Vietnam's investment falls in 2008 to $21m

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara
Thursday, 12 March 2009

VIETNAMESE investment in Cambodia declined last year to US$21 million from US$139 million in 2007, the Cambodian Investment Board, a government body, said this week.

The bulk of the decline was due to a US$100 million investment by telecoms operator Viettel in 2007, which bloated the figures.

Youn Heng, the director at the CIB's evaluation and incentive department, said Vietnam had invested mainly in agriculture and telecoms.

"Since the government posted border markers and offered land concessions to Vietnamese investors, these types of investments have increased," Youn Heng said, referring to the practice of allocating land concessions only in border areas where international boundaries had been agreed.

Youn Heng said inward investment by Vietnam was still low compared with that from China, South Korea and the United States - the three largest investors that last year approved projects worth US$6.3 billion.

The commercial counsellor at the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh, Le Bien Cuong, said more than 100 Vietnamese companies are operating in Cambodia, many in agriculture and hydroelectricity.

"The number of Vietnamese investors has increased, but I can't compare the number to China and South Korea because it is still relatively low," he said. He said he hoped that the number of Vietnamese investors would increase in 2009 as Cambodia developed further.

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Vietnamese investors ... increased, but ... [THE NUMBER] is still relatively low.
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Vietnamese embassy spokesperson Trinh Ba Cam told the Post last week that around 10,000 hectares of concession land located near the Vietnamese border is being used by Vietnamese investors to grow rubber and cassava.

"I hope that our good political and business relationship means Vietnamese investment in Cambodia will keep growing, and I encourage them to continue investing," he said.

Trinh Ba Cam said that since the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding for investment that focused mainly on land, Vietnamese investments had targeted the agricultural sector.

Ly Phalla, general director of the rubber plantation department at the Ministry of Agriculture, said Cambodia has 108,000 hectares of rubber plantations, of which 34,000 hectares are mature. The main markets for Cambodian rubber are Vietnam, Malaysia and China, he added.

Martial art of Khmer chess a big cafe draw

Photo by: Stephanie Mee
Chess players at Cafe Truc Ly on Street 143 in Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Stephanie Mee
Thursday, 12 March 2009

Players test their patience and skill in a game that has its roots in Cambodia’s ancient Angkorian kingdoms

On any given day and at any given time across Phnom Penh, there is likely to be raucous games of Khmer chess, or ouk, taking place in cafes and on street corners across the city.

Ouk has long been a popular pastime for Cambodians, and records of the game in the Kingdom date back to at least Angkorian times, as is evidenced by bas reliefs on the walls of Angkor Wat, the Bayon and the Preah Khan temple.

Often heard before seen, the game takes its name from the sound that the wooden game pieces make when they are slammed onto the game board, a key aspect of putting one's opponent in check. Ouk also means "check" in Khmer.

Played mainly by men, the rules of Khmer chess are very similar to the rules of chess in the West, aside from a few essential differences.

Both games are played on a wooden board with 64 squares, although Khmer chessboards do not have the familiar checked pattern.

There are 32 "chessmen", or pieces, 16 for each player as in Western chess, but the names and shapes of the "men" in Khmer chess are distinctly Cambodian.

The small, flat pieces are called fish. Often interchangeable with bottle caps, fish correspond to pawns in the Western version of the game.

The bishop is the general, and is shaped like a two-tiered stupa, knights are horses and retain the horse-head shape; rooks are called boats, and are fat and round; the queen, or neang, is short and rounded with a pointy top; and the king, or sdaach, is the tallest of them all, and is in the shape of a three-tiered stupa.

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chess is a battle. each player's men are like an army protecting the king.
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Each game piece has a set of rules as to which direction they can move, many of which closely match the movements of their Western counterparts.

As in Western chess, the object of the game is to capture the opponent's king. When the opponent's king is in check (or in the line of fire) the player attacking the king must say ouk (check). If the king cannot move out of danger, the attacker wins the game.

"You have to be very clever to play chess," said Vang Vuth, who has been playing chess for about two years now.

Vang Vuth learned how to play the game when he started frequenting Cafe Truc Ly on Street 143.

The cafe supplies patrons with wooden chessboards and chessmen, and is often packed with enthusiastic chess players.

"At first I would just come here and watch people play," said Vang Vuth. "Then I slowly began to pick the game up day by day. Now I come here to play ouk everyday. I usually play about five games a day."

Battle of wits
Vang Vuth explains that no matter what time of the day he goes to the cafe, there are always people there playing round after round of the game, or looking for another challenger.

"Sometimes the loser might give up his spot to another player, but more often than not they keep playing because the loser always wants to take revenge," said Vang Vuth.

Sok Keng, a Phnom Penh taxi driver and an ardent chess player since 1993, plays chess on a weekly basis, depending on his time schedule.

"I like to play chess because it is a battle. Each player's men are like an army protecting the king. Even the king is involved in the battle," he said.

Although most chess players in Cambodia do not play the game for money but rather as a way of exercising their mind, the annual chess tournament presents a lucrative opportunity.

The first Khmer Chess Tournament was held in May 2008, and was organised by the Cambodian Chess Association and the Olympic Committee of Cambodia in an effort to standardise the rules of chess in Cambodia, as well as showcase the Kingdom's top players.

Players spent three days vying for the title of champion chess master, and the grand prize of US$1,000 was awarded to 28-year old Chhoy Vira of Phnom Penh. Second and third place winners took home $700 and $500 respectively.

While most players appear excited about the prospect of one day competing for the big prize, for now they are quite happy to play the game as a form of entertainment.

"Really in the end, it's all about having fun," said Sok Keng.

Short Story: Countries combine for charity golf

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chun Sophal
Thursday, 12 March 2009

Two hundred Cambodian, Vietnamese and Laotian golfers will participate in the first Friendship Charity Golf Tournament on March 28 at Long Thanh Golf Resort, Vietnam. Cham Prasidh, chairman of the Cambodian Organising Committee for the tournament, said the event will raise funds for the Mutual Foundation, which offers free eyecare and heart operations to homeless people, orphans and victims of natural disasters, as well as providing education scholarships for impoverished students. The chairman called for charitable members of the public to sponsor and support the tournament, with March 15 the deadline for registration. Prime ministers and high-ranking officials of the three countries will also participate in the tournament along with approximately 50 to 70 professional and amateur golfers from each country. Cham Prasidh noted that similar golf tournaments in Vietnam each generated up to US$8 million in 2008 and $6 million in 2007. "We expect to raise more money than these tournaments by allowing golfers from all three countries," he said. Thong Khon, vice chairman of the organising committee, said that players will compete over 36 holes - one round on the hill course and one on the lake course.

The winner's will receive 18 damlung of gold ($18,900), which is to be auctioned to the public. The winning bid will be transferred to the Mutual Foundation, which will distribute it to the three countries, said Thong Khon. Cham Prasidh said that the prime ministers of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos will decide on the share of the fund. "This year [the Friendship tournament] is held in Vietnam, and if it is successful we want to hold it in Cambodia next year," he said.

Two French men sentenced over child sex in Asia

STRASBOURG, FRANCE, March 11, 2009 (AFP) - Two French men accused of frequenting child prostitutes in southeast Asia and recording their encounters were sentenced on Wednesday to the maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

The court in the eastern French town of Colmar also issued fines for Robert Chung, 72, and Jean-Marc Malgarini, 51, of 70,000 and 50,000 euros (90,000 and 64,000 dollars) respectively.

Both were accused of traveling to Cambodia regularly and filming their encounters with girls under 15.

They were prosecuted for having 'solicited, accepted or obtained' sexual relations with prostitutes under 15, as well as for importing and possessing child pornography.

Malgarini told the court he regretted his visits to Cambodia and Thailand - around 30, according to visas found in his passport - but argued that girls there would 'jump' on him.

'You don't realise,' he said. 'When you go there, you suddenly have five or six girls who jump on you.' Questioned about some 20 films seized as well as dozens of photos on his mobile phone showing the suspects with young girls, Chung claimed to have recorded the encounters for 'aesthetic' reasons.

Chung, a former doctor now stripped of his licence, said he was a lover of artistic images.

Malgarini was arrested in 2007 in connection with a probe linked to an Italian paedophile website. Chung was arrested shortly after at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

French authorities were able to intervene in the case due to universal jurisdiction for sex tourism allegations, a measure aimed at protecting children.

