Students blossom at Lotus Blanc school

via CAAI

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 15:00 Roth Meas

SUCCESSFUL PSE graduate Khoeun Sambat, 28, left the Lotus Blanc course in 2005 and has won a chef’s job at Chayyam Resturant, behind Wat Langka in Phnom Penh. He says he was a former scavenger at Stung Meanchey dump too, until he was offered new hope by PSE in 2002.

“I was about 12 when my mother brought me to pick up plastic bags from the dump and wash them to resell on the market. There was an organization camping near the dump that offered food to us children every day, and one day they asked me whether I wanted to study.”

Khoen Sambat attended a general knowledge class for a year and spent two years in the food production class. As soon as he left PSE, he got a job.

“I could never imagine I could become a chef. I used to be a scavenger, eating food from the dump where were many flies and worms. Now I’ve got a job,” he said proudly. “Nobody looked down on me, but in contrast, they admired me that I could change my life from being a scavenger to a cook.”

A second Lotus Blanc training restaurant was opened in early 2009 along Street Pasteur in Phnom Penh.

“We opened the restaurants for students to have real practice. We want to expose them to the real working environment,” said PSE’s public relations manager Touch Len.

He said it was also an opportunity for customers to see the skills of various students, as some later employed them in their own businesses.

Cookery is just one course among many the hotel school offers. Other courses include food and beverage service, bakery and pastry, housekeeping and laundry, front office, as well as food and beverage management.

Lotus Blanc has about 300 students in total, of which 48 are studying cookery on the two-year course. Each study period includes a six-month internship at restaurants in Cambodia.

“About 400 of our graduates are now working everywhere in Cambodia – from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap down to Sihanoukville,” says Touch Len.

PSE has trained more than 7,000 Cambodian children so far in its network of schools, which offer vocational training for children at the dump and others with poverty-stricken backgrounds.

With a number of two-year courses including information technology, car mechanics, hairdressing and beauty, business administration or retail sales, Pour un Sourire d’Enfant has given skills and pride back to Cambodia’s most marginal teenagers.

Fire Gasoline in Phnom Penh

Effect of teachers is long lasting

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth

via CAAI

By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth • September 22, 2010

I was born and raised more than half century ago in the poor Southeast Asian kingdom of Cambodia.

When my parents' financial fortunes took a sharp dive and the family had to split up temporarily to survive, I lived on my own in an empty house, owned a pair of shorts and two shirts -- the second sewn by my older sister. I walked to school barefoot. I cooked rice on a three-legged, baked-mud stove using firewood, and I was scared of the dark. My circumstances had greatly changed from the days when I was driven to a private kindergarten in a black Citroen, attended by some helpers.

'Teacher affects eternity'

I grew up at a time of national insecurity fomented by the Khmer Issarak, the Vietminh, and increasing anti-French colonialist activities. I have written about my elementary school teacher at Russeykeo, a young "progressive" chap whose words greatly affected me. In a leaky, thatched-roof classroom, he untiringly pounded into kids' heads that we are humans, and each of us has "one kilo of brain" that is as good as any other brain, and that "we" are responsible for our future and the country's fate. It was us -- kids in the classroom -- who will or will not make future change happen.

"Bah!" I remember the thought I had then, as I looked around at some of my classmates: clowns, bullies, pants-wetters ... an assembly of the future?

Fast forward. At one time it was unthinkable that I would study abroad. Thanks to a high school exchange program, I graduated from Chagrin Falls High School in Ohio in 1962, returned to Cambodia as required by the exchange program, and came back to Ohio to begin my freshman year at Hiram College in 1963.

My father wanted me to be an engineer or a medical doctor. I didn't care for calculus, I hated dissecting animals and could not stand blood, so I majored in political science after my academic adviser loaned me some books on the making of the United States.

I was a political activist, even in college. In 1970, as a graduate student, I supported the group of Cambodians who opposed the Vietnamese occupation of Khmer soil as base of operations against the Americans and their allies.

In 1980, I received my Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan, the same year I was naturalized a U.S. citizen. The Cambodian republic experiment failed miserably, and with the U.S. pullout from the region, the Khmer Republic crumbled. Pol Pot took over and more than 2 million died as a result. That regime was ousted by a Soviet-backed Vietnamese military invasion that decapitated the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge in 1979.

In 1980, I joined the nationalist resistance Khmer People's National Liberation Front at the Cambodian-Thai border. The Front opposed Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia.

I read somewhere that "a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."

'Living antiquity'

When I stood before a very attentive introduction to political science class of Asians, Pacific islanders and students from the U.S. mainland in 1991 at the University of Guam to introduce myself with a short background as their teacher for the term, an islander rubbed his face and blurted, "Oh, a living antiquity!"

For the next 13 years, I taught political science at UOG, using my comparative analysis training acquired in Ann Arbor, an approach I was fortunate to have tested when I taught a graduate-undergraduate comparative politics course at Johns Hopkins in 1990. I used Western and Eastern political philosophies and theories; I backed them up with my practical experience and real stories from my service at the United Nations as a delegate, in diplomacy, in the resistance, as I sought to bring philosophies and theories alive. We described, analyzed and attempted to forecast what may lie ahead.

As some UOG students wrote in their evaluation of me, one said, "He did not teach to pass tests, but to think in order to live a life worth living."

Continue the traditions.

