Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia

http://www.associatedcontent.com/

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Ruth Paget, Yahoo! Contributor Network

Feb 3, 2011

The National Gallery of Art's online tour of Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory uses interactive web software to create an exhibit that shares the history, culture, and religious iconography of the Khmer civilization through text, video, and audio files. The majority of the artwork in the exhibit comes from the National Museum of Cambodia (Phnom Penh) and the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet (Paris).

Each major era of Khmer art has a hyperlink to a page with two or three short paragraphs describing the era, a QuickTime video link that allows you to move around the exhibit and click on artwork for its description, and RealPlayer audio links for selected artwork that gives supplementary information about the work and its place in Khmer civilization. The text, audio, and video elements of the exhibit bring different information together to create an appealing new kind of museum experience for the online visitor.

The exhibit introduction page describes the conditions that set the stage for the rise of Khmer power and its monumental art complexes and sculpture between the sixth and sixteenth centuries C.E. Most importantly, the Mekong River system provided the transportation network allowing for commerce to generate building funds. Secondly, trade routes between China and the Middle East brought traders and travelers, who introduced Khmer society to Hinduism and Buddhism.

In the early Khmer period and up to the twelfth century, the Khmer rulers adopted Hinduism as their religion while allowing Buddhism and its art to coexist with Hinduism. The Pre-Angkor Period section of the exhibit provides a succinct description of the central tenets of Hinduism and names the principal Hindu deities that figure in much of Angkor's art:

Brahma (the creator)

Shiva (the destroyer)

Vishnu (the preserver)

Khmer rulers identified themselves with either Shiva or Vishnu until Buddhism became the state religion.

If you click on the photo of Vishnu from the Pre-Angkor Period page, you can see the swaying hips, broad shoulders, and fleshy, naturalistic modeling of the body that distinguishes the art of this early period. Buddhist art from the Pre-Angkor period also manifests the naturalistic forms seen in Hindu sculpture until the eighth century C.E. when Khmer art becomes more formal and distant, commanding respect on the part of the viewer.

The Pre-Angkor Sculpture page provides easy-to-understand explanations regarding:

• The central tenets of Buddhism

• Why and how Prince Siddharta became Buddha

• What Bhodisattvas are and what they do

Buddhism's day as the state religion of the Khmer civilization would come in the late 12th century.

The monarchy that would make Angkor famous began in 8092 C.E. when Jayavarman II unified Cambodia. (Varman, as one of the audio segments points out, means "protector" and figures in the name of all the Angkor monarchs.) However, it was Indravarman (r.877-886) who began the building program that would make Angkor and its environs famous. Indravarman commissioned the first "temple-mountain" built, which was called Bakong. Bakong and later temple-mountains symbolized Mount Meru, the Hindu home of the Gods. Indravarman also commissioned the building of a reservoir that provided water to the temple moats as well as for agricultural needs during the dry season; the Angkor complex served spiritual as well temporal needs.

A statue of Vishnu from Jayavarman II's reign that you can select from the photo reflects the values of the new ruler: Vishnu stands in a rigid pose signaling the new distance between rulers and ruled. The symbols justifying this distance are portrayed with Vishnu: the staff, globe, disk, and conch shell. The audio description which accompanies the sculpture details what each symbol means, but the important element to retain is that the rulers were the earthly embodiments of the deities, commanding obeisance.

Indravarman's son Yasovarman (r.899-early 10th century C.E.) commissioned the first reservoir and temple-mountain complex called Bakheng at the actual site of Angkor and continued the monumental, regal, and austere style of his father. The exhibit continues to provide historical information on the Tenth Century and the Art of Koh Ker and Banteay Srei as well as the Eleventh Century Art of the Kheleang and Baphuon.

In the early twelfth century C.E., Vishnu became all important as a deity during the reign of Suryavarman II (r.1113-at least 1145) when the monarch chose this deity to represent him. The bronze torso and head fragment of Vishnu from what was once a monumental sculpture must be one of the treasures displayed in this online tour. This sculpture originally showed a sleeping Vishnu (the preserver) on the back of the serpent of eternity with water flowing out of Vishnu's navel. When Vishnu wakes from his sleep a golden lotus bearing Brahma (the creator) will emerge from his navel.

This identification of the Khmer rulers with deities made the rulers omnipotent. Even the Buddhist sculpture of the 12th century C.E. shows Buddha asking with a crown, earrings and distended earlobes, and jeweled belt. While the exhibit describes this kingly aspect of Buddha as the "later Khmer conception of Buddha as King," there is a historical basis for this representation. Prince Siddharta (who later became Buddha) was born into the Ksatriya caste in the Hindu religion. The Ksatriyas form the princely and warrior caste of Hinduism. As part of this caste, it would be expected for Siddharta to wear jewels and a crown. Once he renounced his princely birth, he set upon the path to becoming enlightened as Buddha.

Buddhism would find its place as state religion in the Khmer Empire when Angkor reached its zenith under Jayavarman VII (r.1181-1218). Jayavarman VII extended the Khmer Empire by conquering the Chams of central Vietnam and extracting tribute money from most of Thailand and Laos.

The audio recording that describes the photo of the sculpture of the head of Jayavarman VII records the devout Buddhist as saying, "The suffering of the people is the pain of Kings." The sculpture of Jayavarman VII's head depicts as sharing Buddha's characteristics - the long distended earlobes caused by wearing heavy earrings as a price in his youth and eyes closed to the "Illusion of earthly things" as the audio informs online visitors. The Buddhist Bayon Temple built in the center of Angkor Thom is his contribution to Angkor.

The Cambodian capitol moved to Phnom Penh in 1431 when the Thai Kingdom captured Angkor. After this period, wood sculptures predominated alluded to for several reasons in the exhibit text. If you click on the photo of the wooden Worshipper sculpture from the Post-Angkor Section of the online tour, you will discover its description as a Theravada Buddhist work, focusing on spiritual humility rather than metaphysical speculation. Theravada remains the predominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia to this day.

