Kampot residents fear new eviction

Photo by: PHOTO SUPPLIED
Anlong Krom villagers flee following an eviction last year.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang sokha and Sebastian strangio
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Villagers violently dispossessed in November fear further crackdown ahead of PM's visit.

RESIDENTS of a besieged community in Kampot province's Taken commune say they fear a final eviction from their land ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Hun Sen to the province next month.

During a pagoda inauguration in Kampong Speu province on March 9, Hun Sen confirmed that on April 4 - also his birthday - he and his wife Bun Rany would attend the opening of the Koh Sla Health Centre in Kbal Damrey village.

"On my birthday, I always try to visit disabled soldiers," he said.

The facility sits at the centre of a social land concession granted by the government to disabled former soldiers in 2007.

But residents in the neighbouring village of Anlong Krom, which lies less than a kilometre from the concession, say they fear the community's remaining families will be swept out ahead of the premier's arrival.

Around 300 homes were razed in Anlong Krom in November, allegedly by troops belonging to RCAF Brigade 31, but most have remained in the area, eking out a temporary existence on the land.

The evictions came following similar actions the previous July, with officials claiming the people were illegally squatting on land belonging to nearby Bokor National Park.

But Hong Chantha, a representative of Anlong Krom's Anlong Chas hamlet, said that six military officials from Brigade 31 arrived in the village Wednesday morning and started to dismantle one villager's hut before being chased off by around 30 local families.

Ominous warning
He said the community, which has rebuilt itself since November's events, lived in constant fear of another violent crackdown.

"So far, we have been able to live on the land, but we still fear that sometime soon the authorities will come to oust us again," he said, adding that the village had plans to request Hun Sen's personal intervention when he visits next month.

"We will try to meet [Hun Sen] and request that he provide us with a social land concession ... so that we will be able to live and continue farming here."

In conversations with villagers earlier in the month, Hallam Goad, an adviser for housing rights advocacy group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, also reported they were feeling "genuinely intimidated" by the authorities, and expressed fears they would be evicted prior to Hun Sen's visit.

But Sun Sothea, secretary general of Kampot province, said all the Anlong Krom residents living illegally inside the bounds of Bokor National Park had been forced into nearby areas surrounding the handicap concession zone, and that now more evictions would be forthcoming.

He added that authorities had provided 30-metre-by-50- metre and 50-metre-by-100-metre plots of land for 1,630 landless families displaced by the evictions.

Taken commune Chief Tom Phuong confirmed that of the 3,000 families living in the commune, most were "demobilised military and handicapped soldiers" who had migrated to the area from other parts of the country.

DC-Cam requests public holiday for the first day of Duch trial

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Though Hun Sen said in 2004 the first day of the trials would be declared a holiday, it is unclear whether he will honour his promise.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen was called upon Wednesday to uphold a promise he made five years ago to declare the first day of trials at the Khmer Rouge tribunal a public holiday.

Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, told the Post Wednesday that he had sent a request to the prime minister's office, the third since 2004, to make next Monday, March 30 - and every March 30 after that - a day of reflection and remembrance.

"The first day of the [Duch] trial is an important time to get people together.... It's a milestone. It marks the start of a long process to justice," he said.

"I asked him in 2004 and wrote to him again in 2007.... I have [now] sent him a third request," he added.

In 2004, the prime minister said the first day could be declared a day off work to allow people to watch the proceedings on TV. Though the trial ceremonially began February 17, testimonies begin Monday.

However, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told reporters at an unrelated press conference Tuesday that a holiday would be pointless, as the day would not be historic.

"If the prime minister makes such a decision, it is up to him. But we cannot consider that day as a historical day because we already have January 7 [Victory Day]," he added.

Khieu Kanharith could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but said Tuesday he could not yet confirm whether or not Monday would be a holiday.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NGUON SOVAN

Cambodian, Thai officials to meet for border talks in April

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha and Brendan Brady
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Maritime boundary disputes will not be on the agenda at Siem Reap meetings, say officials.

CAMBODIAN and Thai officials are to resume formal talks to negotiate the demarcation of their shared land border in early April, officials from both countries said Wednesday.

Representatives from both sides of the Joint Border Commission (JBC) are to meet in Siem Reap from April 5-7, said Var Kimhong, Cambodia's top border negotiator.

The schedule was confirmed by the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry's Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs Boundary Division.

Cambodia and Thailand have never fully demarcated their 805-kilometre shared border, although the JBC has agreed upon the location of 48 border markers out of the 73 that lie along the border.

Both sources rejected media reports that the two sides would also discuss maritime areas claimed by both sides.

The Thai State News Agency had earlier cited Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya as saying the sea border would be on the agenda.

"We have not yet fixed the date for that meeting," said Var Kimhong.

Maritime dispute
Tentative plans to demarcate the sea border had been raised when Kasit met with Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong in January, he said.

Cambodia and Thailand both claim some 27,000 square kilometres of disputed maritime territory in the Gulf of Thailand, which is believed to contain significant oil and natural gas reserves.

The expanse of water known as the Overlapping Claims Area, or OCA, has been the source of a contentious, decades-old dispute with Thailand that has gained a new imperative following the outbreak of last year's border dispute.

Oil experts say Cambodia is likely to resist simply splitting the area down the middle because the Thai half could hold far better prospects.

A former Thai vice admiral was cited in Thai media last July as cautioning that the recognition of Cambodian land claims would pave the way for Cambodia to assert more control over the contested waters and their anticipated riches.

Hanoi Road residents ask City Hall for compensation

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
House breakers take down houses that were in the way of a City Hall road widening project for Russey Keo's Hanoi Road.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chhay Channyda
Thursday, 26 March 2009

As officials chip away at houses, residents are demanding better compensation than a plot of land at the relocation site.

RESIDENTS of the Phnom Penh Thmey commune, situated along Russey Keo's Hanoi Road, have applied for compensation of both cash and land ahead of the demolition of further homes as the city's road-widening project gets under way.

City officials began demolishing homes, fences and stalls at Teuk Thla commune this month as work began to widen the road to 30 metres along four kilometres of its length.

Phnom Penh Thmey commune resident Tey Narim said although they had been offered replacement land in Thnot Chrum village, which stands on a flood plain, the sites had no water or electricity.

"District Governor Khoung Sreng told people that the authorities would issue a notice informing people when they will start working in our area, so people need to be aware and decide on how to deal with the resettlement policy," he said.

Meanwhile Im Roeun, the resident at Teuk Thla whose house was entirely demolished, has filed a lawsuit against Khoung Sreng. Im Roeun refused the authorities' offer of a 32-square-metre plot at Thnot Chrum and wants compensation of 7 million riels (US$1,700) and a replacement house near where her old home stood.

Residents without water
The lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, was filed at the municipal court last Thursday.

"Nowadays, I am sleeping on the ground under the shelter of the neighbours' houses," Im Roeun wrote in her three-page deposition. "I have no water, no toilet and no kitchen supplies."

Governor Khoung Sreng said he was unaware of the lawsuit but said it was her right to complain. He added that the authorities' policy was only to compensate those whose houses were entirely demolished, but that those residents of the other 10 homes at Teuk Thla who had lost up to 90 percent of their houses could negotiate to accept land in Thnot Chrum.

"Thnot Chrum relocation site is a good choice because it has water and electricity," he said.

"People who build on the pavements are on public land, which must be handed back when it is needed for development," he added.

Act on rights abuses: group

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sebastian Strangio
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Regional body says officials changing subject after report.

THE Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has called on the government to address documented rights abuses, arguing that attacks on groups researching human rights are being used to detract attention from its own lack of compliance with international human rights obligations.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen and his government should be reminded that Cambodia is bound by its international human rights obligations under the agreements concluded in Paris in 1991 to end the war in their country," the Hong Kong-based rights group said in a statement Wednesday.

The US State Department's annual human rights report for Cambodia, released in February, detailed a list of rights abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced land evictions, arbitrary arrests and restrictions on the freedom of the press.

The report drew a harsh rebuke from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which released a statement March 13 questioning the political motivations of the report and accusing the US of hypocrisy over its alleged torture of detainees at secret jails inside Thailand.

