PAD celebrates but will fight on

The Bangkok Post
Wednesday September 10, 2008

SURASAK GLAHAN

The People's Alliance for Democracy yesterday vowed to continue its anti-government rally even though Samak Sundaravej was stripped of the premiership by the Constitution Court.

''The PAD will continue its rally until all dishonest politicians under the Thaksin regime are rooted out,'' core PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk told the demonstrators minutes after the charter court handed down its verdict.

The PAD also warned parliament, which will convene on Friday to vote for a new prime minister, not to propose ''any person with a blemished record or who violated the constitution to head the government.''

The group also condemned the ruling People Power party's resolution to support Mr Samak again as prime minister.

If Mr Samak returned, it would be like ''bringing a corpse back to politics,'' said PAD coordinator Suriyasai Katasila.

In its statement released yesterday, the PAD said Mr Samak's breach of the charter proved he and his ''puppet cabinet'' were no longer fit to run the country.

The PAD will maintain its mission to guard the constitution and support all attempts to bring about political change by any groups which intend to protect the 2007 constitution and to solve problems caused by the Thaksin regime and its proxy government via the judicial system, the statement said.

The PAD will join these groups to call for the judicial process in corruption cases against Mr Thaksin and his associates as well as lese majeste charges against Jakrapob Penkair and Veera Musikapong to be speeded up.

They also demanded the abrogation of the joint Thai-Cambodian communique that, they said, compels Thailand to give up the Preah Vihear temple and its surrounding area to Cambodia.

Undeterred by heavy rainfall at Government House, PAD supporters stood in ankle-deep water to listen to the verdict on Mr Samak.

Loud cheering and applause broke out when it was announced that the court had decided to disqualify Mr Samak, who was found guilty of violating the charter.

People rushed out of their tents, shook each other's hands, clapped and danced.

''I'm deeply satisfied today. The verdict shows the court is still what we can rely on,'' said Nantapong Ranjuan, a 46-year-old resident of Surin, who travelled hundreds of kilometres from his home town to join the rally, which has lasted more than 100 days so far.

The cheering lasted for around 20 minutes. It went on for so long that PAD leaders had to try to calm them down and even asked them to stop.

''Please don't be glad that Mr Samak is gone,'' core PAD leader Somsak Kosaisuk told the demonstrators.

He was advising caution because it was still unclear whether the House would vote for Mr Samak to come back.

Sondhi Limthongkul, another PAD core leader said: ''We've come too far to back off.

''We saw a sign of victory today when Mr Samak was disqualified.''

Cambodian orphans share in cultural exchange

KHNL 8
Sep 10, 2008

By Howard Dashefsky

KAIMUKI (KHNL) -- A few Hawaii high schools had a first hand lesson on life in Cambodia.
The teachers were 30 young orphans from Cambodia who had visited Hawaii this week. They represented the largest group of Cambodian orphans to ever visit the United States. The Email Foster Parents International Program brought them here to take part in a cultural exchange in Hawaii.

It was all part of the 2008 Cambodian Children's Cultural Tour in Hawaii. As part of their curriculum, they learned Hawaiian traditions and shared their own traditional Khmer dance and music.

"It works both ways, the Hawaiian families learn so much about life in Cambodia and what it's like now that it's trying to get back on its feet," said coordinator Rob Hail.

The Khmer dance is an art that nearly became extinct under Cambodia's brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge, which saw the execution of approximately 1.7 million Cambodians. "During the 1970's, about 90 percent of dancers were slaughtered and they're native dance was almost lost.
So this is a chance to revive it," said Hail.

One of the orphans, Reaksmey Chan, marveled at the freedom American students enjoy. "It's really great because the schools get to learn whatever they want to learn. It's not like Cambodia. They have a chance to enjoy everything, it's really good" Chan said.

For some of the orphans, the experience was almost like celebrating a birthday for the first time. "I want to thank uncle Rob and auntie Susan for making my trip and my dreams come true," said orphan Napha Po.

Museum Exhibit Explores Hope For Cambodia’s Future After A Tragic Past

New America media
Sep 10, 2008

CHICAGO — The Cambodian American Heritage Museum has launched its latest show, "Cambodia Born Anew," a major exhibit on Cambodia's remarkable recovery following years of civil strife and genocide. The exhibit examines Cambodia's core economy, folk arts, education and Theravada Buddhism, the faith tradition of over 90 percent of Khmers, as well as performances of traditional Khmer music and dance.

The Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, opened in October 2004, is the first museum of its kind in the United States. The museum features Cambodian and community artists and Cambodian art; promotes genocide education and awareness; and preserves the memory of over two million Cambodian people lost during the Killing Fields through healing and arts.

Charles Daas, museum director, noted that, "'Cambodia Born Anew' is a snapshot of Cambodia today as its people wrestle with how to preserve ancient traditions in the wake of a new global economy.

"The exhibit examined Cambodia's core economy, folk arts, education and Theravada Buddhism, the faith tradition of over 90 percent of Khmers, as well as performances of traditional Khmer music and dance.

The Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial, opened in October 2004, is the first museum of its kind in the United States. The museum features Cambodian and community artists and Cambodian art; promotes genocide education and awareness; and preserves the memory of over two million Cambodian people lost during the Killing Fields through healing and arts.

Charles Daas, museum director, noted that, "'Cambodia Born Anew' is a snapshot of Cambodia today as its people wrestle with how to preserve ancient traditions in the wake of a new global economy."

Inflation sparks exodus of workers from Cambodia's garment industry

International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Published: September 10, 2008

PHNOM PENH: Soaring inflation and stagnant wages have prompted thousands of workers in Cambodia's garment industry to quit and look for better-paying jobs or return to the countryside, labor union leaders said Wednesday.

The exodus raises concerns about the future of the country's main dollar-earning industry.

"Their factory wages could no longer cope with rising food prices," said Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which had 80,000 members at the start of the year.

So far this year, 27,000 employees have quit, Chea Mony said. Many are now working in entertainment clubs like karaoke parlors, where they can earn more than at their previous jobs, while others have returned to their homes in the countryside, where living costs are lower.

In April, garment manufacturers raised wages by about $6 to an average of $50 a month.

But union leaders said the raise had done little to help the workers cope with the high costs of living in and around Phnom Penh, where most of the factories are located.

The consumer inflation rate rose to 22 percent in July, up from 18.7 percent in January, the last time the figure was released.

High food prices are hitting Cambodia's poor, who spend approximately 70 percent of their total household consumption on food, according to a recent World Bank analysis.

Chhay Than, the Cambodian minister of planning, said inflation in July was the highest rate recorded in 15 years and had been driven mainly by the high price of oil.

The consumer rate remained at 22 percent for August, though that figure will be officially released only next week, said Khin Song, deputy director of the planning ministry's price index department.

Factories have been having difficulties trying to hire new workers to fill the empty slots in their assembly lines, said Chuon Mom Thol, president of the Cambodian Union Federation, another labor group.

