Travel Postcard: 48 hours for shoppers in Phnom Penh

An evening gown is displayed at Ambre, Khmer designer Romyda Keth's boutique, one of Phnom Penh's major shopping destinations for fashionistas late February 2008. The Cambodian capital may be lesser known than Siem Reap for tourists, but its designer boutiques, colorful markets, art galleries and upscale restaurants are worth visiting.
REUTERS/Thin Lei Win

Fri May 16, 2008

PHNOM PENH (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to explore the Phnom Penh? The Cambodian capital's designer boutiques, colorful markets, art galleries and restaurants make for a satisfying shopping weekend.

FRIDAY
7 p.m. - Usher in the weekend with dinner at a European establishment, the elegant Art Cafe (Street 108) which holds regular classical music performances and features a French-German menu. Beautiful artwork by local and international artists adorns the walls and is available for sale.

SATURDAY
9 a.m. - Grab a sandwich from The Deli on Street 178 and rush over to Khmer designer Romyda Keth's "Ambre", the first stop for fashionistas. This two-storey colonial villa on the same street is the place for cocktail dresses, one-of-a-kind office wear or gorgeous wedding gowns. The friendly staff can make adjustments and you can order tailor-made outfits too. There's also a small, equally luxurious men's collection. Cross the Norodom Boulevard for more shops including Reyum Gallery and Silk & Pepper.

11 a.m. - The next stop is Keo (Street 222), home of Cambodia's haute couture king Sylvain Lim. Having worked for Parisian brands including Balmain and Dior, Lim's designs are classic. Browse through the small collection of prototypes from which you can order. For those with time and money, Lim's bespoke haute couture pieces are spectacular. By appointment only.

1.00 p.m. - Hop over to Street 240 for fuel at The Sugar Palm, a relaxed eatery serving local food -- don't miss the eggplant with pork or beef with ginger. The restaurant is also decorated with antiques that you can buy.

2.30 p.m. - Walk down the length of Street 240 and enjoy the shops. Couleurs d'Asie offers unique silk products in big, bold patterns. Next door is Bliss, boasting paisley-print dresses, massive cushions and home spa products as well as a spa with a plunge pool for a break in between the shopping.

Bead enthusiasts should not miss Water Lilly, showcasing Christine Gauthier's whimsical creations. Opening the hundreds of drawers holding the jewelry is an experience in itself. Le Lezard Bleu offers top-notch home decor: think bronze sculptures, dark wood tables. Two more not to be missed boutiques are Song, with its chic resort wear and Jasmine for silk wear.

5.30 p.m. - Relax with a sundowner at the famed FCC on Sisowath Quay -- make sure you face the National Museum if you want to see the sunset. The FCC is also a good place to combine culture with souvenir hunting: there are photo exhibitions with items for sale, T-shirts and other memorabilia.

7.30 p.m. - Dinner at Metro Cafe, a short walk from the FCC. The best way to enjoy the delicious food is to share. The martinis, especially the tamarind and chocolate, are a must-try.

SUNDAY
9 a.m. - The Russian Market can be noisy and busy but it also has lots of good buys and is best early in the morning. Products to take home include shawls, embroidered handbags, woven baskets, paintings and silver jewelry. Don't miss the Tooit Tooit stall inside the market for fun, funky bags and hats, and NYEMO on the outside for colorful soft furnishings and silk handicrafts.

12 p.m. - Lunch at Romdeng on Street 74. Not only will you get delicious, authentic Cambodian food served by former street children, but you can also take the delicious recipes home as the charity organization behind the restaurant published a cookbook.

1.30 p.m. - It may not have the same buzz or variety of stalls, but the art deco Central Market (Psar Thmei) is one of the city's landmarks. The souvenir stalls around the entrance hawking T-shirts and other curios are worth a visit while inside is an interesting combination of shops selling glittering gold and jewelry, electronic goods and second-hand clothes.

2.30 p.m. - For trendy silk outfits, head to Kambuja (Street 110). Local designer Kulikar Sotho specializes in women's clothes, most of which are intricately embroidered.

3.30 p.m. - Take a coffee break, and enjoy some cookies, at the Camory Cookie Boutique on Sisowath Quay, which sells everything from standard chocolate biscuits to more exotic flavors such as palm sugar, sesame and pepper.

4.30 p.m. - If all that commercial activity is starting to irk your conscience, its time to do some shopping that soothes the soul. Artisans d'Angkor on Street 49 is trying to revive traditional craft skills and offers gorgeous silk paintings, stoneware and clothes, Smateria on Street 57 is great for recycled products that are stylish and Rehab Craft on Street 322 offers wood carvings, silk accessories and jewelry made by disadvantaged Cambodians. (Details at www.stay-another-day.org)

6.30 p.m. - End the weekend the way you started it, enjoying and buying art. Java on Sihanouk Boulevard is a well-known art gallery/cafe which also boasts a cozy atmosphere and simple, tasty fare such as pasta and sandwiches.

(Writing by Thin Lei Win, editing by Miral Fahmy)

Schools face up to KR history

Written by Mom Kunthear
Friday, 16 May 2008

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

After years of politically charged debate, Cambodia’s Education Ministry has approved plans to teach Khmer Rouge history in high schools, a move that will expose many young Cambodians for the first time to a detailed account of one of the country’s darkest chapters.

The ministry has authorized the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), an organization which has extensively investigated the regime, to train 1,000 teachers on how to present this sensitive era to students.

“At the end of 2009 all high school students will learn about the history of the Khmer Rouge,” DC-Cam Director Youk Chhang told the Post on May 12.

Until now, mention of the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 rule over Cambodia was largely absent from school curriculums and most young Cambodians only heard about the atrocities committed by the regime from their relatives.

Up to two million people died of starvation, disease and overwork, or were executed as the Khmer Rouge sought to forge a radical agrarian utopia – emptying the country’s cities and forcing almost the entire population of Cambodia onto vast collective farms.

Cambodia’s government, which includes many former members of the ultra-communist regime, has appeared reluctant to resurrect the country’s painful past by allowing it to be taught in schools.

But many teachers have urged for more information about the Khmer Rouge years to be included in school lessons,“I support and encourage Cambodian students to learn about the … the Khmer Rouge because Cambodian children have to know about the very painful history that their relatives and country suffered” said Chhun Sarum, director of Wat Koh High School.

Knowledge of Cambodia’s past would help the country’s younger generation prevent a similar upheaval, said Chea Vannath, the former head of the Center for Social Development, one of Cambodia’s key civil society groups.

“This is very good information for Cambodian students so that they have chance to study about their own history,” Vannath said.

“I think students will be shocked and some will get angry when they learn about Khmer Rouge, but this will help them to think about what they should do and not do for their country,” she added.

One high school student, 17-year-old Keo Molika, said she had only ever heard fragments of stories about the Khmer Rouge years from her parents, but was happy that the subject would soon be taught in school.“I really want to know about this,” she said.

Diplomatic author reflects on ' particular' love for Cambodia

CAT BARTON
Historian Milton Osborne achieved a brief notoriety in the 1990s when his book Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness was banned for about four weeks. “I see the photocopied pirated edition still thrives,” said the former Australian diplomat. “Much to my chagrin I see it has dropped from $5 to $3 in the Russian Market. This puts one in one’s place.”

Written by Cat Barton
Friday, 16 May 2008

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

A ustralian academic, historian and author Milton Osborne has just published his tenth book, a cultural and literary history of Phnom Penh. A former diplomat, Osborne, 72, first arrived in Cambodia in April 1959 and has been returning regularly ever since. His latest literary offering, titled Phnom Penh, was commissioned by Oxford-based Signal Books as part of their Cities of Imagination series and compiles many of the stories Osborne accumulated during his stints in Cambodia. Osborne spoke to the Post’s Cat Barton by the pool at Hotel Le Royal, where he used to stay for $3 a night in 1966.

Why do you not talk about contemporary politics ininterviews when in Cambodia?

My decision not to talk about this is both self interested and genuinely felt – it is not the job of tourists to come and comment, but it is the job of writers to put what they feel on paper. I have not spared people in the past.

