FROM KILLING FIELDS TO TENNIS COURTS

NEXT GENERATION: Tennis is slowly making a comeback in Cambodia as the survivors of the Khmer Rouge get back teaching young people the sport they love.

Cambodia's tennis playing survivors of the Khmer Rouge are trying to pick up the pieces and rebuild a once proud tennis nation

Bangkok Post

http://www.bangkokpost.com

By: Robert Davis
Published: 19/04/2009

Former champion Yi Sarun reaches into his tennis bag, takes out an old wrinkled plastic bag filled with black and white photographs and sets the stack on the table. He carries them everywhere he goes, for they are reminders of when life was good to be a Cambodian tennis player.

In one photograph Yi is seen wearing a coat, tie and trousers and carrying an armload of wood tennis racquets while disembarking from a plane. Another one shows him on the court at the Cambodian Sports Club right after an epic five-set match against a Vietnamese opponent. Yi's arms are raised in victory and an exhausted smile spreads across the face of a young man in the prime of his life. One after another, Yi passes photos around, studying each one as if he were seeing it for the first time. Suddenly, the photographs stop. For it is 1975, the year the Maoist group of soldiers called the Khmer Rouge came to power. And then all hell broke loose.

Phnom Penh was once considered one of the most beautiful cities in Southeast Asia. Now with the Khmer Rouge in power it would become a town of terror. It was the upper class who would pay the heaviest price; doctors, teachers, lawyers, and even tennis players. Throats were slit, skulls crushed with a whack of a shovel and babies tossed from windows. Those who were not killed or tortured to death were force-marched to the countryside to develop an agrarian utopia immortalised by the film The Killing Fields.

Life as Cambodians knew it stopped. A new era began and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot called it "Year Zero". In Year Zero, marriages were dissolved and families were banned. Parents were separated from their children. Even children's toys were thrown away, because there would be no time to play.

BASICS: Cambodia still lacks courts and equipment, but not enthusiasm.

Two popular slogans of the new regime were "To spare you is no profit. To destroy you is no loss". And, "Better to kill an innocent person, than to leave an enemy alive". With that mantra, the Khmer Rouge went on a blood-thirsty hunt for anyone associated, even remotely, with the bourgeois. Some was just plain ridiculous, like anyone wearing eye-glasses were considered intelligent and must be executed. And if you happened to play tennis, you must be an elitist and were marked for death. From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge would go on to commit one of the worst genocides of the twentieth century, killing an estimated 1.7-2 million people.

Rewind a few years earlier, on a sunny spring day in Phnom Penh where a young Prince Sihanouk is sitting by the tennis courts at Le Cercle Sportif, an exclusive country club. He is watching the national champion of Cambodia and Davis Cup player Tep Kunnah train. Children are gathered around too, all watching the man called affectionately "Mr Tennis". It was not unusual for the Prince to regularly attended Tep Kunnah's matches.

STILL PLAYING: Former champion Yi Sarun.

"In the '60s and early '70s, tennis was considered as an elitist sport worldwide and Cambodia was no exception," explains Rithi Tep, the Secretary-General of the Cambodia Tennis Association and a son of Tep Kunnah. "Cambodian tennis at the time was at its prime, dominating all regional countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Burma and Laos."

Little could anyone imagine then that those neatly manicured lawns and private tennis courts of the Le Cercle Sportif would be the setting for political executions carried out by the Khmer Rouge. Most notably that of Lon Nol and other government figures. In 1968, Yi Sarin - a team-mate of Yi Sarun - was the number one junior ranked player in Cambodia. Like Yi Sarun, he was ordered to Takeo province to labour in the fields.

"I was so scared that they [the Khmer Rouge] would find out I was a tennis player," Yi Sarin admits. "So many tennis players were killed because they were considered upper-class. I refused to even think about tennis."

Both Yi Sarun and Yi Sarin survived the Khmer Rouge, but at least 37 other tennis players did not. Cham Prasidh, the present Minister of Commerce and President of the Tennis Federation of Cambodia, is a survivor of the killing fields. He remembers when they were forced to eat anything that crawled.

"We were allocated only one kilo of rice per 50 people," Cham Prasidh recalls. "I remember counting the number of rice grains in my bowl. Obviously, with the impossible hours and workload each day we could not survive with only that. So we ate whatever we could. Even earthworms were dug up and pounded into a paste to mix with mother's milk to try and keep the babies alive. We thought the protein would help them survive."

DEDICATED: Many give their time to coach young people.

After Vietnamese forces removed the Khmer Rouge from power in 1979, slowly life began to resume some sort of normalcy. It would take a few years for tennis to return to Cambodia, as all the equipment had been destroyed. But thanks to expats and diplomats, racquets, balls and nets were donated to the former players and clubs. Then goodwill sporting tours inspired by the Soviet Union sent athletes all over the world to play games.

Tennis was back again. Yi Sarin must have thought his life something of a wild roller-coaster ride. Now he is on a flight rumbling over the Aral Sea en route to Moscow. There he will board a train and back track for 17 hours in the freezing snow where he will eventually arrive in Lithuania to play tennis.

He and Yi Sarun would travel to other parts of the Soviet Union like Estonia and Kiev to play tennis matches. Today, Yi Sarin is the national coach of Cambodia.

But the driving force in the effort to return Cambodian tennis to glory is Rithi Tep.

"It is a legacy that I feel I have to perpetuate on behalf of my family," he says. "Because of not only what tennis meant to my father and uncle, but also what they did for tennis too. My family believes that such a legacy has to be carried on by my children to continuously remind of the greatness of a Cambodian athlete and their grandfather and uncle."

With only eight public courts and a handful of private ones in the entire country, tennis has a long way to go in Cambodia before it regains its former status. But at the 2007 Southeast Asia Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Cambodia showed it is ready to challenge again.

When Nyssan Tan captured the bronze medal in the men's individual singles category his team-mates and coaches erupted in celebration as if he had just won the gold, not the bronze. For a country that has seen so much death and destruction, and suffered so many hardships, any medal is something to be cheered. A visibly shaken, but jubilant Rithi Tep, is crying tears of joy.

"We have waited over 30 years for this," he says while hugging the kids and coaches. "Finally!"

Suresh Menom, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Development Officer for Asia, feels Cambodia only needs a little help to get going again. Already the ITF has sent equipment and is considering an Olympic Solidarity Fund financial grant to Cambodia for coaching expertise.

"Despite their lack of facilities and tennis infrastructure development," Mr Menom says, "Cambodia has managed to achieve some remarkable success in the Southeast Asian tennis arena in recent years. The SEA Games bronze medal and 14 and under juniors that were selected on the ITF teams is a demonstration of the tenacity and determination of the Cambodian players in achieving success despite facing insurmountable hardships.

"If the Tennis Federation of Cambodia can have a centre of its own to develop players, the future is going to be much brighter for Cambodian tennis."

At 63, former champion Yi Sarun still gets paid to play tennis. People working for NGOs and expatriates slip him a couple of dollars per hour to play a set or two at Phnom Penh's VIP Club. Yi Sarun's skin is sunburned a dark walnut colour and his face is gaunt with high cheekbones.

A hearing aide dangles from his ear and a shy smile reveals that only a few teeth remain. While his strokes have become as stiff as his stride, he can still beat most of his younger clients, although he lets them win just enough to keep them coming back. From a nearby court, Yi Sarin is watching him play.

"Still, after all these years he never learned to volley," he says with a laugh, just as Yi Sarun dumps a backhand into the net.

Yi Sarun might not have learned to volley, but just like other tennis playing survivors and their descendants of the Khmer Rouge, he has not given up trying to improve either.

Caravan to explore Kwai Bridge

QDND.VN
http://army.qdnd.vn

33 motorbike riders of three clubs, ACE Motor Saigon, Motor Nha Trang and HOG (Harley), are preparing to start a motor caravan, the first of its kind in Vietnam, organised by Viking Travel Company in collaboration with Thailand’s TAT Tourism Company, from Vietnam to Thailand.

“The trip has been well-prepared by the Tourism Ministry of Thailand. Two police motorcycles will escort the group throughout the trip. The motorbike caravan is allowed to drive in highway at over 100 km.p.h speed, and are not required to stop at red lights. They are, however, regulated to drive in the left side and use their horns only in emergency”, said Pichai, Director of TAT in HCMC.

“Receptions will be held in Pattaya, Kwai and Bangkok respectively. After exploring hidden places from west to east, drivers will share driving experiences and enjoy mixing with each other”, said Tran Xuan Hung, Director of Viking Company.

