"Beauty Is A Burden," Tat Marina's Mother Says

Tat Marina, in a scene from the documentary, called "Finding Face".

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
18 March 2009

WATCH VIDEO, click here.

A new documentary exploring the impact of acid attacks premiered Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at a film festival and human rights forum in Geneva, raising questions of impunity that persist in Cambodia.

“Finding Face” investigates acid attacks through the story of victim Tat Marina, a karaoke star who was doused with a liter of nitric acid allegedly by the jealous wife of a senior government official.

Tat Marina was attacked on December 5, 1999, while she was having porridge with her niece at a Phnom Penh market.

Nearly 10 years have passed, but her older brother, Tat Sequndo, continues to encourage his sister to seek justice for the attack.

Tat Marina performed in a Cambodian karaoke, before the acid attack.

“I asked her to come forward to find justice for herself, because she is the victim, not me. I always told her to find justice for the country, the people, and for herself," Tat Sequndo says in the documentary.

Tat Marina appears more calm and mature in the film, a contrast to the mischievous face she put on in her performances some 10 years ago. Despite several reconstructive surgeries, scars are visible on her face and chest. These are what she has to live with for the rest of her life.

In the documentary, Tat Marina’s family expressed disappointment when they saw video footage shown to them by Tat Sequndo. It is the first time they have seen her picture in the more than eight years since Tat Marina was given asylum and received treatment in the US.

The footage left her older sister, Srey Pou, speechless and in shock. Meanwhile, Tat Marina's mother believes that beauty is a curse.

"She's not beautiful as before," Tat Marina's mother says, weeping as she watches the video.

“She was a beautiful girl. She was too beautiful. It’s a burden. Mom feels so sorry for you, it’s breaking my heart,” she said.

Tat Marina says in the documentary she is coming to terms with what happened to her.“My family, I don't want anything to happen to them. Right now, I’m not scared no more, because she already got what she wanted,” she says.

The film features Tat Marina and her child at about four years of age, though the identity of the father is not revealed.

“If I could make it, we will have a family life. The mummy and the son together in a happy family. Everyone wish for (a) happy ending. I know that it is only a dream, but sometime dreams do come true,” she says.

Svey Sitha, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, could not be reached for comments.

The acid attack topic caught producer Skye Fitzgerald’s attention while he worked on another film in Cambodia. When he and his team started working on the movie, he saw a mixture of fear and reluctance. For instance, it took Tat Marina and her brother a while before they agreed to participate, fearing reprisal.

In the documentary, Tat Sequndo is heard telling family members to watch for their safety, and he gives them phone numbers of international organizations in case of possible threats.

“This is who we met with. When there is a problem, contact these places: UN Center for Human Rights, the US Embassy, the Cambodia Daily and LICADHO. When there is a problem with threats, because they may know what we are doing,” he says.

Tat Marina’s former lover, Svay Sitha, has now been promoted from the rank of undersecretary of state at the Council of Ministers. He could not be reached for comment on the film.

Tat Marina with her son, says he givers her courage to move on with her life.

His two telephone numbers were answered by two different females saying they did not know him; a third number went unanswered.Svay Sitha’s wife, Khun Sophal, identified by witnesses at the scene of the 1999 attack, remains at large, despite police affirmation that the case is not yet closed.

An investigating judge who once told reporters an arrest warrant had been issued for Khun Sophal now says he can’t remember whether he handled the case.

This documentary, "Finding Face", confronts us with injustice, despair, and sympathetic to Tat Marina's, who is now just beginning to pick up the broken pieces, while trying to leave her history behind, and moving forward into the future of her life with her son.

US Neutral in Border Dispute: Official

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 March 2009

A US State Department official told a group international relations students that the US remains neutral in the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

Stephen Blake, the State Department director of the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia, who is on a three-day visit to Cambodia, was addressing questions by students of the Institute of International Relations at the Cambodian Royal Academy.

“We know there is an issue over the border between these two countries, and we have told the Thais and we have told [Cambodia] that …both sides should meet and to talk about it and to try to solve it peacefully,” he said. “I don’t think you have to worry about the US intervening in any way, or doing something on behalf of one side or another.”

Cambodian and Thai troops remain in a standoff at the border near Preah Vihear temple, with both sides claiming a piece of the border nearby.

Both sides have failed to bring a resolution in rounds of negotiations. Border committees on both sides will meet in Phnom Penh April 6 and April 7 for more talks.

“If we agree, we can dispatch specialists for demarcating the Preah Vihear area,” Cambodian Border Committee Chairman Var Kimhong told VOA Khmer Wednesday. “We wish for the Thai side to have the will to solve the problem.”

Negotiations have broken down in the past because Thailand continues to adhere to a map drawn up with the US Army in the 1960s, but Cambodia follows a map drawn during the French colonial period, in the early 1900s.

Military officials on the border said Wednesday the situation remains quiet.

EU Election Experts to Help Committee

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 March 2009

The European Commission is providing two technical experts to the National Election Committee in order to strengthen the agency for national elections in 2012.

Alexandre Castanias, a media and communications advisor, and Eric des Pallieres, a complaint and procedural advisor, joined the NEC Wednesday, the agency said in a statement.

The two will help the government body “in both legal affairs and media affairs” Rafael Dochao Moreno, charges d’affaires of the European Commission Cambodia mission, told reporters after penning an agreement with the NEC Wednesday.

Cambodia is preparing for district- and provincial-level elections in May, but the two experts, who are expected to stay through the end of 2009, will mostly help the NEC prepare for national elections in 2012.

“The two experts will be working with the NEC and will help as media or public relations and will help us make legal reports following international standards,” NEC Chairman Im Soursdey said Wednesday.

Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay, of the Sam Rainsy Party, welcomed the experts, but said he did not expect them to change the NEC’s system, which he called biased toward the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Son Chhay appealed for the European Commission to help the NEC hold elections that are free and fair.

“The NEC system needs more experts from foreign countries, such as the European Union, to train in the technical system or reporting,” Hang Puthea, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said. “This is lucky, that the EU provided two experts to the NEC.”

He said he hoped in the upcoming election NEC’s election system would change.

Local Banks at Risk, Top Institutes Warn

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

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund both warn that three of Cambodia’s nine largest banks are at risk of succumbing to the global financial crisis and a national recession.

Neither institution will name the banks in question, but both say new economic conditions in global finance have weakened Cambodia’s highly dollarized banking system.

Cambodia’s banks are at risk from a liquidity shortage, the slowdown of deposit growth and a rise in non-performing loans.

Since September 2008, shortly after the global financial crisis, bank deposit growth slowed significantly, turning negative, the report says, while large withdrawals have reportedly been made by firms concentrated in the property sector.

John Nelmes, IMF’s representative in Cambodia, told VOA Khmer in an interview Thursday that several of Cambodia’s banks are at risk. The banks are among the country’s nine largest, which together control nearly 90 percent of deposits.

“The risk in the banking system is now higher than previously,” Nelmes said. “The banking system is coming under increasing strain.”

The World Bank’s report shows similar concerns.

The report, received by VOA Khmer on Thursday, points out that growth in credit has been largely directed at consumption, working capital and real estate, but less at fixed investment.

“The rapid growth of credit for real estate development and construction represents even more risks,” the World Bank report says. “A fall in property prices could create problems for the involved banks, some of which already have high NPLs [non-performing loans].”

“The concentration of NPLs in two banks is also a major concern,” the report warns, without naming the banks.

“Our recent report indicated our general concern about non-performing loans in the financial sector,” Stephane Gimberk, senior economist expert of the World Bank, told VOA by email. “We feel it is critical for the central bank to deepen its efforts at bank supervision.”

Tal Nay Im, Director of the National Bank of Cambodia, agreed with the concern. But she claimed that the central bank has been paying much attention to all financial institutions. She said she was optimistic that Cambodia’s banks are in a good standing.

Some of Cambodia’s top banking executives say they remain in good shape.

