Foreign Minister visits Cambodia to boost ties

LAOS, Oct 22 (KPL) - A high-ranking delegation of Laos headed by Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith, LPRP CC Politburo member, Head of the External Relation Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid a visit to Cambodia on 15-17 October.

The visit was aimed at strengthening the friendly relation and co-operation between the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and the Cambodian People’s Party.

During the visit, the Lao delegation had a working session with its Cambodian counterpart, paid a courtesy visit to Samdech Chea Sim, President of the Cambodian People’s Party, and Samdech Hun Sen, Deputy-President of the Party.

During the working session, the sides discussed and shared their views on a number of issues relating to their future co-operation. They also expressed their satisfaction over the relation and co-operation made in the past and reaffirmed the continued strengthening of their friendly relation and co-operation in the future.

The visit took the Lao delegation to a number of cultural, historical and social-economic development sites in Phnom Penh.(KPL)

Thailand protests Cambodian troop deployment at Thai, Cambodian, Lao tri-border

BANGKOK, Oct 22 (TNA) - Thailand has protested to Cambodia against the deployment of Cambodian troops at the Trimuk Pavilion (Sala Trimuk) near the tri-border point where Thai, Cambodia and Lao land boundaries meet.

Director-General Virachai Plasai of the Thai Foreign Ministry's Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs met Tuesday with Cambodian Charge d'Affairs to Thailand Ouk Sophoin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present an aide-memoire on a September 18 occurrance, during which seven fully-armed Cambodian troops were deployed at Trimuk Pavilion (Sala Trimuk), near the tri-junction point where the three countries' land boundaries meet.

According to the diplomatic note, Thailand expressed its concern over the unnecessary tension caused by such a deployment of troops by Cambodia into a boundary which is yet to be demarcated and still subject to tripartite negotiation among Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Thailand reiterated its commitment to settle boundary issues with Cambodia fairly through peaceful means under the existing framework of the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

In the note Thailand asked Cambodia to promptly withdraw its troops from the Trimuk Pavilion area and refrain from further troop deployments in the area to preserve goodwill and trust between the two countries pending completion of the boundary demarcation.

In addition, Thailand informed Cambodia that on Tuesday the cabinet confirmed the appointment of Vasin Teeravechyan, former ambassador to the Republic of Korea, as Chairman of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundaries (JBC).

It was also expected that Thailand's House of Representatives will consider the negotiating framework on the provisional arrangement between Thailand and Cambodia and the negotiating framework of the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) next week. (TNA)

Thai-Cambodian border committee set to meet

Wednesday October 22, 2008

(BangkokPost.com) - Thai army and government officials will attend Thai-Cambodian Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting, aimed at seeking peaceful solutions to the ongoing border row between both countries.

The RBC meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The previous meeting was held between Thailand’s Second Army commander, Lt-Gen Wiboonsak Neeparn, and Cambodia’s Fourth Army commander, Gen Chea Mon, following the armed clash between both sides near Preah Vihear temple on October 16.

Meanwhile, the Second Army deputy commander, Maj-Gen Veevalit Jornsamrit, said the Thai troops have beefed up security along the Thai-Cambodian border area to prevent armed confrontations with Cambodian soldiers from happening again.

Thailand, Cambodia to hold RBC meeting on Oct 23-24

Thaindian News
October 22nd, 2008

ICT by Amrit Rashmisrisethi

Thailand and Cambodia will hold regional border committee (RBC) meetings between October 23-24 to try to resolve border conflicts.

Major General Vivalit Jonsomrit the deputy commander of Army Region 2, has stated troops deployment along Thai and Cambodian border at the Preah Vihear Temple area was more discipline and strict in the regiments to prevent recurring of unintentional clashes between both nation’s troops.

He made the statements during his chairing the royal bathing ritual of the corpse of volunteer ranger, Bunrit Kanti, who died from being ambushed. The ceremony took place on October 21.

As the situation at the border areas was still liquid, he said that commanders of both sides agreed to hold regional border committee meetings regarding the border dispute between October 23-24. He hoped that the meeting would resolve the conflicts leading to peaceful bilateral settlement.

Source : National News Bureau, Public Relations Department of Thailand

Local demand fuels Cambodian child prostitution - 21 Oct 08

Al Jazeera English

The problem of child prostitution in Cambodia is often depicted as an industry which serves predatory foreign tourists.

But the vast majority of customers who pay for underage sex are local, Cambodian men.

It has been suggested that one in 40 Cambodian girls is sold into sex slavery. David Hawkins reports from the capital, Phnom Penh.

Soldiers' deaths could've been prevented

Pacific Daily News

October 22, 2008

In Cambodia, known as the land of the gentle smile and big heart, the rise of totalitarianism in the form of Hun Sen, Inc. is threatening the people and the country. Sen's power grabs are ignored by the international community and sanctions are absent.

While looking backward to historical events does not move us forward, history tells us why we are where we are. Its lessons can guide our future.

Ironically, Hun Sen, Inc. was created as a result of the failure to implement the 1991 United Nations-sponsored Paris Peace Accords. In brief, the non-implementation left the Hanoi-backed runaway Khmer Rouge faction in complete control of Cambodia's institutions after Pol Pot was knocked out of power.

The Accords stipulated that a neutral interim government would be put in place until the "free and fair general elections" of 1993, and the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General was to promote and protect human rights in Cambodia.

The neutral interim authority was never established.

I am reminded of a column in the New York Times two decades earlier by former Khmer diplomat Pheach Srey, who asked if replacing the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge by the Vietnam-installed regime, in which current Premier Sen was then a Khmer Rouge regional commander, was not the same as asking Cambodians to choose between "the plague and cholera."

Despite Cambodia's declining rate of economic growth from 10.1 percent in 2007 to 7.2 percent in 2008, and a crippling rate of inflation, which rose from 18.7 percent in January to a record high of 22 percent in July, and reported famine around the Tonle Sap Great Lake, Sen's Cambodia has ended forced labor camps and built roads. The newly rich populate the cities and resorts with large villas, and in this environment, many Cambodians report in recent polls that they feel the country is headed in "the right direction."

But Hun Sen, Inc. has grown so powerful that it has sidelined competitors, eliminated potential threats, and has established itself as the only source of employment. Without shame and at a cost to the struggle for freedom and human integrity, some members and leaders of the opposition parties have left those ranks for jobs in Hun Sen, Inc., which has become the only center for allocation of resources in the country.

Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge gang crushed the soul, killed and mutilated the bodies of Cambodians to stay in power and to transform society. Hun Sen, Inc. may not be using the same brutal methods as his predecessors, but Hun Sen and his associates maintain unrelenting control of the land and the people. It can provide anything, for a price. It sells islands and beaches. It helps evict people from their homes and their land.

On Oct. 17, the Asian Human Rights Commission reported Hun Sen, Inc., which has leased out Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak Lake to a private company for development for 99 years for $79 million, has flooded homes and turned off the area's fresh water supply, forcing thousands of families to leave the area.

Hun Sen, Inc. had made life so impossible for former Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General Yash Ghai to do his job effectively that Ghai was obliged to resign his post. ABC Radio Australia reported Ghai's words on Oct. 3, "My deep conviction is that the (Cambodian) government has absolutely no interest in the promotion of human rights; the whole state exists on systematic violations of political, economic, social rights ... And I really can't see that there is going to be any change of heart just because there is a new representative."

