Lives under the slum home

Young Cambodian girls play near their slum home Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line while more than 30 percent of the population is under the age of 15.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

A young Cambodian woman rides a bicycle near slum homes Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

A Cambodian man displays a tattoo near his slum home Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

A Cambodian bathees near his slum home Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Young Cambodian boys play near their slum home Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge emptied the cities in an attempt to create an agrarian communist society killing off political opposition, Buddhist monks and the vast majority of the population's educated people. After four years the Khmer Rouge killed or worked to death an estimated 1.7 million people. Today more than 30 percent of the population is under the age of 15.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodian children play a game of 'marbles' near their slum home Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government sources an estimated 35 percent of Cambodians live under the poverty line. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge emptied the cities in an attempt to create an agrarian communist society killing off political opposition, Buddhist monks and the vast majority of the population's educated people. After four years the Khmer Rouge killed or worked to death an estimated 1.7 million people. Today more than 30 percent of the population is under the age of 15.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

An elderly Cambodian man pushes his bicycle near his slum dwelling Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. According to government figures less than four percent of Cambodia's 14 million people are over the age of 65. Many blame the low figure on the massacres committed by the Khmer Rouge which left more that 1.5 million Cambodians dead during their reign from 1975 to 1979. Today trials of the former leaders have officially begun.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Friends change lives, a school at a time

A Cambodian school constructs with funds raised by Todd Alexander and his wife, Kara Gelinas.Photos courtesy of Todd Alexander and Cajsa Collin

Martha's Vineyard Times, MA
By Janet Hefler
Published: February 19, 2009

Last March, Justin LaVigne returned from a trip he describes as "life changing" with his friend, Oak Bluffs harbormaster Todd Alexander. The two visited the Vineyard School in Cambodia, built by funds raised by Mr. Alexander and his wife, Kara Gelinas.

Mr. LaVigne came back to Oak Bluffs so inspired by the Cambodian children he met that he vowed to raise funds to build another school - and Mr. Alexander offered to help. On January 12, less than a year later, the two men attended a joyous opening ceremony at the new secondary school they helped build in Prek Koy, a rural village area.

"I think it's great, giving someone a school, because you're not imposing how people are supposed to be taught or what they're studying - you're just giving them an opportunity to learn," said Mr. LaVigne.

The school was built with their sponsorship through the American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC) Rural Schools Project, founded by veteran American journalist Bernie Krisher. Since 1999, AAfC has built 450 schools in rural Cambodia, with matching funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Mr. Krisher also is the publisher of the Cambodia Daily newspaper.

How to buy a school

It costs sponsors about $15,000 to build a basic AAfC school. Between responses from letters they sent to Islanders and people with Vineyard connections, donations from friends and family, and a casino night fundraiser at Nancy's, Mr. Alexander and Mr. LaVigne raised about $24,000.

"Checks were rolling in, much to my surprise," said Mr. LaVigne. "We really didn't start doing anything until last spring, and it really came together over the course of the summer. By August or September, everything was pretty much done."

About 80 people attended a casino night they held at Nancy's last fall, which raised $3,000. Mr. Alexander said Doug Abdelnour, the restaurant's co-owner, and the staff were a huge help in organizing the event.

"Several people gave very generous donations," Mr. Alexander said. "There was a lady in Florida whose daughter visited the Vineyard and brought her home a Martha's Vineyard Times. She read the article about our first school and sent a check for $10,000."

Opening day

Mr. Alexander took two framed plaques listing all the donors' names to present to the new school when he and Mr. LaVigne left for Cambodia on January 8. Four days later, they were welcomed along with other honored guests by students and villagers who lined up along the dirt road that led to the new school.

The two men received gifts of colorful hand-woven scarves, which they wore during the ceremonies. They, in turn, presented gold-foil wrapped presents to young monks dressed in saffron-colored robes, who chanted blessings for the new school.

Mr. Alexander said the opening ceremony included a lot of speeches, from the district and province governors, the local commune chief, and village leaders. Both he and Mr. LaVigne also gave speeches with the aid of an interpreter, a challenge since they weren't sure how fast to talk or when to pause. "It was hard to get on a roll," Mr. Alexander said with a laugh.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony, everyone toured the almost-finished, three-classroom school building. Although most of the materials were brought down the river during the rainy season, construction was delayed by flooding, Mr. LaVigne said. The school is built up on stilts, to protect it from flooding during the rainy season and for air circulation during hot, dry weather, Mr. LaVigne explained.

Mr. LaVigne and Mr. Alexander gave notebooks, pencils, and rulers to the school's 109 students, and textbooks to the 11 teachers.

Mr. Alexander also presented a quilt to the school, made by students in Amy Reece's grade 5-6 class at the Charter School when Ms. Gelinas was their student teacher last spring. The students colored its 16 squares with items representing American culture, such as a Chuck All-Star shoe, an iPod, and a pizza.

With the additional funds they raised, Mr. Alexander and Mr. LaVigne donated $3,000 to the Cambodia Daily Rice Crisis Campaign. At the school opening, each of the 106 families with students in the school and the 11 teachers received a 110-pound bag of rice, enough to feed a family of four for a month, Mr. LaVigne said.

It takes a village - or four

The new Prek Koy School is named for the nearest village and also the river that runs through it. The villagers must use a wooden boat and rope system to ferry people and materials across the river to the school site, as the only bridge is half finished. The school is centrally located to serve four villages, about two and a half hours northeast of Phnom Penh, according to Cajsa Collins, a reporter for the Cambodia Daily News who provided information about the school ceremony to The Times by email.

"The school means a lot to the village," Ms. Collins wrote, especially for junior high and high school level students. "No longer do they have to travel a long way to school or squeeze in together with the primary school students."

Some of the older students have been attending the village's primary school, while others walk about 12 miles to a secondary school in another village - or quit going to school altogether.

The AAfC schools are built on land donated by a village or added to an existing school site. Once a school is built, it is given to the village. All of the schools are recognized by the Cambodian government as state schools and are staffed by official state teachers.

Ms. Collin said teachers earn an average of $28 to $53 a month, which the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association estimates is enough to support a small family for 10 days. Most supplement their income with other work.

The Cambodian government does not pay for maintenance or materials. Students do not pay to attend school, but must buy their own school supplies and uniforms.

Starting with one student at a time

Interest in Cambodia started for Mr. Alexander and his wife, Kara, with a trip there in 2003, when they met 14-year-old Roma Chhon outside Angkor Wat, the 12th-century temple. When they found out she had dropped out of school to work and help support her family, they offered to pay for her education - and still do. After learning about the Rural Schools Project, they raised money to build the Vineyard School in the Siem Reap region, which was added on as a wing to an existing school.

Photographer Alan Brigish of West Tisbury visited the Vineyard School while in Cambodia in mid-November on a trip that also included Burma, Laos, and Thailand. He is working on a book of photography that depicts how Buddhism affects day-to-day life in those four countries.

After touring the school and taking photos, Mr. Brigish told school officials he would like to teach a class. "They gave me a class of teens, and I gave them a lesson in geography for an hour, telling them about places I'd been to and what life was like in different parts of the world." The school has 1,316 students, ages 12 to 18, in 24 classes.

Mr. Alexander and Mr. LaVigne have been talking with Mr. Brigish about teaming up to build schools in Burma. In the meantime, they plan to put the remaining $6,000 they already raised towards building another school. AAfC will start a new school once a sponsor sends $5,000.

The two friends met about 10 years ago when Mr. LaVigne moved to the Vineyard. Mr. LaVigne, age 25, works at Mocha Mott's in Oak Bluffs in the winter and runs a landscaping, floral design and interior gardening business in the summer.

