Huge Losses as a Result of a Lack of Sanitation in Cambodia - Wednesday, 6.5.2009

Posted on 7 May 2009

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 611

“An announcement about a clean water and sanitation program of the World Bank yesterday read, ‘In Cambodia, less than one person among four, that is actually 22% of the total population, is satisfied to have a toilet built at their home – among them about 16% are in rural areas and about 56% are in more densely populated areas. That means that nearly three fourth, that is 70% of the Cambodian population (more than 10 million), still do not discharge feces in toilets.

“According to a study of the World Bank, it is assessed that the economic loss derived from a lack of sanitation in Cambodia is about US$450 million per year, which is around 7% of the GDP in 2005. That means that on average, each person loses approximately US$30 because of a lack of sanitation.

“It went on to say that the economic loss from the impact on health, resulting from the lack of sanitation, is approximately US$190 million of the total loss. The loss caused by dirty water is approximately US$150 million. The loss in the area of tourism is approximately US$75 million. And the loss because of the waste of time resulting from a lack of sanitation is approximately US$40 million.

“The announcement added that many diseases result from infection through human feces and low sanitation, which result in diarrhea, insects in the intestine, and eye and skin diseases. The infection for some diseases are transmitted through dirty hands, flies, contaminated water, and food. Many diseases occur among undernourished children. About 30% of Cambodian children are malnourished, and this reduces the possibilities for their normal daily activities.

“Per year, there are at least ten million cases of disease caused by a lack of sanitation in Cambodia, leading to about 10,000 deaths. Children under the age of 5 suffer on average at least four cases of diarrhea each year, from water for domestic use that is not clean.

“Diseases lead to many expenses, especially when parents do not seek proper treatment from doctors or buy medicines prepared by unqualified sellers of medicine.

“The poor lack money, or even have to borrow money from other people, to cover the expenses for treatments. Also, diseases make children to be away from normal everyday activities and from school. The wasted expenses related to health care caused by a lack of sanitation amount to approximately US$20 million. Cambodia has achieved a reduction of the death rate of children in recent years, but the rate is still the highest in Asia. Deaths at an early age because of a lack of sanitation cause families great loss, and about 10,000 people die before a normal age, leading to a loss of income of about US170 million per year.”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #177, 6.5.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Getting A Taste For Cambodian Food

A lively supermarket in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

http://www.voanews.com

By VOA Khmer, Yann Ker
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
06 May 2009

WATCH VIDEO, click here.

Cambodian cuisine may not have the global profile of Thai or Vietnamese food, but it's certainly not from lack of flavour, sophistication or influence. Most visitors to Cambodia discover local food on the street, prepared and sold from the numerous outdoor restaurants and food stalls. And compared to its neighbours, many tourists say that Cambodian street food is quite bland. That's because it contains few of the herbs and spices commonly found on the streets of both Thailand and Vietnam

But don't be fooled, says ex-pat restaurant owner and food critic, Frits Mulder, great Cambodian cooking does exist, but to experience it you have to visit a real Cambodian restaurant. The best way to learn about Cambodian cuisine is in a hands-on cooking class like this one, offered to tourists by Frizz restaurant in Phnom Penh.

Frits Mulder: "In Thailand tourists eat the food on the streets where it's quite good, but in Cambodia, street food is basic and not really very tasty. That's why Cambodian food has a bad reputation. But when they come to a proper Cambodian restaurant many of them discover that they prefer Cambodian food to Thai food. It's less spicy so the flavours come through better."

The class begins at the local food market where participants select the raw ingredients they will need to prepare a three course meal.

Hun Li Heng: "Ok this one everyone, they call it 'saw-mint' because you can see this, outside here, it's like a saw when your cutting, so we call it 'saw-mint'.

All of the ingredients must be fresh, says cooking instructor Hun Li Heng, a former street child, who trained as a chef and discovered a knack for passing on what he had learned to others.

Hun Li Heng: "Khmer people like to eat fresh so it's good for your health. Because Cambodian people don't have a fridge at home, everyday they buy fresh ingredients and they eat them straigt away."

A popular dish across Asia and the world, spring-rolls are prepared as an appetiser. They are served with a sweet dipping sauce made from sugar cane paste, garlic and mild chili.

All of the ingredients are crushed together using a pestle and mortar which helps to bring out the flavours, explains Hun Li Heng. Although the class lasts just one day, participants quickly begin to understand the effects of each ingredient, figuring out what substitutes could be made back in their respective countries, if they can't find taro root or galangal in their local supermarket.

Hun Li Heng: "In Cambodia we use all our ingredients and we making paste. So everything mostly- or the garlic we normally- we grind it up because it produces flavours. It gives nice textures and nice flavours when we pound it."

Kathy Sattler, one of the students, says that fresh herbs are essential in Cambodian cooking.

Kathy Sattler: "Cambodian food has many different spices and flavours that makes it very exciting. And the texture of it is very interesting and because it's all powedered and really made from the real ingredients makes it very good, very good, and very tasty and colorful, yeah."

Khmer recipes go back centuries - long before chili peppers were introduced in the region by the Portuguese. Consequently, Khmer food tends to be less spicy than Thai food

But the mildness of Cambodian food allows the full flavour of the ingredients to shine through.

Scott Sattler: "We have powdered spices and we don't see the real fresh roots. And to grind them in a mortard pestle and to smell the flavours released are just wonderful. And at the same time to have an opportunity in a class like this to get to know the cook and to get know this Cambodian background and other peopel who are in the class make it a great adventure."

After preparing the appetiser, work begins on the main course - fish amok, a Cambodian curry combining fresh water fish, peanuts and coconut milk. Banana leaves are softened over an open flame and to be used as serving bowls. The dish is topped off with a garnish of fresh herbs.

After every dish, there's plenty of time to relax and talk with the other participants as they eat their own culinary creations. It's an intimate and laid-back class where students have plenty of time ask questions and get to know their fellow classmates. Each says that they enjoyed the class and would be bringing at least some of the secrets of Khmer cooking back to their home countries.

Information for this report was provided by APTN.

Temple sparks border tensions

THE NATIONAL
http://www.thenational.ae

Jared Ferrie, Foreign Correspondent
May 06. 2009

PREAH VIHEAR, CAMBODIA // About 120,000 tourists used to walk over each year from Thailand to explore the ruins of this 11th-century Hindu temple, which lies just inside the Cambodian border. Today, coils of razor wire are strung across the wooden staircase that once formed the border crossing and now leads to a network of trenches and machine-gun nests.

The armed standoff between the two countries began after July 8 when the temple was awarded world heritage status, with Unesco, the UN body that helps to conserve mankind’s heritage, calling it “exceptional for the quality of its architecture”. The listing stoked nationalist emotions in both countries, and sparked a simmering border dispute that has occasionally turned deadly and stirred up fears of a wider conflict.

While political leaders from both sides have downplayed violent clashes, 10 months of talks have yielded no solution. And each country has been building up an increasingly stronger military presence around a disputed section of land near the temple.

Instead of camera-toting tourists, the border region is now crawling with troops, separated by as few as 10 metres at the closest point on the front lines. In October, one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers died in an exchange of gunfire. On April 3, three Thai soldiers were killed, and a Cambodian market at the foot of the temple burnt to the ground after being hit by a Thai rocket.

Thailand has moved tanks close by, along with special forces, according to local media reports. On the Cambodian side, four armoured vehicles were visible at a military base, where construction was taking place, within an hour’s drive of the conflict zone. Elite Cambodian units are also stationed at the temple. Soldiers said heavy artillery was positioned at the site, but journalists were not allowed to view the weapons.

Thong Krong, Cambodia’s tourism minister, said the drop in tourism at Preah Vihear represented a five per cent loss to the country’s total annual number of visitors. Day trippers used to cross from Thailand, because poor roads and transportation make the site hard to access from within Cambodia.

While noting that Thailand’s politicians are embroiled in a domestic political crisis, Mr Krong blamed the Thais for stalling negotiations. “We are ready to talk to the Thai side, but we call on the Thai side to talk.”