If you have never participated in an online tour of an exhibit, Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia: Millennium of Glory will impress you with its content and composition. The direct link to the exhibit follows:

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/cambodia/camrm9-8c.htm

Kasit to meet Cambodian counterpart in Siem Reap

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By The Nation

Published on February 4, 2011

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is scheduled to meet his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong to discuss border disputes, notably in the area near Preah Vihear Temple, and seek ways to ease the tension in Thailand caused by nationalist protesters.

The minister travelled by car yesterday through the border province of Sa Kaew to Siem Reap, where he will attend the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Commission meeting. Kasit stopped at the border to get a briefing from Thailand's Burapha Task Force.

The joint commission is expected to discuss general issues related to bilateral ties, like economic and cultural cooperation, although Kasit expects to discuss the boundary dispute with his counterpart on the sidelines.

The jailing of Thai Patriots Network leader Veera Somkwamkid and his assistant Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who got lengthy sentences last week after being convicted of trespass and espionage by a Cambodian court, was unlikely to be on the agenda as the two are expected to appeal the verdict next week.

Kasit said he would visit the two in Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh after the meeting wraps up today.

The border conflict was initially handled by the joint boundary committee, which met for the last time in 2009. But it is still waiting for the Thai Parliament to give it the go ahead to meet again.

The areas adjacent to Preah Vihear temple have not been demarcated and both countries claim sovereignty over the 4.6 square kilometres.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of building a Buddhist pagoda in the disputed area, and is demanding that it remove the national flag it has hoisted there. Cambodia has rejected the demand, saying the area is under its sovereignty.

Though the pagoda was built in 1998, the government has been pressed to protest by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which is also demanding that the 2000 memorandum of understanding on boundary demarcation be scrapped and Cambodians living near the temple be forcibly evicted.

Second Army Region chief Lt-General Thawatchai Samut-sakorn, who oversees the area, said he could not force Cambodia to remove the flag hoisted over Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svara as it might spark a major conflict between the two countries.

Thailand had also hoisted its national flag at the Twin Stupa nearby, he said. "Both parties can claim sovereignty on the area as long as the boundary issue has not yet been demarcated," he added.

Thai, Cambodia Foreign Ministers To Meet Friday

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 03 February 2011

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Photo: AP

Foreign Ministers, Hor Namhong, right, of Cambodia, and Kasit Piromya, left, of Thailand, shake hands before a meeting in the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010.

“There is no topic about this.”

The foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand will meet in Siem Reap on Friday, for already scheduled bilateral discussions, but there is no specific plan to discuss recent escalation of border tensions, an official said Thursday.

Both sides only recently relaxed a major military build-up along the border of Preah Vihear province, but the December arrests of a Thai delegation for illegally crossing the border and Cambodia’s refusal to lower its flags from a contentious pagoda have rekindled border concerns.

“There is no topic about this,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday, referring to the pagoda. “The Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak pagoda is legally and fully located in Cambodian territory.”

Thai officials have maintained that the pagoda sits in disputed territory, according to a map that differs from a version draw under French colonial administration, which Cambodia adheres to. They have asked that Cambodia stop flying its flag over the pagoda, located near Preah Vihear temple, a Unesco World Heritage site and a source of nationalistic fervor on both sides.

Earlier this week, Phnom Penh warned Bangkok to avoid war rhetoric, after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was quoted in local media saying the “use of force” would be a last resort.

The Bangkok Post reported Thursday that Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will bring a message to Cambodia Friday saying Thailand has no intention of war.

The Bangkok Post also reported Thursday a high-level Thai delegation had arrived Thursday to discuss with Prime Minister Hun Sen the “strained relationship” between the two countries. Cambodian officials were unable to confirm such a meeting.

Prison Department Drafting a Reform Policy

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 03 February 2011

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Photo: AP

The initiative for reform was discussed and approved during an annual meeting of the prison department last week.

“The prisoners have the right and freedom to meet and talk with their own family members, and their rights are to be respected.”

The Ministry of Interior’s prison department is preparing to reform its visitation and other policies, to allow inmates to meet with family members on special occasions and gain skills ahead of their release, officials said Thursday.

The reforms will allow prisoners visitation a day ahead of major holidays, such as the New Year, giving them more time with their families, Nouth Saan, secretary of state for the Interior Ministry, told VOA Khmer.

The initiative was discussed and approved during an annual meeting of the prison department last week.

Other reforms will include the development of skills training in areas like electronics repair and agriculture, said Kuy Bun Sorn, director of the prison department.

“This is a reform of prison policy, particularly in rehabilitation for prisoner integration, so that after they are freed they can go back to their communities with clear skills,” he said.

The reforms are aimed at preventing second offenses, he said.

Cambodia is facing an overcrowding of its jails, with an estimated 14,000 prisoners across the system in 2010, according to government statistics.

Chan Saveth, head of monitoring for the rights group Adhoc, said the draft policy showed some sympathy for prisoners, but many of their families are poor and live far from the provincial detention centers.

Still, overall it was a gain for prisoner rights, he said. “The prisoners have the right and freedom to meet and talk with their own family members, and their rights are to be respected.”

Am Sam Ath, head of investigation for the rights group Lichado, said the policy was an improvement and will lessen the sense of isolation experienced by many prisoners.

Child Sponsorship Report 2010, from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Children from SOS Children's Village Siem Reap

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Feb 03, 2011

A child sponsorship report from Siem Reap in Cambodia. Written in 2010.

Dear sponsor,

It is my pleasure to write to you and tell you more about the life at the SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap. We hope you enjoy reading and knowing more about the families and their lives at the village.

