Cambodia creates best conditions for Vietnamese businesses

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The Cambodian parliament, government and people welcome and support Vietnamese businesses and investors to the country, said Secretary General of the Cambodian National Assembly Leng Peng Long.

Leng Peng Long, who is leading a delegation of the Cambodian NA Secretariat on a current working visit to Vietnam, made the affirmation while meeting with Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly Uong Chu Luu in Hanoi on June 17.

He said his visit is aimed at studying experiences from the Vietnam National Assembly in applying information technology and the organisation of the General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Mr Long said.

He thanked the Vietnamese State and people for helping Cambodian people escape from the Pol Pot genocide in the past and in national construction and development at present.

Vice Chairman Luu expressed his pleasure at the fine development of relations between the two parliaments in recent years, saying the two sides have regularly exchanged delegates and boosted cooperation within both bilateral and multilateral frameworks. He hoped that both legislatures would continue to well implement signed agreements and asked the Cambodian NA to actively contribute and cooperate with the Vietnamese NA as Chair of the AIPA 31.

The Cambodian delegation began its five-day visit on June 16.

VOVNews

Advisor to Cambodia's PM apologizes for making statue

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June 18, 2010

An advisor to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has apologized for making a statue without permission.

In a letter made available to the media on Friday, Om Yintieng, advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had made a statue of the Prime Minister in a way to express his respect and gratitude, but without knowledge or consent from him.

He thus made a public apology and asked for forgiveness from the premier.

Om Yintien made the apology soon after the Cabinet of Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a statement on Thursday saying a number of places have been displayed with statues of the country's leaders or certain artists make sculpture or reproduction in objects of the leaders for decoration at homes or as souvenirs.

The statement said the gesture has affected the country's tradition and culture which does not allow any statue or sculpture of the leaders be displayed while they are still alive.

In the letter of apology, Om Yintieng did not mention the details of Hun Sen's statue that he had built and where exactly it will be displayed, but local media has reported Friday saying the premier's statue was designed for display inside the premise of government's anti-corruption unit, where is chaired by Om Yintieng.

The statue which was seen Thursday by reporters under the wraps was already removed from the site on Friday.

Source: Xinhua

Cambodia's anticorruption chief apologizes for Hun Sen statue plan+

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Jun 18 2010

PHNOM PENH, June 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The chief of Cambodia's anticorruption commission has apologized for planning to unveil a massive statue of Prime Minister Hun Sen at his commission's headquarters, a letter seen Friday showed.

Om Yin Tieng, one of Hun Sen's personal advisors as well as anticorruption chief, sought "forgiveness" in the letter dated Thursday for having a 5-meter statue of the prime minister made and planning to install it at the anticorruption headquarters.

Hun Sen has reportedly banned making statues of himself and other living Cambodians and installing them on public property because it "goes against Cambodian culture" and, according to some, because it is attracting strong public criticism of those being "honored" for thinking far too highly of themselves.

Om Yin Tieng said in the letter he had planned the statue to honor Hun Sen on his own.

But some Cambodians argue Hun Sen, who has been premier since 1985, was the real power behind the plan.

US expert sees widening resistance to malaria drug

US expert sees widening resistance to malaria drug

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HANOI — Resistance to new anti-malarial medication appears to be spreading beyond the western Cambodia area where it was first detected, according to a US health official.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned early last year that parasites resistant to the drug artemisinin had emerged along the border between Cambodia and Thailand.

Artemisinin-based medication has been largely credited in recent years with increasing recovery rates from the mosquito-transmitted disease that kills nearly one million people a year worldwide.

Timothy Ziemer, the US government's global coordinator against malaria, said that after first being spotted in western Cambodia in 2007, "there are now indications of artemisinin resistance in other parts of the region".

Signs of resistance to artemisinin had been found in southern Myanmar and possibly on the Chinese-Myanmar border, and in southern Vietnam near Cambodia, the retired rear admiral told a regional conference that ended Friday.

The WHO warned last year that emergence of the resistance could "seriously undermine" efforts to bring malaria under control.

Artemisinin-based medication was regarded as a replacement for older drugs that were fast becoming useless in several areas of the world as the malaria parasite developed resistance to them.

Ziemer said the number of malaria cases had still fallen. In Vietnam, for example, they were down from about 190,000 in 1991 to 15,000 by 2008, he said.

"But it is essential that national governments remain focused to contain and eventually eliminate these multi-drug resistant strains," he told the conference on international cooperation against infectious diseases.

Important to that strategy is the elimination of fake and substandard medicines, which increase resistance, he said in a speech Thursday.