From Bavet, the group will go to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, then to Kor Kong. In Thailand, the group will meet members of the three biggest motor clubs of Thailand, including Pattaya, Kanchanaburi and Bangkok.

Interestingly, the tour will pass Kwai Bridge, a well-known bridge to the world which was introduced in a novel of Pierre Boulle and the movie, “Bridge over the river Kwai”, by David Lean.

“The group will be in Kanchanaburi on April 28th and visit Kwai Bridge, the one that helped the movies win 7 Oscar Awards. The spot attracts more than 10 million visitors to Kanchanaburi each year”, said Tran Xuan Hung.

Talking about caravan tours, Hung said that the most impressive one was the one in Lunar New Year 2008 to Malaysia. Within 10 days, participants finished a more than 5,000km long tour from Vietnam to Cambodia then to southern Thailand and finally to Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia.

In the future, Viking Company will launch further, similar tours. The next ones will be at the end of June to explore the Himalayas, and then a pilgrim to Kailash, the Holy Land of Buddhism in India.

Source: TN

Translated by Hoang Anh

Powder power

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Post Staff
Monday, 20 April 2009

Children play New Year's games with the help of talcum powder at Wat Phnom last week. Claiming the powder was a dangerous menace to drivers, police conducted regular raids, confiscating powder bottles from young revellers, but were unable to stop the fun as hidden powder bottles would re-emerge moments after the departure of law enforcement officials.

Protected forest gets RCAF site

Photo by: MICHAEL FOX
An RCAF soldier walks past construction work on a new bridge extending into a protected forest area in Preah Vihear province last week.


The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Michael Fox
Monday, 20 April 2009

Officials say base could derail forest conservation efforts

Preah vihear province

MILITARY engineers have begun construction of a military base in the Preah Vihear Protected Forest Area located in the Emerald Triangle region near Thailand and Laos, a move that Forestry Administration officials said could potentially compromise their conservation efforts.

Sao Socheat, deputy commander of RCAF Military Region 4, which includes Preah Vihear province, told the Post on Sunday that the location of the base, to be used by RCAF Brigade 9, was "more suitable" than other proposed locations, though he acknowledged that its construction could damage forested areas and wildlife habitats.

Hunter Weiler, technical adviser to the Forestry Administration's Emerald Triangle Protected Forest Complex, a joint conservation project between Cambodia and Thailand, said the base would house 3,000 people, adding that he viewed it as a "significant new challenge" that could prevent the government from meeting its conservation goals.

"On the edge of a totally undisturbed wilderness that we are trying to keep that way, the people who live there will be carving out homes in the surrounding forest, catching, snaring and shooting animals for their own consumption and for trade," he said.

Weiler added: "It's a threat to some of the goals and protection measures, but hopefully those threats can be mitigated ... so [military officials] can achieve their goals and we can achieve ours."

Weiler said he believed construction of the base began in either late 2008 or early 2009. Sao Socheat said he could not specify the start or end dates for the project, nor could he say how much it would cost.

In addition to the base, two military roads are currently being built in the 197,027-hectare area, which received protected status in 2002.

The military roads will link the new base to the existing Mombei military base as well as to Rabonh village.

Weiler said Rabonh village is at the edge of the most important area in the forest, which is home to elephants, wild cattle, gaur and banteng populations, as well as several endangered birds, including the white wing duck, the forest crane and the hornbill.

Wildlife Conservation Society technical adviser Hugo Rainey described the area as "hugely important for many large mammals and many rare birds" such as the giant ibis, adding that "elsewhere their habitats are completely lost".

The giant ibis, like many other species in the Preah Vihear Protected Forest Area, is found nowhere else in the world, he said.

Weiler said officials involved in the Emerald Triangle Protected Forest Complex project were most concerned about the base's potential effect on the core protected area in Preah Vihear - the part of the forest identified as having the highest population densities and preferred habitats of many threatened species.

National security
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has previously called for the settlement of border areas in the interest of national security, a view echoed by Sao Socheat in an interview Sunday.

The base would be "useful for the nation and for the people, but national defence is most important", Sao Socheat said, adding that military commanders would instruct their soldiers "not to touch wildlife or cut trees in the forest".

Weiler said he believed deforestation at the border would itself pose a threat to national security.

"I would argue there is a national security threat posed by destruction of these forests on the border areas," he said, describing the threat as "just as real and tangible as a theoretical military threat from Thailand or Laos".

He added that he was confident that the government's national security interests could be reconciled with its conservation goals.

Rainey said remote border areas are often home to a range of species that thrive in areas that are not densely populated.

Weiler said examples of development projects in similar areas indicate that the settlement of previously unpopulated regions can lead to the decimation of local wildlife populations and that deforestation in particular can lead to soil erosion and "massive flooding".

Weiler said the threats of poaching and illegal logging were also of particular concern to the Emerald Triangle Protected Forest Complex, noting that the government had in recent years made progress in clamping down on these practices in Preah Vihear. He said settlement locations should be chosen carefully and be clearly demarcated so they are not allowed to expand.

Tong Yee, chief of the Forestry Administration's Chom Ksan division, said his office was also concerned about the presence of the soldiers.

"We are worried that the military base is being built in the protected area," he said. "We have requested that the military commanders help protect the wildlife here because we are concerned the soldiers might use their guns to shoot wildlife."

Tong Yee added that his office had requested that the residential quarters on the base "don't spread out too far".

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY THET SAMBATH

Travel warning to Bangkok maintained

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Cheang Sokha
Monday, 20 April 2009

AN ADVISORY issued by the government warning Cambodians against travelling to Bangkok and surrounding areas remained in effect Sunday, despite the fact that political unrest there had largely subsided.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith told the Post on Sunday that Cambodians making trips to Thailand should inform Cambodian embassy officials in Bangkok about their proposed travel dates and locations, which he said would make it easier for the officials to reach them in an emergency.

"We have not banned them from travelling to Bangkok, but we are warning them," he said. "Our Constitution grants people the right to travel."

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the advisory on April 13 in response to the country's political turmoil, which involved massive demonstrations and riots staged by so-called "red shirts", anti-government protesters drawn largely from the country's north and northeastern regions.

The advisory was published by various media organisations, including newspapers and radio and television stations.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to appeal to all Cambodian citizens not to travel to Bangkok or surrounding areas because they are currently not safe," it reads in part.

Koy Kuong, an undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said officials would not remove the advisory until "Thailand announces that the safety of the people can be ensured".

He said the ministry had not heard of any Cambodians running into difficulties in Thailand due to the unrest.

Tim Sakhorn to seek asylum in America

TROUBLED MINORITY
In a 2009 report, Human Rights Watch documented Vietnam’s “ongoing violations” of the rights of the country’s Khmer minority – commonly known as Khmer Krom – citing ethnic-based grievances and demands for religious freedom as particular concerns.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Meas Sokchea
Monday, 20 April 2009

Khmer Krom activist says he will seek refugee status following his flight to Thailand

KHMER Krom activist Tim Sakhorn, who has fled Cambodia claiming he was forced to live in a stateless limbo without identity documents, is to seek refugee status in the United States, he told the Post Sunday.

"I will go to meet the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok [Monday] to have them help me seek refugee status," he said. "I escaped from a lot of fear when I arrived in Thailand."

Before he fled to Thailand last week, local authorities were keeping a close watch over his house - an activity he saw as a threat to his family, he said.

"I miss my homeland. I wanted to be a monk in our homeland, but Cambodia did not issue an identity card to acknowledge me," he said, referring to what he called bureaucratic discrimination against Khmer Krom citizens of Cambodia.

Without an identity card, it is more difficult to prove Cambodian citizenship and obtain access to services - or safety from arbitrary deportation, he said.

"The [Cambodian government] pushed me to Vietnam and Vietnam pushed me back," he said, adding he was fearful of this happening again unless he was given documents and legal status as a Cambodian citizen.

The former monk, who was arrested and defrocked in Cambodia in June 2007 before being deported and jailed for a year in Vietnam on charges of undermining its national unity, returned to his native Takeo province to visit family on April 4. He then fled to Thailand after being reordained.

The 41-year-old told the Post that his stay in Thailand was only temporary and that he was planning to seek permanent refugee status in America.

Ang Chanrith, executive director of the Khmer Krom Human Rights Organisation, said Sunday that local human rights groups were encouraging UNHCR's Bangkok office to help him secure refugee status.

"I am optimistic that Tim Sakhorn will receive refugee status because the world is watching," he said, adding that the monk had been defrocked illegally.