Once one has established oneself as an educator, the act of educating has become ingrained in the person, and I don't know if there's a stopping point.

Though I have retired from formal classroom teaching -- the Guam sunsets, the three-times-a-day swim at Ypao's salt waters that washed away stresses, anxieties and built physical strength; the plumerias that brought unforgettable fragrance, among others, are a thing of the past. The Pacific Daily News continues to provide me with an opportunity to write and share.

And so I write to share. I do have my own political and ideological preferences, which I propound from time to time. Otherwise I keep them to myself. Humility is my value: I respect others' views and ways and I seek to learn from them.

I have disagreed with others, privately or openly, but I do my best to refrain from being disagreeable -- some relationships have been hurt, some others have continued. Some cannot accept disagreement.

I judge from the number of e-mails I receive, and especially a few with strong reactions to my writings from people of both sides of the bench, that my purpose in writing to challenge thoughts has borne fruit.

I am grateful there are faithful readers, and those who anticipate my weekly column. It is freedom that ensures my opportunity to write, and I thank all media outlets that facilitate my exercise of free expression.

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam, where he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at peangmeth@yhaoo.com .

Fans Of Cambodian Oldies Trying To Preserve Songs Before Khmer ...

Fuel Tanker Explodes in Capital; None Harmed

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

Phnom Penh Tuesday, 21 September 2010

via CAAI
 

Photo: By Heng Reaksmey VOA, Khmer
Fire fighters are trying to put the fire.

“Before the explosion, I heard a noise from the fuel truck driver, a honking of the horn, and when I came outside, I saw flames coming from the truck.”

A fuel truck ignited in Phnom Penh Tuesday afternoon, destroying houses and cars but leaving bystanders and the driver otherwise unharmed, witnesses and police said.

The driver of a fuel truck for Sok Kong Import Export Co. Ltd., was transferring fuel at a garage in Prampi Makara district around 12:30 pm, when a flame from an unknown source appeared along the refueling house, they said.

Seeing the flame, the driver jumped in the cab of the truck, drove about 300 meters, then exited the vehicle and fled before the tank ignited, witnesses and police said.

Police are now looking for the driver, who fled at the scene of the explosion, apparently unharmed.

The explosion ignited fires across five houses, but those were extinguished when nearly 10 fire trucks arrived at the scene, police said.

“Before the explosion, I heard a noise from the fuel truck driver, a honking of the horn, and when I came outside, I saw flames coming from the truck,” said Pich Thavy, 48, whose house caught on fire.

She called to her son and the two of them jumped from the first floor of the house. “Now I hurt my spine,” she said. “I've lost everything, including my property and vehicle. I request to Sokimex to make compensation.”

Sokimex officials were not immediately available for comment.

A policeman was injured as he helped put out the fire, which pushed a roiling column of thick black smoke over the city Tuesday.

Hun Sen To Seek Debt Forgiveness in New York

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Washington, D.C Tuesday, 21 September 2010
 
via CAAI
 

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, gestures during the talk with Cambodian press after the Council of Minister meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“Under international law, governments are generally responsible for the obligations of their predecessors.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he will seek debt forgiveness from Barack Obama when he meets the US president in New York on Friday.

Hun Sen and other Asean leaders are expected to see Obama as part of the US-Asean summit, and the Cambodian premier has asked his staff to prepare a detailed argument for the reduction of more than $300 million in debt incurred prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover.

The money, borrowed by the US-backed Lon Nol regime, was “filthy debt,” Hun Sen said, inaugurating a new bridge in Phnom Penh on Monday. “How can filthy debt be repaid? Even a bank would cancel it.”

The US in the past has been reluctant to write off the amount. A US Embassy statement from Phnom Penh called it a “longstanding bilateral issue.”

“Under international law, governments are generally responsible for the obligations of their predecessors,” the embassy said, adding that US officials have made proposals to help resolve the issue.

“We hope than an agreement can be reached soon,” the embassy said. “Such an agreement would enhance Cambodia's creditworthiness and ability to access international capital markets.”

Schistosomiasis, Other Worms a Danger to Children: Doctor

Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer

Washington, D.C Tuesday, 21 September 2010

via CAAI
 

Photo: ap
Schistosoma mansoni worms, the cause of schistosomiasis, a microscopic worm that plagues more than 200 million across the globe.

When human urine or feces containing schistosome eggs enter the water, the eggs hatch and release larvae called miracidia.

Worms can be dangerous to children, impeding their development. And in Cambodia, many children are afflicted, a US-based doctor said Thursday.

Among these worms, schistosomiasis has been found in two Cambodia’s provinces: Kratie and Stung Treng, where particular species of snails live, said Taing Tek Hong, a Florida physician, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”

Those snails form a part of the life cycle of schistosomiasis, which can have harmful effects on people.

When human urine or feces containing schistosome eggs enter the water, the eggs hatch and release larvae called miracidia, he said.

Miracidia search in the water for a particular species of snail. When they find it, they enter the snail and multiply, then re-enter the water, looking for a new host. They penetrate human skin and enter the blood, travel to the liver, and grow into worms, he said.

From there, the worms travel through the blood, producing eggs in the intestine or bladder that then pass back into water and start the cycle again.

During that cycle, they can cause bloody feces and urine, damage organs and lead to intestine damage, liver disease or bladder cancer, Taing Tek Hong said.

