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Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Kor Muoy families remain in limbo

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

A boy pauses on Friday to speak with a former resident of Kor Muoy village who was recently sent to a relocation site some 30 kilometres away. Fifty families from the village, located at the bottom of the mountain on which Preah Vihear temple sits, say they have been excluded from housing at the new site.

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Now, when the roads are good, they are asking us to resettle...."
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via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:03 Vong Sokheng

A group of 50 families says the government relocation plan for the P Vihear site excludes them

Preah Vihear Province

AS political observers waited to see how Prime Minister Hun Sen’s weekend visit to Preah Vihear temple would affect relations with Thailand, a group of 50 families who have been living near the site for years hoped for the answer to a more concrete question: Where would they be forced to move come March?

The families are among the 473 currently living in Kor Muoy village, below the ridge where the temple is located. When fighting first broke out near the temple following its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008, the government set in motion plans to relocate residents to a site some 30 kilometres away, citing concerns for their safety as well as a desire to develop the area as a “cultural heritage site”.

But representatives of 50 families say they have not been included on a list of those to receive housing at the new site, to which Kor Muoy residents are scheduled to move in March, according to notices recently placed in the village by local authorities.

Pov Narith, the 40-year-old owner of the Prasat Preah Vihear Manrith guesthouse in Kor Muoy, said the families had been looking to Hun Sen’s visit as an opportunity to clarify what will happen to them after they are forced to move. He said the payment of 2 million riels alone – without a new plot of land – would not be sufficient compensation.

“When I first came here in 2001 there was nothing. Life was difficult back then,” he said. “There were bad roads, and there was no telephone network. Now, when the roads are good, they are asking us to resettle, but it is not easy to tear down my guesthouse, and I’m worried that life will become difficult again.”

Government officials said they could not confirm why the families had been left off the housing list, but Pov Narith and others interviewed for this story said it was because of their support for opposition political parties.

He said he led a trip to Phnom Penh last April to submit petitions to the Senate and the National Assembly, and that the Senate responded in May that they should be entitled to live on the land.

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

Mom Nay, 41, (left) and Ngin Yong, 54, are among the residents of Kor Muoy village who have moved to a relocation site some 30 kilometres away.

But when representatives tried to press their case to the premier on Saturday, they were rebuffed by security, he said.

“We knew Samdech Techo would visit this village, and we tried to see him and submit a petition about this partisan discrimination, but we were detained on the day of his visit and have now become targets of discrimination by the local authorities,” he said.

Heng Sreypov, 46, who has lived in a large wooden house in Kor Muoy since 2002, is also among the villagers who have been left off the list at Techo Hun Sen Natural Village. She said she was detained by a bodyguard of provincial governor Sar Thavy for five hours on the day the premier visited.

“I did nothing wrong, but the bodyguard of the governor pulled me out from the crowd and pushed me into the car as a criminal. I was ashamed, but I didn’t have any idea what I did wrong,” she said.

Sar Thavy could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Ham Sokha, one of the village chiefs at the relocation site, said the 50 families would need to wait to receive their plots of land because it was still being cleared.

“Everyone will receive land and a house of the same size,” he said, adding that he did not know why just 50 families had thus far been excluded.

In his speech at the relocation site on Saturday, Hun Sen said a total of 792 families would ultimately be able to live at the relocation site: the 473 from Kor Muoy as well as the 319 families who moved from the market at the base of the temple after their homes were destroyed by Thai rocket fire during a skirmish last April.

“Even if you did not vote for me, it is still my duty to resolve the problem for you, and I would like to confirm that in the long term the area around Preah Vihear will become a development site. I will no longer isolate this area such as before, and it will be linked by road to the border of Thailand and Laos so we can keep improving the conditions,” Hun Sen said.

Hang Sot, director of the Preah Vihear National Authority, declined to comment on specific plans for the cultural heritage site at the temple.

PM skips Tamone temple on border trip

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

A soldier mans his station at Preah Vihear temple Friday morning ahead of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s visit to the site, where a standoff with the Thai military continues.

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:03 Vong Sokheng and James O'toole

PRIME Minister Hun Sen concluded his high-profile tour of the Thai-Cambodian border on Monday, continuing his harsh rhetoric against the Thai government, but avoiding visiting a temple in Oddar Meanchey province that both sides claim as their own.

Speaking at Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Base 42 in Oddar Meanchey’s Banteay Ampil district, Hun Sen again accused Thailand and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of invading Cambodian territory, pointing in particular to Thailand’s occupation of the Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda, near Preah Vihear temple, that began on July 15, 2008.

“Abhisit, will you swear on having all your family members be killed in a plane crash ... that your soldiers did not come to invade Cambodia at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak?” Hun Sen said.

“Do you dare to swear on magic that could break your neck, on a plane crash or a dissolution of the countries, that your soldiers did not invade Cambodia’s territory on July 15, 2008?”

Hun Sen, who visited Preah Vihear temple on Saturday, also accused Abhisit of stealing the premiership in Thailand, saying the Thai leader had “no family honour”.

“You attacked me, so I have to defend, and will continue with counter-attacks on you,” Hun Sen said.

Despite these confrontational remarks, Hun Sen chose to forego a visit to nearby Tamone Thom temple, just a few kilometres away in Banteay Ampil district.

Chawanon Intharakomansut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister, said Monday that Cambodian leaders had been in talks with Thailand about a potential visit to Tamone Thom, but scuttled their plans after Thailand demanded that Hun Sen’s escorts travel unarmed.

“We asked them to [discard] their weapons if they want to come into the area, that’s the only condition, and I think they changed their minds,” Chawanon said.