Chanida Chanyapate, an analyst at Focus on the Global South, a Bangkok-based research centre, suggested that Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, is using the dispute as a show of strength against Thailand, which is the region’s dominant economic power.

“I always assume that this is more from the Cambodian side,” Ms Chanyapate said.

“But Thailand instigated something as well when the government objected to Cambodia listing the temple as a heritage site.”

Thailand’s foreign minister at the time, Noppadon Pattama, signed off on Cambodia’s petition to Unesco, but opposition party members (who now control the government) accused him of giving away Thai territory. Mr Pattama was forced to resign over the incident.

Ms Chanyapate said the scandal had more to do with Thailand’s internal political struggles than any legitimate claim to the Preah Vihear temple, which previous Thai governments had agreed belonged to Cambodia.

Mr Pattama was a member of the party supporting Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s former prime minister who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile. He had also been Thaksin’s personal lawyer.

“It was a personal attack on him,” Ms Chanyapate said.

Throughout the on-again-off-again negotiations, soldiers have been settling in around the area. At the front lines on the Cambodian side are many former Khmer Rouge fighters who were incorporated into the government army under a peace agreement in the late 1990s, which ended the civil war in which Khmer Rouge fighters held out against government forces after being ousted from power in 1979.

The region was a Khmer Rouge stronghold, and the last guerrillas to hold out against the government are said to have surrendered after taking refuge at the ruins of this temple.

Exquisitely carved figures and scripture dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva are still clearly visible in the stone walls of the temples, which are connected by staircases and wide walkways along an 800-metre climb. Set atop a lush, green escarpment that drops hundreds of metres to a seemingly endless jungle plain, its beauty rivals many of the world’s ancient wonders.

Some soldiers strode purposefully through the ruins with anti-tank guns draped across their shoulders; others relaxed in the shade of the temples, AK-47 assault rifles resting casually at their sides. The atmosphere seemed surprisingly tranquil for the site of an armed conflict.

As the afternoon light faded, the mood suddenly grew festive. The Cambodian prime minister’s personal comedy troupe – all members of his 4,000-strong bodyguard unit – had been dispatched on April 12 to visit the soldiers stationed at Preah Vihear.

When the comedy stars arrived a wave of excitement spread among the soldiers (the comedy group is famous throughout the country, often appearing on television). Soldiers rushed to get their pictures taken with the comedians against a backdrop of crumbling ruins.

Kor Oy, a member of the group, was stylish in her camouflage Capri trousers with gold sequins, a black T-shirt and sheer black leggings. She made her way elegantly up the long, stone walkway in matching black stiletto heels.

Brig Gen Prom Punleu, a high-level commander of the bodyguard unit who is stationed at Preah Vihear, walked out to greet the comedians wearing only a peach-coloured towel. Then he returned in uniform, and more photos ensued.

He was wearing the same towel that evening at his hut during a dinner of dried, salted fish – eaten with a chunk of watermelon – pork ribs, and bitter melon and fish soup.

On the wall, Brig Gen Punleu pointed to a map based on the 1962 decision by the International Court of Justice, which ruled that the Preah Vihear temple is inside Cambodia. Below that hung a map he said was produced by the Thais. It showed a different border, one that bulges into Cambodian territory to encompass the temple.

He accused Thai soldiers of making incursions into disputed land. “We said, ‘No coming in’. They fire at us and we fire back.”

Thai leaders have accused the Cambodians of instigating the April 3 clash.

That evening journalists were provided with hammocks and slept in a thatched hut along with several members of the bodyguard unit. Hom Hen said many fellow members of the unit had received training by US soldiers. He had been instructed in anti-terrorism techniques in Florida. He wore a “magic” band around his bicep to protect him from bullets.

At the foot of the hill, away from the breathtaking view at the bottom of the majestic stone pathway, are the front lines.

The Cambodians are dug in at the base of a ridge that widens into Eagle Field, a disputed 5 sq km patch of jungle littered with landmines that Cambodian officials say are left over from the civil war.

Thai soldiers are based at the top of the ridge about 30m away. Soldiers from each army can see each other through the trees. At the closest point, the troops are said to be separated by only 10m.

At the foot of the stone steps leading up to the temple lie the charred remains of a Cambodian market, which had long been resented by Thai nationalists, who claimed it was located in Thai territory. Cambodian officials said about 300 shops were destroyed, catching fire after a Thai rocket exploded. Mr Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, has promised to rebuild the market.

Kath Navy, a former resident said she lost US$30,000 (Dh110,000) worth of investment when the karaoke bar located in her home burnt down. Like other residents, she fled when the battle began.

“If I was in my house I would be dead,” Ms Navy said.

Duth Phearon, a soldier, said he was buying a SIM card for his mobile phone when he heard machine-gun fire. The 19-year-old, with an AK-47 slung across his back and wearing a jumper marked ‘Versace’, said he rushed back to his position and started firing back.

During the April 3 battle, Cambodian commanders ordered troops not to fire their heaviest weapons, said Em Saren, who was manning a large anti-tank gun mounted on a tripod about halfway up the hill. The barrel was pointed directly at the wide, paved road across the ravine on the Thai side of the border.

But soldiers at the front lines exchanged rocket, machine-gun and mortar fire. Bullets hit 66 stones at the temple, according to an investigation by the national heritage police, and grenade shrapnel also damaged the ruins during October’s clash.

Sent Phay, a heritage police officer stationed at Preah Vihear, said an escalation in fighting could cause severe destruction to the ancient ruins. “I’m worried that there might be a tank shell or artillery that lands on the temple.”

Cambodian and Thai political leaders insisted the clashes were minor and expressed confidence in a negotiated settlement.

“It happened because of a misunderstanding. The incident will not affect our relations,” said the Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, after meeting his Cambodian counterpart on April 10.

“I don’t call it a war … We are very sorry. We don’t want Cambodian or Thai soldiers to die,” said Hun Sen, Cambodia’s prime minister, during an April 4 speech.

But he previously threatened to turn the area into a “death zone” if Thai troops entered Cambodian territory.

Ms Chanyapate, of Focus on the Global South, said the current Thai government would gain nothing from provoking further hostilities.

“It’s really an insignificant piece of land and Thailand cannot claim the temple,” she said, adding that both sides needed to put domestic politics aside to settle the dispute.

In the meantime, many Cambodian soldiers seemed to be settled in for a long deployment, some even bringing their families to visit. Aside from the occasional skirmish with Thai troops, time passes slowly, according to one captain. On the condition of anonymity, he provided a description of the average day of a soldier on the front lines at Preah Vihear: eating, going to the toilet, sleeping and waiting.

jferrie@thenational.ae

Opposition party member threatened with criminal defamation suit

IFEX

http://www.ifex.org

Country/Topic: Cambodia
Date: 06 May 2009
Source: Human Rights Watch
Person(s): Mu Sochua

In a speech on April 29, 2009, Hun Sen said that it would be "as easy as ABC" to have the parliamentary immunity lifted for Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member.

(HRW/IFEX) - New York, May 5, 2009

End Threats to Opposition Lawmaker
One of Parliament's Few Women Faces Criminal Defamation Suit

Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) should stop threatening to orchestrate the removal of lawmakers' parliamentary immunity in order to silence government critics, Human Rights Watch said today.

In a speech on April 29, 2009, Hun Sen said that it would be "as easy as ABC" to have the parliamentary immunity lifted for Mu Sochua, a National Assembly member. This would permit the government to bring criminal charges against her and prosecute her for publicly criticizing the prime minister. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court has summoned Sochua to court on May 7.

"This is yet another blatant attempt to silence the political opposition," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "By threatening to prosecute opposition members of parliament on bogus charges, Hun Sen shows once again that his goal is elective dictatorship, not a genuinely pluralistic democracy."