Although Mr. Alexander, 45, grew up in Connecticut, he was a summer Island kid and has been the Oak Bluffs harbormaster for 17 years. He and his wife Kara have a three and a half year old son, Sebastian.

Mather Presents Cambodian Photos Taken by Trinity Students

Trinity Tripod
Jacqueline Sparks '09
Issue date: 2/17/09

During the summer of 2008, 15 Trinity students went to Cambodia as part of the Cambodia in Context study abroad program. Nine of these students are featured in an exhibit in the Mather Art Gallery entitled, "Phnom Penh River Life". The goal of the exhibit is to "examine the central role that the Tonle Sap river system plays in the daily life of Phnom Penh, capital city of the Kingdom of Cambodia."

The show consists of about 20 untitled pictures; the photographs are only identified by the name of the photographer. This is a slight weakness; while there is something to be said for allowing the pictures to speak for themselves, someone unfamiliar with the scenes being depicted might be unclear about what is going on.

Perhaps the most eye-catching pictures were the ones with children in them. Allie Stein '11 took a picture showing a young girl holding a small bird on a stick. Positioned in the center of the back wall, it instantly draws the eye upon entering the space. Nathan Kirschbaum '09 has a picture displayed with a little girl taking a flower. The face of the little girl is the only one appearing in the picture, which makes exactly who she is taking the flower from nicely ambiguous. Another photograph by Stein shows children lounging on a dock over the river. One child was simply hanging, as though on monkey bars, over the river. It was unclear if he would actually swim or not.

Flowers were another common theme. Kirschbaum's photo of the young girl centers on a flower and the girl. Another picture along the same theme was senior Mark Rasmussen's photograph of several flower sellers. Contrasting with Kirschbaum's, the main subject was an older woman, instead of a young girl.

Another picture featuring a senior citizen was Weita Wu's '09 photograph of a man sweeping the sidewalk near a cafe. His traditional twig broom and the modern cafe show the contrast of contemporary life.

Most of the photographs felt very timeless; if people had had cameras, they could have been taken a thousand years ago instead of last summer. Perhaps the most notable exception to this is Wu's picture of two men sitting on a low wall, looking at their cell phones. While this does not give the same impression of changelessness that many of the other photographs do, it also helps anchor the show in the time of last summer. The other exception is senior Nora Becker's photograph, from behind, of a young man climbing into a car. For some reason, while other pictures also contain modern artifacts, these are the only ones that do not feel timeless.

Despite a description and a title that focuses on the Tonle Sap River, the river could only be directly seen in 11 of the 20 photographs. While it seems a safe assumption that much of the activity is occurring near the river, even if not directly seen, this is another place where captions or titles would have helped. The viewer was left to infer that the river was nearby.

Despite minor flaws, "Phnom Penh River Life" is an interesting student exhibit. It is a shame that few people know it is there, and when they do go to the second floor of Mather Hall, walk right by the pictures without noticing them.

"Phnom Penh River Life" runs in the Mather Art Gallery until Tuesday Feb. 24.

Signs of better times in Cambodia

John Thornton/DAILY NEWS STAFF
A Cambodian store sign brought to the U.S. by Joel Montague.

John Thornton/DAILY NEWS STAFF
A Cambodian store sign for a "coining" procedure, a massage with a coin, brought to the states by Joel Montague is on display at the Wellesley Free Library.

John Thornton/DAILY NEWS STAFF
Joel Montague with several Cambodian store signs on display at the Wellesley Free Library,

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2009.

MetroWest Daily News, MA
By Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF

WELLESLEY — After decades of civil war, genocide and invasion wracked Cambodia, frequent expatriate Joel Montague first noticed life returning to normal in the humble signs merchants hung on their shops.

Working in rural health programs in the early 1990s, the world-traveling Wellesley resident saw handcrafted signs advertising haircuts and goat soup, pool tables and marriage arrangers sprouting like mushrooms throughout the troubled Southeast Asian nation.

"These are like the old tavern signs in America that have had their day and have become passe," said Montague. "First of all, it's advertising. But it's also an art form that shows us something about a country getting back on its feet."

Montague's fascinating signs of Cambodia's times can now be seen at the Wellesley Free Library.

Visitors can view 25 shop signs that cast a revealing light on the resurgence of Cambodian society in the 1990s. They are featured in "Cambodian Business Signs," an offbeat and engaging exhibit in the Wakelin Room through the end of the month.

Montague said ordinary shop signs virtually disappeared from Cambodia in the 1970s during the murderous regime of the Khmer Rouge. Experts estimate the communist dictatorship led by Pol Pot killed about 1.5 million people or 20 percent of Cambodia's population from 1975 to 1979.

Angered by recurring border violations, neighboring Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978, drove the Khmer Rouge into hiding and occupied the country through 1989.

"Under the Khmer Rouge, there was no private sector. So there were no individually owned shops that needed signs," said Montague. "When the Vietnamese occupied the country, they were into total socialization and government control."

But after the Vietnamese left, Montague said an entrepreneurial market began and people started putting up shop signs once again.

Working in Cambodia after the Vietnamese left, Montague observed "worker artists" who'd been apprentice painters and merchants creating generally two-sided signs in larger towns and cities to advertise basic consumer goods and services. He said shops in villages didn't need signs because everyone knew what was available without spending money on advertising.

Montague hopes visitors will see a sort of innocent charm in the signs which combine bright, bold images with direct advertising statements.

In an advertisement for patent medicine, a respected elder wearing yellow robes gives a potion to a healthy young couple. Montague believes potential buyers would know a snake, monkey and rabbit by the elder's feet are ingredients in the medicine.

An especially sophisticated sign uses Khmer, Chinese and English to advertise "Goat soup with Chinese ingredients for more than (strength)."

And Montague said the inclusion of foreign products, however simple, revealed a growing interest in imported consumer goods believed to be superior to local products.

Looking as if ripped from the pages of Vogue, an advertisement for a local spa shows a stylish woman chatting on an oversized cell phone while sitting in an outdated steam cabinet.

The artists who painted the signs on wood, tin, leather and canvas were far more interested in getting the message across than adhering to the laws of perspective or proportion.

Another spa advertisement shows a smiling lady with blue eyeshadow submerging her body in what resembles a bubble bath but fills a vessel no larger than a sink.

In a double-faced sign advertising health treatments, a woman uses a coin to scrape medicinal oil down the chest of a giant man twice her size.



Montague has spent much of his last 50 years living and working overseas, often in hot spots like Egypt, Iran, Cambodia and, recently, Afghanistan.

A New York native, he earned a degree in political science from Oberlin College and, after military service, earned a graduate degree from the School of Advanced International Studies of John Hopkins University.

Montague spent 10 years working for CARE in Egypt, Tunisia and Iran, where he met and married his wife, Shahnaz Montague, a doctor who practices internal medicine in Framingham. They have two adult children.

In recent decades, he has worked abroad as a family health adviser in Cambodia, Afghanistan and other exotic locales. Montague is presently board chairman of a Cambodian nonprofit agency founded by The Global Fund which promotes malaria education in Cambodian schools. Last year, a memoir of French Indochina, "The Colonial Good Life," co-authored by Montague and Michael Vann was published by White Lotus Press.

Nancy Hart, a portrait artist visiting from Belmont, described the signs as "just amazing."

"I love the idea that ordinary people can paint whether they've gone to art school or not," she said. "Here (in America) you're on your own or have to work in Starbucks."

Montague's signs offer the unadorned immediacy of the best folk art.

Viewers with just the faintest awareness of modern Cambodian history will recognize familiar human aspirations painted on these signs from the other side of the world.

Part history lesson, part art show, Montague's exhibit morphs into an informative travelogue through an exotic country with a tortured past.