In a statement released on Monday, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tamone Thom was “clearly situated in Cambodian territory”, citing maps from 1908 as proof of the Kingdom’s claim. Accompanied by this statement was a copy of a note written by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong in 2008 to then-Thai foreign minister Tej Bunnag in which Hor Namhong accused Thai troops of occupying Tamone Thom illegally, ordering their immediate withdrawal.

Chawanon declined to comment on these documents, and said that Tamone Thom is indisputably a Thai possession.

“The fact is that we’ve controlled the area for so long … so there’s no question,” he said.

In a press conference on Monday afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hor Namhong denied that Hun Sen had ever planned to visit Tamone Thom.

Hun Sen “had no plan to visit [Tamone Thom], and I knew before it before the visit”, Hor Namhong said, rejecting media reports to the contrary.

The foreign minister reasserted Cambodia’s claim to the land around Preah Vihear temple as well as Tamone Thom, criticising Thai media outlets and politicians for blowing Hun Sen’s border visit out of proportion

“Why were they really surprised about the visit of Samdech Techo? The reason is that they want to take Cambodian land,” Hor Namhong said.

Chawanon dismissed the idea that Hun Sen’s visit had stoked further tensions between the two nations, arguing that it in fact represented a positive development in their relations.

“For the past few days, I think some good signs have been shown between two countries, that we play by the rules of engagement in the area. That’s a good step for our relationship,” he said.

Bad water blamed for new deaths in KSpeu

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:03 Tep Nimol and Chhay Channyda

HEALTH officials have urged calm amid heightened fears of a diarrhoea outbreak after three villagers succumbed to the illness in Kampong Speu province, continuing a recent spate of cases that last week prompted the Ministry of Health to launch a nationwide sanitation and hygiene awareness campaign.

Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said samples from the three deceased Kampong Speu villagers had been sent to Calmette Hospital for analysis.

An official from the Kampong Speu Communicable Diseases Control Department who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to reporters said more than 50 people in the area had come down with serious diarrhoea.

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They got diarrhoea because they drank water from a pond that was unhygienic..."

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Nov Doem, the chief of Voasar commune, where the deaths and reported outbreak occurred, said villagers had begun to panic and were erecting scarecrows outside their houses to protect them from infections.

But Ly Sovann stressed on Monday that the cause of the diarrhoea outbreak was the increasing number of villagers consuming contaminated water, adding that people who had boiled their water had avoided falling ill.

“They got diarrhoea because they drank water from a pond that was unhygienic because both animals and villagers drank the same water,” he said.

Pieter van Maaren, country representative for the World Health Organisation, said Monday that his office was monitoring the situation closely in partnership with the Ministry of Health, but added that he was not concerned about the possibility of an outbreak of cholera, a diarrhoeal disease caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacterium.

“The situation is such that, if you get large numbers of cases with watery diarrhoea, then that definitely warrants an investigation into a cholera outbreak,” he said.

“But so far, there have been very few cases that would warrant such an investigation.”

The campaign launched by the Health Ministry last week involves posting officials on the ground in every province to treat cases of diarrhoea.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAVID BOYLE

Court to sentence Thai man for laying mines near border

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:03 Chhay Channyda and Irwin Loy

ATHAI national accused of laying land mines along Cambodia’s border with Thailand is set to be sentenced by a military court this week, his lawyer said Monday, renewing questions over whether either country has been involved in placing new mines in disputed areas.

Suphap Vong Pakna was arrested last February in Oddar Meanchey province after he allegedly entered Cambodian territory and planted land mines.

In a hearing last week, Suphap Vong Pakna confessed to planting at least five explosive devices, saying Thai soldiers paid him to do so, his Cambodian lawyer said.

“He tried to lay the land mines because he wanted to kill Cambodian people who patrol the border,” said Sam Sokong, a court-appointed lawyer with the Cambodian Defenders Project.

Sam Sokong said his client was among a group of at least seven people, but was the only one arrested.

“He confessed he entered Cambodia twice. The second time, he was arrested and then sent to military court,” Sam Sokong said.

Suphap Vong Pakna faces charges – including attempted murder, endangering national security and entering the country illegally – that could see him sentenced to between 15 and 30 years in prison if convicted, Sam Sokong said.

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Our policy is to work together ... to remove these land mines. we don't have a policy to lay more."

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However, the lawyer said he plans to ask for leniency when the court reconvenes as expected on Friday.

“Suphap is like a victim,” Sam Sokong said. “Due to his poverty and low education, he sacrificed his life for money without knowing that laying mines is criminal.”

Thai accusations

In October 2008, the Thai government said two of its paramilitary rangers were severely injured after stepping on land mines in territory near Preah Vihear temple that Thailand claims as its own.

A Thai investigation reportedly found Russian-made land mines in the area – devices the Thais said were recently planted and of a type that Thai soldiers have never used. Thai authorities said the findings suggested that Cambodia may have been guilty of breaking the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which bans signatories from using antipersonnel mines.

“The Royal Thai government views the sad land mine incident with great alarm, as it indicates violation” of the Ottawa Treaty, an October 17, 2008 statement from Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

Cambodia, however, said any land mines in the area were remnants of three decades of war. Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Monday that Thailand has yet to respond to a diplomatic note rejecting the allegations.

“Cambodia has never planted fresh land mines. We are trying to clear the mines,” Koy Kuong said.

“Even Cambodian people right now suffer from land mines. Cambodia has been committed to demining, not only in the country, but also abroad in areas like Sudan.”

He said the Thai government should respond to the allegations raised by Suphap Vong Pakna’s prosecution.

“The Thai side should acknowledge what happened, if a Thai national confessed he planted land mines along the border,” he said.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn declined to comment on the court case, saying the issue should be decided through “normal legal channels”.

Thailand, he said, has not been involved in planting new land mines.

“The area has a lot of land mines to be retrieved. Our policy is to work together with the Cambodians to remove these land mines,” he said.

