Use meditation to improve your health

Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES Somnieng Hoeurn, a Buddhist monk from Cambodia, chants during one of the meditation classes he teaches in Davenport.

By Deirdre Cox Baker
Thursday, April 03, 2008

Somnieng Hoeurn rhythmically chants an ancient verse as seven pupils seated in a Davenport home listen closely and learn how to meditate.

Hoeurn, a Buddhist monk from Cambodia, is in the Quad-Cities on a year-long visa to study at St. Ambrose University and teach meditation techniques. In the classes, pupils learn to relax, breathe deeply and focus on their mind.

Meditation is used by some medical professionals because it appears to have long-term benefits as far as emotional and physical well-being is concerned. It tends to ease conditions that are worsened by stress, including allergies, arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, heart disease and depression, according to the Mayo Clinic and its Web site, mayoclinic.org.

Meditation, when properly followed, can play a role in decreasing stress-related hormones, according to Dr. Edward Creagan, an associate medical editor for Mayo Health Solutions and a contributor to the Web site. That includes cortisol, which is associated with high blood pressure.

“When we are calm, serene, feel validated and with a sense of peace, the result is lower blood pressure,” he said.

Hoeurn works with the Midwest Buddhist Education Center, which also involves Steve Spring, a Davenport accountant. Classes are held on Monday nights at 216 W. Locust St., Davenport, and on Thursdays at the Davenport School of Yoga, 421 Brady St.

“People will discuss how meditation is transforming and how it improves their emotional experience and their relationships with family, friends and co-workers,” Spring said.

Hoeurn believes meditation’s focus on the mind explains how it helps other parts of the body. “A healthy mind will produce physical health,” he said.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years in Eastern cultures. Western culture encourages formidable roadblocks to meditation, including busy, over-committed lives with no free time, Spring said.

Also, Westerners do not often see the importance of taking time to develop mental health, according to the monk. “You take one-two hours a day to feed your stomach, take 10 minutes a day to feed your mind,” Hoeurn encouraged the class.

A mind-centered focus also provides time to form appropriate responses to life’s challenges, he said. “Most of the problems in the world can be traced to people who are quick to anger. They have very quick responses,” he added.

The monk led two 15 to 20-minute sessions during Monday’s class. “Ease, ease your body,” he quietly told the students. “Focus on your breath, breathe deeply, slightly and release slowly.”

Hoeurn encourages the meditators to set aside from their minds thoughts and feelings and focus instead on breathing slowly in and out. Students should sit quietly and try to disregard discomfort, he advises.

“Focus mindfulness on breath and ignore the body,” said the monk, who sat cross-legged on the floor for more than an hour. “But if it hurts too much, please move,” he added with a grin.

Tracy and Brian Tuftee, six-month newlyweds from Davenport, have attended several classes led by Hoeurn. Tuftee said she felt positive after one 15-minute session, “smiling in my heart, if not physically smiling.”

She has been interested in meditation for years and tried it with another instructor, but felt she did not get enough guidance. Regularly meditating has helped her calm down “pretty quickly,” she said, and also has benefited the relationship with her husband.

General forms of the wide-ranging practice include yoga, Tai chi, guided meditation and Qi Gong, according the Mayo Clinic Web site.

Lives are improved with regular meditation practice, the monk believes. “Your life will be so great,” Hoeurn says. “You will be living in heaven on earth!”

The War on Democracy

The Dominion Post
Friday, 04 April 2008

GRAEME TUCKETT

The War on Democracy sees John Pilger doing what he does best, and doing it at the absolute top of his game.

Pilger is an important and divisive figure. He is one of a very few film-makers who work tirelessly to expose the cruelties and catastrophes that our capitalist-imperialist system visits upon some of the poorest and most vulnerable people on Earth. (And let's not even bother arguing about whether recent American foreign policy constitutes "imperialism". It does.)

Pilger was the man who introduced the world to the Cambodian genocide with his film Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia, and also exposed the murderous rule of Indonesia in East Timor with Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy.

All of Pilger's films – there's about 20 in all – have been typified by a rigorous and painstakingly researched presentation of some very hard facts, by a great willingness to point the finger at the western sponsors of corrupt and illegal regimes, and by Pilger's own great stooped presence; sometimes lecturing, sometimes downright patronising, but always urgent and very watchable.

The War on Democracy will rate up there with Pilger's very best and most important work.

Pinned to the backdrop of a long exploration of the policies and presidency of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Pilger's film takes detours into Chile, Haiti, El Salvador, Brazil and Argentina to expose some of the evil that North American interference and corruption has allowed to flourish in those countries.

Pilger's final thesis is that "people power" – as typified by Chavez's supporters – is the "seed beneath the snow" that will eventually prevail over the appallingly anti-democratic and vastly hypocritical United States.

See this film. The six o'clock news won't look the same after.

Food Price Crisis To Worsen

ABN Newswire

Sydney, Apr 4, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - Across the developing and emerging economies of the world, and in some developed economies for that matter, governments are opting to shoulder some of the burden of higher food prices or try and control their immediate direction.

The efforts are likely to be fruitless and very expensive for the countries involved, consumers and taxpayers.

From India to Egypt governments are slashing import tariffs on foodstuffs and curbing exports, as well as boosting subsidies: all to try and ease the impact of what will be the big story of 2008 and 2009 - the soaring cost of food.

As we reported this week, an exploding price for rice is the latest cause of much government action.Egypt, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, parts of Africa, Mexico, Italy, China, Russia, Argentina: the list is growing by the day of governments who now see the rising cost of food and all the social and political problems that brings, as far more important that good governance, low debt, the US recession, subprime debt or American foreign and economic policy.

Even in the developed world the impact is startling. Biofuels in Asia, Europe and the US are withering because of rising costs for corn, canola and palm oil.

Food riots have happened in Mexico over the cost of tortilla flour. Italians have protested about the sharp rise in the cost of flour for pasta and bread.

Farmers are being blamed in some countries, such as Argentina and parts of Europe; in the US it's causing an explosion in land values and incomes in parts of the country that have been slowly withering away.

The irony won't be lost on Americans that in the midst of a recession farmers and some of the biggest companies in the US (think Cargill and Archer Midland) will be booming, some with record incomes, and much of it (like Europe) subsidised.

Longer term, however, the side-effects of this largesse will be ugly. Forgoing revenues and paying subsidies hurts national budgets.

India, for example, spent $US600 million on rice and wheat subsidies in 2004-05. Given the surge in rice, maize and wheat prices since then, the cost could be up by a third to a half: something approaching $US1 billion, which a country like India can ill afford, even in the midst of its boom (which is slowing anyway).

In the Philippines, the rice subsidy could top the half a billion dollar mark this year, according to the Asian Development Bank, and the country is scouring Asia and the US for around 1.5 million tonnes of rice at subsidised prices because its stocks have run down.

Indonesia which is thinking of banning some rice exports, like China, India, Vietnam and Egypt, may have to pay $US2.2 billion in food subsidies this year, or around 3% of spending by the national government.

That's three times earlier estimates.Nearby Malaysia is looking to boost rice imports and hitting a wall because the Philippines has been mopping up as much grain as it can get.Indonesia and many other countries in Asia also subsidise energy costs and they have skyrocketed with the rise in oil prices over the past three years.

Indonesia is thinking of cutting rice exports, even though it will have a surplus this year of around two million tonnes (it imported just over 1 million tonnes in 2007).

Soaring food and fuel prices are driving global inflation. Consumer prices in China hit an annual rate of 8.7% in February, an 11-year high, and reached a 13-month peak in India of 6.8%.World prices for rice, wheat, soybeans and corn have all increased sharply: rice and wheat prices have doubled in the year - rice is up 30% or more in a week.

Oil prices are up more than 50% in the past year, and more for some derivatives. High petrol prices in the US, now at record levels, are pointing to further upward pressures in the American summer and the so-called driving season when they usually spike in July-August.

The United Nations warned in February that 36 countries, including China, face food emergencies this year, as stockpiles of grains such as rice, wheat, corn and soybeans drop to multi-decade lows around the world and in key supplier nations like the US and Australia.

