Thailand: Thaksin followers begin 3-day protest

Supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra protest at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Thousands of supporters of the fugitive former Thai premier rallied against new leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday, threatening to engulf the kingdom in a fresh wave of political unrest.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra protest at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Thousands of supporters of the fugitive former Thai premier rallied against new leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday, threatening to engulf the kingdom in a fresh wave of political unrest.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra protest at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of supporters of the ousted Thai premier rallied against new leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday, threatening to engulf the troubled kingdom in a fresh wave of unrest.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold a banner during a protest against the government in Bangkok December 28, 2008. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday that police would not use force against demonstrators who have closed a road at Parliament and begun to attack his coalition government which assumed power less than a week ago, local Thai newspapers reported.REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (THAILAND)

A supporter holds a portrait of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a protest against the government in Bangkok December 28, 2008. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday that police would not use force against demonstrators who have closed a road at Parliament and begun to attack his coalition government which assumed power less than a week ago, local Thai newspapers reported.REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (THAILAND)

By DENIS D. GRAY, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, December 28, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) --Thousands of supporters of Thailand's exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began converging on Parliament Sunday, vowing to stage demonstrations until the new government holds elections.

But the group said it would not block lawmakers from entering Parliament on Monday, easing fears that the country was in for a repeat of the mass demonstrations that paralyzed the government for months and culminated in an eight-day seizure of the capital's airports by yellow-clad protesters.

This time, it was Thaksin loyalists instead of his opponents who took to the streets.

"Yes, we will move to Parliament. But we will allow MPs to go in and out tomorrow," a protest leader, Korkaew Pikunthong, told The Associated Press.

The alliance — dubbed the "red shirts" for their favored protest attire — says the new Prime Minister Abhisit and his Democrat Party came to power this month through a virtual coup d'etat.

The group — which calls itself the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship — says the court ruling that dissolved the previous government, which was packed with Thaksin allies, and led to Abhisit's selection as prime minister came under pressure from the military and other powerful forces.

Police closed the gates of the Parliament building Sunday in anticipation of the demonstrations. The new government plans to deliver its policy statement to the legislature Monday and Tuesday.

Police lines were reinforced in an effort to cordon off the Parliament building and Sanam Luang, a field in the historic heart of the capital where the pro-Thaksin group gathered Sunday to hear speeches denouncing the government.

An estimated 10,000 rallied at the field while several hundred gathered around Parliament Sunday night. Protest leaders at Sanam Luang said they would move to Parliament and camp there overnight.

Abhisit told reporters that force would not be used against the demonstrators.

Earlier, police Maj. Gen. Amnuay Nimmano said police would avoid any clash with the protesters but that if the rally veered toward violence, its organizers should disperse the crowds.

Warong Dechgitvigrom, a spokesman for the ruling Democrat Party, said party representatives would go together to Parliament on Monday morning and if it was blocked they would return to party headquarters. He said the government did not plan to force its way into the building.

An Oxford-educated, 44-year-old politician, Abhisit was formally named prime minister Dec. 17 in what many hoped would be the end of months of turbulent, sometimes violent, protests that had their roots in a 2006 military coup that toppled Thaksin.

Thaksin and his backers retain strong support in rural areas but have lost ground recently as former loyalists defected to join Abhisit's government, behind which the powerful military and monarchist figures have thrown their weight.

Forced out of England where he sought exile, facing probable imprisonment should he return to Thailand, Thaksin no longer seems the prime mover in Thailand's political arena -- although some still don't count him out.

Local media has speculated that Thaksin, once Thailand's richest man, has also taken heavy losses in the current financial crisis and no longer has the seemingly bottomless purse to support, and motivate, his backers.

Abhisit, the nation's third prime minister in four months, vowed in his inaugural address to reunite the deeply divided nation and to restore Thailand's tourist-friendly image. The eight-day airport shutdown battered the country's essential tourism industry and stranded more than 300,000 travelers.

Abhisit's Democrat Party had been in opposition since 2001, when Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon, first came to power in a landslide election.

Military leaders ousted Thaksin in September 2006, accusing him of corruption, keeping him in exile and controlling the country for an interim period until new elections in December 2007 brought Thaksin's allies back into power.

He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges but later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.

Thailand's recent political convulsions began in August when anti-Thaksin protesters took over the seat of government to demand that Thaksin's allies resign. Since then, a series of court rulings resulted in the ouster of two Thaksin-allied prime ministers.

In October, street clashes with police outside Parliament left two people dead and hundreds injured.

Thailand car production 'may fall 35 per cent'

GULG DAILY NEWS

BANGKOK: Vehicle production in Thailand could fall as much as 35 per cent next year if the global economy continues to worsen, a leading institute said yesterday.

Thailand is a major production and export hub for pickup trucks made by General Motors, Toyota Motor, Isuzu Motors and Mitsubishi Motors - all suffering in the midst of a global downturn.

Thailand Automotive Institute's director Wallop Tiasiri estimated the decline in Thailand would more likely be about 15pc. But he said a gloomier economic outlook in the US and Europe could result in a production drop of 35pc and the loss of 45,000 jobs.

"If the economic situation in major markets, especially in the US and Europe, deteriorates much further, our production could go down by 35pc or to 900,000 units," he said.

"However, I think this worst case scenario will not be realised."

Vehicle production in Thailand hit 1.4 million units this year, up from 1.29m units a year ago, Wallop said.

The sector employs 300,000 people, about a third of them who are subcontracted.

Most analysts have predicted the automotive sector in Thailand would eventually be hit as vehicle manufacturers worldwide are cutting production amid the global financial downturn.

Last month, General Motors said it would stop production at its Thai plant for up to two months.
General Motors and Chrysler earlier this month were granted $17.4 billion in federal loans so they can stay afloat.

"Currently the Thai auto industry is still relatively strong. Every company still has their cash inflow," Wallop said.

"However, we have to admit the slump of the global markets will hit local companies."

Thailand experiences political chaos in 2008

12/27/2008 Source：Xinhuanet

With the usher-in of a new Democrat Party-led government on Dec. 21, 2008, Thailand's political process, which has gone through a three-year nightmare of struggles and battles, seemed to have seen a short break and it will take time for the new government to restore its tourism business, export industries and reputation wrecked by the political chaos.

The struggles between "old clique" loyal to ousted Premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the long-time anti-Thaksin group People' Alliance for Democracy (PAD) brought about frequent changes of the Thai government in 2008.

The People Power Party (PPP), seen as a reincarnation of the disbanded Thaksin-founded Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party, won the first post-coup general election in December 2007 and formed a six-party coalition government led by Premier Samak Sundaravej.

Calling the Samak government a proxy of Thaksin, the PAD had kept on organizing mass rallies and demonstrations since May, which came to the climax on August 26 when PAD supporters seized the Government House, forcing the Samak cabinet to work in offices outside the House.

On Sept. 9, the Constitutional Court reached a verdict which disqualified Samak as premier for his "unconstitutional acts" by hosting a TV cooking show while in office

However, then PPP deputy leader Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother-in-law, was elected later to succeed Samak as prime minister and formed a new government.

The Somchai government intended to amend the post-coup Constitution 2007, which was drafted by a junta-appointed panel and played an important role in bringing down Thaksin and TRT by law. The attempt had prompted more drastic actions by the PAD with an aim to force the Somchai government to step down.

The supporters of PAD continued their months-long occupation of the Government House, sieged the Parliament when the Somchai cabinet delivered government policy address, and went on to seize the two airports in Bangkok on Nov. 25, the day when Somchai returned from Peru where he attended the APEC summit meeting.

The PAD's occupation of the two airports caused the paralysis of air service outbound and inbound via Bangkok for over a week. The political turmoil that also forced the postponement of the 14th the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, which was to begin later this month in Thailand.

On Dec. 2, Somchai was removed from premiership after the Constitutional Court disbanded PPP on electoral fraud charges related to former PPP deputy leader and former House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat.

In the parliament voting on Dec. 12, 44-year-old Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, which had stayed on the opposition camp since Thaksin's TRT party gained power in the 2001election and later a second time on 2005, was elected the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand to replace Somchai Wongsawat.