Perhaps 30 percent of people living in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces are affected by schistosomiasis, he said.

It requires the snail as part of its life cycle, he said, and can't be passed from human to human.

Meanwhile, the government has undertaken a deworming program since 2002, covering 75 percent of the nation's schools—or about 3 million children. That has had a positive effect for the children and should be continued, he said.

The medicine used for ascaris and hookworm is called mebendazole, and under the brand name Vermox is administered twice a year to children by their teachers. Schistosomiasis is treated with praziquantel once a year in Kratie and Stung Treng, he said.

Still, about 85 percent of Cambodian children have worms. Deworming is therefore important because worms can hurt the educational development of a child. With deworming tablets costing only about $0.03 each, the program is worth it, he said.

Kiwi on trial for abusing girls in Cambodia

via CAAI

Wednesday September 22, 2010

Source: ONE News

A 53-year-old New Zealand man has gone on trial in Cambodia for sexually abusing young girls.

Michael John Lines, who also has Australian citizenship, faces charges of procuring a child for prostitution.

He was arrested in March at a hotel in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk.

Police accused him of having sex with two underage girls.

The closed door trial was adjourned after a day, and the judge said he would give a verdict in the near future.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign paedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement, however in recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.

Cambodia tries Australian for child sex

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/

via CAAI

September 22, 2010

A 53-YEAR-old Australian man has gone on trial in Cambodia for allegedly sexually abusing young girls.

Judge Duch Kimsan of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said Michael John Lines from Queensland was tried on charges of procuring a child for prostitution.

The closed door trial was adjourned after a day. The judge said he would give a verdict in the near future, but did not specify when.

Mr Lines also holds New Zealand nationality.

He was arrested in March at a hotel in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk. Police accused him of having sex with two underage girls.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement, but in recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.

German scientists discover rare ape species in Asia

Crested gibbons are found only in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China

via CAAI

BERLIN — German scientists said on Tuesday they had discovered a new rare and endangered ape species in the tropical rainforests between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by its distinctive song.

The new type of crested gibbon, one of the most endangered primate species in the world, is called the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon or Nomascus annamensis, a statement from the German Primate Centre (DPZ) said.

"The discovery of a new species of ape is a minor sensation," said Christian Roos from the DPZ.

"An analysis of the frequency and tempo of their calls, along with genetic research, show that this is, in fact, a new species."

The distinctive song "serves to defend territory or might even be a precursor of the music humans make," the statement added.

The male of the new species is covered with black fur that appears silver in sunlight. His chest is brownish and his cheeks deep orange-golden in colour. The females are orange-beige in colour.

Crested gibbons are found only in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China. Scientists had assumed there were six different species but the recent discovery takes the number to seven.

Gibbons have become endangered due to illegal hunting. "Gibbons are kept as cute pets, or they are eaten, or they are processed into traditional medicines," said the DPZ.

Many species number only around 100 individuals, said Roos. Scientists currently have "absolutely no idea" how many of the new species might be alive, but are conducting further study to determine this, he told AFP.

Like orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos, gibbons belong to the apes, man's closest relative.

"Only if we know where which species is found and how many individuals there are can we start with serious conservation actions," added the scientist.

News of the discovery was published in the Vietnamese Journal of Primatology.

Cambodia garment workers strike for minimum wage hike

via CAAI

Three-day stoppage sees 200,000 demand government increase basic monthly salary from $61 to $93

Florence Beaugé Guardian Weekly

Tuesday 21 September 2010

A Cambodian worker addresses colleagues outside a garment factory in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images

Strikes by about 200,000 Cambodian textile workers – mainly women – in the capital Phnom Penh and the provinces, in protest over low wages, were suspended after three days last week.

The action followed the announcement in July that the minimum wage for workers in the garment and footwear industry would rise from $50 to $61 a month. The level of the rise outraged trade unions, prompting demands for $93 a month.

Last week's industrial action ended peacefully, but strikers threatened to further action if their demands were not met. "We are not demanding a minimum wage, we want a living wage," said Ath Thorn and Kong Athit, of the Cambodian Labour Confederation.

Their demands are supported by a study published last year by the economist and head of the Cambodian Development Institute Kang Chandararot. He said garment workers could only make a living by doing overtime so were closely dependent on the economic climate. He proposed a viable minimum wage of $90.

Cambodia was hard hit by the international crisis in 2008. Textile exports to the US and Europe, the country's main markets, fell by 23% in 2009. More than 90 factories, often owned by Chinese or Taiwanese operators, closed, laying off about 60,000 workers out of a total of 345,000 in the trade. Conditions in the first half of 2010 have improved, with a 7% increase in exports, but business is still far below its level three years ago. Above all there is still no overtime, prompting the massive strike turnout.

"New demands are surfacing now, after two relatively quiet years, because the worst of the crisis is past and exports are picking up," said Jean-Raphaël Chaponnière, an economist at France's Development Agency (AFD).

François-Marie Grau, the General Secretary of the Women's Clothing Federation in Paris, endorses this view. "What is happening in Cambodia is symptomatic of widespread upward pressure on manufacturing costs all over Asia. The region is enjoying powerful growth so workers are putting pressure on their employers," he said.