Up to date we have provided a family to 165 children who 8 of them have been embraced this year, Malina, Ratha, Raksa, Reasmey, Ty, Sokheng, Senheng and Touch. They have been provided with all necessary needs so they always feel belong to their family. They can later overcome the trauma of losing their environment, friends and family from where they come. They all have found in the SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap a loving home. The youngest child is about three year and the oldest girl is eighteen years old. We organise Karate-Do Training Programme every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The grade examination for 2009 of Karate-Do was held on December 17, 2009 at the village. Simultaneously the result 54 children were upgraded to brown belt. And we have also been organising Khmer Traditional Dance every Sunday.

The Youth House is now home for 23 youths. These youths have benefited adequate training from their various mothers at the village. The continuous psycho-social support from youth leader and other co-workers has helps them to develop self confidence and better life skills. One youth has moved to Phnom Penh to study Engineering at National Training Institute in the capital Phnom Penh and other 22 youths are in high school and secondary. At weekends they visit their SOS mothers and siblings. In the SOS Vocational Training Centre Angkor Siem Reap there are 23 teenagers that are facing the same challenge. They have chosen different skills. Until now, there are 92 boys who graduated from our Vocational Training Centre and have already got employment.

The SOS School and SOS Nursery Angkor Siem Reap are at the next to door of the village. The SOS School and Nursery provides education to our children and the children from the neighbourhood. At the SOS Nursery you can hear children laughing in every group. This is a place which is never quiet! Up to 105 children between the ages 3-6 attend SOS Nursery. The availability of suitable classrooms, game and toys ensures that the children are given the optimum conditions for developing their social, intellectual and creative skills and they are prepared for the primary school.

The mothers and Aunts from the SOS Children’s Village are regularly receiving literacy training Programme in order to help reinforce their level of understanding, improving their work and responsibilities and allowing them to better support their children’s care and education. They also received training on the SOS Village manual and Child Protection Policy for better understanding.

In order to make children more interested in their life, we always promote their developments, activities and events which organized within and outside the village.

On April 26th there was an event to commemorate 24th anniversary Ceremony of the founder Hermann Gmeiner. We invited the monks and offered the food to all the monks. We prayed and dedicated the food to the spirit of the founder Hermann Gmeiner on that day.

On the 1st June, International Children’s Day a joint entertaining activity was arranged at SOS Nursery in village. All mothers, children and co-workers participated in the event. All the children get up early to made up and dress up neatly. All children enjoyed playing with many games such as banana eating competition, pair running competition and dancing game competition. There were many questions relating to the rights of the children are prepared for the children. They can answer all the questions. The children also received the gifts from the committee. They all were joyful and know well about the International Children’s Day.

During the summer vacation, the children in SOS Children’s Village Angkor Siem Reap visited Kamping Pouy lake which located about 35 killometre western of Battambang Provincial town and about 215 killometre from Siem Reap Province. Kamping Pouy is the site of both recreational lake and a massive hand-build stretching between two hills. As the value of nature we can see the lotus and the rice field gathering around it. Moreover, they could relax with a traditonal hut and arranged the picnic food. Fifteen minute after finishing lunch, they took daved and threw the water each other. Therefore all the children and mothers were really enjoyed with thier value vacation and kept all memories along with them back home. they wish to visit there again in the nearest future.

Your kind help enables us to do work. Therefore on behalf of all us I would like to thank you and convey our gratitude and appreciation.

Yours Sincerely

Mrs. Meas Mala

Senior Co-worker Sponsorship

PAD: Karun's arrest purely political

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Published: 3/02/2011

The arrest of People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) key member and former senator Karun Sai-ngam has other yellow-shirt leaders wondering just what the Democrat-led government is really about.

Mr Karun was arrested on Wednesday as he arrived back from Cambodia, on an old arrest warrant in connection with the PAD's blockade of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports in late 2008.

"We can't help but notice the timing of his arrest," PAD spokesman Panthep Phongphuaphan said on Thursday.

"The government has had lots of time to seize him earlier, but did not.

Former senator Karun Sai-ngam (centred)

"We wonder if they are just playing politics, because Mr Karun is a member of the legal team of the Thai Patriots Network (TPN) assigned to assist the two Thais jailed in Cambodia."

PAD co-leader Chamlong Srimuang said that the group's key members and spokesman have taken full responsibility for the ongoing rally, so the yellow-shirt supporters should listen only to them about what action should be taken next.

He said a House dissolution was not part of the PAD’s demands and would not help lower the rally's intensity.

Another yellow-shirt core member Praphan Khoonmee said speakers at the rally will not address not only issue of national sovereignty, but also the corruption in the government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva - such as in the palm oil industry.

"The Democrat Party is not the same as it was. It has discarded its political ideology," Mr Praphan said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Mr Karun's arrest should not fan the ongoing protest by TPN demonstrators near Government House.

Mr Suthep said Mr Karun was arrested in connection with the airport blockade case.

He said most of the other suspects in this case had earlier surrendered to fight charges levelled against them. Seven had not, including Mr Karun, and were liable to arrest under a court warrant.

Mr Suthep hoped the TPN - a yellow-shirt splinter group - would not take this matter as a reason to step up their pressure for the government to take action to bring home TPN coordinator Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who were sentenced to eight and six years in jail respectively by a Cambodian court for espionage.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban

The deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs said he did not understand why the PAD had set a Feb 5 deadline for the government to bring home the two convicts.

"Instead of raising the pressure, the PAD should come and offer advice about what should be done to secure the release of the two activists," Mr Suthep said.

He insisted that the government had done what it could to help them and the public was aware of this.

On Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's trip to attend the 7th Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission meeting for bilateral cooperation in Siem Reap today, Mr Suthep said he believed Mr Kasit, who was well-versed in the current situation, would be able to convey a message to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that Thailand wants peace, not war.

Asked whether a control control drill by the metropolitan police using real tear gas canisters was intended to send a signal that the protesters would be dispersed, Mr Suthep said the police were only making themselves fully prepared.

