In Pictures: Cambodia

Cambodian men drive their ox-carts as they head to collect sands for a local construction at Kandoal village, Kampong Speu province, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, April 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Former Washington Post correspondent Elizabeth Becker (L) consoles former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama, as she prays at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010, in memory of her husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, who was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama, prays at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010, in memory of her husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, who was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Carle Robinson (L), former Associated Press correspondent, Yoko Ishiyama (C), former staff member of Kyodo News whose husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973 and former Washington Post correspondent Elizabeth Becker (R) pray at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Carle Robinson (L), former Associated Press correspondent, Yoko Ishiyama (2nd L), former staff member of Kyodo News whose husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973 and other foreign correspondents pray at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Former Time-Life photographer Tim Page and other foreign correspondents pray at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the Cambodian civil war, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Carle Robinson (L), former Associated Press correspondent prays at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the Cambodian civil war, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Former foreign correspondents observe a moment of silence in front of a grave on a rice field at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010 . About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the Cambodian civil war, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Former Washington Post correspondent Elizabeth Becker (L) looks as former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama (R), places an incense at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010, in memory of her husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, who was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

 

Former Washington Post correspondent Elizabeth Becker (L) reads a list of killed foreign correspondents as former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama (R), weeps at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. The list includes Yoko Ishiyama's husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, who was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Carle Robinson, former Associated Press correspondent (L), as former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama (C), pours water during a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010, in memory of her husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, who was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973.About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Carl Robinson (R), former Associated Press correspondent and Chhang Song , former Khmer minister of information, stand near the sign dedicated to the memory of Cambodian and foreign journalists killed or missing during the Cambodian civil war April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Former Time-Life photographer Tim Page prays at a Buddhist ceremony at Po Kandal village in Kampong Speu province 65 km (40 miles) west of Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the Cambodian civil war, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Sylvana Foa (R), two-time nominee for the Pulitzer Price, former Newsweek and United Press International (UPI) correspondent and currently a journalism teacher at New York University's Tel Aviv campus and former staff member of Kyodo News, Yoko Ishiyama (L), place a flower at the dedication of memorial of journalists in Phnom Penh April 22, 2010. Yoko Ishiyama's husband, Koki Ishiyama, a former correspondent for Kyodo, was killed covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973. About 40 retired journalists gathered on Thursday to officially commemorate more than 50 correspondents from Japan, France, the U.S., Cambodia, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India and Laos, who were killed while covering the conflict, which lasted from 1970-1975. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Soon South Koreans To Be Permitted to Marry Cambodians

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04/22/2010

Previously a ban was imposed in Cambodia which forbade marriages between South Korean men and Cambodian women. The ban was put in place due to a large number of brides that were being illegally send to South Korea.

The marriage ban was enforced in order so that a screening process could be set up to stop so many women from being trafficked to South Korea. The government said once the new protocols were in place the ban would be lifted.

The Cambodian government has announced the ban will soon be lifted, but no new protocols have been created to protect the women from being trafficked.

BHP probed over Cambodia payment: reports

Authorities in the US are probing mining giant BHP Billiton over a payment related to an exploration project in Cambodia

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SYDNEY — Authorities in the United States are probing mining giant BHP Billiton over a 2.5 million US dollar payment related to an exploration project in Cambodia, reports said on Thursday.

The Australian newspaper and the Sydney Morning Herald both said possible corruption uncovered by BHP, which has refused to give details, had been linked to an abandoned bauxite exploration project in the impoverished country.

The Anglo-Australian miner on Wednesday said it had evidence of possible corruption involving "interaction" with government officials, related to a minerals exploration project which was terminated about a year ago.

It declined to reveal the location of the project, but said it was not in China, where four staff of rival miner Rio Tinto were jailed for bribery and commercial espionage last month.

The Australian said BHP has admitted paying 2.5 million US dollars to a community in Cambodia's east, near the Vietnam border, but has denied a Cambodian government minister's claim that it was "tea money", or a bribe.

The company has said the money was put into a development fund investing in social welfare programmes, and that it paid one million US dollars to the government for bauxite exploration rights, according to the newspaper.

BHP declined to comment on the reports. On Wednesday, it said it had handed evidence to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and was also conducting an internal investigation.

Cambodian toddler recovering after surgery in Dominican Republic

Millikan High senior Lauren Briand, left, and Socheat Nha in her Briand's Long Beach home in February. Behind her is Nha's father, Phin Ken, and her cousin, Kenha Heang, right. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)

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By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer

A Cambodian girl taken from her homeland to receive life extending surgery was resting comfortably after a four-hour surgery performed in the Dominican Republic.

Socheat Nha, who turned 3 years old Wednesday, survived a tricky operation to repair a large hole in her heart and also had work done on the pulmonary artery that connects the heart ventricle to the lungs.

Although Dr. Rodrigo Soto, who performed the procedure, said the next 48 hours remain critical, he did say Socheat left the operating room in good condition and that in some ways her condition was not as bad as initially feared.

Soto, a surgeon from Chile working for the International Children's Heart Foundation, said he closed the hole, called a ventricular septal defect. Socheat, however, might need more work done in 6 to 10 years on her pulmonary artery, he said.