This article originally appeared in Le Monde

Garment workers defy court

Photo by: Pha Lina
Garment workers in Kandal province shirk work to protest the suspension of 50 union representatives who participated in strikes last week.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 20:13 Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis

ABOUT 10,000 garment employees in Kandal province have flouted a court-ordered deadline to return to work.

They instead opted to continue protesting against the suspension of more than 50 union representatives who participated in a large-scale work stoppage last week, a union leader said.

A coalition of rights groups condemned the suspensions, many of which were approved by the Kandal provincial court.

In a joint statement, the groups – including Licadho, the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights and the local branch of the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity – said at least 70 unionists had been suspended in Kandal, along with 22 others in Kampong Speu province.

The statement described the suspensions as “undisguised retributions” for participating in the strike, and said they were in violation of an article in the Labour Law that prohibited discrimination against union members.

Industry representatives have justified the suspensions by saying last week’s strike was illegal.

Labour leaders called off the strike, which was spurred largely by a July decision that set the industry minimum wage at US$61 per month, on Thursday after the Ministry of Social Affairs called for a meeting this month to discuss potential “benefits” for workers earning the minimum wage. ...

read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story in online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. (New York 4AM, Los Angeles 1AM, Chicago 3AM, Paris 10AM, Toronto 4AM, Sydney 6PM, Bejing 4PM, Tokyo 5PM, London 9AM, Johannesburg 10AM, Riyadh 11AM, Mumbai 1:30 PM)

Mobitel money-transfer mess

Photo by: Pha Lina
Cellcard umbrella on Sothearos Boulevard, in front of a WING outlet

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 19:46 Jeremy Mullins

MOBILE-phone provider Mobitel has launched a money-transfer service, but officials say it has yet to apply for central bank oversight.

The Cellcard Cash service is described on Mobitel’s website as a way of storing cash, allowing users to make money transfers across Cambodia, top-up prepaid accounts, and pay certain bills through mobile phones.

In July, the National Bank of Cambodia confirmed that Mobitel would be required to submit to oversight of the scheme, as money transfers are considered banking and fall under NBC regulation.

Yesterday, NBC director general Tal Nay Im said Mobitel had "still not applied” for such oversight, though to her knowledge the service had not yet been put in place.

But when reporters visited Mobitel’s showroom on Phnom Penh’s Sihanouk Boulevard, a saleswoman confirmed that the service had been launched on Monday and was available for use. ...

read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story in online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. (New York 4AM, Los Angeles 1AM, Chicago 3AM, Paris 10AM, Toronto 4AM, Sydney 6PM, Bejing 4PM, Tokyo 5PM, London 9AM, Johannesburg 10AM, Riyadh 11AM, Mumbai 1:30 PM)

Police accuse army of rape-case interference

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 19:02 Thet Sambath

A ROYAL Cambodian Armed Forces commander has refused police permission to question a soldier in his brigade who has been accused of raping two underage girls, according to officials in Oddar Meanchey province.

Roth Savon, provincial police officer in charge of crimes, said a 45-year-old woman in Trapaing Prasat district’s Preah Pralay commune informed police on Tuesday last week that her son-in-law, a 25-year-old low-ranking officer in RCAF Brigade 8, had raped her 8-year-old daughter.

“We asked the military commander to hand over the suspect to police in order to question him, but he refused,” Roth Savon said. “He said he wouldn’t hand him over to police unless there is a result from a [medical] examination letter.”

Roth Sovan said the woman had not filed a formal complaint, and told police just wanted to “inform” them of the incident.

He added, however, that police intended to pursue the case regardless of cooperation from the victim’s family or the military.

Srey Naren, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said the woman filed a complaint with his office on Friday, claiming that the suspect had raped her 8-year-old daughter on Monday last week, and had raped her 5-year-old daughter in April. ...

read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story in online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. (New York 4AM, Los Angeles 1AM, Chicago 3AM, Paris 10AM, Toronto 4AM, Sydney 6PM, Bejing 4PM, Tokyo 5PM, London 9AM, Johannesburg 10AM, Riyadh 11AM, Mumbai 1:30 PM)

Disgraced cop tried again

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Heng Pov during his trial in 2003

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 18:40 Chrann Chamroeun

JAILED former top cop Heng Pov faced trial again in Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday on a charge of illegal detention that dates back to 2003.

The notorious former Phnom Penh police chief was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to more than 90 years in prison after being found guilty of a litany of charges, including extortion, kidnapping and murder.

He was tried yesterday on the illegal detention charge in connection with a complaint lodged by Chan Seak, a local businessman who Heng Pov accused of robbery in 2003.

According to a letter of complaint read out to the court, Chan Seak claims he was detained for 48 hours following his arrest before an investigating judge released him due to a lack of evidence.

The letter further alleges that Heng Pov ordered Tuol Kork district police to re-arrest Chan Seak, and that he was illegally held from April to July 2003.

Heng Pov’s lawyer, Kao Soupha, said the case should be thrown out, since the relevant charge was not laid against his client until 2007, when he was already behind bars. ...

read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story in online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. (New York 4AM, Los Angeles 1AM, Chicago 3AM, Paris 10AM, Toronto 4AM, Sydney 6PM, Bejing 4PM, Tokyo 5PM, London 9AM, Johannesburg 10AM, Riyadh 11AM, Mumbai 1:30 PM)

AKP - Agent Kampuchea Press

via CAAI

Cambodia Protests Against Thai High Ranking Officials

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- The spokesperson of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia has issued a press release to protest against Thai high ranking officials who had conducted campaign of intoxication to fault Cambodia.