When dictators rule, they don't act responsibly. So irresponsible was Hun Sen, Inc. that it chose to put the nation in danger when Sen vowed on Oct. 3 to turn 1.8 square miles of disputed land surrounding Preah Vihear Temple into a "death zone" if the 84 Thai soldiers "camping" some 30 meters from Sen's troops in Veal Entry did not leave the area in 24 hours.

Nationalism was whipped to a frenzy on both sides of the border. Nationalists from Thailand and Cambodia vowed to die to keep the Temple theirs. Yet the Temple Preah Vihear was already Khmer by history, and legally, with the 1962 verdict of the International Court of Justice. There are recourses other than a "death zone."

On Oct. 15 a firefight broke out between the two forces. After three Cambodian soldiers were killed and several soldiers from both sides were wounded, Thai Premier Wongsawat declared it his policy "to resolve this conflict through negotiations." The author of the "death zone" maintained silence, but Sen's foreign minister's statement says the fighting incident was actually "not an invasion by Thailand." In the field, Cambodian and Thai commanders held a five-hour talk that left troops from both sides where they are. Back to square one.

Nationalist Cambodians, quick at professing undying love to protect the Motherland, need to put a brake on Hun Sen, Inc. The deaths at Preah Vihear could have been prevented.

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam, where he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.

Judge jails ex-temple director for contempt

COURTS: Siphann Tith refused to release financial documents to a receiver.

Press-Telegram Long Beach
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
10/20/2008

LONG BEACH - The former executive director of a Cambodian Buddhist temple in central Long Beach was jailed Monday for contempt of court in a long-running dispute over who runs the religious organization.

Siphann Tith, who represented himself at the hearing in front of Superior Court Judge Joseph Di Loreto, went in expecting only to file an ex-parte motion, which typically asks for a court order before the other party has had an opportunity to be heard on it.

Instead, Tith wound up in jail Monday night. His bail, initially set at $50,000, was later revoked.
The case is to be continued Friday.

On Monday, to the surprise of some onlookers, Di Loreto demanded Tith turn over previously ordered financial documents to a court-appointed receiver. When Tith refused, Di Loreto found him in contempt.

Since August, Tith has faced a contempt complaint for his failure to produce financial information about the temple and its $4 million in assets.

The rift dates back to January when a dissident group, supported by temple monks, staged an election for a new board of directors for the nonprofit agency that runs the temple.

The group charged the board of directors with mistreating the monks, restricting their movement, opening personal mail and threats of expulsion.

In a disputed election, a new board of directors was elected in January.

The existing board invalidated the results, claiming the election was not in keeping with bylaws and was fraudulent.

While the sides worked on the process for a new election, Di Loreto ordered financial control of the temple be given to receiver David Pasternak.

The temple's existing board of directors dissolved the temple organization and divested all assets to the new organization called Wat Khmer Vipassanaram.

While applying for nonprofit status, the new organization became a charter of the Church of the Revelation, a Gnostic church run from a post office box in Orange.

The church's leader, John B. Ramirez, also known as Johnny Rhondo, has also been issued a contempt claim to produce financial documents. Ramirez, who was linked to a massive insurance fraud scheme in 2002, said he has no control over the new Buddhist charter or its finances.

Tith also claims not to have the documents nor the authority to produce them as they belong to a new entity. He also disputes the court's authority over the new organizations as it is not a party to the original suit.

After bail was set, according to local attorney Evan Braude, who has been assisting Tith, supporters of Tith went to post bail and learned it had been revoked.

Savorn Pouv, a former member of the board of directors at the Wat, was dismayed when he heard of Tith's incarceration.

"At this point, we don't know what to do," Pouv said. "We went to court to get justice and this is what happened."

Cabinet approves Foreign Ministry appointment of border commission head

BANGKOK, Oct 21 (TNA) - At its regularly-scheduled meeting Tuesday, the Thai Cabinet approved the Foreign Ministry's proposal to appoint former Thai ambassador to South Korea Wasin Teeravejayarn as chairman of the Joint Boundary Commission of Thailand (JBC), according to a government spokesman.

Mr. Wasin would be responsible for the border talks with Cambodia and Myanmar.

The boundary commission post is normally occupied by the deputy foreign minister, but as the Somchai government has only the minister himself supervising the ministry, Mr. Wasin is being appointed to fill the position.

The Wasin's appointment is seen as somewhat urgent, as the Thai-Cambodia border disputes must be resolved. One Thai and two Cambodian soldiers were killed and six other Thai troops were wounded in the border skirmish near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple last week.

The border dispute has yet to be settled. Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat may hold informal talks on the issue with his Cambodian counterpart during the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in China to be held later this week (October 23 to 25).

Mr. Wasin is a career diplomat who specialises in international law, and was once Director-General of the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs before being appointed ambassador of the Hague in the Netherlands in the year 2000. His last position was as ambassador to Seoul before officially retiring on September 30. (TNA)

Sacravatoons : " The Internal-Conflict of the Land of Smiles "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

More violence 'unlikely': M'sia

Asia One News

Tue, Oct 21, 2008
AFP

KUALA LUMPUR - VIOLENCE is unlikely to erupt again along Thailand and Cambodia's disputed border after South-east Asian leaders appealed for peace, Malaysia said Tuesday.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said Thailand would avoid further conflict as it was due to chair the 10-member Association of South-east Nations (Asean).

'The message (to stop violence) has been transmitted to them,' Mr Rais told reporters ahead of his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Malaysia will dispatch Rais to Phnom Penh to meet Prime Minister Hun Sen with a special message from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the two countries to avoid military confrontation and restart peace talks.

'Prime Minister Abdullah earnestly hopes there would be a settlement ....,' Mr Rais said, adding that 'we should not resort to skirmishes or violence or the use of arms to settle disputes'.

He said Malaysia hoped the two countries would restart their peace talks quickly and Monday warned that the conflict could embarrass Asean which describes itself as a harmonious grouping.

Two Cambodian soldiers died during the shoot-out, while a third died a day later of smoke inhalation and illness which authorities said was linked to the clashes.

A Thai soldier who sustained shrapnel wounds to the head during a firefight died on Tuesday.

Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand flared in July when Preah Vihear was awarded UN World Heritage status, rekindling long-simmering tensions over ownership of land surrounding the temple. -- AFP

Thai former PM Thaksin convicted by court

Supporters of Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold a banner and his portrait outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok on October 21, 2008. Thailand's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had violated a conflict-of-interest law while in office and sentenced him to two years in prison.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

supporter of Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra holds his portrait outside the Supreme Court in Bangkok on October 21, 2008. Thailand's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had violated a conflict-of-interest law while in office and sentenced him to two years in prison.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Malaysia to ask for Thailand, Cambodia to settle conflicts peacefully

www.chinaview.cn

2008-10-22

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia is expected to ask for Thailand, Cambodia to solve their conflicts peacefully in the spirit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a senior official said on Tuesday.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Dais Yatim made this remark at a hotel in Putrajaya, administrative center of the Malaysian Federal Government, after he had a luncheon with the heads of missions of Americas in Malaysia.

Dais said that he would travel to Bangkok and, if possible, to Cambodia, to convey a message from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suggesting the two countries solve their conflicts without resorting to the use of arms.

He also hoped that more ASEAN countries would join to ask for Thailand and Cambodia to discuss ways to solve the problem between them without involvement of arms.

Dais told reporters that he believed that the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia would not widen.

Dais was scheduled to visit Thailand late Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry.

