Khmer New Year

The 16-strong troupe from the Cambodian Light Children's Association

One of the performers who collected money in a pouch on a long stick

The performers entering the Hanuman premises

One of the demons dressed in mask and blue costume

Courtesy of Andy's Cambodia: www.andybrouwer.co.uk

The arrival of Khmer New Year has brought bad karma for some residents of Phnom Penh when a fire swept through the Russei Keo district of the capital and destroyed around 450 shanty homes in Boeng Chhouk village yesterday. The fire engines were again in action early this morning when another large fire took hold of a building at the Naga Casino complex near the riverside. I didn't go and see but I could hear the constant drone of the fire engine claxons and I could see the smoke billowing into the sky from a couple of kilometres away. Khmer friends told me, "its that time of year."

On a more positive note, Khmer New Year is enshrouded in ceremony and celebration. Over the last few nights the music and laughter has been ringing out til late at night in the streets surrounding my house with traditional games such as Angkunh, Leak Kanseng, Chhoung and Dandoeum Sloek Chhoeu being played by groups of boys and girls, who've also formed dance circles until midnight. At the Hanuman office today we enjoyed another special New Year's ceremony called Robam Trot, which originates from Stung Treng and involved youngsters from the Cambodian Light Children's Association orphanage. Dressed up in traditional costumes, they symbolized chasing away any bad spirits and bringing prosperity by re-creating the hunting of a deer.

What is Neak Ta?

A distinctive ancestral Neak Ta shrine at Wat Raksmei Chei Mongkol at Taing Krasaing

Courtesy of Andy's Cambodia: www.andybrouwer.co.uk

In an effort to find an answer to the question, what is Neak Ta, by far the best source is Khmer scholar Ang Choulean who summed it up with this view; 'The Neak Ta is the most omnipresent figure of the divinities which populate the supernatural world of the Cambodian countryside...the Neak Ta is not just a kind of simple spirit but rather a phenomenon or energy force relating to a specific group such as a village community.'

Neak Ta shrines or huts contain small collections of natural or man-made objects - which can include old stones, termite hills, linga, wooden carvings, human-like figures - and these objects represent land (soil, nature) and spirit (mythic ancestor, being) elements. The size and type of objects found in these shrines varies greatly according to the village or pagoda, where these huts are often found, as in the example above.

The concept of Neak Ta is uniquely Cambodian as far as I'm aware and has its roots in the animist beliefs of the scared soil and sacred spirits that surround us. The energy force that Ang Choulean speaks of, unites the community with its earth and water and symbolizes the link between the people and the fertility of their land and their ancestors before them. Neak Ta is believed to belong to an 'outside realm' as it does not fall within the Buddhist precepts, though the two live side by side and the wat Neak Ta receives offerings from the pagoda faithful and is said to not tolerate unsuitable conduct within the grounds, such as urinating or speaking offensive words. You can often find a wat Neak Ta in the northeast corner of the grounds of a pagoda. Take time to look out for a Neak Ta shrine next time you are in a village or a pagoda and see what is represented inside as there's a wonderful variety that can spring a surprise or two.

Buddhism in stone

This face of Buddha is not quite the finished article at the village of Kakoh

Chisels and stone polishers were much in evidence on this pair of seated Buddhas at Kakoh

This enormous, unfinished Buddha dwarfed the nearby house

Be careful not to make a mistake - it could be costly!

The mason's wear face masks because of the dust and chips from the stone-working

Courtesy of Andy's Cambodia: www.andybrouwer.co.uk

The village of Kakoh is primarily known as the access point to visit Phnom Santuk - a mountain about fifteen kilometres outside Kompong Thom city and famed for its gorgeous views, its collection of Buddha statues and its exhausting 980 steps to the top. However, the village is also home to a series of stonemason houses where at any time of the day, you can pause and see how the experts carve those beautiful statues from a rough block of stone, chip away with their chisels and then polish the stone to give it a lovely smooth finish. Some of the carvings are enormous and a couple dwarfed the nearby houses when I stopped to take a look last week. Sokhom told me that the best quality stone comes from Preah Vihear province these days. Its certainly worth a look next time you are on Route 6.

Poitiktoons : " The Seeds of Compassion "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon at http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

Sacravatoons : " The Year of the Rat,2008 "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon at http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

Qantas launches Jetstar in Vietnam

14/04/2008
By: John Winters

Qantas Airways Limited (QAN) low-cost offshoot Jetstar has entered into a major strategic and commercial partnership with Vietnam’s Pacific Airlines. Qantas said Vietnam’s second largest carrier would transform to become Vietnam’s first low cost airline and will be renamed Jetstar Pacific.

Jetstar CEO Alan Joyce said the agreement placed the Vietnamese carrier in a strong position to leverage the successful Jetstar brand and business model.

“We have repositioned the airline as Vietnam’s first low cost carrier to enable its future sustainable expansion within Vietnam and into many international markets,” Mr Joyce said.

The agreement includes the renaming of Pacific Airlines, operating future flights within Vietnam and across Asia under the Jetstar brand, providing low fares and a standardized customer experience.

Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said in joining Jetstar, the Vietnamese carrier would help form one of the largest and fastest growing airline brands in the region.

Qantas confirmed that the deal would see the placement of Qantas and Jetstar executives in key management roles within Jetstar Pacific.

The Aussie carrier will also be called upon to provide a range of aviation services to the new venture.

“Jetstar Pacific will be able to access and leverage the significant expertise and resources within the Qantas Group that will help enable its planned future growth,” Mr Dixon said.

Qantas said that the first A320 is proposed to enter Jetstar Pacific’s operations in August 2008.

The company intends to initially grow services within Vietnam, before undertaking future international expansion from late this year into markets likely to include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Cambodian charity refuses Bruni photo profits

Radio Australia

A doctor in charge of a children's medical care group in Cambodia has turned down a donation of $US91,000 because the money was raised from the sale of a nude photo of the French president's wife, Carla Bruni.

Swiss pediatrician Beat Richner, head of the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital Association, says he refused the money raised at the New York auction last week because Cambodians "disapprove of exploiting female flesh for money".

The photograph of Italian ex-model Carla Bruni was taken in 1993. She married French President Nicolas Sarkozy in February this year.

Dr Richner told French publication Le Matin Dimanche that his decision was made out of respect for his patients and their mothers, and said accepting the money would have been perceived as an insult.

He also criticised the photographer for using his hospitals to gain publicity.

The money will now instead be donated to a Swiss research institute developing the recycling of used water into fresh drinking water in poor countries.

Southern Gold predicts major discovery in Cambodia

Southern Gold operations

14 Apr 2008
Australia Mining

Asian equity market and resources investors have been told Adelaide-based explorer Southern Gold Ltd is on the verge of making a “major” gold discovery in Cambodia.

Addressing the peak Asia Mining Congress in Singapore, Southern Gold’s Managing Director, Mr Stephen Biggins, said recent investments in the Company’s Cambodian campaigns had enabled it to “significantly” step up exploration activities at three of its eight gold projects in the country’s northeast.

“We have now cemented our early mover advantage in Cambodia, and are on the verge of making a major gold discovery,” Mr Biggins told the mining and investment Congress.

Southern Gold is the sole or majority owner of eight Cambodian tenements, covering a total of 1,800 km2 in the highly prospective northeast region, where artisanal mining has long pointed to extensive high-grade gold and base metals mineralisation.

Exploration licences have been granted for three of Southern Gold’s wholly-owned tenements, with applications pending on a further four.

The Company’s first drilling at its Snoul concession, completed in December last year, intersected gold in three holes. Detailed geochemistry and geological programs are currently being undertaken.

“All eight tenements suggest the potential for high-grade gold finds, with widespread mineralised intrusive bodies and highly anomalous regional soils,” Mr Biggins said in Singapore.

“In some places, there is undrilled gold mineralisation literally protruding out of the ground and this continues to add to our confidence of an imminent large discovery.”