The garment industry is the country's major export earner and employs about 350,000 people, mostly women.

Kaing Monika, the external affairs manager of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said the country's clothing exports in the first six months of this year were worth about $1.35 billion, a 4 percent increase over the period in 2007.

But he said the profit margin, calculated to have been around 2 percent in the first half, was becoming thinner or nearly nonexistent for most factories because of high production costs caused by skyrocketing prices for oil and other raw materials.

"The buyers did not pay higher prices, and the workers are demanding more wages because of the inflation that makes it really hard to cope with the current cost of living," Kaing Monika said, adding that the outlook for the industry was "getting very tough."

Cambodia faces new HIV threat as 'condom campaign at risk'

A Cambodian woman holds a wrapper from Number One Plus condom

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Threats to a successful Cambodian condom campaign has raised fears the country could experience a second epidemic of the disease, health officials said Wednesday.

Tia Phalla, of Cambodia's National AIDS Authority, said the country's so-called 100 percent condom use programme, which provides sex education and distributes condoms to sex workers, "is facing difficulties" because of a new anti-sex trafficking law and lack of financial support.

Police began a crackdown on brothels after the new law was passed in February, which has reportedly forced prostitutes to leave condoms behind as they move from place to place.

"Enforcement of the anti-trafficking law harms the 100 percent condom use in brothels," Tia Phalla told a three-day national AIDS conference in Phnom Penh.

The percentage of sex workers who consistently used condoms with clients had already begun to drop to 94 percent in 2007 from 96 percent in 2003, according to AIDS authority data.

Additionally, only six of the country's 24 provinces and cities currently have funds to carry out the programme, Tia Phalla said.

"The main risk of a second wave of HIV infections occuring in Cambodia is from female sex workers, their clients and sweethearts," said a statement by the AIDS authority.

Before the 100 percent condom use programme began, Cambodia's overall HIV rate was the worst in the region, peaking at 3.7 percent of the population in 1997. Rates among prostitutes were estimated at 40 percent.

The aggressive condom and sex education campaign is believed to have helped drop Cambodia's overall HIV prevalence to 0.9 percent.

Iraqi landmine delegation visits Khmer Rouge sites in Cambodia

TOP NEWS
Wed, 09/10/2008

Phnom Penh - A delegation from Iraq's national landmine authority is touring some of Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge strongholds as part of a bilateral effort to share expertise, a senior Cambodian government official said Wednesday.

Cambodian Mine Action Authority deputy director-general Heng Ratana said the Iraq delegation would visit former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin on the Thai-Cambodian border, about 400 kilometres from the capital, as part of a fact-finding mission.

"We hope to arrange an exchange programme so each country can experience conditions in the other and we can share information and all our lessons learned," he said by telephone.

"They will visit Pailin as well as a number of other sites to see what demining projects Cambodia has in place and talk to people involved in the process," he added.

In August, Iraqi government sources estimated up to 25 million landmines remained as a legacy of war in that country. In Cambodia there are still up to 6 million landmines after nearly three decades of a civil war which only ended around a decade ago.

The Iraqi visit is scheduled to end September 16, Ratana said, but no date has yet been set for the exchange visit.

The National Iraq Mine Action Authority was established in 2003 to remove landmine contamination in Iraq after decades of war in the country. (dpa)

Documentation Center Outlines 2009 Efforts

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
10 September 2008

In an effort to continue national reconciliation, the Documentation Center of Cambodia is planning two projects in 2009: the establishment of a research center in Phnom Penh and continued efforts to teach students more about the history of the Khmer Rouge.

"The teaching of history and the building of this center is a chapter for Cambodia to walk away from hell and walk away from the killing fields, and to step forward toward national reconciliation," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center.

A team for Columbia University, in New York, will work with Education Ministry officials to build the research center and prepare teaching programs and texts for more than 3,000 teachers.

The new curriculum will be based on the book "A History of Democratic Kampuchea," written by Documentation Center researcher Khamboly Dy.

The research center will be the largest of its kind in Asia.

Vendors Seeks Hun Sen's Help in Eviction

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 September 2008

More than 100 market vendors held a demonstration in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Kandal province residence Wednesday, appealing to the premier to intervene in their forced removal from an old market in the province's Takmao district to a new one nearby.

Protesters say the new market is in a quiet part of the district, far from the bustle of the old market, and is surrounded by buildings that make it difficult to set up shop.

The new market was completed in January, under the management of a company owned by Phnom Penh tycoon Mong Reththy, but management of the old market told vendors last week they would have to move.

Protesters said the old market is being emptied so that it can be sold.

On Wednesday morning, an adviser to Hun Sen told vendors he would take their complaint to the prime minister, and by Wednesday afternoon the protesters had returned to their stalls at the old market.

Manhunt Underway for Two Escapees

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 September 2008

Kampong Cham provincial police are searching for two convicts who escaped from a hospital last week and are suspected of killing a five-year-old girl in a botched ransom scheme on Sunday.

Vaing Binh, 31, who was imprisoned for attempted murder in 2006, and Yin Noeurn, 21, who was serving a 10-sentence for robbery and murder, both fled a Kampong Cham hospital together on Sept. 1.

Both men are from Punhea Krek district, police said, and police suspect they fled to the home village of Yin Noeurn, Trapaing Phhlong.

There, they are suspected of abducting a five-year-old girl and attempting to extort $20,000 from the family to fund their continued escape, police said. When the family was not able to pay, the two men allegedly killed the girl, Hoeurn Chivmeng.

Police have been looking for the men since the killing, after the parents of the victim complained, Keo Daraphy, deputy police chief of Punhea Krek, said Wednesday.

However, search efforts have been hampered by the thick jungle and numerous canals of the area, he said.

Seng Sokim, deputy chief of Kampong Cham provincial police, said the family of the victims recognized the men, and their descriptions matched those of the escapees.

Opposition Requests Second-Day Swear-In

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

10 September 2008

Khmer audio aired 10 September 2008 (761 KB) - Download (MP3)

Khmer audio aired 10 September 2008 (761 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Two opposition parties have declined an invitation by King Norodom Sihamoni to join in a swearing-in ceremony for the new government scheduled later this month and have asked to have their newly elected parliamentarians sworn in a day later.

King Sihamoni issued his royal invitation to all 123 newly elected members of the National Assembly, but officials of the Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties, representing 29 seats, have maintained their position that July's election was illegitimate and say they will not swear in next to the ruling party.

The opposition has instead requested an alternate date to swear in, a day later, according to top officials from both parties.

Neither party is willing to be sworn in next to the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said Kong Kom, acting president of the Sam Rainsy Party, and Yem Ponhearith, secretary-general of the Human Rights Party.

Party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are currently out of the country, seeking support from the international community for claims July's election was fraudulent and a new vote should be conducted.

Both party leaders have said in the past they would boycott the swearing-in ceremony altogether.

A royal official warned Wednesday the request for a second swearing in was not likely to be granted.

