Cambodia lacks funds for wildlife network

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Christopher Shay
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

AN increase in the number of wildlife seizures in Southeast Asia attests to the success of the region's collaborative approach to stamping out the black market wildlife trade, according to a press release from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network (Asean-WEN).

Cambodia, however, is still largely left out of this approach, as it lacks the funding to fully participate in the anti-wildlife trafficking group.

Asean-WEN, of which Cambodia is a member, is a network of law enforcement agencies seeking to improve communication between various government authorities in the 10-member bloc.

Sharing is caring

Suon Sovann, deputy chief of the Forest Crime Monitoring and Reporting Unit at the Foresty Administration, told the Post on Monday:

"Wildlife crime is not a Cambodian issue. It's a global issue. We need funds so we can share information about wildlife crime."

In order to abolish the illegal wildlife trade, governments have to address both the supply and demand sides. This involves many different branches of government in multiple countries, said Mark Gately, the country program director at the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"Improved communications between Southeast Asian countries means that if reports are made of wildlife leaving Cambodia illegally, authorities in the neighboring countries can be alerted," a Wildlife Alliance spokesperson said Monday.

"At present, animals can be rescued within Cambodia, but once they cross the border, nothing can be done."

Teak Seng, country director of the the global conservation group WWF, said: "One specific country cannot be effective at curtailing wildlife trade. It requires international cooperation."

Flood-struck high school reopens

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Students at Russey Keo's Chea Sim Cham Reoun Rath High School raise the flag their first day back after school reopened.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

Students in Russey Keo return to class after three months amid conerns that they are not prepared to take their end-of-semester exams after being denied extra hours to catch up

MORE than 1,400 students have returned to their studies at a Russey Keo district high school that was closed for three months due to severe flooding.

The Chea Sim Cham Reoun Rath High School was just one of more than 20 schools in the area that closed their doors in October after a series of downpours inundated their campuses.

Some of the schools began to reopen last month as floodwaters subsided.

But the relief of being able to return to class has been tempered by the knowledge that the long absence from school has left many students woefully unprepared for upcoming exams, students and educators say.

"Now that we've returned to classes ... we've got to face the end-of-semester exams," said Loy Leakhana.

But the 17-year-old, who had previously paddled to school twice a week to ask when it would reopen, said she was happy to be free of the boredom of staying at home.

"I was so happy when I saw the floodwaters coming down and saw a sign telling us a date to come back," she said.

Fellow student Sok Visith said he had forgotten nearly all of his lessons during his unexpected holiday.

"I want to be have a future as an architect, so I am very happy to be able to get back to my studies," he said.

Some 300 students were able to study at nearby schools, but one, 19-year-old Seth Vuthy, said classroom performance generally deteriorated in the new environment.

"My studies seemed to get worse and worse because most of the teachers came late," he said. "But now it's getting better and I'm happy to be studying in my old school."

More classes denied

Many students have asked for extended daily lessons to make up for lost time as first semester exams approach.

But the school's director, Dy Tep Kosal, said that he lacked the resources for additional class time and was still struggling to repair the school's facilities damaged by the flooding.

"We are pleased the students want more classes, but we can't do it because our school has a shortage of classrooms and we can't pay the teachers for overtime," he said.

Residents blamed the flooding on local development projects, including the filling in of Boeung Kak lake. Amid pressure, city officials last month temporarily suspended the private development, but allowed work to resume shortly thereafter.

Police Blotter: 23 Dec 2008

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Lim Phalla
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

HIGH SCHOOL GANGS INTERRUPT CLASS

A group of 15 students from Veal Rinh High School in Sihanoukville attacked students from Hun Sen Prek Tnaot High School while they were having class. One Prek Tnaot student, Ror Maeth, 19, was severely injured with a cut on the head from a blade. According to the attackers, the fight was revenge on the students, who had ridden motorbikes in very disorderly manner near their school the day before and chased them. They have now been arrested by police. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

GUILTY ROBBER CAUGHT ESCAPING

Police clashed with a motorbike driver in Phnom Penh when he refused to pull over. The police chased the bike, and the driver and passengers, who shot two times at the police. When the police shot back, two of the passengers jumped off the motorbike and escaped. Pich Thea, who was the driver, could not escape and was arrested by the police. After the inquiry, he confessed that he had been involved in three robberies. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

DRUNK MAN BURNS HOUSE IN ANGER

Kim Chivorn, 25, was arrested by police after he burned down his house in Pursat province because he had been angry with his mother. According to Kim Chivorn, his mother had scolded him when he was drunk with drinking too much palm wine. At the request of his wife and mother, the police did not detain him. They just educated him and let him go back home. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

LAND DISPUTE ENDS IN WIDOW'S DEATH

A widow was killed and her body dropped into a well near her house in Kampong Chhnang province. The body was found by her daughter when she drew water from the well on Wednesday morning. According to police, the victim was Nuon Saman, 47. who had had a conflict with her neighbours about a land boundary, which had not yet been resolved. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

'LOVE MAGICIAN' ON MURDER CHARGES

Dout Seleh, 42, from Sihanoukville, was arrested by the police for allegedly killing and robbing a woman three years ago. He called himself a love magician and was colluding with his wife when they killed and robbed Dul Veu, 42, on June 22, 2005. Dul Veu was staying at the magician's house so that he could make the love magic work for her, as she was worried that her husband was having an affair. KOH SANTEPHEAP

Cambodian comedian takes rural sanitation to the Kingdom's TVs

Photo by: PHOTO SUPPLIED
Comedian Chab Chean, shown here in a file photo, will promote rural sanitation.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khoun Leakhana
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

TV personality Chab Chean has been chosen as the government's spokesperson in a push to promote sanitation throughout the countryside

THE government is hoping a little toilet humour will go a long ways in bringing its pro-sanitation message to the countryside, where millions live without access to running water and the nearest rice field often passes for the bathroom.

Well-known television personality and comedian Chab Chean has been enlisted as the Kingdom's pointman on hygiene to work with the government on this particular aspect of rural health, officials said last week.

"He is a star who knows a lot about sanitation," Chea Samnang, director of the Department of Rural Health at the Ministry of Rural Development, told the Post.

Only about 16 percent of rural Cambodians have access to toilets, according to the World Bank-sponsored Water and Sanitation Program.

In some parts of the country, that figure can drop below five percent.

Diseases caused by poor sanitation account for more than 10,000 deaths each year, the program said in a recently-released report.

Old habits

"In the village, old habits die hard, so many Cambodian people prefer not to use toilets.

But Chab Chean has done a good job changing that mindset and getting people interested in proper sanitation," said Rural Development Minister Chea Sophara during a national sanitation workshop last week.

" [local comedian chab chean] is a star who knows a lot about sanitation. "

"Many people in the countryside come around when they see Chab Chean educating them about the program, which is different from being told by local authorities," he said.

Chea Samnang said that the comedian's previous experience makes him the perfect face of rural development.

"As a local TV comedian and presenter, Chab Chean has been considered an excellent model in encouraging Cambodian people to cooperate with local authorities so that they know how to live in a clean environment and how to use toilets," he said.

"We have many methods of encouraging people in the countryside to help spread knowledge about rural sanitation. We show them through our jokes so that they are interested and happy, and they will never get bored," Chab Chean said.

Central Market renovation

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Tracey Shelton
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

A member of a construction crew works on the renovation of Phnom Penh's Central Market on Sunday. The work has partly blocked the streets surrounding the market for some weeks, but workers say the disruption is temporary and they will eventually be moved inside the historic building.

