The Use of Agricultural Chemical Pesticides Is Still Popular despite Knowing that They Are Dangerous - Friday, 13.2.2009

Posted on 14 February 2009
The Mirror

“Phnom Penh: Even though there are reminders from officials of the Ministry of Agriculture to be careful when using agricultural chemical pesticides, at present, many farmers at different places said that they still cannot give it up. Farmers in Kandal said that the use of agricultural chemical pesticides is still a crucial method that cannot be given up so that their crops provide good yields to meet the markets and their needs. In the meantime, experts found that there are up to 147 types of agricultural chemical pesticides sold on markets, and among them between 40 and 50 types strongly harm the health of consumers.

“Mr. Nob (name provided by the writer), 48, a farmer in a commune of Kandal S’ang district, said that so far, he still uses agricultural chemical pesticides, although he knows that they can affect his health and that of the consumers, because there is no choice.

“Kandal borders on Phnom Penh, and it is a province which supplies agricultural products, such as vegetables and fruits to the markets in Phnom Penh and in other provinces. Some districts along the lower Mekong and Basak rivers are also sources of vegetables.

“Mr. Nob is a farmer growing many kinds of crops, such as cabbage, salad, and [edible] Khatna flowers in his village, in order to supply them to the markets in Phnom Penh. The method he uses to take care of his crops until they provide yields is to use agricultural chemical pesticides that he can buy easily from different places in his locality.

“He said, ‘I must use them so that my crops grow well, and if I do not use them, worms will eat all the crops.’ According to his description, he and his villagers have so far not seen any official experts in agriculture coming to instruct them and to explain the impact of the use of agricultural chemical pesticides, and to start to produce natural poison or natural fertilizer, although nowadays, the Minister of Agriculture and some organizations are encouraging citizens to cut down on the use of agricultural poison or chemical fertilizers, saying one can change to natural fertilizer and natural methods of pest control.

“Responding to this problem, the Svay Prateal commune chief in S’ang, Kandal, Mr. Nuon Soeun, said that agricultural officials did never come to explain the impact of the use of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer, but previously, there were organizations coming to help educate farmers some time, but the farmers seemed not interested in it. He added that natural pesticides are likely more difficult to produce and more tiring than to use chemical pesticides.

“He went on to say, ‘I also used to produce poison to prevent insects from destroying some types of crops, it takes half a month at least to find the resources and to mix them. As for chemical pesticides, I just go to the market to buy them, mix them with water, and apply it on crops; that’s all.’

“According to his experience, to produce natural poison to prevent insects, farmers need to find many different resources such as the bark of the Sdao tree, the poisonous fruit of the Sleng tree, and the poisonous bark of the Kantuot tree, and soak them in water that is then used to apply to the crops. He said that doing so is complicated and can make farmers get tired of it. According to information from him, among more than 3,000 families, most of them take up cropping, and up to 90% of them use agricultural chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizer.

“At present, the Ministry of Agriculture, especially the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Chan Sarun, who always goes directly to different localities countrywide, appeals to farmers to change their habits from using agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer to using natural poison and natural fertilizer. The change, that the Ministry of Agriculture wants, is to ensure the health of the farmers themselves and also of the consumers; that is to care for the quality of soil and water - without any poison. Many hazards might happen because farmers use chemical pesticides without proper instruction from experts. Also, the ministry encourages its officials to go to educate farmers at their localities about these problems.

“The S’ang district governor, Mr. Khim Chankiri, and the director of the Kandal Agricultural Department, Mr. Bun Tuon Simona, denied what residents had mentioned: that expert officials never reach out to them to instruct them about the impact of chemical pesticides, and they said that these problems are what they actually are focusing on.

“Mr. Chankiri added that before, district officials went to instruct them about these problems, and moreover, the department had sent officials. He continued to say, ‘Most of them thought it was wasting their time, instead of working on cropping, but they did take part. This is why they said that there was never any official going to educate them regularly.’ As for Mr. Tuon Simona, he said that so far, the agricultural department went to educate them regularly about how to create natural fertilizer and many different measures to protect crops and prevent impacts of the use of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer.

“However, according to another farmer in another province and some other people, they said the same about the presence of agricultural officials. They said that they rarely saw agricultural officials going to meet farmers, except when there were ceremonies to accompany their higher officials. Actually, relating to this problem, obviously there should be more active outreach by experts than before, rather than pointing to the statements of higher officials. They often assume that lower officials are inactive for different reasons, or they create just project expenses about non existing tasks. Therefore, farmers cannot receive what the Minister wants.

“Regarding this problem, the director of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture [CEDAC], Dr. Yang Saing Koma, said that generally, the use of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer has become already a habit of the farmers. Thus, to change them, takes time and needs participation.

“He added, ‘If the use of chemical products has already become their habit, it is most difficult to change.’

“By now, there are hundreds of types of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer on the local markets - according to a study by the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture .

“The project coordinator of CEDAC, Mr. Keam Makarady said that in 2008, the center found there were up to 147 types of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer at the markets all over Cambodia, among which 53% were imported from Vietnam and 37% from Thailand. Among them, from 40 to 50 types can enter into vegetables and fruit, when pesticides are administered on them.

“He emphasized, ‘Talking about chemical substances, we found 147 types, but talking about commercial names of pesticides, there are up to 606 types.’

“According to the findings of the center in 2007, there were only 132 agricultural chemical pesticides on the market, and 472 commercial names. Therefore, within one year, all his increased greatly.

“He said that that those kinds of pesticides are harmful to the health of users, particularly farmers, who use and touch them directly.

“Based on Mr. Makarady words, those pesticides can directly affect farmers, for example they cause getting dizzy and having to vomit, they can damage the stomach and the bladder, cause skin diseases, and weaken the health. They indirectly affect also consumers who eat their products, especially chemical pesticides that can enter into vegetables and fruit.

“Relating to the use of agricultural chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizer, a farmer in Kandal, who grows banana, said (by not mentioning his name), that - in order to meet their demands - farmers use those chemical pesticides. He added that if they grow and their products depend only on the nature, farmers cannot harvest enough to meet the demands of the market.

“He emphasized, ‘After a banana tree loses its flowers, it takes three months for bananas to ripe. But if chemicals are applied, they can make it ripe within two months. Just apply chemicals one or two times, and small bananas grow really big, and they look as if they had been pumped up like a balloon.

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4820, 13.2.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 13 February 2009

Political interference at the tribunal?

The Post.blog

Posted by Elena in ECCC, Duch
Fri 13 Feb 2009

Although she has been a relatively understated figure at the court, Cambodian Co-Prosecutor Chea Leang is attracting a good deal of attention at the moment. Her stand against additional investigations at the ECCC puts her at odds not only with her foreign counterpart, Robert Petit, but also with court watchers who suspect her decision is not wholly independent.

"The nature of Cambodian Co-Prosecutor Chea Leang's opposition to investigation of additional suspects beyond the five already charged has raised concern that she may not be free to act independently in determining appropriate targets for prosecution," tribunal monitor the Open Society Justice Initiative writes in its most recent report. "Her objections seemingly acknowledge the sufficiency of the evidence and legal basis for proceeding with the investigations, yet she refused to agree for reasons which are not factually supported and appear as pretext."

In its February 2009 report, the watchdog group highlights funding shortfalls, unresolved corruption allegations and the disagreement between prosecutors as to whether the court should pursue additional suspects. Petit filed an official "Statement of Disagreement" in early December and Chea issued a public response saying she feared additional investigations would jeopardize Cambodia's stability.

While I do not want to underplay the importance of resolving corruption allegations at the tribunal, it is this issue surrounding additional suspects that strikes me as the most critical measure of the court's legitimacy.

As OSJI points out, the funding problem will most likely be addressed when the corruption allegations and prosecution dispute are resolved. Although the court must develop stronger anti-corruption mechanisms, anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in Cambodia knows how entrenched corruption is in all institutions here. If staffers do indeed have to pay kickbacks to higher ups, the practice needs to stop. But does it undermine the court's judicial integrity in the way a politically manipulated roster of defendants would?

I don't think so.

Even when negotiations for the court were underway, parties worked to create potential safeguards against political interference. The dispute resolution process that was finally adopted was meant to address concerns that prosecutors might disagree either based on the "merits of any particular individual being charged" or "because one of the co-prosecutors appears politically influenced and the other seeks the ruling of the Pre-Trial Chamber to ensure the integrity of the ECCC," according to OSJI.