“We don’t have a policy to lay more land mines.”

Leng Sochea, deputy secretary of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, said that officials are not aware of any other allegations that new land mines are being planted in the area.

The heavily mined areas between Cambodia and Thailand represent the highest concentration of land mines in the Kingdom, according to the group Landmine Monitor.

Repatriations: VN soldiers exhumed in Kampot

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:02 Tha Piseth and Brooke Lewis

The remains of 68 Vietnamese soldiers who died during military campaigns in Cambodia were found last week in Kampot and Kep provinces, a local official said Monday, adding that, of the more than 1,400 bodies of Vietnamese troops repatriated from Cambodia in the last decade, most have been found in Kampot. Soth Yea, the deputy governor of Kampot province and a member of the Committee for the Search of Vietnamese Soldiers’ Remains, said the bodies of 1,062 soldiers had been found in the province since Vietnamese military search teams, assisted by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as well as local officials and villagers, began repatriation efforts in 2001. He said workers were often able to recognise Vietnamese soldiers by checking the tags on the remains after exhumation. He added that Cambodian villagers regularly help locate the often-unmarked graves.

Villagers say land was sold illegally

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:02 Meas Sokchea

OFFICIALS in Kampong Cham province’s Cheung Prey district are scheduled to hold a meeting today regarding a complaint from 200 families against one commune and one village chief who the families say sold their communal farmland to a private buyer.

Ham Khom, first deputy chief of Sampong Chey commune, where the disputed land is located, said that 196 families had recently thumbprinted a complaint accusing commune chief Mao Kong and village chief Uon Kimheang of selling more than 4 hectares of village land.

“Mao Kong would not receive the villagers’ complaint, and that shows that he has been involved in this case,” Ham Khom said.

Villager representative Suon An said he did not know when the land was sold because the chiefs had made the deal in secret. He added that land-management officials would hold a meeting to discuss the complaint today.

Uon Kimheang dismissed the accusation, saying the disputed area had once belonged to the community, but that local authorities had declared it private property in 1992.

Mao Kong said he had passed the case on to Cheung Prey district officials and the district land management authorities. He declined to comment on the details of the case.

South Korea requests elephants

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

CAMBODIA is considering donating an elephant to a South Korean zoo that is short of fertile females, officials confirmed Monday. But conservationists are also alarmed at the prospect of sending a member of an already endangered species out of the country.

South Korean authorities have requested that Cambodia donate fertile females between the ages of 5 and 7 for breeding purposes, said Ty Sokhun, director of forestry and wildlife with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

But Ty Sokhun said authorities are unsure whether they can afford to spare such young specimens. Instead, Cambodia is considering donating a single, 20-year-old female elephant.

“Currently, we are considering their offer and discussing it,” Ty Sokhun said.

Though the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, prevents signatories from trading in endangered species, Cambodia views the potential transfer as a “donation”, Ty Sokhun said.

“It is not an elephant trade, but a donation, as the Korean government has requested it for their national zoo,” he said.

But Tuy Sariwathna, the Mondulkiri province director for the conservation NGO Fauna and Flora International, said he was concerned by the proposal.

“The government should not respond to the Korean request while elephants in Cambodia are endangered,” he said.

Dwindling numbers

Tuy Sariwathna said a 2009 survey found only 98 domesticated elephants in the country, down from a previous count of 162. He said rough estimates have suggested that there are between 500 and 600 elephants in the wild.

Nhek Ratanapech, director of the Phnom Tamao Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Centre outside Phnom Penh, said authorities were still debating the Korean proposal.

“We are considering cooperating with the Korean government because of our close ties with their national zoo, but we also think about the negatives,” Nhek Ratanapech said.

In a story last week, Korean newspaper JoongAng Daily reported that female elephants in Korean zoos have grown too old to give birth.

“It will be a serious problem if elephants disappear from the zoos because they’re the most beloved animals among children,” Lee Hyeon-ho, an official at a state-run zoo, told the newspaper.

Female Asian elephants usually first give birth around the age of 15, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which lists the species as endangered.

Excess liquidity rises to $900m as loans stall

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

An employee of OSK Indochina Bank Ltd demonstrates in December how to use a cash machine in Phnom Penh. The Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said last week that Cambodia's excess liquidity could help boost the economy, if lending were to rise.

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:02 Nguon Sovan

ANZ alone has $200m deposited with central bank, CEO says

HESITATION to lend during the global economic crisis has led to a US$900 million liquidity excess in Cambodia’s banking sector, the minister of finance has said.

At a seminar on credit quality enhancement, held Thursday, Keat Chhon said that commercial and financial institutions have been reluctant to finance long-term loans during the economic crisis. However, he predicted that the large excess of liquidity in Cambodia’s banks could aid the Kingdom’s development during 2010.

“The excess of liquidity provides huge possibilities to support investments in Cambodia. Especially if we could push commercial banks to use the $900 million surplus to invest in infrastructure projects with high productivity,” he said.

Representatives from leading banks said Monday that they are either seeking to lower excess deposits or are expecting to lend more this year as the economy improves.

Stephen Higgins, CEO of ANZ Royal bank, wrote in an e-mail that his bank would like to operate with lower liquidity.

“We have over $200 million sitting with the central bank,” he added.

In Channy, president and CEO of ACLEDA, said that his bank’s liquidity at the end of last year was $80 million – much lower than ANZ’s – despite customers’ tendency to deposit money into institutions as a low-risk option during the economic crisis.

He put the liquidity disparity between banks down to the fact that the number of ACELDA’S loans grew by 16 percent to $538 million last year, despite sector-wide loans rising by just 3 percent.

He predicted that the surplus would be lower at the end of this year, compared to 2009, due to expected growth in the agriculture, production, trade and services sectors – where many bank loans are made.