Khmer Muslims must protect themselves

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

Dear Editor,

When I was at primary school, I made a good friend with a classmate named Sophal. With a Khmer name, not many students and teachers at school knew that Sophal was a Cham Muslim.

(Almost no Khmer names, like my friend's, indicate any religious identity. But, many Muslim Khmers and Chinese Cambodians chose to use Khmer names instead to avoid social discrimination and political persecution during the Khmer Rouge period and the later communist regime.)

Some 20 years later, I met my friend again. But he was not Sophal anymore.

He had changed his name to Ibrahim in conformity with his Muslim faith. Like Ibrahim, the Muslim Khmer community has been integrated into the world of Islam as Cambodia was opened up in the early 1990s, following decades of self-imposed isolation.

While the Khmer Muslims have reached out to the rest of the world, it has come with both good opportunities and the fear of radical Islamic indoctrination by Islamic extremist groups.

As Muslims and Buddhists in Thailand and Sri Lanka have engaged in bloody conflicts, and the Islamic militants have attacked Mumbai and elsewhere, it has shone a spotlight on Cambodian Muslims and how they can protect themselves from radical Islam.

Fortunately, Cambodian Buddhists and Khmer Muslims seemed to have gotten along well with each other. Over the past centuries, both Khmers and Chams have rejoiced together and suffered together. This harmonious relationship can be attributed to the common history of both ethnicities.

However, the religious conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims in the region can also expand across the borders into Cambodia. As they were opened up to the world of Islam, extremist Islamic groups can spoil the harmonious and peaceful co-existence of Khmers and Chams.

Nevertheless, we believe that our Muslim brothers and sisters have only brought with them the good and progressive Islamic faiths from different Muslim communities throughout the world.

Like the case between me and my friend, Sophal or Ibrahim, we have remained good friends as a Buddhist and a Muslim.

We hope that other Muslim Khmers will also continue to maintain their good friendship and solidarity with their Buddhist Khmer compatriots and protect themselves from Islamic extremism.

Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Phnom Penh

Send letters to: newsroom@phnompenhpost.com or P.O. Box 146, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Post reserves the right to edit letters to a shorter length.

In Brief: Gambling directive not aired, says PM

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chhay Channyda
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

Prime Minister Hun Sen blasted national and private television companies on Monday for not broadcasting his directive on the regulation of gambling machines. "I issued the directive on December 5, but broadcasts only started on December 19," the premier said Monday during a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education. The directive states that all Cambodians are forbidden to play slot machines and that all stand alone machines must be fully licensed and kept only in private rooms at hotel and leisure complexes.

In Brief: Foreign arrivals up 7.4 percent

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Tuesday, 23 December 2008

According to new figures from the Ministry of Tourism last week, Cambodia received 1.89 million international arrivals between January and November this year. "[Arrivals] increased 7.4 percent compared with the same period last year," said Kong Sophearak, director of the Statistic Department at the Ministry of Tourism. He said the majority of tourists were from Korea, Vietnam, Japan, the US and China.

Thai cabinet line-up could anger Thaksin's allies

FT.com/UK

By Tim Johnston in Bangkok
December 22 2008

Thailand's king approved a new cabinet yesterday but political turmoil could persist as many of its members supported the protests that paralysed air transport and government.

The high-profile positions taken by protest backers could spur demonstrations by supporters of the administration ousted this month by the courts. Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister linked to that administration, demonstrated violently outside parliament last week when the new government, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva, was voted into power.

While Mr Abhisit offered support for the People's Alliance for Democracy, the group that occupied the prime minister's office in August and Bangkok's two airports in November, Kasit Piromya, his new foreign minister, was more active. The PAD's protests cost the economy at least $2.8bn.

Mr Kasit, a regular speaker at PAD rallies, once described the airports occupation as a "new innovation for public protests".

Last week Mr Kasit told the Financial Times: "This was a protest against an elected government that had become abusive and corrupted. The PAD was part of the whole democratic process. People should be happy that for once the military wasn't involved."

Mr Kasit had earlier taken a hard line on the border dispute with Cambodia, which centres on an ancient temple and led to low-level skirmishes this year. The PAD rallied anti-government support by saying ministers gave Cambodia too much leeway because of alleged business interests of Mr Thaksin across the border.

In the interview, Mr Kasit was more conciliatory, saying Hun Sen, Cambodia's prime minister, had been the first foreign leader to congratulate Mr Abhisit on his win. "I think this is a great sign of friendship," he said. "We have a common heritage; we have to use that to bring us together," he said.

Thailand holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Mr Kasit said he was hoping to reengage Burma in dialogue.

"We will talk across the board on all issues," he said. Asean last week adopted a new charter which calls for a regional human rights body. Burma's human rights record will pose one of the biggest challenges to the new charter but Mr Kasit said human rights would be high on the agenda.

Cambodian opposition unite against Hun Sen

The opposition's Sam Rainsy (L) shakes hands with the prime minister, Hun Sen. [Reuters]

Australia Network News

Cambodia's two main opposition have again proposed a merger to contest the next general election.

The Phnom Penh Post reports the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party say they will run for the 2012 poll under the one banner.

President of the Human Rights Party, Kem Sokha, says the alliance has been struck at an opportune moment for rallying a growing number of people rejecting the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

He says, however, the merger will not be immediate or comprehensive.

Alleged Arms Smuggler Viktor Bout

Alleged Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout arrives at the criminal court Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Bout, 41, has been indicted in the U.S. on four terrorism-related charges. He was arrested in Thailand on March 6 but denied any involvement in illicit activities.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout stands behind the bars at criminal court Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Bout, 41, has been indicted in the U.S. on four terrorism-related charges. He was arrested in Thailand on March 6 but denied any involvement in illicit activities.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Alleged Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout arrives at the criminal court Monday, Dec. 22, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand. Bout, 41, has been indicted in the U.S. on four terrorism-related charges. He was arrested in Thailand on March 6 but denied any involvement in illicit activities.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Alleged Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout (centre) at the Crime Court in Bangkok on December 22. The alleged Russian arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" has told the Thai court that he had been framed and should not be extradited to the United States.(AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

Sacravatoons :" Thai-Reconciliation "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons : " Man's Law,Kep Chutema "

Courtesy Of Sacravatoon

Colin James: Hope for humanity most tangible in a young boy's smile

New Zealand Herald, New Zealand

Tuesday Dec 23, 2008
By Colin James

Airports are not pretty. But one October afternoon Hamilton airport was for me for a moment a place of beauty.

A young man with the moonish face of intellectual disability waited impassively alongside an elderly woman for a traveller to arrive. He was a reminder of human sadness, the unfairness of chance.

Then his face disappeared into a big, round smile. The person he waited for came into view, then into his hug.

Unfair chance became a huge warmth, an instant of hope, a Christmas story 10 weeks premature.

The message of Christmas is often a "no", a Christianity of what must not be done, the wrongness of humanness. And there is much that is wrong.

The good news of Christmas is a "yes", a Christianity of what can humanly be done, the rightness of humanness. There is much that is right.

The wrong is so big that it questions the very notion of "civilisation".

Greens are mistaken to insist we must act now to save the planet. The planet will be here long after humans have run our ephemeral course. The right green message is to act to save humans from our uncivil instincts.

At the macro level there is the evil of Muslims who revel and die in the slaughter of innocents. Mumbai is the latest large example. No god which mounts such missions can be good.

There is the tyrant of Zimbabwe whose self-glorification demands his captive people starve and die of disease. There is in 2000s Congo a reminder of the 1990s Rwanda genocide across the border.