Under Cambodia's Constitution, members of the National Assembly are immune from prosecution unless the assembly lifts their parliamentary immunity. The CPP has a long history of lifting the parliamentary immunity of opposition figures, though, in order to bring politically motivated criminal charges against them.

Mu Sochua, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) representing Kampot province, is one of the few female members of the National Assembly. On April 23, she and her lawyer announced her intention to file a defamation complaint against the prime minister after he publicly accused an unnamed woman from Kampot of "inciting" problems and acting like a gangster (cheung klang, literally "strong leg," a term considered especially derogatory for women). Sochua had said she was physically manhandled by a CPP military general during the 2008 election campaign. But Hun Sen, in his remarks, contended that she had instead acted provocatively by "rushing to embrace someone" and then complaining that the person had ripped open several of the buttons of her blouse.

The day after Sochua announced her lawsuit, a senior prime ministerial adviser, Om Yentieng, told the press that Hun Sen would counter-sue Sochua, and that all CPP National Assembly members would support lifting her immunity.

Five days later, Hun Sen confirmed that he was suing "a lady," whom he described as "stupid," as well as her lawyer. The lawsuit against Sochua was filed on April 27 by Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, former president of the Cambodian Bar Association. Ky Tech has also filed a complaint with the Bar Association against Sochua's lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, accusing him of violating the lawyers' code of ethics in this case.

Opposition figures convicted on politically motivated charges after their parliamentary immunity was lifted include Cheam Channy, an SRP member convicted in a biased trial in 2005 on unsubstantiated charges of creating a rebel army, and the party leader, Sam Rainsy, the same year for allegedly defaming government leaders.

"Punishing Mu Sochua is no idle threat as Hun Sen continues to find ways to intimidate the opposition," said Adams. "Threats to prosecute government critics and lawyers are especially difficult to counter in Cambodia, where the courts are controlled by the government. No judge in Cambodia would stand up to Hun Sen."

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Cambodia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/asia/cambodia

Tribunal Calls In Experts on Duch’s Prison

http://www.voanews.com

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 May 2009

The Khmer Rouge tribunal has summoned two scholars to discuss particulars of the massacres at Tuol Sleng prison, with the trial of the head of the facility, Duch, set to continue later this month.

The court has called Craig Etcheson, an author and founder of the Documentation Center of Cambodia; and Nayan Chanda, a former reporter for the Far Eastern Economic Review, to testify on Tuol Sleng, known to the Khmer Rouge as S-21.

Duch’s trial, which began in earnest March 30, will continue May 18.

Etcheson will explain the implementation of the Khmer Rouge S-21 policy, and Nayan Chanda will explain further functions of the prison when the trial resumes, according to a tribunal statement.

“They are very important for the court,” tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center, said the two were necessary to provide an analysis of the workings of the prison, which prosecutors say oversaw the torture of more than 12,000 Cambodians, who were later executed at mass grave sites outside Phnom Penh.

Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is facing a number of atrocity crimes for his role as chief of the prison, and the experts will be needed to help understand the role of the prison within the regime.

Cambodia Plans Preah Vihear Museum

http://www.voanews.com

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
06 May 2009

Cambodia plans to build a museum near the 11th-Century Preah Vihear temple, which has been designated as a Unesco World Heritage site and is at the center of a border conflict with Thailand.

Sous Yara, undersecretary of state for the Cabinet of Ministers, told VOA Khmer Tuesday that the purpose of the museum was to retain Cambodia’s cultural heritage.

“All Cambodians and foreigners can research and study at the museum,” he said, adding that the site would also attract tourists.

The museum, which will be named in honor of Prime Minister Hun Sen, will be located at Chom Ksan, in Preah Vihear province, on 9.5 hectares of land about 20 kilometers from the temple and will be built with money from donors, which must be done step by step, he said.

The Cambodian Mine Action Committee, or CMAC, is now clearing the area of mines for construction of the facility, said Hang Soth, general director of the Preah Vihear national authority.

The land encircling the temple is hoped to become a belt of development, but in the meantime, around 700 families living in the area will have to be moved farther from the temple and its surroundings.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal Sheds Fresh Light on Old Wars

http://www.voanews.com

By Luke Hunt
Phnom Penh
06 May 2009

In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge tribunal is providing fresh insights about Pol Pot's bloody regime.

The trial of Kang Guek Eav, also known as Duch, has gone into recess after testimony that ultimate responsibility for death camps like S-21 lay with Nuon Chea. Known as Brother Number Two, he awaits trial.

Duch, who ran the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, told the court there were 196 such camps, now known as the Killing Fields, between 1975 and 1979. During those years, as many as two million people or a third of this country's population, perished under the Khmer Rouge government.

He said the camps were based on a prototype called M-13, built in 1971 in a communist-held zone when Pol Pot's forces battled the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government.

Duch's preferred weapons for torture were whips and electric shocks, he said, as they were simpler than waterboarding and less likely to kill the victim during questioning. Testimony in the trial resumes later this month.

Theary Seng, executive director of Cambodia's Center for Social Development, says Duch's testimony has gone a long way in telling ordinary Cambodians what happened under the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge.

"Even for us who have been following the tribunal since its establishment, who have been reading up on the tribunal, on the history of the Khmer Rouge, we have found surprising pieces of information we had not seen or read before," said Seng.

Duch also testified that Chinese diplomats and trade officials were in Cambodia at that time and were shielded from the killings going on behind the scenes.

The Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979, after Vietnam invaded Cambodia, but many kept fighting in parts of the country into the 1990s. Pol Pot, the leader, went into hiding and was not found until 1997. But he died in 1998, before being brought to trial.

The Cambodian government and the United Nations negotiated for several years on setting up a human rights court to try other senior Khmer Rouge. The Duch trial is the first. But many of his colleagues have died, and the survivors are elderly, raising fears that very few Khmer Rouge leaders will be brought to justice.

Theary Seng says testimony like Duch's is cathartic for the country and is sparking debate among Cambodians who normally prefer not to talk about their tragic past.

"One of the most important aspects of the Duch trial has been hearing his words, his confessions, his explanations directly from himself…. So the Khmer Rouge tribunal is shedding light on this very, very dark period and it's helping to write history for Cambodians," said Seng.

And this, say human rights activists, should go a long way in helping to heal the survivors of the Killing Fields.

Forced evictions contravene human rights standards, UN expert tells Cambodia

Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

UN News Centre
http://www.un.org

6 May 2009 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today expressed her extreme concern about the threatened eviction of nearly 100 families in Phnom Penh, and called on the Cambodian authorities to halt this practice pending a review of current policies.

Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said she has observed “an increase in forced evictions through Cambodia accompanied by a systematic lack of due process” since she took up her post one year ago.

In a statement issued today, she said she has reminded the Cambodian authorities that “the pattern of evictions, affecting many of the poor, in the country – and the apparent lack of due process in that regard – suggests they may be tolerating, or even perpetrating, the forced evictions prohibited by international human rights standards.”

“Forced evictions constitute a grave breach of human rights. Large-scale evictions can only be carried out in exceptional circumstances and with full respect for the due process requirements set by international human rights standards,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik expressed alarm in particular about the possible imminent eviction of the “Group 78” residents – between 66 to 86 families residing in Tonle Basak commune, in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district, who have been involved in a legal battle since 2004 over ownership of their land.

They “seem to have a strong case in claiming authorities should recognize their possession rights to the land being disputed and demanding just and fair compensation for the possible loss of their land,” said the Special Rapporteur.

She urged the competent authorities not to implement the “administrative measures” (which in the past have lead to forced evictions) threatened in the last notice transmitted to Group 78 residents, stressing that they are entitled to have full legal review of their ownership claims in accordance with Cambodian legislation.

“It is only on the basis of this review that negotiations must take place with the affected community, to ensure fair compensation and adequate alternatives if their relocation is necessary,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik reiterated her call for a moratorium on all group evictions in Cambodia, especially when residents have pursued claims before administrative or judicial bodies, until the policies and actions of the authorities can be brought fully into line with international human rights obligations.

Like all UN Special Rapporteurs, Ms. Rolnik reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.