"'Obviously, during the negotiations, concerns about political influence were dealt with delicately, but everyone knew we were building a dispute settlement mechanism to overcome either merits or political disagreement,'" David Scheffer, former US Ambassador for War Crimes and a key negotiator, told OSJI.Â

The Justice Initiative report continues: "The reasons put forth by the Cambodian prosecutor justifying her decision not to proceed are not related to the merits of the evidence and so suggest that the political motivations that worried the drafters of the Agreement are the basis for her decision."

Now, the decision over additional prosecutions rests with the Pre-Trial Chamber. How the chamber rules will, most likely, be a defining moment for the court. For some, it will be the ultimate test of the tribunal's judicial independence -- and an indicator of whether the court is to be taken seriously.

Despite all the hype leading up to the trial of "Comrade Duch," as scholar Peter Maguire pointed out in a recent commentary, "Duch is a garden variety war criminal who could be quickly and easily convicted by a basic military tribunal for his well documented violations of basic human rights norms."

It is how the complicated cases of more senior leaders are handled that will make or break the tribunal. And "some speculate that the Cambodian government is serving up this easily convicted thug as a sacrificial lamb in the hopes that the other over-80 defendants won't live long enough to see the inside of the courtroom," Maguire continues.

While he's not convinced of the practicality of pursuing additional defendants, Maguire concedes that the decision handed down by the Pre-Trial Chamber will be a crucial test of the court's integrity:

"It did not take the Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang (niece of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An) long to reject the move on both practical and political grounds. If nothing else, the UN's attempt to broaden this criminal inquiry will serve both as a test of the mixed tribunal's legitimacy and its ability to function as a court.

"For many years, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was firmly in control of these proceedings, but by opening further criminal investigations, the UN has challenged his control. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Cambodian prime minister has the political will to try the Khmer Rouge political leaders." Â

Khanh Hoa’s Command strengthens tie with Cambodia’s Stung-Treng

Voice of the Armed Forces and People, Vietnam
Friday, 13/02/2009

PANO – Military Commands of two provinces of Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to continue increasing their cooperation to protect the social security in their localities.

This agreement was reached during the first meeting between the military authorities from the two commands to review their cooperative tasks in 2008, and to sign a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for cooperation this year.

The Cambodian military partner also agreed to continue help Vietnamese teams in their search for the graves of Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Cambodia during military campaigns there.

Earlier, Khanh Hoa’s Military Command asked the Provincial People’s Committee to help support Cambodia’s Stung-Treng Province’s Military Command in building an 200 square-metre office for the unit and to provide other needed equipment.

Translated by Ngoc Hung

Civil service in Cambodia: magistrates in their sixties are resisting

Kampong Som (Cambodia). 28/08/2007: Provincial court of Kampong Som
© John Vink / Magnum

Ka-set

By Duong Sokha
13-02-2009

It is retirement time for the sixty-year-old. The order given to all ministries in Cambodia in the directive issued on January 12th 2009 by prime Minister Hun Sen cannot be clearer. Once the fateful retirement age - sixty years - is reached, civil servants are required to leave their positions. The measure is officially aimed at improving “governance” and “efficiency” in the management of the administration. But it is not to the liking of all those concerned, little inclined to exchange their small salary for a most hypothetical pension. In order to avoid being forced to leave, some have requested more or less successfully the intervention of high officials, while others have not hesitated to falsify civil status documents to make themselves a few years younger. In the Ministry of Justice, the administration proves even more understanding with its old magistrates, who are allowed “extensions” due to staff shortage.

A difficult replacement
In the January 12th directive, which actually only aims to remind ministries of their obligation to implement the Law on the common statute of civil servants promulgated on October 24th 1994, Hun Sen stresses that any false age declaration and any delay in making civil servants retire are formally prohibited. But has this call really been heard by the judicial power, which neutrality has been so often questioned by the population? Heard, undoubtedly. Implemented, that is a different story.

Without taking a stance on the legitimacy of the measure, Keo Sophal, Under-Secretary of State to Justice in charge of the personnel and administration section, simply recalls that the appointment, reassignment, sanction and retirement of magistrates do not fall within the competence of the government, but of the Supreme Council of Magistracy (SCM) of Cambodia, an institution comprised of eight members and presided by King Norodom Sihamoni. “Some judges who have reached retirement age have submitted a written request to the SCM to delay the start of their retirement. The Council is the one who will allow it or not,” he declares.

But the high official still wonders, “If old magistrates were all forced to retire, would there remain enough judges to rule on the disputes of citizens?” He then shares some evocative figures: there are only 188 judges and 91 prosecutors today in Cambodia, for a population of 13.4 million people.

Sympathetic attention
The SCM is empowered to rule in favour – or not – of those judges who intend to keep their functions beyond their 60th summer. And it can only be noticed that the Council has not refrained from doing so. For instance, in a royal decree signed on January 31st 2009 by King Sihamoni, that is 19 days after the publication of the prime Minister's directive, the SCM decided to allow four 60-year-old judges to continue working for one year, thereby giving a favourable response to their request. Recently contacted by telephone, two of the four concerned judges, Thong Ol, vice-president of the provincial court of Kampong Cham and reserve co-investigating judge at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in charge of judging former Khmer Rouge leaders, and Pol Vorn, president of the provincial court of Pursat, flatly refused to comment the decision and explain their motives.

Henrot Raken, SCM member and general prosecutor of the Cambodian Court of Appeal, justifies the conciliatory attitude of the Council on the grounds of a lack of available human resources to ensure the replacement of the retiring magistrates. According to him, until now, the SCM has reportedly forced only one magistrate to retire. “Magistrates make a request [to the SCM] to delay the date when they have to retire and the SCM generally gives its agreement,” he explains.

Training established since 2002
If a shortage of magistrates exists, it is to be imputed to a delay in the training of young recruits, explains the Under-Secretary of State to Justice Keo Sophal. During the second term of the government (1998-2003), there was no selection of candidates to the positions of magistrates. It was only in February 2002, the high official recalls, that initial training and continuing vocational training for future judges and prosecutors were set up and mandated to the new Royal School of Magistracy. Fifty future magistrates were recruited upon exam on the first year and every year since 2004. They must follow specific courses for two years. “At the end of their comprehensive training, they must complete internships in a court, for one year minimum with ordinary judges before they are allowed to take office,” he specifies. “Until today, only the magistrate students of the first and second promotions were confirmed in posts. We are therefore faced with a shortage,” Keo Sophal argues.

Henrot Raken adds that the magistrates fresh from school are unable for now to replace the judges and prosecutors who have reached retirement age. “In principle, if a statute on magistrates existed [in Cambodia], magistrates would have to report ten years of experience before they can be appointed prosecutors or court presidents,” the general prosecutor explains. “Presumably, [at the end of their training] they can be appointed judges or deputy prosecutors.”

For several years, Cambodian civil society has called for a law on the statute of judges and prosecutors, which they hope will include a guarantee for the independence of the judicial branch. In its absence, some uncertainty prevails as magistrates are theoretically subject to the Law on the common statute of civil servants. A draft law on the statute of magistrates is reported to be currently “in the process of review,” according to the Secretary of State to Justice Hy Sophea, who gives no further details.

Retirement of 13 magistrates
However, the human resources shortage have not prevented some sixty-year-old magistrates from retiring, willy nilly. But voluntary retirement remains rare. A royal decree signed on September 3rd 2005 by King Sihamoni instructed the Ministry of Justice to order into retirement 13 magistrates (nine judges and four prosecutors) who had reached their sixties. It is reportedly the first group of Cambodian magistrates made to retire by a royal decree, upon suggestion from the Ministry of Justice. Thus, twelve were meant to leave their functions on October 1st 2005 and the 13th one on March 1st 2007. In contrast, the letter sent by Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana to Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng to request the issuance of pension books for the 13 retired magistrates was dated August 31st 2007 only, that is two years after the royal decree was signed... The Justice Minister could not be reached to explain the delay and provide further information on this case.

