Hun Sen set to extend Cambodia rule

Al Jazeera
News Asia-Pacific
Sunday, July 27, 2008

Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, is widely expected to extend his 23-year control of the country after his party claimed a large lead early in counting after parliamentary elections.

A spokesman for Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) said that early results on Sunday showed that they would win 80 of the 123 seats in parliament.

"The early results from all polling stations show that the CPP is leading," Khieu Kanharith, a spokesman for the party and the government, said.

However, Sam Rainsy, the main opposition leader, dismissed the claims and called for a re-run of the polls in districts around the capital Phnom Penh.

"Neither party won more than two-thirds of the seats," he told reporters, estimating that no party received more than 70 seats, according to a tally by his supporters.

Names missing

He also said that 200,000 of Phnom Penh's 722,000 voters had not been able to cast ballots because their names were missing from the electoral lists.

"We don't accept the result in Phnom Penh," Sam Rainsy, whose party held 24 seats in the last parliament, said. "I demand a re-run of the election in Phnom Penh to bring justice to voters."

"I call for a demonstration in Phnom Penh. I appeal to all people whose names were unfairly deleted - please hold a huge protest in Phnom Penh.

"Election observers reported a number of cases of voters' names being removed from the lists, but they said they doubted the problem was as widespread as Sam Rainsy claimed."

The atmosphere for the election day is better than past elections. But the most prominent point is that the turnout was low and a lot of names disappeared" Hang Puthea, head of the Nicfec group of election monitors, said.

"I can't believe that as many as 200,000 names went missing. I could believe the number is maybe 20,000."

About 17,000 domestic and international observers monitored the voting at more than 15,000 polling stations. More than eight million people were registered to vote.

Eleven parties were competing in Sunday's national poll, the fourth since the end of the civil war.

Border dispute

Voters in the capital Phnom Penh started lining up at dawn to cast ballots, with many saying their overriding concern was the territorial dispute with Thailand, centred on the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

"I will vote for those who can solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," Lam Chanvanda, a 56-year-old businessman, said as he stood in a long queue of voters.

"Before I was never interested in the border, but now it is in my heart."

Thousands of soldiers from both sides are facing off near the 11th-century Khmer temple. Foreign ministers from the two nations are set to meet on Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.

Hun Sen has accused Thailand of ignoring international law and threatening regional peace by sending troops into the disputed zone around the temple.

"Everybody now supports the government because this is a national issue," Kek Galabru, a prominent Cambodian human rights activist and election monitor, said.

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia since 1985, when he became prime minister of a Vietnamese-installed communist government after the Khmer Rouge were forced from power.

Previous polls held in Cambodia have been marred by violence. Scores of people - mainly opposition supporters and activists - were killed or beaten in the run-up to elections in 1998.

Election monitors say political violence has diminished greatly compared to past polls, but unequal access to the media is still a problem.

Cambodian ruling party claims election victory

ABC News

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has claimed an expected victory in the country's general election, giving another five years in power to ex-Khmer Rouge guerrilla Hun Sen, prime minister for the last 23 years.

Party spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the one-time communist but now firmly free-market CPP was on course to win 80 of the 123 seats in parliament.

A member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) said early results suggested it was on course for at least 40 seats, although party chief Sam Rainsy, a French-educated former finance minister, put his projected tally much higher.

Full results from Sunday's poll (local time), which passed off largely without incident in a country where democratic politics have frequently been marred by violence, are not expected until late on Monday.

Although he had been widely expected to win thanks to near double-digit economic growth in the last five years, Hun Sen gained extra support from a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple on their border.

Both Bangkok and Phnom Penh have sent troops to the Preah Vihear ruins, which sit on a jungle-clad escarpment separating the two south-east Asian countries, although so far the only clashes have been verbal and diplomatic, not military.

Hun Sen, a wily chess-playing 57-year-old who lost an eye in Pol Pot's assault on Phnom Penh in 1975, orchestrated the final surrender of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1990s to usher in an unprecedented decade of peace and stability.

Falling political violence is another sign the lot of Cambodia's 14 million people is improving, although human rights groups say four CPP and two SRP activists, including a journalist, were murdered in the month before polling.

Temple talks

So confident was the CPP of victory that it had already scheduled talks over Preah Vihear with Thailand's foreign minister on Monday in the tourist town of Siem Reap, home to Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

The meeting is not expected to make major headway in resolving the dispute, which is mainly over 4.6 square kilometres of scrubland near the temple.

The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.

Analysts say Thai domestic politics are mainly to blame for the row, which flared up after Cambodia's successful bid to have the ruins listed as a World Heritage site.

Bangkok's initial support for the heritage listing was seized on by anti-government groups in their long-running attempt to unseat the Government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. His foreign minister was forced to resign over the issue.

- Reuters

Cambodian polls close; temple dominates election

The Bangkok Post

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Polls closed in Cambodia at 3 pm on Sunday in national elections with no immediate reports of violence, but an immediate complaint of irregularities by the opposition.

"There were a lot of problems with voters unable to find their names. We were expecting a landslide victory but now we are going to complain," a spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party said.

However the monolithic Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by Prime Minister Hun Sen and structured on a Communist model, was expected by analysts and the party's own pollsters to win handsomely - a result that looked affirmed in early counts.

An estimated 8 million voters were registered to vote in the first national elections in five years.

The National Election Committee (NEC) said Saturday these elections were the most peaceful and least violent since democratic polls recommenced after the Khmer Rouge era in 1993.
Cambodian elections have previously been marred by violence.

A tense border stand-off with Thailand which has seen troops mobilized is not expected to unduly influence the outcome, although analysts predicted it may increase voter turnout.

The lack of impact of the border dispute over an ancient temple and surrounding land is because despite nationalistic sentiment running high, Cambodian political parties typically register partisan supporters months or even years in advance.