Hardcore tourists always claim they want to "get off the beaten path" when traveling overseas.

Montague has brought the beaten path through Cambodian life into the library's Wakelin Room where you'll encounter everyday sights you'd never see in a tour group.

Low oil prices set to delay Chevron project in Cambodia

Philippine Star
February 19, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Falling oil prices are likely to delay US oil giant Chevron's development of Block A near southwestern Cambodia, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post said on Thursday.

The company has already finished exploration of the off-shore concession, but won't begin production until at least 2012, said the paper.

Chevron was now playing a waiting game in Cambodia after seeing oil prices plummeted in the past 6 months, the paper quoted Hang Chuon Naron, secretary general at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as telling a trade and investment forum here on Wednesday.

"At this stage, Chevron has finished exploration in Block A. If they decide to move on with development now, (first) production will be in 2012," he said, predicting of $200 million of oil revenues for the same year.

However, Chevron was likely to wait longer to begin oil production from the concession, "because the oil prices are in crisis," he said.

"Therefore, production will be in 2014 or 2015. That depends on the oil prices. Everything depends on the oil prices," he added.

The oil and natural gas resources of Cambodia are found concentrated in its off-shore area near the southwestern tip of its territory.

This area has been divided into 6 blocks for a dozen of foreign companies to explore and develop. None of them starts production yet.

Gov't survey finds health, nutrition problems of Cambodian children

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-19

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A recent government survey has found that the rising cost of food has halted improvements in child health and nutrition in Cambodia, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily said on Thursday.

The percentage of children under 5 found to be "acutely malnourished" has grown in recent years, the paper quoted the Cambodian Anthropometrics Survey, which was issued this week by the government's National Institute of Statistics, as saying.

According to the findings, 8.4 percent of children under 5 were acutely malnourished in 2005, but the number rose to 8.9 percent last year.

The report also showed a jump since 2005 in the number of young children suffering from ailments such as diarrhea, fever and respiratory infections.

"If these numbers turn out to be true, this is a very serious situation and all stakeholders involved (in food security) should take action soon," the World Food Program's recently appointed Country Representative Jean-Pierre De Margerie said.

The inflation rate of Cambodia reached a 15-year high in July 2008 at 22 percent, but gradually declined to 13.46 percent at the year-end, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) issued by the government in January.

"Food prices are significantly higher than a year ago, but the trend is reversing," Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, was quoted by local media as saying then.

The CPI measures price fluctuations over a 12-month period of as elected basket of goods, from essentials such as food and gas to luxury items.

Editor: Yang Lina

JICA Helps Cambodia to Define Standards for Cambodian Hydro-Electricity Dams - Wednesday, 18.2.2009

Posted on 19 February 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 600

“Phnom Penh: The Japan International Cooperation Agency – JICA – cooperates with officials in charge of hydro-electricity of the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy of Cambodia, to construct hydro-electricity dams for Cambodia. JICA will support the funding for this development, and standards are expected to be respected by investors or companies which construct hydro-electricity dams in Cambodia.

“The deputy director of JICA, Mr. Kobayashi Yukiharu, said in the first plenary session about the studies to elaborate detailed conditions for the construction of hydro-electricity dams according to technical standard, in the morning of 17 February 2009 at the Phnom Penh Hotel, that development of hydro-electricity dams in Cambodia is being focused, facing the general situation of rapid growth of around 20% per year for the local demand of energy during the last five years. At present, many companies from foreign countries, such as China, Korea, and Vietnam, have already established hydro-electricity development projects and are constructing their projects gradually. Mr. Yukiharu added, however, there must be care taken when constructing hydro-electricity dams about possible impacts, because such constructions directly relate to safety and environmental conservation, since all hydro-electricity dam construction projects, big or small, are constructions of dams and water flow channels that can lead to severe devastations and impacts on the environment, if those projects do not focus on the observation of clear technical standards from the beginning.

“The Minister of Industry, Mines, and Energy, Mr. Suy Sem, considers electricity to be an important and necessary resource for the life of everyone. But what we want is not just to do whatever, so that there is access to electricity, but also to do whatever, so that the production, delivering, distribution, and the use of electricity are efficient and safe. To be efficient is not just to make the supply of electricity to happen with quality, stability, and low prices, but also to make the consumers, who are the clients, to accept the use happily, and to settle their accounts for the service received regularly and with transparency. The Minister added that to be safe is to avoid work accidents, electrical shocks, or electricity-related fires. The production, the delivering, the distribution, the use, as well as the use of all electrical tools, must be done according to proper standards - that means that we first must have the necessary standards.

“The Minister went on to say that the studies to elaborate detailed conditions for the definition of technical standards for hydro-electricity have the intention to mainly check, consider, and analyze different technical standards for hydro-electricity being used by different countries, such as Japan, Russia, Canada etc… and to screen and select them, and to create them to be in line with the conditions of Cambodia, so that Cambodia has technical standards for hydro-electricity, both for the civil engineering sector and for electrical technologies and mechanics, so that all different companies have to abide by these standards.

“The director of the Department of Hydro-Electricity of the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy, Mr. Bun Narith, said that JICA is helping Cambodia in this sector for a 12 months period, since October 2008, to September 2009, studying in detail, point by point, the small elements of the whole cluster of hydro-electricity. Mr. Bun Narith added that all those having received licenses to construct any hydro-electricity dam must follow these technical standards. The potential of Cambodian hydro-electricity is high, at around 10,000 megawatt. But Cambodia has so far developed only 13 megawatt.

“Mr. Suy Sem reminded the plenary session that even though Japan has studied the codes and formulas from its own and from different other countries, but we, in developing countries, cannot copy those technical standard models like a mold for the use in Cambodia. Cambodia must have standards in order to avoid impacts on is environment; however, hydro-electricity dam constructions cannot avoid affecting the environment. When one starts blocking the flow of water, some forests start already to be flooded.

“Therefore, we have to balance between losses and energy received - which one is more valuable? We should not create standards which are too strict or too weak. The Minister continued to say that so far, neither any hydro-electricity dams nor construction companies in Cambodia have standards. At presents there is a hydro-electricity dam in Ratanakiri’s Ou Chum with the power of 1 megawatt. In Mondolkiri, Japan constructed two small hydro-electricity dams, which are already operational. The Kirirom I hydro-electricity dam has 12 megawatt power. We are constructing hydro-electricity dams in Kamchay with 193 megawatt and in Ta Tai with 120 megawatt and there is a plan to build a hydro-electricity dam in Sre Pok with 400 megawatt, which is being studied by a Vietnamese company.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4824, 19.2.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Military delegation visits Laos, Cambodia, Thailand

19/02/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – A military delegation led by Minister of Defence General Phung Quang Thanh on February 18 left Hanoi for official visits to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

The visits are made at the invitations of the Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Senior Lieutenant-General Duoangchay Pichit, the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Tea Banh and the Thai Defence Minister, Prawit Wongsuwan.

The delegation will attend the third ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-3) which will be held in Pattaya, Thailand from February 25-27.

VietNamNet/VNA

Khmer Rouge Pretrial Ends After Clash Over Evidence

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as 'Duch' (c), during first day of UN-backed tribunal in Phnom Penh, 17 Feb 2009

By VOA News
18 February 2009

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have clashed in Cambodia over evidence at a pretrial hearing for the man who once ran a notorious Khmer Rouge prison.

Defense lawyers for Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, argued Wednesday against using a film documenting torture as evidence before a genocide tribunal.

Prosecutors insisted on introducing the film shot by Vietnamese soldiers shortly after they drove the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979.

The pre-trial hearing has ended with an official trial date yet to be announced.

The United States on Wednesday expressed strong support for bringing to justice senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime.