They were duty-bound to protect important locations, including Government House, parliament, the Foreign Ministry and the Cambodian embassy.

Cambodia’s Free Press At Risk?

via CAAI

By Luke Hunt

February 3, 2011

They’re doing it tough in Indochina. Le Hoang Hung, a 50-year-old Vietnamese journalist who was set on fire while sleeping, has died from his injuries while across the border in Cambodia.

Hung had worked for The Worker newspaper mainly covering the southern Mekong Delta, and earned himself a reputation for investigating official corruption. According to reports, he was scheduled to cover a court case involving a local official being sued for misappropriation of land.

Vietnam is a tough place for journalists. The government treats those who stray from the official line as pariahs and the country’s bullies and gangsters are notorious thugs. Hung’s wife, describing the attack, says she was sleeping in another room when an intruder broke into their home and doused him with chemicals. Minutes later he was alight.

‘The whole family was sleeping and all of a sudden I heard my husband screaming,’ she told a local news portal. The family threw water on the flames and rushed him to hospital, but he died there ten days later.

The shameful and sometimes barbaric situations Vietnamese journalists have found themselves in can’t be compared with the comparatively mild shenanigans that occur in Cambodia. But the fear is that Cambodia could be losing its lustre as a home for the free press.

It’s a title few would have expected of the country given its history, particularly as it emerged from decades of war. In the early to mid-1990s, the United Nations arrived, and so did the NGOs and the Phnom Penh Post. A press club was formed that thrives today as the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia (OPCC) and the authorities appeared tolerant of journalists who knew their own mind.

As such, more than a few eyebrows were raised last Friday when Om Yentieng, head of the government’s anti-corruption unit and the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, confiscated tapes from journalists after a press conference he’d given. Om Yentieng had objected to questions surrounding a grenade attack on opposition supporters in 1997 when 16 Cambodians died and more than 100 people were injured. Inquiries have failed to establish who was responsible.

A government spokesman, Phay Siphan, later said that officials had the right to confiscate recordings if the questions create trouble. He also noted officials had a right to protect their privacy and dignity.

What this had to do with the questions surrounding the 1997 grenade attack is anybody’s guess, and the OPCC noted that Om Yentieng’s actions were totally incompatible with at least three of Cambodia’s own laws. Additionally, the Cambodian Constitution guarantees press freedom.

The confiscations followed an incident in which police held down photographer Sovan Philong of the Phnom Penh Post and confiscated his camera. He sustained minor injuries, while Hong Menea, an apprentice photographer, also had his equipment seized.

The two reportedly held government-issued press cards and were documenting evictions around Boeung Kak lake in central Phnom Penh. Their gear was returned after their photos had been deleted. It's a worrying trend, though one that's well established east of the border.

Thailand, Cambodia Joint Commission pledge to boost ties amid border conflict

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SIEM RIEP, Feb 3 - The seventh meeting of the Joint Commission (JC) on bilateral cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday pledged that the two neighbours will not let the renewed tension regarding the border dispute to obstruct bilateral cooperation, while Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is scheduled to visit the two convicted Thais incarcerated in a Phnom Penh prison on Friday.

Thai Permanent-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Theerakul Niyom made the remarks following the meeting of JC senior officials held in the Cambodian city Siem Riep between Thursday and Friday that the Thursday meeting between two sides went well.

Although the topics of discussion include a wide range of cooperation such as education, social, culture and economic affairs, the renewed tension on border dispute and the arrest of the seven Thais by Cambodian soldiers overshadowed the annual meeting.

Mr Theerakul said the meeting expected that the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for the Land Boundary (JBC) will be a mechanism that solves the border conflict.

The foreign ministry official stated conflict can sometimes occur between the neighbouring countries, but one problem should not stall cooperation in other areas.

Foreign Minister Kasit led the Thai delegation to the bilateral meeting Thursday morning and he is scheduled to hold talks with his counterpart Hor Namhong, during which a discussion on Thai- Cambodian conflicts is expected.

It is expected that help to resolve the case of the two Thais -- Veera Somkwamkid, Thai Patriots Network activist, and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, his secretary -- both sentenced to prison terms by a Cambodia court for espionage, will be raised during the talk.

Mr Kasit also plans to visit Mr Veera, now being detained in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar Prison, and Ms Ratree, still staying at Thai embassy, to discuss how to help them after the pair decided to appeal the Cambodian court verdict.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday sentenced Mr Veera to eight years in jail and fined of 1.8 million riels (450 U.S. dollars) and Ms Ratree to six years in prison and fined 1.2 million riels (300 U.S. dollars).

Veera and Ratree were among the seven Thais, including Democrat MP for Bangkok Panich Vikitsreth, arrested Dec 29 by the Cambodian authorities in Banteay Meanchey province contiguous to Thailand's Sa Keo province, for illegal entry.

The five others received nine-month suspended jail terms on Jan 21 and returned to Thailand on Jan 22. (MCOT online news)

Change in chairmen at ANZ

Photo by: Pha Lina

Kith Meng (left) stands next to ANZ Banking Group CEO Mike Smith during a press conference in Phnom Penh last month.

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Thursday, 03 February 2011 20:19 Jeremy Mullins

Prominent businessmen Kith Meng’s six-year tenure as ANZ Royal Bank chairman has ended, with his successor touted as the chief executive officer of ANZ’s South and South-East Asia operations.

Kith Meng has held the position since the bank’s launch in 2005, but the firm’s chief executive officer Stephen Higgins said today that it was business as usual for the joint venture.

Decisions regarding the chairmanship of ANZ Royal were a matter for the bank’s board, he added, which represents the two partners.

A shareholders’ agreement, he said, requires that the chairmanship rotates every three years, however an exception was made three years ago.

“In early 2008, reflecting the early stage of ANZ Royal’s development, the board took the view that the chairmanship should remain unchanged for a further three-year term to provide continuity,” he wrote today.

