Thursday, 17 December 2009

Thaksin vows to Build Model Farms













Photo by DAP ( http://www.dap-news.com/ )

Relations with Thai govt cannot be normal, says Cambodian PM


Channel News Asia via CAAI News Media
Posted: 17 December 2009

PHNOM PENH : Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that foundering relations with Thailand would not be normalised until Bangkok's current government was voted out of office.


Relations between the countries, which have fought a string of deadly gunbattles on their border since last year, plunged last month when fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra became an economic adviser to Cambodia.

Both recalled their ambassadors in November, and diplomatic tensions were further raised when Phnom Penh refused to extradite Thaksin during his first visit as economic adviser.

"I tell you (Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva) I'm waiting for the Thai next government to come to power and for them send back the ambassador," said Hun Sen in a speech at Phnom Penh ceremony.

"You raise the issue of Thaksin, but you forget the issue of Preah Vihear," he said, in reference to the 11th century Khmer temple at the centre of the deadly border dispute between the two countries.

"I want to say that relations cannot be normalised as long as you are still invading me," Hun Sen added.

Thaksin, who arrived back in Cambodia Sunday, stepped up his economic advisory role Wednesday as he addressed senior government officials on how to boost investment and tourism.

The telecoms mogul, ousted in a 2006 coup, was credited this week by the Cambodian government for the release of a Thai air traffic control employee jailed for seven years for spying on Thaksin's previous visit.

After the man's arrest last month, Cambodia expelled the first secretary to the Thai embassy and Thailand retaliated in kind.

Angered by Thaksin's presence in Cambodia, Thailand last month also put all talks and cooperation with the neighbouring country on hold and has torn up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's tenure as prime minister.

Twice-elected Thaksin is living abroad, mostly in Dubai, to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption handed down by a Thai court in September 2008.

But he remains an influential political figure in Thailand, stirring up mass protests by his "Red Shirt" supporters against the current government.

World Vision Captures 'Spirit of Christmas' in Global Tour



By Audrey Barrick|Christian Post Reporter

Christian Post via CAAI News Media


(Photo: World Vision)Tot Pok, 16, from Cambodia shares his story to World Vision. The humanitarian organization has traveled to five countries documenting the struggles as well as the hope found among the poor during its 2009 "Spirit of Christmas" tour. The tour ends this month.


(Photo: World Vision)World Vision has traveled to five countries documenting the struggles as well as the hope found among the poor during its 2009 "Spirit of Christmas" tour. The tour ends this month.

In a village outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, an orphaned teenage boy is taking care of his two younger siblings.

Tot Pok, 16, lost both of his parents to AIDS at an early age and was left without shelter or food.

As he told his story to World Vision, his eyes filled with tears and a sadness that affected the organization's staff as they were documenting the moment.

"When it's raining and I hear the thunder, I miss my mom the most," the young Cambodian said. "When I think about rice fields, I miss her."

Today with the support of World Vision, Tot Pok has a roof over his head, food to eat and is able to attend school and take care of his siblings. He dreams of being a teacher.

That is one of many stories World Vision has collected during its "Spirit of Christmas" tour. The Christian relief, development and advocacy organization has been on the road since Nov. 19, visiting children and families in five countries on four different continents, including New York City; Quito, Ecuador; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Lusaka, Zambia; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

More than 18,000 fans on the organization's Facebook page have followed the tour virtually, watching short video clips of the struggles as well as the hope found among the poor and the impact donations have been making in changing the lives of people around the world.

"Over the past five weeks, my heart has been broken by the tremendous need in the world, but I've also been inspired by the hope and perseverance of the people we've met," said Devin Hermanson, campaign manager for the tour, in a statement. "This year, we are asking for a Christmas miracle because the need in the world right now is extraordinary."

The humanitarian organization has so far raised more than $9.4 million through the World Vision Gift Catalog and hopes to raise a record $25 million by the end of the journey. If the goal is reached, nearly 625,000 people would be aided.

Fans on Facebook have expressed their support with donations and prayers. One of the traveling team's videographers, Lisa Berglund, commented, "I believe we really have found the true Spirit of Christmas – in the hearts and prayers of each one of you."