A UNHCR official based in Phnom Penh, who declined to be named, said he did not know of the Bangkok office's intentions, but confirmed that local rights groups were advocating on behalf of Tim Sakhorn.

The official added that before Khmer New Year the UN had gone to Takeo province to encourage authorities to issue Tim Sakhorn an identity card, but that they said the request would be granted only after the holiday period.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that there was no threat to Tim Sakhorn in Cambodia.

"His comments were made just in order to leave for a third country. No one is bothering him," he said. "More than 13 million people can live in Cambodia, so why can't he live here?" Vietnamese embassy officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Road Safety: Accidents down during New Year

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Khoun Leakhana
Monday, 20 April 2009

Traffic police across Cambodia have reported a drop in the number of traffic accidents during the Khmer New Year compared with the three-day holiday period last year. "Now Cambodian people have learned more about road accidents," Hem Ya, the deputy of the traffic police in Phnom Penh, said on Sunday. From Tuesday to Thursday last week, there were 10 major traffic accidents in Phnom Penh, which killed four people and seriously injured 11. During the same period in 2008, there were 15 major accidents, killing eight people and seriously injuring 13. Police in Prey Veng and Battambang reported similar drops. Sath Kim San, Battambang province's traffic police chief, said, "We notice that road accidents always happen during national celebrations.... Most are caused by drunkenness, speeding and traffic violations."

Tuol Sleng survivors prepare to be questioned at ECCC

AFP
Human Rights Party leader Kem Sokha lays flowers at the stupa of Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial Centre during a commemoration of the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge 34 years ago Friday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Neth Pheaktra and Georgia Wilkins
Monday, 20 April 2009

Judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal are expected to turn the court’s attention towards S-21 this week, as the trial against the prison’s chief continues

AS the trial of former Khmer Rouge jailor Kaing Guek Eav enters its third week, the regime's notorious Toul Sleng prison will, at last, become the subject of the judges' questions, and former S-21 staff and survivors say they are bracing themselves to take the stand.

"During the Khmer Rouge regime, if I did not obey orders, I would be executed by Duch," Him Huy, a former guard at the prison, told the Post, referring to the accused by his revolutionary name.

"I did ... kill five prisoners at Choeung Ek," he said when asked what he was preparing to tell the war crimes court.

"Before execution, [Duch and S-21 deputy chief ‘Hor'] asked me ‘absolutely or not?' In respect of Angkar ... I answered, ‘absolutely'. If I didn't answer with this, they would kill me," he said, referring to Duch's alleged revolutionary commitment to executions.

He added that during a reenactment at Choeung Ek in 2008, Duch denied in front of judges that he ordered Him Huy to kill people.

Over the course of Duch's trial thus far, judges have only heard questions relating to the operation of a previous secret detention camp, M-13, which Duch also headed. Although M-13 falls outside the court's limited temporal jurisdiction, it was believed to be important in establishing his role in the regime.

Judges are now expected to call on witnesses to describe how S-21 was established and how it functioned, including how prisoners were taken to the Choeung Ek killing fields for execution, a central policy of the ultra-Maoist regime.

Those expected to be called on include three living survivors of the prison, who are likely to be pivotal in determining the validity of Duch's defence, which positions him as a scapegoat who was only following orders. Another, Nhem En, was responsible for taking photos of the detainees shortly before they were killed.

"To survive, we had to respect the orders of Angkar. My life and my destiny belonged to Angkar. Angkar could smash [kill] me any time that he needed to," Nhem En told the Post.

According to a Radio France Internationale broadcast Saturday, Australia has released over US$400,000 worth of donations to the Cambodian side of the court, which has suffered a budget shortfall since donor funding was frozen last July following graft allegations. Embassy officials were unavailable for comment Sunday, but court spokesperson Reach Sambath said, "If it is true, we appreciate their commitment."

Cambodia faces alien threat

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
Cambodia’s alien invader - the mimosa pigra, or giant mimosa, a thorny plant originally from the Amazon jungle - growing by a roadside in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district.

ORIGINS IN SE ASIA
The giant mimosa and its seeds probably floated down the rivers from Thailand in the 1980s, according to Robert van Zalinge at WCS, meaning the plant is not Vietnamese as its colloquial Cambodian name would suggest.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Christopher Shay and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Monday, 20 April 2009

An invasive plant species from the Amazon jungle is threatening Cambodia's biodiversity as well as costing farmers and fishermen lots of time and money

AN alien has invaded Cambodia and taken over large swaths of land, threatening the Kingdom's ecosystem, and it appears the uninvited guest is here to stay.

The alien threat is the mimosa pigra, or giant mimosa, a thorny plant originally from the Amazon jungle that is out-competing Cambodia's indigenous plants and putting the country's biodiversity at risk. It is also costing Cambodian farmers and fishermen time and money.

"It's a very strong, hardy plant. It can tolerate flooding, and it can tolerate dry [conditions]," Robert van Zalinge at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said.

Taking over flooded plains that have been cleared of natural vegetation, the giant mimosa forms dense, homogenous stands, says Chai-Aing Sopharith, the ecotourist manager at Osmose, an NGO that operates around the Tonle Sap.

Neou Bonheur, the deputy secretary general at the Tonle Sap Basin Authority, said that though studies have tended to be small, it's clear the giant mimosa problem has spread across the entire Kingdom.

Despite the threat, Long Kheng, the core area director of the Tonle Sap Conservation Project, said that at the moment, "we don't have any program to control the invasive species".

The alien plant has made only small incursions into the most biologically diverse areas around the lake, but according to Long Kheng, it still poses a serious ecological threat.

"If we don't take action, the mimosa pigra will destroy the ecosystem of the area," he said.

The rapacious plant threatens 20 percent of the Tonle Sap flood area - a "huge area", said Zalinge.

The plant has already become the bane of Cambodian farmers, who spend money and labour clearing their plots of the plant.

Srey Kong Bunna, 37, a farmer from Phsa Krom in Kampong Chhnang, said that he regularly chopped down the plant and even tried burning the plants down, but nothing has stopped it from reappearing.

"I pay at least 100,000 riels (US$25) every year to clear the giant mimosa from my small rice crop," Srey Kong Bunna said.

The giant mimosa can survive floods and fires, and can grow back from its root system, said Neou Bonheur.

It's not just the farmers who worry about the giant mimosa infestation. Fishermen fear the plant as well.

"We worry that we won't be able to catch fish in the future because the giant mimosa grows in our lake," Srey Kong Bunna said, adding that fish refuse to spawn in areas with a giant mimosa infestation.

There have been no comprehensive studies on the economic effects of the plant on Cambodia's fish stock, but fishermen, conservation groups and scientists agree the plant has a serious negative impact.

"You can imagine that vast homogenous stands - especially of a thorny species that doesn't provide much food - will be avoided by fish," said Zalinge.

There are a few ways to combat an invasive species, but they all take money and political will - both things the Kingdom is lacking at the moment, Zalinge said.

In Australia, biocontrol - the introduction of a predator of the invasive species - has been used against the giant mimosa with some success, but the initial costs required to ensure that the new alien pest will not also damage the ecosystem are very high. But as Zalinge points out, "It's a lot of work initially but once it's released, it works for free."

Manual removal has also been used effectively in Vietnam in small areas, and the WCS recommends this technique for the Tonle Sap core area where the infestation is still scattered.

There is also a Minnesota-based chemical company, MSK International Chemical, started by a Cambodian refugee, that claims to have a comprehensive plan to deal with the giant mimosa in Cambodia.

The active ingredient of the company's chemical, triclopyr - approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency for use in aquatic areas - "does not affect human health", according to Darith Sokchan, the deputy director of Mincam Cambodia, the company that imports the chemical from the US.

By using aerial photography and mapping software to prioritise treatment combined with proper training of sprayers, MSK Chemical thinks it can control the plant.

But Zalinge at WCS stressed that the most effective way of slowing the plant's spread was to protect the natural vegetation in sensitive areas and says that if native species are replanted after the giant mimosa has been removed, then perhaps they could better compete with the invasive mimosa.

With a combination of techniques to battle the invader, Preap Visarto, the deputy director of plant protection at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said Cambodia could become a more productive nation, liberating its farms and fisheries from the menace. But, he said, the Kingdom simply does not have the funds.

And if the money does not arrive, Zalinge predicted that "the worst is still to come".