Higgins emphasised daily operations at the company would be unaffected by the transition, stating: “Day to day management won’t change.”

The bank is 55-percent owned by ASX-listed Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, with the remaining 45 percent by Kith Meng’s Royal Group conglomerate.

The agreement between the two shareholders to establish the bank was first signed in 2004, and the bank launched in September 2005.

According to the most recent statistics available from the National Bank of Cambodia, ANZ Royal is the Kingdom’s fourth largest bank out of an estimated 27 nationwide, by measures including loans and deposits.

A spokesperson at ANZ Royal Bank said today the new chairman is expected to be ANZ’s CEO for South and South East Asia Mark Robinson.

Robinson joined ANZ in June last year after a 25-year career at Citigroup throughout Europe and Asia, and most recently served as CEO for Citigroup’s South East Asia regional business.

Robinson joined ANZ’s Australia-based CEO Mike Smith on a visit to Cambodia last month, where ANZ Royal’s new logo was unveiled, with Kith Meng also in attendance.

Royal Group, where Kith Meng is chairman and CEO, is one of Cambodia’s largest business groups.

Besides its stake in ANZ Royal Bank, it is the full owner of mobile phone provider CamGSM, which operates under the Cellcard brand and holds a 45 percent stake of the Kingdom’s sole railroad operator Toll Royal Railways.

It holds a number of properties including the Cambodiana Hotel.

Last month, it was revealed that the Royal Group is a 49 percent partner in the Sesan 2 hydroelectric dam project in Steung Treng province with the Vietnam Electricity Group.

Kith Meng – who is also president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce - today directed questions about his tenure as ANZ Royal Bank chairman to Stephen Higgins.

Kingdom courts gay tourists

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Thursday, 03 February 2011 19:34 Soeun Say

Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has welcomed a bid to launch a global campaign to encourage gay and lesbian travellers to the Kingdom, an official told The Post today.

According to a press release posted online today, some Cambodian tourism businesses have set up a global campaign called “Adore Cambodia!” to let gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender tourists know they are welcome in the country.

“Siem Reap is remarkable because major players in the hospitality and service industries are comfortable extending a genuine welcome specifically to GLBT visitors,” John Goss, director of Utopia-Asia.com, which lists more than 70 gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses around Cambodia, was quoted as saying.

An openly gay businessman, named as Sopheara, was quoted as saying: “Mutual respect between people is deeply a part of Khmer culture.

“Gays and lesbians are included as long as cultural traditions are respected. More and more Cambodians, in all strata of society, are living an open gay life.

“But you won’t find provocative displays of sexuality here.”

Today, So Sokvuthy, director of promotion department of Ministry of Tourism said that although the ministry was not informed of the plan, he welcomed any company or person that wanted to promote the tourism sector.

“It is not a problem, if they do not break the traditions [of Cambodia]. We have no policy to discriminate on sex, national and religious grounds. We really support them,” said So Sokvuthy.

He added that the ministry was open to all companies wanting to promote the Kingdom.

“It will let tourists know about Cambodia and attract tourists come to the country if they promote tourism,” he said.

The press release added that “with the spread of ultra-cheap flights from regional hubs like Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, gay and lesbian tourists have discovered a quiet haven of tolerance, culture and world heritage that is actively reaching out to the economically powerful GLBT niche travel market” in Cambodia.

The campaign logo design, it continued, has been based on the Runbdul flower depicted in the six colours of the “internationally recognised gay rainbow”.

Thai FM to meet Veera in jail

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldiers travel in the back of a military truck down National Road 5 toward the Cambodian-Thailand border in Kampong Chhnang province’s Kampong Leng district on Tuesday.

via CAAI

Thursday, 03 February 2011 19:24 Cheang Sokha

Siem Reap province

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is set to meet tomorrow with two Thai nationals convicted of espionage in Cambodia on Tuesday in a high-profile case that has strained the fragile ties between the two countries.

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said today that Kasit planned to meet with Veera Somkwamkid, a well-known activist within Thailand’s nationalist Yellow Shirt movement, and his associate, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon.

Veera and Ratree were convicted by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday of espionage, illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base after being arrested in Banteay Meanchey province last month.

“[Kasit] will meet the Thai detainees at Prey Sar prison,” Koy Kuong said.

Veera and Ratree face jail terms of eight and six years respectively following their convictions on Tuesday.

They were arrested along with five other Thais, including parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth, who were found guilty of illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base last month but were freed on suspended sentences.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said the convictions would likely be raised on the sidelines of talks scheduled for tomorrow in Siem Reap between Kasit and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, though he added that the next step in the case depended on Veera and Ratree.

“I think at the moment they are consulting with their lawyers about lodging an appeal, so it very much depends upon what they decide,” he said.

Pich Vicheka, Veera’s lawyer, said he was preparing to challenge the conviction before the Appeal Court, but needed to consult with his client first.

The Bangkok Post reported that Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and National Security Council head Thawil Pliensri traveled to Phnom Penh today, where they were expected to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen to “discuss the strained relations between the two countries”.

Suthep reportedly said Thailand “respects the verdict handed down by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court” and does not want to provoke conflict with Cambodia.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said today that he did not “have the authority” to discuss Suthep’s reported visit. Thani said he had no information on the matter.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and members of his government have faced pressure to resolve Veera’s case by Yellow Shirt protestors who have demonstrated in the Thai capital this week.

Abhisit came to power in December 2008 following a wave of Yellow Shirt protests that shut down Bangkok’s main airport.

Kasit himself joined the protests, though the Abhisit administration has since attempted to distance itself from hardline members of the nationalist movement.

Troops stationed at the border near Preah Vihear temple reported this week that both sides had received new equipment and reinforcements as controversy erupted over Veera’s conviction and Cambodia’s placement of a flag at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara, a pagoda adjacent to Preah Vihear.