8 months of salary for magistrates
Indeed, the issue of the payment of pensions is a cause for concern. Eight days before the publication of the government directive ordering the retirement of civil servants over the age of 60, prime Minister Hun Sen was careful to specify - in a sub-decree dated January 4th 2009 - the amount of pensions and bonuses for retiring magistrates. According to the sub-decree, retired judges and prosecutors must receive the equivalent of eight months of salary at the time of their retirement, then from the following month, the pension must match their last salary.

Until today, the payment of pensions appears to have been random. Chan Huon, aged 65, former judge of the province of Koh Kong, who was part of the group of 13 magistrates ordered to retire “over three years ago”, affirms that he has never received his pension from the Ministry of Social Affairs and he does not know which authority to turn to. When he was in post in Koh Konh from 2003 to 2005, he earned 1.4 million riels (350 dollars) every month. “If the government asks me to come and get [my pension], I will go. Otherwise, I do not know how to receive it,” the former magistrate deplores, who also used to be Secretary of State to Justice at the end of the government's third mandate. He adds that he too would have liked not to among the group of the 13 retired ones. But his request to the SCM for a delay - through the intermediary of the Ministry of Justice - was rejected, unlike others...

At Last, Justice Comes to Cambodia

Justice delayed, but not denied: Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, once presided over the Tuol Sleng extermination center in Phnom Penh, inset; now he faces a special court. (Photo: AFP. Inset: courtesy Ung Pech, from Ben Kiernan, "The Pol Pot Regime.")

Cold War politics overlooked genocide and other atrocities

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Benny Widyono
YaleGlobal, 13 February 2009

NEW YORK: Nearly 12 years after the UN initiative to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide that took the lives of approximately 1.7 million people, the first preliminary hearing will be held in Phnom Penh on February 17. After years of talk and proclamations, but little action, Cambodians and people all over the world will watch how the justice is delivered.

The first person to be tried is Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, accused of crimes committed in the secret prison S-21 ( Tuol Sleng) S-24 (Prey Sar) and the killing ground of Choeung Ek., Four other defendants in prison awaiting the tribunal with him are four remaining top leaders still alive: Nuon Chea, now 82, the former second in command of the Khmer Rouge movement; former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith; and former Minister of Social Affairs Khieu Samphan. Pol Pot, the former head of state and supreme leader of the movement, died 11 years ago.

Why did it take so long for justice to come to Cambodia? The answer can be found within the international political dynamics during the Cold War and later in protracted negotiations between the Cambodian government and the UN for setting up the court. Because of the Cold War, a long period of international amnesia followed the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials after World War II. In 1993-94, this amnesia was broken when the UN established the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and later by the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court in 2002 to deal with serous human rights abuses worldwide.

In Cambodia, Cold War diplomatic maneuvers swept Khmer Rouge atrocities under the carpet. On 7 January, 1979, Vietnamese Army and Cambodian defectors from the Khmer Rouge ended the Khmer Rouge rule. The People’s Republic of Kampuchea, which soon gained control over 90 percent of the country, was established.

In a great irony, as the battle shifted to New York, the United Nations in a resolution spearheaded by the US and China, awarded Cambodia’s seat in the General Assembly to the exiled Khmer Rouge terror regime; the actual government in Phnom Penh that ended the killing was turned into an international pariah. This travesty continued for 11 more years thereby prolonging the suffering of the Cambodian people. Throughout the 1980s, bringing the Khmer Rouge criminals to court was far from the minds of the powers that be. The PRK did try Khmer Rouge leaders Pol Pot and Ieng Sary, but few in the outside world paid attention.

Finally, the international aspects of the Cambodian problem were settled with the elections sponsored by the United Nations in May 1993 and the establishment of a new government, a new Royal government of Cambodia headed by two prime ministers Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen. In June 1997, following a strong suggestion by UN special representative on Human Rights in Cambodia Thomas Hammarberg, the co-premiers requested UN assistance to bring the Khmer Rouge to trial. A UN expert group recommended establishment of a hybrid tribunal such as that for Sierra Leone. However, the Cambodian government, which after violent clashes in July 1997, was headed by one prime minister, Hun Sen, who quickly rejected the idea and insisted on a Cambodian tribunal with international assistance.

One can only surmise that the government feared that some UN personalities, donor and human-right organizations would broaden the scope of the tribunal to favor adding more defendants, including senior ex-Khmer Rouge officials now serving in the government, while the Cambodian side insists that the trials should be limited to the five surviving top leaders. The Cambodian concern is on principle, not just numbers, as they fear that spreading the net would result in more instability. This proved to be true when most recently, in 2008, the UN Representative on Human Rights Yash Ghai went so far as stating in his March 2008 report to the UN Human Rights Council that “The real test will be if a suspect in or close to the Government is investigated and brought before the ECCC [Extraordinary Chambers in Courts of Cambodia].”

Control of the tribunal was the main issue over which the Cambodian government and the United Nations argued at every twist and turn. It was no surprise that the negotiations were protracted and acrimonious, even suspended in February 2002, as the UN walked out. The government's foot-dragging may have also contributed to improved relations between Hun Sen and China which, as erstwhile supporter of the Khmer Rouge, could be embarrassed by an international tribunal. In June 2003, the UN and the Cambodian government signed an agreement that established the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. It started functioning in 2006.

Since then, achievements of the tribunal include the arrest of top surviving leaders and the participation of highly regarded international judges and prosecutors. The addition of a unit in which victims can participate in the process is widely acclaimed. By July 2008 it was announced that the first trial would commence in September. In the end, it took four more months. Proponents argue that the tribunal can be a tool to improve the judicial system in a transitional state ravaged by war and political upheaval, as well as political interference and control.

On the negative side, the lack of an independent and trained Cambodian judiciary, continuing yet unspecific accusations of corruption, and budgetary woes serve to mar the progress, and in practice protracted negotiations continued during implementation of the agreement. As of February 2009, the international prosecutor continued to argue that five more defendants should be tried, while the Cambodians insisted five is enough,

As the tribunal is financed from voluntary contributions, individual donors influence the process. Donors were concerned when accusations of corruption surfaced. It's reported that the US, which has not contributed to the tribunal, and perhaps others as well, favor a court with a top international personality overseeing the Cambodian director of administration and the UN deputy.

To placate the donors, new UN appointments were made in June, including David Tolbert, an ex-Yugoslavia tribunal prosecutor was named special expert to the UN secretary-general, with particular mandate over the budget. Knut Rosandhaug, veteran from the UN Kosovo mission took over from Michelle Lee as coordinator of UN assistance and deputy director of the tribunal administration; UN sources reportedly considered Lee, a Chinese national, as too lenient on the Cambodians. It remains to be seen how the new balance of power will play out in the court's day-to-day operations. At the end of 2008, the UN conducted an investigation of corruption in the tribunal, but the findings have not been published.

The trial, though late, still heralds a long-awaited process of healing and national reconciliation that require full accounting of what went on. A successful conclusion of the trials would include recognition of denial of justice imposed on Cambodia during the 1980s, a leftover obligation to be borne by donor countries. Such a successful conclusion for the tribunal would put an end to a dark chapter of history and exorcise the curse of the Khmer Rouge hanging over Cambodia.

Benny Widyono is author of “Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge and the United Nations in Cambodia,” published by Rowman Littlefield in 2008. Click here to read an excerpt.

Tigers' latest hope: Maggie the dung-sniffing dog

Hannah O'Kelly, a technical advisor for the Wildlife Conservation Society, plays with a German haired pointer named Maggie, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday Feb. 10, 2009. A dog trained to sniff for tiger droppings will help conservationists determine if the big cats still roam one of Cambodia's largest nature reserves. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A German haired pointer named Maggie jumps as she plays with an officer of the Wildlife Conservation Society office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday Feb. 10, 2009. Conservationists say a dog trained to sniff out tiger droppings has been flown to Cambodia in a last ditch effort to confirm the big cats still roam one of the country's largest nature reserves. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Hannah O'Kelly, a technical advisor for the Wildlife Conservation Society, plays with a German haired pointer named Maggie, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday Feb. 10, 2009. A dog trained to sniff for tiger droppings will help conservationists determine if the big cats still roam one of Cambodia's largest nature reserves. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A German haired pointer named Maggie is seen at the Wildlife Conservation Society office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Tuesday Feb. 10, 2009. Conservationists say a dog trained to sniff out tiger droppings has been flown to Cambodia in a last ditch effort to confirm the big cats still roam one of the country's largest nature reserves. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

By SOPHENG CHEANG

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Maggie the German wirehaired pointer has arrived in Cambodia with an unusual task — sniffing out tiger droppings in one of Cambodia's largest nature reserves.