Phan Ying Tong, country head of Cambodian Public Bank, said that it is his bank’s policy not to talk to the press without approval from the head office in Malaysia. Central bank officials were not available Monday.

Garment wages discussed

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:01 SOEUN SAY AND ELLIE DYER

GMAC said it would look into the minimum wages of garment workers as pressure increases to raise monthly pay above the $50 level of 2008

LEADING union representatives met Monday with garment manufacturers and government officials to discuss a rise in the minimum wage for Cambodia’s 358,000 garment workers.

About 100 sector representatives attended the meeting, held at the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, to discuss union attempts to raise monthly wages from US$50 to $93.

According to research collated by unions, including the Cambodian Labour Union Federation (CLUF), and the National Institute of Statistics, $93 has been determined to be the minimum wage necessary for garment workers to afford food, housing and work-related travel expenses.

Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC), which acts as a representative body for the Kingdom’s major garment producers, offered cautious support for the wage rise.

“In principle, I do not disagree with an increase,” he said, but adding that he would need more time for GMAC to do its own research into the issue before considering the wage rise.

“Today, I want to emphasise to workers that we are only discussing the issue, not agreeing to an increase to $93,” he said.

Van Sou Ieng also told the government-organised conference that he was “very surprised” that a meeting had been organised to talk about the wages, saying that he had only seven days to prepare for discussions.

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If GMAC agrees to an increase, we will automatically agree too."

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But Som Aum, president of CLUF and chairman of the Living Worker Wage Committee, said that he sent the study proposing the living wage increase in both Khmer and English to GMAC in February 2009.

Vong Soth, minister of labour and chairman of the Labour Consultation Committee, also disputed that GMAC had been taken by surprise the issue.

“No, don’t say that you are surprised by this meeting. It is an important subject to discuss in order to find a good result for both parties,” he said at the meeting.

International organisations have welcomed the opening of formal discussions on the minimum wage, which hasn’t changed since April 2008.

John Ritchotte, an industrial relations specialist at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Bangkok, Thailand, attended the Monday meeting and welcomed it as an important development. “It’s the opening step in the process. I would say it was a positive meeting for both sides, who each looked willing to engage in dialogue to reach a solution towards a minimum wage.”

A wage increase, if agreed, would be the first in just under two years.

According to a report by the ILO’s Better Factories for Cambodia initiative and talks with industry experts, in April 2008 it was agreed that garment workers would be paid an additional $6-a-month allowance by the government in a bid to boost wages.

This followed 2006 negotiations between GMAC and a council of unions, which resulted in the minimum wage being increased from $45 to $50 in early 2007.

Any increase would provide respite for workers who have been hit hard by the economic crisis.

Last year, according to Ministry of Labour statistics, 93 garment factories closed and 60 suspended work, leaving 68,190 workers without employment.

In December last year, Cambodia had an estimated 358,660 garment workers.

But some outside sources say the impact of the global economic crisis may prove a stumbling block to imporved payment in the sector.

“I already know that an increase to $93 is not possible. It is too much money to consider when the economic crisis has affected the sector,” said Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, adding that he had not been invited to Monday's meeting to discuss the issue further.

Major factories have pledged to follow the lead of GMAC, whatever it decides.

Chhrun Synat, administration director at Maurea Garment Corp factory, which employs 1,500 workers, said he would abide by any decision made by GMAC.

“If GMAC agrees to an increase, we will automatically agree too. Everything depends on GMAC.”

Vong Soth said that he intends to call another meeting to discuss the wage rise but could not provide any details about when the meeting might take place.

CP aims to boost sales of young chickens

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:01 Chun Sophal

BABY chickens worth a total of US$2.73 million will be sold to farmers by animal feed producer CP Cambodia Co Ltd this year, according to the company’s vice president.

Wittaya Kreangkriwit said on Monday that CP plans to sell 3.9 million chicks to 300 farming families in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces at about US$0.70 each.

The farmers are then obliged, as part of an agreement, to buy animal feed from CP to nourish the chickens to maturity.

In 2009, the business sold 3 million 21-day-old chicks at $0.50 each, making $1.5 million in revenues.

“We hope that our sales strategy will be successful, because we believe the number of people raising chickens in Cambodia is increasing,” Wittaya said.

Chhay Sok Huon, president of Chicken Farming Association, which represents 50 chicken farmhouses in Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces, agreed that demand for eggs and chicken meat has increased this year. It intends to buy more chicks from CP.

He added: “But we want the company to sell chicks at a lower price to allow farmers to benefit more and expand. This would ensure there is a sufficient supply of eggs and chicken meat to markets, reducing the need for imports.”

He said that at present about 700,000 eggs and hundreds of kilograms of chicken are imported from Vietnam and Thailand into Cambodia.

Kao Phal, director of the Department of Animal Health and Production, said that such imports have caused problems for local farmers, due to market competition.

“We are trying to reduce the quota of egg imports and meat from other countries gradually in order to encourage domestic animal farming,” he said.

A report from the department showed that in 2009 Cambodia raised about 20 million chickens and ducks, compared to 16 million in 2008.

Kao Bunheng sends Loek Vibol packing Sunday

Kao Roomchang (right) outpointed Sarim Vonthon in their inconsequential light-middleweight tournament bout Sunday at TV5 boxing arena. AFP

via CAAI News Media

Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:00 Robert Starkweather

Kao Bunheng knocked off veteran Loek Vibol to secure a spot in the semifinals of the light-middleweight tournament

KAO Bunheng outpointed Loek Vibol Sunday to clinch a semifinal spot in the light-middleweight tournament at the TV5 boxing arena in Takhmao.

Kao Bunheng kicked relentlessly and used his superior fitness to power past the 32-year-old veteran, who started strong but faded and fought the final two rounds largely in survival mode.