29 arrested for assault on Thai border casino

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Khouth Sophakchakrya
Monday, 20 April 2009

AT least 29 Battambang villagers were arrested and charged with destroying public and private property and assaulting police during clashes along the Cambodian-Thai border on the first day of the Khmer New Year holiday, a court official said.

Sar Yousthavrak, chief prosecutor at Battambang's provincial court, said Sunday the villagers were arrested Tuesday while they fought with police and attacked a Thai-owned casino near the border in Kamrieng district's Boeung Raing commune.

"We detained them in Battambang prison on Friday and are awaiting an investigation," he said Sunday.

He added that the villagers, responding to the reported beatings of two Cambodians inside Thailand, had caused serious injuries to two police officers during the clashes, in addition to vandalising a Military Police car and hurling rocks at the Sranasie casino, reportedly owned by a Thai businessman.

New Year gone wrong
Battambang police chief Sar Theth said that fighting started during a New Year's dance, leading to the attack on the casino early Tuesday morning. He said as many as 60 people threw stones at the facade of the main building and at police brought in to quell the violence.

Police arrested 44 people on the spot, but 15 people were later released when it was found they were innocent of wrongdoing, he added.

"Now we will arrest some more of the inciters of the attack in order to send them to court," Sar Theth said.

Nam Mech, 32, a villager in Kamrieng district's Doung village, told the Post that the villagers who attacked the casino numbered more than 60 and tried to force their way across the Doung border crossing armed with rocks and wooden branches.

But he said the group was turned back by police and Military Police armed with guns and electric tasers.

"I and other villagers are very nervous because we have never seen this kind of riot before," he said.

Pol Pot's shoes, S-21 cameras up for sale

The Phnom Penh Post

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Sam Rith
Monday, 20 April 2009

FORMER Tuol Sleng prison photographer Nhem En has made an open call for offers on two of his cameras and a pair of Pol Pot's shoes to fund a museum in his hometown, the former communist stronghold Anlong Veng.

"I would like to call on both national and international, private and state companies to start bidding on a pair of Pol Pot's shoes and two cameras for the [starting] price of US$500,000," Nhem En, now deputy governor of Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province, said Sunday.

He said he used the cameras, one German and one Chinese, to photograph prisoners at Tuol Sleng before their death, which are now viewed by tourists visiting the genocide museum. He added that the cameras shot about 80 percent of S-21's pictures, which is why he set the starting price so high.

"Right now, I do not have enough money to continue setting up my museum. That's why I decided to offer a pair of Pol Pot's shoes and two cameras for auction," he said.

Nhem En said he will hold a news conference soon to announce details of the sale.

The ex-cadre has struggled to finance his museum despite numerous calls for donations. So far, he says, he has spent about $200,000 on buying and clearing some 50 hectares of land.

Nhem En says the museum, if it's built, will showcase items and photos from the Khmer Rouge era, including a walking stick owned by deceased former leader Ta Mok.

Auctioning history
Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said it was Nhem En's individual right to sell the items, as they were his own private property. However, he questioned the merit of having the items in the private sphere, as opposed to in a museum.

"It does not matter [if Nhem En sells the items], but I think it would be better to keep the cameras and the shoes in a museum to show the younger generation," he said. "If Tuol Sleng museum is able, it should request to keep the items there. Once things are put on auction, you do not know where they will end up."

Him Chhem, minister of culture and fine arts, said he had not yet been informed about the sale but said he would find out whether the items were the rightful property of Nhem En.

Sweet success for Phnong honey

Photo by: CHRISTOPHER SHAY
Flowers like these on a hillside in Mondulkiri on Friday attract the province's wild bees.

The Phnom Penh Post

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Khouth Sophakchakrya
Monday, 20 April 2009

Hoping to improve the living standards of Mondulkiri’s Phnong minority, a conservation group has set up a project to boost quality of the province’s wild honey and sell it overseas

APRIL is peak season for honey production in Mondulkiri, and a wildlife NGO hopes that the sweet nectar could provide a new, sustainable livelihood for the province's Phnong minority.

Honey from wild bees in the protected areas of Mondulkiri has the potential to attract both national and international customers, and with rising prices Mondulkiri's Phnong minority - given a little training and marketing - are well situated to take advantage, the conservation group WWF said..

"This year, the price of wild honey in the local market doubled compared to last year," said Seng Teak, country director for WWF, adding that it now sells for upwards of 20,000 riels (US$4.88) per litre at local markets.

Even though the Phnong in Mondulkiri's Krang Teh and Pou Chrey communes already collect more than 1,000 litres of wild honey a year, Seng Teak says it still does not come close to meeting demand.

"Now, the Phnong will set up bee farms in their community forests to increase the amount of wild honey produced to meet market demand," he said.

But in order for Mondulkiri honey to succeed internationally, it needs to maintain a consistent standard that differentiates itself from other honey products in the region.

Femy Pinto, the country facilitator for the Non-Timber Forest Product-Exchange Program (NTFP-EP), said that Mondulkiri honey "can achieve a competitive advantage if it is a sustainably harvested, quality product".

NTFP-EP, with financial support from WWF, have been training Phnong in two communes to raise wild bees and collect honey products hygienically as well as help package the product to international standards.

"We have been motivating the communities to process wild honey and to maintain the intimate relationship between people, forests and the non-timber forest products," Amy Maling, a WWF technical adviser, said.

Tep Asnarith, the senior communications officer at WWF in Cambodia, said this pilot project's efforts have strengthened the relationships between supporting organisations, Phnong communities and government partners, hopefully setting the foundation for a long-term, successful project.

The project has already seen many Phnong taste the sweet success of a commercial hit.

"Many hundreds of litres of wild honey products have been packaged up to standard for export to regional markets," he said.

Relocation site to get funds for clean water

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by May Titthara
Monday, 20 April 2009

New international funds will allow Andong village to be linked up to city water mains

RESIDENTS of Dangkor district's Andong village are to get access to clean water after the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF) pledged €200,000 (US$261,161) to the Phnom Penh Municipality to upgrade the area's water mains, officials said last week.

The funds were pledged in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 26-27 during the 65th meeting of AIMF, an international body of French-speaking countries. Ten cities in seven countries were approved to receive money aimed at improving access to potable water.

Andong is home to some 6,000 families, most of whom were evicted from Tonle Bassac commune's Sambok Chab community in June 2006. Promised plots of land at the site in compensation, the community has lived without access to basic services for years.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said AIMF had pledged the funds to extend clean water to Andong village, and that construction was slated to begin once the funds were received in October.

"Of Phnom Penh's eight districts, four districts in the city have 100 percent access to clean water and four districts on the outskirts have about 70 percent [access]," he said Sunday.

Relocation site to get funds for clean water

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by May Titthara
Monday, 20 April 2009

New international funds will allow Andong village to be linked up to city water mains

RESIDENTS of Dangkor district's Andong village are to get access to clean water after the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF) pledged €200,000 (US$261,161) to the Phnom Penh Municipality to upgrade the area's water mains, officials said last week.

The funds were pledged in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 26-27 during the 65th meeting of AIMF, an international body of French-speaking countries. Ten cities in seven countries were approved to receive money aimed at improving access to potable water.

Andong is home to some 6,000 families, most of whom were evicted from Tonle Bassac commune's Sambok Chab community in June 2006. Promised plots of land at the site in compensation, the community has lived without access to basic services for years.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said AIMF had pledged the funds to extend clean water to Andong village, and that construction was slated to begin once the funds were received in October.

"Of Phnom Penh's eight districts, four districts in the city have 100 percent access to clean water and four districts on the outskirts have about 70 percent [access]," he said Sunday.

New Year's blessings

AFP/TANG CHHIN SOTHY

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by AFP/TANG CHHIN SOTHY
Monday, 20 April 2009

Buddhist monks throw holy water over a crowd of New Year's revellers during the last day of the Khmer New Year celebration at a pagoda in Ksach Kandal district in Kandal province on Thursday.

Rubber sector slows

Photo by: Christopher Shay
Newly planted rubber trees in Mondulkiri province. Fewer trees are being planted as rubber prices fall.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Chun Sophal
Monday, 20 April 2009

Falling international rubber prices are leading to a sharp drop in cultivation, putting govt production targets at risk

Expansion of Cambodia's rubber cultivation will lose momentum by an estimated 61 percent in 2009 year-on-year, according to new government figures.

Ly Phalla, director general of the Rubber Plantation Department, told the Post Sunday that an additional 10,000 hectares of rubber trees would be planted in 2009 compared with an increase of 25,901 hectares in 2008.