The unorthodox move to employ a dog trained in Russia to search for signs of the big cats is part of a campaign to boost a tiger population in Asia that has plummeted to as few as 5,000 from 100,000 a century ago.

Starting next week, the salt-and-pepper, 6-year-old will begin scouring the undergrowth and sniffing for tiger scent on trees at the 1,158 square mile (3,000 square kilometer) Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area in northeastern Cambodia.

It is unclear how many tigers are even left in Cambodia, where — like in much of Asia — poaching and habitat encroachment are blamed for decimating the population.

The turn to dogs comes after camera traps and field surveys failed to find the big cats last year. The last sign of a tiger was in 2007, when a paw print was spotted in the park.

"We think this is the best method when we have a large area and not that many tigers," said Hannah O'Kelly, a wildlife monitoring adviser for the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

WCS and the wild cat conservation group Panthera, also based in New York, are spending about $30,000 to bring Maggie and a second dog from Russia to Seima later this year.

The effort to find tiger droppings is part of a larger campaign by conservationists worldwide to mine animal droppings for genetic information such as DNA that can save endangered species.

Elephant dung, for example, was used two years ago to calculate the population of pachyderms in Malaysia's Taman Negara National Park.

Now, researchers are hoping the tiger scat will help determine the existence of tigers in Seima along with their sex, age and whether any are pregnant or even under threat.

"As we gain the technology to extract things from scat like DNA and hormones, all of sudden scat becomes a gold mine of information," said Linda Kerley, a WCS consultant who trained the dogs in Russia.

O'Kelly said the data from the dung would allow researchers to establish a baseline population of tigers for the reserve and then develop a conservation plan based on the numbers and the potential threats.

Bringing in the two dogs is part of a $10 million, 10-year initiative launched in 2006 by WCS and Panthera called "Tigers Forever." It aims to increase the number of tigers by 50 percent in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Russian Far East and Thailand through a range of measures that include better monitoring, assessments of threats and efforts to minimize the dangers facing the big cats.

Men Soriyun, a project manager for Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, said he feels dogs offer the best hope of finding the tigers and that the method could be used by other national reserves.

"The best way to find tigers in the jungle is to use dogs because they can find tigers by their smell," Men Soriyun said.

Cambodia is the first country in Asia to employ dogs to search for tigers, a method pioneered in Russia's Far East that led to an accurate count of the hundreds of tigers spread across the region's several thousand miles (kilometers).

Since then, dogs have been used to search for jaguars in South America and leopards in Africa.

All six dogs taught to search for tigers were trained by Kerley in Russia's Lazovsky Nature Reserve. The best dogs for the task, she said, are hunting or sheep herding dogs that can easily detect the musky smell of the tiger's scat, excrement left by a wild animal.

"We don't want a dog that will hunt tigers," said Kerley, who accompanied Maggie to Cambodia. "We want a dog that wants to hunt for the scent of the scat."

The fear, O'Kelly said, is that the dogs don't find any droppings.

"If we cover the whole area and we don't find any tiger scat, then we can be reasonably confident there are no tigers," O'Kelly said. "That would be very disappointing and I hope that doesn't happen."

Cambodian political opposition struggles hard to obtain proper parliamentary recognition

Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 24/09/2008. Mu Sochua, deputy Secretary-General at the Sam Rainsy Party, on her way out of the National Assembly after the investiture of the new government.© John Vink / Magnum

Ka-set

By Duong Sokha
20-11-2008

Cambodia's main political opposition coalition, the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), was hoping to obtain better legislative recognition through the allocation of an active role within the National Assembly but saw its ambitions shattered as Prime Minister Hun Sen declared his views on the matter on Monday 17th November as he was away for business in the Kandal province. Hun Sen was quite straight forward in his approach and even called “stupid” the party's demands about the amendment of the National Assembly's internal rules, which was meant to provide the opposition party with official recognition and therefore important positions and roles within the institution. Despite being prevented from leading the executive and legislative powers, the SRP does not yield and is willing to continue the struggle to obtain a proper parliamentary status.

Hun Sen: no parliamentary positions for the opposition
The Prime Minister counter-attacked after having received criticism from representatives of the opposition, accusing him of having deceived them into taking part to the first parliamentary session on 24th September. The result is that from now on, SRP deputies will be refused important positions within the National Assembly, he declared, thus promising to stand in the way of any important appointment.

“I did not fool you. You [Sam Rainsy] tried to get hold of me over the phone through ohnha Kith Meng. I refused to talk to you. Whether you do take part or not [in the first parliamentary session] was your own business!”, the country's “strong man”, in power since 1985, said, irritated.

The SRP won 26 seats at the outcome of the July 27th legislative elections and warned several times that it would boycott the deputies' swearing-in ceremony before going back on its decision on the very day of the ceremony. The day before, the SRP and Kem Sokha's Human Rights Party (HRP) had sent a statement to the head of government, requesting that the lower chamber officially acknowledges the role of the opposition parties who lack representation within the government and made this acknowledgement the sine qua non of their future participation in parliamentary projects.

“You asked for the modification of twenty-six articles out of eighty-two [of the National Assembly's internal rules] among which the ones relating to the position of vice-President of the Assembly, the presidency of several commissions and a specific budget [for the opposition parties]! These requests are major. You must wait till you reach your after-life [to have access to these]!”, the Cambodian People's Party vice- chairman retorted. Landslide winner of the July 27th elections with 90 seats, Hun Sen did not hesitate to dub the proposition “stupid” and asked Sam Rainsy, who was actually away for business in France, to “give better advice to the members” of the party.

For a real political equilibrium between powers
The SRP is nevertheless intending to continue fighting for parliamentary recognition and several important positions within the Assembly, which would be split according to the number of seats they won after the elections. Opposition deputy Yim Sovann, for his part, did not think the request was “excessive”. “Our demands comply with the principle of pluralism. We want to reach a balance between the executive and the legislative powers”, the former chairman of the parliamentary commission of Interior and National Defence explained, quoting the example of foreign political systems: “In the United States or Germany, if the ruling party is in charge of the Ministry of Economy, then the opposition must be in charge of the parliamentary commission of Economy and Finance”.

The Phnom Penh deputy also deplored the fact that the lower chamber commissions were too weak in numbers- nine in total – whereas the government has twenty-four ministries. Some of the commissions are in charge of controlling five to eight ministries on their own. “The system is stupid”, Yim Sovann estimated. “Each of the commissions should only control one ministry or two, at most”.

Cheam Yeap, CPP chairman of the parliamentary commission of Economy, Finance, Banking and Audit, looked at the example of his own commission, which is “only” in charge three institutions (the Ministry of Economy, the central Bank and the National Audit Authority) and reckoned the argument used by the SRP was specious, reminding that the current procedure does not prevent the lower chamber from creating new commissions.

A budget for the parties present within the National Assembly?
Yim Sovann stressed the fact that the issue was also a financial one and argued in favour of the strengthening of the budget available to the parties present in the National Assembly. The budget would then be proportionally split between representatives according to their number in the Assembly, thus following the rule stipulating that opposition parties are allowed to enjoy enough public funding and are therefore able to play their part in every respect. And there again, foreign political patterns, especially European ones, are a source of inspiration for the SRP. “In Germany, the budget is split according to the number of votes gained by every party. In order to be in a position to give constructive advice to the government, the opposition parties, which act as a mirror in which the government would see itself, must have financial resources available”, Yim Sovann considered. “These funds are not meant for deputies to grow rich or buy cars, but will be used to buy computers, stationary and pay for the electricity and water bills”, he precised.

Opposition weakened but still hopeful
The opposition, deprived of any important posts within the National Assembly, declared itself under pressure. Opposition representatives denounce the difficulty of access to any information relating to the lower chamber, especially concerning permanent committee meetings. “We cannot debate on the proposed bills and we do not have our say when it comes to modifying them before they are presented in a parliamentary session. Serving the interest of citizens is therefore difficult.” And as long as the role of the opposition is not guaranteed, SRP deputies will continue to boycott meetings and seminars organised within the Assembly, including those initiated by NGOs or the international community, with the exception of parliamentary sessions, as a direct response to the ostracism they claim to be the victims of.