The eight-man light-middleweight (63.5 kilograms) tournament began in January. Group A concluded the opening stages Sunday. Kao Bunheng and Kao Roomchang will advance. Loek Vibol and Sarim Vonthon will not.

For Kao Bungheng and Loek Vibol, who both entered the ring with 1-1 tournament records, the Sunday bout was do-or-die.

Loek Vibol, a southpaw, came out strong early, attacking in the first round with hard jab-low kick combinations, and by the end of the round Kao Bunheng’s left leg was red and welted above and below the knee.

Kao Bunheng responded in the second, pressing forward with kicks to the body and forcing Loek Vibol to fight from the back foot.

Loek Vibol tried to retake the momentum with a series of head-snapping left hands to open the third round. But Kao Bunheng, among the most durable fighters in the division, dismissed the attack with a nod of the head and a continued assault of kicks.

By the fourth Loek Vibol looked tired, and his offensive output dwindled to nearly nothing. In the final round he stood at times with his gloves at his side, visibly spent.

“I’m exhausted,” he said afterward, his shoulders slumped with disappointment.

Sarim Vonthon goes fighting

In the second tournament match Sunday, Sarim Vonthon lost a decision to Kao Roomchang in a bout of little significance.

Kao Roomchang had secured a spot in the semifinals two weeks earlier with a win over Kao Bunheng, and Sarim Vonthon, winless in two tournament fights, had no chance of advancing.

Still, Sarim Vonthon, bleeding from a cut on his chin before the fight even started, refused to go quietly. With the crowd behind him, he caught Kao Roomchang with flush overhand lefts and hard knees in every round, and made Kao Roomchang battle until the final second of the fight.

Kao Roomchang showed little trouble maintaining the pace. He thrilled the crowd with flashy spinning back kicks and surprising displays of power.

A front push kick in the second round sent Sarim Vonthon across the ring and crashing into the turnbuckle so hard he nearly tumbled to the canvas. A face kick at center ring in the fourth landed with such ferocity that Sarim Vonthon ended up halfway through the ropes.

Sarim Vonthon took it all and kept coming. Even in the final minutes, with the fight largely decided and little on the line but pride, he gave an inspired fifth-round charge, scoring with hard lefts and strong clinch work, and forcing Kao Roomchang to defend until the final bell.

There are no tournament fights scheduled for next week. Group B returns Feb 21.

Game week 25 winner

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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

Game week 25 provided some more thrills and spills, with players from the two front runners of the Premier League – Man United and Chelsea – proving most profitable for our fantasy managers. Head and shoulders above the rest was Bun Sobott’s Garuda FC, who netted a total of 85 points with the dreamy strike partnership of Rooney (captain for 22 points) and Drogba (13 points), and the likes of Evra (9) and Lampard (8). Sobott wins the weekly prize of a US$20 phone voucher and T-shirt courtesy of Cellcard. Midweek fixtures means you’ll have to make transfers by 2:30am tonight, so don’t delay.

Phnom Penh targets 26% growth in 2010

Cambodian port is targetting strong revenue growth this year

http://www.portstrategy.com/

via CAAI News Media

08 Feb 2010

Phnom Penh Autonomous Port will maintain a recovery into 2010 with projected 26% revenue growth, the facility's director general, Hei Bevy has said as the inland port continues to benefit from connections to Cai Mep deepwater port in Southern Vietnam.

It has signed up shipping line Maersk in connecting to the new Vietnamese port, said Hei Bevy, and is now targeting $6.25m in revenues for 2010.

The port suffered a 2% fall in revenues last year to $4.93m following an 8.8% drop in volumes, according to figures printed in one Cambodian newspaper. These better a January 3 projection by the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port’s deputy director Eang Veng Sun who estimated that revenues had dropped 15% last year, without giving a revenue forecast.

The newly issued figure for Phnom Penh also beat the downturn in Cambodian trade as the capital’s port benefited from the July 2009 opening of the Cai Mep facility, which allows more convenient connections down the Mekong and cuts days off passage to North America by avoiding other, less convenient Asian hubs, particularly Singapore and Hong Kong.

Prosecutor: Drunken Driver Asleep At Wheel

via CAAI News Media

Father Of 7 Killed In Methuen

February 8, 2010

BOSTON -- A drunken driver was asleep at the wheel when he struck and killed a jogger in Methuen last week, according to prosecutors.

Police say David Diaz, 23, was driving on Route 110 Friday morning when he struck Lay Bou, 56, who was out for his regular morning run. Bou was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead after the 8:30 a.m. crash.

Prosecutors say Diaz claims he fell asleep and doesn't remember the crash. Officials said three witnesses identified Diaz as the driver.

"The officer approached the defendant, asked what happened, his response was, 'I don't know what happened,'" prosecutor Jennifer Kunsch said.

Diaz told police he left work at 3 a.m. and went to a friend's house, where he consumed several beers.

A not guilty plea was entered for Diaz on motor vehicle homicide, operating under the influence and a marked lanes violation.

"This is a tragic circumstance for all parties. The family of my client wishes to express their heart-felt condolences," defense attorney John Valerio said.

Bail was set at $10,000 and Diaz was ordered not to drink and not to drive if he posts bail.

He was also ordered to submit to bi-weekly breathalyzer tests and told to surrender his passport.

Diaz suffered minor injuries in the crash and was taken to a hospital, where his blood-alcohol content was .16, police said. The case was continued to March 4.

Bou, who immigrated to the state from Cambodia, was a retired machine operator for Colombo yogurt. He had seven children.

Bou's family was in the courtroom, but too distraught to talk after hearing the details of the crash. On Thursday night, they described their father has a hard-working family man.

"He did really well and worked really hard to support the family," one family member said.