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Gordon Duguid, in a statement, urged the court to conduct a fair and transparent judicial process and address allegations of corruption.

Many Cambodians have criticized the 30-year wait for the trial. Tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis said many potential witnesses have died.

Duch is the the first of five ex-Khmer Rouge leaders to be tried under the joint United Nations-Cambodian genocide tribunal.

He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder for his role in some 15,000 deaths that took place at the S-21 detention center in Phnom Penh between 1975 and 1979.

Duch has admitted to committing atrocities and expressed remorse for his actions.

At least 1.7 million Cambodians died during the four-year reign of the communist Khmer Rouge regime.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

Strong U.S. Support for Trial of Former Khmer Rouge Official

U.S. has given $1.5 million to court, but urges it to prevent corruption

America.gov

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — As the trial of former Khmer Rouge official Kaing Guek Eav, better known as “Duch,” opened in Cambodia February 17, the United States said it has dispensed more than $1.5 million to support the joint Cambodian–United Nations tribunal, which is prosecuting human rights atrocities committed during the 1970s.

“We strongly support bringing to justice senior leaders responsible for the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime,” State Department acting deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said February 18, adding that the joint tribunal should proceed with its prosecutions “in a fair and transparent judicial process.”

Duch was a former head of the Tuol Sleng interrogation center, located in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. He is accused of presiding over the murder and systematic torture of at least 15,000 inmates.

Approximately 2 million people are believed to have been either executed or killed through starvation and overwork during the 1975–1979 Khmer Rouge regime, which killed suspected opponents and forced the inhabitants of Cambodian cities from their homes to work on collective farms.

In 2006, Cambodia and the United Nations agreed on a joint tribunal to try surviving Khmer Rouge officials for their crimes.

Along with Duch, the court has indicted former President Khieu Samphan; former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary; former Minister for Social Affairs Ieng Thirith; and the Khmer Rouge’s chief ideologue, Nuon Chea. All are now elderly and reported to be in poor health.

Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge’s founder and leader, died in 1998.

The United States and others in the international community had previously expressed concern over corruption, mismanagement and political influence in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, also known as the “E-triple-C.”

However, on September 16, 2008, the State Department said it believed the body had improved to the point where it could meet “international standards of justice,” and former State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States would be providing $1.8 million to assist the court.

Acting deputy spokesman Duguid said $1.5 million has been dispensed.

“We believe the court has made significant strides to overcome international concerns about corruption and mismanagement,” Duguid said. However, he also called on it to “continue to be proactive in preventing corruption and addressing the previous allegations.”

The second day of the trial for crimes against humanity of chief Khmer Rouge torturer Kaing Guek Eav

Prosecutors Chea Leang of Cambodia (L) and Robert Petit of Canada speak to the media after the first day of the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 17, 2009.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodian guards prepare to escort former Khmer Rouge prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, also known as 'Duch' to a U.N.-backed tribunal Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodian guards escort former Khmer Rouge prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, back seat in the car, also known as 'Duch' to a U.N.-backed tribunal Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodian guards look on as others escort former Khmer Rouge prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, back seat in the car, also known as 'Duch' to a U.N.-backed tribunal Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodians arrive for a U.N.-backed tribunal Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Kaing Guek Eav, also known as, 'Duch' is the first of five former Khmer Rouge leaders being tried for crimes against humanity.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodians arrive for a U.N.-backed tribunal Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. Kaing Guek Eav, also known as, 'Duch' is the first of five former Khmer Rouge leaders being tried for crimes against humanity.(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Cambodian security officers check up near the site for a U.N.-backed trial of former Khmer Rouge prison commander Kaing Guek Eav, also known as 'Duch' Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The trial, the first of five former Khmer Rouge leaders, is expected to last several months according to officials.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Women wearing their courtroom tickets smile during a break in the trial of chief Khmer Rouge torturer Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 18, 2009. Duch faced trial for crimes against humanity on the second day of his trial on Wednesday, the first by a senior Pol Pot cadre three decades since the end of a regime blamed for 1.7 million deaths.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodians arrive on the second day of the trial for crimes against humanity of chief Khmer Rouge torturer Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 18, 2009.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Western tourists look at a display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A western tourist takes picture of a cell used as a torture chamber at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian tourist walks through cells used as a torture chamber at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tourists walk toward at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian family inspects a rusting ammunition box in one of the rooms used as a torture chamber at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of Kaing Guek Eav — better known as Duch , the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Cambodian girl views a painting depicting torture at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session Wednesday with judges saying they still need to finalize a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture center will begin.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tribunal needs final list of witnesses

The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Thursday, February 19, 2009

Ap, Phnom Penh

A long-delayed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal wrapped up its opening session yesterday with judges saying they still need to finalise a list of witnesses before announcing when a full trial of the former head of the regime's notorious torture centre will begin.

Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch -- is charged with crimes against humanity. He is the first of five defendants from the close-knit, ultra-communist regime that ruled Cambodia in the 1970s and turned it into a vast slave labor camp in which an estimated 1.7 million people perished.

Three decades after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the U.N.-assisted tribunal began a procedural session Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a full trial expected in March. The precise date has not been set and details still need to be ironed out, including who will testify.

Judge Silvia Cartwright, a former New Zealand High Court judge, told the court that the tribunal's five judges met Wednesday in private to pare down the lists of proposed witnesses to "consider whether the testimony would be redundant or repetitious."

She said judges had agreed on about 30 of the witnesses proposed by lawyers for the prosecution, defense and civil parties. They dropped a handful of witnesses and postponed a decision on about 20 others. She did not say when a decision would be made.

Among those who are to be summoned to testify are British journalist Nic Dunlop, who discovered Duch in northwestern Cambodia in 1999. An American scholar, David Chandler, the author of several books on Cambodia, will also be asked to testify, the court said.

Duch oversaw the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh - previously a school, now the Tuol Sleng genocide museum - where some 16,000 men, women and children were detained and tortured. Only a handful survived.

Duch, 66, is the only defendant who has expressed remorse for his actions. He is accused of committing or abetting a range of crimes including murder, torture and rape. He did not address the court Tuesday but through his lawyer he again voiced regret.

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Duch disappeared for two decades, living under two other names and converting to Christianity before he was located by Dunlop, the British journalist.

Judges also still need to decide whether to admit as evidence a short film shot by Vietnamese soldiers when they entered Tuol Sleng prison in January 1979 after toppling the Khmer Rouge.

Tortured Kiwi sailor's family awaits justice

By JUDITH HUGHEY - The Dominion Post (New Zealand)
Thursday, 19 February 2009

Thirty years ago Kiwi trans-Atlantic rower Rob Hamill's brother suffered a cruel fate, tortured to death by the brutal Khmer Rouge after his yacht blew off course.

Now justice is close as the first United Nations-backed trial of one of the notorious Cambodian leaders gets under way in Phnom Penh.

Kerry Hamill was 28 when he was killed in 1978. He was sailing from Singapore to Bangkok with the yacht's co-owner Stuart Glass, from Canada, and the charterer, British man John Dewhirst.

On the stand at the trial this week is prison chief "Duch" - real name Kaing Guek Eav - who ran Tuol Sleng, the former primary school that was turned into a torture centre and prison. This was where Mr Hamill, Mr Dewhirst and possibly 10 or more Westerners, among more than 10,000 Cambodians, were tortured and killed. Mr Glass was killed when the yacht was captured.

Mr Hamill, who represented New Zealand at the Olympics in 1996 and rowed the Atlantic Ocean, setting a world record with Phil Stubbs, plans to go to Cambodia for the trial once it gets under way.

"We look forward to seeing some sort of justice as far as the family goes," Mr Hamill said. He has spent several years trying to find out what happened to his brother. "We think the weather blew him off course and he got into territorial waters."

