Davik Earns Her Ears

DISNEYLAND - Davik Teng, 9, laughs as Chantha Bob helps her try on mouse ears at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. on June 21, 2008. Teng came to the U.S. to have heart surgery she could not get in Cambodia. Photo by Jeff Gritchen / Long Beach Press-Telegram

Chatha Bob, center, holods on to Davik Teng as they and her mother, Sin Chhon, pose for a picture with Goofy at Disneyland. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

DISNEYLAND - Davik Teng, 9, burys her head in her mother, Sin Chhon, as they hold on in a steep drop on Splash Mountain at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. on June 21, 2008. Teng came to the U.S. to have heart surgery she could not get in Cambodia. Photo by Jeff Gritchen / Long Beach Press-Telegram

Davik Teng tries on mouse ears at Disneyland. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

Davik Teng, aughs as she spins inside a teacup at Disneyland with her mother, Sin Chhon. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)

Davik Teng, 9, leaps off her rocketship in Tomorrowland at Disneyland on Saturday. (Jeff Gritchen/Long Beach Press-Telegram)

Press-Telegram
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/21/2008

ANAHEIM - Davik Teng, you've traveled halfway around the world from a bamboo hut in a remote village in Cambodia. You've had your heart repaired in the United States. And you've captured people's imagination every step of the way. What are you going to do next?
You got it. Davik, the 9-year-old girl from a Battambang Province, went to Disneyland on Saturday.

In the final weeks before returning to her home village, Davik, who underwent life-altering open-heart surgery three months ago, is being taken on a whirlwind tour of Southern California sites.

And certainly few are more emblematic of what must seem like a fantasyland to the young girl and her mother. Few places could encapsulate the American sense of excess. Few are as singular and distinct as the Happiest Place on Earth.

Wearing a "cupcake" T-shirt, green jeans and white Skecher shoes, Davik may have looked like any kid visiting Disneyland.

But until five months ago, Davik had hardly ever ventured beyond a village with no electricity or running water. She certainly had never heard of Mickey Mouse, much less Disneyland. But, as it seems to do with children from all walks of life, the Magic Kingdom lived up to its name.

Davik had barely cleared the gates when she saw Goofy and tugged Chantha Bob, the man who helped bring her to the U.S., along to have her picture taken with the costumed Disney character.

Davik's first ride was Pirates of the Caribbean, which she went through with hands over her ears. Davik's mother, Sin Chhon, laughed uproariously when passing an area on the ride where a drunken pirate is happily sitting in a sty with several pigs.

Despite holding her ears throughout the ride, like just about any other kid, Davik wanted to ride again.

After a trip on the Astro Orbiter, Davik joked that the ride had scared her mom. But during the plunge on Splash Mountain and on the Thunder Mountain Railroad, it was Davik who buried her head in her mom's shoulder, while Sin laughed with glee.

The Mad Tea Party and King Arthur's Carousel appeared to be Davik's favorites as she ran out and right back into line for both.

The trip was another milestone in a journey that has been filled with magical moments.

Davik, who suffered from a large quarter-sized hole in her heart called a ventricular septal defect, was discovered in her remote village by Chantha Bob, a local waiter at Sophy's Restaurant in Long Beach.

A girl who now can run and play with the abandon of a typical 9-year-old was wheezing her way to a shortened life when she was discovered in her poor little village.

After efforts to have her heart repaired in Cambodia failed, she was brought to California by Peter Chhun and Hearts Without Boundaries, a Long Beach-based nonprofit. Her heart was repaired at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which donated its facilities and the medical staff and doctors.

Cardiologist Mark Sklansky pronounced Davik fit to travel and Chhun has arranged to take Davik and her mom back to Cambodia on July 10.

Prior to Davik's departure, one final fete is scheduled to be held in her honor. A dinner Chhun is calling "Davik's Last Dance" will be held at the Golden Villa, 1350 E. Anaheim St., and catered by Sophy's.

But before all that, there was the mandatory trip to Disneyland. And as the afternoon shadows lengthened and it was time to go home, the girl with the new heart added a pair of mouse ears to her collection of prizes from the U.S.

Samak blames 'lawyer' in Democrat for the loss Preah Vihear 45 years ago

By The Nation
Sun, June 22, 2008

Prime Minster Samak Sundaravej Sunday denounced protests over Preah Vihear registration as a world heritage site as "unreasonable', saying Thailand lost the ancient Hindu temple 45 years ago.

Without mentioning name, Samak blamed a former Democrat Party leader for the loss of Preah Vihear, saying a 'lawyer' from the Democrat Party made a mistake in a battle in the World Court 45 years ago by accepting a French map during the court battle over the ownership of the Hindu temple.

Speaking during his Talk Samak Style on NBT Channel, Samak said the People's Alliance for Democracy played up the Preah Vihear issue unreasonably and out of proportion to mislead the public to think that Thailand will now lost its territory because of the world heritage registration.

"[Democrats] should ask their aged senior in the party what happened," Samak said.

"Our lawyer agreed to accept their map so the World Court ruled that we lost the Preah Vihear.
On Saturday, the People Power Party said a former Democrat leader, who represented Thailand as the lawyer lost the court case, causing Thailand to lose Preah Vihear to Cambodia.

Samak said Thailand lost the Hindu temple to Cambodia by the ruling of World Court 45 years ago.

He said Cambodia has been hoisting flag over Preah Vihear for 45 years with nobody opposing it but the PAD just campaigned about it now.

He said Cambodia was now registering its Preah Vihear over its land as a world heritage site and had nothing to do with Thailand.

"But I don't know what on earth [the PAD] is campaigning about regarding to Preah Vihear. We have not lost any land because of the registration of the world heritage site because we lost the temple 45 years ago," Samak said.

"They are handling the affair of their own country," Samak added.

He said the Thai military had affirmed that the registration of Preah Vihear as a world heritage site would not affect Thailand's territory but nobody listened.

He said the PAD managed to play up the issue so much that "a woman who makes her living by making expensive clothes announced that she would give up her life for the issue".

Samak said the PAD also linked the issue to the golf playing between Cambodian Prime Minister Hunsen with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra although the issues were not related.