The two men are also to pay 12,600 euros to children's rights associations.

Barun Roy: Tale of two Asias

Business Standard

Unlike Cambodia and China, the sub-continent hasn't managed to rise above its old conflicts

Barun Roy / New Delhi March 12, 2009

Unlike countries like Cambodia and China, the sub-continent hasn't managed to rise above its old conflicts.

The beginning, last month, in Cambodia, of a process to bring former Khmer Rouge leaders to trial for their role in a reign of genocide in the 1970s that left at least 1.7 million people dead, is meant to formally close a chapter of Cambodian history that nobody wants to remember.

Cambodia has outlived its fractious past and is moving convincingly towards a future of common economic well-being with the rest of Southeast Asia. Vietnam, once a hated intruder, is no longer an enemy, and friendly relations with Thailand, Laos, and China have produced a surge in investments, tourism, and trade. Growth averaged 9.4 per cent annually through the last decade and per capita GDP doubled between 1998 and 2007.

Two things have made Cambodia’s current economic success possible: Peace and political stability. Just the two things that are behind Vietnam’s success, too, whose political tolerance and economic realism, setting aside decades of bloody ideological enmities, have surprised the entire world and paved the way for the emergence of Asia’s next China.

In fact, peace and political stability have marked the recent history of a part of Asia — north, northeast, and southeast — that also happens to be its wealthiest. There’s a connection and it shouldn’t be forgotten. Malaysia hasn’t let May 1969 return to haunt it again. Ominous clouds of civil war no longer hang over the Philippines, where Muslim Mindanao has found a way to live within a mainly Christian nation. China, born again in 1979 when it opened out to the world and much wiser after the misadventures of the Cultural Revolution, has steadfastly refused to let social and political upheavals come in its way. Tienanmen Square and Tibet were but over-publicised local disturbances that were in no position to topple the Chinese applecart.

Preserving conditions for peaceful, undisturbed economic growth has been so uppermost in China’s mind, that it has done everything to avoid a physical confrontation with Taiwan, despite all kinds of provocations from across the straits. Hong Kong and Macau have been annexed but not swallowed. India has been left alone and spared even of threats and postures. Closer links have been forged with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam to create a credible climate of confidence and goodwill. One can no longer deny that China, with its policy of positive accommodation with its neighbours, has played a key role in the continuance of economic prosperity in a large part of the Asian region.

On the other hand, look at South Asia, a sub-region ridden with deep conflicts and, not surprisingly, deep poverty. Bangladesh began as a killing field and remains so after 40 years. Nepal, having ousted its king, is struggling to find its political feet and a Constitution good enough to overcome all local dissensions. Pakistan is on the verge of ruin brought on by its own misguided politics. Sri Lanka is trapped in a deadly, long-running civil war that has left at least 70,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands more homeless, and even if it ends after the government’s last-ditch, almost genocidal, push against pro-independence Tamil rebels, will Sri Lanka have the peace and stability to grow?

India is not in any better shape either. Its political stability is more apparent than real, and now that it has begun to appear on terrorists’ radar screens, it can lose its peace, too. The only reason India is still able to absorb the shocks and maintain a healthy rate of growth is its vast size. Because of it, even major disturbances look, in popular perception, like isolated local events. But the way discontent is spreading across the country and politics, stripped of basic decencies and broad ideals, is getting fractured around narrow groups, vested interests, petty loyalties, and local dissatisfaction, that won’t be the case anymore. Intolerance keeps growing and mutinies multiply. Fires are rising one after another and one can already feel the heat.

In a situation like this, attention is bound to be distracted from development, and development is bound to lose its focus. India has done very little since independence to find the causes of its many domestic mutinies and douse them. It has done even less to build bridges to its neighbours or remove the causes of their apprehensions. The result is we still have vast segments of our society trapped in the deprivation they’ve always known, in angers and frustrations they increasingly feel. We’ve Kandhamals and Mangalores and Godhras and Guwahatis that make us wonder if our nation is indeed one. And we’ve neighbours with whom we only have a relationship of mutual distrust.

We had no reason to become a target of terrorism. We could have been a China to South Asia, leading its climb to success. Instead, we’re victims ourselves, being helplessly sucked into the vortex of our own failures.

Cambodian garment exports fall 27 per cent

Monsters and Critics

Business News
Mar 12, 2009

Bangkok - The value of Cambodia's garment exports in January was 27 per cent lower than in the same period last year as demand in the United States and Europe slumped, national media reported Thursday.

Garment exports were worth about 246 million US dollars in January 2008 but had dropped to about 177 million in the first month of this year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Exports to the United States dropped by about 35 per cent while exports to Europe were down by about 10 per cent.

Garment manufacturing, Cambodia's only significant export industry, has been the hardest hit sector in the developing country's economy during the global financial downturn, with more than 30 factories closing so far this year.

More than 30,000 garment factory workers lost their jobs in the past 12 months, according to a World Bank report released Sunday.

Cambodian politician has immunity restored

The China Post

Thursday, March 12, 2009

PHNOM PENH -- A Cambodian parliamentary committee has restored the immunity of opposition leader Sam Rainsy after he paid a fine of US$2,500 for defaming ruling party leaders, lawmakers said on Wednesday.

Although members of parliament have general immunity against prosecution, the National Election Committee (NEC) can fine candidates who violate rules during election campaigns, and it had found that Rainsy defamed leaders of the Cambodian People's Party, including Prime Minister Hun Sen.

When his immunity was removed in late February, Rainsy denounced it as a move to silence his criticism of Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for the last 23 years.

Rainsy, leader of the opposition party that carries his name, has been the main challenger to the prime minister's dominance during those years. He served as finance minister under joint Prime Ministers Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen after elections sponsored by the United Nations in 1993.

Hun Sen won a landslide victory in an election last July but remains vulnerable in Phnom Penh to Rainsy, who commands support from the capital's educated youth.

Cheam Yeap, a ruling party lawmaker, said the permanent committee would not have restored Rainsy's immunity on Tuesday in a closed-door vote if he had not paid the fine.

“He could have faced up to a year in jail if he had not paid,” he said.

Vietnam, Cambodia friendship associations strengthen ties

VOV News
03/12/2009

The Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association (VCFA) and the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA) met in Phnom Penh on March 11 to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral ties in the future.

During the working session, the two sides spoke highly of their bilateral cooperation in the past and agreed to speed up the establishment of friendship association chapters between the border areas of the two neighbouring countries.

They also agreed to organise biennial meetings between the two associations in the future.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and CVFA President Men Sam An said that Cambodia always treasures its traditional friendship and cooperation with Vietnam.

On the same day, the VCFA delegation, headed by its President, Vu Mao, was received by the President of the Cambodian Senate, Samdech Chea Sim, and the Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly, Heng Samrin.

President Chea Sim welcomed the delegation’s visit, saying that it is an important milestone in consolidating the traditional friendship between the two countries.

He affirmed that the Vietnam-Cambodia neighbourly friendship will undoubtedly flourish in the future.

During its stay in Phnom Penh, the VCFA delegation called at the Vietnamese Association to present gifts to its members.

The delegation is also scheduled to visit several Cambodian localities, including Svay Rieng and Siem Reap provinces.

VNA/VOVNews

Cambodian PM: Phnom Penh to have conference center

www.chinaview.cn

2009-03-12

PHNOM PENH, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will build a conference hall of international standard in Phnom Penh to host diplomatic events with foreign audiences, national media said on Thursday.

"I will use only 15 months to complete it," Chinese-language daily newspaper the Commercial News quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen as telling a graduation ceremony of the Royal University of Phnom Penh here on Wednesday.

"Before, we relied on hotels for international events, and it is always difficult to find a place, and sometimes we are forced to hold meetings in Siem Reap," he said.

The conference hall would be constructed with government funds next to the new Council of Ministers building, he said, adding that local architects would be tapped to design it.

The decision was prompted by plans for Cambodia to host a series of regional conferences in the coming years, including three regional meetings next year and two ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summits in 2012, according to the premier.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

Why we must learn to love the ICC

Prospect Magazine

March 2009

The ICC's indictment of Sudan's president for war crimes may have done nothing other than ruin his holiday plans. But at least that's a start

Polly Botsford

War crimes trials are all the rage at the moment. When Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 4th March 2009, his name added to the growing list of those accused of war crimes. In February, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia started hearing the case against the infamous Khmer Rouge commander Comrade Duch. Meanwhile, the trials of the Bosnian Serb-leader-turned-bearded guru, Radovan Karadzic, as well as numerous of African leaders, are ongoing in the Hague. In fact, there have been more trials of this kind in the past fifteen years than at any time since the Nazi trials after the second world war.