Four Americans and two Australians are among the Westerners murdered by the Khmer Rouge.

The regime ruled Cambodia, which they renamed Democratic Kampuchea, from 1975 to 1979, when the Vietnamese gained control and forced them into hiding.

The Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S21, is now visited by most travellers to Phnom Penh. Photographs taken by the Khmer Rouge of their captives are displayed alongside "confessions" to being CIA operatives.

"Duch" - now 66 - is charged with overseeing the torture and extermination of more than 12,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng. He was formerly a maths teacher.

New Zealand's Dame Silvia Cartwright is one of two international judges, sitting alongside three Cambodian judges, on the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal.

Former Phnom Penh police commissioner Heng Pov demands to be able to pay his lawyer himself

Ka-set
By Ros Dina (and Laurent Le Gouanvic)
19-02-2009

Former chief of the municipal police of Phnom Penh Heng Pov, sentenced to more than 58 years of prison in six cases - including the murder of judge Sok Sethamony - and a suspect in three more cases, was granted on Tuesday February 17th an adjournment in his trial before the Court of Appeal of Cambodia, after claiming he was not able to pay the lawyer of his choice due to his bank account being frozen by the authorities.

Heng Pov was due to answer charges of illegal possession and use of weapons at the Appeal Court, in a case for which he had been sentenced by the Municipal Court of Phnom Penh in 2007 to spend 18 months in prison and pay two million riels. In the end, the former commissioner only spent a few minutes at the stand on Tuesday, in the cramped and crowded courtroom of the Appeal Court.

“900,000 dollars on five accounts”
After he left the courtroom, Heng Pov, who was wearing the prisoner's blue uniform, continued to plead his case in front of the journalists, denouncing an “injustice” and an “abnormality”: although according to his own admission, he owns “five bank accounts, including two international ones” on which he is reported to have almost “900,000 dollars,” the former commissioner claimed he was unable to pay the fees of his lawyer, Kao Sopha, who he chose as his defence counsel, his “medical treatment” and the “school fees” of his children.

“Every defendant in the country has the right to use their money to choose their lawyer, except for Heng Pov! Why?”, he exclaimed. “That is really strange, when I have money to pay!” The former policeman has refused to receive legal aid or be represented by a court-appointed lawyer, and demanded the right to have free access to his bank accounts, or at least, to be able to withdraw “a reasonable amount” to cover his legal costs and health expenses and his children's school fees. He did not want to give a public estimate, but his lawyer Kao Sopha assessed it to 200,000 dollars.

15,000 dollars per case
The lawyer put forward the same arguments as his client. He argued that since the latter had money and was willing to pay, there was no reason why he should not be able to represent the defendant and be paid. “As a private lawyer, I have the right to receive fees. How can people accuse me of lacking generosity? When people are poor, I am ready to represent them for free. If Heng Pov did not have any money, I would not ask him for one dollar and I would continue to represent him.” The attorney claimed he has signed with his client contracts on eight of the nine cases in which he is due for trial, for a 15,000 dollar fee each.

For both Heng Pov and his counsel, there are no longer any reasons today for his bank accounts to be frozen. The freeze had been decided at the initiative of the Ministry of Interior, after he was arrested and charged in two cases of illegal confinement and extortion, one in relation to a Korean national and the other to a Cambodian one. In the first case, the former municipal police chief was cleared. In the second, Heng Pov – first accused of participating to a kidnapping to demand a ransom of over 26,000 dollars in exchange for that person's release – was finally sentenced to three months of prison for making an arrest without warrant and not for illegal confinement or extortion. The former commissioner therefore considered that the motives for the freeze are no longer valid.

Dirty money?
Kao Sopha even went as far as making a rather daring suggestion to the Court. “If you do not want Heng Pov to get his money, you have to use another charge, like corruption for instance... Then, the Court would have the right to freeze the money. If it truly considers it is dirty money, I do not want any of it and I will continue to represent Heng Pov for free,” he declared.

The defendant then publicly claimed his innocence and stated that if he had really committed the crimes he is accused of, he would probably have made testimonies disappear and he would not have participated actively to the “crackdown launched by the prime Minister against trafficking and abduction,” an attitude which he says would have been “suicidal if [he] had been guilty.”

“I want to be shown evidence!”
“I asked the Court to make sure that everything is fair,” he explained. “The three judges present [during the February 17th hearing] are considered as patriarchs of the Cambodian judicial system. I therefore ask them to follow the principles of law in their ruling. (…) I am not asking them to believe me and consider me a good person. I only want them to trust the evidence. If there are really evidence against me, I should just be killed,” he added. He also threatened to keep refusing to answer the questions of the Court “as long as it will not respect the law.”

The date of the next hearing of the Appeal Court in this case was not made public. Arrested and imprisoned in Cambodia since December 21st 2006, Heng Pov was already sentenced by the Municipal Court in six cases to various sentences for a total duration of 58 years and 9 months of prison. He is also due to be tried in relation to two attempted homicides – one against the chief of military police Sao Sokha, the other against the head of daily Koh Santepheap, Thong Uy Pang – and an abduction in 2006, a case which has not been investigated yet according to the lawyer for the former commissioner of Phnom Penh.

American Books Fit For A King

King Sihamoni of Cambodia receiving official gifts from newly appointed US Ambassador Carol Rodley.

PR Web
Press Release Newswire

" The Ambassador's actions and her gifts embody American appreciation and respect for Cambodian culture. With diplomatic empathy like this, I believe the United States can regain its reputation as a world leader known for sharing knowledge, culture and freedom. I'm honored my books were part of this event "

As President Barack Obama was sworn into office in Washington DC, another significant American ceremony took place 9,000 miles away. In the Royal Palace of Cambodia, newly appointed US Ambassador Carol Rodley presented her formal diplomatic credentials to Cambodia's King Sihamoni, accompanied by her official gifts; American books fit for a King.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PRWEB) February 18, 2009 --` Surrounded by crenulated walls and elaborate tropical gardens, Cambodia's Royal Palace is an exotic world onto itself. Since 1866, this has been the royal abode of this proud nation's monarchs, whose lineage stretches back to the great Khmer Empire that once ruled most of Southeast Asia.

For nearly 150 years, all important state ceremonies have taken place in the Throne Hall, called "Preah Thineang Dheva Vinnichay" in Khmer, which means the "Sacred Seat of Judgment." It was here that King Sihamoni received US Ambassador Carol Rodley, accepting her diplomatic papers and, as protocol dictates, conducting an official exchange of gifts between the two nations. Ambassador Rodley chose her American gifts quite carefully.

Years of foreign service and a true appreciation for Cambodian culture prepared Rodley for her important post. Already a Khmer speaker from an earlier Cambodian assignment in 1997-2000, Rodley began preparing for her royal ceremony weeks in advance. Her research led her to US publisher, Kent Davis, a Khmer history specialist and researcher with Devata.org.

"My books are primarily for Cambodians and academics, so I was curious when a Virginia woman sought out these specialized titles. That woman was Ambassador Rodley," said Davis.

Rodley chose two books and a DVD as official gifts to include in her ceremony: "Earth in Flower" by Dr. Paul Cravath, the most complete history of Cambodian dance ever published; "Angkor the Magnificent" by Helen Churchill Candee, an evocative account of the Khmer Empire; and a rare digital copy of a 1962 film about Cambodian dance featuring the King's sister, Princess Buppha Devi, from the US National Archives.

Weeks later in the gilded Throne Hall, the newest United States Ambassador presented her credentials to King Sihamoni in his native language and wearing a Khmer silk business suit. Presentation of her diplomatic credentials was soon followed by the uniquely American gifts of Cambodian scholarship, which delighted her royal host.

