Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Monday publicly accused the Cambodian People’s Party of using its power and money to buy the hearts of opposition officials, causing them to defect.
The party has lost three parliamentarians, at least 30 steering committee members and hundreds of provincial and municipal supporters in the months leading into July’s elections. Many of them have turned to the ruling CPP.
Meanwhile, those activists who do stay loyal to the opposition face intimidation, Sam Rainsy said, citing the cases of 16 activists who have been threatened.
“The CPP uses all means to attract SRP activists and supporters to leave,” Sam Rainsy said Monday. “But SRP officials and supporters do not fear and are not able to be bought.”
Prime Minister Hun Sen has declared all SRP officials “welcome” to bring their allegiance to the ruling party, “until the election and after the election.”
Defector Leng Seng said former opposition members were leaving the party not because of money but because of “injustice and nepotism.”
Observers say the defections are likely to hurt the party.
“Politicians and supporters are not happy with their party,” Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, said.
The Sam Rainsy Party has not been able to solve their problems or deal properly with disputes, he said. “All these push the defections.”
Khmer Rouge tribunal administration chief Sean Visoth said Monday a revised budget must bring five leaders to trial soon.
“The budget presently under review should be as definite as possible,” he said in a speech addressing donors last week and posted on the tribunal Web site Monday.
The budget should also project the time requirements in dealing with the trials of the five leaders in custody: Kaing Khek Iev, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.
Tribunal officials have asked for as much as $114 million in additional funds over the $56 million originally proposed. Donors need a smaller sum.
“We are still in the final stages of developing a precise budget because the budget presumed in early January was not welcome by jurists, because it was too big and it went for too long period,” tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis said. “So now we are seeing how it can be cut back.”
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said he agreed that the five leaders must be tried soon, but he said the use of the first $56 million was still unclear.
The tribunal “must use this money to try the first case, to show the donors,” he said.
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 12 May 2008
A senior official of the Norodom Ranariddh Party called on authorities to arrest a ruling party member Monday, following an alleged threat to an activist.
NRP activist Sreng Srout, of Svay Chi Kray village in Preah Vihear province, was alleged threatened on Thursday by a Cambodian People’s Party deputy village chief, Ngim Thol, according to Sok Sokun, an NRP parliamentary candidate.
Sreng Srout claims he was threatened on arriving at a party last week to celebrate the posting of a Norodom Ranariddh sign, Sok Sokun said.
Ngim Thol could not be reached for comment. Former village chief Rim Thy confirmed that threat but denied it was political.
Sok Sokun said Monday such threats would no longer be tolerated, and called for Ngim Thol to be jailed.
A heavy rain storm destroyed 20 wooden homes in Kampot province last week, but no one was hurt or killed officials said.
The storm struck Samrong Tbong village, in Punhea Leu district, on Thursday, but no one was in the houses when they collapsed, officials said.
“This is the first time that such a storm happened in my village,” said Samrong commune chief Yin Im.
Villager Chhoeurn Kunthea said his house was nearly completely destroyed by the storm, leaving him homeless.
Government meteorologist Long Saravuth said the storm was not related to the cyclone that ripped through Burma last week, leaving many thousands dead and threatening millions.
Illinois senator Barack Obama wants to change the world. But first he wants to change the country. And to do that, he wants to become the first African-American president in the White House.
“We will win this nomination,” he told supporters recently. “You and I together will change this country, and we will change the world.”
Cambodian voters in America and politicians in Cambodia are watching to see what will happen.
Both Obama and New York senator Hillary Clinton have a chance at the presidency “because of the crisis in the US that President [George W.] Bush seriously generated,” said Chanly Kuch, a Cambodian voter who lives in Maryland.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called Obama a new man with modern ideas. American voters do not have racial discrimination, he said.
Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep said Cambodia was watching the election closely.
Obama could prove popular because of his centrist approach, said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, in Cambodia.
“I think it’s good to focus closely and pay attention to what candidates raise and how to solve the issues, [and] the capacity, the ideals of the candidate, rather than focusing on where a person is from,” he said, adding that Obama was “brave.”
Jailed Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Thirith, wife of Ieng Sary and former social affairs minister, will have her detention appeal heard before tribunal judges May 21, officials said.
Ieng Tirith 76, is charged with crimes against humanity. She was arrested Nov. 12, 2007, with Ieng Sary, in Phnom Penh.
Tribunal officials said a live camera feed will be in place for her May 21 hearing, which will determine whether she is kept in tribunal detention ahead of trial.
She has denied any wrong-doing as a minister of the regime, claiming she worked to help people and promising not to leave the country, destroy evidence or threaten witnesses if she is released on bail.
As party registration for July’s elections approaches, political observers say the likelihood of the competing parties to join in an opposition is unlikely.
The failure of unity has caused much finger-pointing among the parties, who will now have to run separately against the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and its coalition partner, Funcinpec.
“We are too late to accept a coalition,” said Norodom Ranariddh Party spokesman Muth Chantha. Those who said it was not too late were going to confuse the public, he said.
Human Rights Party President Kem Sokha expressed “sadness” over the failure, but said he would welcome a coalition. He blamed a failure of unity on the absence of Prince Ranariddh, who is running his party from exile in Malaysia and faces an 18-month prison sentence for embezzling if he returns.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, fresh back from a trip to the US in search of support, said he was ready to unite with the NRP or HRP, but he would not spend time discussing coalitions with newer parties or those with no political base.
Cambodia’s competing parties have in the past sought unity through coalitions, especially after general elections, but they have always failed.
Independent social analyst Chea Vannath said the recent failure was another good experience for the three parties to consider how they might work together in the next elections.
Senate's Committee of Foreign Affairs would seek Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama's testimony over a reshuffle at the ministry, which kicked up stair a legal expert Virachai Plasai who handled dispute over Preah Vihear with Cambodia.
The issue would be in the committee's agenda next week and Noppadon would be invited to the testimony otherwise the committee would visit him at the ministry to ask for explanation, said committee chairman Pikulkaew Kraireuk.
Political motivation might be the reason behind the reshuffle to remove Virachai from Director of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department since he is qualify to fit the job, he said.
(L-R) Trevor Bormann, Eric Campbell and Mark Corcoran of Foreign Correspondent.
Foreign Correspondent Lenny Ann Low, reviewer May 12, 2008
Reporter Eric Campbell travels to Cambodia to investigate secrets from the past and present. He meets Sydney University archaeologist Damien Evans who, along with colleagues from France, Cambodia and Australia, has spent years researching the kingdom of Angkor, the building of the magnificent temple Angkor Wat and what made this powerful and hugely populated city disappear in the 15th or 16th century.
The team has concluded that Angkor was the largest city in the pre-industrial world with an extraordinarily complex system of irrigation. As Evans explains, the land could not sustain such a system and it collapsed, leaving Angkor crippled.
Campbell lucidly parallels this with modern-day Cambodia, where those controlling the thriving tourism industry at Angkor Wat are being criticised for corruption. Angkor Wat receives 2 million visitors every year yet little of the tourism revenue is fed back into preserving the area's heritage.
In a recent opinion letter to one of Cambodia's newspapers, Chak Sopeap, 23, voices her concern over a commercial television advertisement, which she believes affect the nation's culture.
