Pictures by Deum Ampil Newspaper
A group of armed robbery was arrested by National police of Khan Tould Kork
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Asean+3 in flu fight
ASEAN+3 Health Ministers at a special meeting on Influenza A (H1N1) in Bangkok, Thailand. -- PHOTO: APThe Strait Times
http://www.straitstimes.com
http://www.straitstimes.com
May 9, 2009
They will boost anti-flu medicine stockpiles and intensify surveillance
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
BANGKOK: - Health ministers from 10 Asean countries and China, Japan and Korea yesterday concluded a key meeting with a pledge of regional solidarity and cooperation in the face of the H1N1 influenza pandemic threat.
The virus has not yet been recorded in Asean and Japan.
But its spread in North America and beyond has drawn predictions that it could infect up to one-third of the world's population within months, severely burdening public health systems.
In less than three weeks, it has spread to 25 countries, infecting 2,483 people and leaving 47 dead.
South Korea has detected three cases, and Hong Kong has detected one.
'No single country is able to control and cope with the threat alone. Rather, intensive international cooperation is required,' Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in opening remarks at the conference yesterday.
The ministers said in a statement that stockpiles of anti-flu medication would be enhanced, national pandemic preparedness plans implemented and surveillance intensified.
They also stressed the importance of transparency in public communication.
Japan announced that it would donate 500,000 doses of anti-viral medicine, plus 750,000 sets of personal protection equipment, to Asean's existing stockpile, to be shared across the region as necessary should the virus arrive and spread.
The ministers said they would consider 'exit screening' as a cross-border disease control strategy.
French Pedophile Released in Cambodia
Short News
http://www.shortnews.com
05/09/2009
Last year in Cambodia, French pedophile, Michel Roger Blanchard, 44, was arrested for sexually abusing 5 Cambodian boys ages 11 to 16. Blanchard received a one year sentence and had to pay $50 to one of his victims.
Blanchard walked free last Tuesday, the remaining three months of his sentence having been suspended.
Mr. Seila, country director of the anti-pedophile NGO Action Pour Les Enfants, said they had observed Blanchard with at least 20 boys since 2005.
http://www.shortnews.com
05/09/2009
Last year in Cambodia, French pedophile, Michel Roger Blanchard, 44, was arrested for sexually abusing 5 Cambodian boys ages 11 to 16. Blanchard received a one year sentence and had to pay $50 to one of his victims.
Blanchard walked free last Tuesday, the remaining three months of his sentence having been suspended.
Mr. Seila, country director of the anti-pedophile NGO Action Pour Les Enfants, said they had observed Blanchard with at least 20 boys since 2005.
Cambodia: The Bar Association
SCOOP (New Zealand)
http://www.scoop.co.nz
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Cambodia: The Bar Association Must Not Be An Instrument To Curtail Professional Freedom
The international norms and standards relating to the legal profession require that the lawyers could practice their profession without fear and intimidation. The professional rights of the lawyers have been recognised globally. The lawyers in Cambodia have the same status and the rights as their counterparts in other countries. The exclusive purpose of a Bar Association is to protect the independence and the integrity of the legal profession. Above all, the Bar must protect the lawyers from interferences by the executive. A recent case against Kong Sam Onn where an investigation against him has started by the Bar Association of Cambodia regarding acts he did in relation to his professional duties raise concerns about the threats to the legal profession in the country.
On 23 April, Kong Sam Onn, a lawyer, was present at a news conference where his client, Mu Sochua, a female Member of Parliament (MP) for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, announced her defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun Sen. She alleged derogatory remarks made against her in a public speech in Kampot province in early April. In that speech Hun Sen called an unnamed woman "cheung klang", a Khmer phrase (literally strong leg) meaning "gangster", and said that she had embraced an army officer and sued him afterwards. Mu took these together with other remarks as targeting her, not any other woman, as they matched her status and activities.
Several days later, on 27 April, Hun Sen countersued Mu and her lawyer Kong Sam Onn for their respective alleged defamatory remarks made against him during a news conference.
Hun subsequently called for the suspension of Mu's parliamentary immunity so that the courts could prosecute her. He was confident that this suspension would be "as easy as ABC", while his own suspension would be unlikely as his party has an overwhelming majority in Parliament. This call has been viewed as a threat to and intimidation against the opposition MP.
Several days later, on 30 April, Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, filed a complaint with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia against Kong. It was lodged for the latter's remarks against Hun Sen during and after the news conference together with his alleged violation of the code of ethics for lawyers. Ky's complaint has prompted action by the Bar due to his influence as their former president and a government lawyer. The Bar has started its investigation which could lead to a range of disciplinary actions including Kong's debarment, which has already been mentioned. Chiv Senghak, the current President of the Bar, said that Kong could receive a warning, have his license suspended, or be debarred as a legal professional altogether. But Chiv did not prejudge the outcome; it would be up to the decision of the Bar's Disciplinary Council.
Kong has maintained that his remarks are not defamatory. He has made them in the defense of his client in his capacity as a lawyer and has not violated in any way the code of ethics for lawyers. During the news conference on 23 April, he said that his client Mu Sochua was the target of Hun Sen's derogatory remarks even though Hun Sen did not name her specifically. To pretend otherwise would be a "cowardly act", he asserted. He called Hun Sen's remarks insulting and inappropriate. He urged Hun Sen to imitate the Thai foreign minister who had apologized to Hun Sen, roughly a month previously. After that minister had called Hun Sen "nak leng", an appreciative Thai phrase meaning "lion-hearted and courageous" but with its derogatory Khmer equivalent meaning of "gangster".
Such remarks by Kong against Hun Sen do not seem to be specifically proscribed by the Law or the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia of 1995 or by the Code of Ethics for Lawyers which the Bar had issued in the same year.
Ky's complaint and the Bar's subsequent action together with Hun Sen's lawsuit were probably meant to serve as a threat and to intimidate Kong, a lawyer who had the audacity to make unpleasant remarks against the Prime Minister, known as "the Strongman of Cambodia". If tolerated, such a threat and intimidation would further enhance the known government control of the legal profession, undermine the independence of the Bar which is clearly stipulated under Article 1 of the Law on the Bar, and also prevent lawyers from playing their role as officers of the court.
At the individual level, the Bar's investigation into the defamation complaint against Kong, its outcome, and the action eventually taken against Kong Sam Onn are very much prejudicial to his case in court where he is facing the same charge. The plaintiff will use them in court to support the charge against him thereby swaying the court's decision against him. All these developments, beginning with Ky Tech's complaint with the Bar, will further reduce the chance of Kong having a fair trial with courts already under executive control.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Bar Association of the Kingdom Cambodia to ensure that the lawsuit and the complaint against Kong Sam Onn will not have any negative consequence on the independence of the legal profession and his case in court. It should uphold this independence and withstand any external pressure. The Bar, with regard to Kong's case, should hold its investigation in abeyance, if such an investigation is called for, until the court has adjudicated the defamation lawsuit against him. As a matter of urgency, it should set out to ensure that Kong, a member of the Bar, has a fair trial in court.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
http://www.scoop.co.nz
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Cambodia: The Bar Association Must Not Be An Instrument To Curtail Professional Freedom
The international norms and standards relating to the legal profession require that the lawyers could practice their profession without fear and intimidation. The professional rights of the lawyers have been recognised globally. The lawyers in Cambodia have the same status and the rights as their counterparts in other countries. The exclusive purpose of a Bar Association is to protect the independence and the integrity of the legal profession. Above all, the Bar must protect the lawyers from interferences by the executive. A recent case against Kong Sam Onn where an investigation against him has started by the Bar Association of Cambodia regarding acts he did in relation to his professional duties raise concerns about the threats to the legal profession in the country.
On 23 April, Kong Sam Onn, a lawyer, was present at a news conference where his client, Mu Sochua, a female Member of Parliament (MP) for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, announced her defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun Sen. She alleged derogatory remarks made against her in a public speech in Kampot province in early April. In that speech Hun Sen called an unnamed woman "cheung klang", a Khmer phrase (literally strong leg) meaning "gangster", and said that she had embraced an army officer and sued him afterwards. Mu took these together with other remarks as targeting her, not any other woman, as they matched her status and activities.
Several days later, on 27 April, Hun Sen countersued Mu and her lawyer Kong Sam Onn for their respective alleged defamatory remarks made against him during a news conference.
Hun subsequently called for the suspension of Mu's parliamentary immunity so that the courts could prosecute her. He was confident that this suspension would be "as easy as ABC", while his own suspension would be unlikely as his party has an overwhelming majority in Parliament. This call has been viewed as a threat to and intimidation against the opposition MP.
Several days later, on 30 April, Hun Sen's lawyer, Ky Tech, filed a complaint with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia against Kong. It was lodged for the latter's remarks against Hun Sen during and after the news conference together with his alleged violation of the code of ethics for lawyers. Ky's complaint has prompted action by the Bar due to his influence as their former president and a government lawyer. The Bar has started its investigation which could lead to a range of disciplinary actions including Kong's debarment, which has already been mentioned. Chiv Senghak, the current President of the Bar, said that Kong could receive a warning, have his license suspended, or be debarred as a legal professional altogether. But Chiv did not prejudge the outcome; it would be up to the decision of the Bar's Disciplinary Council.