And lest Europeans slip into the sin of superiority, the 1990s in the Balkans were a reminder of their two great tribal wars and mass killings of the 20th century, the great pogrom against the Jews, the starving and killing of tens of millions in Russia, replicated later in China and then Cambodia.

We are a step away always from barbarity, even in the freest societies. A departing United States President approved torture. Can the new President expunge that obscenity from his once free, now paranoid, nation?

In this society, at the micro level, there is the Rotorua man who maltreated a toddler whom his two sons in turn tortured to death. What did he do to his sons? What did his father do to him?
They were an item in a long menu of humanity's inhumanity served in our courts and in our salivating media this year. It is a horrific litany of the scarcely imaginable.

So we have turned away to the looking-glass world of celebrity. The vacuous is made real so that the real can be veiled and we can slip into innocence. We cannot look in the mirror.

Celebrity is the fame of being famous. David Beckham is no longer a footballer admired for transcendental skill. It is his fame that is celebrated now; impresarios hunt easy profits in that fame; local politicians crave circuses to polish ratings.

But vacuity is not a refuge. Celebrity is a thin veil. Aucklanders, to their credit, rejected the Beckham boondoggle - or, perhaps, were just short of credit after their long debt binge. Perhaps they were redeeming their balance sheets rather than their essential balance.

Redemption in the broader sense is a "yes" message of Christmas. The word "inhumanity" presumes, or at least reflects, a hope that killing and violence and greed are not human, that there is civilisation, that much more is right than wrong with humans.

There is a branch of science which is disassembling humans into puppets of our brains. That reflects humans' astonishing capacity to inquire into and, bit by bit, make sense of ourselves and our environment and our consequential capacity, if we wish, not just to exploit and destroy but to construct and generate.

Those capacities are among the many things that are right with humans.

But humans can't settle for being brains running bodies. That leaves us without free will and without an explanation for the improbability of life.

So humans still hunt for gods. The downside is that humans often divide according to their gods: gods against gods, humans against humans. The upside is that good, big things are done in the name of gods. That is one of the many things that are right in humans.

But most of what is right in humans is writ small, not large. Large always teeters on the brink of hubris and hubris divides. Small goes unnoticed except between giver and receiver. It is there the Christmas message is to be found.

The latest Economist magazine, in an article about angels (standard fare for business magazines, of course), quotes this response of a man asked who his angel was: "The good in people, that's always there, in some little way."

Some exceptional humans make exquisite music and images that add a dimension to our existence. But humans also do multitudinous, small, humdrum acts that make the everyday better and thereby counterpoint the brutal and vicious and destructive with warmth and hope and beauty.

It is the small betterments that civilise and undo unfair chance and are the beauty of Christmas. The huge smile in the airport told that story.

Fundraising slows after record year

EMERGING MARKETS: Many first-time private-equity funds sprang up in developing countries like India and China, which appear ‘less severely’ affected by the meltdown

BLOOMBERG Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008, Page 10

Private-equity investors raised a record US$63.5 billion this year to buy companies in the developing world, especially in Asia, even as the pace of fundraising slowed amid the global financial crisis.

Private-equity funds focusing on emerging markets raised 7 percent more money this year, compared with the year-on-year increase of 78 percent last year, the Washington-based Emerging Markets Private Equity Association said.

“We’re seeing a leveling off in growth after several years of very dramatic increases, but have yet to see a decrease in capital being raised,” Sarah Alexander, president of the industry group, said an e-mail to Bloomberg News.

Private-equity investors have pushed into new markets as credit dried up after the US subprime mortgage market collapsed, slowing deal-making in the US and Europe. Announced private-equity deals, excluding aborted transactions, shrank to US$207 billion worldwide this year, less than a third of the US$674 billion last year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

The funds focusing on Asia, excluding Australia, New Zealand and Japan, have raised US$37.1 billion since Jan. 1, accounting for 58 percent of total fundraising in emerging markets, said the industry group, whose members include private-equity fund managers and institutional investors.

Investors putting money in emerging-market funds “still have capital to commit in 2009,” Alexander said.

Investors see higher growth potential in developing markets, she said.

Funds that have come to the market in the last six months, particularly first-timers, will likely face a “much more challenging fundraising environment” amid the worst financial turmoil since the Great Depression, Alexander said.

“It’s reasonable to assume that the fundraising cycle will grow longer — potentially taking 18 months or more to achieve a final close on a fund,” she said.

Leopard Capital Ltd, which is targeting a US$100 million fund to invest in Cambodia by March 31, has raised only about a quarter of the amount this year.

“Next year, the world’s investment pie will be smaller and investors will be more discriminating on what fund strategies they back,” Phnom Penh-based Douglas Clayton said.

Many of the funds that managed to raise money in the second half of the year have already drawn commitments from investors “for some time” as they have been attempting to raise capital for at least a year, Alexander said.

Dhaka-based Asian Tiger Capital Partners, which aims to raise a US$50 million Bangladesh-focused private-equity fund, and Frontier Investment & Development Partners, which is seeking to raise US$250 million to invest in Cambodia, postponed their plans till next year.

Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Emerging Markets Index, a benchmark for equities in 24 developing nations, tumbled 53 percent this year.

Many of the first-time funds in emerging markets have sprung up in India and China, the world’s two fastest-growing major economies, and are seeking capital from local institutional investors that have been “less severely” affected by the global equity rout, Alexander said.

Actis Capital LLP, based in London, raised US$2.9 billion for an emerging markets private equity fund, which will allocate US$1 billion to India and US$600 million to China. New York-based Citigroup Inc said in May it raised US$500 million to invest in roads, ports and utilities in India.

Hun Sen Warns of Strict Helmet Policy

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
22 December 2008

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday called on motorcycle riders to wear helmets “100 percent” to avoid the hundreds of traffic fatalities that occur each year.

“If you want to drive your motorcycle without a fine, you must wear your helmet from now on,” he said during a graduate student ceremony in Phnom Penh, “to protect your life and to avoid road accidents as well as property damage.”

More the 1,500 people were reported killed in traffic accidents in 2007, nearly double the number in 2003. An Asian Development Bank survey in 2003 counted 824 dead in road accidents, estimating a $116 million cost to the country.

“The traffic law will be fully implemented and fined from Jan. 1, 2009, because the road accidents causes the loss of human life more and more,” Hun Sen said, calling traffic fatalities a “bigger disaster” than AIDS and land mines.

The prime minister also called on civil servants, police and commune and village leaders to wear helmets as an example, while urging helmet vendors to keep prices low.

Travel on Cambodian roadways without a helmet is punishable by a 3,000 riel, or $0.70, fine. By contrast, a helmet can cost between $10 and $20.

Meas Chan Dy, coordinator for helmet safety at Handicap International Belgium, called helmets “a very good measure for reducing road accidents,” and he urged strong implementation of all traffic laws for all vehicles.

Brig. Gen. Tho Khan, director of traffic order for the Ministry of Interior, said Monday police would strengthen the traffic law “with efficiency and effectiveness.”

“More importantly, we must introduce people to understanding the law and help protect their lives and property,” he said.

Bird Flu Patient Released, Healthy

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
22 December 2008

Teng Sopheak, the 19-year-old man diagnosed this month with avian influenza, was released from Calmette hospital Saturday with a clean bill of health, officials said Monday.

An X-ray of his lungs showed no sign of the H5N1 virus, which is prevalent in wild and domestic fowl and can occasionally spread to humans.

“Now Teng Sopheak has departed for his hometown in Stung Trang district, Kandal province,” said Heng Taykry, director of Calmette hospital and secretary of state for the Ministry of Health.
Avian influenza has killed seven Cambodians since 2005, but the wider concern is that the virus could mutant into a more contagious form for humans.