Hun Sen Calls Thai Premier ‘Stupid,’ ‘Crazy’

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

08 February 2010

via CAAI News Media

Prime Minister Hun Sen directly insulted the prime minister of Thailand as “stupid” and “crazy” on Monday, as he continued a four-day tour of disputed border regions in the north.

The remarks, aimed at Abhisit Vejjajiva, were a reaction to the Thai premier’s criticism of Hun Sen’s visit in military uniform to the temple of Preah Vihear on Saturday, in a continuing row between the two national leaders.

Cambodia and Thailand have thousands of heavily armed troops entrenched along the border, engaged in a 19-month military standoff over disputed border regions. The standoff has led to a handful of skirmishes, leaving at least eight soldiers dead.

Hun Sen visited Preah Vihear temple on Saturday, telling soldiers there he supported them in their defense of the border against potential “invasion.” He appeared with his wife, Bun Rany, wearing military fatigues.

Abhisit responded to the visit in Thai media, saying Hun Sen’s appearance in uniform was merely for political gain.

“My statement today is not good listening for the Bangkok leaders,” Hun Sen told soldiers near the Ta Moan temple complex, on the border of Oddar Meanchey province, Monday. “It displeases your mind that I have worn a military uniform my whole life.”

“Prime Minister Abhisit is stupid and crazy today,” he continued. “You have no right to ban me from wearing a military uniform. The wearing of the uniform is up to me, and I haven’t wronged the Cambodian constitution or law.”

Cambodia and Thailand are at diplomatic loggerheads over the appointment of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser to Hun Sen. Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors over Thaksin, who is wanted in Thailand on corruption charges.

New Documentary Raises Arsenic Alarm

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

08 February 2010

via CAAI News Media

In “Born Sweet,” a new documentary underscoring the dangers of arsenic, a rural Cambodian boy struggles with questions of fate after he is poisoned by a contaminated well.

The 28-minute film, produced by American Cynthia Wade, follows a skinny and pale boy named Vinh as he struggles with his poisoning, as well as other diseases, parasites and malnutrition.

Many of Vinh’s neighbors in Kandal province’s Prek Russey village also suffer from arsenic poisoning.

“Too many people have died,” Vinh says. “I am afraid I will be next.”

The film won honorary mention at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last month.

Wade, an Oscar winning director, said she became interested in the arsenic issue after learning about the work of Resource Development International’s Cambodia office.

RDI-Cambodia uses a mobile karaoke van to help educate people about the poison, which contaminates well water and threatens an estimated 137 million people in 70 countries worldwide.

“My hope with this film is that the issue of arsenic in the water is out there on the table and that, internationally, countries can begin to address this problem for Cambodia, for Bangladesh, for Vietnam, for Thailand,” Wade told VOA Khmer. “The government [of Cambodia] needs to acknowledge it, needs to put funding behind it, and the government needs to work with groups like RDI, work with international groups, so that mass poisoning stops.”

Seven Cambodian provinces along the Mekong river have been identified as at risk for arsenic contamination, according to Mao Saray, director of the Ministry of Rural Development’s water supply department.

“The government has come up with a solution to address the arsenic problem by providing alternative water sources like rainwater harvesting, shallow wells, community piped water systems and household treatment to treat surface water because some underground water sources are problematic,” he said.

Approximately 140 families totaling more than 300 people in Kandal and Prey Veng provinces were identified with symptoms of suspected arsenic poisoning in 2006, according to Unicef. Since then, no other suspected cases have been reported.

Hilda Winarta, a Unicef water and sanitation specialist, said the UN agency is working with Cambodia on several activities to mitigate arsenic risks. This includes testing and marking wells that are the most dangerous.

“Approximately 2.2 million people live in the areas that have been identified to be at risk of arsenic contamination,” Winarta said in an e-mail.

In “Born Sweet,” young Vinh dreams of becoming a karaoke star. Eventually, the people of his village gain access to safe drinking water. Unfortunately, the poison in their bodies remains.

More See Country Going ‘Wrong’: Survey

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

08 February 2010

via CAAI News Media

An increasing number of people, especially those with higher incomes, feel the country is moving in the wrong direction, according to a recent survey.

Approximately 20 percent of 2,000 people surveyed in August 2009 were unhappy with the direction of the country, according to the International Republican Institute, a US democracy group.

The most unhappy were those who earned more than $300 per month; 26 percent of them said they thought the country was going in the wrong direction.

Of those surveyed, 79 percent said they thought the country was generally moving in the right direction, a decline from 82 percent in November 2008. It was the first decline in the survey since August 2006.

Despite the high number of positive respondents, Cambodia remains plagued by corruption and crimes like land-grabbing, said Ke Sovanaroth, secretary-general of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

Of those unhappy with the direction of the country, 38 percent said it was because of more corruption, according to the survey; 11 percent said they were unhappy with “threats to take land from people.”

Kuol Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said that since 1993, Cambodia had been heading in the right direction, including multi-party elections, a free market and respect for human rights.

However, ongoing problems with Thailand and in internal politics had caused a drop in those surveyed, he said.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the survey showed pride among Cambodian people and was a reflection of the government’s development strategy.

The survey was conducted between July 31 and August 26, 2009, and the results were issued last week.

Hun Sen calls down curse on Thai PM over land row

via CAAI News Media

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

Published on February 9, 2010

Border tensions died down yesterday but the war of words flared up with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reciting a curse on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for his comments on disputed territory.

Thai security forces had been put on alert over the weekend as Hun Sen toured the border near overlapping areas including the Preah Vihear Temple.

The PM arrived in the vicinity of Ta Muen Thom Temple but did not visit the ruins.