Your 1994 book Sihanouk: Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness was banned, what happened?

Yes, it was banned for four weeks or so. Back then there was only one supermarket in town – Lucky Market. One day, soon after the book was released, someone wandered down from the palace and said “I don’t think you should sell that,” and so they took it off the shelves. A month later it was back. I see the photocopied pirated edition still thrives. Much to my chagrin I see it has dropped from $5 to $3 in the Russian Market. This puts one in one’s place.

Which of your ten books are you most proud of?

The two books which have been, in modest terms, not best sellers but good sellers, were Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, which is in its ninth edition. I’m trying to sort out the next edition of that but I find when I have just written a book I am not keen to go back to writing. It has been a very good seller and is now being translated into Khmer by the Center for Khmer Studies in Siem Reap. I’ve waived the royalties for that one. The other is the River Road to China: The Search for the Source of the Mekong, 1866-73 which of all my books – save my first book which was very special to me – this is probably the one I was most pleased with. It was made a “notable book” by The New York Times in 1975.

So do you think the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is able to face the new challenges presented by damming the Mekong?

I think the Mekong governments face what would appear to be the greatest challenge yet in terms of plans to develop new dams on the main tributary of the Mekong River. I say “Mekong governments” as I think the role of the MRC is widely misunderstood – it is a creature of the governments of Mekong delta countries, it has no mandated capacity to direct anyone, certainly not a government. It can’t say a government could or should do this or that. While it does a very important job in terms of research, the challenge is to the governments.

Author William Shawcross wrote the introduction to your new book and said in the first sentence how much you loved Cambodia – is it true?

William Shawcross and I are not close buddies but we keep in touch, having first met at the time of the Cambodian refugee exodus into Thailand in 1980. I was surprised by his first sentence – I hadn’t thought that I loved Cambodia. I think I do in a particular way love Cambodia and Khmers. But of course you must remember some of my closest friends here were killed. So because of this, my love for Cambodia is qualified. I also knew those on the other side, who joined the forces that would become the Khmer Rouge. I don’t think they knew what they were doing. William’s probably right, I do love Cambodia, but in a particular way.

What are your favorite memories of Phnom Penh in the 1960s?

Getting to know Cambodians and developing a small number of close friendships with Cambodians. When I came back as an overage underpaid graduate student in 1966, I had none of the privileges of being a junior diplomat but my friends of 1961 were ready to talk to me again.

What were the expatriates living in Phnom Penh like back then?

Phnom Penh in the 1960s was full of characters. One was the owner of the Café de Paris – a Monsieur Spacesi, a Corsican who wore his Legion of Honor badge next to his (trouser) fly as a comment on all French governments. There were many bars which could have been transplanted straight from the waterfront of Marseilles to the waterfront of Phnom Penh. The French Embassy was full of people who had served in the colonial administration – the deputy head of mission was a very debonair aristocrat who would rotate his first and second wives, which was how he introduced them, through Cambodia and who had a gibbon that lived with him.

What was life like as a junior diplomat?

I lived in an apartment in a building which is still there now. There was no hot water and cooking was done on charcoal braziers and our allowances were so mean we couldn’t run the air conditioning. Eventually there was some kind of inspection and our rooms were declared to be below standard and we were moved. Although it seemed like absolute luxury to me it was probably not quite so good as I thought – when my replacement came for a visit before taking up his post, he was horrified with the accommodation on offer. I thought it was the crème de la crème.

Why do so many Cambodia scholars end up squabbling?

For whatever reason, Cambodia affects people very deeply. Once one becomes convinced that one’s interpretation is the right one then it becomes difficult to accept anyone else’s. After all, it is a country that has been through a horror many would regard as unimaginable.

What do you think is the biggest change in Cambodia?

The greatest difference that has emerged in the last five to ten years is communication – in the 1960s the press was limited, for Europeans, and there was only really the Prince’s paper, Realites Cambodgiennes, which was a mouthpiece for Sihanouk. We always used to joke, if something was not in the Agence Khmer Press (AKP) it didn’t exist. The postal service was unreliable and letters and packages were regularly stolen. In 1960-61 it was very difficult to get BBC or Radio Australia, (but) by 1966 you could pick them up a little better. I think that is why I am such an avid reader of newspapers now – for two years there was nothing I could read. On one occasion it took 32 days for a diplomatic bag to reach Phnom Penh from Canberra. When you see the connectivity with the outside world, now it’s just so different and that is a fundamental change.

Muslims allowed to wear traditional clothes at school

TANG CHHIN SOTHY/ AFP A young girl learns to read Arabic at her home in Phnom Penh.

Written by Nguon Sovan and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Friday, 16 May 2008

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

P rime Minster Hun Sen has directed that all Khmer Muslim students be allowed to wear Islamic attire in class.

“It is the tradition of Islamic people to wear these clothes,” Hun Sen said on May 15 at the opening of the Norunaem mosque on National Highway 5 in Chraing Chamras commune of Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district.

The Prime Minister said that government and private educational institutions must allow Islamic students, especially females, to wear Muslim attire.

“This will enable more Islamic people to have access to education,” he said.

Educational regulations require male students to wear blue pants and a white shirt and females to wear a blue skirt and white shirt, Hun Sen said.

“I now give all Khmer Muslim students the right to dress according to their religious obligations,” he said, adding that in some countries there were bans on wearing Islamic attire in class.

The move was also hailed by Kek Galabru, the president of human rights group, Licadho.“This is a good idea,” she said

She added that the order showed respect for human rights and for Islamic traditions, customs and culture, while Secretary of State for the Ministry of Cults and Religion Sith Ybrahim said he supported Hun Sen’s move “100 percent.”

The decision reflected respect for the beliefs of those other than the Buddhist majority, said Ybrahim, a Muslim.

Philippines bans paedophile Gary Glitter as he prepares to leave Vietnamese jail

DailyRecord.co.uk
May 16 2008
By Karen Bale

POP paedophile Gary Glitter is running out of places to hide as he prepares to leave jail in Vietnam.

British police have sent warnings about the pervert, who was caged for molesting two girls aged 11 and 12, to other countries in south-east Asia.

And yesterday, officials in the Philippines announced that they had banned the 64-year-old beast from their country for life as an "undesirable alien".

Glitter, real name Paul Francis Gadd, fled Britain in 2000 after finishing a four-month jail term for possessing vile images of children.

He tried to move to Cuba but the government refused to let him in.

Glitter then went to Cambodia but his presence in the country caused an outcry and officials kicked him out, branding him "a threat to the security of the country and the national image of Cambodia".

He spent three days in jail before his expulsion on suspicion of sex offences but was not convicted.

Glitter moved on to Vietnam, where he was arrested in 2005 and charged with raping underage girls.

He was held at the airport as he tried to flee to Thailand.

Glitter faced the death penalty if convicted of rape but the charges were reduced after he paid compensation to the girls' families.

He was convicted in 2006 of committing obscene acts with minors and sentenced to three years.

Glitter is expected to be freed from Phuoc To prison in August. He will be deported to Britain on
his release but experts from the Metropolitan Police Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre fear he will try to go abroad again to prey on more kids.

The Met have sent reports on Glitter to several foreign embassies in London. The Filipino authorities are the first to take action to keep him out.

The immigration commissioner in the Philippines capital Manila, Marcelino Libanan, said yesterday: "I have placed him on a blacklist so he cannot enter our country. That is our first line of defence."

A source at Manila's bureau of immigration praised the British authorities for alerting them about Glitter.

The insider said: "The UK authorities are unusual.

"Many countries ignore the problem or try to hide it, believing it reflects badly on them.

"Britain has been very open with us about sharing information on its own citizens if it is believed they could pose a risk to our children.

"It is a very responsible attitude that has allowed us to take measures to stop these men entering our country."

Foreign-run Cambodian school expels girl, 7, for being HIV positive

M&G
May 16, 2008

Phnom Penh - The foster parents of a seven-year-old Cambodian girl are considering legal action after a foreign-managed private school expelled the child for being HIV positive.