Last month, the Company’s exploration program received a fillip when the Japanese Government-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) agreed to invest US$4.5 million over three years in exploration at the Australian explorer’s Phnum Khtong, Preak Khlong and O’Kthung tenements.

Through the agreement, JOGMEC joined a list of major Southern Gold shareholders that includes Chinese resource investor, CITIC and Australia’s Macquarie Bank.

“The Joint Venture with JOGMEC has enabled us to significantly bring forward our exploration schedules – and potential discoveries – in Cambodia, which we regard as one of the world’s great mining frontiers,” said Mr Biggins.

“As well as enabling us to commit to much larger surveying and drilling budgets, these investments also provide substantial potential for us to acquire additional projects.”

The global food crisis and the Indian situation

Navhind Times
Monday, April 14, 2008

by D M Deshpande

Serious food shortage and galloping inflation are haunting the global economy. And as happens always under such conditions, the poor countries are the worst hit and the developing nations are not far behind. There are already reports of long queues and rioting in Bangladesh in the quest for food. The problem could easily spread to other poor nations.

Just how serious the food shortage problem is could be gauged from these facts. Global rice stocks have dwindled from 130 million tons to 72 million tons. India, China, Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia have imposed export bans. Thailand is the world’s largest rice exporter (1.2million tons) though it produces no more than 23 million tons of rice annually. Just as in India, the government there also, has stepped in to punish hoarders; action has been initiated against super markets trying to put restrictions on retail trade so that they can export more at higher prices. Since January, the price of rice in Thailand has gone up from $400 to $760 a ton and there are a lot of people who believe that it would touch the $1,000 mark soon. Globalisation, always under attack, is once again on trial and this time it appears to be a really testing time.

In comparison, the domestic rate of inflation of food items has been much slower. Whereas between January to March global WPI in respect of rice moved up by 55.4 per cent, in India the rise was just 7 per cent; in case of wheat, world prices went up by a massive 117 per cent, whereas the rate of increase in India was less than 1 per cent according to FAO and GOI sources. Edible oil prices have gone through the roof internationally, with sunflower oil rising by a whopping 160 per cent and other oils increasing with in the band of 60 to 80 per cent. However, the rise in oil prices in India has been less than 20 per cent.

This is not to suggest that the food price rise has not hurt Indians or the Indian economy. In fact, with one of the largest numbers of poor inhabiting the country, there is certainly a lot of pain and discomfort. It is widely believed that the inflation rate of over 7.5 per cent is grossly understated. In any case, in current market conditions the difference between consumer price index and the WPI (which is used to measure inflation index) is more than 2 per cent.

Amongst the causes for current shortage is the sheer neglect of agriculture for a very long period of time. Indian food grain prices are on an average much lower than the international prices.
Growers get only a small percentage of the final price paid by the consumers. They have never thought of exports to get better price realizations; and how could they do, in the absence of vital infrastructure of roads, godowns and regulated markets.

Rising population is putting pressure on food prices globally; drought in China and Australia has aggravated the problem. As incomes are rising in Asia - especially in India and China, there is a growing demand for food. There are also reports of large-scale transfer of land to animal husbandry. In the US high crude oil prices have encouraged diversion of land to grow more bio-fuel instead of food for humans. A classic case of car eating food! Change in food and dietary habits are also compounding the problem. About a 100 million rural migrants in China have switched over to rice from wheat as their incomes have swelled. Perhaps the reverse may be happening in India but is not balancing out the global trend.

The causes of food crisis are fairly well known; but the solutions are not straightforward. Panic and knee jerk reactions will not help; in fact, they do more harm than good. For example, price controls that more and more countries are resorting to, will not work. In the short run it will not give results and in medium to long run, such controls send wrong signals and distort allocation of resources.

There is huge scope for improving productivity across the board. Within the State, there are wide variations in acreage that need to be plugged. According to one estimate, productivity gains can give additional annual production of nearly 32 tons of wheat, which is nearly a 40 per cent rise in output. Similar efficiency gains are possible in respect of rice and other agricultural products. Targeted subsides and beefing up public distribution system to reach out to the vulnerable sections are effective measures to tackle the shortages.

Thailand must ratify the international criminal court now

Thailand must ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) without delay.

Published on April 14, 2008

All the past unsound arguments surrounding the monarchy related to the ICC have been proven false. Countries with similar institutions have ratified the ICC including Britain (2001), Japan (2007) and Cambodia (2002). Their consciences were clear and they realised that their monarchies would never engage in crimes against humanity, or issue a command for others to do so. It is that simple.

In 2000, former prime minister Chuan Leekpai acceded to the ICC. At that time, Thailand was an ideal nation, wanting to join the world's liberal community. Bangkok aspired to promote international peace and stability and adhered to UN norms and standards. Right after the Chuan government took power in 1997, Bangkok signed the landmark anti-landmine treaty in Ottawa.

Eight years have elapsed without any progress. Subsequent governments have pledged to ratify Thailand's accession to the ICC, but so far none has. Speculation is rife as to why they continue to drag their feet. The most quoted reasons relate to the government in power and questions surrounding the status of the royal institution.

The Foreign Ministry has said time and again that Thailand is ready to ratify the ICC, but unfortunately the current government is reticent to go ahead. The same attitude prevailed when the Thaksin government was in power and promised to ratify the ICC, including the UN Convention Against Torture. Even though the government spun the news with heavy publicity in 2005, it failed to carry through.

At the time the government feared that ratifying the ICC could lead to the indictments of senior Thai officials including Thaksin for human-rights violation in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, as well as the anti-drugs campaign. Under the provisions of the Rome Statute, the ICC has no authority to try previous crimes, especially those committed before July 2002.

Ironically, the coup-appointed government of General Surayud Chulanont had enough courage to ratify the convention outlawing all forms of torture inside Thailand. This augured well with his efforts to reform the Royal Thai Police, which continue to hold the country's worst record of human-rights violations. Unfortunately, the argument against ratifying the ICC still prevailed strongly within the Surayud government.

In years to come, domestic human-rights violations are likely to increase given the audacity of the government's pronouncements on policies related to the three southern provinces and its anti-drug campaign - both reruns of Thaksin-era policies. Ratifying the ICC now would counter such an inclination.

Thailand has developed more of a phobia concerning ratifying international treaties than we would like to admit. The country's judicial experience in 1962 at the World Court in the Hague over the fate of the Preah Vihear Temple, a ruling which favoured Cambodia, still haunts officials dealing with treaties and protocols.

On the ICC, concerned officials would like to maintain the status quo regardless of changes in global governance and thinking. For instance, successive Thai governments over five decades have stubbornly refused to accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention because of the unfounded fear that it would encourage an influx of refugees from neighbouring countries. The Interior Ministry and security agencies continue to use this outdated argument without doing any soul-searching.

With its geographical location and level of economic development, an influx of migrant workers and refugees from conflicts elsewhere into Thailand is to be expected. Signing the Refugee Convention would help Thailand deal with the issue professionally and in a transparent manner - something which Thailand has refused to do.

Just take a close look at the porous Thai border and the pathetic way the government has handled the Hmong, Karen and other ethnic groups. It has seriously undermined the country's reputation and brought both humiliation and condemnation from the international community. This week the fate of Hmong refugees continues to be headlined news internationally.

Ratifying the refugee convention would provide Thailand with an international instrument with which it could reposition itself over such a vexing issue. At the moment, every measure or policy is subject to an ad-hoc arrangement or oversight by persons who have very narrow views of the world and do not appreciate the country's value as the host over 3 million refugees in the past.

In the case of ICC, Bangkok would be able to strengthen the international justice system, including the rejection of violence and show Thailand's respect for fundamental human rights, which are guaranteed by the Thai Constitution. Apart from the argument surrounding the monarchy, Thailand has yet to come clean on its own criminal justice system. Our national courts still lack standards and creditability.

To overcome the labyrinth of amendments to domestic laws that would be required for ICC ratification, a new legislature, focused exclusively on the ICC, should be enacted. This would enable Thailand to move on the fast track to join other countries that have ratified the ICC.

Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Nation

Laos faces thorny land issues in Asia's orchard

A Cambodian farmer works on her land near Mekong river bank in Kandal province, outskirts of Phnom Penh April 8, 2008.Photograph by : REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Darren Schuettler,
ReutersPublished: Thursday, April 10, 2008

VIENTIANE - After decades of isolation, Communist-led Laos is enjoying an economic boom fuelled in part by surging demand for its abundant commodity -- land.

From China to Japan and South Korea to Thailand, agri-business firms are flocking to the landlocked Southeast Asian nation to grow everything from rubber and pulp trees to organic vegetables and "green" crops for alternative fuels.

"Laos will be ASEAN's orchard in a couple of years," Thai embassy commercial officer Chalaempon Pongchabubnapa said of the 10-nation Southeast Asia grouping of which Laos is a member.

One of the poorest countries in Asia, with many of its citizens living on around $1 per day, Laos has gradually opened its tiny economy to foreign investment since the Pathet Lao Communists adopted market reforms in the mid-1980s.

In its 2008 outlook, the Asian Development Bank forecast nearly 8 percent growth led by mining and hydropower, but "an expansion of agriculture remains the key to raising incomes and employment".

However, the rapid investment in agriculture so far -- 39 projects worth $458 million were approved in 2006 compared to six valued at $14 million in 2002, according to the Ministry for Planning and Investment -- has not gone smoothly.

The system for granting concessions "is a mess", said a foreign advisor to the central government, which imposed a halt on new land grants last May that provinces have largely ignored.

Land conflicts are rising as plantations encroach on village fields and nearby forests, taking away traditional livelihoods with little or no compensation, activists say.

"Laos has one of the lowest population densities of any Southeast Asian nation by far," retired professor and Laos expert Martin Stuart-Fox said of its 5.8 million people living in an area half the size of France.

"There is land available and the government can very easily take it off the people and sign deals for plantation agriculture," he told Reuters.

SCRAMBLE FOR LANDWith commodity prices soaring and land scarce at home, plantation firms are going further abroad in search of good soil, favorable weather and investor-friendly policies.

In Africa, South Korea's AFinc has leased 100,000 hectares in the Democratic Republic of Congo to grow soybean and corn. Malaysia's Sime Darby is developing rubber and palm plantations in a relatively stable Liberia.

Rubber, palm oil, tapioca and sugar plantations are sprouting up in nearby Cambodia as it emerges from decades of civil war and the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields".

In Laos, some 150,000 hectares of land has been ceded to private investors for 30-50 years "at inconceivably low fee rates," according to the environmental group TERRA.

In the north, where a new paved highway to China's border opened last month, Beijing firms are heavily investing in rubber to feed their country's surging auto industry.

Yunnan Natural Rubber Industrial Co plans a 66,700 hectare plantation in Laos, aiming to double it to 133,300 hectares by 2010 and to 333,300 hectares by 2015.

Vietnam, one of Asia's fastest-growing economies, is carving out concessions in Cambodia and southern Laos for rubber trees and other cash crops.

Japanese, Indian and Scandinavian tree farms dot central Laos, while Thai tapioca growers are shifting their operations across the Mekong River into Laos to benefit from lower European import tariffs granted to poor nations.

Some argue the scale of the plantation sector is not really known because Laos has no land inventory, although it is working on one. Another issue is that multiple levels of government can grant concessions, leaving the door open to corruption.

"The national government has a hard time understanding what is going on. Even at the district level, concessions are given that the province does not know about," said the foreign advisor who would not be identified because he was not authorized to speak.

Other foreign experts and researchers asked for their names to be withheld due to concern the authorities might expel them or hamper their work if they spoke out of turn.

WHERE ARE THE COCONUTS?

Last May, Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh declared an indefinite moratorium on large land concessions for mining and agriculture "to address shortcomings of our previous strategy".

Some plantations had turned out to be illegal logging camps. In one case, a foreign investor who promised vast swathes of coconuts stripped the concession of its valuable timber and left.

Yet only a month into the moratorium, the governor of Vientiane province granted 705 hectares of land to a South Korean rubber project, according to state media reports.

"Plantations need land and local officials can deliver it. They go to a village and say 'this land is degraded and can be used for plantation development'," said a researcher with a foreign NGO.

In northern Laos, once home to swathes of opium-covered hills that formed part of the infamous Golden Triangle, farmers are now planting rubber trees under contract to Chinese firms.

"They are told they will become rich and own lots of Vigo pickup trucks," said a foreign academic who studied plantations in Oudomxay province. In reality, the farmers will have to tend their trees for seven years before any latex is tapped.

The government says plantations are fighting poverty by employing villagers, including ethnic minorities relocated from upland areas with promises of schools, healthcare and new land.

But critics say the policy has ensured a cheap source of labor for the plantations.

Tamang, 56, is still waiting for the parcel of rice paddy the government promised him two years ago when his family of eight moved to a village in central Laos where a large eucalyptus plantation is being developed.

The plantation owner, Japan's Oji Paper, has built a new school where some of his children attend.

Tamang works 3-7 days a month, earning 20,000 kip a day clearing fields for the slender trees. A nearby forest where villagers could gather mushrooms, bamboo shoots and other non-timber forest products to eat or sell was cleared.

"Two years ago it was easy to find food, now it's much harder," he said outside his family's ramshackle wooden home.

"We are waiting for the government to give us land but we have heard nothing yet".

Vietnamese company targets to plant 1,500 hectares of rubber in Cambodia

Planting rubber trees in Cambodia.

Nhan Dan – Phu Rieng –Kratie Rubber Joint Stock Company has set a target of planting 1,000 to 1,500 hectares of rubber in Kratie province of Cambodia this year.

The company was established last year with three founding shareholders: the Phu Rieng Rubber Company, the Vietnam Rubber Industrial Group and the Song Da Corporation with the aim of promoting a project to plant rubber trees in Cambodia.

Right in 2007, the company planted 200 hectares of rubber trees in Snoul district.

The province governor Kham Phoeun said he appreciated the project to plant rubber trees by Phu Rieng-Kratie Rubber JSC because though the company has been established for a short time, it has created jobs for 250 Cambodian workers, contributing to stablising their lives.

The company is building 150 houses for their workers and has donated US 27,000 to build a school for the locality and upgrade local pagodas.

Crowds hit the road to mark Cambodia’s New Year holiday

Taipei Times
AFP, PHNOM PENH
Monday, Apr 14, 2008

Thousands of people crammed onto buses and cars, some clinging to roofs and spilling out of doors, as they headed out of Phnom Penh yesterday for the Buddhist New Year holiday.

The three-day holiday — also celebrated in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos — gives thousands of Cambodia’s transient workers a rare chance to spend time with family, leaving the normally busy capital unusually empty.

“This is the only chance I have to visit my parents, and I am so excited,” said 22-year-old Sun Srey Pov, who left her hometown in the east to work in a Phnom Penh garment factory.

“It is a pleasurable time, although it is hard to travel,” she said while trying to elbow some room in a 12-seat minibus, which was packed with 20 people inside and five hanging off the roof.

In Phnom Penh, elderly women dressed in traditional costume carried food to give to monks at pagodas.

The younger generation pursued different traditions — spraying each other with talcum powder, playing street games and dancing to loud music.

But the practice of throwing water and talcum powder on passing motorists has been discouraged by the government.

A truck with a megaphone patrolled the streets, warning that the practice could cause traffic accidents.

Nationalism and the West; Dangerous America?; Kissinger and Cambodia; Foreign policy credentials?

April 13, 2008

Nationalism and the West

In his op-ed column "Beware an angry China" (Views, April 9), Philip Bowring rightly points out that China-bashing may increase nationalism in China. But Bowring misses the point that the anxiety in the West over losing its superior position in global affairs has been fomenting nationalism in North America and Europe, which fuels a wave of China bashing.