Colonel Thanet Wongcha-um, chief of staff of the Suranaree Task Force, which oversees the area, said Thai authorities on the ground informed Hun Sen's advance team the situation was not safe due to the presence of yellow-shirt protesters.

Before leaving the area, Hun Sen presided over the inauguration of Ta Moan village in Oddar Meanchey province, some five to six kilometres away from the temple, Thanet said. Thai troops retreated after his departure, he said.

During the opening ceremony, Hun Sen launched a verbal attack on Abhisit.

Abhisit said on Sunday that Hun Sen's visit to Preah Vihear would help Thailand claim possession of the area surrounding the temple.

Hun Sen visited the temple on Saturday and accused Thai troops of invading Cambodia. Abhisit said later that day that Hun Sen's accusation meant the Cambodian leader accepted Thai ownership.

Hun Sen put a curse on Abhisit.

"If you don't tell the truth about Thai troops invading Cambodia, let magic objects break your neck, may you be shot, be hit by a car, may you be shocked by electricity or [may you be shot] by misfired guns."

"Will Abhisit swear on having all his family members killed and having them [perish] in a plane crash, if [he still claims] that Thai troops did not invade Cambodia?" Hun Sen was quoted as saying by Cambodian website Deum Ampil News.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear is located in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia. Abhisit argued that the court was referring only to the stone remains but the area adjacent to the temple belongs to Thailand.

He said again yesterday that Thailand would never surrender any of its territory.

Relations with Cambodia turned sour after Abhisit took power due to his stance against Cambodia over the Preah Vihear issue.

Hun Sen criticised Abhisit for supporting the yellow-shirt movement, which helped set the stage for the military coup in 2006 and seized Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2008, paving the way for Abhisit to assume power.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said Thailand regretted learning about Hun Sen's harsh statement.

Such an outburst would undermine attempts to restore diplomatic relations, he said.

Thailand tightens security ahead of Thaksin ruling

A young monk plays with pigeons at Sanam Luang Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok authorities have closed the parade grounds near the Royal Palace for renovation and are planning to capture and relocate the park's pigeons. Sakchai Lalit / AP Photo

via CAAI News Media

Posted on Monday, 02.08.10

The Associated Press

BANGKOK -- Thailand has started deploying about 20,000 security forces to brace for protests ahead of a widely anticipated court ruling on the $2.2 billion fortune of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra, a spokesman said Monday.

Supporters of Thaksin have stepped up anti-government demonstrations ahead of the Feb. 26 Supreme Court ruling on whether to seize Thaksin's assets. The former tycoon's riches were frozen after he was ousted by a coup in 2006.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said more than 13,000 army, police and civilian security officers will be deployed across Thailand's 38 provinces. About 6,000 additional security will be deployed in the capital, where 200 checkpoints will be set up at "every entrance into Bangkok," he said.

"We started to deploy forces earlier this month, but it will increase after Feb. 15," Panitan told reporters. "This is to prevent any uncertain situation from arising."

Thaksin was removed from power after being accused of massive corruption while in office but remains a politically divisive figure in Thailand, where his supporters say he was unjustly treated and are demanding fresh elections.

The Supreme Court will decide whether Thaksin's assets in Thailand were obtained through corrupt means and should be confiscated by authorities.

Thailand has been gripped by pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin protests for more than three years. Thaksin supporters staged rallies in April that turned violent and the army had to be called in to restore order.

"We don't want a repeat of what happened last April when the troops came out a little late," Panitan said, adding authorities hoped to avoid invoking stringent security laws to keep order. "For now, we will use the normal laws. It depends on the situation."

Thailand won't give up disputed area

via CAAI News Media

Published: 8/02/2010

Online news: Breakingnews

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday stood firm that his government would not give up the contested 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) area adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, saying the area which is owned by Thailand must belong to the kingdom.

He said the government would send a letter asking the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)'s World Heritage Committee to review the map which Cambodia earlier submitted to it and would give a Thai opinion to the UNESCO committee.

The World Heritage Committee will soon meet to consider Cambodia's application to list the ancient temple and its surrounding areas contested by the two neighbouring countries as a World Heritage site.

Mr Abhisit said Cambodia has been trying to acquire the area for two years but his government would not budge and would not accept any disputed map submitted by the neighbouring country.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but Thailand holds that the 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) area surrounding the ancient temple belongs to Thailand.

Border demarcation in the area remains unresolved and sporadic clashes have occurred recently.

The Thai prime minister said the Thai-Cambodia border has returned to normal after Mr Hun Sen cancelled his planned visit to Ta Muen Thom temple ruins in Thailand's northeastern province of Surin.

He also shrugged off reports that Cambodia has changed the name of the village opposite Ta Muen Thom ruins as Ta Muen Village, saying the matter will not cause any misunderstanding nor confusion as Thailand can prove that the area belongs to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) or the Yellow Shirts have dispersed after receiving confirmation that Mr Hun Sen had cancelled his planned visit and returned to Phnom Penh.

The PAD leaders said they have successfully put pressures and force the Cambodian leader not to enter into Thai soil.

Thai military personnel remain stationed at the Ta Muen Thom ruins and are closely monitoring Cambodian military movements. The area has been declared a restricted zone as the situation is considered risky. (TNA)

Cambodia-Israel Chamber of Commerce was inaugurated in Phnom Penh

via CAAI News Media
Feb 8, 2010

The inauguration is part of an Israeli effort announcedlast year to expand economic and political ties with Cambodia

Cambodia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, a bi-national business association with the mission of increasing economic development by fostering understanding, cooperation, and business relationships between Israel and Cambodia, was inaugurated last week in Phnom Penh.

Tzahi Selzer, the Israeli economic and trade attaché in Bangkok said that the inauguration is part of an Israeli effort announcedlast year to expand economic and political ties with Cambodia. Selzer added that "There is huge interest in Cambodia in Israel.