"The Ambassador's actions and her gifts embody American appreciation and respect for Cambodian culture. With diplomatic empathy like this, I believe the United States can regain its reputation as a world leader known for sharing knowledge, culture and freedom. I'm honored my books were part of this event," said Davis.

DatASIA, Inc. is a US publisher affiliated with the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Small Publishers Association of North America. The company has offices in Florida, USA and Bangkok, Thailand.

Murder of trade unionist Ros Sovannareth: Cambodian justice backtracking?

Ka-set
By Duong Sokha
19-02-2009

For the second time, the Court of Appeal of Cambodia decided on Wednesday February 18th to uphold the sentenced issued by the Municipal Court in 2005 against Thach Saveth for the premeditated murder of trade unionist Ros Sovannareth. He had been condemned to 15 years in prison following a very criticised trial. A leading member of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC), Ros Sovannareth was shot by two unidentified men on a motorbike on May 7th 2004 in Phnom Penh.

Discordant confessions
Judge Oum Sarith argued that the confessions made by Thach Saveth, a 27-year-old former member of Unit 911 of the paratrooper brigade, on February 15th 2005 before the Municipal Court of Phnom Penh, and on February 11th 2009 before the Appeal Court, did not corroborate each other, hence his decision to confirm the charge. This was the only argument offered by the Court to explain its verdict.

“Thach Saveth has declared he left Anlong Veng a few days after Khmer New Year [in April 2004] with one of his friends to travel to the province of Kampong Speu, where he was due to attend the wedding of a relative. He reported spending one night in Siem Reap before arriving in Phnom Penh, and then Kampong Speu province [where the wedding was held]. He no longer has the precise dates in mind. But, before the Municipal Court [in 2005], he claimed he had not committed the crime for the simple reason that on May 7th, the day of the murder, he had only just left Anlong Veng. In summary, his confessions change or lack precision and do not corroborate the statements of the defence witnesses,” the judge of the Appeal Court explained.

An “unjust” verdict
When the sentence was announced, the defendant's mother rushed towards her son and took him in her arms. In tears, she cried, “This verdict is unjust!” Crestfallen, Thach Saveth followed to the exit the guards in charge of taking him back to prison without making any comment, while his mother walked in his steps, shouting, “My son has not done anything wrong... The real killers are still running free!”

Sam Chamroeun, one of the two lawyers for the defendant, declared that “the Court's decision [to keep his client in prison] was based on no evidence”and added that he intended to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

After the verdict, Am Sam Ath, investigator of the human rights organisation Licadho, deplored the ruling, which he said was pronounced in spite of the inconsistency of the prosecution's evidence and the statements of witnesses claiming that Thach Saveth was not in Phnom Penh on the day of the murder.

A “sad and ironic” decision...
For Licadho, the verdict was a “step backward” after a welcomed positive development when Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were released on bail on December 31st 2008 after spending nearly five years in jail for the murder of trade union leader Chea Vichea, which they claim they never committed. “Sadly, it seems that the Supreme Court's decision was the exception, not the rule, and it does not indicate any wider improvement in the independence and professionalism of Cambodia's courts,” Kek Galabru, the president of the local NGO, commented.

In a media statement released after the hearing on Wednesday, Licadho claimed there was every reason to believe that the case against Thach Saveth was fabricated, and pointed out a total lack of respect for the presumption of innocence, as the judges “placed the burden on Thach Saveth to prove his innocence.”

Other irregularities noted by the organisation include the fact that Thach Saveth was convicted on the basis of written statements, prepared by the police, from witnesses to the murder who allegedly identified him, and who never testified in court or were interviewed by any court official. Moreover, Licadho added, the witnesses could not be cross-examined by defence lawyers.

“It is sad and ironic that, even as Cambodians hope that some justice may finally be provided for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge, the country's courts fail to offer anything resembling justice to Thach Saveth and countless others on a daily basis,” Kek Galabru deplored.

Chemainus again backs Cambodian effort with fundraising show Saturday, Feb. 21

canada.com
By Lexi Bainas, The Citizen
February 18, 2009

Pianist and composer Arne Sahlen is returning to Chemainus for a short fundraising Concert for Cambodia Saturday, Feb. 21.

Ticket sales will support culturally-sensitive, post-war restoration work in Cambodia, through the Cambodia Support Group (CSG), a registered charity based in Kimberley, B.C.

Chemainus's United Church is helping to promote the event.

With him, Sahlen will bring Cambodian tenor Chanthavouth and young B.C. guitarist Dylan Matheson.

Sahlen has appeared three times before in Chemainus and his shows are well-attended.

The piano music will range from jazz and ragtime to classical. "Vouth" will offer both Broadway songs and operatic arias. There will be an opportunity to meet the performers and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea at 11 a.m., after the short concert.

As is often the case with other performers, Sahlen's visit to Chemainus comes between a concert in Victoria and one in Vancouver.

CSG assists KAVTV, a Cambodian training school for Cambodians with disabilities and/or land mine injuries. They also sponsor several young people from very poor rural families for secondary/ post-secondary education in Cambodia, in partnership with Khmer Women's Voice Centre.

Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $5 for anyone under 16. Get them at British Allsorts or through Shelagh Armour-Godbolt at 250-246-9102 or shelaghag@shaw.ca

Tickets will also be available at the door of Chemainus United Church, after 9:30 a.m. on concert day.

Cambodia acts on a ‘stimulus package’ for its tourism industry

TravelVideo.TV

BY REINHARD HOHLER, ETN ASIA/PACIFIC FEB 18, 2009The Cambodian government and private travel companies have proposed a host of incentive measures aimed at stimulating the tourism sector at a meeting in Phnom Penh last week, the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) said.

Ho Vandy, co-chairman of the Tourism Working Group of CATA, told local newspaper Phnom Penh Post that members of the private sector met with Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon to discuss the possibility of visa exemption for tourists, possible increase in flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and other initiatives.

Dr. Thong Khon will present these proposals to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday, said Ho Vandy, to assess whether the measures are financially viable. About two million tourists visit Cambodia per year with each required to pay a visa fee of at least a US$20.

Ho Vandy explained that incentive measures are urgent given the economic climate. "If the government doesn't take action ... we will face a serious problem in the tourism sector," he said.

Chavez Victory Likened to Hun Sen’s Aims

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 February 2009

Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy sent a letter of congratulations to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, mocking Prime Minister Hun Sen’s apparent desire to stay in power.

Chavez won a referendum on Sunday that will allow him to run for office with no limits.

In an open letter issued Monday, Sam Rainsy thanked Chavez for winning the referendum—by 54 percent of the vote—and said the victory reminded him of Hun Sen, who has been in power since the 1980s.

“Like you, our prime minister wants to stay in power forever, or at least—he says—until he reaches the age of 90,” Sam Rainsy wrote. “He has been in power since the early 80s, and we would have to be patient with him for another 30 years. But unlike you, he doesn’t bother at all to seek to know whether his people want him to remain at the head of their country for so long, possibly for two (lost) generations.”

Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for Hun Sen’s Camboidan People’s Party, said Monday Sam Rainsy should struggle harder to win future elections, but he was free to say what he liked in letters.

Cambodia’s next national elections will be held in 2013, and Hun Sen has openly declared he plans to run for prime minister again.

Experts Battle Disbelief in Bird Flu

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 February 2009

As she clears tables at her mother’s Battambang restaurant, Srey Neang often hears customers discuss avian influenza. The 19-year-old thinks her customers don’t know what they’re talking about.

“I don’t believe in the existence of H5N1,” she said recently, referring to the bird flu virus by its scientific name. “It is just a rumor. I’ve seen nothing frightening, nothing to be afraid of.”