Seventy of the More Than 900 Health Centers Do Not Have Midwives - Tuesday, 21.10.2008

Posted on 22 October 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 583

“Phnom Penh: While the number of midwives is still a priority concern to reduce maternal and child mortality, Dr. Mam Bunheng, the Minister of Health, has set it as a priority to increase the number of midwives, and to install electricity at all referral hospitals and health centers countrywide.

“During a meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel with the heads of the [provincial] Departments of Health from all over the country, and with partners in development late last week, the Minister of Health said that during this fourth term of government, the priority for health care is to deploy midwives to all health centers around the country. He added that to have midwives assigned at all health centers is fundamental, because if women, who come to give birth to their babies, are assisted by midwives who have been trained properly, this will contribute to reduce maternal and child mortality. Dr. Mam Bunheng went on to say that to deploy midwives cannot be done by just following some easy ideas, adding, ‘To deploy midwives requires to consider the strengthening of the health care infrastructure, especially the budgetary requirements, therefore I would like to request all development partners to help support this work.’

“Together with the general work for maternal and child health as a major problem, the Minister also encouraged to regularly conduct three pre-natal examinations for pregnant women, to build up sufficient human resources, to reviews procedures for the time before and after giving birth, to prepare the foundation to send pregnant women to health centers when it is time to give birth, to award a midwife Riel 60,000 [approx. US$15] after assisting a birth to a baby safely at a health center, and Riel 40,000 [approx. US$10] for midwives at referral hospitals.

“Mr. My Sambo, the director of the Department of Personnel of the Ministry of Health, said that at present, we have 3,113 midwives, but this number cannot meet the needs of the 900 health centers countrywide. Now, 70 health centers do not have a midwife. He continued to say that normally, one health center needs two midwives, where one is the primary midwife and the other is an assistant midwife. According to the director of the Department of Personnel, each year, Cambodia needs around 400 new midwives, that means that from 2009 to 2015 we need 2,489 [??] midwives.

“With the present maternal and child mortality rate, it is not possible for the Ministry to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Professor Kum Kanal, the director of the National Mother and Child Health Center, pointed out that the rate of maternal and child mortality has not declined, that is, 472 out of 100,000 infants being born die. However, the mortality rate of children under the age of one year declined from 95 to 66 among 1,000 children, while the mortality rate of children under the age of five declined from 124 to 83 among 1,000 children.

“Regarding the reasons for maternal mortality when giving birth, Mr. Kanal explained that the major reasons are loss of blood, other cause of diseases, postpartum fever, and giving birth assisted by traditional midwives without proper training, which still is the case in 50% of births given in the country – mostly in rural areas.

“Together with the goal to improve the health infrastructure, Dr. Mam Bunheng encouraged all health centers and referral hospitals to create access to electricity, and he encouraged the citizens to practice birth spacing, which also contributes to reduce maternal and child mortality.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4721, 21.10.2008

Note:
The UN Millennium Development Goals are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges – three are concerned especially with the situation of women:

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower womenGoal 4: Reduce child mortalityGoal 5: Improve maternal health

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

On Thai Border, a Return to Tense Normality

A handful of families sought refuge inside Preah Vihear temple following violent military clashes last week.

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Preah Vihear province
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (1.41 MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (1.41 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Just a few days after one hour of military clashes at Preah Vihear temple last week, villagers are returning to their homes along the border and life is easing back to an uneasy status quo.

Along the red, muddy road that leads to the temple, the villagers are returned to their wooden shacks, households quickly returning to a kind of normal after gun fights between Thai and Cambodian soldiers Wednesday drove them away.

Nearly all the villagers near Preah Vihear temple, the center of a three-month military standoff, fled after the clashes.

"I was inside a trench, but I was still afraid," said Chan Son, the 40-year-old wife of a motorcycle taxi driver. "So my husband and I decided not to stay, because we heard loud noises of fighting."

"When I saw on the road a Thai flag, I jumped off the moto and my husband admonished me," she said.

The two fled as far as Sa Em, 30 kilometers from her home at K-1 village at the base of the Dangrek mountains near Preah Vihear temple.

"But now we are back, because we had nothing to do there," she said Sunday at her small home in K-1 village.

About 340 of 473 families had returned to the area, said Prak Phi, chief of Sa Em, Svay Chroung, K-1 and Prasat villages. The families had gone into Preah Vihear and Siem Reap towns, as far as 100 kilometers from the fighting, he said.

For people in K-1 village, the jumping off point for a climb up the mountain to the temple, a return meant coming back to a livelihood, vending from a small collection of buildings at the bottom of the mountain or driving motorcycle taxis.

Most tourists are gone now. Only soldiers remain, scattered throughout the forest along the roadway.

Higher up the mountain, in Prasat village, people have a harder time making a living, but, since the fighting began, a handful have sought refuge in Preah Vihear temple itself, sharing a small sleeping space, leg on leg and head to head.

Some have been able to earn money by selling soft drinks and vegetables to soldiers on the mountain.

The non-governmental organization CARITAS Cambodia on Sunday began assessing the needs of such people living near the fighting. They found people short on food and water and in need of health assistance.

By Sunday, no further violence had been reported since Wednesday's fighting. Military officers promised to prevent further clashes and plan to set up more discussions between commanders on the front line.

However, both sides have again begun digging trenches, as well as sending more soldiers, supplies and ammunition to the front.

Cambodian soldiers on Sunday returned confiscated B-40 rockets to the Thai side and re-equipped 10 Thai soldiers staying at the Keo Sakha Kiri Svah pagoda, west of the temple, where the military standoff began on July 15.

Commanders for Cambodia's Military Region 4 and Thailand's Military Region 2 will meet on Thursday in Siem Reap, while Prime Minister Hun Sen hopes to meet his Thai counterpart this week during international forums in Beijing.

Schools Reopening After Border Violence

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (887 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (887 KB) - Listen (MP3)

More than 100 schools along the border in three provinces reopened Monday, following closures in the wake of military clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers last week.

More than 150 schools in Bantheay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces were closed last week, after an hour of gun battles near Preah Vihear temple led to the deaths of at least three Cambodians and fueled worries of widespread violence.

Bleng Saruth, director of Banteay Meanchey’s education department, said Monday all of the 89 schools in Malay and O’Chrouv districts, which had been closed last week, were reopened.

“Since the 20th [of October] until now, the schools are 100 percent open, because people are no longer afraid,” he said. “They are coming back home. They were afraid on the 16th and 17th, but now all the schools have been opened.”

Many people living near the site of Wednesday’s fighting, including teachers, fled last week, leaving the border regions for urban centers in the interior. With no further clashes reported, and with Thai and Cambodian military commanders expected to meet in Siem Reap Thursday, many people are now returning, and sending their children back to school.

Around 50 schools in Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear, near the Preah Vihear temple, have remained closed, as well as other schools scattered through the three border provinces.

Among 20 schools in Chom Ksan district and the surrounding area, 16 have been opened, said Horn Chhorn, director of Preah Vihear’s education department.

“About 70 percent of the students have come back to school, while the remaining four [schools] cannot be reopened until today because some parents fear that their children will be injured,” he said.

In Oddar Meanchey, 21 out of 23 schools in four districts remained closed Monday, said Ing Borath, director of the province’s education department. He urged parents to send their children back to school.

“In fact, in the remaining 21 schools still closed, there are very few students coming in, so the teachers just let them go back home, because the number is too small,” he said.

He hoped more students would return later this week, he said.