Sopheap praises the government for the improved press rights and freedom of expression, but wants Ministry of Culture as well as Ministry of Information to ensure that all commercial TV ads should be properly monitored before going on air.
It's not the first time for the young human rights activist expressing her opinion through Op-Ed. But it was until last year when she joined Cambodia blogger community that all her letters (one of which is about Khmer Rouge tribunal), published in English-language daily newspaper The Cambodia Daily, can also be found on her personal Weblog.
In the controversial ads, it appears that several Cambodian sexy women in attractive clothes embracing promotional motorbike Suzuki Viva 2009.
I noticed a recent advertisement for Susuki Viva 2009 is problematic. This advertisement appears to target on sexy girls rather than on the Motor; its content is not consistent and affect the Khmer Culture and disvalue the woman.
Offending or not, Thomas Wanhoff, a German national commented on Sopheap's expressed opinion that:
If Cambodia wants to be part of the global markets, its has to accept one of the oldest rules in advertising: sex sells. But not only that: The whole pop culture in Cambodia is just a copy of what we now from Thailand. Where is the real culture? Look how especially girls are dressed up. Why are a lot of karaoke bars, casinos, night bars, named it. The reality is far from what you decribed not consistent.
This debatable point also appeared in a Cambodia related discussion board, and that a long-time American resident wrote an email saying that
I might suggest you try to get a picture of the offending ad - it doesn't have to be the worst part, or a good picture but it will support your argument. (I wonder if it is on YouTube?) Also, what station is running it?
Not surprisingly, Cambodia has introduced a number regulations and bans in attempt to improve social order as well as morality. Early this year, a song titled “I’m asking for one part of your heart” was requested not to be replayed on TV by the country's First Lady.
In 2006, fear of widespread of pornography among cellphone users, Cambodia blocked some features of sending digital video on 3G network service.
A year later, based on a request from National Election Committee, mobile phone text messaging was blocked during a weekend of 2007 local elections to avoid political unrest. ‘Details are Sketchy,' a blog about all things Cambodia, has a response to the news article:
For starters, Khmer fonts for the average telephone are virtually unheard of. But, really, that’s besides the point. The fact is, an overwhelming majority of the Cambodian population is illiterate. And poor. So in practice such a ban would only effect registered voters who also own a telephone and can read English. That’s a pretty small group. Significantly less than 1% of the population. It is, however, exactly the kind of people that vote for Sam Rainsy. Still, it hardly seems worth the effort.
I heard this amazing story from a friend recently, a professor in anthropology.
She had the opportunity to meet with the renowned peace negotiator Johan Galtung. Galtung is the grandfather of peace and conflict studies. At the age of 77, he has spent over 50 years negotiating peace agreements with conflicting groups all over the world.
My friend asked him over lunch, "Mr. Galtung, you've negotiated over 70 conflicts all over the world. What is the common denominator in all of these negotiations?"
Mr. Galtung hesitated for a very long time. Then he opened his mouth and he said, "Everybody wants to tell their story."
Wherever there is conflict, mistrust or dissension, just next to the desire to "have one's way," is the desire to be heard and acknowledged.
My family and the country of my heritage is one that saw war and conflict for nearly 50 years.
Cambodia fought a war against the French for independence, only to devolve into a state of madness wherein the government began to turn on its own people. Under the Khmer Rouge regime, nearly a quarter of the population, almost 2 million Cambodians died of execution, starvation and disease.
My parents never talked about their story of survival until one Christmas day five years ago when they made a confession to me. They told me that even though they had raised me, my brother and sisters as one nuclear family, we were not nuclear at all. In fact, we are a patchwork quilt of survivors. In effect, my family was formed during the Cambodian genocide.
I decided to make a documentary film about their story, called New Year Baby. I also wanted to create a forum so that stories of the Cambodian genocide could be passed from one generation to the next.
I'm starting a new organization called Khmer Legacies. The mission of Khmer Legacies is to document the Cambodian genocide through personal videotaped testimonies. The idea is to have the younger generation interview their parents about their story of survival. These videotapes will be used as an educational tool - an opportunity to tell the larger story of the Cambodian genocide.
I have to confess that it's not an easy job. Like my parents, many Cambodians don't want to share their past with their children. As much as Khmer Legacies is about recording people's stories on videotape, it's also about changing the culture. Taking a conversation of shame and transforming it into one of honor.
But it's my belief that despite the secrets we keep and the shame we hold inside, Cambodians truly want to be remembered and acknowledged. With patience, love and powerful or active listening, these stories truly beg to be told.
It's a desire every human shares. Therefore, to listen to someone is to honor and dignify the them. To listen is the greatest gift you can give.
Cambodian democracy is of a highly individual nature. It works fine just so long as everyone remembers that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party have to win, or else there will be trouble.
That's what happened after Hun Sen failed to win 1993 elections brokered by the United Nations.
Hun Sen had been prime minister of Cambodia from 1985 after neighbouring Vietnam invaded the country to oust the Khmer Rouge and installed him as their viceroy. So he was highly dipleased when he didn't win the 1993 vote.
There was such concern about his propensity for violence it was decided that, despite the result, Hun Sen should become co-prime minister with the winner of the election, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and his Funcinpec party.
This compromise was also not entirely to Hun Sen's liking, and in 1997 he launched a bloody coup that saw him installed as sole leader in 1998.
The 2003 election results were more palatable to Hun Sen -- a clear majority for the CPP -- and this July the Cambodian people will be encouraged to re-elect him.
PHNOM PENH, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Altogether 12 political parties have officially registered for the parliamentary election of Cambodia on July 27, the National Election Committee (NEC) announced on Monday, or the closing date of registration.
This number is lower than the 2003 general election, which had 23 political parties, Tep Nytha, secretary general of the NEC, told a press conference at the NEC office.
The decrease could be attributed to lack of budget and human resources, he added.
The 12 political parties will compete for the 123 seats in the Cambodian National Assembly.
In the 2003 general election, the ruling Cambodian People's Party led by Prime Minister Hun Sen won 73 seats, the co-ruling Funcinpec Party 26 seats, and the major opposition Sam Rainsy Party 24 seats.
May 9, 2008 : MP Sam Rainsy meets with Ms. Gunilla Carlsson Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Development Cooperation of Sweden at SRP Headquarters in Phnom Penh
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Myanmar reports from devastated town of Bogolay, where locals say the death toll from Cyclone Nargis could reach above 70,000.
Myanmar is one of the world's most secretive nations, making it difficult to get information on what's really going on inside.Zeina Awad looks at how the country's own state media are censoring the aftermath of a devastating cyclone.
It is still unclear how much of Burma's production will be affected. The five hardest-hit Burmese states account for 65 percent of the country's rice output.(RANGOON, Myanmar) - Damage from Cyclone Nargis may spread beyond Burma in the form of higher food costs throughout Asia and the rest of the world, experts say.
World rice prices, which have nearly tripled since the start of the year, could be pushed up further as aid agencies scramble for emergency supplies to replace Burma's lost crops.
Industry analysts have suggested that the loss of Burma's rice exports from the world market is too small to make a major impact on prices, which have already hit record highs. Before the cyclone, Burma was expected to export only about 600,000 tons this year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.
But experts told Radio Free Asia that any loss of supplies will add pressure on prices in a world market where only 30 million tons of rice are traded internationally. Supplies are already tight because producing nations including India, China and Cambodia have imposed export restrictions in an effort to keep prices from climbing further at home.