If she gets through the recovery period without incident, "she should be able to grow, put on weight and live a normal life."

Socheat overcame a big hurdle by making it through the operation without issue, but there are myriad other complications that can arise in the two days of recovery, according to doctors.

Peter Chhun, the head of Hearts Without Boundaries, which brought Socheat from Cambodia for the procedure, was cautiously optimistic.

"We all jumped up and down with joy that she survived the surgery," he said, "but I told her father we will celebrate when we all walk out of here together."

Socheat has gone through a circuitous and fretful route to get this far.

When she was first accepted by Hearts Without Boundaries to receive the surgery, it was planned that she would have an operation done in Las Vegas. However, doctors canceled her surgery because of complications and fear she would not survive.

With the help of a cardiologist in San Diego, Chhun was able to connect with International Children's Heart Foundation, which specializes in treating children from Third World countries.

That organization offered to perform the procedure in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Chhun had to raise funds to cover travel expenses and to pay for the hospital, although the surgeon donated his services.

Despite his immediate relief, Chhun sound exhausted when reached by phone in the Dominican Republic.

He said the celebration will come when Socheat walks out of the hospital doors.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com , 562-499-1291

Camp Cambodia: Teens in Asia serve

PHOTO BY ERIK TRYGGESTAD

Angkor of Faith - Angelize Tham shares a laugh with her new friend, Pala, at Angkor of Faith 4 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Tham, who lives in Malaysia, joined youths from across Southeast Asia for the weeklong camp.

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ERIK TRYGGESTAD | The Christian Chronicle

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - "Today I felt so embarrassed,” Vinod Brennaven said. The 15-year-old from Tampin, Malaysia, had just checked into his hotel for the Angkor of Faith youth camp.

“When I came out of the lodge, I heard a boy calling my name,” Brennaven said. “I couldn’t remember his.”

The Cambodian children who roam the streets of this tourist city, famous for the ancient Angkor Wat temples, don’t forget the teens who visit annually for the weeklong camp.

Launched four years ago, Angkor of Faith gives teens from countries including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand the chance to interact as they serve food, host parties and play games with less fortunate children in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world.

An estimated 24,000 children live and work on the streets of Cambodia, according to humanitarian groups. The country is a source of, and destination for, human trafficking. Children here are sold for sexual exploitation and forced labor, according to humantrafficking.org. Hotel rooms in Siem Reap post warnings for tourists not to engage in sex with children.

“They really need us. They need people to care for them,” said Aaron Wong, 16, a member of the Bedok Church of Christ in Singapore, who has attended Angkor of Faith since its beginning. “They live very simply, and they’re content with what they have — not like Singapore.”

A group of missionaries and Asian church leaders got the idea for the camp after visiting Siem Reap for the Asia Mission Forum, said Joel Osborne, a missionary in Japan, who coordinates the camp.

In addition to serving kids in Cambodia, Angkor of Faith gives young Christians a chance to connect with fellow believers across the region.

“It’s a good opportunity to give them a vision,” Osborne said.

The young Christians also have taken an expanded role in planning and coordinating camp activities — a promising sign for the future of the church in Southeast Asia, he added.

During the camp, the 80-plus participants were divided into “international groups” for meals and service projects. Using a common language, English, they prayed and sang hymns during spirited devotionals in the lodge’s common area. Some of their Cambodian friends watched.

“We have different cultures, but we have the same love for service,” said Mark Anthony Metilla, a church member in Davao, Philippines.

The teens found unique ways to serve during parties they hosted for more than 170 children. Some set up a hair-washing station while others played an aggressive, three-legged balloon pop game with the kids. Por Khumvan, a 17-year-old from Chiang Mai, Thailand, brought a huge box of fingernail paint and gave free manicures.

“I love to paint,” she said. “I do that in Chiang Mai as an outreach.”

Some older Cambodian children who have attended the parties in past years helped the teens serve the younger children, said Robert Reagan, a missionary in Chiang Mai.

“Plus, these same older kids helped as English teachers during our service projects to teach English in poor village schools,” Reagan said. “So we are now teaching the older street kids to serve the younger ones.”

Not all of the teens who participate in Angkor of Faith are Christians. Some are the children or friends of church members who heard about the camp and wanted to attend.

After seeing Christians in action, some attendees have decided to be baptized, Osborne said.

Several non-Christian Japanese teens told Reagan that they were moved by seeing the Cambodian children cry as they said their goodbyes.

“These (teens) said this is the first time they have felt the power of Christianity,” Reagan said.

Grace Ong, another member of the Bedok church in Singapore, has attended each Angkor of Faith and said she enjoys seeing the Cambodian kids “grow bigger, smarter and taller.”

Working with the youths also has forced the 18-year-old to ponder a problem faced by missionaries in many developing countries — showing charity without creating dependence.

“How can I help them without them becoming dependent on me … just handing out things?” she said.

As she shared steaming plates of rice and chicken with her international group, Ong said the camp has helped her become “more optimistic” back home.

In Singapore, many of her peers worry about which university they’ll attend. Few seem to realize how blessed they are to be able to choose a university at all.

