen flew to Cambodia, where pictures were taken during an engagement ceremony, at beaches and tourist attractions to give the appearance of an ongoing relationship.

Once the pictures were complete, immigration documents were completed and forwarded to the U.S. consulate, where they were processed. Four of the marriages were not completed, while others resulted in divorce within a few years.

All 23 people are charged with conspiracy, while others face charges of marriage fraud and fraud and misuse of visas.

Indicted were:

_ Michael Chanthou Chin, 39, of New Albany, Ind.;

_ Patrick Theng Chea, 45, of Louisville;

_ Steve Sovan Uy, aka Sovan Oum, 43, of Nashville, Tenn.;

_ Phearoun Peter Em, aka Sophea Lim, 22, of Sellersburg, Ind;

_ Monirath Em, aka Angel, 32, of New Albany, Ind.;

_ Vuthea Niev, aka T, 57, of Prospect;

_ Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington;

_ Jeremy Dickson Carmickle, 38, of Louisville;

_ Christopher William McAlister Sr., 52, of Louisville;

_ Christopher William McAlister Jr., 25, of Louisville;

_ Justin Michael Martin, 25, of Georgetown;

_ Donald McKinley Martin, 27, of Georgetown;

_ Stephanie Jean Murphy, 31, of Louisville;

_ Asaad Abdulrazak Alkinani, 39, of Louisville;

_ Chok Chan, 49, of Mt. Sterling;

_ Borin Chum, 29, of New Albany, Ind.;

_ Sangha Srey, 49, of New Albany, Ind;

_ Sina Ros, 38, of Houston;

_ Huong Sreng, 35, location unknown;

_ Yota Em, 24, of New Albany, Ind;

_ Sona Ngov, 29, of Corydon, Ind.;

_ Nary Bun, 28, of Louisville.

Cambodia Tours, Camboida Travel, Cambodia Overview

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The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire

PR Log (Press Release) – Apr 15, 2010 – The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries.

A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian" or "Khmer", which strictly refers to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as small hill tribes.

The country shares a border with Thailand to its west and northwest, with Laos to its northeast, and with Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river and the Tonlé Sap , an important source of fish. Its low geography means much of the country sits near to below sea level, and its main source of water from the Mekong reverses its water flow in the wet season into the neighbouring Tonle Sap River. The most densely populated areas lie on the fertile central plains of the Mekong-Tonlé basin.

The ancient temples, empty beaches, mighty rivers, remote forests and the famed Angkor Wat await visitor’s discovery. Cambodia has emerged from the decades of war and isolation that made it a byword for atrocities and political instability and is well and truly back on the South-East Asian travel map.

Former Governor Dukakis, Wife, Speak at Tufts on Genocide

From left, Kitty Dukakis, Gov. Michael Dukakis, Provost and Senior Vice President of Tufts University Jamshed Bharucha and Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, the Darakjian Jafarian Chair of Armenian History at Tufts

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By admin on Apr 14, 2010 in Armenian Genocide

By Anna Yukhananov

Special to the Mirror-Spectator

MEDFORD, Mass. — To justify the planned brutality of his invasion of Poland, Adolf Hitler allegedly told his commanders, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

Michael Dukakis, the former governor, repeated the same question on Tuesday, April 6, at the Tufts University Day of Remembrance lecture titled “Do We Really Remember the Armenians?”

At the turn of the 20th century, Americans donated millions of dollars to save the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire, Dukakis said.

However, President Woodrow Wilson abandoned the fight against the Ottoman and later helped the Young Turk leadership involved in the Genocide in order to push the League of Nations through Congress after World War I, Dukakis said.

“The United States essentially capitulated to Kemal [Ataturk],” Dukakis said. “US isolationism took over. No wonder Hitler asked, ‘who remembers the Armenians?’ as he planned his own genocide.”

Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, and his wife, Kitty, shared their personal and moral connections to the Armenian Genocide in the lecture, sponsored in part by the National Association of Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR).

Michael Dukakis told the story of his father, a Greek immigrant, and others in his family who were affected by Turkish aggression. Dukakis’s father left the Greek islands to study in the United States, and his grandfather was deported from Turkey in 1916 before dying in the flu epidemic of 1918.

“I’m in many ways a child of the history we talk about today,” Dukakis said. “Like the Armenians, the Greeks and Assyrians suffered horribly at the hands of the Turks.”