The World Bank said this week it considered soaring food and fuel prices as greater challenges to East Asian governments than the financial turmoil in the United States and slowing global growth.

Since 2003, oil and non-oil commodity prices have respectively more than tripled and doubled. However, of greater immediate concern for policy makers is the surge in commodity prices over the last 6–9 months––especially for food––that has pushed headline inflation higher and sparked concerns about the adverse effect on the poor.

"In the medium-term the answer clearly lies in greater fuel efficiency, stronger and more productive global agriculture and an open international trading system.

But in the short-term the bigger concern is to alleviate the harsh burden this imposes on the poor," the bank said this week.As we said yesterday, it's a similar outlook from the Asian Development Bank.

"The major risk lies not so much in softer growth but in rising commodity prices and accelerating inflation,'' the Bank said yesterday. "Appropriate macroeconomic responses to accelerating inflation are likely to include tighter monetary policy and some exchange-rate appreciation.''

"Indeed, published inflation rates disguise the true extent of underlying inflation pressures due to the presence of subsidies, administrative price controls and cuts in excise taxes," it said.

The subsidies used by many governments in the region to cushion the impact of soaring fuel and food prices are posing a threat to budgets and the bank said that cash handouts to the poor may be a better and cheaper option.

"If governments do not rethink these expensive and inefficient subsidy programs, fiscal costs could escalate sharply and require painful adjustments (or accelerating inflation, or both) later," the ADB said.

"Carefully targetted direct income support for the poor, within strict budgetary limits, might better alleviate stresses, and at much lower cost."

Saudi Arabia has cut import taxes across a range of food products this week, slashing its wheat tariff from 25% to zero and reducing tariffs on poultry, dairy produce and vegetable oils.

On Monday, India scrapped tariffs on edible oil and maize and banned exports of all rice except the high-value basmati variety, while Vietnam, the world's third biggest rice exporter, said it would cut rice exports by 11%.

In Argentina, farmers called off a protest against attempts by the government of President Cristina Fernández to redistribute the benefits of rising commodity prices by increasing export taxes on soybeans and other crops.

The World Bank said this week in its half year report:

Non-oil commodity prices increased 15 percent in dollar terms over 2007, a fifth year of solid dollar price gains.That was only a precursor to even more rapid 20 percent gains in just the first 2 months of 2008.

Grains, edible oils, and metals prices have been especially buoyant in recent months, supported by strong investment and physical demand (the latter especially from developing countries) as well as by a variety of more specific factors on both the demand and supply sides of the markets.

Low initial stocks; rising input costs (especially energy); competition for limited arable land; weather-related production shortfalls; and strong demand for food, animal feeds, and biofuels have produced a surge in prices for corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans.

Grain and edible oil prices rose 21 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in just the first 2 months of 2008. Metals prices gained 27 percent in the same period, led by iron ore, copper, lead, aluminum, and precious metals.

China's consumption of the 6 main metals traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) grew by nearly one-third, or 5.8 million tons, in 2007, up from an average 16 percent growth rate in the previous 7 years.

Growth in Chinese demand alone more than offset lower 2007 consumption in the OECD. A 21 percent increase in China's steel production––the largest in the world––helped set the scene for a 65 percent increase in iron ore prices in early 2008.

The pattern of terms of trade losses and gains in 2008 should be qualitatively similar to that of the last four years, but with higher food prices adding a new twist.Higher food prices are expected to have relatively small effects at the level of national income––as distinct from possible distributional effects––in economies such as Cambodia, Indonesia, and Lao PDR.Economies such as China, Philippines, and Papua New Guinea could see somewhat larger net losses of approximately 0.5 percent of GDP.

On the other hand, rice exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam likely will see substantial income gains because of high rice prices.

Combining the effect of higher food prices with those of additional increases in oil and metals prices, the region could experience an aggregate income loss of approximately 1 percent of GDP in 2008.Income losses of this size perhaps could have been overlooked when the region's economy was growing very rapidly in 2006-07.

However, they could have a more negative effect if the global credit market crisis results in significantly lower growth in East Asia.

The sharp rise in international food prices is likely to have a significant impact on the living standards of the poor throughout the developing world, posing one of the more urgent and difficult problems facing governments today.

Food comprises a larger share of the consumption basket of the population in most developing East Asian economies than it does in developed countries.

In the U.S. the share of food in the consumption basket of the average household is 15 percent, while in East Asia it ranges between 31 and 50 percent (31 percent in Malaysia, 34 percent in China, 36 percent in Thailand, 40 percent in Indonesia, 43 percent in Vietnam, and 50 percent in the Philippines).

In Cambodia the share of food in total consumption is 59 percent in rural areas and 40 percent in urban. Internationally traded food products are also a large proportion of the food consumption of the poor – 56 percent in Cambodia for example, and 64 percent in Vietnam.

The impact of food price increases on the poor also depends on whether they are net food consumers whose real income will be reduced by higher food prices, or net producers of food, who will tend to benefit.

The urban poor and landless rural workers are generally net food consumers as, typically, are a significant fraction of poor small landholders.

In Cambodia these three types of poor households comprise 46 percent of the poor, with another 18 percent being small land holders who are self-sufficient but not net sellers of food.

In Vietnam the proportion of net consumers among the poor is 47 percent, with another 19 percent being net self-sufficient. In Indonesia 76 percent of the poor are net rice buyers, including some 72 percent of the rural poor.

Here it is estimated that every 10 percent increase in rice prices reduces the real value of the expenditure of poorest tenth of the population by 2 percent.

Other things being equal, the surge in food prices is therefore likely to increase poverty in the low and lower middle income countries of the region, although against that must be set the poverty reducing impact of continued robust economic growth.

We estimate that every 1 percent increase in per capita consumption reduces the poverty rate for East Asia as a whole by around 1 percent (at the $1 a day level).

In the slightly longer term there will also be a supply response as net food consumers move towards becoming net food producers in response to higher prices.

What the net effect of these complex interactions on poverty rates in the region in 2008 will be is not yet clear.

But it seems probable that, depending on how much food prices increase during the year, the pace of poverty reduction in the region will not be as rapid as in the recent past and may even reverse.

(Poverty rates at the $1 a day level fell by 11-12 percent a year in 2002-2007, while those at the $2 day level fell by 8-9 percent a year.).

Rising food prices are quickly taking on a high profile around the region, eliciting a range of policy responses.Broadly speaking these have been designed to protect the poor through new or existing safety net programs or to moderate the rise in food prices by one means or another.

The instruments applied are generally fiscal measures such as taxes and subsidies or administrative measures.In other countries, such as Vietnam, government strategy is to design and adopt safety net programs that are universal but where participation by the poor is fully subsidized and participation by the near poor is partially subsidized.

Maternal morality rate remains high in Cambodia

chinaview.cn
2008-04-04

PHNOM PENH, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Official survey has shown that the maternal morality rate remained high in the last five years, while childhood morality rate dropped by 6 percent each year, English-Khmer newspaper the Mekong Times said on Friday.

The number of women who died giving birth is estimated at around 472 per 100,000 live births from 2000 to 2005, Eng Huot, secretary of state at Ministry of Health, was quoted as telling the 29th annual national health conference here on Thursday.

"We have seen that, on average, the childhood morality rate has dropped by 6 percent per year, but the maternal morality rate is not dropping. It remains high," he said.

He didn't elaborate on the reason. The paper quoted opposition lawmakers as saying that the budget prioritized for this sector was largely not being used.

Cambodia, with a weak health sector, has for years been making efforts to reduce maternal and childhood death rates.

In 2008, the National Assembly approved a budget of some 101 million U.S. dollars for the health sector, around 20 percent more than 2007, in order to improve the sector to a standard comparable to the other countries in the region.

Editor: Sun Yunlong

Letter from Tioulong Saumura to the Cambodia Daily

Tioulong Saumura, MP (Ms.)

Phnom Penh, 31 March 2008

Letter to the Editor,
The Cambodia Daily

Dear Sirs,

In its issue dated 31 March 2008, The Cambodia Daily reported that I was "implicated in detention claims" made by former SRP commune councillor Tim Norn, who alleged that I "detained her in Phnom Penh to prevent her from joining the CPP".