Thai FM seeks temple reservoir, stair status as World Heritage site

BANGKOK, June 22 (TNA) -- Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Sunday he planned to seek cabinet approval on applying for the reservoir and staircases leading to Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

Speaking on radio, Mr. Noppadon said he would submit documents related to the stream and the staircases to the Thai cabinet and then request the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which meets in Canada July 2-10 to consider listing the two places as Thai territory at the World Heritage site.

Sra Trao or Huay Trao is a stream reservoir running through the bedrock foundations on the plain at the foot of Preah Vihear, before it sinks into a subterranean tunnel reinforced by rock walls.

The Phnom Penh government will apply for registration of the ancient temple itself as a World Heritage site during the upcoming UNESCO meeting as both Thailand and Cambodia signed a joint communique Wednesday endorsing the Cambodian application.

Defending his position that the statement would not give away Thai territory, Mr. Noppadon said the delay in seeking registration of the reservoir and the staircases as the World Heritage site arose because he has been foreign minister only four months and has to solve immediate problems first.

The Thai foreign minister said he had discussed his plan with the Cambodian government, which had no objection. However, Mr. Noppadon said UNESCO may not be able to consider the request of the Thai government at next month's meeting due to time constraints, but he said it is nonetheless better to apply first and let the organisation's committee consider the application later. (TNA)

Thailand cedes ancient temple

THE AUSTRALIAN
Mark Dodd, Bangkok June 23, 2008

THAILAND is moving to accept a new map that will uphold Cambodia's World Heritage claim on the ancient 10th century Khmer temple that straddles the countries' common border - a long-contested site and former Khmer Rouge sanctuary that almost brought the two claimant nations to war in the 1960s.

While the Thai army has expressed reservations about the Cambodian map, the Bangkok Government has given qualified endorsement for the new chart, although Foreign Minister Noppadon Patama denied any territory would be ceded to Cambodia.

If approved, the temple with a bloody recent history - which is called Preah Vihear in Cambodia and Khao-Phra Viharn in Thailand - would begin the first step of UN-backed World Heritage listing.

Thailand's National Security Council endorsed the Cambodian map of the site last week, although the army had earlier expressed concerns it would cede territory to Phnom Penh.

The sprawling temple ruins sit atop the rugged Dangrek escarpment and are accessible only from Thailand's northeastern Si Sa Ket province.

After years of acrimonious haggling, the International Court of Justice awarded possession of the temple to Cambodia in 1962, although topographically it made more sense for the Thai claim to have been upheld.

The decision was seen as a huge victory for the tiny Khmer nation, and helped to reinforce the nationalist credentials and popularity of Cambodia's then monarch, Norodom Sihanouk, who had championed the fight.

The four levels of temple ruins straddling the 900m escarpment have a long and bloody history.

Thousands of Cambodian refugees perished there in 1979 after fleeing Pol Pot's fanatical Khmer Rouge regime, when Thai soldiers forcibly expelled them, ordering them down a perilous cliff track that was riddled with landmines into the clutches of the waiting Maoist rebels.

After 1979, the site was shared by the Thai army and Khmer Rouge, which established a nearby base.
In 1994, two Belgian tourists who crossed from the Thai side attempting to reach Cambodia were murdered by the fanatical rebels.

Several attempts in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Cambodia's Hun Sen government troops to reclaim the temple were bloodily repulsed by the Khmer Rouge guerillas operating from their mountaintop perch.

Today, however, the area is a popular tourist attraction.

Star Treks: Anne Hathaway's role is going global

New York Daily News
Sunday, June 22nd 2008

"As a New Yorker, I really like to stretch my boundaries, and sometimes I go to Brooklyn - no, kidding! Um. Sorry, that was awful. Forgive me.

"One place where I've only been to once, but I'm trying to get back to, is Cambodia. It's so amazingly beautiful, and spiritual and hopeful, and so needs help.

"My first time there was very much an educational trip and I'd like to go back and see if there's anything I can do in terms of helping the people there.

"I like to take theater holidays where I just go to England for a week and see everything that I can - which is probably one of the most decadent indulgences that I have. I see so many shows there by myself, but that's how I saw Ralph Fiennes in "Brand," and it remains the best theatrical performance I've ever seen."

Patrick Huguenin

Tourism arrivals up 14 percent in year to May

PR-inside.com
2008-06-22

Number of international tourists arrival in Cambodia increasingly grow.

Tourism to Cambodia jumped more than 14 percent in the year to May, with Siem Reap posting the largest influx of foreign visitors, government figures show, although the Angkor temple town experienced a first-quarter dip in the number of arrivals from the same period in 2007.

Kong Sopheareak, director of the statistics department at the Ministry of Tourism, told the Post that Cambodia was on track to attract 2.3 million visitors this year, adding that political stability and infrastructure improvements had increased the number of tourist destinations in the country.

This diversification could be behind the seven percent drop in arrivals to Cambodia's most popular tourist draw, the Angkor temple town of Siem Reap, tourism officials said.

Elsewhere in Cambodia saw a significant surge in visitors, such as coastal resorts and the northeastern provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri, according to Sopheareak, who added that tourism was hoped to earn Cambodia some $1.64 billion this year.

He dismissed concerns that the July 27 general election would impact the tourism sector, which is one of the few viable industries in the impoverished country.

Ho Vandy, president of Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, told the Post on June 10 that he too was optimistic that the polls would have little effect on arrival figures.

Cambodia's year-long political stalemate following general elections in 2003 had resulted in a 12 percent drop in visitors, he said.

Tourism is a fragile sector and if there is instability or unrest no tourists will want to come, so we hope all political parties will resolve any election issues peacefully,' he said.

South Koreans continue to make up the largest group of foreign visitors, followed by Vietnamese and then Japanese, according to tourism ministry figures.

Written by Nguon Sovan and Peter Olszewski

Sam Rainsy sign at Chouk district in Kampot province up after pulled down by local authorities

Sam Rainsy Party in Kampot province threatened to file complaint against Chouk district governor for permitting private company managing Chouk market to pull down its party's sign.

Mu Sochua, SRP chief in Kampot province demanded to see a copy of the contract in Chouk as SRP sign was pulled down. A copromise was made for SRP to have its sign up at a different location, which gives the party more visibility.