Kong has maintained that his remarks are not defamatory. He has made them in the defense of his client in his capacity as a lawyer and has not violated in any way the code of ethics for lawyers. During the news conference on 23 April, he said that his client Mu Sochua was the target of Hun Sen's derogatory remarks even though Hun Sen did not name her specifically. To pretend otherwise would be a "cowardly act", he asserted. He called Hun Sen's remarks insulting and inappropriate. He urged Hun Sen to imitate the Thai foreign minister who had apologized to Hun Sen, roughly a month previously. After that minister had called Hun Sen "nak leng", an appreciative Thai phrase meaning "lion-hearted and courageous" but with its derogatory Khmer equivalent meaning of "gangster".
Such remarks by Kong against Hun Sen do not seem to be specifically proscribed by the Law or the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia of 1995 or by the Code of Ethics for Lawyers which the Bar had issued in the same year.
Ky's complaint and the Bar's subsequent action together with Hun Sen's lawsuit were probably meant to serve as a threat and to intimidate Kong, a lawyer who had the audacity to make unpleasant remarks against the Prime Minister, known as "the Strongman of Cambodia". If tolerated, such a threat and intimidation would further enhance the known government control of the legal profession, undermine the independence of the Bar which is clearly stipulated under Article 1 of the Law on the Bar, and also prevent lawyers from playing their role as officers of the court.
At the individual level, the Bar's investigation into the defamation complaint against Kong, its outcome, and the action eventually taken against Kong Sam Onn are very much prejudicial to his case in court where he is facing the same charge. The plaintiff will use them in court to support the charge against him thereby swaying the court's decision against him. All these developments, beginning with Ky Tech's complaint with the Bar, will further reduce the chance of Kong having a fair trial with courts already under executive control.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Bar Association of the Kingdom Cambodia to ensure that the lawsuit and the complaint against Kong Sam Onn will not have any negative consequence on the independence of the legal profession and his case in court. It should uphold this independence and withstand any external pressure. The Bar, with regard to Kong's case, should hold its investigation in abeyance, if such an investigation is called for, until the court has adjudicated the defamation lawsuit against him. As a matter of urgency, it should set out to ensure that Kong, a member of the Bar, has a fair trial in court.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Saturday, 9 May 2009
MP Sam Rainsy addresses workers on the International Labor day
May 1, 2009 : MP Sam Rainsy addresses workers on International Labor Day in front of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia Saves Rare Bears
Conservationists in Cambodia are rescuing as many bears as possible from animal traffickers in order to give them a better life.
Getting A Taste For Cambodian Food
kiletters
Cambodian cuisine may not have the global profile of Thai or Vietnamese food, but it's certainly not from lack of flavour, sophistication or influence. Most visitors to Cambodia discover local food on the street, prepared and sold from the numerous outdoor restaurants and food stalls. And compared to its neighbours, many tourists say that Cambodian street food is quite bland. That's because it contains few of the herbs and spices commonly found on the streets of both Thailand and Vietnam.
What lies beneath
Since 1992, almost 1 million mines have been cleared from about 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of land in Cambodia like this site in Battambang province. (Nicolas Axelrod/GlobalPost)Due to its troubled past, Cambodia is a leading exporter of demining expertise.
By Claire Duffet - Special to GlobalPost
May 8, 2009
PHNOM PENH — Nuon Sao has laid 11,000 mines across Cambodia.
The 44-year-old, who now works for a non-profit radio station in Phnom Penh, fought for 13 years with the now-ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) during the civil war that followed the fall of the communist Khmer Rouge in 1979.
But when the United Nations took control of Cambodia in 1992 to enforce a shaky peace accord, Nuon Sao defected to its demining unit and began unstitching what he had made. Thousands of other soldiers eventually joined him.
Today, this same ragtag group of militiamen still removes most of the explosives throughout the country. Since 1992, almost 1 million mines have been cleared from about 500 square kilometers (193 square miles) of land. Three non-governmental organizations and Cambodia’s military divide up the work, which is administered by an oversight group funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). They estimate that less than 700 square kilometers of mined land remains in Cambodia.
Despite the makeshift start, the U.N. is impressed with the pace of Cambodian demining. In an April speech on the achievement of Cambodia’s U.N. Millennium Development Goals, Cambodia is “now regarded as a world leader in demining," said Douglas Broderick, the country's U.N. resident coordinator.
“Over the past decade, Cambodia has made a remarkable transition from infamously being one of the most mine-affected countries in the world to becoming one of the most innovative countries in addressing the problem,” UNDP Cambodia mine action project manager Melissa Sabatier told GlobalPost.
This unique expertise is now being exported overseas.
In 2007, Prime Minister Hun Sen allowed the U.N. to send 135 Cambodian troops to clear mines in southern Sudan. For three years, Cambodia has maintained troops there on a rotating schedule, with another company set to deploy in June. Of five participating countries, Cambodia has cleared the most mines — more than 2,000 — and is highest rated by the U.N. in terms of both productivity and safety, said Ker Savoeun, director of the military’s peacekeeping division and a former CPP fighter.
In January, the military trained another 400 troops for emergency peacekeeping and demining missions. With 45 days notice, the U.N. can send them anywhere in the world. Sometime this year, the U.N. will also send 20-soldier platoons to both Chad and the Central African Republic to provide airport security. These missions boost Cambodia’s reputation and soldiers’ wallets. While the average troop earns less than $400 annually, the U.N. pays its peacekeepers and deminers $1,000 per month.
Demining expertise proved even more lucrative for Srey Sangha, a former KPNLF member and the chief surveyor for Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), the largest clearance NGO in Cambodia. In May 2007, a Swedish electricity company hired him to identify mined areas in southern Angola where it planned to build a power line. While he earns $800 per month as a department head at CMAC, he was paid $32,000 for four months’ work in Angola.
Along with Afghanistan, Angola and Cambodia are considered the most heavily mined countries in the world. But the demining that Srey Sangha says he encountered in Angola was amateur compared to the work in his home country. Not only did Angola lack modern equipment, the maps he was given hadn’t been updated since 1880.
In CMAC’s clearance fields in Cambodia’s northwest, workers use a mixture of long-tested and high-tech methods. Up to 90 percent of demining is still carried out by individuals equipped with handheld metal detectors and prods, said Pring Panharith, the director of the organization’s Battambang unit and a former Khmer Rouge member. Pairs work in meter-wide rows divided by red yarn. They scan the land and if it’s clear, they unravel the spools 8 centimeters and scan again. If they find a mine, they either diffuse it or blow it up. This process is slow and tedious, but cheap.
In 2000, CMAC began using dogs to speed up its work. It now has the second-largest canine demining program in the world, after Bosnia, with 56 animals sniffing for TNT remnants, Pring Panharith said. For forested terrain and areas with an abundance of anti-tank mines, CMAC uses enormous, Japanese-made machines that dwarf most heavy construction equipment. The swing-type deminer, made by Hitachi, was created and tested in Cambodia.
CMAC is also training its staff to use the Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System, a state-of-the-art device that identifies whether or not a piece of metal under the ground is hollow. Deminers find millions of metal scraps that they must treat as potential explosives. Identifying the harmless fragments will speed up the clearance process immeasurably, said Heng Ratana, the CMAC director-general.
Despite advances, land mines remain a deadly problem in Cambodia. Though the number of mine-related injuries and deaths dropped from 858 in 2000 to 266 in 2008, the latter figure is still unacceptable, Heng Ratana said. The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention requires Cambodia to eradicate land mines completely by Dec. 31. Within the next few weeks, the government will request to extend the deadline to 2020.
Though a mine-free Cambodia remains distant, individual success stories are more common than ever.
Near a minefield outside Battambang where dogs named Happy and Peanut sniffed for bombs recently, Cheng Pek, 56, sat with his wife outside their bamboo hut feeding chickens. They returned from the Thai border in 1993 when the government offered refugees free plots of mine-filled land. Living in fear, they subsisted on vegetables grown on a half-hectare plot. CMAC cleared their land late last year, uncovering a 5-square-meter stockpile of explosives. This season, the couple will grow corn, mango, tapioca, and coconut across 3 hectares.
“If this land was not cleared by CMAC, we could not grow anything,” Cheng Pek said. “The mines would still be here in a thousand years.”
Read more about Cambodia:
Facing Cambodia's past. Or not.
Cambodia's coming oil economy
Cambodia begins emotional journey with trial
GE announces expansion of its Developing Health Globally programme to Cambodia
Trading Markets
http://www.tradingmarkets.com
http://www.tradingmarkets.com
Fri. May 08, 2009
May 08, 2009 (M2 EQUITYBITES via COMTEX) -- GE Quote Chart News PowerRating -- Diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) announced on 7 May that the company is expanding its Developing Health Globally programme to include six sites in Cambodia.