Ratanakkiri Families File Deforestation Suit

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (871 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (871 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Nearly 80 minority families in Ratanakkiri province filed suit in provincial court Monday, alleging that a military official and businessman had deforested state land to install a plantation.

The 79 families, from Lumphat district, alleged through two representatives that since 2003, Khim Khengchou, 50, a military official, colluded with local businessman Sman Slesh, 51, to produce 600 hectares of rubber and bean plantation.

The two cut down trees in protected forest, near where the families live, according to the complaint.

In a brief statement by phone Tuesday, Sman Slesh denied the accusations. Khim Khengchou could not be reached for comment.

Deputy provincial prosecutor Ros Saram said he had received the complaint, which was filed with the help of the human rights group Adhoc, and would act on it soon. His office was backlogged with many other complaints, he said.

Adhoc meanwhile is planning a march in Ratanakkiri town Oct. 27 to demand further implementation of the law and a crackdown on deforestation in the province.

The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday agreed to permit the march.

Hun Sen Hopes To Meet Somchai in Beijing

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 20 October 2008 (758 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 20 October 2008 (758 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Prime Minister Hun Sen hopes to meet with his Thai counterpart during several international meetings in Beijing this week, following military clashes on the border and continued political turmoil in Thailand.

Hun Sen left for Beijing Monday, to attend an Asean meeting and a round of ASEM talks between European and Asian leaders.

Adviser Sri Thamrong told reporters at the airport Hun Sen would meet with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and hoped to meet with Thailand’s new prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat.

Somchai is facing increasing pressure from opposition protesters in Bangkok to step down, as Thailand’s months-long political upheaval continues and in the wake of gun battles last week that left three Cambodians and an unknown number of Thais dead.

The Bangkok Post reported Somchai as saying he would attend the meetings in Beijing and would meet with Hun Sen if there was opportunity.

Sin Sen, General of Failed Coup, Dies at 60

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (649 KB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 21 October 2008 (649 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Gen. Sin Sen, a political and military leader who participated in a failed 1994 coup, died Monday, due to stomach complications and illness, police and family said.

"He vomited with blood, and he did not let me as the wife know about his sickness," said Meas Vy.

Sin Sen, who was 60, was once the national police chief and belonged to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. He joined a coup attempt led by Sin Son, the former Minister of Interior, and Prince Norodom Chakrapong, which failed to topple the government following UN-organized elections.

Sin Sen was later pardoned by King Norodom Sihanouk for the attempt, and he went on to hold key government positions, including parliamentarian, for Funcinpec. He left his position as secretary of state in the Ministry of Interior following July's election.

Sin Sen leaves behind four children and a wife. He was 60. His remains will be cremated on Thursday under the supervision of Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

‘Hero’ Meets Challenges for Dump’s Children

Phymean Nuon, founder of the People Improvement Organization

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington
21 October 2008

Khmer audio aired 20 October 2008 (5.16 MB) - Download (MP3)
Khmer audio aired 20 October 2008 (5.16 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Around 1,500 families live around Phnom Penh’s largest dump site, Stung Meanchey, including many children who should have an education, no matter how poor, according to the founder of an organization who helps hundreds of children at the site.

“Some of them have no homes,” said Phymean Nuon, whose work creating the People Improvement Organization has been honored by the television news network CNN and who was a guest on “Hello VOA” Monday. “They put up tents, and every day they collect trash, such as cans and plastic.”

“Even though they are street children and have no money, they should know how to read and write,” she said. “Sometimes I cry because I see these children and these women sleeping at the trash dump. Each time I come here I see them eating spoiled rice. The place is like hell, and they should not wait for the next life.”

The People Improvement Organization offers free schooling to children at the site, and Phymean Nuon has been chosen to compete with 10 other CNN honorees for “Hero of the Year.” She was already featured as one of its “Heroes,” and if she is selected, she will win $100,000, which she said would go toward further helping the children.

The children work at the dump site between 10 and 12 hours a day, making less than a dollar, and sometimes making no money at all, Phymean Nuon said. They do not receive an education and live in hazardous circumstances; some of them have been killed by garbage trucks, she said.

Phymean Nuon started her organization four years ago, recruiting children to come to the center. The organization has classes from grades one through nine, and works under Ministry of Education guidelines that allow students to continue education in government schools.

Classes are tailored to the schedules of the children, so they can continue to scavenge and earn money, she said.

“Some children at my school collect trash until late at night and fall asleep in the classroom,” she said.

Phymean Nuon tells the children not to give up hope.

“Even if we are poor and struggling and don’t have any money, we can go to school,” she said.

“Some children are injured from broken glass, needles and razors,” she said. “If they don’t have an education, they will collect trash until the day they die.”

Armed conflict unlikely to erupt at Thai, Cambodia border: Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21, 2008 (AFP) - Violence is unlikely to erupt again along Thailand and Cambodia's disputed border after Southeast Asian leaders appealed for peace, Malaysia said Tuesday.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said Thailand would avoid further conflict as it was due to chair the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN).

"The message (to stop violence) has been transmitted to them," Rais told reporters ahead of his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Malaysia will dispatch Rais to Phnom Penh to meet Prime Minister Hun Sen with a special message from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the two countries to avoid military confrontation and restart peace talks.

"Prime Minister Abdullah earnestly hopes there would be a settlement ....," Rais said, adding that "we should not resort to skirmishes or violence or the use of arms to settle disputes".

He said Malaysia hoped the two countries would restart their peace talks quickly and Monday warned that the conflict could embarrass ASEAN which describes itself as a harmonious grouping.

Two Cambodian soldiers died during the shoot-out, while a third died a day later of smoke inhalation and illness which authorities said was linked to the clashes.

A Thai soldier who sustained shrapnel wounds to the head during a firefight died Tuesday.

Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand flared in July when Preah Vihear was awarded UN World Heritage status, rekindling long-simmering tensions over ownership of land surrounding the temple.

Japan warns nationals on trips to disputed area in Cambodia, Thailand

Japan Today
Tuesday 21st October

TOKYO — The Foreign Ministry on Monday raised its travel alert for areas near Cambodia’s ancient Preah Vihear Temple, advising Japanese nationals to think carefully before traveling there, due to an ongoing military standoff.

The travel advisory, the second lowest of four warning levels, also applies to areas in Thailand along the disputed stretch of the border. It urges Japanese who plan to travel to or stay in the region to choose reliable travel agents and take appropriate safety measures.

Asian leaders in talks to end spat

news.com.au
From correspondents in Bangkok
October 21, 2008

THE Thai premier has agreed to talks with his Cambodian counterpart this week in China after a long-running border spat escalated into a deadly shootout, a Thai government spokesman said today.

THAI Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat confirmed he would hold talks with Cambodian premier Hun Sen on the sidelines of a Beijing meeting between leaders of Asian and European nations on October 24 and 25, spokesman Nutthawut Saikua said.

"The prime minister had informed his cabinet during a meeting that he made an appointment to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen while both are attending the (Asia-Europe) meeting in China,'' Mr Nutthawut said.

An adviser for Hun Sen told reporters Monday that the Cambodian premier was expecting to meet with Somchai in Beijing.

Somchai, who has only been in power for one month but is already rattled by local political turmoil, was forced to cancel traditional familiarisation visits to neighbouring Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and Myanmar this month.

Thai and Cambodian military officials meanwhile are scheduled to hold talks Thursday in Siem Reap aimed at calming the territorial dispute which last week erupted into fighting that killed one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers.

The firefight erupted between soldiers stationed on disputed land near Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear temple.