The Cambodian-owned, British-managed Footprints School in the capital, which bills itself as to international-standard and offering 'well trained, caring, professional staff,' expelled the girl within hours of becoming aware of her HIV status, the parents said.

Her Australian foster mother, who asked not to be named for privacy reasons, said she believed Footprints had acted contrary to Ministry of Education anti-discrimination legislation but said she expected few repercussions against a wealthy private school.

'We just gave the school a list of her medications, but they looked them up and put two and two together,' she said.

'Her teacher asked some pointed questions and I didn't lie to him ... and within 24 hours everyone in the school seemed to know and she was out,' she said.

A woman who identified herself as the director of studies at Footprints said by telephone that the school did not have an HIV/AIDS policy in place and despite the girl's unblemished three months at the school prior to the discovery, she had to leave.

'We are worried about the rest of the children,' she said, acknowledging that the child's HIV status was behind the decision.

But there was also a more cynical reason behind the decision in the lucrative but under-regulated post-war Cambodian private school system, she admitted, citing public stigma surrounding the virus.

'We are a private school, and although we would try to keep information like this confidential, there is no guarantee it would not become public,' she said.

That could result in the school losing business as panicked parents withdrew their children, she said.

But UNAIDS Cambodian coordinator Tony Lisle said Friday it was a clear breech of the child's human rights, based on ignorance.

'There is no reason for her not to be at school. There is no evidence anywhere in the world that a child, even playing in a playground, can infect other children,' he said.

'The school should protect the child's confidentially and treat her exactly the same way they would any other student,' he said. 'There is no reason why this should happen to this or any other child.'

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the region.

Liam chalks up the miles in Vietnam and Cambodia

Liam Lavery during his visit to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Mourne Observer

LIAM Lavery is back home after another successful charity cycle, this time covering over 500km in the heat of Vietnam and Cambodia for the Alzheimer’s Society.

The manager of the Wood Lodge Nursing and Residential Home in Castlewellan completed the feat in February this year, starting at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and finishing at the world famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Liam, who described that six-day cycle as “amazing,” said: “We cycled 310 miles, an average of 51 miles a day, and it was very hot and humid – 32C in Vietnam and 38C in Cambodia.

“We had a great time in a fantastic part of the world and met such friendly people in countries that have had such recent violent times,” he explained.

“The charity raised between £120,000-130,000 for Alzheimer’s, and we want to thank everyone who made a donation; it was very much appreciated.”

During the trip the 23 cyclists cycled through the heart of the rural Mekong, through rice fields and villages, and used bus and boat transfers to help them on their way.

The group enjoyed many new experiences, such as the culinary delights of porcupine and duck embryos among other things.

They also cycled through the ‘killing fields’ in Cambodia, where thousands were massacred during Pol Pot’s brutal regime.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Liam is already planning his next cycle trek for charity, and plans are already in place to cycle the length of Ireland in May 2009.

Religion in the news

By KER MUNTHIT

TRAMOUNG CHRUM, Cambodia (AP) — When residents of this poor, Cambodian village need something built, they call on the Lightmans.

The Jewish-American family's latest gift: a mosque.

"We never had such a beautiful mosque in our village," said 81-year-old Leb Sen, a toothless, village elder with a wrinkled face. "The young people said to me that I am very lucky to live long enough to see one now."

Flashing a broad grin, Leb Sen brought his palms together and bowed repeatedly in gratitude toward his American donors — Alan Lightman; his wife, Jean Greenblatt Lightman and their daughter, Elyse.

Alan Lightman, a 59-year-old humanities professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said building the mosque was not part of his family's original plan to improve education in the village, about 44 miles northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.

"It's too much to comprehend. We never imagined that we would build a mosque in a remote village in Cambodia," said Lightman, author of the best-selling novel "Einstein's Dreams."

"It was so strange for us to be there," he added, " ... halfway across the planet, and it's a religion that's far from our religion."

The Lightmans first learned about the village in 2003, when a friend introduced them to various rural education projects. Two years later, the Harpswell Foundation, an organization founded by Lightman to help children and young women in developing countries, built a four-room concrete school, the village's first.

Some of the 600 villagers came to Lightman in 2006 asking him to fund a new health center, a popular choice among the women, and a mosque, which the men favored. He told the villagers they would have to choose one. In the male-dominated community, it was a mosque.

"The men have won again, but the mosque is also very important for preserving our culture and tradition," said 50-year-old Sit Khong, one of the five women in the village who were part of a committee to pick the project. "We will never find enough money to build it ourselves anyway."

The mosque, with the gold-colored inscription "Funded by Loving Gift of Lightman Family" above the front door, opened on May 9. It can accommodate about 200 people and replaces a tiny building on wood stilts that held only 30 worshippers.

The villagers follow Imam-San, a small Islamic sect that incorporates Buddhism, Hinduism and animism. The Imam-San makes up about 3 percent of Cambodia's 700,000 Muslims, who themselves represent only 5 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people, according the U.S. State Department annual report on religious freedom.

Besides mixing in elements of other religions, Imam-San followers pray only once a week, not the traditional five times a day. "In the view of the real teaching of Islam, they are not pure," said Tin Faizine, a 24-year-old Muslim student who was interpreting for the Lightmans.

Elyse Lightman, who is writing a book about Imam-San culture and traditions, said she was happy to help a community that is not fully embraced by either mainstream Muslims or Buddhists, Cambodia's majority religious group.

"You can see why Muslims don't consider them to be their own," she said. "And then Buddhists say, 'Well, you pray to Allah.' So, they're caught in the middle."

She noted that the Imam-San, like the Jews, have faced persecution over the centuries, most recently when the Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and abolished all religion.

"I think there is part of me that felt some sort of kinship in this," she said.

About 500 followers of Imam-San from around the country came to this village of wooden houses and mango trees to celebrate the opening of the new mosque.

Sem Ahmad, 57, said he wanted the Lightman family to help build a mosque in his village in Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia. "It is beautiful. I'd love to have the same mosque because we do not have one like this in our village," he said.

But Lightman said this would be his "first and last" mosque, because "I don't think I have the resources or the time to build more mosques."

The mosque was built with $20,000 from his family's savings, not the foundation's funds, he said.

In the future, he plans to focus on education for underprivileged Cambodians, which is his foundation's main goal.

Spokesman denies Thaksin-Phreah Vihear link

(BangkokPost.com) - Pongthep Thepkanchana, spokesman of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, dismissed accusation that Mr Thaksin is behind a so-called plan to trade off land below Phreah Vihear for oil and gas concession.

The government has denied there is any such plan, and has vowed never to yield "one square inch" of Thai border territory to Cambodia, especially around the Cambodian temple.

Mr Pongthep said the disputes over the Phreah Vihear has been unsettled a long time ago.

He insisted that the Thai government will have to protect the benefit of the country, and such accusations are not true.

He refused to answer questions about Mr Thaksin's reported plan to build a casino and entertainment complex on the main island off the Cambodian province of Koh Kong, just south of Trat, saying he knows nothing about it.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, a former Thaksin spokesman, addressed roughly the same conspiracy theory, and denied that the project to construct Thai Route No 48 project including four bridges in the south of Trat province near Koh Kong was developed for the benefit of Mr Thaksin.

Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh on Friday confirmed that Mr Thaksin may be on the verge of an agreement to develop the island Koh Kong, off the west coast of the province of the same name.

The road, costing one billion baht, was supposedly built to facilitate the transport of goods from Cambodia to Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri, passing through Trat.

Mr Noppadon told reporters he believes Mr Thaksin will not be able to start a Cambodian business until authorities release 50 to 60 billion baht ordered frozen by the military-appointed committee set up to investigate alleged corruption charges.

Feature: Cambodia actively donates for China's quake-relief efforts

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2008-05-16

PHNOM PENH, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia and the Association of Qingtian County People (of Zhejiang Province of China) in Cambodia here on Friday evening donated 31,340 U.S. dollars to the Chinese Embassy for the Chinese government to carry out relief works in the earthquake-affected areas, thus chalking up the total donation in the kingdom to some 250,000 U.S. dollars.