“Of course I’m privileged … I get to choose what I want to wear and eat,” she said.

Brennavan agreed. He and Ong paid for their dinners — and meals for a few of their Cambodian friends — before heading back to the lodge. The next day he helped lead the children in a rousing chorus of “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do.”

“It’s a one-of-a-kind experience,” he said. “I’m really glad I came.”

Work starts on Pyle Architects’ Cambodia library

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22 April, 2010

By Anna Winston

Construction work is underway on Pyle Architects’ £1.3 million library for the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

The 2,800sq m Hun Sen library extension, named after Cambodia’s prime minister, has been developed by the London practice’s office in Phnom Penh headed by practice founder Geoff Pyle.

The extension will more than double the size of the existing library building, which was built in the early 1990s, and create a new entrance.

Large double-glazed openings in the building will create spaces with clear views of the landscape while withstanding Cambodia’s seasonal weather extremes.

Areas of louvres provide permanent natural ventilation, and the north and south elevations feature heavy shading to deal with strong solar gain.

the rear view of the library

Funding for the scheme has been provided by a grant from the World Bank as part of the Cambodia Education Sector Support Project.

But the grant does not cover the building’s operating costs, so it has been designed to require minimal electrical services, with ramps replacing lifts and selective air conditioning. Air from the undercroft of the building will be used to help cool internal spaces.

It is due for completion in early 2011.

Pyle has also set up an organisation with local students and architects to provide tours of Cambodia’s 1960s architecture. For more information visit http://www.ka-tours.org/

BHP probed over S$3.4 million Cambodia payment

http://business.asiaone.com/

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Thu, Apr 22, 2010

AFP

SYDNEY - Authorities in the United States are probing mining giant BHP Billiton over a 2.5 million US dollar (S$3.4 million) payment related to an exploration project in Cambodia, reports said on Thursday.

The Australian newspaper and the Sydney Morning Herald both said possible corruption uncovered by BHP, which has refused to give details, had been linked to an abandoned bauxite exploration project in the impoverished country.

The Anglo-Australian miner on Wednesday said it had evidence of possible corruption involving "interaction" with government officials, related to a minerals exploration project which was terminated about a year ago.

It declined to reveal the location of the project, but said it was not in China, where four staff of rival miner Rio Tinto were jailed for bribery and commercial espionage last month.

The Australian said BHP has admitted paying 2.5 million US dollars to a community in Cambodia's east, near the Vietnam border, but has denied a Cambodian government minister's claim that it was "tea money", or a bribe.

The company has said the money was put into a development fund investing in social welfare programmes, and that it paid one million US dollars to the government for bauxite exploration rights, according to the newspaper.

BHP declined to comment on the reports. On Wednesday, it said it had handed evidence to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and was also conducting an internal investigation.

Former war correspondents mourn slain colleagues in Cambodia

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WAT PO, Cambodia, April 22 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A group of over two dozen former war correspondents held a solemn ceremony Thursday to mourn the loss of their colleagues who were killed or went missing while covering the war in Cambodia more than three decades ago.

The "Old Hacks," as they call themselves, gathered at a remote spot 63 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh where eight fellow journalists and a Cambodian driver were killed by the Khmer Rouge in May 1970 and where the bodies of four of them were dug up and recovered in 1992.

The slain media workers are among 37 who were killed or went missing in Cambodia between 1970 and 1975, including 10 Japanese, eight French, seven Americans and five Cambodians. Others were from Switzerland, West Germany, Austria, Netherlands, India, Laos and Australia.

Carl Robinson, 67, a former Associated Press correspondent who co- organized the first-ever reunion of war correspondents in Cambodia, said their visit to the remote site, located down a dirt track more than 2 km off the main road, was "like a day of pilgrimage."

"It was a very moving ceremony with a few tears shed," he said. "To use an overused word, it was like a 'closure' for a lot of people to actually be able to visit and to pay their respects here today."

The ceremony began with the chanting of Buddhists monks and local villagers amid the burning of incense, which was followed by the reading of the names of all 37 journalists.

They then held a moment of silence and planted a Bodhi, the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment, on the side of the road, which the monks of the local temple promised to take care of.

"The memorial as such is the Bodhi tree," said Robinson, who was based in Saigon from 1968 through 1975.

The Old Hacks, mostly former journalists in their late 60s or early 70s who had worked for Western major news organizations, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday for a reunion which also involves a public open forum, a photo exhibition, a visit to the notorious "Killing Fields" and the installation of a more formal memorial in front of the Le Royal Hotel in Phnom Penh where many correspondents stayed and worked while covering the war in this country.

Among participants in Thursday's ceremony was the widow of Koki Ishiyama, a Kyodo News correspondent slain in Cambodia in 1970.

Kurt Volkert, 73, a former CBS cameraman who was instrumental in mapping where executed journalists were buried and who returned in 1992 to help a U.S. military team recover the remains of some of them from the bank of a river, said he regrets Ishiyama's body was never found despite the "heroic effort" put into the search by diggers, who had to dam up the river to dig.