Emergency talks the day after ended with Cambodian and Thai officials agreeing to joint border patrols - which have not started yet - but offered no lasting solution to the military stand-off along the border.

Tensions between the neighbours flared in July when Preah Vihear was awarded United Nations World Heritage status, rekindling long-simmering tensions over ownership of land surrounding the temple.

President of LB Buddhist temple held in contempt

Monks pray at Wat Vipassanaram, a calm that contrasts with the dispute between most of the monks and the board of directors, which transferred the temple's assets to an ambiguous nonprofit linked to a gnostic church.
(Luis Sinco, xx)
October 9, 2008

Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Head monk Khoeun Pang lights candles for evening prayers. Observers in the Cambodian community say the conflict is part of a larger factionalism, including disputes over the designation of Cambodia Town in central Long Beach.

San Jose Mercury News

The Associated Press
10/21/2008

LOS ANGELES—The president of a Cambodian Buddhist temple in Long Beach has been held in contempt of court and taken into custody for refusing to turn over financial documents in a fierce legal battle over who controls the temple.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Di Loreto had repeatedly demanded that 44-year-old Siphann Tith turn over the temple's assets to a court-appointed receiver.

Tith says he no longer has the temple's books, and that the board has dissolved the nonprofit that ran it.

The judge didn't accept the argument and on Monday declared Tith in contempt.

Two factions of the Long Beach Cambodian community have been fighting over the temple. A group of monks elected its own board in January after Tith had agreed to an election but a dispute arose over who would be able to vote.

Thai-Cambodian border trade returns to normal

BANGKOK, Oct 21 (TNA) -- Cross-border trade between Thailand and Cambodia returned to normal Tuesday as Thai businessmen urged the governments of both countries to quickly settle the boder dispute, which they said serves no one.

Trade had come to a virtual standstill following last week's border skirmish near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, but now has returned to normal as of Tuesday as Thai traders and entrereneurs NS Cambodian market vendors make their way across the once again busy border bridge which connects the two countrties with an official checkpoint.

Sa Kaeo Chamber of Commerce vice president Prasert Sotthipattanapong said after a meeting of Thai chamber committee members that cross-border trade between the Thai border district of Aranyaprathet and Cambodian Poi Pet has now returned to normal following the clashes between soldiers of the two neighbouring countries on October 15.

Two Cambodian and one Thai soldier died and six other Thai troops were wounded in the skirmishes in Thailand's border province of Si Sa Ket that day.

Average daily trade in Sa Kaeo province bordering Cambodia is around Bt100 million while about 9,000 persons, including tourists, cross the border on workdays and the number rises to approximately 12,000 on weekends or public holidays, said Mr. Prasert.

He urged governments of the two countries to quickly settle the border dispute and misunderstanding in order to boost trade and tourism like before.

People living along the border understand well about the real situation but not people living in cities, said Mr. Prasert.

Echoing his views was Duangchai Chantorn, vice president of the Trat Chamber of Commerce, who said average daily trade amounting Bt100 million in the border coastal province is now back to normal with between 3,000-4,000 people crossing the border on a daily basis.

"Cambodian businessmen are afraid to invest in Thailand due to the political problems here," Mrs. Duangchai said, noting that many Cambodian businesspersons had spoken with her.

She said their reluctance to invest in Thailand was mainly political but observed that misunderstandings could be settled through negotiations. (TNA)

Malaysia to consult with Asean on Thai-Cambodia summit

The Star Online
Tuesday October 21, 2008

By SIM LEOI LEOI

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will have to consult with its Asean colleagues to see if there was a chance of hosting a summit between Thailand and Cambodia over their border dispute.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said such a suggestion would not be well-received by either country at the moment however.

“I know there are some quarters in Cambodia who would not take too kindly to the efforts of a friendly nation to come in and help resolve the border dispute.

“In fact, such a summit would be desirable but matters to be tabled for discussion will have to be carefully considered,” he told reporters after meeting with heads of mission from the regions of America and Caribbean at the Marriott hotel here on Tuesday.

His remarks came before his trip to Bangkok Tuesday night, where he would bear a personal message from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to his Thai counterpart Somchai Wongsawat suggesting Thailand and Cambodia de-escalate the strained relations between the two countries to avoid an armed conflict.

Cambodia and Thailand have been engaged in a border dispute, with reports suggesting that they are on the verge of war.

Malaysia’s visit would be the latest in a series of overtures from Asean members, most recently Indonesia, for both countries not to resort to armed conflict but sit down at the negotiating table.

“It is multi-effort on the part of Asean. It is my opinion that the unilateral attempts by the different Asean countries in asking for a peaceful resolution be given priority before we hold such a summit,” he said.

He said it was unlikely that violence to spread, particularly when Thailand would be the next host for Asean meetings.

“I’m also waiting for a signal from Cambodia to see if I can also go see Prime Minister Hun Sen with the same message,” he said.

Dr Rais said Asean members might have to come out with a required code of conduct for its members in the future as currently it had very little capability to deal with crises of such nature between members.

Child sex trade soars in Cambodia

Al Jazeera's investigation found underage girls working in brothel's around Phnom Penh

Al Jazeera
Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Thousands of children are bought and sold for sex every day in Cambodia and while the industry is often shown as serving predatory foreign tourists, the majority of its customers are Cambodian men.

Girls as young as 14 work in brothels' around Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, an investigation by Al Jazeera, broadcast on Tuesday, found.

Al Jazeera filmed secretly at several brothels, and in each case found much the same thing - rooms full of young women in their early twenties, as well as teenagers.

"For my virginity they gave me $200," Ya Da, a 16-year-old former prostitute, told Al Jazeera.
Ya Da worked in a brothel for two years before she ran away. Now, she lives in a safe house with other former prostitutes and abused children.

"There were just a few foreign customers [at the brothel]," she said. "I never slept with any, I slept only with Cambodian men."

'Local customers'

Mu Sochua, a politician with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and a former minister for women's affairs, told Al Jazeera that most of Cambodia's sex industry was supported "by local customers". "And some of these local customers are high-ranking officials. You have the military, the police and civil servants. you have rich businessmen who have lots of money," she said.

Last year, the Cambodian police arrested only 21 people for committing sex crimes with children - eight of those arrested were foreigners and 13 were Cambodians.

The police admit that the brothels they shut down in high-profile raids often reopen a few weeks later.

"It is easier to catch a foreigner and also the government wants to have showcases to make itself look good - that Cambodia is actually taking care of this problem of human trafficking, which is really not the truth," Mu Sochua said.

But General Bith Kim Hong, from the Cambodian national police force, rejected allegations that the officials focused their efforts to curb prostitution almost exclusively on foreigners.

"The national police are concerned about anyone who commits a crime, who has sex with children, whether they are foreigners or Cambodian," he told Al Jazeera.

"We have a very high commitment to prevent child prostitution."

Floating village threatened

Photo by: RICK VALENZUELA

Young residents of Kampong Luong village in Pursat enjoy the boating life on Monday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Titthara and Eleanor Ainge Roy
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Local officials are trying to get rid of Pursat's floating community, but residents say they will simply float further out onto the lake to avoid eviction

Pursat Province

KAMPONG Luong Village is different from other places. It has no fixed address, it is prone to rapid fluctuations in altitude and it floats upon water. Here the daily sounds are of splashing oars and the smells are a distinct mix of water weed, wet wood and family life - all played out on the surface of the great Tonle Sap.