The Developing Health Globally corporate citizenship programme is aimed at improving access to quality healthcare by addressing critical gaps in existing developing-world healthcare facilities by providing products and expertise.
In addition, GE announced that the programme is donating GE Healthcare ultrasound equipment, mobile X-rays and patient monitors to Cambodia's Ministry of Health, for distribution to 23 public health facilities throughout the country.
GE said, that under the programme, Kampong Speu and Phnom Penh Municipal Regional Hospitals and Kossamak National Hospital in Cambodia will be completed first, with commissioning expected to occur late this summer.
Each commissioning reportedly marks the completion of the product installation and training and provides each hospital the opportunity to share the news of the upgraded facility to the community.
In addition, the 23 sites to receive products, determined by the Ministry of Health in Cambodia, will have proper training for the people using the donated products.
Each site will also have a GE employee ambassador assigned from the GE Asia Pacific American Forum to ensure that improvements are sustained.
Also, the Developing Health Globally programme is also commissioning its last two hospitals in Honduras.
Experts Confirm Mobile Phone Towers Set on Buildings or on the Ground Do Not Have Noticeable Impact – Thursday, 7.5.2009
Posted on 8 May 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 611
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 611
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
“Phnom Penh: Cambodia is experiencing significant economic growth, especially in the telecommunication sector, which is progressing with great speed – but at the same time, Khmer citizens notice that during the rainy season, there are frightening rains, thunder and lightning, and many people and animals have been killed by lightning strikes. Thus, citizens express fear about mobile phone towers. In recent years, towers were set up on high-rise buildings or on the ground, and citizens in their vicinity fear that they might collapse on their homes, cause health problems such as headache, causing infertility, and people are especially afraid that those towers attract lightnings.
“Responding to these issues, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication held a workshop about mobile phone technology and its effects, under the presidency of the Minister of Post and Telecommunication, Mr. So Khun. Experts from different telecommunication companies participating in this workshop confirmed that when setting mobile phone tower systems, each company always sets up lightning rods – devices against lightning strikes – and the effect on the people is minimal.
“In a separate interview, Minister So Khun said that concerns and the fear of citizens are understandable, but in this case, they are not right, because at present, the level of the effect [of radiation?] is less than 1 percent [of which data reference number?], which is very little, and it is acceptable. So far, there are more than four million customers using mobile phones and the state earns not less than US$30 million per year.
“He confirmed that the construction of towers on buildings or on privately owned land is agreed to between the owners of the real estate property and mobile phone company owners, and it is administered by the local authorities. Regarding the techniques to set up towers, if there are problems in the future, the companies themselves are responsible for it.
“During a speech at that occasion, the minister added that during more than 15 years, the development of telecommunications in the Kingdom of Cambodia has experienced rapid growth, particularly in the mobile phone field, where there have been more than 4.230.000 customers so far. The provision of services requires the use of modern technology and materials to connect networks from place to place in order to provide services covering different areas effectively, and with clear sound for users. Recently, the ministry and different institutions had received protests from some citizens living near towers and antenna devices, built and set up by mobile phone companies to serve the public.
“The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication invited relevant ministries to provide their opinions and create methods and solutions to inform citizens about the explanations given at this workshop, and then the ministry held a press conference after the meeting about the above mentioned topics.
”It should be noted that at present, there are nine mobile phone companies and three table mobile phone companies in Cambodia. The nine mobile phone companies are: 1. Mobitel (012, 017, 089, and 092); 2. Mfone (011, 085, and 099); 3. Hello (015, 016, and 081); 4. qb (013); 5. StarCell (098); 6. Viettel (097); 7. Smart Mobile (010 and 093); 8. Excell (018); and 9. Beeline (090). And the three table mobile phone companies are: Telecom Cambodia, Camshin, and Cammintel of the state.”
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6643, 7.5.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Swede faces child sex charge in Cambodia
May 8, 2009
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, May 8 (UPI) -- A Swedish national arrested in Cambodia on child sex charges says he did not sexually assault a 12-year-old boy as alleged by authorities.
Varg Gyllander, a representative of the Swedish police's National Investigation Department, said the Stockholm resident, whose identity was not reported, has been transferred to a detention center in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the news agency TT/The Local said Friday.
"What we're doing now is making sure that the Cambodian police receive the help they need from us. We'll help them out as best we can," Gyllander said of the sex crimes case.
Gyllander added the man, who was arrested Wednesday, has previously been accused of other child sex crimes.
"All we can say is that he's known for similar crimes from before," he said of a 2008 child sex crimes investigation in Cambodia that was focused on the Swedish national.
TT/The Local said Seila Samelang of the Action Pour Les Enfants non-governmental organization alleges the man had been living with five boys prior to his arrest.
Constitution Hid Khmer Rouge Crimes
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
Cambodians widely believe the Khmer Rouge was an atheist regime. But in trial testimony this week, jailed prison chief Duch said the regime’s constitution allowed for religion that wasn’t harmful.
The former chief of Tuol Sleng, who is facing atrocity crimes charges at the tribunal, told judges this week that Article 20 of the constitution for Democratic Kampuchea, as the regime was called, allowed for “every citizen of Kampuchea” to have “the right to worship any religion and the right not to worship any religion.”
“Reactionary religions that are detrimental to Democratic Kampuchea and the people of Kampuchea are absolutely forbidden,” it said.
Duch’s testimony about the constitution uncovered another truth about the regime: The words may have been there, but they masked another intent.
“Concretely, the position of this scheme was not to believe in religion whatsoever,” said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. “The monks were forcibly defrocked, and pagodas became deposits for cells of detention. Cathedrals and mosques were the same, and their believers were accused as enemies and died by oppression.”
In fact, the constitution served “only to hide the crimes the Khmer Rouge expected would happen,” he said.
The constitution also called Democratic Kampuchea an “independent, neutral state,” with “justice managed by Kampuchean people’s court.”
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
Cambodians widely believe the Khmer Rouge was an atheist regime. But in trial testimony this week, jailed prison chief Duch said the regime’s constitution allowed for religion that wasn’t harmful.
The former chief of Tuol Sleng, who is facing atrocity crimes charges at the tribunal, told judges this week that Article 20 of the constitution for Democratic Kampuchea, as the regime was called, allowed for “every citizen of Kampuchea” to have “the right to worship any religion and the right not to worship any religion.”
“Reactionary religions that are detrimental to Democratic Kampuchea and the people of Kampuchea are absolutely forbidden,” it said.
Duch’s testimony about the constitution uncovered another truth about the regime: The words may have been there, but they masked another intent.
“Concretely, the position of this scheme was not to believe in religion whatsoever,” said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia. “The monks were forcibly defrocked, and pagodas became deposits for cells of detention. Cathedrals and mosques were the same, and their believers were accused as enemies and died by oppression.”
In fact, the constitution served “only to hide the crimes the Khmer Rouge expected would happen,” he said.
The constitution also called Democratic Kampuchea an “independent, neutral state,” with “justice managed by Kampuchean people’s court.”
Bar Must Be Neutral, Rights Watchdog Says
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The Cambodian Bar Association must remain neutral and unbiased as the government pursues a defamation case against an attorney for the opposition party, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said Friday.
The attorney, Kong Sam On, is facing a countersuit by Prime Minisister Hun Sen, following the pursuit of a defamation case against the premier on the behalf of Mu Sochua, an opposition lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party.
The Cambodian bar, until recently led by a controversial president, Ky Tech, has suspended Kong Sam On’s license to allow the court’s to investigate the case. Ky Tech is also the attorney for Hun Sen.
Mu Sochua alleges that Hun Sen made disparaging remarks about her in the run-up to the 2008 National Assembly election, a charge repeated by Kong Sam On at a press conference in April. Hun Sen countersued both of them, also for defamation.
In an April 30 letter to the bar, Ky Tech said comments made by Kong Sam On at the press conference were a violation of the code of ethics for lawyers.
The bar’s current president, Chiv Song Hak, said the bar was now looking into Kong Sam On’s case.
“The Bar should stand neutrally for all lawyers,” Kong Sam On said.
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The Cambodian Bar Association must remain neutral and unbiased as the government pursues a defamation case against an attorney for the opposition party, the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said Friday.
The attorney, Kong Sam On, is facing a countersuit by Prime Minisister Hun Sen, following the pursuit of a defamation case against the premier on the behalf of Mu Sochua, an opposition lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party.
The Cambodian bar, until recently led by a controversial president, Ky Tech, has suspended Kong Sam On’s license to allow the court’s to investigate the case. Ky Tech is also the attorney for Hun Sen.
Mu Sochua alleges that Hun Sen made disparaging remarks about her in the run-up to the 2008 National Assembly election, a charge repeated by Kong Sam On at a press conference in April. Hun Sen countersued both of them, also for defamation.
In an April 30 letter to the bar, Ky Tech said comments made by Kong Sam On at the press conference were a violation of the code of ethics for lawyers.
The bar’s current president, Chiv Song Hak, said the bar was now looking into Kong Sam On’s case.
“The Bar should stand neutrally for all lawyers,” Kong Sam On said.