Had I been contacted by your reporter*, I would have brought the following information to his knowledge:

1- On Saturday 16 February, Ms. Tim Norn came to the SRP headquarters and requested a meeting with me. She told me that former SRP MP for Kompong Thom Sok Pheng had convinced her to defect to the CPP and gave her $200, but that she regretted her decision and was scared because she had already taken and spent the money. She asked me to give protection to her and her family

2- I replied that she has the right to choose which political party she wants to be a member of, she has the right to then change her mind, resign and join another party. But, once she has resigned from SRP and put her thumbprint on a written statement saying that she joins CPP, she is now a member of CPP and nobody at SRP has anything to do with her anymore.

3- As she seemed frightened and kept on repeating that she did not want to go back to her village in Baray district, I said that we are a political party, not a shelter and advised her to submit her case to a human rights organisation such as Licadho or the UN Centre for Human Rights. I phoned Licadho to check whether it was open on Saturday.

4- Ms. Tim Norn went to Licadho's office by her own means. Later, I joined her when she was talking to Licadho's staff, confirmed that she was a former SRP activist, made sure that she was taken care of, and came back to my office.

The claim that I detained Tim Norn does not make sense:

1- I have no means to force anyone to stay anywhere against his/her will. I don't even know how long she stayed with Licadho, when she left and why.

2- The Sam Rainsy Party is an organization made-up of volunteers who adhere to the ideals advocated by President Sam Rainsy. What binds us together is the common faith in the ability to bring about changes by peaceful, legal, non-violent and democratic means. The strength of the party is based on the free will of our members. In our party, nobody can "force" anyone of us to donate our time, effort, money, and risk our assets, peace of mind, lives. So, there is no rationale for me to try to keep someone by force.

3- Tim Norn having ceased being one of our members, I still wanted to help her on humanitarian grounds, which is what I often do when I meet people needing assistance. That is why I advised her to seek assistance from a human rights organization and from the UN Centre for Human Rights.

In your article, you quote SRP Secretary General Eng Chhay Eang saying that he did not know when I would return to Cambodia. Actually, I am leaving Paris tomorrow 1st April, arriving on the 2d. My schedule is linked to the preparation of the autobiography of MP Sam Rainsy. The deadline of the French publisher was today 31 March. MP Sam Rainsy had to attend the commemoration of the grenade attack on 30 March, I took care of the final round of proof-reading before giving the imprimatur today.

Yours sincerely,

Concerns over Political Intimidation and Obstruction prior to the 2008 National Assembly Elections Preparation Stage

COMFREL - NICFEC - CHRAC

Joint Statement

On

Concerns over Political Intimidation and Obstruction prior to the 2008

National Assembly Elections Preparation Stage

COMFREL, NICFEC and CHRAC are greatly concerned over the ongoing situation of political influence over the judiciary system, court and law enforcement armed forces (1), especially the recent arrests and attempted arrests, the use of violence toward political parties’ activists and the ongoing obstruction of some political parties’ activities. These cases take place repeatedly in Phnom Penh, Pailin, Kampong Thom, Takeo and Kampong Chhnang, with a negative impact on the environment for fair and free elections.

Arrests political parties’ activists without a court warrant and without in-depth investigation cause an environment of fear and mean that non-ruling parties’ activists dare not do anything. According to CHRAC’s Statement, Mr. Tout Saron, Kampong Thom’s Baray’s Ponro Commune Chief, was summoned at Toul Kroeus Market, Baray District by police officials led by Baray District Police Chief without showing a court order. In the meantime, there is a question about the different answers given by victim Toeum Norn, first when she met with a LICADHO officer and an officer of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia, and then later. On February 18, 2008, at the LICADHO office, Mrs. Toeum Norn did not make a complaint about detention against her will. Instead, she asked for help from LICADHO to protect her and her family, as she had previously defected from the Sam Rainsy Party to the Cambodian People’s Party and later wanted to go back to the Sam Rainsy Party. But, later on she said she was afraid the Sam Rainsy Party may kill her (2).

According to the CHRAC investigation, Mrs. Toeum Norn did not lose her rights to communicate with her friends and family. And there is nothing to prove that Mrs. Toeum Norn was either detained or arrested.

There has been obstruction and prevention towards some political parties, including the Sam Rainsy Party, the Human Rights Party, the Norodom Ranariddh Party and FUNCINPEC from carrying out political activities such as meetings and, in some cases, local authority crackdowns on meetings and taking down of a political party’s signboard. Evidently, there was violence involved in taking down a Sam Rainsy Party signboard, causing Member of Parliament for Phnom Penh H.E. Mr. HO Vann to be injured on March 22, 2008. The taking down of a Sam Rainsy Party signboard also took place in Pailin. A Norodom Ranariddh Party signboard in Banteay Meanchey was also taken down. In total, until now, there have been at least 20 cases of taking down of political parties’ signboards. These cases, which have happened to non-ruling parties, have not been addressed fairly and effectively.

The political party and candidate registration for the elections is due within less than one month. However, the Prince Norodom Ranariddh case has not been settled yet. This can be considered as contributing to an unequal election contest: the leader, and maybe a potential candidate, of one party cannot contest in the upcoming elections.

Civil society highly appreciates the efforts of the Royal Government and competent authorities who have ensured that the 2008 pre-election environment has seen no cases of murder and severe violence towards politician. However, the competent authorities should continue to try their best to stop arrests, intimidation and violence towards political party activists and politician. The Royal Government, competent authorities and relevant stakeholders should make efforts to effectively settle any case to ensure a good environment for free and fair elections and to ensure politicians and political party leaders (such as Prince Norodom Ranariddh) can contest in the elections fairly without any fear.

Phnom Penh, March 27, 2008

COMFREL NICFEC CHRAC

______________
For further information, please contact:
1. Mr. KOUL Panha, COMFREL's Executive Director, 012 942 017
2. Mr. HANG Puthea, NICFEC's Executive Director, 012 959 666
3. Mr. SOUN Sareth, CHRAC's Secretariat, 012 830 422

-------
(1) This was noted in LICADHO and ADHOC’s report on Cambodian Human Rights December 2007: ‘Charade Justice’.
(2) According to LICADHO’s report and the Cambodia Daily, published on March 24, 2008 (P.5).

Calling all our Compatriots to Join - SRP

Click on Picture to zoom in

Calling all our Compatriots to Jointhe Mass Demonstration

Organized by SRP Members of Parliament

to Demand that the Government Lower the Prices of Merchandises

or Provide Salary Increases for Civil Servants and Factory Workers

Commensurate with the Prices of Goods

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is organizing a mass demonstration in Phnom Penh on Sunday, April 6, 2008, to demand that the government lower the prices of merchandises or provide salary increases for civil servants, factory workers and all employees commensurate with the prices of goods.

Over the past few months, the prices of goods have been soaring, in particular for gasoline, rice, meat, fish, vegetables and all kinds of foodstuffs. For example, currently, the price of gasoline has increased to almost 5,000 riels per liter and the price of rice is close to 4,000 riels per kilo.

The increase in the prices of goods is caused by several factors. Some of these factors are related to the situation on the international markets, whereas others are related to ineptitude in the economic management of our country. It is a fact that the prices of goods have increased in neighboring countries, but these increases are minimal compared to the rate of inflation in our country where the prices of goods have increased from twofold to threefold (100% to 200%) over a one-year period.

The sharp increase in the prices of goods in Cambodia is due to corruption and incompetence on the part of the government.

Corruption is behind the heavy tax burden on the population (in particular for gasoline), but the bulk of the taxes collected does not go to the state coffer, instead, it goes in to fill the pockets of corrupt government officials. Corruption is also behind commercial monopolies in various sectors of the economy because a number of cunning merchants and dishonest companies pay bribes to government officials in order to obtain those monopolies so that they can curtail competition and increase the price of goods and services as they please. Meanwhile, the inept government is unable to manage the economy properly and causes the riel (our national currency) to weaken vis-à-vis neighboring countries' currencies, which is another cause for the sharp inflation in Cambodia.

When Sam Rainsy was the Minister of Economy and Finance between 1993 and 1994, the prices of goods on the market were low and stable. At that time, the price of one liter of gasoline was only 600 riels, and one kilo of rice cost only 600 riels. The riel was much stronger (2,500 riels to the US dollar), which helped curb inflation.