Acleda CEO In Channy, ANZ Royal CEO Stephen Higgin and Canadia Bank Vice President Chhor Vann all claimed their banks were stable.

Japan Gives Loan for Water Supply

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 March 2009

The Japanese government provided more than $35 million in low-interest loans to Cambodia Wednesday, to support construction projects for a new water supply station in Phnom Penh.

The need for a new station was driven by an increasing demand for water in Phnom Penh due to the increase in population and commercial properties, the Japanese Embassy said in a statement.

The water supply station will be constructed under the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, in Niroth sangkat, Meanchey district, increasing the water supply for 470,000 people, the embassy said.

Wednesday’s deal was signed by Japanese Ambassador Katsuhiro Shinohara and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

“This loan is very important for Cambodia to develop the water supply in Phnom Penh,” Hor Namhong told reporters after the signing. “The people are increasing in Phnom Penh, and they need water supply, to avoid the spread of various diseases.”

Japan promised to continue to provide aid to Cambodia for development, even though Japan is meeting an economic crisis, he added.

Wednesday’s loan was a first for water supply in Cambodia. Japan gave Cambodia $67 million in grants in the 1990s to improve Phnom Penh’s water supply. It gave more than $14 million in grants in 2000 to improve Siem Reap water.

Japan also announced Wednesday a grant of $5.5 million to the Cambodian Mine Action Committee, to help clear landmines in the northwest.

A coming of age for Cambodian artists

"Prison Guard," by Leang Seckon is one of the works on display in a Hong Kong exhibition of contemporary Cambodian art at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery. (10 Chancery Lane Gallery)

International Herald Tribune

By Alexandra A. Seno
Published: March 18, 2009

HONG KONG: In this crucial year for Cambodia, a show in Hong Kong — entitled "Forever Until Now: Contemporary Art from Cambodia," and running until April 25 — is a rare and thoughtful cultural survey exploring the country's journey from tragedy to hope, seen through the evolution of its art.

The show, at the 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, along with several other events, mark a turning point for an international affirmation of Cambodian artistic life today. In December Cambodian artists will be represented for the first time at the sixth Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Australia, and a few weeks before, the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial in Japan will again showcase the Southeast Asian nation.

As the United Nations conducts its trials in Phnom Penh to seek justice for atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge, it seemed fitting — though it was not deliberately timed — that the international art world should be giving special recognition and visibility to Cambodia now. Under Pol Pot's rule in the 1970s, up to a fifth of the population of eight million perished — including 90 percent of the country's artists.

Because organizers are playing down the commercial side of the art, the Hong Kong show is left to focus more on the themes present in Cambodia life.

The gallery's owner, Katie de Tilly, worked as a fund-raiser with Médécins Sans Frontières and visited Thai refugee camps holding Cambodians in the 1990s.

The exhibit takes over the Chancery's Central District gallery and a space in the Chai Wan factory building, 25 minutes away by taxi. "Forever" features video, photography, painting, sculpture and installations by 14 of Cambodia's most important artists. It has something for everyone: decorative, serious, escapist and sophisticated.

"When I went to visit in June, I could feel Cambodian art was at the beginning of something," said de Tilly, and so she decided to document it. A longtime Hong Kong resident, she represents luminaries like Huang Rui, a leader of China's 1980s avant-garde movement, and the American painter Julian Schnabel.

At about the same time Russell Storer, the contemporary Asian art curator at the Queensland Art Gallery, a government museum that organizes the Asia Pacific Triennial, took his own research trip to Cambodia, and came back "very excited about the artists," he had met, he said. "Forever" includes the three artists selected by Mr. Storer for Brisbane.

Erin Gleeson, an American historian of Asian art who lives in Cambodia, curated the Chancery exhibit, conscious that it needed to go beyond what she called "the two Ts" — temples and trauma — that most people reflexively associate with the nation. Though those themes provide a starting point for some of the pieces, making them accessible, Ms. Gleeson keeps it all interesting by highlighting the merit and context of each work.

At the entrance of the main gallery, to set the mood, she hung "Pray for Peace," an eerie but optimistic 2008 oil-on-canvas by Vann Nath portraying Cambodians worshiping under a stormy sky. Now very ill and in his 60s, Mr. Vann Nath is one of only seven survivors of Tuol Sleng, the notorious camp where Pol Pot's functionaries killed up to 20,000 people.

Next to the piece, on a continuous loop, is "S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine," the 2003 multi-award-winning documentary on Tuol Sleng, by a film festival favorite, Rithy Panh. The painting is for sale for 55,000 Hong Kong dollars, or about $7,100; the video is not, though it is widely available from DVD retailers.

Seven paintings by the late Svay Ken (from 75,000 to 100,000 Hong Kong dollars) occupy a place of honor in the Chai Wan gallery. They are scenes from daily life, made in the naïve, folk style for which he became known. Mr. Storer, who chose him for the triennial, said that "Svay Ken was a senior painter, self-taught, who lived through the turbulent history of the country and represented it through his work." He died in December at age 75. "Forever" also includes three amateurly rendered canvases by his 25-year-old granddaughter, Ouk Sochivy, who only began painting last year.

Back in Central, four colorful collages by Leang Seckon, who was born in 1974, are memorable for their crowd-pleasing appeal. Leang Seckon is the best-known artist of his generation, and Cambodians recognize him for his art collaborations with a 1960s pop icon named Dy Saveth, as well as for his solitary work. In "Prison Guard," he narrates the life of Duch, the man in charge of Tuol Sleng who, while awaiting trial, converted to Christianity and became the only Khmer Rouge leader to publicly repent.

Perhaps the Hong Kong show's most intriguing work — though not for sale — is by Than Sok, born in 1984. He constructs houses out of bright yellow incense sticks as installations, and then burns them, a commentary on how people become disposable commodities — once to the Khmer Rouge, now to eviction enforcers and factories.

Ms. Gleeson estimates that there are only 40 working artists in Cambodia and that this is a special, nearly innocent, moment in time because they seem to make things almost purely out of a need to express themselves. "There is no art market because this is just the beginning. Artists do not produce for the market," she said.

Yet validation happens. Sopheap Pich was born in Battambang in 1969 and left Cambodia after 1975, passing through a Thai refugee camp. His family resettled in the United States, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, finishing a Master of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999.

Returning to Cambodia in 2003, he switched to sculpture. His rattan and bamboo pieces made an impact among the video and high-concept installations at the prestigious Best of Discovery section at Shanghai's "SHContemporary" art fair in 2008. Mr. Sopheap Pich was chosen for Fukuoka and Brisbane this year. He is also finishing a commission for a university in Saudi Arabia and preparing for a November solo exhibit at the Tyler Rollins Fine Art gallery in New York.

Ms. Gleeson credits him for helping raise international interest in Cambodian culture. "Sopheap is an icon for the younger artists," she said. Childhood memories of woven local baskets and handcrafted toys inspire works made out of natural materials, like "Cycle" and "The Duel." Yet he employs a very contemporary approach Storer called a "highly sophisticated yet a deeply grounded response to place and personal experience."

Vandy Rattana, another artist in the show, has a series of large, documentary photographs of a Phnom Penh slum as it burned down last April. Of his art, he said simply, "I need to tell a story."

Before financial bubbles and busts, this was the reason artists lived — for art's sake.

Recently found manuscript of late Cambodian Buddhist monk speaks of terror by Khmer Rouge

The Buddhist Channel

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS
Associated Press
March 16, 2009

LOWELL, Massachusetts -- For years, Ly Van Aggadipo was a spiritual mentor to many Cambodian refugees in this old mill city, guiding followers at the Glory Buddhist Temple through family troubles, work problems and recurring nightmares from the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.

But his own internal struggles with the Khmer Rouge era remained a mystery, and those who knew him say he rarely spoke of his desperate flight from war-torn Cambodia.