Tribunal Judges Refuse To Investigate Corruption
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The two investigating judges for the Khmer Rouge tribunal have denied a request from defense lawyers to investigate corruption allegations in the court’s administration office.
The allegations have already cost the court donor support, and defense attorneys for the regime’s jailed ideologue, Nuon Chea, and former foreign minister, Ieng Sary, have begun to use the court’s inability to tackle the allegations as evidence their clients will not receive fair trials.
In a statement dated April 3, investigating judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde said they had “no authority” to investigate the allegations.
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an organization monitoring the court, publicized the allegations in February 2007, claiming that, “Cambodian personnel, including judges, must kick back a significant percentage of their wages to Cambodian government officials in exchange for their positions on the court.”
Four months later, according to a complaint by defense attorneys, “the United Nations Development Program released a similarly damning report.”
UNDP has since held back around $750,000 in funding, while the UN and Cambodian negotiators have failed to reach an agreement on how allegations should be handled.
“Corruption has been widespread through my client’s upcoming official hearing,” said Son Arun, Cambodian counsel for Nuon Chea. “When there is corruption, there will not be justice.”
And Udom, defense attorney for Ieng Sary, said the judges’ decision not to investigate was “not proper.”
“The court is filled with corruption allegations,” he said. “We cannot find justice for any party.”
Both attorneys said they would appeal the investigation decision to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the court.
One court monitor, Lath Ky, of the rights group Adhoc, said judges should investigate the charges, for the sake of “effectiveness, transparency and justice at the tribunal.”
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The two investigating judges for the Khmer Rouge tribunal have denied a request from defense lawyers to investigate corruption allegations in the court’s administration office.
The allegations have already cost the court donor support, and defense attorneys for the regime’s jailed ideologue, Nuon Chea, and former foreign minister, Ieng Sary, have begun to use the court’s inability to tackle the allegations as evidence their clients will not receive fair trials.
In a statement dated April 3, investigating judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde said they had “no authority” to investigate the allegations.
The Open Society Justice Initiative, an organization monitoring the court, publicized the allegations in February 2007, claiming that, “Cambodian personnel, including judges, must kick back a significant percentage of their wages to Cambodian government officials in exchange for their positions on the court.”
Four months later, according to a complaint by defense attorneys, “the United Nations Development Program released a similarly damning report.”
UNDP has since held back around $750,000 in funding, while the UN and Cambodian negotiators have failed to reach an agreement on how allegations should be handled.
“Corruption has been widespread through my client’s upcoming official hearing,” said Son Arun, Cambodian counsel for Nuon Chea. “When there is corruption, there will not be justice.”
And Udom, defense attorney for Ieng Sary, said the judges’ decision not to investigate was “not proper.”
“The court is filled with corruption allegations,” he said. “We cannot find justice for any party.”
Both attorneys said they would appeal the investigation decision to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the court.
One court monitor, Lath Ky, of the rights group Adhoc, said judges should investigate the charges, for the sake of “effectiveness, transparency and justice at the tribunal.”
Muslim Women Finding Education in Capital
By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
Ly Navy had just come back from school. Wearing her school uniform and a scarf to cover her head, the second-year medicine student at Phnom Penh’s University of Health Science entered a room filled with bunk beds, bookshelves and wardrobes.
For now this was her home, a hostel for female Muslims on the grounds of the International Dubai Mosque in Phnom Penh.
The 22-year-old student from Kampong Cham province said she has felt at ease staying in the hostel for more than a year.
“Staying here is not difficult, as we have a firm and good manager who is taking care of us,” she said, referring to her student head sitting nearby.
“Most students in this hostel come from provinces, and as you know our parents cannot afford our high education here in the city,” said Math Islamiyas, another student from Kandal province. “So, we are really happy to be able to go to colleges or universities on provided scholarships.”
Some scholarships are offered on a competitive basis by the Islamic Development Bank or organizations in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, according to the Cambodian Muslim Student Association.
Fifty-two university students have been staying here at the International Dubai Mosque since the first-ever hostel for female Muslim students was opened in 2007, said the student head, Tolos Fa-Eysas , who is from Kratie province.
Most of them are from the provinces of Kampong Cham, Kratie, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang and Battambang.
They are all studying at both private and state colleges or universities, according to Tolos FaEysas, herself a fourth-year student of computer science at Norton University.
“When we stay here, we not only have a chance to go to university, but we also have access to Islamic education,” said the 25-year-old Tolos Fa-Eysas, adding that all the female students in the hostel go to Arabic or Malay classes or Quran-reading classes every evening in an Islamic institute next door.
CMSA President Sos Mousin said the creation of the hostel encouraged parents of Cambodian Muslims to send their daughters for higher education.
“Some parents do not lack money; they really can afford their daughter’s higher education, but they are worried about her staying in the city,” Sos Mousin said. “So the hostel is of great value, not just for poor students but also for those concerned parents.”
Of 300 Muslim students who are attending colleges or universities in the country, more than 100 are female.
Some are staying with relatives in the city, said Sos Mousin, who is also a secretary of state for the Ministry of Cults and Religion.
Like their Buddhist counterparts, most Muslim female students in the countryside have little chance of even finishing high school, let alone attending higher education. They are generally not encouraged to go away from home for fear of their personal safety and security.
Consequently, rarely does one see Muslim women holding high positions in either private or state institutions.
Among more than 20 high-ranking Muslim officials in the government, just two are women, serving as undersecretary of states, said one of them, Kob Mariah, who works at the Ministry of Women’s Affair.
However, with recent permission by the government to let female Muslim students wear traditional clothes in schools, more Muslim parents will send their daughters to universities, she said.
“I believe more and more female Muslim students will pursue higher education, such as those at the hostel,” said Kob Mariah, who is also secretary-general for the Cambodian Islamic Women Development Association.
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
Ly Navy had just come back from school. Wearing her school uniform and a scarf to cover her head, the second-year medicine student at Phnom Penh’s University of Health Science entered a room filled with bunk beds, bookshelves and wardrobes.
For now this was her home, a hostel for female Muslims on the grounds of the International Dubai Mosque in Phnom Penh.
The 22-year-old student from Kampong Cham province said she has felt at ease staying in the hostel for more than a year.
“Staying here is not difficult, as we have a firm and good manager who is taking care of us,” she said, referring to her student head sitting nearby.
“Most students in this hostel come from provinces, and as you know our parents cannot afford our high education here in the city,” said Math Islamiyas, another student from Kandal province. “So, we are really happy to be able to go to colleges or universities on provided scholarships.”
Some scholarships are offered on a competitive basis by the Islamic Development Bank or organizations in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, according to the Cambodian Muslim Student Association.
Fifty-two university students have been staying here at the International Dubai Mosque since the first-ever hostel for female Muslim students was opened in 2007, said the student head, Tolos Fa-Eysas , who is from Kratie province.
Most of them are from the provinces of Kampong Cham, Kratie, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang and Battambang.
They are all studying at both private and state colleges or universities, according to Tolos FaEysas, herself a fourth-year student of computer science at Norton University.
“When we stay here, we not only have a chance to go to university, but we also have access to Islamic education,” said the 25-year-old Tolos Fa-Eysas, adding that all the female students in the hostel go to Arabic or Malay classes or Quran-reading classes every evening in an Islamic institute next door.
CMSA President Sos Mousin said the creation of the hostel encouraged parents of Cambodian Muslims to send their daughters for higher education.
“Some parents do not lack money; they really can afford their daughter’s higher education, but they are worried about her staying in the city,” Sos Mousin said. “So the hostel is of great value, not just for poor students but also for those concerned parents.”
Of 300 Muslim students who are attending colleges or universities in the country, more than 100 are female.
Some are staying with relatives in the city, said Sos Mousin, who is also a secretary of state for the Ministry of Cults and Religion.
Like their Buddhist counterparts, most Muslim female students in the countryside have little chance of even finishing high school, let alone attending higher education. They are generally not encouraged to go away from home for fear of their personal safety and security.
Consequently, rarely does one see Muslim women holding high positions in either private or state institutions.
Among more than 20 high-ranking Muslim officials in the government, just two are women, serving as undersecretary of states, said one of them, Kob Mariah, who works at the Ministry of Women’s Affair.
However, with recent permission by the government to let female Muslim students wear traditional clothes in schools, more Muslim parents will send their daughters to universities, she said.
“I believe more and more female Muslim students will pursue higher education, such as those at the hostel,” said Kob Mariah, who is also secretary-general for the Cambodian Islamic Women Development Association.
Mu Sochua Considers Dropping Hun Sen Suit
Mu Sochua, secretary general of Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).http://www.voanews.com
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
08 May 2009
Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua said Thursday she would consider dropping a defamation suit against the prime minister if Hun Sen drops his against her.
The two are heading for a legal battle, after Mu Sochua filed a complaint in Phnom Penh court alleging Hun Sen had made disparaging, sexually discriminating remarks about her in the run-up to the July 2008 general election.
Hun Sen countersued, saying her accusation defamed him.