The main opposition party's elected representatives claim they have now gone onto a new strategy: working out of the parliamentary system by directly visiting inhabitants and “inform them of the country's evolution”. “The word 'despair' does not exist in the SRP dictionary. We are still breathing. We will continue our struggle, with hope. One day, success will come to us because everything has to come to an end and nobody is immortal”, Yim Sovann concluded with a touch of philosophy in his words...

Court lowers penalty for Swedish girl's Cambodia abduction

THE LOCAL SWEDEN"S NEWS

Published: 13 Feb 09

An appeals court in Sweden has reduced the sentence of the father of a now six-year-old girl whom he abducted and took to Cambodia, hiding the girl for more than a year.

- Alicia's father jailed over Cambodia abduction (14 Oct 08)
- Swede in Cambodia held for kidnapping (24 Jul 08)
- 'Day and night I think of Alicia' (17 Mar 08)

The Court of Appeal for western Sweden on Friday shortened by three months the sentence previously handed down to 48-year-old Torgeir Nordbo.

Nordbo will now serve one year and two months in prison on a conviction for unlawfully separating the child, Alicia Elfversson, from her legal guardian (egenmäktighet med barn).

The ordeal began in June 2007 when Nordbo told the girl’s mother, Maria Elfversson, that he was taking his daughter on a two week vacation. He ended up taking the girl first to Thailand, then Cambodia, disguising Alica by cutting her hair to make her look like a boy.

After more than a year on the run, Nordbo was arrested in Cambodia in July 2008 and brought back to Sweden to stand trial.

The appeals court also lowered the level of damages to be paid by Nordbo to Alicia’s mother from 87,900 kronor ($10,460) to 69,404 kronor.

Even though the appeals court agreed with the lower court’s ruling regarding the seriousness of the crime, it made another assessment regarding the appropriate level of punishment.

Cambodia puts Khmer Rouge on trial. First defendant is "Comrade Duch"

AisaNews.it

02/13/2009

Proceedings begin on February 17 against the commander of the S-21 prison. More than 17,000 Cambodians died there between 1975 and 1979. The main witness is one of the seven survivors of the massacre: in his paintings, he has depicted the atrocities he witnessed. It is the first trial against figures of the regime, but the outcome is unclear.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies) - On February 17 in Cambodia, the first trial against a member of the Khmer Rouge will begin. On trial is Kaing Guek Eay, better known as "Comrade Duch," one of the five leaders of the old regime now in prison and awaiting judgment. One of the main witnesses will be Vann Nath, one of the seven survivors of the S-21 prison (the infamous Security Prison 21, renamed Tuol Sleng), where more than 17,000 people died between 1975 and 1979. Only three of the seven survivors are still alive.

"Comrade Duch," 66, will have to answer to charges of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity." He is accused of commanding the S-21 in the period from 1975-1979, presiding over all sorts of crimes: torture, rape, and more than one hundred murders a day. It is the first trial ever against a Khmer Rouge leader, and will be held at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, created and maintained by the United Nations, and entrusted with the task of trying crimes committed by the followers of Pol Pot during the 1970's.

The story of "Comrade Duch" is linked, for better and for worse, to the fate of Vann Nath, whose life inspired a film about the massacres carried out by the Khmer Rouge; now, for the first time, his testimony will be heard in a courtroom, during the trial against his tormentor. Nath still remembers clearly that day in April of 1977, when he was arrested by a Khmer Rouge squad, tied up, and shoved onto an ox cart, without being given a chance to say goodbye to his wife and two children. They would never meet again, because his family was among the victims of the murderous insanity of the "revolutionaries." He is anxious to see the beginning of the trial, but has no desire for revenge: "I was angry. But my angry period has passed. This is the period for finding solutions."

Vann Nath was born in 1946 in Battambang, in the northwest part of Cambodia. He is still one of the country's most important artists today, and it is thanks to this "gift" that he was able to survive the terrible years in prison. He was chosen by "Comrade Duch" as the artist to paint portraits and create sculptures of Pol Pot. In 1979, following the invasion of the Vietnamese army and the fall of the regime, he was able to escape the S-21; when the secret prison was turned back into a museum of "commemoration," he again passed through the doors of the prison to work on its reconstruction and to testify in first person to the massacres and torture. Through his paintings (in the photo), the artist has depicted the scenes that he witnessed; today, they are hanging on the walls of the prison-museum.

In 2010, four other leading figures of the regime are scheduled to go on trial. They are: Khieu Samphan, 77, former head of state; Ieng Sary, 83, foreign minister; Ieng Thirith, 76, Sary's wife and minister for social affairs; Nuon Chea, 82, an ideologue of the regime and nicknamed "Brother No 2." Pol Pot, the bloody dictator known as "Brother No. 1," died on April 15, 1998, without ever having to answer for the atrocities he committed.

The court responsible for judging crimes in Cambodia was created in May of 2006, after years of negotiations between Phnom Penh and the United Nations, which brought into doubt the government's intention of allowing the court to operate. The Supreme Council of the magistrature has approved the appointment of 17 Cambodian judges, and 13 from other countries. In 2008, the special tribunal faced a severe financial crisis: the original funding of 56 million dollars for the first three years turned out to be insufficient, because costs went up with the many preliminary hearings called by the judges. The danger still remains that all of the effort exerted so far to put the regime's leaders behind bars will be in vain.

Cambodia's drama remains an open wound in the country: according to a recent survey, 80% of people feel that they are "victims of crimes" committed by the Khmer Rouge, although some of them - especially second-level representatives, and leaders of the old regime - still occupy an active role in the country's political life. They have no interest in carrying out investigations over past crimes, for the sake of coexistence, out of fear, or because they are convinced adherents of the revolutionary folly of Pol Pot, who did not hesitate to exterminate almost two million people for the sake of creating "the new man" in Cambodia. The defendants are also of advanced age: some of them are seriously ill, and there is a concrete risk that they will not live to see the end of the trial.

This adds insult to injury for those who, like Vann Nath, are not looking for revenge, but only for justice, in the name of a quarter of the Cambodian people. "What happened cannot be restored. I just want justice," he concludes. "Justice for me is having the perpetrators admit their guilt. I hope that the judges can find justice for us."

Official Explains Temple Negotiations

Ros Chantrabot, Deputy Director of Royal Academy of Cambodia.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
13 February 2009

Recent border talks between Cambodia and Thailand failed in part because Thai negotiators insisted on using a different name for Preah Vihear temple, an obstacle meant to delay the process, a researcher claimed Thursday.

“The government clearly understands that we can’t change the name, as by law and documents from the past we use only Preah Vihear, even on the Unesco [World Heritage] list,” said the researcher, Ros Chantraboth, vice chairman of the Royal Academy of Cambodia.

In negotiations earlier this month, the Thai side of a joint border committee wanted to call the Cambodian World Heritage site “the Temple of Phra Viharn-Preah Vihear,” a move that hampered talks, the Bangkok Post reported.

“We do not want that to become an excuse in the future,” Ros Chantraboth said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Cambodia and Thailand remain at odds over a small strip of land near Preah Vihear temple, with troops have been amassed on both sides of the border since July. Several rounds of bilateral talks have failed to resolve the conflict, which has led to the deaths of at least three Cambodian and one Thai soldier.

The government has not brought the question to the International Court at the Hague because that court has jurisdiction only over an earlier ruling on the temple itself, not the land nearby, Ros Chantraboth said.

Meanwhile, domestic political unrest in Thailand has made further negotiation hard, because the Cambodians don’t know with whom to negotiate, the new government, the opposition, or the military, he said.

Patience was important, he said, in order to maintain peace and stability in the region.

Tuol Sleng Guard Wants To See Duch Tried

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Kandal province
13 February 2009

In the village Anlong San, in Kandal province, 80 kilometers from Phnom Penh, Him Huy, passes house after house, walking indiscriminately and with total liberty.

Thirty years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the former guard supervisor at Tuol Sleng prison has hung up his black uniform, put away his cap, given up his arms, and become a simple farmer in this village close to the Vietnam border.

Now Him Huy is one of the witnesses against Kaing Kek Iev, his former boss, the Khmer Rouge prison chief known as Duch who will go on trial soon.