"You are the first batch of Chinese organizations in Cambodia to donate for China's quake-relief efforts. The devotion tells your close connection to our motherland," Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng told their representatives.

Not only the Chinese, but also the Cambodian government, the ethnic Khmer people and the Chinese Cambodian, have shown enthusiasm to support China in its fight against the wide-ranging disaster that has killed about 20,000 people so far, she added.

The Cambodian government on Thursday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars for the relief works in China.

On behalf of the Cambodian government, Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, handed over the donation to Zhang Jinfeng, along with a letter of condolence from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

"I feel extremely saddened that your country has suffered the loss of thousands of lives, injuries and extensive damages due to the powerful earthquake in Sichuan province, central part of China," Hun Sen wrote in the letter dated May 14.

"On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, may I convey to Your Excellency and the People of China, particularly the victims and members of the bereaved families my deepest sympathy and profound condolences for the tragic loss and great suffering brought about by this natural disaster," he wrote.

On Wednesday, the Cambodian Red Cross donated 10,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh to the Red Cross Society of China to facilitate its humanitarian activities in the earthquake-affected areas.

"We, therefore, would like to ask your kindness in conveying the message of condolence to the families of the dead and our sharing of the hardships and difficulties being struggled over by the survivors and the rescuers," said Bun Rany, wife of Hun Sen and president of the Cambodian Red Cross, in a letter to Peng Peiyun, president of the Red Cross Society of China.

On Tuesday, a deputy of the royal family of Cambodia presented 50,000 U.S. dollars and two letters of condolence to the Chinese Embassy to express the family's support for China to carry out relief works in the earthquake-affected areas.

King Norodom Sihamoni and king's father Norodom Sihanouk respectively wrote letters to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to express their sympathy for the victims and their families, as well as their support for the Chinese government to salvage the survivors.

Meanwhile, Sihanouk donated 50,000 U.S. dollars for China to beef up its relief works.

In regard of the Cambodian government's generous help, Zhang Jinfeng on Thursday told reporters that "we don't think about the amount of money, but the amount of kindness. This is strong support for China."

Meanwhile according to the embassy, Khmer citizens in Phnom Penh are also active in donating money to China.

In recent days, each time a Khmer entered the office for visa affairs, he would usually ask a question first: is this the right place to donate?

To meet their charity and enthusiasm, the embassy has put a donation box at its consulate office.

"They come. They drop money. Although not too much, it shows their affection for our country and people," said an embassy official.

As to the Chinese Cambodian, they surely came no later than the others, said Ambassador Zhang.

A major-shot Chinese Cambodian businessman donated some 80,000 yuan RMB (about 11,500 U.S. dollars) in condition of anonymity.

"It is convenient for the people in China to use RMB. I sent my men to all the money exchange shops in Phnom Penh and this is all they can find," the ambassador quoted him as telling her.

A Chinese Cambodian woman, with her baby still less than one month old, donated the 400,000 riels (about 100 U.S. dollars) that her father-in-law had given her for nourishment and recuperation.
"My affection for China is much more important than my health and body," the ambassador quoted her as saying in a letter for the embassy.

In addition, local media is also focused on the help that Cambodia has extended to China in the most sincere way.

The Commercial News, the longest running Chinese newspaper in Cambodia, will start to publish articles on Saturday to appeal for its readers to donate for China's relief works.

Its publisher and banking tycoon Pung Kheav Se has already offered 10,000 U.S. dollars to spearhead the campaign.

Meanwhile on Friday, almost all major Khmer-language newspaper printed the news about the Cambodian government's donation and Ambassador Zhang's speech at the donation ceremony was even published word by word.

"I have to extend my heart-felt thanks as today Cambodia is at a crucial stage in strengthening the economy, but it has still provided 100,000 U.S. dollars to help China," she was quoted as saying.

A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 14:28 (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Social activists deliver bundled copies of an anti-corruption petition to the country's parliament in Phnom Penh

Social activists deliver bundled copies of an anti-corruption petition to the country's parliament in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 16, 2008. Cambodian social activists pressed lawmakers on Friday to take real and serious steps to enact a long-awaited law for combating widespread corruption in the impoverished Southeast Asian country.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni gestures while attending the unveiling of a new statue of Daun Penh (Grandmother Penh) in Phnom Penh

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni greets well-wishers as he presides over a ceremony to inaugurate a landmark statue in the center of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, May 16, 2008.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni gestures while attending the unveiling of a new statue of Daun Penh (Grandmother Penh) in Phnom Penh May 16, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni is greeted while attending the unveiling of a new statue of Daun Penh (Grandmother Penh) in Phnom Penh May 16, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni is greeted while attending the unveiling of a new statue of Daun Penh (Grandmother Penh) in Phnom Penh May 16, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni waves while attending the unveiling of a new statue of Daun Penh (Grandmother Penh) in Phnom Penh May 16, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Election committee: Less parties but more representation in Cambodian election 2008

May 16, 2008

Although there will be far fewer political parties competing in this year's national election, the National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia has announced that party representation over the electorates as a whole will be much greater this year, local media reported Friday.

Only 12 political parties have registered for this year's parliamentary election, while in the 2003 election there were 23, and in the 1998 election there were 39, the Mekong Times newspaper said, citing NEC officials.

The NEC said although the number of registered parties has decreased, 10 parties can field candidates to stand in all the electorates of Cambodia's 24 provinces and municipalities, while the rest will only be able to field candidates in seven to nine of the country's electorates.

NEC Secretary General Tep Nytha said that the reduced number of parties was due to the lack of confidence in the "50 percent plus one" formula and Cambodia's current social, political and financial situation.

Meanwhile, Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said political parties should not take the risk of offering candidates for all electorates.

Rather, he stressed, they should only spend their money on the electorates where they can win majority votes.

Source:Xinhua

Noppadon rejects claims of concession on temple

By The Nation
Published on May 16, 2008

The opposition yesterday grilled Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama over whether the government had made a deal with Phnom Penh on overlapping territories in order to resolve the Preah Vihear temple dispute.

Democrat Sukhumbhand Paribatra quoted Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh as saying in the Cambodia Daily that Thailand had linked negotiations on territorial waters with the disputed temple.

"What the Cambodian minister said contradicts Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who said there is no linkage between the two issues, so why does the ministry not protest to the Cambodians over the allegation?" he said.

Sukhumbhand did not indicate how the two issues were linked.

News commentators have accused the government of trading off land below the temple for an oil and gas concession for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"There is a huge interest in the overlapping area. The Foreign Ministry should handle the case with care, and not allow any private investors to get involved," said Sukhumbhand, a former deputy foreign minister. Noppadon said nobody in his government could exchange the Preah Vihear land for an oil and gas concession in the overlapping maritime area.

Preah Vihear came before the International Court of Justice in 1962. It ruled the temple belonged to Cambodia. The dispute was rekindled last year when Phnom Penh sought listing for the Hindu temple as a world heritage. Thailand opposed the proposal as Cambodia had annexed the surrounding land over which Thailand claims sovereignty.

"Negotiations are still going on and the two sides should be able to reach common ground within two weeks," Noppadon said.

Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who is in charge of the matter, will dispatch experts to wrap up the issue with Thai officials next week. Preah Vihear and the maritime boundary are completely separate issues and could not be linked, Noppadon said.

Remembering the 'Killing Fields'

Lynnwood man plans genocide foundation in honor of his late father

By Oscar Halpert
Enterprise editor

LYNNWOODHis father survived death camps in Cambodia and went on to become a spokesman for its victims.

Now, Lynnwood resident Titonath Dith wants to honor his father's memory by creating a memorial to Cambodian victims of genocide.

"It's so easy for people to not want to think about it because it's so horrific," said Titonath, 39. "We always say 'it should never be forgotten.'"

An Edmonds physical therapist, Titonath was a child when he boarded the last evacuating helicopter out of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's besieged capital city, April 17, 1975, with his mother, brothers and sister.