Then, soon after his death last year, friends found a collection of the monk's poetry tucked under stacks of old Buddhist texts. On worn pages were handwritten, carefully crafted poems describing his memories of labor camps — infant executions, starvation and dreams of escaping to America.

Now followers are seeking to publish the poetry, even as the discovery of this vivid historical record of the atrocities has reopened for many a painful time in their own lives that they still have not reconciled.

"It put us in tears again," said Samkhann Khoeun, 45, who studied under Ly Van. "We couldn't believe it. When I read (the work), it was so vivid. It refreshed the memory."

Everyone knew the basics of Ly Van's life, Khoeun said. "But we didn't know the details and no one ever asked. He was so busy helping us," Khoeun said.

Born in 1917 in a small Cambodian village, Ly Van and his family lived through the 1970s rule of the Khmer Rouge regime, which perpetrated one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. An estimated 1.7 million people died from starvation, disease and executions due to the radical policies of the communist group. According to the temple's biography of Ly Van, he was forced to work on farms and public projects for 14 hours a day. It was during this time that the monk witnessed mass executions and large-scale starvation.

In early 1979 when Vietnamese soldiers invaded Cambodia, Ly Van and thousands of others fled to Thailand through dangerous terrain and later ended up in Lowell. Today some 20,000 Cambodians reside in or around the city, making it second only to Long Beach, California, for the largest number of Cambodians living in the United States.

In Lowell, Ly Van helped establish the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, and he led the Glory Buddhist Temple from 1988 until his death in January 2008.

Khoeun and others found the manuscript just days after Ly Van's body was cremated.

In one translated verse, Ly Van writes about how he and other refugees fled to Thailand by traveling through treacherous mountains packed with thieves and land mines. It was a well-known trek where Thai soldiers pushed refugees over cliffs at gunpoint while those fleeing tumbled over each other trying to escape. Ly Van wrote:

"Surrounded by corpses as we walked, slept and ate; an unbearably foul smell

"Emanated from the swollen, rotten bodies, most of which were missing limbs and heads."

He also wrote of the conditions of a refugee camp in Thailand where women were raped, men were frequently beaten and families faced filthy living facilities.

"...we had to sleep on the bare concrete floor, like animals

"Dirty water and stench-filled raw sewage floated everywhere

"We were swarmed by mosquitoes constantly, resulting in rashes all over our bodies."

Kowith Kret, whose parents were executed by the Khmer Rouge, said it was hard to read the monk's account because it brought back the past. "But it is the fact," said Kret, who also studied under Ly Van. "People have to accept the experience they've been through."

George Chigas, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell who has seen copies of the poems, said the monk wrote in a rare 11-syllable meter style that is more than 1,000 years old in Cambodian literature. "It showed great devotion to cultural tradition and, at the same time, tries to preserve something that had been lost," Chigas said.

That's important, Chigas said, especially since the Khmer Rouge regime burned old texts and killed scores of writers and artists.

He compared Ly Van's writing to Loung Ung's memoir, "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers," as an act of "trying to put old demons to rest."

So far more than half of Ly Van's poems have been translated from Khmer to English, Khoeun said. Members of the Glory Buddhist Temple are selling a CD of Ly Van's work read in Khmer and expect the rest of the manuscript to be translated by the end of the year. They also are aiming to raise $40,000 to get 5,000 bilingual copies published by April 2010.

So far, two publishers in Cambodia have expressed interest and the group still is searching for a U.S. publisher.

After reading the poems, Khoeun said, he and other refugees have more questions for Ly Van. Questions, such as, when did he have time to write? What was life like in a refugee camp right before coming to America? And how many late relatives of the refugees did Ly Van know?

"He knew my grandfather who died right when I was born. I never asked him about that," Khoeun said. "I guess I always took him for granted."

Christians Fighting Cambodian Sex Trade

By Lucille Talusan
CBN News Southeast Asia Correspondent
March 18, 2009

CBNNews.com - With the global recession affecting Cambodia, humanitarian workers say that more young women are being victimized and trapped into human trafficking and prostitution.

The capital city, Phnom Penh, has 20 percent of the trafficked sex workers. Christians are working together to help the victims and end the sex trade industry.

On a late afternoon a Cambodian girl easily initiatied friendly conversation with foreign strangers.

Vanthat,10, said that French men often come to Cambodia to talk to the children.

She said sometimes those same kids disappear as possible victims of the sex-trafficking industry.

The Riverside is a favorite tourist spot in Phnom Penh but it is also a hotspot for peodophiles and human traffickers because many children roam around begging and selling flowers.

United Nations Report

The U.N. says 200 to 500 Cambodian women from the provinces are trafficked every month into the capital city and neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

Children as young as 4-years-old account for 35 percent of the victims. Many are afraid to speak up about their plight.

Ros Heng, national facilitator of the Chabdai Coalition, a Christian network of 20 organizations committed to ending sex abuse and trafficking, said the children find it easier to lie.

"Even though they are victimized they don't tell the truth. These men come to them, touch them and give them money. If they tell the truth and men are arrested, they lose the income," Heng said.

According to Ros, most of the child victims come from very poor families in the provinces. He said some are sold as many as five times over, and for as little as $300.

Charya,15, not her real name, lost her mother when she was seven-years-old, because no one took care of them. She was sold by her aunt to the brothel along with her 4-year-old sister.

"They locked us in a room and forced us to watch pornography so we would know what to do. If we refused they would electrocute us," Charya said.

Christian Groups Helping Victims

Charya and her sister were rescued after four years. Traumatized children like Charya are helped and given a home by the Chabdai Coalition.

Another Christian group committed to helping sex trade victims is Hagar International.

Emelita Goddard, Hagard's senior manager, described the abuse suffered by a young victim.

"In Thailand she said she didn't know she had to service ten men per day. She was 10-years-old. She ran away when she was 14-years-old. She had to service so many men just to pay her way to Cambodia. By the time we have her she was almost 18," Goddard said.

Such a dreadful story is common to most trafficked victims. At Hagar, the abused women are placed under the organization's holistic program.

The ministry provides not only counseling, but also equips women to earn a living outside the sex trade. Most of the girls are employed in Hagar-run enterprises such as the soya factory, crafts and garments, and a catering business and restaurant.

Eternal Hope

The women are also finding an eternal hope.

"They said before we have never heard about the God who cares. When we have problems we never ask someone to help us but this time when we have problems we prayed and Jesus answered us," Goddard added.

Leoum,15, was sold by a trusted family member to the brothel when she was 13-years-old. After her rescue, she was placed under the after care program of the Hagar children's department.

Her drawing at the Hagar children's department illustrates not only her life but that of the many children and young women who have found hope through the different Christian organizations committed to help victims like them.

"In this picture, the mud is my life in the past. The lotus grows up from the mud just like my life when I am saved and brought to live in Hagar. So my life starts blooming and becomes beautiful again," Leoum said.

S. Korean Investment in Cambodia down by 25 pct in 2008

2009-03-18

Xinhua
Web Editor: Cao Jie

The South Korean investment in Cambodia fell by 25 percent in 2008 over 2007, as the investors' pockets became contracted over the global financial crisis, national media said on Wednesday.

The South Korean investment in Cambodia fell by 25 percent in 2008 over 2007, as the investors' pockets became contracted over the global financial crisis, national media said on Wednesday.

The amount of investment in 2009 was expected to further go down by 58 percent over 2008, Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News quoted South Korean Embassy official Lee Sang Kwang as saying.

In 2008, the registered South Korean investment in Cambodia stood at 1.25 billion U.S. dollars, but only 473 million U.S. dollars was actually poured into the kingdom for a variety of projects, he said.

In 2007, the investors channeled 629 million U.S. dollars into Cambodia for their projects, he added.

"We have found that many South Korean investing companies faced their hard times, so most of them suspended their projects here," he said.

They could not manipulate their capital in South Korea as easily as before, and then became unable to invest more in overseas countries, including Cambodia, he added.