“I will oppose Duch,” Him Huy said in an interview this week, “because he is one of the Khmer Rouge leaders who hurt very much the Cambodian people and caused the deaths of Cambodian citizens nearly all over the country.”

Under the Khmer Rouge, Him Huy received prisoners as they were brought to Tuol Sleng, and he was ordered to arrest “enemies of the Angkar,” the Organization, in Phnom Penh and in the provinces.

Each day, he said, Tuol Sleng received between 10 to 60 detainees, and, during the same day, as many as 30 to 70 people were tortured and killed.

“The order to make arrests came from Duch,” he said. “If Duch wanted someone destroyed, he would be destroyed. And he said that after one of the prisoners was interrogated, he must be destroyed. Even prison staff. He said if they cannot follow [orders] they would be destroyed also.”

Duch is charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder for his role as chief of Tuol Sleng, where at least 12,000 Cambodians were tortured before they were executed. His initial trial hearing is set for Feb. 17, with a trial to begin in earnest shortly thereafter.

Duch’s trial will be a signal of justice for Cambodian victims and will inform the international community that Khmer Rouge leaders must be tried for their mistakes, Him Huy said.

In Anlong San, Him Huy’s neighbors say they are waiting for Duch’s trial as well, are following the progress of the courts by radio and plan to follow the hearing on television.

Meanwhile, as Duch’s approaching trial has increased interest in the long-awaited tribunal, the courts remain dogged by allegations of corruption.

The Open Society Justice Initiative, a tribunal monitoring group, issued a statement Friday warning of “grave flaws” in the courts and warning that recent reports “suggest the Cambodian government is attempting to block further indictments.”

“The court must demonstrate that it is not a tool of the Cambodian government and ensure a fair and transparent judicial process,” OSJI Executive Director James Goldston said in the statement. “The court must show it is relying on law and facts, not politics, in deciding how many suspects will be investigated.”

Vets in Every Village Watch for Bird Flu

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Battambang province
13 February 2009

The provincial agricultural department of Battambang has put in place veterinarians in every village across the province to monitor the possible outbreak of avian influenza.

The director of the department, Cheam Chan Sophoan, said in a recent interview 813 veterinarians trained in the control and prevention of bird flu have been put in place since the latest case, discovered in a Kandal province man in December.

“In Battambang, where there are 740 villages, we have more than 800 veterinarians,” he said. “That means in some villages we have three to four vets, so if there is any suspected case, we will be informed and then we can send our experts to deal with it.”

Battambang province increased its number of vets from 500 in 2006, he said, when Cambodia saw its sixth case of the disease; a 12-year-old boy died in Prey Veng province. Seven Cambodians have died so far, in a worldwide total of 254.

The disease is caused by the H5N1 virus, which is carried by birds and can be transmitted to humans. Health experts worry the disease could change to be carried human to human, creating a pandemic.

Provincial chief of veterinarians Pen Setha said recently that at the end of each month, all the village vets must report to their commune offices about the birds in their villages. Then, the commune office makes a report to the provincial office, he said.

“Or if it’s an emergency, each village vet must call directly the provincial office,” he said.

The provincial department has provided each village vet medicine to spray around bird to prevent the spread of the disease.

“We have distributed a set of equipment to deal with the virus with the support of the [Food and Agricultural Office of the UN],” he said. “If the case is not serious, the village chief can spray the area and deal with the case themselves because they have the equipment.”

The vet chief also said his team has been monitoring the traffic of birds in every market in the province. However, officials are still concerned about the possibility of outbreak through the import of poor quality poultry from Thailand.

Cheam Chan Sophoan said imports of infected birds from neighboring countries would be destroyed if they are found.

“If the vendor secretly sells poor quality chicken, we will invite them to the office to sign a contract, and we will destroy all the birds,” he said. “We also have our officials along the border to control the import.”

Nhiek Bun Chhup, head of the provincial health department, said even though the province has never been hit with bird flu, the disease was still one of their priorities. His department has created a rapid response team to deal with suspected cases of bird to human transmission.

So far, he said, his team has tested three suspected cases where people had touched dead fowl without proper protection. All of the cases turned out negative.

“In those cases, the affected people showed symptoms of respiratory illness and fever,” he said. “Even though those symptoms are not really the symptoms of the virus, we got samples to have them tested.”

Though the government has taken many measures against bird flu, some farmers continue to withhold information about sick or dead birds.

One provincial farmer in Wat Kor commune, Battambang district, who asked not to be named, said that one night 300 or 400 in a flock of 3,000 ducks died, in what he suspected was bird flu. He did not report to the authorities or his village vet, he said, for fear that the rest of his birds would be culled and their houses destroyed without compensation. Instead, he plucked the birds and sold them at market the next morning for a low price.

Vet chief Pen Setha acknowledged that such cases would happen, but said the government did not have measures to compensate farmers for lost birds. “So we just explain to the farmers not to do such a thing.”

Beside Begging for food on the street, Did government care to help??

A Cambodian woman begs for money on the street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodians Face Job Losses, Hardship

AFP
Cambodian workers leave after their shift at a garment factory in Phnom Penh on July 5, 2008.

Radio Free Asia
2009-02-12

Times are likely to get tougher for Cambodia’s already impoverished workers.

BANGKOK—Cambodia’s workers could face far tougher economic times ahead as the country’s garment factories—a major employer and exporter in this impoverished country—are forced to close in the face of a worldwide economic slump.

The garment industry accounts for some two-thirds of Cambodia's export revenues and employs nearly 360,000 people, mostly women making less than U.S. $100 a month.

Sok Thy, a garment worker in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, said the Seng Yong garment factory where she works has been closed for 10 days, leaving her without money to pay for rent and her children’s schooling.

“If I am jobless I have nothing to depend on. My children are still small and I often fall sick. Sometimes I don’t have enough money for [rent] because my salary is only U.S. $50 a month. I still have to pay for my children’s schooling, utility bills, and other things,” she said.

“My house now is in disrepair. The roof is leaky. If it rains, we cannot sleep until the rain stops. I rent this house and the owners are also poor—they lease the house to earn money to repair it,” Sok Thy said.

Another garment worker, Noeun, said that since her factory’s closure she has been unable to find work and would likely have to return to her home village.

“I don’t know what to do because I used to have a job and a salary, and now that I am jobless I don’t have anything to feed my children. I plan to open an embroidering business myself, but I don’t have the skills to do so yet,” she said.

Lack of security

Other garment workers said they were also worried about their job security.

A worker at the Sinh Yong garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Dankao district said management has made increasing cuts to employee hours and compensation in an effort to stay afloat.

In December, the owner assigned workers rotating shifts and stopped offering overtime.


But in January employees were allowed to work only 10 days or fewer because of a lack of orders.

Sinh Yong’s management most recently reduced one week of its workers’ salaries by 50 percent to keep workers on until Feb. 10, when they said the factory would resume normal operations.


A woman in her 40s, who declined to be named but said she works at the Tak Fan factory in Phnom Penh’s Chak Angre Leu commune, said her workplace would close in the next two months.

Six months pregnant, she said she was worried about where she would get the money to pay for her medical services when she gives birth.

“I am concerned because I won’t have any money if the factory is closed. Sometimes I borrow money when I am sick and do not have money to pay my hospital expenses. I want to find work at a grocery story after the factory is closed,” she said.

A worker at Tak Fan who asked not to be named called on factory owners to provide severance pay for workers to start new businesses if they are laid off.

“We want [the government] to help workers so that if the factory is closed we won’t be left empty-handed,” the worker said.

Decline in growth

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Labor Um Mean said the downturn in the global economy is reducing demand in Cambodia’s major garment export markets, including the United States and European Union, as consumers spend less on clothing.

Um Mean said 73 factories in Phnom Penh were closed in 2008, putting 224,000 people out of work.

In 2007, Cambodia enjoyed exceptional economic growth on the back of a thriving garment industry.

But just one year later, more than 30 garment factories were closed, leaving thousands jobless. Five factories shut down in Jan. 2009 alone, according to leaders of garment worker unions.

President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia Chea Mony said the closures will continue.

“More [garment] factories will be closed,” he said.

President of the Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions Chuon Momthol said two more large garment factories will close in March after January closures left 60,000 workers without jobs.