Kitty Dukakis also shared her own reasons for fighting genocide. She told the story of how her late father, Harry Ellis Dickson, left Boston to study conducting at the Berlin Conservatory in 1933. He was in Berlin when Hitler took over.

“His German friends said Hitler was just a buffoon, he’ll leave,” she said. “But we all know what happened.”

She added, as a result, “Sensitivity to injustice, to racial and ethnic prejudice, that has always been a part of me.”

As a member of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust and the Holocaust Memorial Council, Kitty Dukakis pushed to include the Armenian Genocide as part of the US Holocaust Museum.

She recalled confronting another genocide in the 1970s, during the period of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, when more than a million Cambodians were killed in a civil war.

Kitty Dukakis said that she went to the border between Thailand and Cambodia to seek the release of Cambodian children who had lost their parents. As a result, 250 Cambodian orphans arrived in the United States to build new lives.

While serving on the Task Force on Cambodian Children, she received a letter from a Cambodian woman who came from a family of nine children. All but one of her siblings had died, and she asked Kitty Dukakis for help in finding her one surviving brother.

Through a priest in a refugee camp, she managed to locate the boy and, six months later, reunited the siblings.

“I tell you all this not only to give a sense of my own commitment to and involvement with genocide, but also to share to enormous frustration I feel as another genocide wracks the world,” she said. “Do we really remember the Armenians? I have my doubts.”

She also spoke of the genocide she said is ongoing in eastern Congo, as the government persecutes its own ethnic minorities and the world for the most part remains indifferent. While she shared inspiring stories of survivors and rescue efforts, she also issued a call to action.

“As more are raped and assaulted and die in the eastern Congo, one must ask the question again and again: Do we remember the Armenians? What have we learned? It will be deeds, not words, that answer that question.”

For New Year, Political Holiday Messages

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As Cambodians began the first of three days of New Year celebrations, the country’s political leaders took the occasion to spread well-wishes, and messages, of their own.

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, left, and Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, shake hands at the National Assembly.

As Cambodians began the first of three days of New Year celebrations, the country’s political leaders took the occasion to spread well-wishes, and messages, of their own.

“May the goddess named Mundia Devy of the New Year protect all Cambodian people, making them goodhearted and living with honor and mutual understanding,” Chea Sim, the president of the Cambodian People’s Party and the Senate, wrote in a holiday missive.

In a public message, Prime Minister Hun Sen promised his government would “make further efforts to strengthen peace and stability and push forward social and economical development.”

The government had done well in preserving peace and territorial integrity over the past year, Hun Sen said, alluding to the ongoing military standoff at the border near Preah Vihear temple and the weathering of the global economic crisis.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, meanwhile, said in his own New Year message that “the agricultural system in Cambodia is weak,” a reference to predictions by astrologers that Cambodia could face hot weather and damage from insects in the Year of the Tiger.

Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights Party, said in the past year Cambodia had faced political problems, attacks on parliamentarians, drug use and human trafficking.

In the upcoming year, he said, his party will work “to ensure democracy, application of the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

Caution Urged for Travel on Holiday Roads

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The government’s committee on traffic safety is urging all travelers to exercise caution on the roads as they begin the three-day New Year holiday.

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cambodian policeman directs traffic at a chaotic intersection in Phnom Penh.

The government’s committee on traffic safety is urging all travelers to exercise caution on the roads as they begin the three-day New Year holiday.

The roads are heavily trafficked in the run-up to the holiday, with many accidents coming from drunk or careless driving.

In only three days over last year’s celebrations, 52 people were killed and 233 seriously injured in more than 500 accidents, the National Committee for Traffic Safety said in a statement Wednesday.

Him Yann, chief of traffic police for Phnom Penh, told VOA Khmer that as much as 80 percent of the capital’s population will travel to the countryside to celebrate the coming Year of the Tiger.

“If we don’t pay attention to traffic accidents, they will happen all the time,” he said. “Drunk drivers are banned."

Share Your Khmer Rouge Experience: Author

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Dy Kamboly, whose “History of Democratic Kampuchea” is being distributed in Cambodia to help teach about the regime, told “Hello VOA” that digging into the past can be painful, but it can also be helpful.