Teng Sopheak was hospitalized earlier this month after falling ill in late November. His illness, which followed the consumption of poultry during the annual Water Festival, led to the discovery of avian influenza in Kandal province’s chicken population.

More than 300 chickens have so far been culled, and health officials have since been working to educate residents in the area on the safe handling, preparation and cooking of poultry.

Professor and Students Play Key Role in Preparation for “Killing Fields Trials”

News Wise
Mon 22-Dec-2008

Description
In just a few months, five leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime will go on trial before the U.N.-established war crimes Tribunal in Cambodia (known as the ECCC). Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s globe-trotting professor Michael Scharf and two of his students recently traveled to Phnom Penh to help the ECCC prepare for the historic “Killing Fields Trials.”

Newswise — In just a few months, five leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime will go on trial before the U.N.-established war crimes Tribunal in Cambodia (known as the ECCC). Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s globe-trotting professor Michael Scharf and two of his students recently traveled to Phnom Penh to help the ECCC prepare for the historic “Killing Fields Trials.”

Scharf, who directs the School of Law’s Frederick K. Cox International Law Center and its War Crimes Research Office, has helped establish war crime tribunals in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. He was assisted by third-year law students Margaux Day(East Grand Rapids, MI) and Niki Dasarathy (Bridgewater, NJ). The students spent six months (August through December) as legal interns at the ECCC.

The trials of the accused, allegedly responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people, are set to begin in late January or early February.

Last summer, the International Prosecutor of the Tribunal Robert Petit of Canada asked Scharf to spend part of his fall sabbatical working with the Tribunal. The two met in 2006 when Scharf was in Cambodia to lead the first training session for the ECCC’s judges, prosecutors and defense counsel. With the pre-trial proceedings ramping up, “this is a particularly critical time for the tribunal and your presence could make a huge difference to us,” Petit wrote Scharf in June.

Specifically, Petit asked Scharf if he would draft the prosecution’s brief in reply to the defense’s motion to exclude joint criminal enterprise (JCE) liability from the Tribunal. Because it would be difficult to obtain convictions of the former Khmer Rouge leaders without this form of liability, “this could be the most important of the pre-trial decisions the Tribunal will render,” Petit told Scharf.

Scharf arrived in Phnom Penh in early November with several binders full of Nuremberg-era cases and the relevant decisions of the Yugoslavia and Rwandan Tribunals and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. These were assembled with the aid of Case Western Reserve law students.

Scharf, Day and Desarathy produced a 30-page brief by working around the clock for several weeks. Deputy Prosecutor Bill Smith of Australia said it was “one of the best pieces of legal argument” he had seen. The brief will be submitted to the judges before the court’s December 30, 2008,deadline, and a decision should follow shortly thereafter.

Scharf is the only law professor in the world to have been invited to serve as Special Assistant to the Prosecutor of the Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal. In addition to drafting the brief on JCE liability, the prosecutor asked Scharf to provide a lecture to the entire staff of the Tribunal, including its judges and defense counsel, on “Avoiding Chaos in the Courtroom.”

Nearly 90 members of the Tribunal attended the presentation, which was the subject of front-page article in the Cambodia Daily, the country’s leading newspaper, on November 26.

“Members of the tribunal need to expect the unexpected, be prepared for disruptive defendants and defense counsel, and don’t avoid inflating public expectations, as war crimes trials have traditionally been among the messiest of the great trials in history,” said Scharf.

These themes are developed in Scharf’s critically acclaimed book, Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein, published this fall by St. Martin’s Press.

Scharf warned that maintaining control of the Khmer Rouge trials is likely to be especially challenging since the lead defense attorney is Jacques Verges. Verges is known for his unconventional defense tactics in a string of high-profile cases involving accused terrorists and war criminals.

When one of the defense lawyers in attendance asked sarcastically if the title of Scharf’s book, Enemy of the State, referred to defense counsel, Scharf surprisingly answered that in a way it did. He proceeded to tell the story of how Saddam Hussein had threatened the life of the public defender, who had stepped in to give the closing argument for the defense when Saddam’s retained lawyers were boycotting the end of his trial.

He described how Saddam roared at the diminutive Iraqi lawyer: “If you give the closing argument, I will consider you my enemy and the enemy of the state”-- meaning that Saddam’s followers who were watching the broadcast of the trial would have the lawyer killed. But Scharf told how the visibly shaken defense lawyer proceeded to give a four hour closing argument, which was good enough to acquit one defendant, led to relatively light sentences for three others, and a life sentence rather than death for one of Saddam’s principal co-defendants.

Scharf noted that the British Bar Association nominated this brave Iraqi public defender, whose identity has remained a secret for his safety, for the prestigious “Rule of Law Award.”

After a short stay in the United States, Scharf currently is in Kampala to help the government of Uganda establish a domestic war crimes tribunal and truth commission.

Thailand's new cabinet sworn in

Abhisit Vejjajiva's cabinet has some controversial faces

BBC News
Monday, 22 December 2008

Thailand's king has sworn in a new cabinet, with an appeal for peace and order following months of protests.

The cabinet includes some controversial appointments by the new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The new foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, was an open supporter of anti-government protests that shut down the country's main airport last month.

Other key ministries have gone to those who defected from the old government, allowing Mr Abhisit to take power.

Mr Abhisit was selected as prime minister by parliament last month, becoming Thailand's third leader in as many months.

He managed to win power after some supporters of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed by the military and remains in exile overseas, defected to side with Mr Abhisit's Democrat Party.

'Bringing back harmony'

The deeply revered 81-year-old Thai king spoke slowly and with a hoarse voice as he presided over the swearing-in ceremony.

"If you help each other you can give the country peace and order, and make the country get through the current situation," King Bhumibol Adulyadej said in a televised address.

After the ceremony, Mr Vejjajiva said he would heed the king's words and "bring back harmony" to Thailand.

He has pledged to ease political tension and revive the economy.

But Mr Abhisit has already come under criticism from business leaders and even some members of his own party for his cabinet appointments.

Two powerful ministries - interior and transport - have gone to the faction whose defection from the previous government swung the balance of votes in Mr Abhisit's favour.

That faction is led by a notoriously mercenary local politician, says the BBC correspondent in Thailand, Jonathan Head.

He adds that it is also difficult to deny deals were done with the smaller parties who joined the coalition; for example the important commerce portfolio has been given to the politically-inexperienced owner of a large massage parlour.

But the biggest controversy surrounds Mr Abhisit's choice of foreign minister, Kasit Piromya, our correspondent says.

Mr Kasit is an unapologetic supporter of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement, and still defends its occupation of Bangkok's international airport last month.
He is a very experienced diplomat - he was ambassador to Germany, Japan and the US - but observers have voiced concern about how his links with the PAD will influence his job as foreign minister.

Mr Kasit may, for example, find it difficult to improve ties with Cambodia, given the PAD's vitriolic attacks over the disputed temple along their common border.

One Thai newspaper accused him on Monday of displaying abysmal judgment.

Hun Sen vows to secure premier candidacy for next general election

www.chinaview.cn

2008-12-22

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday made oath that he would join the next general election in 2013, once again as premier candidate of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

"In 2013, I will be only 61 years old and still firm," he told the graduation ceremony of a university.

"Even now, I have already become the longest ruling prime minister in Asia and made historical record," he added.

Hun Sen has been premier of Cambodia since 1985.

His CPP just won 90 out of the 123 seats of the National Assembly in this year's general election on July 27.

The current government has been the fourth one since the kingdom ended its civil war at the end of last century.