The Olympic crisis is not about China: It is an expression of the West's sense of superiority. There is much anxiety in the West over losing this superior position, and this is exacerbated by economic insecurity in a globalized world.

It's a joke for the West to think it can use the Olympics to leverage China. Nothing can stop China. Even without the Olympics, people would still travel to China for business or pleasure.
Most Chinese are far less nationalist than many people in the West.

Shuaihua Cheng, Geneva

Dangerous America?

It is quite incredible to read a letter to the editor suggesting that NATO be disbanded and asserting that a majority of the people in Europe and Italy consider America to be the greatest danger to world peace (April 10).

If it were not for the U.S. Army in World War II, Italy might still be under a dictatorship fostered by Mussolini and Germany would be the fascist superpower of Europe.

I am a senior citizen, so I vividly remember that thousands of American soldiers, including several friends of mine, died on an Italian beach to free Italians from the yoke of Mussolini. To point to the United States as a danger to peace in the world is a grave insult. America saved Europe, and the American troops stationed in Germany and elsewhere in Europe are today a bulwark against any possible ideas Russia might have to use Russian oil as a weapon to control the future of NATO.

How quickly we forget.

Bernard Ilson, New York

Kissinger and Cambodia

I reside in a country that still lives with the disaster sown by Henry Kissinger ("The debate we need to have," Views, April 8) and the Nixon administration. His orders to the U.S. military a generation ago were to send anything that flies against anything that moves.

Those who witnessed the destruction in Cambodia say that it is impossible to describe. But it did provoke thousands of peasants to join a hitherto marginal force known as the Khmer Rouge. We are familiar with the result.

Even today, Cambodia remains more influenced by Communist Vietnam than by the West - hardly a strategic victory for the erstwhile secretary of state.

John Macgregor, Phnom Penh

Foreign policy credentials?

Regarding the article "Obama tries to bolster his credentials on foreign policy" (April 11): It is worrying, if not pathetic, that Senator Barack Obama and his advisers cite "his ties to relatives in poor villages in Kenya" and " a trip to Pakistan while he was a college student" as relevant foreign policy experience. That background would hardly qualify him for a job on a microfinance project in a developing country.

As the credentials of the two other U.S. presidential candidates are also rather thin, Obama could make a difference if he were supported by heavyweights in foreign policy and diplomacy among whom he might select his vice president.

Jens A. Jorgensen, Brussels

Vietnam, Cambodia discuss wildlife protection

13/04/2008

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese and Cambodian forestry law enforcement officers have completed a week-long study tour to Cambodia forests which provided an opportunity to discuss and share experiences of forest protection practices.

The Forest and Wildlife Law Enforcement Study Tour of Cambodia was jointly organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Vietnam and Cambodia’s Ministry of Forest and Fisheries and Ministry of the Environment.

During the tour, officials from the Vietnam's Forest Protection Department (FPD), Cambodian environment police officers and members of Wildlife Alliance’s PeunPa group visited Phnom Tamao wildlife conservation area, observed rangers training at Preah Monivong (Bokor) National Park and attended seminars focusing on wildlife and forest conservation, the WWF said on April 9 in a press release.

The study tour gave participants exposure to forest and wildlife law enforcement methods and will encourage inter-agency cooperation in suppressing nature crime, the release said.

WWF Technical Advisor in central Vietnam Mark E Grindley said massive forest logging in the Southeast Asia region brings fortune to only a limited number of people, but is stripping the region of irreplaceable natural heritage.

He highlighted the Vietnamese government’s efforts in forest protection conducted through the tight cooperation of competent agencies. "WWF is willing to support an exchange of ideas with Cambodia, where there are some highly successful models from which to learn," Grindley said.

(Source: VNA)

Cambodian royal astrologer says Year of Rat will bring angry wives

Sun, 13 Apr 2008
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia celebrated its New Year's Eve on Sunday, with the royal palace astrologer predicting a troubled Year of Rat ahead, including poor crops, inflation and angry wives.

Like neighbouring Thailand and Laos, Cambodia follows the Chinese horoscope, but celebrates its lunar New Year in April each year.

"This year's agriculture is not good, with half of the vegetable and fruit crop destroyed," royal palace astrologer Im Borin said by telephone.

"There will be many people killing each other, the good and kind will be looked down on by society ... the price of salt will increase, and wives of high ranking officials will be stewing in anger," he predicted.

Cambodia brought in a controversial monogamy law in 2006 which made adultery a criminal offence punishable by 18 months in jail. The law is believed by many have been devised under pressure from powerful and jealous wives of high-ranking officials.

However it has done little to curb the common practice of men who can afford to taking mistresses, or "second wives" and there has only been one successful prosecution so far.

One high ranking male official was even reported as endorsing adultery as a good way of relieving tension and spicing up a marriage in an interview with the English-language Cambodia Daily newspaper soon after the legislation was passed.

Cambodian wives have become internationally notorious for taking out the competition by hiring gunmen or dousing them with acid, making Year of Rat a year of living dangerously for many young Cambodian women if the astrologer is correct.

Khmer new year

Happy Khmer New Year

Wish all Khmer every where a Happy "KHMER NEW YEAR" *****from Khamerak008*****

Dr. Nhek Kosal Vithyea Removed from the Position of Director-General of Telecom Cambodia!

Dr. Nhek Kosal Vithyea Removed from the Position of Director-General of Telecom Cambodia! President of Board of Directors of Telecom Cambodia Also Reshuffled – H.E. Sarak Khan Replaced by H.E. Koy Pum

Posted on 12 April 2008.
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 555

“The immature doctor notorious for committing corruption and for having an immodest attitude Nhek Kosal Vithyea, also known as Victor, the director-general of Telecom Cambodia [TC], has already been removed from this position by the Royal Government and assigned to work at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and replaced by former deputy director-general of Telecom Cambodia, Mr. Lao Saroeun, by Sub-Decree #367, dated 8 April 2008.

“Separately, the president of the Board of Directors of Telecom Cambodia of the second term, has also been reshuffled by the Royal Government. H.E. Sarak Khan, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, has been replaced by Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications H.E. Koy Pum, by Sub-Decree #268, dated 8 April 2008.

“Those who have observed the corruption at TC, support the decision of Samdech Akkak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and H.E. Sok An, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of the Council of Ministers, as well as of H.E. So Khun, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, who removed H.E. Sarak Khan from the position of president of the Board of Directors of TC and Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea from the position of director-general of TC, agreeing that these actions of the leaders are wise and correct.

“Secretary of State of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications H.E. Sarak Khan was once assigned as president of the Board of Directors to replace H.E. Ek Vanndy, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and Nhek Kosol Vithyea was assigned as director-general of TC, replacing H.E. Touch Heng, by Sub-Decree #298, dated 11 May 2006, by the Royal Government of Cambodia, for a term of three years.

“A source from the Council of Ministers said that the removal or reshuffle of Nhek Kosol Vithyea as director-general of TC is related to the offense of committing corruption, which many newspapers had published.

“Some legal officials said that in accordance with the new articles 118 and 120 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Article 10, paragraph 2, of the law of the general statute of public enterprises, the appointment of H.E. Koy Pum, deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, as president of the Board of Directors is appropriate according to the law.

“The letter #814, dated 13 June 2007, from the Council of Ministers had stated, ‘The Royal Government decided in principle to maintain Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea as director-general of TC temporarily, to lead the company towards stability and progress, and then to wait until the audit is completed. Then there will be a report to Samdech Prime Minister, to check and to make a final decision.’ This means that Samdech Akkak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, signed to remove Nhek Kosol Vithyea from the position of director-general of TC definitely, because the National Audit Authority conducted an audit and found corruption committed by Nhek Kosol Vithyea, and reported it to the Prime Minister, to check and to make the final decision. Moreover, a draft related to Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea’s actions by letter #2544, dated 2 October 2007, from H.E. So Khun, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, responding to the questions of the Member of the National Assembly Son Chhay to Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, and the letter #182, dated 8 February 2008, by the Council of Ministers (after reading a report in Deum Tnot), was enough for the Royal Government of Cambodia to remove Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea, who is closely related to the private Pacific Communication Company, from the position of director-general of Telecom Cambodia.