Rise in sex trade predicted in Cambodia

Australia Network News
http://australianetworknews.com

Cambodia expects an increase in prostitution and human trafficking as the unemployment rate climbs during the economic downturn.

The country's secretary of state Chou Bun Eng, says the financial crisis will lead more women and girls to look for 'riskier jobs'.

Cambodia's economy is expected to shrink this year due to a slowdown in garment exports and a drop in tourist numbers.

Many female factory workers forced to return home after being laid-off are among those thought to be at risk of sexual exploitation.

Cambodia sees higher sex trafficking during crisis

Thomson Reuters
http://in.reuters.com

Wed May 6, 2009

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cambodia expects an increase in prostitution and human trafficking as the unemployment rate climbs during the economic downturn, the country's secretary of state said on Wednesday.

"More women and more girls will be entering the entertainment business and will also face issues on sexual exploitation," Chou Bun Eng, whose portfolio includes anti-trafficking, told reporters during a visit to Singapore.

Cambodia's economy could shrink 0.5 percent this year due to a slowdown in garment exports and a drop in the number of tourists, the International Monetary Fund said in March.

Chou said the economic crisis has forced many female factory workers to return home and look for "riskier jobs".

Chou said there were about 13 to 18 cases of human trafficking reported in Cambodia last year, but it was difficult to spot because many women were leaving of their own free will after being promised good jobs abroad.

"It's hard to identify the cases as they do not look at themselves as trafficked women," Chou said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in February human trafficking for the sex trade or forced labour market appears to be getting worse because many countries are ignoring the globalised problem, but it gave no figures.

Despite Snags, Khmer Rouge Trial Offers Revelations

Luke Hunt
06 May 2009

World Politics Review
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Unsubstantiated corruption allegations against the Cambodian judiciary overshadowed the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal, denying it the pristine start that supporters would have hoped for.

The United Nations linked their funding for the trial to an inquiry into whether Cambodian judges paid kickbacks for their jobs, resulting in a cash shortfall after staffers balked at the demand. However, the Japanese announced a $4.1 million grant for the Cambodian side of the tribunal, which should ensure enough funds until the end of 2009.

The allegations stole a lion's share of the attention from center stage, where the trial of Kang Guek Eav, former head of the dreaded S-21 detention centre, has gripped Cambodians and longtime observers alike, casting a fresh light on the inner workings of Pol Pot's regime. Also known as Duch, his testimony leaves little doubt about the calculating brutality that characterized the ultra-Maoists, before and after they came to power in April 1975.

Among Duch's revelations were the existence of M-13, a previously unknown death camp established in a communist-held zone in 1971, when Pol Pot's forces were still battling the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government for control of the country.

"It's really important, in the telling of history, what happened 30 years ago," said Khmer American author and lawyer, Theary Seng. "The Khmer Rouge tribunal is now shedding light on this very, very dark period."

About 300 people perished in M-13, located near Omlaing, roughly 50 miles west of Phnom Penh. Duch said the camp was designed to "detain, to torture, and to smash, that is to kill," and operated between 1971 and 1975. M-13 became a prototype for later centers like S-21, where 16,000 people were systematically exterminated after Pol Pot seized control of Cambodia, renaming it Kampuchea. A total of 196 death camps would ultimately be constructed.

Seng, the executive director for the Center for Social Development, a Phnom Penh-based human rights organization, said Duch's testimony surrounding the M-13 death camp as well as his naming of names had left a powerful and poignant mark on the tribunal. "Even [those of us] who have been following the tribunal since its establishment . . . have found surprising pieces of information we did not know existed before," she said. "Imagine how the rest of the population feels."

Duch corroborated earlier claims over chains of command made by Ieng Thirith -- a former minister for social affairs in Pol Pot's cabinet and the wife of Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister. Both said ultimate responsibility for S-21 lay with Brother No. 2, Nuon Chea, whose case -- along with the Iengs -- has yet to be heard by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Duch also left no doubt that Chinese diplomats and trade officials were in Cambodia during the nearly four-year Khmer Rouge reign that left one-third of the country's population, or about 2 million people, dead. As the S-21 killing machine gained momentum, senior Khmer Rouge cadres were considering moving the death camp's location, out of fears the Chinese might wander in and discover what was really happening behind the barbed wire at Tuol Sleng.

Duch said that Pol Pot's crimes were far greater than those of the Gang of Four who controlled China in the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution. This obviously implies that Pol Pot and Nuon Chea feared Beijing and deliberately sought to keep the Chinese in the dark about their bloody behavior.

However, given the number of death camps and the fact that Phnom Penh's entire population -- along with that of every other city and town -- was forced into the countryside as part of the government's effort to forge an agrarian utopia, it remains highly unlikely that the Chinese did not have some inkling of what was going on.

Among the other revelations from Duch's testimony were the existence of a special team of five female interrogators he established to deal with women prisoners, and that his preferred methods of torture were whips and electric shocks, as these were simpler than waterboarding and less likely to kill the victim.

Previously unknown, too, was that a handful of foreign prisoners captured soon after the Khmer Rouge takeover -- one each from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States -- were separated from Vietnamese and Cambodian prisoners, personally handled by Duch and kept alive until the second quarter of 2008.

Duch, a former mathematics teacher, insisted that he carried out his superiors' orders, which he admits killed thousands, to protect his family and to avoid being beheaded.

Seng added that, although the tribunal is still in the early days, Duch's testimony has already helped enormously in demystifying the Khmer Rouge. Normally, Cambodians prefer not to talk about their tragic past due to fears of recriminations. Memories are still raw from decades of conflict that only ended in 1998. But Seng said Cambodians were for the first time beginning to talk and debate about what happened, openly and without fear.

"There is so much power in hearing Duch speak and seeing his demeanor, his expressions and listening to the tone in his voice," she said. "This is one of the most important aspects."

More than 5,000 forced confessions were obtained at S-21. But lawyers for Ieng Thirith have indicated they will perversely argue that such confessions are inadmissible as evidence in court because they were obtained under duress, violating the victim's human rights.

Luke Hunt is a Hong Kong-based correspondent and a World Politics Review contributing editor.

Photo: Skulls from the stupa memorial at the killing fields of Choeung Ek, near Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Brad Barnes, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License).

Cambodian PM to visit S Korea early next month

www.chinaview.cn

2009-05-06

PHNOM PENH, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit South Korea early next month in the hope of strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation, a government official said here Wednesday.

Hun Sen will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss investment, tourism and trade cooperation, said Koy Kong, spokesman and undersecretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Prior to his presidency, Lee Myung-bak once worked as economic advisor for Hun Sen, which helped establish deeply-rooted friendship between the two.

"Cambodia needs more investment from South Korea, and also urges those who have already invested here to speed up development of their projects," the spokesman said.

South Korean investors started to build skyscrapers in Phnom Penh last year, which are expected to become future landmarks of the capital city.

However, most of these projects have recently become stranded due to shortage of funds and the global financial crisis.

In 2007, South Korea became the largest foreign investing country in Cambodia, according to official statistics.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

Khmer Krom and UNPO Protest Over Vietnam Human Rights Record

The Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in partnership with the UNPO will hold a two day demonstration on May 7 and May 8 in Geneva to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Vietnam, timed to coincide with the very first time that Vietnam will undergo U.N Human Rights Council examination.

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples (UNPO)

http://www.unpo.org

Wednesday, 06 May 2009

For a PDF copy of this Press Release in English, please click here:
For a PDF copy of this Press Release in French, please click here:

Human Rights in Viet Nam:Indigenous Khmer Krom in Geneva to Call Upon the International Community for Action

The Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in partnership with the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) will hold a two day demonstration on May 7 and May 8 to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Vietnam. The demonstrations are timed to coincide with the very first time that Vietnam will undergo their Universal Periodic Review at the U.N Human Rights Council.

