Thai-Cambodia Fighting Slows Border Trade, Traffic

Daniel Schearf, VOA Khmer
Si Sa Ket, Thailand Thursday, 10 February 2011

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Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer

Cambodians displaced by the Thai-Cambodia border clashes take shelter at a temporary camp at Wat Srenoy, in Siem Reap province' Varin district, around 70 kilometers from Siem Reap on February 09, 2011.

"If you want to know about Thai history, [as] part of that you should know about Cambodia, the Khmer, I can say Khmer history, too, because they used to control our land in Thailand, you know, before. And a lot of things, ruins, things, and other things, you know, just come from Khmer culture."

The Thai-Cambodia border is at an uneasy calm after recent deadly clashes near disputed territory left several people dead and scores injured. Thousands on both sides have fled the area. The fighting led to a dramatic drop in the number of tourists and traders crossing the border.

At the Chong Jom market on the Thai-Cambodia border, Cambodian shopkeeper Kaew Yungurn squeezes auto polish onto a rag. He demonstrates his product for a couple journalists and onlookers on a sample piece of a car hood.

As he works, Kaew says sometimes you have to apply two coats of the white liquid, which cost $6 a bottle. But now he shows how it can repair minor scratches.

Unfortunately, the normally busy market that brings together Thai and Cambodian traders is almost empty and Kaew has no customers.

When fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops broke out last Friday, hundreds of shops were abandoned as people fled for safety.

On Wednesday, most shops remained closed.

He says he wants both sides to hold talks so he can get back to business as soon as possible.

At the Chong Sangum immigration checkpoint, the number of people crossing the border has dropped from 50 to fewer than 10 a day.

Immigration Bureau Deputy Commissioner Pansak Kasemsant says there have been no tourists since Friday.

He says the number of tourists decreased because of the unclear situation. But actually, he says, there is no fighting here. The place where the problem occurs is 90 kilometers from this checkpoint.

The clashes erupted near disputed territory surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu Khmer temple known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Phra Viharn in Thailand.

Thailand and Cambodia have soldiers stationed near the temple, leading to occasional exchanges of fire.

The weekend fighting was the worst in years with both sides shooting artillery and machine guns.

Several people were killed, scores injured, and thousands of villagers fled the border.

In 1962, the International Court ruled the temple lies in Cambodia, but a key access point is in Thailand. A dispute over the border near the access point lay dormant for decades, until in 2008, when the United Nations granted the temple World Heritage status, at Cambodia’s request.

The designation angered some Thai nationalists, and there have been periodic military clashes around the area since then. Disputes over other parts of the border also have flared up.

In Bangkok, a group of nationalists is holding a protest around the main government offices. They demand that Thailand abandon a memorandum of understanding it signed with Cambodia in 2000 on settling border disputes.

Despite the tensions, at least one group of Thai visitors on Wednesday crossed into Cambodia.

Thaveesilp Suvwattana is a history professor at Thailand's Mahasarakham University.

He is taking his master's degree students to learn about Thailand and Cambodia's shared culture and history.

"If you want to know about Thai history, [as] part of that you should know about Cambodia, the Khmer, I can say Khmer history, too, because they used to control our land in Thailand, you know, before. And a lot of things, ruins, things, and other things, you know, just come from Khmer culture," he said.

Thaveesilp says the border dispute is about politics and nationalism with people on both sides interpreting history for their own hidden political agendas.

He says Thailand and Cambodia should accept the past, move on from historical disputes, and hold talks to build a peaceful future as neighbors.

A road trip through ruins and highways in Cambodia

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By Vikas Bajaj

New York Times News Service
Posted: 02/10/2011

Monks take pictures of each other at Batyon, a temple at the Angkor Wat complex, in Cambodia, Jan. 26, 2011. In the last decade, Camdodia, which is perpetually referred to in guide books and travel stories as "like Thailand 10 years ago," has emerged as a popular destination for travelers who have wearied of more developed countries in Southeast Asia. (Vikas Bajaj The New York Times)

A light rain started to fall as we drove up to the entrance of Bokor National Park in southern Cambodia. Up ahead lay the decaying remnants of a French hill station where colonists used to while away their weekends when they ruled this Southeast Asian country.

But a comedy of errors ensured that we wouldn't get to see the ruins, which comprise the once-grand Bokor Palace hotel and a Romanesque Catholic church. The first obstacle we faced was a guard for a Chinese construction company that was reconstructing the road up to the old hill station, as part of a major renovation project there. Although other tourists had used the road just moments before we arrived, the guard wouldn't let us pass, nor would he tell us when the road might reopen.

A heated argument ensued between the guard and my French travel companion, Nicolas Rapp, who had been driving a dark-green 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser around the globe for the last year. After several days of traveling with him, I had realized that this was part of his strategy for dealing with difficult officials - if he argued loudly and long enough he often persuaded them to let him pass just to be rid of him.

But the guard stood his ground. As we headed back to Nicolas' car, we noticed a flat tire. No problem, he assured me, he would have it fixed in no time. But no sooner had Nicolas plugged the leak than the tube that connected his portable air compressor to the tire tore. He cut off the torn section and started again. After a minute, there was another tear. And so it went for an hour until we finally had enough pressure in the tire to drive to a gas station.

Though the afternoon was frustrating, it was also revealing. These things are bound to happen when road-tripping in a country like Cambodia, one with a limited driving culture. There's no AAA to call, and bicycles and scooters are more common than cars - something Nicolas may have gotten used to, but that required some adjustment on my part.

As chronicled on his blog, Trans World Expedition (transworldexpedition.com), Nicolas had stared down many such challenges. A bad car accident stranded him in Honduras for two weeks as that country was going through a major political crisis. In Africa, he drove in intense heat with a broken air-conditioner.

In late November, I had met up with Nicolas in Bangkok, the city where I grew up, to join him for a weeklong loop through Cambodia, a country neither of us had seen but one that I had long hoped to visit.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Cambodia was widely known as a place from which hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the killing fields of the '70s. In 1997, when I was an intern at The Associated Press' Bangkok bureau, my editors asked if I would travel to help cover a coup there. I was living with my parents that summer, and they demanded that I turn down the offer, which I did.