With the installation of the Democrat Party-led government, observers expect a short break from the prolonged political chaos in Thailand, as the Democrat Party, which enjoys support from the urban middle-class, especially those from Bangkok and southern Thailand, apparently gets support from the military and the royal institution.

The Abhisit government has pledged to make peace return to the country, but there will be no honeymoon for the new government, analysts said.

"I bless you to work for the peace and order of the nation," King Bhumibol Adulyadej said in a speech after the king swore in Abhisit's new cabinet.

Abhisit said "I will take His Majesty's royal advice to heart. His Majesty wished us to work successfully in order to make the country and the people happy and that is the most important."

The social divisiveness between the pro- and anti-Thaksin have been widening in the past three years and the reconciliation between the two camps is deemed hard to install.

People from the pro-Thaksin group Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) were seen angrily attacking MPs' cars outside the Parliament after Abhisit was elected as new premier, while the PAD has vowed to "return" to fight any new Thaksin-proxies. The two sides had been engaged in violent clashes on the street, causing heavy casualties.

The DAAD is also planning a mass street protest and a besiege over the Parliament on the day of House debate on the Abhisit's government policy address.

A headache for the Abhisit government would be how to calm down and win the hearts of the rural grass-root population in the Northand Northeast, the traditional voter strong base for Thaksin and his allies.

Newin Chidchob, the former Thaksin's right-hand man who had made a turn-about to allow his friends in the House of Representatives to support Abhisit's premiership in the House voting on Dec. 12, reportedly told Abhisit to invest more for the development and benefits of the Northeast and North.

The Abhisit government is expected to inherit at least part of Thaksin's populist legacy in its policy packages, pending debate in the Parliament on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.

The line-up of the Abhisit Cabinet, which was sworn in on Dec. 21, has seen some key posts allocated to the pro-Newin group and a bunch of coalition partners, but that still would not secure a strong alliance.

The leading opposition party, Puea Thai party, a new shelter for the remains of the disbanded PPP, still holds some 200 MP seats in the 480-seat House. Its candidate for premiership, Pracha Promnok, got 198 votes during the Dec. 12 voting, only 37 votes behind Abhisit, who enjoyed the advantage only after the Newin faction joined in the support.

A planned by-election in January might see more Puea Thai candidate win seats in the House.

Meanwhile, the new government is faced with how to restore domestic and foreign investors' confidence in the Thai economy, which has been dealt big blows with a sluggish global trend, and long-time domestic political turmoil, including the recent airport shutdowns that caused the key tourism industry a huge loss.

The World Bank recently projected that the Thai economy will grow only 3.9 percent in 2008, the lowest in a decade, and an even lower 2 percent next year, while Thai economists have expected one million Thais to lose jobs in 2009.

Thailand’s Anti-Government Group to Hold Protest to Force the Dissolution of Parliament

Sun, 2008-12-28

Bangkok, 28 December, (Asiantribune.com): Thailand's anti-government Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) Saturday threatened to hold protests against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva nationwide, to pressure him to dissolve the House.

The three leaders of the UDD said the group would hold a massive rally on Sunday to oppose what it termed as a "coup in disguise" launched jointly by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the military and capitalists.

The demonstrators will not move to Parliament Monday and Tuesday when the new Cabinet presents the government's policy to Parliament, the trio said, adding that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will not telephone to the rally.

Pledging that the demonstration will be held in peaceful manner, they said that it will focus on donations amounting to more than Bt300 million given to the ruling Democrat Party which they claimed are against the law.

Defending the planned charges to be filed by the UDD, Mr. Abhisit, also leader of the Democrat Party, said opposition parties also plan to do the same next week but the government was not worried because it had explained to the House of Representatives earlier.

Meanwhile, Parliament President Chai Chidchob Saturday expressed concern over a planned protest by DAAD protesters on Monday, saying the policy debate may be delayed if the situation spirals out of control.

The government will present its policy to Parliament on Monday and Tuesday (December 29-30).

Chai said he will monitor the situation minute by minute to consider whether the policy debate should be postponed or not.

He said he has not yet considered an alternative meeting venue.

Chai said he believes police will be able to control the situation.

- Asian Tribune -

Cambodia: Supreme Court Tested by Labor Leader’s Murder Case

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Lack of Justice Leaves Unionists in Fear for Their Lives

December 28, 2008

(New York, December 28, 2008) - Cambodian authorities should exonerate and free Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, who were unfairly sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005 for the murder of labor leader Chea Vichea, said three international human rights organizations and the world's largest trade union confederation in a joint statement released today.

The Cambodia Supreme Court will hear the case on appeal on December 31, 2008.

The joint statement was issued by Human Rights Watch, the International Trade Union Confederation, and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint program of the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organization Against Torture), which have all closely followed the case since Vichea's murder.

"The Cambodian Supreme Court should rely on the evidence and not give in to government pressure when it reviews the case," said Sara Colm, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch. "Born Samang and Sok Sam Oeun have already spent five years behind bars for a crime they did not commit, and it is time for justice to be done in this case."

Chea Vichea, 36, was the founder and president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) and a vocal supporter of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party. He was shot and killed in broad daylight in front of a newsstand in Phnom Penh on January 22, 2004. Vichea was well known for his outspoken efforts to organize garment workers and to fight for improved working conditions in Cambodia, work he continued in spite of death threats.

The investigation into the high profile murder was marred by alleged police brutality and forced confession by one of the suspects, intimidation of witnesses, and political interference in the judicial process. The prosecution and conviction of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have drawn extensive criticism from Cambodian and international human rights activists, union advocates, lawyers, and United Nations officials.

The International Labour Organization (ILO), which sent a fact-finding mission to Cambodia in April 2008 to investigate the murders of trade unionists, has repeatedly expressed strong concerns about the convictions of the two men and called for a fresh investigation into Chea Vichea's murder.

"The lack of justice in this case leaves trade unionists in fear for their lives," said Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, whose 311 affiliates represent 168 million workers worldwide. "Even ILO leaders who were on an official ILO mission to Cambodia earlier this year were subject to intimidation."

In a report released in November 2008, the ILO sharply criticized the Cambodian government for not effectively stemming a series of violent and deadly attacks against trade unionists. At the core of the problem, the report said, is Cambodia's lack of an independent judiciary, which allows the real perpetrators of such attacks to evade justice. The atmosphere of impunity in Cambodia reinforces the climate of violence and insecurity, the report said, which in turn "is extremely damaging to the exercise of trade union rights."

The ILO report's findings, which could affect the future of Cambodia's important garment industry, noted that during the ILO mission in April, the government "demonstrated an unwillingness to engage in fully frank discussions" and "provided no concrete indications" that it would act upon any of the ILO's recommendations.

In addition to the murder of Chea Vichea, there has been an ongoing pattern of violence against trade union activists in Cambodia. This includes the murders of FTUWKC official Hy Vuthy in February 2007 and FTUWKC Steering Committee member Ros Sovannarith in 2004, and a series of threats and physical assaults against FTUWKC representatives and other trade unionists.

The four organizations urged the Cambodian government to launch a full and impartial investigation into Chea Vichea's murder, as well as an independent and public inquiry into the handling of the prosecution of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun.

"If the Supreme Court fails to provide long-overdue justice by releasing these two innocent men, it will only further highlight the lack of progress toward rule of law in Cambodia," said Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation for Human Rights.

The organizations also urged the Cambodian government to take prompt action to address the key issues highlighted by this case: Cambodia's endemic impunity and lack of rule of law, government interference in the judiciary, intimidation and violence faced by trade union members and leaders, and widespread torture by the police.

"It's time for the Cambodian authorities to finally deliver justice to Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, and stop the widespread practice of torture by Cambodian police to force confessions out of criminal suspects," said Eric Sottas, secretary-general of the World Organisation Against Torture.

Background

The police and court investigations into Vichea's killing were marred by a series of procedural flaws and violations of international legal standards. The police allegedly tortured Born Samnang to obtain a confession. A judge who initially dropped the charges against the two men for lack of evidence was swiftly removed from his position, and the charges were reinstated. The subsequent trial of the two men was conducted in a manner that flagrantly violated Cambodian law and international fair trial standards. In April 2007, the country's Appeal Court upheld their convictions despite the state prosecutor acknowledging that there was insufficient evidence.