"If you are Khmer, you love your country no matter what party you support, so people are not going to change their vote because of the border dispute," NEC spokesman Em Sopath said Saturday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party is expected to further increase its dominance, with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, the royalist Funcinpec party, the Human Rights Party and the Norodom Ranariddh Party expected to vie for the remaining seats.

The Cambodian People's Party, boasting 5 million members, currently holds 73 of the 123 parliamentary seats and conservatively predicted it could snare 80 seats Sunday.

Funcinpec currently holds 26 seats, and the Sam Rainsy Party 24.

Hun Sen has ruled for 23 years, but is enjoying a new surge in popularity due to Cambodia's rapid economic growth, which the International Monetary Fund placed at around 10.5 per cent in 2007.

On Saturday, New York-based Human Rights Watch slammed the election campaign, accusing the ruling party of monopolizing media and using intimidation - accusations the CPP countered were "politically motivated, laughable and predictable."

Khmer Rouge veterans 'ready to fight Thailand'

The Bangkok Post
By Bronwyn Sloan

Anlong Veng, Cambodia (dpa) - Former Khmer Rouge fighters don't care too much about the upcoming trials of their former leaders - but they do care about alleged Thai incursions into Cambodian territory, they said Sunday.

Once fiercely loyal to former Khmer Rouge military commander Ta Mok, who died in 2006 after seven years in jail awaiting trial for genocide, now they say they have embraced democracy.

They are not, however, afraid of war - especially when it comes to Cambodian territory they believe has been violated by hundreds of Thai troops in nearby Preah Vihear, and these northern mountains of Cambodia are almost completely populated by former Khmer Rouge.

Cambodia went to the polls Sunday in five-yearly national elections, but amongst these former fighters, the talk was all about coming out of retirement to serve the government if talks over the disputed Preah Vihear temple, just an hour's drive away, fail.

Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to hold talks over the temple Monday, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this month and since the focus of troop buildup on both sides.

Former fighters say they would be at war already if Prime Minister Hun Sen had just said the word, but instead he and the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), expected to be handsomely returned to office after the elections, have urged restraint. Some are frustrated.

"I only have one leg, and I am old, but my former troops are still in Preah Vihear, and I am willing to give military advice or any other assistance I can to protect Cambodian sovereignty," said former Khmer Rouge fighter Try Nin, 56.

"We are former Khmer Rouge. We are not scared of foreign aggressors. We respect the government's decision to meet the Thais with diplomacy, but if that fails, everyone here is ready to fight."

Former photographer at the Khmer Rouge's infamous Toul Sleng torture centre turned CPP commune leader, Nhem En, 47, who claims Anlong Veng's several thousand voters are 99 percent CPP, agreed.

"I am ready to fight the Thais. All we wait for is an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen," he said. "We don't want war - we want peace and development. But we need tourists, and while the Thais do this, the tourists do not come.

"Thais already have their own problems in their south," he said, referring to Muslim insurgency. "Why do they want an extra problem?"

En's son, Meas Bunlo, aged 20, said that like almost three quarters of the Cambodian population today, he was too young to remember the Khmer Rouge and it's 1975-79 regime and has only ever known the 23-year reign of Hun Sen.

"I went to Ta Mok's funeral, but I don't feel close to the history because I am too young," he said. "However I am Cambodian, so I care about our border and foreign invaders."

Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge fighter who defected before returning to overthrow the regime, has stressed Cambodia will strive to solve the border dispute by diplomatic, not military, means.

All the same, Anlong Veng's former fighters said, they are now his loyal servants and are ready if called upon to fight again.

Prime minister appears headed for victory in Cambodia election

International Herald Tribune
By Seth Mydans
Published: July 27, 2008

CHBAR MORN, Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen appeared headed for an expected election victory Sunday after what experts said was the least violent campaign in Cambodia's recent history.

His overpowering control of the country's political machinery was buoyed by economic growth and a sense of stability as well as by a surge of patriotism as Cambodia faces off against Thailand for sovereignty over a disputed border temple.

"Although the counting is not yet over, preliminary results show that the CPP is leading, and we expect to win the election," said Khieu Kanharith, the spokesman for the governing party, the Cambodian People's Party. Official results will be announced later in the week.

The expected victory for the governing party will extend for five more years the 23-year rule of Hun Sen, who at the age of 57 is already one of Asia's longest-serving leaders.

The country's fourth democratic election since 1993 had a practiced feel, with lines of voters trooping through polling places around the country to slip their ballots into big metal boxes.

At the little schoolhouse in this village surrounded by green rice fields and sugar palms, voters filled the courtyard as soon as the polls opened at 7 a.m., emerging with black ink on their fingertips to show that they had voted.

"I voted for the party I like, but I don't want to say which one," said May Buntha, a barber, who charges 50 cents for a haircut in his open-fronted shack by a dirt path through the rice fields here, 70 kilometers, or 45 miles, southwest of Phnom Penh.

"If you look at it closely, life is much better than before," he said, and he listed the improvements the government had brought: roads, wells, irrigation, schools, clinics.

"I've just bought a new motorbike, better than the one I had before," he said.

At a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, monks in their bright orange robes lined up to vote among the local residents.

Their abbot, Men Chan Punleu, 45, said they were free to vote their consciences. But, he said, "In Cambodia children follow their parents. If their parents take good care of them, if they make sure they have food and shelter, the children are grateful."

The casualty in this stable, predictable process is a vibrant, competitive democracy. Hun Sen's opponents say they are betting on a rising young generation without memories of past hardships to push for change in the next election five years from now.

"This election has been much quieter than in the past," said Ly Rattanak, 26, a junior government official, after casting his vote. "There's less tension. Things are less challenging and I love challenges. It looks O.K. It looks calm. But it's not really fair. It's a one-man show.

"I believe in having a stronger opposition to challenge the ruling party and shape the way the ruling party performs."

Criticism of the campaign from the watchdog group Human Rights Watch amounted to an outline of Hun Sen's political style - "the near-monopoly on broadcast media for the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), bias within the electoral apparatus, and harassment, intimidation, and coerced defections of opposition party members."