But this unique commune of 1,000 residents, located just 42km from Pursat town, is steadily moving further from land as it seeks to escape a government decree ordering its closure and forced eviction.

"I would rather die than move," said Ros Sareum, 43, a life-long inhabitant of Kampong Luong.

"We have no businesses to run elsewhere so how can we move? Here ... at least we have fish to feed ourselves," she said.

"If the plan goes through and the authorities come to force me, I will move out to the centre of the lake."

Ros Sareum is not alone in her rebellious plans, and many in the village are preparing to oppose the forced eviction.

"Fishing sustains our life," said 31-year-old Song Lisro. "If we are forced to move, our lives will deteriorate because we don't know how else to earn money other than by fishing."

If the plan goes through... I will move out to the centre of the lake.

Krakor district Governor Ly Ponn was unclear as to why the village needed to be dismantled, but said not all of those living there will be moved. Only those living closest to the road during the rainy season, their houses half in and out of the water, needed to leave.

"For the people who live on the lake, we will still allow them to live there. People who live along both sides of the road we will move; we don't know when," he said, adding that only about 250 people will be subject to eviction.

"Their houses are too small, too old and at risk of floods.... Concerning their health, we have provided a clean water tank, but if they choose not to use it, that is their decision," he said.

Despite their reluctance to leave, life is hard for the families at Kampong Leung.

While the village boasts facilities such as a medical center, restaurants, schools, karaoke bars and three places of worship, there is no high school in the area and children are only educated to the fifth grade, leaving class at 11 years old.

Residents - particularly children - regularly fall sick with cold, flu and diarrhoea, as well as more severe illnesses such as dysentery from contaminated water. Not all families boil the water they collect from the lake, which is used by everyone for cooking, washing and going to the toilet.

Koe Sovanareth, chief of Kampong Luong commune, said the mixed population of 50 percent Vietnamese and 50 percent Cambodian has lived peacefully together for years and is united in opposing possible eviction.

"We don't know the details of the government's plan, but if they want them to move, they should provide them business options and farm land," he said.

"I don't know why they are moving them. Maybe they want to protect fish stocks."

Drug trafficking at Phnom Penh airport raises concerns

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khoun Leakhana
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Officials speaking at a drug conference with the Australian Federal Police say that airport drug smuggling is on the rise in Cambodia

THE National Authority for Combating Drugs says drug traffickers are changing tactics and increasingly using Cambodian airports for smuggling rather than employing overland routes to bring narcotics into the country.

In October alone, authorities seized three kilograms of cocaine at Phnom Penh International Airport, said Lour Ramin, secretary general of the NACD.

He was speaking at a drug investigation training seminar Monday being held with the Australian Federal Police.

"In a recent situation this year, there was [increased] drug trafficking to Cambodia via the airport," he told the Post following the seminar.

"We will strengthen our security at all the border checkpoints and airports," he added.

Dozens of drugs traffickers have been seized trying to enter or leave Cambodia in the last few years, many of them Taiwanese nationals who were caught trying to board flights from Phnom Penh with large quantities of heroin hidden in their clothing.

Margaret Adamson, Australia's ambassador to Cambodia, said she admired the Cambodian government's effort to combat drug trafficking.

But she warned that there was still more work to be done.

"Cambodian authorities must continue to monitor, investigate and prosecute those responsible for the manufacture, supply and trafficking of precursor chemicals used in the production of drugs," she said.

Thai border trade rebounds

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

A casino in Poipet, across from Thailand. Casino operators report that Thais are returning following last week’s border shootout.

500 daily Thai visits to Poipet

Most Thai nationals cross the Poipet border to gamble at the town's massive casinos. The number of visits temporarily plummeted with the border clashes at Preah Vihear.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara and Thet Sambath
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

After plummeting in the aftermath of last week's border skirmish, officials and businesses on the Thai frontier say casino goers and traders are returning

THAI border trade and casino visits are largely returning to normal after plummeting following last week's border skirmishes.

"Four or five hundred Thais have crossed the Poipet international checkpoint to go to the casino every day since since a couple of days after the dispute erupted," said Sao Bunrith, deputy chief of immigration police at Poipet, on Monday.

"Visits decreased immediately after the clash, and have [since] returned to normal," Sao Bunrith added.

Three Cambodian soldiers died and an unknown number of Thai casualties were inflicted last Wednesday when rockets and small arms fire were exchanged between soldiers stationed on disputed land near Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The fighting was the worst eruption of violence in the three-month standoff over the border. Crisis talks between commanders have since resumed.

Before last week's clash, about 500 Thais crossed into Cambodia each day, while thousands of Cambodian day labourers crossed into Thailand, Sao Bunrith said.

Officials and businesses near the border also say trade and cross-border visits have almost returned to normal.

"We have no problem here. Cambodian and Thai authorities have cooperated. The clash at Preah Vihear is a dispute between soldiers," Sao Bunrith said.

"Cambodian and Thai goods are exchanged at the checkpoint, and Cambodian people have returned to sell at the market in Thailand," Sao Bunrith added.

"The businessmen are not like tourists. When they get worried, they stop business, but it is only for a short period of time," he said.

Business as usual

Kong Bunly, the director of business management in Banteay Meanchey province, said Sunday that businessmen are returning to the province.

"Now they have returned to make their business. It is not quiet like before," Kong Bunly said.

"We hope both governments will try to find a solution to make the situation normal and to make people confident," Kong Bunly added.

Kong Bunly said there are five casinos being operated in Banteay Meanchey province, bringing in millions of dollars to the area.

Overall, the gaming sector has become a major industry in Cambodia as strict anti-gambling laws in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam attract large numbers of visitors to the Kingdom.

Thai punters, especially, gamble huge sums of cash, but even the slightest ripple in relations can see house takes drop significantly.

But Phu Kok An, the owner of the Crown Casino at Poipet, said Sunday that even gambling visits from Malaysia and Singapore had decreased.

"Trade and tourism decreased a little bit because the Thai government is being very vocal [about the recent unrest] and no foreign tourists dared visit Thailand", Phu Kok An said.

"Now more Thais and Cambodians from along the border are flocking into casinos to gamble," Phu Kok An said.

Elsewhere, the situation has appeared not to have completely recovered.

In Koh Kong province, Saing Sakhun, chief of Chom Yeam International Checkpoint, said that since the clash last week, the number of Thai tourists has dropped and has yet to recover.

Before there were around 100 Thais crossing into Koh Kong to visit and gamble, but that is down to about 30 per day, he told the Post.

UN action needed for border row, groups say

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Meas Sokchea
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

CIVIL society groups on Monday criticised the government for not appealing to the United Nations for help in its ongoing standoff with Thailand over disputed territory along the border.

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union (FTU), said that if the government had complained to the UN earlier and stuck to their complaint, there would not have been any Cambodians killed over the issue.

At least thee Cambodian soldiers are dead after clashes last week with Thai troops on the border near Preah Vihear temple.

"Despite the fact that both sides sustained injuries of a similar magnitude, we are still filled with regret for the loss of our soldiers," he said.

"If the government had used the UN to solve this problem, there would be no dead soldiers," Chea Mony added.

An unknown number of Thai casualties were also inflicted.

Yong Kim Eng, president of the People's Center for Development and Peace, said Monday the government's efforts to resolve the dispute were muddled.

"At one moment, they say they want to complain to the UN. At the next, they don't," he said. Early on in the three-month standoff, Cambodia threatened to file a formal complaint with the UN Security Council, but quickly backed down.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Monday that the UN and several "big countries" had encouraged Cambodia to choose negotiations.

"We have already written to the UN and sent information to Asean and Unesco. If these measures don't work, we will find another way," he said.

Military budget to be hiked

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kay Kimsong
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Border clashes with Thailand highlight need for better army

THE government has proposed a massive increase in military spending in next year's budget, as conflict on the border with Thailand raises fears over the Kingdom's readiness to do battle with a better-equipped foe.

"I think national defence will be one of the top priorities for the government from now on," Cheam Yeap, a senior lawmaker with the Cambodian People's Party, told the Post Monday.

The Council of Ministers on Friday announced it would increase defense spending by more than US$200 million from its 2007 levels. The final 2008 budget figures were not available.

Previous National Assembly budgets had been reducing national defense funding by two to four percent annually in line with the government's spending priorities.

But the shift was warranted, said Cheam Yeap,

"Even if the National Assembly approves a $500 million annual budget [for defence], it will still not be enough because our current army equipment is so out of date" Cheam Yeap said.

"Our armed forces need proper military bases, good wages, healthcare, uniforms and professional army training," he added.

However, opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Cheam Channy expressed fears that corrupt army officials would use the sizable increase in spending as an excuse to pocket more of the national budget.

"Our country has a border conflict with Thailand, so it is necessary to increase the defense budget," said Cheam Channy, adding however, that he suspected little of the increased funding would make it to the areas where it was most needed.

Ok Socheat, an advisor to the government's coalition partner Funcinpec, welcomed the surge in funding.

But he expressed hope that, were a peaceful solution to the current standoff found, the Kingdom could once again reduce defence spending.

"Every country, once they go to war, will see their economic growth become weak," he said. "I think finding a win-win strategy is the only solution for Cambodia and Thailand."

Border talks pushed back, troops dig in

Photo by: AFP/TANG CHHIN SOTHY

Cambodian soldiers stand guard during a meeting at the top of a mountain near the disputed Preah Vihear temple Sunday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Post Staff
Monday, 20 October 2008

Negotiations to be held Friday as soldiers from both sides prepare for a protracted standoff over disputed border territories

BORDER talks between Cambodian and Thai military commanders have been pushed back to the end of the week, and Prime Minister Hun Sen has moved to defuse tensions with Thailand following last week's fighting near Preah Vihear temple, but troops from both sides are digging themselves in for a protracted conflict.

"The regional border meeting scheduled on October 21 was postponed as the two countries are not yet ready," said Colonel Taweesak Boonrakchart, spokesman for Thailand's northeastern army division."On the Thai side, we have to get approval from parliament before the government can sign any pacts."

Speaking to reporters following a cabinet meeting Friday, Hun Sen said last week's hostilities at Veal Antri, which saw three Cambodian soldiers killed and an unconfirmed number of Thai casualties inflicted, had ended and called on Cambodians living along the border to remain calm ahead of the next round of talks.

"The clash was very small, and Cambodia will not use its large-scale armed forces. Neither side has yet to use heavy artillery that can reach long distances, so it means the two sides are willing to solve the matter."

Hun Sen added that the dispute was quickly contained and rejected suggestions Cambodia might need international mediators to solve the crisis.

Hun Sen made no mention of his October 13 ultimatum to the Thai government to remove their troops from the area of Veal Antri or risk "full-scale conflict", saying instead that the two countries would use the "existing mechanism of bilateral negotiation" to resolve the border dispute.

Colonel Som Naroth, military commander for Preah Vihear province, said both sides were taking action to avoid a repeat of last week's fighting.

"We cannot predict the tricks of the Thai soldiers, but at the frontline near Preah Vihear temple things are normal," he said.

"Both sides have regular meetings to ease the situation until the government can solve the problem through diplomacy."

Neang Phat, secretary of state at the Ministry of Defence, confirmed bilateral talks are scheduled for Friday, saying the location was yet to be determined.

" They are on alert and the number of troops is increasing on each side. "

Digging in

But Muong Sokha, a soldier stationed at the border, told the Post that troops from both sides were digging trenches and bringing in reinforcements in anticipation of a protracted standoff. "The situation is normal, but they are on alert and the number of troops is increasing on each side," he said.

"Commanders from both sides told the troops to fill up the trenches, but they have kept digging."Tensions between the neighbours have simmered since July, when Unesco approved the listing of the 11th-century temple as a World Heritage site, prompting an angry response from Thai nationalists who claim the ruins as their own. Thai troops soon occupied disputed land nearby.

Border talks likely in China

Photo by: CHEY PHUMPUL

Prime Minister Hun Sen (with flowers) leaves for Beijing, where he is expected to meet his Thai counterpart.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Vong Sokheng
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

PRIME Minister Hun Sen left Monday for Beijing, where he is expected to meet his Thai counterpart, Somchai Wongsawat, for the highest-level border crisis talks since last week's deadly shootout near Preah Vihear.

"I think that Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of Foreign Affairs [Hor Namhong] will meet with their Thai counterparts over very important issues of the border dispute," said Koy Kuong, undersecretary of state at the Foreign Ministry.

Somchai told reporters in Bangkok that no specific meeting had been arranged with Hun Sen, but confirmed that he would be in China from Thursday and was open to talks

."The Cambodia issue needs to be discussed between the two countries," he said. "[Talks] depend on whether there is an appropriate atmosphere and an appropriate time is available."

Cambodian and Thai military commanders are still expected to meet in Siem Reap later this week over the three-month-old border dispute, which has twice now erupted in violence as hundreds of soldiers from both sides face off over contested territory.

Despite an apparent desire for diplomacy, both sides continue to reinforce their troops on the border.

Last week's fighting, which left at least three soldiers dead and an unknown number wounded, has raised concern among the international community, with Malaysia on Monday urging the two sides to restart peace talks to resolve their conflict.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said he would carry a peace message from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Thailand this week.

"I am going there with a message from Prime Minister Abdullah and also with a specific request from me (to the two countries) to de-escalate and return to the conference table," he told reporters.

Hun Sen will also hold talks with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao as he attends the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) that begins Friday.

He said last week that he would not raise the border issue at the ASEM meeting, while also dismissing the need for foreign mediation.

"I think that it is not the right time yet, because Cambodia and Thailand agreed to resume talks," Hun Sen said.

"We do not need others to come and intervene."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

The press on Preah Vihear

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Aaron Leverton
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Dear Editor,

While I join the general wish that Cambodia and Thailand find a peaceful solution to the border standoff as soon as possible, I was surprised and more than a little disappointed to see the international news media, in particular 24-hour news channels BBC World Service and Channel News Asia, continue to propagate certain errors of reportage and give credence to one of the falsehoods central to the current dispute.

It was with particular dismay that I listened to the BBC's correspondent refer to Preah Vihear as "a Hindu temple". Describing Preah Vihear as "a Hindu temple" affects the international impression of the temple, the origins of the dispute and its current character, obscuring, as it does, the origin of the temple. Preah Vihear is not a Hindu temple. It was not built by ethnic Hindus, but by ethnic Khmers, making it a Khmer temple. Just as Angkor Wat is not a Hindu temple, but a Khmer temple.