Chea Vichea's family members say they believe Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are not responsible for the crime, as has Var Sothy, the newsstand proprietor who was the key eyewitness to the killing. She subsequently fled Cambodia in fear for her life.

As an example of the politicization of the Cambodian judiciary, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Dith Munthy, is a member of the Standing Committee of the ruling Cambodian People's Party. The lack of judicial independence has been cited in successive UN human rights reports for the past 15 years and is a major concern in the ongoing attempts to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice. The Cambodian government has long acknowledged weaknesses in the judiciary and made commitments to address this, but has taken no meaningful steps to do so.

For background on Chea Vichea's murder and the prosecution of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, please see:

November 2008 Conclusions of the International Labour Organization's Committee on Freedom of Association regarding violence against Cambodian trade unionists, at:

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_100625.pdf;

June 2007 Licadho briefing paper, "Innocent Prisoners Awaiting Justice," at:
http://licadho.org/reports/files/107LICADHOPaperSummaryBSSSO07.pdf;

April 12, 2007, statement by the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Human Rights in Cambodia, "The Special Representative expresses deep regret over the upholding of the sentences against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun," at:
http://cambodia.ohchr.org/Documents/Statements%20and%20Speeches/English/322.pdf;

August 10, 2006, written statement by the prime witness to Chea Vichea's murder, at:
http://licadho.org/news/files/VaSothyStatementTransEN.pdf;

October 3, 2006, complaint about the Chea Vichea case filed by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (now the International Trade Union Confederation) to the International Labour Organization, at:
http://www.icftu.org/www/PDF/CFAComplaint2318CheaVichea2006.pdf;

Further background documents, at:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/03/cambod14314.htm.

Mystery in the jungle

Bayon, a temple near the better-known Angkor Wat, has 49 towers that feature nearly 200 huge carved images of a pleasantly smiling face.

PHOTOS BY ELLEN CREAGER/DETROIT FREE PRESS
A dancer performs at Angkor, a complex of temples and ruins in central Cambodia that covers 1,000 square miles.

ELLEN CREAGER/DETROIT FREE PRESS
Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century to honor the Hindu god Vishnu, is considered the masterpiece of the Angkor complex in Cambodia.

THE NEWS TRIBUNE

ELLEN CREAGER; Detroit Free Press
Published: December 28th, 2008

SIEM REAP, Cambodia – For something so ancient, the rock face looked as content as a man who’s just eaten a big slice of peach pie.

“Who made you?” I whispered. “Were you lonely when nobody came to visit for 400 years?”
No answer. Just a smile.

That is the fascination of Angkor, the mysterious temple complex of Cambodia. As at the pyramids of Egypt or the temples of the Maya, visitors here must infer the nature of a civilization from the astounding architecture left behind.

Angkor, located in central Cambodia, probably should have been a winner in last year’s New Seven Wonders of the World contest.

In scope and beauty, it easily beats Mexico’s Chichen Itza and possibly even Peru’s Machu Picchu. It likely lost because fewer people have seen it than the other attractions.

Although 2 million tourists a year visit Angkor now, the site was basically covered by the jungle from 1500 to 1900, then off-limits to visitors due to war and political instability in Cambodia from the 1960s to 1998.

Its masterpiece is Angkor Wat, a funky temple built in the 12th century in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu. Stunningly original, the temple’s five towers were built using porous clay foundations and sandstone exteriors. Put together with an unknown mortar, stones were stacked like a Jenga puzzle, each piece fitting atop the other into tall spires.

Yet Angkor Wat is only one of 72 major temples, and the Angkor ruins area covers more than 1,000 square miles.

There are ways to tour Angkor responsibly, says the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. Don’t touch, and don’t take anything except photographs. Wear soft-soled shoes so sharp heels don’t leave marks. Don’t brush backpacks or bags against the monuments. Avoid climbing on them except where allowed. Don’t leave graffiti or litter, and talk softly.

Especially, I’d add, when talking to the carvings.

The rise-and- fall story of Angkor is dramatic enough to fill 10 history books.

Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the great Khmer empire spread over what are now parts of Laos and Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Its center was Angkor, the home of the kings, temples, fountains and gold.

A series of attacks by the Siamese and exhaustion of the land by overfarming led to the abandonment of the city in the early 15th century, historians believe.

That’s when most of Angkor fell victim to the jungle for 400 years. There it sat, while nations rose and fell, while America was discovered, while Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet.”

When French archaeologists in the late 19th century rediscovered Angkor and started pulling the vines away and looking at what remained, they were astonished. We still are.

It takes all day for even a bare-bones tour. You can start before sunrise and watch the sun come up over the towers of Angkor Wat, stay all day, then watch the sun go down from a hill nearby.

Some of the ruins have been sufficiently restored so that you can wander the halls and climb the steps. Yet most are only partly put back together, giving the ruins a tumbledown feel, as if you’d just stopped by after an earthquake.

Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century by King Suryavarman II, is the star of Angkor. But I preferred the Bayon, a nearby temple with 49 towers emblazoned with nearly 200 huge carved images of a pleasantly smiling face. Historians believe the images represent either King Jayavarman VII, who built the temple in the late 12th century, or the Buddhist “compassionate being” Lokesvara or both.

Yet, the Bayon is not just a happy-face ruin. It’s also an ancient art gallery, with wonderful bas-relief murals depicting the ordinary life of the Angkor people – gambling, in childbirth, dancing, cooking, playing, hunting and fishing. These murals not only are a kind of Facebook posting of daily life back then, they illuminate the high standard of living at Angkor in its heyday, when people had enough to eat, and safety, leisure and time to create such art.

You don’t need a guide to visit the Angkor complex, but I would recommend it. The complex is so huge that it helps to have someone show you high points you might miss on your own.

Many tourists get around by tuk-tuk, a cart with an awning pulled by a motorcycle driver. Other sightseers visit by car, van, tour bus, bicycle or even by elephant, depending on what kind of tour they book.

Inside the complex, it’s not just sightseers. Local people gather sheaves of rattan, the reed used to weave baskets. Cattle wander amid the chaos. An ice cream truck parks in a field. At most of the popular temples and sites, persistent children sell sticky rice, baskets, scarves, bracelets, guidebooks, bananas, pineapple chunks and Fanta Orange.

The average tourist needs at least two days to see Angkor, but archaeology buffs will want to stay longer.

One of the most photo-friendly sites is Ta Prohm, a temple monastery. Today, visitors can see the temple much as it was found in the early 1900s, with giant kapok tree roots winding through the doors and windows, so that the stone temple appears to be part of the natural landscape.

Also lovely is Neak Pean, a pond with a fountain as elegant as anything you’d find at Versailles.

Today, the Angkor Wat complex is in no danger of fading away. Huge luxury hotels have opened pell-mell outside the park just in the last three years. About 3,000 new hotel rooms are about to be added to the 7,000 already here.

Naturally, environmentalists aren’t happy about the unregulated hustle and bustle right next to a UNESCO World Heritage site. They worry about the water table under Angkor being sucked dry by hotel wells. They worry that the site’s fragile ruins can’t handle the traffic.

Still, I keep thinking that the kings who built Angkor would probably love all the attention.
From the 1960s to 1998, Cambodia was either at war, crippled by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime or unstable.

Now, the fledgling democratic nation is trying to make up for lost time in expanding tourism at a frenetic pace in Angkor and Siem Reap, its gateway city.

Ready or not, Tourism Cambodia expects up to 3 million tourists at Angkor by 2010.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: Fly into Siem Reap’s two-year-old Angkor International Airport from nearby Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; or Singapore. There are no direct flights from the U.S.

VISA: It’s needed but easy to obtain through Cambodia’s e-visa program. Get it before arrival for $25 at evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/e-visa/vindex.aspx.

LODGING: Most hotels in Siem Reap are new and less than a mile from the gates of the Angkor complex. Try Tara Angkor (about $90-up, www.taraangkorhotel.com).

MONEY: Cambodia uses the riel, but it also uses U.S. dollars; no need to exchange money.
TOURS: Most tourists to Angkor go as part of a larger tour of Southeast Asia. However, it’s possible to fly in on your own and hire an Angkor guide through your hotel.