Hun Sen's chief opponent in the 11-party field, Sam Rainsy, claimed that some 200,000 registered voters had been left off the electoral lists in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he enjoys some of his strongest support.

"Scrap the election and do it again," he said, asserting that Hun Sen's party is "full of tricks."
More than 8 million of Cambodia's 14 million people were eligible to vote for delegates to the 123-seat Parliament. Hun Sen's party now holds 73 seats and needs only a simple majority to form a government on its own.

Before the passage of a constitutional amendment, a two-thirds majority was needed, and Hun Sen, who describes himself as a strongman, was nevertheless forced to bargain with other parties to form a government.

On the wall outside the schoolhouse here, an illustrated poster urged voters to resist threats, intimidation or vote buying. A series of illustrations portrayed familiar scenes, each marked out with a large red X.

In the first illustration, a man with a gun addresses villagers, saying, "Everyone has to vote for one party, otherwise there will be problems." The villagers respond, "Yes, sir."

In the second, a smiling woman talks to a group of villagers. "Please take this money to help you out in your daily lives," she says. "But please don't forget to vote for my party."

The villagers respond: "Yes, thank you, we won't forget."

In the third, a tough-looking man tells the villagers, "Please remember, when election day comes, I'll know who you vote for. Think about it." In one voice, the villagers respond, "Yes, yes, yes, yes."

There is little doubt that threats, vote buying and intimidation were widespread throughout the country, whether to a greater or lesser extent than before.

But whatever methods were used, legal or illegal, Hun Sen summarized the situation neatly earlier this year.

"I wish to state it very clearly this way," he said: "No one can defeat Hun Sen."

101 East - Cambodia land grab - 24 July 08

Part 1



Part 2



Posted by Al Jazeera

More Pictures from Preah Vihear 27/07/2008

A Cambodian soldier stands guard on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap, July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian soldiers walk to their posts at the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian soldier carries supplies on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian soldier carries supplies on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian soldier stands guard on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

National Election Committee officials count ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008

A National Election Committee official counts ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

National Election Committee officials count ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian election workers count the votes at a polling station in Spean Touch school, Sonikum district, Siem Reap province, 230 kilometers (142 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian election worker shows a marked ballot at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A National Election Committee staff shows a ballot sheet during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

National Election Committee officials count ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

National Election Committee officials count ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian election workers seal ballot boxes after closing votes at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Cambodian election workers open box before counting at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A National Election Committee official counts ballot sheets during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A National Election Committee official displays a ballot sheet during counting for the general election at a polling station in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Preah Vihear : Once evryone of us having fun and enjoy life then the soldiers are standing guard the temple, what can we do to support them?

A Cambodian soldier stands guard on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km northeast of Siem Reap July 27, 2008.REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Cambodian soldiers stand in formation before moving to their posts at the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian soldiers move to their posts at the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian soldiers occupy the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap on July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple. The ruins themselves are claimed by both countries but were awarded to Cambodia in 1962 by the International Court of Justice, a ruling that has rankled in Thailand ever since.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

A boy plays on the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 26, 2008. Cambodians go to the polls on July 27 in an election overshadowed by a row with neighbouring Thailand over a 900-year-old temple that has inflamed nationalist passions and led to troop build-ups along the border REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian soldiers rest momentarily while climbing the steps of Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 26, 2008. Cambodians go to the polls on July 27 in an election overshadowed by a row with neighbouring Thailand over a 900-year-old temple that has inflamed nationalist passions and led to troop build-ups along the border REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian soldier keeps guard past a man looking out from the Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 26, 2008. Cambodians go to the polls on July 27 in an election overshadowed by a row with neighbouring Thailand over a 900-year-old temple that has inflamed nationalist passions and led to troop build-ups along the border REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Men sit facing south into Cambodia from the grounds of the Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 26, 2008. Cambodians go to the polls on July 27 in an election overshadowed by a row with neighbouring Thailand over a 900-year-old temple that has inflamed nationalist passions and led to troop build-ups along the border.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Men sit looking towards Cambodia as a Cambodian flag waves from the south side of Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh July 26, 2008. Cambodians go to the polls on July 27 in an election overshadowed by a row with neighbouring Thailand over a 900-year-old temple that has inflamed nationalist passions and led to troop build-ups along the border.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

Temple talks pose challenge for new Thai foreign minister

asiaone News
Sun, Jul 27, 2008AFP

BANGKOK, THAILAND - THAILAND'S new foreign minister will face a tough challenge immediately after being sworn in Sunday, as he heads to Cambodia for talks on a tense border dispute that brought down his predecessor.

Incoming minister Tej Bunnag is determined to ease tensions with Cambodia, but his spokesman warned that a swift end to the military standoff near the ancient Preah Vihear temple was unlikely.

'The minister said he will try his best to talk to the Cambodia foreign minister', the spokesman, Mr Tharit Charungvat, told reporters on Sunday.

'It is his first task - we hope we can find a solution on some level, but this issue is sensitive and complex'.

Mr Tej, 64, will be sworn in by the king later Sunday. He will then travel early Monday to Siem Reap in northwest Cambodia for negotiations with his counterpart, Mr Hor Namhong.

'The sensitive and complicated discussion on Monday will definitely need more rounds of talks ... The boundary is a very important and complex issue and it needs time to solve, step by step and slowly', Mr Tharit said.

Thousands of Thai and Cambodia troops are currently stationed in 4.6 square kilometres of disputed land near Preah Vihear, which was granted UN World Heritage Status this month.

Thailand initially supported Cambodia's bid to have the 11th century Hindu ruins recognised by the UN, but nationalists and anti-government protesters said the move jeopardised Thai sovereignty.

The Constitutional Court ruled that previous foreign minister Noppadon Pattama and the cabinet should have sought parliamentary approval for the deal with Cambodia over the temple, and Mr Noppadon was forced to resign on July 10.