In order to reduce the prices of goods on the market right now, the SRP demands that the government adopt the following measures:

1- Lower taxes on gasoline from the current 1,200 riels per liter to 500 riels per liter, and lower the profit margin made by gasoline distributors from 700 riels to 400 riels per liter. These two measures alone will lower the overall price of gasoline by 1,000 riels per liter, and they will bring down the price of gasoline to be in par with prices in neighboring countries. This is a necessary condition to stop the illegal smuggling of gasoline.

2- End the commercial monopolies granted to a number of cunning merchants and dishonest companies which allow them to increase the prices of goods as they please because of the lack of effective competition. This situation is possible because of the protection provided to these cunning merchants and dishonest companies by corrupt government officials.

3- Ensure an adequate economic, financial and monetary policy so as to preserve the stability of the riel and to prevent it from depreciating against neighboring countries' currencies such as the Thai Bath.

4- Control the printing of bank notes so as to avoid issuing paper money in an irresponsible and disorderly manner. Ensure that any increase in the money supply match with actual economic growth and the level of foreign reserves owned by Cambodia. If the government continues to inflate the money supply by secretly printing bank notes, especially for political reasons (to buy votes before the upcoming elections), the riel will continue to depreciate and inflation will continue to accelerate.

5- Implement land reform by distributing unused state-owned lands to landless farmers or those who do not have enough land to live on, so as to increase agricultural production nationwide. Rice production in particular will be increased to a maximum in order to meet demand and to lower the price of this staple on the market. For the tens of thousands of hectares of lands grabbed or stolen from the State or from the people by corrupt government officials and cunning businessmen, they must be returned back to the people so that Cambodian farmers can effectively plant crops needed to counter inflation.

If the government is unwilling or unable to implement the five above-described measures to lower the prices of goods, then it must increase the salaries of civil servants, teachers, policemen and soldiers, as well as factory workers and all employees at a rate that is commensurate with the rate of inflation. For example, if the prices of goods double, salaries must also be doubled.

Otherwise, the people's living conditions will undeniably deteriorate and the government will have to take the responsibility for this deterioration in the people's living conditions.

[signed]

The 24 SRP Members of ParliamentFor more information please call 092 854 053 or 012 858 857 or 012 731 111

Cambodian PM accuses media of linking Islam with terrorism

Radio Australia

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has accused major media organisations like CNN and the BBC of unfairly linking terrorism to Islam.

He made the comments in an opening speech at a two-day international conference on interfaith cooperation for peace, being held in Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen said it is inaccurate to link the world's 1 billion Muslim population to acts committed by small numbers of people.

He said when terrorism occurs in one place, a politician or the media will link it to Muslims as a whole.

''Terrorism is terrorism. It has nothing related to religion,'' he said.''Therefore, all politicians and media should change their attitudes in using any words relating to Islam.''

He said the "biggest mistakes" had been made by major television networks such as America's CNN, Britain's BBC and TV5 of France.

Representatives from the 10 ASEAN member states are taking part in the conference, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Shin Satellite Subsidiary Launches DTH Service In Cambodia

April 3, 2008

[Satellite Today – 4-3-08] Cambodian DTV Network Ltd. is launching a new direct-to-home (DTH) service in Cambodia, Shin Satellite announced April 3.

The Shin Satellite subsidiary will launch Techo-DTV, which will be the first satellite television network service that provides DTH television programming to every household in Cambodia.

The viewers will be able to receive all local channels and some international channels, with a pay TV service becoming available in the near future.

The price is $75, including a 60-centimeter Ku-band satellite dish and set-top-box unit.

“The Techo-DTV service will not only be focused to provide the existing Khmer channels but to be equipped with the potential capability to develop new programs for long-distance education to rural areas,” Nuthapong Temsiripong, general manager of Cambodian DTV Network, said in a statement

Two Internews Trainees Fight HIV/AIDS in Cambodia

Sangoeun with a monk at Impoverish Meas Monastery, before meditation with HIV positive soldiers. Both are HIV/AIDS trainers.

internews.org

(April 3, 2008) Phnom Penh – For years, Sergeant Yoeun Sangoeun’s weapon was his AK-47 rifle, used to fight enemies like the Khmer Rouge. It was only three years ago through Internews Mekong Turnaround project that he discovered another weapon – the media.

On July 14, 2001, Yoeun Sangoeun began to conquer an invisible enemy. Since he was diagnosed with HIV that fateful day, he has learned first hand of the discrimination and injustice against soldiers living with HIV. Together with Internews’ network of journalists and the Internews Europe Mekong Turnaround project, Sangoeun has created a series of stories that have significantly impacted this largely marginalized group.

Sangoeun, now 40 years old, leads a support group for HIV-positive soldiers and their families who receive treatment and reside at Preah Ket Mealea military hospital in Phnom Penh.

Sangoeun joined ten HIV-positive representatives of diverse backgrounds for a basic Internews training in communication skills in 2005, and an advanced training in 2006. Hands-on mentoring in an Internews Local Voices project complements formal training. This instruction and preparation aims to improve journalists’ coverage of HIV -issues.

So when he learned that his fellow soldiers were to be evicted from the hospital and left with no choice but to return to their military units despite their fragile health, Sangoeun was quick to put his new media communication knowledge to use. Sangoeun got the new knowledge during his Internews training on media, ethics and HIV/AIDS in November 2007.

One of the journalists with whom he worked was Chheang Bopha, an experienced print journalist and Internews trainee with Radio France International. Bopha – a woman – is conspicuous in the male-dominated profession, but her prominence in the field is also due to her balanced coverage of important political and social issues. Sangoeun arranged for her to interview soldiers who had been evicted or who anticipated a similar imminent fate. (See the text transcript of the radio report (PDF), aired in Khmer-language on RFI and FM 102, November 2007 by Chheang Bopha)

According to Sangoeun, most soldiers have opportunistic illnesses or are on anti-retroviral treatment (ART) and are too weak to work. “Currently, they’re using anti-retroviral drugs to prolong their lives and their health isn’t better yet. Some still have low CD4 levels,” he said.

Sangoeun said that while some are strong enough to return to their military units and are able to get medical services nearby, most are too weak and thus have nowhere else to go because their bases are their official registered residence.

The soldiers’ plight was aired locally in Khmer-language on France International Radio and Beehive Radio, FM 102. Following the broadcast, the deputy chief of the military hospital, a one-star general, approached Sangoeun to negotiate the soldiers’ return.

It was the latest victory for PLHIV (People Living with HIV) in Cambodia, and a prime example of how powerful the media and PLHIV can be when they join forces to reduce social stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS. Earlier, Sangoeun’s cooperation with Koh Santipheap (Island of Peace) journalist Meng Leng revealed corruption in the medical field, exposing doctors who were illegally selling ARVs to HIV-positive soldiers in the military hospital. The resulting shift in policy was unusual in a country where rampant corruption plagues the health system. A feature about his military life also provided a rare glimpse into the life of HIV-positive soldiers.

These success stories illustrate how the Internews Europe Mekong Turnaround project effectively raised the voices of many PLHIV in the media. Early this year, Sangoeun was selected for a six-month Internews internship aimed at refining his media skills and enabling him work with other PLHIV to improve their ability to advocate through the media.

The project is funded by DFID (The Department for International Development)

Local Buddhist temples plan for April 13 new year observance

Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Dallas Morning News

During the 1970s, Paul Thai, like most of his fellow countrymen, lived in terror during the reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Despite the many hardships from those years, the Dallas police lieutenant said, one of his fondest childhood memories was celebrating Chaul Chnam Thmey, or the Cambodian new year.

For many years, Lt. Thai has worked in Dallas to re-create the celebration, which falls on April 13 this year.

"In Cambodia, the new year observance lasts three days and three nights," said Lt. Thai, one of the first Asian-Americans to serve in the Dallas Police Department.

"During this time, everyone was off from work and all businesses were closed. It was a very exciting event for everyone, and especially for my family."

"My family would get together with our relatives and go to the Buddhist temple, where we played games," said Lt. Thai, who works with the neighborhood police coordination unit.