TICKETS: A one-day ticket to Angkor is $20; a three-day pass is $40; buy at the Angkor entrance gate; if you’re on a tour, your guide will take care of this.

SHOPPING: Siem Reap has nice handicrafts at local markets and roadside shops. Look for textiles, baskets and marble statues of Buddha.

OTHER TIPS

• Take a break from the heat every two hours while touring the ruins. Weather can be humid and in the 90s. Wear a hat and sunscreen; carry water.

• Read up on Hinduism and Buddhism and the history of Cambodia to better appreciate what you are seeing.

• Try to shoot Angkor photos in late afternoon when the light is best. Also shoot in black-and-white for a timeless effect.

• Learn a little Khmer language, although most Cambodians who deal with tourists speak some English. For instance, “Angkor” means city. “Wat” means temple.

Water of life springs from Pol Pot's canals

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
28 December 2008

By Thomas Fuller in Baray, Cambodia

THE dry season has taken hold here, but water is everywhere. It pours out of sluice gates with the roar of an alpine torrent. Children do backflips into the ubiquitous canals and then pull their friends in with them. Fishermen cast their nets for minnows, and villagers wash their Chinese-made motorcycles.

"It's never dry here," said Chan Mo, a 36-year-old rice farmer standing on top of a dike.The reason? The Khmer Rouge canals have come back to life. By the time the murderous government of Pol Pot was toppled three decades ago, 1.7 million Cambodi ans were dead from overwork, starvation and disease, and the country was in ruin.

But the forced labour of millions of Cambodians left behind something useful – or that is how the current government here sees it.

The leaders of the Khmer Rouge were obsessed with canals, embankments and dams. They presided over hundreds of irrigation projects to revive the country's glorious but perhaps mythical past as an agrarian wonderland.

"There has never been a modern regime that placed more emphasis and resources towards developing irrigation," wrote Jeffrey Himel, a water resource engineer, in a recent study of Cambodia's irrigation system.

"The Khmer Rouge emptied all cities and towns, and put practically the entire population to work planting rice and digging irrigation dikes and canals."

Some of the canals were poorly designed – "hydraulic nonsense", says Alain Goffeau, a French irrigation expert with the Asian Development Bank. But many were viable.

The Khmer Rouge built about 70% of Cambodia's 800-plus canal networks, according to a survey commissioned by the UN in the Nineties.

Now, across this impoverished nation of 14 million people, the canals are being rebuilt by a government hoping to take advantage of the world's increasing demand for rice.

The Asian Development Bank is helping to finance the rehabilitation of a dozen canals, adding to projects financed by the Japanese and Korean governments.

"There's a lot of possibility," Goffeau said.

For older Cambodians, the canals are a source of ambivalence. Men like Loh Thoeun, a 61-year-old rice farmer, think back to the basketfuls of dirt he carried away hour after hour.

He recalled the horrors of the Khmer Rouge: the labourers, hands tied behind their backs, who were "dragged away like cows" and never returned, the Muslim families who were thrown down a nearby well. The foremen of the irrigation project in Baray were killed after the canals and embankments were completed, without explanation. Loh said he once saw Pol Pot inspect the canals on what he described as a "speedboat".

Loh had a particularly wide view of the Khmer Rouge earthworks: when he was not digging he was assigned to collect the sweet sap from the top of towering palm trees.

All of the work was done by hand in Baray, a two-hour drive north of the capital, Phnom Penh. There was no talking allowed among labourers. The Khmer Rouge played revolutionary songs and banged hubcaps to encourage the workers. Photos show huge crowds toiling in the dust.

"The earth here is very hard, and when we dug deeper we got to the hardest part – the most compact ground," said Loh, sitting in a bamboo shelter beside his rice fields. "We had to hammer at it. It was like cutting down a tree."

For so many Cambodians, the Khmer Rouge years, from 1975 to 1979, were about digging. Villagers and residents of Phnom Penh, who were forced to move to the countryside, were organised in small work units.

"I was a slave," said Ang Mongkol, now the deputy director general of the Interior Ministry, who was a law student when the Khmer Rouge came to power and was assigned to haul dirt. Ang is leading an experimental project that uses water from the canal to irrigate fields of hybrid rice varieties that promise to yield four times as much as the variety traditionally grown here. Because only about 20% of Cambodia's fields are irrigated, its rice farmers harvest on average half of Vietnam's yields and one-third of China's.

The irrigation system in Baray, which is fed with water diverted from the nearby Chinit River, functioned for several years after the Khmer Rouge left power. But in the mid-Eighties it fell into disrepair and the canals often went dry. It was only in 2005 that the government began rebuilding it.

Today the local municipality hires a maintenance crew to repair the embankments and keep the water flowing.

Loh hopes the canals he built will help double or triple his rice output. "I always recall the past to my children," he said. "I say, 'We have water from this canal that was built by the people. And many of them died.'"

Among the current workers on Baray's canal system is Sim Vy, 48. As a teenager she was also enlisted by the Khmer Rouge to help build the canals here, carrying dirt away on baskets tied to bamboo poles.

She was told she was working for national glory but received only watery gruel as recompense. Now she is paid $55 a month. "I prefer working this way," she said.

A husband-and-wife team do their best to do good for the impoverished sufferers of Cambodia

COURTESY FLORENCE DOI

Florence Doi and Takeshi Terada set out on their Cambodian mission.

COURTESY FLORENCE DOI

Takeshi Terada ministers to children at Banteay Mean Chey province, Cambodia, on Christmas Day 2007.

HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN
By Pat Gee
Dec 27, 2008

A retired Hawaii Kai couple is still recycling bottles to raise thousands of dollars to help impoverished villages in Cambodia, but now they hardly need to scavenge for throwaways because others are doing it for them.

When Florence Doi and Takeshi Terada first visited a "black and smelly village" outside of Phnom Penh in 2004 with members of the University Avenue Baptist Church, they were appalled at the sight of "garbage children" picking through rubbish they would sell to survive. They were called "scavenger villages," Doi said. "You would cry," she added.

When they returned home, Doi turned to Terada and said, "Let's be scavengers for them. Let's go out into the beaches and parks, and go into the rubbish cans."

And now the helpers have helpers. Church groups and individuals learned of their mission and are collecting bottles on their behalf.

"I couldn't have done this without all this help," she said. "This has been my happiest year. I want to thank everybody; all the contributions have multiplied. ... The churches offer their help. I don't call them; they call me."

Takahashi Koji of Makiki Christian Church has been collecting bottles for three years -- "that's how much he feels for us," she said. A few days ago a gift arrived in the mail from his church, which consists of a small Japanese congregation, she said.

"I was stunned; my feet and my heart danced when I received a check for $2,635," Doi added.
Other regular donors include Holy Nativity Church (Episcopal) in Aina Haina; the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu in Kaneohe; and the Kaimuki Christian Church.

This will be the first Christmas in four years that Doi and Terada will not be making the trip to Cambodia with an outreach program of the multicultural University Avenue Baptist Church, which sponsors several overseas outreach missions.

It's not that the couple is any less devoted. Doi said they decided to forgo their trip due to the uncertainty of safety conditions, and want to spend the holidays with their Hawaii family for a change.

She reluctantly admits that they are getting older --Terada is 84 and Doi, 78 -- and "we're tired." It's no wonder, with all the sorting and rinsing their recyclables, taking them to the recycling center and holding a weekly garage sale.

They both used to collect bottles at Sandy Beach almost every day, but now Terada goes down by himself twice a week. Since May they've noticed fewer bottles and such, perhaps because more people are recycling, too.

The couple is trying to shrink their Saturday garage sales because it is such heavy work to pick up donations, like furniture, and unload them at home. But because they have a truck and many do not, they feel obligated to pick up items that are guaranteed moneymakers, she said.

"How are we going to stop?" asks Terada, who recently set up a tent in his yard to house the furniture. "You can't say, 'Oh, don't bring anything.'"

The couple started wiring money to banks in southern Cambodia this year and have already sent about $20,000 to what they consider "the poorest of the poor," she said.

Their pet project is to help build a new church for Pastor Tes Kim of the Tuol Sala Church Sreang in Kandal province. They already have sent more than $7,500 this year to purchase a spot of property that Doi picked last year. They plan to send about $10,000 more for building materials.