"When Asian countries encounter natural disasters and have to turn to the market ... it can produce a further price shock because the international market is so thin," said Robert Paarlberg, an agriculture expert and political science professor at Wellesley College.
Drop export bans
U.N. and World Bank officials have urged rice producing countries to open their borders and drop export bans to ease the world price spike. The cost of Thai B-grade has soared from about $365 per ton in January to $940 per ton this week.
Some 26 countries have curbed exports so far, according to the World Bank.
Paarlberg said that governments are feeling pressure due to inflation in prices of fuel as well as food. But world rice production is estimated to reach 425 million tons this year. That amount could meet world demand if the markets open up, he said.
It is still unclear how much of Burma's production will be affected. The five hardest-hit Burmese states account for 65 percent of the country's rice output, according to the FAO.
Some crops in the Irrawaddy delta may be damaged by salt water, the agency said.
Nicholas Minot, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, said the disaster is likely to increase price pressures in other countries even if relief agencies meet Burma's emergency needs.
"This will create a tighter situation in terms of tradeable rice supply on the world market, and it's very likely that there will be a need for food aid and rice imports into Burma," said Minot. "That will put an additional burden on both the budgets of the World Food Program and other food agencies, but also on the rice markets themselves."
Supplies likely to shrink
Minot said available rice supplies are likely to shrink even if governments donate food to Burma.
"There's really no way to isolate the effect from the market," he said. "Even if countries are able to provide rice out of their existing stocks and don't have to purchase it, traders are monitoring stocks, and if they see that the stocks are going down, that has a direct effect on prices."
World rice prices have declined slightly from a high of about $1,000 per ton after the Philippines cancelled an auction on May 5 due to a lack of competitive bids. The government decided to rely on its domestic stocks after a Vietnamese supplier reportedly sought a price of $1,200 per ton.
Minot said the resistance shows that importers fear they will be unable to sell rice at such high prices, but even in the best case, he sees little chance that prices will return to levels of a year ago. Paarlberg said rice costs are rising beyond the reach of the poor.
Restrictions make the situation worse
"When the price of food goes up as much as it has on top of the price of fuel, their disposable income goes to nothing," Paarlberg said.
While natural disasters and world demand have influenced prices, government export restrictions have been blamed for making the situation worse.
On April 30th, Thailand's prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, suggested that his country should join forces with Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Laos to form a rice cartel that would coordinate exports, influence prices and help stabilize the market. The plan won support from Cambodia, but it was widely criticized as a scheme to keep prices high.
Paarlberg said a rice cartel is unlikely to work because cooperation among exporters is hard to enforce. Minot agreed, saying that calls for price-setting cartels usually come when commodity prices are low, not high. "I don't think that is what's really called for right now," Minot said.
Thailand will not compromise with Cambodia in negotiations over land around Preah Vihear temple, which Phnom Penh wants to register as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday.
''I [as foreign minister] will not let this country give up a square inch of territory to Cambodia,'' Mr Noppadon said.
The ancient Khmer temple, which is on the border in Si Sa Ket province, was ruled by the International Court of Justice to belong to Cambodia in 1962.
The area around the temple remains in dispute, with the two countries' claims overlapping.
To register the temple, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, as a World Heritage Site might require Thailand giving up some disputed land to Cambodia.
Mr Noppadon's strong statement came amid rumours Thailand might compromise in exchange for benefits for some politicians, including petroleum concessions in other disputed areas.
The reports follow the minister's recent sudden transfer of Virachai Plasai, director-general of the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department and head of the negotiation team, to an inactive post.
Mr Virachai is seen by senior officials at the ministry as the most capable person for the job.
Mr Noppadon yesterday strongly denied the speculation. He said the issue of Preah Vihear had nothing to do with a petroleum agreement.
The World Heritage issue was sensitive for both countries, he said, and he sympathised with Cambodia, which was due for a general election in July _ the same time the World Heritage Committee is to reconsider Phnom Penh's unilateral request for listing Preah Vihear.
The minister said Thailand and Cambodia would reach an agreement on the exploitation of natural resources in disputed areas. Negotiations were underway and should be finalised soon.
''Thailand and Cambodia have 26,000 square kilometres of disputed areas and this requires a joint agreement because there are oil and natural gas deposits worth about five trillion baht in the areas,'' he said.
''The dispute deserves joint management and government-to-government actions.
''(Negotiations) have made good progress. The issue will be discussed with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An as soon as possible.
Illegal trade of gasoline and sugar across the Cambodia-Vietnam border is now rampant in some southern Mekong Delta provinces.
Amid escalating world oil prices, Vietnam’s gasoline price, which is partly subsidized by the government, is lower than Cambodia’s fuel by VND5,500-7,500 (US$0.34-0.46) per liter.
Vietnam’s diesel and kerosene prices are also about VND3,000 ($0.19) cheaper.
An Giang Province’s Market Management Department estimated some 40,000 to 60,000 liters of fuel were trafficked out of the province daily.
The department named An Phu District, Tinh Bien District and Chau Doc Town as localities where fuel smuggling is rife.
A veteran trafficker N.V.M. said about 20 “businessmen” direct several dozens of people to smuggle gasoline, diesel and kerosene from Tinh Bien border town to Cambodia by water and land.
Fuel traffickers often mix kerosene into gasoline to earn more profit from sales, another trafficker named T.V.B. said.
Sometimes they add tra catfish oil into gasoline to “export,” T.V.B. said.
Domestic sugar prices, meanwhile, are higher than smuggled sugar by VND500-1,000 per kilogram, precipitating an illegal influx of the commodity into Vietnam.
Thailand’s sugar smuggled into Mekong Delta provinces via Cambodian traders is causing difficulty to sugar companies in the region.
Can Tho Sugar Company (Casuco) General Director Nguyen Thanh Long said although the company had reduced its sugar prices to VND8,000 per kilogram compared to early last month, it is still hard to compete with smuggled sugar, which is sold at about VND7,600 per kilogram.
Long said the company outlets in Can Tho City were now only able to sell between 50 and 100 tons of sugar daily, two to three times lower than before.
He also said around 300-400 tons of sugar are smuggled into the Mekong Delta region each day.
In An Giang Province, smuggled sugar bags are often falsely labeled before market distribution to avoid anti-contraband detection.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- All Taiwanese tourists still stranded in Siem Reap, Cambodia, will be flown home tomorrow by a charter flight of Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT).
Several hundred of the tourists visiting Siem Reap -- home to the world famous Angkor Wat complex -- were stranded because of the abrupt shutdown of Angkor Airways last week due to financial troubles.
The tourists were gradually taken back by indirect flights provided by other of Taiwan's air carriers, including China Airlines (CAL) flights with stopovers at other cities like Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, or Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam.
There are presently 148 tourists who flew to Cambodian on Angkor Airways tickets who will be able to return to Taiwan on an FAT charter plan that will fly directly from Siem Reap to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport tomorrow.
The FAT flight was arranged after intensive negotiations involving FAT and local travel agencies with a final nod from the government's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).
The direct charter flights from Taiwan to Angkor Wat remains a lucrative line because of high interest in the historic and religious sites in the area following active promotion by travel agencies.
Since Angkor Airways has suspended the flight service, other air carriers have expressed keen interest to continue providing the charter flights.