“Independent legal experts mentioned that in accordance with Article 35 of the law of the statute of civil servants, and Article 37 of the criminal law, the Pacific Communications Company must not only return the money gotten from illegal conduct to the state, and its license to invest in the telecommunications sector must be revoked, but also Dr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea should be punished by a court, so that this conforms to formalities and to the impartial law.

“It should be remembered that Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea was removed form the position as advisor to Samdech Akkeak Moha Thoammeak Pothisal Chea Sim, the president of the Senate, according to Royal Decree #409, dated 6 September 2007, after the disclosure of a corruption scandal in several newspapers, though almost all main colorful newspapers had tried to hide this real information. After that, the Royal Government of Cambodia decided that the Pacific Communication Company, whose director is Ms. Song Nimol - Nhek Kosol Vithyea’s wife - to return US$60,014.26 to the state, gotten from operations over an illegal international phone gateway, according to letter #182, dated 8 February 2008, from the Council of Ministers.

Finally, Dr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea has been removed from the position of director-general of TC according to Decree #367, dated 8 April 2008, by the Royal Government of Cambodia.
“Those who know the character of Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea said, ‘This is Karma, the reward for bad action, that Mr. Nhek Kosol Vithyea has received, because this immature doctor always acted according to his immodest characteristic, suspected others, looked down on others, and accused other people unreasonably.’

“On the occasion of the traditional Khmer New Year, the festival when the Year of the Rat starts, the Buddhist era 2552 which is AD 2008, we wish Telecom Cambodia, led by Mr. Lao Saroeun, the new director-general, and H.E. Koy Pum, the new president of the Board of Directors, to progress smoothly, with stability, and to contribute to development forever, as this is of great interest for the nation.”

Deum Tnot, Vol.1, #14, 10-11.4.2008

Casino burns briefly in Cambodian capital, guests evacuated

Topnews.in
April 12th, 2008
by Sahil Nagpal

Phnom Penh - About 100 foreign guests at Phnom Penh's only legal casino and its adjoining hotel were evacuated after a fire broke out, sending smoke billowing and all the Cambodian capital's fire units into action, a casino official and police said Saturday.

Around 300 Cambodian, Malaysian and other staff were also evacuated, police said.

A man who identified himself as a senior official for the NagaCorp Hotel but declined to be named said the blaze looked worse than it was and there had been no injuries.

"I am not sure what started it at this stage, but everyone is out and no one has been hurt," he said, adding that the blaze had been contained to one area at the back of the building.

At least 50 firefighters and volunteers worked for around three hours to control the blaze and around 100 more police kept crowds back from the riverfront property, which cost 100 million dollars and is designed to accommodate 900 guests, according to the company.

It rubs shoulders with the nation's multi-million dollar brand new National Assembly, or parliament, which was not damaged in the blaze.

The NagaCorp official declined to say what nationalities had been evacuated, but the casino is a favourite haunt of South Korean, Singaporean, Malaysian and Chinese visitors especially.(dpa)

First ever Indian unit to shoot in Cambodia

Esther Sunita
April 11, 2008

The Kaalidasa Love Alli Bidda unit has returned from shooting in Cambodia and organized a press meet. This a debut film for all involved; Venkatesh Panchanga debuts as director, Vardhini, T.T. Sharma’s granddaughter, debuts as heroine and for Amitraj, this is just his second film. Ravi plays the second hero.

With an eighteen-day hectic schedule in the ancient temples of Cambodia on a 40 lakh budget, the 16 member crew was the first-ever Indian unit to shoot in Cambodia. The songs are to be shot in Hongkong and the rest of the movie’s locations are near Mangalore.

Lyrics, dialogues and some music are by Giri Panchanga. Biligiri Corporation’s Harshavardhan has some interest in this movie.

Happy Khmer New Year 2008 !

Happy Khmer New Year B.E 2552!

CAAI would like to take this opportunity to wish to all of Khmer compatriots around the globe a Very Happy New Year. May you all be blessed with the 5 Buddhist Wishes: Long Life, Good Complexion, Health, Strength and Wisdom for the coming year of Rat.

Cheers!

Evictions spoil property success story

There were 26 forced evictions involving some 5,585 families in Phnom Penh during 2007, according to rights group Adhoc.

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post at http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Cheang Sokha

AFP, Development often entails upheaval as traditional lifestyles make way for the modern. In no area is this more evident or likely to draw as much controversy as in the rush to claim prime pieces of land that has accompanied the nation’s roaring economic growth.

High-rises are replacing shanty towns in urban areas, coastal developments are sidelining beachfront vendors and large-scale agricultural projects are encroaching on land farmed by villagers for generations.

Few argue against the need for economic development but there is a growing number of increasingly vocal communities – and NGOs that represent them – who insist that the rush to expand private enterprise is running roughshod over the rights of the poor who happen to live on commercially valuable land.

Of particular concern to many NGOs is the implementation of urban development projects. Slums are leveled and residing populations evicted – frequently in that order – leaving families stranded on the outskirts of town with few amenities.

Am Sam Ath, senior monitor for local NGO Licadho, said that in more cases than not, the only thing awaiting those displaced by new projects is suffering. Glittering towers, shopping malls and apartment blocks give little back to those who were moved from slums to make room for the projects.

“I don’t think these kinds of evictions will benefit poor people, and the government itself benefits only slightly,” said Sam Ath. “It is not real development. The result of the evictions is more suffering for poor people.”

According to a recent report by rights group Adhoc, in 2007 there were 26 forced evictions involving some 5,585 families in Phnom Penh. Two people died and many were injured during the evictions, according to Adhoc.

An annual report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, released on February 11, stated that “the forced evictions of poor communities has occurred largely in and around Phnom Penh as demand and prices for land increase, but there are a rising number of evictions in Sihanoukville and other provinces experiencing urban growth.”

The report said several evictions “were carried out with excessive force, using armed police and military police, resulting in injuries and the destruction of property.”

“Many evicted families have been rendered homeless or relocated to distant sites on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, which lack basic services and are far removed from their usual livelihoods,” it added.

Sam Ath predicted the next mass evictions to take place in Phnom Penh would likely be of 4,500 families at Boeng Kok. Also in line to lose their homes, he said, are 102 families in Group 78, who have been told to make way for a Suor Srun Enterprises project; families at Dey Krahorm, which will be the site of a 7NG project; and 200 families living on four hectares at Happy Community in Tonle Bassac commune, which will be taken by Canadia Bank.

District authorities have told residents they must leave these areas, he added.

Lim Sambo, a villager living in Group 78, a highly prized patch of land near the National Assembly, said he was concerned the authorities would sell the land he lived on to a private developer.

“It’s not clear that the government will take the land for development itself because the land nearby is privately owned,” Sambo said, adding, “I’m sure that the land will be given to the private sector.”

Sung Bonna, director of Bonna Realty Group, said people living in slums do not have the resources to develop the land themselves. The government also lacks the investment funds itself and so turns to private firms, which are usually required to construct new homes for those who have been evicted, he said.

“In other countries the government undertakes developments for its people, but our government doesn’t have money to build houses for poor people (at a new location) so it needs private companies to do that,” Bonna said.

“But I see the government now wants to develop (homes for the poor) onsite rather than evict them to the outskirts like before. I see a lot of buildings built in Phnom Penh illegally,” he said, referring to buildings that creep beyond their allotted boundaries, in terms of either height or ground space.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said there were 569 slum communities in the city which were home to more than 30,000 families. So far, the populations of 41 slums have been relocated and negotiations are underway for the removal of others.

“Negotiation is better than conflict,” Chhoeun said. “We allow private companies to invest in the development of the areas, but it must be in the public interest.”

Chhoeun told the Post there are three options for removing slum communities from the city: upgrading their housing, moving inhabitants to a new site, or paying compensation to the displaced.