Poch Reasey | Washington, DC

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Photo: DC-Cam

Dy Khamboly, author of "History of Democratic Kampuchea".

Parents should share with their children their experiences under the Khmer Rouge, which can help heal old wounds and move the country forward, the author of a groundbreaking history book said Monday.

Dy Kamboly, whose “History of Democratic Kampuchea” is being distributed in Cambodia to help teach about the regime, told “Hello VOA” that digging into the past can be painful, but it can also be helpful.

Saturday, April 17, will mark the 35th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge guerrillas, who immediately emptied the cities and began Year Zero, a communist experiment that led to the deaths of up to 2 million people.

Cambodians are still reticent to discuss their experiences with their children, and many still live among those who followed the Khmer Rouge.

But authors like Dy Kamboly and others at the Documentation Center of Cambodia encourage speaking out, claiming that sharing can be helpful, even among victims and former perpetrators.

“In order to avoid negative consequences of bringing up the painful past, the Documentation Center, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, has come up with a plan to teach more than 3,200 teachers around Cambodia how to teach the history of Democratic Kampuchea,” he said.

This is being done in a way that avoids “negative impact on society,” he said.

Let the Year of the Tiger Begin

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The streets of the bustling capital fell quiet on Wednesday, with many shops shuttered and most people staying inside with their families to welcome in the spirit of the New Year.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Wednesday, 14 April 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Cambodians clean a statue Buddha during a merit making ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The ceremony was held in advance of Cambodian New Year's celebration.

The streets of the bustling capital fell quiet on Wednesday, with many shops shuttered and most people staying inside with their families to welcome in the spirit of the New Year.

The Year of the Tiger officially began at 7:36 am, in accordance with the Moha Songkran, Khmer astrology that depicts cycles of 12 years, represented by animals.

Since Chol Sakarach, the Lesser Era, Cambodians have held the Khmer New Year in the fifth month, or Khe Chet, a time of year when the farming was finished and before the wet season of the monsoon began.

This year, they welcomed the coming of the Buddhist year 2554, in celebrations that will include “Great Almanac Day,” “Worshipping Day,” and “Rank and Promotion Day,” the final of which is the most auspicious.

Most people will spend the days in the countryside, traveling as far as they need to in order to reach their places of birth and to meet their parents and relatives.

However, police, traffic police and other security forces were expected to be busy, on the lookout for robberies, drunken violence and other social disorder.

Thousands of police were deployed in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, while throughout the country people brought offerings to monks at pagodas, to honor their ancestors, and set up offerings to the spirits to herald a successful year.

Games, too, will be on the agenda—knotted scarf-throwing, tug-of-war, leaf snatching—and revelers can expect performances of music, comedy, dancing and other traditional arts.

“All the popular games show the capacity, close relationship and wisdom of youth,” Mean Pon, an adviser for Khmer traditions at the Buddhist Institute, told VOA Khmer. “The meaning of the popular games is for fun."

Cambodians celebrate Khmer New Year

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English.news.cn

2010-04-14

PHNOM PENH, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's New Year started Wednesday which will last three days, and millions of Cambodians enjoy their celebration at many forms including the families gathering across the nation.

As usual, many residents, the families or workers in the country's capital city of Phnom Penh are travelling to rural areas or their birth places to meet their parents or relatives.

But what happen during these festivities, those travelers and happy goers are complaining about the rise of double or triple high cost of transportation as usually demanded by the vehicle operators.

Other than that, traffic jams and slow services at ferry crossing points are other things being complained about, but now thanks to two new Chinese donated bridges that help facilitate the smooth and fast flow of travelers who are getting out of town to north and northeast parts of the country, in addition to the existing two bridges donated by Japan.

On the other hand, authorities including traffic police, armed forces are busy to secure that any disturbance during the period is not to happen with their maximum efforts that may account from the theft, robbery, accidents, fire, as well as other social disorders.

In recent years, Phnom Penh Municipal Authority has warned residents not to purchase or use water cannon or fire crackers, fearing accidents often caused by these plays.

But, at the same time, many popular games and performances are encouraged by the authorities to entertain the mass holiday goers, especially, the farmers who flock to the city.

Besides, the performances in music, comics, dances and traditional arts, several old popular games are played across the country such as: knotted scarf throwing, tug-of-war, hidden knotted scarf, leaf snatching and bamboo.