Domestic products showcased in Cambodian


12/16/2009

Voices of Vietnam via CAAI News Media

Nearly 10 Vietnamese businesses and around 140 foreign and Cambodian companies are showcasing their products at a Cambodian import export goods fair in Phnom Penh.
On display are textiles and apparels, pharmaceuticals, farm and handicraft products, consumer goods, jewellery, finance and banking, tourism and education services.

Speaking at the opening of the four-day fair on December 15, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh emphasised that the Cambodian Government considers trade as a top priority in its efforts to get out of the current economic crisis.

This year’s fair is an important event to introduce products, exchange information between manufacturers and consumers, and seek markets for local products, Cham Prasidh said.

Encouraging domestic consumption and promoting foreign investment in production have become pressing issues for the Cambodian Government, he said.

Kasit defends ministry, Kamrob



Published: 16/12/2009

Bangkok Post via CAAI News Media

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Wednesday issued a statement defending the role of the Foreign Ministry and Kamrob Palawatwichai, first secretary to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, in the events surrounding Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong.

Mr Kasit said the Foreign Ministry congratulates Mr Sivarak and his family on his being granted a royal pardon after being convicted on spy charges for supplying information on former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight schedule to the Thai government.

He said the ministry had never accused Mr Sivarak or his family of staging the case. The ministry and its officials knew well that Mr Sivarak was in trouble and entitled to assistance and had done what it could to help him.

The minister denied he had ordered Mr Kamrob to use Mr Sivarak as a tool for spying or to do anything else beyond the duty of a diplomat.

Mr Kamrob only performed his duty by trying to get information on Thaksin's whereabouts and report it to the Foreign Ministry, so that it could coordinate with the Office of the Attorney-General to seek the extradition of the fugitive former prime minister, Mr Kasit said in his statement.

On a call for Mr Kamrob to clarify his role, Mr Kasit said it was not the Foreign Ministry's usual practice to let its officials explain their work to the public.

He said both Mr Sivarak and Mr Kamrob were innocent people who happened to become political victims.

Mr Kamrob is sorry for what happened to Mr Sivarak and believes in his innocence, Mr Kasit said.

He said the Foreign Ministry is firm to its opinion that the ongoing problems between Thailand and Cambodia stemmed from the fact that the Cambodian leader opted to interfere in the internal affairs of Thailand and to look down on the Thai judicial process.

The chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, Puea Thai MP Torpong Chaiyasarn, said the committee will invite Mr Sivarak to testify about what happened.

Mr Kasit and Mr Kamrob were invited to testify before the commiittee today, but did tappear.

The Foreign Ministry instead sent Isorn Pokmontree, an ambassador attached to the ministry, and Mathurospotjana Ithirong, deputy director-general of the Consular Affairs Department, to the meeting.

Mr Torpong said Mr Kasit should show respect for the House of Representatives because all of its committees are the people's representatives.

Mr. Ny Chakriya: The Provision of Land to Companies Is Pushing Citizens to Face Serious Problems – Wednesday, 16.12.2009

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

Posted on 17 December 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 643

The Mirror via CAAI News Media

“Citizens from eight provincial and city associations met at the Sunway Hotel, to express their opinions about the loss of their land to businesspeople and to some powerful officials, including to private companies that have received concession land from the government.

“Representatives of citizens came to protest, and to express their concerns about land grabbing committed by businesspeople and by some powerful officials.

“The head of the investigating unit of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Mr. Ny Chakriya, said that in view of the provision of only small economic land concessions to citizens, it is found that in 2008, the government provided tens of thousands of hectares of land to private companies as economic concessions, where 225,090 hectares were provided to 71 private companies as economic concession land. The provision of many hectares of land by the government every year might lead to a lack of land for citizens in the future. Moreover, the provision of economic concession land to different companies, without caring about the impact on citizens, is a big problem, resulting in a situation where citizens, who own little land for cultivation, to have no land, because 80% of the citizens are farmers in rural areas.