His father, Dith Pran, had worked as a freelance photographer and translator with former New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg, who covered the Vietnam War. When the communist Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot took control of Phnom Penh in 1975, Schanberg and other journalists were forced to leave but Dith was forced to stay behind. He spent the next five years in labor camps before escaping to Thailand in the fall of 1979. Dith went on to work as a staff photographer with the New York Times.

The 1984 film "The Killing Fields" was based on Schanberg's book "The Death and Life of Dith Pran," about his experiences with Dith, who died of pancreatic cancer March 30.

Titonath, who moved to Lynnwood eight years ago after visiting his brother in the Puget Sound area, said he spoke to his father about starting a genocide memorial shortly after his father's diagnosis in January. He plans to call it the Dith Pran Foundation and it will likely be located in Washington, D.C.

"I didn't give him the specifics; I just told him I'd like to form a foundation," Titonath said. "He was happy."

Titonath has enlisted the support of his sister Hemkarey, his brother Titony Dith and Schanberg's nephew, David Barron. Schanberg, who gave the eulogy at Dith's funeral, will serve as president of the board of directors for the nonprofit that will be formed, Titonath said.

"I think there are a lot of ideas floating around," Barron said. "The main idea was really to empower the Cambodian people in a lot of ways, potentially in terms of setting up scholarships for educational purposes. In order for (genocide) not to happen again, you have to educate people."

A long-term vision, Barron and Titonath say, is to expand the memorial into a museum about global genocide.

Genocide in Darfur, the Balkans, the Holocaust and others all may have a place within that new museum, Titonath said. In the shorter term, however, his focus is on a memorial of the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot, whose regime was responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million people.

Cambodia has a memorial, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Pehn, the site of a high school turned death camp.

"This is where they executed dozens of people," Titonath said. He noted that the Khmer Rouge killed families intentionally "because they didn't want the children to grow up seeking revenge.

"Titonath knew at an early age that he wanted to be a physical therapist, largely because he knew too well how Cambodians suffered from war.

In 1989, he worked on public health projects in his native country and longed to bring orthotics and other assistive devices to Cambodians who'd lost limbs because of land minds.

Next June, he'll fly to Washington, D.C., to join family and friends for a ceremony in the Buddhist tradition: a 100-day memorial for his father.

Marathoner on a mission

Bora Chheang, 19, will graduate from Front Range Christian School this month and will attend The Master's College in Santa Clarita, Calif. on a scholarship. He's lived in Colorado since July. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )

Bora Chheang will run to raise scholarship funds for other Cambodian orphans

By Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
05/16/2008

Nineteen-year-old Bora Chheang is running the race of his life Sunday, hoping to use the Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon to raise college funds for Cambodian orphans.

Chheang was orphaned in Cambodia as a 9-year-old when his father was killed and his mother deserted him, he said.

For more than a year, Chheang lived with other orphan boys about his age, he said, using sling shots to kill birds to eat and stealing food when they could. They often slept outdoors.

The boys played soccer, kicking coconuts around on a hardscrabble field because they didn't have a ball.

Eventually an aunt steered Chheang into a Christian orphanage, The House of Hope, in Phnom Penh, run by the nonprofit Asian Hope Inc.

"I didn't know where I was going," Chheang recalled of his life as an orphan.

"I was ready" to get off the streets, he said. "That's pretty much when my life started."

Now Chheang, who is in the United States on a visa, is graduating from Front Range Christian School in Jefferson County this month.

He'll attend The Master's College in Santa Clarita, Calif., on a scholarship.

But Chheang wants to raise college funds for other orphan students from Cambodia so they can follow in his footsteps.

Two childhood friends and fellow orphans, Ehud Seng and Sopoan Keo, both 19, will also run in the marathon. They are flying to Denver from Virginia, where they go to school.

Chheang, who has been in Colorado since July, began marathon training about seven weeks ago.
A natural and competitive athlete, Chheang played football and basketball this past year at Front Range, where he also maintained a straight A average.

Chheang has secured a couple of marathon pledges for less than $200. But he hopes to raise about $2,000 for his cause.

He trains and runs with Blake Murri, 50, a manager at Lockheed Martin whose family sponsors Chheang.

"It's been a learning experience for all of us," Murri said. "It's been great seeing all the things Bora is involved in."

Murri and his wife, Janiece, have three children ages 27, 24 and 17.

The 17-year-old, Sam, attends Front Range with Chheang and helps by driving the Cambodian student around, since he doesn't have a driver's license.

Beyond learning at school, Chheang has been absorbing, and adjusting to, American culture, said Janiece Murri, a registered nurse.

Initially Janiece and Chheang had to work on their relationship to dispel his Cambodian viewpoint that she be subservient.

As Bora stood in a hallway at Front Range this week, a line of students streamed by and one girl called out his name and blew him a kiss. He smiled and waved at the girl.

Chheang, who is popular at the school, said he's not dating anyone because he's too focused on schoolwork and the future.

He plans to become a minister and return to Cambodia.

Jordan Fischer, director of development with Asian Hope, met Bora in 2004 when he visited Cambodia. The organization runs boys' and girls' orphanages, a preschool and a K-12 school in Phnom Penh.

"He's an amazing young man who has overcome some difficulties in his life that we'll never experience," Fischer said. "This will allow him to achieve his dreams and to be a great leader and success in helping to transform Cambodia."

The 2008 Post-News Colorado Colfax Marathon kicks off Sunday about 6 a.m. in Denver's City Park and includes a wheelchair championship race that starts at 5:55 a.m.

For more information on the charities and how to contribute, go to coloradocolfaxmarathon.org and click on "Our 2008 Charity Partners."

Election committee: Less parties but more representation in Cambodian election 2008

May 16, 2008

Although there will be far fewer political parties competing in this year's national election, the National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia has announced that party representation over the electorates as a whole will be much greater this year, local media reported Friday.

Only 12 political parties have registered for this year's parliamentary election, while in the 2003 election there were 23, and in the 1998 election there were 39, the Mekong Times newspaper said, citing NEC officials.

The NEC said although the number of registered parties has decreased, 10 parties can field candidates to stand in all the electorates of Cambodia's 24 provinces and municipalities, while the rest will only be able to field candidates in seven to nine of the country's electorates.

NEC Secretary General Tep Nytha said that the reduced number of parties was due to the lack of confidence in the "50 percent plus one" formula and Cambodia's current social, political and financial situation.

Meanwhile, Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said political parties should not take the risk of offering candidates for all electorates.

Rather, he stressed, they should only spend their money on the electorates where they can win majority votes.

Source:Xinhua

Canines are the latest victims in Cambodia amid food crisis

The China Post
Friday, May 16, 2008
dpa

PHNOM PENH -- Dognappings are sharply up in some areas of Cambodia as people seek alternative sources of protein and the prices of more conventional meats continue to rise, dog owners and police said Wednesday.

Military police officer Ra Dy, who lives on the outskirts of the capital, said he personally had lost three dogs in quick succession and had decided to stop keeping any more until things settled down.

"If you check on them every hour, they might still be there, but if you forget and leave them for two hours, they are gone," he said.

Khieu Viriya, 22, a dog fancier from the western suburb of Toul Tom Poung, said he has also lost three dogs recently to thieves.

"And the story is the same for the neighbors, too. It is terrible to lose a dog, because they are like family, but even worse when you know they are to be eaten," he said.

Traditionally most Cambodians have refused to eat dog, viewing it as an unclean meat, although in 2003 the capital's mayor urged citizens to consume more to keep the stray dog population down.

Dog is sold in some restaurants, including high-end Korean establishments, and has become increasingly popular as a drinking snack amongst the country's avid rice wine fans as an energy food.

Dy said organized bands of dog thieves had begun cruising the city, snaring dogs with wire nooses and speeding off on motorbikes.

Vendors said although dog, sometimes euphemistically sold as "special meat," remains inexpensive, like pork and other meats it has nearly doubled in value in recent months.

Other exotic meats such as rat have also nearly doubled in price, but with the rice harvest still months away, the rodents are out of season, pushing up the demand for dog and other alternatives.