DAP News ; Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

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Professor Surya Subedi's Evaluation on Cambodia's Justice and Court System

Thursday, 17 June 2010 13:47 DAP-NEWS

CAMBODIA,PHNOM PENH June 17, 2010- "The judiciary in Cambodia is facing tremendous challenges in delivering justice for the people of the country, especially the poor and marginalized," said Professor Surya Subedi, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right Situation in Cambodia, speaking in Phnom Penh on Thursday. He welcomed the adoption of a series of new laws in recent years, including a new penal code, an anti-corruption law, and a criminal procedure code, which are designed to strengthen the system of justice. " However, a combination of a lack of adequate resources, organizational and institutional shortcomings, a lack of full awareness of the relevant human rights standards, and external interference, financial or otherwise, in the work of the judiciary, has resulted in an institution that does not command the confidence of people form many walks of life, " The Special Rapporteur added.

Wrapping up his ten-day fact-finding mission on the functioning of the judiciary in Cambodia, Professor Subedi on Thursday concluded that" there are an alarmingly high number of people in detention due to various shortcomings in the criminal justice system, and the instances of miscarriage of justice are far too numerous. The constraints on the judiciary's ability to act according to its mandated role in the constitutional order of Cambodia are manifold while some are related to gaps in their capacity to deliver justice (including funding, infrastructure and training), other constraints are linked to gape in their knowledge of human rights standards. Many judges may have the necessary commitment to deliver justice according to the law, but for many this commitment is compromised by external interference, and for other commitment is just not there."

While considering the overall state of the judicial system in Cambodia, Professor Subedi also looked at the performance of the judiciary in particular areas of law. He raised specific concerns relating to the judiciary's role in protecting freedom of expression, and in cases involving land-related rights.

"I am troubled by the impact of land disputes, land concessions and resettlements on the lives of ordinary people, both in rural and urban areas, miscarriages of justice, and the narrowing of political space for critical debate in society, due to the disproportionate use of defamation, disinformation and incitement lawsuits against journalists, human rights activities and political opponents," he observed. "I call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to introduce appropriate measures to enhance the independence and capacity of the judiciary to enable it to function as an institution capable of providing justice to all in Cambodia. If you are poor, weak and dispossessed of your land, you seem to have limited chance to obtain redress either through existing administrative land management systems, or through the courts."

He encouraged the government to push ahead with its programs of action to enhance and strengthen the judiciary and to improve the situation of human rights. He further commented Cambodia for being one of very few countries which have accepted all 91 recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this year, as part of the four-yearly Universal Periodic Review. He added that now the time had come for the Government to come up with a strict time-table to implement these recommendations in a meaningful manner, and offered his assistance to the Government in his regard. He encouraged the Government to work with other major stakeholders, including civil society organizations, in following up these recommendations.

During his mission Professor Subedi had an audience with His Majesty King Sihamoni, who chairs the Supreme Council of Magistracy, a body entrusted, among other things, with the task of recommending the appointment of judges and taking disciplinary action against incompetent and corrupt judges. He also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minster Mr. Hor Namhong, the President of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee Mr. Om Yentieng, the President of the Supreme Court Mr. Dith Munthy and other judges, prosecutors and government officials as well as Civil Society representatives and victims of human rights violations. He highly appreciated the willingness on the part of his interlocutors, both in the government and the judiciary, to acknowledge shortcoming and engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him about change and reform.

Professor Subedi will be submitting a report containing his detailed recommendations on judicial reform and other measures to be taken in Cambodia to the United Nations Human Right Council, at its session in Geneva in September this year.

Cambodia faces big challenges in providing justice for the people- UN

Thursday, 17 June 2010 13:22 DAP-NEWS

PHNOM PENH, June 17, 2010 (DAP) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya P. Subedi said on Thursday that “the judiciary in Cambodia is facing tremendous challenges in delivering justice for the people of the country, especially the poor and marginalized”.

Professor Subedi, who wrapped up his ten-day fact finding in Cambodia, told reporters that “there is serious short in Cambodian judiciary.”

Subedi said “a combination of a lack—of adequate resources, organizational and institutional shortcomings... external interference, financial or otherwise, in the work of the judiciary—has resulted in an institution that does not command the confidence of people from many walks of life.”

Although he welcomed the adoption of a series of new laws in recent years, including a new penal code, an anti-corruption law, and a criminal procedure code, which are designed to strengthen the system of justice.

But he concluded that “there are an alarmingly high number of people in detention due to various shortcomings in the criminal justice system, and the instances of miscarriage of justice are far too numerous”.

He said that he is “troubled” by the impact of land disputes, land concessions and resettlements on the lives of ordinary people, both in rural and urban areas; miscarriages of justice; and the narrowing of political space for critical debate in society, due to the disproportionate use of defamation, disinformation and incitement lawsuits against journalists, human rights activists and political opponents.

“I call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to introduce appropriate measures to enhance the independence and capacity of the judiciary to enable it to function as an institution capable of providing justice to all in Cambodia,” he said.

New Land Regulation to Deal Resettlement on State Land

Thursday, 17 June 2010 10:28 dap-news

CAMBODIA,PHNOM PENH,June,17,2010-The land issues is a hot issue that occurred in Cambodia after the land price is higher,” Im Chhun Lim, Minister of urbanization, land management said on Thursday.

“Now we have new regulation of resolution of temporary settlement of state land which illegally lived, “he said.