However, more serious than this was the BBC's continued use of phrases including "disputed territory surrounding the temple" and the idea that the border has never been settled. Anyone who has read the judgement of the International Court of Justice will know that the border was most definitely settled as being that shown on the Annex 1 map. That map was drawn by the French authorities in 1907 and subsequently used by both French Indo-China and Siam. These facts were and are integral to the judgement of the ICJ, and that judgement most clearly states that not only does Preah Vihear stand on sovereign Cambodian soil (as begrudgingly accepted by Thailand) as shown by the Annex 1 map, but that simultaneously, and as a direct consequence, the border between the two countries is that shown on the Annex 1 map and not the bare extremities of the temple, as claimed by successive Thai regimes.

The government of Thailand is lying to itself and its people with its continued insistence that the border has never been settled. The border was settled by the ICJ. The BBC is perpetuating this lie by giving credence to it. The border was legally settled in 1962, and since that time Thailand has been in contravention of international law by its continued occupation of sovereign Cambodian soil in the area it refers to as Kao Phra Viharn National Park.

Cambodia's patient endurance of this national insult for 46 years has only emboldened the Thais to the point where they think they can dictate to a third party how that third party will deal with Cambodia over issues of management of a national monument on sovereign soil.

That the BBC, among others, continues to express these half-truths without explaining all the facts is disappointing. Disappointing that they have skipped on their professional duties to portray all the facts, and worrying that the world at large is learning only these half-truths. Armed clashes between nations are serious, surely they deserve serious reportage.

Aaron Leverton
Phnom Penh

In Brief: High-ranking official dies

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Vong Sokheng
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Sin Pinsen, a 62-year-old newly elected secretary of state of the Ministry of Interior, died of stomach disease in Calmette Hospital Monday. Sin Pinsen, also known as Sin Sen, participated in the coup to set up an autonomous zone near the Mekong River just one year after Untac sponsored national elections in 1993. Khieu Kanharith, information minister and government spokesman, expressed sympathy over the death. "Sin Pinsen was not only a man that opposed Pol Pot but also knew real stories of Cambodia, so his death is a huge loss for the nation," he said.

On the edge

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Tracey Shelton
Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Cambodian soldiers stand on the edge of a sheer precipice at Preah Vihear temple in the morning fog on Saturday, three days after violent clashes over disputed territory near the 11th-century ruins erupted.

Outlook uncertain as Thai army commanders call Hun Sen's bluff

AFP, A Cambodian military commander (left) talks to a Thai counterpart (right) during a meeting near Preah Vihear temple on Sunday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sebastian Strangio and Sam Rith
Monday, 20 October 2008

Analysts say that domestic turmoil will adversely affect the bargaining position of the new Thai PM, but urge the Cambodian govt to make a more measured response to the crisis

EVEN opponents of the government agree that Prime Minister Hun Sen had a right to take a firm stand against Thai border incursions near Preah Vihear temple. But with troops from both sides now digging in after last week's fighting, political analysts are divided on how his tough rhetoric will impact the resolution of the three-month-old military stand-off.

After Wednesday's border clashes, in which three Cambodian soldiers were killed and nearly a dozen Thais wounded, Hun Sen downplayed the threat of war, saying that the situation along the border was "under control".

"Cambodia is poor and will not show its muscles," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting Friday. "There will be no big war because the two countries are still patient."

His comments came on the heels of his October 13 ultimatum to Thailand that it should withdraw its forces from Cambodian territory at Veal Antri, warning of a "full-scale conflict" if Bangkok did not comply.

Although local politicians agreed the Cambodian government holds the moral high ground on the border dispute, some questioned the wisdom of bluffing beleaguered Thai politicians with threats of open war.

"[The bluff] was a response to the continuing violations of the Thais. The Thais have been playing games with him, and I think he lost patience," said Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay, adding that the government should welcome the mediation of the international community.

"I think [the threat] was a mistake. We advised him to deal with it through international organisations, to approach the UN or the co-chairs of the Paris Peace Agreements," he said.

" There will be no big war because the two countries are still patient. "

With officials from both sides due to meet in Siem Reap for another round of talks Friday, independent analyst Chea Vannath said Hun Sen's comments might have been misjudged, but did not think it would impact the "very slow process" of the border negotiations.

"[Hun Sen] was trying to project the image that he is serious about protecting our territory," she said.

"It's not a big issue. It's more an issue of pride."

Koy Kuong, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, endorsed the remarks made by the prime minister Friday, but would not comment on last week's ultimatum in light of the bloodshed on the border.

"A peaceful solution is the best solution," he said. "Cambodia has experience with war and found that it doesn't offer any benefit besides destroying assets and people's lives."

Thai upheavals

However, some analysts are pessimistic that negotiations will do anything to resolve the conflict until a resolution of the political crisis within Thailand.

"Talking doesn't mean anything or affect anything," said Thun Saray, president of the Cambodian rights group Adhoc. "In Thailand, the current government is very weak, especially on the problem of the Thai-Cambodian border. If they agree with the Cambodian government on something, the political opposition takes the opportunity to accuse them of being traitors."

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst based at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said Thailand's domestic crisis, which has seen the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) keep up street protests in an attempt to force the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, had hampered the temple negotiations.

"The turmoil and confrontation in Bangkok is going to adversely affect Prime Minister Somchai's negotiating and bargaining position because he is being hounded and undermined," he said.

"He is essentially being overthrown by the PAD... and the PAD has used the [Preah Vihear] issue to accuse the Somchai government...of selling out."

Given the situation in Bangkok, Thun Saray said the likelihood of holding effective talks was low and questioned the control of Thailand's civilian leadership over the Thai troops at the border.

"Normally, when two parties are in conflict, they agree to talk. The Thais said they wanted a peaceful solution, but at the same time they moved their troops further into Cambodian territory," he said.

In this context, heated rhetoric from the Cambodian side could be like a red flag to a bull. "In Cambodia, the government can prevent violence like the anti-Thai violence of 2003, but in Thailand I don't know," he said. "If the opposition politicians took power now and tried to push more troops into Cambodia, it could escalate."

However, Chea Vannath said her main fear was the scores of heavily-armed soldiers biding their time in foxholes at the border. "I am pleased at what the Cambodian government is trying to do," she said.

"My concern is that you have two armed forces facing each other. It's so easy for something to happen."

Thai court will rule Tuesday whether ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra abused his powers

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (R)and his wife Potjaman Shinawatra wade through an army of photographers at the criminal court in Bangkok July 31, 2008.(Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)

Anti-government protesters hold batons during a demonstration in Bangkok on October 20. A Thai court will rule Tuesday whether ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra abused his powers to obtain a land deal for his wife, in the first judgment due on the exiled multi-millionaire.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Club to enhance bilateral trade with Vietnam

October 21, 2008 (Cambodia)
Vietnam and Cambodia are neighbours sharing a common border extending to 1,137 kms. Now in order to further strength the relationship, a club has been formed between the two countries,

The club which is an offshoot of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association is expected to provide enterprises in both the countries, information on existing investment policies and opportunities in both the countries.

Bilateral relations between Cambodia and Vietnam were long strained due to the Cambodian-Vietnamese war. But now both nations have since taken steps to establish friendly

ties.Since the 1990s, relations between both nations have begun to improve. Both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of multilateral regional organizations such as ASEAN and the Mekong - Ganga Cooperation.

Both nations have opened and developed cross-border trade and sought to relax visa regulations to that end. Both governments have set official targets of increasing bilateral trade by 27% to US $2.3 billion by 2010 and to USD 6.5 billion by 2015.

Vietnam exported $ 1.2 billion worth of goods to Cambodia in 2007. While Cambodia is the 16th largest importer of Vietnamese goods, Vietnam is Cambodia's third-largest export market.