But in the last decade, Cambodia has emerged as a popular destination for travelers who have wearied of more developed countries in Southeast Asia. It is perpetually referred to in guide books and travel stories as "like Thailand 10 years ago."

And indeed, during our trip, I was struck by how reminiscent the country was of the Thailand of my childhood, before it was overrun with resorts, shopping malls and tour buses.

Cambodia's two-lane highways were well paved and relatively empty - the upside, perhaps, to the lack of a car culture. We most often shared the roads with those scooters and bikes. Every so often, we would spot farmers transporting rice, sugar cane and other produce on carts hitched to cows or to small diesel engines fitted with truck tires and long handlebars. The other cars on the road were mostly Land Cruisers or Lexus sport utility vehicles, most likely owned by the country's small economic elite and organizations like the United Nations, which have been helping to rebuild the country.

Some of this may soon change. Over the last few years, Cambodia, with the help of international organizations and China, has invested significantly in its roads, removing hundreds of land mines and thousands of rounds of ammunition to make way for miles of asphalt. But there is much more construction ahead and road culture is just beginning to catch up.

Sari, a driver and guide whom we met at the Angkor Wat complex our second day, said he occasionally saw European overland travelers, but that few foreigners, including the neighboring Thais, drove into and around the country.

We had another glimpse of this slow development at the Thai-Cambodian border, where we waited an hour for Cambodian customs officers to return to the office after lunch. They seemed utterly confused about the paperwork that Nicolas needed to bring his Land Cruiser into the country temporarily. He eventually took control, pointing out where they had to sign, stamp and tear the relevant documents - a successful example of his assertiveness.

Elsewhere, we were greeted warmly - sometimes with a disconcerting attentiveness. In the southern coastal town of Kep, where we spent the night after our luckless afternoon at Bokor, we camped near a family that lived in a shack on the coast. We arrived after the sun had set and quickly started popping up the tent, a clever contraption that Nicolas had affixed to the top of his car, complete with a built-in ladder. We poured ourselves generous glasses of rum with lime juice and soda to help make the warm and humid evening more bearable. Mosquitoes and flies buzzed around our electric lanterns.

As we worked, the men of the house stared at us and made comments to each other in Khmer, which neither of us understood. We tried to speak to them in English, but that proved unsuccessful.

Their vigil over us became unnerving after a while and I tried to break the ice by offering them some of the Thai-style chicken and stir-fried vegetables I had cooked on Nicolas' petroleum-powered stove. They happily accepted and took the food back to their shack; we ate at a folding table Nicolas carries in the car.

Later, the family reciprocated in their own way. In the morning, when I started to head to the public toilet a few hundred yards away, the head of the family gave me a ride on his scooter.

Almost everywhere we went, people were fascinated by Nicolas and his Land Cruiser, which he bought in Brooklyn for $6,000. When we stopped by the side of the road to heat up leftover spaghetti on our way to Phnom Penh, a group of children gathered and stared at us. When we turned around, waved and said hello, they ran away, shrieking and laughing.

Nicolas says he hit the road because the financial crisis and recession had made New York, where he had lived for almost a decade, depressing. So, he quit his job as an art director at The Associated Press and drew down his savings to finance his trip. He estimates that he will spend about $50,000 on the trip. (He will likely arrive back in New York this month after driving cross-country from Los Angeles, where he has shipped his car from Asia.)

After only a week as his travel companion, I doubted that I could do what he had done. I was already aching for the creature comforts that you have to forsake when you go on the road, especially in places like Cambodia.

I couldn't help but smile when we arrived at a small beach in Thailand 20 miles past the Cambodian border. We were greeted warmly by a family that ran a small restaurant. They showed us spots where we could camp and later in the evening they sold us beer and spicy papaya salad. Nobody eyed us suspiciously. They had seen many like us before.

Trauma of the displaced

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Casualty of conflict ... Phan Vannak, a 35-year-old Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldier, recovers yesterday from injuries he suffered to his hand, leg, torso and head during fighting along the Cambodian-Thai border on the front line at Phnom Trap. His wife Thy Leng, 38, and fellow soldier Vin Bros, 32, watch over him at the Region 4 military hospital in Siem Reap province.

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Thursday, 10 February 2011 19:40 Cheang Sokha

Preah Vihear province

Sitting under a tent strung up outside a pagoda wall, Chan Vang waits for the day when she can return home.

Like more than 10,000 villagers evacuated from areas along the Thai border due to recent clashes around Preah Vihear temple, Chan Vang – who suffers from high blood pressure – was hurriedly evacuated from her village of Thamacheat in Preah Vihear province, where bombs rained down during the four days of clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops.

“I stayed under tents here during the day and nighttime,” said Chan Vang, 55, sitting on a mat with a few of her grandchildren sleeping nearby.

“I don’t know when I can go back home, maybe I will stay here until the fighting has stopped.”

Evacuees are being housed at various locations in Thnal Keng village, in Kulen district’s Thmey commune, some 90 kilometres from the temple.

Crowds of people flocked outside the entrance of Tuol Kandorl pagoda in the village on Wednesday, waiting for relief from the Cambodian Red Cross and other local NGOs, which handed out food packages and tents to evacuees to use as basic shelters.

The fighting, which erupted on Friday morning and gave way to an uneasy truce on Monday, has left five Cambodian soldiers, including a civilian, dead and 45 troops injured.

The skirmishes unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, prompting an exodus of villagers from areas close to the fighting, many of whom said they fled without a chance to grab supplies and basic necessities for their evacuation.

Chan Vang said the conditions at the evacuation camp, despite the best intentions of the authorities, were harsh.

“When I came here at the first day, I slept under the dew the whole night,” she said, adding that villagers had no place to dispose of rubbish and other waste matter.

On Wednesday, young children – bare-chested or clad in dusty, unwashed clothes – played inside the pagoda compound.