"The king, as the head of state, invited all 123 elected parliamentarians to the swearing-in ceremony on [Sept. 24]," Um Daravuth, a member of the Royal Cabinet, said Wednesday. "If any party does not respect the king's orders, I say that party is wrong under the Cambodian constitution."

"In no country in the world does a National Assembly swear in two times," Um Daravuth said.

An independent analyst said Wednesday it was up to the king to bring the parties together.

"The king should use his cleverness to bring all the parties to join the swearing-in together for national unity," said Lao Monghay, a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission.

PM appoints own daughter to assist him in new govt

HENG CHIVOAN; Hun Mana, shown in a file photo, has just been made assistant to the PM.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Hun Mana, the director general of Bayon Television and Radio, will help her father to make 'proper reports'

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has appointed his daughter, Hun Mana, as an assistant to his office in the new government, one of her colleagues at Bayon TV said Tuesday.

Rith Chetra, deputy director general at Bayon TV who was also appointed an assistant to the prime minister, said that during the fourth mandate of the government, Hun Sen "will have a lot to do and needs more assistants".

"I don't know what kind of job I will help him with until the new government is formed," he added.

The new government is expected to be formed on September 24.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said that the appointment of Hun Mana was based on her position at Bayon and that she would help the prime minister in writing "proper reports".

"The public dare not comment to government officials, so they use radio and TV [to] bring their issues to the prime minister," Khieu Kanharith said.

Cambodian People's Party ministers have in the past appointed their relatives as assistants. Both Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong and Social Affairs Minister Ith Samheng sent their sons to work at the Ministry Cabinet offices.

Hun Sen has previously come under fire for appointing multiple advisers and assistants - the distinction between titles pertains to whether the appointee helps with idea generation or workflow.

Opposition Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said that the ruling party wastes a lot of state budget on advisers and assistants, adding that Hun Sen has roughly 1,000 people helping in those positions.

He claimed that most of them do little for their official capacities.

Ho Sothy, Hun Sen's Cabinet chief, declined to comment.

Blind artist sings to be free

TRACEY SHELTON; Su Biroth earns enough to support his wife and child by singing karaoke in Phnom Penh restaurants and beer gardens.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thomas Gam Nielsen
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Karaoke singer Su Biroth earns a living and self-respect in Phnom Penh's beer gardens

KARAOKE rings out every night in restaurants and beer gardens around Phnom Penh. Su Biroth, 28, sings his way through the darkness from one place to other and earns whatever guests give for his performances.

He doesn't look at the beer girls, the karaoke girls, the Yamaha synthesizers or the neon signs. Su Biroth is blind.

"When I was young I loved to sing, and my dream at that time was to be a singer. I kept on learning how to sing," Su Biroth said.

Tragic childhood

Born in Battambang province in 1980, he was the first of three boys in his family. He began losing his sight when he contracted measles at the age of seven and a year later was completely blind. In 1993, his mother committed suicide to escape life with an abusive husband, and three months later Su Biroth's father died in an auto accident.

The 13-year-old orphan decided then to try to support himself as an artist and came to Phnom Penh to study with the Blind Music Association.

He described his next twelve years living with the association as "difficult".

"In the association they did not help me at all, just gave me a place to stay, and I worked in the kitchen for them and cleaned the house. When I sang at an event, they just paid me a little bit of money," he says.

At 25 he left the organisation for a job as a blind masseur. After three years of giving massages, the massage business folded, and Su Biroth started singing karaoke full-time.

He now gets around town with his motodop-driving neighbour, living on the tips he earns from singing. A good night can earn him about 60,000 riels (US$15). The income covers rent and utilities for a household of four, including his wife, their newborn child and Su Biroth's younger brother.

"My living conditions aren't good yet but are a lot improved. I have freedom to get around," he said. "I can earn money for myself. I sing every night. The problem is that some restaurants and beer gardens still discriminate. They don't all allow blind people to sing, but I keep on going from one place to another.

"A handful of money doesn't make me happy. To be free, to get support from people and not suffer discrimination, that makes me happy."

Tiny designs make little nail art salons into big business

VANDY RATTANA; A customer gets her nails done at Sun Heang’s Christina Beauty Shop in

Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Stephanie Mckay and Mom Kunther
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Nail artists like Phnom Penh's Sun Heang can paint and decorate your nails with jewels, flowers and hundreds of exquisite designs

THE fingernails of Cambodian woman have never looked so good thanks to the burgeoning trend known as nail art.

Glitter, diamantes, three-dimensional flowers and intricate hand-painted designs now adorn the fingertips and toes of ladies (and ladyboys) looking to stand out from the crowd.

Christina Beauty Shop director Sun Heang said nail art was increasingly popular with woman of all ages, especially brides-to-be.

"Many customers come to my shop to ask me to design their nails for wedding ceremonies or parties, or they just do it for pleasure," Sun Heang said.

Sun Heang has a repertoire of more than 200 nail designs after studying in Thailand, Vietnam and China.

"I studied for three months in each country to be an expert nail designer. In Thailand and Vietnam, they taught me their own traditional nail designs, but in China they taught me all designs," she said.

At her Sihanouk Boulevard premises, Sun Heang passes on her knowledge and skills to more than 300 eager young students, and it's her diverse course of study that makes her successful as both a nail artist and teacher, she said.

Doing nail art, she added, was not terribly difficult, but each artist had to have some creative flair.

"Besides learning from experts outside the country, I had to find my own designs, and I always learn by myself. I have many nail models for my customers to choose from, but if they don't like them, they can tell me to design what they like. I can do it all for them."

" I studied for three months in each country to be an expert nail designer."

Shine like diamonds

Popular colours and designs often parallel seasons and major holidays such as Valentine's Day and Christmas, Sun Heang said. "In the hot season, they like bright diamonds because, when they go out, they will shine."

Rose Chansynat, 25, a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages, said she usually spends 30 to 90 minutes getting her nails designed.

"If I have to go to a wedding or party ... I have to get my nails done because I'm afraid that my friends or other people will laugh at me when they see my nails are bare," she said. "I go to the nail art shop once or twice a month to get my nails done with things like flowers or rubies on them. They can last for one or two weeks."

Chansynat acknowledged that it can cost a lot of money, but said "it makes my nails look good and attractive because my friends usually look at my nails and say they look nice, which makes it worth it."

One-of-a-kind nails can cost as little as US$5, but customers should expect to pay up to $50 for the most elaborate designs.

Inflation driving women out of the factories into beer gardens

TRACEY SHELTON; Despite the risks of the job, which include sexual harassment and even rape, increasing numbers of women are becoming beer girls.