Yim Phim, commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 43, said yesterday that the buildup had yet to lead to conflict and that the situation at the border was calm.

“We soldiers are on high alert because we don’t know what will happen next,” he said.

Touch Phoeung, deputy chief of Preah Vihear province’s Kantuot commune in Choam Ksan district, said villagers had taken precautions in the wake of what he called the largest military buildup in the area in years.

“Our villagers are prepared to defend themselves. They have dug out bunkers to protect themselves in case war happens,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY THET SAMBATH AND JAMES O’TOOLE

Tower firm’s licence axed

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

A mobile phone tower in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district partially eclipses the sun in the late evening.

via CAAI

Thursday, 03 February 2011 20:13 Jeremy Mullins and Sen David

All equipment owned by mobile phone tower builder Infra Cellular (Cambodia) Company must be torn down on Kingdom sites in the next week, after the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications cancelled its licence to operate.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun said today the firm had held a licence to build communication towers, capable of being shared between mobile companies, for more than two years, but the firm “did not come to work”.

“Infra Cellular did not do anything wrong, but it did not come to work to develop and take its position,” he said, adding that the lack of action had led the ministry to revoke its permit.

A prakas, or edict, circulated on Wednesday and dated January 26, declared that the company “has to pull down all their materials and related equipment at each location inside Cambodia within 15 days”.

It added that all relevant government institutions should comply with the edict from the date of signature.

The firm was first licenced to build and share towers in the Kingdom in February 2007, according to the prakas.

Infra Cellular (Cambodia) Company representatives could not be found to discuss the situation today.

The cancellation of Infra Cellular’s permit is thought to leave the US-majority owned Tower Master Cambodia Company (TMCC) as the only such firm operating domestically.

TMCC’s permit allows it to build communications towers and rent space to service providers in Cambodia.

Once it has built a tower in an area, no other company may build within 15 kilometres of the tower, which would help avoid “unsightly tower farms”, TMCC’s executive vice president Anthony Ortolani previously told The Post.

Minister So Khun has also previously voiced support for the tower sharing initiatives.

Last month, he said that Cambodia had over 60 percent mobile penetration.

ADDTIONAL REPORTING BY MAY KUNMAKARA

Global forest threat: report

Photo by: WorldFish center

Fishermen hoist a giant Mekong catfish in 2006.

via CAAI

Thursday, 03 February 2011 20:23 Summer Walker

Conservation International has named a biodiversity area that includes all of Cambodia as the most endangered such region in the world, claiming it has only 5 percent of its original habitat remaining.

The environmental group released a list on Wednesday of the world’s 10 most threatened “forest hotspots”, grouping Cambodia within the “Indo-Burma” region, which also includes Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and small areas in India and China.

All 10 regions on the list have lost at least 90 percent of their original habitat and contain at least 1,500 unique plant species, CI said.

Conservation International regional director David Emmett called Cambodia the “jewel” of the Indo-Burma region.

More than a quarter of the Kingdom, he said, has been classified as protected land, in contrast to regional neighbours such as Thailand and Vietnam that have nearly decimated their forests.

“Cambodia has some of the highest concentrations of the most endangered species in the hotspot,” he said.

Logging and development have taken their toll on Cambodia’s forests and wildlife, however.

Government officials have announced plans for numerous hydropower dams on the Mekong River and elsewhere, projects that pose a critical threat to local fish populations, said Eric Baran, a senior scientist at the WorldFish Centre.

In its 2010 annual report, the Forestry Administration said more than 1.3 million hectares worth of economic land concessions, or roughly 7 percent of Cambodia’s territory, have been granted to date.

The FA recommended a review of existing concessions to ensure that the land is being used productively.

New sanctuary for threatened bird

Photo by: Jonathan Eames/BirdLife International

Sarus cranes are seen in the Anlong Pring bird sanctuary in Kampot province’s Kampong Trach district last year.

via CAAI

Thursday, 03 February 2011 18:33 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

The Cambodian government has issued a sub-decree that establishes a conservation area in Kampot province for Sarus Cranes, a vulnerable species that has gone extinct in multiple Asian nations.

The sub-decree was signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on January 6 and allots 217 hectares of wetlands in Kampot province’s Kampong Trach district as a reserve.

The area would protect the Sarus Crane subspecies sharpii, which mostly resides in the Kingdom but has seen population numbers dwindle to about 1,000.

Up to 30 percent of Cambodia’s Sarus Cranes reside in Kampong Trach during the dry season, using the wetlands as a feeding ground.

Men Soriyon, deputy director of the government’s Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Department, said the new reserve would help to maintain their food source.

“This protected area is for Sarus Cranes that have flown in from different places for finding food during the dry season,” said Men Soriyon.

“The main purpose of the sub-decree is to preserve and protect our cranes from dying or being killed in these areas.”

The sub-decree was the result of a nearly five-year long process spearheaded by BirdLife International, an organisation that previously worked with the government to establish a crane reserve at Boeung Prek Lapouv in Takeo province in 2007.

A statement from BirdLife said the process was lengthy because of the land’s proximity to Vietnam, “where rapid economic development has pushed up land prices”.

“This factor was the main reason why the designation process took so long, as local vested interests tried to thwart the process,” the statement read.

The Kampot province crane reserve is smaller than its Takeo province counterpart by more than 9,000 hectares.

Bou Vorsak, acting programme manager for BirdLife in Cambodia, said conservation areas could be beneficial to the government in terms of strengthening the country’s emerging market for eco-tourism.

“Many tourists like to go to Kep for the beach, and they can reach the [Kampot reserve] to see cranes within a half-hour,” said Bou Vorsak.

“It could be important as an eco-tourism site in the future. This can also bring income to the local community.”

Sarus Crane populations have been decimated in recent decades due to the degradation and loss of wetlands and the ingestion of pesticides.

Hunting has also played a factor in depleted numbers, with Bou Vorsak noting that “these are big birds and easy to hunt”.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Sarus Crane as a “vulnerable” species.

Other subspecies live in India and northern Australia in greater numbers, but the worldwide population is approximately 20,000.

Populations have gone extinct in Thailand and the Philippines.

AKP - The Agence Kampuchea Press

via CAAI

French Senate Delegation Concludes Visit to Cambodia

Phnom Penh, February 3, 2011 AKP – A French Senate Delegation led by its First Vice President Ms. Catherine Tasca has just concluded its week-long visit to Cambodia.

During her stay in Cambodia, Ms. Catherine Tasca and her accompanied members had met with Cambodian senators, lawmakers, senior government officials, French businessmen and NGOs’ representatives.

The French senate delegation also visited the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) and some cultural and interesting sites in Phnom Penh.

In Siem Reap province, the delegation met with Provincial Governor H.E. Sou Phirin and visited the French School and bilingual classes as well as various temples. –AKP

By KHAN Sophirom

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Lao Delegation Draws CMAC’s Experiences

Phnom Penh, February 3, 2011 AKP – A mine and unexploded ordnance (UXOs) clearance delegation of Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been paying a three-day visit to Cambodia since Feb. 2 to learn and draw experiences from the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC).

The Lao delegation was received here yesterday by CMAC Director General Mr. Heng Ratana at CMAC’s headquarters in Phnom Penh.

According to a CMAC press release, the visit is aimed to strengthen the cooperation between Cambodia and Laos, to share experiences and skills and to seek cooperation opportunity in mine and UXOs clearance.

In the meeting, Mr. Heng Ratana briefed his guests on the CMAC’s ten-year experiences and the effective strategies in mine and UXOs clearance.

Many countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Columbia as well as many African countries have come to Cambodia to learn and share experiences with CMAC. –AKP

By CHEA Vannak

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COMMENTARY: PAD’s selective prattle about territory

Atiya Achakulwisut is Deputy Editor, Bangkok Post.

• Published: 1/02/2011 at 12:00 AM

• Newspaper section: News

I know what the People’s Alliance for Democracy and ultra-nationalist types think: it is better to lose lives or to take some than to lose a single square inch of Thai territory.

What I do not know is if this “not a single square inch” refrain is a sensible thing to subscribe to, considering the present reality. Border demarcation is never an emotional issue to be dabbled in with passion. In the past – in some places currently still – defining one’s territory had to do with one’s military might. In short, the border could be changed only by means of war.

Look at the map of Thailand during the reign of King Rama I, King Rama IV or King Rama V. They did not look the same during these different periods. And they certainly did not look like the present-day axe-shaped one we are familiar with.

In modern times, border demarcation or territorial disputes are settled at the negotiating table. There, technical details, treaties and agreements are put forward by each side and they thrash out the differences, point by point. It is hardly a speedy process but it is probably the only one that is internationally acceptable at the moment.

So, while the PAD has the right to make public its opinions, which apparently are different from those upheld by the government, I do not think it is healthy for the group to keep belching out the war cry and selectively use the ultra-nationalistic slogan of “not a single square inch” without considering the reality on the ground, or the reality as seen by other parties.

I said “selectively” because I do not see the PAD or its extremist arm, the Thai Patriots Network, raising a voice over the secessionist movement in the deep South. What about that?

A group of people have proclaimed they want to carve out the three southernmost provinces of Thailand and establish a separate Muslim state. That is a much larger piece of Thailand than the 4.6 sqkm so-called overlapping areas between Thailand and Cambodia that the PAD is harping on about. Why do the yellow shirts only care about the northeastern frontier and not the southern one? Is the deep South not our land?

A little disclaimer is due here. I only raise the issue of the deep South to illustrate the PAD’s selective use of its “not a single square inch” war cry. Whether or not the far South should be separated is an entirely different issue which must be explored in another context.

Besides the inconsistent use of its rhetoric in the present context, if we look into the past, we will also see that the PAD’s stringent stance and “ultimatum” style of politics is a sharp contrast to the “bending with the wind” diplomacy that Thailand, or Siam, has championed for centuries and which has been acknowledged as an astute move that allowed the country to escape being colonised during the height of imperialism in the 19th century. In fact, it was King Rama V who coined and popularised the sentiment of “losing small parts of the land to preserve the whole country” when the country had to give up an area of 143,800 sqkm (in present-day Laos) along the eastern bank of the Mekong River to France in 1893. Also, in 1903, Thailand agreed to give Luang Prabang and Champassak in Laos (62,500 sqkm) to France in exchange for the province of Chanthaburi which France had earlier seized. In a familiar pattern, the kingdom had to surrender Battambang, Siem Reap and Sisophon – a combined area of 51,000 sqkm – to France in exchange for the city of Trat.

Altogether, during the period from 1786 to 1962, the country lost part of its territory 14 times – the last one being the right over the temple of Preah Vihear as decided by the International Court of Justice. The point is, we still stand as a country despite these losses.

It’s true that the “bending with the wind” diplomacy was mapped out a century ago in response to the formidable power of colonialism. But who knows if Thailand’s position in the present-day globalised world is not so different from the one Siam was caught in a century ago? I know that the PAD would rather go to war than lose a single inch of the 4.6 sqkm area under dispute. I do not believe it is a realistic option for Thailand.

(The comments are solely the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Royal Government of Cambodia.)

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OPINION: 3 February 2011 Thailand’s selective reading of the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1904

I took quite sometimes until Thailand feels comfortable enough to utter the expression “Franco-Siamese Treaties of 1904 and 1907”. It kept on wishing that those treaties disappear in thin air. But that is not possible. Yet Thailand manages to read them selectively, leaving out things that are politically undesirable, but legally inescapable.

In making reference to the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 13 February 1904 (or the 13 February 1904 Convention), Thailand has implicitly omitted part of the provisions in Article III by saying that “Thailand did not accept the France-made 1:200,000-scale map to determine the boundary line,” as written by Supalak Gunjanakhundee in his opinion piece in the NATION on 1 February 2011 under the title: “Thailand Takes stand on Cambodia.” By “Thailand,” Supalak Gunjanakhundee refers to Abhisit Vejjajiva.

First of all, it gives the impression that in Thailand, anything is legal when it is politically desirable. This theory works in Thailand. But in an environment where politics have no reasons to be there, and where the application of the rule of law is king, Thailand knew for sure that there is no way out, but to capitulate. I am talking about Thailand’s experiences at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1962 when Thailand tried in vain to convince the judges at the ICJ that Article 1 of the 1904 Treaty is the only essential and important part of the Treaty, as every other thing that is written in the Treaty should not be considered by the ICJ. Has Thailand succeeded, the 15 June 1962 Judgments would have been different.

When Supalak Ganjanakhundee wrote that “Thailand did not accept the France-made 1:200,000 scale map to determine the boundary line,” he meant to say that Abhisit Vejjajiva does not recognize the 1904 Franco-Siamese Treaty, or does selectively recognize part of it, or selectively omit the parts on the delimitation of the frontiers between the Kingdom of Siam and the territories making up the French Indochina, to be carried out by Mixed Commissions comprised of officers appointed by the two contracting parties, and the end result of the Mixed Commissions tasks was the production of the 1:200,000 scale Dangrek map, also known as ANNEX I map at the ICJ in 1962 and other maps. It was the convoluted way to say that Abhisit Vejjajiva does not recognize the international frontier line that has existed almost a century ago by invoking all possible nonsense of their speculative use of words, such as “French map” instead of international map, “old map” instead of international and binding map. How Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thailand have tried to manipulate the reading of the 1904 Treaty has remained the single political tool still viable in Thailand to take Cambodia hostage of Thailand internal political squabbles.

Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thailand with him cannot pretend to recognize the 1904 Franco-Siamese Treaty, without recognizing the 1:200,000-scale Dangrek map and the international frontier line on this internationally recognized map. If it is for domestic political consumption only, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thailand can say all the nonsense they wish to say, but they must be careful not to project their traditional innate arrogance against Cambodia, that blinds Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thailand to the point of becoming the laughing stock of the international public opinion.

It is advisable that in terms of good neighborly relation between Thailand and Cambodia, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thailand altogether must read and apply international agreement, in this particular case the 13 February 1904 Franco-Siamese Treaty in its entirety, and with all sincerity and wisdom as a Prime Minister of a civilized nation in the 21st century. Regardless of the arrogance, aggressiveness and offensive language by Thailand, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has never lost sight of his dream and wisdom to build peace with neighbors and with all countries in the region and the world, and to develop the border area to be a peaceful and prosperous region for Cambodian and Thai people.

Waddhana P

Senior Analyst and Researcher on

Cambodian-Thai Relations

Institute for International Affairs, Cambodia

3 February 2011

(The comments are solely the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Royal Government of Cambodia.)

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Letter to the Editor To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Che Lee. I am a United States Peace Corps volunteer working in Prey Noub District of Preah Sihanouk Province. I live in Veal Rinh Commune with a Khmer host family and work primarily as a high school English teacher.

I would like to take this opportunity to praise the ECCC (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia) and its vital mission to give Khmer people the chance to become more academically aware and to take an active role in the current events of their own country. Though I am a non-national, I was continually impressed and awestruck by the presentation and hospitality offered to all on the tour, from the bus ride to S-21 to the ECCC.

Last week, January 20th, Veal Rinh Commune was invited to participate in the ECCC tours. Having never been to the ECCC or S-21, I took the opportunity to go along with members of my Khmer host family. Our tour started at S-21 and later moved to the ECCC where lunch was served and a wonderful presentation of the ECCC was given by a fantastic guide. I was thoroughly amazed that I was actually inside the court where one of the most significant recent events in Khmer history is currently taking place!

Though the purpose of our tour was originally a little unclear to me (my Khmer language skills are still developing), it was when we were touring S-21 that I was able to discover the mission of the ECCC tours: to provide the Khmer people the chance to participate in the judicial process of the ongoing Khmer Rouge trials through education and first-hand experience of historical (such as S-21) and modern (such as the ECCC) sites and history. I believe the ECCC tours are a great opportunity for all Khmer people. I am very glad that there is a program like this open to ordinary citizens. Particularly, in my village, few are able to leave their homes in order to visit anywhere for any reason, especially to participate in any form of the judicial process on any level. Compared with the United States, there is a lack of access to literary resources as well. I think that this is an excellent opportunity for Khmers to be able to investigate more about the blurry, yet poignant tragedy, of the Khmer Rouge regime. Also, the tour and presentation of the ECCC showed a glimpse into the current social events Cambodians face today and will continue to face until the end of all the trials. Without the support of the ECCC, many cannot choose to take this opportunity and thus it is wasted. I truly believe that interest will continue to be sparked in others, as it has in me, and will lead to more civic participation on the part of people from rural areas.

I urge Khmer people to take advantage of this opportunity and encourage the international supporters to continue to aid this Cambodian initiative in financing the trials and the tours. As fellow national and non-national volunteers, I fully endorse this program for villages especially those that may not even have access to the ECCC to request such a tour. I encourage volunteers in these communities to liaison with the ECCC on behalf of the volunteer’s community to engage in this opportunity. Finally, as a school teacher, I believe it is imperative to focus on enriching the history of the Khmer youth. Though it may be sobering at first, I see at it as a way to look at the triumphs of the Khmer people within the last thirty years and in recent history. I have already requested a special ECCC tour program for my high school students and am currently working with the ECCC to plan another tour.

I am looking forward to a second visit and the chance for my students and community to take part in their history.

Sincerely,

Che Lee