He confirmed that factories Wan Lida and Seng Yong, where Sok Thy is currently employed, “would also be closed in March.”

But Chuon Momthol called on trade unions and their workers to show solidarity in rescuing the garment industry and asked them not to hold demonstrations, disrupting production.

Debt cycle

Even with jobs, Cambodia’s garment workers often struggle to afford rice, and many say they don't know how to survive if their factories shut down.

“I cannot support myself alone these days. On payday I just have enough money to repay my debts, but then I have to borrow money again,” said one worker, who declined to be identified.

“When I get sick, I have to borrow money. The salary is not enough to support myself, so we have to borrow money at the end of each month. When we get paid, we spend all of our money repaying debts, and then borrow more.”

“That will be a serious problem [if the factory closes]. At my age, I don’t know where I could find another job,” the worker said.

Growth under strain

The International Monetary Fund has said Cambodia’s economic growth will be hard to maintain in the midst of the global slowdown.

“Cambodia’s exceptional growth performance…is coming under increasing strain from the global financial crisis and weakening external demand,” the report said, adding that the country’s economy is at risk due to its “narrow production base, concentration of exports by product and destination, and dependence on external inflows.”

The report went on to say that garment export growth has fallen due to weak retail sales in the U.S. and that jobs in the sector were also declining, down 6 percent in July 2008 from a year earlier.

“Near-term prospects for the sector are poor from both an output and employment perspective, because of demand concentration in the U.S. and competition 0abroad,” the report said.

Original reporting by Seang Sophorn and Ouk Savborey for RFA's Khmer service. Khmer service director: Sos Kem. Translated by Sothea Thai. Written for the Web in English by Joshua Lipes. Edited by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Fight to save crocs

Picture: J Holden

Cambridge Evening News, UK
13/02/2009

SCIENTISTS from Cambridge are helping to save one of the world's rarest crocodiles from extinction.

The Siamese crocodile, which lives in Cambodia, is at risk because of illegal crocodile farming. Demand for the reptile's meat and hide, which is used to make shoes and handbags, has led to virtually all of the population being wiped out.

In a bid to help the animal survive, the Cambodian government has set up a rescue centre, where about 70 crocs are being kept.

The plan is to breed them in captivity and then release as many as possible back into the wild, but first it is necessary to find out whether they are pure-bred Siamese crocodiles or hybrids.

Scientists from the Cambridge-based organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI) are helping to establish this by DNA testing.

An FFI spokeswoman told the News: "If a suitable number of pure-bred Siamese crocodiles can be identified through DNA analysis, it will mark the beginning of the first ever Siamese crocodile captive breed and release programme in Cambodia."

She said the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme was set up in 2000 when Siamese crocodiles were rediscovered in Cambodia by Dr Jenny Daltry, senior conservation biologist at FFI, and Mr Chheang Dany of the Cambodian Forestry Administration.

"Since the rediscovery, FFI and its partners have scoured Cambodia and neighbouring countries to establish more information on the status and distribution of Siamese crocodiles."

They have found a small number of them living in the waterways of the Cardamom Mountains in south-west Cambodia, along with other endangered species such as the hairy-nosed otter and the fishing cat.

The Cambridge team has to be careful. Fully grown, the crocs can reach 3.5m in length, more than 11ft.

The Government Will Control the Financial System and Money Laundering at Banks - Thursday, 12.2.2009

Posted on 13 February 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 599

“Government officials said on Wednesday that the government will take measures to control all financial transactions which could, at present, be related to money laundering through banks, to prevent financial problems so that everything is up to international standards.

“A senior official of the Cambodian People’s Party and chairperson of the Commission on Finance, Banking, and Audits of the National Assembly said, ‘If there is money laundering and we do not have related legislation, it might create difficulties when international countries observe everything.’

“Mr. Cheam Yeap added, ‘If there is money laundering, this might trouble us when everything that happens is internationally observed, because it is absolutely prohibited that such money is spent in any other country, and we also will prohibit it, when we have related legislation.

Therefore, the Royal Government will control everything well to avoid any activities against international laws, and if there are clear laws, nothing will be allowed to happen in future.’

“Mr. Cheam Yeap, a high ranking CPP official, made this statement as Cambodia plans to launch a stock exchange market this year, while Cambodia cannot avoid being affected by the global crisis.

“Mr. Cheam Yeap told Deum Ampil, ‘Money laundering has little effect, but corruption has strong effects. Therefore, after a criminal code will have been drafted, we will include all articles regarding corruption into the anti-corruption regulations of Cambodia.’

“Mr. Cheam Yeap went on to say, ‘This is not new, and the government took it up to draft a law to clearly organize structures how to act, because investors will come to deposit their assets in Cambodia.’

“Regarding the opening of a stock exchange market during this year, Mr. Cheam Yeap said, ‘Before investors in Cambodia cooperate with foreign countries such as Korea and Japan, they do whatever is possible for those who have money, to buy stakes even if it is a risky investment, at a time when international countries face a downturn and there will be some losses.’ [Note: original is difficult to interpret].

“Cambodian officials still assure the plan to open a stock exchange market in the city this year, while the global economy is facing a crisis and economic meltdown, even though there was some plan late last year to delay the stock exchange market. [Note: it seems that the Korea based construction activities for a 42 stories Double Gold Tower building, at the intersection between Sihanouk and Monivong Boulevards in Phnom Penh, are at present suspended].

“In view of the global economic crisis, and the stability of the Cambodian economy, economists voiced the concern that a stock exchange market in Phnom Penh might become a source of money laundering, involving banks which at present lack clear control according to international standard. [Note: The Cambodia Daily reports on the same day: “IMF Criticizes Bank of Cambodia for Its Weak Supervision”]

“However, officials of the Royal Government said that the government will not let such bad problems happen. Previously, there were distorted reports about money laundering committed by dishonest groups, but they had been denied by senior officials of the government.

“According to a plan by the South Korean government [Note: actually, this seems to be a misunderstanding – this was not a 'government' plan], the stock exchange of Seoul will help [interested business groups in] Cambodia to prepare a stock exchange market in Phnom Penh, to become a place for gathering sources of capital for developing the country. According of figures from the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia, the Cambodian economy grew in 2008 with a higher rate than during the year before [Note: Various sources mention 2007 10.2%, 2008 6.5%, 2009 4.8% or less predicted], which is a new strong boost to encourage the creation of a stock exchange market in Cambodia, assuming it will proceed smoothly. Due to the financial crisis, starting from America, banks in Korea are directly affected, and this causes the suspension of investment loans in foreign countries, and resulted in large-scale projects in Cambodia to be changed since mid and late 2008.”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #115, 12.2.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 12 February 2009

Conservationists hope dung-sniffing dogs can help find elusive tigers in Cambodia

The Associated Press
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press Writer

Feb 13, 09

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A dog trained to sniff for tiger droppings will help conservationists determine if the big cats still roam one of Cambodia's largest nature reserves.

Starting next week, Maggie, a German wirehaired pointer, will begin scouring the undergrowth and sniffing for tiger scent on trees at the 1,158 square mile (3,000 square kilometer) Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area in northeastern Cambodia.

The unorthodox move to employ a dog trained in Russia to search for signs of tigers comes after camera traps and field surveys failed to find the big cats last year. The last sign of a tiger was in 2007, when a paw print was spotted in the park.

"We think this is the best method when we have a large area and not that many tigers," said Hannah O'Kelly, a wildlife monitoring adviser for the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which along with the wild cat conservation group Panthera is spending about $30,000 to bring Maggie and a second dog from Russia to Seima later this year.

Hiring the two dogs is part of a $10 million, 10-year initiative by WCS and Panthera, also based in New York, called "Tigers Forever." It aims to increase the numbers of tigers by 50 percent in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Russian Far East and Thailand through a range of measures that include better monitoring, assessments of threats and efforts to minimize the dangers facing the big cats.

The campaign was launched in 2006 to combat a dwindling tiger population in Asia. Across the continent, the number of tigers has plummeted to as few as 5,000 tigers from a high of 100,000 a century ago due to poaching, habitat loss and other threats. It is unclear how many tigers remain in Cambodia.

Men Soriyun, a project manager for Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, said he felt that dogs offered the best hope of finding the tigers and that the method could be used by other national reserves.

"The best way to find tigers in the jungle is to use dogs because they can find tigers by their smell," Men Soriyun said.