CACJE's special statement

Cambodian Action Committee for Justice & Equity

Read the original text in english please click on this link

Read the original text in Khmer please click on this link

Special Meeting in Stockton of California,
June 22, 2008

No: 0032 CACJE

SPECIAL STATEMENT

The Cambodian Action Committee for Justice & Equity (CACJE) denounces the baseless smear campaign of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the Cambodian People Party (CPP) against the members of Sam Raingsy Party (SRP) and their President Sam Raingsy. The Royal Government of Cambodia and the CPP distorted facts and fabricated stories and threatened innocent people in the following cases:

1. The RGC and the CPP accused the SRP and her President Sam Raingsy as the founder of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF) and Khmer Moha Nokor Movement.

This accusation is baseless because, according to the verdict of the Los Angeles Court (USA), Chunn Yasith, the defender, was the sole Chief responsible of the creation and the execution of the Cambodian Freedom Fighters Operations. There was neither cooperation nor alliance between the CFF with other person or other movement for the creation and the operational execution.

As the UN rejected LEUK Bun Nhean status as refugee, LEUK Bun Nhean engages in spy operation for the benefit of the RGC and the CPP. His spy master is Gen. Mol Roeup, chair of Q 101 Bureau. Nhean’s mission was to infiltrate and spy on Cambodian refugees living in Thailand.

To recruit people for his spy operation, he uses money and the appointment to a high grade officer as bait. By this procedure, he recruits Heng Ran. In present, Bun Nhean also tried to recruit some among people who were victims of the violation human rights abuses of the Royal Government of Cambodia and who came to Thailand to seek for the UN protection as refugee. Nhean and Ran based on document he had stolen from the UN Refugee Bureau to fabricate a phony list of these people who were seeking the UN protection.

According to Nhean and Ran, the people in the said list they had shown at Phnom Penh were members of SRP and the CFF, the convicted organization by the Los Angeles court as terrorist organization. By this distortion of fact, the CPP and the Royal Government of
Cambodia intended to accuse the SRP members as collaborators or members of the CFF. Therefore the Royal Government of Cambodia can jail them all as terrorist.
Moha Nokor’s Affair.

Chan Dara Veasna, the President of Maha Nokor Movement, is the nephew of Say Chhum, the General Secretary of the Cambodian Communist Party, the CPP. Maha Nokor Movement is created and financed by Say Chhum with supported by Hok Lundi.
Under the guidance of Gen Hok Lundi, Moha Nokor Movement aim was to infiltrate and destroy Sam Raingsy Party before the legislative election 2008.

2 Hun Sen’ people accused Sam Raingsy to plot to kill Hun Sen in Siemreap.

Hun Sen people distorted the fact. The truth is: It was Hing Bun Heang, the deputy chief cabinet and Commander Body Guard Unit of Hun Sen, who planned to kill Sam Raignsy. Indeed, during 2004-2005, Hing Bun Heang assigned a hitman named Srun under the aka name Phkay Preuk (Venus Star), Lt of the Intervention Forces of Hun Sen Body Guard Unit to infiltrate Sam Raignsy Body Guard Unit. Phkay Preuk proposed to Sam Raingsy Body guards leadership a reward of $250,000 plus new cars to assassinate the opponent leader, Sam Raingsy.
The Phkay Preuk plan to assassinate Hun Sen was constituted of three folds:

- Infiltrate three hitmen inside Sam Raignsy Body Guard Unit.
- Foment troubles during Sam Raignsy public meetings.
- During SRP meeting chaos, kill Sam Ranigsy in close range.

The above Phkay Preuk plan was implemented on January 29, 2005 when Sam Raignsy traveled to attend in public meeting at Vat Chompou Vorn (Buddhist Pagoda), in the district of Dangkor, Phnom Penh suburb. At that time Hing Bun Heang, the Deputy Chief of Hun Sen Body Guard Unit, had sent two hitmen to infiltrate inside Sam Raignsy Body Guards Unit.

The Phkay Preuk plan of assassination of Raingsy was leaked to Sam Raingsy security guard leader. Instantaneously, the Moto Doop members and the public crowded the access roads to Sam Raignsy meeting, mainly the Soviet Union of Russia Boulevard. Practically with their body they protected Sam Raingsy. Finally, the Phkay Preuk plan failed miserably.

3. Sam Raingsy Versus Hor Nam Hong

The Sam Raingsy versus Hor Nam Hong must not be ruled by the Phnom Penh Tribunal. It must be instead ruled by the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) whose main objectives were to judge former Khmer Rouge genociders.

The ECCC has the authority to query Hor Nam Hong about his actions 33 years ago as Direction of the Beung Trabek Prison. About eight hundred prisoners were put to death during his watch. Only the co-persecutors, Cambodian and international judges of the ECCC had the authority to ask the National Assembly to lift the parliamentary immunity of Sam Raingsy and Hor Nam Hong, then, from there to get a court case.

CACJE would like to add, not only Hor Nam Hong was the President the Santibal (Security Forces) Office, that’s the prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, he was also the chief executive of incarceration and execution of several thousands of people of Bopea (East) Zone in the mid of 1977.

Sincerely,

SOURN Serey Ratha
Chief of Mission

Sacravatoons : " Whishing Dance "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon at http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

A WIN-WIN TEMPLE DEAL

The Bangkok Post
Sunday June 22, 2008

THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL

The governments of Thailand and Cambodia have ended their negotiations over the controversial Preah Vihear temple with a win-win result. But the way Thai agencies bungled the issue by trying to promote a better understanding of the deal with the public should be another lesson to learn. Not enough effort went into the public relations campaign. And what made the issue worse was that it became linked to politics.

Coincidentally, negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia over the 11th-century temple ended as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) began its latest campaign to oust the government.

The sensitive issue of the temple was also singled out by the anti-government demonstrators and used to attack the government by convincing people who have not closely followed the issue to come forward and join the rally.

If anyone has the opportunity to carefully compare the allegations and facts from all sides _ from Foreign Ministry officials to academics and PAD _ they would not be easily misguided.

Although Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has claimed the agreement as his personal success, he alone was not responsible for these international negotiations.

The staff from the ministry, especially from the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department, worked hard for years to protect Thai sovereignty. Nobody realises how many of the staff at this agency have become sick from stress caused by intense border negotiations with Thailand's neighbours.

They are the real heroes who have worked hard to protect Thai soil so not one single inch is lost to other countries.

These are the staff who paved the way for negotiations with Cambodia, which still uses the old map which includes 4.6 square kilometres of overlapping land with Thailand.

The map was drawn in 1904 by France and Cambodia has adhered to it since then, while Thailand has stood firmly by the use of watershed lines to indicate the border, which is consistent with international law.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh engaged in a hot debate in the early 1960s over the issue which resulted in the International Court of Justice's verdict to give the temple as well as the land under the temple to Cambodia.

It was Cambodia which wanted to wrap up these negotiations. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wants to use this issue in his campaign for the upcoming general election on July 27. He wants the temple listed by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as a World Heritage Site. That is why the Cambodian government agreed to draw a new map, which leaves the disputed area to be further negotiated by the two countries in the future.

This made the Thai negotiating team happy and, in return, it supported Cambodia's bid in the Unesco registration process.

Thailand is also satisfied that the demarcation in the new map conforms to a Thai cabinet resolution in 1962, which asks that the watershed lines be the borderline.

If the World Heritage Committee under Unesco agrees to register the temple, shops and structures built by Cambodians in the disputed area must be cleared for a joint management zone with Thailand. Then the burden will be on the Cambodian government to get its people out of the area.

This can be called a win-win situation for Thailand rather than a loss to the country, as some have tried to label the agreement.

July Election in Cambodia: Register Now

The World Bank Group: World Bank and Multiple Donors Help Cambodia Achieve its Health Goals

Posted on 21 June 2008.
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 565

World Bank Project Proposes Health Sector Reform Strategies

“Although donor countries have detailed development plan of the country, but as nowadays a mechanism for the elimination of corruption in Cambodian society is not yet in place, Khmer poor citizens face difficulties in the health sector. Recently, the World Bank has proposed health sector reform strategies to develop the health sector in Cambodia. Though there were hundreds of millions of dollars spent since 1996, there is still no noticeable focus on Khmer poor citizens from state institutions. Although the health sector improved somewhat, Khmer poor citizens are still seriously affected by discrimination, and the requirement to pay money for different services.

“According to the World Bank, strategies are prepared for the health sector from 2008 to 2015, summarized as follows:

“The World Bank has approved to provide a credit of US$30 million to support the implementation of the Cambodian 2005-2015 health sector strategies. These strategies aim to promote preventive health and heath services for Khmer citizens, especially focusing on women, children, and the poor.

“This credit will be used to provide financing for the Second Health Sector Support Program, and in a period of five years, this program will receive a total credit of US$120 million from six development partners. As for the World Bank, the credit will be provided to the International Development Association [IDA] which is an agency of the World Bank that is in charge of providing supports to the world’s poorest countries. A part of the aid will be provided from the Department for International Development [DFID-UK], AusAID [Australia], UNICEF, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities [UNFPA], and the Agence Française de Développement [AFD]. Also, other development partners expect to join this program during the implementation process.

“The Second Health Sector Support Program will use the health plan of the Royal Government of Cambodia and its mechanisms to observe the results and to share the management of the program jointly, and to allocate the resources as a joint package. This program had been organized to help Cambodia to improve its health situation through strengthening the capacity and mechanisms of its institutions that help the government and the development partners, and it can guarantee achievements in the health sector to be more efficient and more effective than before.

“The Second Health Sector Support Program will increase available resources to ensure the promotion of the health of mothers and children, as well as to contribute to deal with new heath problems, such as injuries and chronic diseases. This plan promotes the quality of training of health professionals, including midwives, and strengthens health service delivery at heath centers and referral hospitals. This program also helps the government to become a helper in health systems. Many poor citizens will benefit a lot from this program, because this program aims to expand the supports for Health Equity Funds in order to help poor citizens to have the opportunity to receive major health care and preventive health care. This program also assists civil society organizations in making health plans at the local level, and in observing the provision of services.

“Professor Eng Huot, secretary of state of the Ministry of Health, said, ‘During the last few decades, the heath of Khmer citizens improved noticeably. The average life expectancy has increased from 52 to 58 years for men and from 56 to 64 years for women, the death rates of infants and children from diseases also declined; as for the infection by HIV and AIDS, it can also be prevented. However, we still have to address many major problems. These include the high maternal mortality, the slow progress in fighting malnutrition, and the rising cost for health care; and there is still the poor quality of health care, and the rise of injuries and non-communicable diseases. We hope that with a lot of support through the Second Health Sector Support Program from the World Bank and different development partners, we will have the ability to achieve and to guarantee the continuity to reach the Millennium Development Goals as well as to promote equity in the health sector. The Second Health Sector Support Program will be important to promote harmonization, and to be along the lines of harmonizing of all aid in the heath sector, to be in line with the intentions and commitments as stated in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the International Health Partnership.’

“The World Bank Country Director for Cambodia Ian Porter sated, ‘The World Bank has worked in the health sector since 1996 through two projects – the Disease Control and Health Development Project, and the Health Sector Support Project. We continue to maintain strong relations with the government and other development partners in assisting the health sector. We are satisfied to see the process of the health sector supporting project which is in line with assistance strategies for Cambodia, created in cooperation with DFID, the Asian Development Bank, and the UN system.’

“Claire Moran, the Country Manager for the UK Department for International Development – DFID - said, ‘I am delighted to hear that the World Bank and the donor countries have created this new project. This project not only speeds up development towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the health sector, but it is also an important measure to guarantee the efficiency of the use of aid in the health sector. In line with this commitment, development partners and the Royal Government of Cambodia signed the International Health Partnership agreement in September 2007, which is a new program, and there is the plan to collect resources and to work in a more coordinated way to streamline how development partners support the Ministry of Health.’”

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #3339, 21.6.2008

Day of remembering: Sihanouk war against Khmer nationlists who protested against his provietnamese politics

Sihanouk said: Under his regime there is no killing as Khmer Rouge. What happened to those cambodian men? Why they have to be executed? Is it you (Sihanouk) has ordered to kill those men?

VIVE LA SANGKUM REAS YUM, is it wright Mr. Sihanouk?

Dianna Brang, Suely Ngouy, executive director of the Khmer Girls, Linda Moy, Mary Savady, Sovanduongchan So, Jennefer Heng, Joy Yanga, group coordinator, and Samantha Chhim worked on the film "Coming Together," which looks at how the Khmer Rouge still touches the lives of Cambodian immigrants and their American-born children. The film will be shown at LBCC's Pacific Campus today at 3:30 p.m.(Steven Georges/Staff Photographer)

Long Beach girls create film about being Cambodian and American

Press-Telegram
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
06/20/2008

LONG BEACH - One talked to her father about his memories of the genocide. Another looked within herself. Another talked to a newly arrived immigrant. And gradually their six individual stories were melded into one.

The aptly named "Coming Together" is the result.

The 30-minute documentary filmed by six teenagers from Long Beach-based Khmer Girls in Action provides an episodic series of glimpses into what it means to be a first-generation Cambodian-American teen in California.

The filmmakers, Jennefer Heng, 17; Dianna Brang, 15; Sovanduongchan So, 16; Samantha Chhim, 17; Linda Moy, 17; and Mary Savady, 16, each took a piece of the Cambodian-American teen puzzle. With the help of Khmer Girls in Action coordinator Joy Yanga and USC film instructor Mariano Elepano, "Coming Together" did just that.

It came together so well, in fact, that it was chosen for inclusion in the Los Angeles Film Festival where it will officially debut next weekend. Those who would like an early glimpse can attend a free prescreening today at Long Beach City College.

Using perspectives from survivors of the Khmer Rouge atrocities, youngsters who struggle to understand their elders, and immigrants who move to the United States and embrace the country, the movie touches on connections and disconnections young Cambodians feel both toward America and the culture and homeland of their elders.

"I think the title tells it all," said Moy, a Poly student, about how the different perspective eventually dovetail.

"We were working on ideas and concept, and we needed a jumping point," Yanga said. "We realized we have more in common even though we have very different stories."

Savady, a Wilson High student, said she hoped the film would help other teens understand they're not alone in the feelings of isolation from their parents.

Heng, who just graduated from Poly, said talking to her father about his experiences with the genocide gave her a new appreciation and respect for him.

"He was emotional, and it was very personal," Heng said. "So when I heard my dad talk about it, I was able to connect. Some of the details were very scary."

Suely Ngouy, the executive director of Khmer Girls, said the film clears up misunderstandings
"I think there's a perception that the youth know what happened," Ngouy said. "They really don't."

While youngsters may understand in general terms that they are the children of refugees from a terrible war, often they have no idea about their own parents' stories.

The film grew from a $30,000 grant from the California Council for the Humanities as part of a campaign called "How I See It," which encouraged teens to explore their lives and cultures through film.

The six teens worked on the film for nearly a year interviewing both survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide and peers to gauge the effects of the war 33 years after the rise of Pol Pot.

The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975. By the time they were ousted by the Vietnamese army in 1979, about 1.7$ 5 $7Cambodians had died from executions, disease and malnutrition.

Beginning in 1979, Cambodian refugees began pouring into the United States, many arriving in Long Beach, which boasts the largest Cambodian population in the United States.

The Khmer Girls in Action was founded in 1997 as a project of the Asians & Pacific Islanders for Reproductive Health to deal with teen pregnancy issues.

It was reconfigured in 2002 to teach young Southeast Asian women how to become leaders in the community and help shape the future for Cambodian-American community.

The group meets weekly during the school year and twice weekly in the summer. Membership is free and usually there are about 25 girls in the program at any given time.

In addition to attending public events, the group engages in various advocacy and academic projects. In 2009, for example, the group will work with UCLA on a project to study the transmission of trauma between generations.

The Khmer Girls movie is one of eight Youth Digital Filmmaker films that grew from the Humanities fund, three of which will play in Los Angeles.

Today's prescreening will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Room 107 Dyer Hall on the Long Beach City College Pacific Coast Campus, 1305 East Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.

The free L.A. Film Festival presentation will be June 29, at noon, at the Italian Cultural Institute, 1023 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles.

Cambodia and the Holocaust: Searching for Justice

The University of Minnesota
Saturday, June 21, 2008

In 1975 the Cambodian government began the systematic and brutal extermination of more than two million Cambodians, resulting in the deaths of nearly a third of the nation's population. The aftermath of this genocide is the subject of the Guthrie Theater's play "After a Hundred Years".

Cambodia and the Holocaust: Searching for JusticeSaturday, June 21 Workshop at the Guthrie Theater, 8:30-4:30Free and open to the public (includes matin?e performance of the play)CEU credit is available for teachers.To register, go to http://chgs.umn.edu/news/cambodia.html

This event is co-sponsored by the Guthrie Theatre Performance, "After a Hundred Years"A short synopsis of the play:

Journalist Luke Newhall travels to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a rare, career-making interview with Phan Mok, a Khmer Rouge general accused of heinous war crimes. On the eve of his United Nations tribunal, the general sits determined to defend his actions and rehabilitate his legacy of the era, as Narin Rath, a survivor of the Killing Fields, tells the gruesome tale of her survival, illustrating the history of guilt while suggesting a possibility for healing.

In grappling with the lies and truths of his interview subject, Newhall finds himself enmeshed in the life of photographer Sarah Whiting and her husband Tim Hedstrom, a prominent American doctor. Though Hedstrom appears devoted to the treatment of HIV/AIDS in this Third World country, a shocking truth reveals that it has been at the cost of betraying the ethical vows of his profession. As the characters' quests for truth intersect, they are drawn deeper into Cambodia's history and their own complicity in crimes past and present.

China to build $540m hydro plant in Cambodia -media

Sat Jun 21, 2008

BEIJING, June 21 (Reuters) - A Chinese company will build a $540 million hydropower plant in Cambodia's Koh Kong province to help ease a power shortage in the poor southeast Asian nation, China's Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

The Stung Tatay project, to be built by China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, will take five years to complete. The company will operate the plant for 37 years and sell the power to the government, the report said.