Cambodia donates 160,000 dollars for China quake relief

M&G
May 16, 2008

Phnom Penh - Government officials confirmed Friday that the Cambodian royal family, Red Cross and Prime Minister Hun Sen had donated a total of 160,000 dollars so far to assist victims of the earthquake that hit China.

King Norodom Sihamoni, his father and former king Norodom Sihanouk and Hun Sen were amongst others who had written letters of condolence to the Chinese government.

China is a major donor to impoverished Cambodia and the two nations retain strong ties, with Norodom Sihanouk most recently accepting a personal invitation to attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony scheduled for July.

Norodom Sihanouk, who maintains a residence in Beijing and spends months out of every year there undergoing medical checkups was the first to pledge substantial aid to relief efforts.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng appeared on national television Thursday to convey China's thanks to the Cambodian people to their support in a time of need.

Cambodia, Vietnam launch direct bus route to Angkor temples

M&G
May 16, 2008

Phnom Penh - Vietnamese company Saigon Passenger Transport Company (Sapaco Tourist) is launching a new luxury bus service from the Vietnamese capital Ho Chi Minh direct to Cambodia's northern tourism hub of Siem Reap, a company spokesman said Friday.

The new nine-hour, 500-kilometre trip cuts hours off the former route through the Cambodian capital and is just the latest in a stream of Vietnamese tourism investments in Cambodia as its travel industry booms, according to the Tourism Ministry.

The new route, which crosses into Cambodia through Vietnam's southern Tay Ninh Province, launches Monday and one-way tickets will cost 24 dollars, Sapaco's spokesman said.

Siem Reap's Angkor Wat temple is Cambodia's largest tourism attraction, bringing in the bulk of the country's more than 2 million visitors last year, and the route is expected to prove especially popular with budget travellers, the company predicted.

Noppadon: Thaksin doesn't benefit from Thai-Cambodia link

(BangkokPost.com) - Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said the Route No 48 project and four other bridges were not developed for the benefit of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

His statement came after Cambodian Defence Minister Teah Banh said Mr Thaksin is interested in developing another casino and entertainment complex in the Cambodian province of Koh Kong.

The road was built with one billion baht in financial assistance from Thailand. It facilitates the transport of goods from Cambodia to Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri through Trat.

Mr Noppadon told reporters to ask for further detail on the matter with Mr Thaksin's spokesman Pongthep Thepkanchana.

He, however, said he believes Mr Thaksin will not be able to start business there as his accounts worth 50 to 60 billion baht are being freezed as he is fighting corruption charges against him.

Cambodia Offers $100,000 to China

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 May 2008

Khmer audio aired May 15 (621KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired May 15 (621KB) - Listen (MP3)

The Cambodian government offered $100,000 to China on Thursday, to help the country recover from a devastating earthquake that has killed tens of thousands.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called the money “a gesture to express our condolences and sympathy for China.”

The money will be added to $50,000 offered by former king Norodom Sihanouk earlier this week and is the second donation Cambodia has made to its neighbors this month. Cambodia gave the Burmese junta $50,000 last week in the wake of a deadly cyclone.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng said her country was grateful.
“Cambodia is at an important step of its economic development, but it still takes $100,000 of its budget,” she said. “We don’t think about the amount. We think about the heart. We regard this as No. 1 support for China.”

Petition Against Corruption Sent to Assembly

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 May 2008

Khmer audio aired May 15 (0.97MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired May 15 (0.97MB) - Listen (MP3)

Apetition of more than 1 million Cambodian signatures calling for anti-corruption legislation will be passed to the National Assembly Friday, and organizers hope it will push lawmakers to act.

The signatures were collected over several months “to demand quick passage” of an anti-corruption law of international standard, according to a statement by the Coalition of Civil Society Organization Against Corruption.

“This anti-corruption petition is very important for politicians and voters, before the July national election, to demand the government and National Assembly quickly pass the anti-corruption law after the election,” said Pok Puthearith, a project manager for the Khmer Institute for Democracy. “We want the National Assembly to make a promise to the people.”

Sok Sam Oeun, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, called the petition “a strong message for all political parties.”

The coalition wanted political parties to make the elimination of corruption a main part of their platforms, he said.

Most political parties have already done that; corruption has dogged the government since its inception, costing the nation as much as $500 million per year.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised to pass legislation to curb the practice many times, but that legislation has remained in the draft stage for years.

Another casino proposed for Cambodia

RGT Online
15 May 2008

CAMBODIA -- As reported by the Bangkok Post: "Thaksin Shinawatra is interested in developing another casino and entertainment complex in the Cambodian province of Koh Kong, Cambodian Defence Minister Teah Banh said yesterday.

"...The Cambodian minister said in Koh Kong, opposite Trat, that talks about Mr Thaksin's plan were still unofficial. 'Prime Minister Hun Sen trusted and wanted Mr Thaksin to advise on developing Koh Kong as a special economic zone,' the general said.

"Koh Kong now has a casino complex operated by Koh Kong International, a firm owned by Pat Supapa, a senator representing the province and former governor..."

Cambodia draws interest of private equity

A tourist surveys the site of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia in this Nov. 29, 2007 photo. Private-equity investors are venturing into Cambodia, as the nation that three decades ago abolished money under the Khmer Rouge seeks more than US$6 billion to rebuild itself. (Bloomberg News)

The China Post
Thursday, May 15, 2008
By Netty Ismail, Bloomberg

SINGAPORE -- Private-equity investors are venturing into Cambodia, as the nation that three decades ago abolished money under the Khmer Rouge seeks more than US$6 billion to rebuild itself.

Leopard Capital and Cambodia Investment & Development Fund are among those planning to put more than US$450 million in the second-poorest of 10 Southeast Asian nations. Cambodia Investment is getting advice from Jim Rogers, who predicted the start of the commodities boom in 1999, and Marc Faber, who forecast Asian assets would decline before the regional financial crisis in 1997.

"It's a country that's changed a lot and investors are finally waking up to that," said Douglas Clayton, founder of Leopard Capital, who is based in Phnom Penh and is seeking to raise US$100 million. "Most people have an outdated perception of Cambodia; clearly the country has made significant progress."

Prime Minister Hun Sen is relying on the country's oil and mineral resources to attract foreign investments and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth as he prepares for an election in July. The funds will move money into banks, office buildings, luxury hotels, ports and other projects.

"Cambodia does have a lot of natural resources, it does have an ambitious population, and it does have some assets," said Singapore-based Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum hedge fund with George Soros during the 1970s, and is now chairman of Rogers Holdings. "Most countries that come out of something like they have are inclined to be pretty safe for a while because they're trying to get money in."

Leopard Capital's first planned investment, a housing project in Siem Reap, probably will generate a return of more than 60 percent a year, about three times the internal target for private-equity investments, said Clayton, who moved to Phnom Penh from Bangkok last June.

Clayton was a hedge fund manager at Knight Asia Group and head of CLSA Securities in Thailand before setting up Leopard Capital in 2007. Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, is a director at Leopard Capital.

Peter Brimble and Bradley Gordon, Clayton's former partners at Leopard Capital, are starting the US$100 million Cambodia Emerald fund this year to invest in tourism, agriculture, financial institutions, infrastructure and real estate.

The fund plans to close at least one deal before the end of the year, said Brimble, who's based in Phnom Penh. LR Global Partners in New York and London-based Kazimir Partners are investors in Cambodia Emerald, he said.

Cambodian Muslims have full religious freedom says Prime Minister

The Earth times
Thu, 15 May 2008
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Muslims must be integrated into the community and their religious restrictions and needs universally respected, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday. Speaking at the inauguration of a new mosque, Hun Sen called for religious tolerance and acceptance of Muslims, who make up just a small percentage of the population but have been part of Cambodian culture for centuries.

"Some countries prohibit Muslim uniforms in schools. Cambodia allows it ... it is up to the individual," he said, in reference to headscarves sometimes worn by Muslim women.
He also demanded that Muslim prayer rooms be widely available, especially in places such as airports.