Many of the villagers interviewed by The Post said the lack of sanitation and proper sleeping quarters at the pagoda posed significant health risks to them and their children.

They say their return to villages close to Preah Vihear still remains uncertain as tensions between Cambodia and Thailand continue.

Adding to her anxiety, Chan Vang said four of her nine sons were soldiers now deployed at a military camp close to the “hot” battlefields of Phnom Trop and Chak Chreng.

Since the death of her husband, a former soldier who perished about 20 years ago while fighting against the Khmer Rouge insurgency, Chan Vang has had to rely on her children.

“I have no information from my sons,” she said.

Many villagers, mostly women and children, are now scattered at Tuol Kandorl pagoda – the main evacuation site – and a primary school in the village, though others are also seeking alternative accommodation in the village.

The number of evacuees has been steadily increasing since Monday, despite the skirmishes drawing to a close.

Another villager, 44-year-old Pheng Sophay, staying in a tent under a mango tree on the pagoda grounds, said on Wednesday that if the fighting continues, his family – including four young children – will start to suffer from food and water shortages.

“I would rather stay here under the mango tree – it is better than inside the pagoda as it is not so crowded,” he said, as his wife cooked food in a nearby rice field, while holding their infant child.

“The situation [at our village] is still bad and my village chief won’t allow me to go back. Staying here we cannot do anything, but it is safer.”

Chum Poy, the governor of Kulen district who has spearheaded the drive to provide accommodation to the evacuees, said that approximately 3,000 families – totaling more than 11,000 mostly women and children – are being sheltered in Kulen, and that they will be returned to their home villages when the situation on the border returns to normal.

“There are shelters at three locations here,” Chum Poy said.

“We will allow them to go back homes when the fighting is stopped. We won’t send them back to die in their homes.”

Chum Poy said that some people had remained in their villages, braving the dangers of a resumption of hostilities.

Though he did not know the exact numbers, he said the authorities would transport emergency supplies to them.

A soldier at Preah Vihear, who gave his name only as Chamroeun, said today that the situation continues to be tense along the frontlines, as Thailand has reinforced its troops and deployed more heavy artillery, including tanks, at the border.

He said a Thai grenade exploded on the Wednesday night at about 10pm, and that Thai soldiers let loose a brief burst of bullets at Cambodian positions around 5am this morning, but added that the Cambodian soldiers did not respond.

Deminers outline cluster bomb plan

Photo by: ....

Saem Ponnreay, CMAC Unit 3 director in Sa Em village in Preah Vihear province, displays the remains of a 155mm cluster bomb, which he claims was fired by the Thai military and landed in Svay Cherum village on February 6. michael hayes

Thursday, 10 February 2011 20:20 Post Staff

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre said today that it was deploying an “emergency response” team to Preah Vihear province following Thailand’s alleged use of cluster munitions during recent clashes in the area.

The government demining body said earlier this week that its staffers had discovered the controversial weapons in Cambodian territory near Preah Vihear temple following the clashes with Thailand that began last week, leaving at least eight people dead.

Cluster bombs, launched from the ground or dropped from the air, split open before impact to scatter multiple bomblets over a wide area.

Such bomblets often lie dormant for years before exploding, maiming or killing the civilians who happen upon them.

“An immediate preventative measure is being taken by CMAC to quickly deploy Mine/UXO Risk Education (MRE) teams to begin a massive rapid campaign for the populations affected by the four-day clash between Thailand and Cambodia,” CMAC said in a statement.

The teams will conduct training sessions and educate local residents on how to identify and avoid the weapons, the statement said.

Thai officials have vigorously denied the allegations of cluster bomb use, saying they deployed only conventional artillery.

“This is just a normal one, not something against international law or standards. We completely deny the reports,” Colonel Veerachon Sukondhadhpatipak, deputy spokesman for the Thai Army, told The Post earlier this week.

Thai Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd alleged today that Cambodia had in fact deployed the weapons against Thailand, claiming a Thai soldier had died following the clashes from wounds inflicted by cluster bomb shrapnel, Thailand’s The Nation newspaper reported.

Cambodian officials have denied using cluster bombs.

Neither Cambodia nor Thailand are among the 45 countries to have signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which seeks to outlaw the weapons.

Saem Ponnreay, director of CMAC’s Demining Unit 3, said today that Svay Chrum village, about three kilometres south of the temple, had been saturated with cluster munitions during the recent clashes at the border.

“These are new ones,” he said, holding up the remains of a 155mm round he said had landed in Svay Chrum.

He also displayed remnants of the between 40 and 72 bomblets and rubber casings that are contained inside the American-made weapons.

“I’’m not sure how many new rounds there are, but Svay Chrum is now full of cluster bombs,” he said.

“Whatever we find are 100 percent new ones.”

Saem Ponnreay said two policemen had died this week after handling one of the unexploded bomblets and another eight were wounded.

Men Ly, deputy chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces provincial branch in Preah Vihear, said the situation at the border had remained quiet since clashes on Monday morning.

“Soldiers at the border have resumed their positions as normal, although we have received reports that Thailand is adding tanks and soldiers,” he said.

“On behalf of all Khmer children, we will not allow them to take our land.”

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, are set to appear on Monday before the United Nations Security Council to explain their respective countries’ dispute.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will also attend the meeting following his talks with Hor Namhong and Kasit earlier this week.

“ASEAN Chair’s attendance at the UNSC meeting represents an evolution of ASEAN’s effort to resolve bilateral disputes amongst its Member States as provided for by the ASEAN Charter,” Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the 10-member bloc, said in a statement today.

“This is particularly important as it will set [precedent] for future ASEAN dispute settlement mechanisms.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen and other Cambodian officials have appealed to the United Nations and ASEAN to intervene in the dispute, though Thailand has consistently rejected third party mediation, saying the issue should be settled in a bilateral forum.