Editor: Sun

Cambodian PM regrets death of Khmer typewriter keyboard inventor

www.chinaview.cn

2008-12-22 22

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his deep regret here on Monday over the death of Keng Vannsak, inventor of the Khmer typewriter keyboard.

Vannsak just died at 83 years old of pneumonia in a hospital at the outskirts of Paris, where he had lived since the 1970s. His funeral will be held there on Tuesday.

"I was so regretful that we lost a famous intellectual of our country," Hun Sen told the graduation ceremony of a university.

"Grandfather Keng Vannsak told me in a recent letter that he had the plan to visit Cambodia," he said, adding that he had never returned to Cambodia since the 1970s.

Vannsak invented the Khmer typewriter keyboard in 1952 and was also known as a politician, Khmer-language teacher and scholar, poet, composer and historian.

Editor: Sun

Local Airline to fly Taipei-Siem Reap route

Taiwan News
Central News
Agency 2008-12-22

Taiwan's TransAsia Airways is slated to launch its first direct charter flight Friday between Taipei and the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, the gateway to the world renowned temple complex of Angkor Wat.

Joe Chu, the airline's sales manager, said that the new service will fill a gap in market demand left by the previous airline that flew the route. It will also save travel time to the famous Cambodian tourist attraction, which is listed as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Far Eastern Air Transport, which in cooperation with the Cambodia-based Angkor Airways used to provide regularly scheduled flights on the route, canceled the service in May due to financial difficulties.

Chu said that TransAsia Airways, which will be the only airline serving the route, will fly 15 charters a month, serving only tour groups and travelers that join foreign independent travel (FTI) packages offered by the travel agencies.

The initial response to the charter scheme, which will continue for at least for one year, has been good, with the first two scheduled charters already fully booked, he added.

Phnom Penh's meaning of Christmas

Photo by: Anita surewicz

One of the stores at Phnom Penh's Sorya Center.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nora Lindstrom
Monday, 22 December 2008

As globalisation sneaks up on Cambodia, Christmas trees and tinsel are becoming an increasingly common sight, but some worry the true meaning of Christmas may be lost

In a country where only around one percent of the population is Christian, it comes as no surprise that Christmas is not a big public celebration, or even a national holiday. However, as the forces of globalisation penetrate Cambodia, Santa Claus, tinsel and Christmas trees are becoming an increasingly common sight, at least in the capital.

Prach Chantheun, 24, works at a popular cafe serving locals and expatriates alike. He explains that for Christmas, his foreign employers will organise a party for all staff members.

"With my friends, we also go shopping, exchange cards and buy presents, as well as go eating, drinking and clubbing," he said.

He describes Christmas as a happy time, acknowledging that the concept is foreign but adding that many Cambodian high school students, in particular, like to celebrate the event.

"Last year, I went to church with my friend who is a Christian, so I know about Jesus and why Christmas is celebrated," he said.

Others are less aware.

colleague of Prach Chantheun said, "I know Christmas because of Santa Claus. It is a happy time but no, I don't know anything about Jesus or the religious aspect," Chantheun's colleague said.

" The commercial idea has really picked up, though mainly in Phnom Penh. "

Catholicism in Cambodia The Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia has approximately 20,000 members, of which around 5,000 live in Phnom Penh.

According to Father Bob, parish priest at St Joseph's Parish in northern Phnom Penh, Christmas is now much better known than before, when only one or two hotels catering to foreigners would mount celebrations.

"Commerce is taking over everything, " he said. "Though I suppose that's part of the modern mentality - make more money. I am worried that we are losing the real meaning of things and that we miss the deep message [of Christmas].

"Members of his congregation are less concerned. Uch Maly, who joined the Catholic faith some 15 years ago, acknowledges that many Cambodians celebrate Christmas merely as a happy occasion, but he sees no problem with that.

"It's good, it develops people and encourages them to think about others," she said. "Since I became a Christian, there has been a big opening of minds about the celebration, and Christmas is now featured in hotels, stores and on TV."

Fellow believer Duong Savong, Catholic since 1995, stresses the responsibility the church has in explaining the true significance of Christmas. "At a general level, it is good that people celebrate, as they want peace in their hearts. But the church must enlighten them to what it is all about, that God sent his son to the earth to save us," he said.

At the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tuol Kork, pastors Lim Pheng and Pech Sopheng describe Christmas as a time for spreading the good news, reminding believers of the birth of Jesus and his second coming.

"At our church, we will celebrate with a meal, the nativity play, Bible games and an exchange of gifts," Lim Pheng said. "We expect around 300 people to come, some bringing non-Christian friends along as well."

Like Father Bob, Lim Pheng and Pech Sopheng worry that the meaning of Christmas is being lost amid its popularisation. "Many connect Santa Claus with the Christian message," said Lim Pheng. "In the past five years, I have seen a big change in popular attitudes towards Christmas. The commercial idea has really picked up, though mainly in Phnom Penh and other bigger cities."

"At home, we prepare the tree, decorate it and buy presents," said Lim Phousimalis, coordinator of nurturing Christian commitment at faith-based NGO Hagar.

While most of Lim Phousimalis's family is Christian, she explains that even non-Christian members of her family, as well as neighbours and friends, join in the celebrations. "I think the message of Jesus is powerful, even if you don't know about him. He was born in poverty and had a difficult life. I think many Cambodians can relate to that," she said.

Christmas celebrations

As Christmas carols bellow out in malls around town and shops such as IBC and Peace Book Centre stock a wide array of trees, glitter, human-sized Santas and other Christmas paraphernalia, it is clear the holiday is becoming increasingly established in Cambodia. Even local markets and small corner shops sell Christmas-related items.

Unlike Christmas traditions in many Western countries, however, there are no customs of serving particular foods to top off the party. At the Adventist church, pastor Lim Pheng says they usually serve special Christmas curry with French bread. At Lim Phousimalis's house, the big spread includes beef lok lak and seafood.

Mass in Khmer will be held at St Joseph's parish on the 24th at 6pm, and the 25th at 8am. Some 1, 500 members of the congregation are expected to attend. In the run-up to this climax of the Christian calendar, more spiritual activities have also been arranged to prepare the faithful for the event.

"At our church, we also raise money for the poor. This year, the money will go towards building houses," explained Duong Savong. "The most important message is to tell people, not just through words but actions as well, that their lives are valuable, that despite all the corruption and other problems in our country, there is value to our lives."

Phnom Penh's jolly Santas

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Camilla Bjerrekaer and Chrann Chamroeun
Monday, 22 December 2008

Keep your eyes and ears open for that 'ho, ho, ho' around supermarkets, shopping centres and restaurants during this holiday season and you just might catch a glimpse of Saint Nick

Photo by: Camilla Bjerrekaer
Channet outside the Korean BBQ Restaurant (left). Johnny West at Monument Toys.

FOUR-year-old Justin, dressed as Batman, was shopping for Christmas gifts with his grandmother last week at Phnom Penh's Monument Toys when his eyes suddenly widened with awe and wonder.

"Father Christmas, is that really you?" he asked the man in the unmistakable red suit sitting next to a Christmas tree.

"Well, ho, ho, ho! Of course it is," replied this Santa Claus, one of many jolly old men who have been turning up around the capital in increasing numbers as the holiday season approaches.

Despite being far from the North Pole, Santa - or at least his helpers - have been getting Phnom Penh into the Christmas spirit.

Monument Toys' Santa is really magician and entertainer Johnny West, who regularly performs his routine of tricks throughout Cambodia.

This was his first year playing Santa, and to prepare for the role West said he watched Christmas movies.

But the real key to becoming a good Santa, he said, comes from within.