Some travel agencies have stepped up persuasion, urging FAT to fill the void. But a couple of other Taiwan-based airlines are expected to compete for the lucrative line also.
A final decision will have to be made by the CAA in Taiwan and Cambodia's aviation authorities based on the aviation agreement reached between the two sides.
Vendors at the river crossing swamp the bus with amphibious, avian and insect snacks for those with an adventurous palate
Thanhnien News Monday, May 12, 2008
The bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh is getting quicker all the time, as work on the road on the Cambodian side nears completion.
It takes about seven hours, sometimes less, depending on how the border checks go.
About an hour out of the Khmer capital there are a few holdups with road work, but compared to a few months ago they are minimal.
The road is quite smooth and comfortable and there is plenty of interesting scenery to look at.
The border crossing at Moc Bai/ Bavet costs about VND400,000 (US$25) for foreigners – VND300,000 ($18.75) for the Cambodian visa and VND100,000 ($6.25) for the bus company – to organize all the passengers and passports in one hit.
Several local money changers work the strip but only offer half the going rate, so it’s better to wait till you get to a bank in Phnom Penh.
For a short stay US dollars are the main currency anyway.
Then the bus passes through the Cambodian border casino paradox, where dirty markets are juxtaposed with rows of large glitzy gambling houses against a backdrop of a fairly desolate landscape.
The roadside lunch restaurant stop has a wide range of excellent Khmer food, the chicken curry is a special favorite.
They accept US dollars, Vietnamese dong or Cambodian riel, whatever you have.
The dish is not particularly cheap, at about US$3.
The next stop is a river ferry crossing at Kandal.
Vendors assail the bus with all sorts of delicacies in trays balanced on their heads.
The bus driver often has to shut the door to keep the passengers in and the vendors out. Big-bellied fried frogs, baby birds and crickets are the main fare.
God knows how much they cost – I didn’t ask! But there were also some little sweet glutinous rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves – 50 for $1.
A few hours up the road is Phnom Penh. A tuk-tuk can take you from the bus station to your hotel.
Thailand will soon end its dispute with Cambodia over the proposed listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site without making any trade-offs for oil rights, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said yesterday.
"We are negotiating to have a joint administration run the temple and its grounds," Noppadon said. "We'll have a joint statement on the issue soon."
The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled the Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia.
Thailand had no objection to listing the site until Phnom Penh, in preparing its application, annexed 4.6 square kilometres of land with overlapping ownership claims.
Thailand has suggested the contested area be managed by a bilateral body.
Both sides need to reach an agreement before the UN Educational, Science and Culture Organisation makes its final
listing decision in July.
The issue was politicised by some newspaper columnists who alleged the government would concede to Cambodia's proposal if Phnom Penh granted oil and gas concessions to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Cambodia has discovered potential oil and natural gas reserves in the Gulf of Thailand in its own territory and in overlapping areas. The two countries are working on a joint development scheme, Noppadon said.
The talks were on a government-to-government basis and the private sector was not involved.
He said, adding he had no idea whether Thaksin had struck a deal with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"I don't want to speak on behalf of former premier Thaksin, but I believe he would never barter away Thai territory for business interests," he said.
That's the simple policy and philosophy at The Neighbors' Place food pantry, as summed up by Seang Lee Kim, a senior aide and volunteer called "Mr. Lee" by everyone who knows him.
It took some time before I could actually speak with Mr. Lee, however. He was busy helping a long line of pantry customers, leaving plenty of time to stand and observe all the activity going on around me at an organized yet hectic pace.
Clients stood calmly and quietly at the doorway of the food pantry, waiting their turn. I was there at 4 p.m. on a Wednesday, one of the busiest times to distribute food. While I took in the scenery, I counted at least 60 people getting food and assistance.
They represented many races and backgrounds. They ranged from the young to the elderly, from people with medical problems to those stopping for food between their first and second jobs of the day. There were parents with children along and some who went about their business, quiet and alone.
I met Deborah Roehr, who is a grandmother and Wausau homemaker who had stopped at the pantry for milk and food.
"It's got everything," she said of the pantry, "quality food and the service is good, too."
One by one, the people went to a desk, where they showed indentification and were asked their telephone numbers, income and how many children in their family and ages.
They can visit the pantry once every three weeks, and signs around the distribution area remind them of the rules: "6 items per family, one meat only per family, one boxed meal per family, one cereal per family and five-minute time limit."
Food distribution ran like a smooth machine. Visitors put the food in shopping carts, and volunteers -- including people on the W-2 public assistance program, county jail inmates, high school students and other community members -- took the food in the carts to the cars.
When at last I spoke with Mr. Lee, he told me he came to the United States on Feb. 3, 1981, and first arrived in California. He is from Cambodia and left because of the communist regime. Before he came to the United States, he was in a refugee camp in Bangkok, Thailand, for three years waiting for his four children.
But after he passed tests and completed interviews with refugee redistribution agencies, he had no choice but to leave by himself.
Asked what he likes about his work at the food pantry, Mr. Lee replied, "I like to talk to people and to help people." As for the type of people who use the food pantry, he said, "All kinds of people -- everyone served, no exceptions."
Melissa Cunningham-Campbell of Wausau is a member of The Neighbors' Place board of directors.
(CNA) Taipei, May 10 (CNA) A group of Taiwanese tourists stranded in Siem Reap, Cambodia, by the abrupt shutdown of Angkor Airways arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Saturday on a China Airlines (CAL) flight from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.
The travelers were the first of among 449 Angkor Airways ticket holders to return home after being left without a return flight when the Phnom Penh-headquartered carrier suddenly decided Friday to temporarily suspend all its flights between Taipei and Siem Reap -- home to the world famous Angkor Wat complex -- because of financial woes.
A total of four flights on Saturday were expected to bring a combined 134 of the tourists home, with the remaining passengers expected to catch other flights to Taipei on May 12 and 13.
They have been forced to find connecting flights from Phnom Penh, and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, on CAL, EVA Airways and Vietnam Airlines.
Such flights added five hours to travel times to Taipei compared to the canceled direct flights between Taipei and Siem Reap, according to local travel agencies, which reportedly will suffer substantial financial losses because of the flight cancellations.
Angkor Airways operated 20 to 23 chartered flights between Taipei and Siem Reap per month. It attributed the suspension of flights to the detention of Alex Lou, the managing director of the carrier's Taipei branch, who is suspected of being involved in Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) embezzlement case.
Lou was responsible for the financial management of the branch, the carrier said, and without him, the branch faced insurmountable cash flow problems.
The suspension of Angkor Airways flights has only added to the woes of debt-ridden FAT, which has leased aircraft to the Cambodian airline for its Taipei-Siem Reap service, FAT executives said.
They noted that the partner airline owes FAT NT$790 million (US$25.77 million) and the cancellation of the flights will deprive FAT of NT$1.34 million in daily income from the lease contract.
FAT, Taiwan's oldest private carrier that has been hit hard by a deteriorating domestic aviation market, filed for bankruptcy protection with the Taipei District Court on Feb. 17 and has been struggling to meet its operating obligations since.
Taipei prosecutors suspect that top-ranking managers at FAT pocketed company funds and purposely let Angkor Airways delay paying FAT the debts in exchange for kickbacks.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who has a notoriously combative relationship with his country’s press, threatened yesterday to sue two local newspapers.