But the AHRC said the ministry's response, and comments made the following week by Hun Sen, who said NGOs were "working only for salaries" and "fabricat[ing] stories", posed a serious threat to human rights NGOs and their freedom to operate in the Kingdom.

"Criticism based on the discovery of what is wrong is simply an exercise of the right to freedom of expression, and this right is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed and protected by the [Constitution]," the statement said.

Thun Saray, president of Cambodian rights group Adhoc, agreed the government should "recognise the truth" about human rights violations and address the issues highlighted in the US government report.

"Not every report is perfect," he said. "But I think if the government denies every report issued, the people will not have a lot of confidence in the seriousness of the government to tackle human rights violations."

Ambassador to Britain says EIU report on instability is 'perverse'

Photo by: AFP
Children sleep outdoors in Phnom Penh. A recent report says economic hard times may lead to instability.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Michael Fox
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Dismisses claims as based on ‘sketchy and unconvincing' evidence.

CAMBODIA'S ambassador to Britain, Hor Nambora, added to official outrage over a report that labelled the nation as potentially one of the world's least stable due to the economic crisis.

The report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranks Cambodia behind Zimbabwe, Chad and DR Congo, and equal to Sudan in the potential risk of social unrest if measures to stimulate the global economy fail.

In a letter to the EIU, Hor Nambora said the report was "insulting", "perverse", and misleading.

"Your scaremongering allegations are highly dangerous, as they could be construed as actively inciting unrest," said Hor Nambora, who is the son of Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. "They also happen to be a gross distortion and misrepresentation of Cambodia's true position, and there can be no justification for these claims."

Hor Nambora said the EIU had ignored solid evidence including recent sustained economic growth due to political stability and improved macro-economic management.

He said it "arrogantly dismissed" Prime Minister Hun Sen's declaration that Cambodia would seek to maintain its economic growth this year.

And he complained that the country's oil and gas reserves and growing reputation as a tourist destination and "centre of enterprise and investment" were disregarded: "You seem to have ignored this reassurance from the highest possible level, preferring to rely on your own evidence, which would appear to be both sketchy and unconvincing," he wrote.

Licadho condemns court over SRP verdict

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha
Thursday, 26 March 2009

LOCAL rights group Licadho condemned a provincial court's decision to send an opposition activist to jail last week, calling it groundless and politically motivated.

Tuot Saron, who was arrested in March 2008, was sentenced last Friday to three years' imprisonment by the Kampong Thom provincial court for kidnapping and illegal confinement of an SRP member, Tim Norn, who was being wooed to defect to the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

Three other provincial SRP officials, who have all fled and are in hiding, were convicted in absentia of the same charge.

"Last week's show trial was a travesty of justice that once again shows how the ruling party manipulates the courts to maintain its stranglehold on power and eliminate its opponents," said Naly Pilorge, director of Licadho.

"This case will have long-lasting consequences for democracy in Cambodia. The imprisonment of an opposition party commune chief on false criminal charges sends a chilling message to the opposition and to voters throughout the country."

Covering Cambodia's wars

Photo by: SEBASTIAN STRANGIO
Jacques Bekaert, a former journalist who first came to Cambodia in 1983, in Phnom Penh last week.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sebastian Strangio
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Former war correspondent Jacques Bekaert spoke to th Post about reporting from Cold War-era Cambodia, and his new work as a diplomat with the Military Order of Malta.

How did you first end up in Cambodia?
When I was a child I once read in a magazine an article about Angkor Wat, and I was quite fascinated by it. It was the most magical place, and I thought one day I might go and see it. In the 1960s and 1970s I was covering mostly American politics, and Vietnam and Cambodia were a very important part of what was happening in the States. At the end of 1978, I had the opportunity to come to Thailand for a few weeks. I arrived after New Year, and by then Vietnam had occupied Cambodia and nobody knew exactly what was going to happen. Then the editor of the paper in Bangkok, The Nation, suggested I move to Thailand and cover the new war. I asked the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok for permission to enter Cambodia, and finally, four years later, I got a visa - in 1983. The reason that there was an official withdrawal of Vietnamese troops, and they decided to invite journalists.

I spent the first few days at Le Wat Phnom, which used to be the residence of the French governor. There were a lot of constraints: you couldn't really go where you wanted and somebody was always following you. We followed the Vietnamese troops to the border, and returned for another week to the Monorom Hotel, which at that time was the hotel for "capitalist" guests. Then I started working for the BBC and was going a lot to Vietnam. Finally I was able to come back, due partly to the fact that there were some changes in the politics of Vietnam, the doi moi opening, and the pressure of what was happening in the Soviet Union. Then in 1992 I was asked by the Order of Malta to ask King Sihanouk, who had just come back to Cambodia, to allow it to open an Embassy here, because they needed somebody who knew the country to help out with their leprosy programs.

What do you recall about Prince Sihanouk?
I first met him in 1981, and he was at that time living in the south of France in a small villa called Villa Kantha Bopha. I remember at my first meeting with him, he told me that Cambodians were not going to solve this situation for themselves: only the international community could do it. At that time, very few people paid much attention to him. And then there were years where nothing much moved. There were several meetings between Hun Sen and Sihanouk in France, and it took four years before the Paris Peace Agreements were signed at the end of 1991.

The UN came, and its first mission was to provide the conditions for a free and fair election. It was very naïve: you don't implement Western-style democracy in a country where it has never existed and is not part of the culture. But one very positive point of the UN presence here is that it left a civil society, several Cambodian NGOs in the field of human rights were established at that time and are playing an important role. It also established a freer press.

Did you ever get the impression Sihanouk felt uncomfortable being a part of the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, which included the Khmer Rouge?
From the very beginning. Actually, he didn't want to enter the alliance but there was so much pressure from the West and from his own party.

Sihanouk never believed that the resistance could beat the Vietnamese: he was realistic enough to know that the Vietnamese army was very strong and that all it could do is apply a bit of pressure. At the end, the peace process would be only possible if China and Vietnam agreed that they had to stop the war - and that's exactly what happened. No, he didn't believe in the war, and as he said many times that you will never change the geography of the region: Cambodia will always be next to Vietnam and Thailand. They are much more powerful neighbours so we have to take that into account.

How do you think history will judge Sihanouk?
When he was appointed by the French in 1941 he was 18 years old and he had never thought he would be King. It was a difficult period, during WWII, and he had to learn a few things. [In 1953], he managed to gain independence [and] I believe the 15 years that followed were probably the best years in Cambodia in a long time. The country developed, and in 1969 Cambodia was the biggest exporter of rice in Southeast Asia. The country was not perfect, but I think most people were happy. If you were a teacher, you could live quite well on your salary. And Sihanouk gave back to Cambodia some sense of pride in being Cambodian, which otherwise existed only in the dreams of Angkor.

As for the alliance of the Khmer Rouge, he probably didn't have much choice. He otherwise could have retired from politics, and gone into retirement in France, but that would have been very difficult for Sihanouk. By and large, I think his role has been more positive than negative.

In comparison to that period, how do you view the current trajectory of development in Cambodia?
It's certainly not easy, with the global economic crisis coming. There are a lot of things that are undeniable: there is corruption, there is traditional culture. But no country stays motionless: if you talk about somebody like Hun Sen, he was definitely the politician who was the smartest. That became very clear in the 1980s. He understood things much more quickly than others that people did not want communism - so the Constitution was changed. He understood that people wanted peace more than anything. The danger for is that once you are in power for so long, people around you tend to tell you what you want to hear.

When you were working on the border, did you ever go into the Khmer Rouge zones? What was your impression?
It was a totally different atmosphere to the Sihanoukist or KPNLF zones. It was very strict, we were constantly being watched and we never knew whether people were telling us what they thought or what they were told to say. The Chinese told them that they should change and be more flexible, and apparently food distribution was quite equal. Of the people that escaped the Khmer Rouge zones and reached the other camps some went back. They thought it was tough but there was a fair distribution. The Khmer Rouge had the support of hundreds of thousands of people, and some peasants clearly would have benefited from them. [The KR] had this old Khmer attitude that was very, very strong, the idea that Cambodia can do anything and doesn't need any help to do it. One of their ideas was that Cambodia could realise communism in three or four years, much faster than anyone else on earth, and that communism was the best mechanism to have full autonomy and not rely on anybody.