The ICC, created in July 2002, and the various ad-hoc UN tribunals (such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) are the only courts of law where dictators, presidents and generals can be directly called to account for heinous crimes. These are, evidently, matters of huge import. The Balkan leaders amassed over 100,000 deaths, Pol Pot around 2m, and now Bashir is held responsible for around 300,000 deaths.

But do these trials mean there’s now more justice in the world? They can often be counterproductive. For instance, Bashir's response to the ICC indictment was to order thirteen of the biggest aid agencies out of Sudan, leaving millions in risk of starvation or death by disease. (The African Union has already asked the court to delay the charges for 12 months in order to prevent further destabilising the region.) These trials may also entrench leaders in situ rather than encouraging them to a negotiated peace. Gareth Evans, president of International Crisis Group, has argued that the situation in Zimbabwe was made worse by the arrest of former Liberian President Charles Taylor almost on its doorstep in 2006; fearing international prosecution if he stood down peacefully, Robert Mugabe was loath to do so.

And by supporting the prosecution of rogue leaders, countries may be trying to get out of actually having to intervene in troubled parts of the world themselves. Take Bashir again. In July 2008, when he was first indicted, genocide was on the list of charges. Yet this had been dropped by the time the arrest warrant was issued in March. This may be because if genocide is established, the convention on genocide compels signatories, which include the US and major European nations, to act, potentially militarily—something they do not want to do.

There is a trickier problem than all of these, however: the glaring inconsistency with which indictments are meted out. From the ICC's actions, it appears that some conflicts and atrocities are more worthy of prosecution than others. Problems that affect the interests of a member of the UN Security Council (for example Russia and Chechnya, the US or Britain and Iraq, the US in respect of Israel and Gaza) are notably missing from the agenda.

In fact, all the ICC’s ongoing trials are of African leaders: those from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic, Uganda and, next up, Sudan. (See Paul Moorcraft's criticism of the ICC's awful timing in the Bashir indictment). They are all even from the same region of Africa. Courtney Griffiths QC, the lawyer representing Charles Taylor, claims that his client is a "victim of a new form of neo-colonialism… the use of the law to delegitimise and outlaw certain kinds of struggles against western interests." There is, he adds, a joke at the Hague that the ICC is known as the "African criminal court." Clive Stafford-Smith, director of Reprieve, prefers to call it hypocrisy, something which "breeds hatred around the world."

Yet there are signs that public opinion is beginning to demand greater consistency—witness George Monbiot’s "citizen’s arrest" for war crimes of former US ambassador John Bolton when he came to speak at the Hay Festival in 2008, or the Spanish courts continuing to press for the prosecution of Israeli officials for the bombing of Gaza back in 2002. Unrealistic, yes; gimmicky even—but also maybe evidence of growing recognition that the system needs rebalancing. Indeed even the existing prosecutions, despite their selectivity, are still establishing a crucial principle: that leaders are accountable for their crimes.

Perhaps, then, instead of criticising its obvious imperfections, we should be trying to improve the system of international justice. For a start, the US needs to sign up to the ICC: without it, as Stafford-Smith says, the court is "fatally undermined." We must hope that President Obama will have the audacity to make this change. To date, his comments are encouraging. "Earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions," he said in his inauguration speech. "Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort—even greater cooperation and understanding between nations." He has also acknowledged that the court has pursued charges only in cases of the most serious and systemic crimes and that "it is in America’s interests that these most heinous of criminals, like the perpetrators of the genocide in Darfur, are held accountable. These actions are a credit to the cause of justice and deserve full American support and cooperation."

For its part, the ICC could for now concentrate its efforts on securing its first conviction, rather than issuing more warrants. Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the DRC, is a good candidate—his trial opened on 26th January, and he is charged with "individual criminal responsibility for the war crime of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate in hostilities." Such a conviction would give the ICC greater credibility and legitimacy, enabling it to be a real and present threat to rogue leaders.

As Richard Dowden pointed out in Prospect in May 2007, there is often a difficult choice to be made between justice and peace. Luis Moreno Ocampo, the Argentinian chief prosecutor at the ICC, is vocal about this dilemma and reminds us that his job can only be to secure the former, not the latter. But it's not impossible for both to be achieved. In northern Uganda, indictments in October 2005 against the Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and his top commanders did, at least in the short term, help alleviate the intensity of the conflict (a truce was announced the following year).

The reality is that prosecution by the ICC is one of the few credible threats faced by leaders of warring parties responsible for atrocities. If cases are consistently deferred (as has been suggested for Sudan) for the sake of a peace processes, its value as a deterrent will be compromised. It may be true that, at the moment, all these indictments can do is stop guilty leaders from travelling to countries empowered to and prepared to arrest them. If so, all we’ve done so far is ruined their holiday plans. But that’s a start.

Give the poor choices: report

Business Mirror

Written by Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter
Thursday, 12 March 2009

IN order to achieve mass-poverty reduction globally, a new study released by the World Bank underscored the need not only for initiative and good work ethics on the part of the poor, but also ample economic opportunities for the poor created by governments.

The World Bank study, titled “Moving out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up,” was conducted in 15 countries—the Philippines and its neighbors Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand, as well as Malawi, Morocco, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Mexico.

Among the key findings of the study: the poor and the rich have the
same or at least similar aspirations in life, particularly on family and work ethic, and the myths surrounding the poor have resulted in counterproductive government policies through the years.

The study also cited a need to shift the focus of governments and other institutions to the local level to better understand how to expand opportunity sets for poor people and help facilitate their own initiatives to improve their lives.

“Myths about poor people and about the causes of poverty have led to policy choices that have not helped those in poverty. Our research reveals the wretched opportunities that confront poor people in contrast to the gilded choices that the rich enjoy. To break out of poverty, poor people need the same opportunity sets as the rich. This requires fresh thinking and new mindsets about poor people and the scale of poverty,” the study stated.

“Poverty is not an affliction of the few but a condition of the many. In almost half the countries in our study, 50 percent of the population is poor. These hundreds of millions of people cannot all be drunken, lazy, criminal or unable to imagine and plan a future for themselves and their children,” the study added.

The World Bank conducted 21 studies that focused on specific communities, resulting in studies that are not nationally representative. In the Philippines, for instance, two study regions were identified, such as in Bukidnon and conflict areas in Mindanao.

The Bukidnon study built on a panel data set to examine the role that physical assets, human capital and governance play in mobility. In Mindanao, however, the focus was on local-level conflicts to investigate how conflict in different growth contexts affected people’s ability to move out of poverty.

Among the findings of the study are that large fractions of the nonpoor are falling into poverty in other parts of Africa and in the conflict regions studied. In study regions that sampled households affected by conflict, nearly a third of nonpoor households fell into poverty due to conflict.

“It is interesting that in the conflict-affected region of the Philippines, 38 percent of the nonpoor fell into poverty, but only 5 percent did in the nonconflict Bukidnon region of that country,” the study stated.

The study also said another reason that poor people remain poor is the poor’s lack of “clout in the marketplace,” mainly due to the small size of their transactions. This forces the poor to buy at high costs and sell their products at low costs.

In the Philippines, some farmers in Mindanao who were interviewed for the study even said there are times when they ask their buyers what the prevailing price of their product is in the market, which places them at a huge disadvantage when trading.

“The problem is us, not [the] poor people. We have to change. If only we can make the world look like what poor people think it really is—a place where hard work pays off, where there is equality of opportunity—we will see mass-poverty reduction in our time. Imagine a world in which we listen to poor women, men and young people, and fix what they think isn’t right,” the study stated.

In order to improve the poor’s plight, the World Bank study said there is a need to improve economic opportunities in rural areas by providing quasi-public goods like permanent roads, physical market spaces, irrigation waterways, telephone networks, electricity and cheap, reliable transport.

It is also important, the World Bank said, that opening up procurement chains and markets, increasing local grain-storage capacity, and improving access to information on prices are some measures that can usher in better returns to poor people in rural communities.