Then there is a new orphanage of the Heritage of Jesus Christ Church, under Pastor Chum Sarith in Toulklong village in Kampong Speu, that needs help. And the renovation of the New Family in Christ Church in Kampong Cham province, under Pastor Un Vannak, who has two blind children, Doi added.

"I'm so excited. The dreams get more beautiful. ... I pray to God a lot every day. I believe in the power of the Lord," she said. "We've come this far and we can do more."

Foreigner dies in bike accident

THE STRAITS TIMES
Dec 27, 2008

PHNOM PENH - A BELGIAN man has died in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh after driving under the influence of alcohol without a helmet and crashing into a truck, police said on Saturday.

Van Esbroeck Guido's 44-year-old Cambodian wife told police on Thursday she had earlier refused to ride pillion on her husband's bike when he fell off after drinking.

Police said the 48-year-old Belgian continued driving alone and later crashed into a truck as it left a construction site.

'He was very drunk while driving, didn't have on a helmet and later crashed into a truck that didn't give a signal when it turned,' said traffic police chief Tin Prasoeur.

'This year, the traffic accidents are still high...Our traffic police will start to implement the new traffic law by fining those drivers who don't wear helmets,' he added.

Deaths on the roads have more than doubled in the past five years, becoming Cambodia's second biggest killer behind HIV/Aids and resulting in mounting costs for the government.

In a bid to put an end to the carnage the government has pushed through drastic new traffic laws, previously unheard of in Cambodia's free-wheeling road culture.

From Jan 1, drivers' licences will be mandatory, as will helmets for those on motorbikes and seatbelts for motorists. -- AFP

Christmas in Thai

Thai transvestites dancers watch tourists on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, on Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008. Recent political unrest in Thailand coupled with a global economic slowdown has damaged the tourism industry with many hotels reporting cancellations.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

A Thai vendor smiles as she sells roses in Phuket, Thailand, on Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008. Recent political unrest in Thailand coupled with a global economic slowdown has damaged the tourism industry with many hotels reporting cancellations.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Tourists look on as Thai transvestites dance in Phuket, Thailand, on Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008. Recent political unrest in Thailand coupled with a global economic slowdown has damaged the tourism industry with many hotels reporting cancellations.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Independent Appeal: 'I was shunned for disability, now I'm shown respect'

THE INDEPENDENT

A farmer whose legs were blown off by a mine is rebuilding his life with the help of a charity in Cambodia. Paul Vallely reports

Saturday, 27 December 2008

Ou Sarin was 43 when both his legs were blown off. You have probably never heard of the war in which it happened. Look in the record books and you won't find anything about minefields being laid in Cambodia as recently as 1991. It was just one of those small local wars – between a group of rebels whose cause was lost in the midst of history – and government troops.

When the fighting was over in the fields where Mr Sarin grew maize and rice, the departing government soldiers told him: "Don't worry. All the mines have been 100 per cent cleared." But they hadn't.

It took 24 hours for his friends to carry him from the village of Kamnop to the nearest hospital in Takeo province. By the time he got there the doctor had no other choice than to amputate both his legs, one below the knee, the other above. Because he also had severe malaria he was kept in hospital for two months. He told his relatives to sell all his oxen and his wife sold her gold jewellery. Between them they raised $2,500 (£1,700). It just about paid the hospital bill.

He returned to his village in a battered old wheelchair given to him by the hospital. "When I got back there was a big change in how everyone treated me," he recalls. "No one wanted to speak to me. I was shunned. Everyone treated me as a burden."

Worse than the ostracism was the mockery. The villagers gave him the cruel nickname "the Frog" because of his posture. "They said that all frogs were good for was eating." Cambodian drinkers like grilled frogs to eat while drinking alcohol. The disdain became so bad that, combined with his sense of shock at the condition in which he now found himself, he decided to kill himself. "I would have done it many times but my wife was strong and counselled me and built the strength in me."

For the first year his wife ran the farm. "All I could do was help clean the rice after the harvest and put it in sacks." But he was determined to keep on. From his wheelchair he began to plant trees – 20 mango, 15 jack fruit, 30 lemon trees. But, despite all his efforts, he could not make a success. Then, four years after the explosion which took his legs, an aid worker came to the village and suggested that he go away to a rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities, to get some training. He learnt how to repair motorbikes and afterwards returned to Kamnop to set up his own one-man business.

"I had a lot of customers but they would only come to me when they had no money," he says. "They asked for credit, but they never paid the bills. They felt they could cheat me because they knew that I would not be able to catch them to get the money."

For Mr Sarin the turning point came with the arrival of workers funded by Action on Disability and Development (ADD) which is one of the charities being supported by this year's Independent Christmas Appeal. They taught him that he had rights under Cambodian law as a disabled person. ADD also offered to fund a scheme which had been germinating at the back of his mind since he first went to the training centre. "Until I went there I had never met another disabled person. I thought I must be the only one who had to live like this," he recalls. "I developed a plan to go to all the villages around Kamnop to find out whether there were other disabled people like me."

But he had lacked the confidence to set out to fulfil the plan. ADD gave him that confidence: "My son began to give me a lift on his motorbike to other villages." ADD expanded Mr Sarin's initiative and three other disabled people joined him in what it now calls the "counterpart" programme. "We now have joined up 294 disabled people in three different communes in 22 self-help groups," he says.

That work has been replicated elsewhere, thanks to ADD. The counterpart programme now reaches hundreds of disabled people – and educates local officials, teachers, council staff and community and religious leaders about the rights of disabled people. The status this has given Mr Sarin with the local authorities has rubbed off on the people in his village. "Today I am treated with respect. People have listened to me for the first time. They have begun to think what life must be like for someone with a disability. Attitudes have really changed."

Southeast Asia reflects on tsunami's anniversary

Western tourist and others gather to light candles during remembrance services at Dolphin Park on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, on the fourth anniversary of the Asian Tsunami.More than 230,000 people were killed when the tsunami struck Dec. 26, 2004.

Dec 26, 2008
By MICHAEL CASEY, AP

BANGKOK, Thailand (Map, News) - Scientists thought it would take a decade for Southeast Asia's coral reefs to heal after 2004's deadly tsunami but they said Friday that Indonesia's reefs have bounced back with surprising speed, restoring livelihoods to countless small communities.

The findings came as communities across the Indian Ocean remembered the disaster that struck Dec. 26, 2004 with prayers, songs and tears. About 230,000 people were killed in a dozen countries when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered the tsunami.

Surveys of coral reefs after the tsunami showed that up to one-third were damaged and experts predicted it would take a decade for them to fully recover.

Scientists from the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, working with the Indonesian government and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, said their examination of 60 sites on 497 miles (800 kilometers) of coastline along Indonesia's Aceh province showed the reefs were bouncing back.

"On the 4th anniversary of the tsunami, this is a great story of ecosystem resilience and recovery," said Stuart Campbell, coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia Marine Program.

"Our scientific monitoring is showing rapid growth of young corals in areas where the tsunami caused damage, and also the return of new generations of corals in areas previously damaged by destructive fishing," Campbell said in a statement. "These findings provide new insights into coral recovery processes that can help us manage coral reefs in the face of climate change."

Healthy coral reefs are economic engines for Acehnese communities, Campbell added, supplying fish to eat and sell as well as tourism dollars from recreational diving.

The tsunami decimated coastlines across the Indian Ocean, wiping out villages, killing entire families and crippling the economies in parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The United Nations estimated that Aceh alone lost $332.4 million ($1,599/ha) from the loss of its reefs to the destructive waves.

But four years on, the multibillion dollar rebuilding process is almost complete with more than 120,000 homes built in Aceh alone and the reconstruction of tourist hotels and restaurants along Thailand's Andaman coast.

Thousands gathered Friday to celebrate the progress but to also remember the dead and reflect on a tragedy that turned their lives upside down.

"I don't think people will ever forget the tsunami. It changed a lot of people's lives," said Alisara Na-Takuatung, a local Phuket radio disc jockey who took part in a ceremony on Thailand's Patong beach attended by 200 people.

About 50 Buddhist monks prayed while school children played traditional Thai instruments.