"Looking at seedlings, I believe that plantations this year will not increase as much as last year," said Ly Phalla.

In 2008, Cambodia had 107,901 hectares under cultivation, up 31 percent on a total 82,000 hectares in 2007.

The expected decline comes as international rubber prices hit US$1,400 per tonne, down from $3,500 per tonne in 2008, according a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Lower automobile sales and rising stockpiles in China have contributed to sinking global rubber prices.

Ly Phalla said that lower international rubber prices and the global financial crisis are putting pressure on Cambodian farmers but that the decrease had not affected the national plan to cultivate 150,000 hectares by 2015.

"I think that the cultivation of rubber trees will increase again in 2010 as more trees are planted in western and northern provinces," Ly Phalla said.

Hak Vantha, a farmer from Chamkar Leu district of Kampong Cham province, who owns 20 hectares of rubber, said the slowdown was causing him to reconsider plans to plant more trees.

"I have 11 hectares of banana farm land, but I cannot cut down the banana trees to grow rubber trees because the rubber price is still not good," Vantha said. "I may cut down the banana [trees] to grow rubber next year if prices increase," said Hak Vantha.

Ly Phalla said that the slowdown has put some rubber planting projects in doubt.

"What we can see now is that some companies are attempting to cancel their rubber plantation development plans because they have difficulty raising money from banks," he said.

Nationwide, 8,205 hectares of rubber are grown under land concessions.

Another 45,469 hectares are grown on state land cultivated by private companies, and 4,041 hectares are grown under international development projects.

The remaining 50,186 hectares are grown by families.

Despite the slowdown, a $100 million plantation deal was signed this month, between the Khaou Chuly Group and the French company Socfina, to plant 20,000 hectares of rubber trees by 2010.

Plans made to help food standards

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by May Kunmakara
Monday, 20 April 2009

Govt holds talks with Chinese on new facility

THE government has appealed to China to provide funds and advisers to build a new food inspection laboratory to improve quality standards for export goods, it said.

Meng Saktheara, director general of the Industry Department at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) told the Post that the proposal was made by the minister, Suy Sem, when he met with Chinese delegates last week.

"Now, most of our local business operators produce goods without any quality checks, so if we build a new laboratory we can improve the quality of our local goods for export," he said.

The ministry's existing laboratory is ill-equipped to serve the needs of the Cambodian market, said Meng Saktheara.

He said that the new laboratory would help the government to maximise the impact of relevant legislation.

"When we have better equipment, the ministry will be able to enforce existing quality control laws," he said.

"This does not mean we will force them to check their products; we only want to make it easier for them to get recognised internationally for export," he added.

Chhorn Ravuth, manager of a local palm-wine producer, said he supported the ministry's directive to improve the quality of Cambodian products.

"If the ministry can do this, it will help make users trust our products more and to increase exports," he said.

FTB launches biometric ATMs

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

FTB ATMs will soon feature biometric technology.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by May Kunmakara and Steve Finch
Monday, 20 April 2009

Foreign Trade Bank teams up with Indian IT company Opus Software Solutions to install Cambodia’s first ATMs that use fingerprint and voice-recognition technology

CAMBODIA'S first biometric ATM service has been launched by the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), according to a press release last week by ElectraCard Services, the Indian company responsible for the technology.

The ElectraSWITCH system, designed to improve ATM security, will feature fingerprint-recognition technology and voice-instruction equipment, Thursday's statement added.

"A large number of our customers are still not technology-savvy enough to use ATM machines themselves. Handing over their own cards and sharing their PIN numbers with a friend or a relative to withdraw cash from ATMs are commonly found cases," Gui Anvanith, general manager and board member of the FTB, said in the press release.

The bank said that the new technology would also help to prevent fraud while making banking quicker and easier for customers given that personal identification numbers would no longer be required.

"Biometric ATMs are the way of the future," said Ramesh Mengawade, CEO of ElectraCard Services.

The press release added that FTB and ElectraCard Services - a wholly owned subsidiary of India's Opus Software Solutions - would be working together in the future to develop further banking products including prepaid credit cards.

The two companies have previously collaborated to develop the technology to support FTB's credit cards, the statement said.

The FTB was not available for further comment on Sunday.

Other Cambodian banks said they had no plans to follow FTB's lead.

Cheam Teang, ACLEDA Bank's executive vice president, chief of treasury and international cooperation officer, said on Sunday his bank did not see the benefit to customer satisfaction that such a system might provide.

"It is a little hard for customers when they want to have their own password; they could only use their thumbprint, so if they needed to change a password, they will need to come back to us [the bank]," he said.

Tal Nay Im, director general of the National Bank of Cambodia, was unavailable for comment on the development on Sunday.

FTB, Cambodia's first bank to be created after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, has existed as an independent entity of the NBC since 2000, when the central bank sold its controlling stake.

More of the same

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Trevor Keidan
Monday, 20 April 2009

Investors may have to wait for global markets to recover

The recent G20 summit was touted as a "make or break" effort to rescue the world's flagging economy, and US President Barrack Obama even called the meeting "historic".

But what difference has the event - which was attended by a group of 20 of the world's leaders - really made to ordinary people like you and me?

And, now that the summit in London is over, what action should we choose to take following its many discussions?

To begin with, we need to ask if the strategies proposed by world leaders would actually do anything to improve the global financial outlook. And on this particular point there appears to be huge differences of opinion.

In an interview on a business news program shortly after the summit had concluded, one pundit appeared to infer that the G20 summit would have some positive results but there would still be "a lot of crunch and not much credit" when it comes to the world's financial markets.

Nevertheless, almost immediately after the summit the world's stock markets staged a rally - this was in the wake of the announcement that world leaders had pledged a total of US$1.1 trillion in funding to tackle the global financial crisis. (This included $750 billion to be donated to the International Monetary Fund, $250 billion to assist global trade and $100 billion to be made available for loans to some of the world's poorest countries.)

The $1.1 trillion pledge was considered a massive amount and one that had the world's media talking for days after the actual summit had concluded.

For some - especially those under the impression that the global financial crisis is being caused by a lack of confidence in the world's institutions - it was considered a very big deal.

In the aftermath of the summit, there appeared to be a lot of talk as to whether the market had actually bottomed out and whether those all important "green shoots" had started to appear.

But almost as soon as the television commentators started talking about "signs of economic recovery", the market once again took a turn for the worse.

So, despite the fact that the summit did provide some welcome respite, it was not enough to cancel out the bad news that many were expecting to hear during "earnings season" - the reporting season that actually started in the middle of last week and continues into next.

Right across the globe, company results are expected to be poor and so are their outlooks.

The markets are already reacting to the dire forecasts and have factored in the losses even before results are announced. Accordingly, the markets have already lost some of the gains they had previously made.

So what can we expect after the G20 summit?

For the time being it appears that the volatility that has plagued the markets throughout last year and into 2009 is here to stay.

So, with this in mind, what should we as investors do?

Probably the best advice is to continue to "drip feed" investments on a monthly basis to take advantage of US dollar cost averaging. By investing a set amount each month we are able to take advantage of market fluctuations.

Dollar cost averaging allows us to buy more units or shares when the market is down and less when the market is high.

By taking this approach we protect ourselves from the wild swings that look set to continue as a result of the global financial crisis, a situation that is likely to impact financial markets for some time.
_______________________________________
Trevor Keidan is managing director of
Infinity Financial Solutions. Should you
wish to contact Trevor please email tkeidan@infinsolutions.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Powered by adrenaline

Photo by: MARK ROY

Motorcycle enthusiast Saraboth Ea (Lee) says the popularity of sport bikes in Cambodia is increasing.

Photo by: MARK ROY
To Kimdarith and Shi Tha take off on their 600cc sport bikes at a secret location outside Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Mark Roy
Monday, 20 April 2009

Phnom Penh’s motorcycle enthusiasts – brought together by love of adrenaline and speed – put their bikes and courage to the test last week at a secret location

Motorcycle enthusiast Goh pulls down his visor and settles into his seat. Ahead of him lies a 3-kilometre stretch of empty concrete runway. On either side of Goh's bright yellow Yamaha R1, a handful of other 1000cc sports motorbike riders are also revved up and ready to go.

They are just some of around 35 motorcycle enthusiasts who rode 90 kilometres out of Phnom Penh last week to where they could safely put their bikes through their paces.

The aptly named Goh gives the throttle a quick twist and feels the quick response of the 180-horsepower race engine. He drops the clutch.