The study said economic organization of poor people could play a critical role in helping them move out of poverty. It stressed that the initiative to bring about change can come from any institution—government, civil society, or the private sector.

There is also a need to provide poor people larger loans, new and innovative financing arrangements for small enterprises and support in making the best use of credit. The bank said this is important since the poor cannot access formal credit facilities or do not have the collateral to obtain loans.

The World Bank also said there is a need for strong local democracies that ensure property rights; and that a positive business environment is critical for ensuring that the benefits of opening up markets are more equally shared.

However, the study said land titling, business licensing and other economic policies adopted by local democracies often help only the socially dominant, wealthier class.

“People in poverty want economic opportunity. When opportunity sets expand in a dynamic local economy, people can take initiative and move up or out of poverty. All too often, however, people find channels of upward movement blocked and their initiatives thwarted,” the study stated.

The publication is the latest and most comprehensive study on attitudes about poverty since its predecessor, Voices of the Poor, was released in 2000. The study included interviews with more than 60,000 people.

Documentary Film to Premiere at Human Rights Festival in Geneva

PORTLAND, Ore. th Oregon State University faculty member and Portland resident Patti Duncan, along with co-producer Skye Fitzgerald, will premiere their documentary film, "Finding Face," at The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, which takes place March 6-15 in Geneva. "Finding Face" screens on March 11 and 14.

(Media-Newswire.com) - PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon State University faculty member and Portland resident Patti Duncan, along with co-producer Skye Fitzgerald, will premiere their documentary film, “Finding Face,” at The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, which takes place March 6-15 in Geneva. “Finding Face” screens on March 11 and 14.

The film, directed and produced by Fitzgerald and Duncan, investigates the phenomenon of acid attacks in Cambodia, the deliberate throwing of acid usually into the faces of young women.

Framing acid attacks as a gendered form of violence and a human rights violation, “Finding Face” follows the story of a young woman named Tat Marina who was granted asylum to enter the United States following her well-publicized 1999 attack by the wife of a highly-ranked government official in Phnom Penh.

When she was 16, Marina was a rising star in Cambodia’s emerging karaoke scene. After being coerced into an abusive relationship with a government official, Marina was attacked with acid by the official’s wife in front of hundreds of witnesses. “Finding Face” documents the fracturing of Marina’s family across national borders, as well as her family members’ disparate responses.

Due to the central crime detailed in the film and the threat of retaliation against victims if they choose to go public with their story, the filmmakers have notified an array of organizations regarding the vulnerability of subjects and collaborators involved in the film. These organizations include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights-Cambodia, and others.

“Skye Fitzgerald and I decided to make this film three years ago, after encountering survivors of acid violence in Cambodia while working on his previous film, ‘Bombhunters,’” Duncan said. “We were both struck by how normalized it seemed, as well as how stigmatized the victims seem to be within society.”

The film took more than two years to make and involved multiple trips to Cambodia and to the Boston area, where Marina now lives.

Duncan, an associate professor in the Department of Women Studies at OSU, wrote the script for the film. Fitzgerald, founder of Spin Film and producer and director of “Bombhunters,” ( 2006 ) co-produced the film and is the principal cinematographer.

Others involved include:

-- Patrick Weishampel, editor at Oregon Public Broadcasting and multimedia designer at Portland Center Stage, edited the film.

-- William Campbell, assistant professor of music at St. Ambrose University in Iowa, composed the original score. Additional music was provided by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, and Academy Award-winner Marketa Irglova.

-- Narration was provided by Dmae Roberts, two-time Peabody-award winning independent radio artist and writer.

-- Sophorn Cheang, vice-president of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon, served as the Portland-based translator for the film, and other members of the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon contributed to the project with voice-over work, subtitling, and additional translation.

The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights was inaugurated in 2003. The event coincides with the United Nations Human Rights Council’s main session, and will take place at the Maison Des Arts Du Grutli in Geneva, the “human rights’ international capital.”

For more information about Finding Face, see

http://www.spinfilm.org or http://www.findingface.org

Japan Grants Labs, School Building to Cambodia

2009-03-11
Xinhua
Web Editor: Xu Leiying

The government of Japan has granted 217,346 U.S. dollars worth of laboratories and school building to Cambodia, said official news agency the Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) on Wednesday.

The grant was made in Phnom Penh on Tuesday under Japan's economic cooperation framework, or the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, it said.

Out of the total grant, 170,354 U.S. dollars will be used to build scientific laboratories at the Hun Sen Kandal Regional Teacher Training Center in Kandal province and the Takeo Regional Teacher Training Center in Takeo province.

The rest will be used to construct a school building at the Raksmey Angkanh Primary School in Kampong Thom province.

According to the Japanese Embassy, since 1991, Japan has extended more than 42.5 million U.S. dollars to support 425 projects in the fields of education, agriculture, rural development, health and mine clearance in Cambodia.

Foundation to fund Cambodian children victimized by Canadians

Janaya Fuller-Evans, Special to Vancouver Courier
Published: Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Cambodian children victimized by Canadian pedophiles will get help from Canada, says the founder of Vancouver-based Ratanak Foundation.

While the Canadian government ended foreign aid to Cambodia this month, Brian McConaghy is determined that the foundation's centre will take in all children exploited by Canadians in Cambodia and foot the rehabilitation bill.

Though it's an expensive commitment, McConaghy says the situation is too dire to be "financially pragmatic."

"Some of these kids have been raped thousands of times," said McConaghy, a former RCMP forensic scientist. "It's a worst case scenario."

McConaghy says the child sex trade in Cambodia is directly linked to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. "It goes right back to the killing fields."

The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 until 1979, allegedly killing 1.7 million people. Cambodian social structures such as law and education were eradicated. The country is still dealing with the atrocities of the recent past.

"The last thing you want is a poverty-stricken culture with no moral compass paired with incredibly rich pedophiles from the West with no moral compass, either," says McConaghy. "And that's what we have."

Ratanak was established in 1990, after McConaghy visited refugee camps in Thailand during the Cambodian civil war. Originally providing medical aid and funding for orphanages, the foundation started helping exploited children in 2005.

McConaghy has travelled to raise money to maintain the foundation's programs, just as the Canadian government has cut foreign aid to Cambodia, among other countries.

Canada's aid cuts came down as the first of five Khmer Rouge officials went to trial for genocide at a U.N.-assisted tribunal, 30 years after the regime ended.

Kaing Guek Eav--also known as Duch--is charged with crimes against humanity. Duch ran the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh where approximately 16,000 people were tortured and killed.

McConaghy doesn't believe the trials will heal the country, though he does think they are a necessary step. "I think Cambodians will go back to their homes feeling strangely empty. I feel it is going to be a big disappointment."

But forgiving and forgetting isn't the answer either, according to Ian Townsend-Gault, University of B.C law professor and director of Southeast Asian legal studies.

"The crimes of people like Duch, who is on trial, are so horrendous," Townsend-Gault said. "And there should be an accounting for it."

He also says Cambodia cannot change so long as prime minister Hun Sen, a former member of the Khmer Rouge government, is in power. Nor can it change without support from the international community.

While the Canadian government's coffers are being guarded more closely, Ratanak Foundation is surviving due to McConaghy's fundraising efforts. "It's certainly not a banner year for growth but I think we're going to pay all our bills."

Despite the foundation's modest financial success, McConaghy works with other organizations on their projects as well.

Agape International Missions, a Christian non-profit organization in California, partnered with Ratanak to lease a former brothel in Phnom Penh. It was gutted and rebuilt as a community centre and elementary school.

Fairview Presbyterian Church in Vancouver provided the construction materials and sent 10 congregation members to complete the renovations last May.

The centre hosts medical clinics a few times a week. The elementary school should open in September.

© Vancouver Courier 2009

Business Class Bookings Through travNet Rewards Agents and Benefits Cambodian Charities

Mar 11, 2009
By: Mark Rogers
TravelAgentCentral

Through April 30, travNET will donate to one of the many disadvantaged orphanages and/or underprivileged villages in Cambodia. With the purchase of each qualified round-trip Business Class ticket booked through April 30 travel professionals will be rewarded with a $100 American Express Gift Card and travNET will donate $100 to a Cambodian charity.