What is your view on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal?
I hope it is useful, but it comes very late. Will it reveal something we don't know? I doubt it: we know much of what happened. It may let us hear the leaders explain what they were trying to do. And there's the question of whether they should limit the trial to five people. Good justice will require more than five and there is strong evidence [to indict other suspects], but I don't think it will happen. For most Cambodians today, the main concern is how to live on a day to day basis, and with the economic crash, thousands of jobs have been lost already. Probably the greatest value of the tribunal will be in education: showing what a professional trial is.

Hearing Duch speak could also yield some insights.
The problem is, Duch is speaking because he has converted to Christianity and he has a sense of guilt. But the others will never admit it. Nuon Chea said he does not remember. Khieu Samphan said he did nothing wrong, and that he was just a marginal character. And Ieng Sary will play on the fact that while he was certainly not the best, he was not the worst in the regime.

Can you tell me a little more about the work you are doing over here with the Order of Malta?
Firstly, you have to distinguish between Malta and the Order of Malta. There is the Republic of Malta, where for centuries the Knights of Malta were in charge. They were kicked out of Malta by Napoleon at the end of the eighteenth century and when the British were going to give it back to the Knights they decided that they would keep it for themselves. The Order of Malta lost its territory but the Italians gave us a micro-state in Rome. It's a unique case. [The Order] is the smallest country in the world: it has its own stamps, its own money. There is only one full citizen, who is the head of state. And the rest are Knights of Malta - there are about 13,000 or 14,000 - although I am not one of them.

Why was it established here?
The reason the Order of Malta was established here is that ... it formed a fairly large program for the eradication of leprosy. The work we do here is useful because leprosy is not very glamorous and not many people are interested in it. We have a hospital and a rehabilitation centre, just north of the Japanese Bridge. In Kampong Cham there is also a leper village, which dates from the 1950s, but there is no medical reason to isolate lepers. Once they have received the proper medicine that has been put together by the World Health Organisation, after two days they are no longer contagious. That is why they should be treated as soon as possible. Many people - not just in Cambodia - still think that there is something dangerous about lepers.

Interview by Sebastian Strangio

Sustainable beekeeping the goal of Siem Reap trio of honey hunters

Photo by: Kyle Sherer
Pieng Chhoin, one of Tbng Lech's honey hunters, carves up a bee colony last week. He is one of three partners in Bees Unlimited, which is working to bring sustainable honey collecting to Siem Reap.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kyle Sherer
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Group hopes to change traditional ‘slash and burn' techniques that kill colonies.

WHEN Daniel Jump came to Siem Reap in 2004 to see the indigenous beekeeping trade in Tbng commune, he was "devastated" by the slash-and-burn tactics taught by residents there.

Jump has travelled the world since 1990 as a "beekeeping extensionist", a job that involves helping beekeepers in different cultures to maximise their honey and wax production. But the destructive honey harvesting practises in Siem Reap compelled him to stay in Cambodia and mount a campaign to change the traditions that had been taught in the Kingdom for centuries.

Tbng apiarists have adopted what is called "rafter keeping", a rare type of beekeeping practiced mainly in Siem Reap. The keepers prop up beams, or rafters, in forested areas, which attract colonies of bees in the dry season. In March and April, they harvest the honey, seizing the entire hive and consuming the bee larvae. The take-all approach, which wipes out the entire colony, has worked in the past due to a high bee population. But in a modern, deforested Cambodia, it might push the species towards extinction.

Pieng Chhoin is a 53-year-old rafter keeper in Tbng Lech village who has been honey-harvesting since the age of 15. He said that in the 1980s, honey hunters in the Tbng area were overwhelmed with so many colonies it was impossible to harvest them all. Now, said Jump, "People will put 100 rafters up and there's not 100 percent occupancy. It's like a hotel in the low season, there's only 20 percent to 30 percent occupancy. Because of this wholesale slaughter of bee larvae every season, there's actually a drop in population. So those numbers will keep going down".

"The fact that they were actually destroying the entire colony to get a little bit of honey was just ridiculous. They were basically cutting off the hand that feeds them. So I was really interested in teaching them to do it sustainably right from the get go. I made it my mission," Jump said.

He explained that with a minor adjustment, honey harvesting could be turned into a job with long-term viability. He called his approach "sustainable honey-harvesting", and described it as "basically common sense".

"I didn't want to see them killing the bees, and thought there had to be a better way of doing this, of leaving the brood alone and taking the honey. The colonies are such that you can slice off the honey head and leave the rest. It's very easy to harvest sustainably."

The honey head is the area of the hive that stores a large concentration of honey and no bee larvae. Carving off the honey head doesn't damage the colony, which means the same rafter can be harvested repeatedly as the bees work to restore the missing section. When a sustainable honey harvest is completed, the bee population grows.

But even though Jump's approach presents possibly the only path to survival for honey harvesters, it's a tough sell to many who are disturbed at the thought of deviating from the routine, he said.

"It hasn't been easy to persuade them to adopt it," Jump said. "Traditions die hard. You can't convince a person overnight to completely abandon what he's learned from his father and what he's practised all his life. But they're taking it on. I'm probably not going to be alive the day sustainable honey hunting becomes a part of the tradition, but I hope that's what eventually happens."

Jump's first convert was Pieng Chhoin, his current business partner in Bees Unlimited, a Siem Reap-based three-man team that provides beekeeping training throughout Cambodia. Pieng Chhoin is now promoting sustainable honey harvesting to the 35 keepers in Tbng Lech village, but Jump said he also took a lot of persuading.

"Chhoin waited about a year to adopt it. In 2004, the first year we worked together, he just wouldn't do it. He felt that he was going to lose everything. He was afraid that by cutting off just the honey head he would get some honey, but the bees would fly off and the colony would be gone, robbing him of the rest. So he wasn't willing to try it.

"But the following season I convinced him to try it on just one of his numerous rafter colonies. We did it together. And the second time he harvested the colony he got more than the first time - and that convinced him that it works. And he's been trying to promote it among his fellow villagers ever since."

Chhoin and Jump, together with Soeun Bun Som, also promote sustainable honey-harvesting through Bees Unlimited, which they launched in February last year. "When Bees Unlimited does bee-keeping training, we train how to transfer a wild colony into a box, how to manage it, how to put up rafters, sustainable harvesting, honey processing, honey filtering, and wax processing," Jump said.

"We work in areas with a honey hunting tradition. They're not afraid of bees, they can harvest. But what's lacking is sustainability, control and quality."

School project under way in Ta Trav

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Peter Olszewski
Thursday, 26 March 2009

New school to replace aging, unsafe building.

PROGRESS is under way on the construction of an additional six-room primary school in Ta Trav village, Angkor Thom district, following the February groundbreaking.

The formal inauguration and ribbon cutting ceremony is tentatively planned for November, and the hope is that the new school building will be ready for the next academic year.

There is a functioning school on the site, but Angkor Thom district has an annual process by which a priority needs assessment is undertaken. The new school at Ta Trav is necessary to replace the existing wooden school, which has extensive termite damage that will render it increasingly unsafe, officials said.

Trailblazer Foundation is the principal NGO managing the construction of the new school. The British School of Beijing and the Cambodian Land Mine Museum Relief Fund are providing financial support.

The current school building has been housing 340 students, but this recently swelled to 478 after construction work closed the school in neighbouring Bos Ta Trav village. The new Ta Trav school building will be able to accommodate the maximum number of students permitted by the government, which is 40 students per classroom for two sessions per day.

This will allow for 480 pupils at the school, which teaches levels 1 through 6. Seven teachers, supported by the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport, will work at the school.

Meanwhile, problems have surfaced at a 100-plus pupil school in Veal village run by Supporting Orphans and Indigent People of Cambodia for Development. The school is built on the grounds of a pagoda, and following a dispute with monks, the NGO has been evicted and is desperate to find nearby land to build a new school.

Swiss sculptor hopes to better health care, education in SR

Photo by: Kong Vandat
Him Sotea, general manager of the Chi Kraeng Healthcare Centre.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kyle Sherer and Kong Vandat
Thursday, 26 March 2009

THE opening of the Chi Kraeng Health Centre last Friday marked the latest in a series of projects by Swiss sculptor Sala Enrico to raise the living standards in Siem Reap. Enrico first visited the province in 1994 and, while the town has changed dramatically since then, many villagers in rural areas still lack access to basic health care.