Khmer New Year is celebrated every year in mid April in accordance with Moha Songkran, a Khmer form of astrology with 12 animals and this year is the year of tiger and it started on Wednesday at 07:36 a.m. local time.

The festival encourages people to enjoy the upcoming year, and to forget all unhappiness over the past year.

The Khmer New Year celebration is not only held in Cambodia, but also among overseas Cambodians living in the United States, France, Australia and Canada among others.

Editor: Xiong Tong

Blackburn church funds Cambodian orphanage

FUTURE BUILDING: ‘New Bonney School’ in Cambodia after the 19th century Blackburn school, now used as St Albans social club

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By Emma Cruces

Wednesday 14th April 2010

BLACKBURN church fundraising group is celebrating after building a school in Southeast Asia.

Volunteers from St Albans and the Good Shepherd first started fundraising to help children in Cambodia in 2000.

They already provide hund-reds of families with free rice so the youngsters don’t have to work in the fields and they have donated bikes, so they can reach the nearest teacher.

The Larkhill-based church group has also made it possible for three youngsters to go to university and train to be teachers.

The board of volunteers have now finished their greatest achievement yet – the construction of a £16,000 primary school in Siem Reap.

And the new primary will be known as ‘New Bonney School’ after the 19th century Blackburn school, nicknamed for headmaster Mr Bonney, now used as St Albans Social Club.

Since setting up the parish charity, ‘I Believe, Action Cambodia Today’, volunteers have raised £24,000.

St Albans committee member Alan Duffy said: “When it began, though we had heard of many worthy charities for African children, places like Cambodia seemed to be some-what neglected and we thought we would look at what we could do there.

“Since then we have paid for the refurbishment of 15 mobile libraries.

“We have sent money to pay for essentials like writing materials, chalk and some basic uniforms.

“Our local schools St Albans Primary, Our Lady and St John and St Bede’s High School hold fundraising events and our committee works hard to come up with inspirational new ideas.

“Recently we were also given a donation of £554 from a CofE primary school in Great Harwood.”

23 federally indicted in Cambodian marriage scam

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By Andrew Wolfson

awolfson@courier-journal.com

April 13, 2010

The lure: up to $10,000 in cash and an all-expenses paid trip to a beach in Cambodia.

For the men, throw in a free trip to a Cambodian brothel; and for the women, discounted nail service at salons back in Louisville.

The mission: Marry foreign-born Cambodian nationals so they could win permanent resident status in the United States.

In an indictment made public Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Louisville has charged that 20 U.S. citizens took the bait, including residents of Louisville, Lexington and Georgetown. In all, 23 people were arrested in three states and charged with conspiring to orchestrate more than a dozen bogus marriages and attempted unions.

As part of the elaborate plot, the recruited Americans and their Cambodian fiancées were photographed frolicking in hotel rooms, at beaches and at tourist attractions in Cambodia, where they were instructed to frequently change attire to give the appearance of multiple meetings during long-term relationships, the indictment charges.

The American brides and grooms were paid $1,000 to $5,000 to get engaged, then a matching amount when they tied the knot in civil ceremonies back in Louisville.

The organizers plied one groom — identified in the indictment as Donald McKinley Martin, 27, of Georgetown, with sexual favors at a Cambodian nightclub, offering him two young women identified as virgins.

When one of the would-be brides, Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington, got cold feet about marrying upon her return to Kentucky, according to the indictment, one of the organizers, Vuthea Niev, alias “T,” 57, of Prospect, allegedly threatened to kill her.

She eventually wed Chok Chan, 49, who now lives in Mount Sterling, and they both swore the marriage was legitimate, but they later divorced, as did they other coupes who wed, the indictment states.

It charges that the conspiracy spanned 10 years and didn’t end until last week.

In a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Louisville, John Morton, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency “will not tolerate those who facilitate, arrange, or profit from sham marriages to criminally exploit our nation’s generous immigration system.

“Marriage fraud results in an illegal shortcut to U.S. citizenship and poses a concern to our national security,” he said. “All of those involved in these false marriages will be held accountable.”

The indictment charges that Americans were recruited for the scheme at nail salons owned by the organizers, including “Pretty Nails,” “Tiffany Salon and Spa” and “Pristine Nails,” and were promised cut-rate service for participating.