“To protect the country, if both sides agree to withdraw the complaints, I agree,” Mu Sochua said Thursday, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
The Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker said she had complained about Hun Sen’s comments to protect the value of women in general, especially because the government has said it values women in politics and administration.
“I just want responsibility for the words spoken by the prime minister,” she said.
Some members of the National Assembly are considering suspending Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity, but she said she was not worried as long as “everything follows the law.”
Washington
08 May 2009
Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua said Thursday she would consider dropping a defamation suit against the prime minister if Hun Sen drops his against her.
The two are heading for a legal battle, after Mu Sochua filed a complaint in Phnom Penh court alleging Hun Sen had made disparaging, sexually discriminating remarks about her in the run-up to the July 2008 general election.
Hun Sen countersued, saying her accusation defamed him.
“To protect the country, if both sides agree to withdraw the complaints, I agree,” Mu Sochua said Thursday, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
The Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker said she had complained about Hun Sen’s comments to protect the value of women in general, especially because the government has said it values women in politics and administration.
“I just want responsibility for the words spoken by the prime minister,” she said.
Some members of the National Assembly are considering suspending Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity, but she said she was not worried as long as “everything follows the law.”
Cambodia bans sand export for environmental protection
www.chinaview.cn
2009-05-08
PHNOM PENH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government issued a directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Friday to ban sand export for the sake of environmental protection.
"In order to protect the balance of nature and environment in areas of sea and fresh water, the government has decided to allow sand business to meet domestic demand only," said the directive.
After examination by experts, sand dredging is only allowed in places where the balance of nature can be restored or water flow is obstructed, it said.
Meanwhile, the directive "terminates any sand export to foreign countries," too.
The Committee of Sand Management has to check sand trade immediately, and report all the involved institutions to the premier, it added.
According to local reports, Cambodia used to export 40,000 to 50,000 tons of sand per month from its coastal province of Koh Kong, and the annual value of this business stood at 35 million U.S. dollars.
Vietnam and Singapore were the major destination countries.
While sand business boomed, sand dredging frequently caused riverbanks and houses to collapse along the Mekong River and the Tonle Bassac River.
Editor: Deng Shasha
PHNOM PENH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government issued a directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Friday to ban sand export for the sake of environmental protection.
"In order to protect the balance of nature and environment in areas of sea and fresh water, the government has decided to allow sand business to meet domestic demand only," said the directive.
After examination by experts, sand dredging is only allowed in places where the balance of nature can be restored or water flow is obstructed, it said.
Meanwhile, the directive "terminates any sand export to foreign countries," too.
The Committee of Sand Management has to check sand trade immediately, and report all the involved institutions to the premier, it added.
According to local reports, Cambodia used to export 40,000 to 50,000 tons of sand per month from its coastal province of Koh Kong, and the annual value of this business stood at 35 million U.S. dollars.
Vietnam and Singapore were the major destination countries.
While sand business boomed, sand dredging frequently caused riverbanks and houses to collapse along the Mekong River and the Tonle Bassac River.
Editor: Deng Shasha
Cambodians Brace for First Taste of Recession
By Luke Hunt
Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The global financial crisis is taking its toll on small countries like Cambodia, where citizens are bracing for the nation's first recession in living memory.
Cambodia's economy was shattered by four decades of conflict and communist dictatorship. But since peace was restored more than 10 years ago the country has enjoyed steady economic growth above five percent annually.
That stopped as this year began. Trade with Thailand - by far Cambodia's most important neighbor - has fallen 25 percent in the first two months of 2009. Garment exports are also down 25 percent and property prices slumped 40 percent from January to the end of March.
This is the first time in Cambodia's post-war era that property foreclosures, vehicle repossessions, bankruptcies and job losses have been seen, causing some concern for bankers and businessmen.
"We were of course seeing huge, huge, increases in land values probably over the last 12 months as a result of speculative land and investment in the country," said Paul Freer, vice president of Maruhan Japan Bank in Phnom Penh. "That has virtually come to a standstill."
The World Bank forecasts 30,000 lost jobs in Cambodia's garment industry. A decline in tourism receipts from the Western countries compounds economic problems for the government. The opposition calls for a 500 million dollar spending package, an enormous sum by this country's standards.
Many people here expect Cambodia to fall into recession in the next few months.
Derek Mayes from the Australian Business Association of Cambodia says investment was getting reckless as the economy peaked in the second half of last year. He says that pushed conservative and long-term investors out of the market.
Now, he says, the downturn could take the heat of out of the market and bring investment back to realistic levels.
"The wrong type of development was going ahead and I think this has actually brought it back to the point where the opportunities are still there but I think the realism from serious business people is saying yep we can still do a deal," said Mayes.
Freer at Maruhan Japan Bank echoes that sentiment.
"It's probably one of the first recession's that most people here I think in the business community can remember," he said. "People had perhaps thought that the property market was going to continue to go northwards."
Ultimately, he says, the downturn could prove to be good for the country, by encouraging more careful and sustainable growth.
Phnom Penh
08 May 2009
The global financial crisis is taking its toll on small countries like Cambodia, where citizens are bracing for the nation's first recession in living memory.
Cambodia's economy was shattered by four decades of conflict and communist dictatorship. But since peace was restored more than 10 years ago the country has enjoyed steady economic growth above five percent annually.
That stopped as this year began. Trade with Thailand - by far Cambodia's most important neighbor - has fallen 25 percent in the first two months of 2009. Garment exports are also down 25 percent and property prices slumped 40 percent from January to the end of March.
This is the first time in Cambodia's post-war era that property foreclosures, vehicle repossessions, bankruptcies and job losses have been seen, causing some concern for bankers and businessmen.
"We were of course seeing huge, huge, increases in land values probably over the last 12 months as a result of speculative land and investment in the country," said Paul Freer, vice president of Maruhan Japan Bank in Phnom Penh. "That has virtually come to a standstill."
The World Bank forecasts 30,000 lost jobs in Cambodia's garment industry. A decline in tourism receipts from the Western countries compounds economic problems for the government. The opposition calls for a 500 million dollar spending package, an enormous sum by this country's standards.
Many people here expect Cambodia to fall into recession in the next few months.
Derek Mayes from the Australian Business Association of Cambodia says investment was getting reckless as the economy peaked in the second half of last year. He says that pushed conservative and long-term investors out of the market.
Now, he says, the downturn could take the heat of out of the market and bring investment back to realistic levels.
"The wrong type of development was going ahead and I think this has actually brought it back to the point where the opportunities are still there but I think the realism from serious business people is saying yep we can still do a deal," said Mayes.
Freer at Maruhan Japan Bank echoes that sentiment.
"It's probably one of the first recession's that most people here I think in the business community can remember," he said. "People had perhaps thought that the property market was going to continue to go northwards."
Ultimately, he says, the downturn could prove to be good for the country, by encouraging more careful and sustainable growth.
Khmer Krom: Land Rights Demonstration
Friday, 08 May 2009
Hundreds of Farmers are demonstrating in three different locations in Vietnam, demanding the return of confiscated farmlands
Below is a statement issued by the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation:
This morning, May 8, 2009 approximately 10:00AM local time, hundreds of Khmer-Krom farmers are peacefully demonstrating in three different locations to demand returning their confiscated farmlands.In Chau Lang village, Tri Ton district, An Giang province, more than 100 Khmer-Krom farmer families are peacefully protest to demand returning their confiscated farmlands, but they are being forced to go back to their home by the Vietnamese polices. At this time, they currently are being surrounded by the Vietnamese Polices at Che-Eng Krom Temple in Chau Lang village.
In An Cu village, Tinh Bien district, An Giang province, more than 40 Khmer-Krom farmers are peacefully demonstrating in front of the Vietnamese Local Authority’s building of An Cu Village to demand returning their confiscated farmlands. They are being surrounded by the Vietnamese Polices.
In Can Tho City, more than 50 Khmer-Krom farmers from Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces are also peacefully demonstrating to demand their confiscated farmlands.
In this regards, we would like to urge all foreign Embassies in Vietnam to closely monitor and provide any possible assistant to protect the Khmer-Krom farmers so they can freely exercise their land rights to demand returning their confiscated farmlands.
Friday, 8 May 2009
Celebration of Vesak Day (Buddha's birthday) in Oudong
Cambodian Buddhist monks celebrate Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION IMAGES OF THE DAY) 
Cambodian nuns hold lotus flowers and incense as they pray during Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION) 
Cambodians light incense as they pray during Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION)
Cambodians offer food to Buddhist monks during Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION) 
Cambodians march during Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION)
Cambodian Buddhist monks march as they hold their national flags to celebrate Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION)
Cambodian Buddhist monks march as they hold their national flags to celebrate Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Cambodian Buddhist monks march as they hold their national flags to celebrate Vesak Day in Oudong, north Cambodia, May 8, 2009. Vesak Day is held to honour the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha more than 2,000 years ago.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA SOCIETY RELIGION)
Lotus flowers are on display at a crowded place during the Buddha's enlightenment day at Udong, in Kandal province, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 8, 2009. Hundreds of Buddhist monks and lay people gathered on the holiest day of the Buddhist calendar to marks the birth, and death of the Buddha.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith) Tight security at flu meet
Police and soldiers armed with batons and plastic shields were in the area hours before ASEAN delegates were due to arrive for the start of the two-day meeting. -- PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESSTHE STRAITS TIMES
http://www.straitstimes.com
http://www.straitstimes.com
May 7, 2009
BANGKOK - THAI authorities threw tight security around the venue of a regional conference on the H1N1 flu virus on Thursday to prevent any recurrence of the violence that forced an Asian leaders' summit to be cancelled in April.