Him Sotea, general manager of the health centre, told the Post that the centre would "welcome all people, not just people who live in the district".

Enrico gathered the funding for the construction of the hospital and hopes in the future to add a pool to ensure the hospital has a supply of fresh water.

Since 1994, Enrico has helped to build 915 water pits, 18 schools, two libraries, two health centres, and has distributed several tonnes of rice to poor villagers.

Enrico was motivated to build hospitals in Cambodia after seeing the Po Pale region of Siem Reap. "We decided to build the first health care centre in Dam Nak Slangn, if we could collect sufficient funds," he said.

"About 10,000 people from 10 villages would be referred to this centre. When I came back to Ticino in May 2005, I had in my pocket a project and the relative budget for its realisation," he said.

"The project included three hospital blocks: a main block, a block for tuberculosis patients and a block with rooms for the health care professionals, plus four toilets."

Now that Chi Kraeng hospital is complete, Enrico wants to construct a school called Por Raksmey Sangkum.

Providing rural schools with adequate infrastructure is another of Enrico's longstanding desires, resulting from a visit to a rather rudimentary school.

"We went one morning to the village of Kork Bang to inspect a region where we were planning to build around 20 water pits. Suddenly, in the centre of the village, I found myself in front of a school class in the middle of a lesson," he said .

"The school had no building. The children were under the trees with their desks, blackboard and the photo of the King and the Queen in the background. I said to myself, ‘How nice!' but then thought ‘What happens when it rains?'"

"Without hesitation I asked the village chief, who was standing in front of me, to write an official authorisation to build a real school. He did not hesitate for one second and I had the document in my hands."

Opposition calls for tariffs as economic crisis mounts

Photo by: AFP
A woman works on a field growing morning glories in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.The opposition Sam Rainsy Party has called for protectionist measures to be implemented.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara and Kay Kimsong
Thursday, 26 March 2009

As farming incomes plummet, the opposition says higher tariffs and more subsidies are needed, but government says WTO rules must be respected.

OPPOSITION lawmakers are calling on the government to raise trade barriers and boost agricultural subsidies to mitigate the effects of the global economic slowdown.

The move marks the first time parliamentarians have urged a protectionist response to the crisis.

"Look at Thailand - they are subsidising their farmers and protecting them by preventing Cambodian traders from exporting corn or cassava to Thailand - this is how we should be protecting our farmers," said Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay.

He urged the government to increase tariffs on imported goods to cut the trade deficit with neighbouring countries, citing the US$1.35 billion combined shortfall with Thailand and Vietnam.

"Even as a member of the World Trade Organisation, we still have five or six years to increase tax barriers for imported goods," he said.

The local protectionist pressures come on the back of what the World Bank is calling a global swing away from free trade.

Leaders at the Group of 20 meeting in November 2008 committed to promote free trade, but a World Bank report released last week said that protectionism was spreading.

The report said 17 of the G20 countries had issued 47 measures to regulate trade.

The protectionist calls have become ever louder as farmers on the Thai border are subject to tougher restrictions.

Tep Khunnal, governor of Malai district in Banteay Meanchey province, said farmers in his district need more government assistance.

"Thai farmers are growing fresh cassava. They [the Thais] are not allowing in Cambodian cassava unless it is dried. They are buying Cambodian dry cassava and exporting it to China," said Tep Khunnal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are not sleeping - we are trying hard to address this crisis.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He said that farm incomes have dropped 40 percent in the past year in line with the falling prices of agriculture goods.

Government response
Minister of Finance Keat Chhon rejected the opposition demands, saying that the government is improving tax collection and investing in vocational training.

He added that Cambodia's membership to the WTO prevents it from raising trade restrictions.

"We are not sleeping - we are trying hard to address this crisis," Keat Chhon told the Post Wednesday.

He said the government has enough resources to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn, but acknowledged that tax revenue fell slightly in the first two months of 2009.

"I am also a bit concerned about falling revenues, but we are trying to improve our tax-collection methods," he said.

"The Ministry of Finance is working with the Ministry of Labour to retrain laidoff workers to help them find other jobs," he said.

"We are working hard to collect revenue for public finances, and we're moving to a second phase of public finance management reform, which means that the accountability of all institutions and ministries will be improved," he said.

"It can be done only when we build on the achievements we made in the first phase. The credibility of the budget means the flow of income will remain strong.

"We have some worries, but we are trying to spend as scheduled for the budget law of 2009," Keat Chhon added.

Responding to questions raised by Son Chhay, Keat Chhon wrote in a letter dated February 11 that the Cambodian economy is affected by the global economic downturn, but that foreign reserves in 2008 stood at $2.1 billion and were guaranteed for 3.8 months.

In 2009 the government decided to increase salaries by 20 percent, or by $30 million per month, Keat Chhon's letter said.

He wrote that the government spent $300 million subsidising electricity prices by freezing rates when oil prices surged 90.4 percent compared to July 2007.

Keat Chhon also said the government provided $450 million in subsidies to boost the fibre industry to reduce costs for garment producers.

He estimated that government intervention would account for about $500 million from the country's GDP.

Silk industry hit by downturn

Photo by: Sovann Philong
A worker weaves silk at a factory in Takeo province. The industry says it has seen a downturn.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Soeun Say
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Export- and tourist-dependent industry sees demand plummet, with vendors worrying about bankruptcy as tourism decline leads to fewer sales.

SILK producers and vendors say they face bankruptcy with sales down as much as 80 percent over the past few months in the face of the global economic slowdown.

The luxury product has enjoyed good growth in recent years - particularly due to the boom in the tourist market.

Som Chenda, the public relations officer for the Artisans Angkor outlet in Siem Reap, told the Post on Sunday that business at his store in the country's tourism capital was down one-fifth on last year.

He said the first hit was due to fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops last year, which was followed by the slump in the world economy. He said all silk shops in Siem Reap were reliant on tourists.

"All of us focus almost entirely on orders from outside the country - and if tourists stop coming, we will lose business," Som Chenda said. "Our business depends heavily on the international market and tourists, so I am very concerned that many Khmer people at my firm could lose their jobs."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All of us focus almost entirely on orders from outside the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He said that clients from the United States, France, Germany, Korea, Taiwan and Japan had stopped buying, and the Singapore outlet of Artisans Angkor recently went bust.

Men Sinoeun is the executive director of the Artisans Association of Cambodia, a training and trade body with 2,000 members that last year generated US$2.7 million revenue. His organisation represents 80 percent of the country's silk weavers.

"Silk sales dropped between 20-40 percent in the second half of last year because there were simply no new customers - and the old customers stopped buying because of the global crisis," he said.

Vendor Mam Ros Chamroeun, owner of the Asian Silk Souvenir Shop in Phnom Penh, has felt that even more sharply. He said monthly sales had plunged from $2,000 to $2,500 in mid-2008 to just $400 to $500 last month.

"My businesses can be kept alive by orders that I get from customers living abroad, and especially from tourists," he said. "But if the global economic crisis remains bad ... and tourist arrivals continue to drop, our businesses will go bankrupt."

Another vendor Chin Sophy, who has a stall at the capital's Russian Market, agreed a key problem was fewer tourists.

"If tourism doesn't recover fast my business could go bust," she said, adding that revenues were down 40 percent.

Kong Vantha, 43, is a small manufacturer weaving silk in Koh Dach village, Kandal Province. He is worried that bankruptcy could hit him and his fellow villagers.

"It's really hard to sell silk as the price has gone down. Some silk producers in my village have gone bust, and the rest are trying their best to keep going," Kong Vantha said.

He estimated that the global crisis had cost him 30 to 40 percent of turnover.

The bleak assessment was shared by Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, who felt the unstable property market had to shoulder some blame. He said the economy still faced problems: "Businesses will close or perhaps delay making products if this bad economic situation continues."

NBC sets up $100m emergency credit line

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by May Kunmakara
Thursday, 26 March 2009

THE Cambodian government has approved a $100 million emergency line of credit for banks in need of temporary liquidity shortfalls, a senior official told the Post Wednesday.