Recruits were then urged to recruit others, and eventually 20 were drawn into the scheme, including a dozen who weren’t charged and are identified in the charging document by their initials.

The maximum penalties for most counts in the 10-count indictment are five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The defendants will appear for arraignment on dates to be set in Louisville and elsewhere.

The others charged as organizers of the alleged scheme were Michael Chanthou Chin, 39, of New Albany; Patrick Theng Chea, 45, of Louisville; Steve Sovan Uy, alias Sovan Oum, 43, of Nashville; Phearoun Peter Em, alias Sophea Lim, 22, of Sellersburg, Ind.; and Monirath Em, alias Angel, 32, of New Albany.

Niev is a U.S. citizen and the others are Cambodian-born naturalized U.S. citizens, according to the indictment. None of them could be reached for comment.

The other U.S. residents charged with participating or attempting to participate in fraudulent marriages were Jeremy Dickson Carmickle, 38, Christopher William McAlister Sr., 52, Christopher William McAlister Jr., 25, Stephanie Jean Murphy, 31, and Asaad Abdulrazak Alkinani, 39, all of Louisville; and Justin Michael Martin, 25, of Georgetown.

Other Cambodian nationals charged were Borin Chum, 29 and Yota Em, 24, and Sangha Srey, 49, of New Albany; Sina Ros, 38, of Houston; Huong Sreng, 35, location unknown; Sona Ngov, 29, of Corydon; and Nary Bun, 28, of Louisville.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, while some are also charged with marriage and visa fraud, said U.S. Attorney Candace Hill.

Reporter Andrew Wolfson can be reached at (502) 582-7189.

Cambodian govt drops central internet hub plans

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Wednesday 14 April 2010

Cambodia's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) has dropped plans to create a state-run internet hub. The ministry was earlier considering establishing a central domestic internet exchange through government-owned Telecom Cambodia, but has dropped plans to compel Cambodian ISPs to use the central hub and will allow them to use any internet exchange, The Phnom Penh Post citing a source within the ministry. The plan was controversial, sparking concerns over censorship and connectivity pricing. The ministry will require internet exchange companies to get a licence, but further details were not provided.

Conflicts Simmer Over Land Concessions

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By Robert Carmichael

PHNOM PENH, Apr 14 , 2010 (IPS) - When villagers in Kandal province near the Cambodian capital blocked National Road 2 in early April, it was just the latest protest by rural villagers angered by yet another alleged land grab.

They had blocked the road in a bid to raise awareness about the loss of hundreds of hectares of their land to a private developer, whose bulldozers had started clearing the land in late March.

Ten of the villagers were arrested, the latest in a seemingly unending string of land evictions that have engulfed this South-east Asian country in recent years.

The problem is likely to get even worse, critics say, because the government’s moves to allocate vast tracts of land to foreign and local companies are often done without consulting locals.

Another huge deal was touted earlier this year when Australia’s former finance minister, Peter Costello – also a paid adviser to the World Bank on transparency and good governance – announced a 600 million U.S. dollar investment in agriculture here.

This deal would be four times larger by value than any single agricultural investment in Cambodia.

The size of the land in question is substantial too: Costello, managing director of BKK Partners Ltd, a corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, spoke of more than 100,000 hectares.

The reason for the proposed investment by Costello’s client and others is simple enough: Rising food prices in 2008 alerted investors to the returns they can make from buying or leasing tracts of land in poor countries that have plenty of water and fertile land.

Cambodia certainly needs foreign investment and it needs the 150,000 jobs that Costello reportedly told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An would be created in the agriculture project.

"We have seen a spike in food prices in 2008, so I think agriculture is going to come back into its own as an investment in the decades that lie ahead and of course that's a great opportunity for Cambodia," Costello told the ‘Phnom Penh Post’ newspaper in an interview.

In recent years, Cambodia has done land deals with several countries. China, Vietnam, South Korea, Kuwait and Qatar have signed up to invest in agriculture – be that to grow food for export or crops such as rubber.

But critics say transparency is absent from the process. What has been agreed commercially in dozens of deals in every investment sector is regarded by Phnom Penh as confidential, despite the fact that the government is often selling or leasing public assets.