And he called on international media to be slower to blame Muslim groups when covering suspected terrorist attacks, alleging some major international news groups such as CNN appeared biased against Muslims in their coverage.

Jewish family builds mosque for Cambodia villagers

Contra Costa times
By Ker Munthit
Associated Press
05/15/2008

TRAMOUNG CHRUM, Cambodia — When residents of this poor, Cambodian village need something built, they call on the Lightmans.

The Jewish-American family's latest gift: a mosque.

"We never had such a beautiful mosque in our village," said 81-year-old Leb Sen, a toothless, village elder with a wrinkled face. "The young people said to me that I am very lucky to live long enough to see one now."

Flashing a broad grin, Leb Sen brought his palms together and bowed repeatedly in gratitude toward his American donors — Alan Lightman; his wife, Jean Greenblatt Lightman and their daughter, Elyse.

Alan Lightman, a 59-year-old humanities professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said building the mosque was not part of his family's original plan to improve education in the village, about 44 miles northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.

"It's too much to comprehend. We never imagined that we would build a mosque in a remote village in Cambodia," said Lightman, author of the best-selling novel "Einstein's Dreams."

"It was so strange for us to be there," he added, " ... halfway across the planet, and it's a religion that's far from our religion."

The Lightmans first learned about the village in 2003, when a friend introduced them to various rural education projects. Two years later, the Harpswell Foundation, an organization founded by Lightman to help children and young women in developing countries, built a four-room concrete school, the village's first.

Some of the 600 villagers came to Lightman in 2006 asking him to fund a new health center, a popular choice among the women, and a mosque, which the men favored. He told the villagers they would have to choose one.

In the male-dominated community, it was a mosque.

"The men have won again, but the mosque is also very important for preserving our culture and tradition," said 50-year-old Sit Khong, one of the five women in the village who were part of a committee to pick the project.

"We will never find enough money to build it ourselves anyway."

The mosque, with the gold-colored inscription "Funded by Loving Gift of Lightman Family" above the front door, opened on May 9. It can accommodate about 200 people and replaces a tiny building on wood stilts that held only 30 worshippers.

The villagers follow Imam-San, a small Islamic sect that incorporates Buddhism, Hinduism and animism. The Imam-San makes up about 3 percent of Cambodia's 700,000 Muslims, who themselves represent only 5 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people, according the U.S. State Department annual report on religious freedom.

Besides mixing in elements of other religions, Imam-San followers pray only once a week, not the traditional five times a day.

"In the view of the real teaching of Islam, they are not pure," said Tin Faizine, a 24-year-old Muslim student who was interpreting for the Lightmans.

Lightman said this would be his "first and last" mosque, because "I don't think I have the resources or the time to build more mosques."

The mosque was built with $20,000 from his family's savings, not the foundation's funds, he said.

In the future, he plans to focus on education for underprivileged Cambodians, which is his foundation's main goal.

Digging up mines buries war horror

Daily Mercury
May 16, 2008

WHEN Marty McCarthy steps off the plane in Cambodia on Sunday, he's hoping to lay to rest ghosts from his past.

The 64-year-old Vietnam veteran from Airlie Beach will spend three weeks helping remove land mines from outside the city of Siem Reap.

He is joining his war mate Neil Anthony "Bomber" Bower-Miles who helped form the Vietnam Veterans Mine Clearing Team.

Mr McCarthy and "Bomber" served with the Australian military as members of the Royal Australian Engineers in the 1970s.

As engineers based near the land mine-littered Vietnamese village of Phuk Tue, on hands and knees they had to prod the ground with a bayonet and mark a safe path to and around casualties to enable medics to get in and treat the wounded.

Haunted by the vivid memories of the carnage and human suffering he saw, Mr McCarthy said helping clear land mines in Cambodia was something he had thought hard and long about.

"Understandably my wife and children would rather I stayed at home," he said
"But I'm hoping that by helping save the children in Cambodia, my life will come full circle.

"Little children will always explore and wander and are unable to comprehend the real danger mines pose to them.

"It's tragic to hear about so many kids with prosthetic limbs."

Mr McCarthy said land mines were cleared using a purpose-built mine detector from Australian company Minelabs.

"Bomber has taken seven detectors to Cambodia in the past and four more this month," he said.
"They're capable of detecting all metal and minimum metal mines at full sensitivity."

Accidental First Aid Supplies donated $1500 of equipment, after hearing about Mr McCarthy plan on radio.

The material will make up emergency kits for McCarthy's expedition.

Book recounts struggles of Asian refugees

Boston.com

By Russell Contreras
Globe Staff / May 15, 2008

Please watching video http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/15/book_recounts_struggles_of_asian_refugees/

The 1970s, Tem Chea remembers, were a time of fear, running, and crowded refugee camps.

The Cambodian refugee and his family moved four times from camp to camp while escaping the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime that claimed about 1 million lives. After landing in Oregon, he later moved to Lowell, where he integrated into American society by becoming a teacher and eventually helping create the Cambodian American Voter League.

Last week, a book recounting the struggles of Chea and other Southeast Asian-Americans in Lowell was released at a special event at the Mogan Cultural Center. The collection of essays, "Southeast Asian Refugees and Immigrants in the Mill City," written by academics and published by the University of Vermont, is a scholarly endeavor that tries to make sense of the setbacks and victories of Lowell's largest ethnic group in politics, education, and healthcare.

Chea said the book depicts how people from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam have contributed to Lowell. "This gives us the opportunity to share our story," Chea said at the book-release event. "It's kind of therapeutic, so to speak, for some of us who went through so much and rarely talk about it."

Tuyet-Lan Pho, director emeritus of the Center for Diversity and Pluralism at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and one of the book's co-editors, said the idea for the book emerged more than 10 years ago when more scholarly articles about Lowell Southeast Asian-American populations started being widely published.

"Lowell has always been an immigrant city," said the 67-year-old Vietnamese immigrant, who now lives in San Diego. "These essays put our experiences in perspective."

Her husband, Hin Pho, a UMass-Lowell professor emeritus of political science who contributed an article for the book, said: "There is such a rich history here. It needed to be written."

UMass-Lowell political science professor Jeffrey Gerson and Sylvia Cowan of Lesley University were the other editors of the book, which can be purchased in bookstores or ordered online at amazon.com.

Southeast Asian-Americans make up about one-fifth of Lowell's population of 100,000, according to the 2000 US Census. Tuyet-Lan Pho said the number of Southeast Asian-Americans settling in Lowell picked up in the 1980s as jobs attracted refugees who had originally settled on the West Coast. But like any new group, the Southeast Asian refugees faced discrimination and alienation, she said.

Since those early days, Pho said, she has seen a transformation as the children of Cambodians and Laotians enrolled in college and the groups got more politically active.

Former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, attended the book-release event that drew around 100 residents. Dukakis praised the Southeast Asian-American community for helping the economic development of Lowell.

Kitty Dukakis was among nine community leaders who were presented special awards for their work with Southeast Asian refugees in the area.

Chea, another honoree, said he hopes some of the essays inspire other Asian refugees in the Lowell area to share their stories for other projects and books. Part of the problem, he said, was persuading those who fled war-torn countries to talk about the past.

"There is still this fear that what we saw back there isn't over, that something bad is still going to happen," said Chea, who is now retired. "We are stuck to the past, but there is a fear of the past."

Former Khmer Rouge head of state appears before genocide tribunal

Khieu Sampan is charge with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. [AFP]

Radio Australia

Cambodia's genocide tribunal has abruptly halted a pre-trial hearing for the former president of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan.

It came after Khieu Samphan's French lawyer, Jacques Verges, stormed out of the hearing.

Mr Verges says he told the tribunal its failure to translate the case file into French, the trial's official language, made the proceedings invalud.

Mr Verges says he should be capable of knowing the details of the accusations against his client.He says the judges asked his client to find a new lawyer.

The tribunal has charged Khieu Samphan with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s.In a book published last year Khieu Samphan put the blame on the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot, who died a decade ago.