Bangkok Metropolitan Police Lieutenant General Vachirapong Chiewprecha told reporters more than 1,000 riot police and soldiers would maintain security around the Dusit Thani Hotel near Bangkok's Silom financial district.
The meeting is the first Asean event to be hosted by Thailand since the summit at the seaside resort of Pattaya had to be called off when thousands of red-shirted, anti-government protesters broke through security barriers and invaded the venue, forcing some Asian leaders to flee by helicopter.
There was no sign of any rally by these supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra by 8.30am (9.30am Singapore time).
Police and soldiers armed with batons and plastic shields were in the area hours before delegates from the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) were due to arrive for the start of the two-day meeting.
Police ordered security to be stepped up as a precautionary measure after an overnight clash lasting several hours between dozens of plain-clothed police officers and street hawkers about two blocks from the hotel, in which at least 10 people were wounded.
Television showed police and hawkers, armed with wooden clubs, steel pipes and bottles, clashing near the tourist strip of Patpong after officials moved in to seize pirated goods.
Several warning shots were fired into the air, angering the hawkers, who threatened to march to the hotel in protest. -- REUTERS
Swede held for child sex crimes in Cambodia
The Local
Sweden's News in English
http://www.thelocal.se
Sweden's News in English
http://www.thelocal.se
8 May 09
A Swedish man in his sixties has been arrested in Cambodia on suspicions of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.
Foster parents 'hung boys from hooks' (6 May 09)
Swedish national library reported for child porn (6 Apr 09)
Cop fined for outing child sex offender (26 Mar 09)
The man, who resides in the Stockholm area, was arrested Wednesday night local time, but denies committing any crime.
According to the newspaper, the Swede was the target of an investigation into other child sex crimes, and was a figure in another investigation into child sex crimes in Cambodia which was abandoned in September last year.
Interpol’s division for child pornography crimes learned of the arrest on Wednesday.
“We’ve received information about it, but haven’t been directly involved in the arrest,” said Interpol’s Anders Persson from Lyon, France.
Varg Gyllander, a spokesperson with the Swedish police’s National Investigation Department (Rikskriminalen), confirmed that a Swedish man had been arrested in Cambodia and that they had received information that he was taken to a detention centre in the capital city Phnom Penh.
“What we’re doing now is making sure that the Cambodian police receive the help they need from us. We’ll help them out as best we can,” he said.
Police don’t know of the exact charges against the Swede, but it has something to do with the sexual assault of a child.
“All we can say is that he’s known for similar crimes from before,” said Gyllander to the TT news agency.
Local organizations which against paedeophiles in Cambodia are said to have had the man under surveillance for some time.
He is reported to have been in the country since 2007 and been in contact with small boys, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.
Tracing Truong Son base in Cambodia
An SGGP reporter asks Mr. Seo Go about the section of the Truong Son trail running through O Yadao.SAIGON
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn
Friday ,May 08,2009
A team of SGGP reporters recently made a trip to Cambodia to find traces of a Truong Son troop base in Yadao District, Ratanakiri Province.
We followed the trail ‘14C’ running along Po Ko River to Le Thanh International border gate to Cambodia. From the gate, we traveled some ten kilometers to get to Nu Village of Ia Khai Commune, Gia Lai Province.
In the village, there still exist two wharfs. During the war, a boatman named A Sanh (his real name Puih San) would use his boat to transport North Vietnamese troops across the river to Cambodia.
We went across the river and began to follow the western Truong Son trail (also known as the Ho Chi Minh trail) running along the river to head to O Yadao District.
We were walking on a section of the trail where, between 2000 and 2005, the Kon Tum and Gia Lai Provincial Army Section unearthed more than 100 remains of North Vietnamese soldiers.
On our way to the destination, wild sunflowers were blooming yellow on both the sides of the trail under the brilliant sun. We at last arrived at the place formerly used as a safe base for Truong Son troops 40 years ago. The site is just some ten kilometers from the Vietnamese border and 74 kilometers from the center of Ratanakiri.
We went to border post 721 nearby and asked Commander Phan Dinh Thanh, commanding officer, to ask if he had any idea about the accurate location of the base.
Cdr. Thanh replied, “In 1984, in a patrol, jointly organized by the soldiers of military post 721 and those of Cambodian military post 623, we found a section of the trail and a station for Truong Son troops located at the border landmark of 271 on Cambodian land (or 272 on Vietnamese land). The trail paralleled with the twin stream, which flows into Pako River.”
He added, “On the trail, we still found the chains of tanks, oil pipelines, house frames and cooking stoves. We guessed that such things had belonged to a commo-liaison of the 559 Army Corps.”
We went with first lieutenant Huynh Van Sy of border post 721, who led us to the area where the base was said to have existed. Things have changed with time. Many forests around the site have now been transformed into green paddy fields, but the old Khmer villagers who lived through the war in the region still remembered the base and the North Vietnamese soldiers.
Lt. Sy led us to a house on stilts made from precious wood standing in the center of the village to meet Seo Go, a 65- year old local man. In the 1970’s, he was head of the village.
Seo Go said, “During the war, the troops were garrisoned in the forest, a kilometer from the village to the east. They usually came to the village to give help to the people. Sometimes, they also gave us food. There was also a large hospital for Truong Son soldiers in the forest, about a two day walk from the village.”
What Seo Go said helped us locate the site of Truong Son troops’ base in O Yadao District. We said goodbye to him and followed his directions to the site.
At the site, we could not find any trace of the trail because grass, bushes and trees had grown wildly. We could do nothing, but stand silently to remember thousands of soldiers who had fallen on the western Truong Son road for the cause of independence and freedom.
We left, pondering about the changing fortunes of life. Truong Son Mountain, the roof of Indochina, still emerges from the forests, the Poko River still flows from Cambodia into Vietnam, but the many historical sites on Truong Son Trail, if not found and restored in time, will be forever taken back by the forests from which it was born.
By staff writers – Translated by Phuong Lan
Cambodia unveils plan for conservation, development of Preah Vihear temple
People's daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn
http://english.people.com.cn
May 08, 2009
The Cambodia government here on Thursday released a master plan for conservation, management and development of the zone surrounding the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.
The plan aims to develop the belt around temple into an eco-tourism zone, said Suos Yara, undersecretary of state of the Council of Ministers.
The area within a radius of 10 km of the temple will be under governmental conservation control, or it can be called "the green zone" for the Preah Vihear temple, he added.
A museum will be built in the zone to highlight the history of the Preah Vihear temple and house relevant artifacts, according to the plan.
It also demands relocation of the 792 families of Kor Muy and Prasat villages to a land of over 4,500 hectares some 10 km away from their current sites, said Suos Yara.
The relocation will make way for the temple zone development and schools, hospitals, markets other infrastructure for the relocated people will be built in their new living area, he said.
The Preah Vihear temple became a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in July 2008.
Source:Xinhua
A community participative documentary not to forget the Pol Pot era
Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 07/05/2009: Nou Va, co-director of the movie “We want (u) to know” ©John Vink/ MagnumBy Stéphanie Gée
08-05-2009
“We want (u) to know” is yet another documentary that gives a voice to survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime, but its instigators wanted it to be different from anything already produced on the subject. Their approach is not meant to be historical, legal (for instance, how to file a complaint with the court), or even educational, but “participative”, the Italian film-maker Ella Pugliese explains. From the script to the shooting, including the acting and the sound recording, an important part of the steps of making the movie were entrusted to villagers, who received technical guidance from the Italian and psychological support from German Judith Strasser, adviser on this project for the German Development Service (DED).
“We want (u) to know”
The film's title has a double meaning: we want you – and the young generation in the first place – to know what happened, but we also want to know what happened. This double intention is illustrated by a discussion between a blind grandmother, who lost all her relatives under the Khmer Rouge, and an innocent 12-year-old boy. Holding a microphone in his hand, the child, barely a teenager, freely asks questions to the elderly woman, on a chattering tone and under the eye of the camera.
“Say, grandma, I was wondering what the 'Pol Pots' looked like?” “They looked like any of us, but they behaved differently.” “And where are they today?” “They left, I don't know where to. After the fall of the regime, the leaders left and left their subalterns behind them. They were villagers like us, but they became 'Pol Pots'.” “Grandma, I was wondering why they killed Khmer people?” “I don't know... Grandma doesn't know why they did that. They followed their rule. And their rule was to kill...”