Son Chhay, an outspoken opposition MP and former head of Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said that that in Parliament he was regularly prevented by his deputy, who was from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, from getting information on deals signed by the government with foreign nations.

Secrecy, said Son Chhay, has long been part of the often-murky process of investment here.

"It’s still the case that we are not able to get our hands (on investment documents) and that’s a cause for great concern," he said. "A lot of concessions have caused problems to our farmers and indigenous people who have no knowledge of what is in the contracts."

But he said Costello stressed the importance of transparency and the negative effects of corruption during his visit. "He should act upon his word. We would hope that this kind of investment from a society like Australia would be done in a proper manner," Son Chhay said. "I would very much like that this BKK company provides the contract to the public so I can have a copy of that."

Land in Cambodia is a complicated topic, not least because of the Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s, when private property was abolished and land documents destroyed. In recent years around 1.1 million land title documents have been awarded, but that is less than 10 percent of the total land parcels, says the World Bank, which was involved in the scheme.

Combine a lack of title with the fact that around 80 percent of the 14 million Cambodians live in rural areas, and around 40 percent of them live under the poverty line, and the rising landlessness problem has many worried about social instability.

In 2007, the Cambodian office of the U.N. human rights body released a report on economic land concessions (ELCs). It noted that 59 concessions for nearly 950,000 hectares of rural land had been granted to private companies to develop agro-industrial plantations.

The true figure, it pointed out, is certainly higher since the statistics excluded smaller ELCs. The U.N. body said that the concessions had "adversely affected the human rights and livelihoods of Cambodia’s rural communities".

Since that report’s release, the government’s investment approval arm, the Council for the Development of Cambodia, has signed off a further 33 projects worth 837 million dollars in the agro-industry sector – and that excludes the proposed Costello deal. Many of these are plantations.

The government recently passed controversial legislation that allows it to expropriate land for projects deemed to be in the public interest. Agricultural investments certainly fall into that category, as Prime Minister Hun Sen made clear earlier this year.

Speaking at the January unveiling of a new 100 million-dollar Thai sugar mill part-owned by a leading light in the ruling party, Hun Sen said that the extra workers and land needed to expand its sugar production would be found for Thailand’s Khon Kaen Sugar Industry company, which already has a 90-year concession for 20,000 hectares, since its operations were in the national interest.

Costello joins Cambodia land race

http://atimes.com/

via CAAI News Media

By Robert Carmichael

PHNOM PENH - When villagers in Kandal province near the Cambodian capital blocked National Road 2 in early April, it was just the latest protest by rural villagers angered by yet another alleged land grab, a seemingly unending string of which have engulfed the country in recent years.

Ten villagers were arrested after they and others blocked the road over the loss of hundreds of hectares of their land to a private developer, whose bulldozers started clearing the land in late March.

The problem is likely to get even worse, critics say, because the government's moves to allocate vast tracts of land to foreign and local companies are often carried out without consulting locals.

Another huge deal was touted earlier this year when Australia's former finance minister, Peter Costello - now a paid adviser to the World Bank on transparency and good governance - announced a US$600 million investment in agriculture in the country.

This deal would be four times larger by value than any single agricultural investment in Cambodia. The size of the land in question is substantial too: Costello, managing director of BKK Partners Ltd, a corporate advisory firm based in Sydney, spoke of more than 100,000 hectares.

The reason for the proposed investment by Costello's client and others is simple: rising food prices in 2008 alerted investors to the returns they can make from buying or leasing tracts of land in poor countries that have plenty of water and fertile land.

Cambodia certainly needs foreign investment and it needs the 150,000 jobs that Costello reportedly told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An would be created in the agriculture project.

"We have seen a spike in food prices in 2008, so I think agriculture is going to come back into its own as an investment in the decades that lie ahead and of course that's a great opportunity for Cambodia," Costello told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

In recent years, Cambodia has done land deals with several countries. China, Vietnam, South Korea, Kuwait and Qatar have signed up to invest in agriculture - be that to grow food for export or crops such as rubber.

But critics say transparency is absent from the process. What has been agreed commercially in dozens of deals in every investment sector is regarded by Phnom Penh as confidential, despite the fact that the government is often selling or leasing public assets.

Son Chhay, an outspoken opposition MP and former head of Parliament's foreign affairs committee, said that that in Parliament he was regularly prevented by his deputy, who was from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, from getting information on deals signed by the government with foreign nations.