Touch Ra, deputy chief of the border relations office in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district, said today that there were no signs that conflict had extended farther along the border.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MICHAEL HAYES, VONG SOKHENG AND JAMES O’TOOLE

Central bank pinpoints terror links

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Thursday, 10 February 2011 20:30 May Kunmakara

The National Bank of Cambodia flagged four cases under its guidelines governing restrictions on financing terrorism activities and counterfeiting money in 2010, according to NBC governor Chea Chanto.

The central bank’s Financial Intelligent Unit had reviewed nearly 100 suspicious reports submitted by banks under the regulations, he said.

“The unit had received 99 suspicious operations reports from 14 commercial banks – of which four cases were relevant to terrorism financing activities and counterfeit money transfers,” he said, according to a copy of a speech given on Tuesday.

The NBC issued an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism prakas, or edict, in May 2008, which set out guidelines for the central bank to investigate suspicious transactions, particularly those worth more than US$10,000 or 40 million riel.

Canadia Bank vice president Dieter Billmeier said the actions taken by the National Bank were the result of close cooperation among several international organisations such as the US Treasury Department.

According to international agreements, banks in Cambodia must comply with good governance, and have responsibilities to follow up in areas such as suspected money laundering and financing terrorism.

“In case of reasonable doubt in money transfer, even in account matters … reports have to be made directly to the respective department in the National Bank,” he wrote.

“Last year we reported a handful of cases,” he said, adding the project was successful, and in the past had led to some arrests in Cambodia.

ACLEDA Bank president In Channy said the bank had faced a handful of suspicious cases in 2010.

“We had two or three suspicious operations last year, and immediately reported to the NBC to receive an inspection,” he said.

ACELDA does not limit money transfers, but requires that customers transferring more than $10,000 specify the purpose for the transaction.

“Normally, any commercial bank with a lot of customers will have this kind of suspicious activity occur,” he said.

National Bank of Cambodia official Phan Ho said cases that are flagged by the Financial Intelligence Unit are then sent to the police to pursue.

Phnom Penh municipal police chief Touch Naruth could not be reached today, but Phan Ho – who is director of the Financial Intelligence Unit among other responsibilities – claimed that the four cases sent to the police in 2010 had not turned into convictions.

Hun Sen urges forest protection

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Thursday, 10 February 2011 20:51 Vong Sokheng

Prime Minister Hun Sen said today that economic land concessions for rubber plantations in Cambodia should not exceed a total of 300,000 hectares, in order to preserve forests and prevent climate change.

His comments came during a speech to recent graduates at the Chamkar Doung Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh, where he urged a group of approximately 100 young people and relevant government officials to do their part to protect the environment.

“Rubber is at a good price, but it is impossible for us to cut down the high trees to plant rubber,” Hun Sen said.

“We can protect the forest to help reduce climate change,” he said.

Ly Phalla, head of the General Directorate of Rubber, said today that Cambodia’s combined 181,500 hectares of rubber plantations have not yet impacted the Kingdom’s forest land, in part due to long-standing economic land concessions granted to private companies for the growing of non-commercial timber.

“There is no problem from rubber plantations because the government has banned the cutting of economic timbers,” he said.

Mak Kim Hong, managing director of the Chub rubber plantation in Kampong Cham province – now the Kingdom’s largest rubber producer – said late last year that land devoted to the country’s rubber plantations could reach 250,000 hectares by 2015.

On December 30 last year, Hun Sen approved an additional 14,564 hectares of state land in Kratie province’s Snuol district to be privatised for rubber plantations.

India receives clarification from Kasit

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The Indian Embassy tonight released a statement saying that it is seeking a clarification from the Foreign Ministry regarding Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's remarks related to India on the situation along Thai-Cambodian border.

Kasit later informed the Indian ambassador Pinak Ranchan Chakravarty that the remarks were a result of sufficient information. During the Senate testimony on Wednesday, Kasit included India among those countries that might have back Cambodia's aggression against Thailand on February 4.

He also expressed appreciation for the balance and constructive position of India on this matter.

The Nation

A diabolical plot on the Cambodian border

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By Thanong Khanthong
The Nation
Published on February 11, 2011

It looks like a cat-and-mouse game again as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is facing two wars ...

One at the Cambodian border and the other on Rajadamnoen Road at the back of the Government House. The yellow shirts and the red shirts are now going after the Democrat-led government in earnest.

The "war" against Cambodia has come to the prime minister as a big shock. He is not ready for it. But since the arrest of seven Thais in late December - for trespassing on what Cambodia says is its territory - events have been moving dangerously out of control.

Initially, Abhisit was no match for his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, who was seen to control the game. Abhisit's hotline to Hun Sen could not effect an immediate release of the seven Thais. Kasit Piromya, the foreign minister, also failed to secure the release of the Thais, resulting in a huge diplomatic loss of face.

The arrest of the seven Thais appeared to be part of a diabolical plot. Why have we arrived at this point with an armed conflict against Cambodia?

From my February 7 TweetDeck:

"People in the government, in the Army, in the high-level and local bureaucracies have vested interests tied up with Cambodia."

"[There is] no unity in the country also."

"The government lacks unity."

"Our PM is weak, [he] can't handle the simmering conflict."

"It was a big shock that the PM, foreign minister, and defence and national security bowed to [Hun Sen] by admitting that seven Thais had encroached into Cambodian land."

"The most important questions: Where were the seven arrested? Why [were they] arrested? What must Thailand do to protect our rights and sovereignty?"

"Before the arrests, a Cambodian colonel had got an order from Phnom Penh one day ahead to arrest the Thais."

"Instead of sending the Thais to Sri Sophong, the Thais [had to] be sent to Phnom Penh instead."

"It was reported that this colonel has a former wife whose family owned Cambodia's largest tapioca plant, which supplies tapioca to Thailand."

"We have to understand that the disputed area is plagued with human trafficking, contraband."

"The question is whether the disputed area is designed to serve business interests between some Thai and [Cambodian] leaders."

"There is a special economic zone in Poipet and Aranyaprathet promoted by both [the] Thai and [Cambodian] governments. The Memorandum of Understanding BE 2543 is part of [that] package."