The movie features testimonies, reconstruction of scenes taken from the lives of the villagers of Thnol Lok, Kirirom district, Takeo province, through actions, but also drawings sketched on the very floor of their pagoda which walls still bear the blood-red stigma of the genocidal regime, or preparation scenes showing one of the local chiefs adjusting the red and white chequered scarf of a young man in black pyjamas, portraying a soldier of the Angkar, while grumbling “You don't know how to tie your krama around your neck!”, or a survivor pointing at a former mass grave... The improvised team is made of people of all ages, as is the crowd that came every night to watch the day's footage, their faces suddenly grave before the snippets of a suddenly reappeared past. The exploration of memory and present concludes with the images of the opening, on March 30th 2009, of the trial of Duch, the former director of S-21, at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (EEEC).
A community participative approach
The idea for this project was born a year ago during a working group on mental health disorders suffered by survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. Funds were provided by German agency DED, production was taken care of by the Khmer Institute for Democracy (KID) and the International Centre for Conciliation, and networks established by legal aid NGOs working with Khmer Rouge victims were mobilized.
Between visits to places of memory, known or unsuspected, in Phnom Penh and in the provinces of Siem Reap, Takeo and Kratie, the challenge was to rally villagers around this adventure. “We were curious to see how this approach would be received: coming to villages with cameras, authoring tools, and asking residents if they wanted to use them to talk about the past,” remembers Ella Pugliese, still surprised to observe how much history is still present in their lives. Judith Strasser concedes that the concept was first foreign to them. “What to do with memory?” After long discussions, villagers accepted rather spontaneously to re-establish ties with the painful period, and following a pot luck principle, each came with his or her story and ideas for the shooting. “Some villagers suggested to re-enact scenes of killings. At first, we were sceptical about it. Then, they started acting these scenes, with a lot of authenticity. It was troubling. We followed them but chose, after long debates, not to show executions and only suggest them,” the Italian reports.
A quest for truth with safeguards
The inter-generational dimension was very important for Ella and Judith, who heard the villagers' desire to see the story anchored in collective memory so that it does not vanish and be relegated to a popular legend. “Cambodians are really looking for justice and put great trust in the [Khmer Rouge] tribunal. And if some of them are burdened with hatred for their former torturers, they have no desire for vengeance,” Judith could observe on the field.
Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 06/05/2009: Judith Strasser, psychologist working with TPO, Ella Pugliese, co-director, and Shanti Sattler, all three creators and producers of the movie “We want (u) to know”©John Vink/Magnum The imperative during the shooting, which unfolded over several months, was not to come and disturb, or break, the balance in the villages by trying to stir the past too much, or alternatively, to ensure that it is restored before putting the cameras away. That is why the team took a lot of precautions, bringing with them psychologists from the NGO TPO. “They explained to the villagers the symptoms that may manifest themselves, the reactions that may occur. TPO's hotline was also communicated to them so that they can continue consulting with them if needed.”
A step towards healing
A step towards healing
It makes Judith, specialist of clinical psychology, cringe when she hears an enduring cliché claiming that reliving a trauma revives it. According to her, it is important to unearth one's pain, “to get it out of the private sphere of the house”. “If you know how to strike a balance between relief and burden, chances are the former will prevail. Facing the trauma is a way to face one's past and find the path to healing. One of the protagonists told us at the end of the shooting that she was breathing again, she was able to forget and felt happy again, because her mind was no longer as haunted by these horrible stories. And you hear her explain that in the movie. Retreating into silence and repressing painful memories is one of the main symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. What people need is precisely help to confront their past and find relief.”
“Filming, drawing and so on in a group setting, this offers a safe environment as well as distance, which are conducive to help people speak freely and share their stories,” the Italian film-maker insists , echoing her colleague. In some way, a kind of collective therapy, or at least its beginning, specify the two young women, who would like to go further still with the adventure.
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Schedule of showings in Cambodia
“We want (u) to know” (90mns) will be shown Friday May 8th at the Bophana Centre (No 64, Street 200) at 7pm, Saturday May 9th at the Living Room Café (No 9, Street 306) at 7pm, and Saturday May 10th at Meta House (No 6, Street 264) at 7pm. The authors of the documentary dream of seeing the documentary continue its life by hitting the roads of the Kingdom, through a travelling cinema, and facilitate dialogue wherever it goes... Moreover, the movie will be used and broadcast by organisations like TPO, an NGO providing psychological support.
“Filming, drawing and so on in a group setting, this offers a safe environment as well as distance, which are conducive to help people speak freely and share their stories,” the Italian film-maker insists , echoing her colleague. In some way, a kind of collective therapy, or at least its beginning, specify the two young women, who would like to go further still with the adventure.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of showings in Cambodia
“We want (u) to know” (90mns) will be shown Friday May 8th at the Bophana Centre (No 64, Street 200) at 7pm, Saturday May 9th at the Living Room Café (No 9, Street 306) at 7pm, and Saturday May 10th at Meta House (No 6, Street 264) at 7pm. The authors of the documentary dream of seeing the documentary continue its life by hitting the roads of the Kingdom, through a travelling cinema, and facilitate dialogue wherever it goes... Moreover, the movie will be used and broadcast by organisations like TPO, an NGO providing psychological support.
Leaders are always right
The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com
http://www.phnompenhpost.com
Written by Sithen Sum
Friday, 08 May 2009
Dear Editor,
I'm writing in response to Dr Naranhkiri Tith's May 4 letter. I'm not a doctor, nor a monarchist, nor a person smart enough to answer the doctor's provocative question. However, my reply is based on my experience as a motivational trainer.
If one accepts Sihanouk as a leader, it should be considered that he has a vision of his own. And I'd say virtually all leaders will claim they are right all the time. Why? Simply because of their vision. The vision is intact, yet their strategies to realise that may vary from time to time.
Let me take the example of Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Whatever he did was big picture and for the nation's sake.
The same holds true with Sihanouk. Although he was not right to change his position to support the KR, the change was necessary then to make Cambodian people independent from the US. What he expected of the KR was not the genocide but an independent Cambodia, as he testified to with our independence gained from France back in 1953. If he's been an ally to Hun Sen, it's probably because it's the only way to stabilise the country politically, and eventually, economically.
In a nutshell, it's not who is right, but what is right that matters.
Sithen Sum
Phnom Penh
Exonerate King Sihanouk
The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
Written by Va Makara
Friday, 08 May 2009
Dear Editor,
I write regarding the letter [May 4] by Dr Naranhkiri Tith.
The King had his vision of protection, preservation and development of the nation. He led the movement because he needed his country out of wars.
However, he was not smart enough to know what would result from his movements.
Furthermore, many pressures also pressed on him. But we can understand about his real visions on leading the movement is to protect Cambodia.
Va Makara
Phnom Penh
World Thalassaemia Day
Photo by: Tracey Shelton The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
Written by Tracey Shelton
Friday, 08 May 2009
Meng Leng, 18 months, who has severe Thalassaemia – an inherited condition that inhibits the body’s ability to produce normal red blood cells – receives blood at the National Paediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. Today is World Thalassaemia Day, and a new campaign has been launched to find donors willing to contribute blood once or twice a year for a particular Thalassaemia patient.
See the full story Click Here
Defamation suits heard in PP court
The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
Written by Meas Sokchea and Robbie Corey-Boulet
Friday, 08 May 2009
Public row between PM and SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua goes to judge’s chambers
Phnom Penh Municipal Court heard arguments Thursday from the lawyers for opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua and Prime Minister Hun Sen, as it opened the first hearings in a very public defamation row that has drawn increasing attention from Cambodian and international observers.
Mu Sochua said Thursday evening that her lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, presented prosecutor Hing Bun Chea with evidence detailing every aspect of her case, which she argues stems from an April 4 speech in Kampot during which Hun Sen called her a cheung klang, or "strong leg", a term viewed by some as particularly offensive to women.
She said the evidence included a transcript of the speech, as well as all documents pertaining to an altercation that occurred during last year's election in which she claimed an army general tore a button from her blouse and exposed her bra.
During the speech, Hun Sen referred to a "strong female MP from the opposition party in Kampot" who lost a button on her shirt while running around embracing people. He did not name Mu Sochua.
Hun Sen has repeatedly denied that the April 4 comments referred to Mu Sochua.
On the same day that Mu Sochua filed her suit, April 27, he filed a countersuit claiming that Mu Sochua had defamed him by saying the comments he made referred to her.
In an interview after the hearing, Ky Tech, Hun Sen's lawyer, declined to comment in detail about the evidence he presented to the prosecutors.
"This is the first step," he said. "They asked me what reason I had for pressing the case and I explained."
The duelling defamation cases continued to draw international attention this week, with Human Rights Watch issuing a statement Tuesday criticising Hun Sen's threat to have Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity lifted.
Om Yentieng, one of Hun Sen's advisers and president of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, told Cambodian media April 24 that ruling party MPs might meet to discuss suspending her parliamentary immunity.
Hun Sen said in an April 29 speech that lifting Mu Sochua's immunity would be "easier than peeling a banana".
"This is yet another blatant attempt to silence the political opposition," said HRW Asia director Brad Adams. "By threatening to prosecute opposition members of parliament on bogus charges, Hun Sen shows once again that his goal is elective dictatorship, not a genuinely pluralistic democracy."