The full press release dated Sept. 20 reads as follows:

“The spokesperson of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PRU) of the Office of the Council of Ministers (OCM) of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) expresses his strongest protest against the renewal of the campaign of intoxication conducted by Thai high ranking officials to fault Cambodia and to hold Cambodia hostage to Thai internal political crisis, in time when the relations between Cambodia and Thailand began to improve and there is also a strong prospect that the two Prime Ministers will meet next week to discuss bilateral relations, in New York, USA.

This renewal of the campaign of intoxication has been carried out by The Nation, on 16 September 2010 in an article, “Security tightened over rumors of assassination plots”, the Nation Channel, Matichon Online, and Manager Online, on the same date, and on the same topic.

The Nation reported that:

1- ‘Metropolitan Police Commissioner Santhan Chayanont had previously claimed that a group of ‘men in black’, trained for combat in Cambodia, were staking out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s residence from a condominium nearby.’

2- ‘Secretary General to the PM Panitan Wattanayagorn said a group of men, reportedly living in a condominium near the prime minister’s home, are being watched closely.’

3- ‘Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thougsaban said as for the men in black, they first emerged on the night of April 10 and became known as an armed group that killed the general public and officials.’

4- ‘Former deputy permanent secretary for Defence, Admiral Bannawit Kengrien said he too had heard about the so-called assassination plot and that a large number of Cambodian warriors of Vietnamese descent, who had undergone military training and were great snipers, had been brought in to do the job.’

5- ‘Emergency police chief Pol MajGeneral Thanapol Sonthes said reports about ‘men in black’ plotting the assassination of VIPs had been filed since April, when the red shirts were rallying at the Rajprasong intersection. He added that all VIPs, especially the premier, were being provided with maximum security. He said a ‘trainer’ from Cambodia was keeping a low profile in Thailand but the police knew his name and whereabouts, and were keeping an eye on him.’

The Nation Channel echoed The Nation about the statement made by Former deputy permanent secretary of Defence, Bannawit Kengrien and the Matichon and The Manager Online echoed the Nation about the statement made by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Santhan Chayanont.

Reading through all the above statements, the Spokesperson of the PRU wishes to reiterate that:

1- ‘men in black’ is an old story, resurrected for the sole purpose of faulting Cambodia;

2- The dissemination of the news about the activities of ‘men in black’ has lost its operational values in terms of intelligence and security, which is in complete contradiction with the high reputation of Thailand intelligence apparatus operating inside Thailand, and

3- the only plausible underlying reason is that Thai high ranking officials within the government, the Thai extremist groups have been taking Cambodia hostage, and they have kept inventing innuendos, off-base suggestions and wild speculations to shift the attention of Thai people from Thai homegrown and unsolvable problems to Cambodia.

The spokesperson of the PRU is dismayed by the malicious campaign of intoxication by Thai high ranking officials in the Thai government for their ill-intention to fault the Kingdom of Cambodia and to mislead the national and international public opinion by:

· Attempting to link Thai unending internal squabbles to Cambodia;

· Making Cambodia hostage of the Thai deep social division; and

· Fanning acts of hostility towards the Kingdom of Cambodia.

The spokesperson of the PRU vehemently protests against allegations of ‘Cambodian warriors of Vietnamese descent, who had undergone military training and were great snipers, had been brought in to do the job,’ as stated in the Nation and other Thai media outlets, based on the facts that the Cambodian Constitution and as a matter of the Cambodian national policy practices, Cambodia does not interfere in the internal affairs of foreign countries by any means and especially of neighboring countries, and Cambodia will not allow foreigners to set up training camps nor military bases on Cambodian territory.” --AKP

-------------------

Cambodian Premier Urges for More Investment of Private Sector in the Form of BOT

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Prime Minister Samdech Akka Mona Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen urged private sector to take part in more investments in the development of infrastructure in the form of BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer).

Samdech Techo Hun Sen presided over an inauguration of a new bridge across Tonle Sap River at Prek Phnov in Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh city on Sept. 20, considered the private sector not only as a locomotive to push the economic growth, but also the role in being completed additionally to the public investment of the royal government, mainly that of infrastructure to solve the problem faced annually of the population growth and the vehicle increase.

He appreciated LYP Group of H.E. Ly Yong Phat, as a local private company for its investment in the development of infrastructure in Cambodia.

The Cambodian prime minister attributed the investment of the private sector in the infrastructural development to a factor of peace in the country, mainly the private sector’s confidence in the leadership of the royal government.

On the occasion of Bonn Kan Bin and Bonn Pchum Ben, a festival held for the commemoration of the spirit of ancestors, relatives and friends who have passed away, Samdech Techo Hun Sen asked the company not to collect a toll for passengers who use the bridge.

The toll-paid bridge with almost one kilometer long is constructed with an investment of nearly US$43 million provided by LYP Group.

The far end of bridge to the east is linked with a two-way concrete road with a narrow strip in the middle to a segment of National Road A6, while to the west with a concrete road to Kop Srov area, on which there are two toll booths and eclectic lamp posts planting on both sides of the road. --AKP

(By THOU Peou)

-------------------

PM Hun Sen Wants Opposition Party Not to Be So Stupid

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has said that he does not want the opposition party in Cambodia to be so stupid that they look down on their own country.

Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen made the criticism Monday while presiding over the inauguration ceremony of a new toll Prek Phnov Bridge and linking road invested by LYP Group Company.

He further said he wanted them to be more intelligent and he felt ashamed that they were so stupid.

In mid-August Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen spoke of a 555 meter-high construction project or equivalent to a 90-floor skyscraper in Koh Pich (Diamond Island) to be invested by Oknha Pong Khieu Se, Director General of Canadia Bank. However, the Members of Parliament of the opposition party claimed that it was not the time to use the money to construct such a building, but it was time to promote agriculture and build houses for the farmers.

“I do not understand. They are just the MPs from the opposition party but they dare even to command the money of the private company,” he said, clarifying, “I agree with them if it is the State money, I will transfer it from building a 90-floor skyscraper to constructing roads, bridges, canals...which is already the policy of Hun Sen.”

“In the theory of free market economy, the State has no right to force the private sector to use their capital on any sector wanted by the State,” Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen noted, adding, “The dictatorship is coming if the opposition party comes to power.”

In general, he underlined, the opposition party is always walking in opposite direction against the government, but this is just a political suicide. --AKP

(By Ravuth M.)

-------------------

National Conference on Accounting Held

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Hundreds of accountants in Cambodia gathered here yesterday in the National Conference on Accounting “Accountants for Business: Changing Roles for Accountants” under the presidency of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister H.E. Keat Chhon.

This conference is aimed at discussing the development of the fields of accounting and auditing in Cambodia as well as in the world, said Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance H.E. Ngy Tayi.

It is a good opportunity for the participants to share information, experiences and knowledge with the speakers, especially about the changing roles for accountants, he said.

In Cambodia, accountants are playing more and more important role when securities and exchange markets will be opened in the near future, he added.

According to the Cambodian secretary of state, at present, 31 accounting and auditing firms are operating and practicing their service in the country. --AKP

(By OU Sokha)

-------------------

Tanks, APCs Arrive at Preah Sihanouk Seaport

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Nearly 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) Cambodia bought from an Eastern European country arrived on Monday at Preah Sihanouk Autonomous Seaport in Preah Sihanouk province.

The military equipment including 50 T-55 tanks, 44 APCs, two tanks carrier trucks, two trailers and two containers were shipped on BBC Pacific freighter.

Deputy Commander-In-Chief Gen. Chea Dara said that the military equipment had been ordered before the current border issue between Cambodia and Thailand took place.

For his part, H.E. Kuy Kong, undersecretary of state and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said like other countries in the world, Cambodia bought modern military equipment in order to upgrade its military capacity and to protect its own sovereignty, territorial integrity and people. --AKP

(By Théng)

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Cambodia, ADB Sign Agreement on Poverty Reduction Project in Tonle Sap Region

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed here on Monday a US$5.75-million grant agreement to support the poverty reduction project in Tonle Sap region.

The grant, provided by the government of Finland, is a part of the US$55.3-million grant and concession credit funded by ADB (US$30.7 million), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (US$13.38 million), and the Royal Government of Cambodia (US$5.45 million) to support the project of poverty reduction and small-scale agricultural development in Tonle Sap region.

The project will help the royal government in rural infrastructure development so as to increase agricultural productivity, facilitate the transport of products to the markets and to improve the people’s living condition in Tonle Sap region including the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. --AKP

(By LIM Nary)

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Cambodia Awarded MDG Prize for AIDS Response Excellence

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Cambodia has been presented with a Millennium Development Goals Awards for its national leadership, commitment and progress towards achievement of Goal 6 – Combating HIV, malaria and other diseases, Chinese News Agency Xinhua quoted a press release from UN Office in Cambodia as saying on Monday.

Cambodia has been honored within the ‘Government’ category of the annual Awards initiative, presented at a high-profile event in New York City, the United States, it said.

Cambodia is recognized for efforts on HIV that have contributed to a decline in HIV prevalence from an estimated 2 percent (among adults aged 15-49) in 1998 to a projected 0.7 percent in 2010.

Cambodia has also achieved the universal access target for treatment, with over 90 percent of adults and children in need receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), due to the expansion of the Continuum of Care program established in 2003. Survival of PLHIV on ART after 12 months is estimated to be 87.4 percent in total (86.7 percent of adults and 93.9 percent of children).

“The Royal Government of Cambodia’s response to HIV and AIDS has successfully scaled up HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for people living with HIV in Cambodia and generated benefits at the individual, community and health center level due to a high level of collaboration among all stakeholders, including UN agencies, civil society and development partners,” said Teng Kunthy, Secretary General of the Cambodia National AIDS Authority.

Selecting Cambodia for the Award, the MDG Awards Committee was particularly impressed with the Government’s successful scale-up of programs grounded in strong national leadership on HIV/AIDS, the solid National Strategic Plan (NSP) and collaborative partnerships, adhering closely to the ‘Three Ones’ principles – one national coordinating body, one national multi-sectoral strategic plan, one single monitoring and evaluation system, the release said.

Innovative prevention programming in Cambodia over the last 10 years has included the introduction of the 100 percent Condom Use Policy which showed successes in preventing new infections. Progress has also led to impacts on the other health-related MDGs of reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

Successful scale-up of HIV services has contributed to a nearly 50 percent decrease in HIV prevalence among pregnant women at antenatal clinics, and in 2009 more than 32 percent of HIV-infected pregnant women received treatment to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, an increase from 11.2 percent in 2007.