Randy Lynch, founder of travNET and its sister company Kipling & Clark, purveyors of luxury private travel experiences, recently took his family on a seven-day Spring Break trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Randy, his wife Bev and daughter Zen, who also serves as Kipling & Clark’s luxury travel expert for kids, visited the COSO Orphanage and Wat Po Krom Grade School in Siem Reap where they donated their time and resources and came home with an awe-inspiring and gratifying experience.

travNET is a Chicago-based air travel specialist providing preferred business-class ticketing and services to Pacific Rim destinations and beyond. For more information on how to give back, contact travNET at 800-359-6388, info@travNet.net or www.travNet.net.

Awe-inspiring Cambodia

Wed, Mar 11, 2009

AsiaOne

Texts and photographs by Monisha Sharma

As we drove through the Cambodian vegetation on our three-hour journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, listening to dulcet Cambodian melody, nothing could have prepared us for the wonders that lay ahead.

Cambodian history is as rich as it is disturbing. Mired in political turmoil, genocide and cruelties by the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world today. Yet, as we entered the realm of the Angkor, we could not help but be amazed by the bygone cultural splendour that surrounded us.

It is hard to imagine, when you look at the scale and grandeur of the temples, that these were once covered with thick tropical jungles. The rediscovery of the Angkor is widely credited to French explorer Henri Mouhot and it was the French institution École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) that started the restoration process in 1901.

The complex is split into four main regions:
◊ Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom
◊ Le Petit Circuit
◊ Le Grand Circuit
◊ Roluos group

Angkor is the largest pre-industrialised city spanning 400 square miles, so it would be pure foolishness to assume that you could see it all in one day! It would be ideal to either pick and choose where you would want to go, or to put aside 10 to 15 days to see the entire complex. We chose to visit Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, Phnom Bakheng (Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom) and Ta Prohm (Le Petit Circuit).

Angkor Wat from a distance.

Angkor Wat is the largest and most dominating structure in the development. Almost Aztec-like in its construction, the towers are a popular symbol of Cambodia that is found on almost all its currency notes. There are wide lobbies, libraries and dance halls contained within. Local artistes in colourful period costumes continue to perform in the halls, and you may catch a glimpse of their performances by paying a small fee. The climb up the Angkor tower is a must for everyone. Although the stairs are high and there is a constant fear of falling, the thrill of achievement and the view of verdant lush rice paddies are well worth it!

As you wander through the expansive compound, it is easy to get lost in the age-old splendour that surrounds you. Intricately detailed stone, sculptures of Apsara's (celestial dancers), war scenes, and other depictions from the Holy Scriptures are breathtaking. You will marvel at the manpower and skill required to complete such a colossal architecture in the 9th century. That feeling of awe never leaves you in Angkor.

The monks at Angkor.

There are numerous temples, primarily Hindu, within the compound that are still used, as well as Buddhist monasteries that surround the region. You will repeatedly spy monks at Angkor, their bright saffron clothing directly contrasting with the cool grey stone.

As it often happens in extremely hot tropical jungles, we were hit by a sudden Cambodian rainstorm. Sprinting through the courtyards, we found ourselves at the entrance of a monk residence. In one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had, they allowed us to stay under a shelter until the storm abated and showed us where they lived. There was no furniture or bedding of any sort and a huge hall was ambiguously split up into the kitchen and sleeping area. Their only possessions were food bowls and their brightly coloured robes. We had truly been transported back in time!

The Bayon Temple, part of the Angkor Thom city, is famously known as the "smiling faces" temple. To view the silhouettes perfectly, visit this temple at noon. The shrine dedicated to Buddha is still an active worshipping point at the temple, where the statues have been covered in saffron robes and surrounded by incense. The large welcoming smiling faces are reflective of the people you will meet during your stay here. Despite their hardships, Cambodians are excellent hosts.

The 'Thousand Smiling Faces' Temple.

Phnom Bakheng, one of the most popular sunset viewing points, was the first hill top temple constructed in Angkor. It is a half hour hike but there is the alternative Elephant transportation for those not feeling up to the climb. It took us at least thirty minutes to hike up the rain-ravaged, tree root covered stairs. The temple is a representation of the mythical Mount Meru and you really do feel like you are on top of the world. Enjoy the beautiful colours of nature, whether it is the bright orange pinkish hues painted in the sky, or the emerald green foliage that surrounds the base of the hill. There is typically a huge crowd at the top but, from that vantage point, nothing can come between you and the setting sun!

Ta Prohm is absolutely unique in its disarray. It is the only temple that has not been restored. With tree trunks larger than its pillars, one is transformed into an archaeologist on the hunt a la Indian Jones. This is also where Angelina Jolie spent about 6 months shooting 'Lara Croft - Tomb Raider' and then adopted the now famous Maddox Jolie-Pitt. The combined stone and wood ruins make for some great photography, so don't forget to bring your camera!

After about two days, it is easy to be 'templed out'. Thankfully, Siem Reap offers a great variety of restaurants. Wat Bo is one that is extremely popular with backpackers. If your palate is feeling exceptionally adventurous, you may find fried beetles and grasshoppers at Siem Reap's night food market to your liking. Khmer cuisine is in itself heavily influenced by the neighbouring Vietnamese, Indian and Chinese styles of cooking. Bok L'hong and Somlar kari nom banh jok are some popular local dishes. You can also catch an Apsara dance performance that often includes a buffet spread at many hotels in the city.

If you are an avid shopper like me, head over to the Central Market. Locally produced silk ties, scarves and cushions are great take home gifts for friends and family. Local art available in the Angkor compound make for great souvenirs and also provide an avenue to support the local talent.

When we boarded the plane out of Siem Reap's international airport, we left holding two bags bursting with colourful souvenirs and a camera full of vivid pictures. More significantly, we left with unparalleled memories of destitute but ever smiling Cambodians, visions of the monks at Angkor, and an experience to recount to friends!

Monisha Sharma is a poor analyst who considers herself very lucky to have any opportunity to travel. She loves experimenting with new foods, cultures and learning more about "the world around us". Currently working in Canada - surrounded by snow and below zero temperatures, she is incredibly envious of everyone in Singapore enjoying their tropical sun-filled winter.

Like to share your travel tales and tips of a place you have been to recently? Write in to A1Travel@sph.com.sg, and send us your holiday snapshots, too!

Island hopping in Cambodia

Cambodia's south coast is littered with pristine tropical islands offering the peaceful beach shack living of Thailand 20 years ago

Claire Colley
guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 11 March 2009

'Snowdrift Bay' ... if you want to be the only person on the beach head to Koh Rong. Photograph: Kevin R. Morris/Corbis

Cambodia's south coast has more than 60 pristine tropical islands nestling in the sapphire waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Easily reached from the coastal centres of Sihanoukville, Kep and Koh Kong, they're largely undiscovered with tourism taking its first tentative steps. If you stick to the local or small ex-pat run concerns, the Cambodian islands offer everything from palm fringed deserted beaches, traditional village life to the peaceful beach shack living found in Thailand 20 years ago.

Best for day trips from the mainland: Koh Ru

Approaching from Sihanoukville, the long gold beaches of Koh Ru (Bamboo Island) take the breath away. One of the first islands to capitalise on tourism, you might not be the only one on its two beaches, but you certainly won't be sharing with many. There's a small path through the middle of the island so you can hop between the two in only a few minutes should the crowds of 10 or so overwhelm you. If you decide you'd rather not drag yourself away at sundown, there are a few bungalows on both sides of the island, but it's better to reserve in advance as these can get booked up.

Stay at: BimBamboo Bungalows, pretty turquoise painted bungalows on the beach (double rooms $12 (£8.65) a night) or Coaster bungalows (double rooms $10 a night). Koh Ru Bungalows on the south side have the added bonus of being quieter and it's the place to be for watching spectacular sunsets (double rooms $10 a night; bookings@barrusihanoukville.com).

Getting there: Ana's travel agency in Sihanoukville will pick you up from your hotel ($15 for a day of island hopping including Koh Ru) or Coasters boat leaves every morning at 9.30am from Ochheuteal beach in Sihanoukville ($10 return to Koh Ru).