Trend towards beer halls short-lived
According to Om Mean, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labour, the main factor driving young Cambodian women out of the garment factories and into beer gardens is inflation. "[Inflation] has increased 37 percent since early 2008. Everything costs more, including water, electricity and food. People can't support themselves anymore on a small salary," he said, referring to the US$60 to $120 salary per month that garment workers can earn. According to Om Mean, the migration of garment workers appears to be a short-lived trend and government efforts to strengthen the garment sector will lure women out of the beer halls. "It is normal that people would look for jobs with better incomes when the economy has problems, but I don't think the women who become beer girls will stay in those jobs for very long," he said. "The government is working hard to strengthen the garment sector and ensure fair competition in terms of the World Trade Organisation, and with regard to Vietnam and China."

The Phnom Penh Penh Post

Written by Mom Kunthear and Chrann Chamroeun
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Over 27,000 women have quit their jobs in the garment sector since March this year and found more lucrative work as 'beer girls' in the capital’s booming entertainment business

Cambodia has attracted hordes of new business investors as economic indicators improve, but one of the Kingdom's largest and most reliable sectors, the garment industry, stands in peril as a new generation of young women, faced with runaway inflation rates, turns to a more lucrative trade to support themselves and their families.

Hun Danet, 23, left her home in Kampot province two years ago and moved to Sihanoukville. She became a garment worker like so many other young women looking for a better life. Now she works as a "beer girl" in Happy Happy beer garden in Phnom Penh.

"I've worked in a beer garden for six months and I can earn more money here than in a factory," she said. "At the factory, I earned between US$60 and $120 per month. I get $300 as a beer girl. I'm happy because the work doesn't make me tired," Hun Danet said.But her move to one of the capital's ubiquitous beer halls has not come without a price.

"I hate myself for being like this, but I don't have any other choice. I haven't told my mother or my other relatives that I work as a beer girl because they would be unhappy and look down on me," she said.

"My customers used to ask me to have sex with them, but I told them that I sell beer, not my body."

She said many of her friends and customers judge her harshly for selling beer at the beer garden. "I'd rather be doing something else, but I can't get any other well-paying job because I don't have the right knowledge or skills."

Hun Danet hopes to leave the beer halls as soon as she earns enough money to give her family a better life.

"When I worked in a factory, I rarely sent money to my mother. Now I can send her $100 every month," she said.

"I think all factory workers who decide to become beer girls or karaoke girls force themselves to do it because they can't get any other job that pays as well. Some might think $300 is a small amount of money, but for me it's a huge amount."

There are about 350 garment factories in Cambodia employing some 350,000 workers, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) - up from 220 factories and 250,000 workers in 2004. Most of the workers are young Cambodian women who have left lives in rural provinces where they lived on less than $1 per day.

Factories losing workers

Chea Mony, president of Cambodia's Free Trade Union, estimates that more than 27,000 women across the Kingdom have left factory jobs for employment in nightclubs, beer gardens and Karaoke clubs since March 2008.

"Salaries in the garment sector have not kept pace with rising consumer costs, and corruption is everywhere in the factories. So, more women are forced to look for better-paying jobs," he said.

"The loss of workers could devastate Cambodian factories. We're worried because as factories have been trying to recruit new workers, the government tells us there's no problem. Everything is going smoothly," he added.

"The government has to be willing to eliminate corruption in the factories and also among government officials."

Vantha, 28, spends her nights working in a beer garden and her days in a garment factory. She's trying to save money to pay fees for building a new house.

" I don't care what other people say about me or my job because they're not paying me or feeding me. "

"I've worked in the beer garden for just five days, so I'm not that good," she said."It is very different from factory work. I get a lot of money and I work less hours. I earn about $300 per month. I plan to work here until I'm at least 30," she said.

Vantha knows the risks that working in a beer garden holds for her reputation but remains defiant."I don't care what other people say about me or my job because they're not paying me or feeding me."

Growing trend

A Phnom Penh-based NGO says the departure of garment workers for beer halls and nightclubs is a growing trend.

"Through my work, I see more and more factory workers quitting their jobs because of low salaries and taking jobs as beer girls because they need money to pay the rent, buy food and send money to their families," said Nop Sarin Sreyroth, director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC).

"The main problem is poverty. As women from the countryside come to Phnom Penh to work in factories, they soon learn that they can make much more money as a beer or karaoke girl," she said.

"They know these jobs are not considered respectable, that people will think they are worthless and men will look down on them as prostitutes. But many women see it as their only option."

Some women might be willing to risk their reputations for the sake of a better paycheck, but Nop Sarin Sreyroth knows the dangers can be far more perilous.

"What they don't consider is that they could become victims of sexual assault by men who will try to have sex with them, or rape them if they refuse."

Om Mean, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labour, credits the high cost of living with driving more women from factories to beer halls and says the inflation rate is staggeringly higher than other government officials have been willing to admit.

"Young women must find alternative employment that will provide an adequate income," Om Mean said.

Victims in emotional, legal limbo over participation at the KR Trial

TRACEY SHELTON ; DC-Cam’s Terith Chy speaks to a civil party in Svay Rieng province.

TRACEY SHELTON; Rin, a civil party to the Duch trial at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, holds a photograph of her sister who died during her incarceration at Tuol Sleng.

How to file as a civil party
1- Fill out a Victim Information Form available at the ECCC information center (House 6A, Street 21, Tonle Bassac I, Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh) or the ECCC website (http://www.eccc.gov.kh/).

2- Send the application to the Victims Unit via email (victimsunit@eccc.gov.kh
or by post to the ECCC, National Road 4, Choam Chau, Dangkao, Phnom Penh, or the ECCC Information Centre.

3- Include details verifying your status as a victim, and have any evidence of the crime(s) attached.

4- Completed applications will then be transferred by the Victims Unit to the greffier of the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges or the Chambers, as appropriate, through the Case File Officer, together with all necessary information concerning common representation.

5- If applicable, the judges will decide on the admissibility of the Civil Party application and such decision shall be open to appeal before the Pre-Trial Chamber or the Supreme Court Chamber depending on the stage of the proceedings.

Victims must have suffered physical, material or psychological harm, including suffering psychologically from the death of a family member, during the period under jurisdiction.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Thursday, 11 September 2008

SVAY RIENG PROVINCE

After calling for unprecedented levels of victim participation, the KR tribunal is struggling to accomodate civil parties and has even reneged, some claim, on their initial rights in court

When Rin saw the man who organised the killing of her sister calmly escorted into a Toyota Land Cruiser on national television, she wanted to club him to death the way her sister had been years before.

"I respect the law ... but I can no longer hold back my anger," the 52-year-old said.

As a civil party to the trial of Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, who is also known as Duch, Rin has a healthy respect for the judicial process.

But even so, "we've been waiting too long for justice", she said.

Rin is not the only person troubled by the mixed emotions of participating in the trial of the man who allegedly ordered the death of so many, and her frustration is symbolic of the ongoing antagonism between speed and scope at the UN-backed tribunal.

The tribunal's Victims Unit is now flooded with applications from people seeking legal recognition for their suffering under the 1975-79 regime - up to 1,800 victim and civil party applications have been received and are now waiting to be processed.