"At night we would watch outdoor movies at the temple ...What a treat!"

Several Asian countries celebrate the start of the new year this month – including Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). The celebrations combine Buddhist beliefs, ancient astrology and the solar calendar. Festivities last from three to seven days and are marked by the pouring or sprinkling of water for a symbolic cleansing for the new year.

Leck Keovilay, a Laotian community volunteer, said the day before the new year is spent cleaning house and preparing food. "The second day, we normally go to the temple and offer food to the monks and spend the day praying. The next day is spent celebrating, visiting with friends, holding parades and attending festivals."

Several area Buddhist temples will hold new year celebrations. The festivities are free and open to the public and will take place from 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Food is often brought to the monks, who offer blessings for the coming year. At most locations, there will be food booths, cultural performances, games, parades and, of course, the splashing of water.

Cambodia launches first satellite TV network

chinaview.cn
2008-04-03

PHNOM PENH, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The national Television of Kampuchea (TVK) and the Cambodian DTV Network Limited (CDN), a branch of the Shin Satellite Company from Thailand, here on Thursday launched Techo-DTV, the first satellite TV network of Cambodia.

"From now on, people in all the corners of Cambodia will be able to watch all programs of our TV networks easily through this satellite TV network," said Khieu Kahnarith, Cambodian government spokesman and Minister of Information.

People who live at all kinds of geographical locations will be able to watch TV programs through this satellite TV service, he said.

The Cambodia National Election Committee (NEC) will be able to use this satellite TV network to educate people about election process for the general election in July, he added.

Kem Kunnawadh, director general of TVK, said that Techo-DTV is the country's first satellite television network service that can provide Direct-to-Home (DTH) television programs to every household in the kingdom.

The viewers will enjoy watching all local Khmer channels and some foreign channels, he said, adding that people can also subscribe to pay TV service in the near future.

Dumrong Kasemset, Chief of Executive for the Shin Satellite Company, said that the main benefit of Techo-DTV service includes digital quality of picture and sound similar to that of DVD and convenience to install at every location of houses and buildings.

The DTV service sells 75 U.S. dollars with satellite dish and antenna.

Urban Cambodian people can now access cable TV networks, while about 20 percent of the 14 million population in remote places can't access TV service. Satellite TV will be their solution if they can afford it.

Editor: Song Shutao

Cambodia King Ratifies Asean Rights Charter,Says Ministry-AFP

4-3-08

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has ratified a landmark new human rights charter aimed at transforming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The king ratified it on Monday, making Cambodia the sixth member of the bloc to do so, the ministry said in a statement.

The charter, signed in Singapore last year, aims to commit the region's disparate nations to promoting human rights and democratic ideals while setting out principles and rules for members.

"The Asean Charter is an historic milestone document," the ministry said.

"All Asean member countries are fully committed to bring the charter into force by the time of the next Asean summit in Thailand later this year," the statement added.

Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have already ratified the charter, which also transforms the 40-year-old Asean into a legal entity, giving it greater clout in international negotiations.

The bloc wants all 10 members to ratify it before an annual summit in Thailand in December.
The charter was the result of a long, controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations from elder statesmen watered down or dropped, including provisions on sanctions and expulsion.

Asean's original five members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam joined later.

US Cambodian Seeks to Unite Victims

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
03 April 2008

Khmer audio aired April 2 (1.84 MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired April 2 (1.84 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Nou Leakhena founded the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia as a way to bring Cambodians together, to help them heal, and teach them to trust .

Working with those traumatized by the brutality of Cambodia's wars, the Khmer Rouge or the current government, Nou Leakhena , who is Cambodian-American, is slowly building a community of understanding, healing, and, she hopes, justice.

The Institute is also compiling data on trauma suffered by Cambodians.

"The root of the problem is that the people themselves don’t trust each other, even the Khmer people in America," Nou Leakhena, PhD, said in a recent interview. "The key factor for the local Khmer people in seeking justice is whether they should be united between Khmer and Khmer and build up strong solidarity among each other, then demand justice by itself before asking for assistantce from outside.”

The Institute is recording information from victims of the Khmer Rouge, and helping people identify whether, under the laws of the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh, they are victims.

The Institute held a forum in March that gathered around 100 participants, who shared their experiences and testimonies.

"It is our belief that the testimonials given will not only benefit the mental health of the participants in the immediate and long term, but they will also help provide critical evidence to be used in the prosecuting Khmer Rouge leaders in captivity," Nou Leakhena said.

The Institute not only wanted to help tribunal proceedings, but to assist modern Cambodia.
"There are all kinds of human rights violations happening in Cambodia now," she said. "The powerful and rich violate the poor and the powerless."

Koy Saveun, a participant for the Institute's March forum, said the gathering was important to help him "clearly identify what justice is."

"Before you seek justice in society, you had better seek justice from yourself and your family," he said.

Pig Imports Shake New, Worrisome Sector

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 April 2008

Khmer audio aired April 2 (1.73MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired April 2 (1.73MB) - Listen (MP3)

Cambodian pig farming is increasingly changing from a family-owned business to big agricultural business.

This has led some to worry about the health of eating pork, but now farmers in this emerging sector are facing a new problem: the lifting of a government ban on the import of pigs.

Most farmers say that if they provide food they make themselves, it takes a lot of time to grow a pig, and even then the pig won't be that big, after eight months.

If, however, a pig is raised with food additives in a pig yard, farmers see large, 100-kilogram pigs in just five or six months.

Until the government lifted the import ban last week, these farmers were enjoying a boon in prices, and in pig size, two months sooner than they were used to.

Now, many farmers say they are exasperated and may leave the trade altogether.

Tan Yek Sun, a pig farmer in Kampong Cham province, told VOA Khmer recently she had been raising pigs for the past 10 years, about 400 in total.

Now, she said, pigs won't sell at a high price, thanks to competition from imports from abroad.
"Farmers will die, and they are going to stop raising pigs, because the price of pigs is decreasing," she said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 23.8 million pigs were raised by single families in 2007.
Meanwhile, there are about 287 large-scale pig farms, most of which use food additives, worrying experts.

Meng Kimse, an agricultural expert at the Center for Studies and Development of Cambodian Agriculture, said some additives, which consist of antibiotics and hormones, can be carcinogenic.

Despite such worries, Cambodians are unlikely to stop eating pork altogether.

"I am worried about the health effects of additives," said Keo Mom, a Phnom Penh housewife who eats pork daily. "But I have no choice but to buy pork."

Heng Pov Pleas for Frozen Assets

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

03 April 2008

Khmer audio aired April 3 (852 KB) - Download (MP3)

Khmer audio aired April 3 (852 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Jailed former police chief Heng Pov has appealed to an adviser of Prime Minister Hun Sen to release court-frozen funds so that he can continue to defend himself against a battery of charges.

Heng Pov, who, as the police chief of Phnom Penh, was in the top circle of Cambodia's security apparatus, is serving a sentence of more than 40 years for involvement in murders, kidnappings and possession of illegal weapons and counterfeit bills.

In an April 1 letter to Om Yentieng, head of Cambodia's Human Rights Committee and adviser to Hun Sen, Heng Pov pleaded for the release of the frozen funds.

Heng Pov wrote he needed the money for his lawyer, school fees for his children and medication for himself.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court had not responded to similar requests in the past, he wrote.
Lawyer Kao Sopha confirmed Heng Pov had asked for the funds to be released from Canadia Bank, where Heng Pov has more than $900,000.

Heng Pov requested to withdraw $200,000, Kao Sopha said, adding Heng Pov had money in other banks but he did not know how much.

Om Yentieng has yet to respond to the letter, and he could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Chief Chiev Keng declined comment Thursday.

Heng Pov is facing demands of compensation from victims, Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge Sao Meach said.

The courts froze Heng Pov's funds in 2006, writing that the money would be held until all cases against him are heard.

Australia Grants Tribunal Extension Money

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 April 2008

Khmer audio aired April 3 (949 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired April 3 (949 KB) - Listen (MP3)

The cash-strapped Khmer Rouge tribunal received $456,000 from Australia Thursday, enough, officials said, to continue the Cambodian side of operations through December 2008.