Phan Srey Neang, an 18-year-old high school student in Rattanak Mondol district, said she sees and hears bird flu spots on TV and radio almost every day, but she doesn’t think the virus has ever existed at all, let alone in a form that can be transmitted from birds to humans.

“I don’t believe in the existence of the virus, because I’ve never witnessed any person killed by the virus,” she said. “Seeing is believing.”

The views of these two Battambang women underscore the difficulties facing health authorities as they reach out to Cambodian communities in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, which health experts worry could one day lead to a human-to-human pandemic.

“There is nothing we can do to make people believe,” said Uk Vithia, head of the provincial communicable disease control office in Battambang. “What we can do is spread the information about the virus and educate them to prevent themselves from being infected.”

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 254 people worldwide since outbreaks began in 2003. Seven Cambodians have died from the disease, although the most recent case, of a Kandal province man in December, was not fatal.

Still, animal and human health experts continue to educate people on the dangers of the disease, and to some extent it is working, Uk Vithia said.

“I notice that some people now tell vendor not to add raw egg when they have a fruit shake or to cook eggs well when they have fried noodles,” he said.

Though the disease has never occurred in Battambang, Ngek Bun Chhup, director of the provincial health department, said people should not ignore it. The disease is more severe than AIDS, he said.

“Basically, among the communicable viruses, H5N1 is the quickest to break out, to transmit and to kill,” he said.

Cheam Chansophoan, director of the provincial agricultural department, said both small and large- scale poultry farmers should inform village veterinarians or local authorities if their birds die in large numbers.

“People should also never eat a bird that has died for an unknown reason, whether they believe there exists the H5N1 virus or not,” he said.

As she clears tables at her mother’s Battambang restaurant, Srey Neang often hears customers discuss avian influenza. The 19-year-old thinks her customers don’t know what they’re talking about.

“I don’t believe in the existence of H5N1,” she said recently, referring to the bird flu virus by its scientific name. “It is just a rumor. I’ve seen nothing frightening, nothing to be afraid of.”

Phan Srey Neang, an 18-year-old high school student in Rattanak Mondol district, said she sees and hears bird flu spots on TV and radio almost every day, but she doesn’t think the virus has ever existed at all, let alone in a form that can be transmitted from birds to humans.

“I don’t believe in the existence of the virus, because I’ve never witnessed any person killed by the virus,” she said. “Seeing is believing.”

The views of these two Battambang women underscore the difficulties facing health authorities as they reach out to Cambodian communities in an effort to stop the spread of the disease, which health experts worry could one day lead to a human-to-human pandemic.

“There is nothing we can do to make people believe,” said Uk Vithia, head of the provincial communicable disease control office in Battambang. “What we can do is spread the information about the virus and educate them to prevent themselves from being infected.”

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 254 people worldwide since outbreaks began in 2003. Seven Cambodians have died from the disease, although the most recent case, of a Kandal province man in December, was not fatal.

Still, animal and human health experts continue to educate people on the dangers of the disease, and to some extent it is working, Uk Vithia said.

“I notice that some people now tell vendor not to add raw egg when they have a fruit shake or to cook eggs well when they have fried noodles,” he said.

Though the disease has never occurred in Battambang, Ngek Bun Chhup, director of the provincial health department, said people should not ignore it. The disease is more severe than AIDS, he said.

“Basically, among the communicable viruses, H5N1 is the quickest to break out, to transmit and to kill,” he said.

Cheam Chansophoan, director of the provincial agricultural department, said both small and large- scale poultry farmers should inform village veterinarians or local authorities if their birds die in large numbers.

“People should also never eat a bird that has died for an unknown reason, whether they believe there exists the H5N1 virus or not,” he said.

Youth Abandoning Khmer Rouge Tribunal

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 February 2009

Twenty-year-old Keo Sophany sat quietly in the compound of the Royal University of Phnom Penh recently, listening as her classmates discussed the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Herself a history student, Keo Sophany had actively followed new about the tribunal, and she often thought about Cambodians who had been victims of the regime. Lately, though, her attention to the tribunal has fallen to “zero,” she said, after many delays brought no results.

“I don’t know why the trial is still the same,” she said. “I’m fed up. I usually want to listen to all kinds of stories, but for the Khmer Rouge, I’ve abandoned it. I don’t want to hear about it any more. I don’t care what people say about the Khmer Rouge. I’m not interested.”

Keo Sophany spoke on the eve of the initial hearing in the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, which was held Tuesday, following many delays in a tribunal process that began in 2006—and even then after a decade of negotiations.

Keo Sophany is not alone among people her age.

“We were not victims of the Khmer Rogue regime, so it seems to me that I’m not interested in that tribunal, and I have never researched any information on it,” said Horm Sothun, an information technology student from Stung Treng province.

“I don’t have a deep understanding of the Khmer Rouge trials,” said Chan Sothea, a young employee at a company. “I want them to explain to us, to make us have more understanding.”

A recent survey conducted by researched at the University of California Berkeley found that the young generation has little information on the UN-Cambodian tribunal, which is attempting to try five former leaders of the regime for atrocity crimes.

The survey found that 80 percent of people not born under the Khmer Rouge know little or nothing about the regime.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which has spent many years researching the Khmer Rouge, takes issue with the survey.

While they may not know about the tribunal specifically, Cambodian youths know about the regime through their families, he said. Still, the tribunal was supposed to be for the young, he said.

“Why did we open the court?” he asked recently. “It is for the youth. The youth’s participation is the most important thing. When the youth stop following the information, it means we have lost an opportunity to sharpen their intelligence. So the court should worry about that, because they will lose support.”

Helen Jarvis, head of public affairs for the tribunal, said the office would continue to spread information about the tribunal to the young. It had already made many programs for various radio stations, as well as issuing thousands of leaflets, she said.

Love, 'rape' and the Cambodian bride

gloucestertimes.com

After nine months in jail, city man cleared of all charges

By Patrick Anderson
Staff Writer

From the day he was handed her photograph at work until he married her a year later in a traditional Cambodian ceremony, Michael Curcuru acted like a man in love.

Through hundreds of international telephone calls and thousands of dollars spent on airfare, legal work and immigration fees, Curcuru worked to bring his 20-year-old bride from Southeast Asia back to Gloucester.

But shortly after she arrived at Logan Airport in July 2007, Curcuru's plans and the promises of his bride's friends and family quickly unraveled.

A few weeks later, she had taken up residence at a house in Lynn and refused to see him. In a month, Curcuru was hit with a restraining order. On Sept. 24 he was arrested by Gloucester Police and charged with rape.

"She was my wife — I fell in love with her," Curcuru said in an interview yesterday. "The money didn't matter. She said she loved me, too."

Now, an Essex County jury has cleared Curcuru, 37, of all charges connected with his wife's complaint, including allegations of kidnapping and indecent sexual assault in addition to rape.

After nine months in jail, the loss of his job and home, Curcuru said yesterday he was trying to "get his life back" and start over.

The unusual circumstances leading up to Curcuru's marriage began while he was working at a Gloucester medical supplier in the summer of 2005 and his boss's wife handed him a photo of a 20-year-old woman and asked him if he would like to meet her, he said. The photo, the boss's wife said, had come from a friend of hers.

Within weeks, Curcuru was speaking on the phone with the woman in the photograph "every day," he said, and already discussing love and marriage.

In July 2006, he flew to Cambodia and met the woman for the first time. During the 10-day visit, the couple was married.

But it would be another year before Curcuru could get his wife to America. In the interim, he said yesterday, he estimates he spent more than $10,000 making the arrangements necessary to get her into the country. That money included paying $2,500 to a Cambodian woman in Lynn who had originally given his boss's wife the photograph.

When he went to Logan Airport to pick up his wife, the same woman from Lynn was also there, and instead of coming with him to Gloucester, his bride went with her instead.

Prosecutors' account of the story picks up two days later, when she did accompany him to Gloucester — where, she told investigators, he forced her to have sex with him.

After returning to Lynn for two days, the wife came back to Gloucester and, according to the police report, told investigators she was raped again.

She returned to Lynn and contacted representatives of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence in Boston, who took her statement and later called Gloucester detectives.

Curcuru said yesterday said he did have sex with the woman July 19, 2007, but denied forcing her to do anything against her will.

He noted that she had not made any complaints against him as of that July 25, when she had spent the day with his mother and relatives, or that July 27, when the couple went to Lynn City Hall for a marriage application. Despite the ceremony in Cambodia, Curcuru said he was looking to formalize the union in this country before beginning the process of getting his wife a green card or citizenship.

He said they had talked about starting a family and she had said she wanted to become a hairdresser.

After the marriage application trip, Curcuru said his bride "disappeared" and he didn't see her again until Aug. 24, 2007, at a hearing on his restraining order.

Curcuru's lawyer, Carmine Lepore of Revere, said the rape case had hinged on the alleged victim's testimony, its inconsistencies and believability.

"It came down to the credibility of the witnesses," Lepore said. "The other thing the jury struggled with were the circumstances of their relationship and her coming to America."

A video of the marriage entered into evidence that showed a reluctant bride with little affection for the groom also contributed to the jury's unease, Lepore said.

Curcuru said he now thinks the entire chain of events, from the distributing of the photograph to the contacts in Lynn, had simply been part of an effort to find a way to the United States.

"Every time she told her story, it changed," Curcuru said. "She hoodwinked me. It was all a scam to get into this country."

Patrick Anderson can be reached at panderson@gloucestertimes.com

ADB to open workshop on managing involuntary resettlement in Cambodia

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-18

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will convene a regional workshop on managing involuntary resettlement in East Asia and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries, said an ADB press release on Wednesday.

"The workshop will focus on sharing examples of good practice in resettlement management in the region, and also field visits to project sites," it said.

Arjun Goswami, Country Director of ADB's Cambodia Resident Mission, and Chhorn Sopheap, Director of the Resettlement Department of the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will attend the opening session.

ADB consultants Mohammad Zaman and Aqueel Khan will conduct the workshop, which will be held from Feb. 23 to 27.

Participants include project staff, consultants, non-governmental organizations, and affected communities.

"Development projects are a critical component of any effort to alleviate poverty and promote economic growth, but they also tend to affect and displace people, especially the poor," said the release.

"Good resettlement planning and management is therefore vital in addressing the adverse effects of involuntary resettlement, and can, if done properly, open up new opportunities to improve incomes and living conditions of those affected," it added.

Editor: Xiong Tong

Duch trial dispute over use of grim video

smh.com.au

The Sydney Morning Herald

Suy Se in Phnom Penh
February 19, 2009

LAWYERS at the trial of the Khmer Rouge's chief torturer argued over the use of a film showing the liberation of the prison where he allegedly oversaw the deaths of 15,000 Cambodians.

Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal launched an initial hearing in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, on Tuesday. It wrapped up yesterday and full hearings are expected to start next month.

Prosecutors told the court they wanted to introduce as evidence a film shot by Vietnamese forces showing conditions at the prison two days after they helped to drive the Khmer Rouge regime out of Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979.

"It is an absolute must for this trial chamber to have all available evidence," said co-prosecutor Robert Petit, adding that they wanted to call the cameraman and other witnesses related to the video.

However a defence lawyer, Kar Savuth, questioned the authenticity of the evidence, and argued it should be considered a Vietnamese propaganda film. "We the defence regard this video footage as having political motivation in nature to disguise the truth of the nature of the event," he said.

The video shows scenes of horror inside the abandoned prison, which was a former high school, including several bloated corpses strapped to iron bed frames where they were apparently tortured and then died.

It also shows five children who survived the retreat of the Khmer Rouge from the jail by hiding in a pile of washing.

Duch, a former maths teacher now aged 66, could be seen listening impassively to the arguments through headphones on the second day of the trial's initial hearing.

Lawyers also presented lists of witnesses, before the chief judge Nil Nonn announced the end of the initial hearing after just a day and a half.

He did not say when the trial would reopen, but a court spokeswoman, Helen Jarvis, said that substantive hearings with witness testimony was likely to begin in "late March".

Agence France-Presse

Former Khmer Rouge chief under spotlight

SBS World News Australia 18/02/09
A former Khmer Rouge prison chief that allegedly tortured thousands of men and women has gone on trial on Phnom Penh.

MaximsNews Network TV: CAMBODIA - KHMER ROUGE GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL

CAMBODIA KHMER ROUGE , The first trial of a Khmer Rouge official gets underway at a United Nations backed tribunal.

Cambodia's KRouge trial debates atrocity film

smh.com.au
Suy Se
February 18, 2009

Lawyers at the trial of the Khmer Rouge's chief torturer argued Wednesday over the use of a film showing the liberation of the prison where he allegedly oversaw the deaths of 15,000 Cambodians.

Cambodia's UN-backed genocide tribunal launched an initial hearing in the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, on Tuesday. It wrapped up on Wednesday and full hearings are expected to start next month.

Prosecutors told the court they wanted to introduce as evidence a film shot by Vietnamese forces showing conditions at the prison two days after they helped to drive the Khmer Rouge regime out of Phnom Penh on January 7, 1979.

"It is an absolute must for this trial chamber to have all available evidence," said co-prosecutor Robert Petit, adding that they wanted to call the cameraman and other witnesses related to the video.

However co-defence lawyer Kar Savuth questioned the authenticity of the evidence, and argued it should be considered a Vietnamese propaganda film.

"We the defence regard this video footage as having political motivation in nature to disguise the truth of the nature of the event," he said.

The video shows scenes of horror inside the abandoned prison, which was a former high school, including several bloated corpses strapped to iron bedframes where they were apparently tortured.

It also shows five children who survived the retreat of the Khmer Rouge from the jail by hiding in a pile of washing.

Duch, a former maths teacher now aged 66, could be seen listening impassively to the arguments through headphones on the second day of the 's initial hearing, which is dealing with procedural and legal matters.

Lawyers also presented lists of witnesses, before the chief judge Nil Nonn announced the end of the initial hearing after just a day and a half.

He did not say when the trial would reopen, but court spokeswoman Helen Jarvis said substantive hearings with witness testimony would likely begin in "late March".

"There's greater understanding of how the trial will unfold and what the objectives of various parties are," Jarvis told reporters at the court.

is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder, and faces a life sentence. The tribunal cannot impose the death penalty.

He has taken responsibility for his iron-fisted rule at which was used as a mass torture centre to extract confessions from alleged traitors that they were spies for the CIA, KGB and other foreign powers.

Only a handful of the estimated 15,000 men, women and children sent to the prison are known to have survived. Most were executed and buried in mass graves at the so-called "Killing Fields" in Choeung Ek near the capital.

He has previously expressed regret for his crimes but has said that he was acting under orders from leaders of the 1975-1979 communist Khmer Rouge.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge rose to power as a tragic spinoff from the US conflict in Vietnam, emptying Cambodia's cities to take society back to a rural "Year Zero."

Up to two million people were executed or died of starvation and overwork under the movement. The Khmer Rouge were ousted by Vietnamese-backed forces in January 1979. Pol Pot died in 1998.

The Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal was established in 2006 after nearly a decade of wrangling between Cambodia and the United Nations, and has been further delayed by legal arguments and bail hearings.

The government of Cambodian premier Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge fighter, has been accused of trying to protect the regime's ex-cadres from justice.