But ongoing delays, coupled with what critics call an erosion of the legal rights of civil parties at the pretrial stage, have many wondering whether victim participation on the scale previously planned is still a priority for the near-bankrupt court.

Untested ground

Cambodia's Extraordinary Chambers is the first hybrid tribunal in history to encourage victims like Rin to play a central role in the proceedings. For the first time ever, victims as civil parties are legal participants in the criminal proceedings. A civil party has most, if not all, of the rights as the prosecution and defense, including access to documents and the ability to produce evidence in court.

Terith Chy, head of the Victims Participation Project at the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), is facilitating the applications of several civil parties and says that civil parties are often uncertain of their role.

"They want to tell the court what happened, everything they saw," he said. "But they are worried about how long the process has taken and will take."

The extent to which victims will be able to participate in the trials has been a contentious issue ever since the inception of the tribunal two years ago.

Cecile Aptel, who is in charge of the International Center for Transitional Justice's Cambodia program, describes it as a case of push-and-pull for the court.

"When victims play an active role in legal proceedings, they feel directly involved in the judicial process and empowered," she said. "But this also creates a challenge for the ECCC: to ensure that a potentially large number of victims can participate effectively in the proceedings."

Despite continuing calls for more applicants, the court has, in practice, made repeated attempts to backpedal on the rights initially given to parties, some observers claim.

" They want to tell the court what happened, everything they saw ... but they are worried about how long the process has taken. "

In July, civil party Theary Seng was denied the chance to address the court directly during Ieng Sary's appeal against his pretrial detention on the basis she had legal representation. When she then dismissed her lawyer, she was again denied the right to speak.

Written amendments were pushed through last week at the fourth plenary session of judges requiring parties to apply at least 10 days ahead of the initial hearing if they want to speak and giving the court the power to force them into groups with a single lawyer representing them.

Setting a precedent

As the tribunal is the first of its kind to offer victims the chance to participate as legally recognised parties, observers will be looking to it as a case study.

"Decisions made by the ECCC judges may have a significant impact on choices made by other mass crimes courts about whether or not victims should play an active part in proceedings and the appropriate scope of their participation," said Anne Heindel, a legal adviser to DC-Cam.

According to Aptel, the court could potentially "lead the way and create tremendously important precedents in international criminal law".

But a major flaw in the right of KR victims to participate is that currently no legal representation is provided to parties willing to seek civil party status.

"The court needs to get money for representation so their part [in the trials] will be meaningful," said DC-Cam's Terith Chy.

Court spokesperson Helen Jarvis said that the court's new budget, for which funds are now being sought, has provisions for more staff and support activities, and for "a modest level of legal assistance to support those approved to become civil parties".

But observers, who are concerned it might be another year until other defendants are even indicted, are warning that the court's legitimacy is at stake.

"Victim participation is important for the court's legitimacy because it is the best way of making a few trials of a handful of persons relevant to survivors 30 years after the fact," Heindel said. The Victims Unit declined repeated requests for comment.

Drive to educate kids about KRT continues

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Vong Sokheng
Thursday, 11 September 2008

MORE than 400 Kandal and Kampong Speu high school students are set to visit the ECCC to learn about the crimes that took place under the Khmer Rouge regime in a move facilitated by an outreach office of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam).

Sayana Ser, DC-Cam team leader, said that prior to their visit, which has been scheduled for September 25, the students will be briefed about the regime that killed approximately 1.7 million Cambodians by Youk Chhang, director of DC-Cam, and Vann Nath, a survivor of Tuol Sleng prison.

Learning experience

"Our aim is to make the young generation understand the KR tribunal process and the history of the genocide," Sayana said. "We believe that many high school students lack knowledge about KR history so we will also take them to visit Tuol Sleng (S-21) and Choeung Ek Genocide Museum."

Reach Sambath, spokesman for the ECCC, told the Post that more than 20,000 national and international visitors have come through the doors of the ECCC under the support of DC-Cam since February 2006.

"We found that there was a big gap in knowledge about the regime between the young generation and the old generation," he said. "We consider that the ECCC is their court, therefore, they need to know about it."

Kaing Geuk Eav, or Duch, the former director of S-21 who has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, is expected to stand trial at the ECCC in October.

Decentralisation to get $82 million in govt, private funding in '09

TOP DONORS
T he committee’s 2009 budget has benefitted from increased funding by 16 private developmental partners, including the UN Development Program, the World Bank, Denmark-based Danida and several other foreign NGOs.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Hor Hab
Thursday, 11 September 2008

The program hopes to focus the new budget on capacity-building programs that will promote job growth at district, commune levels

THE government has budgeted US$82 million next year to the National Committee for the Management of Decentralisation and Deconcentration (D&D), the program through which the Kingdom's administration is being reshaped,officials said at a Ministry of Interior workshop on Tuesday.

Some funds will be allocated to development and service projects at the national, provincial, district and commune levels, Keat Chhon, minister of finance and chairman of the committee, told workshop attendees.

One-third of the budget, some $26 million, will come from Cambodia's national budget, he said, while development partners - including foreign NGOs and UN agencies - will contribute the remaining funds.

" They can't just count off... roads and irrigation systems they plan to build. "

The D&D program was first implemented by the Interior Ministry in 2002 to help shift administrative functions from Phnom Penh-based line ministries to the province, district or commune level.

Prum Sokha, secretary of state for the Interior Ministry, said the government has increased its budget allocation to the program since 2002, when funds were only 1.5 percent of national revenues. The budget last year was $22.9 million.

The budget figures announced Tuesday represent estimates of how the funds will be allocated and could vary, Chhieng Yanara, secretary general of the Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC), told the workshop.

He said the budget includes $42.8 million in direct funds for the commune level - an increase of 31 percent over last year's figures - which breaks down to $6.3 million for district projects, $13.2 million for the provinces and $8.37 million for national programs.

The government will also spend $15 million outside the budget to fund social and environmental capacity-building programs, he added.

Chhor Sophal, deputy chief of party for the Local Administration and Reform Program, said he was pleased with the D&D committee's work so far but that programs need to be implemented at a faster pace.

He said the government needs to make funds available at the commune level more quickly. He also suggested the D&D's commune committees must get local residents more involved in projects and better explain how they can benefit from them.

"They can't just count off the number of new roads and irrigation systems they plan to build," he said.

SEZ port project stirs anger

HENG CHIVOAN; Villagers from Roluos village in Kampot survey their fishing grounds. The mixed-use project by businessman Wing Huor has been filling in costal areas with sand.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khouth Sophakchakrya
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Kampot Province

Fishermen in Kampot province complain that a new SEZ project will destroy their livelihoods and forever damage their mangroves and their coastline

MORE than 300 villagers have filed complaints with the Kampot provincial governor to stop a private company from developing a coastal fishing area.

Under a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) agreement with the government, businessman Wing Huor's Kampot SEZ has been filling in coastal mangrove forests with sand, according to local residents.

The project is to eventually include a new port, factory, market, condominium complex and public park located on about 1,000 hectares of coast.