Mr Tharit said that Mr Tej - a British-educated career diplomat who has worked as an advisor to the king - was well qualified to negotiate with Cambodia at a sensitive moment in their relations.

'He is an experienced diplomat and he was chairman of the Thailand-Cambodia Cultural Committee', he said.

Talks between Thailand's head of the armed forces General Boonsrang Niumpradit and Cambodia Defence Minister Tea Banh ended last Monday without resolution, with neither side backing down on their territorial claims.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but surrounding land remains in dispute. -- AFP

Cambodians vote amid corruption claims

UPI.com
July 27, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, July 27 (UPI) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's party will likely win Sunday's parliamentary elections despite widespread graft, local businesspeople and others say.

The country's economy has improved and is growing by more than 10 percent annually, but that hasn't helped -- and maybe even worsened -- the nation's endemic culture of public corruption, The Los Angeles Times reported.

"When things start to boom, people start to get a little more greedy," John Brinsden, vice chairman of locally owned Acleda Bank, told the newspaper. Even with a growing middle class, rising food and fuel prices are threatening to reverse some of the recent growth, he added.

Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party have been accused by foreign and domestic critics of running a patronage system and tolerating a culture of corruption. He and the country's 11 opposition parties maintain they support reform efforts, but there are no detailed plans or responses to requests government officials and military leaders disclose their assets, the Times reported.

Hun Sen set to extend rule in Cambodia polls

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian Premier Hun Sen's ruling party claimed an early lead in polls Sunday, leaving him poised to extend his 23-year grip on power after a vote overshadowed by a military standoff with Thailand.

Khieu Kanharith, spokesman for the party and the government, said the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) was set to win 80 of the 123 seats in parliament.

"The early results from all polling stations show that the CPP is leading," he said, claiming the party would take seats in areas once strongholds for the opposition.

Official results could take days to be announced, but the spokesman said the party would likely claim victory later Sunday.

Voters in the capital Phnom Penh started lining up at dawn to cast ballots, with many saying their overriding concern was the territorial dispute with Thailand, centred on the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

"I will vote for those who can solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, as he stood in a long queue of voters.
"Before I was never interested in the border, but now it is in my heart."

Thousands of soldiers from both sides are facing off near the 11th-century Khmer temple. Foreign ministers from the two nations are set to meet Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.

Hun Sen , a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who has ruled with an iron fist since 1985, strengthened his profile going into the election by taking a tough stance on the dispute, said analysts.

A confident Hun Sen -- who has accused Thailand of defying international law and threatening regional peace -- kissed his ballot as he cast it at a school in a posh southern suburb of Phnom Penh.

About 17,000 domestic and international observers monitored the voting at more than 15,000 polling stations. More than eight million people were registered to vote.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy alleged 200,000 people in Phnom Penh could not vote after their names were lost from registration lists Sunday, but election officials dismissed his claim as exaggerated and said the balloting had proceeded smoothly overall.

US-based Human Rights Watch has complained that the ruling party's near monopoly on broadcast media has undermined the opposition's efforts to woo voters, especially in rural parts of the country.

One radio station was shut down late Saturday after it broadcast a reading from a book by Sam Rainsy, violating rules against campaigning on the day before the vote, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

Hun Sen has a reputation for trampling on human rights to secure power, but a booming economy has bolstered his standing in a country struggling to lift itself from the ranks of the world's poorest nations.

He became prime minister in 1985, and has steadily and ruthlessly cemented his grip on power, resorting to a coup in 1997.

In the current campaign, Hun Sen has been aided by his opponents' mistakes. His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec party, has imploded under internal corruption scandals.

The Sam Rainsy Party is expected to maintain its strength in the capital but has made few inroads into rural Cambodia, where most voters live.

Although the campaign has been less violent than past elections, Human Rights Watch warned that a history of violence remains a source of intimidation against the opposition.

Ex-Khmer Rouge embrace democracy but mull war

M&G Asia-Pacific News
By Bronwyn Sloan
Jul 27, 2008

Anlong Veng, Cambodia - The former Khmer Rouge fighters of that movement's final stronghold don't care too much about the upcoming trials of their former leaders - but they do care about alleged Thai incursions into Cambodian territory, they said Sunday.

Once fiercely loyal to former Khmer Rouge military commander Ta Mok, who died in 2006 after seven years in jail awaiting trial for genocide, now they say they have embraced democracy.

They are not, however, afraid of war - especially when it comes to Cambodian territory they believe has been violated by hundreds of Thai troops in nearby Preah Vihear, and these northern mountains of Cambodia are almost completely populated by former Khmer Rouge.

Cambodia went to the polls Sunday in five-yearly national elections, but amongst these former fighters, the talk was all about coming out of retirement to serve the government if talks over the disputed Preah Vihear temple, just an hour's drive away, fail.

Cambodia and Thailand are scheduled to hold talks over the temple Monday, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this month and since the focus of troop buildup on both sides.

Former fighters say they would be at war already if Prime Minister Hun Sen had just said the word, but instead he and the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), expected to be handsomely returned to office after the elections, have urged restraint. Some are frustrated.

'I only have one leg, and I am old, but my former troops are still in Preah Vihear, and I am willing to give military advice or any other assistance I can to protect Cambodian sovereignty,' said former Khmer Rouge fighter Try Nin, 56.

'We are former Khmer Rouge. We are not scared of foreign aggressors. We respect the government's decision to meet the Thais with diplomacy, but if that fails, everyone here is ready to fight.'

Former photographer at the Khmer Rouge's infamous Toul Sleng torture centre turned CPP commune leader, Nhem En, 47, who claims Anlong Veng's several thousand voters are 99 percent CPP, agreed.

'I am ready to fight the Thais. All we wait for is an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen,' he said. 'We don't want war - we want peace and development. But we need tourists, and while the Thais do this, the tourists do not come.

'Thais already have their own problems in their south,' he said, referring to Muslim insurgency. 'Why do they want an extra problem?'