Most of the bail hearing was held in-camera, and it's not known when a decision will be made.

Defending the indefensible

Resident evil: Verges and Noun Chea, Brother Number Two of the Khmer Rouge

By Derek Malcolm, Evening Standard 15.05.08

French lawyer Jacques Vergès has defended Nazi lieutenant Klaus Barbie, terrorist Carlos the Jackal, the Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. Saddam Hussein’s family prevented him from defending the Iraqi dictator, so he took on the case for Tariq Aziz, Saddam’s vice-president, instead. There seemed to be no one, however evil, for whom he would not take a brief.

Yes, he says with a smile in Barbet Schroeder’s fascinating documentary about the man and his times, he would even defend George Bush — but only if he pleaded guilty.

Yet this advocate of the “rupture defence”, during which he accused the prosecution of “capitalist crimes” as bad as any of those of the men and women he defended, was not always the kind of lawyer we love to hate.

A communist in his student days, he was the advocate for Djamila Bouhired, known as “La Pasionaria”, who bore Algeria’s fight for independence on her shoulders and was sentenced to death for planting bombs in cafés. Having brilliantly obtained her release, Vergès married her and had two children. Then suddenly, at the height of his career in 1970, he disappeared without trace, emerging eight years later to become the well-known “devil’s advocate”.

Interviewing the cigar-smoking Vergès, Schroeder attempts to discover what happened during those fallow years and, when he can get no answer except that Vergès grew bored with the first independent government of Algeria, goes to other witnesses for their opinion.

Some associates claim they met him in Paris during that time, while others suggest that he went to a KGB school before acting as an agent for Moscow in East Germany. There is also the theory that he acted as an adviser to Pol Pot and met Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela, all of whom might have concealed him.

Whatever the facts, his return was far more controversial than anything he had previously achieved and Schroeder forces the bland, self-justifying mask to slip on several notable occasions. Everyone, says Vergès, deserves to be defended and some of the West’s favourite hate figures were essentially on the right side, even if they committed terrible crimes.

This is an astonishing portrait of an astonishing man who somehow convinced himself that he has forged a unique path in law and politics.

No fiction could equal it without being accused of gilding several lilies. And no film-maker could have done better than Schroeder. He does not prompt us to approve of or like the man, but he does cause us to see the history of terrorism more clearly.

48 hours in Phnom Penh

The ornate rooftops of the National Museum are silhouetted against a blue sky in Phnom Penh December 1, 2007. REUTERS/Emma Goh

PHNOM PENH (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to explore the boutiques and markets of Phnom Penh? The Cambodian capital may be lesser known than Siem Reap, butits designer boutiques, colorful markets, art galleries and upscale restaurants are worth visiting.

FRIDAY

7 p.m. - Usher in the weekend with dinner at a European establishment, but the elegant bistro Art Cafe (St. 108) holds regular classical music performances and features a French-German menu. Beautiful artwork by local and international artists adorn the walls and are available for sale.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Grab a sandwich from The Deli on St. 178 and rush over to Khmer designer Romyda Keth's "Ambre", the first stop for any fashionista. This two-storey colonial villa on the same street is the place for stunning cocktail dresses, one-of-a-kind office wear or gorgeous wedding dresses. The friendly staff can make adjustments and you can order tailor-made outfits too. There's also a small but equally luxurious men's collection. Cross the Norodom Boulevard for more shops including Reyum Gallery and Silk & Pepper.

11 a.m. - The next stop is Keo (St. 222), home of Cambodia's haute couture king Sylvain Lim. Having worked for Parisian brands including Balmain and Dior, Sylvain's designs are classic. Browse through the small collection of prototypes from which you can order. For those with time and money, Sylvain's bespoke haute couture pieces are spectacular. By appointment only.
1.00 p.m. - Hop over to Street 240 for fuel at The Sugar Palm, a relaxed eatery serving local food -- don't miss the eggplant with pork or beef with ginger. The restaurant is also decorated with antiques that you can buy.

2.30 p.m. - Walk down the length of St. 240 and enjoy the shops. Couleurs d' Asie offers unique silk products to wear and decorate the home, all in big, bold patterns. Next door is Bliss, boasting paisley-print dresses and cotton wraparounds, massive cushions and home spa products as well as a spa with a plunge pool if you prefer a break in between the shopping.

Bead enthusiasts should not miss Water Lilly, showcasing Christine Gauthier's whimsical creations. Opening the hundreds of drawers hiding the jewellery is an experience in itself. Le Lezard Bleu offers top-notch home decor: think bronze sculptures, dark wood tables. Two more not to be missed boutiques are "Song", with its chic resort wear and yoga outfits and "Jasmine" for gowns, skirts and tops in various shades using Cambodian silk.

5.30 p.m. - Relax with a sundowner at the famed FCC on Sisowath Quay, just make sure you face the National Museum if you want to see the sunset. The FCC is also a good place to combine culture with souvenir hunting: there are photo exhibitions with items for sale, T-shirts and other memorabilia.

7.30 p.m. - Dinner at Metro Cafe, a short walk from the FCC. The best way to enjoy the delicious food on the eclectic menu is to share. The martinis, especially the tamarind and chocolate ones, are a must-try.

SUNDAY

9 a.m. - The Russian Market can be noisy and busy but it also has lots of good buys and is best early in the morning. Products to take home include colorful shawls, embroidered handbags, woven baskets, paintings and silver jewellery. Don't miss the Tooit Tooit stall inside the market for fun, funky bags and hats produced by parents of former street children, and NYEMO on the outside for colourful soft furnishings and silk handicrafts.

12 p.m. - Lunch at Romdeng on St. 74. Not only will you get delicious, authentic Cambodian food served by former street children, but you can also take the delicious recipes home as the charity organisation behind the restaurant published a cookbook.

1.30 p.m. - It may not have the same buzz or variety of stalls, but the art deco Central Market (Psar Thmei) is one of the city's landmarks. The souvenir stalls around the entrance hawking T-shirts and other curios are worth a visit while inside is an interesting combination of shops selling glittering gold and jewelery, electronic goods and second hand clothes.

2.30 p.m. - For trendy silk outfits, it's time to stop at Kambuja (St. 110). Local designer Kulikar Sotho specializes in women's clothes using local silk, most of which are intricately embroidered.
3.30 p.m. - Take a break, and enjoy some coffee and cookies at the Camory Cookie Boutique on Sisowath Quay, which sells everything from standard chocolate ones to more exotic flavors such as palm sugar, sesame and pepper.

4.30 p.m. - If all that commercial activity is starting to irk your conscience, its time to do some shopping that soothes the soul. Artisans d' Angkor on St. 49 is trying to revive traditional craft skills and offers gorgeous silk paintings, stoneware and clothes, Smateria on St. 57 is great for recycled products that are stylish and funky and Rehab Craft on St. 322 for quality wood carvings, silk accessories and jewellery made by disadvantaged Cambodians. (Details at www.stay-another-day.org)

6.30 p.m. - End the weekend the way you started it, enjoying and buying art. Java on Sihanouk Boulevard is a well-known art gallery/cafe which also boasts a cosy atmosphere and simple, tasty fare such as pasta and sandwiches.

Cambodia donates $100,000 to China for quake relief

www.chinaview.cn
2008-05-15

Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

PHNOM PENH, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Thursday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars for the relief to the earthquake victims in China.

On behalf of the Cambodian government, Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, handed over the donation to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng, along with a letter of condolence from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

"I feel extremely saddened that your country has suffered the loss of thousands of lives, injuries and extensive damages due to the powerful earthquake in Sichuan province, central part of China," Hun Sen wrote in the letter dated May 14.

"On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, may I convey to Your Excellency and the People of China, particularly the victims and members of the bereaved families my deepest sympathy and profound condolences for the tragic loss and great suffering brought about by this natural disaster," he wrote.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Cambodian Red Cross donated 10,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh to the Red Cross Society of China to facilitate its humanitarian activities for the earthquake-affected areas.

A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km northwest of the southwest Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 14:28 (0628 GMT) on Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.

Editor: An Lu