Israeli-Cambodian trade and investment is rather small, and only about 30 Israelis live in Cambodia, said the embassy.

In 2008 Israel was ranked the fourth-largest foreign investor in Cambodia in terms of value of projects approved, with 2.75% of total investment, or US$300 million, according to Cambodian Investment Board figures.

Israel's export to Cambodia in 2009 was up 97% from US$631,000 in 2008 to US$1.25 million. Although level of trade is low the potential is high and create a great deal of interest among Israeli business firms.

Thailand won't give up disputed area to Cambodia: Abhisit

http://www.mcot.net/

via CAAI News Media

BANGKOK, Feb 8 (TNA) - Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday stood firm that his government would not give up the contested 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) area adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, saying the area which is owned by Thailand must belong to the kingdom.

Mr Abhisit said Cambodia has been trying to acquire the area for two years but his government would not budge and would not accept any disputed map submitted by the neighbouring country.

Border demarcation in the area remains unresolved and sporadic clashes have occurred recently.

The Thai prime minister said the Thai-Cambodia border has returned to normal after Mr Hun Sen cancelled his planned visit to Ta Muen Thom temple ruins in Thailand's northeastern province of Surin.

The PAD leaders said they have successfully put pressures and force the Cambodian leader not to enter into Thai soil.

Bomb hits truck carrying Thai soldiers; 7 wounded

Cambodian soldiers are seen by a machine gun as they guard along the Cambodia-Thailand border near Preah Vihear temple, Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is scheduled to pay his first official visit on Saturday to his troops at the disputed territory near the historic temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (Heng Sinith - AP)

via CAAI News Media

The Associated Press

Monday, February 8, 2010; 8:15 AM

BANGKOK -- Police say suspected insurgents detonated a bomb as two truckloads of soldiers passed, wounding seven troops in Thailand's restive south.

Police Lt. Heraman Jehdee says the attack happened Monday afternoon soon after the vehicles with 38 soldiers left a camp in Bo-ngo sub-district in Narathiwat province. He says police found a gas canister at the scene used to plant the mobile phone-triggered explosive device.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southern provinces since an Islamist insurgency flared in 2004. The provinces are the only Muslim-majority areas in the predominantly Buddhist country, and Muslims have long complained of discrimination by the central government.

Cambodia's banking sector recovers with enlargement growth: report

http://www.investors.com/

via CAAI News Media

PHNOM PENH, Feb 08, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Cambodia's banking sector which was dead and paralyzed for several decades is now recovering well with enlargement growth, according to a government's report released on Monday.

Currently, there are 27 commercial banks, six specialize banks, and 20 micro financing institutions, the report said.

Compared to 2008, the banking and financial institutions was on better growth with 3.8 percent increase in loans as it represented from 10,905.7 trillion riel (about 27.2 million U.S. dollars) to 11,317.7 trillion riel (about 28.2 million U.S. dollars) in 2009.

The report also showed that the number of banks' clients increased 9.4 percent from 1,082,204 in 2008 to 1,184,042 in 2009.

The deposit also increased 32.7 percent as it rose from 10,313 trillion riel (about 25.7 million U.S. dollars) to 13,685 trillion riel (about 34.2 million U.S. dollars).

On the automatic transferring machine, known as ATM which was introduced to Cambodia several years ago has reached 371 across the country.

After the country had met a few decades of civil war, many Cambodians do not trust the banking system and they prefer to keep their money under the pillows or coffers at home, but recently, the concept of the people have changed.

Australian Baptist church opens new building – in Cambodia

Paul Summers cuts the ribbon to formally open the new building (Martin Johnson)

via CAAI News Media

Monday, 8 February 2010

On February 4, members of the Gymea Baptist Church mission team, currently in Cambodia, attended the opening of a Child Safe Zone building funded entirely by the Gymea church. Paul Summers, Pastor for Mission and Evangelism represented the church at the opening. The building is adjacent to an Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp at Veals Pov just out of Phnom Penh.

In May last year members of Gymea Baptist Church raised $64,000 to fund the project.

The building is a joint partnership between Gymea Baptist, international aid and humanitarian agency Samaritan’s Purse and a local Cambodian Church, on whose land the IDP camp and the Child Safe Zone have been built.

“The project will care for orphans and vulnerable children in Cambodia’s growing IDP camps, where the poor are being sent as de-facto refugees in their own country,” said Paul. “Due to economic hardship, parents who live in these camps are often forced to leave their children alone for up to 10 hours a day while they find work, even those five years old,” he said. “This leaves them vulnerable to outside influences.”

Country Director for Samaritan’s Purse Jason Berry, who spoke at the opening, said that when they were considering where to build the Child Safe Zone, they looked for a community where the church was sustainable and had a prominent community role.

“We recognized that Child Safe Zone could really strengthen the churches witness. Pastor Soren and his wife at Veals Pov have a lot of credibility in the community and we felt that a Child Safe Zone would really help them in their ministry. The building will accommodate 65 children and the local church is providing teachers from 7am to 5pm six days a week,” said Jason.

“We have told the local church here that whilst the building is a gift from Gymea, it’s their project. We’re going to start you off, but you’ve got to run it. Ladies of the church have trained for 12 weeks developing the curriculum for the 88 families who live in the IDP camp immediately behind the Child Safe Zone. The building will also be used for church services,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of Gymea Baptist Church at the opening, Paul Summers spoke of the project being a perfect example of the philosophy of Gymea Baptist Church.

“As a church we seek to empower, love and engage with our community whether that community is local, national or international. Working with Samaritan’s Purse to build the Child Safe Zone in Cambodia is wonderful way of empowering the church here at Veals Pov, enabling them to be more effective in impacting their local community,” Paul said.

On the web: www.cambodia2010.com