Officials stressed that the banking sector remains solid and that no banks have applied for emergency funds.

"The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is being careful with this issue - the NBC is keeping a close eye on the sector," said Minister of Finance Keat Chhon.

The fund is administered by the NBC, but only Finance Ministry officials would comment on the fund. "The money is available for banks that need it," said Keat Chhon.

Acleda Bank CEO In Channy told the Post Wednesday that his bank remains stable, despite the downturn. "I don't need this money. Our deposits increased to US$533.5 million from $492.5 million - an eight percent increase compared to the same period last year," he said.

ANZ CEO Stephen Higgins said Wednesday his bank is also in no danger of a liquidity crunch.

The circus is back in town

Photo by: Photos Supplied
This year’s Tini Tinou will feature high-flying trapeze acts, tight-rope walkers and an assortment of clowns and contortionists.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Anita Surewicz
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Tini Tinou will bring its unique blend of local and international talent to the big top beginning Friday, with preview performances in Phnom Penh and a 4-day festival in April in Battambang.

Feats of acrobatics, trapeze acts, tightrope displays, contortionists and the antics of clowns are set to dazzle and amuse at the upcoming Tini Tinou circus festival.

In its sixth year in Cambodia, Tini Tinou, meaning "here and there", will kick off in Phnom Penh on Friday before moving on to Battambang for a four-day extravaganza.

Attracting a bevy of performers from around the globe, this year's festival, organized by the Battambang NGO Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS), will feature 150 artists from 10 countries, giving the event a truly international flavour.

Renowned international performers from Canada, France, Australia, Germany and Japan descended on Cambodia this month to share their knowledge with young circus performers during two weeks of interactive workshops that took place prior to the commencement of this year's event.

"A big part of the 2009 festival is the training exchange between artists," said PPS artistic director Khoun Det.

While the majority of young artists who took part in the workshops were Cambodian, students from Laos, Romania and Japan also participated.

"There were approximately 50 students from PPS and around 10 from Phnom Penh's National Circus School, and around 30 students from overseas," said Dorothee Alemany, the organiser and coordinator of this year's Tini Tinou festival.

Angkorian roots
Performance art has a long history in Cambodia stretching back to Angkorian times, as evidenced by the 12th century bas-reliefs at the Bayon temple at Angkor Wat, which pay tribute to acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, musicians and animal handlers.

"Traditional circus has roots in 11th-century Cambodia. While the Asian circus is to some extent similar to the European circus, the main difference between the two is the accompanying music, which here is traditional Khmer music," said Khoun Det.

PPS took over organising the festival in 2007 from the French Cultural Centre, which launched the event in 2004, and opened it up to more international performers.

"The goal of the festival is to promote Asian circus arts and to share knowledge," said Alemany.

PPS, which literally means "Light from Arts", has its roots in the refugee camps on the Thai border, initially starting in 1986 as a project utilising visual arts as a means of encouraging creativity in young people to help them overcome the trauma associated with the Khmer Rouge regime and years of civil war.

Healing through creativity
"The idea was to give children in the camps something to do so that they wouldn't get bored and have something to think about other than war," said Alemany.

The project continued after its co-founders returned to Battambang following the 1991 Peace Accords. The project was formalised in 1994 when its organisers decided to create PPS.

The circus branch of the school began in 1998 with support from the National Circus School of the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh and today has approximately 130 students, said Alemany.

Today the mission of the PPS school is to renew the circus by taking traditional Cambodian circus roots and mixing them with new international elements.

"Traditional Cambodian circus is very technical in nature. It is a chain of separate performances that follow one another. At PPS, we try to incorporate other elements such as stage management and artistic management into traditional circus performances - we bring music, stage and a more technical environment," Khoun Det said. "Contemporary circus is more about building one whole story with stage management."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GOAL ... IS TO PROMOTE ASIAN CIRCUS ARTS AND TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And to facilitate this stage management, training has been incorporated into the school's curriculum.

"Our new project is the training of technicians, which has been organised through Performing Philippines Educational Theater Association. A trainer from the Philippines came to Cambodia to train technicians from Battambang, PPS and the Performing Arts Department from Phnom Penh. He taught technicians how to prepare a show - lights, materials and sounds," Khoun Det said.

The focus of this year's Tini Tinou festival includes clowns and aerial acrobatics such as flying trapeze and tightrope displays.

Clowns from different countries will perform to display each country's unique jesters. In fact, the whole festival will be presented by two very different clowns - one Cambodian and one French, said Alemany.

"The Cambodian clown is more about speaking and making people laugh rather than about mime and gestures," said Khoun Det. "They wear sleeveless shirts and kramas, usually hang out in a fishing hut and spend their time trying to pick up girls."

"We are trying to make the traditional Khmer clown more international - we want them to do more than just speak," Khuon Det said, adding that PPS trains women to be clowns, an element that breaks with Cambodian tradition.

Another unique feature of this year's festival will be its guest of honour, the PA-RA-DA Foundation from Romania.

"We decided from last year to have a guest of honour at the festival, and we try to choose an organization that has a similar social mission to PPS, and PA-RA-DA seemed appropriate," said Alemany.

The foundation was created in 1996 by a French clown, Miloud Oukili, who started teaching workshops for children living on the streets after he arrived in Bucharest in 1992.

Uncertain future
But Tini Tinou is now in danger of extinction due to insufficient funding, and organisers say it may not return next year. This is the first time in the event's six-year history that a cover charge had to be introduced, creating the very real danger that the festival may not attract the usual numbers this year.

"There may be less people this year due to the cover charge. It is a risk that the NGO is taking, but because the circus is well-known now, it is a risk worth taking," said Khoun Det.

However, Alemany is quick to point out that the Khmer communities around the NGO in Battambang will be able to attend the performances for free.

"We will have different prices for Cambodians and the international community, but local communities will still have free access to the festival because we feel that they are our first audience," said Alemany.

Even though the festival is supported by a number of local and international organisations, Alemany says the current level of funding is not sufficient and that this year the circus will go over its allocated budget.

The Tini Tinou festival kicks off Friday with a show at the French Cultural Centre in Phnom Penh and continues Saturday with a parade beginning on Street 13 (in front of Friends), continuing to the National Museum, down Sisowath Quay and culminating with a stage show at Wat Botum.

In Battambang, the four-day festival running from April 2 to April 5 will comprise of three shows nightly and smaller performances by pre-professionals.

The cover charge for Friday's show at the French Cultural Centre in Phnom Penh is US$8 for general admission and $4 for students. In Battambang the cost of a one-night pass is 3,500 riel for Cambodians and $10 for foreign nationals. A three-day pass will cost $3 for Cambodians and $20 for foreign nationals. Children will be able to enter at the discount price of $4 for a one-day pass and $8 for a three-day pass.

Police Blotter: 26 Mar 2009

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Lim Phalla
Thursday, 26 March 2009

WOMAN POISONS SELF AFTER DISPUTE
Chea Phein, 25, from Boeung Krotib village, Prey Veng province, poisoned herself on Sunday after a minor dispute with her husband, police said. The husband had left the couple's home following the confrontation and returned in the afternoon to find his wife dead with a small bottle of pesticide beside her.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

LIGHTNING KILLS 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL
A 9-year-old girl, Roeung Sinath, was killed after being struck by lightning while she was fishing in the rain with other children in Anlung Chamnar village, Kampong Speu province, on Monday.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

DUO ARRESTED ON DRUG SUSPICIONS
A man and a woman were arrested in the Ho Wah Genting Hotel and Casino on Tuesday for allegedly dealing drugs. Poipet police said they had arrested Sithanak Somaly, a 27-year-old Vietnamese woman from Thailand, and a 25-year-old man, Tao Bunhan, and had found over 76.6 grams of white powder on them.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

MAN BEATEN AFTER WITNESSING BRAWL
A man was severely beaten after he witnessed a gang brawl in Trapaing Chhouk village, Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh on Monday night. Police said Meas Roeun, 28, who lived near where the brawl erupted, was taken to Preah Kosamak Hospital with severe injuries. They arrested Kong Leang, 21, Chea Sophorn, 24, Moeun Ra, 22, and Pov Phally, 19, in connection with the fight. All four are believed to be gang members. Police said they were targeting both gangs in the brawl over drug offences.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