Best for diving and snorkelling: Koh Tang

The waters around the uninhabited Koh Tang island are known as the site of the infamous Mayagüez incident of 1975 in which the Khmer Rouge captured a US ship. They also offer world-class diving, unspoilt by crowds. Five hours from the mainland and best visited as part of a live-aboard trip, divers are rewarded with a stunning diversity of corals and rocky reef dives where you're likely to see barracudas, octopus and seahorses. Nearby Koh Prins has two wrecks to dive. If you don't fancy a live-aboard, head to Koh Rong Saloem, much closer to Sihanoukville. Here you'll dive with kingfish, moray eels and a wide variety of nudibranch. The island is pretty enough to warrant a few nights of post-dive chilling.

Stay at: The sumptuous Lazy Beach (doubles rooms $25 a night) on Koh Rong Saloem for total relaxation or Eco Sea Dive has simple bungalows (double rooms $30 a night; +855 12 606646).

Getting there: Several tour operators based in Sihanoukville offer overnight trips. Try the friendly Dive Shop which has a stunning new live-aboard boat or the long established Dive Cambodia (Full day trip with two dives costs about US$85 (GBP41 or Euro58).

Best for traditional village life: Koh Sdach

Koh Sdach (King's Island) is a bustling fishing community off the coast of Koh Kong on the Thai-Cambodian border. Mostly made up of Khmers and Vietnamese, the village is centred around the rickety wooden dock you have to hop on to from the ferry. You can wander around the ramshackle town made up of huts on stilts or sit and watch the fishermen head out to sea in their long tail boats and then enjoy their catch at one of the restaurants in the town. There's also some great snorkelling from the beaches.

Stay at: Mean Chey Guesthouse (double rooms $5 a night; +855 011 788 852).

Getting there: The Koh Kong to Sihanoukville ferry costs $20 and leaves every morning at 8am, stopping halfway at Koh Sdach (departs Sihanoukville to Koh Kong at 1pm).

Best for beachside bungalows: Koh Tonsay

Only 20 minutes by boat from Kep, Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island) was Cambodia's premier resort in the 1920s, and is now inhabited by only half-a-dozen Khmer families who run the beach-side huts and restaurants. The two palm-fringed beaches both have shallow waters perfect for snorkelling and there's nothing more demanding to do all day but swing in your hammock with a cold beer. Generator electricity is available only between 6pm and 9pm, but that's all the better for listening to the night cicadas and gazing at the starry skies.

Stay at: Nyan Voyet Mai bungalows (double rooms $5 a night; +855 (0)12 893 102). Guesthouses in Kep also arrange stays at the island, try Botanica Guesthouse (double rooms $10 a night) or the pleasant Kep Lodge (double rooms $30 a night).

Getting there: Boats leave from Koh Tonsay pier in Kep for $10 return.

Best for a deserted island experience: Koh Rong

If you want to be literally the only person on the beach, then head to Koh Rong. Two-and-a-half hours by boat from Sihanoukville, it's arguably the most magnificent island off the coast. Dumbbell shaped with a dense jungle interior, Koh Rong is a pristine island rarely visited by other travellers. The beach on the southwest side is known as "Snowdrift Bay" and for good reason, its talcum-soft sand squeaks under foot and goes on for miles. There's no path to it, however, so get dropped off there or charter a boat from the fishing village where there's a shop to stock up on supplies.

Stay at: There are no guesthouses on the island, so take a tent, torch and provisions.

Getting there: Charter a boat from Sihanoukville ($50-$80 depending on bargaining skills) or hitch a ride with a dive boat ($40).

Getting there
Flights from Heathrow to Phnom Penh, Cambodia via Bangkok with Thai Air from £780 Inc taxes until 31 March through Trailfinders.

Get to Sihanoukville/Kep from Phnom Penh (3½ hours) by bus ($6) or taxi ($35).
Phnom Penh to Koh Kong (4 hours) by bus ($15) or taxi ($70)
Bus companies: Paramount Angkor Express +855 (0)23 427567
Mekong Express: +855 (0)23 427518

When to go: Year round. Dry seasons: November to March.
Further information: www.tourismcambodia.com
Country code 00 855
Time difference: +7hrs
£1 = 5900 riel although prices are often quoted in US dollars

Lightning kills 5 in Cambodia during unusual storm

AP - Thursday, March 12

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Five people were killed by lightning during a torrential thunderstorm in southeastern Cambodia that struck at the height of the dry season and caught villagers off-guard, police said Wednesday.

Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who was climbing a ladder outside his home when he was hit, said Nuon Samin, chief of the provincial police force.

The storm pummeled villages Monday across Kampong Cham province, 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of the capital, Phnom Penh. The toddler was one of four fatalities in the province, where dozens of homes were swept away.

Other victims included a 38-year-old woman killed while bathing in a river, a man who was working in a rice field and another man fishing in a lake.

The fifth fatality was a 16-year-old girl herding cows in the nearby province of Prey Ven, said Keo Vy an official from the Cambodian National Management for Disaster Committee.

Police said nobody had expected the storm and hadn't taken the usual precautions.

"I have never seen such a torrential downpour during the dry season," said Nuon Samin.

Survey Finds Divide on Tribunal Indictments

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 March 2009

Ordinary Cambodians are divided on whether the Khmer Rouge tribunal should seek to indict any more leaders of the regime for atrocity crimes, a researcher said Wednesday.

“They don’t know who should be investigated or charged more,” said Chy Thireth, a researcher at the Documentation Center of Cambodia, who recently led a survey of attitudes for more indictments.

In questioning 1,000 Cambodians across 24 provinces and municipalities, the team found around 57 percent in favor of indictments beyond five jailed leaders of the regime, to as many as 10, while 44 percent said they did not want to see further arrests.

The reminder said they did not have a view or declined to express it.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal is currently holding former regime ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan, foreign minister Ieng Sary, social affairs minister Ieng Thirith and prison chief Kaing Kek Iev.

Kaing Kek Iev is slated for trial March 30, the first of the five to face the courts. But tribunal officials remain at odds over whether to indict more, on charges such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, murder or others.

In December, international prosecutor Robert Petite advocated further investigations and arrests, but national prosecutor Chea Leang said time and budget constraints should prohibit more indictments.

Tribunal spokeswoman Helen Jarvis said Wednesday the question of indictments was “a matter that the court is dealing with,” but the Pre-Trial Chamber had yet to set a date for a decision.

Chy Thireth said Wednesday those who don’t want more indictments are afraid for the security of the country.

“They think that [those indicted] would be the former king [Norodom Sihanouk] and high-ranking officers in the government, and they fear insecurity because of that,” he said.

Villagers Stop Bulldozers in Land Protest

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 March 2009

Hundreds of people in northeast Cambodia stopped bulldozers from plowing sectors of farmland Wednesday, forcing a mediation between the parties.

The nearly 300 protesters, from four villages in Kratie province’s Snuol district, pushed past armed security guards of a private developer to stand in front of five bulldozers as they worked to clear land Wednesday morning, said Chan Saveth, a monitor for the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee and an investigator for the rights group Adhoc.

The guards cocked their rifles, but did not fire shots before the crowd pushed past them, he said. After the bulldozers were stopped, representatives of the villagers and company, CIV Development, met for around two hours, he said.

Villagers, who belong to the Steang minority group, say around 500 hectares of farmland is being destroyed by CIV’s plans.

CIV owner Heang Fu Khay told VOA Khmer Wednesday his company had rights to the land, but he was seeking a way to address the concerns of residents.

“For my development project for planting rubber, the government provided a concession of 1,000 hectares in 2007,” he said. “The company just started clearing the land in February 2009, and then the villagers protested against the company for clearing their land.”

CIV had offered to provide villagers 330 hectares of the concession to villagers, but the villagers still protested, he said. He now planned to offer 150 more hectares to the people to end the conflict.

Sum Chhoun, deputy district governor of Snuol, said Wednesday the conflict was difficult to solve. The government had studied many hectares of land for concession development, but in the meantime more and more villagers had settled on some land.

“If the company agrees to provide the old farmland and the farmland now, the problem will be resolved,” he said.

Opposition Leader’s Immunity Restored

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 March 2009

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Tuesday saw his parliamentary immunity restored, after he paid around $2,500 in outstanding election-period fines.

The National Assembly’s Permanent Committee voted to restore his protective status, which had been revoked since Feb. 26 following his refusal to pay fines stemming from allegedly disparaging remarks about ruling party leaders during 2008 election campaigning.

Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay welcomed the decision, calling it a “correction” of the committee’s earlier decision, “which they should not do again in the future.”