"It takes someone who can understand the joy and wonder of Christmas. You need to feel that sense of wonder that you did when you were a child," he said.

"When I put on this costume, I feel like I am Santa. And it is up to me to impart that emotion about the spirit of Christmas to everyone I meet."

The more technical aspects of the job, however, also have to be just right.

"A good Santa asks if you've been good or bad. And the proper ‘ho, ho ho' is very important because that puts you in the moment as well," West said, adding that all of the children he has seen so far - both Cambodian and foreign - won't be getting coal in their stockings this year.

"That's what's great. It's the first time a lot of the Cambodian children have had the chance to see Santa," he said.

"They have reacted with a mixture of awe and terror," he added.

"At first, a lot of children are afraid of Santa and I don't blame them because he is a big red man with a white beard who looks pretty weird.

" However, the job also has some downsides, he said.

"A kid farted on my lap today. That was the worst experience of the day," he said, adding, however, that once a parent slipped him a US$10 tip.

The Cambodian Santa

Outside Korean BBQ Restaurant on street 258 was another Santa - 20-year-old Channet standing dressed in a full Santa suit, complete with big red boots and thick mittens.

Channet said he has been playing the part every night since early November when the restaurant first opened, adding that his boss believes the red suit and friendly "Hello, Merry Christmas" attracts more customers.

"When I say Merry Christmas to the customers and passersby, they are happy," he said."Some come in to the restaurant and some don't, but usually they respond with a Merry Christmas."

Although Channet admitted to not knowing anything about the real Santa, he said that wearing the Santa suit made him happy because it made other people smile.

"I don't understand about the meaning of the real Santa Claus ... [but] people say that wearing the clothes makes me very handsome and ready for Christmas Day..."

In fact, the red suit has made him a minor celebrity in the area. "Both local people and foreigners who pass this road always greet me, and some want to have a picture taken with me," he said.

While Channet said he enjoyed his work, he felt that it was not always easy being Santa. "I feel very hot and sweaty when I'm wearing the Santa suit, but I have to be positive and patient," he said.

In Brief: Biosafety workshop

The Phnom Penh post

Written by Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Monday, 22 December 2008

The Environment Ministry and the United Nations Environment Program are running a workshop today and Tuesday for journalists on the relationship between environmental protection and the use of biotech products and the obligations of Cambodia under the 2000-adopted Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

In Brief: KR textbook to reach schools

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Monday, 22 December 2008

A textbook on the history of the Khmer Rouge is expected to begin circulating among high schools across the country in the next few days as the Ministry of Education finalises their review of its contents. The book, which was printed with the support of the German embassy, will be the first to provide both students and teachers with an in-depth guide to events under the 1975-79 Democratic Kampuchea government. The first publication - 3,000 copies - will be funded by the Soros Foundation's Open Society.

In Brief: Gov to seek delay on mine clearance

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Monday, 22 December 2008

Cambodia will request a 10-year postponement of its commitment to the United Nations to clear itself of land mines by 2010, Sam Sotha, secretary general of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, said Thursday. According to Sam Sotha, between 1992 and 2008, 500 million square metres of mined territory have been cleared of some two million unexploded munitions, including 800,000 mines. Heng Ratana, deputy head of the mine agency, was confident UN officials would comply with the request, saying that he has discussed it with them during a conference in Geneva in November.

Land tax collection up over '07

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chun Sophal and Hor Hab
Monday, 22 December 2008

But a falling property market could cut revenues in 2009

THE government collected a record US$28 million in land taxes in the first nine months of 2008, compared with $21.2 million received in all of 2007, a senior minister said last week.

The government collects a four percent tax on land sales.

Im Chhun Lim, minister of land management, urban planning and construction, told the Post that the gains were mostly from a strong construction sector in the first half of the year.

He warned, however, that the global economic crisis and a falling property market in the second half could bring down next year's revenues.

"We earned more income from land duties this year because of booming construction in the first half of 2008," Im Chhun Lim said.

From 2004 to 2007, Cambodia earned a total of about $40 million from land taxes, and officials say the increased collection shows progress over corruption.

Non-transparent

But Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay said that the reported figures are much lower than the actual amount collected by the ministry.

"I think that we could earn $100 million per year if the ministry managed the revenues properly," he said.

" We earned more income ... this year because of booming construction. "

He added that only about 35 percent of taxes are collected by the government, and that corruption and mismanagement is robbing the state of much-needed funds.

"The ministry should not use the global financial crisis as an excuse to explain any revenue shortfalls," Son Chhay said.

"I think that the income from land duties will not drop to below current income, although the construction sector has dropped 30 percent due to the global financial crisis," he said.

He added that better tax collection could help offset the government's 30 percent budget increase for 2009.

Cheng Kheng, managing director of Cambodia Properties Ltd, said the government's figures are high because land prices went up for the first three months of 2008. He expected a drop next year.

"I think the income will decrease next year if the current situation lasts long," Cheng Kheng said.

ACLEDA to build training centre with German grant

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

ACLEDA President In Channy pictured in this file photo. The bank received funds to build a centre to train microfinance

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nguon Sovan and Chun Sophal
Monday, 22 December 2008

The bank hopes facility will make Cambodia a hub for MFI training

ACLEDA Bank has received an US$850,000 grant from the German Development Bank to fund its new Asean Regional Microfinance Training Center.

Bank President In Channy said the centre will be managed by ACLEDA - Cambodia's largest commercial bank - which will finance equipment, fellowships, international consultants and capacity-building programs for faculty and staff.

"The funds will be used for three objectives: equipment, operational costs and short-term scholarships for a three-year period," he told the Post.

"After that, we will charge a fee of $500 per day for groups of between three and 10 people. Each course will last five days," he said.

He added that in five years' time, he expects the centre expects to have trained 1,300 foreign students and experts.

Say Sony, manager of the Prassac Microfinance Institution, said Sunday the establishment of the centre shows the progress of MFIs in Cambodia, but added that he had no plans to send his staff of nearly 1,000 credit officers.

"We have enough internal training units covering all essential skills involved in microfinance," he said.

"I think the centre will be focusing primarily on overseas students. The fees are likely to be too expensive for local people," he said.

Cambodia currently has 17 MFI institutions, with each employing an average of 500 workers.

Defending Duch's obedience

Photo by: AFP

Francois Roux, the lawyer defending former S-21 head Duch.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Anne-Laure Porée
Monday, 22 December 2008

Lawyer Francois Roux on why Duch must not be a ‘scapegoat' and his interest in the fact obedience is not always a virtue

When will Duch's trial take place?

I do not have the answer. In principle, there is a trial management meeting in January, an initial hearing in February, then we hope that the trial will begin in March.

Jacques Verges recently told German news magazine Der Spiegel that the case of Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith "will not even come to trial because the tribunal in Phnom Penh has already gambled away its credibility and legitimacy". Will Duch be the only one to carry the can?

It is out of the question for Duch to become the scapegoat for the Cambodian tragedy. He has to be judged for what he has done, not for the whole tragedy. When his trial opens, nobody will be able to say that there will be no other trials.

You campaigned for the setting up of international criminal tribunals. Experiencing the ECCC in Phnom Penh, do you still believe in international justice?

There are problems here due to the Cambodian situation and the specificity of the mixed tribunal, but it is a boon, too, for international justice. If we take up these specific challenges, they will be a precious contribution to knowledge about international justice. I think that international justice improves despite its difficulties. Who would have believed that many former heads of state would have been put in detention? And for instance, who would have believed that the former prime minister of Rwanda, who played an important part in the former government, would be put on trial? To the cynic who would say that international justice is powerless and incapable, I would answer: Look at the results.