Koem Da, a resident of Roluos village in Boeung Touk commune, said people in the community rely on the area being developed for fishing.

"The pumping has filled in many fishing areas and is taking away our ability to survive here," Koem Da said.

Patrolling the coastShe said local villagers have begun patrolling fishing areas to prevent the company from continuing to pump.

"We are following the law by protecting our environment, but the company claims that what we do is illegal."

Wing Huor was travelling on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

"We know the company has a development project with the government that is worth millions of dollars, but they never consulted us before they began about how it would affect our community," Lor Chhean, a fisherman from Prek Thanaut commune, said.

" If the company keeps pumping sand...everything we rely on will be lost. "

Pak Tyram, deputy chief of Treuy Koh commune in Kampot district, said more than 90 percent of people in the commune are fishermen.

"The mangrove forests are where we catch fish, prawns and crab. If the company keeps pumping sand to fill in these areas, everything we rely on will be lost," he said.

More projects expected

Try Chhoun, a Kampot coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said many new development projects have been slated for coastal areas throughout the province, and the government has targeted prime fishing spots for the establishment of SEZs.

"This is Cambodia, not Hong Kong or Singapore. The government should rethink these projects," he said.

Khem Bunheng, director of Kampot's Department of Environment, admitted that the government has targeted beachfront land to attract foreign investment and that such projects would have an impact on local communities.

"Development always affects some people's living conditions, but we can't survive without development," he said.

Sar Sorin, director of the District Fisheries Administration of Kampot, said the government has carefully studied all proposals for coastal development and that whatever problems exist for local villagers will be temporary.

"I believe the villagers and the company will be able to find a way to work together for their mutual benefit," he said.

Hasten Duch trial: victim

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Thursday, 11 September 2008

WHEN Rin was a young woman, she lost her sister to the S-21 prison. Thirty years on, the 52-year-old, who is terminally ill, worries that legal delays will now deprive her on her only chance of finding justice.

"I want to request that [former S-21 jailor] Duch be put on trial as soon as possible, otherwise I may not live to see justice," she told the Post at her Svay Rieng home.

Rin, who cannot be fully identified for legal reasons, is confined to a wheelchair by disease. For years she has dreamt of confronting the Khmer Rouge torture chief Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, in person, but she now doubts she will even be well enough to attend his trial, expected in October.

In 2005, Rin discovered her missing sister was one of the 14,000 people tortured and killed at Tuol Sleng prison. She applied to have the power of a civil party because she wanted to participate directly in the trial of her sister's alleged killer.

Terith Chy, team leader of the victim participation project at the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), said many civil parties "want [the trials] to go faster," he said.

Rin, who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, says living to see Duch tried will give her closure. "If I live to see the court bring justice, I will die peacefully."

Anti-graft legislation in sight: govt

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath and Chun Sophal
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Passage of penal code hoped to lead to anti-corruption law

THE Council of Ministers is in the process of reviewing a new draft penal code, the passage of which will pave the way for the Kingdom's long-delayed anti-corruption legislation.

But with only 40 of some 700 articles examined so far, critics say this is just another ploy to avoid passing the graft-busting decree, which has been a key demand of foreign donors.

"The Council of Minister currently has reviewed more than 40 articles of the 700 articles of the draft penal code," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told a conference Monday.

"After reviewing the draft [penal code] the government will continue to inspect the anti-corruption law," he added, without specifying a date that the review would be completed.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker and spokesman Son Chhay said that while the opposition welcomed the review of the draft penal code, they urged the government to finish the job "sooner rather than later".

"We are very worried as this fourth-term government has more than 500 members," Son Chhay said. "If we have don't have an anti-corruption law and penal code, we will have difficulty punishing corrupt officials," he added.

Ny Chakrya, head of the monitoring section for the rights group Adhoc, said, "[Reviewing the penal code first] is the CPP's pretext to avoid making the anti-corruption law. They have a real purpose to delay [this] debate."

According to Ny Chakrya, the government's lacklustre commitment to passing anti-corruption legislation is shown in the fact less essential laws - such as one banning adultery - were passed first.

Bun Uy, secretary of state for the Council of Ministers, told Post by phone Tuesday that government has no reason to delay the passage of the anti-corruption law. "We need to pass the new penal code first because punishing crime is related both to the penal code and the anti-corruption law," he said.

Unless the penal code was passed first, the anti-corruption law could end up conflicting with it, he said. "The relevant ministries are working very hard and had discussed this week [how to expedite the passage of] the penal code."

Wells to provide safe water in takeo

VANDY RATTANA; A young Cham girl rides her bike at a ceremony in Takeo province Monday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Mom Kunthear and Will Hine
Thursday, 11 September 2008

It was a watershed day in Takeo province's Traing district on Monday when 30 newly created water wells were handed over to a commune of 600 families. Ten months in the making and with a price tag of some US$28,000, the wells are to provide three villages in the Smorng commune with clean drinking water. Sos Mousine, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Rural Development, said the wells were a small but life-changing gift. "Over 85 percent of rural people in Cambodia still don't have access to safe drinking water," he said. The construction was funded by the Australian government and implemented by UK-based NGO Muslim Aid.

Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh

Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia's farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia's farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Farmers plough rice in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Farmers plough rice in a paddy field in Takeo province, 80 km (50 miles) south of Phnom Penh August 8, 2008 . Cambodia is one of the world's poorest counties, with three-quarters of its 14 million population depending on agriculture in a country where the average daily income is less than $2.REUTERS /Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

SRP questions about secret deals with Thaksin over Preah Vihear

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CIB to streamline investment procedures

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Hor Hab and Nguon Sovan
Thursday, 11 September 2008

THE Cambodian Investment Board (CIB) is preparing to implement a new strategy for foreign investment that aims to simplify bureaucracy and improve the quality of services.

"We have already made changes in the import-export sector by adopting a Single Administration Document, whereby authorities check all goods at a single location to save time and money," said Suon Sithy, secretary general of CIB.

Previously, investments required a 28-day waiting period as paperwork moved between various ministries. Under the new strategy, simple investments will require only seven to 10 days for an answer directly from the CIB, Suon Sithy said.

He said more complicated investments related to the environment or politics will still be subject to the 28-day requirement.

"We are walking the right path, though we haven't yet reached our goal," Suon Sithy said. "We are making investment easier by not requiring the same documents be submitted to all relevant ministries."

Suon Sithy said the board has also put in place a risk-management strategy for imports and exports that requires inspection of only suspicious or "irregular" cargo, while simplifying the process for companies that respect the law while meeting the needs of their customers. "We have made progress in promoting Cambodia as an attractive investment target and creating a good business climate for potential investors, but more needs to be done," he said.

Economist Sok Sina said Cambodia's investment laws have improved and current trends show a strengthening investment market.

"We can already see that trade volumes are getting bigger and bigger," he said.