"This economic zone [will] be linked with Cambodia's 2,500 rai investment area established at Poipet and O'Neang, opposite Ban Pa Rai in Aranyaprathet."

"In effect, Cambodia is promoting a special economic zone at the border, a package that includes the land of our country."

"Once foreign companies or foreign powers invest in the special economic zone at Poipet, [the] Thai military [will] be rendered obsolete at the border."

"After the clashes at the border, the tide of events has twisted in the Thai favour. The [balance] of power has shifted away from Hun Sen, who now scrambles for UN Security Council intervention. He does not want to consult Asean either."

"Abhisit and Kasit have rushed [to] stitch the wounds. They stick to the ground rules that any conflict with Cambodia can be settled bilaterally. It is just a mini-series of border clashes. But Hun Sen proclaims that a full-scale war is going on."

"The Thai military is lurking in the wings, while the yellow shirts are staging rallies in their own fashion to topple the government. The red shirts, who also want the government out, have to join as conspirators."

"[The] Scorpion[s], the German rock band, [are] coming to town. I can hear their famous song, "Winds of Change", ringing in the air."

AKP - The Agence Kampuchea Press

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Cambodian PM: It Is a “Real War”, Not an Armed Clash

Phnom Penh, February 10, 2011 AKP – Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen called the fighting between Cambodia and Thailand at Preah Vihear Temple area a “real war”, not an armed clash.

In his speech in the closing ceremony of an annual conference held at Chaktomouk Theater Hall in Phnom Penh on Feb. 9 by the Ministry of Commerce, the Cambodian premier explained the term “real war”, saying that the fighting between both sides took place several days and heavy arms were used.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has to be responsible for a war crime because he ordered Thai soldiers to shoot Cambodia’s Preah Vihear Temple registered as World Heritage Site, he said.

“The shooting and destroying of the temple and pagoda is a war crime,” he stressed.

Thanking Cambodia’s political parties and civil societies for supporting the royal government’s legal action against Thai aggression, the Cambodian premier called on the Cambodian compatriots to join in a movement of the country protection against Thai invasion.

Refusing Thailand’s call for bilateral talks, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen appealed the UN Security Council to hold an urgent conference to solve the conflict problem between Cambodia and Thailand and asked for UN peace-keeping forces or UN observers to be sent to Cambodia.

At this time, Cambodia not only complains to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, but also the UN Security Council, he said. –AKP

Article in Khmer by CHEY Phum Pul

Article in English by THOU Peou

______

Cambodian Economy To Increase by 6 Percent in 2011

Phnom Penh, February 10, 2011 AKP – Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom Cambodia, has expressed his optimism that the country’s economy will increase by 6 percent in 2011.

Premier Techo Hun Sen made the remarks here on Feb. 9 while he was presiding over the closing ceremony of the annual meeting of the Ministry of Commerce.

Due to the increasing in textile, garment, agricultural, tourism and construction domains Cambodian economy is predicted to increase by 6 percent in 2011, he said.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen said the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) considers trade is a source of national economic growth. And from this concept, the RGC has been doing its best to reform this sector as well as other sectors, including infrastructure development, production, industry and human resource, and to strengthen and expand the international cooperation to accelerate Cambodian integration into the region and the world.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodian exports reached US$10.68 billion in 2010 from US$10 billion in 2009, or an increase by 6.8 percent. –AKP

By CHEA Vannak

______

Australia Continues to Boost Health Sector in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, February 10, 2011 AKP – Cambodian Health Minister H.E. Mam Bun Heng met here on Feb. 9 with Mrs. Penny Richard, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia.

On the occasion, the Australian diplomat told the health minister that the government of Australia will consider to further helping train Cambodian midwives in contribution to reducing the mother and infant mortality rate. She also praised the Ministry of Health for its efforts in providing tetanus vaccines for Cambodian pregnant women.

More than 95 million Australian dollars have been so far granted to the Kingdom of Cambodia for improving the health sector in Cambodia, she added.

In reply, the minister pledged to do his utmost in reducing the mother mortality rate, while the World Health Organization, World Bank and UNFPA announced a decrease of the mother mortality rate in Cambodia.

H.E. Mam Bung Heng said the Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to eliminate measles and tetanus of mothers and infants by the end of 2012. –AKP

By Théng

News not fit for Thai Mainstream Media on Thai-Cambodian Relations

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Wed, 09/02/2011 - 11:31 | by prachatai

Pravit Rojanaphruk

Holding on to narrow nationalism means Thais have no recognition of how "terrorising Thailand were to Cambodia" over the centuries, said noted historian Benedict Anderson, a renowned expert of Southeast Asian history, just hours before the two kingdoms found themselves in a deadly military clash again on Friday.

Anderson, who taught for decades at Cornell University and now spent months in Bangkok every year since his retirement said while many films have been produced to repeatedly remind Thais of historical invasions by the Burmese, there is no film produced by Thais about how Siam and Thailand have acted agressively against Cambodia.

"This is how narrow Thai nationalism is. I don't see anything about Thais invading Cambodia or destroying Angkor," he said, in an exclusive interview with this writer.

Anderson's list is long and it includes "repeated" invasions of Cambodia by Siam in the 19th century, the assitance in overthrowing King Sihanouk by then dictator Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat in the 1960s and the support of the Khmer Rouge by the Thai government.

"[Bangkok] supported the Khmer Rouge along with Beijing and Washington," Anderson pointed out.

What's more, Anderson suspects that there is an element of Thai "inferiority complex" in the conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia.

"Nothing Thais built is close to Borobodur [in Java], Angkor, or Pagan [in Burma]. Ayutthaya is really nothing," he said, adding that if Preah Vihear temple were to belong to Thailand, it would easily become the "most impressive" historical structure in the kingdom.

An authority on modern nationstate, Anderson said territorial intergrity has been regarded as "sacred" by modern nation states and suggested that Thailand and Combodia settled the border dispute by swapping lands of roughly equal size like what Burma and China did along its common border in the 1950s and 1960s.