“Mr. Ny Chakriya added that forced evictions, where citizens lose ownership of land, victimize them easily. In 2008, there were 25 evictions involving 526 families or 66,095 citizens, who were evicted by force and did not receive any care or solution from state institutions that just use the words that there it is development. Tens of thousands of poor citizens live with fear with the development policy of the government, that frequently issues notifications to evict citizens from a district, a villages, or from a whole area, where they live legally, according to the land law, to leave their houses and land, accusing those citizens of setting up illegal settlements on state land, claiming that the land was taken for development through concessions, sale, or by leasing it to private companies. When such things happened, they ordered hundreds of armed forces and workers to help protect those companies, by shooting and using machinery to remove the houses of citizens, and to hit and to jail them, offering them little compensation, and vacuating them to live in new locations that are remote and insecure and lack infrastructure.

“In the meantime, ADHOC has released a statement about land issues, in regions where the citizens were accused and arrested, because the courts serve the interests of businesspeople and of companies. ADHOC voiced regret and concerns over land disputes, that are not solved in some provinces and cities by the authorities, making thousands of citizens to encounter problems, and resulting in family separations, as their representatives were continually accused and arrested over land disputes in Cambodia.

“The statement of ADHOC says that according to its note about unsolved land disputes, there are not less than 200 cases each year, and not less than 250 citizens were accused by provincial and city courts, which produced fake evidence to sentence them to go to jail for years. At least there are 150 representatives of citizens and land activists imprisoned each year. The accusations and arrests of those citizens result from the incompetence to solve land disputes by the authorities at all levels who are biased, and did not provide justice to citizens. They did this to serve the interests of businesspeople and of companies, where some officials back them in each case.

“It should be noted that land disputes have occurred continually in Cambodia relating to poor citizens facing businesspeople and some powerful officials, so that citizens were evicted by force, and evacuated from their houses, to grab their land for businesspeople and for companies.”

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1834, 16.12.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Thai-Cambodian row a popularity boost for govts


By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation via CAAI News Media
Published on December 17, 2009

Normalisation of bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia remains an uphill task at this moment as both sides continue to enjoy - for domestic consumption - political benefits from the dispute.

The Thai government has set conditions for normalisation of relations - Cambodia must respect the Thai judiciary; stop interference in Thailand's internal affairs; and remove fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from the position of adviser to the Cambodian government.

Cambodia, on the other hand, says it wants Thailand to return its ambassador to Phnom Penh, otherwise relations can never get back on track.

The Thai government reply is it would not return its ambassador to resume duty as long as Thaksin remained an adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and continued to avoid extradition to face punishment following his conviction in Thailand for corruption.

Thaksin has been at the core of the bad relations between the two countries since Hun Sen gave him the economic adviser's post in October. But even before this, feelings had been bad due to the conflict over the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

The two governments intentionally put the Thaksin issue into the context of bilateral relations because they wanted to use the issue to boost popularity at home and cover their respective administrative failures.

The Democrat-led government badly needed the Thaksin issue to justify its reason for being in power. Conflict with Cambodia over Thaksin has helped improve the popularity of Abhisit Vejjajiva's administration.

Thaksin is a perfect decoy to divert attention from the administration's failure to revive the economy.

The government could easily shift the blame to Thaksin and his red-shirted group for any economic failure. Political stability is indeed a key factor for economic recovery.

On the foreign policy front, Thailand has a good excuse to delay a resolution on the conflict with Cambodia over Preah Vihear. The issue is complicated and many government supporters, notably the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), don't want the country to end the dispute over the temple.

They believe - wrongly- that if Thailand delays settlement on Preah Vihear until February next year, the World Heritage Committee would remove the temple from its listing.

Prime Minister Abhisit might know that perception is wrong but as long as it keeps the PAD away from putting pressure on the government, it's fine.

The opposition too can benefit from the Thai-Cambodian conflict as it uses the case of Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong to move a censure motion against Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

They blame Kasit for instructing Thai diplomat Kamrob Palawatwichai to get Thaksin's flight information from Sivarak, who was later pardoned from a seven-year jail term on the spying charge.

Cambodia also wanted the Thaksin issue to fuel its conflict with Thailand to boost support for the government. Angered by the Preah Vihear case, many Cambodian people wanted Prime Minister Hun Sen to take a tough stance against Abhisit's government.