WOMAN DECAPITATED WHILE PICKING NUTS
A 22-year-old woman was decapitated by an anonymous assailant while she was picking cashew nuts on a farm in Thma Da village, Kampong Cham province, on Sunday. Police said Cham Sophal from Chheu Bak village was also robbed of a necklace and ring. Her body was found by children walking through the farm. Her killer has not been found.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

MAN ARRESTED FOR STRANGLING DRIVER
Police arrested 28-year-old Yin Phat from Prey Vang province after he allegedly strangled a taxi driver with a hammock rope and attempted to rob him on Tuesday. Police said Yin Phat had taken a sum of money after choking Chea Meng, 64. However, he was caught by villagers who witnessed the robbery in Angkor village, Battambang town and province. Chea Meng survived the attack.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

The Phnom Penh Post News In Briefs

In Brief: Bank calls for two crops

Written by Kay Kimsong
Thursday, 26 March 2009

The Rural Development Bank (RDB) has called on farmers in the countryside to focus on planting two crops per year to increase productivity, support food security and for export. The call echoes that of the Prime Minister Hun Sen, he said, which aims to reduce dependency on imports and the need for migrants to work illegally abroad. The call, he added, forms part of the One Village, One Product" promotion. A cash injection of up to US$200 million was required in rural areas, he said.


In Brief: Mobile use set to double

Written by Nguong Sovan
Thursday, 26 March 2009

The Managing Director of Mobitel, Jeffrey Noble, predicts the number of mobile users will double to cover half of the 14 million population by the end of 2011, he said Wednesday at a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh in which the company received a US$100 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Mobitel Chairman Kith Meng said expanding network coverage would help improve the lives of people living in rural areas. IFC Country Manager Sin Foong Wong said the loan would help stimulate telecoms development.


In Brief: Pioneer against poverty dies

Written by Jess Bernhart
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Michael Lynn Sampson died, aged 43, on March 19 after suffering a heart attack while in Bangkok. A resident of Cambodia since 1998, he established Resource Development International Cambodia, an organisation that introduced education and filtration programs to provide clean drinking water and improved sanitation standards for thousands of Cambodians. Jess Bernhart .


In Brief: Bird flu workshop begins in siem reap

Written by Jess Bernhart
Thursday, 26 March 2009

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Department of Animal Health and Production has invited 40 commercial poultry farmers to a workshop in Siem Reap. The workshop, held today, aims to encourage farmers to adopt simple and practical bio-security measures to prevent the spread of avian influenza. Dr Teresa Cereno, technical adviser to the FAO Avian Influenza Control and Prevention Program said, "Improving widespread adoption of good bio-security practices remains a crucial challenge in prevention of avian influenza in poultry and humans."


In Brief: Illegal nightclub owners sentenced

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Thursday, 26 March 2009

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday sentenced the owner of the Mikado Club to seven years in prison and its manager to eight years, for aggravated procurement of prostitution. Sor Sarivoan, also known as Jacki, 60, and his manager Pov Thoeun, known as David, 38, were arrested in March 2008 in a police raid. Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, told the Post: "I welcome the conviction, but I am still concerned about their website, which shows naked Cambodian girls. It impacts women's morality and must be banned."

Cambodian Phone Network Gets Funding for Rural Coverage

Cellular-News

­IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has organized a US $100 million investment in Cambodian mobile network operator, CamGSM to help strengthen the telecommunications sector and expand access to affordable mobile services in rural areas. IFC is providing up to $40 million from its own account and has mobilized an additional $60 million from ABN AMRO, Cordiant Capital, DnB NOR, and Nordea.

CamGSM plans to expand and improve existing network coverage and services, particularly in rural areas where the majority of Cambodians live and poverty rates are highest.

“IFC is providing long-term financing, which is not readily accessible in frontier markets like Cambodia,” said Jeffrey Noble, CamGSM’s interim CEO. “This is a wonderful vote of confidence in Cambodia at a time when the impact of the global recession has started to affect the economy.

IFC’s reputation has also brought in other international banks, which should attract more such important financing to the country.”

IFC’s investment is also designed to support the government’s goal of stimulating competition in the telecommunications sector. As part of the initiative, CamGSM aims to add an additional 2 million subscribers by 2010, and to help businesses grow by providing them with better mobile internet coverage.

“Expanding availability of affordable cell phones will be of great benefit to poorer people,” said Sin Foong Wong, IFC Country Manager for Cambodia. “This will allow distant family members to stay in touch, village health workers to get expert advice in emergencies, and farmers to keep up with market prices.” He also noted that cell-phone banking is another benefit that will allow people to pay bills and transfer money safely.

CamGSM, which is branded in the market as Mobitel, is owned jointly by Millicom International (61.5%) and Royal Group (38.5%). Since Millicom launched in the 1990s, IFC has made nine investments in the company’s operations in Asia and Central and South America.

According to data from the Mobile World analysts, the country ended last September with an estimated 3.5 million mobile phone users - representing a population penetration level of just 24%. CamGSM is by far the largest of the six networks in the country with around 2.1 million customers.

Posted to the site on 25th March 2009

Cambodia welcomes the world of women's football

FIFA.com

Wednesday 25 March 2009

History was made today in Cambodia when the first pilot course for Com-Unity Women's Football Seminar opened in Phnom Penh, bringing the women's game to the football community of Cambodia.

The Opening Ceremony attended by Cambodia Football Federation President, Lt. Gen. Sao Sohka and the Secretary of State from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Dr. Phoeng Sakona, provided a strong start to the three-day course.

A positive tone was set right from the opening speech, with Lt. Gen Sao Sohka underlining the Cambodia Football Federation's dedication to promoting and developing women's football. He continued: "I look forward to the declaration at the end of the course to pledge our will to FIFA and our football community to develop women's football. We do not only want to help by giving moral support, but also the practical implementation of projects and activities."

FIFA representatives gave the audience a lively introduction to the world of women's football, before inviting Dr. Pheong Sakona to officially open the Cambodia Women's Football Com-Unity.

Dr. Pheong commented: "More women and girls are playing football in Cambodia and I support the idea that it is becoming more popular in this country." She continued: "Sport is very important to help reduce the social problems in Cambodia."

Also in attendance was the General Secretary of the National Olympic Council of Cambodia, Mr. Meas Sarin, in addition to a healthy turnout from NGOs based in Phnom Penh including UNICEF, Spirit of Soccer and the Indochina Starfish Foundation.

The FIFA delegation includes Michelle Cox (New Zealand), Mayrilian Cruz Blanco and David Borja (both FIFA), Windsor John (Malaysia, Development Officer Kuala Lumpur), Clare Kenny Tipton (Rep. of Ireland), Dato Yap Nyim Keong (Malaysia) and Belinda Wilson (Australia).

The next two days will be devoted to the Communications and Marketing of Women's Football. A friendly football match between the FIFA representatives and the Football Federation of Cambodia will take place at 1800hrs at the Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh on Tuesday 24 March 2009.

Directly following the Cambodia Women's Com-Unity, a practical FIFA Coaching Course will take place from 26 to 30 March 2009 to train Cambodian women's football coaches.

Thai troops accused of crossing Cambodia border

Cambodian troops guard the Preah Vihear temple late last year amid heightened tensions with Thailand.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Nearly 100 Thai soldiers crossed into Cambodian territory Wednesday near a disputed border temple that was the site of clashes last year, Cambodian officials said.

The Thai army denied the claim.

Thai soldiers crossed into the area of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple about 1:40 p.m., said Phay Siphan, secretary of the Cambodian Council of Ministers.

The two sides did not fight and Cambodia has asked Thailand to pull back.

Thai Army Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd said the troop movement was part of a normal rotation and that Thai soldiers had not gone anywhere they were not permitted to be.

For months last year, the two countries saber-rattled over the ancient temple. The nations differ on whether some territory around the temple forms part of Thailand or Cambodia.

Both countries posted troops in the area after the United Nations in July approved Cambodia's application to have the temple listed as a World Heritage Site -- a place the United Nations says has outstanding universal value.