The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) issued a statement Thursday that also decried threats made to lift Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity.
"CALD upholds respect for the rule of law and urges that Mr Hun Sen and the majority bloc in the parliament refrain from lifting any member of parliament's immunity unless there is compelling evidence cited for damages," the statement reads.
Kong Sam Onn said after the hearings Thursday that he had requested the court ask the National Assembly to hold a vote on whether to lift Prime Minister Hun Sen's parliamentary immunity.
Mu Sochua described this move as an attempt to "make the process equal", saying, "If immunity is being lifted, it should be done on an equal basis."
Looking ahead
Reached Thursday evening, Hing Bun Chea said he did not know when the next meetings related to the case would be held.
Sok Roeun, the prosecutor in the case filed by Hun Sen, declined on Thursday to comment about the hearings and future proceedings.
Villagers near Preah Vihear protest
The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
Written by Thet Sambath
Friday, 08 May 2009
NEAR the disputed Preah Vihear temple complex, 20 people who said they were residents of Ko Muoy village protested their eviction, demanding more compensation and greater government transparency, local villagers said.
But at a press conference on Wednesday, officials at the Council of Ministers said that many of the angry villagers were not actually residents of Ko Muoy, a village that was largely destroyed by Thai rocket fire in April.
"The real problem was caused by those who are not really villagers who live near Preah Vihear temple," said Sous Yara, an undersecretary at the Council of Ministers, adding: "The government won't provide land to those kinds of villagers."
Ros Heng, the deputy governor of Preah Vihear's Chom Ksan district, said the land is controlled by the Preah Vihear Temple Authority and will become a "nature area".
Kong Sorphon, the director of Preah Vihear provinces's Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said the 473 families being moved to Sa Em will receive ample compensation in the form of 2 million riels (US$482), a plot of land 50 metres by 100 metres and a new house.
But a police officer from Ko Muoy who says he is being detained at a provincial police station with a colleague for inciting the protests, disagrees. "We actually do not want to leave this place because this place helps make our lives better."
On Monday, more than 100 villagers came to Phnom Penh and delivered a complaint with 209 thumbprints to Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cabinet of Ministers, the National Assembly and the Senate.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRANN CHAMROEUN
Few aware of blood disorder
Photo by: Tracey SheltonYun Kimti, 4, waits for treatment for Thalassaemia at the National Paediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh last week.
The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
Written by Tracey Shelton
Friday, 08 May 2009
To mark World Thalassaemia Day, a blood drive is to be launched to aid patients dependent on transfusions
AT the National Paediatric Hospital (NPH) Wednesday, doctors prepared 18-month-old Thalassaemia patient Meng Leng for her monthly blood transfusion.
As they held her down and tried - for the 13th time - to locate a vein in her tiny limbs, she screamed in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow. Having been diagnosed two months earlier with severe Thalassaemia - an inherited condition that inhibits the body's ability to produce normal red blood cells - Meng Leng will need transfusions every month for the rest of her life.
A 2003 study completed at the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) in Siem Reap, the only completed study of Thalassaemia in Cambodia to date, revealed that 48 percent of subjects were carriers of the hereditary blood disorder.
Particularly prevalent among Mediterranean and Asian nationalities, Thalassaemia can cause severe anaemia, stunted physical growth, weakened bones, expanded bone marrow, inhibited sexual development and premature death, according to the Thalassaemia International Federation.
Children with parents who are both carriers face a 25 percent chance of developing severe Thalassaemia and a 50 percent chance of becoming carriers themselves.
Without treatment, the life expectancy for a patient with Thalassaemia ranges between two and 20 years, depending on the disease's severity, said medical laboratory scientist Robyn Devenish.
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I was shocked to find... that there was almost no awareness.
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Devenish began researching the disease in 2003 after noticing that a large percentage of anaemic patients assumed to be iron-deficient presented with Thalassaemia symptoms. The blood samples of 300 patients were sent to Thailand for testing.
"The results came back with 68 percent having at least one form of Thalassaemia," she said. "These were all anaemia patients, so the results were quite high. So I conducted a study across the board of 300 outpatients and found 48 percent were either carriers or had severe Thalassaemia."
Two studies currently under way are expected to yield similar results, suggesting that 140,000 Cambodians - most of them undiagnosed - suffer from Thalassaemia, while millions more could potentially pass the disorder on to their children.
No cure exists, but patients can live a full life with regular blood transfusions. In very severe cases, transfusions need to be given monthly, particular during childhood, so that the body can develop normally.
NPH hematologist Dr Chean Sophal, who treats around 100 Thalassaemia patients, said frequent transfusions can lead to complications.
"In Cambodia, there is no facility for filtering the red cells from the white, so whole blood must be given to a patient," he said. "It is these white cells that carry diseases such as hepatitis B and C and HIV."
Multiple transfusions also cause an iron overload in the body, which Chean Sophal said damages vital organs. The treatment, an iron-chelating agent, is currently only available in one location in Phnom Penh and costs patients with severe cases of the disease between US$12 and $15 per day.
"Nearly all [my patients] need this but cannot afford it," Chean Sophal said, adding that many are already experiencing organ complications.
Ieng Auntouch, chairman of the Cambodian Thalassaemia Association (CTA) and the father of two boys with severe Thalassaemia, said he can afford the treatment his children require but noted that many Cambodians cannot. He said the Ministry of Health does not allocate funds to promote awareness of the disease and training in how to treat it because it is not considered a priority disease.
"When my first son was diagnosed, I was shocked to find that in a country with such high prevalence there is almost no awareness," he said.
Lack of blood
A shortage of blood donors is one obstacle to treating patients.
Dr Hok Kim Cheng, deputy director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre, said the government provides blood free when available. He said only 25 percent of the centre's blood supply comes from voluntary donors, meaning relatives are often called on to donate.
"Currently, we cannot fill all requests," he said.
The blood must be fresh to be effective. To fill the need, Devenish said, a new campaign is to be launched today, on World Thalassaemia Day, to find donors willing to contribute blood once or twice a year for a particular patient. This way, blood could be donated and transfused within days when the child needs it, increasing its effectiveness, she said.
"If a donor was willing to spend just one hour twice a year donating blood," Devenish said, "they could allow one child who would otherwise be without hope to live a normal life and take a huge burden off the parents who are always under tremendous pressure to find a donor."
For information regarding the Thalassaemia blood donor program or CTA, contact Robyn Devenish at RLD@iinet.net.au
Residents vow to fight eviction
Photo by: HENG CHIVOANRaos Chiem, 70, in her temporary shelter on the former site of the Tomnup Toek commune in Phnom Penh.
The Phnom Penh Post
Written by May Titthara
Friday, 08 May 2009
Tomnup Toek commune villagers in Phnom Penh say proposed relocation site in Kandal province has no facilities and is too far away, leaving them no chance to earn a living
SEVERAL residents of Tomnup Toek commune in Phnom Penh have threatened violence if authorities try to evict them by force to Kandal province after an early morning fire on April 16 claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl and left 288 families homeless.
Resident representative Sao Rithy Kosal said the commune chief had told them their temporary shelters would be destroyed and they would be removed to Phnom Bat commune unless they left on Thursday.
"We won't allow the authorities to demolish our shelters, and we will fight back with stones," he said. "I want them to relocate us to the city's outskirts like Dangkor district, not far away like Phnom Bat. It is 50 kilometres away. How can we do business there? I would rather die here than move there."
Almost 150 houses were destroyed in the blaze. Police said they suspect it was set by Ros Sophan, 29, who was angry that his family would not give him 1,000 riels (US$0.25).
Kandal relocation
But commune Chief Chor Heng denied telling residents there was a Thursday deadline.
"The 288 families will be relocated to Kandal province, and each will get an empty plot of land measuring 4 metres by 6 metres. This is by order of City Hall," he told the Post. "But we don't know for certain when we will relocate them, and it is their right to turn down the relocation."
Chor Heng said the new site was better than any other. "It is close to a tourist area, and they can earn a living that way. Right now they are living in anarchy on the road. We are giving them land and it is good enough for them."
Resident Ouch Pov told the Post the authorities said residents had no choice.
"That's why we are here together. We didn't go to work today. Many of us are afraid they will demolish our shelters while we are away," he said.
Another resident representative, Horm Neun, said authorities had refused to show them the eviction letter.
"So how can we believe them? We want the governor to send us to the outskirts of the capital so we can still earn a living," he said. "We've seen the land on offer. It is in a flood area and there is no chance of running a business there. So if they use violence against us to demolish our shelters, we will do the same back to them."
Ouch Leng, a monitor with the rights group Adhoc, said authorities had shown an uncaring attitude.
"They must pay compensation before evicting people and shouldn't send them to a place far from health centres or schools, or somewhere they can't run a business," he said. "I doubt they will force them to leave on deadline. They will wait a week because they want people to keep quiet."
Neither the city's deputy governor, Mann Chhoeun, nor the governor of Chamkarmon district, Lo Yuy, were available for comment Thursday.
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