En's son, Meas Bunlo, aged 20, said that like almost three quarters of the Cambodian population today, he was too young to remember the Khmer Rouge and it's 1975-79 regime and has only ever known the 23-year reign of Hun Sen.

'I went to Ta Mok's funeral, but I don't feel close to the history because I am too young,' he said. 'However I am Cambodian, so I care about our border and foreign invaders.'

Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge fighter who defected before returning to overthrow the regime, has stressed Cambodia will strive to solve the border dispute by diplomatic, not military, means.

All the same, Anlong Veng's former fighters said, they are now his loyal servants and are ready if called upon to fight again.

'Managed democracy' in action in Cambodian vote

Khmer Rouge trials, Thai border hostilities put on hold today as Cambodians go to polls

Thestar.com
Jul 27, 2008

Olivia Ward
Foreign Affairs Reporter

He's not as heavy-handed as Burma's military rulers, nor as sophisticated as Singapore's premier.

But Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen – once a card-carrying member of the genocidal Khmer Rouge – practises his own brand of "managed democracy" that has convinced most people that their battered country has at last achieved stability.

His Cambodian People's Party is expected to win a smooth victory in parliamentary elections today, sprinting ahead of its rivals and consolidating Hun Sen's three-decade hold on power.

The vote is being held during a crisis over contested land near an historic temple at the border with Thailand. Cambodia won a UN World Heritage Site designation for the temple, which is surrounded by land claimed by Thailand.

Phnom Penh has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to help avert a military confrontation if talks between the two neighbours fail.

But most Cambodian voters think there are more important issues closer to home.

According to an International Republican Institute opinion poll, 77 per cent of respondents think the country is headed in the right direction under its current government, as economic growth floats at 10 per cent, with roads, schools and health clinics being built and living conditions improving.

"The (People's) party does have genuine support," says Peter Manikas, director of Asia programs for the Washington-based National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. "Up to now, they've had to rule as a coalition because they never got more than 50 per cent. But their coalition partner split, so they're running on their own."

The partner was Funcinpec, a royalist party formerly headed by Prince Ranariddh, who pulled out to form a party of his own. Another player, the Sam Rainsy Party, is headed by a French-educated former finance minister who campaigns for democratic reform.

Neither appears to have made inroads on the ruling party's support, which is bolstered by tight control of the media and crackdowns on opponents whose criticisms fall outside the government's comfort zone.

Hun Sen's Cambodia has been rife with corruption, and there are allegations of vote-buying as well as politically motivated killings during the campaign season.

But election monitors say the atmosphere has been far less tense than during earlier campaigns, when "hundreds would die in centrally directed attacks from the political parties," according to Phnom Penh representative Roderick Brazier of the Asia Foundation.

"Vote-buying, while it exists, is modest compared to previous campaigns, and certainly no worse than in neighbouring democracies," he wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

For the first time, the government allowed open political debates with equal time for Cambodia's 11 parties. They were broadcast on Cambodian television, a sign that Hun Sen's tight-fisted approach is loosening.

But if the People's Party returns to power, Brazier predicts, not much will change.

"Economic growth and infrastructure development will preoccupy the government, while political freedoms and justice will take a back seat."

Waiting in the wings are pending trials of senior officials of the Khmer Rouge, which waged a campaign of terror from 1975 to 1979. Although Hun Sen was once a member, he has backed the trials, which are largely popular with Cambodians. Leader Pol Pot died before facing justice, but five others have been charged.

Meanwhile, hostilities simmered on the Thai-Cambodian border after Thailand sent troops there in response to domestic protests over the new UN status of the Cambodian temples, which was originally supported by the Thai government.

Thailand's opposition says it undercuts Bangkok's claim to the land along the border, and that Cambodia is trying to redraw the frontier along old French colonial lines.

Hun Sen looks to victory in Cambodia vote

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen casts his vote in parliamentary electiosn he is widely expected to win.

CNN.com/asia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.

Hun Sen's reputation as a strongman who intimidates rivals has served him well, with voters rallying around the leader as Cambodian troops face off with Thai soldiers for a second week at a disputed 11th century Hindu temple.

Dressed in a gray safari shirt and pants, Hun Sen flashed a broad smile and displayed a black-inked forefinger to waiting cameras after casting his ballot Sunday in a provincial town outside the capital, Phnom Penh. He declined comment to reporters.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called a midday news conference, demanding the polls be scrapped. He claimed that some 200,000 registered voters in the capital, where the opposition is strongest, were unable to cast ballots because their names had been left off voter lists.

The ruling party "is full of tricks. Scrap the election and do it again," he said. Allegations of vote fraud have plagued past Cambodian elections, but have never dented the ruling party's dominance.

Hun Sen, 57, Asia's longest-serving leader, was expected to win the vote even before the military standoff escalated earlier this month. But patriotic passions over Preah Vihear temple and Hun Sen's firm stance against Thailand have swayed many undecided voters in his favor, analysts say.


"Everybody now supports the government because this is a national issue," said Kek Galabru, a prominent Cambodian human rights activist and election monitor. "More people will vote for (Hun Sen) to give him more power to deal with Preah Vihear."

Chan Sim, a 72-year-old voter in the capital, said he cast his ballot for Hun Sen's ruling party "because of its good leadership and ability to keep unity."

More than 8 million of Cambodia's 14 million people were eligible to vote in Sunday's election. Buddhist monks and ordinary people, some holding toddlers with milk bottles, crowded polling stations when they opened.

Unofficial party results were expected a few hours after polling stations closed at 3 p.m. (0800 GMT). Official figures were expected later in the week.

Eleven parties were vying for seats in the 123-seat National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, with the winner forming a new government to run the country for the next five years.

Hun Sen has voiced little doubt that his ruling Cambodian People's Party, which held 73 assembly seats during the past five-year term, will return with an overwhelming majority.

"I wish to state it very clearly this way: No one can defeat Hun Sen," the prime minister said earlier this year.