On 08 May 2009, as the United Nations Human Rights Council convenes to examine Viet Nam's human rights record for the very first time, 400 indigenous Khmer Krom people will assemble in front of the Palais des Nations in Geneva to denounce the distressing situation of ethnic minorities in Viet Nam.

In a country where a great number of the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are only an abstract concept, ethnic minorities find themselves in a particularly difficult situation. Sharing the Vietnamese population's harsh fate, they must also carry the full burden of their differences. The 8 million indigenous Khmer Krom find themselves in this situation. An indigenous people having lived in the Mekong delta (in southern Viet Nam) for over 3000 years, they have since the country's independence been the target of organised discriminations and expropriations. These state policies have led to the marginalisation of this population.

In a country where religious practices are subject to severe restrictions, their special bond to therevada Buddhism (a minority branch of Buddhism in Viet Nam) catalysed tensions with the regime. The instauration of Vietnamese as the country's sole language combined with the restrictions imposed on Khmer Krom temples, the last remaining institutions passing on the Khmer culture and language, have contributed to exacerbate tensions between indigenous Khmer Krom people and the regime. The legacy of the Cambodia -Viet Nam war and the current rivalry between these two countries also weigh heavily on the Khmer Krom. As Khmers (the majority ethnic group in Cambodia), they are still often perceived by a fair share of the Vietnamese as "enemies from the inside" and the authorities see any affirmation of their identity as a threat to national integrity. Victims of colonialism and of the partition of territories in the former French Indochina, the Khmer Krom have been engaged in a non-violent struggle to assert their rights and protect their culture for sixty years now.

Gathering grassroots organisations as well as Khmer Krom in diaspora, secular and religious people, personalities of various political affiliations, the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) works to give the Khmer Krom a voice on the national and international levels. On 08 May 2009, as the United Nations Human Rights Council convenes to examine for the first time Viet Nam's whole human rights record, 400 indigenous Khmer Krom will be present in Geneva, both inside and outside the UN buildings, to remind the international community of the situation faced by ethnic minorities in Viet Nam.

07 May 2009

16h00 – 18h00: Interview opportunities

18h00 – 20h30: Parc de l'Ariana, Mohandas K. Gandhi statue, Candleit Vigil and Moment of Silence in memory of the victims of the Vietnamese regime.

08 May 2009

08:00 AM - 01:00 PM: Place des Nations (facing the Palais des Nations). Demonstration for the rights of the Khmer Krom in Viet Nam.

10h00 Buddhist Rite, Visak Bochea, followed by traditionnal giving of alms to monks.

11h30 – 12h00: Solemn call to Viet Nam and the international community.

12:00 – 13h00: Reading of the history of Visak Bochea.

13h00 - 16h00: Interview opportunities at the United Nations

Press Contact

M. Vien Thach, KKF, Tel: +33 6 2561 1961, Email: vf2k@free.fr Languages:French and English Maggie Murphy (UNPO) Tel : +31 649 864 340 Email: mmurphy@unpo.org Languages, Français, Anglais

M. Sinh Tra, Tel: +41(.76)592 7306 Email : sinh.tra@gmail.com Languages : Suisse- Allemand

Cambodia appeals for more mobile phone investment

Forbes.com

http://www.forbes.com

Thomson Reuters
05.06.09

PHNOM PENH, May 6 (Reuters) - Cambodia's telecommunications minister called on Wednesday for more foreign firms to invest in the country's mobile phone sector to satisfy demand that has been growing 40 percent a year in terms of the number of users.

'We want more foreign firms because we want a better service, cheaper, and higher quality,' So Khun told reporters at a seminar on mobile phone technology, adding that the government also wanted to extend reliable coverage to the whole of the country.

Cambodia has an estimated 4 million mobile phone subscribers out of a population of about 14 million people, 80 percent of whom live in the countryside.

Khun said mobile phones had helped integrate people living in remote areas, particularly those in parts of the country still covered with land mines from the country's civil war, which only formally ended a decade ago.

'Our people, they love to talk over the phone for business communication. They talk until their phone batteries go dead,' Khun said.

The southeast Asian country has eight mobile phone firms, all foreign-owned except market leader Mobitel, which works in partnership with Luxembourg-registered Millicom International Cellular ( MICC - news - people ).

'We want the existing companies to set up more antennas, but don't build them near or on historic sites,' he said, recalling how in the past one foreign firm caused outrage by siting an antenna on an ancient temple.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Alan Raybould) Keywords: CAMBODIA TELECOMS/

Cambodia's poor fight for their homes

Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com

Despite 'good' law to protect needy landowners, developers gain increasing amounts of property

May 06, 2009

Olivia Ward

FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER

In a rundown enclave of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, hundreds of poor people can't sleep at night. They're afraid to go to work in the morning for fear their homes will be gone when they return.

Today the clock has run out for the community of 150 families, slated to become the latest victims of clearance projects that have rolled across Cambodia since its land became a prize for developers.

The 26-year-old community is to be evacuated, according to a notice from the municipality dated yesterday. Although residents are appealing, they have seen the dire results of other forced eviction orders, which human rights groups say are contrary to Cambodian law.

A recent clearance in the community of Dey Krahorm left the majority of families homeless after some 250 police and contractors for the company claiming to own the land arrived in the early hours, drove out the residents with threats and tear gas and levelled the village.

Now the Phnom Penh community – known as Group 78 – is facing a similar fate.

"The authorities have offered them compensation of $5,000 (U.S.) and a plot of land, without shelters, 20 kilometres outside the city where there are very limited job opportunities," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher, who is monitoring the eviction site.

"There is no clean water supply, no electricity or sanitation," she said in an email to the Star, adding the residents turned down the offer – "to travel to the city from their current work places would cost them more than their expected daily earnings."

Human rights groups say the community has a strong claim to ownership under a 2001 land law passed after genocide and civil war left many Cambodians landless. The Khmer Rouge destroyed public documents, so few had papers to prove ownership. But in 2003, the government brought in a "social land concession plan" to give the poor more secure land tenure.

In spite of fines and jail terms for those who violate the land laws, developers have managed to take over increasing amounts of farm and urban land. In some cases they have made deals with corrupt community leaders to seize the land, pushing the residents out to remote areas without shelter or transportation.

"Cambodia's land law is good," said Mekh Sokhan of the NGO Forum on Cambodia in the newsletter of the Danish charity DanChurchAid. "But the law is not implemented by the authorities."

In Phnom Penh, highrises have sprung up in the last five years with hotels, condos and restaurants sprouting from the once devastated landscape. Prices have doubled, and in spite of the economic meltdown, the wealthy continue to boost the real estate market.

Woman held in Laos jail won’t face a firing squad

Belfast Telegraph
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

A pregnant British woman accused of drug trafficking and being held in a jail in Laos will not face the death penalty because of her unborn baby, a spokesman for the south-east Asian country has revealed.

The announcement came as a British lawyer and diplomat failed to secure access to prisoner Samantha Orobator.

Foreign ministry spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told reporters that even if she were convicted of trying to smuggle 1.5lbs of heroin, 20-year-old Ms Orobator would not be sentenced to death because she was expecting.

He said that anyone found in possession of more than 1.1lb was subject to the death penalty “but there is another provision of criminal law... that the death penalty will not apply to pregnant women”.

The spokesman said the trial of Nigerian-born Ms Orobator would now not be held until next week to give time for an appropriate lawyer to be appointed to defend her. “It might take some time,” Mr Khenthong told the Associated Press.

Campaigners remained concerned about Ms Orobator, particularly since much about her case and the allegations against her remain unclear. The London-based charity Reprieve said it believed Ms Orobator was five months pregnant, reportedly after having been raped while inside Phonthong prison. An Australian doctor who recently visited her said she is due to give birth on September 6.

Mr Nuanthasing initially said the young woman had been pregnant before she was taken into custody nine months ago. He later said that she may have lost the baby while in jail.

“If this is true, then Samantha has already had one miscarriage in that terrible prison,” said Reprieve executive director Clare Algar. “In light of the new US State Department report on the deplorable conditions, the need for proper health care is vital.”