South Korea used to the third largest investing country in Cambodia, right after China and Japan, according to official figures.

Khmer Rouge tribunal must have autonomy

UPI (United Press Internationa, Asia)

By Lao Mong Hay
Column: Rule by Fear
Published: March 18, 2009

Hong Kong, China — It took the Cambodian government and the United Nations almost 10 years to agree on a U.N.-assisted tribunal under Cambodian jurisdiction to try leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime for their crimes. This tribunal – officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal – has a trial chamber and a Supreme Court chamber. Cambodian judges are the majority in both.

It also has two co-prosecutors, one Cambodian and the other international, and two co-investigating judges, again one Cambodian and the other international. The United Nations proposed the international judges and prosecutors for appointment by the Cambodian authorities

The tribunal was formed in May 2006 with the appointment of all judges and prosecutors. Not long after, it was hit by allegations that Cambodian court personnel, including judges, had to kick back a significant percentage of their wages to Cambodian government officials in exchange for their positions on the tribunal. The same allegations of kickbacks have been made again over recent months.

While neither the Cambodian nor the U.N. authorities have denied or confirmed these allegations, the tribunal is further facing a shortage of funds, as its original budget of US$56.3 million donated by the international community is about to run out. It needs an additional US$44.1 million for 2009, and the international community will not come forth with this new funding until it is confident of a corruption-free environment for the trials.

Another unwelcome development, which has been a serious concern right from the beginning and has now come to mar the tribunal’s credibility, is political interference. One foreign official reportedly told a visiting German delegation in November 2008 that the Cambodian government “tries to interfere in the work of the tribunal.” That delegation’s report says, “The government of Cambodia has already signaled that it will not allow for additional criminal investigations to be opened.”

These additional investigations came into the open when the tribunal made public a disagreement over them between the international and the Cambodian prosecutors. According to a tribunal statement dated Jan. 5, the international prosecutor, Robert Petit, wants to “open new judicial investigations against certain additional suspects.”

According to Petit, “There are reasons to believe that (1) the crimes described in those submissions were committed, (2) these crimes are within the jurisdiction of this Court, and (3) they should be investigated by the Co-Investigating Judges.” The same statement added that Petit “does not believe that such prosecutions would endanger Cambodia’s peace and stability.”

The same statement said that the Cambodian prosecutor, Chea Leang, “believes that these investigations should not proceed on account of Cambodia’s past instability and the continued need for national reconciliation, (2) the spirit of the agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Cambodia (“Agreement”) and the spirit of the law that established this Court (“ECCC Law”), and (3) the limited duration and budget of this Court.”

Chea Leang “feels that this Court should instead prioritize the trials of the five suspects already detained” and “maintains that this Court’s mandate can be adequately fulfilled by the prosecution of the suspects already detained,” the same statement added.

Following this disagreement, there was public support for additional investigations and concomitant criticism of Chea Leang’s disagreement. Though the names of additional suspects are not known, it has been suggested they could include those serving in the present government.

The Cambodian government objected to the additional investigations and sided with Chea Leang, who is known to be a deputy prime minister’s niece. On Feb. 24, referring to the continued recognition of the Khmer Rouge as the legitimate government of Cambodia after it was ousted, Prime Minister Hun Sen said, “The U.N. and countries that supported (Khmer Rouge Leader) Pol Pot to occupy (Cambodia’s) seat at the U.N. from 1979 to 1991 should be tried first … They should be sentenced more heavily than Pol Pot.” He acknowledged that their trial was not possible, however.

Later, on March 10, the government spokesman and Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith amplified his prime minister’s unhappiness with additional investigations and urged the tribunal to deal with the five suspects it had detained, accusing the tribunal’s foreign staff of dragging their feet so as to get more pay.

He said: “They have not even heard one case, yet they have created another. They are simply dragging their feet so as to receive more salaries. If they really want to push the process forward, when they have five cases at hand, they should hear these five cases first. When they have finished with them, then they can think of others.”

These reactions have confirmed the allegation that the Cambodian government is interfering in the tribunal’s work. By doing so, the Cambodian government has violated the principle of separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and the prosecutors’ exclusive power to prosecute, which are all enshrined in Cambodia’s Constitution.

It has also breached the ECCC Law, which gives the tribunal all power to bring to trial Khmer Rouge leaders and those most responsible for crimes committed in that specified period. It has further violated Article 20 of this law on the settlement of the difference between the co-prosecutors by a pre-trial chamber.

The government should let this chamber settle this difference free from any influence. The tribunal will be seen as having been under government pressure if this chamber rules against the additional investigations.

Together with the alleged corruption, the government interference has seriously undermined the majesty and dignity the Khmer Rouge Tribunal must have in order to assert its authority, maintain its credibility and win the public trust.

The Cambodian government must help the tribunal by dealing firmly with corruption in its midst, and heads must roll if need be. But it must absolutely keep its hands off and let the tribunal function free of any interference.

--

(Lao Mong Hay is a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)

Official: U.S. not to interfere in Cambodian-Thai border dispute

www.chinaview.cn

2009-03-18

PHNOM PENH, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. has affirmed that it will not interfere in the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute, said official news agency the Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) on Wednesday.

"The U.S. has never intervened in the border issues between the two neighboring countries," Stephen Blake, director of the Mainland Southeast Asia Bureau Office of the U.S. State Department, was quoted as saying.

The U.S. is instead encouraging both sides to solve their conflict peacefully, he said during a lecture named "Southeast Asia Politics and U.S. Policy in the Region," which was held here on Tuesday.

The Cambodian-Thai border conflict started on July 15, 2008, when Thai troops encroached on the Cambodian territory in the area near the disputed centuries-old Preah Vihear temple.

Rounds of high-level talks have been held since then, and both sides decided to withhold armed conflicts and stick to peaceful solutions.

Editor: Deng Shasha

Japan provides Cambodia with 4.1 bil. yen in new aid

istockAnalyst.com

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

PHNOM PENH, Mar. 18, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- Japan on Wednesday provided Cambodia with a loan for water supply and a grant for demining activities, together worth a total of 4.1 billion yen.

At a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh, Japanese Ambassador Katsuhiro Shinohara said the loan worth just over 3.5 billion yen is for a water-supply infrastructure project in the capital, while the grant worth at 548 million yen will be used to procure equipment to clear the countryside of land mines.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said at the ceremony that the huge amounts of loans and grants provided by Japan to date have greatly contributed to the economic development and poverty reduction in Cambodia.

When Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone visited Cambodia from Jan. 10 to 11 and met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Hor Namhong, he announced support for the water-supply infrastructure project and pledged Japan would continue to prioritize its assistance to Cambodia, including in the construction of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and in human resources development.

Since 1994, Japan's mine clearance assistance to Cambodia has amounted to $90.2 million, including the new grant.

Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia with some 30 percent of its population of 14 million living below the poverty line.

(Source: iStockAnalyst )

Bird flu prevention starts in villages: PM

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
A poultry dealer loads live chickens into a truck at Phnom Penh's O'Russei Market on Tuesday. A conference opened the same day to address coming challenges for Cambodia, as it does its part in the global fight against the disease.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nguon Sovan and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

A three-year project funded by the World Bank includes efforts to aid responses to suspected cases of the virus.

COMMUNE councillors and village-level agents from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are at the forefront of the fight to prevent a bird flu outbreak in the Kingdom, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday in a speech marking the launch of the Cambodia Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Emergency Project.

The three-year project, funded by a World Bank grant worth US$11 million, is part of a global effort to direct resources to countries that require assistance in dealing with the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, which Stephane Guimbert, acting Cambodia country manager at the World Bank, said continued to pose a threat "to the health of the population and to the livelihoods of many small farmers in the region".

Of the $11 million, $5.8 million will go to the Agriculture Ministry to promote animal health, $3.5 million will go to the Ministry of Health and $1.7 million will go to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) to devise inter-ministerial responses to potential outbreaks, said Nhim Vanda, the NCDM's first vice president.