Secrecy, said Son Chhay, has long been part of the often-murky process of investment here.

"It's still the case that we are not able to get our hands [on investment documents] and that's a cause for great concern," he said. "A lot of concessions have caused problems to our farmers and indigenous people who have no knowledge of what is in the contracts."

He said Costello stressed the importance of transparency and the negative effects of corruption during his visit. "He should act upon his word. We would hope that this kind of investment from a society like Australia would be done in a proper manner," Son Chhay said. "I would very much like that this BKK company provides the contract to the public so I can have a copy of that."

Land in Cambodia is a complicated topic, not least because of the Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s, when private property was abolished and land documents destroyed. In recent years around 1.1 million land title documents have been awarded, but that is less than 10% of the total land parcels, says the World Bank, which was involved in the scheme.

Combine a lack of title with the fact that around 80% of the 14 million Cambodians live in rural areas, and around 40% of them live under the poverty line, and the rising landlessness problem has many worried about social instability.

In 2007, the Cambodian office of the UN human rights body released a report on economic land concessions (ELCs). It noted that 59 concessions for nearly 950,000 hectares of rural land had been granted to private companies to develop agro-industrial plantations.

The true figure, it pointed out, is certainly higher since the statistics excluded smaller ELCs. The UN body said that the concessions had "adversely affected the human rights and livelihoods of Cambodia's rural communities".

Since that report's release, the government's investment approval arm, the Council for the Development of Cambodia, has signed off a further 33 projects worth $837 million in the agro-industry sector - and that excludes the proposed Costello deal. Many of these are plantations.

The government recently passed controversial legislation that allows it to expropriate land for projects deemed to be in the public interest. Agricultural investments certainly fall into that category, as Prime Minister Hun Sen made clear earlier this year.

Speaking at the January unveiling of a $100 million Thai sugar mill part-owned by a leading light in the ruling party, Hun Sen said that the extra workers and land needed to expand its sugar production would be found for Thailand's Khon Kaen Sugar Industry company, which already has a 90-year concession for 20,000 hectares, since its operations were in the national interest.

(Inter Press Service)

ADB: Asia economies rebound, need to adjust policy, AS

http://www.huahintoday.net

via CAAI News Media

14 April 2010

by Hua Hin Today

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Asian Development Bank raised its regional growth forecast this year from 6.6 percent to 7.5 percent on Tuesday but warned that governments need to adjust policies to avoid shocks that could hamper their recovery.

China is forecast to grow by 9.6 percent, after last year's 8.7 percent expansion almost singlehandedly lifted the region's overall growth to 5.9 percent, offsetting weakness elsewhere. Another powerhouse, India, is projected to see growth rise to 8.2 percent from last year's 7.2 percent.

Five Southeast Asian economies that contracted last year — Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei — also are set to return to growth, together with Hong Kong, Mongolia and Taiwan, the bank said in its economic outlook.

In 2011, GDP growth across the region is seen easing back to 7.3 percent.

Investment is expected to remain strong and private consumption improve as projected growth this year and next lifts domestic demand, boosting consumer price inflation to about 4 percent, the bank said.

The fragile recovery still could be derailed by a premature withdrawal of stimulus, a sharp rise in commodity prices, persistent global financial imbalances and deteriorating debt positions in some countries, said ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda.

Asia's recovery is attracting large capital flows, the perils of which were made clear in the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, he said.

"Volatile capital flows could again have serious implications for exchange rates and money supply," Kuroda said.

"As it exits the worst effects of this crisis, therefore, developing Asia must remain faithful to its tradition of sound and responsible fiscal and monetary policies," he said.

The bank proposed monetary, exchange rate and fiscal policies to enable the region to adapt to the post-crisis world. It said that while price stability is the overriding objective, there needs to be better coordination between fiscal regulation and monetary policy to avert a homegrown financial crisis.

"After all, the combination of lax monetary policy and inadequate financial regulation contributed to inflating the U.S. housing market bubble that the immediate catalyst of the global financial crisis," the bank said.

Excessive foreign exchange market intervention should be reduced in favor of greater flexibility, and capital controls could help guard against foreign exchange volatility, it said.

Developing Asia refers to 44 countries and territories from the Pacific to Central Asia, excluding Japan.