Thaksin is a powerful weapon for Hun Sen to wield against the current Thai government as the issue could cause the Thai prime minister and his foreign minister to lose direction in handling the situation.

Thaksin is also useful for Cambodia in real terms as Hun Sen can utilise his connections with international investors to bring capital into the Cambodian economy. Thaksin himself has planned to invest in the country's tourism and energy sectors.

From a government point of view, conflict is not all bad - as long as the two governments limit their disagreements and avoid consequences that could backfire. But for either country, any kind of conflict will never bring a good result.

Waiting for next Thai govt




'I want to say that relations cannot be normalised as long as you are still invading me,' said Mr Hun Sen. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

The Straits Times via CAAI News Media

Dec 16, 2009

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday that foundering relations with Thailand would not be normalised until Bangkok's current government was voted out of office.

Relations between the countries, which have fought a string of deadly gunbattles on their border since last year, plunged last month when fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra became an economic adviser to Cambodia.

Both recalled their ambassadors in November, and diplomatic tensions were further raised when Phnom Penh refused to extradite Thaksin during his first visit as economic adviser.

'I tell you (Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva) I'm waiting for the Thai next government to come to power and for them send back the ambassador,' said Mr Hun Sen in a speech at Phnom Penh ceremony. 'You raise the issue of Thaksin, but you forget the issue of Preah Vihear,' he said, in reference to the 11th century Khmer temple at the centre of the deadly border dispute between the two countries.

'I want to say that relations cannot be normalised as long as you are still invading me,' Mr Hun Sen added. Thaksin, who arrived back in Cambodia on Sunday, stepped up his economic advisory role on Wednesday as he addressed senior government officials on how to boost investment and tourism.

The telecoms mogul, ousted in a 2006 coup, was credited this week by the Cambodian government for the release of a Thai air traffic control employee jailed for seven years for spying on Thaksin's previous visit. -- AFP

Cambodia: UN report voices some concern over rights of garment workers




UN News via CAAI News Media

16 December 2009 – Although working conditions in Cambodian garment factories continue to improve, some concern remains over restrictions imposed on workers’ rights and lingering discrimination, according to a new report from the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) released today.

ILO’s Synthesis Report on Working Conditions in Cambodia’s Garment Sector, which assesses compliance with Cambodian labour law and international labour standards, noted generally high levels of conformity despite increased pressure on the clothing industry from the current economic crisis which is responsible for the closure of 70 factories and the shedding of 70,000 jobs in the country.

The report raises some unease over the drop in the proportion of factories whose workers belong to a trade union. The figure is down by eight per cent from the previous report, to about 76 per cent of factories monitored.

In addition, the percentage of factories that discriminated against workers, usually based on gender, is slightly down but still remains at 10 per cent of the 172 businesses monitored, with 1 per cent of factories engaging in anti-union discrimination and 3 per cent interfering with workers’ rights to freedom of association.

The report noted that there is now full compliance with minimum wage requirements for regular workers – up from 99 per cent – but no change for casual workers, with 11 per cent of factories employing such staff failing to meet minimum pay standards.

ILO said that now more than ever, the industry needs to focus on increasing productivity and maintaining “industrial peace” to ensure continued success in the garment sector.

In partnership with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia division is overseeing a study examining the social and economic effects of the recession on a group of 2,000 garment workers, both employed and unemployed.

The study’s initial results show that even among workers who are employed, nearly half have experienced a reduction in their income compared to last year, providing an argument for developing social safety nets as most workers have very few savings to help them ride out the crisis and a single income usually supports several family members.

Tribunal charges 2 Khmer Rouge with genocide


AP via CAAI News Media

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The U.N.-assisted tribunal trying former leaders of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge has charged two defendants with genocide for the first time.

Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said Wednesday the co-investigating judges issued the charges this week against the group's top ideologist, Nuon Chea, and former foreign minister, Ieng Sary.

The tribunal is seeking justice for an estimated 1.7 million people who died from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the ultra-communist group's policies during its 1975-79 rule.

Nuon Chea and Ieng Sary have already been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as homicide and torture. They are being held in the tribunal's jail and are expected to be tried next year.