He added that the new circular on the resolution on the temporary settlements on land which has been illegally occupied in the capital, municipal and urban areas officially is effective from now on.

It focused on data collection on actual numbers of temporary settlements, identification and mapping classification of the sites of temporary settlements, households and population census in temporary settlements, solution finding, and coordinated discussion in order to identify solution policies, basic public infrastructure and services to support livelihood, and participation of stakeholder in development.

At the same time, Kep Chutema, Phnom Penh governor said that sometimes we are difficult to deal relocation of poor people in city because it intervened from many people.”Our officials sometimes committed badly through increasing the data of poor families and impacts are huge,” he said. We have to cut their intervention, he added. The meeting this morning took part from the all stakeholders related to seek land resolution and relocation of poor. Phnom Penh is core place of poor and relocation.

Buzz off!

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

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Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 Uong Ratana

An actor dressed as a mosquito leads a parade Tuesday that was organised to raise awareness of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

International footy at home

Photo by: Sreng Meng Srun

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Friday, 18 June 2010 15:00 Sreng Meng Srun

Build Bright United goalkeeper Hem Simay (right) leaps to grab the ball ahead of teammates Bun Sophea (left) and Augustine Ogbemi of Nigeria (second right), and Naga Corp’s Nigerian striker Joseph Oyewole (centre) during their match Wednesday at Olympic Stadium. The top two teams in the table played out a disappointing 1-1 draw. In the main football action in the world, Nigeria plays Greece today. SRENG MENG SRUN

Lakeside corruption claim

Photo by: Vandy Rattana
A man removes planks from his home on Boeung Kak in September 2008, after authorities started filling in the lake with sand

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Friday, 18 June 2010 15:03 May Titthara

Kep Chuktema accuses commune officials of fabricating ‘ghost families’

COMMUNE officials in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake area are intentionally inflating the number of families affected by a massive development project in order to pocket compensation payments, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema alleged Thursday.

In a meeting with provincial governors addressing controversial guidelines on so-called temporary settlements, Kep Chuktema claimed corrupt commune officials are hindering efforts to relocate residents living on disputed land by adding non-existent “ghost families” to the actual number of those affected.

“They add in ghost families,” the governor said.

“If there are only 100 families living in their commune, they report to us that there are 140 families.”

Kep Chuktema cited the Boeung Kak lake real estate development as an example, charging that some commune officials in the area are eager to claim promised compensation funds.

“When we started to develop Boeung Kak, the number of families increased because of our policy to provide US$8,000 and 2 million riels (about US$476) in compensation,” he said.

With this money, he added, “It’s not hard for a commune chief to get a Land Cruiser.”

Kep Chuktema said he had already sacked one commune official for listing “ghost families”, though he did not give a name.

“I am so hurt,” he said. “I did not fire my commune chief. But I fired my commune councillor. This is the experience I have.”

Many of the villages affected by the lake development are in Daun Penh district’s Srah Chak commune, which forms a crescent around the lake from the southwest to the north.

The commune’s deputy chief, In Saphan, who is in charge of Boeung Kak lake issues for the commune, declined to comment about the governor’s “ghost families” claim.

“I don’t know about what the Phnom Penh governor said because I did not attend the meeting,” she said.

Housing rights advocates, as well as villagers who stand to be affected by the 133-hectare development say they have heard similar allegations before.

Be Pharom, who lives in the commune’s Village 22, said she had heard of officials trying to inflate the number of families living near her, though she did not name anyone in particular.

“If we have one family, they increase it to two or three families,” she said.

Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said he, too, has heard villagers report claims of inflated numbers. But he said it is unclear how often this is done.

Rights workers say roughly 4,200 Boeung Kak families are facing eviction. But Sia Phearum said that is the government’s statistic, and that rights workers have not taken their own tally.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, provincial governors and land-management officials discussed the implementation of guidelines for removing “temporary settlements” that have been “illegally occupied” in urban areas.

The Council of Ministers approved the guidelines last month. Officials say they were drafted to assist in dealing with communities settled after the Khmer Rouge fell from power.

The guidelines cover how population data must be collected by local officials; how sites must be mapped and classified; and how authorities must install basic infrastructure and ensure access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities.

Rights groups have expressed concern that the guidelines could be used as a legal justification for evictions.

“Villagers who live illegally on state land have been living there for a long time,” said Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for the rights group Adhoc. “The government should be responsible for them.”

Officials at Thursday’s meeting, however, defended the government’s eviction policies, and took issue with the use of the word itself.

“Our government can not accept the word ‘eviction’. Only during the Pol Pot regime did they evict,” said Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Im Chhun Lim.

She added that she believes the practice could make it harder for families actually living on the land to reach an agreement with City Hall because it drags out the process of securing compensation.

Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for the rights group Licadho, said villagers frequently report claims of “ghost families” appearing on official tallies.

“We always urge authorities to get clear statistics first before relocating people to new relocation sites,” he said. “We don’t want authorities to profit while people suffer.”