In his remarks Tuesday, Hun Sen called on officials in border provinces to share information about suspected bird flu cases with neighbouring countries. He highlighted the government's effort to provide SIM cards to village-level animal health agents, which he said would permit them to quickly provide information about such cases to higher-level officials.

"We have given SIM cards to animal health agents in the villages, and when there is a suspected case of bird flu they can report to us," Hun Sen said. "This mechanism is fast, and we can take action to prevent the spread instantly."

Assessing the threat
The conference Tuesday, attended by 600 government officials, NGO members and development partners, included updates on the H5N1 virus and regional efforts to combat it.

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
Poultry traders load live chickens onto a truck at Phnom Penh's O'Russei Market.

Sorn San, who runs the Agriculture Ministry's bird flu project, said the virus has appeared in 23 different locations in eight provinces: Takeo, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Cham, Kampot, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng. There have been eight recorded human cases, resulting in seven fatalities. He said 18,566 heads of poultry had died of the disease, while 9,862 had been culled.

Guimbert said more poultry cases could occur and that "cross-species infection from poultry to humans is likely to recur".

He cited China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh as countries in which the H5N1 avian influenza virus remains "entrenched" and called on Cambodia to prepare for a potential human pandemic.

Though he acknowledged recent progress in preventing the spread of the disease, he said the Kingdom's efforts had "also highlighted a number of gaps that remain to be filled, including issues related to the capacity of veterinary services".

Police Blotter

The Phnom Penh Post

Police Blotter: 18 Mar 2009
Written by Lim Phalla
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

SUSPICIOUS JEWEL THEFT AT MARKET
Em Sopheap, 61, had his jewellry store, the largest in Olympic Market, broken into on Monday. Thieves broke into the store via a hole in the roof and, according to the owner, stole USD$500,000 worth of jewels. Police say they are skeptical about the alleged loss.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

MAN BEATEN TO DEATH WITH STICK
Suon Canthy, 20, was fatally bashed with sticks on Monday while returning home from a local dance in Kampong Os village, Kandal Province. The suspect, Chham Chhaet, 28, managed to escape authorities after beating the man with a stick and leaving him in the river.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

ROBBER TAKES LIFE TO EVADE CAPTURE
Royal Gendarmes in Siem Reap province said one of four alleged robbers fatally shot himself in the head on Saturday while plotting a burglary attempt on a phone shop in Phnom Srok district, Banteay Meanchey province. The men, known to local authorities after a string of robberies, were besieged by 50 police officers in a forest in Siem Reap's Beng village. Police arrested Sae Da, 28, and Chhot Ban, 31, and also confiscated a motorbike and two guns. They identified the dead suspect as Kong, 30.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

ROBBERS STEAL GOLD, OWNER FAINTS
Five robbers evaded authorities after stealing 50 damlung of gold and platinum on Monday from a gold shop in Samaki village, Phnom Penh. No one was injured in the heist, but shop owner Keo Chanthou, 31, fainted in the presence of the five armed men.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

ROBBERS GET AWAY WITH CASH, PHONES
Three armed robbers escaped on Saturday with an estimated US$500 in cash, jewelry and cell phones after a house robbery in Rasmey Rumdoh village, Kampong Thom province. The victims, Horm Chan,38, Pau Sokhnear, 31 and Prum Kaing, 36, could not identify the men because they were too frightened to look at them.
KOH SANTEPHEAP

GIRL, 7, RAPED BY RELATIVE
Yoeun Voeun, 30, was arrested by Preah Net Preah district Police after allegedly raping his 7-year-old niece on Thursday. Relatives told police the suspect raped the girl some 50 metres behind their house in Kampong Krasaing village, Banteay Meanchey province.
KOH SANTEPHEAP

Govt effort boosts exercise in capital's public spaces

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG
Early morning exercisers in Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium last week.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khuon Leakhana
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Higher traffic at Olympic Stadium just one indicator of Phnom Penh residents' penchant for daily outdoor workouts.

AS deputy chief of the security team at Olympic Stadium, Kim Vin has seen firsthand the effects of a government-led push to get more Phnom Penh residents exercising in the capital's public spaces.

"I started to work as a security guard here three years ago," he said. "Not so many came to exercise here then - only about 60 to 70 percent of what is here now."

These days, he said, roughly 3,000 city residents exercise at the stadium daily.

The increase is in part the result of the government effort, which has included the beautification of a number of public parks, said Veng Thai, director of the Phnom Penh Health Department.

"There are now more places where people can come to get fresh air and pleasant scenery," he said.

The need for exercise

The negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle are well-known, Veng Thai said. Lack of exercise can lead to arthritis, high cholesterol, heart disease and high blood pressure, among other conditions, he said.

"We know that Phnom Penh residents do not have as much opportunity to use their body strength as those who live outside Phnom Penh, which means they store more toxins in their bodies," he said.

Veng Thai said the promotion of exercise in urban public spaces was in part modeled after a similar effort in China, a country with one of the highest spending totals for publicly accessible exercise venues and equipment.

This spending enables citizens to work out without having to pay for a gym membership, he explained.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are now more places where people can come to get fresh air.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cambodia is not yet able to provide as many facilities in public places, due to the costs and difficulty in ensuring they are properly maintained," Veng Thai said.

Khuon Tann, 62, said he did not understand the importance of daily exercise until his doctor diagnosed him with diabetes four years ago.

Since then, the Angkor Beer Company employee has joined a sports club, though he said he had recently begun using urban public spaces with greater frequency.

"I usually exercise on the riverside, at home and occasionally at Olympic Stadium," he said.

Long Sivan, manager of the Phnom Penh Sports Club, said the promotion of exercise in public spaces might lighten the traffic at his gym, which receives between 200 and 300 visitors each day.

But he said this might not necessarily be a bad thing.

"We do not know how many more customers we can accept," he said.

PM warns of riverbank collapse

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha and Sebastian STrangio
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

AS the 2009 wet season approaches, Prime Minister Hun Sen has said that authorities in Kandal province should advise riverside residents to remove their homes in anticipation of the seasonal collapse of riverbanks, prompting the opposition to claim the government is shielding licensed sand-dredging operations which are, it says, exacerbating the problem.

"It is better to inform villagers in advance," Hun Sen said Tuesday, during the launch of an avian and human influenza control and preparedness project.

"It is no good to offer them some gifts once their houses have already collapsed. The sadness of people is our concern."

Kandal Governor Chhun Sirun said that the river collapses were not only a concern in Kien Svay, but were also a frequent occurrence in Muk Kampol and Ksach Kandal districts.

"It looks like there is a tradition of riverbank collapse in those areas," he said Tuesday, adding that villagers were well aware of the risks. "We have permanently informed them and they are aware of the danger."

Ly Thuch, second deputy president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said similarly that people living along the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers were routinely informed by local authorities prior to collapses.

"It does happen in some places but not an a big scale. Local authorities are taking care of this issue," he said.

But although such collapses are an annual occurrence on the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac rivers, opposition lawmakers say the premier should instead crack down on sand-dredging operations it claims are worsening the problem.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said riverbank collapses had become more severe recently as a result of legal and illegal sand-dredging operations in rivers across the country.

"This is the fault of the government because it grants the licences to companies without considering the consequences," he told the Post.

"The local authorities know, but they can't do anything because powerful people are behind the sand-dredging."

Conservation International could not comment about the specifics of river dredging operations, but said that the removal of sand - even of small amounts by local villagers - could force riverbanks to collapse.

"I have heard before that some people were taking sand from the riverbeds, which causes the isobars in the river to change," he said. "If someone takes sand from one place, sand from another place has to move in to fill the hole."

But Yim Sovann said that it was not enough to issue warnings to villagers while allowing sand-dredging operations to continue, and called on the PM to take more direct responsibility for those displaced by collapses.