Olsen said they were charged with involvement in the deaths of members of the country's ethnic Cham and Vietnamese communities.

Some Chams, who are mostly Muslims, were among the few Cambodians to actively resist Khmer Rouge rule. The Khmer Rouge brutally suppressed the rebellions, which occurred in several villages.

Prejudice against Vietnamese runs high among many Cambodians, who see their eastern neighbor as predatory. The Khmer Rouge shared the communist ideology with Vietnam but had very strained relations with it, and mistrusted even veteran members of their own group with ties to Hanoi. They launched bloody attacks against Vietnamese border villages, which in late 1978 resulted in an invasion by Vietnam that ousted them from power.

The tribunal tried its first defendant, prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, this year on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, commanded S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, where up to 16,000 people were tortured and taken away to be killed. A verdict is expected next year, and he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if found guilty. Cambodia has no death penalty.

Olsen said it would be determined later whether the two other Khmer Rouge leaders in custody — former head of state Khieu Samphan, and former Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, the wife of Ieng Sary — would also be charged with genocide.

Vietnam, Cambodia bilateral trade posts over $1 bln in first 10 months


2009-12-16

Xinhua via CAAI News Media

HANOI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Cambodia stood at 1.05 billion U.S. dollars in the first ten months of this year, down 28 percent year-on-year, according to the information center of Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Wednesday.

Of the total, Vietnam raked in 907 million U.S. dollars from exports to the Cambodian market while spending 142 million U.S. dollars on imports from Cambodia, said the center.

For the whole year, Vietnam is expected to earn 1.2 billion U.S. dollars from sales to Cambodia and spend 170 million U.S. dollars on purchases from this market, local newspaper Vietnam Investment Review cited the estimates from the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Wednesday.

In 2010, Vietnam targets to increase bilateral trade with Cambodia to 2 billion U.S. dollars.

To reach the target, the ministry put forward a number of measures including boosting trade promotion activities and improving quality of Vietnamese products.

Last year, two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia reached 1.64 billion U.S. dollars, up from 1.19 billion U.S. dollars in 2007,according to the center.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

I didn't pressure kamrob : Kasit


By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
Published on December 17, 2009

The Nation via CAAI News Media

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday denied ever instructing Kamrob Palawatwichai, then first secretary of the Thai Embassy in Cambodia, to spy on the flight of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Phnom Penh.


Kamrob

"Kamrob has performed his normal duty to process the extradition of convicted Thaksin in accordance with Thai judicial enforcement," Kasit said in a statement.

The procedure is the same treatment the ministry has to apply to every convicted fugitive who runs away from justice, he said. Finance wizard Rakesh Saxena was no different.

As Thaksin was confirmed as having arrived in Phnom Penh, the Thai Embassy had to report the information back to the ministry so the Attorney General's Office could be informed to commence seeking his return, he said.

The opposition Pheu Thai Party and Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong, who was pardoned after being sentenced to seven years in jail for leaking Thaksin's flight schedule to Kamrob, have demanded Kamrob explain why he had to ask the engineer to share such information and who was behind him.

Thaksin said on Tuesday that Kamrob was assigned by his boss in Bangkok to seek his flight details and the diplomat reported back to Bangkok immediately upon obtaining the intelligence from Sivarak.

Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said earlier Kamrob would come out to relate his account soon.

However Kasit said it was not usual for the Foreign Ministry to have a civil servant explain to the public about such a normal function.


Sivarak and Kamrob are political victims as their cases were used a political tool, Kasit said.

Both of them have already suffered the consequences as Kamrob was expelled from Cambodia as a persona non grata while Sivarak had to serve a prison term, he said.

Kamrob had provided necessary assistance to Sivarak and expressed his regret for the incident, Kasit said, adding that the two have known each other for a long time.

However, Sivarak said he and his family had received no contact from Kamrob while he was facing legal difficulties in Cambodia.

Isorn Pokmontri, an ambassador attached to the Foreign Ministry, testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Kamrob did in fact ask Sivarak to confirm Thaksin's landing on November 10 but received no document on Thaksin's flight from the engineer.