Three seconds later, he is travelling at more than 100 kilometres per hour and soon after clocks the top speed for the day: 299 kph - a fraction under Yamaha's factory-listed top speed of 300 kph.

"It was exciting - my heart was jumping," Goh said smiling.

It is this love of adrenaline and speed that brought the group together.

The sport riders meet up regularly in Phnom Penh, getting together in the evenings at Independence Monument and going for road trips to the provinces on weekends.

One of the organisers of the day's race, Saraboth Ea - or Lee as he is better known - said riding a sport bike was all about connecting with the surroundings.

"A large part of it is just being with friends, the camaraderie," Lee said. "But when you ride, it is just you and the bike. It's all about the road, the speed and the adrenaline."

Lee said in the past couple of months the number of riders in the group has doubled, with more big motorbikes appearing on the scene.

"When we first started a year ago, there were maybe five sport bikes," he said. "Now I would estimate there are about 50 to 60 bikes like this in the country, and people are moving up from 250cc road bikes to 600s."

He said the loosely affiliated group is now looking to form a motorsport club.

"This is the first wave, the first stage in the evolution of riders in Cambodia," he said.

"Our vision is to make this country a premier destination for motorbike enthusiasts and for sport bike riders in the region."

He said one reason why sport bikes had not been popular in Cambodia in the past was due to a lack of awareness about the machines.

Social mission
Another big problem faced by fans of imported sport bikes is a lack of local mechanics who can tune, maintain and repair these highly specialised motorcycles.

But Lee is already looking for a solution - one that will have a positive spin-off for more than just the motorcycle owners.

"This is our first organised ride, but if it is successful we will look at ways of raising money for vocational training for at-risk youth," Lee said.

"We don't have the people with the right skills here to fix these bikes, so we are working with the bike manufacturers to get some mechanics here to teach the master mechanics in Cambodia."

For the organisers of the bike run, promoting safety is a paramount consideration.

Organiser Arunan Permal laid down the rules to those gathered at Independence Monument for the long ride to the runway last week.

"Rule number one: no speeding," he said. "Number two: no overtaking. Number three: turn on your lights. Number four: signal."

But once away from the cars, trucks and cows of the Cambodian highways, the riders regularly put in runs at speeds above 250 kph, testing both mettle and machine in a controlled environment.

The only female rider at the informal race meeting, Jocelyn Roberts, described how it feels to fly along the dragstrip at 257 kph.

"I was not really thinking about anything, just seeing how close to the gas tank I could possibly get," Roberts said.

"The closer you are to the bike, the less speed you feel because there is less friction."

She shrugged as a slow smile spread across her face. "You basically feel like a rocket."

Everything for nothing as fighters draw bout

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Robert Starkweather
Monday, 20 April 2009

Kao Roomchang battled to a draw against Pich Seyha on opening night at new TV5 boxing arena in Takhmao Friday

After nearly getting knocked out in the third round, Kao Roomchang brawled his way back to score a draw against Pich Seyha on Friday in the inaugural fight card at the new TV5 boxing arena in Takhmao.

"I thought I won," Kao Roomchang said after the fight, changing in the new arena's air-conditioned dressing room.

Fighting at 65 kilograms, Battambang's Kao Roomchang was standing in for injured May Sopheap, who pulled out of the fight Sunday citing heart problems.

Working off a simple left-jab, right-knee combination, Pich Seyha appeared to have Kao Roomchang in trouble during the final minute of the third round.

But Kao Roomchang refused to go down.

The push began in the final seconds of round two when 20-year-old Pich Seyha of Takeo province caught Kao Roomchang with two jab-knee combinations that knocked the Battambang fighter onto the ropes.

Picking up where he left off in round two, Pich Seyha began round three using a stiff left jab to create openings and land knees.

The technique worked not only as an offence tool. By the middle of the round, Pich Seyha was landing the straight knee as an effective counter to Kao Roomchang's arching overhand right.

As 21-year-old Kao Roomchang lunged forward with the haymakers, Pich Seyha drove a knee into his gut. Toward the end of the round, and a dozen or more knees later, Kao Roomchang looked ready to crumble.

By then Pich Seyha (31-3-2) was loading up on punches and picking his shots, but the bell rang and Kao Roomchang (23-4-2) escaped.

"I thought I had him with the knees," Pich Seyha said afterwards.

But Pich Seyha did not have him, and chasing the knockout did not come without cost - Pich Seyha started fading in the fourth round, looking tired and vulnerable at times.

Kao Roomchang, a hard-charging brawler with knockout power and a ferocious fighting style, continued to put everything he had behind every punch thrown.

He landed hard roundhouse kicks and started connecting with the big overhand rights. In the middle of the fourth, he found the mark with a couple of elbows, both times freezing Pich Seyha and sending sweat flying into the sticky arena air.

Pich Seyha fatigued
With a minute left in the fourth round, Kao Roomchang threw Pich Seyha to the canvas from the clinch. Pich Seyha struggled to his knees and showed so much trouble climbing to his feet that for a fleeting moment it appeared as though he may not get up.

But get up he did, marching straight back to centre ring where he continued to slug with Kao Roomchang until the sound of the bell.

The packed house screamed with delight, shaking the arena's concrete walls.

When the bell rang to open the final round, the pair stood briefly at centre ring and traded a flurry of knees, kicks and elbows. Fatigue, however, quickly caught up with both men, and as the pace slowed and the closing minutes ticked away, both boxers fought desperately to win the round.

Kao Roomchang jumped onto the ropes and pumped a victory fist into the air after the final bell rang with the crowd roaring with approval. However, judges at ringside were not nearly so certain.

"That was everything I had," said an exhausted Pich Seyha after the fight.

When ring announcer Kim Lawe called the fight a draw, Kao Roomchang winced in pain. Pich Seyha's face went blank, then he laughed.

Everything had been for nothing.

The Phnom Penh Post News In Briefs

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

In Brief: Nuon Soriya shows class

Written by ROBERT STARKWEATHER
Monday, 20 April 2009

PHNOM PEHN - Nuon Soriya predictably outclassed Club Ei Phouthong fighter Sol Say to pick up an easy points victory Sunday at TV5. Looking more like trainer and student than two boxing equals, Nuon Soriya took total control of the fight from the opening bell, scoring at will and remaining virtually unhittable through five rounds.


In Brief: Siem Reap Airways still on blacklist

Written by Kay Kimsong
Monday, 20 April 2009

Siem Reap Airways International will remain on The European Commission's international black list, said the government Sunday. "We have not cleared up problems relating to some documentation," said Him Sarun, chief of Cabinet for the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation. Siem Reap Airways is owned by Thailand's Bangkok Airways International. He said that Bangkok Airways is planning to bring an aircraft to Cambodia, but that authorities were not sure when.


In Brief: Band works with NGO to save Nature

Written by Christopher Shay
Monday, 20 April 2009

Dengue Fever, a rock band fronted by Cambodian-American singer Chhom Nimol, has partnered with the environmental organisation Wildlife Alliance to help conserve Cambodia's threatened flora and fauna. Last week - in addition to releasing the soundtrack to a documentary about the band - Dengue Fever kicked off the partnership at a show in Virginia. "We want to preserve Cambodia's rich cultural heritage, just like Wildlife Alliance is working to protect Cambodia wildlife species and forests," Dengue Fever guitarist Zac Holtzman said in a press release. The band and Wildlife Alliance hope to work together to hold benefit concerts, release charity remixes and make online commercials about conservation in Cambodia, the press release said.


News Brief: Anti-malarial price to drop

Written by Sam Rith
Monday, 20 April 2009

Cambodia is among 11 nations set to benefit from a US$225 million anti-malarial fund launched in Oslo on Friday by Roll-Back Malaria, a public private partnership that includes UNICEF, the World Bank, private donors and various national governments. The fund will cut the cost of drugs for resistant malarial strains from $6-$10 to between $0.20 and $0.50 through international subsidies and negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. Cambodia and the 10 African nations selected are among the worst nations affected by malaria, a disease that is estimated to kill 2,000 children a day worldwide.

Giant stingray could be worlds biggest

The stingray caught by the Megafishes Project team, which is conducting an expedition to tag freshwater fishes in southeast Asia

Labnews.co.uk
http://www.labnews.co.uk/

As part of an exhibition to explore the freshwater fish of southeast Asia - scientists caught what could be the world’s biggest stingray.

The fish was tagged and released in central Thailand during the National Geographic expedition, which seeks to find and protect specimens of the world's largest freshwater fish.