Opposition leaders had said the revoking of immunity by Permanent Committee was unconstitutional, a position rejected by lawmakers of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

“What the opposition raised seems to look down on the 12 members of the committee,” said CPP lawmaker Cheam Yiep, who is a member of the Permanent Committee. “I have been a member of parliament for a long time and have enough experience and competence.”

Former Phnom Penh police commissioner Heng Pov keeps silent at 7th trial

Ka-set

By Duong Sokha
10-03-2009

Former Phnom Penh municipal police commissioner Heng Pov appeared on Tuesday March 10th before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court as part of a case of complicity in the attempt of murder, with premeditation, of military police chief Sao Sokha, in December 2003. Five other former policemen and military police are targeted by Justice in this case, four of whom were present at the court hearing. The fifth one has escaped from the Prey Sar prison. The starting point to this dossier is an anonymous threat letter, which was sent to the top military police chief on December 22nd 2003 to inform him that a murder attempt was being prepared against him by a group of men supervised by Heng Pov. The verdict will be issued on Thursday March 12th. The former Phnom Penh commissioner, now aged 51 and prosecuted for several crimes, has already got, with the past six trials, a sentence which totals 58 years in prison.

No lawyer of his own choice, no testimony…
After having questioned one after the other the four suspects who all denied their guilt and claimed they were innocent, Judge Iv Kimsry called Heng Pov to the bar. But the latter, dressed in blue pyjamas worn by prisoners, refused to answer the judge’s questions and rejected the assigned lawyer he was offered, called Nou Chantha. “I am happy that the Court is opening my trial but I ask Justice to respect the procedure of Defence. I am prevented from accessing my bank accounts to pay for my lawyer’s [Kao Soupha] fees. How can the court judge me when it is violating the procedure itself?”, the accused said, outraged, asking the judge to quote for him the law that forbids the defendant to choose his defender. The judge was unable to answer the former commissioner’s question.

Due to the freezing of his bank accounts by the judicial system, Heng Pov denounced the fact that he was not in a position to finance his grandchildren’s school fees or to buy medication either. “I therefore allow myself not to answer [the Court’s questions] as long as I will not be able to pay my professional lawyer. I never asked the Court to bring me any legal assistance. I can find my own lawyer”, Heng Pov said firmly to the judge.

The story of an argument at a banquet
Despite Heng Pov’s silence, the judge pursued the hearing. The court clerk then read out the confession made by Heng Pov before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Investigating Judge, back in January 2007, according to which, he said that in 2002, he had had an argument with Sao Sokha at a banquet organised in a restaurant. But later on, the two men had made up, Heng Pov said.

“After our argument, I declared to my subordinate policemen that if ever I was killed, it would be Sao Sokha [behind the murder] because he threatened me and asked me to turn a blind eye on drug trafficking which, he used to say, did not affect Cambodians but foreigners, since Cambodia is just a transit country. Then, His Excellency Hok Lundy told me that Sao Sokha and his wife had come to see him to apologise and meet me. I said it was not worth it. As for the anonymous letter, I did not write it and I never asked Ly Rasy, Hang Vuthy and Hang Vutha [three of the other accused] to kill Sao Sokha », the court clerk read out, still quoting Heng Pov’s confession.

The clerk then took Sao Sokha’s confession. The latter confirmed the story of the argument with Heng Pov at a banquet organised by Hok Lundy (the former general national police commissioner killed in a helicopter crash on November 9th 2008 ). The next day, the general discovered in the press the account of their argument, recounting the scene as follows: Sao Sokha allegedly pointed a gun at Heng Pov, who in turn pointed his own at Sao Sokha. It is only later that he received the anonymous letter. Heng Pov, resigning himself to take the floor, repeated that Sao Sokha had asked him to stop his “work”, without revealing more information to the judge, otherwise he “might die in prison”. To finish, Heng Pov did not formulate any wish before the Court and asserted that Justice could not help him in such a case.

Professor Jiri Toman: International criminal courts at issue, a deviation from Humanitarian Law?

Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 06/03/2009. Jiri Toman, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University, recently invitedby the UNESCO for a four day-teaching in legal training.
©Vandy Rattana

Ka-set

By Stéphanie Gée
10-03-2009

Jiri Toman, a distinguished Professor of Law, has two passports – a Czech and a Swiss one –, part of his heart in Vienna, and has been enjoying the position of professor at the American University of Santa Clara, California, for nearly 11 years, without resigning himself to retiring, even though he is now very much into his 70th year. The former Czech political refugee led his career in Geneva at the Henry Dunant Institute which he later became the director of. Jiri Toman knows everything about Henry Dunant, a Swiss who initiated International Humanitarian Law. The jurist was invited last week in Phnom Penh by the UNESCO to run a course with staff at the Cambodian Ministry of Culture. In this interview with Ka-set, he goes back over the history of International Humanitarian Law and how, according to him, it has strayed away from its original basis.

Ka-set : Do you think it is necessary to go back to the origins of International Humanitarian Law ?
Pr Jiri Toman : Yes, I do notice a clear mismatch between the origins and the period which started in the 1990s where we see the evolution of international justice, for political reasons. What happened in ex-Yugoslavia or in Rwanda justified the creation [by the United Nations Security Council] of international criminal courts. They were the first international judicial bodies to be set up to prosecute war criminals in 1993 and 1994 since Nuremberg and Tokyo in 1945. In my opinion, we have forgotten the origins of all that, and they are to be sought in the history of the evolution of International Humanitarian Law, which used to be called the “Law of War”. Over the centuries, there have always been people who took an interest in the protection of other people who were the victims of conflicts, and that concern was also present in Customary Law. It truly developed with the codification of Humanitarian Law.

K7 : And this is when Henry Dunant, who is behind the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, steps in?
JT : Henry Dunant was a devout Protestant and a profound philanthropist. The businessman from Geneva used to run the Société des Moulins in Mons-Djémila, Algeria, and needed an authorisation from the French administration to exploit a waterfall. Weary of the slowness of bureaucracy, he decided to get directly in touch with Emperor Napoleon III. He went to meet him in Solferino, Italy, where the French and the Italians were fighting against the Austrian invader. That was back in 1859. As he got there after the battle, he discovered the pitiful sight of wounded and dying soldiers who had to be finished off because they could not be treated on site. Horrified, he called up women living in the locality to help these wounded or sick soldiers. Upon his return to Geneva, shocked and convinced that something had to be done, he wrote A Memory of Solferino, which he self-published in 1862, particularly to spread the idea that relief agencies should be created to provide care for the wounded and sick in time of war, and that European governments should formulate international principles to be the basis of these relief agencies. And his call was heard, indeed. In Geneva, he was in touch with a jurist, two doctors and an army general. The group of “the Five”, as people called them, met in 1863 as part of what was to become, after several name changes, the “International Committee of the Red Cross” (ICRC), which still exists today. In Geneva, at an International Conference for the protection of those wounded during the war, they convinced governments to reflect upon the drafting of an International Convention. The following year, in 1864, the first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field was adopted and marked the official birth of contemporary International Humanitarian Law.

We owe Dunant a lot because he is the one who travelled throughout Europe to persuade monarchs and leaders to take part in the Conference. It was his own initiative, but that was forgotten later on after he went bankrupt and was expelled from the group of the “Five”. His part was eventually acknowledged when he received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

K7 : Those Conventions improved and didn’t stop growing in number from then on...
JT : Indeed. The first Geneva Convention was revised and developed in 1906, and then again in 1929. A convention on the treatment of prisoners of war was added under the influence of the First World War, and under the impulsion of the International Committee of the Red Cross which dealt with those questions and always wanted to go further. But afterwards, it was all about how to persuade governments! In 1934, the ICRC called a diplomatic conference to adopt a Geneva Convention in 1940 but it was too late since World War II had already started. It was only in 1949 that it was held and four Geneva Conventions were adopted and signed at once by some fifty states: one dealt with the wounded and sick in Armed Forces - it was more developed than the previous one - one was about the wounded and shipwrecked members of armed forces, another was about the treatment of prisoners of war and the fourth one about the protection of civilian persons in time of war. The four Conventions are now the basis of Humanitarian Law, also called the “Law of Geneva”.