Cambodia advances 15 places in Doing Business 2009 rankings

September 10, 2008

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia moved up 15 places to 135th in the ranking of the ease of doing business around the world, according to a report released Wednesday by International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.

Cambodia's significantly higher standing is the result of reforms that make it easier for businesses to get credit and to close a business.

Comment: Address graft charges or jeopardise the KR tribunal

AFP; Newly appointed judges to the ECCC, Catherine Marchi-Uhel of France (left) and Siegfried Blunk of Germany were officially sworn in Friday. During last week’s plenary session, tribunal judges called for corruption allegations to be fully investigated.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Post Staff
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Judicial process in peril if donors don't commit more funding

The growing number of allegations of corruption in the form of required staff kickback payments at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) causes grave concern about the integrity of this court that is designed to promote the end of impunity.

The credibility of the court now depends on its ability to prove that it is corruption-free. We welcome the statements of ECCC Judge Sylvia Cartwright at the opening of the plenary session of judges on September 1, 2008, that "these historic trials, which are so important for the people of Cambodia, must not be tainted by corruption", and that claims of corruption must be resolved in a transparent manner. We welcome the recent step of all the judges of the ECCC to strengthen the Code of Ethics to which they are bound. These steps enhance the credibility of the court.

Members of the NGO community in Cambodia have been strong supporters of an independent and credible tribunal to address Khmer Rouge crimes in a manner that meets international standards and leaves behind a strong legacy for Cambodian courts.

These goals cannot be met if the ECCC tolerates the practice of graft that requires staff or officials to pay back a portion of their salaries to get or keep their jobs. The allegations that such demands are being made of Cambodian staff or officials at the ECCC must be definitively dealt with.

Protect whistleblowers

In addition to the Cambodian side of the court, the Government of Cambodia, the United Nations and the donor community have a responsibility to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to eliminate alleged corrupt practices from the ECCC.

No longer can the Cambodian government, the UN and the donors ignore this problem because the allegations threaten the ability of the court to continue as a credible institution in the eyes of the people of Cambodia.

Staff of the ECCC who have come forward to give an account of such practices display courage and risk their personal and professional security and perhaps that of their family members. Without their courage, corruption cannot be addressed. They provide hope that the ECCC can serve to prove that progress can be made to eliminate corruption from judicial institutions in Cambodia. We urge the Cambodian government, the UN and the donor community to take strong steps to provide adequate whistleblower protection and support for these people.

Over the last year the Director of Administration, the UNDP and donor representatives assured the public that they will have a "robust" program to deal with corruption allegations. The fact that allegations came forward first in early 2007 and again in the spring of 2008 - after claims that they had been dealt with fully - raises concerns about the sufficiency and effectiveness of the commitment of the parties and the mechanisms put in place. The court's integrity may be irreparably damaged if the problem is not dealt with now and comes up for a third time. The court must assure the public it has adequate mechanisms to deal with allegations of corruption in a timely and conclusive manner. The process must be transparent while protecting the rights and interests of those that come forward.

The ECCC can still bring justice

Finally, while the allegations of corruption are discouraging, we continue to believe that the ECCC can succeed in its goal of providing some justice for the people of Cambodia. Encouraging progress has been made on the cases before the Court, which must continue without interruption. The ECCC, like other tribunals dealing with international crimes, requires significant resources to complete its mission of providing justice and a model of legal reform to Cambodia. We urge donors to continue to provide adequate financial support to the court, while ensuring that the corruption is effectively addressed.

_____________________________________

The following NGOs endorse the above statement:

Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC); Coalition of Civil Society Organization Against Corruption (CoCSOAC); PACT Cambodia; Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC); Center for Social Development (CSD); Khmer Institute for Democracy (KID); Cambodia Justice Initiative (CJI); Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP); Youth for Peace (YfP); People Center for Development and Peace (PDP-Center); Khmer Youth Association (KYA)

Creative Holidays launches Vietnam and Cambodia

e-Travel Balckboard
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Creative Holidays has launched its 2009 Vietnam & Cambodia program offering the trade an expanded product range, as well as new, more flexible travel options that can be tailored to suit specific clients’ time and budget requests.

The new program boasts a full page of new hotels in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, including two new beach resorts – The Furama near Danang and the Nam Hai near Hoi An, Vietnam. The program also has more tour options in both Vietnam and Cambodia including cruises on the Makong Delta from Saigon to Siem Reap and visa versa as well as a cultural overnight trip to Mai Chau village near Hanoi.

All this has been added to the already extensive program which features Halong Bay boat options, including the Halong Ginger, a five-star high-end junk for travellers looking for a more luxurious experience. The program also includes more hotel options in the popular cities of Saigon, Hanoi and Hoi An, a full page outlining Sapa train and rail options as well as the product in the beach areas of Phu Quoc Island, Phan Thiet and Quy Nhon.

Andrew Yell, general manager, product, sales and marketing, Creative Holidays said “This year we have a really diverse range of products designed to suit all markets, including families, couples, singles, those on a budget, the more adventurous, people looking for a hands-on experience and those after romance, luxury and indulgence.

“The interest in travelling to Vietnam and Cambodia has grown significantly over the last 12 months and continues to be popular choice with Australians. In fact, we have seen sales increase significantly over the past year as Vietnam continues to be well priced and affordable with a great range of accommodation and tour options.

“We have been able to increase our range to offer more five-star resorts, like the Six Senses in Nha Trang and the Nam Hai in Hoi An, more options to the booming family market and, option of independent flexible itineraries and group trips where solo travellers and singles are able to join one of the two group tours. We have the country covered now and due to the big demand, the expanded product range caters for anyone who wants to visit Vietnam.

“We have an excellent ground handler who is both professional and dedicated with exceptional guides and staff, and will ensure your clients will experience Vietnam in the best way possible.

“Truly flexible independent touring is always a popular choice and consultants now have more options than ever with Creative Holidays. Agents can tailor an itinerary exclusively for their clients with us, right down to the standard of accommodation, duration, budget and sightseeing options.

“Tailoring a trip for clients is simple in Vietnam because geographically the country runs over 3000km from north to south, so the most practical itineraries traverse the country from top to bottom or vise versa, with as many, or as few, stops in between as travellers would like.

However, with the boom in interest to the region demand can sometimes out number supply, so book your clients early to ensure they don’t miss out during peak seasons.

“Moving forward into 2009, we expect to see growth continue for Vietnam, particularly as the region is so accessible, easy to travel though and appeals to such a broad cross-section of the market.”

Creative Holidays’ entire program is a comprehensive information source and research tool to help consultants and their clients plan their holiday. It features impartial destination information supplied by Lonely Planet including temperature charts, country and area maps, event details, currency and dining information, travel facts, country highlights and much more throughout.

As a SPECIAL BONUS, Lonely Planet is offering significant discounts on their range of travel guides to Creative Holidays’ customers, so if your clients wish to learn more about Vietnam and Cambodia be sure to direct them to www.creativeholidays.com where they can save 20 per cent on all full priced Lonely Planet guides.