The temple sits atop a cliff on Cambodian soil but has its most accessible entrance on the Thai side.

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962. Thailand claims, however, that the 4.6 sq. km (1.8 square mile) area around it was never fully demarcated.

Thailand says the dispute arose from the fact that the Cambodian government used a map drawn during the French occupation of Cambodia -- a map that places the temple and surrounding area in Cambodian territory.

The United Nations' decision re-ignited tensions, with some in Thailand fearing it will make it difficult for their country to lay claim to disputed land around the temple.

Last year's flare-up began July 15, when Cambodian guards briefly detained three Thais who crossed into the area. Once they were let go, the three refused to leave the territory.

Cambodia claimed Thailand sent troops to retrieve the trio and gradually built up their numbers. Thailand denied that, saying its troops are deployed in Thai territory.

Cambodia threatens retaliation, say Thai soldiers crossed border

Earth Times

Wed, 25 Mar 2009
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia on Wednesday threatened to use military force against up to 80 Thai soldiers who reportedly entered a disputed border region and set up camp, officials said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodian military police threatened to open fire unless the Thai soldiers retreated from the area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple site, where a fatal skirmish between Cambodia and Thailand erupted last year.

The Thai soldiers entered the area Wednesday afternoon and were immediately confronted by Cambodian military police, Phay Siphan said.

He said Cambodian military officials were negotiating with their Thai counterparts to prevent an armed confrontation.

A Cambodian military police officer who asked not to be named said hundreds of additional Thai soldiers were stationed on the other side of the border.

Both countries say the 11th-century Hindu temple falls within their borders, and the South-East Asian neighbours amassed troops along the border in July after UNESCO named the temple a World Heritage Site.

Cambodia: Thai troops crossed border; Thais deny

By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press Writer AP
Thursday, March 26

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia accused Thai troops of crossing into its territory Wednesday and at one point said the two sides were "getting ready to fight," even as a Thai commander insisted all was calm and the border had not been breached.

According to Cambodian officials, more than 100 armed Thai soldiers entered Cambodia in the afternoon about a half-mile (a kilometer) west of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple and stayed several hours before agreeing to retreat.

The temple has long been a site of flare-ups over the countries' ill-defined border. Two clashes near the temple last year sparked brief concerns of war.

Cambodian army Capt. Theam Thy, who is stationed at the border, said the incursion occurred shortly after midday.

"The situation is very tense, and both sides are getting ready to fight," he told The Associated Press.

By early evening and after negotiations, the Thai side agreed to leave the area, said Brig. Gen. Yim Pim, a Cambodian army commander in the area.

"Now, there is no more confrontation between the two sides," Yim Pim said. "We asked them to pull back their forces, and they agreed."

But Thai army Col. Pichit Nakarun, stationed on the Thai side of the border, denied any troop activity.

"There has been no troop movement that encroaches on the Cambodian border," he told The AP. "The situation is not more tense than usual."

Soldiers from both countries have been stationed at the border since July 2008, when long-standing tensions flared after UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency, approved Cambodia's bid to have the Preah Vihear temple named a World Heritage Site.

More clashes erupted in October when two Thai soldiers lost legs after stepping on land mines. The incident came just days after a brief gunfight broke out between troops from the two sides. One Cambodian and two Thai soldiers were wounded. Both sides claimed the other fired first and blamed each other for being on the wrong side of the border.

In 1962, the World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia, but sovereignty over the surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.

The two countries share a 500-mile (800-kilometer) land border, much of which has never been clearly demarcated because the countries refer to different maps.

Indict No More: Former Rebel Commander

Meas Muth in an interview with VOA Khmer

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Cambodia
25 March 2009

With five Khmer Rouge leaders in jail, and potential further indictments delayed indefinitely, many former soldiers of the regime continue to live among their victims.

Meas Muth, a 70-year-old former Khmer Rouge division commander, would be a possible suspect under a wider indictment scheme. But he believes that charges against the leaders already in custody—Noun Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, and Duch—are enough.

“To add five, six or 10 more, or more than that, that’s not for justice, but to stir up Cambodia, causing instability,” he told VOA Khmer in an exclusive interview at his home near the Thai border. “In fact, until today, the situation pleases everyone.”

More indictments could include the real leader of the revolution, he said

“Everyone knows that His Majesty was the leader,” he said, referring to the former king, Norodom Sihanouk, who abdicated in 2004 but who also rallied peasants to the Khmer Rouge cause in the 1970s. “To bring in only five and not to bring in the chief, that is not a breakthrough. It’s just detention of the five for sale, or for nothing.”

Following his ouster, then-prince Norodom Sihanouk led a unified coalition, which included the Khmer Rouge, to retaliate against his political opponent, the US-backed prime minister, Lon Nol.

No one has publicly said the revered monarch should be indicted by the current tribunal. Experts, however, suggest that there were other cadre who could be tried under the tribunal’s rules.

Research conducted by Stephen Heder in 2001 found that Meas Muth, as commander of Division 164, one of only nine divisions, played a direct role in the arrest and transfer to Tuol Sleng prison of cadre suspected as traitorous to the regime.

The leader of that prison, Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is schedule for the first tribunal trial, next week, for crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder.

At his home in Samlot district, Battambang province, a former Khmer Rouge zone, Meas Muth denied any wrongdoing as a commander for the government of Democratic Kampuchea. He also said he had nothing worth testifying to for the tribunal.

As it brokered peace with the Khmer Rouge to end of years of fighting, the government offered amnesty to soldiers of the regime, including those like Meas Muth.

The government was forced to change its position, however, as talks for a tribunal got underway and as investigating judges and prosecutors began seeking indictments.

Even then, the government and UN agreed that only senior leaders would be tried, but there is no clear interpretation of who those would be, creating what some lawyers fear is a loophole for many former cadre who defected to the government in 1996.

There has been no decision by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the tribunal court on whether to indict more senior leaders, a subject on which the Cambodian and foreign tribunal prosecutors disagree.

Cambodian prosecutor Chea Leang has said further indictments risk stability.

That position runs counter to just over half of Cambodians recently survey by the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which found 52 percent of 1,100 people wanted more indictments.

Meas Muth would have fallen under the other 48 percent, who say, whether because of budget or stability problems, that five is enough. For his part, he said, he now worked each day on his farm and had recently donated money for the improvement of a nearby pagoda.

Thousands Strike Over Fired Union Leaders

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

Nearly 2,000 garment workers in Kandal province went on strike at one large factory Wednesday, demanding the return of eight fired union representatives.

The eight leaders, who represented the Free Trade Union, were fired after conflicts over memberships with leaders of a second union, the Khmer Youth Trade Union Alliance, Prum Kosal, a striking worker at Tai Yang Enterprise, told VOA Khmer by phone Wednesday.

"We must use our right to request the factory manager to allow the eight fired representatives to work normally," he said. "If not, we will hold more strikes."

The strike comes as Cambodia's garment industry is struggling under the global financial crisis, with many factories closing in the past few months and orders and revenues down.

At least 14 factories have closed down in Cambodia since the onset of the crisis, in September.

Sin Mom, another worker on strike, said the workers were not afraid of losing their jobs.

"We must use our freedom to fight the unjust firing of our representatives," she said from outside the factory Wednesday morning. "All the workers are standing and shouting in front of the factory to strike until we have the resolution."

The strike was to protect the representatives, she said, "because they struggle to protect our rights and our interests from violations from the factory manager."

Workers at the factory have difficulty receiving pay for overtime and want appropriate working conditions, she said.

Factory officials could not be reached for comment.

Kandal province's deputy governor, Cheav Tai, who attended talks between the sides on Wednesday, said negotiations had not yet reached a resolution. The factory side has so far refused to allow the return of the fired representatives.

Free Trade Union President Chea Mony said Wednesday the union could not tolerate the firings.

"Nineteen of my trade representatives in factories have been fired from the beginning of the year until now," he said.

Since 2004, 139 Free Trade representatives have been sacked from factories where they led workers.

The Free Trade Union is a powerful union with many factory workers as members. The former president of the union, Chea Vichea, was gunned down in 2004, after demonstrating an ability to amass giant demonstrations.