K7 : Geneva is one of the birthplaces of that Law, thanks to Dunant – is The Hague another one?
JT : Yes, indeed, another Law was developing in parallel, since the end of the 19th century- it was more related to war operations and aimed at regulating the choice and use of armament. Besides, Dunant had prepared a project on the treatment of prisoners of war and the Russian government, who heard about it, took it on with the will to expand it. Russians then organised a diplomatic Conference in Brussels, in 1874. Conference members failed to adopt a Convention and they repeated the initiative in 1899 by organising a Peace Conference. It was not held in Russia as it was at that time dealing with the emergence of anarchical movements which could potentially lead terrorist actions against such a meeting. Europe was finally chosen. First of all, the choice was the city of Copenhagen, but the project had to be dismissed following the death of the Queen of Denmark. Finally, it was agreed that the conference would be held in The Hague, a town in the Netherlands which was to become the headquarters of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1946, and then, the headquarters of the International Criminal Tribunal for Ex-Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993 and of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002.

The 1899 Conference was supposed to tackle the issue of disarmament, but was not a great success. However, a few Conventions were adopted there: the Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, the Convention on Laws and Customs of War on Land, regulating the behaviour of fighters, an adaptation to Maritime Warfare of Principles of the 1864 Geneva Convention, etc. Those Conventions were then to be taken up in 1907 at a Peace Conference in The Hague and are still valid today: they notably include a Convention on the Opening of Hostilities and oblige every state to issue a declaration of war before attacking another state, and a Convention on the Limitation of the Employment of Force for the Recovery of Contract Debts. […] All in all, about ten Conventions were signed!

The 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1907 Hague Conventions were then regularly revised and now constitute the basis of International Humanitarian Law. It is good to remind one that there was a very positive evolution of international law and to stress that today, people only talk about international criminal courts! Nothing is said any more about what existed before then…

K7 : Why isn’t it good that International law now simply focuses on tribunals?
JT : Because sanction has taken over Humanitarian L aw. But in fact, it only represents a small part of punishment for the failure to comply with what is written down in the international Conventions.
And above all, victims should prevail, in my opinion. They should be given some sort of compensation, moral and material reparation. Cutting someone’s head off does not help them. Sanction is just an element of discouragement for the future, in order to prevent large-scale tragedies like those from happening again. Sanctions might come first because it is a reflex of some animal instinct to see someone being punished...?

In my view, we should first concentrate on International Humanitarian Law, revive the base of it and avoid limiting ourselves to condemnation. These ideas must be spread, taught, and we must work on the prevention of mass murder and crime against humanity. But I think that equilibrium will necessarily come back.

K7 : How did we get to such a situation?
JT : This is the result of failure with the First World War. The only courts we got were tribunals set up by the Germans themselves. Out of 800 people accused of war crimes and due to be tried, some forty people only were judged and, on top of that, they only got very light jail sentences. In the [1919] Treaty of Versailles, they tried to punish Wilhelm II, who was related to the Dutch Royal family. But Holland refused to give him up to an international jurisdiction... In fact, the authors of the Treaty of Versailles dreamed of witnessing the birth of an ad hoc international court which would judge German war criminals. It was an absolute failure. This is why, at their meetings during the Second World War, the Allies agreed on one principle: those who commit war crimes leave themselves exposed to sanctions, and this is finally what happened with the two big Tribunals – Nuremberg and Tokyo – to judge war criminals of the Axis.

Then, the context of the Cold War did not help and international courts could not be set up. Concepts were different on both sides of the wall. Soviets wanted to condemn Americans for the Vietnam and the Korean Wars. Therefore, from their point of view, only one side was guilty. But surely, violations were committed on both sides, but the victorious side focused on the condemnation of the losing side, without looking at violations committed on their own side! There’s a tight equilibrium to watch there...

When the Cold War ended in 1989, several initiatives appeared. For instance, the United Nations launched what we call Inquiry Committees. All this movement comes from the Americans, who were then very progressive in that “Clintonian” era and developed theories related to the punishment of war crimes. Then, the Rome Statute establishing a permanent and independent International Criminal Court was approved in 1998 at an inter-governmental Conference. Four years later, the ICC became operational to judge genocides, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

K7 : What was the interest of the United States in promoting international tribunals?
JT : I think there was a certain idealism lying above those initiatives, the idealism of seeing culprits being condemned...

K7 : What are the limits of these International Penal Courts?
JT : We can indeed wonder about the question of efficiency within the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is currently floundering. The Court recently issued an arrest warrant against the president of Sudan [Omar Al Bashir]. Will it be successful? Just look at the reaction of that president who evicted NGOs from his country. Who will suffer from that? A significant part of the population! The situation is terrible. That is why I ask myself: was it such a good idea to create a Criminal Court which is really international? To which extent would the creation of international courts be more important than the creation of regional ones, which would be in better touch with the population? Regionalising international justice and, in the case of Africa, attaching that jurisdiction to the African Union, would prevent an African man to be condemned by people from another continent. And this is exactly the argument of the Sudanese president, who deems as colonialism the decisions taken against him by the ICC! It would be the same thing for Latin America or Asia.

Cambodian PM orders to close underground gambling dens

People's Daily Online
March 11, 2009

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Wednesday instructed governmental officials to close all underground gambling dens across the country.

"You have to close all the gambling places that are still hidden in your zones, especially near the Central Market in downtown Phnom Penh, and if not so, I will fire you," he said at a graduation ceremony of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

"I know there are still betting points hidden in your zones. Close them immediately," he added.

In accordance with the premier's order, the biggest football-gambling agency Cambosix and some slut machine operators that had violated the rule of licensing were shut down nationwide in the past weeks.

Hun Sen alleged that such businesses had turned in poor tax incomes, but instead caused divorces, social instability, robberies and thefts.

Source:Xinhua

Cambodia: Pride and compassion

media.diamondbackonline.com
Issue date: 3/11/09

It's no secret that wearing intentionally ripped jeans is really a microcosmic manifestation of a person's latent middle-class guilt for being able to afford jeans in the first place. I think that's been pretty much agreed upon by the contemporary pop culture scholarly community. While I've never subscribed to this hobo-chic sensibility, the sentiment has certainly plagued me lately. I'm writing this column from an Internet café in Cambodia, and I'm sure it goes without saying that this country is pretty down in the dumps. Even as well-read (translation: well Wikipedia-ed) as I consider myself to be, I really wasn't prepared to encounter this level of poverty.

It's the first time I've ever experienced something I could honestly describe as gut-wrenching. Little kids approach you at restaurants and beg for the rest of your sandwich, and when you walk down the main thoroughfare of the capital city, there are babies literally sleeping in the street. The slums along the roads are surrounded by moats filled with more trash than their inhabitants could possibly have generated on their limited means, and there are people everywhere missing limbs. All the while, I'm staring out the window of a bus, wistfully listening to depressing music on my iPod (trying to justify the fact that I can even afford an iPod) and consciously not complaining about the glaring lack of air conditioning.

To make my financially fueled guilt complex even more complex, a huge part of traveling in Cambodia is simply trying not to get ripped off. As soon as I crossed the border, the actual government of Cambodia sold me a visa for a hugely inflated price and told me that if I didn't like it, I was welcome to walk back over to Thailand. Afterward, a man charged me $10 for what he promised would be a 20-minute ride in his "cab" to the bus station, which was really only a block away. And you thought tricks were just for kids.

This whole Khmer-traveler dynamic is quite frustrating, but to put it bluntly, they need the money more than we do. So do you just blindly get ripped off and taken for a ride by some mean old fruit lady who sends her little kids off to beg instead of to school? Or alternatively, with the pride of "stupid Americans" everywhere hinging on your bargaining ability, do you haggle down to the last quarter with someone who would genuinely notice if they lost a quarter?

I'm not writing advice anymore, so I'll be the first to tell you - I have no f---ing clue. Personally, I handled it by stealthily sneaking ice cream to child beggars when their parents were forcibly peddling drugs to innocent passersby. Unfortunately, in my lifetime, there probably won't come a time when children aren't forced to work in Southeast Asia, or their agrarian society can yield sustaining amounts of income. Instead of stewing in guilt or donating all of my hard-earned bankroll from The Diamondback, as cheesy as this sounds, sometimes you really do have to settle for a child's chocolate-covered smile ... and, of course, take a prominent role in your campus' activism community and so on and so forth.

Esti Frischling is a sophomore studio art major writing this semester from Thailand. She can be reached at estidbk@gmail.com.