"We consider [the tribunal's] continued operation and smooth and ongoing activity in the prosecution of those trials to be of a high priority, not just for Cambodia, but for the region and the world," said Australian Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance Bob McMullan, who announced the contribution Thursday.

The infusion will allow the Cambodian side to operate as long as the UN-side of the hybrid courts, as the courts move from the investigation to trial phase.

"This is a very good sign, a very encouraging sign for us, for the second phase," tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis said.

In total, the tribunal is seeking as much as $114 million to extend proceedings against five jailed Khmer Rouge leaders through 2011.

While some donors are considering further funding, others have said they need assurances the tribunal will meet international standards.

"Australia is contributing among the others," Council Minister Sok An said at the announcement of the funding Thursday. "The other countries within the international community…will contribute, and I think we will have no problem on the issue of financing."

With the Australian money "we have so far enough funds to run until the end of 2008," he said.

Thaksin to Visit Hun Sen for Weekend Golf

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 April 2008

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to make an unofficial visit Saturday and Sunday for a round of golf with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Thai media reported Thursday.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith confirmed Thaksin would visit, but said he was not sure whether the former premier was coming this weekend or next.

Thaksin, who was ousted in a bloodless coup in 2006, has retained close ties with Cambodia, Hun Sen has said.

Thaksin lived in exile for 17 months, returning to Thailand in February. Under Thaksin, the Thai government faced allegations of corruption and rights abuses, and he was prime minister during the 2003 anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh.

BBC launches FM Services in Cambodia

Max Digital Media Newswire
Thu, 03 Apr 2008

The BBC will be reaching even more audiences with the launch of a new FM and a new radio partnership. British Ambassador David Reader today signed for the launch of BBC 99.25 FM in Siem Reap which will broadcast the BBC's internationally famous radio programmes 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The BBC are also celebrating an exciting new radio partnership with Love 97.5 FM who are now broadcasting the best of BBC World Service programming.

"We are delighted to be launching the BBC 99.25 FM station in Siem Reap which means BBC programmes can now be heard in crystal clear quality all day, each day of the week. I am also thrilled with our new partnership with Love 97.5 FM. It's an exciting station and its listeners will now have a chance to enjoy BBC programmes." Neil Curry, Regional Business Development Manager for Asia Pacific region, BBC World Service, said.

Listeners of the newly launched BBC 99.25 FM and new partner station Love 97.5 FM can enjoy a broad mix of BBC programming in English ranging from news and current affairs to sports and culture.

Highlights include Newshour, which is 60 minutes of news and analysis of the day's top stories, and the interactive global news programme World Have Your Say, giving listeners an opportunity to share their views and questions on topical issues.

For sports fans the BBC has daily hourly updates in news bulletins and Sports Round Up. Cricket enthusiasts can stay across the latest in World Cricket while football supporters can tune into World Football and for the latest in UK football there is Inside The Premier League.

BBC programming also taps into the world's cultural scene including the global music programme The Beat or the latest stories from the world of film, TV and video games in On Screen.

Culture Shock looks at trends in cultural expression and Top Of The Pops brings the best from the UK album and singles charts.The launch of BBC 99.25 FM and the new partnership with Love 97.5 FM complements the current BBC 100 FM relay broadcasting throughout Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Exploitation concerns prompt Cambodia to halt processing foreign marriages

The Canadia Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has stopped processing documents for the marriage of its citizens to foreigners in a move to minimize the possibility of human trafficking.

The suspension follows a recent surge in the number of Cambodian women marrying South Korean men.

Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs You Ay says that as of last Saturday, approval for all paperwork needed for marrying foreigners has been put on hold.

She did not say how long the suspension will last, but that it was introduced so that government agencies handling foreign marriage requests "can work to strengthen their procedures."

The South Korean connection made headlines last month after a report by the Geneva-based International Organization of Migration said some 2,500 Cambodian women had married South Korean men over the previous four years.

Most of the marriages occurred through the services of underground matchmaking businesses.
The report said each man would pay up to $20,000 to marry a Cambodia woman, but that a bride's family would collect only about $1,000, while the rest of the money would go to brokers.

You said the government did not want to deny Cambodians the right to marry foreigners.

"But we have also seen the negative aspects out of such marriages," she said, adding that the suspension affects all foreigners, not just South Koreans.

She was not able to say how many Cambodian nationals had married foreigners.

Although the marriages appeared to be legal, the government has expressed concerns that brokered marriages could become a cover for human trafficking, in which women are tricked or forced into marriage.

Last month, it shut down two South Korean companies for engaging in the matchmaking business. Interior Minister Sar Kheng denounced the firms' activities as "human trafficking."

"You're bound to have this type of problem when it's a business-oriented, profit-making type of environment," said John McGeoghan, a project co-ordinator in Cambodia for the Geneva-based IOM.

He said the suspension "probably is going to upset a lot of people" but is "a good preventive measure" especially "if you want to protect these girls and have more potential for a better marriage."

Cambodia stops ‘human trafficking through marriages’

expressindia.com
Agencies
Posted online: Thursday , April 03, 2008

Phnom Penh, April 3: Cambodia has suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving poor, uneducated women, an official said on Thursday.

The move follows an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report highlighting the plight of an increasing number of Cambodian brides migrating to South Korea in marriages hastily arranged by brokers who make large profits.

Some 1,759 marriage visas were issued by South Korea in 2007, up from just 72 in 2004, the report said. While no systematic exploitation was uncovered, several cases of abuse did raise a red flag with the government, said You Ay, secretary of state with the Women's Affairs Ministry.

"Seven women have returned from South Korea because they could not stand what happened to them there," You Ay told AFP. "The government has temporarily suspended all (paperwork) for Cambodia women to marry foreigners," she said.

You Ay commented that the ban, which was approved last week, would be lifted after the government developed a legal framework to address mixed marriages. "This suspension is to prevent human trafficking through marriage," she said, adding that while the brides often receive as little as USD 1,000, agencies can make tens of thousands of dollars on each marriage.

"Cambodia is working to strengthen the laws on marriage," You Ay said. IOM project coordinator John McGeoghan said that while the report targeted marriages between Cambodians and South Koreans, the potential for problems exists globally and that brokered unions needed to be better regulated.

A large section of land along Cambodia's Tonle Sap River in a crowded area of the capital, Phnom Penh, collapsed and sank April 1, taking dozens of homes and an unknown number of people with it. Photo: RFA

Radio Free Asia
2008.04.01

PHNOM PENH—Residents in a crowded area of the Cambodian capital were scrambling Tuesday to account for relatives and salvage what they could after a 50-meter bank of the Tonle Sap River slid into the water, leaving some 300 people homeless and an unknown number missing.

Phnom Penh Police Commissioner General Touch Naroth said 500 to 600 officers had been mobilized to rescue victims from the landslide at Reussey Keo. The area of the landslide was roughly 60 meters long and 30 meters wide, and it took some 38 houses with it, Touch Naroth said. Another senior official, Phnom Penh City Governor Kep Chutema, said city authorities were on standby in case of further landslides.

“We're not sure yet” how many people might have been submerged as well, he said. “But we picked up five children from the water and told people to collect their family members and review and count themselves. Now they are collecting their belongings.”

Chim Savuth, a human rights officer with the nongovernmental Center for Human Rights (Eds: Correct), said residents believed the landslide was caused by sand-dredging, although the Phnom Penh mayor, Kep Chutema, rejected that theory. “Last year it tumbled once and we told them not to stay in the area, but they never listen to us...the place was not safe,” Kep Chutema said.

Forty-eight homes belonging to 58 families were lost, Chim Savuth said, 10 more than the police reported. “Right now the competent authorities are searching for people. We’re unsure how many disappeared because it’s chaotic, but some people with minor injuries have been evacuated,” he said.

'We lost everything'

Victims described watching the riverbank break off in chunks and slide into the water before they could retrieve anything from their homes.

“My house had cracks about a week ago but we filled them up. Now three days later it just collapsed. It completely disappeared. Nothing was left standing,” Mrs. Seng Heng, 36, said. “We have lost a lot—we’ve been working in our business for a long time. Nothing is left.”