Speaking on his weekly Talking Samak Style television show, the prime minister took two unnamed papers to task over their reporting of disputes over a temple on the Thai-Cambodia border.
Samak, who is known for his gruff, straight-talking style, recently canceled his twice-weekly press briefings because he said he was worried he would publicly utter “rude words.”
In his latest attack on the media, he said the newspapers had accused him of trading claims over the temple — which is on Cambodian soil but to which Thailand has historically laid claim — for financial gain over oil deals.
“That is absolutely unacceptable,” he told viewers. “Tomorrow my lawyer will certainly have a job to do. The only way out is through the court.”
Samak did not give any details of the offending newspapers, or specifics of the allegations.
Thailand and Cambodia have historically both laid claim to the Preah Vihear temple, an ancient Hindu site perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border.
The World Court in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
The UN culture organization UNESCO last year decided against granting the temple coveted World Heritage status.
Rumors swirled that Thailand had blocked Cambodia’s efforts to have Preah Vihear listed, but Cambodian officials denied this, and Samak has said he will not hamper attempts by Cambodia to try once again to have the site listed.
A former TV chef and self-styled “man of the people”, Samak led the People Power Party (PPP) to an election victory last December and often uses his Sunday television show to complain about the Thai media.
When he announced he would no longer give his press briefings, he said that the public believed he used impolite words.
“So to solve this problem and so that I do not utter such rude words, I must not talk,” he said.
The theme of family - both in terms of the people who raise you and family in the most global, community sense - was the focus of yesterday's commencement ceremony at Henniker's New England College.
Members of the school's 61st graduating class heard firsthand about family - and the almost unimaginable devastation of loss - from commencement speaker Loung Ung, who lost both parents and two siblings in the genocide following the 1975 Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia.
In a stirring and paradoxically upbeat speech, Ung offered a brief retelling of her life, from degradation, starvation, and unrelenting grief to new life in the United States and a passion for writing that sustains her.
About 300 students from NEC's undergraduate and graduate program received degrees yesterday in the ceremony at the Lee Clement Arena; in addition to Ung, poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Galway Kinnell and human rights advocate Radhakant Nayak were awarded honorary doctoral degrees at the ceremony.
Nayak has devoted much of his life to the more global family, working for justice and equality for those who remain disenfranchised from the effects of India's former caste system. Kinnell focuses his poetic eye on those unexpected failings and foibles in each slice of family life; he read his poem "It All Comes Back" - a comic-but-suddenly-not-so-comic look at a cake mishap at his 4-year-old son's birthday party.
In the audience, Dave Gallup, his mother-in-law, Janice Griffin, and son Adrian, 5, enthusiastically waited to cheer on June Gallup, who was receiving a master's degree in management. As Adrian passed the time with a small green dinosaur and a Gameboy, Gallup's mother talked about the importance of the day.
"It's a family effort. We'd talk every night, and it seemed like every time I turned around, June was in school again!" Griffin joked. "I am proud of her. She's my special daughter."
Max and Diane Lavoie were thrilled to find a picture of their son James Hawkes V in the latest edition of the student newspaper as the ceremony began yesterday. Hawkes, from Manchester, was a theater major. Diane Lavoie was able to list most of the productions her son has been in at NEC - from Laramie to The Diviners. She also recalled his most revealing role.
"He played Tartuffe, and I got to see my son all dressed in gold lame and boxer shorts including a scene where he showed his behind for a minute," recalled Lavoie. "I was worried about how his grandmother would react - but we warned her, and we sat on the left side where you couldn't see so much of him. His grandmother said that that was the most she'd seen of him in 18 years, since she'd last changed his diapers!"
Alumnus and trustee Franc Perry - who identified himself as the first openly gay African American on the NEC board of trustees - offered graduates advice taken from a blessing given to slaves as they were separated from family in the 1700's: remember who you are, where you come from, and God bless you. Perry then led the crowd in the singing of "America."
In her address to the class, Ung talked about her earliest childhood memories. She began with herself as a 4-year-old, content and comforted in the lap of her father at a movie theatre.
"I had soy milk and dried crickets- crunchier than popcorn, I'll tell you - and when I didn't want to hold these things anymore my father put his hand out and just knew to take them," she said.
"See we didn't have cup holders in Cambodia back then but we didn't need them. We had fathers."
Within a year of that memory Ung's family was dispossessed and moved into rural camps where there was forced work and widespread starvation. And fewer than four years later - about the time it takes to get a college degree, she noted - her parents were dead and two siblings were gone and Ung was left to somehow put together the pieces of her shattered life.
But put together her life she did - intervention from relief organizations eventually landed her in Vermont - and in her life, Ung found her resilience, her voice, and even a sharp sense of humor. She also found a deep appreciation for family in the loss of her own.
"Your family is your road map to your past, present and future," she said, urging graduates to take a moment to appreciate the value of what they have. "Today: grab your father's hand and kiss your mother: they make all the difference in a cold world."
As the names of the graduates were announced one by one, perhaps the youngest person in the crowd ,14-week-old Sophie, found comfort and curiosity in her father Ted Olivo's arms as they waited for mom Senja Olivo to cross the stage.
"Mommy's next and you have to clap for her," Ted Olivo stage-whispered to the infant. And with a little help, she did.
BANGKOK, May 11 (TNA) - Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama Sunday denied press reports that the government has made concessions to Cambodia over contested areas claimed by both countries in exchange for oil and natural gas from the Thai-Cambodian Joint Development Area.
"Thailand would never give even an inch of its territory to Cambodia and no one in the government thought about doing it," Mr. Noppadon said.
Admitting that the overlapping claims to the areas surrounding the Preah Vihear temple of Cambodia is a very sensitive issue while negotiations with Cambodian officials are not yet finalised, Mr. Noppadon said.
Cambodia is going to hold an election in July while a committee considering a Cambodian government request to register the temple ancient ruins as a UNESCO World Heritage site would be held the same month.
Cambodia has asked the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) named the Preah Vihear temple to its World Heritage list.
Thailand did not oppose the idea, but arguing that the dispute over 4.6 sq km area adjoining the temple ruins has yet to be settled.
Historically, Thailand and Cambodia have laid claim to the temple, astride the border in Kantharalak district of Thailand's Si Sa Ket but can be easily accessed only through Thailand.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
"Currently, areas mutually claimed by Thailand and Cambodia are not yet settled total 26,000 square kilometres. It's necessary for the two countries to settle the disputed areas first because they contain oil and natural gas worth about Bt5 trillion," Mr. Noppadon said.
The disputed areas should be jointly managed by governments of the two countries, he said, adding that he would discuss the issue with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An as soon as possible.
"The country's interests must come first. A joint statement will be issued by the two governments regarding the overlapping areas. Only a few minor wordings are left for the settlement," Mr. Noppadon added.
Prodita Sabarini The Jakarta Post, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap
Sitting under the shade of a tree, on a hot day in the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, 15 kilometers from Central Phnom Penh, I felt horrified thinking of the suffering of the thousands of innocent people who were killed here by the Khmer Rouge regime.
A tiny ant was walking on my arm. Without giving it a second thought, I brushed it away. It rolled over but managed to regain its balance. Immediately I regretted the recklessness of my action.