Committee chairman Torpong Chaiyasarn had summoned Kasit and Kamrob to appear but Kasit assigned Isorn to represent both of them.

Cambodian railway to be revived by 2013



http://www.railwaygazette.com/

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

16 December 2009

CAMBODIA: Asian Development Bank announced a second US$42m loan towards rehabilitation of the dilapidated rail network on December 16, doubling the funding it is providing for the US$141m project. ADB said freight trains will begin running on the southern line between Phnom Penh and Kampot near the Vietnamese border in 2011, and the entire 600 km metre-gauge network will be revived by 2013.

The 32-year loan means ADB is now providing 60% of the cost of the work, which includes reinstating the 48 km connection from Sisophon to Poipet on the Thai border destroyed by fighting in the 1970s. A modern freight and rolling stock maintenance facility is to be developed in Phnom Penh, and there will be connections with the road network and a major river port in Phnom Penh.

On June 12 the government signed a 30-year concession agreement covering Royal Cambodian Railways with a joint venture led by Toll Group, which was conditional upon the confirmation of international funding for rehabilitation.

'Without this project the railway would cease to function', said Peter Broch, Senior Transport Economist in ADB's Southeast Asia Department. 'Cambodia's modern railway will be the backbone of a regional transport system interlinking Cambodia with major industrial and logistics centers in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City'.

ADB approves another 42 mln USD to rehabilitate


2009-12-16

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB)on Wednesday approved another 42 million U.S. dollars investment in the rehabilitation of Cambodia's dilapidated railway, a move that will position the country at the center of a growing trade network in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

The financing will bring ADB's total investment to 84 million U.S. dollars approximately 60 percent of the 141 million U.S. dollars rail project, according to ADB news release.

With this additional financing, freight trains will begin operating between Kampot, near the border with Vietnam, and the capital Phnom Penh in 2011. The entire railway system will be operational in 2013.

Cambodia's rail network is in tatters following decades of neglect, with the last 48 kilometers of track extending from the Thai border destroyed during wartime.

In addition to rehabilitating and reconstructing 600 kilometers of rail network, including rebuilding the destroyed link to Thailand that will reestablish railway traffic between the two countries, the infusion of new funding will enable the development of a modern freight and rolling stock maintenance facility on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

"This upgraded rail network will position Cambodia as a true sub-regional transport hub, creating new jobs and business opportunities in the manufacturing and logistic services sectors," said Peter Broch, Senior Transport Economist in ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

The new railway will directly connect to Cambodia's national highway network, and to a major river port in Phnom Penh, using the rail network with road and inland water transport systems connecting Northeast Cambodia and Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

"Cambodia's modern railway will be the backbone of a regional transport system interlinking Cambodia with major industrial and logistics centers in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City," said Mr. Broch.

In addition to creating new jobs and spurring economic growth, the revitalized railway will also enhance international trade, reduce the costs of imports, ease road traffic and diminish road hazards.

Editor: Han Jingjing

Thai FM never directed official to collect intelligence in Cambodia: Minister


2009-12-16

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

BANGKOK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Thai Foreign Ministry has never directed its Thai diplomat to collect intelligence information from Siwarak Chutipong in Cambodia, hence he is not required to explain about the matter, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Wednesday, Thai News Agency reported.

Siwarak, 31 years old, who worked as an engineer at Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd, had been arrested in Cambodia from Nov. 11, according to an arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court.

Cambodia's court had charged Siwarak of having had the confidential information affecting Cambodia's national security.

Siwarak was sentenced to seven years in jail last week, but he was granted a royal pardon from Cambodia's King on Dec. 11, and he was set free on Dec. 14.

As Kasit said he is glad Siwarak has been freed and arrived safely in Thailand, the Thai foreign minister has also insisted the ministry has never directed such the order to the Thai diplomat, Kamrob Palawatwichai as charged.

Kamrob, who was a former first secretary of Thailand's Embassy in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, was allegedly ordered to collect the intelligence information from Siwarak.

Kasit also said the Thai ministry had fully attempted to help Siwarak, while he was fighting in Cambodia's court for freedom.

Editor: Han Jingjing