Mrs. Meas Yang, also 36, cried as she described her loss. “It was U.S. $700-800…Not much, but we are poor, and we have only this house. When it collapsed we lost everything. My child, too, is completely bereft… I am just a vegetable vendor at the market.”

Kouk Sleh, deputy governor of Russei Kev district, went to inspect the affected site, saying the top priority was to aid and evacuate people from the area. “As of now we have not yet received much information. We ordered our men and village chiefs to take a census by asking each family whether anyone was missing,” he said.

“Some of the families weren’t sure whether their children were missing or out playing elsewhere,” he said. “They’re still worrying about the loss of their belongings, which made it difficult for us to talk to them.”

Emergency relief

“For the time being, we are continuing to investigate, and we will know soon who’s missing and so on. This is the first time that we’ve had this kind of accident, but we can say that this happened from a natural cause. No one did anything—it just happened.”

Phnom Penh municipal authorities have also distributed emergency food to the afflicted people.
Phnom Penh City Governor Kep Chutema said that initial relief for the victims include 50 kg of rice, 100,000 riel or about U.S. $25, a mat, and other supplies.

“City Hall is assigning officials to be on standby tonight because there could be further collapses. Worse, there is a gridlock on National Route 5, which could cause traffic accidents,” Kep Chutema said. “We’re still working on solutions for the citizens who are affected by this river bank erosion.”

Medical teams have also been posted to help treat the afflicted people, he said.

Original reporting by RFA's Khmer service. Khmer service director: Sos Kem. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written and produced in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Australia injects funds into Cambodia trial

The Cambodian trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, including prison chief Duch (pictured) have been given a financial boost to continue. [AFP]

Radio Australia

Cambodia's genocide tribunal will receive a further $A450,000 from Australia.

It comes amid fears money troubles could further delay the UN-backed proceedings, months before the first defendants go on trial.

Court officials had warned that without a cash infusion, the part of the tribunal under Cambodian control would face bankruptcy in May.

The tribunal was originally budgeted at about $50 million over three years, but estimates have now risen to $170 million.

Five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime will stand trial for their alleged role in one of the 20th century's worst atrocities, in which up to two million people died.

Dith Pran's Funeral

DITH PRAN
Born in SIEM REAP CAMBODIA on Sep. 23, 1942

Departed on Mar. 30, 2008 and resided in WOODBRIDGE, NJ.

Visitation:

Saturday, Apr. 5, 2008

FUNERAL SERVICE:

Sunday, Apr. 6, 2008

Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.

Dith Pran, a photojournalist for The New York Times whose gruesome ordeal in the killing fields of Cambodia was re-created in a 1984 movie that gave him an eminence he tenaciously used to press for his people's rights, died on Sunday at a hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. He was 65 and lived in Woodbridge, N.J.

To read more please click the link below

http://www.dithpran.org/dithbio.htm

In lieu of sending flowers, friends and colleagues are invited to make contributions in the name of Dith Pran. The family intends to put that money toward a foundation that will be established in the coming weeks according to Pran's last wishes.

Contributions, as well as any cards or letters of condolence, should be sent to the following address:

The New York Times

4th floor Picture Desk

Att: Melissa Bellinelli

620 Eighth Ave.New York, New York 10018

Cash-Strapped ECCC Showcases Court Transparency

By: Craig Guthrie
The Mekong Times Daily
01-04-2008

A delegation from the ECCC yesterday returned from a high profile meeting with donor countries and high-ranking UN officials in New York. As budget fears grow, the delegation reportedly took the opportunity to present a recent glowing review of the trial’s much maligned human resource process.

A delegation from the cash-strapped extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) returned yesterday from a meeting with international donors in New York where a positive report on the court’s hiring and firing procedures was presented.



ECCC Public Affairs Chief Helen Jarvis said the meeting, attended by representatives from some 20 potential donor countries and high-ranking UN staff, was both “productive and fruitful,” but stressed that the even was never supposed to produce immediate concrete conclusions on funding.

She said the main purpose of the meeting was for the ECCC to present the UN with a report of its recent progress and the successful results of a recent review of the trial’s human resources procedures.

The ECCC recently warned its more than 200 Cambodian staff that salary funds will run out by May, while NGOs have cautioned that the court’s lack of transparency, particularly in human resources, may impede its desperate quest for funding.

New York-based legal NGO the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) in Feb 2007 accused Cambodian staff of giving kickbacks to ensure their positions. The UN Development Program (UNDP) released another damning report in June 2007.

“We are still working on the budget and establishing a precise timeline for it,” said Jarvis, adding that the UN has introduced a new special expert to evaluate the court.

The review of the ECCC’s human resources management, the full results of which will be released Apr 4, was carried out by a team of consultants from Cambodia and auditing company Deloitte India, and from said a recent press release.

“[The audit] has been able to show that a robust human resource system has been developed to effectively support the judicial process to minimize the risk of the questionable practices occurring in the future,” said the ECCC statement.

It went on to praise “job-matching,” or finding the right person for the job, saying the court “has taken a pragmatic approach in addressing the inherent constraint of Cambodia’s limited personnel pool.”

Job matching was an area attacked by the June 2007 UNDP human resources which found unqualified staff were being hired, uncovering discrepancies in the selection of candidates, and “weaknesses in the performance evaluation process.”

Long PanhaVuth, OSJI’s Cambodian justice initiative director, said his organization will welcome the findings of the report only of it has been conduced transparently, independently, and objectively.

He said he was unsure if the process was transparent, and warned the court may struggle to find funding if its process is not made more visible to the public and civil society.

The ECCC is currently seeking an additional US$ 114 million, over its initial projected budget of US$ 56.3 million, and a mandate extension from 2008 until 2011.

Extracted from:-The Mekong Times, Vol. 01, #40, Tuesday, April 01, 2008.

Kompong Chhnang Airport Construction Labourers in lines Walked to be Killed

The building that was built in Khmer Rouge regimeKompong Chhang province, Picture by:Sohay

01-04-2008
Source : Rasmei Kampuchea
By : Oka

Rolea B’ier-Kompong Chhnang: Although there is no clear claim to show the exact number of workers and the soldiers from the East Zone were killed during the construction of an airport in Krang Leav commune, Rolea B’ier district in 1977, it is known that tens of thousand were brought to be killed at the time.

The airport in Krang Leav commune, Rolea B’ier district is located more than 10 kilometres from the provincial town of Kompong Chhnang and was built in 1977 during the reign of the Khmer Rouge by the workers who were the “base people” and the soldiers claimed to have come from the West Zone, under the supervision of Chinese specialists. The labourers, who were in the lowest class, and tens of thousand soldiers sent from the West Zone broke rocks from Krang Dei Meas Mountain to get granite for the construction of the airport, being built day and night.

A smooth concrete road leads from the junction of the National Road Number 5 to the airport, and from the airport to Krang Dei Meas Mountain, there are also concrete roads intertwined. Around the flank of the mountain, there are many water reservoirs, which is claimed to be have been used to keep water for the use in the airport. A lot of buildings were constructed along the flank of the mountain to the airport.

Thoang Sim, Krang Leav’s commune chief, said that during the Pol Pot’s regime, he lived near the airport construction site. However, he was not appointed to participate in the construction since he was not the base people. “Only the base people and the soldiers sent from the West Zone were appointed to extract the rock for building the airport,” he said. He does not know how many people the Khmer Rouge killed during the airport construction “campaign”, but saw in the evenings militiamen walk lines of airport construction labourers to be executed. “It was said that the Khmer Rouge did not want anyone to know about the confidentiality of their strategies in Krang Dei Meas Mountain, so after the construction they killed [those labourers],” said the commune chief.

The commune chief said that the Kompong Chhnang airport is 3 square kilometers and at the present around 100 families have been residing in the prohibited area. He continued to say that the provincial authority had previously evicted the people living there, but that after the UNTAC came to Cambodia, they returned to live there again. Many villagers said that although many people were killed during the stage of the airport construction, but the number of the dead was unknown.

Thoang Sim said that in late 1978 when the Khmer Rouge knew that they were going to be defeated, they burned the factory, oil, and other remaining materials they could not take along with them before they retreated and fled into the jungle.