But the pace of justice here seems slow to the public.

I would be the first one to denounce the prosecutors' appeal on Duch's case! But we can note that Duch has been in the ECCC's jail for one year and four months. When his trial will begin, it will be one year and eight months. Compare it to the so-called "Butare's trial" at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which lasted eight years - after the accused had been remanded in custody for four years. However, and of course, we continue to challenge the fact that Duch has been kept in pretrial detention for almost ten years.

For more than 35 years, you have defended people who acted in the name of civil disobedience. Why do you defend Duch, who personifies, in your expression, "servile obedience"?

I have been interested for a long time in the idea that obedience is not always a virtue. And about authority, too, about Milgram's experiment, for instance. The French author Georges Bernanos wrote that "a free people is a people undisciplined". Civil disobedience is written in the law. Therefore, it does not concern only activists. I was led to go from one extreme to the other. This is not a coincidence. And this is a unique human experience. We attain the notion of humanity.

Do you really think that Duch was just obedient ?

The one who obeys a criminal order - here starts his responsibility. We, the defenders of Duch, are trying to understand how it happened, how it worked, of what he is guilty and if he has any mitigating circumstances. The usual work of lawyers in such extreme cases is to find how to bring a man accused of the most serious crimes back into the human community.

Who are your guides in this case?

Kar Savuth, Duch's Cambodian lawyer, who was prisoner of the Khmer Rouge and who put on his lawyer's robe saying that a lawyer should defend everybody in the same way that a doctor cures everybody. I think also of the former president of the bar of Montpellier in France, Jacques Lafont, who was a former prisoner in the Buchenwald concentration camp and defended French collaborationists against the death sentence.

There is no doubt that Duch, who pleads guilty, will be condemned. So what will be the interest of his trial for the Cambodian people?

The great novelty, the major thing, will be to hear Duch's voice. There will be no scoop but rectifications, details, new lights cast. Today, what do you know about what Duch says? Nothing. What do you know about what he has become 30 years later?

Nothing. What do you know about what the victims will tell to Duch?

What do you know about what he will say to them?Do you want this trial to act as a form of education ?The questions of the victims are legitimate. A trial has to bring the beginning of answers. Our educational work began during the investigation with the reconstruction at S-21 and Choeung Ek. It was a major judicial act which honours the judges. It has been very badly reported because of the communications problems of the tribunal, but it was very important for the case and for its symbolism: The time of justice is characterised by bringing back Duch to S-21. He has come back with the judges. That is the catharsis of justice: to understand what happened. You will know during the trial what happened during this reconstruction and what was said. The main thing is that after the trial we can all say: ‘Justice has been done'.

Interview by Anne-Laure Porée

From Russia with lights: Film festival to boost cultural ties

Photo by: Georgia Wilkins
A Russian actress at the opening of the Russian film festival in Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins and Khoun Leakhana
Monday, 22 December 2008

After a low point in the early '90s, Russian cinema is undergoing a revival and a delegation is in town to showcase their newest films

AS the domestic film industry threatens to sink into non-existence, Cambodian cinephiles this week will be able to get a taste of what's possible when finances eventually turn their favour.

A five-day film festival celebrating the recent resurgence of Russian cinema to near-Hollywood stature kicked off Thursday, showcasing the latest that the now-US$100 million industry has to offer.

"We want to broaden our ties and exchange our views to help our cultures understand each other," a Russian embassy official told the Post Thursday.

A cultural delegation, including filmmakers, actors and actresses, arrived in Phnom Penh last week to launch the festival - the first delegation of its kind to travel to the Kingdom since 1986, when ties between the former communist allies were stronger.

" This is the first step towards a new friendship in the movie sector. "

All five films, one of which is a full-length animated feature, reflect the big-budget stylings that Russia's newly moneyed cinema is capable of producing. But as speakers were aware, things had not been like this for a long time.

"Nowadays, Russian cinema is on the rise," said Galina Strochkova, director of the General Directorate of National Film and Theatre Promotion, adding that the transition to a market economy and the dismantling of the Soviet Union led to a financial crisis that crippled the Russian film industry in the 1990s. Theatres were turned into restaurants and shoe shops, something Cambodians today would be familiar with.

The turnaround offered a hopeful lesson for Cambodia, Som Sokun, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said on Thursday. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, he said he hoped the screening of such films would encourage Cambodian performers and technicians to "absorb the valuable experience towards the development of their specialties, so as to contribute to the development of the Cambodian film sector".

He then reflected on the 1980s, when the Soviet Union provided film projectors and mobile theatre vehicles, as well as an annual 100 films, to entertain Cambodian audiences.

"This is the first step towards a new friendship in the movie sector between the two countries," said Ly Dany, an official from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Disease claims B'bang oranges

Photo by: Eleanor Ainge Roy
A farmer points to the beginnings of silver leaf disease in his orange tree in Banan district.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Titthara and Eleanor Ainge Roy
Monday, 22 December 2008

Banan district
Battambang province

Farmers in Banan district in Battambang have been unable to grow oranges for two years due to a rare, highly infectious tree disease that causes their leaves to mould rapidly

JUST three years ago, the farmland in Banan district in Battambang was flushed with the lush green colours of the orange trees whose fruits have made the district and the province famous throughout the country. In 2005, the area was registered as an "agricultural tourism site" by the Battambang provincial governor.

But now there are hardly any orange trees left on the 30,000 hectares of farmland in the district, and the leaves of the few orange trees still left are no longer green but grey. Farmers have turned to other crops such as beans, mangoes, chilli or guava after a rare disease - known as "silver leaf disease" - started killing their orange trees two years ago after a season of particularly heavy flooding.

Sun Tek from Chhoeuteal commune has grown oranges for as long as he can remember and is one of the few orange farmers still trying to grow the popular fruit.

"We have had a problem with the land since it was seriously flooded [two years ago]. Now, my orange trees always die.... but I have not changed to grow other fruits yet because I want to find a solution."

He fears that Battambang will lose its reputation as the province with the best oranges if the problem continues and calls on NGOs or the government for help.

"The farmers in this district are dependent on growing fruit, but since they have had this problem, and have had no NGOs or government officials come to help, it leads them to change to growing other fruit," he said.

Nothing to be done

According to Sath Sokhom, deputy of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department in Battambang, there is nothing to be done about the problem, and he said he urges farmers to change to other crops.

"The land in Banan district is infected with silver leaf disease, and it causes mould in the orange trees and also infects the land. So when they grow new orange trees, they get infected with disease," he said.

"We do not have the solution to help the farmers, so they cannot grow oranges any more - we suggest they should switch to grow other crops," he said.

Toch Soun Nara, governor of Banan district, said that most farmers in the area have already changed crops.

"It is very hard for farmers to grow oranges, but they can change to growing other crops," he said, adding that most farmers in the district have already switched to other crops. He doesn't fear for the province's reputation in the future.

"In my district farmers cannot grow oranges, but in other districts of Battambang farmers can still grow them.... So, we can keep our famous oranges in this province," he added.

Monitoring group to boycott 'predictable' local elections

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Neth Pheaktra and Georgia Wilkins
Monday, 22 December 2008

Election monitors Comfrel have said they will no longer monitor the local administrative elections in May, as they are based on ‘indirect' voting

ELECTION monitors Comfrel have announced plans to boycott upcoming local administrative elections, which will be held in May 2009, claiming the use of indirect voting means the outcome of the elections is already fixed.

In a statement released last week, the group claimed that the elections of district, provincial and municipal councils rely on "indirect suffrage". Only commune officials - over 97 percent of whom are affiliated to the ruling party - can vote.