Chea Mony, who is Chea Vichea's brother, warned of mass demonstrations if the government did not take action against factories that fire representatives.

Teachers Group Sees ‘State of Emergency’

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 March 2009

The Cambodian Teacher's Association has found the value of education in Cambodia decreasing, as students were leaving school and teachers were not always tending to their classes.

In interviews with 460 teachers in nine provinces, the association said Wednesday, 93 percent said students were abandoning their studies due to poverty, bribes charged by teachers, or school supply expenses; 54 percent of the teachers said they kept irregular teaching hours.

Teachers said that some students left school because they felt discouraged they would not find a job after graduation.

The association's president, Rong Chhung, said the education system had reached a "state of emergency."

"According to my survey, we show that the education system is falling, and the Cambodian government should take immediate action to prevent this," he said.

Ministry of Education officials could not be reached for comment.

Koeur Nay Leang, director-general of the Phnom Penh department of education, dismissed the findings of the survey, saying it had been conducted without the cooperation of the Ministry of Education.

Other countries faced the same difficulties in education as Cambodia, he said, and the government was in the process of reform.

Free Trade Union President Chea Mony told reporters Wednesday a weak education system had led to at least 15 percent of Cambodia's underage students to leave their studies for work in factories.

Politicising Phrea Vihear issue could make things worse

By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Published on March 26, 2009

The opposition and red-shirted protesters should not "politicise" the Thailand-Cambodia border issue for their own benefit in the battle against the government, since such a move could spoil the on-going border settlement efforts.

This country has already learnt from previous episodes of power struggle that nationalism and politicised border conflict can worsen relations with its neighbour.

The red-shirted Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) should not repeat this mistake because it would not bring any good to the country, only problems and trouble.

The yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters employed the notion of bruised nationalism to politicise the border dispute at Preah Vihear to shoot down Noppadon Pattama from his post as foreign minister last year.

The PAD and its allies in Parliament accused Noppadon of claiming lost sovereignty over the disputed areas adjacent to the temple. The attack not only toppled Noppadon but also brought on a border skirmish in October 2008, which killed four soldiers on both sides.

Former foreign minister Tej Bunnag spent every minute of his one month in office fixing the problem. He reinstalled the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on Demarcation of the Land Boundary (JBC), a mechanism of negotiation for demarcation and provisional arrangement to handle the disputed areas.

The JBC is now working hard to lay out fundamental plans and infrastructure to demarcate the boundary and settle the dispute.

However, the task is still at an early stage and the boundary is not yet clear. Some disputes still remain since both sides have not stopped developing the border for economic benefit. Cambodia has built a new road to the Preah Vihear through an overlapping area, prompting diplomatic protests from Thailand.

Of course, making any change in the overlapping area is against the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both countries in 2000, but such a violation should not lead to a major conflict between the two sides.

The JBC could handle the issue. It can use diplomatic negotiation and technical methods to settle the problem provided the issue is not over-politicised.

Unfortunately, the opposition Pheu Thai Party during the censure debate last week borrowed the PAD and Democrat's tactics to turn the tables, using the Thai-Cambodian border issue to attack Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. The opposition, together with DAAD, accused Kasit of losing 250 metres of territory as he ignored Cambodia's road construction in the overlapping area. They demanded that Kasit adopt the very same rhetoric he used when he joined the PAD protest last year.

They know, like Kasit and the PAD, that nationalism is nonsense in this context and never helps settle a border dispute with a neighbouring country; it could even worsen the situation. A worse border situation would mean trouble for the government in domestic political affairs.

The JBC is scheduled to have the next round of meetings in Phnom Penh on April 6-7 to continue negotiations on boundary demarcation and a provisional arrangement for the disputed area near Preah Vihear. Political pressure at home could jeopardise the talks.

The JBC has some differences to overcome in the next meeting - seeking a common term to call the Hindu temple on the cliff, which Thailand wants to call Phra Viharn while Cambodia prefers Preah Vihear. They also need a single name for a security unit to take care of the area.

Vasin Teeravechyan, head of Thai JBC, said he could not expect the next meeting to yield a breakthrough, since both sides have no point of compromise.

As long as terms for the temple are not settled, the minute of agreement could not be signed and other tasks could not be started, he said.

However, negotiators and technicians could find a solution eventually, he said, as long as politicians and protesters don't pressure the talks.

"I always say that the boundary demarcation is time-consuming work. If we rush to get the result, we will lose everything," he said.

Preah Vihear temple raises Thai-Cambodian tensions

AsiaNews.it
03/25/2009

After last October’s clashes, which left four soldiers dead, the movement of 100 Thai troops into the disputed area causes alarm. Both governments try to downplay the incident.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand flared up suddenly today when Thai troops crossed into a disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple claimed by both countries. Last October, clashes left four soldiers dead.

Thai soldiers entered the area where they were faced by Cambodian troops, but both sides quickly issued statements in order to avoid clashes.

"We are trying to push the Thais back to their border through negotiation. We do not want violence again,” Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

“Both sides move their troops from time to time. We inform our Cambodian friends of our movements and vice versa,” Major General Kanok NetraKaveysana said.

An old Hindu temple, Preah Vihear was built in the 12th century.

Sitting on an escarpment the temple became an issue when in July of last year UNESCO decided to list it as a World Heritage Site. The International Court of Justice had already awarded it to Cambodia in 1962.

The original ruling did not however determine the ownership of a 4.6 sq km area of scrub next to the ruins.

In the wake of last October’s clashes Thailand and Cambodia agreed to demarcate the border once for all.

Thai, Cambodian troops face off again near temple

PHNOM PENH, March 25 (Reuters) - Thai and Cambodian soldiers faced each other near a 900-year-old Hindu temple on their disputed border on Wednesday, but both sides pledged to avoid a repeat of last year's armed clashes.

Tensions rose when 100 Thai troops crossed into a disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple and were stopped by Cambodian soldiers, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said.

"We are trying to push the Thais back to their border through negotiation. We do not want violence again," he said, referring to a firefight that killed 4 soldiers last October.

Thailand's military commander in the area said the troop movements were routine.

"Both sides move their troops from time to time. We inform our Cambodian friends of our movements and vice versa," Major General Kanok NetraKaveysana told Reuters.

The border had been quiet for months while the Southeast Asian neighbours sought to jointly demarcate the jungle-clad area where one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers died in last year's exchange of rifle and rocket fire.

Cambodia's deputy military commander in chief, General Kun Kim, said the Thais had only entered the disputed area and had not crossed into Cambodian territory.

"We would have shot the Thai soldiers if they had crossed into our land," he told Reuters by telephone from the border.

Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and has been a source of tension for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the ruling did not determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.

Cambodia says Thai troops crossed border

Thai soldiers stand guard close to Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Around 100 Thai troops briefly entered Cambodian territory on Wednesday near a disputed border temple where a deadly gunbattle broke out last year, Cambodian officials said.

Thailand's military however denied the claim, saying that they only had a few soldiers in a disputed area where troops from both sides have been posted since the clashes in October.

"There are nearly 100 armed Thai troops -- fighting troops -- who violated about one kilometre (just over half a mile) into Cambodian territory," Cambodian government cabinet spokesman Phay Siphan told AFP.

The Thai soldiers crossed into Cambodia about two kilometres away from the ancient Preah Vihear temple at about 1:45 pm (0645 GMT), he said.

The spokesman and the Cambodian military later said the Thai troops pulled back from the area after talks between Cambodian and Thai commanders.

"They withdrew from the area at around 5:00 pm (1000 GMT). There was no clash during the confrontation," commander Yim Pim said.

During the brief standoff, a Cambodian soldier stationed at the temple told AFP by telephone that the situation was "hot and all Cambodian troops are fully alert and prepared."

Tensions over the long-disputed territory flared in July last year after the 11th century temple was granted United Nations world heritage status. Soldiers clashed in the area in October, leaving four troops dead.

Subsequent talks between Cambodia and Thailand have not led to a resolution of the dispute.

"Both Thai and Cambodian soldiers are there in the disputed area and we have not crossed into Cambodia," said Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Neeparn, army commander for northeastern Thailand, in response to the Cambodian claims.

"We have not increased our amount of soldiers at all. We have stayed with the same amount for several months," he told AFP.

The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.