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia since 1985, when he became prime minister of a Vietnamese-installed communist government after the ouster of the Khmer Rouge.

Internationally, he has faced criticism for alleged corruption and human rights abuses. But Hun Sen argues that his tenure has ushered in peace and stability after the Khmer Rouge's genocidal reign in 1975-1979, during which an estimated 1.7 million people died before it was toppled by an invading Vietnamese army.

A former Khmer Rouge soldier, Hun Sen has embraced free-market policies that have recently made Cambodia's economy one of the fastest growing in Asia, expanding at 11 percent in each of the past three years.

The opposition Sam Rainsy Party, which held 24 seats in the lower house of Parliament, campaigned for greater attention to human rights, the country's poor and an end to alleged government corruption.

Son Chhay, an opposition lawmaker, said an estimated 50 percent of Cambodians live on less than US$1 a day.

"Government corruption is the major thing. We have to fight against it to make sure that the people receive a fair share of what the country is getting," he said.

But such standard election issues have been upstaged by the military standoff with Thailand.

The controversy revolves around 1.8 square miles (4.6 kilometers) of land that has been in dispute since French colonialists withdrew from Cambodia in the 1950s.

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple site to Cambodia in 1962, but anger flared in Thailand last month after Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej backed Cambodia's successful bid for the temple to be listed as a U.N. World Heritage Site.

Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after Thai anti-government demonstrators assembled near the temple. Cambodia responded by sending its own troops to the border.

The two countries plan to resume negotiations on the border row Monday. Cambodia says it will renew a call for the U.N. Security Council to take up the issue if the talks fail again.

Positive outcome expected in Siem Reap talk : New FM

Sun, July 27, 2008
By The Nation

Newly-appointed Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag expects positive outcome from a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart in Siem Reap on the military stand off at Preah Vihear temple on Monday.

Tej who swears in as foreign minister on Sunday afternoon will lead a Thai delegation to a crucial meeting with Hor Nam Hong on Monday.

"I expect a positive outcome from the ministerial meeting although I think we can settle the problem," Tej said.

Tej chaired a meeting of senior foreign ministry officials including Permanent Secretary Virasakdi Futrakul and Spokesman Tharit Jarungwat.

The spokesman quoted the new minister as saying that the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple which led to the military stand off is complicated.

"If Cambodia shows sincerity and open minded in the talk by not setting any condition, I believe the negotiation on Monday will be going well. Both countries have excellent relations which will help the talk," Tharit quoted Tej as saying.

However the talks on this sensitive issue will certainly take time and could not be settled in a single meeting.

Tharit stressed that the Thai military is stationing in the areas that are in the Thai territory.
Meanwhile Thai Ambassdor to Phnom Penh Weerapan Watcharathit said Cambodia has arranged the ministerial meeting at the Angkor Palace Spa and Resort in Siem Reap province.

Tej is scheduled to arrive at the province at about 9am and returned to Bangkok on the same day.

The ambassador was confident that there will not be a protest against Thailand in the province because to organisers of a protest in Cambodia have to seek permission from the government and so far no one sought the permit.

Hun Sen set to win Cambodia poll

Theage.com.au
July 27, 2008

Cambodians looked set to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year rule in elections, after a campaign overshadowed by a tense military standoff in a border dispute with Thailand.

The border feud breathed life into an otherwise sleepy campaign, with scores of voters lining up at dawn to wait for polling stations to open.

Many people in the capital Phnom Penh who cast ballots before the polls closed at 3pm (1800 AEST) said the biggest issue for them was the territorial dispute centred on the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

"I will vote for those who can solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, as he stood in a long queue of voters.
"Before, I was never interested in the border, but now it is in my heart."

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who has ruled with an iron fist since 1985, strengthened his profile going into the election by taking a tough stance on the dispute, said Kek Galabru, president of the rights group Licadho.

"Many voters, including young voters who had not yet decided who they should vote for, will vote for the ruling party" because of the border feud, she said.

A confident Hun Sen - who has accused Thailand of defying international law and threatening regional peace - kissed his ballot as he cast it at a school in a posh southern suburb of Phnom Penh.

Thousands of soldiers from both sides are facing off near the 11th century Khmer temple.
Foreign ministers from the two nations are set to meet on Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.
Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) currently has 73 seats in the 123-seat parliament, and party officials say they expect to take at least eight more on their way to forming a single-party government.

About 17,000 domestic and international observers monitored the voting at more than 15,000 polling stations. More than eight million people were registered to vote.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy alleged 200,000 people in Phnom Penh could not vote after their names were lost from registration lists Sunday, but election officials dismissed his claim as exaggerated and said the balloting had proceeded smoothly overall.

Official results could take days to be announced, but the parties are expected to release their own tallies later Sunday.

US-based Human Rights Watch has complained that the ruling party's near monopoly on broadcast media has undermined the opposition's efforts to woo voters, especially in rural parts of the country.

One radio station was shut down late Saturday after it broadcast a reading from a book by Sam Rainsy, violating rules against campaigning on the day before the vote, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.

Hun Sen has a reputation for trampling human rights to secure power, but a booming economy has bolstered his standing in a country struggling to lift itself from the ranks of the world's poorest nations.

He abandoned his life as a guerrilla to stake his political future with the CPP, which was installed as the ruling party after Vietnamese troops toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and created a client state to stop border incursions.

Hun Sen became prime minister in 1985 and has steadily and ruthlessly cemented his grip on power, resorting to coups and systematic violence against any rivals who have threatened his reign.

In the current campaign, Hun Sen has been aided by his opponents' mistakes. His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec party, has imploded under internal corruption scandals.

The Sam Rainsy Party is expected to maintain its strength in the capital but has made few inroads into rural Cambodia, where most voters live.

Although the campaign has been less violent than past elections, Human Rights Watch warned that a history of violence remains a source of intimidation against the opposition.