Unofficial Translation-Extracted from Rasmei Kampuchea, vol. 16, #4554, Sunday-Monday, March 30-31, 2008

ASEAN and partners look into economic, financial policies

April 3, 2008

Delegates from ASEAN member countries and dialogue partners, namely China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), on April 2 discussed ways to increase co-operation in working out economic, financial and monetary policies.

At the Informal ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting (AFDM+3) held in central Danang city, the participants also looked into economic development within the region as well as in member countries.

They agreed that pressure posed by price hikes showed signs of waning, but ASEAN+3 member economies will be certainly affected by trade liberalisation and international investment.

The delegates shared a view that inflation within the ASEAN+3 region has been on the rise due to slow growth of the world economy, particularly that of the US economy.

The event was held in preparations for the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Meeting (AFMM) that will take place in Danang two days later.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (VNA)

Australia pledges new funds to help keep Cambodian genocide tribunal running

The Associated Press
Published: April 3, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Australia pledged $458,000 Thursday for Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal, whose operations have been threatened by a shortage of funds as it prepares for trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders.

Bob McMullan, the Australian parliamentary secretary for international development assistance, announced the pledge during a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

He said his government made the decision to help pay Cambodia's share of the expenses because "we want to make sure that the resources are available so that this important step in justice is capable of being properly undertaken."

The money is "available now," McMullan said.

Helen Jarvis, the tribunal's chief spokeswoman, said the contribution "takes the pressure off."

The Khmer Rouge is accused of responsibility for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians during its 1975-1979 rule. So far, none of the regime's senior leaders has faced trial.

The U.N.-assisted tribunal opened its offices in early 2006 after years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the world body. Trials — conducted jointly by international and Cambodian jurists — were originally projected to end by 2009, but are now expected to run through March 2011.

To extend its operation, the tribunal is seeking an additional $114 million. It told donor countries in January it would need $170 million, a sharp increase from the originally budgeted $56 million.

The United Nations was supposed to provide $43 million for its share of the original budget, and Cambodia $13.3 million.

Jarvis said the funds that Cambodia has available are $4.9 million short of its original share. The Cambodian side now has enough money to keep operating until the end of May, rather than April as previously projected, she said.

The pledge announced by McMullan is Australia's first direct contribution to the Cambodian side, which is "very encouraging," Jarvis said.

Australia previously gave about $2.3 million for the U.N.'s share of the budget.

Cambodia says Khmer Rouge court funds "no problem"

Thu Apr 3, 2008

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia is confident about securing an additional $114 million from donors to pay for the ballooning costs of the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" tribunal, senior minister Sok An said on Thursday.

"We will have no problem with the financial support," he told a news conference to announce a pledge of an additional A$500,000 ($459,000) from Australia towards the United Nations-backed proceedings against Pol Pot's top surviving henchmen.

The court had an initial budget of $56 million, and was expected to run for three years. However, it was slow in starting, and is now expected to run over until 2011.

Sok An said the court had enough funds to last until the end of this year.

An estimated 1.7 million died under Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror as the dream of creating an agrarian utopia descended into the nightmare of the "Killing Fields".

Many victims were tortured and executed. The rest died of starvation or disease.

Five top Khmer Rouge cadres have been arrested by the court and charged with war crimes or crimes against humanity.

They are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former president Khieu Samphan, former foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, and Duch, head of Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng, or "S-21" interrogation and torture centre.

Pol Pot himself died in 1998.

Celebrating Cambodian New Year April 5

By Vuth Chhunn and Mary-Ann Em , Asian American Press

April 02, 2008

“Okay, guys, let’s do it just one more time. The ending was a bit messy,” Sarim Pin urged the other dancers. As the lively, instrumental music began to play, 10 dancers took their places to start again. Since December, these dancers have been practicing almost every weekend to perform for their New Year celebration. They are members of a small student organization at the University of Minnesota called the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota (CSAM).

While New Year’s Day is celebrated for a single evening, this holiday is given much more importance in Cambodia. Every April, children and adults look forward to the most anticipated holiday of the year, in which 3 days are devoted to festivities.

Not surprisingly, Cambodian New Year 2008 is CSAM’s showcase event of the year. “It’s the biggest celebration in Cambodia and we want to bring it here and share it with other cultures,” says Alexander Sok, a public relations officer for CSAM.

One member, Boramy Kim, feels the holiday is an important occasion for Cambodian-American families and individuals to take pride in their heritage. “It’s a meaningful time to come together as a family to celebrate both the blessing of a New Year and traditional culture.”

Through this celebration, CSAM hopes to unite the Cambodian-American community in the Twin Cities, especially in terms of bridging the gap between the older and younger generations. Sarim Pin, the president of the organization, feels strongly about this. “I hope people will see that we, as Cambodian students, are still holding on to our culture and traditions even though most of us here are second-generation Cambodians in the United States.”

Furthermore, CSAM wants to reach out and include the University community and the general public in the celebration. “Through sharing our food, our music, our dancing, our traditional fashion, and our stories, we want to inform and entertain members of the larger community who may not be familiar with Cambodian culture. After all, Asians and Asian-Americans represent a whole spectrum of unique, distinct cultures,” says Mary-Ann Em, vice president of CSAM.

The celebration will take place on Saturday, April 5th, 2008, at the North Star Ballroom on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. Free to the public, the event features authentic Cambodian food, a program of cultural performances, and a Cambodian live band for dancing.
Doors open at 6 pm and will last until midnight.

For more information, please contact the Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota at csam@umn.edu.

Cambodia suspends foreign marriages: Official

Cambodian women dressed in European style wedding dresses are seen walking near the ancient temple of Angkor Wat. Cambodia has suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving poor, uneducated women.(AFP/File/Philippe Lopez)

A foreign tourist is seen walking on a beach of the Cambodian seaside town of Sihanouk Ville, some 220 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh. Cambodia has suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving poor, uneducated women.(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

3 Apr 2008

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving poor, uneducated women, an official said on Thursday.

The move follows an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) report highlighting the plight of an increasing number of Cambodian brides migrating to South Korea in marriages hastily arranged by brokers who made large profits.

Some 1,759 marriage visas were issued by South Korea in 2007, up from just 72 in 2004, the report said.

While no systematic exploitation was uncovered, several cases of abuse did raise a red flag with the government, said You Ay, secretary of state with the Women's Affairs Ministry.

"Seven women have returned from South Korea because they could not stand what happened to them there," You Ay is said to have revealed.

"The government has temporarily suspended all (paperwork) for Cambodia women to marry foreigners," she said.

You Ay said the ban, which was approved last week, would be lifted after the government developed a legal framework to address mixed marriages.

"This suspension is to prevent human trafficking through marriage," she said, adding that while the brides often receive as little as 1,000 US dollars, agencies can make tens of thousands of dollars on each marriage.

"Cambodia is working to strengthen the laws on marriage," You Ay said.

IOM project coordinator John McGeoghan said that while the report targeted marriages between Cambodians and South Koreans, the potential for problems exists globally and that brokered unions needed to be better regulated.

Three South Korean marriage agencies have been closed down in Cambodia pending the government's decision on marriages to foreigners.

The South Korean embassy in Cambodia earlier this week halted issuing residency visas to Cambodian women wishing to marry Korean men.

Cambodia hosts inter-religion meeting for Asian Pacific countries

April 03, 2008

An inter-religion meeting was launched here on Thursday for religious leaders from 15 countries in Asian Pacific region to talk about cooperation, peace and harmony in the world.

All religious sects have to work together to help this globe to have peace, food security and contribute to poverty reduction, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said while addressing the meeting.

"We have to have tolerance among all religions, and help to build morality in society, share cultures and arts for people to understand deeply," he added.

The meeting, held on April 3-4, talks about security, respect for religious belief, understanding and tolerance, equal opportunity, solidarity, cooperation and conflict resolution, a press release said.

The meeting is sponsored by Australian and Indonesian governments while Cambodia hosts the meeting, it said.

About 95 percent of Cambodians are Buddhist, three percent of them Muslims, one percent for Christians, and one percent for others, according to the statistics from Cambodian Ministry of Cults and Religion.

Source:Xinhua