"We were not close friends but I respected him and it's infinitely sad that he's still here somewhere, swept away by the waters," he said. "He just didn't get to go home."

Volkert said he visited Ishiyama's wife in Tokyo later that same year to deliver her a little silver box containing soil from the digging site where the bodies of two other Japanese, one Frenchman and one American were found.

Robinson said the number of journalists killed in Cambodia was much higher than in Vietnam during the Vietnam War because in the latter case, "journalists could count on the U.S. military to take them to wherever the fighting was" whereas in Cambodia journalists had to basically take a taxi ride to the war zone.

To make matters worse, he said the Khmer Rouge policy then was to "smash" or execute all perceived enemies, including journalists.

The Old Hacks have held three reunions in Vietnam for those who covered the Vietnam War and they are slated to hold their fourth next week.

"But this is the first time we've ever had one in Cambodia so it's been a wonderful experience, a really nice and wonderful feeling," Robinson said.

At the same time, he said, feelings are mixed. With some Old Hacks not having been back to Cambodia since the early 1970s, "it's been quite an emotional return for a lot of people."

"You enjoy it but you can't help remember the sadness as well."

DAP News ; Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

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PM Hun Sen Visits Siem Reap

Thursday, 22 April 2010 04:15 DAP-NEWS / Sreng Vibol

PHNOM PENH, April 22- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday arrived at in Siem Reap Province to attend the opening ceremony of the new achievement of the flood protection and sewage system in Siem Reap Provincial town, which cost around 10 million US dollars.

This fund supported from the Asia Development Bank.

PM Hun Sen appeals local people to be cautions of lighting strikes

Thursday, 22 April 2010 05:56 DAP-NEWS

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday appealed local people to be careful with the cruel lighting strikes that recently killed numbers of people in storms.

We have to stay away from iron materials, and turn off mobile phone, radio and even golf players did not hit the golf ball during lighting, and have to seek appropriate places to avoid lightning strikes,” he told the opening ceremony of 14 million US -dollar sewage filtering system in Siem Reap Provincial Town .

We have to be cautions with the lighting strikes,” he said. Earlier Monday, it killed six people in Pursat province in a storm. At least 140 people were killed by lightning last year in Cambodia .

Cambodia Receives $10.93 Million for Facility of Wastewater in Siem Reap

Thursday, 22 April 2010 11:03 DAP-NEWS/ Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, April 23 – Asian Development Bank provided nearly $11 million for Cambodian new wastewater and sewerage treatment facility in Siem Reap, the home of Angkor, to help ending bouts of serious flood in the country’s biggest tourist destination there, said the Bank release on Thursday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the project in the provincial town of Siem Reap, where about 41,000 has been subjected to frequent floods in the central commercial and tourist accommodation areas, with an old and defective drainage and sewerage system unable to cope, said the release.

Putu Kamayana, Country Director in ADB's Cambodia Resident Mission office, said "it is very important that infrastructure improvements be made in the Mekong countries to attract more tourists,” according to the release.

The project includes the construction and installation of thousand of meters of sewer lines as well as the rehabilitation of more than 2,100 meters of drainage pipes, it said.

A pumping station with capacity of 14,000 cubic meters per day has been constructed and 193 new service connections have been established.

It also said that the defective manholes in the city's center have been replaced and irrigation canals upgraded.

The facility is a component of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Development Project, which aims to reduce poverty, boost economic growth, increase employment, and promote natural and cultural heritage conservation in participating GMS countries.

Tourism is a high priority sector of the GMS Program launched in 1992 by Cambodia.

This Southeast Asia nation received more than 2 million tourists last year and is expected to increase 15 percent a year. Tourism sector contributes more than 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

Seeking status

Photo by: Pha Lina

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Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:01 Pha Lina

Khmer Krom asylum seekers on Wednesday gather outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Phnom Penh in the hope that the agency will intervene on their behalf. The agency has said that it cannot involve itself in the case of the asylum seekers, many of whom came from Thailand in December.

Delving into an old murder

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

A photo in the home of Chea Mony shows the body of his brother, Chea Vichea, a labour union leader, after he was shot and killed at a newsstand on Street 51.

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I was much more interested in who was behind the murder and who gave the ok.

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Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:03 James O’toole and Meas Sokchea

Documentary seeks answers about the killing of union leader Chea Vichea

CHEA Vichea spent the morning playing with his daughter, studying his Khmer-English dictionary and plucking his moustache before deciding to leave his Phnom Penh home and pick up a copy of the day’s newspaper.

“I watched him from the balcony as he left,” Chea Vichea’s wife, Chea Kimny, tells director Bradley Cox. “I got up and went to the kitchen. Suddenly, I felt like something kicked me in the chest.”

Cox arrived at the newsstand outside Chamkarmon district’s Wat Lanka just minutes after Chea Vichea was gunned down on January 22, 2004, and his footage from the scene makes for some of the most powerful moments of his new documentary, Who Killed Chea Vichea? Local police struggle to maintain order as journalists and frenzied onlookers surround the fallen labour leader, his blood spilled over a copy of that day’s Koh Santepheap newspaper.