Cambodia's ruling party claims early lead in vote count

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) claimed an early lead Sunday shortly after polls closed in general elections expected to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year grip on power.

"The early results from all polling stations show that the CPP is leading," said Khieu Kanharith, spokesman for the party and the government.

"We can't say how many seats we will win, but we've gained at least seven more seats" on top of the 73 the party already held in the 123-seat parliament, he added.

Polls close in Cambodia, PM Hun Sen favoured to win

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Polls closed in Cambodia on Sunday after general elections widely expected to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year grip on power.

"As scheduled, we closed the polling stations at 3:00 pm (0800 GMT)," Tep Nytha, secretary general of the National Election Committee, told AFP.

The 15,000 polling stations opened for eight hours of balloting, conducted under the eyes of 13,000 domestic and international observers.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) says it wants to expand its majority in the 123-seat parliament so that it can form a single-party government.

The CPP currently has 73 seats, and party officials say they expect to clinch at least eight more.

More than eight million people are registered to vote in Cambodia. Official results could take days to be announced, but the parties were expected to release their own tallies later Sunday.

Polls open in Cambodia with PM Hun Sen favoured to win

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Polls opened in Cambodia on Sunday for legislative elections widely expected to extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 23-year grip on power.

All 15,000 polling stations opened around 7:00 am (0001 GMT) for eight hours of balloting, Tep Nytha, head of the National Election Committee, told AFP.

"We hope everything will go smoothly, as scheduled," he said.

Scores of people lined up at polling stations around the capital Phnom Penh, waiting for the doors to open. The balloting was being conducted under the eyes of 13,000 domestic and international observers.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) says it wants to expand its majority in the 123-seat parliament so that it can form a single-party government.

The CPP currently has 73 seats, and party officials say they expect to cinch at least eight more.

More than eight million people are registered to vote. Official results could take days to be announced, but the parties are expected to release their own tallies on Sunday evening.

More pictures of Cambodian Parliamentary Election

Sam Rainsy, leader of Sam Rainsy Party, shows a v-sigh after casting his vote at a polling station in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Sam Rainsy, leader of opposition Sam Rainsy Party, casts his ballot at a polling station in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Sam Rainsy, leader of opposition Sam Rainsy Party, shows his ballot before voting at a polling station in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Sam Rainsy, leader of opposition Sam Rainsy Party, greets his supporters as he leaves a polling station after casting his ballot in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

An election staff helps a Cambodian elderly woman to cast her ballot at a polling station in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A woman casts her ballot at a polling station at the base of the Preah Vihear temple, about 250 km (152 miles) northeast of Siem Reap, July 27, 2008. Cambodians voted on Sunday in an election likely to bestow another five-year term on long-time Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose standing has been boosted by a nationalist spat with Thailand over a 900-year-old temple.REUTERS/Adrees Latif (CAMBODIA)

People check their names against a list at a polling station before casting their ballot during the general election in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A Cambodian Buddhist monk shows his ballot before voting at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A Cambodian Buddhist monk prepares to cast his ballot at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Cambodians wait in line for voting at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. Longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is widely expected to extend his 23-year tenure with a victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections, buoyed by a surge of nationalism amid a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodia Buddhist monk casts his ballot at polling station during the general election at school in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008.(Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)

Cambodia Buddhist monks show their ink-stained finger after casting their ballot at a polling station during the general elections in Phnom Penh July 27, 2008.(Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)

Facts and figures on Cambodia's parliamentary elections

INTERNATIONAL hERALD tRIBUNE
The Associated Press
Published: July 27, 2008

THE SYSTEM: Bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly, or lower house, and the Senate, the upper house. The National Assembly is elected once every five years.

The National Assembly has 123 seats. Its function is to approve laws and appoint a new government. The king, who is the head of state, signs off on all laws adopted by Parliament. He wields no executive power.

The Senate will not be affected by Sunday's ballot. It has 61 members.

___

ELECTORATE: 8.1 million voters above 18 years of age, more than 50 percent of whom are women, in a country of 14 million people.

King Norodom Sihamoni does not vote and cannot hold political office. Many other members of the royal family are running in the election.

___

POLITICAL GROUPS: Eleven political parties are running for parliamentary seats in 24 constituencies across Cambodia. There are two front-runners: Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, a former communist party which has held power for the past 29 years; and the Sam Rainsy Party of former Finance Minister Sam Rainsy. In the outgoing parliament, CPP held 73 seats to the opposition's 24. Hun Sen has been prime minister since 1985.

___

THE CANDIDATES: There are a total of 1,162 candidates. Parties compete rather than candidates. Total votes received by a party in a constituency are used to calculate the number of seats occupied by its candidates in the National Assembly. There are no independent candidates.

___

THE ISSUES: Standard election issues like the economy, rising fuel and commodities prices, government corruption, poor health care and poverty have been upstaged by a tense border dispute with neighboring Thailand. The row prompted both countries to send troops to the border two weeks before the election. Nationalist pride was expected to propel Hun Sen to re-election.

Some 35 percent of the country's 14 million people live on less than US$.50 per day. The country depends heavily on foreign financial assistance.
___

VOTING HOURS: 0000 GMT to 0800 GMT, July 27.
___

VOTING SYSTEM: Each ballot carries the names and symbols of all 23 parties running for election. Each voter is allowed to select only one party.

Tourists endanger Cambodian temple

A monument once threatened by medieval raiders and looters is now in peril from popularity

By PAUL WATSON
Los Angeles Times

ANGKOR, CAMBODIA — The ancient sandstone temples of Angkor have stood up to endless assaults down the centuries, from medieval raiders armed with clubs and spears to genocidal looters laying land mines.

These days, the onslaught begins in the early-morning darkness, when invading columns of buses, taxis and sputtering tuk-tuks converge on a dirt parking lot across from Angkor Wat's broad moat.

They disgorge hundreds of camera-wielding tourists, who march through the gray light toward the gates of the world's largest religious monument.