In ordinary circumstances, I would not have cared about the life of an ant. But I'd just seen more than 8,000 skulls of victims arranged according to sex and age under glass panels in the memorial stupa on the Killing Fields.
My travel partner helped me get the ant off my arm and lowered it to the ground. "There you go," he said to the ant and we watched it walk away.
Before setting off for Cambodia, I'd had visions of touring the magnificent temples of Angkor in Siem Reap, which I eventually did. Cambodia's intense history, however, left a stronger impression than I'd expected.
Phnom Penh Before traveling on to Siem Reap, my partner and I spent two nights in the capital city, Phnom Penh.
There we visited the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, which also bear witness to the horror of the Khmer Rouge regime.
In 1975, the Khmer Rouge overthrew the U.S.-supported Lon Nol government, seizing Phnom Penh. In the name of its "peasant revolution", the Khmer Rouge ordered the mass exodus of two million Phnom Penh residents to the countryside, where they were forced to carry out hard labor. From 1975 to 1979, more than two million of the country's seven million people lost their lives.
The Tuol Sleng Museum, formerly Tuol Svay Prey High School, was transformed into a prison by the Khmer Rouge. It was renamed S-21. A number of prisons, such as the S-21, were scattered across Cambodia. In S-21, some 17,000 former government officials and intellectuals were tortured. The prisoners were later transported to Choeung Ek and killed - most bludgeoned to death in order to save bullets.
We took a guided tour around the museum. A Cambodian woman guided us from room to room, showing us the metal bed on which the prisoners died. We saw the claustrophobic chambers made of red bricks inside the rooms, in which prisoners were kept.
Hundreds of pictures of former prisoners and guards were displayed in the museum. The Khmer Rouge was very detailed in their documentation, taking pictures of prisoners when they first arrived at S-21.
It was inevitable that visiting the two historical sites would be emotionally draining. It was important though for us to visit them to grasp the intensity of the tragedy.
The remarkable thing about Phnom Penh is that, apart from the two historical sites, the city has a fun atmosphere. Almost 30 years after the end of the holocaust, Phnom Penh is thriving. Old French colonial houses stand alongside the traditional Royal Palace.
Big land cruisers, as well as scooters ridden by youngsters, fill the streets. At night, as the air cools down, Phnom Penh residents flock to the parks in front of the royal palace and near the National Museum (this park boasts a "dancing fountain", with dangdut tracks included). Siem Reap.
After a bittersweet journey through Phnom Penh, we committed ourselves to a six-hour bus ride through the flatlands of Cambodia heading to Siem Reap, the gateway to the temples of Angkor.
The construction of new buildings and new roads shows that the once still backwater is facing rapid development. Near the Tonle Sap riverfront, guesthouses and cool restaurants and bars flourish, giving tourists a place to relax after a long day of temple traipsing.
It would take more than a day to explore the 100 or so temples of Angkor, built between the ninth and 14th centuries, the time when Khmer civilization experienced the height of its extraordinary creativity.
Staying in Siem Reap for five days, we chose the US$60
seven-day pass over the one or three day passes.
On our first day, we hit Angkor's star temple, the 12th century Angkor Wat, the biggest and one of the most preserved temples in Angkor.
The tips of the towers of Angkor Wat slowly emerged in sight as we neared them on a motorcycle-powered cart (Tuk Tuk). I felt like I was in the mythical land of a children's storybook.
The wide moat surrounding the temple is breathtakingly beautiful.
Constructed by Suryavarman II, the Hindu temple oddly faces the west, believed to be the direction of death. The temple is thought to be a tribute to Vishnu, the Hindu deity the king identifies with, as well as his tomb.
Read counter-clockwise, the bas-relief tells various stories, the most intriguing of which is a depiction of heaven and hell where doomed souls are dragged along by devils.
Other temples in the complex are equally impressive. One of the Angkor kings, Jayavarman VII, reigned from the late 12th century to the 13th century. A Buddhist god-king, he constructed the fortified city of Angkor Thom, which is home to the Bayon temple and other structures.
The Bayon consists of 56 towers carved with 216 giant faces of Avalokiteshvara looking down. Some scholars suggest that the faces may also be a representation of the king himself.
Some of the temple ruins in Angkor have been abandoned for hundreds of years and thus "swallowed up" by the forest. Tall trees grow on temple rooftops with their gigantic roots covering the buildings.
Angkor in the end does not only hold evidence of the extraordinary creativity of the ancient Khmer empire but also bears witness to the powerful forces of nature.
The meeting was hold Friday to make discussion amongst travel agencies, government officials, academics, and others in order to seek permission to mark national day celebration of June 15, 1962 Preah Vihear which belongs to Cambodia, ruled by the International Court of Justice “We will celebrate the 47th Preah Vihear anniversary that clarified Cambodia’s claims to Preah Vihear,” Moeung Sonn, president of the National Association of Tourism Enterprises, was quoted by the Cambodia Daily.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said that such a celebration shouldn’t affect relation with Thailand. He added that “it is our heritage, it is important for Cambodian people to know about Preah Vihear,” reported Daily.
Senior government officials plan to travel to Thailand in coming month in order to make discussion about un-demarcated borders at Preah Vihear with Thai government officials.
vuthanews A woman sustained badly acid attach by unidentified men on Tuesday morning at 10:30 am on May 08 in Tuol Tompoung I commune, Chamkar Mon district. Two unknown male assailants escaped on motorbike, local newspapers reported.
The female acid victim, Ya Soknim, 35, suffered burn to the right side of body from her eye, shoulder, breast, hand and neck. The victim had been sent to be treated at Calmet Hospital.
“The acid attackers are at large, but our district police are investigating this case. This is a revenge case, it is not a love triangle,” district police Chief Outh Sokhon was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.
Oung Vibo, who is the victim’s husband, said that his wife’s acid burn is worsening more than the first day because acid doused on his wife’s body is reacting. He added that her right eye cannot open and it is swollen, reported newspaper.
Victim’s elder sister, Ya Sydeth, said that her sister received a telephone threat several days from senior official prior to the acid attack
The family of acid attacker appealed to the government officials to protect their family from the attackers.
The victim is the aunt of In Sokinda who was former International Tourist Miss among 35 countries. But the present time, no one knows that where she is hiding.
Until now, no evidence has been revealed the involvement with the senior official, the investigation is under way, police official said.
Oh Dear! This Phnom Penh is a Wonderful Sight!! And it offers you paid pillion riding!!! The city also has the most amazing boulevards. And it has great Indian restaurants. If you feel let down and want to recharge those battered cells to take on the rough and tumble of the world, this got to be one of the best cities for you. It is one of those cities that give you the feel of monasteries while you are still in business. The city has survived some tough times, and is a living inspiration.
In the mid – 70s, when the CPK ruled Cambodia, if locals are to be believed, all college graduates were executed. Towns were evacuated and people were forced to go to rural areas and work in collective farms. In many areas of the country people were rounded up and executed for speaking a foreign language, wearing glasses, scavenging for food, and even crying for dead loved ones.
The serenity that one finds in the country now owes quite a bit to the international community which has helped in rebuilding the country. The Cambodian economy is small but vibrant with a lot of smiling faces driving it. And Phnom Penh indeed signifies resurrection.PS: If you want to withdraw from the world for a while to reconnect with your spiritual self, I strongly recommend Cambodia.