Cambodia is the first country in Asia to employ the dogs to search for tigers, a method pioneered in Russia's Far East region which has hundreds of tigers spread across several thousand miles (kilometers).

Since then, dogs have been used to search for jaguars in South America and leopards in Africa.

All six dogs taught to search for tigers were trained by wildlife biologist and WCS consultant Linda Kerley in Russia's Lazovsky Nature Reserve. The best dogs for the task, she said, are hunting or sheep herding dogs that can easily detect the musky smell of the tiger's scat, excrement left by a wild animal.

"We don't want a dog that will hunt tigers," said Kerley, who accompanied Maggie to Cambodia. "We want a dog that wants to hunt for the scent of the scat."

The effort is part of a larger campaign by conservationists worldwide to mine animal droppings for genetic information that can save endangered species.

Elephant dung, for example, was used two years ago to calculate the population of pachyderms in Malaysia's Taman Negara National Park.

Experts cast doubt on launching stock exchange market in Cambodia

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-13

By Xia Lin

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Experts have express their doubt and lack of confidence, as the Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to sign an official agreement with the Cambodian government next week to help launch the kingdom's proposed stock exchange market in December, national media said on Friday.

Some observers warned that the timing of the initiative could create problems as Cambodia faces reduced economic growth, increased unemployment and the threat of rising non-performing loans, said English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post.

"I think that currently, the environment is not good enough to proceed with the stock market in Cambodia," Kang Chandararot, economist and president of the Cambodia Institute for Development Study, told the newspaper.

Cambodia would risk losing investors' confidence, if it rushed prematurely into establishing an exchange, he said.

Nguon Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, urged the government to postpone launching the exchange until 2012, saying that not enough Cambodian investors understood how a bourse worked.

"Most Cambodian business old hands have little knowledge about a stock exchange. So, how can they throw money at it?" he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon said on Thursday that "we will put our efforts into achieving a (December) target" although the government could not "set an official date for the establishment of the stock market."

"The global financial crisis, of course, impacts the stock market. But we won't abandon our plan to establish an exchange due to the crisis," he said.

KRX manager Inpyo Lee expected institutional investors and foreigners to be the main source of liquidity in the early stages of the Cambodian exchange.

Although there had been no formal agreements signed, investment and retail banks had expressed interests as institutional investors, he said.

About 30 companies would be listed by the time the exchange was operating "normally," he said.

The stock exchange market was mulled and prepared years ago amid common prosperity and development of the country, but finally came into shape as the national economy slowed down right after 3 years of double-digit growth from 2005 to 2007.

The Cambodian economy was estimated to grow by only 7 percent in 2008 and the government is trying to maintain a 6 percent growth in 2009.

However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Cambodia's economy will come under intense pressure in 2009 as tourism, garments and construction take a hit from the global economic meltdown.

"Cambodia's exceptional growth performance is coming under increasing strain from the global economic crisis and weakening external demand", said an IMF report, adding that foreign direct investment will decline and foreign reserves could fall to about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars.

The report predicted 4.8 percent economic growth for Cambodia in 2009.

The World Bank has forecast 4.9 percent Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth for Cambodia this year.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

Officials refuse certain foreigners to adopt Cambodian children

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-13

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government officials have refused foreign single parents, gay parents, low-income parents and parents with two children to adopt Khmer offspring, national media said on Friday.

They made this opposition clear during meetings with representatives from France and U.S. here this month, said English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post.

This opposition will become an outright ban when a draft law on adoption, currently being reviewed by the Council of Ministers, is approved by the National Assembly, Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told the newspaper.

The law is expected to pass soon, and will make it legal for Cambodian parents to give up their children for adoption, he said.

Currently, only Cambodian orphans can be adopted.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong met with Jean Paul Monchau, the French official responsible for overseeing international adoptions, on Feb. 3 and voiced concern about the potential psychological effects such adoptions have on children, according to a ministry press release.

Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the ministry, also raised the same points during a Monday meeting with Janice Jacobs, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs at the U.S. State Department, it said.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

ILO: 500,000 Cambodians hit by economic slump

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-13

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Some 500,000 Cambodians have been affected by the global economic downturn, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post on Friday quoted the International Labor Organization (ILO) as saying.

Another one million are expected to feel the pinch in 2009, said an ILO report of economic assessment of the kingdom.

ILO predicted 19,000 job losses in the garment sector and 25,600 in construction, as well as 5.1 percent growth in gross domestic products (GDP) in 2009.

Meanwhile, it urged the Cambodian government to take strong action to cushion the effects of the crisis, including establishing a central job information system, an unemployment program and a multi-sector trade union.

The Cambodian economy was estimated to grow by only seven percent in 2008 and the government is trying to maintain a six percent growth in 2009.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted 4.8 percent economic growth, while the World Bank has forecast 4.9 percent GDP growth for Cambodia in 2009.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

Offerings to Cambodian tyrant Pol Pot

Khmers have placed offerings at Pol Pot's cremation site.

The view of the river around Ta Mok's house, now used by locals to bathe and for their cattle.

The mural of Angkor Wat inside Ta Mok's house, near Anlong Ven.

From illawarramercury.com.au

He is responsible for the death of at least one million Cambodians during one of the most brutal revolutions in history.

So when I visited the cremation site of Pol Pot, the leader of the radical Khmer Rouge, I was shocked when I saw a freshly cut mandarin placed at the site as an offering to his spirit.

The fruit had not even begun to dry out in the fierce Cambodian heat.

"They ask him for good luck,'' my moto driver, Dan, explained.

"Do they still like Pol Pot?" I asked, not quite believing that I had reason to ask such a question.

"Yes, they still like (him).''

Pol Pot's ashes are buried on the site where he lived leading up to the election of the Khmer Rouge on April 17, 1975, and until 1979, when it was defeated by the Vietnamese.

It is just outside Anlong Ven, a small town about three hours north of Siem Reap and the ancient temple of Angkor Wat.

His house was destroyed by those who suffered during his torturous reign over the country, but his cremation site has since been beautified from the pile of rubble and old tyres that once marked it. It is now sheltered by a wooden hut and a statue of Buddha has been erected.

His second house, used to meet with his comrades (Pol Pot only called the opposition soldiers), is a few kilometres away and we returned to our motorbikes to take the remote path that leads there.

Along the way, we passed Cambodian soldiers waiting in the forest in anticipation of an invasion from Thailand, which is less than 1km away. The Thais have made a recent attempt to claim one of the country's ancient temples, Preah Vihear, about 200km from Anlong Ven, and the nation is now on full alert.

Landmine warning signs also dot the side of the path - a bush toilet stop could become deadly.

Dan told me when he first visited Pol Pot's cremation site in 2003 it was surrounded by landmines, which have now been cleared by an NGO project.

We arrived safely at Pol Pot's second house, a single cement room now covered in the names of tourists and the dates that they visited.

It is nowhere near as lavish as the house of Ta Mok, the regime's military leader. My friend Jill and I visited Ta Mok's house when we arrived in Anlong Ven two days earlier.

His residence included three two-storey wooden buildings with decorated floor tiles and beautiful murals depicting the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear. The wreck of an old truck used by the men to transport prisoners still lies in the garden and the tower communications system also remains.

The river that Ta Mok built for protection around his home still holds water, although all the trees have drowned. From the window of one of the buildings, I watched a local family bathe in the water and two farmers herd their cattle along its bank.

Khmer also come here to pray in front of a Buddha statue. I cannot comprehend how they can pray in such a haunting place - or how they find peace at the home of one of the men who is responsible for the deaths of so many of their own. Perhaps it is for that reason that they come here. Are they seeking peace from the past?

A steady flow of tourists visit the Pol Pot and Ta Mok (he died in jail in 2006) sites almost thirty years after the fall of the regime. Most are Cambodians or Thais, Dan said. Jill and I are the only Western foreigners in Anlong Ven at the moment, he claimed.

Dan and our other moto driver, Jacky, who has just moved to the town from Phnom Penh in an attempt to benefit from the growing number of tourists heading here, were more than happy to share their stories with us.

Both men lost family members during the Khmer Rouge regime. Dan was just three years old when the Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh and he and his family fled west to Battambang.

Jacky does not know what happened to his parents. I didn't ask him whether that is because no one can tell him or because he doesn't want to know.