"We knew already that these [voting] members are representatives of their political party at commune level and they will vote for their own party. It's not a free choice," the statement said.

"We know with 100 percent certainty the result of this election without even organising a vote," it added.

Mar Sophal, head of Comfrel's Monitoring Unit, confirmed to the Post that the group would boycott.

Tep Nytha, NEC secretary general, said it made no difference whether Comfrel stays or goes.

"Retire or join the observation of the elections, it is the right of Comfrel."

SRP to still participate

Son Chhay, lawmaker and spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, told the Post Sunday that he was happy with the boycott but that his party would still participate in the superficial elections.

"We will still participate [in the elections], but we will continue to fight to change this unfair law."

But Cheam Yeap, lawmaker for the Cambodian People's Party, said legality was not an issue in the indirect election process. "The election ... does not affect the legality of the elections because the commune council member represents the people and is elected by people," he said.

"If we organise direct suffrage, we will spend more money and time, and we don't want to spend money for nothing."

Partisan politics continues to clog commune councils

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Boeung Keng Kang III's Commune Council building in Phnom Penh.

PLAYING POLITICS
Mann Choeun, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, urged commune councilors to abandon partisan politics in the name of development. "If you want to improve your people and your commune, you must stop thinking in a partisan way," he said.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Monday, 22 December 2008

Commune officials have expressed renewed concern that widespread political discrimination is corroding local politics

RAMPANT political discrimination within the Kingdom's commune councils is derailing development and causing corruption, commune officials say.

"The commune chief told me there were not enough seats in the office for me to attend important meetings," said Heng Sochhada, second deputy commune chief of Prek Pra commune in Phnom Penh's Meanchey district, describing how she was excluded from key decision-making meetings due to her being a Sam Rainsy Party member.

According to Heng Sochhada, since she was elected during the first commune elections in 2002, the commune chief, who has been in the position since 2002 and is a member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, has consistently refused to cooperate with her for no reason she can discern other than partisan politics.

"I was not allowed to attend meetings on the commune development plan, on budgeting for development projects, and if I attended they would cut the meetings off early," she said.

"It is unfair, as I was elected so that I could serve and improve the lives of people living in Prek Pra commune," she said.

Airing grievances

At a conference Wednesday at City Hall to assess the achievements over 2008 of all commune councils within the Phnom Penh municipality, some 700 councilors from 76 communes aired their grievances over the operation of commune councils.

According to Sem Chan, a member of the Boeung Trabek commune council in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district, political discrimination is eroding responsibility for local development.

He cited the example of the renovation of Road 123 in his area, when he and his constituents asked the commune chief if they could have an open meeting with the contractor before renovation began.

As the road was to be paid for with 70 percent government funds and with 30 percent provided by residents, locals felt they should be involved in the process, he said. But the commune chief refused to have a public meeting.

"Now, this road that cost more than US$300,000 for 160 metres is completely damaged after the people used it for just four-and-a-half years," said Sem Chan, adding that the lack of oversight caused by partisan politics had allowed corruption into the road renovation process.

Another disgruntled commune council member from Phnom Penh's Stung Meanchey commune said that political discrimination had prevented over 200 known opposition supporters in his commune from having proper identification documents - which then prevented them from voting in the July National Assembly elections.

"The people in my commune told me that the police and commune assistants conspired to demand about $20 from each non-CPP-voting person and if they did not pay they would not get identification documents," said Deouk Chhang.

SRP taken to court over NEC fines

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Neth Pheaktra and Georgia Wilkins
Monday, 22 December 2008

THE National Election Committee has filed a complaint to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against opposition Sam Rainsy Party President Sam Rainsy for failing to pay the court a 10 million riel (US$2,500) fine, officials told the Post Sunday.

The electoral committee fined the party president for making derogatory remarks towards members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) during the election earlier this year.

"The NEC sent the complaint against opposition president Sam Rainsy to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday," Tep Nytha, NEC secretary general, told the Post Sunday.

"It's a last resort for NEC to lodge a lawsuit.... NEC sent a letter directly to President Sam Rainsy and requested intervention from the National Assembly to cut his salary, but these two processes failed," he said.

SRP 'not worried'

Son Chhay, lawmaker and spokesman for the SRP, said that the popular opposition leader had no qualms in taking his argument to court.

"Sam Rainsy does not worry at all about this recent decision. He has not done anything wrong. He would like the opportunity to explain to the court why this judgement was not fairly done," he told the Post Sunday.

Keng Vannsak dies, leaving profound intellectual legacy

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Monday, 22 December 2008

Scholars praise deceased colleague whose contributions to education, they say, continue to shape young Cambodian minds

A RENOWNED professor of Cambodian literature credited with creating the first Khmer typewriter died of lung failure on Thursday at the Montmorency hospital in Paris. He was 84 years old.

The death of Keng Vannsak, who was formerly a professor at Phnom Penh's Lycee Sisowath, was mourned by many of his erstwhile colleagues, who said it was a great loss for the nation.

"He was a true scholar, and he helped to establish modern Khmer literature, culture and civilization," reflected Miech Ponn, a scholar at the Buddhism Institute in Phnom Penh.

"We respect him because he was a real patriot, and he offered a basic education for the young generation," said Cambodian historian Michel Tranet.

Keng Vannsak had an unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge, and was a truly original thinker, said Ros Chantraboth, vice president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia.

He had written many books on Cambodian culture, theatre, poetry and was also a creative author - penning a series of short stories and establishing the first centre for higher education focused entirely on Khmer literature. He also created a writing system to guide the creation of Khmer words.

Keng Vannsak left Cambodia for France in 1974 when he was appointed the Cambodian ambassador to that country. After the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975, he decided not to return. He has never been back to Cambodia.

"We're sorry he never returned to Cambodia, [as he could have] instructed the young generation who still learn from his achievements," Ros Chantraboth said.

UN pledges continued support for Cambodia

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Some of the 192 monks - representing the 192 countries in the United Nations - walk through Hun Sen Park on Sunday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Monday, 22 December 2008

At an event marking 53 years of UN membership, officials and NGOs alike celebrate UN achievements in Cambodia

DESPITE having, at times, a highly problematic relationship with the government, the United Nations has played a key role in the Kingdom's development and will continue to support Cambodia in the future, UN officials say.

"In partnership with the Cambodian government and Cambodian people, the United Nations ... will work to ensure that all Cambodian women, children and men can live in peace, prosperity and justice," Teruo Jinnai, the acting UN resident coordinator to Cambodia, said Sunday at an event celebrating the 53rd anniversary of Cambodia's accession to the UN.

The event noted the UN's accomplishments in Cambodia over the last three decades. Jinnai reminded the audience that in 1979, after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the UN provided US$700 million in emergency relief, and that during the 1990s, the United Nations Transitional Authority of Cambodia helped restore peace and security by organising democratic elections.

The celebration did not just focus on the past. With 23 specialised UN groups currently working to provide development and technical assistance to the Cambodian people, the UN is here for years to come.

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, was hopeful that with the UN's help, Cambodia would one day fully respect human rights.

"Even though today we do not have complete freedoms ... we have seen the development process lead to a gain in freedom."

One of the high points of the event was when 192 monks - representing the 192 UN member countries - participated in a peace ceremony.

Moeung Sonn, president of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation that organized the event, said Cambodians should celebrate the anniversary to express their gratitude to the UN for their contribution to peace and prosperity in Cambodia.

"These member countries have undertaken to find solutions for Cambodian crises, paving the way for peace, national development, social equity and justice."