The nomination of Cambodia for the MDG Award was a joint initiative by the UN system in Cambodia.

“We congratulate Cambodia on receiving the MDG Award. This experience shows if all the ingredients for success are in place that Millennium Development Goals are achievable strong leadership and commitment from the highest level, a sound policy framework backed up by the adequate level of resources and implementation capacity, and coordination and collaboration among all partners,” said Douglas Broderick, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cambodia. “The lessons learned here can be applied to accelerating the progress of those Goals still facing challenges, to ensure their achievement by 2015,” he added.

However, “HIV is still a very real challenge in this country, and stigma and discrimination remain high, which creates a barrier to accessing services for prevention, care, support and treatment,” said Douglas Broderick. --AKP

-------------------

7th International Music Festival To Begin on Thursday

Phnom Penh, September 21, 2010 AKP -- Cambodian and foreign musicians will gather here from Sept. 23 to 27 in the 7th International Music Festival.

The five-day music festival is aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences between Cambodian and Western artists, said Sam Sam Ang, professor of music and adviser to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, adding that artists from Malaysia will also participate in the event.

The 7th International Music Festival in jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the Royal University of Fine Arts, the Embassy of Germany, Goethe Institute, Meta House and Intercontinental Hotel, he said at a recent press conference. --AKP

(By KOM Heng)

REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea : Frenchman Michel Roger Blanchard, 44 is escorted to a court in Preah Sihanouk Province

Frenchman Michel Roger Blanchard (R), 44, is escorted by a prison policeman to a court in Preah Sihanouk province, about 230 km (142.9 miles) west of Phnom Penh, September 20, 2010. Blanchard was on trial on Monday for sexually abusing underaged boys and the verdict is scheduled to be announced on October 4. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Frenchman Michel Roger Blanchard (C), 44, is escorted by prison policemen to a court in Preah Sihanouk province, about 230 km (142.9 miles) west of Phnom Penh, September 20 ,2010. Blanchard was on trial on Monday for sexually abusing underaged boys and the verdict is scheduled to be announced on October 4. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Frenchman Michel Roger Blanchard (R), 44, is escorted by a prison policeman to a court in Preah Sihanouk province, about 230 km (142.9 miles) west of Phnom Penh, September 20 ,2010. Blanchard was on trial on Monday for sexually abusing underaged boys and the verdict is scheduled to be announced on October 4. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Frenchman Michel Roger Blanchard (R), 44, is escorted by a prison policeman to a court in Preah Sihanouk province, about 230 km (142.9 miles) west of Phnom Penh, September 20 ,2010. Blanchard was on trial on Monday for sexually abusing underaged boys and the verdict is scheduled to be announced on October 4. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Health Inequity Slows Decline in Child Mortality

via CAAI

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Sep 21 , 2010 (IPS) - Cambodia’s partial success in reducing child mortality rates has exposed a fault line of inequity, one that underscores the advantage that the country’s urban population has had over the rural poor.

Yet the South-east Asian kingdom, 35 percent of whose 14 million population live below the poverty line, is not alone in having this mixed record of reducing child mortality, say child rights experts.

Some of the other countries in the region reflect a similar trend 10 years after world leaders committed to meet a set of eight targets to help the world’s poor by 2015. The fourth of the eight U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) seeks to achieve a two-thirds reduction in child mortality rates by 2015.

"To be fair to governments in South-east Asia, child mortality rates are going down everywhere," said Ben Phillips, director of strategy at the Asia office of Save the Children, a British-based humanitarian organisation. "But the rate of decline is less than the rate they committed in 2000."

"In South-east Asia, child mortality rates have almost halved from 2000 levels," he told IPS. "But the region is substantially behind from meeting the two-thirds target, which is five years away."

A recent report by Save the Children, entitled ‘A Fair Chance At Life’, shows that Cambodia has seen a 32 percent drop in child mortality figures among the country’s "richest 20 percent", but only an 18 percent reduction in child mortality among the "poorest 20 percent".

Indonesia, the region’s giant where 16 percent of its 225 million people live below the poverty line, has recorded "equitable progress," noted the 37-page report. The poorest 20 percent has seen child mortality figures drop by 29 percent, while the richest 20 percent has witnessed a nine percent decline.

Military-ruled Burma, also known as Myanmar, lags behind all with the worst child mortality figures. It reportedly has 104 children under five years dying for every 1,000 live births. Cambodia, by contrast, has 82 deaths of children under five years of age per 1,000 live births. Laos, the third of this region’s poorest countries, has 75 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Child rights groups have hailed Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam as being well on course to meeting the 2015 targets. The region’s richest country, the city-state of Singapore, has been singled out in a study by ‘The Lancet’, a British medical journal, as leading all countries in the world in child mortality rates, having reduced it by 75 percent since 1990.

The inequity in child mortality rates in countries like Cambodia and the Philippines, which has 32 deaths per 1,000 live births, is "partly an urban-rural divide," said Phillips. "There is no conscious discrimination, but a natural tendency for nurses and doctors to work in cities."

At times, the distance to a health care is a day away, making it costly and time consuming for a family to take a newborn to treat illnesses that lead to child deaths, such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and sepsis.