Cox travelled to Cambodia to cover the contentious 2003 elections, and stayed to pursue the story of Chea Vichea’s murder. In a one-hour film screened for the Post on Wednesday, he draws on interviews with witnesses and public figures to document the investigation of what has become one of the Kingdom’s most infamous political killings in recent years.

As outrage mounted in the days following Chea Vichea’s death, police arrested two men – Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun – and charged them with the killing. They were convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison at a 2005 trial that was widely derided for failing to meet international standards.

Chea Vichea’s family has insisted since the arrest of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun that the pair are not responsible for the crime, a claim that came closer to vindication last year when the Supreme Court ordered their release after almost five years in prison, pending a new trial.

Interviews with the men’s friends and relatives in the documentary corroborate their claims that they were nowhere near the crime scene at the time of the murder.

Chea Mony, who has taken his older brother’s place as president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, threatened earlier this year to organise a strike if the government did not make progress in the case. He maintains that Chea Vichea was murdered because of his status as a union leader, and expressed doubt that the truth of what happened will ever come to light.

“I think there is no chance to find justice for Chea Vichea under the current government – I have no belief at all,” Chea Mony said Wednesday. “Is it the government’s will to find the killers, or is a powerful person involved in this murder?”

Although Chea Mony had not yet seen the film himself – Cox says plans for international distribution are still in development – he said relatives in the US had told him it presented a “frightful” depiction of Cambodian politics.

“This is not a tale – it is a true story,” Chea Mony said. “This film just wants to inform other countries, particularly free, democratic countries, that we can have no confidence in the Cambodian justice system.”

In August, the Appeal Court announced a new investigation in Chea Vichea’s case and said that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are to remain free until a verdict is handed down. Appeal Court deputy president Choun Sunleng said Wednesday that investigation duties have been dispatched to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Court President Chiv Keng said that an investigation is in progress, but declined to comment further.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Chea Mony was entitled to express his views on the case, though he noted that the investigation of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun is ongoing.

“If he does not believe [the investigation], it’s up to him,” Khieu Sopheak said of Chea Mony. “Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun’s release is temporary – it is not final.”

Fatal consequences

Though the website for Who Killed Chea Vichea? touts the film as “a highly charged murder mystery”, Cox said viewers expecting a straightforward whodunnit story will be disappointed.

“In making the movie, I was never particularly interested in finding out who actually pulled the trigger,” Cox wrote in an email on Wednesday.

“I was much more interested in who was behind the murder and who gave the OK. Based on the evidence and reasonable deduction, I think the movie goes a long way in answering this.”

Though the film makes no direct accusations about Chea Vichea’s death, it paints a damning picture of law enforcement under Prime Minister Hun Sen, portraying former national police chief Hok Lundy and former municipal police chief Heng Pov as the government’s ruthless enforcers.

“When they needed a job done, Hok Lundy would call men like Heng Pov to a meeting,” one anonymous former police official tells Cox. The man says he committed “many” murders on Heng Pov’s orders, and adds: “Afterwards, we’d feed the corpse to the crocodiles.”

An anonymous former government official tells Cox that the judiciary is controlled in similarly hierarchical fashion.

“There isn’t a single judge who is independent.... If a judge makes a decision on his own, the consequences could be fatal,” the official says.

In footage from a press conference held shortly after Chea Vichea’s murder, Heng Pov briefs reporters on the status of the investigation, identifying the owner of the Wat Lanka newsstand as the only witness in the case before catching himself and hastily ordering reporters not to write about her.

“If you want to help Chea Vichea, don’t mention the news seller,” Heng Pov says.

That woman, Va Sothy, has since stated publicly that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun look nothing like the two men she saw commit the murder. She now lives in the United States after being granted asylum – Chea Vichea’s wife and family have successfully sought asylum in Finland – and she tells Cox that the presence of a man on a mobile phone near the crime scene – suspected by onlookers to be an undercover police officer – suggested to her official involvement.

“I heard him say, ‘The work is done,’” Va Sothy says.

Unbowed by threats

Cox said he hopes the film, which premiered last month in the US at the Frederick Film Festival in Maryland, will be broadcast in the US and other countries later this year. Considering its politically charged content, he was not optimistic that the Cambodian government would allow him to distribute the film here, though he said he hopes residents of the Kingdom eventually have access to it.

In its early moments, Who Killed Chea Vichea? contains footage from an interview with its titular figure. With his slight build and nasal voice, he does not make for an intimidating presence, but his resolve is clear as he describes the history of death threats against him.

“I think they want to kill me because of my experience in the past,” Chea Vichea says, adding: “I’m not afraid. If I’m afraid, it’s like I die.”

PM says Kingdom ready to fight terror

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha and Irwin Loy

CAMBODIA is prepared to send trained counterterrorism police abroad to fight global threats, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday, a statement that drew praise from international partners even as they expressed concern about Cambodia’s own “porous borders”.

Speaking at the opening of the new headquarters for the secretariat of the National Counterterrorism Committee (NCTC), the premier said Cambodian personnel are ready to cooperate with other countries as part of joint operations to fight terrorism.

“If necessary, Cambodian forces could join in operations with international partners in fighting against terrorism. Cambodia is ready to join in all operations,” Hun Sen said.