"I know people who lost their husbands, their kids. Those people won't forget about the tsunami," she said. "They will see it as a lesson. You think about what you can do for others."

Ibrahim Musa, a 42-year-old civil servant who joined thousands in a prayer service in the hard-hit Aceh province of Indonesia, said it feels like yesterday that his family was taken by the sea.

"Even after four years, I cannot forget how I lost hold of my wife and baby," he said. "I have tried in vain to look for them for three years. Now I have no choice but to accept their departure as destiny."

Siti Hasnaini, 40, who still lives with her two sons and husband in a temporary shelter in Aceh, prayed "for my daughter who was washed away with my house."

In India, where thousands also perished, interfaith prayers and a moment of silence were held. The Sri Lankan government declared two minutes of silence for the 35,000 people killed there as well as other victims of natural disasters.

The healing trend embraced by those devastated by the tsunami has extended to the reefs with communities responding to calls to protect them from illegal fishing, pollution and coastal development.

Campbell said citizens have been particularly responsive in Aceh where fishermen have stopped using illegal techniques like dynamite and villagers have transplanted corals into areas that were hardest hit.

"The recovery, which is in part due to improved management and the direct assistance of local people, gives enormous hope that coral reefs in this remote region can return to their previous condition and provide local communities with the resources they need to prosper," Campbell said.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a reef expert from the University of Queensland in Australia who did not take part in the study, said the findings were not surprising since corals typically will recover if not affected by fishing and coastal development.

"The mechanical damage from the tsunami left a whole bunch of shattered corals on the bottom of the sea," Hoegh-Guldberg said.

"Left alone, these things can quickly grow back into what looks like a coral reef in a short time," he said. "We are seeing similar things around the southern Great Barrier Reef where reefs that experience major catastrophe can bounce back quite quickly."

John Bruno, a reef expert from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agreed saying it shows coral reefs are able to recover after severe disturbances.

"There has been so much bad news about coral decline lately, and the threats to corals seem to increase every year. It is important to recognize that these invaluable ecosystems are not lost," he said in an e-mail interview. "We just have to implement some common sense policies locally and substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases at a global scale."

Nixon's Cambodian Shock Treatment

COUNTER PUNCH

Weekend Edtion
December 26-28, 2008

"Just Bomb the Hell Out of Them"

By HOWARD LISNOFF

I recently stopped in at a Cambodian restaurant that I have been going to for many years. Although eating the food for which a particular group is known is perhaps the most superficial of ways to communicate with people, I found myself involved in small talk with the people who staffed the restaurant on this particular winter day in Providence, Rhode Island. The young men and women who staffed the business were indistinguishable from those of their peer group. They were about my children’s ages. They spoke of their families, the holiday, and their dislike for the annoying reality program that played on the television meant to “entertain” those waiting for take-out orders.

When our conversations ended, I thought of the events of long ago that propelled me to become a war resister. The incursions of Richard Nixon into Cambodia in April 1970, purportedly to stop the flow of troops and armaments traveling down the Ho Chi Minh Trail from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, unleashed consequences that even Nixon could not have foreseen, but needed to avoid. National Security Archive transcripts just released relate interchanges between Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Regarding the dropping of millions of pounds of bombs on Cambodia by the U.S., Nixon responds to Kissinger: “That shock treatment [is] cracking them. I tell you the thing to do is pour it in there every place we can…just bomb the hell out of them.”

Mass demonstrations broke out spontaneously on campuses across the U.S., students were killed at both Kent and Jackson State Universities, and I decided that I had had enough and became a resister to the war. The attacks inside Cambodia weakened the government of that country and hastened the murderous regime of Pol Pot that resulted in the massacre and torture of over two million people. The governments of the world, knowing the lessons of Hitler’s Holocaust, did little or nothing to stop the carnage!

In the early 1990s I asked one of the owners of the same restaurant about a jar placed next to the cash register in the establishment that bore a label about an agency working to support relief efforts in Cambodia. The owner spoke about her family members who had been killed during the Cambodian genocide.

What is the record of superpowers and world governmental organizations coming to the aid and stopping holocausts in the contemporary era? Holocausts and genocide are not to be confused with “traditional” warfare that kills millions, but rather according to the United Nations (1948):

“any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, national, ethnic, racial or religious group, including: (a) killing a member of the group (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group (c) deliberately inflicting on the group on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

Few are ever brought to justice for carrying out genocide. The history of modern holocausts, contemporary with, and just prior to, the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews include:
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992-1995- 200,000 deaths; Rwanda: 1994- 800,000 deaths; Pol Pot in Cambodia: 1975-1979- 2 million deaths: Rape of Nanking: 1937-1938- 300,000 deaths; Stalin’s Forced Famine: 1932-1933- 7 million deaths; Armenians in Turkey: 1915-1918- 1.5 million deaths (The History Place, 2000).

Added to the above are the more than 400,000 deaths in Darfur cited by the Coalition for International Justice, a nongovernmental agency working for the U.S. Agency for International Development (The Washington Post, “Darfur’s Real Death Toll,” April 24, 2005). Even in the present, the fact of a holocaust seems to draw attention for a short period of time and then fades from consciousness, both personal and official. The conclusion is that humanity hasn’t become any more advanced or humane in the 21st century in dealing with international crises and wars since the barbarian hordes of the ancient world!

For many years I worked with a woman in public schools who was instrumental in finding housing in Rhode Island for refugees as they entered the U.S. from Cambodia and resettlement camps outside of Cambodia. Her work made a lot of sense to me. It seemed more practical than my resistance to the Vietnam War had been, but people do what they can given their immediate circumstances. That the world, governments, international organizations, and international laws have become little better at preventing mass murder against a particular group is of grave concern to those who value peace.

Howard Lisnoff teaches writing and is a freelance writer. He can be reached at

howielisnoff@gmail.com.

Real Estate Crunch Hits Local Banks

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 December 2008

Nearly every morning over the last few weeks, owners of construction companies around Phnom Penh have gathered at their sites, looking sadly on under-constructed homes they've been unable to sell. These investors worry constantly over how to collect the large sums they need to pay back loans they made for real estate investment.

Experts worry that this inability to repay loans on large mortgages will lead local banks into their own economic crisis, echoing the global downturn that was itself caused by the failure in part of the US housing market.

Nearly 50 percent of Cambodian real estate investors, from almost 20companies, depend heavily on borrowed money from local banks, which had until recently provided them with great benefits in a booming sector, real estate agents say. But after the global financial crisis,the price for land and houses in Cambodia fell dramatically.

Somaly, who owns a self-named company, told VOA Khmer recently she owed the banks around $500,000, which must be paid back at the end of the year. Unfortunately, she said, she can't even pay the interest,about $5,000 per month.

"A lot of houses got stuck [and] can't be sold because there are many sellers and no buyers," said Somaly, who only gave one name. "If so,how can we find the money to pay them back?"

Investors like Somaly worry that their properties will be seized by the banks if they have no money to pay the interest.

Equity loans rapidly emerged at the end of 2006, as several large commercial banks competed with each other for investors. Land prices were high and rising, and by the end of 2007, property development loans reached $100 million, according to statistics gathered by the National Bank of Cambodia.

The market slowed in 2008, with a sharp drop in the final quarter, and investors will face collection from the banks in the first four months of 2009.

"Those who used bank credit, they now have no choice," said Sung Bunna, head of the Bunna Realty Group. "That will cause our land market even more silence."

In such a climate, economists worry that banks will not only fail to collect debt but can ruin their own credit in the process, as they collect confiscated property instead of cash.

Kong Chandararoth, president of the Cambodian Institute of Economic Study and Development, said banks in Cambodia could face a financial crisis if they couldn't get their loans back in cash.

"If [investors] are not unable to pay back the banks, mortgaged property will be confiscated," he said. "So the banks will face theirown financial crisis, because what they get back is not liquid cash."

"There will be a problem," said Sam Genthy, a banking expert at the Royal University of Law and Economics and former adviser to the National Bank. "We'll wait and see what happens. If the bank can't find resources to replace their ruined credit, they will suffer."