Creative Holidays is Australia’s leading independent holiday company with a range of holidays to suit everyone – especially those who enjoy the independence and flexibility of planning their own holiday. Creative Holidays great deals are available exclusively through travel agents.

Cambodia's first agency to value business assets opens

VANDY RATTANA; New condominiums and businesses for sale in Phnom Penh.

FAMILY SECRET
The requirement that companies declare their assets is widely believed to be one of the biggest obstacles to establishing Cambodia’s stock market, sources say. Most enterprises that could list are family-owned and guard the value of their businesses.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chun Sophal and Nguon Sovan
Thursday, 11 September 2008

Establishment of valuation association a key step in opening the Kingdom's stock market, but some business leaders say it will not be capable of doing the job

CAMBODIA'S first agency to assess the value of corporate assets opened last week, in what company sources are describing as a key step in establishing a Cambodian stock exchange.

But business figures are sceptical the new body will be able to establish sufficient nationwide transparency in time to meet the stock market's 2009 deadline for opening.

Sung Bonna, chairman of the new National Valuation Association of Cambodia (NVAC), which is supported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said the body will play an important role in Cambodia's future growth.

"We will try to push this nascent association to attract foreign investors and to assist in the process of setting up a stock exchange next year," he said, adding that the stock market will not go ahead in the absence of credible asset evaluations. "If we have professional assessors and good management, the stock market process will be smoother," he said.

In Channy, CEO of Acleda Bank, said the new agency could provide independent assessments for firms wishing to register on the Kingdom's stock market.

"We need an assessor that has enough independence to determine the accurate value of a company's assets. This concept generally exists in other countries," he said.

'2012 more realistic'

But Nguon Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said he does not think the association will be successful.

"I do not believe that they are capable enough for this work for the time being," he said.He added that the 2009 deadline for a Cambodian bourse was little more than a pipe dream.

"Cambodia does not have enough human resources and experts," he said, adding that 2012 was a more realistic target.

In Channy said Acleda currently assesses its own assets and is unlikely to use NVAC until it establishes more branches across the country. "We do not reject the use of the service, but we trust our own assessment," he said.

Likewise, Kong Triv, CEO of KT Pacific Group, said that he has not considered using the NVAC to evaluate his company's assets. "We will wait and see how independent [it] is and how it builds confidence, and then we will consider it," he said.

Sung Bonna admitted the NVAC was untested, but he said he was optimistic it will valuate properties accurately. "The association will seek training from foreign experts to make sure that the evaluation is internationally acceptable," he said.

Cambodian Economic Association President Chan Sophal said Cambodia must have a property evaluation association that is fully independent, "otherwise companies could lose confidence".

Sacravatoons :" Cambodia, the US Products' Dumping Site "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons : " Buy One Get One Free "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons :" The Royal-Pig can fly "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

U.N. mandate necessary in Cambodia

UPI Asia Online

By Lao Mong Hay
Column: Rule by Fear
Published: September 10, 2008

Hong Kong, China — In the 1970s and 1980s the Cambodian people suffered successively from the extension of the Vietnam War, massive human rights violations and another protected war of ten years commonly known as the Paris Peace Agreements. As an integral part of a comprehensive settlement of the latter war in 1991, Cambodia agreed to adhere to international human rights standards and norms in order to prevent the return of the policies and practices of rights violations of the past.

Those peace agreements have provided for, among other things, a temporary administration of Cambodia by the U.N. and close monitoring of the human rights situation in Cambodia by the U.N. Human Rights Commission, including, if necessary, by the appointment of a Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia. Since the end of that U.N. administration in 1993, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights opened a field office and the U.N. secretary-general appointed a special representative for human rights in Cambodia to help the country meet its human rights obligations as well as to monitor the human rights situation.

However, the Cambodian government, which has since been effectively run by the Cambodian People's Party, formerly a communist party, has not been happy with the U.N. human rights mandate. The relationship between this government and the high commissioner's field office on one hand and the secretary-general's special representative on the other has been characterized by continuous conflicts.

These conflicts have become open and very acrimonious in recent years when the Cambodian government openly attacked the incumbent special representative, Professor Yash Ghai from Kenya, following the latter's reports and statements criticizing the government's failure to honor its obligations. That government has once called for Ghai's sacking and having failed, refused to cooperate with him and also threatened to close down the field office.

The U.N. human rights mandate is now being reviewed in the current session of the Human Rights Council beginning this week. This review has caused a lot of anxiety in Cambodia's civil society, as they fear the mandate could end. There is then a risk that not only the Cambodian government would cease honoring its human rights obligations but also any human rights gain achieved since 1993 would be reversed.

The U.N. mandate has contributed to improving a certain number of human rights. The rights of women and children are much better although violence against women, woman trafficking and child labor remain serious national issues. More Cambodian women are playing an active role in public affairs and school enrollment of children and girls is higher than before.

The press has more freedom. Legal and judicial reforms have been undertaken though at a very slow pace. Codes of procedure have been enacted and there is more compliance with them as the police force and judicial officers have gained better technical expertise and training although the justice system and the police still have a lot of flaws and shortcomings. Resorting to torture and ill-treating accused persons is less frequent although crowded prisons, lack of hygiene and inadequate food rations remain big problems.

However, despite these positive developments, the Cambodian government has yet to honor many fundamental rights enumerated in the peace agreements. Over recent years there has been a reverse in the freedom of assembly and association when in the past, peaceful public demonstrations and protests were practically banned and force was used to enforce it.

As was observed in the latest electoral process, political control of the media persists; arrest and killing of journalists, and threats and intimidation continue and at least one journalist has fled the country fearing personal security.

There is no rule of law yet as the judiciary has remained under executive control, the rich and the powerful. As Ghai observed, "state authorities, as well as companies and politically well-connected individuals, show scant respect for the rule of law," and that the courts and legal profession, "have failed the people of Cambodia woefully."

There is little respite from deprivation of private property without just compensation as the rich and the powerful have often connived to grab land from the poor and the weak. It has been reported that some 150,000 Cambodians are facing the risk of being forcibly evicted from their homes and lands to make way for development or city beautification. Ghai observed that such people are living in fear: "fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts."

Moreover, the Cambodian government has not fully honored the right of all Cambodian citizens who undertake activities to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. It has frequently obstructed human rights defenders who frequently face threats and intimidation, or even death. Furthermore, the government has already planned to enact a law to curb the activities of human rights non-governmental organizations.

These organizations, which have actively promoted human rights, the rule of law and democracy, are at the mercy of the government. There are as yet no national institutions for democracy and the rule of law, which are functional, independent, and impartial that can protect the rights of Cambodian citizens.

Due to the absence of such institutions and the weakness of civil society organizations, the U.N. human rights mandate is necessary, both for the protection and promotion of human rights and for the development of those institutions in Cambodia.

The Cambodian government must offer a more effective alternative before it calls for an end to its obligations under the Paris Peace Agreements.