Conservation biologist and the lead researcher on the expedition, Zeb Hogan of the University of Nevada Hogan said: "In terms of disk width, this is the second largest stingray I’ve seen, the largest was in Cambodia in 2003. This recent fish was very thick, so it may have weighed more."

"It's clear that this species of giant freshwater stingray has the potential to be the largest freshwater fish in the world," Hogan said. The current record holder for world’s largest freshwater fish is a 646lb Mekong giant catfish caught by fishermen in northern Thailand in 2005.

Hogan, along with his team of researchers and anglers on site at the time of capture, approximate the fish’s weight to be between 550 and 770lbs. An even slightly larger fish than the one tagged would almost certainly be a world record freshwater fish, said Hogan.

Freshwater giant stingrays are among the largest of the approximately 200 species of rays. They can be found in a handful of rivers in Southeast Asia and northern Australia.

After the first catch, the researchers encountered the stingray again, 4 km away from where they initially caught it. "Surprisingly, we caught the stingray again four weeks later," Hogan said. The find could mean that the ray population is smaller, or less migratory, than originally believed.

Biologists continue to track the big fish’s movements using an array of underwater listening devices designed to detect tagged fish. Hogan and his team have tagged 18 of this species of stingrays (Himantura chaophraya) as part of the recently established research project on the stingray in central Thailand for the University of Nevada, Reno, the Thai Department of Fisheries, the sport-fishing company Fishsiam and the National Geographic Society sponsored Megafishes Project.

Thailand's Thaksin to take refuge in Nicaragua?

Submitted by WW4 Report on Sat, 04/18/2009

Nicaragua has issued a passport for Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai authorities have verified. The document allows Thaksin—wanted in Thailand on charges of inciting the recent political riots—to travel internationally. His previous passport had been revoked, and he is currently in hiding. During the protests, he hopped from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Dubai and Cambodia in his private jet, issuing video messages to his followers. The Thai ambassador to Mexico met with the Nicaraguan ambassador to that nation April 17, to convey the message that Thai government does not wish to see Thaksin using any country as an off-shore base to destabilise the Kingdom. The Thai ambassador also requested Nicaragua extradite Thaksin, although Thailand and Nicaragua have no extradition treaty. (Electric News Paper, Singapore, April 19; Thai News Agency, April 17)

Meanwhile, in a sign of Nicaragua's own potential for renewed political violence, the country's Prosecutor General Hernan Estrada, a close ally of President Daniel Ortega, was grazed by bullets when a gunman on a motorcycle fired at him near his home in Managua April 6. "This was a criminal act," Nicaragua's National Police chief Aminta Granera said (rather obviously). Speaking at a press conference where he was flanked by Estrada, who was briefly treated at a hospital, Granera blamed "some religious leaders" and "some media outlets" for inciting violence against Ortega. (Reuters, April 6)

Student investment aids projects at home and abroad

On Friday, Mount Madonna School students gave school officials a check for $800 money they earned through a class project to benefit the school’s campaign to build a new multi-purpose gymnasium

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Sentinel staff report
Posted: 04/19/2009

WATSONVILLE -- The nearly $1,000 Mount Madonna School fifth-graders raised last year traveled to Azerbaijan to support a dairy farm, to Cambodia to get a transportation project up and running, to Mexico to jump-start an embroidery business and to Nicaragua to help a pig farmer.

Now the cash has come home.

Friday, the now sixth-graders donated $800 they received back from repaid micro loans to their school's campaign to fund construction of a gym.

"After we were repaid by the people we'd made loans to in other parts of the world, we thought it would be nice if we could use the money to help ... our own community," said sixth-grader Zoe Kelly.

The students raised the money last year through sales of a DVD detailing their research into waste reduction and environmental pollution. They invested the proceeds in several loans, ranging from $25 to $125 each, through Kiva, www.kiva.org, an organization which connects lenders with startup entrepreneurs in developing countries to help end poverty.

Return of cambodian artefacts delayed

THE NATION

Published on April 20, 2009

Due to recent domestic difficulties, Thailand has postponed the repatriation of seven smuggled artefacts to Cambodia.

"The Thai Cabinet will reschedule the return on a later date," Kriengkrai Sampatchalit, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, said yesterday.

Six of the artefacts were due to be sent back with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's one-day visit to Cambodia scheduled for last Saturday.

However, after the Asean Summit with dialogue partners in Pattaya collapsed on April 11 and rioting erupted in Bangkok on the following two days, foreign trips were cancelled.

The Foreign Ministry has already informed Cambodia of the decision, Kriengkrai said.

The seven ancient relics, including the one presented to the Cambodian prime minister in a formal hand-over ceremony in Pattaya on April 10, were still under the department's supervision, he said.

"We have given them proper care," he said.

Six of the pieces are asura (demon) heads while the other one is in the form of deva (angel) head.

Although the treasures have not yet been delivered, their planned homecoming has already warmed frosty ties between the two neighbours.

"The relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been improving since April 10," he said. "Officials and agencies from the two countries are expected to agree on many forms of cooperation soon."

Cambodia intends to submit more documentation to claim 36 other historic objects seized in Thailand.

"As soon as the evidence arrives, we'll work on it," he said.

Rock Band Dengue Fever and Wildlife Alliance Partner to Preserve Cambodia’s Natural Heritage

(www.myspace.com/denguefevermusic) and the non-profit environmental organization Wildlife Alliance (www.wildlifealliance.org) are pleased to announce the launch of a partnership to preserve Cambodia’s natural heritage, including threatened populations of tigers, Asian elephants, and some of the largest tracts of rainforest remaining in Asia.

“We share a common vision,” said Dengue Fever guitarist Zac Holtzman. “We want to preserve Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage, just like Wildlife Alliance is working to protect Cambodia’s wildlife species and forests. By rescuing and caring for wildlife species victimized by illegal trade, preserving habitat and educating and creating jobs for Cambodians, Wildlife Alliance’s work is vital to preserving Cambodia’s natural legacy for future generations.”

“We hope that this partnership will help all of us who strive to save Cambodia’s unique heritage,” said Wildlife Alliance’s Director of U.S. Operations, Michael Zwirn. “Fans of Dengue Fever are naturally drawn to the artistic history of Cambodia, and we want to inform them how they can be involved in saving the country’s wildlife and forests alongside its cultural treasures.”

The partnership officially kicks off at the State Theater in Falls Church, VA on Friday, April 17, 2009 during Dengue Fever’s North American spring tour. While Dengue Fever perform, Wildlife Alliance will work a booth set up at the venue and educate and inform fans about Cambodian conservation.

Future goals of the partnership include benefit concerts, charity remixes, online commercials, and cross marketing on social networking sites and websites.

Dengue Fever began when keyboardist Ethan Holtzman discovered the traditional Cambodian pop music of the 60’s on a trip to Cambodia. Along with lead singer Chhom Nimol, bassist Senon Williams, drummer Paul Smith and David Ralicke on horns, the band perform updated versions of classic Cambodian pop songs as well as a wide variety of new compositions. Since forming in Los Angeles, Dengue Fever has released three acclaimed albums, toured around the globe, and seen increasing attention from Pitchfork Media, the New York Times, National Public Radio and other media. The band’s third release, Venus On Earth, was selected as one of the best world music records of 2008 by the iTunes Store while Escape From Dragon House was named Amazon’s Best International Release of 2005.

In the documentary film Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, out April 14 on DVD/CD soundtrack via M80 Music, Dengue Fever performs their music in Cambodia as the first Western band to perform Cambodian Khmer rock since the fall of the Khmer Rouge.

Here or in Cambodia, one marriage at a time

THE EDGE

By Gerald Nissenbaum
Sunday, April 19, 2009

Q. I was born in Cambodia and brought to the United States as a child.

I married a U.S. citizen, whom I’ll call Robert. Soon after, I met a man, whom I’ll call Joe, who is also from Cambodia. He asked me to marry him, knowing I wasn’t divorced from Robert. Joe told me that in Cambodia, a man or a woman could have more than one spouse.

So we went to Cambodia, where an elder of his tribe performed a marriage ceremony, after which we returned to live in Massachusetts, where we had two children.

Now Joe has moved out. He claims our marriage isn’t valid because I was and still am married to Robert, so I can’t get any alimony or equitable distribution.

Is he right?

- D.D., West Brookfield

A. In 1982 the Cambodian National Assembly and the Council of the State of the People’s Republic of Cambodia, similar to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, passed Decree No. 04 Kr. Article 6 provides that a marriage is prohibited for a “person who was bound by prior marriage which is not yet dissolved.”