Economists worry Cambodia's banks will suffer the same fate as US and European banks that offered up nearly 100 percent of their credit to real estate loans and are now bankrupt, despite a regulation put out by the National Bank in July that permitted only 15 percent of total credit to be loaned to real estate borrowers.

Stephen Higgins, chief executive officer for ANZ Royal bank, said his bank had been insulated from the crunch through the selection of valued customers.

"We have some loans, property development loans, but they are from very good customers who have plenty of cash flow," he said. "So for ANZ Royal bank, we don't have a problem."

However, representatives of other local banks confessed anonymously that some of their resources were already stuck with real estate loans in collection.

Tal Nay Im, general director of the National Bank of Cambodia, saidshe hasn't received any reports of crisis, but she said banks thatface market downturn difficulties will have to sort the problems forthemselves.

Should Royals Be Kept From Politics?

By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 December 2008

The appointment of princes and princesses to positions at the Royal Palace, effectively removing them from politics while preserving the royal image, has generally been welcomed, but views differ on whether a law should be put in place to officially keep them out.

In general, many royal family members have decided to leave positions in political parties, as advised by former king Norodom Sihanouk, said Prince Norodom Sirivuth, but they should still be allowed to express their ideas for the national interest.

"I myself am delighted and congratulate seeing the royal families help the king and the monarchy with some work that is non-political," he said. "I believe for sure that the government would support this move,because royal family members should have some role to serve the nation outside of politics."

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who had been the most politically influential royal outside his father, Norodom Sihanouk, recently recused himself from politics and was promoted by King Norodom Sihamoni to supreme adviser, with a rank equal to prime minister.

Aside from him and Norodom Sirivuth, 25 other princes and princesses have been appointed as royal advisers, said Prince Sisowath Thomico,himself an adviser to the king.

Nguon Nhil, first vice president of the National Assembly, hailed the appointments of royals away from politics as a good move, adding that the appointments were not initiated by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"Maybe His Majesty wishes for royal family members to stay in a cycle out of politics," he said. "If they stay in politics, inevitably there will be clashes that will have an impact on the image of the monarchy."

A law defining the work of royals and the expenses for their work was not unreasonable, he said, as the number of appointments was increasing.

Hun Sen has already said he would support a law to bar royals from politics, Nguon Nhil said.

"If there is no clearly defined law, they could become a group practicing politics from within the Royal Palace," he said. "There should be something to define them, with such a definition to prevent princes and princesses from politicking, which could damage the images of the Sisowath and Norodom bloodlines."

Sisowath Thomico said the appointments did not mean that royals would stop serving the nation through other initiatives that were not directly competitive with politics. This natural turning point was better than creating a prohibition, which would run counter to a constitution that guarantees each citizen the right to political involvement, he said. Such a law would also be a waste of human resources, he added, as many royals have high levels of education.

"The present leaders of the nation should give a clear definition of what politics are," he said. "If royal family members take leadership roles in activities in culture, health, education and humanitarianism,are they practicing politics? If the government doesn't want us to do anything, they can just open a museum and put all the royal family members into it and just sell tickets."

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director for Cambodian Defenders Project, said creating a law to ban any group of people from politics would be unconstitutional. "It would be better to find a solution other than creating such a law," he said. "Another solution would demonstrate that our country is continuing on the path of liberal democracy."

Sisowath Thomico, meanwhile, said history showed that when Cambodiawas invaded by foreign countries, or underwent some kind of chaos, itwas the royal family, representing national unity and hope, that wasmost popular. That was not the case, he said, in a time of independence and peace.

Vietnam Donates Khmer Rouge Films

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 December 2008

The Vietnamese government has agreed to hand over 16 documentary films about the Khmer Rouge to the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which help in the prosecution of leaders of the regime, officials said Friday.

The film donation marked a first among Asean countries in aiding the tribunal, which is preparing for the first trial of five jailed leaders in early 2009.

The films, which include English and Khmer language, were shot by Vietnamese soldiers between 1977 and 1982 and document several aspects of the regime: conditions for children, criminal evidence against Pol Pot in Prey Veng province, Tuol Sleng in 1979, the treatment of foreigners and the killing of Vietnamese nationals in Vietnam's Tai Ninh province.

"This is an indictment of war crimes," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center, as he prepared to travel to Hanoi Friday to pick up the films. "These documents are very important. They show a step forward in what was a clash between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese troops. And some of the documentaries are related to information that can serve as evidence that has not been use or analyzed yet."

Ethnic Vietnamese suffered heavily under the Khmer Rouge, and hundreds were killed in Tuol Sleng, the prison headed by Duch, who is scheduled to be the first leader of the regime to face trial.

"I think these documents will serve for research on the genocide of the past," said Trinh Ba Cam, a spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

He did not comment on the reason behind the donation, but Youk Chhang said Friday it was likely due to the killings of Vietnamese soldiers and residents, as well as the independent nature of his documentation center.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said the films were "valuable for theevolution" of the courts, which have already used many of thedocuments gathered by Youk Chhang and his researchers over more theyears.

Pope: Christmas Greetings for the World Over

AssociatedPress

After reading a litany of the world's woes, Pope Benedict XVI added a lighter touch, reciting holiday greetings in 64 languages, including Latin, the Church's official tongue. (Dec. 25)

Queen Elizabeth II Gives Somber Christmas Broadcast

AssociatedPress

Queen Elizabeth II has delivered a somber Christmas broadcast, acknowledging the economic crisis and calling for people to show courage. (Dec. 25)

King Sihanouk: Ex-Cambodian king fighting cancer

In this Sep. 2, 2006 file photo, Cambodia's retired king Norodom Sihaouk, right, and former queen Monineath, left, greet well-wishers on their departure for China at the Phnom Penh International Airport, Cambodia. Sihanouk is fighting his third bout with cancer but is optimistic he will recover and return to his homeland from China, according to a message dated Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008 on his Web site.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

In this Sep. 2, 2006, file photo, retired Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk greets well-wishers before his departure for China from Phnom Penh International Airport, Cambodia. Sihanouk is fighting his third bout with cancer but is optimistic he will recover and return to his homeland from China, according to a message dated Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008 on his Web site.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Cambodia Is Not on the List of 27 Countries Receiving Drugs Against the Drug Resistant Most Serious Tuberculosis of the World - Friday, 26.12.2008

Posted on 26 December 2008

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 592

“Phnom Penh: The director of th the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control said that Cambodia is excluded from a list of 27 countries of the world with cases of drug resistance related to the most serious tuberculosis, but there are 30 people dying quietly per day in this country.

“The director of the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, and an advisor of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mao Tan Ieng, telling state and private service providers during a workshop on Thursday morning that, according a new report of the World Health Organization, 27 countries of the world with high numbers of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis, Cambodia is not among those countries.

“He added, ‘Tuberculosis drug resistance is most devastating; it kills human quietly.’

“He went on to say that in Cambodia, there are between 1.2% and 1.3% of the patients that have drug-resistant tuberculosis, and around 5 to 6 people get infected by tuberculosis per day. At present, 50 to 60 patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis are receiving treatment, and there is still medicine left for curing 100 patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis. He said also that per year, Cambodia has between 400 and 500 patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.

“He continued to say that drugs to treat a [normal] tuberculosis patient costs US$20 to US$30, while drugs for a drug resistant patient are US$5,000, when the drug is bought from specific organizations. If the national program and the government want to buy it from this chanel, they have to get the permission from the Green Light Committee in Geneva/Switzerland. If one buys from the outside, around US$30,000 are needed to be spent to buy drugs for a patient with drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Note:

As the article does not mention why Cambodia is not on the list of the Green Light Committee - whether it applied and was rejected, or whatever may be the reasons - we quote here from a document of this organization.
One point seems to be crucial: To receive Green Light Committee support, it is necessary to have a strict control of the procedures to apply the drugs - because otherwise the sickness will become more severe.

“SUMMARY

“Controlling multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is one of the six components of the WHO Stop TB strategy

“Although prevention must be the highest priority for TB control programs, many countries have patients with drug-resistant TB who must be treated too. Such countries should take specific measures to gradually incorporate appropriate strategies for treatment of this form of tuberculosis into their tuberculosis into their Misuse of second-line anti-TB drugs results in further resistance to these same second-line drugs, creating incurable forms of tuberculosis
“It is imperative that second-line anti-TB drugs are used wisely.