Residents brace for evictions

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
Residents of the Rene Descartes community destroy their businesses in compliance with a City Hall eviction notice.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by May Titthara
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

ONE community facing eviction on Tuesday watched its deadline pass quietly and heard they will have a chance in court to defend their claims to the land, while another had their businesses shut down by authorities, in what residents say is an attempt to force them to accept the government's relocation terms.

Daun Penh district authorities put up additional fences around the community living next to the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, Cambodia's oldest international school, blocking access to ground-floor businesses.

Residents of Group 78, however, saw their eviction deadline come and go, and even received a court date when they will have a chance to present evidence explaining that they should be allowed to stay.

"Now, we have a court warrant to show our evidence to them on May 18 at 8am. It is a good chance for us," said Lim Sambo, a Group 78 representative.

Yin Savat, a lawyer for the Community for Legal Education Centre, said the court warrant should put off a forced eviction until after the decision.

"According to the law, City Hall cannot implement their eviction letter because we have filed a complaint to the Court already to cancel it," he said.

"I have a court warrant. If tomorrow they come to pull our houses down, it means they did not respect to the law."

Meanwhile, across the city near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, 37 families say they are being squeezed out of their homes and have no power to fight back.

The district deputy governor said the eviction deadline for the community has been extended to May 15, but residents say authorities have closed down the community's businesses.

In Daravuth, a resident of the Descartes community, said "[District authorities] said they will allow us to live inside the fences, but we cannot do business. We will only have a small gate to go in and out," said In Daravuth, a resident of the Descartes community.

He said the community still wanted to negotiate with City Hall, even though authorities said they had ceased discussions on April 29.

"I do not react to the authorities because they have guns and power. We're simple people. We can only stand and watch them do anything they want," In Daravuth said.

Kem Vichet, a village representative, said that the new green fences were just a tactic to force the community to accept the government's relocation terms.

"They did this to force us to accept their compensation because we are impoverished," he said, adding that now they can only "wait for an intervention from the French embassy".

Sok Penh Vuth, Daun Penh district deputy governor, said, "We just came to put a fence to close this area. We did not use violence against them.

"They can live inside their house," he said, "but I hope everything will be finished by this week. There are only 10 families [who have not agreed to relocation terms] left."

Sok Penh Vuth denied that the residents were being compelled to take the money and leave.

"We do not force them to take the compensation. They volunteer to take it, and now City Hall is thinking about their demands for more money," he said.

Chan Soveth, a monitor at the rights group Adhoc, disagrees and warned that a forced eviction could become violent.

"First, they [the authorities] put the fences surrounding the area. Later on, they will stop them from entering and cut off the electricity, and then the violence comes," he said.

The government says it will pay US$10,000, $7,000 or $5,000 to each family living near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes depending on how long they have been on the land, as well as supply a 4-metre-by-8-metre empty lot in Thnot Chrum village, Boeung Tumpum commune - an area that residents say is often flooded.

Last month, housing rights group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut said about 120,000 people had been displaced or evicted in the last two decades ago, working out to about one in 10 residents of Phnom Penh.

A spokesperson for the French embassy was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

SRP lawyer faces Bar inspection

Photo by: Sovann Philong
Mu Sochua at the press conference at which she announced plans to sue Hun Sen.



The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Meas Sokchea
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

PM's defamation complaint could lead to disbarment.

THE lawyer representing opposition MP Mu Sochua in her defamation case against Prime Minister Hun Sen could be banned from practising law if the Cambodian Bar Association rules that his comments at a recent press conference were defamatory to Hun Sen.

Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, told the Post that Kong Sam Onn would be sued as well if the Bar Association found he was at fault.

"I filed a complaint with the Bar Association on Monday," Ky Tech said. "If the Bar's disciplinary council finds he was at fault, he will be stripped of his licence to practise, and Mu Sochua will need to find another lawyer to take on her case."

Ky Tech said Kong Sam Onn was at fault because of statements he made when outlining his client's case at an April 23 press conference called by Mu Sochua, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, to announce she would sue Hun Sen for defamation.

Mu Sochua's case stems from what she said are derogatory comments about an unnamed woman that were made by Hun Sen and broadcast nationally. Mu Sochua said those comments clearly referred to her.

The lawsuit resulted in a countersuit by Hun Sen, who claimed that Mu Sochua had defamed him by saying the comments he made referred to her.

Kong Sam Onn rejected the allegation that he had defamed Hun Sen. He told the Post that he had made no errors that would justify his expulsion from the Bar. His comments at the press conference simply outlined his client's case and were not defamatory, he said.

"If I have made a mistake, then it would be the first mistake and would not warrant ousting me from the Bar because I am not a dishonest man," he said. "I will be very sorry if I am ousted from my profession, but I am not strong enough to face them down."

Kong Sam Onn said all of his clients - Mu Sochua included - would need to find new lawyers if he were disbarred.

"Then I will become a simple person without a job, and I will have to look for another job to which I can devote my life," he said.

Mu Sochua told the Post on Tuesday that she would be very sorry to see her lawyer disbarred. She said the threats to her lawyer had been a heavy burden and meant he would likely be unable to defend her in court.

"So I would like to appeal to the Bar Association to consider this issue properly and in terms of the law, and I would like to call on all lawyers who have a conscience to seek justice under the law," she said.

"I will find another lawyer, but it is difficult for me to enjoy equal rights under the law."

The president of the Bar Association, Chiv Songhak, told the Post Tuesday that his organisation had received Ky Tech's complaint and said the issue was under inspection.

"We have already sent the complaint to the inspectorate, and they are working on the case," he said.

"The next step will be its consideration by the disciplinary council."

Potential punishment
Chiv Songhak said Kong Sam Onn could face three types of punishment: receiving a warning, having his licence suspended or being disbarred as a legal professional.

"But I can't say whether [Kong Sam Onn] has made a mistake or not," Chiv Songhak said, adding that it was for the disciplinary council to decide the case.

Heang Rithy, director of the Cambodian National Research Organisation, who also holds a doctorate in law, said Kong Sam Onn could be sued for alledgedly defamatory comments made at the press conference - if he, in fact, made any.

He said that defamation was only a minor offence under Bar Association rules, although the rules left it unclear whether defamation could lead to a member being expelled.

House on fire

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by HENG CHIVOAN
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

People race to save items from the Choup Mith Cafe on street 113 near Tuol Sleng after a fire broke out in the upper floor of the building Tuesday morning. No one was injured in the blaze, but at least three families lost their homes before the flames were brought under control, firefighters said .

Cops confiscate illegal police and RCAF licence plates

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG
Phnom Penh Traffic Police at the junction of Monireth and Mao Tse Tung boulevards, where they are confiscating licence plates.

Changing Plates

- 140 drivers with RCAF plates have registered to switch to civilian plates by Tuesday
- 60 drivers with police plates have also registered
- The applications should take about one week to process

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Sam Rith and Robbie Corey-Boulet
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Crackdown on unauthorised plates has led to a surge in applications for civilian plates at vehicle registration office.

POLICE on Tuesday continued removing unauthorised police and military licence plates from vehicles throughout the capital, but officers said they had not yet begun administering punishments specifically outlined in the law that prohibits civilians and low-ranking officials from using such plates.

Sar Leng, deputy director of the Ministry of Interior's Traffic Office, said the ministry on Monday received 25 police plates that had been removed from vehicles not authorised to bear them.Traffic Police officers have been tasked with removing police plates, while Military Police officers are in charge of removing RCAF plates.

National Police Chief Neth Savoeun wrote a letter in February to officers instructing them to begin enforcing in May a law already on the books that outlaws the use of unauthorised plates.

Article 91 of the Land Traffic Law, which went into effect in March 2007, gave the drivers of private vehicles bearing such plates one year to switch to private plates.