“The government of Cambodia considers terrorism to be most cruel; it causes the deaths of all races of human beings.”

Cambodian police officials have received counterterrorism training in recent years, but so far have not participated in specific operations. Hun Sen compared such a step to Cambodian armed forces’ demonstrated willingness to participate in United Nations-led peacekeeping missions.

Hun Sen also called on authorities to boost training in counterterrorism measures as well as efforts to prevent domestic attacks, though he acknowledged that the Kingdom is not considered a “major destination” for such strikes.

“Cambodia is prepared to fight against terrorism for the protection of the Cambodian people,” he said.

Hun Sen’s comments provide further evidence of his continued public eagerness to participate in international counterterrorism efforts.

But although the premier’s focus on terrorism may be worthwhile, said one analyst, it remains unclear whether it can be truly effective, or if it is designed merely to solicit the approval of the international community.

“On one hand, I’m not sure how effective these measures will be, whether the money is going to be well spent,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. “There tends to be a lot more form than substance in Cambodia, and this could be one example.”

And Cambodia’s interest in counterterrorism may not stem solely from a fear of specific threats, suggested a report released last year by RAND, a US think tank.

“Cambodia has been an eager US partner in the global war on terror, an engagement that is motivated less by any inherent concern about the threats posed by international terrorism and more by a desire to reintegrate the state into the international community,” the report stated.

The Kingdom’s “ardent” support, the report notes, has been rewarded with the inflow of hundreds of thousands of dollars in US Department of Defence funding.

‘Minimal’ threats

Although Cambodia possesses “many of the attributes of a terrorist-friendly nation”, including lax border control and corruption, international threats in the country remain “minimal”, the report stated.

This has been attributed to Cambodia’s willingness to crack down on suspected extremists while taking care not to trigger backlashes in disaffected communities.

However, the report warned that the Kingdom remains hindered by “pervasive and endemic corruption”, unimplemented legislation on money laundering and a poorly financed financial investigation unit.

“Until these gaps are addressed, Cambodia will remain susceptible as a potential springboard for harbouring and facilitating terrorist ... designs,” the report stated.

However, representatives from foreign embassies whose governments have been involved in training Cambodian forces on Wednesday welcomed what they saw as a sign of commitment to improving counterterrorism measures.

“Terrorism is a threat throughout the world,” Fiona Cochaud, deputy head of mission for the Australian embassy, said in a statement.

“The Australian Government welcomes Cambodia’s commitment to strengthening its capacity to deter and manage the threat of international terrorism.”

US authorities also welcomed Hun Sen’s stance, though they noted that domestic concerns remain.

“The Cambodian government has been a strong partner in terms of counterterrorism,” US Embassy spokesman John Johnson said in a statement. “Cambodia’s porous borders are a concern not just for terrorism but also in terms of transnational crime and narcotics trafficking. We are therefore engaged with the Royal Government at all levels to help strengthen Cambodia’s maritime and land border security.”

Police Blotter: 22 Apr 2010

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:01 Sen David

FIANCÉE DISAPPEARS ON WEDDING DAY

A 52-year-old Cambodian-American man is desperately searching for his intended wife following her mysterious disappearance on the day the happy couple was to wed. The man reported his fiancée missing Sunday in Battambang town. The man told police he came from abroad to marry his Khmer sweetheart because he loves her very much and she agreed to get hitched. But the woman somehow disappeared Sunday. Police speculated that the woman must have been robbed or forcibly taken away by someone, somewhere. Police are on the case.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

DECORATING MISHAP LEAVES MAN DEAD

A man has died after he was electrocuted while trying to set up festive lights for a family party. The 27-year-old man’s mother said her son was decorating the house in anticipation of the shindig. But he died after touching some lights, and his mother speculated that her son’s hand must have been wet when he touched an electric wire. Battambang police said the man was careless for touching the wire after it had rained and the land was soaked with water. The man’s family tried to rush him to hospital, but doctors could not save his life.

DEUM AMPIL

RAPE VICTIM WANTS CASH FROM ACCUSED

A 20-year-old woman who said she was the victim of rape has demanded US$2,500 in compensation from her accused assailant. Police in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district said the suspect admitted to raping the woman, telling them that he loved the victim, but that the victim’s family did not love him, so he decided to rape her. The victim’s friend said the victim was a factory worker whose roommate was out the day she was assaulted. The friend said she helped the woman file a complaint to police.

DEUM AMPIL

MAN SHOOTS SELF TO PREVENT ARREST

A 32-year-old man accused of theft killed himself with his own gun when cornered by police, officials in Kampong Cham reported. Police said they received a complaint from a local woman that the accused thief had stolen her motorbike and escaped. Police caught up to the suspect and intended to arrest him. But the man, seeing that he had nowhere to go, pulled a gun and fired on himself. He died at the scene. Police said the man was “very clever” because he had managed to rob and steal several times. The person who filed a complaint to police said the man robbed her at gunpoint. Her motorbike has been returned.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Family says police shot young man on purpose

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:03 Mom Kunthear

THE family of a 22-year-old man who died from bullet wounds sustained during an altercation with police last week in Kampong Cham province has filed a complaint with two rights groups alleging that the officers shot at him intentionally.