“The WHO Guidelines For The Programmatic Management Of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) provide recommendations for appropriate management of drug-resistant TB so as not to generate further drug resistance. To help programs develop and implement strategies for the management of drug-resistant TB, the Green-Light-Committee for Access to Second-line Anti-tuberculosis Drugs (Green Light Committee) was created by the WHO and its partners in January 2000.

“The Green Light Committee consists of six to seven experts in programmatic, scientific, clinical, and microbiological aspects of TB that serve the WHO in an advisory capacity. The Committee is responsible for reviewing applications,evaluating proposed projects,assisting applicants,monitoring approved projects, and contributing to the evidence base for the programmatic management of drug-resistant TB. Each individual and his/her alternate represent a leading public health institution active in TB control internationally. Each institution is allowed one vote, and the Green Light Committee freely consults outside experts as needed. All members are required to adhere to rules of conflict of interest and confidentiality and, thus, are recused for voting onapplications from projects with which they have or had a direct relation.”

“Treatment takes from 18 months to 2 years, while treating normal tuberculosis takes only 6 months.

“According to the National Tuberculosis Control Program, since the start of cooperation between state and private services from May 2005 up to the present, the program has been expanded to 11 provinces and cities covering 36 operational districts among the 77 districts of the 24 provinces and cities.

“Aiming at effient cooperation between the state and the private services to encourage research about and treatment for tuberculosis patients, Dr. Mao Tan Ieng said that in early December, Ms. Monica from the Green Light Committee in Geneva assessed the cooperation and found good results and some inactive program problems that need to be solved.

“An official of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) associated with the National Tuberculosis Control Program, Dr. Nishiyama, said that JICA supports the cooperation between state and private services that are cooperating to send suspected tuberculosis affected people to be checked and treated with public services of the state.

“He added, ‘Some patients go to discuss with private services, which have a very crucial role to find suspected people and send them to receive state services, so that all Cambodian citizens have good health.

“A Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, a pharmacist, Mr. Yim Yan, said that tuberculosis infection is very high hazard. Therefore, the Ministry of Health created a policy to link state and private services. He continued to say that we see progress which demands more efforts, and problems faced that we will solve in this workshop.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4778, 26.12.2008
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Friday, 26 December 2008

Cambodia's Former King Has Cancer For Third Time - Web Site

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP)--Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk has been diagnosed with cancer a third time, according to a message posted on his Web site.

The 86-year-old, who left for Beijing in July to receive medical treatment for another illness, wrote on Thursday that his Chinese doctors had found a new cancer, but he didn't disclose where it was.

Sihanouk has suffered from a number of ailments, including cancer, diabetes and hypertension.

Despite giving up his role as monarch, he remains a prominent figure in Cambodia who often uses messages to weigh in on matters affecting the country.

In his latest message he said the doctors, who had treated his two previous cancers, were optimistic about his treatment, saying the "current one is situated in a part of my body which will allow relatively simpler and easier treatment."

In another letter marked "confidential" but also posted on his Web site, the former king said his planned return to Cambodia in February would be delayed for treatment.

He said he will return when "my eminent (Chinese) doctors shall have healed me."

Sihanouk was first diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a cancer affecting blood cells crucial to the immune system, in 1993.

The cancer began in his prostate, and recurred in 2005 in his stomach.

Earlier this month Sihanouk said his health was deteriorating and hinted that he believed he didn't have long to live.

BBC drama aims to educate

Photo by: Photo Supplied

Scenes from the film The Village Nurse’s Charms.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Christopher Shay
Friday, 26 December 2008

The Village Nurse's Charms employs a compelling love story to provide viewers with useful tips on how to prevent malaria in Cambodia's rural areas

THE BBC World Service Trust released a 30-minute drama last week called The Village Nurse's Charms, which is aimed at educating Cambodians on how to better protect themselves against malaria.

In the short film, Samphors - a beautiful young nurse - returns to her village and finds herself caught in a love triangle between an ice cream salesman-malaria health volunteer and a handsome young actor. In order to compete for the love of Samphors, the smitten health volunteer will need to prove himself worthy. And, surely, his knowledge of malaria prevention will come in handy.

Entertaining education

"[The film] is very entertaining. It's important to create characters that people can relate to. It's not too dry and technical," said Vanessa Johanson, head of the project.

The film is part of a two-year project by the BBC World Service Trust that started in early 2008 and includes TV and radio spots aimed at educating Cambodians about malaria prevention.

Though none of the malaria-specific TV spots have run yet, prior BBC World Service projects designed to raise awareness about HIV and human trafficking have been deemed successful, according to Johanson.

One reason for Johanson's optimism about the project is the incorporation of audience research that has allowed the project to target specific knowledge gaps in malaria prevention.

"Our research has shown that there was a high usage of bed nets but not a high usage of treated bed nets, which are much more effective, and that's just one example," she said.

The film also focuses on teaching Cambodians that pregnant women and young children have low immunity to the disease and about the importance of taking a full course of unexpired medicines while avoiding dangerous cocktails of drugs.

Johanson said she hopes the film's theme song, "The Malaria Song", will prove to be a useful vehicle for education.

" [the film] is very entertaining ... it’s not dry and technical. "

Spreading the message

The film will be broadcast nationally seven times on TV5 and Bayon TV from March to May next year, just as Cambodia moves towards the wet season when anti-malarial measures are particularly important.

The film will also be distributed heavily in a workshop environment in Pailin, Battambang and Preah Vihear - provinces with high malaria rates - through provincial village health workers from the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control.

Johanson expects people to learn how to take steps to prevent malaria while at the same time thoroughly enjoying the first-of-its-kind film.

"To my knowledge, there has never been a drama focused on fighting malaria before, so this is a very exciting time," she said.

Malaria is found throughout Cambodia, except in Phnom Penh and Tonle Sap lake region, experts say.

About 262,000 Cambodians are diagnosed with malaria each year, according to 2006 statistics from the World Health Organisation. Pregnant women, small children and men who work in the forests are particularly at risk.

Indian company eyes local pharmacy plant

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

A local pharmacist displays an assortment of imported medications. Many drugs on Cambodian shelves are imported knockoffs.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara
Friday, 26 December 2008

The company hopes that producing high-quality pharmaceuticals in country will cut demand for counterfeit medicines imported from abroad

AN Indian investment group has tabled a plan at the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce to recruit private partners to build a new pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant in Cambodia, the body's director general, Nguon Ming Tech, told the Post.

He did not identify the investors but said they were prepared to devote up to US$1 million to the new facility in a push to curb counterfeit drugs in Cambodia.

"They are interested in this sector because they don't want to see Cambodia rely on imported drugs," Nguon Ming Tech said.

"Thousands of pharmacies in the country offer imported medicine, much of which is counterfeit."

Yim Yann, president of the Pharmacists Association of Cambodia, said Cambodia has about 1,000 registered pharmacies, with an additional 1,000 pharmacies operating illegally.

"I think a new pharmaceuticals factory will bring new technology to Cambodia and will be able to take advantage of local resources," he said.

"Presently, there are only seven local pharmaceutical factories, which can produce only basic medicine and which serves only about 20 percent of the population."

"A new factory must be able to produce specialised drugs. Otherwise, it will be of little use to us," Yim Yann said, adding that Cambodia spends nearly $100 million on specialised medicines each year.

Nguon Ming Tech said India is a leader in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and that a facility to produce drugs locally would represent a significant developmental step for the country.

"The Cambodian Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the investment plan because it will improve health care in the country by allowing the production of locally made and safe medicines," he said.

"The Indian investment group wants to establish a partnership with local business people, and we are waiting to see their official proposal. Now, we are only helping to facilitate negotiations with relevant government ministries," he said.

Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said on Sunday that he welcomed investment in the pharmaceuticals sector but warned that any such plan must comply with foreign investment rules.

He said many kinds of medicines are available across the nation but acknowledged the benefits of a local manufacturing plant.

"If the proposed factory can produce specialised medicine for the treatment of heart and lung disease, cancer and liver ailments ... this would be very crucial for our country," he said.

He said curbing drug counterfeiting remains a priority for the Health Ministry.