The law stipulates that violators face two to five years in prison and a fine of between 4 million riels and 10 million riels (US$970 and $2,424), but Phnom Penh Traffic Police Chief Tin Prasoeur said he did not know when officers would begin administering fines or making arrests. He said he would wait until he received approval "from the top" before taking those steps.

Rush to register
The onset of the crackdown on unauthorised plates has triggered a flood of applications this week at the capital's vehicle registration office, said Tat Sreng, its director. As of Tuesday morning, the owners of 140 cars bearing RCAF plates and 60 bearing police plates had visited the office to register for civilian plates, he said.

He said many of the registrants had been motivated to switch to civilian plates after Prime Minister Hun Sen gave a speech last week warning against the use of unauthorised plates.

Tat Sreng said the applications would in most cases take about one week to process.

Hun Sen said in his speech last week that vehicles bearing unauthorised police and military plates would "be included as property of the state".

The Land Traffic Law does not stipulate that vehicles with unauthorised plates will be confiscated.

Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap referred to the threat of vehicle seizure as "a stick or a sharp sword to warn" violators.

Sar Leng said he did not believe it would be necessary for the government to seize cars, noting that the crackdown combined with Hun Sen's remarks had led many violators to take steps to comply with the law.

Four dead in B'bang karaoke club fire

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Thet Sambath
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

THE FAMILIES of four females killed Sunday in a fire at a Battambang karaoke club are considering filing complaints in provincial court to receive compensation from the club's owner, the Battambang district police chief told the Post Tuesday.

Police said the four females had been locked inside the club at the time the fire broke out.

Thuch Ra said the families will seek compensation from the club owner.

"They will accuse him of carelessness and for being responsible for the deaths of their relatives," he said.

The four females, who worked at the club, were locked in the room where the fire started, police said. They died at 2:40am on Sunday. Thuch Ra said police believed the fire was caused by a "faulty electric wire".

He identified the victims as: Hou Leak, 15; Srey Mao, 19; Srey Touch, 17; and Sambath, 22. All were from Kampong Chhnang province except for Sambath, who was from Battambang.

Thuch Ra said the families had not yet filed their complaints because "they are too busy preparing for the funeral".

The fire severely injured another female employee of the club as well as the son of the club owner, Buth Teu. Five houses located near the club were completely destroyed by the fire, while three other houses sustained damage.

Rangers leave Bokor Natl Park

Photo by: Mark Roy
A workers'-eye view of a cement factory on Bokor Mountain.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Mark Roy and Cheang sokha
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Wildlife Alliance has suspended funding for park ranger operations at Bokor National Park, where a private developer is currently building an international hotel and casino.

THE WILDLIFE Alliance has called on the Ministry of Environment to explain why it handed over the park ranger training station at Bokor National Park to a private developer, which resulted in the rangers being excluded from the park.

The government granted the Sokha Hotel Group a 99-year lease for a US$1 billion development at the Bokor hill station in January 2008.

The Sokha Hotel Group said when the deal was announced that the development, to include an international hotel and casino, would take 15 years to complete.

In the meantime, approximately 50 rangers who formerly worked in the park have been moved to its edge, where they work from a building on the road that leads to the entrance.

Longtime supporter
The Wildlife Alliance and other NGOs began supporting ranger patrols within the park in 2003.

But Tim Redford, deputy director of field operations for the Wildlife Alliance, said Wednesday that the group had suspended funding for operations in Bokor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCIDENTALLY, WHEN TOURISTS ARE going UP THERE... IT DISTURBS OUR WORK.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Wildlife Alliance had supported training and salaries for rangers as well as the contruction of a ranger base on Bokor Mountain. The support had also allowed for the provision of trucks, radios and other equipment.

The Wildlife Alliance would not confirm when the rangers left or were removed from the park. But in an email to the Post, Redford wrote, "For now, though, I can say we have ceased all funding and support for Bokor until the MoE [Ministry of Environment] explains how they can turn over the entire park, World Bank/USAID training centre and equipment, and numerous other important topics without prior stakeholder discussions."

Access denied
Unfettered road access to Bokor National Park is currently being denied to tourists as well as park rangers.

Svay Vuthy, assistant to Sok Kong, chairman of the Sokha Hotel Group, said the road was being rebuilt and had been closed because of concerns about potential danger to tourists.

"We are working with machines like excavators and breaking stones, so we are concerned it might cause danger," he said. "We occasionally open the road for tourists during the traditional ceremony."

Svay Vuthy said the Sokha Hotel Group had originally planned to spend two to three years building the road but that work had been delayed.

"We have been working on the project so far for about a year and have faced difficulties with fog and rain, so the project is running a bit more slowly," he said. "The whole project was planned to take 15 years, but we will wait to see the real situation. Incidentally, when tourists are going up there, if there are tourists or cars driving up the hill, it disturbs our work."

Nem Sinuon, director of Kampot's Tourism Department, said the closure of the road to Bokor Mountain had upset many tourists.

"We want the company to open one side of the road so tourists can still visit the mountain," he said. "We do not know when the road will be opened, and we have received lots of complaints from tourists about the road being blocked. They visit Kampot because they want to see Bokor Mountain. They are not satisfied with the road closure and do not want to see the other places we recommend."

The road was opened briefly by developers for six days during Khmer New Year.

It is now closed again, and access to the area continues to be tightly controlled.

'Drunk' prison chief locked up as multiple inmates escape jail

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Cheang Sokha
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Eight men have escaped Preah Vihear prison since the new head was appointed a month ago, but officials say monitoring has improved.

THE head of Preah Vihear's provincial jail has been imprisoned on suspicion of conspiring to release prisoners and suspects.

Deputy Prosecutor Thol Kimheung issued the detention order against prison Chief Sar Saing on Friday and charged him and two guards with conspiracy.

"I have handed over the case to the investigating judge to determine whether they conspired or simply acted carelessly," Thol Kimheung told the Post. "If the court finds them guilty of conspiracy, they will be punished. If it is simply dereliction of duty, they will be dismissed."

Thol Kimheung said seven prisoners had escaped from the prison on Thursday night after Sar Saing and his guards got drunk with them. The inmates who fled were guilty of crimes such as murder, rape and robbery.

Thol Kimheung said 12 prisoners had fled the jail so far this year due to carelessness or conspiracy by the guards.

"And we are concerned that the escaped prisoners might commit other crimes," he said, adding that he had issued arrest warrants for all 12.

Improved security
Ros Chanthy, the deputy chief of the prison, admitted prison officials had been drinking with the prisoners but blamed the escapes on carelessness rather than conspiracy.

"Now we have strictly improved our monitoring of all prisoners," Ros Chanthy told the Post. "I have made reforms with my staff."

Ros Chanthy said that as soon as he had learned the men had escaped, the guards tried to pursue them. But they failed to find them because it happened at night and the prisoners fled into the surrounding forest.

Hor Neath, the provincial coordinator of local human rights group Adhoc, said some escapees had been convicted of crimes while others were awaiting trial.

"I believe that they meant to free the prisoners," he said, adding that since Sar Saing's appointment as prison chief a month ago, eight prisoners had managed to break out of the newly built jail. One man escaped on April 13 and the group of seven on Thursday night. Four additional prisoners escaped in February.

Crime Update: Thieves rob coffee shop

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Crime Update

Ten people were robbed at gunpoint of cash, jewellery and mobile phones at an upmarket coffee shop in Phnom Penh on Monday morning, an official and victims said, adding that no one was injured in the incident and that the value of the goods stolen was not known.

Ouk Phan, the commune chief of Boeung Keng Kang II commune, was one of those robbed at the Deli coffee shop on Sihanouk Boulevard near the Yukunchor High School west of Monivong Boulevard. He told the Post on Tuesday that the robbers wore masks and helmets, making them impossible to identify."Two of the men pointed their weapons at me and tried to take my ring, but weren't able to. They demanded money and I agreed to give them US$250," he said. "One of them hit me while another threatened the other customers with his gun, telling them to be quiet, and then took their jewellery, phones and cash. "An eyewitness who knows the identities of the attackers said the five-man gang arrived on two motorbikes. Two of the gang stood guard outside the coffee shop during the raid. No one has been arrested in connection with the robbery. Ouk Phan said he was working with national Military Police and local police in the search for the men.