"If you live more distant from a health centre, you will be reached later unlike those who live closer to health care workers," said Basil Rodriques, regional adviser for your child survival and development at the Asia office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). "The MDGs saw the ‘low hanging fruits’ reached first."

To address this trend, countries in the region are being urged to strengthen community health initiatives in rural areas, including by tapping trained midwives who live in the villages they grew up in. "This is what is going to make the difference," Rodriques said in an interview. "Governments are looking at how to train workers who grow up and return to live in their communities."

Early diagnosis of diseases like pneumonia is key to saving a child’s life, adds Rodriques, pointing to achievements in Indonesia. "There is a growing recognition of a community-focused approach, since community health workers are trained to see the problem and offer prompt care."

Vietnam’s success with a similar community health care programme across its rural regions is also being held up as another model for the region. Its record of child mortality is 17 deaths for 1,000 live births.

"It is really hard to divorce equity from the development paradigm," said Rodriques. "The MDGs have, in a sense, acted as accelerator for governments in South-east Asia to invest more."

Save the Children’s Phillips estimates that the entire Asian region needs two million health workers, ranging from midwives, nurses and obstetricians, to meet the 2015 targets on child mortality. "India will need one million of them and South-east Asia will need a third," he said.

"This requires a dramatic shift in policy and resources made available to strengthen rural health care systems," he explained. "If you are not focused on equity, the outcome will be inequitable."

"Health workers don’t just cure; they also prevent," he said. "Governments need to be putting more people through nursing schools."

Bring on the ATF 2011: Cambodia

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010

The Kingdom of Cambodia was chosen to host the 30th Association of Southwest Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum (ATF) in 2011.

The annual event will be held between 15-21 January at the Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh with the multicultural theme ‘Wonders and Diversity’, Express Travel World reported.

ATF 2011 Host Committee Chairman Pan Chantra said the event opens up a channel for buyers and sellers to exchange information and learn about the ten ASEAN member countries.

“ATF 2011 will offer a golden opportunity for all participants to discuss the development regional and individual tourism products of ASEAN member countries,” Mr Chantra said.

“It is also a cooperative regional effort to promote ASEAN, a world of wonders and diversity, as a single tourism destination.”

Mr Chantra noted that while the ATF is a great forum for information exchange its main purpose is to attract tourists particularly from countries like India with growing interest to travel in the ASEAN region.

“There is a huge interest among the Indian tourists about the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor Vat in Cambodia,” Mr Chantra said.

Vietnam helps Cambodia in drug investigations

via CAAI

09/21/2010

A training programme on drug crime investigation technology and assessment of drug origins has been held in HCM City for Cambodia’s anti-drug police and executive forces.

The five-day programme that will last through September 24 is within the framework of a memorandum of understanding of the bilateral ministerial conference on drug prevention and control that took place in HCM City last year.

During the training programme, representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security’s Drug Crime Investigation Police Department and Criminology Institute informed Cambodian police of the drug crime situation along the common border and cooperation in investigating drug crimes between Vietnam and Cambodia and among regional countries.

They also spoke of the Vietnamese police force’s typical drug investigation cases and their experiences in information collection as well as methods to analyse drug substances.

Gas tanker explosion

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
A firefighter battles one of several blazes caused by a gas tanker explosion in Prampi Makara district, Phnom Penh.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 15:21 Kim Yuthana and Phak Seangly

A tanker truck carrying 8,000 litres of petrol exploded shortly after noon in Phnom Penh's Prampi Makara district, touching off a blaze that engulfed several nearby buildings and destroyed three vehicles, but left no fatalities, police officials said.

One firefighter was injured when he was knocked down by a water hose as authorities battled the blaze, which took 20 fire engines more than an hour to extinguish.

The blast, on Tep Phorn street, near Preah Puth pagoda, was caused by petrol spilling into the truck's exhaust pipe, Phnom Penh police Chief Touch Naruth said.

"The fires occurred because the gas tanker exploded, setting fire to houses on both sides of the road," he said. ...

read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story in online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours. (New York 4AM, Los Angeles 1AM, Chicago 3AM, Paris 10AM, Toronto 4AM, Sydney 6PM, Bejing 4PM, Tokyo 5PM, London 9AM, Johannesburg 10AM, Riyadh 11AM, Mumbai 1:30 PM)

State must be become transparent

via CAAI

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 15:00 Eleanor Nichols

Dear Editor,

Steve Finch is right: The Cambodian government must do more to disclose payments made by companies operating within the country’s extractive-industries sector (“Go further with disclosure and embrace EITI, September 10).

The Ministry of Economy and Finance’s recent publication of revenues from the extractive industry for the first half of 2010 is a welcome first step towards improving transparency within a notoriously opaque sector.

However, it remains unclear whether the 112.21 billion-riel payment received in March 2010 corresponds to the US$28 million payment made by French oil company Total in January for rights to offshore Block 3.

The continued uncertainty reiterates the need for the kind of transparency offered by the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative, which if implemented would give public access to such detailed information.

But regardless of how long the Cambodian government takes to endorse the EITI, many of the international petroleum companies currently allocated exploration rights in Cambodia will soon be required to disclose information on all payments they make to the government.

The recently passed United States Financial Reform Bill requires companies registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose all payments made to foreign governments on a country-by-country basis, as a condition of their stock exchange listing.

Eleanor Nichols

Global Witness

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