BANGKOK -- Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who has a notoriously combative relationship with his country's press, threatened on Sunday to sue two local newspapers.
Speaking on his weekly "Talking Samak Style" television show, the prime minister took two unnamed papers to task over their reporting of disputes over a temple on the Thai-Cambodia border.
Samak, who is known for his gruff, straight-talking style, recently cancelled his twice-weekly press briefings because he said he was worried he would publicly utter "rude words."
In his latest attack on the media, he said the newspapers had accused him of trading claims over the temple -- which is on Cambodian soil but to which Thailand has historically laid claim -- for financial gain over oil deals.
"That is absolutely unacceptable," he told viewers. "Tomorrow (Monday) my lawyer will certainly have a job to do. The only way out is through the court."
Samak did not give any details of the offending newspapers, or specifics of the allegations.
Thailand and Cambodia have historically both laid claim to the Preah Vihear temple, an ancient Hindu site perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border. The World Court in 1962 ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
The United Nations culture organization UNESCO last year decided against granting the temple coveted World Heritage status.
Rumors swirled that Thailand had blocked Cambodia's efforts to have Preah Vihear listed, but Cambodian officials denied this, and Samak has said he will not hamper attempts by Cambodia to try once again to have the site listed.
A former TV chef and self-styled "man of the people", Samak led the People Power Party (PPP) to an election victory last December and often uses his Sunday television show to complain about the Thai media.
When he announced he would no longer give his press briefings, he said that the public believed he used impolite words. "So to solve this problem and so that I do not utter such rude words, I must not talk," he explained.
Boston.com By Victoria Cheng Globe Correspondent / May 11, 2008
Four letters may not be a lot, but it's enough to underpin a $20,000 fund-raising effort to build a school in rural Cambodia. Calling itself the Cambridge School for Cambodia (and Camb-Camb for short), the campaign brings together students, businesses, and several groups across the city, some with deep ties to Cambodia and some who have always called Cambridge home.
Rachael Harkavy, a fifth-grade student at the King Open School, started learning about Cambodia in January when she and her peers in the school's fifth through eighth grades joined the effort by hosting weekly penny drives. She reels off statistics about the country. "It's about the size of Oklahoma and has the population of Pennsylvania," she began.
Camb-Camb is raising money to send to American Assistance for Cambodia, a nonprofit organization run by former Newsweek journalist Bernie Krisher, that has built more than 400 schools across the country.
"We'll be the 405th school, but it's not enough," Harkavy added. "Massachusetts is about half the size of Cambodia and has about 1,000 schools, so that just brings into perspective how many schools Cambodia needs." The planned Camb-Camb school will be 40 miles north of Phnom Penh and accommodate between 200 and 400 students. Krisher started the initiative in 1993 and negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the World Bank that called for it to match whatever money he raised. The cost of a school, Krisher said, "is actually about $30,000, and the donor only pays about $13,000." By contributing an extra $7,000, the Cambridge School for Cambodia will be able to equip its school with an English teacher, solar panels for a computer, and Internet access.
Longteine de Monteiro owns the Elephant Walk restaurants, which feature French and Cambodian cuisine at locations in Cambridge, Boston, and Waltham. The Cambodian native explained that outside assistance is sorely needed in the country, which was devastated first by the spillover effects of the Vietnam War and then by genocide during the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
"The government now doesn't really do much to help education," she said, "so all the foundations from outside of the country who go there and build whatever the country needs, especially schools and hospitals, are very important."
When Camb-Camb contacted de Monteiro, she agreed to host a benefit dinner at her North Cambridge restaurant early last month.
"We served chicken curry, Salade Cambodgienne, and beef short ribs with green coconut juice," said Monteiro. The event bumped Camb-Camb's funds to the $13,300 mark.
The event also gave de Monteiro an opportunity to showcase a prominent part of Cambodian culture - its cuisine - and the desire to teach Cantabrigians about this small country perched on the southeastern peninsula of Asia.
At the King Open School, Rachael and fellow fifth-grader Eliza Klein have made it their goal to involve younger students.
Before classes one day earlier this month, the girls helped set up an origami table at the school entrance, along with an empty water jug inviting donations of spare change. Sixth-grader Brianna Lavelle patiently guided the younger students through the steps of folding a colorful square of paper into the shape of a crane.
"What is this for?" asked 6-year-old Bianca Byfield, as she handed over her crane to be placed on a large branch of a tree that will eventually hold 400.
"Every crane represents one child who will go to school in Cambodia," said Lavelle's mother, Risa. "And all of Cambridge is helping raise money."
Recently crowned Hun Sen Cup champ Khemara Keila got off to a bright start against Kirivong in the first game of the Cambodia Premier League 2008 while Moha Garuda suffered an unlikely home loss to newly-promoted Intry Kraham
Goal.com 10/05/2008
Khemara Keila FC, buoyed by their recent win of the Hun Sen Cup crown, did not seem to flinch even though they fell behind as early as the fourth minute to Lam Thanh Giang strike for Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC.
But Khemara bid their time well and they were quick to grab the equalizer in the 33rd minute off Sok Phal Odom for both teams to be on par at the break.
A goal at the hour mark from Ty Bun Vichitr and then another from Sok Phal (73rd minute) made sure that Khemara win their first three points of the season.
For Moha Garuda, they just failed to find the momentum after conceding the first goal to Intry Kraham-Post FC when San Sovannak slammed home a 23rd minute lead.
And even though Intry did manage to nail the equalizer off Joshep three minutes later, there was no stopping Sovannak from grabbing his second goal and that off Intry five minutes after the restart.
Em Sovannarith then wrapped up the full points for Intry with the third goal on 65th minute.
Myanmar's military regime allowed in the first major international aid shipment Thursday, but it snubbed a U.S. offer to help cyclone victims struggling to recover from a tragedy of unimaginable scale. (May 8)
News.com.au From correspondents in Bangkok May 11, 2008
THE UN food agency says Burma's military regime has released a plane-load of cyclone aid into its custody, but that two previous shipments remain impounded.
"The supplies are in our hands, they've been handed over to us," said Marcus Prior, a spokesman for the World Food Program (WFP), about the shipment which came on a flight from Cambodia.
He said there had been a "misunderstanding" regarding earlier comments about the status of goods that landed in Burma's main city of Rangoon on two UN aid flights today.
Mr Prior said he was not aware of the status of the cargo on today's second plane, a UN refugee agency flight from Dubai carrying high-energy biscuits.
The Bangkok-based spokesman said that two initial shipments which were seized yesterday were still in the hands of the government, and that the WFP was in talks with the Burmese regime to have them cleared.
"They were impounded and we are hopeful ... they will be released," he said.
The WFP flight from Cambodia included shelter materials as well as communications and office equipment intended to set up a relief headquarters.
The junta has refused to allow in foreign aid experts to direct the relief effort and said that, although it will accept money and aid, it must distribute all supplies itself.
That stance has been sharply criticised by aid organisations and foreign governments, which have urged it to open its doors to a full-scale foreign relief effort, with time running out for the storm's neediest survivors.
By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS Saturday, May 10, 2008
The United Nations said on Friday $77 million has now been pledged to provide humanitarian relief to storm-stricken Burma.
Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, earlier issued an appeal for $187 million to carry out relief operations in Burma, where an estimated 1.5 million people are homeless and the number of dead is approaching 100,000 or more.
Holmes said the money pledged so far would cover the needs of at least 1.5 million homeless people for the next six months. The lead donors were Japan and Britain, which pledged $10 million each.
A total of $20 million was immediately allocated to build up relief supplies to be shipped to the country in the coming weeks.
In all, representatives of more than two dozen donor countries spoke on the cyclone disaster, reelecting a global consensus on the need to distribute aid as quickly as possible.
Responding to the issues of access and cooperation, the Burmese Ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Tint Swe, said his country is ready to cooperate with the international community and receive aid from all quarters. He said it must be orderly. Burmese officials have said that it will not allow foreign aid workers to distribute relief supplies.
UN officials said the cyclone’s death toll could be between 63,000 and 100,000. Officially, the Burmese government has put the figure at around 23,000.
UN officials said the challenge is not just to get the aid and trained relief workers to the airport in Rangoon, but to get material into the Irrawaddy delta, an area that is now flooded and without electricity, communications, safe drinking water, food and medicine.
Homes said it was disappointing that Myanmar authorities were not ready to receive foreign aid workers. Being optimistic, he said he hoped it meant they were not ready at present, but would be in the future.
Referring to the few visas that have been issued to aid workers by the Burmese authorities, he said it was obviously not a blanket ban.
Authorities should have an "open house" for international humanitarian aid workers, whether from the United Nations, individual countries or private groups, he said.
Responding to a question, he said it is not impossible or unusual for a government to be involved in the distribution of humanitarian assistance.
"There is no absolute blanket principle that the UN does not allow governments to be involved in distribution," he said.
Medical aid from the World Health Organization and UNICEF is currently being distributed by the Myanmar Ministry of Health through its health system, and that is perfectly normal, he said.
The current issue is about the degree of control and monitoring possible for the distribution, he said. Earlier, the Japanese ambassador to the UN, Yukio Takasu, urged Burma to accept aid workers and relief supplies as soon as possible.
"Speed is essential,” he said. “This will definitely help the government save people who are desperately in need of help."
The Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN said China urges member nations not to politicize the disaster relief process. Chinese relief efforts have had no problems with the junta with regard to visas and customs, he said. Blaming the Burmese government for blocking aid is not justified, he said.
"They have enough people to carry on relief operation,” he said. “I see the local government has been effective. They are doing decent distribution."
Speaking on behalf of Asean, the Singapore Ambassador, Gopala Menon, said the humanitarian disaster requires an unprecedented humanitarian response.
Menon said Singapore has contributed $200,000 in emergency supplies; Thailand and Indonesia have dispatched plane loads of supplies valued at $1 million each and the Philippines is preparing to send a 15-man medical mission.
Vietnam has provided $90,000 in donations; Cambodia $50,000; and Malaysia $350,000.
Asean has established an emergency humanitarian relief fund, which recently received its first donation of $100,000 from the Nippon Foundation.
Since the end of the communist regime in the early 90s, the Cambodian people have dared to make complaints and vent their grievances against injustices even though they are still very much gripped by a fear psychosis.
There are several venues for such complaints and grievances; they can go directly to the police, the courts, concerned authorities, human rights and complaints committees of the government or the Parliament. Many complainants use one such venue after another, or all at the same time, depending upon the gravity of those injustices, the number of people involved and their resources.
However, due to bureaucracy, officialdom, corruption or mere lack of concern on the part of these institutions, the people rarely have their complaints addressed without giving some sort of incentive to concerned officials otherwise they have to wait for an indeterminate period of time before getting any responses what-so-ever, if those concerned officials have ever cared to provide such responses at all.
Because of such a lack of purpose, the public does not have any confidence in those institutions at all. Many people, though they still make their complaints to them, have now related their stories to the media to publicise their case with a view to getting their messages across to top leaders, especially to Prime Minister Hun Sen, known as the strongman of Cambodia, to seek their direct attention to find justice for them.
According of a newspaper report dated May 8 2008, five representatives of 150 Tumpuon indigenous families living in three adjacent villages in Lomphat district, Rattakakiri in the northeast, went to relate the story of the grabbing of their 250 hectares of communal land by the deputy governor of that district to the Reaksmei Kampuchea newspaper in Phnom Penh.
These five representatives affirmed to the newspaper that all the 150 families would soon go to stage a protest in front of the Parliament and then in front of the Office of Prime Minister Hun Sen “to seek his help to find justice” for them.
Five days earlier, a news report on Radio Free Asia said that representatives of 776 families protested against Amy Unit 331 for grabbing of over 800 hectares of their paddy fields in Taken commune, Chhouk district, Kampot province.
This radio station also reported on May 7, in a case of land grabbing in the same province, that the provincial governor named Chey Sayoun allegedly prevented owners of the affected plots of land from having any say in a meeting with those owners on April 26. Furthermore, he threatened to “bulldoze away” their houses and crops to clear the land for the construction of an airport to silence their protest.
The same radio station has reported numerous cases of people’s protests, especially against land grabbing, and invariably, those victims have sought direct intervention from Hun Sen to find justice for them.
The people also have other grievances to relate to the media. The Koh Santepheap newspaper dated May 5 reported that unnamed rice traders complained that they had to pay the police in Angkor Borei district, Takeo province in the south a bribe of 130000 riels (US$32.5) per truckload to transport rice from that boarder district across to Vietnam.
The same newspaper also reported a complaint from a man named Nop Phirum against a deputy police chief named Heng Chantho in Ta-Kream commune, Banan district, Battambang province, after he had requested Heng’s intervention to stop a gang’s cruel assault on Nop’s younger brother-in-law. Heng was then busy with his drinks at a place at foot of a hill nearby and did not bother even to send his subordinates to stop the assault.
The above are just a few of the cases reported in the media. There are many others. They all call for responses from all concerned authorities, responses which are the constitutional duties of the government and the rights of citizens under articles 35 and 39 of the country’s Constitution.
The Cambodian government must ensure that such responses are provided promptly and, in cases of alleged corruption or negligence on the part of public authorities mentioned above, conduct prompt investigations and take appropriate action to prevent their repeat in future.
Bargain hunters picked up the latest trends and raised cash for a good cause at a “nearly new” clothes sale in Rhu Church Hall recently.
The event, held in aid of Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CSC), raised nearly £400 which will help fund free surgical treatment and rehabilitation for victims of the after effects of war.
Joan Walshe decided to hold the fundraiser after speaking to a friend whose son, Professor Michael Irwin, trains doctors and health workers in Cambodia.
She organised the event with the help of Jane Nicholson.
She said: “There is no state medicine in Cambodia and treatment for large sections of the population is prohibitively expensive, so we decided to do something to help those caught up in the legacy of the war against the Khmer Rouge. The sale was very popular and proved a huge success.
She added: “We received donations of beautiful clothing and had help from so many volunteers and we would like to thank all who supported this event.”
The charity aims to improve the quality of life for Cambodia’s disabled children and poor people by developing sustainable health services.
Many patients are the victims of landmines left after the war, cleft palates, cataracts and acid attacks.
To find out more about the charity and the work they do, or to make an online donation, visit www.csc.org Cheques made out to the Children’s Surgical Centre can also be sent to P.O. Box 1060, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer 