Hindus constructed it in the 12th century, with a gilded central tower representing Mount Meru, mythical home of the gods and the center of the spiritual and physical universes. They built it facing west, perhaps in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu, preserver of all things.

Sightseeing mob

For today's tourists, the alignment has a more mundane appeal. It's a great place to snap a picture of the sunrise behind sprawling Angkor's best-known temple.

When the shutters stop clicking, tour guides herd their groups into the monument all at once.

Tourists jostling for space bump, scrape and rub their fingers against exquisitely carved stone, adding to centuries of damage to the friezes of soldiers depicted in epic battle atop chariots and elephants.

By dusk, the mob of sight- seers has moved to Phnom Bakheng, where buses drop off hundreds of people who then scramble for position on large, delicately balanced stone platforms at the small temple, Angkor's oldest.

Obscured from the road by dense forest, it was safely off the regular tour routes until sappers cleared land mines that Khmer Rouge guerrillas had placed to defend the hilltop.

"Now it's suddenly become the destination where everybody wants to be at the end of the day to see the sunset and to see the views, which are spectacular," said Bonnie Burnham, president of the New York-based World Monuments Fund. The nonprofit group helps conserve historic sites around the world.

Speeding up erosion

Many of Phnom Bakheng's 108 shrines stand on platforms that have shifted over the centuries as water trickles in and loosens sand and dirt, and the tourists are gathering where they shouldn't.

So many people have clambered up stones next to the crowded stairs that erosion is accelerating, with loosened sections poised to tumble, Burnham said.

"The platforms where people stand are not really stable," Burnham said. "They're eroding very rapidly. The magnificent sculpture on the shrine at the center of the temple is in very fragile condition and has not been treated for conservation yet.

"People shouldn't really be touching it or going anywhere near it," she said.

Burnham's fund received almost $1 million in June from the U.S. State Department for a project to stabilize the eastern side of Phnom Bakheng, the temple's most endangered section.

As night falls, the tourists feel their way back down the hill and onto air-conditioned buses.
They're delivered to their hotels in nearby Siem Reap, where they rinse off the sweat of a long day's touring with a dip in the pool or a soothing shower before dinner.

As the taps open up, more of the dwindling ground water is drained.

UNESCO has warned that the receding water table could undermine Angkor Wat's fragile foundations, causing the temple to gradually sink.

Tourism escalating

There hasn't been enough research to say how much the heavy demand for water affects Angkor Wat's stability, said Dougald O'Reilly, a Canadian archaeologist who heads Heritage Watch, a nonprofit group working to protect Cambodia's historic sites from looters and overuse.

A decade ago, about 300,000 tourists visited Angkor Wat each year. It was possible to have a quiet, spiritual moment alone in nearby temples that had been swallowed up by the jungle.

But peace, after decades of civil war and upheaval, opened the tourism floodgates. More than a million people are expected to file through Angkor Wat's narrow stone corridors this year, and the government hopes to draw 3 million to the site by 2010.

With more hotels and resorts on the drawing board, conservationists are pushing hard to prevent a destructive free-for-all of development and tourism.

"It's going to mean some sacrifices," Burnham said. "People aren't going to be able to do some of the things, in an unregulated way, that they've been permitted to do in the past."

Protecting the buildings

The day might come when a quota is placed on the number of visitors allowed at certain monuments, Burnham said.

O'Reilly is deputy director of the Greater Angkor Project, which has discovered how vast ancient Angkor was by studying images taken by NASA satellites and an ultralight plane.

Their theory is that the city's 15th-century collapse occurred because people neglected their environment, cutting down too many trees to expand rice paddies, causing waterways to fill with silt.

If they're right, it's a cautionary tale for the 21st century, as development threatens the ancient buildings Angkor left behind.

Thai border tensions overshadow Cambodian vote

Agence France-Presse
07/27/2008

PHNOM PENH--Saffron-robed monks, uniformed policemen, and university students in T-shirts all said they had one thing on their mind as they voted in Cambodia: the tense military standoff on the Thai border.

Soldiers from both countries began staking positions around an 11th century Khmer temple nearly two weeks ago, reviving a decades-old dispute over a small patch of land near the mountaintop ruins of Preah Vihear.

The conflict has fired up nationalist sentiment in Cambodia, where many people resent the slow loss of their territory over the centuries to their larger neighbors Thailand and Vietnam.

"The new government must solve the temple problem. I don't want to see that invasion...it hurts me," said 23-year-old university student Leng Sok Im at a polling station in the capital.

The border feud has overshadowed the election, which is expected to extend the reign of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which has held power for decades.

With thousands of soldiers from both sides now facing off near Preah Vihear, the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.

"Preah Vihear temple is the hot issue. The new government must be brave enough to solve the problem," said 27-year-old policeman Khieu Sopheap.

Throughout Cambodia, discussion of the temple standoff dominates. Some people have boycotted Thai goods, and many have donated money and food to the Cambodian soldiers and villagers at Preah Vihear.

As scores of voters lined up from dawn at polling stations in Phnom Penh, many said the territorial dispute was the most important issue in the election, and called for the new government to resolve the standoff as soon as possible.

"I will vote for those who could solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, said, standing in a long queue waiting to cast his vote in a schoolroom.

"Before I was never interested in the border issue, but now it is in my heart," he added.

Buddhist monks, whose superiors have permitted them to vote for the first time since they led mass street demonstrations against Hun Sen's 1998 election victory, said the threat from Thailand concerned them most.

"Preah Vihear temple is a controversial issue between the two countries which so far has no solution yet. I came to vote because I want the new government to solve that border problem," said 24-year-old monk Chan Phearun.

As voters left polling stations, their fingers purple with permanent ink used to mark their ballots, no one would say who they had voted for but many hinted they had chosen the ruling party.

"Today is a good opportunity for people to choose the right leaders," said Seng Chanthy, 51, as she left a polling place.

"I support the party that develops the country. I don't hope for a new leader," she said.