Devolution reforms struggle to bridge ethnic divides in highlands

Photo by: CHRISTOPHER SHAY
An ethnic Phnong boy in Mondulkiri province's Sen Monorom district.

R'KIRI VILLAGERS FLEE TO JUNGLE, FEARING LAND ARRESTS

Rights workers have expressed concerns over the living conditions of about 100 ethnic Tumpuon in Ratanakkiri province's Lumphat district, who have fled their villages in fear of arrest in connection with a local land dispute. Pen Bonna, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, said the provincial court issued an arrest warrant in April for eight villagers accused of "grabbing" rubber plantation land belonging to the local DM Group. The villagers had planted crops on land allegedly belonging to the company. "About 100 men in the village have fled their families to hide in the jungle out of fear, and the women are living in the village alone without working," he said. "It is a serious abuse of their rights, and we are investigating the issue in order to find which men fled their homes." Pen Bonna said the dispute - over 200 hectares of community forests and 100 hectares of farmland - dated from 2005, when local authorities tried to convince people in Tatang and Oul villages to sell their land for a rubber plantation. Villagers, however, claim they never approved the sale. Provincial police Chief Rir Ray declined comment on the issue Tuesday, saying he was in hospital. VONG SOKHENG

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Sam Rith and Sebastian Strangio
Wednesday, 06 May 2009

Indigenous minority representatives say they have seen little benefit from administrative reforms.

WITH Cambodia's 11,353 commune councillors set to elect a new series of sub-national councils, local communities may soon get a greater say over local development and the direction of government resources.

But for Cambodia's indigenous minority communities - long isolated from the Khmer majority by the twin tyrannies of culture and distance - the administrative reshuffle could prove a dead letter in the face of a major local concern: land-grabbing.

The government's much-touted decentralisation and deconcentration (D&D) reforms will take another step forward May 17 when commune councillors go to the polls to elect new councils at the provincial, district and municipal levels.

In its 2005 Strategic Framework for D&D Reforms, the government claims the policy, which kicked off with commune council elections in 2002, will allow indigenous minorities to "participate in decision making" at lower levels of government and will strengthen poverty alleviation efforts in indigenous communities by building up local economic capacity.

But the reforms will face stern challenges in Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces, home to the majority of Cambodia's estimated 220,000 indigenous highlanders.

In recent years, a booming economy has triggered a scramble for mining and agricultural concessions in the region, pitting indigenous communities against powerful economic interests.

Since 2004, Ratanakkiri has seen a long-standing dispute between residents of Kong Yu village, an ethnic Jarai community in O'Yadav district, and a rubber company owned by Keat Kolney, sister of Finance Minister Keat Chhon.

In December last year, ethnic Phnong protesters in Mondulkiri's Bou Sra commune burned tractors belonging to the Khaou Chuly rubber company in protest over a 10,000-hectare rubber concession they claim has led to the loss of community farmland.

Despite some economic gains and increased representation on commune councils under the reforms, many community representatives said land grabbing by powerful economic interests continues unabated.

‘Added hardships'
Ngeat Vandy, 30, a Phnong representative in Mondulkiri's Dakdum commune, said decentralisation had brought the community material benefits such as roads, schools and hospitals, but lamented that land issues had not yet been addressed.

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PEOPLE HAVE NO HOPE. LOCAL OFFICIALS ARE ON THE SIDE OF PRIVATE COMPANIES, AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE MONEY AND POWER.
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He said also that open discussion was "limited" in the commune, and that local people were threatened and warned against protesting local developments: "We cannot talk about the opposition parties."

The provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc, Sam Sarin, said that despite the reforms, many indigenous communities still lacked a forum for airing concerns to the province's 105 commune councillors, most of whom are themselves indigenous.

As a result, protests over the combustible issue of land appropriation have been followed with the arrests and detention of local dissenters.

"In implementing the decentralisation, local authorities listen more to the top levels than to the people," he said.

In Ratanakkiri province, local attitudes are much the same. Chhou Savath, 58, a representative of the province's indigenous peoples, said that although minority representatives dominated local commune councils, they had done little to increase the responsiveness of government and had created "added hardships" for locals.

"People have no hope," he told the Post in March. "Local officials are on the side of private companies and the people who have money and power."

Dam Chanthy, director of the Highland Association in Banlung, said that the reform policy would bring benefits because it offered an opportunity for "people who are weak to share their ideas", but that the practice was lagging behind the theory due to the lack of local knowledge about the reforms.

"In order for decentralisation to be implemented smoothly and effectively, the government should offer more training to local officials," she said.

The CPP's parliamentary representative in Mondulkiri province, Roth Sarem, admitted indigenous people were concerned about land issues, but said that local authorities did "not have the right" to make rulings on such disputes.

"Some of those land issues have been solved and other issues are being considered at the top levels," he said.

But Tinn Loung, the ethnic Tumpuon chief of Yeak Loam commune, said that the reforms had been implemented well in the commune and that people "participated actively" in the development of their communities.

Last year, local opposition to the development of Yeak Loam lake, a tourist site controlled and administered by the Tumpuon communities that ring its shores, helped veto the plans, he said.

"The Yeak Loam development plan is still in the hands of the community, and the provincial leaders did not make any decision after people in the community rejected it," he said.

Local cooperation vital
Groups working with ethnic minority groups said that the key issue in the policy's implementation was the working relationship between commune councils and indigenous institutions.

"Sometimes there is a concern that the new structures are influenced by politics, whereas the old structures have more respect traditionally," said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia.

He said that the government should think carefully about how existing cultures will be impacted by the actions of the elected commune councils.

"The challenge is how these two can work together more effectively," he said.

But Stephen Ehrentraut, a researcher with background in decentralisation and minority issues, was more pessimistic, saying the reform "in its current design" was institutionally and linguistically incompatible with the indigenous participation.

"It does not recognise and utilise indigenous organisations, which are mostly village-based," he said by email.

"Rather, it replaces and overrides those institutions with village chiefs and commune councils claiming authority previously exercised by indigenous institutions."

In an unpublished paper, Ehrentraut also criticised the World Bank's Rural Investment and Local Governance Project, which is helping support government reform efforts at the commune level, arguing that its ethnic minority safeguards were "insufficient".

While the World Bank is one of the few donors to back its safeguards policy with a detailed study, he said it had not translated into effective protection.

"[My] findings highlight the challenges faced by the Bank and other development agencies in supporting indigenous peoples in countries whose governments have neither legal frameworks nor political will to recognise indigenous rights," he wrote.

However, the World Bank claims it has implemented special measures to ensure ethnic minorities are able to participate in and benefit from the allocations of commune development funds.

Louise Scura, the Bank's lead natural resource economist, said that the organisation's current indigenous people's policy, endorsed in May 2005, required governments to carry out social assessments and seek community support prior to initiating local development projects - including those carried out under the World Bank project's auspices.

The Bank's regular supervision of the rural investment project ensured its safeguards policies were reviewed periodically and that any adjustments were made in partnership with the government, she said, but added that addressing issues relating to highland peoples required "higher-level policy dialogue", extending beyond the scope of the project.

A long way to go
Overall, Scura said that it was too early to tell whether decentralisation would benefit ethnic minorities, adding that it would take "several decades at minimum" for the reforms to be fully weighed up.

"In most countries, the process is typified by periods of progress and reversal, [and] Cambodia is unlikely to be an exception," she said.

Leaving D&D aside, Chhith Sam Ath of the NGO Forum said the issue of land security also boiled down to the government commitment to enforce laws and sub-decrees codifying and protecting the land tenure of indigenous minorities.

He said enforcement was weak in remote areas and that the process of applying for communal land titles under the 2001 Land Law was "very slow".

"It doesn't mean the government is not taking action," he said. "It's all there. It's just a question of implementing it."