Ham Kim Yory, 28, the older sister of the victim, Ham Vanda, said the complaints were filed with Adhoc and Licadho on Wednesday.

“They shot my brother three times for no reason while he was sitting in front of the house with his wife and friends. The two police came and accused my brother of stealing a necklace,” Ham Kim Yory said. She said her brother had denied the theft.

She said she knew of witnesses who would support her version of events, but Prack Bun Nun, the police chief of Ponhea Krek district, where the shooting occurred, said Ham Vanda had struggled with the officers, causing the gun to fire.

“Actually, my police didn’t want to shoot him, but the gun was triggered one time and the bullet entered his neck while the victim tried to fight to get the gun from the police,” he said. He added that the police had been tipped off that Ham Vanda stole the necklace.

“The courts can find justice and decide which side is right,” he said.

Neang Sovath, the provincial coordinator for Adhoc, said one way to solve the case would be to examine Ham Vanda’s body to determine whether he had been shot three times, as his family contends, or just once.

A complaint has not yet been filed with the provincial court, he said.

Ly Yong Phat given land in national park

Ly Yong Phat

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha

THE government has granted more than 4,000 hectares of protected national park land in Koh Kong province to an agriculture company owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, who has been at the centre of several land disputes stemming from controversial land concessions.

In accordance with a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and dated March 12, Ly Yong Phat’s company, the LYP Group, has been given a 10,000-hectare Koh Kong land concession, 4,100 hectares of which cuts into Botum Sakor National Park.

Ly Yong Phat confirmed Wednesday that he had received the concession, but said he had not yet finalised development plans for the site.

The senator’s companies have previously been awarded concessions in Koh Kong, Kampong Speu and Oddar Meanchey provinces that have led to fights with villagers who accused the companies of impinging on their land.

In Koh Kong and Oddar Meanchey, those concessions led to mass evictions, and villagers in Kampong Speu are currently embroiled in a dispute with Ly Yong Phat’s Phnom Penh Sugar Company.

Ny Chakrya, head of monitoring for the rights group Adhoc, said the decision to grant the senator another concession was inappropriate in light of the ongoing dispute in Kampong Speu’s Thpong district.

“The concessions are meant to develop and help the people, but we see that many people have suffered from the concessions,” Ny Chakrya said.

Mathieu Pellerin, a consultant for the rights group Licadho, said national parks are supposed to be protected, but that protected areas had been opened up by other recent land concessions. In February, for example, Hun Sen granted 1,650 hectares of Ream National Park in Preah Sihanouk province to the Hong Kong Research Investment and Development Consulting Group.

Nhil Thun, director of Botum Sakor National Park, could not be reached Wednesday, and provincial Environment Department Director Kao Sinthuon said he didn’t know about the Koh Kong concession.

Sen Sok residents demonstrate against drainage project plans

Photo by: Sovan Philong

A spray-painted marking shows the area that must be cleared to make way for a drainage project in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district, which residents say could affect the homes of 600 families.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

MORE than 100 residents of Sen Sok district’s Phnom Penh Thmei commune on Wednesday gathered outside the Phnom Penh residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen to protest plans for a drainage system that they said could affect the homes of some 600 families.

A representative of the protesters also handed a complaint signed by 129 residents to Nov Ra, an official in Hun Sen’s cabinet.

The protest was staged after local authorities brought bulldozers to the site, leading residents to suspect that work on the drainage system would begin soon.

Yim Sokhom, 58, one of the protesters, said the project – which is set to widen the road by 35 metres – would lead to the partial destruction of some homes and the total destruction of others, and that no compensation had been offered.

“We are very worried because the authorities brought the bulldozers and spayed red spraypaint on our houses and said they would make the drainage system,” Yim Sokhom said.

Sok Gech, another protester, said residents had asked authorities to widen the road by only 15 metres, adding: “We need justice from the prime minister, because only he can help.”

Nov Ra could not be reached.

Khoung Sreng, Sen Sok district governor, said the drainage system would curb flooding resulting from heavy rains, and that the families had built their homes on public land, meaning they would not be entitled to compensation.

Influenza: Bird flu death confirmed by government

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 Cheang Sokha

Influenza

A 27-year-old man from Prey Veng province’s Kampong Leav district died late last week after contracting the A(H5N1) virus, known as bird flu, officials said Wednesday. According to a press release issued by the Health Ministry and World Health Organisation, the man died on April 17 as a result of ‘‘respiratory complications’’ four days after he became ‘‘sick at home with high fever’’. His was the 10th confirmed human case of bird flu since the virus was first detected in Cambodia in 2004, and the eighth confirmed death. “Avian Influenza H5N1 is still a threat to the health of Cambodians,” Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said in Wednesday’s statement. “I urge communities to be on the lookout for sick poultry and report poultry die-offs to the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries hotlines, so that they can be investigated before people start to get sick.” Officials said in February that thousands of ducks and chickens in Takeo province had died from the disease, though no human cases were reported. Since 2003, there have been 494 confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans worldwide, with 293 deaths.

Police confiscate tuk-tuks due to ‘anarchic’ behaviour

Photo by: Sovan Philong
Tuk-tuks ride along Sisowath Quay near the Royal Palace on Wednesday.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 Chhay Channyda

DAUN Penh district police on Wednesday morning confiscated about 15 tuk-tuks that were parked along Sisowath Quay after accusing their owners of turning the vehicles into around-the-clock homes and engaging in “anarchic” behaviour, a district official said.

“We do not want them to park their tuk-tuks along Sisowath Quay, because it makes the road smaller and affects the feeling of tourists,” said deputy district governor Sok Penhvuth.

“They even hang mosquito nets on the tuk-tuks when they sleep. And they also play cards. It is anarchic. Those things affect the reputation of the city, so we have cleared them for public order,” he added.

Sok Penhvuth also said that district police had driven down Sisowath Quay shortly before Khmer New Year to inform drivers via loudspeaker that a crackdown was imminent.

He said the tuk-tuks would be held at the district office until their owners came for “education” and signed an agreement that they would not sleep on Sisowath Quay again.

However, Vann Sitha, one of the tuk-tuk drivers whose vehicle was confiscated, said the drivers hadn’t been sleeping along the riverside in the first place, and that police had taken the tuk-tuks without telling them what they had done wrong.

He said the police had confiscated a total of 27 tuk-tuks, all of which were parked on Street 108 when police arrived.

Vorn Pao, president of the Independent Democratic Informal Economy Association, a group that represents more than 3,000 motorcycle and car taxi drivers as well as tuk-tuk drivers in four provinces, said that drivers who do sleep in their vehicles generally don’t park along or near the riverside until the early hours of the morning, and that therefore they do not affect traffic or tourists.

“If this is an issue of public order, the authorities should forgive them because they do not sleep or park in the daytime. They are poor, so they work day and night,” Vorn Pao said.

Sok Penhvuth said that, as part of the effort to make Daun Penh district more appealing to tourists, authorities had on Wednesday also detained 40 “vagrants” and 14 “gangsters”.

Health complaints lead officials to close KCham battery plant

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 Tep Nimol

OFFICIALS in Kampong Cham province on Wednesday ordered the closure of a Memot district factory created to melt down batteries for the production of lead, after members of more than 100 families living nearby said pollution emitted by the factory had negatively affected their health, the governor of the district said Wednesday.

Chek Sa Om said local officials had met to discuss the matter on Wednesday and had decided to revoke the factory’s licence.

“More than 200 families from two nearby villages have been affected by the smog coming out of the furnace, which uses acid to melt batteries for lead—which produces an unpleasant smell,” he said. “Villagers requested that we stop that furnace from operating. We could not object to their request, so we decided to close it down.”

He said that public health experts had previously been sent to examine the factory’s furnace as well as the health of local villagers, and had determined that the furnace was emitting harmful pollutants.

“The furnace operators didn’t object to shutting down after we came to them with what we found, because they acknowledge that the smog they were producing was the cause of these problems,” he said.

Factory manager Bin Kea could not be reached Wednesday.

Chork Roth, one of the residents who complained to the government and NGOs, said local villagers had reported a wide range of health problems that they attributed to the factory, which began operating its furnace four months ago.

“The smog mingled with the air, which made villagers suffer from shortness of breath, tension in the chest, vomiting, skin allergies, stomach aches and diarrhea,” Chork Rath said. He added that residents had not reported these ailments with any regularity before the furnace began operating.

Neang Sovath, the Kampong Cham coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said his organisation had received requests from more than 100 families asking for assistance in shutting the furnace down.

He added: “Experts and all officials involved should be careful when considering issuing operating licences to any projects or companies because they could potentially harm the environment and the health of residents in a bad way.”

Officials no-show for land talks

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 May Titthara

OFFICIALS in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district failed to show up on Wednesday for a meeting scheduled with villagers involved in a land dispute with the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, exacerbating suspicisions that they are primarily interested in arriving at a resolution that favours the company.

On Tuesday, villagers from Omlaing commune met with officials including Deputy Provincial Governor Pen Sambou and Thpong District Governor Tuon Song to discuss setting boundaries between their farmland and land granted to the company, which is owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat.

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I am worried [the officials] tricked us to get our thumbprints.

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Media personality Soy Sopheap, a commentator on Bayon TV, took charge of the talks and ordered villagers to provide details about the size and location of their farmland, and then asked them to thumbprint a document.

Officials said they would return to the village on Wednesday to take information from villagers who failed to attend the first meeting, but by 4pm no officials had shown up.

San Tho said he and his fellow villagers are now concerned that officials will change the text of the document to make it look as though they agreed to sign away their land to the company. “I am worried they tricked us to get our thumbprints,” he said.

Ouch Leng, land programme officer for the rights group Adhoc, said he suspected that Tueday’s meeting had been “only an excuse to get the villagers to open National Road 52”, which they had blocked in protest since Monday.

Pen Sambou, Tuon Song and and Omlaing commune chief Hab Dam all declined to comment on Wednesday, and Ly Yong Phat could not be reached.