Anderson also criticised the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for playing nationalist card.

"The question is why Bodhirak has decided to get into this game. It's clearly a political move and a dubious one," he said, referring to the sect's leader.

via CAAI

Published: 11/02/2011

Driving around the European Union, one can crisscross borders without even knowing, except for the few posted signs, a change in the dialect or language, or your car's GPS system alerting you to the exact location. Wars are a thing of the past - from the harsh lessons learnt through centuries of blood, tears and lives lost from the ambitions of men in conquering territory. Borders have become imaginary lines drawn on maps, but irrelevant to everyday life, especially for those living in the vicinity of those boundaries.

The battle over a hilly patch of land in the remote countryside near the ancient Preah Vihear temple is rooted in a decades-old border dispute that has fuelled nationalist passions and been driven by domestic politics and conspiracy theories on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border.

True, no one can be absolutely certain that men of Europe will not again resort to wars to resolve conflicts in the future, but for the present the EU is a model of regional cooperation others can only aspire to, and reap the promises of wealth created through free movement of trade in goods and services.

And as the new millennium progresses - one which predicts the rise of the Asia-Pacific region - the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations look forward to becoming the lynchpin of dynamic change by taking advantage of the economic growth of China and India, and by building a free trade bloc of their own by the year 2015. Conflicts turn into cooperation, borders open up and sea lanes are secured, making a "win-win" formula for the 21st century.

So what is going on with the current border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia? Why are we arguing, with guns drawn and shots fired, over imaginary lines and centuries-old ruins? Aren't we supposed to let bygones be bygones and work together for the future of our children's prosperity?

Through thick and thin since the Cold War era, with the five original Asean members who agreed upon the Bangkok Declaration in 1967, up to the present 10 members, Thailand has always been at the forefront in fostering friendship and nurturing delicate relations, balancing between the spirit of cooperation amidst competition. After the Cold War, it was Thailand that initiated the policy of turning zones of conflict into market places which has greatly fuelled this sub-region's economic growth for more than two decades.

But in 2009, as Thailand assumed its turn as chair of Asean, the Thai government failed miserably to organise the Asean summit and meeting with leaders of dialogue partners. The ongoing political conflict led to a disastrous chain of command on security measures that allowed the red shirt protesters to penetrate the meeting venue.

Some may blame the red shirts for not respecting protocol and preserving national interest, but the politics that interfered and clouded the better judgement of the police and military commanders in charge not only signified the illegitimacy of the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, but at worst laid bare the weaknesses in the Thai political structure, which could open up opportunities for competing nations to take advantage of.

Usually, domestic politics have been immune to Asean members meddling in each other's affairs due to the agreed principle of non-interference. But in regard to the present conflict with Cambodia, the present government has literally handed an "invitation to interfere" on a gold platter. This is because since they wrested themselves into power, the government and its supporters - the military and the People's Alliance for Democracy or the yellow shirts - have embarked upon a "one track" foreign policy of hunting down the fugitive and ousted prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

But as a nation, Thailand does not have enough leverage to be demanding, pressuring even, that others join its cat-and-mouse game around the world. And is the government wisely using up the nation's goodwill on such a matter?

Veteran Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen therefore saw an opportunity to exploit the issue and provoke Thailand to Cambodia's benefit in building its own negotiating leverage at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. He shrewdly manipulated the events leading up to the current border clashes. For Hun Sen, war is an extension of politics - to paraphrase Karl von Clausewitz. War is "a political instrument, a continuation of political relations" to gain international attention for Cambodia's plight and advance Hun Sen's cause and pleas on issues ranging from Cambodia's claim to the Preah Vihear Temple grounds, to economic interests and international recognition.

Meanwhile, the Thai government's attempts to appease its own political allies, the PAD in particular, has painted itself into a corner. The bumbling trip which Panich Vikitsreth, the Democrat MP and former vice minister for foreign affairs, took across the disputed borderline under the orders of PM Abhisit, fumbled into the PAD's trap and ended up in a Cambodian jail.

Furthermore, by stirring nationalist sentiment to show toughness, the government signalled the military not to tolerate the Cambodian flag or the insulting stone tablet placed at Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Savara in the disputed area. All this could have been resolved through diplomatic channels, had the leaders been on talking terms as in the past. But Mr Abhisit could not make Hun Sen take his phone calls.

Please do not get me wrong, I do believe in a strong military presence in the same way as seeing police patrol even the quietest of all neighbourhoods. But force is not the primary tool of diplomacy in this day and age. A shouting match in which each calls the other a bully is also not conducive to the business of creating regional cooperation and free trade. Some may view Hun Sen as a thug but in reality he has been in power for more than two decades and continues to remain strong. Thais must live with this fact. People living along the border do not want war. They barely care about the scales of maps being debated since they live in the reality of making a living, with friends and relatives across the border. The military is not war-hungry either, as the top brass realise the consequences in body count and injury.

It is the politicians who must get their act together and stop mixing mob politics and their own interests with the affairs of state in diplomacy and international relations. A fight over imaginary lines is pointless. The PAD's unreasonable demands must be totally ignored and its protest rallies dispersed in accordance with the law.

We require proper leadership from the prime minister. This is not politics as usual where one can wriggle out with a few nicely placed words. Action is called for, to reposition Thailand as a mature partner in Asean and the world community. Thailand must not become the "basket case" which the government is turning us into.

Thai rath columnist Sai Lorfah (Lightning rod)

via CAAI

Published: 11/02/2011

With peace and quiet now restored at the border near the Preah Vihear Temple, Thailand and Cambodia should return to the negotiating table.

Prime Minister Abhisit may set the tone by seeking direct talks with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen. This will help create a good atmosphere before the two countries resume their scheduled talks via the Joint Border Committee (JBC) at the end of this month.

At the same time, the media in both countries must refrain from propagating false information related to the recent armed clashes. Bad feelings have been stoked during the past few days by media reports about the casualties suffered on both sides.