After that, ownership of the plant will be transferred to the Cambodian government, it added.
China and Cambodia have close ties, and Beijing was a keen supporter of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime that was toppled by invading Vietnamese troops in 1979.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Govt House seized

1- The PAD movement today is an historic event and a great credit to the country. In the face of such a phenomenon, the government will have to get out within a few days. — CHAMLONG SRIMUANG

2- Let's ask the ones who are responsible for the PAD rally. — SAMAK SUNDARAVEJ

1- Protesters set to break through a row of riot police on Phitsanulok road. - APICHIT JINAKUL

2- A protester wears sunglasses and covers his head with a hood in case police fire teargas. - SOMCHAI POOMLARD

3- A riot policeman holding a teargas gun stands guard near Government House as protesters try to surround the building yesterday. - APICHART JINAKUL

Tens of thousands of supporters of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy raise their fists in triumph after breaking through several police cordons to gather outside Government House at about 3pm yesterday. — THITI WANNAMONTHA

Policemen rush to help their female colleagues, who were in the front row, to resist PAD protesters who were trying to break through their lines to get to Government House. - APICHART JINAKUL

Unable to resist the massive PAD forces, police can only watch the anti-government protesters remove a police van from Phitsanulok road in front of Government House. - THITI WANNAMONTHA

Police and PAD demonstrators push each other in front of Wat Benchamabophit. - THITI WANNAMONTHA

A PAD demonstrator offers sweets to security officers who set up a barricade on Phitsanulok road. - SOMCHAI POOMLARD

Thousands of protesters, led by Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, occupied the Nang Loeng intersection on their way to Government House. - SOMCHAI POOMLARD

A man bows down to a police officer, asking him to allow the demonstrators to move from Wat Sommanat to the Nang Loeng area. - PATTANAPONG

A riot policeman seals his plastic mask with paper to protect his face from the sunlight. - APICHIT JINAKUL

A man tries to free himself from women Border Patrol Police who were trying to prevent protesters from getting close to Government House. - THITI WANNAMONTHA

Protesters join forces as they try to traverse police barricades near Government House. - APICHIT JINAKUL

The Bangkok Post
Saturday June 21, 2008

PAD declares victory as protesters breach cordons / Army chief urges Samak to dissolve parliament / All army units ordered to remain on standby

POST REPORTERS

Army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda has advised Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to think seriously about dissolving the House to end the turmoil on the streets of the capital.

Gen Anupong, who joined top-level security officials at the Army Club to monitor the People's Alliance for Democracy's protest march yesterday afternoon, told Mr Samak he should explore the House dissolution option, a source said. This was because the PAD demonstrators had declared victory by laying siege to Government House.

Clearing the decks would allow the people to "make a new decision" at a fresh general election.
In the meantime, Mr Samak would head a caretaker government and remain in power long enough to supervise a major military reshuffle in August.

The source added Mr Samak would help ward off any influence from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the military shake-up.

"Part of the reason Gen Anupong doesn't want Mr Samak to resign is because he fears that his replacement will not be as compromising with the military. The new prime minister would only be a yes-man to Mr Thaksin," the source said.

A House dissolution, however, is technically impossible at present because the no-confidence motion filed by the opposition Democrats has been put on parliament's agenda.

Under the 2007 charter, the prime minister is not allowed to dissolve the House during a no-confidence session.

Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, however, said the opposition may "remove the lock" by withdrawing the censure motion if the government sought its cooperation.

The source said Gen Anupong ordered all army units to remain on standby and stay neutral as senators echoed calls for the military to stay in their barracks.

The number of PAD supporters, meanwhile, reached tens of thousands. The protesters started mobilising at about 10am yesterday.

Bands of protesters, mostly in yellow shirts, started their march and pushed their way past police barricades on Ratchadamnoen avenue and surrounded Government House at 3.30pm.

Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, a PAD leader, then declared the victory in front of Government House.

"The PAD movement today is an historic event and a great credit to the country. In the face of such a phenomenon, the government will have to get out within a few days," he said.

It is unclear how long the PAD plans to lay siege to Government House, although there is speculation the protest could last many days.

Mr Samak yesterday declined to comment on the PAD rally, saying he would only talk about preparations for the Asean Summit to be held in Thailand in December. He presided over a meeting at the Foreign Ministry on the summit.

"Let's ask the ones who are responsible for the PAD rally," he said.

A source close to Mr Samak said the prime minister will likely convert the Defence Ministry into a temporary office and the cabinet has scheduled its weekly meeting on Tuesday at the Foreign Ministry.

Mr Samak was reportedly angry at the police's failure to hold back the protesters.

Police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan said police on the front line, including border patrol officers, were told to avoid clashes with the protesters at all costs.

"I'm pleased no one was hurt," the police chief said.

It was reported Mr Samak told the security meeting yesterday one measure to get back at the protesters was to deny them mobile toilets.

During the march, police equipped with shields and protesters pushed and shoved each other briefly. Four police officers, two of them women, sustained some injuries and were treated at the Police Hospital.

The protesters managed to break through the police barriers and later regrouped outside Government House before the PAD leaders took to the make-shift stage to declare victory over the government.

PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul said the PAD would petition the Administrative Court to order the government not to proceed with the joint communique it signed with Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple issue.

The PAD would also file criminal action against the cabinet for endorsing the joint communique.

A boost for Cambodia's health system

ABC, Radio Australia

The World Bank says it supports implementation of Cambodia's new Health Strategic Plan.

The plan aims to improve healthcare and preventive health with particular emphasis on women, children and the poor.

The bank's office in Phnom Penh says it will give Cambodia's government a 30 million US dollar credit to support the program from this year to 2015.

The other donors include, Australia, Britain, the U.N.and France.Cambodias's secretary of state at the Ministry of Health, Eng Huot, says there have been improvements in the health of Cambodians over the past decade.

However, several challenges remain, including a high rate of women dying in childbirth, poor nutrition, high healthcare costs and the rise of non-infectious diseases.

Summer in Cambodia changed her life

newsday.com
June 21, 2008

BY LAURA ALBANESE

Willi Rechler admits that, before last summer, she had been a little selfish. The Jericho High School senior lived a moderately comfortable existence and, while always involved in philanthropy, hadn't so much seen how the rest of the world lived. All of that, she said, changed.

Rechler, who helped to found the Amnesty International Club in tenth grade, wanted to see firsthand the situations that concerned her. She joined a travel program with Putney Student Travel and booked a ticket to Cambodia, a country still recovering from the genocidal reign of the Khmer Rouge, not knowing what to expect.

"I went there with an open mind," she said. "What I learned in Cambodia changed me. I have a different perspective on the world."

She learned about the effect of genocide and was particularly struck by the lack of medical care. She also saw a community struggling to grow out of its past difficulties and progress toward modernization.

"It really gives me a lot of hope," Rechler said. "Before I went, I tried to be compassionate and watch documentaries, but this is a whole other perspective."

What she saw, she said, has made her involved in the situation in Darfur and motivated her to petition for inclusion of genocide studies in the curriculum. Jericho recently started offering the class.

"One of the best moments was my brother coming home and yelling at me because he had a test on the curriculum," she said. "When I have a decision to make on anything, I just think about what I learned and it makes me want to make the world a better place."

Similar sentiments have also led her to organize the Cambodian Children's Fund, a fundraiser that raised over $4,000. Rechler also hopes to continue her studies of different cultures at Yale, where she'll be attending this fall.

Preah Vihear White Paper to be issued

The Bangkok Post
Saturday June 21, 2008

The Foreign Ministry will issue a White Paper to explain its handling of the Preah Vihear temple issue with Cambodia. Virasakdi Futrakul, the permanent secretary for foreign affairs, said the White Paper, which will be in Thai and English, is expected to be issued early next month. It will be distributed to the public once available.

He said the ministry had never changed the negotiating team, which was made up of legal experts in its dealings with Cambodia.

The team leader, Virachai Plasai, was removed as Treaties and Legal Affairs Department chief after Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama assumed office after the general election.

''The negotiating team is still the same team. The deputy negotiator during the Unesco-brokered meeting in France [last month] was Thai ambassador Thana Duangrattana, who was the former chief of Treaties and Legal Affairs. He knows the Preah Vihear temple issues well and the borderline,'' said Mr Virasakdi.

He said the Foreign Ministry was not the only agency involved in the talks with Cambodia. Other security agencies including the Royal Thai Army, the National Security Council (NSC) and the Royal Thai Survey Department also took part in the process.

''We worked like an iron fist in satin gloves. Part of the success must be credited to the military too because it worked in coordination with its Cambodian counterpart,'' said the permanent secretary. He said the government had done its best to protect Thai sovereignty under the framework of existing international laws.

For the 4.6-square-kilometre overlapping zone next to the temple, Mr Virasakdi said it would be demarcated in the future as it has been included in the working plan.

''Cambodia's registration of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site will not affect the borderline under the 1962 cabinet resolution and the overlapping areas will be the responsibility of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission to discuss further,'' he said.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday it will ask the World Heritage Committee to postpone its consideration of the Cambodian request.

Mr Virasakdi said the World Heritage Committee only listened to government representatives and the Senate committee might be wasting its time.

Preeyanantana Rangsit, a senate member, took Mr Noppodon to task in parliament for allegedly trying to rush through the temple deal with Cambodia.

In a query raised during an upper house meeting, M.R. Preeyanantana asked why the minister endorsed the Cambodian proposal in a rush and the ministry did not bargain with Phnom Penh to make Thailand a co-host of the proposal.

The senator said the Foreign Ministry had failed to keep the public informed about Preah Vihear as required under Article 109 of the constitution.

Article 109 requires the government to inform the public about any international agreement it is planning with another country as well as seeking approval from the parliament.

Chinese companies to build hydro-power plants for Cambodia

www.chinaview.cn

2008-06-21

PHNOM PENH, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The China National Heavy Machinery Corporation (CNHMC) has signed BOT agreements with the Cambodian government to build the Stung Tatay hydro-power plant in Koh Kong province, according to the Chinese Embassy here Saturday.

CNHMC will construct the project of 246 megawatts in five years at 540 million U.S. dollars, according to the agreements signed here Friday.

After the construction is completed, CNHMC can still operate the plant on the Tatay River for 37 years to generate electricity and sell it to the Cambodian government. When the BOT period terminates, the plant will be transferred to Cambodia.

The Cambodian government approved the project on June 13 in order to obtain more electricity, help maintain appropriate power price and promote economic growth and development of the country.

On the same day, the Cambodian government also gave green light for China's Michelle Corporation to build the Stung Russey Chrum Krom hydro-power plant of 338 megawatts in the same province at 495.7 million U.S. dollars.

Both projects will also harmonize with the people's living conditions there and the overall development of those areas, according to a government statement.

Cambodia has been in extreme shortage of power. Electricity even sells one U.S. dollar per kwh in some rural areas.

The government has been pursuing a strategy to develop hydro-power projects along the Mekong River to meet the desperate demand for electricity.

Editor: Amber Yao

PM Hun Sen Warned NGOs Not To Talk Nonsense

18th June 2008
Bt Mom Sophon Radio Free Asia

Translate from Khmer by Khmerization
Courtesy of Khmerization at http://khmerization.blogspot.com/

PM Hun Sen (pictured) on Wednesday has warned some NGOs that have made comments regarding the government's investigation into what he called terrorism-related crimes in Cambodia.

PM Hun Sen said that those terrorism-related crimes include the mortar attack on his motorcade ten years earlier and the investigation on the Cambodian Freedom Fighters' attack in 2000 as well as investigation on the Moha Nokor Movement (Great Country Movement) against the government in Pursat province.

Mr. Hun Sen said: "I am sorry, there should be no proxy and don't have any fears. And I request to all NGOs that have a stance against the government not to talk nonsense because you are biased.

A crime should not be whitewashed, wherever it was committed action must be taken against it."

It must be noted that on the 15th of June Mr. Hun Sen has ordered a military intelligence unit to re-open the investigation into this case after the government claimed that it has received information from a former Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) member who claimed that members of the SRP were involved in those attacks.

SECURITY CORDONS BROKEN; PAD MOVES ON GOVERNMENT HOUSE

BANGKOK, June 20 - Thousands of anti-government demonstrators broke through riot police blockades to push their way towards Government House.

Breaking through the cordons, Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders said they are expecting "hundreds of thousands" of sympathisers to join the rally, including some members of state enterprise unions who are to join them.

Protesters seeking to remove the seated government attempted to access Government House from a nearby railway station Friday morning, but were blocked by police barricades, even as a key protest leader, retired Maj-Gen. Chamlong Srimuan renewed his pledge that the democracy activists would not use any weapons or violence. If disorder or physical force is used, he affirmed, it would not come from the anti-government protesters.

Thousands of police officers armed with riot shieds barricaded roads around Thailand's Government House to block anti-government protestors from moving in to besiege the government seat Friday afternoon, aimed at forcing the elected government to resign.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who also serves as defence minister, earlier pledged to refrain from using force against the protesters.

Friday morning the premier was attending a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in preparation for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Meanwhile, Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Suebwonglee reportedly shifted the venue of a meeting from Government House to the Ministry of Finance in an apparent bid to avoid confrontation with the demonstrators.

Other cabinet members are nowhere to be seen, and some government civil servants have opted to stay at home in fear of possible violence.

Security around Government House has been tightened with uniformed police manning the barricades along all routes to the government seat.

The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and its supporters have been demonstrating since May 25 in a bid to pressure the four-month-old coalition government to resign, claiming that Mr. Samak and his People Power Party are proxies of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

(TNA)

Smugglers first at border gas stations

In a district near the Cambodian border, many gas stations are only open at night.

ThanhNien
Friday, June 20, 2008

They are closed during the day because they want to keep their gas for smugglers who then resell it in Cambodia at higher prices.

Tran Van Luan, a resident of Kien Luong District of Kien Giang Province on the Vietnamese side of the border, said gas stations didn’t want to sell to locals but those smuggling fuel to Cambodia could buy as much as they wished.

Smugglers use boats to transport fuel to Kampot Province in Cambodia, where the price of one liter of gas is VND3,000 (US$0.18) higher than that in Vietnam.

They said diesel, which is priced VND13,9000 in Vietnam, sold like hot cakes in Niec Leuong District in Cambodia at $1 a liter.

They could pocket a profit of 12 US cent for a liter.

Fuel smuggling is also a problem in other provinces along the border with Cambodia.

At An Binh border gate in An Giang Province, 30-liter cans of gas are loaded onto boats every day, bound for Cambodia’s Kandal Province.

Many boats also pass by the stations along the province’s Vinh Te Canal to buy gas and bring it to Cambodia’s Takeo Province.

Along So Thuong River between Dong Thap Province and Cambodia, dozens of gas stations are visited by boats that transport fuel to Prey Veng Province every day.

Last week, the market management unit of Kien Giang Province caught the owners of two gas stations as they prepared to illegally transport 7,000 liters of gasoline to Cambodia.

The arrests have not seemed to deter the many others involved in fuel smuggling.

FM defends endorsement of temple communique

MCOT English News

BANGKOK, June 20 (TNA) - Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama on Friday clarified to the Senate his endorsement of a joint communique with Cambodia earlier this week allowing the Phnom Penh government to apply for registration of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

In responding to a query posted by Senator Priyanandana Rangsit why the Thai government supported its neighbour Cambodia on applying for the listing of the temple as the World Heritage site, Mr. Noppadon said it was unnecessary for him to explain to Parliament members earlier because the joint communique was "not an agreement" and it did not affect any changes of territory of the two countries. The Thai-Cambodian joint communique was signed behind closed doors here on Wednesday, leadingto public suspicion that Thailand could have lost the undemarcated 4.6 square kilometres surrounding the Hindu temple to Cambodia.

Citing time constraints because the Phnom Penh government is planning to apply for the listing of Preah Vihear temple next month, Mr. Noppadon said what he did was transparent and there was no conflict of interest.

In another development, the Senate decided not to hold a special meeting Monday after the government had informed that it was not possible to attend the general debate petition lodged by 61 senators charging the less than five-months-old administration with poor performance. The government has said it would not be available for the general debate because it would be busy preparing the government budget for fiscal 2009, starting this October 1. The budget debate starts next Wednesday.

The cabinet Tuesday approved closing the current House extraordinary session on June 28. (TNA)

European Union deploys Election Observation Mission to Cambodia

ISRIA

The European Commission deploys an independent EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the National Assembly elections in Cambodia, scheduled to take place on 27 July 2008. These elections will be the fourth parliamentary elections since the signing of the Paris Peace Accord in October 1991. The EU EOM will be led by Mr Martin Callanan, Member of the European Parliament and is a further contribution by the European Commission to support democracy in Cambodia. In total the EU EOM, which includes the core team, long term observers and short term observers will have 113 observers in Cambodia with the long term observers arriving in the country as early as 21 June.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, said:

"Over the last decade Cambodia has taken many important steps towards democracy and in particular in the field of human rights. Nevertheless it is still a country in a post-conflict situation and more work remains to be done. Therefore, the EU has been and will remain actively engaged in supporting Cambodia in a wide array of areas including education, judicial reform, fighting corruption and increasing transparency within the government. Furthermore, we also provide support to the International Khmer Rouge Tribunal . Successful and credible elections are paramount as they represent a positive contribution to the continued long term democratic development of the country. Because of the importance the EU attaches to these elections, I have decided to deploy an EU EOM to support and undertake a comprehensive assessment of the entire election process."

The EOM Core Team consists of the Chief Observer Mr. Martin Callanan and eight experts. Alongside this core team forty-four Long Term Observers (LTOs) will be deployed on 21 June to assess the campaign period and pre-election preparations around the country. Additionally, sixty Short Term Observers (STOs), including observers from Norway, will be deployed over the election period to observe voting, counting and the tabulation of results. These will be joined by locally recruited STOs from diplomatic missions of EU Member States resident in the country. The EU EOM will operate in line with the "Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation", endorsed at the United Nations in October 2005. In order to assess the post-election period the EU EOM will stay in the country for a number of weeks after the election-day.

EU EOM are an important instrument for building confidence in the democratic processes of a country and are deployed in line with the EU's commitment in promoting democracy, human rights and the respect for the rule of law. For this mission the EU has made €2.8 million available from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

The European Union (EU Member States plus European Commission) is the biggest provider of aid in Cambodia. Its prime development objective is to support Cambodia's efforts to reduce poverty and integrate the country into the world economy. Over the past years the EU's aid has represented 25% of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA). In 2007 this was equivalent to about € 130 million of which the European Commission (EC) contributes about a quarter. The EC provides general budget support to the Royal Government of Cambodia for the implementation of its National Strategic Development Plan, and it is the major donor for basic education in the country. Furthermore, the EC engages in cooperation and political dialogue in the fields of governance and human rights, as well as trade and private sector development.

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