“We cannot give everybody everything they want,” he said. “Little by little they will understand and agree to leave.”

Cambodian modelling industry grows

ITN News
Sat Apr 12, 2008

The modelling business in Cambodia is growing in popularity, offering new opportunities for young women.

Long Makara, 27, is is one of the most successful models in Cambodia. She models for magazines, the Cambodian Television Network and she even represented Cambodia at the Miss Tourism Queen international beauty contest in 2005, which is aimed at boosting tourism in participating countries.

She said: "Modelling is making a lot of progress. Our models from Sapor's Modelling School get a lot of support.

"We get hired for companies' opening ceremonies and the rich people want to see how nice the new designer clothes are."

She attends classes twice a week to further develop her skills and to help the younger models.

Sapor Rendall, the owner of Sapor's modelling school, said: "I opened the school because, most importantly, I am a model myself and I was so shy in the beginning, but then later I was alright, that I felt I should create this business so young Cambodian girls can join and get jobs."

The school offers not only courses in modelling, but also in make-up artistry, hair styling, facials, manicures, pedicures, massage and cooking to students from different parts of the country.

So for Sapor's students who do not have a model's traditional attributes, like long legs and flawless skin, they can still find success in related careers in beauty shops, spas and other small businesses,

Public urged to guard against bacillary dysentery

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 11) is investigating a bacillary dysentery outbreak affecting at least 10 persons of a tour group and urged members of the public to observe good personal and food hygiene.

The tour group of 21 persons traveled to Cambodia from March 29 to April 2. CHP is contacting the tour members. So far, 5 men and 5 women aged from 26 to 65, developed fever, abdominal pain and diahorrea.

Two of them consulted private doctors. One of the patients, a 36-year-old man, was admitted to Tseung Kwan O hospital on April 6 and he is now in stable condition. His stool specimen grew Shigella sonnie.

Further investigation is proceeding.

A spokesman for CHP said bacillary dysentery is an intestinal infection caused by Shigella bacteria which can be found in the human gut. The illness is characterised by sudden onset of fever, diarrhoea with abdominal cramps and nausea or vomiting. The stool may contain blood and mucus. The incubation period usually lasts for one to three days, but can be up to seven days.

The disease is transmitted directly by faecal material of a patient/carrier or indirectly through contaminated food and water. Infection may occur after consuming a small number of the germs. Therefore the chances of the infection spreading among household members or in institutions can be very high. It occurs more commonly among young children.

The spokesman reminded members of the public to observe good personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times to prevent bacillary dysentery:

* Wash hands properly with soap and water before eating or handling food, and after going to the toilet or changing diapers.
* Drinking water should be from the mains and preferably boiled.
* Purchase fresh food from reliable sources. Do not patronise illegal hawkers.
* Avoid high-risk food like shellfish, raw food or semi-cooked food.

Friday, April 11, 2008
Issued at HKT 22:39

Court withdraws couple's asylum eligibility

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, April 12, 2008

A federal appeals court withdrew its ruling Friday that declared a Fresno couple eligible for political asylum in the United States despite the husband's background as a guard in a Cambodian prison where inmates were allegedly persecuted.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco had ruled in August that Pauline Im had played no more than a marginal role in the mistreatment of prisoners and thus should not be considered a persecutor, which would require that he be deported. The court said Im and his wife, Ngin Sitha, were eligible for asylum because they had shown Im would face political persecution in Cambodia.

But the court withdrew the ruling Friday and said the outcome of the case would depend on another dispute that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear in the term that starts in October. That case involves a former prison guard in Eritrea, where the inmates included religious minorities who were persecuted.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled last year that the Eritrean guard, Daniel Negusie, had assisted in the persecution and was ineligible for asylum even though he had not injured any prisoners and had opposed their mistreatment. The court noted that Negusie had been armed, had stood guard while prisoners were kept in the sun for punishment, and had denied them access to showers and fresh air.

The Supreme Court agreed last month to hear Negusie's appeal and is scheduled to rule on his case by June 2009. In the meantime, the Fresno couple are in limbo, said their lawyer, Emmanuel Enyinwa.

Enyinwa said the two cases differed because Im had not been armed, played no role in the mistreatment of prisoners and had merely followed superiors' instructions to lock and unlock cell doors when prisoners were taken for interrogation. The lawyer said he disagreed with the Ninth Circuit's decision to withdraw its ruling but now expects the court to order a new round of arguments after the Supreme Court rules on Negusie.

Im's family was killed when the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia in 1975, and he was put to work as a forced laborer, the court said in last year's ruling. After working as a prison guard following the Vietnamese invasion that ousted the Khmer Rouge, he joined a guerrilla movement, was imprisoned and tortured by the Vietnamese, but then was released and became a political activist.

The couple fled after Im received death threats and assailants fired on their car and their house in 2000, the court said. They now run a doughnut shop in Fresno.

1975: US pulls out of Cambodia

BBC News UK
12 April 2008

In Context
After the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh on 17 April its leader, Pol Pot, immediately set about realising his vision of an agrarian utopia.
He forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave urban areas and become farmers.
Pol Pot's reforms led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people - some were executed but many died of disease and starvation.
In 1979 Cambodia's old enemy, Vietnam, invaded and the Khmer Rouge fled. In 1991 a United Nations-brokered peace agreement was signed which ended the country's civil war.
In 1997 Pol Pot was convicted of treason by a "people's tribunal" and was sentenced to life under house arrest.
He died in April 1998.

The US has admitted defeat in Cambodia and removed its remaining embassy personnel from the capital, Phnom Penh.

Early this morning 276 people were airlifted from a football field near the embassy by a fleet of 30 helicopters.

Those on the airlift included 159 Cambodians who had worked with the Americans.

Foreign journalists who had been covering the civil war between the communist Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian government were also airlifted out of the country.

It was feared "Operation Eagle Pull", as the evacuation was dubbed, would come under Khmer Rouge fire and more than 300 armed Marines guarded the field.

However, the operation passed off uneventfully.

Some of Cambodia's most senior government ministers, including the Acting President, Saukham Khoy, were among the evacuees.

The country's Prime Minister, Long Boret, has remained in Phnom Penh.

Long Boret's decision not to leave came as a surprise as he has been condemned to death by the advancing Khmer Rouge.

'Heavy heart'

The evacuees were flown to American war ships, the Okinawa and the Hancock, in the Gulf of Thailand.

In Washington, President Ford explained the reasons why the US had pulled out of Cambodia.
Mr Ford said he had taken the decision with "a heavy heart" but had done so to ensure the safety of Americans who had "served valiantly".

The American withdrawal is an inglorious end to five years of involvement in Cambodia's civil war.
Its presence in the country was closely linked to the war it is conducting in neighbouring Vietnam.

Between 1970 and 1973 the US bombed Cambodia in order to stop its North Vietnamese enemies using the country as a base.

If Phnom Penh does fall, Cambodia will become the first country since Cuba 16 years ago to pass into Communist hands.

Fire hits casino complex in Cambodia's capital

About 100 tourists were evacuated from one of Cambodia's biggest hotels and casinos, after a fire broke out

PHNOM PENH
April 12
KYODO

Cambodia's biggest casino complex in the capital Phnom Penh was hit by fire Saturday, but there was little damage because of a rapid response by firefighters, a government official said.

Nhim Vanda, vice chairman of Cambodia's National Committee for Disaster Management, told Kyodo News the casino fire began at 7:30 a.m. and was completely extinguished in about three hours.

Fire forces evacuation of hotel in Phnom Penh

Radio Australia

About 100 tourists have been evacuated from one of Cambodia's biggest hotels and casinos, after a fire broke out at a construction site inside the complex in Phnom Penh.

Wood being used for remodelling the NagaCorp hotel caught fire, sparking a blaze in a district of the city crowded with government offices, including the parliament and foreign ministry.

About 50 firefighters and volunteers worked for three hours to douse the blaze.

The damage was contained to one part of the hotel, and no injuries were reported, although the hotel evacuated all its guests.