"Who benefits? Just the companies and the officials. And who suffers? The people. The PM has to take full responsibility for the people."

In August last year, Veng Sakhon, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Water Resources, told the Post that officials would investigate dozens of potentially illegal sand-dredgers operating on the Mekong.

In the same month, local developer Brothers Investment Group (BIG) was also granted permission to dredge the river as part of a $300 million project to make the waterway navigable by larger vessels. At the time, environmentalists criticised the deal, which they said lacked the proper public consultation due for a project of its size.

But Mao Hak, director of the Department of Hydrology and River Works at the ministry, said that it was also working hard to prevent the unexpected landslides along the edges of rivers.

"We are looking at many ways to reduce riverbank collapses," he said, adding that both known causes - natural erosion and sand dredging - were being monitored.

"We will not allow sand dredging if we find that [operating in] the place will cause damage in the future."

KR dam restoration prompts complaint

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Dam land has been used to grow rice since 1979.

About 180 farming families have filed a complaint with authorities in Battambang province asking that they be given land in compensation for a plan to rehabilitate a Khmer Rouge-era dam.

The farmers said they had used the vast collapsed Chork dam as rice fields for decades and said the proposed US$2 million plan to rebuild the dam would rob them of their livelihoods.

Long Phal Khun, an official at the provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology, said the rebuilding project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He said the project would begin in November and would irrigate 8,000 hectares of land.

Rath Mom, a representative for the farmers, said the Khmer Rouge had built the dam and that families had farmed the 500-hectare site since the regime was driven out in 1979.

"We are asking the authorities to provide us with new land on which to farm," Rath Mom said.

"We need to be compensated for land. We don't need money. We are farmers, so we need land to grow rice."

The dam lies between Chork Touch and Chork Thom villages, which are in Kor Koh commune, Moung Russey district.

District Governor Lom Som told the Post that the affected area is state land and does not belong to the farmers. He said the farmers had been told in the 1980s that they could use the land but would not be allowed to own it.

Lom Som said the refurbished dam would provide essential irrigation to thousands of farmers in the area and would allow them to harvest two crops annually.

"The rice fields belong to the state, so there is no need to compensate them," he said. "I told them earlier this year they could still plant rice in the dry season when the water levels drop. Some [other] people have instigated this complaint."

ADB involvement

An ADB spokesperson confirmed that the bank is funding three dam reconstruction projects - Daun Av, Canal Number One, and Chork - in the province as part of its $20 million Northwest Irrigation Project.

When asked about compensation, the ADB spokesperson said: "For any projects funded by the ADB, which have a social or economic impact, the ADB will ensure that the bank's resettlement policy is adequately applied before the start of the project."

Uo Vorn, a member of Kor Koh's commune council, said the collapse of the dam wall had meant the water level was now no more than 1 or 2 metres deep. Officials from the provincial ministry had surveyed the land to assess its potential.

"After it has been repaired, it will help the farmers in times of drought and will allow them to harvest rice twice a year," Uo Vorn said.

The farmers have also filed a complaint with human rights groups AdhocC and Licadho. Heng Say Hong, an investigator with Licadho in the province, confirmed that his office had received the complaint. He said they would ask the local authority to try to deal with the issue.

"They should resolve this problem with the people," Heng Say Hong said.

"They should look to provide them with paddy fields in other areas or to provide compensation because these families have been on the land since 1979, and they have no other way to feed their families."

Eight K Thom men charged with extortion, impersonating police

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

A group of men, including six with press passes, have been arrested after they allegedly dressed up as military police and robbed local residents.

EIGHT men from Stong district, Kampong Thom province, have been charged with extortion and forgery after they posed as police officers and extorted money out of people, officials told the Post Tuesday.

The eight accused, six of whom police claim were carrying press cards, were arrested Sunday following a complaint filed by fishermen last Thursday.

The fishermen said the group procured 1,610,000 riels (US$400) from them by threatening to fine them for illegal fishing.

"After receiving a complaint on March 12, I alerted the court prosecutor who gave arrest warrants to eight people. On Sunday, we seized military police uniforms and press cards," Stong district police Chief Huot Sarin said Tuesday.

"We have sent the accused to court for further investigation, but we don't know the exact amount of money they earned from extortion," he added.

Court prosecutor Pen Sarat said Tuesday they face a lengthy jail term if convicted.

"I charged the men with extortion and impersonating police officers, and they are now serving time in pretrial detention," he said. "If they are found guilty, they will face five- to 10-year jail sentences."

According to Pen Sarat, the investigating judge was still searching for an AK-47 assault rifle and a pair of handcuffs police claimed the accused used.

Ek Sophea, a monitor for the rights group Licadho who met with the suspects in prison, said they claimed not to have taken as much money as the fishermen alleged.

He confirmed that six of the men had press passes but was not sure whether these were real or fake.

"We will keep investigating to find out the truth because we didn't find a gun as the police alleged," said Ek Sophea.

Pen Samithy, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said Tuesday that he didn't believe six of the men were really journalists.

"Not all people who have press cards are journalists."

Dams to hurt Mekong food stocks

Photo by: MICHAEL HAYES

A dam under construction in Kampot province.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Brendan Brady and Kouth Sophak Chakrya
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Environmentalists warn major hydro projects would threaten Cambodia's vital food sources and biodiversity, while the government insists the benefits clearly outweight any costs.

A SLEW of hydroelectric dams slated for construction on the Mekong River threaten migratory fish stocks and the millions of people who rely on them for food and income, as well as one of the world's richest sources of aquatic wildlife, warns a new campaign launched by environmentalists.

Eleven dams on the main channel of the Mekong are currently being planned by the governments of Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

"If built, the dams would block major fish migrations and disrupt this vitally important river, placing at risk millions of people who depend upon the Mekong for their food security and income," said a statement from Save the Mekong, an international coalition of NGOs that launched this month.

Two of the dams are planned for Cambodia. Foreign developers have contracts to build a dam in Stung Treng province near the border with Laos and in the Sambor district of Kratie province. The remaining nine dam sites are in Laos, including two shared projects with Thailand.

The projects could also prove perilous for the Mekong's aquatic biodiversity. The group says the mainstream dams would push endangered species found in Cambodia, including the Irrawaddy Dolphin and Giant Catfish, to the brink of extinction.

"By changing a river's hydrology and water quality, blocking fish migration and obstructing sediment movements, dams destroy a river's existing ecology," explained Carl Middleton, a Mekong specialist with the US-based NGO International Rivers, which helped launch the coalition.

Chit Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said the Mekong's food value is too critical to be jeopardised.

"The Mekong River is an invaluable source of food security and livelihoods for millions of Cambodians," he said.

The Mekong River Commission estimates the river's wild capture fisheries to be worth at least US$3 billion annually.

NGO Forum is joined by the local NGOs Culture and Environment Preservation Organization, the Sesan-Srepok-Sekong (3S) Protection Network and the Fisheries Action Coalition Team in being local members of the Save the Mekong coalition.

Kim Sangha, with the 3S Protection Network in Ratanakkiri province, said Vietnam's Yali Falls dam on the Sesan River illustrates the destructive effects that even dams outside the country can have on communities within Cambodia.

"It continues to cause changes downstream - villagers complain of water fluctuations, and they say they are struggling to find fish," he said.

Government approved

Chang Tong Yves, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said people needed to have faith in the government's ability to weigh the trade-offs of such development projects.

"If the government decides to make a dam, then environmental assessments have been done, so you can know it will not have a destructive effect on the environment or people who live along the river," he said.

Thuk Kroeun Vutha, an undersecretary of state at the Environment Ministry, said his office had completed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the two dams and believed the power produced outweighed the environmental damage caused. No non-governmental group contacted by the Post had been able to access a copy of the government's EIA.

"There will be a little bit of environmental impact, but the dam will provide a lot of power to support the country," Thuk Kroeun Vutha said.

Middleton recommended Cambodia leap-frog the "big-hydro" power policies that held sway in many developed countries in the 1950s.

"Current electricity planning in the Mekong region still retains last century's mindset that ‘bigger is better'. There is, however, a growing call for reform of the power planning process by civil society groups throughout the region towards modern planning practices," Middleton said.

Having yet to pour funds into a national power grid, Cambodia is well-positioned to advance with decentralized renewable power technologies such as solar and biogas, he said. Power production assessments should "take into account the full cost to society of each electricity option - including social and environmental costs - rather than simply the lowest commercial cost to investors."

Ministry bans 'obscene' songs to save traditions

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
Minister of Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, is in support of the new ban on obscene songs.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Claiming the ban will help save the Kingdom's traditionals, the Ministry of Culture has outlawed four songs in a pre-New Year sweep.

THE Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has outlawed all songs with rude or obscene meanings. The proclamation, which immediately bans five popular Khmer songs, was made Friday and signed by Culture Minister Him Chhem.

Under the country's latest ban, all music vendors, artists, singers, comedians, pop musicians and band members must cease selling, producing, playing or singing any songs that could seriously damage the country's traditions, customs, culture or honour. The ban also applies to business people who lease loudspeakers through which music is played.

Five songs have been immediately outlawed: Somchbab Mekhum Yoak Srov Tao Bok ("Ask the Commune Chief to Take the Rice to be Pounded"), Krapoeur Mintean Thom ("The Crocodile Has Not Yet Grown"), which contains a word play about a young woman's virginity, and Khloy Ta Chean, Khloy Bang Chach and Khloy Chang. The last three song titles are word plays on having sex.

"We have banned these songs because their titles and meanings are very obscene," said Sim Sarak, administration and finance general director at the ministry. He added that the government had acted now to ensure the songs were not played during Khmer New Year, which begins next month.

Sim Sarak said the ban also applied to any other songs that were considered offensive.

The Minister of Women's Affairs, Ing Kantha Phavi, applauded the announcement and said it could help to reduce the number of rapes and other sex crimes in the Kingdom. She said a cross-ministerial committee had been set up to look at songs and videos to encourage traditional cultural values and the promotion of women.

"[Sex movies and obscene songs] seriously affect Cambodian society, as they are the cause of many rapes of underage girls," she said. "If you read the Khmer papers, you see rape cases almost every day. When the perpetrators are arrested and questioned, they often reply that they committed the crime after watching sex movies."

Sim Sarak said the ban was not meant to prohibit singers, comedians and others from composing songs or comedy sketches.

"We encourage them to compose as many songs as possible that can educate the younger generation and the nation's people," he said. "We are banning just those songs whose meaning downgrades the country's traditional customs and culture."

The president of the Khmer Arts Association, Ieng Sithul, said he encouraged singers and artists to compose songs by using polite language: "Even though they are good at expressing their feelings to their audiences, they must consider the words they use in order to avoid denigrating our culture."

Hanoi Road residents plead for PM's help

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chhay Channyda and May Titthara
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

‘Compensation was promised, not delivered'

Residents of Hanoi Road whose houses were partially or completely demolished by the authorities this week for a street-widening program, protested Tuesday outside Prime Minister Hun Sen's Phnom Penh home.

They are seeking intervention by the prime minister in their dispute with the municipality, which they say refuses to compensate most of them for their lost homes. Residents said 27 homes in Sen Sok district have been bulldozed.

The only person said to have been offered compensation was 53-year-old Oeum Roeun, whose house was completely demolished Monday. However, she refused the empty plot in Thnot Chrum the municipality had offered.

"They demolished my house, which means they have killed my family. We have no way to make a living, and we are now staying in front of another villager's house on the pavement," she said. "I don't know where my plates and iron pots went. And how can I go to the new plot? I haven't any money to construct a house."

Chin Tonn, 60, said the commune chief had promised that if they allowed their houses to be demolished, they would be compensated.

"But now that they have demolished our houses, they say we aren't entitled to any compensation because we still have three metres of our homes left," Chin Tonn said. "We went to complain at the municipality and in Sen Sok district because the demolition letters came from both of those authorities."

Officials at City Hall would not discuss compensation. Phnom Penh Deputy governor Mann Chhoeun refused to comment and referred questions to Chreang Sophan, the deputy governor in charge of road construction. Chreang Sophan said the city had delegated authority to speak with local people to district Governor Khoung Sreng.

Khoung Sreng told the Post the 4-kilometre-long project affected 64 houses. He said many families had agreed to remove fences ahead of the demolition and claimed that residents had no right to compensation.

"Those affected families should know that they were living on pavement land, and according to the Land Law this has to be returned to the government when it wants to develop the area," he said. "City Hall has no compensation policy for partly-affected residents who built on the pavement."

Rise in HIV testing signals greater public awareness

Photo by: AFP
Cambodian workers leave a garment factory in Phnom Penh last week. The factories, dominated by women, have become a target group for health organisations and government departments promoting reproductive health and HIV/AIDS testing.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khuon Leakhana
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

NGOs want better access to garment factories, onsite testing to help HIV-positive workers who may be unaware of status.

MORE Cambodian women are seeking blood tests to screen for HIV/AIDS, a report released Monday said, giving promise to the strength of recent awareness campaigns.

The report, compiled by the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), said 40,587 women had received an HIV/AIDS blood test in 2008, compared with 38,660 in 2007.

"Blood tests are important because they reduce the chance of the virus spreading and the chance of the virus becoming deadly," said Dr Chak Chenda, clinic manager of RHAC.

"We are now planning to publish a guide book and leaflets on reproductive health to be distributed in communities, and also organising a peer group education program in which a trained volunteer will work in communities to give people information," she said.

The organisation claimed the increase was due to an increasing number of awareness campaigns about reproductive health.

Mean Chivoan, director of the National Centre for HIV and AIDS, Dermatology and STD, told the Post that distribution of information about blood tests has been carried out by the government since 2001, when it began handing out information to community groups and garment factories.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I am aware, many factory workers have aids, but they keep it a secret.
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"We will promote blood tests amongst women because we believe that it is important. Without a blood test, women cannot be sure if they have HIV/AIDS, and this is particularly important for pregnant women," he added.

The blood test is free and available at state and referral hospitals across the country.

Factories join the cause
Cheat Khemara, senior labour official of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, told the Post the numbers reflect the recent partnering of health organisations and garment factories, where around 300,000 Cambodian women work.

"We have incorporated a health program into garment factories in cooperation with NGO CARE so that it is easier for workers to get their blood tested," he said.

"We know that some women working in factories in Cambodia are carrying the HIV/AIDS virus, and that life-prolonging medicines are often given to them secretly.... We would like to appeal to all workers that if they have any doubt about their health, they should get a blood test," he added.

"We would also like to call on all factories to help provide health facilities and services for their employees so that they are able to have their blood tested. All companies and factories should provide care to employees who have HIV/AIDS so that they have the mental strength to continue their work."

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Cambodia, told the Post that most garment factory workers are still forced to have their health checked at the Labour Health Centre, which he says requires individuals to pay large amounts of money in bribes.

"Usually women who work for factories do not understand the importance of having blood tests. They only go if they are helped or guided by NGO workers" he said.

"It is good to encourage factory workers to go for a blood test. As I'm aware, many factory workers have AIDS, but they keep it a secret."

MP petitions Thai FM for prisoner release

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Meas Sokchea
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

OPPOSITION Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang of Battambang petitioned Thai Foreign Minister Hor Namhong by letter Tuesday to intervene in the imprisonment of six Cambodians in Bangkok.

The six detainees were arrested by Thai authorities in January while attempting to immigrate illegally to Thailand in search of work, according to the letter.

"The six people have being imprisoned in Suon Blue prison in Bangkok," the letter said.

"I would like [Hor Namhong] to take action to intervene and have Thai authorities release them."

La Phat, an official from Chakkrey commune, the home town of the arrested group, told the Post they were arrested by Thai police while passing through an illegal border crossing corridor.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said he could not comment on the prospects of a resolution, as he had not seen a copy of the letter with the MP's requests.

Textile imports reach $1b

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Cambodia's garment industry spent $1 billion on textile imports - $200 million more than in 2007 - mainly from China, but also from South Korea and Taiwan, which means the Kingdom is not taking advantage of EU trade preferences for the Asean region, sector analysts said.

IMPORT Burden
$1 billion in textiles imported from China, South Korea and Taiwan in 2008
$200 million increase on 2007 raw material imports for the industry
Nearly 40pc of garment export revenue in 2008 absorbed by cost of imported textiles

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chun Sophal
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

$1 billion bill for textile imports in 2008 raises questions on spending in the industry as critics suggest Cambodia should produce raw materials at home.

CAMBODIA'S garment industry imported US$1 billion in raw materials last year, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, leading to calls for more local production to cut costs and improve access to Western markets.

"Cambodia imports a lot of materials for the garment sector compared to other countries in the region," said Van Sou Ieng. "Importing too many raw materials reduces our competitiveness and tax revenues," he added.

Kaing Monika, external affairs manager at GMAC, said on Tuesday that 66 percent of garment components were imported from China, with the remainder from Taiwan and South Korea.

He said that importing all of the components raises the price for Cambodian products and affects Cambodia's country-of-origin status.

"In our meetings to discuss trade, some countries that import garments from Cambodia demanded that we import cloth from Asean countries in exchange for tax favours," said Kaing Monika.

GMAC said in 2007 that Cambodia spent $800 million importing cloth, $531 million of which was from China.

"The EU gives Cambodia trade preferences on the condition that we use cloth imported from Asean, so we are at a disadvantage importing from China," said Kaing Monika.

"If Cambodia is allowed to import cloth from China, it means that the trade agreement is not helping the country, it is helping China," Kaing Monika said.

He said that high start-up costs are a barrier to new investment and that government assistance should be the catalyst for new projects.

"GMAC hopes to see more local cloth production, but the government has not been supporting us to attract investment to the country," Kaing Monika said.

"I think the plan to produce cloth locally cannot happen soon because building a cloth plant costs as much as $15 million, and investors must be very confident," Kaing Monika said.

"I believe that we will earn a lot of profit if we can produce cloth in Cambodia and do not need to import from other countries," Kaing Monika said.

But Mao Thora, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said on Tuesday that imported raw materials made up a small percentage of costs for locally produced garments.

"I think our imports are still low compared to the $2.6 billion of garments we export," he said.

"We are trying to persuade investors from China and Korea to build a factory to produce cloth in our country," he added.

"Cambodia also needs to improve the quality of local garments, and that means producing high quality cloth," said Mao Thora.

Cambodia has one cloth factory in Kampong Cham province owned by Chinese investors, but it only produces fabric for the medical industry, he added.

Natural development

Kang Chandararot, director of the Institute for Development and Study, said that reliance on imported materials is natural for a country of Cambodia's low stage of development.

"Cambodia must balance the producing of materials by itself and importing of raw materials. I think we must not absolutely use our own materials for everything," Kang Chandararot said.

Movie industry facing ruin as crisis adds to piracy threat

by: BLOOMBERG
Pirated DVDs are among the main problems in the movie industry, which has found itself close to collapse following the economic slowdown.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kay Kimsong and George McLeod
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Producers and directors of media companies lament failure to tackle piracy with many filmmakers saying they now face oblivion in face of downturn.

CAMBODIA'S struggling movie and music industry faces collapse as the economic slowdown adds to problems of rampant piracy, local producers told the Post Tuesday.

One of the country's leading media companies, Chlang Den Production, said business is being suspended after trying for years to compete in a country with lax copyright laws.

"We are dead ... almost all of the companies are dead because we cannot compete with fake products," said director Kim Leng.

He said his company had paid large sums to the police and the courts to crack down on piracy, but that the problem had only gotten worse.

Hundreds of DVD and CD pressing machines are at work in the country illegally copying movies and music, making survival nearly impossible, he said.

"If you look at theatres in Phnom Penh, they have already closed. Cambodian people have killed this industry," he said, adding that original DVDs cost about US$4, but that copied products sell for only 1,500 riels ($0.40).

Lax law enforcement and abundant high-quality copies almost indistinguishable from authentic goods have led to a thriving local trade in everything pirated, from movies and music to pharmaceuticals and liquor.

The US government has repeatedly raised the issue of piracy with Cambodian authorities, and the US-based Intellectual Property Alliance says about 100 percent of local music and movie sales are illegal. The IPA is funded largely by the recording and movie industry and is not considered independent.

Government response
Kim Leng called on Prime Minister Hun Sen to assist CD, VCD and DVD producers to help authors, singers, actors, actresses and other industry professionals find work in other sectors.

Commerce Ministry Secretary of State Mao Thora suggested an inter-ministerial committee lead by Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh to protect the industry from collapse.

"The department of intellectual property has been training people in copyright laws, but more needs to be done," he said. He urged ministry officials to enforce the law and encouraged producers to file lawsuits to compensate for lost profits. "We need to be strong willed to stop this problem," he said. "Those who violate copyright laws should be jailed," said Mao Thora.

Economist Kang Chandararot said poor enforcement of intellectual property laws is a key obstacle to Cambodia's economic growth.

"Whenever new products or ideas are available to steal freely, people won't be able to develop new ideas or create new products," said Kang Chandararot. "We are waiting for legal reform, but it now is just the beginning."

Ly Bun Yim, a filmmaker and owner of Flash Diamond Movie Production, said that local media companies should focus on foreign markets where intellectual property laws are stronger.

"If we want Cambodian movies and karaoke to stay alive, we need to make high-quality products," he said.

His company recently finished the $500,000 movie Divinity Court, which he expected to earn $1 million. "I would like to see the government encouraging us," said Ly Bun Yim.

Further challenges
But Matthew Robinson, the managing director of local movie production company Khmer Mekong Films (KMF), said that piracy is not the biggest challenge facing the industry, and that the economic downturn and a lack of high-quality venues have been far greater obstacles.

"The problem is not so much piracy, although [production companies] will claim that. Why should people pay to go to an uncomfortable cinema when they can go to the market and buy a [foreign-made] pirated movie for cheaper?" he said, adding that KMF had successfully fended off piracy through tight security measures.

"When we made our first movie, we were careful to guard all of the copies and make sure they weren't showing up at the markets. I haven't seen any problems [with piracy], but you have to be careful," he said.

Markets considered on Vietnam border

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara
Wednesday, 18 March 2009

COMMERCE Minister Cham Prasidh has urged Cambodia and Vietnam to begin planning for a model market on the border, which officials from both countries say will help facilitate crossborder trade and improve prosperity in border provinces.

"I am calling on the committee to study two potential locations: Peam Chor district in Prey Veng province and Thari Economic Zone near the checkpoint in Kampong Cham's Memot district," Cham Prasidh said at the second meeting on the development of border trade cooperation Monday. "After the study is completed, I will confirm with our Vietnamese counterparts immediately during ... April," he said.

Cham Prasidh also proposed that both sides hold discussions on market infrastructure management, trade payment mechanisms and the principle of cross-border trade settlement in order to continue developing cross-border trade.

Keo Soknay, a secretary of state at the ministry, said that although it had not yet sent an in-depth plan to Vietnam, both sides had already toured the sites. Prey Veng would encompass 37,595 square metres, he added.

Vu Huy Hoang, Vietnam's minister of industry and trade, said such initiatives were important for the two neighbours to develop their economies and improve standards of living.

Cham Prasidh said that the Kingdom is confident the trade gap with Vietnam would be "reduced soon". He said that Cambodia exported an estimated US$200 million in goods to Vietnam in 2008, while importing over $1 billion.