The JBC is the best venue for the two neighbours to thrash out their differences. Cambodia and Vietnam had resorted to this type of diplomacy and succeeded in solving their border dispute. For the time being, the Thai and Cambodian governments should stop making any statement that may generate more anger and hatred between the two countries.

For its part, the People's Alliance for Democracy should stop making inflammatory statements against Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. It would be even better if the PAD leaders called off the rally in Bangkok.

The PADs vitriolic criticism of Hun Sen during the past week has not helped the situation at all. If they don't stop, the PAD leaders will be seen as the villain in this whole fracas.

Business to aid local youth water effort in Cambodia

via CAAI

By Allison Wall

A group of local youth is embarking on a mission trip, and a local business is stepping up in a big way.

Twelve youth and four adults from the First Baptist Church will be heading to Cambodia from March 1 to 15.

"(We) have partnered up with Samaritan's Purse and we are going to work alongside some local people in manufacturing and installing bio-fan filters," said Darren Bute, youth pastor at First Baptist Church. "We'll also do some eye clinics while we are there and bringing some prescription glasses over to people."

While the youth have raised money for the past several months, they are still shy of their goal, but Bute said Quizno's is stepping up on Saturday to help out with the fundraising.

"Quizno's is actually giving us their store for a day this coming Saturday," said Bute. "We're super excited by that. We thought that was an amazing deal. It's great seeing people pitch in and help out. Our goal, or Quizno's, is hopefully $10,000. We are probably about $20,000 shy right now so we are trying to raise that money. (We're) going around and trying to do everything we can to drum up some donations."

Quizno's located at Suite 102-7701 44 Street will donate food and operational costs on Saturday, Feb. 12.

"Basically it's because there are three teenagers that have been working here almost since I opened and … they are all going on the trip to Cambodia so they were asking if we would donate bottles," said manager Thane Burgoyne. "I thought I could do something a little more and so I just organized it through Darren Bute, the youth pastor from the church there. They are all coming in. They are volunteering their time and Quizno's is foregoing their royalties for that day, and then I'm donating the food and they are turning it into money for their trip."

The youth will also have a donation booth set up at Quizno's on Saturday.

Conflict goes international

via CAAI

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on February 11, 2011

Security Council to 'complement' bilateral, Asean efforts to end Thai-Cambodian border clashes

Thai efforts to resolve the boundary conflict with Cambodia bilaterally have failed, with international bodies including the United Nations Security Council and Asean now involved in the matter.

The skirmishes from February 4-7 killed at least eight people, including a Thai civilian, and damaged properties including the World Heritage-listed Preah Vihear Temple.

Unlike in past clashes in 2008 and 2009, the UN Security Council has not been deterred from taking up the issue.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen consistently called for the UN body to convene an urgent meeting to stop "Thailand's aggression". At the same time, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wrote to the UN reiterating Thailand's commitment to end the dispute using a bilateral framework.

Bangkok suggested the Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) should resume its work negotiating boundary demarcation by the end of this month, though the exact date has yet to be confirmed. The Cambodians are not likely in the mood to sit down and talk right now.

Hun Sen's strategy to internationalise the issue appears to have worked. The Security Council has requested that its secretariat provide a brief about the situation on Monday and invited Asean chairman Marty Natalegawa, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to attend.

"The Asean chair's attendance at the UNSC meeting represents an evolution of Asean's efforts to resolve bilateral disputes among its members as provided for by the Asean Charter," the bloc's secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said in a statement yesterday.

"This is particularly important as it will set a precedent for future Asean dispute settlement mechanisms."

The Security Council wants its meeting on Monday to boost and complement regional and bilateral efforts, rather than signal that those efforts have failed in any way, according to a UNSC update report.

"The [UNSC] members expressed support for the mediation efforts undertaken by the chair of Asean, the foreign minister of Indonesia, but expressed willingness to hold a Council meeting pending an assessment of the ongoing regional mediation efforts," the report said.

It remains unclear what the results of the UN meeting will be. Security Council president Maria Luiza Viotti, a Brazilian ambassador, will consult with Kasit and Hor Namhong on the format of the meeting later, the report said.

Hun Sen has asked the UN to send peacekeeping forces to create a buffer zone at the disputed border area adjacent to Preah Vihear, which he claims was damaged by artillery shells from Thailand.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has proposed sending an urgent mission to inspect the temple, but Thailand opposes the visit.

"Concerning the current situation at the border, we believe the Unesco mission now is not appropriate and makes the issue more complicated," said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi.

If the Unesco mission really wanted to visit the site, it would need permission from the Thai authorities, since it would have to access the temple via land under the sovereignty of Thailand, he said.

The Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, as ruled by the International Court of Justice in 1962, is situated on territory under sovereignty of Cambodia, though Thailand has argued that it possesses the surrounding areas.

The temple has been at the core of conflict between the two neighbours since last century. In 2008, tensions rose after Unesco listed the temple as a World Heritage site in the face of Thai disagreement.

Abhisit's government hoped the border skirmish would result in the suspension of the Preah Vihear World Heritage listing.

Thailand's JBC chief, Asda Jayanama, will meet with the director of Unesco in Paris today to explain the Thai position on the temple.

War-mongering must stop

via CAAI

Published on February 11, 2011

Re: "Hun Sen bully boy: Kasit", February 9.

I was happy to see Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya show more of his old self in correctly criticising Hun Sen for acting like a bully toward Thailand, a militarily much stronger country than Cambodia.

I agree with him that Thailand has been too patient with Cambodia's war-mongering, and also that Thailand should have learned a lesson from the World Court about the bias of UN-related agencies, and also of powers like China, India and Russia that like to curry favour with "poor countries" like Cambodia. Mr Kasit is also right that the US, which knows how corrupt the Cambodian government is, should support Thailand as the peaceful player in this matter.

While Cambodia illegally arrested seven Thai MPs and other officials, millions of Cambodians have been freely coming to, working and living in Thailand for decades. Cambodia has returned this favour by harbouring persons for whom the Thai court has issued arrest warrants; holding anti-Thai riots orchestrated by the government; and creating conflict along the border.

Again I think Mr Kasit is right in saying "the Cambodian government told its people that Thailand had been bullying Cambodia during the past 700 years". It is a political strategy to stir up nationalism, and also appeals to China and Vietnam, the biggest investors and political force in Cambodia, respectively.

The November issue of Khmer Property magazine has a story called "Road Development Project in Preah Vihear Province", which shows major road projects in this area being carried out, surprise, by Chinese companies.

The only major point where I differ from Mr Kasit's interviews is he over-emphasises the Preah Vihear case as a "media event". Actually, it is purely political and certainly involves third countries who see a mutual advantage in Cambodia's border war. In this light, I fail to understand why the Abhisit government does not cancel the hated MOU signed by a previous government, and not enter into any other joint cooperation with Cambodia.

Mr Abhisit, a little strength would help for a change. People who keep asking for joint administration of the area falsely see that there is a win-win solution, when really Cambodia is trying to gain several advantages at the expense of Thailand. As an American, I hope that our government sides squarely with Thailand in this affair where Cambodia is (once again) in the wrong.

F Goldman

Bangkok

Prove that you are Buddhists

via CAAI

Published on February 11, 2011

I am not a Buddhist, but I am an admirer of the Buddha and the principles he taught.

Thailand and Cambodia are currently enmeshed in a conflict over ownership of the Preah Vihear temple and its adjacent territory. Both claim to be Buddhist countries. Let them prove it by applying Buddhist principles to the current conflict.

I'm thinking specifically of the principles of compassion, loving kindness and skillful means. No doubt it is naive to expect Hun Sen and Abhisit Vejjajiva to embrace each other in a spirit of mutual compassion and loving kindness, and to use skillful means to resolve their differences. No doubt it is equally naive to expect anybody to apply religious principles to political conflicts.

Religion has been taking a lot of flak lately, but it can justify its existence if it shows that it can help to solve our problems and make us better people. If the two sides could keep in mind the thought that they are primarily Buddhists and only secondarily Thais or Cambodians, and if they could apply Buddhist principles to the issues that divide them, the current conflict would become much easier to resolve.

That's two big ifs, and it sounds like wishful thinking, but I commend this thought to the relevant parties even though there is little hope that they will heed it.

William Page

Samut Prakan

CMC concerned about reports of cluster munition use on Cambodia-Thailand border

http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/

via CAAI

2011-02-10

(London, 10 February 2011) – The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) is concerned by allegations of recent use of cluster munitions in a border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. According to media reports, government and military officials from both countries have accused the other side of using the weapons, which are banned under international law because of the unacceptable civilian harm they cause.

The reports have not been independently verified, and the CMC does not know if cluster munitions have been used, but it condemns the use of cluster munitions anywhere, by any actor, for any reason.

Cambodia and Thailand are not among the 108 countries that have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Both participated in the “Oslo Process” to negotiate the Convention and attended its First Meeting of States Parties in neighbouring Lao PDR in November 2010. The treaty entered into force as binding international law on 1 August 2010, banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, while requiring states to destroy stockpiles, clear contaminated land and assist victims and affected communities. Of the 108 countries that have signed the Convention since it opened for signature in December 2008, 51 countries have already ratified.

Both countries possess a stockpiles of cluster munitions, but little is known about their status or composition. The Cambodian government has in the past cited an ongoing review of its defence and security situation as the reason for a delay in joining the treaty. Thailand has cited concerns over its ability to destroy its stockpile as a roadblock to joining the Convention, but it previously announced it would not use the weapons.

Both countries are States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and Cambodia will host the treaty’s 11th Meeting of States Parties in November 2011.

South-East Asia is more heavily contaminated by cluster munitions than any other region after the United States dropped large numbers of cluster bombs on Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s.

The CMC calls on Cambodia and Thailand to clarify if their armed forces have used cluster munitions in the recent border conflict, and urges both countries to refrain from using cluster munitions and to prevent future civilian suffering by acceding to the Convention on Cluster Munitions without delay.

Task force denies Thai troops used cluster bombs

via CAAI

Published: 11/02/2011

The Suranaree Task Force has strenuously denied an accusation that Thai troops used cluster bombs during the border clashes with Cambodia.

Chinnakaj Rattanajitti, the task force's field spokesman, said yesterday the allegation that cluster bombs were used was misinformation.

The Cambodian government's demining agency, Cambodia Mine Action Centre, claimed earlier this week that its staff had discovered the controversial bomblets in Cambodian territory near the Preah Vihear temple following the clashes with Thailand that began last week, leaving at least eight people dead.

The Thai officer said the military strictly followed the rules of engagement and other related United Nations charters.

"No such weapon is used. It is not part of military operations," Col Chinnakaj said.

Cluster bombs, launched from the ground or dropped from the air, split open before impact to scatter multiple bomblets over a wide area. Such bomblets often lie dormant for years before exploding, maiming or killing civilians who happen upon them.

Col Chinnakaj yesterday warned residents of violence-torn villages to be careful about chemicals from rocket fragments when they cleaned up.

He said some villagers and troops suffered blisters after they came into contact with chemicals from the fragments of rockets fired from BM21 launchers by Cambodian troops.

He said the Thailand Mine Action Centre had been asked to collect shrapnel from the rockets and artillery shells for examination.

Meanwhile, the air force yesterday admitted that fighter jets taking part in the Cobra Gold exercise flew too close to the border during a drill.

Two F16 fighters were spotted yesterday afternoon near the border in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district where border tensions remain high.

Fighter jets should not fly within 10km of the border under the rules of engagement.

Air force chief-of-staff Prajin Jantong said there was a misunderstanding about the flight plans by the participating countries.

He said the fighter jets did not cross the border or enter the 4.6 square kilometre area and were alerted as soon as they neared the border.

About 50 fighter jets from the US, Thailand and Singapore are taking part in the annual exercise which is based at Wing 1 in Nakhon Ratchasima.