The NagaCorp hotel and casino attracts hundreds of tourists every day, mainly from Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

Cambodia rejects new Thai protest over Preah Vihear temple

www.chinaview.cn

2008-04-12

PHNOM PENH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian government officials have denied claims by Thailand that Cambodian troops have massed on the Thai border near Preah Vihear temple, the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported Saturday.

"Cambodia strongly denies that there has been any deployment of army and police in the area though there may be security guards protecting Preah Vihear temple and tourists," Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary of State Ouch Borith said at a news conference here on Friday.

At the press conference, Var Kim Hong, Cambodia's senior government advisor on border issues, said the Preah Vihear border had been in place since the colonial era.

Thai newspaper the National and the Bangkok Post reported Friday that Cambodian Ambassador Ung Sean had been summoned to the Thai Foreign Ministry and told that the supposed troop build up violated a 2000 agreement not to modify a 4.6-square-kilometer disputed zone near the temple.

"This time we summoned the Cambodian ambassador to protest against them sending in troops and police and clearing landmines in the overlapping area in Thailand's Si Sa Ket province," the Thai Foreign Ministry's treaties and legal affairs department chief Virachai Plasai was quoted as saying in the Bangkok Post.

Thailand's protest to the ambassador is the latest flare-up in long-standing dispute over the temple and surrounding territory, which has intensified since Cambodia sought to have the temple listed as a UN World Heritage Site last year, the Cambodia Daily said.

Editor: Sun Yunlong

Thousands homeless after Cambodian slum fire

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Thousands were made homeless early Friday after a slum fire in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh destroyed more than 200 homes, police said.

The blaze broke out in an area crowded with poorly-built wooden shacks, police said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation."Hundreds of houses were completely destroyed," said Pong Savrith, military police deputy commander.

Cigarette smugglers outwit officials

11-04-2008

AN GIANG — Renewed efforts to stop contraband cigarettes being imported from Cambodia are likely to prove ineffective as the authorities admit to losing control over the market.

A "hot spot" for smuggled cigarettes, the southern province of An Giang has become a thriving centre for traffickers.

On the 50km road connecting Long Xuyen City with the border town of Chau Doc, many motorbike drivers were found to be carrying large packages of cigarettes while speeding.

On average, each smuggler is able to carry about 200 cartons of cigarettes. Yet according to the deputy head of An Giang Province’s Market Watch, Phan Loi, those smuggling by water pose greater worries because they illegally import thousands of boxes at a time.

Similarly, in the neighbouring province of Kien Giang, contraband cigarettes are smuggled through border areas.

The head of Kien Giang Market Watch’s Research and General Affairs section, Pham Ngoc Toan, said motorbike drivers often doubled as cigarette carriers because they could easily avoid the eye of anti-contraband forces. Each motorbike usually carries two people, one driving and another carrying cigarettes.

Cigarette trafficking has become so rampant that participants at a recent conference reviewing the implementation of anti-contraband initiatives were told that nearly seven million packs of illegal cigarettes were confiscated between last June and this March.

About 49 cities and provinces have reported cigarette trafficking, but naturally, the phenomenon has been most rampant in border provinces. Contraband cigarettes now make up nearly 40 per cent of the total market share. And in the western and southern provinces, the figure reaches a staggering 80 per cent.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Cigarettes Association, Nguyen Thai Sinh, said cigarette trafficking was adversely effecting domestic production.

He said many local companies had been forced to cut their output to about half in the first quarter of this year. And up to VND3,000 billion (more than US$187 million) in taxes had been lost to cigarette smugglers.

Speaking at the conference, in HCM City last week, the head of Quang Tri Province’s Customs Office, Le Van Toi, admitted that border forces could do little to combat smugglers.

In an attempt to retrieve some lost taxes, the State has raised the special consumption tax on cigarettes from 55 to 65 per cent.

However, specialists believe the increase will do no more than create extra motivation for traffickers to import cigarettes illegally.

Quang Tri Province, which is adjacent to the Lao Bao border gate, confiscated more than 1.2 million packs of illegal cigarettes a year. An Giang Province ranks second with nearly 1.1 million packs.

Another factor believed to be creating favourable conditions for cigarette trafficking is that the State still allows people in border areas to buy goods worth VND2 million ($125) a day.

By doing so, chairman of the Viet Nam Cigarettes Association, Nguyen Thai Sinh, calculated that this helped put millions of packs of tax-free on the streets of Viet Nam daily.

Anti-contraband forces are also worried that no proper checks have been put on the buying of these cigarettes by border people. Therefore, it is easy for wheelers and dealers to lure poor border people into buying and selling cigarettes.

A senior official at An Giang Customs Office, Tran Buu Tai, said traffickers had intensified their operation since the Government issued a decree in September, 2006, stating that cigarettes were not a forbidden commodity.

This is why no criminal proceedings are taken against cigarette traffickers. Even when a person carries contraband cigarettes worth more than VND100 million ($6,250), no punishment is meted out.

Conference participants were concerned that contraband cigarettes will keep flooding the market if no drastic measures are taken. — VNS

Fire Destroys Hundreds of Slum Homes

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 April 2008

A seven-hour fire burned down several hundred homes on the outskirts of Phnom Penh early Monday, and residents say the fire department did little to stop it.

The fire started around 5 am Monday and continued burning until around noon, destroying an entire village of makeshift homes.

Residents said the fire department refused to put out the flames because the people couldn't pay them bribes.

"I asked the firemen to extinguish my house, but the firemen said they did not have water," Chhen Saray, said as she wept. "The firemen extinguished only the houses of the rich, not the poor."

The fire comes just days before the start of Khmer New Year, a traditional time of nationwide celebration. No casualties were reported, and the cause is under investigation.

A fire department official denied claims of negligence, saying his men were hard-pressed to stop the fire in an area with streets too narrow for his trucks.

"The firemen had difficulty extinguishing the fire, because the roads leading the slum were too small," said Sok Vannra, first deputy chief of the Phnom Penh fire department. "We were fighting the fire from 5:30 am, and we almost had no water to drink, but we are still criticized by the residents."

A second resident said her house was saved by firemen only after her uncle, who knew some other firemen, convinced them to put out the flames. Her uncle later paid five men $10, she said.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mab Sarin said Friday the city had no plans to develop the area.
"The Phnom Penh municipality has instructed district governors and deputy governors to consider finding a proper place for victims to stay," he said.

Cambodian Troops in Disputed Zone: Thailand

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

Thai officials censured the Cambodian government Thursday, claiming it had sent soldiers into a disputed area near a contentious temple in Preah Vihear province.

The Preah Vihear temple, subject of many diplomatic rows in recent years, is perched atop a cliff straddling the border between Cambodia and Thailand.

The Thai foreign ministry protested the alleged troop deployment to Cambodia's ambassador, the Bangkok Post reported. Soldiers had been demining in a disputed area, the Post reported.

Uch Borith, secretary of state for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called the allegations "baseless."

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith denied any deployment of troops and asked the Thai government to properly resolve problems before speaking to the press.

"I, the spokesman of the Cambodian government, confirm that the government did not mobilize any troops or add more troops at all" to the area, he said. "We regret that the Thai side did not discuss first with the competent authorities, with which we have an agreement. If it thinks about the friendship between both countries, and about membership in Asean, the Thai government should review the agreement on the resolution of conflict."

Hundreds Protest Alleged Sale of Forest

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

Nearly 300 people gathered in the provincial capital of Bantey Meanchey province Friday to protest the alleged sale of national forest land by local officials.

Human rights officials and witnesses said Friday that about 300 people gathered in front of the Thmor Pouk commune office in Thmor Pouk district to demand 215 hectares of national forest be protected, following its reported sale to businessmen in Phnom Penh by the former district governor and a commune chief.

Villagers said they needed the land, in Phnom Preah National Forest, for their livelihoods.
Current Thmor Pouk District Governor Chhum Brasert said Friday he was unaware of the sale of the forest land, as he only recently began his post.