That’s you. Because you were still married to Robert, your tribal marriage ceremony to Joe was void from inception. Because there may be a critical fact you didn’t tell me that might lead to a different result, you should consult with a lawyer experienced in international divorce issues.

The Massachusetts court can only award you child support and, perhaps, a share of assets that you and Joe jointly acquired while you lived together.

Sometimes even a louse, like Joe, is right.

Visitation wanted

Q. I got divorced without getting visitation rights with my kids.

About a year ago, my ex-wife moved with the kids to New York.

How do I get visitation rights?

- R.R., Charlton

A. Once your kids were outside Massachusetts for six months, the commonwealth lost all power to modify visitation and custody. All other states keep that right if one parent remains in the first forum.

You need to get a certified copy of your divorce judgment from the court. Next, hire a good family law attorney in or near the city or town where your ex now lives. Then file a complaint for modification. Finally, you’ll need to prove there’s been a substantial change in circumstances since the divorce.

Gerald L. Nissenbaum has been a trial lawyer in Boston since 1967 and concentrates his practice on family law. Any legal advice in this column is general and does not establish a lawyer-client relationship. Send questions to dearjerry@bostonherald.com.

Cambodia to provide anti-mosquito nets to counter malaria

THE HINDU

Sunday, April 19, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): The Cambodian government will soon dispatch to the public 1,500 nets soaked with mosquito- killing liquid amid rising danger of malaria during the rainy season, national media said on Sunday.

The nets will be received by the local people in provinces of Battambang, Pailin, Kampot and Pursat, where malaria used to have higher infection rates than other provinces of the kingdom, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily quoted government officials as saying.

Such nets proved to be very effective in the past years to contain spread of the disease, which is mainly transmitted through biting of Tiger Mosquitoes, they said.

Two million out of the 14 million population of Cambodia face danger of malaria, and the government prepares to allocate one such net for each two persons in the rainy season, they said.

Therefore, one million nets soaked with mosquito-killing drugs will be needed this year, they added.

In 2008, some 50,000 Cambodians were infected with malaria and over 100 of them died, according to official figures.

From the archive: Problem prince in uneasy alliance with Pol Pot

TIMES ONLINE

From The Sunday Times
April 19, 2009

October 12, 1975: the symbolic head of state tells our correspondent of life in ‘year zero’ of the Khmer Rouge reign

William Shawcross

PRINCE SIHANOUK talked in the presence of a Khmer Rouge companion. He was sitting beneath a picture of himself accepting an AK-47 automatic rifle – the universal symbol of revolution – from the Khmer Rouge.

Since returning to Phnom Penh he has lived with his wife Monique in one of their old houses: “Food is brought to us every morning by the food service of the army. I have three little revolutionary cooks working for me and my aunt is teaching them cuisine. I sleep in the bed I once had made for my hero General de Gaulle. As I am very small, I am very comfortable. I just tell you this little detail for lady readers.”

Last month the Khmer Rouge agreed to let him back to Phnom Penh only after lengthy negotiations with his Chinese hosts and sponsors. Sihanouk was in Moscow in March 1970 when Marshal Lon Nol took over in a coup and he spent the next five years living in Peking.

He is something of a problem for Cambodia’s new communist rulers. His popularity in the countryside might be unsettling for them and he did once sentence them to death and secretly allow President Nixon to bomb the communist camps.

His talk gave some of the first clues about conditions in Phnom Penh since the Khmer Rouge marched into this city of 3m and emptied it of people. “The Khmer Rouge had to move them out because there was no meat, vegetables or rice,” he explains. “They had to be taken to the provinces the Khmer Rouge had liberated, where there was food for them.”

The dangers of epidemics and starvation on the forced march into the countryside he does not describe, but he believes Phnom Penh is now adjusting to its new reality.

Sihanouk confesses to an admiration for the speed with which the Khmer Rouge have radicalised the country and their plans for the capital: “Phnom Penh was a Sodom and Gomorrah under Lon Nol. Now it is spartan. No nightclubs, no bars, no taxi girls. Much calmer than before. There are no cars. Everyone walks on foot. We are creating a new society with one class, not one where some people die of overeating and others die of hunger.”

Asked if Cambodia, like North Vietnam, would demand US aid as reparations, he shouts: “We will never do so. Our blood is not to be commercialised. The US will have to pay for its crimes in the pages of history.”

“Before 1970 the free world used to call Sihanouk a dictator,” he says. “Now they are quite surprised. They don’t understand my role. Well, I’m like the Queen of England. I inspect schools and will receive ambassadors, etc, etc. That keeps me quite busy, you know. The ministers come and see me to ask my advice and give reports on their work.”

He was allowed to make one brief visit to the countryside. Asked about massacres, he says: “I was not there, but I do not think so. Fighting exists only in the minds of some ugly Cambodians in Thailand and Paris. They fight from their nightclubs.”

He still speaks, as when he was what he now calls “a playboy prince”, with wit, charm and enthusiasm that is often passion. Through his revolutionary ardour, loyally learnt in five courageous years in exile, the old jazz-playing film buff Sihanouk sometimes glitters a little sadly. Infuriated by a question about the fate of Lon Nol’s former cabinet ministers, he shouts again: “Why do you worry about these scum when so many good Cambodians have died? It’s not as if they were Marilyn Monroe or Rock Hudson.”

The impression Sihanouk conveys of his life in Phnom Penh, as the Khmer Rouge leaders wonder what to do with their old enemy, is a lonely one. A sad-eyed discontinued prince rattling around an empty palace in a scarred and empty capital. But he is extraordinarily resilient and persuasive and hopes his loyal, passionate nationalism alone may in time persuade his hosts that he can be used more effectively.

He wants to work for them so long as they need him: “I think they need me now. But I have told them that if the day comes when they no longer do so, I’ll be very happy to be quite free and live in my little house in France. I like the movies, you know. I shall be able to go to the movies.”

Prince Sihanouk was deposed six months after this interview. Pol Pot’s genocidal regime led to the death of more than 20% of Cambodia’s population. Sihanouk, now 86, returned as king in 1993 until his abdication in 2004 .

Pure heart key to safe sex

Herald Sun Australia

Cardinal George Pell
April 19, 2009

IS THE Catholic Church making the HIV-AIDS crisis in Africa worse by urging Catholics not to use condoms?

Some have even accused popes, especially Pope John Paul II, of doing more to spread AIDS than prostitution and the trucking industry combined.

To blame Catholic teaching for the spread of HIV/AIDS requires proof that those following the first essential Christian requirement of living chastely within and before marriage are still dying of AIDS. Pigs will fly before that argument does.

Others suggest another variant of the anti-Catholic line, namely that Christians who refuse to obey Catholic teaching against adultery, fornication and homosexual intercourse will still follow Catholic teaching against the use of condoms.

Truth can be stranger than fiction, but such an individual would be rare indeed.

Many men refuse to use condoms because they dislike them. Infected people who are prepared to put the health of their partners at risk are unlikely to give a moment's consideration to Catholic teaching on condoms.

Many would be aware of the ruckus that Pope Benedict provoked by his St Patrick's Day comments that condom use in Africa may even be making the situation worse.

Current empirical evidence from Africa and elsewhere supports the Pope's claim.

Edward C. Green is a senior research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US and director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project there. Harvard is one of the finest medical and research centres in the world.

Green is a liberal who supports the use of condoms as a back-up strategy. He is not anti-condom and acknowledges that the condom, like contraception, is a symbol of freedom and female emancipation.

He believes condom promotion has worked in Thailand and Cambodia, where most HIV is transmitted through commercial sex.

But recently Green said, "The Pope is correct, or (to) put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the Pope's comments."

Green said "our best studies" show a consistent association "between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates".

The largely medical solutions funded by major donors have had little impact in Africa. He explained: "Instead, relatively simple low-cost behavioural change programs -- stressing increased monogamy and delayed sexual activity by young people -- have made the greatest headway in fighting or preventing the disease's spread."

An over-confidence in the safety condoms bring can induce "risk compensation", so that partners engage in riskier sex practices.

Another factor is that people in steady relationships in Africa seldom use condoms because doing so would imply a lack of trust.

Uganda's home-grown program, which stresses "sticking to one partner", or "zero grazing" and "loving faithfully", has brought such progress that similar programs are being started in Swaziland and Botswana.

In Africa and elsewhere, the answer to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases begins with mutual fidelity and abstinence -- especially among the young unmarried.

Purity of heart is central.

Cardinal George Pell is the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and the former Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne.