Thursday, 3 March 2011

AKP - The Agence Kampuchea Press


via CAAI

NEC Announces the Fixed Date for Cambodia’s Senate Election

Phnom Penh, March 3, 2011 AKP – Cambodia’s National Election Committee (NEC) has announced the fixed date for the election of the Senate of the third mandate to be held on Jan. 29, 2012.

In a news release on Mar. 1 issued by NEC to all Cambodia’s political parties, local and international non-governmental organizations, and the public, the date for the election is set according to the approval made by the Cambodian Senate in a meeting held in late January on the set day of the election, the number of the seats and the division of the constituency seats.

In late February, the royal government also approved the date being fixed for Cambodia’s Senate election.

The number of seats for each regional constituency includes Region 1 (Phnom Penh capital city) with 6 seats, Region 2 (Kampong Cham province) 8 seats, Region 3 (Kandal province) 5 seats, Region 4 (Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey and Pailin provinces) 10 seats, Region 5 (Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces) 7 seats, Region 6 (Svay Rieng and Prey Veng provinces) 7 seats, Region 7 (Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk provinces) 8 seats, and Region 8 (Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear, Kratie, Stung Treng, Rattanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces) 6 seats, according to the announcement of the Senate.

The election will not be by universal suffrage. Only commune councilors throughout the country and parliamentarians will take part in this election.

The Cambodian political parties will compete for 57 of the 61 Senate seats. The remaining four seats will be appointed by the National Assembly and the King, who can choose two representatives each.

The term for senators is six years, according to Article 102 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia. –AKP

By THOU Peou

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Cambodia Kicks Off Campaign to Attract Japanese Tourists

Phnom Penh, March 3, 2011 AKP – Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism held a seminar here on Mar. 2 with an aim to attract more Japanese tourists to visit the country.
The seminar was presided over by Minister of Tourism H.E. Thong Khon and Cambodian Ambassador to Japan H.E. Hor Moniroth.

Japanese tourists consider Cambodia as the Regional Tourist Main Gateway, which is rich of historical and cultural heritage sites that attract many tourists from over the world.

According to the tourism minister, the total number of foreign tourist arrivals in 2010 reached some 2.5 million, or an increase of 16.04 percent as compared with 2009, of them 151,795 were Japanese.

In January 2011 alone, the number of tourists increased to 274,471, or 18 percent up, including 15,474 Japanese tourists (an increase by 7 percent) if compared with the same period of 2010, he said.

Cambodia is expected to receive around 2.7 million foreign visitors this year, some 3.1 million in 2012 and 4.5 million by 2015. –AKP

By CHEA Vannak

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State-run Radio Gains More Popularity

Phnom Penh, March 3, 2011 AKP – The National Radio of Kampuchea (RNK) has gained more and more popularity while more than 90 percent of Cambodian people are entitled to access to information, NRK Director General H.E. Tan Yan said.

“Our three state-run radio stations (AM918, FM96 and FM105.75) are competing with other private radio stations and mass media in providing news to the public,” he said.

According to ABC’s Project Manager Mr. Roth Nhata in 2010, the number of NRK’s listeners reached 1.2 million and it is expected to increase from 1.5 million to 1.6 million this year. –AKP

By KHAN Sophirom

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Information Ministry Holds First-Aid Training Course

Phnom Penh, March 3, 2011 AKP – As many as 39 officials from the five General Departments of the Information Ministry have been attending a First-Aid Training Course jointly organized by the Information Ministry and the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC).

The opening ceremony was held here on Mar. 2 in the presence of Secretary of State at the Ministry of Information H.E. Thach Phan and CRC Deputy Secretary General Mrs. Men Nearysopheak.

The two-day training course focuses on the CRC’s seven basic principles including humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality in assisting the victims. –AKP

By Théng

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“Voices of Khmer Rouge” Exhibition To Be Opened on Friday

Phnom Penh, March 3, 2011 AKP — “Voices of Khmer Rouge” Exhibition will be opened on Mar. 4, at 6:30 pm at Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center (BARC), Phnom Penh.
“Voices of Khmer Rouge” by Thomas Weber Carlsen and Jan Krogsgaard, was filmed during 2002-2003, edited, translated and subtitled 2004-2008, and finalized in 2010, according to a BARC press release.

The 43 hour long audiovisual memory document/art-installation “Voices of Khmer Rouge” consist of 30 human stories, shown on 30 monitors, where 30 former ordinary Khmer Rouge soldiers tell about their personal life experiences during the Cambodian civil war: their upbringing, actions, battles, thoughts, believes, feelings, secrets, ideologies and human values, the press release pointed out.

“We wanted to know what kind of people the Khmer Rouge movement was made up of: Who are they? When, why and how did they become “Khmer Rouge”? How do they look at themselves, being a part of the Khmer Rouge organization, with the loss of millions of people from executions, workloads and starvation as a result of its fatal policies? How do they look at society today?,” said Thomas Weber Carlsen and Jan Krogsgaard.

When watching and listening to the “Voices of Khmer Rouge”, these are some of the questions you will be confronted with and have to answer for yourself, they said, adding that each of the 30 stories last somewhere between twenty-five minutes and two hours. You can watch each episode for as short or long time as you like, moving from one story/monitor to another, and doing so end up with your “own editing” of the 30 stories.

From a universal human perspective, “Voices of Khmer Rouge” raises questions outside the Cambodian sphere like: Who writes History? Who are our gatekeepers? Who produce and digest information before we receive it? And how does this process take place?

Through its size, 43 hour long, “Voices of Khmer Rouge” is intended to challenge representation as we know it and asks, among several questions: When do we know enough to reach conclusions, when are we overwhelmed by information and must refrain from concluding in general terms? A question that seems to be significantly stressed these years through the ongoing Wikileak story.

“Voices of Khmer Rouge” has a story to tell to anyone who is willing to open up their mind. This goes for the young generation of Cambodians who in many ways are removed from the realities that created the Khmer Rouge, as well as for seasoned international Khmer Rouge and Cambodia scholars looking to fill the little gaps in their general knowledge. Also people without any specific knowledge of the Cambodian history might step into another experience. –AKP

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