Former Thmor Pouk governor Chhim Bunny denied allegations he had sold off part of the national forest.

He welcomed the protest of the people, saying such petitioning for the protection of forest land was "right."

So Samon, director of the district forest administration, said Friday he would investigate the allegations of the sale.

The Phnom Preah National Forest covers two districts, he said, Thmor Pouk and Preah Neat Preah, and spreads over about 18,000 hectares.

Taiwanese Man Charged in Heroin Bust

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 April 2008

Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged one man with drug trafficking Friday, after he was seized at the international airport Tuesday in possession of more than 2 kilograms of heroin.

Taiwanese national Wang Kuo Lin, 29, was arrested as he attempted to board a flight to Hong Kong, police said.

His arrest highlights what experts call a worrying increase in Cambodian production and shipment of narcotics.

Several drug couriers have been nabbed at the airport in recent months, and a year ago police made a massive raid on a methamphetamine production facility in Kampong Speu province.

Land Authority Working Disputes: Spokesman

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 April 2008

A spokesman for the National Land Dispute Authority of the Council of Ministers, Chum Bunrong, admitted Thursday that Cambodia faces land grabbing problems, but said the government was working to solve them.

The government has offices to deal with land disputes at three levels: district, provincial, and national, said Chum Bunrong, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

He urged rights groups to discuss land issues with local officials before speaking out to the press.

"NGO and rights workers in the provinces can express their opinions at the district level, they have that right," Chum Bunrong said. "They shouldn't go straight to various radio stations and create problems. If you discuss it, you may decide that some parcels should be sold, some belong to the government, and so on. It can be solved."

The Land Dispute Authority was formed in 2006 to deal with increasing land disputes.
Since its creation, the authority has taken back more than 225,000 hectares of land from violators across Cambodia, Chum Bunrong said.

Those involved in land disputes can call the Land Dispute Authority for more information and updates on resolution, he said.

Dith Pran's story must keep being told

Cape Code Times

By JONATHAN HEMMERDINGER
April 11, 2008

A few weeks ago Dith Pran, a photojournalist with The New York Times, died of pancreatic cancer. Though many Americans may not know him, Cambodian-American immigrants do. To them, Dith Pran and the movie about his life present the Cambodian people and their nation's troubled history to the world.

In the early 1970s, Dith Pran worked with Times foreign correspondent Sydney Schanberg covering events in Cambodia.

At the time, Cambodia was a Cold War hot spot, caught between the pull of Washington, Hanoi, Moscow and Beijing. Though the government was largely aligned with the United States, North Vietnamese troops and a communist guerrilla group called the Khmer Rouge ruled much of the Cambodian countryside.

In 1975, the Khmer Rouge overran Phnom Penh and embarked on a plan to transform Cambodia into an agricultural-based utopian society. Immediately, citizens were dispersed to rural work and prison camps, and all potential enemies of the regime were eliminated. By the time Vietnamese forces drove the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979, some 1.7 million Cambodians — one-fifth of the country's population — was dead.

Dith and Schanberg were in Phnom Penh when the city was taken. Though Schanberg escaped to the French Embassy, Dith endured years of torture and forced labor. He escaped to Thailand in 1979 and then came to the United States, where he was reunited with his family. He continued working for the Times.

I first learned of Cambodia's "forgotten genocide" about 15 years ago when I watched the 1984 film "The Killing Fields." The movie, which stars Sam Waterston and Haing Ngor, portrays the experiences of Schanberg and Dith during the Khmer Rouge years. It's a true story.

The film stayed with me long after I watched it. Mostly, I was disturbed that such a monumental world event had escaped my attention. I wanted to know more.

Therefore, when asked to cover an immigrant people in my first year at journalism school, I chose Cambodian Americans.

I soon learned that the community, which numbers some 200,000 in the United States, is largely eager to tell its stories. Through my reporting, I was introduced to a strong and resilient people who've endured astonishing atrocities. Torture, murdered siblings, missing parents, death camps and ethnic cleansing are common elements in the lives of adult Cambodians. So are endurance, self-reliance, inner strength and optimism about the future.

It must have been obvious to those I interviewed that I had trouble comprehending their stories. To help clarify a few suggested that I watch "The Killing Fields."

So I watched it again.

It's not often that a movie accurately portrays reality, but "The Killing Fields" comes close. It recreated in me the same uncomfortable feeling I had had when interviewing survivors.

Though that was only a few weeks ago. It wasn't until I heard of Dith Pran's death that I understood the significance of his life and the movie about him.

Cambodia's genocide has been largely forgotten. As one of my friends at the community center explained, "Every day it fades more and more."

But because Dith's experience was recreated in "The Killing Fields," the story of Cambodia's past will never be completely lost. To Cambodians, Dith was more than a survivor of the Khmer Rouge; he was a New York Times reporter and the subject of a movie that tells their story.

Dith is gone, but "The Killing Fields" survives and can be found in any film rental store. Do yourself a favor and rent it. I warn you that it's a bit uncomfortable, mostly because it's true.

But it's also true that the world is a dangerous place and insulation from the truth is false security. Our best protection against mankind's worst deeds is the acquisition of knowledge.

And that's exactly what Dith's story in "The Killing Fields" delivers.

Jonathan Hemmerdinger of Arlington, Va., who is pursuing a master's in journalism at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is a former resident of Chatham.

Thousands homeless after Cambodian slum fire: police

Agence France-Presse
Published: Friday, April 11, 2008

PHNOM PENH - Thousands were made homeless early Friday after a slum fire in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh destroyed more than 200 homes, police said.

The blaze broke out in an area crowded with poorly-built wooden shacks, police said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

"Hundreds of houses were completely destroyed," said Pong Savrith, military police deputy commander.

"They were all small wooden houses that were built in a disorderly manner," he told AFP as a column of thick smoke continued to billow into the sky.

Neighbourhood residents swarmed into nearby streets, struggling to rescue their belongings, while others huddled on the curbside, crying as their homes burned.

About 200 firefighters and volunteers worked for five hours to douse the blaze, said fire chief Sok Vannar.

"This is the biggest fire this year," he said, adding that no one had been hurt.

Although large neighbourhood fires are increasingly rare in Phnom Penh, a series of suspicious blazes several years ago destroyed a number of slum areas, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

Kalidasa in Cambodia

The times of India
12 Apr 2008

After doing the rounds of the usual suspects like Bangkok, Switzerland and Austria, Sandalwood has now shifted focus to more exotic locations like Cambodia.

And are we happy about that! Debutante director Venkatesh Panchangam’s Kalidasa Love Alli Bidda is the first Kannada film to be shot in the world famous ruins and temples of Cambodia.

The film stars newcomers Amithraj and Vardhini. Says Amithraj, “The story like the title suggests is filled with a lot of romance but with a twist.

My character in the film is a poet and considers himself a messenger of love! The minute I heard the script, I was very impressed with it.

And love stories are a hit with the audience any day,” says Amithraj. Amith, we hear is also an excellent dancer.

Kurnia Asia In Joint Venture With Canadia In Cambodia

April 11, 2008 19:01 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 (Bernama) -- Kurnia Asia Bhd (KAB) has agreed to team up with Canadia Investment Holdings Plc (CIHP) to establish a joint venture company in Cambodia to undertake general and life insurance businesses.

In a joint statement Friday, KAB and CIHP said the joint venture company under the name Cana Kurnia Insurance Plc will be headquartered in Phnom Penh.

The equity shareholdings of Cana Kurnia will held by KAB via its subsidiary Kurnia Asia Pte Ltd and CIHP in the proportion of 49 percent and 51 percent respectively.

"While the proposed joint venture represents an opportunity for CIHP to diversify into the insurance businesses in Cambodia, it is part of KAB's business strategy to expand geographically to Cambodia," the two companies said.

CIHP holds the entire equity interest of Canadia Bank Plc, which is Cambodia's largest bank, and KAB holds the entire equity interest in Kurnia Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd, currently the largest general insurer in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA