Low prices increase poverty: farmers

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

Written by Soeun Say
Monday, 27 April 2009

CAMBODIAN farmers say they may see themselves fall deeper into poverty in the coming years as the price of agricultural goods continues to fall with soft demand.

Nov Sear, a 54-year-old farmer from Kirivong district in Takeo province, said the price of papaya and cassava has fallen about 50 percent compared with last year.

"I'm very concerned about [dried] cassava prices because its value has dropped from 400-500 [US$0.09-$0.12] riels per kilo in 2007 to 250-300 riels per kilo now," said Nov Sear.

"If prices keep dropping like this, I will have problems supporting my family."

He said that last year he made US$1,500 per hectare, but this year he is making half that.

Ngoun Moeun, 47, said he is keeping his cassava in the soil in case prices rise.

"I don't want to harvest my cassava because the prices are 50 percent lower than last year," he said.

Ngoun Moeun said that even though prices continue to fall, he still keeps planting because he has no other source of income.

He said that he will plant another product such as papaya next year.

A report released by the World Bank this month said that Cambodia will see an additional 200,000 people pushed below the poverty line this year due to the global recession, making it the worst affected in the region.

"Cambodia is the country with the largest projected increase in the number of poor people," the report said.

Debt mounting
Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said that he believes farmers are now struggling to pay back loans because of sinking food prices.

"Farmers are facing problems because their products sell at low prices," he said.

"If they cannot earn more next year, they will have no money to plant again, and they will be living with even more difficulties."

Va Hak, 64, a farmer in Banan district, Battambang province, said the money that he earned from selling cassava, banana and corn this year has not been enough to pay for fertiliser, pesticide, labour and other expenses.

"This year I have lost about $1,500. It's not like last year when I made $3,000," he said. He said that in his village, there are a lot of cassava farmers that have left their homes to find jobs in Phnom Penh or even across the border in Thailand.

Bank deposits and loans drop

Photo by: Sovann Philong
Cambodia’s banks are feeling the pain of the global economic downturn.

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

Written by Nguon Sovan
Monday, 27 April 2009

Some of Cambodia’s largest banks report double-digit decline in deposits and loans for first quarter of 2009 as the global financial crisis begins to impact on Cambodia

DEPOSITS and loans fell in the first quarter of this year due to a worsening economic crisis and lower business activity, bankers told the Post at the end of last week.

"Customer deposits at the Union Commercial Bank (UCB) dropped 15 percent from US$103.75 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $87.94 million in the first quarter of this year," said Yum Sui Sang, CEO of UCB.

"Outstanding loans also dropped 9.2 percent to $60.27 million in the first quarter of this year from $66.3 million in last year's first quarter."

He said the drop had come as the global financial crisis affected his bank's customers, who are mostly foreign businessmen from China, Hong Kong and Macau working in Cambodia's garment sector.

"Businesses are suffering - especially in the garment sector and for development projects - it affects their turnover ... our bank deposits are also low," he said Wednesday.

But he added that the bank employs 161 staff and that it was not planning any layoffs.

"Despite the decline, we are still earning a profit.... We forecast a decline of around 10 percent this year and hope to see the recovery at the start of next year; however, it's dependent on the outside economy."

In Channy, president and CEO of Cambodia's largest bank by deposits, ACLEDA, said Thursday that in the first quarter of this year, deposits at his bank had grown only half as much as the same period last year.

"In the first quarter of last year, ACLEDA Bank received $74 million in deposits, which brought the total deposit amount to $416.7 million, while in this year's first quarter, we received $34.5 million, bringing total deposits to $527 million," said In Channy.

He also attributed the slow growth in deposits to the crisis. "Less business activity makes for less activity in deposits as well," he said.

He said, however, that total lending had remained comparable to last year, with the bank lending smaller loans to more customers.

"Last year, loan packages were rather big, but in the first quarter of 2009, loans were a lot smaller.
"The number of customers, however, has grown by about 50 percent over last year," said In Channy.

"In the first quarter of 2008, 7,397 loans worth $423 million were granted to customers, and in the first quarter of 2009, 13,873 loans worth $456 million were offered."

"We forecast that deposits at our bank will increase around 40 percent to more than $600 million by the end of the year," he said. "Loan portfolios will rise, with 25 percent growth of total loan portfolios expected."

Chan Kok Choy, executive director of Vattanac Bank, said Friday that during the first three months of 2009, the bank received deposits of $15.11 million, bringing the total to $167.99 million.

However, he said the bank's loans had dropped to $100 million as of March this year from $103.8 million at the end of last year.

"The drop is due to a prudent lending policy adopted by the bank in view of challenging market conditions," said Chan Kok Choy.

"We project a higher deposits position by the end of 2009 and modest growth in our loans position," said Chan Kok Choy.

Stephen Higgins, CEO of ANZ Royal, said Friday that in March 2008, the bank had around $385 million in deposits and is now up to $430 million.

"Deposits at my bank are still high because, for one thing ... customers gain a lot of comfort from the fact that our parent ANZ Banking Group is one of the strongest banks in the world," said Higgins.

He said that loans had risen from about $190 million in March 2008 to around $270 million today.
"The fact that our deposits are around $160 million greater than our loans places us in a really strong position to meet the needs of our customers," he said.

"I'm not sure whether any other bank in the market can match that."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MAY KUNMAKARA

Police Blotter: 27 April 2009

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

Written by Lim Phalla
Monday, 27 April 2009

Waiters arrested for phone theft
Two waiters at Roung Kraham restaurant located in Village 4, Commune 4, Preah Sihanouk province, were arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a customer's cellphone while he was eating dinner with his friends on Wednesday night. The cellphone belonged to Rous Piseth, male, 39, from Phnom Penh.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Van smash kills three, injures two
At least three people died and two were severely injured after the vans they were travelling in collided on National Road 5 in Thnal Bat village, Mong Russey district, Battambang province, on Friday. The identity of the two injured passengers was not known but they were taken to hospital. The deceased, including the driver, and the injured were travelling in the same van. The driver of the other van escaped and has not yet been identified.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Soldier attacks girlfriend with ax
Taing Lyheang, 18, was cut four times with an axe while she was sleeping in her house in Samraong Thmey village, Khmuonh commune, Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh, in the early hours of Saturday morning. Her alleged attacker was her partner, 40-year-old soldier Tan Srunheng who escaped following the attack. Taing Lyheang was taken to hospital by her neighbors, who said they had heard an argument between the couple earlier that evening over Tan Srunheng losing a sum of money while gambling. The couple was not married, according to villagers.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Woman, 5-year-old found murdered
The bodies of 41-year-old mother, Lorn Pok, and her 5-year-old child, Siv Chhorvy, were found in a pond in O'Tapang village, Prey Nob district, Preah Sihanouk, on Saturday morning by local villagers. Police said wounds on the bodies of both victims suggested they had been murdered. Villagers said the victim's family was very poor and that the woman was a heavy drinker who often had confrontations with her husband. Locals said she had been drinking with other men in the village the night before.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Scooter thief arrested by police
An 18-year-old man from Prek Ho commune, Takhmao in Kandal province was arrested and appeared before the courts on Friday in connection with the theft of a scooter. Police said Tin Khoeun and another man had taken the scooter of 17-year-old Sar Maly.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Who Am I? brings same-sex issues out into the open

Photo Supplied

Phoan Phoung Bopha.

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

Written by Lim Seang Heng
Monday, 27 April 2009

Director Phoan Phoung Bopha hopes her surprise hit film will help eliminate discrimination against the Kingdom's mostly hidden gay community

CAMBODIA'S first-film featuring a lesbian love story has become an instant box office hit. The two-hour film Who Am I?, about a love affair between a Cambodian-American woman and a Khmer actress, attracted more than 4,000 viewers during its first week in theatres.

Phoan Phoung Bopha, who produced and directed the film, hopes that the movie will help raise awareness of discrimination against lesbians.

Born in 1955, Phoan Phoung Bopha became a novelist at the age of 17 and worked as a reporter for the Pro Chea Chun newspaper for three years.

She also worked at the Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper from 1993 to 1998 and as a co-director of the Women's Media Centre from 1997 to 2003.

She has been producing films for Rock Production on CTN since 2004.

Where did you get the idea for Who Am I? Who was your target audience?

The idea of making this film had been in my mind since 2004, when I first worked for the Cambodian Television Network.

Most of the people working in the cosmetics business are gay, although they will not tell you this straight away.

I was working with these people every day, and they told me their stories.

Love between people of the same sex is a very new topic in Cambodia - it is a topic that has not been openly discussed before.

Things were not always easy. I had to do a lot of research on whether people would watch this film or not. Through my research I discovered that many people wanted to know more about how lesbians live and love each other, especially when it comes to sexual matters.

What has been the reaction to the film?

I have heard some criticism from wives of high-ranking officials who have said that this film will provoke emotions among lesbians and only appeal to that small specific group.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My objective behind the film is to help reduce discrimination against lesbians and gay men.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like the people who have criticised my film to at least go and watch it before they judge it.

Lesbians and gay men are born homosexual, and watching Who am I? for two hours will not change people's personalities or sexual orientation.

I have had no negative feedback from people who have seen the film.

Is there a message behind the film?

My objective behind the film is to help reduce discrimination against lesbians and gay men, as I think it is hard for them to live in Cambodian society.

These people are often not given fair opportunities at the workplace, and they are often looked down on by people who do not take the opportunity to get to know them.

I hope that my audience gains some understanding through watching my film and contribute to reducing prejudice towards this group of people.

How did you finance the film?

I spent around US$20,000 of my own money to make this film.

I spent six months writing the script and three months filming.

The movie was filmed in some tourist sites in Cambodia, which I think will be of interest to foreigners who would like to visit this country. (The film is now available with English subtitles.)

How does Who Am I? compare to your other films?

The topic of lesbian relationships has never been explored in a Cambodian film before.

Both local and foreign media have been very interested in this film.

I think that this film will increase my popularity as a filmmaker more so than my other 19 films.

Initially, I was concerned that I would not get the licence to make this film from the Ministry of Fine Arts. I was afraid that they would think this film went against Cambodian culture.

Also, at times it was difficult to get the actresses to act like real lovers.

Do you think Cambodian families, especially parents, will change their way of thinking after watching the film?

I don't think they will change their perception of homosexuality and let their daughters or sons love and marry a same-sex person.

Cambodian people usually think same-sex love is immoral and discredits the family's reputation.

Even though my film doesn't cover everything about same-sex love, it at least shows a small part of the truth and that love between people of the same sex exists.

How many people have seen your film and will it be screened on TV?

Approximately 500 to 1,000 tickets have been sold each day at two theatres where the film is currently being screened.

I am not yet sure if the film will be screened on TV, but if it is, I am expecting that it will not be until some time in 2010.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I am currently involved in the Rock Production, which is being screened on CTN.

I haven't been thinking about making a new film yet because film production costs a fortune.

The film industry in Cambodia is in decline, as there is not enough of a market for films here.

Television is a strong competitor to Cambodian filmmakers as TV station purchase cheap foreign films and screen pirated films.

This film could be my last film, as I am getting older. It's impossible to produce films if you don't have money.

I am now thinking of returning to my career as a novelist.

The Phnom Penh Post News In Briefs

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

In Brief: New water station to be launched

Written by May Kunmakara
Monday, 27 April 2009

The government and the French embassy will launch a new water supply station in Chroy Changvar district on Monday, a press release stated Friday. The station, which was financed by a 10-year loan from the French development agency AFD, draws water from the Tonle Sap, Mekong and Bassac rivers, and will supply water to over 70,000 families. According to the press release, the new station will increase supply capacity from the current 235,000 cubic metres to roughly 300,000 cubic metres a day.


In Brief: World bank aids good governance

Written by Vong Sokheng
Monday, 27 April 2009

The World Bank has committed US$25.28 million to the government to improve "good governance" in the Kingdom. Key reform areas include private sector development, natural resources management, public financial management and decentralisation and a "citizens' partnership" to make government more responsive to citizens. The Ministry of Interior is scheduled to launch the project on Wednesday at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal, which will be presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng.


In Brief: Draft laws to debated

Written by Cheang Sokha
Monday, 27 April 2009

The National Assembly is to hold a session today to debate a number of draft laws, Cheam Yeap, chairman of the Finance and Banking Commission and member of the Permanent Committee of the National Assembly told the Post Sunday. Cheam Yeap said that the permanent committee has sent draft laws on tourism, financial leasing and disabled people's rights to the whole assembly session for approval. The Assembly president, Heng Samrin, is to chair the session.

Is Torture Utilitarian?

Waterboard displayed at Genocide Museum in Cambodia. Hey, if it's good enough for the Khmer Rouge...

Religion Dispatches
http://www.religiondispatches.org

By Louis A. Ruprecht
April 27, 2009

As politicians argue, and our pragmatist-in-chief tries to find an angle, we can agree that not all moral dilemmas can be reduced to a cost-benefit analysis of pleasure and pain. There are some kinds of pain a morally serious person ought never to inflict.

Last week was one helluva week in the moral life of this nation; much of importance hangs in the balance. It began on April 16, 2009, with the release of four memos by the Department of Justice. All four (one dated to August 2002, and three to May 2005) were written at the request of John Rizzo, General Counsel to the CIA. They make for strange reading.

The first memo sets the tone for the entire corpus. Abu Zubaydah, the highest ranking al-Qaeda operative in US custody when he was taken on March 27, 2002, was believed to have information he refused to divulge to CIA interrogators at Guantanamo Bay. The CIA requested permission to enter a new, “increased pressure phase” of interrogation. The CIA justified its request by noting a level of “chatter” equivalent to that perceived just prior to the 9/11 attacks, and their conviction that this prisoner had significant information he had not yet revealed.

The memo specifically addressed ten new techniques the CIA wished to apply, from grabbing and slapping the face, to physical stress and confinement, to sleep deprivation, to the odd practice of confinement followed by the introduction of an insect implied to be dangerous, to waterboarding. Yes, waterboarding; we are still arguing about waterboarding, in late April 2009.

And this was where the legalese began. Various memos suggested that if these procedures were conducted at Guantanamo, then they were not technically done in US territory and thus Article 16 of United Nations Convention Against Torture did not apply. They accepted without review the CIA’s claim that waterboarding was a technique still used in the Navy’s advanced training. They accepted without review the claim that “the CIA believes that this program is largely responsible for preventing a subsequent attack within the United States” (May 30, 2005 Memo, page 3). And they noted that the Fifth Amendment prohibition of “cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment” had been recently interpreted by the US Supreme Court to forbid any conduct that “shocks the conscience,” though this was an entirely subjective and context-specific standard, and therefore probably not relevant to the CIA’s stated concerns (in a word: to stay out of trouble).

But far and away the most bizarre attempt to justify this waterboarding technique in the memo-trail came in the first one, dated August 1, 2002. Throughout the analysis, the lawyers had been careful to discuss both the physical and the mental implications of extreme interrogation techniques. With waterboarding, they changed course. “Pain and suffering,” they concluded, “is best understood as a single concept, not as distinct concepts of ‘pain’ as distinguished from ‘suffering’” (August 1, 2002 Memo, page 11). What does this mean? To them it means the following: waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and generates an automatic physical response, does not create physical pain, just reflex action. And if it does not create physical pain, then it does not create mental pain. This logic beggars description.

The expressions of outrage were intense and immediate. Surely someone needed to be prosecuted for this. But who? President Obama was very clear that he wished to look forward, not backward, eager as he is to close the book on this embarrassing chapter in US foreign policy. Persons acting in good faith, believing that they were authorized to do what they did, should not be targeted. Fair enough.

Then came the distinction that worked at the Nuremberg Trials: We cannot prosecute every SS guard, but we can certainly prosecute the authors of the policies… and the authors of these memoranda.

At first the President balked at the suggestion. And with good reason. It is a dangerous precedent, a new administration looking backward in order to prosecute the questionable actions of its predecessors in a previous administration. This looks like the very politicizing of the judicial branch that properly cost Alberto Gonzalez his job.

But then the President seemed to waver on Tuesday, suggesting at a press conference that the authors of the policy could indeed be reviewed by the Department of Justice. The Senate Armed Services Committee seemed inclined to agree. And thus it began to seem as if Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and the rest might be in real trouble.

Dick Cheney, never a political wallflower, took to the attack. President Bush has been as silent and as invisible as he has been since Inauguration Day.

Justification-by-numbers

What is striking about the quality of this debate is that it is being conducted in strictly Utilitarian terms. And that leads to some very bizarre moral reasoning. Utilitarianism is number-crunching, but of a very peculiar kind; in its crudest forms, it seems to imply that you can measure pleasure and pain, and that by maximizing the pleasure of the greatest number of people, you may be able to justify the infliction of pain on a select few.

We see that strange logic at work in these memoranda.

First, the CIA justified waterboarding with the “ticking time bomb” scenario. Can you justify torture if you know that the prisoner possesses information about a dirty bomb that’s about to be detonated, or a second 9/11-style attack is imminent. The problem with this scenario is that it works well on television (where we now have “MI5” to go along with “24”) and in the movies, but not in real life. All the CIA could ever assure the Department of Justice was that it believed the “chatter” indicated an imminent threat, and that it believed waterboarding had deterred such attacks. The language of faith is telling here; religion is not Utilitarian, however interested in consequences it may be. Certainly “belief” ought not constitute the basis of Department of Defense or CIA policy decisions. This much we should have learned from our reliance on faulty intelligence in the lead-up to our second military invasion of Iraq.

Defenders of the policy insist that waterboarding works, that we got real (the operative word is “actionable”) intelligence we’d not have gotten any other way. Opponents of the policy argue that there is no solid evidence to suggest that this claim is true; how, after all, do we know the intelligence is good and that it would not have been achievable in another way? Others go still further, Senator John McCain chief among them. The revelation of these memoranda and of the use of such techniques is the best recruiting tool we could ever have given to al-Qaeda. Again, does waterboarding have utility or not? Does it create more pain than pleasure? These questions have pretty well defined the contours of the current debate.

Buried near the end (at page 37) of the fourth memorandum, dated May 30, 2005, is the discussion that gives the lie to the idea that this is a debate about Utility. The CIA’s use of water-boarding is nothing like that allegedly used in US military training. For starters, a CIA prisoner may be subjected to two two-hour “sessions” per day. In any given “session,” the detainee may be subjected to as many as six applications of water, lasting up to 40 seconds in duration each time. That is eight full minutes of the experience of drowning in a single day. And the technique may be applied on five separate days within a thirty-day period.

Then comes the final sentence, so bland and understated as to be easily missed. Zubaydah was subjected to the waterboard 83 times in August 2002, and a detainee described as “KSM” was subjected to the waterboard 183 times during March 2003.

Let us pause right there, to permit those statistics to take on a human face. 183 applications of the water-board in one month. If by “application” the CIA means one 40-second experience of simulated drowning, and if this were repeated twelve times in one day (the alleged limit), and if this were repeated five times in the course of a month (again, the alleged limit), then that would add up to 60 such events in a month. Yet the CIA itself admits to having performed this 183 times in a month.

Something does not add up. And it is not simply the numbers.

It is the very logic of waterboarding that unravels here. If, as seems more likely, the CIA subjected “KSM” to the waterboard six times a day for an entire month, then this adds up to the stated 180+ applications. In other words, the CIA water-boarded this inmate more times in a day than his religion requires him to pray. Put another way, we are being asked to believe that the CIA interrogators really “believed” that waterboarding session #151 was the one that was going to turn the trick, succeeding where 150 previous attempts had failed.

Protecting us from the worst in ourselves

If we have learned nothing else from the shocking photographs taken at Abu Graib, then it is this: torture is not about Utilitarian calculation; it is about humiliation. It is forbidden because men and women under the stress of combat cannot be trusted with that kind of power to dominate another soul under their command. Anti-torture regimes are about protecting us from ourselves and from one another, protecting us from what is worst in us that war so often reveals.

War can also reveal the best in us: nobility, heroism, courage, self-sacrifice, generosity under extreme duress. But such realities are blotted where they are not erased by the current revelations of CIA procedure.

Here is where many US citizens, religious and not, Christian and Muslim, across all sectors of the political spectrum, might well find a crucial moment to make common cause. And we might even find it inspiring so to find. What Utilitarianism is unable to articulate is that there are some things you would never do, not ever, because winning the fight would not be worth the degradation. The point is that not all moral dilemmas can be reduced to a cost-benefit analysis of pleasure and pain. There are some kinds of pain a morally serious person ought never to inflict.

Torture—defined as the deliberate degradation and humiliation of a person through the infliction of physical and mental pain–is simply not what we do to other human beings. It is because we understand the human being to be a creature of singular and inexhaustible moral worth—whether due to God, Nature, Providence or Philosophy—that we oppose the infliction of torture on another human being.

The “we” here is not liberal or conservative, not the religious person or the atheist. It is “we the people,” a remarkable spectrum of religious and cultural identities unified by certain constitutional principles that are not in the least Utilitarian, though of the very highest moral consequence to everyone.

Perhaps something like that is what this supremely awful week might yet enable us to see and say.

Responses to the Global Economic Crisis – Sunday, 26.4.2009

Posted on 27 April 2009.
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 609

As the crisis is global – it makes sense to consider not only what happens, and what is done in Cambodia.

One newspaper recollected a number of important international voices on trends of the Cambodian economic and social situation: “International Economic Experts Assessed that Cambodia Is Vulnerable due to Growing Poverty” - referring to recent statements by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. All of them come to somewhat similar - negative – predictions for the near future.

We had also mirrored voices representing the political leadership in Cambodia, dismissing these voices of warning – either accusing some of them, saying that their detailed and transparently presented data are intentionally falsified to present Cambodia in a negative way, or pointing to the special situation of Cambodia, where people who are dismissed into joblessness in the cities could easily return to their native villages and be integrated again into the rural family economy.

First of all it may be worthwhile to see that – in spite of warnings about the future – during this week there were also a number of reports about continued international economic assistance for Cambodia. It is not probable that such actions would have been taken, if the warning about negative economic and social developments would have been ill intended. In spite of such warnings, commitments to assist continue:

The German government will focus on cooperation to create hydro-electric energy and to develop small and medium enterprises – pointing into a direction of sustainability even under a situation of crisis. Another field of German cooperation aims at producing methane gas from processing garbage of the city of Phnom Penh – a similar orientation.

While Cambodia received since 1992 already around US$1 billion in loans from the Asian Development Bank, the same bank continued to provide more that US$50 million in new loans in 2008.

The European Community granted an additional amount of Euro 4 Million [approx. US$5.3 million] to Support Food-for-Work programs in Cambodia.

That there were also reports about the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, asking Korean investors to speed up their investments in Cambodia, and the Prime Minister being quoted to have said that investments by Japan do not yet meet what Cambodia wants – at a time when there are only 436 companies registered, compared to 862 one year ago - shows the urgent interest for a stronger involvement by these two economies in Cambodia - but they have their own problems. And it is surely not very attractive to increase their involvement in a country

where the Minister of Interior has to warns officials not to provide document where they faked their age, where another riverbank collapsed destroying some houses – while an order of the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology had been disregarded for weeks without enforcement by the authorities, where the administration of the capital city of Phnom Penh suspects that some officials illegally connect to the public electricity network for personal use, and
where the government has not consented that complaints about suspected corruption can be reported - without fear of retaliation – to a credible institution of the choice of the complainer and not only to a Cambodian government sanctioned institution.

And - as I am at present in Germany, and as we had two reports about German cooperation in Cambodia during the week – a quick review of some German reactions to the global economic crisis. The International Monetary Funds predicted that the German economy will shrink by 6% in 2009, more than in any other industrialized Western European country. It will be a decline which never happened during the last 80 years. The worst recession after the end of the Second World War was in 1975 with a decrease in the economy of 0.9%.

In spite of these problems, the government does not plan to organize another special economic rescue package to promote economic activities through huge investments as some other countries do. Rather social support programs may be boosted – like extended payments for reduced working hour arrangements (instead of dismissals), and the covering of social security contributions to be taken over by the state is under discussion.

As there will be general elections in September 2009, one of the two parties in the present coalition government announced their program how to adjust the taxation laws to secure sufficient income for the state. The lowest, marginal tax rate is at present 14%, which is to be lowered to 10% - which will provide benefits for about 25 million people of the lowest income group (Germany has about 82 million citizens, plus more than 6 million foreigners). On the other hand, the highest tax rate is to be raised from at present 45% to 47% - an additional burden for about 1.5% of those who have to pay taxes.

Such taxation arrangements are related to Article 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany, which states: “To own property carries obligations. It is to be used also to serve the well-being of the public.” Therefore, the present suggestions to change the taxation laws are based on the same understanding: Those members of the public who have greater resources have to exercise financial solidarity with those who have less. And Article 20 adds: “The Federal Republic of Germany is a state with a democratic and social orientation.” The public responsibility resulting from economic wealth is clearly defined as a basic element of society.

For comparison, Article 56 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia says speaks also of the “market economy”: “The Kingdom of Cambodia shall adopt the market economy system.” Any social restraint on the forces of the market is not mentioned.

In Article 16 is the only reference to the term “social” - however in a very limited sense: “The Queen of the Kingdom of Cambodia shall exercise activities that serve the social, humanitarian, religious interests, and shall assist the King with protocol and diplomatic functions.”

On the way to the Labor Day on 1 May in the coming week, it is appropriate to mention that the labor unions in Germany have an important publicly established role in society, being part of a state with a social orientation. They have contributed to the social stability and to the economic growth over the last decades, and they are again a major partner in the public discourse about the present economic predicament of Germany. To restrict their freedom of assembly or of organizing public manifestations at the occasion of the Labor Day is unthinkable; if it would be attempted, it probably would lead to a severe disruption of the social stability which continues to exist, in spite of all the economic problems.

Vietnam fabricated KRouge prison 'rules': Duch

A foreign tourist looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh. The former Khmer Rouge prison chief told Cambodia's war crimes trial a list of 10 ruthless rules supposedly posted at his notorious jail was fabricated by Vietnamese agents.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)



PHNOM PENH (AFP) – The former Khmer Rouge prison chief told Cambodia's war crimes trial a list of 10 ruthless rules supposedly posted at his notorious jail was fabricated by Vietnamese agents.

Duch -- whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav -- politely answered questions about the organisation of Tuol Sleng prison but strongly denied he created the list of orders that remains on display at the site, now a genocide museum.

"The discipline of security, which has 10 rules...was fabricated by the Vietnamese when they came in (and toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979)," Duch told the court.

Duch, 66, said he first saw the list of orders last year, when investigators brought him to the prison in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to re-enact his crimes.

A large board displaying the list on how to behave during interrogations, which includes an order that prisoners cannot cry when flogged or subjected to electric shocks, is still posted in the main courtyard at Tuol Sleng.

The list also tells prisoners to sit still and wait for orders, answer questions immediately without waiting for time to reflect, and warns them of further lashes or electric shocks if they fail to comply.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and premeditated murder over the extermination of around 15,000 people between 1975 and 1979 at Tuol Sleng and the nearby "Killing Fields".

He apologised last month when his trial started, accepting blame for overseeing the horrors of the prison.

However he has denied prosecutors' claims that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge's iron-fisted rule, and maintains he never personally executed anyone.

He faces life in jail but the court does not have the power to impose the death penalty. Four other senior leaders from the regime are scheduled to be tried within the next year.

Many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for victims of the regime, which killed up to two million people through starvation, overwork, torture and execution.

The Khmer Rouge were ousted by Hanoi-backed forces in 1979, who discovered Tuol Sleng and established the facility as a museum to display the regime's crimes.

ACT Alert: ACT responds to Preah Vihear border conflict, Cambodia

Reuters AlertNet
http://www.alertnet.org

27 Apr 2009

Source: Action by Churches Together (ACT) - Switzerland

Elisabeth Gouel

Website: http://www.act-intl.org/

Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.

Alert

Cambodia - No. 10/2009

ACT responds to Preah Vihear border conflict

Geneva, 24 April 2009

On 3rd April, fighting was re-ignited on a long-disputed section of the Thai-Cambodia border near Preah Vihear and is now escalating to the north-west province, leading to displacement of over 500 families, with numbers rising. According to the Cambodian provincial authorities, over 520 families (1,660 individuals) are currently taking shelter in a camp for displaced persons in Sa-Em village, about 20 kilometers from Preah Vihear.

These displaced persons include 277 families from Prasat village whose houses were burned to the ground, and another 243 families from Kor Mouy and Svay Chum villages, many of whom were vendors from a market burned to the ground in the initial fighting. With military movements on both sides of the border and the populations of two villages in Banteay Meanchey, Banteay Ampil District are also fleeing the fighting.

CWS staff on the ground report that their rapid assessment of the situation (as of April 13th) for the most affected displaced families reveals urgent needs for the worst affected displaced families which include emergency shelter, food, non-food relief items, hygiene promotion, latrines and health services.

Continuous rainfall in the IDP camp areas over the last few days compounds the situation for people, especially those currently living out in the open. Other are using thatch or plastic sheeting as temporary cover. The district governor has reported that due to insecurity caused by continuous conflict along the border, the daily lives of local population are being severely disrupted and their resilience to cope with this emergency weakened. 18 school-age children are without schooling, and a food shortfall is expected in about two weeks time, especially impacting on women and children.

The temple in Preah Vihear and the 800 km. (500 mile) shared border have been the source of a long-standing dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.

National and International Response to Date The following assistance by other Organizations/Departments to these border conflict IDPs is reported by CWS as follows:

� Cambodian Red Cross distribution to 520 families on 07 April 2009- 1 family received 25kg of rice, 10 packs of instant noodle, 10 cans of canned fish, 5 plates, 2 soup plates, 2 cooking pans, 5 spoons. Food relief to cover a 2 month period.

� Oxfam GB distribution to 277 families from Prasat village- plastic sheets (temporary shelter)

� Provincial Department of Health distribution of 200 mosquito nets to 200 families from Prasat Village on 04 April 2009

� Provincial Department of Social Affairs distributed 400kg of rice to those who are from Prasat Village and 100kg of rice for those who are from Kor Muoy Village

Assistance currently being planned by CWS response complements assistance already provided by other organizations and government authorities.

ACT Response

In coordination with other organizations and government authorities, including through the Provincial National Disaster Management Authority and Cambodian Red Cross, CWS has today submitted a request for approximately US $22,453 from the ACT Rapid Response Fund to support a two month response supporting 520 of the most vulnerable IDP families with food packages, kitchen sets, tents, water containers, mats, mosquito-nets as well as ceramic water filters. CWS is also in contact with ACT member Lutheran World Relief, which is not responding at this time.

Any funding indication or pledge to replenish the ACT Rapid Response Fund should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).

(ends)

ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.

Australia in controversy over Khmer Rouge trials

Australia Network News
http://australianetworknews.com

Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh

Australia is mixed up in a controversy surrounding the credibility of the Cambodian tribunal hearing the trials of former Khmer Rouge officials.

Allegations that Cambodian court employees paid kickbacks to senior staff of the hearings in return for their jobs have simmered for some time.

Most international donors have declined to release more funds to the tribunal until the Cambodian government resolves the issue.

But Australia has bucked the trend, announcing earlier in April that it would release funds.

Heather Ryan, a trial monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program it is "inexplicable" why the Australian government would take such a step.

'Undermines UN'

She said it undermined the negotiating position of the UN and others committed to trying to eliminate or reduce corruption in the court and in Cambodia in general.

The Australian embassy in Phnom Penh refused to comment, saying the matter was too sensitive.

But a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra said the decision was based on what he called "broad progress" in the Cambodian government's efforts to address corruption concerns, and to ensure the court could continue its work.

At present, the court is hearing the case of Comrade Duch (Kaing Guek Eav), former commander of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, who is charged with crimes against humanity.

The Foreign Affairs Department says Australia consulted with other donors and the UN before making its decision.

Refused to release

But the UN Development Program (UNDP) - which holds the money in trust - has refused Australia's request to release the funds.

UNDP country manager, Jo Scheuer, says: "We are the ones accountable for the proper use of what at the end of the day is taxpayers' money.

"We have said for the last nine months that we need to see allegations resolved and mechanisms put up before we can resume our role, and that today is still the same position."

Lawyers for some of the defendants have used the corruption issue to argue their clients will not get a fair trial.

Allegations about judges

There have been some media allegations that Cambodian judges paid kickbacks to get their positions - a potentially fatal flaw for the tribunal.

Mr Scheuer says the UNDP has seen no evidence that happened.

"From the work we have done with the court we have no information whatsoever that anything happened on the judicial side . . . of the court."

Vietnamese top list of foreign arrivals in Cambodia

VOV News
http://english.vovnews.vn

04/27/2009

More than 79,700 Vietnamese visited Cambodia over the past three months, marking an increase of 49 percent over the same period last year, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said Vietnamese tourists outnumbered visitors from the Republic of Korea to account for the largest part of foreign visitors to Cambodia in the first quarter of this year.

About 62,600 RoK visitors came to Cambodia in the reviewed period, a remarkable reduction from 97,500 in the corresponding period last year, said the tourism ministry.

To lure visitors in time of the global economic crisis, the Cambodian Tourism Ministry has turned to less-affected countries in addition to promoting new eco-tours.

The ministry has especially streamlined entry-exit procedures for tourists from the neighbouring countries of Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, allowing them to enter the three Cambodian border provinces with laissez-passers and stay for a week instead of three days as applied before.

Chairman of the Cambodian Travel Association, Ang Kim Eang, was optimistic that political stability would help bring more foreign visitors to his country.

Dom Joly: Cambodia in grip of grim games

Cambodia's penchant for violence extends to their sports

THE INDEPENDENT COLUMNISTS
http://www.independent.co.uk

Weird World of Sport: Cock-fighting is weird. Why have cocks been chosen as opposed to ducks or swans?

Monday, 27 April 2009

I am in Cambodia doing "research" for a book I'm writing about my passion for travel to dodgy places. I'm visiting "The Killing Fields" tomorrow and today, I'm bizarrely off to see a man who is selling Pol Pot's shoes and loo. I've had my fill of dark depressing subjects in the last week or so and I decided to have a little look at the world of Cambodian sport.

The truth is it's a pretty minimalist area. They do play football here but they are spectacularly bad - so bad that most people support foreign teams. Their national football team was supposed to go to the Beijing Olympics but, according to rumours, the powers that be used the tickets to send their families there on a jolly.

The only real sport of any consequence here is kick-boxing. I know this sport as Thai kick-boxing but call it that here only if you want to lose your teeth. Here it's Cambodian kic-boxing, but it is exactly the same. Bouts are shown regularly on TV and the gambling is intense.

It's weird that in a country that has seen so much terrible violence in the last 50 years something violent like kick-boxing would be of such mass appeal. Violence, however, seems to be something that goes deep into the national psyche. The legendary French explorer of Indochina, Henri Mouhot wrote: "Cambodians appear only to have known how to destroy, never to reconstruct." He was obviously referring to their military history but it seems to apply to their sports as well.

While I was visiting one of the extraordinary temples that dot the countryside around the town of Siem Reap, I came across some amazing bas-reliefs on one temple called The Bayon. These bas-reliefs showed in some detail what Khmers, some 800 years ago, got up to for fun. Among others there was wrestling, hunting and elephant- and cock-fighting.

Wrestling, despite it's innate campness (something I've already written about having seen Greco-Roman wrestling at the Olympics and then received much hate mail from big strong wrestlers so we won't go there again) is a fairly standard historical practice and you see it in all parts of the world on ancient illustrations. There's no beating about the jungle, it seems that a lot of men, when given the opportunity, love to strip naked and roll around on the floor scrapping – and fair play to them.

It's a moot point as to whether hunting is nowadays seen as a sport but way back then, it most definitely was. Elephant-fighting is understandable but cock-fighting, however, is a weird one. Why have cocks been chosen to fight through history as opposed to, for instance, ducks or geese or swans? It's always the poor cockerels who get blades attached to their legs and have to step into the ring. Rather embarrassingly I speak about this from some experience as, very unwillingly, I attended a cock-fight in Mexico once, where it is legal. It was while I was filming Happy Hour and the director thought it would add local "colour".

It was a deeply depressing experience. We entered through these doors that looked like they were to a dungeon and came out in a fully seated "cock-pit" complete with commentator on the PA and barely dressed conchitas serving Coronas. Hundreds of Mexican men (it was all men) were off their seats and throwing money about at a table where, what I took to be the bookies, were seated. Then a fight would start and two cocks would be brought in and rubbed up against each other while being held by their "trainers". They were then let loose and would fight rather pathetically on the dusty floor until one would go down and the winning cock would jump on him.

All the time the commentator was keeping a really monotone description going that I couldn't understand but probably went something like "And cock number one has jumped on cock number two, now cock number two has jumped on cock number one, now, great excitement as cock number one has jumped back on cock number two ... holy Pedro, is this a cock jumping and a half...."

It was depressing and left me feeling a little hollow. We didn't stay long. I've just been offered the opportunity to try another great Cambodian sport: blowing up a cow with an RPG. I gave this offer a miss but there are plenty of takers in the backpacking hostels around town.

Wigging out over Murray's humour

More exciting news on the Andy Murray Tweet watch: "Fitness trainer in a wig at lunch. Regular forfeit for him now." Sounds an absolute hoot on the Andy express..

Cambodia to Reach Goal of 60 Pct Forest Coverage

2009-04-27
Xinhua
Web Editor: Xu Leiying

Cambodia is nearing its Millennium Development Goal of maintaining 60 percent forest coverage of its 180,000 square km of land by 2010, according to official figures received in Phnom Penh on Monday.

From 2004 to 2008, Cambodians planted more than six million trees, and the number will be much higher in the future, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries.

"We will grow and distribute 10 million trees to people throughout the country... and encourage tree planting on 10,000 hectares of land," said Ty Sokhun, director of the Forestry Department of the ministry.

Meanwhile, the government has also made efforts to curb illegal logging, closing 19 timber processing plants and making 225,477 hectares of forest land state property in 2008, according to the report.

The tropical rainforests of Cambodia are important centers of biodiversity that house at least 862 native tree species and 775 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles, according to research from the World Conservation Monitoring Center.

UN warns Vietnam of food insecurity

VOV News
http://english.vovnews.vn

04/26/2009

The United Nations was quoted by Malaysian news agency (Bernama) as reporting that Vietnam was among the eight Southeast Asian nations in the danger of food insecurity.

The report released by the international body on April 24 also named Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste.

Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Committee in the Asian-Pacific region, where a total of 26 countries are included in the warning list, said despite high economic growth rates, the region accounts for 62 percent of the world’s famine-affected population.

The hotbed countries have a total population of 2.2 billion, making up 53.8 percent of the world population.

Heyzer said the global economic crisis would not be contained if efforts to solve food crisis fail. She emphasised that the food crisis in the region have even turned into food crisis.

The UN expert raised worries that food prices remained high as the economic downturn has driven an increasing number of people into unemployment and low incomes.

The UN April 24 report has rung an alarm to the world against a fact that food crisis pose a real risk along with the current economic crisis, said Heyzer.

Experts are worried over a relapse of a pressure on food price hike once the global economy rebounds. They also warned that protectionism policies would lead to a surge in food prices, causing a reverse impact on food security in Asia-Pacific as most of regional countries have to import food to meet domestic demand.

VNA/VOVNews

A chance to promote reconciliation

Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com

By Huang Luo-feei
Monday, Apr 27, 2009

A global movement to build “peace museums” is taking shape. Concentration camps in Europe have been turned into museums, Cambodia has its Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, and South Korea has prison museums and the Gwangju May 18 Democratization Movement historic park. The preservation of political prisons and places where massacres took place as spaces to reflect on history and commemorate the victims of violence and oppression is a global trend and has created a “dark tourism” industry.

With the rising number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan and increased demand for teaching Taiwan’s history at schools of all levels, human rights memorials do not have to become “mosquito halls,” as rarely frequented buildings are called. Freshmen Discipline Camp and Oasis Villa on Green Island have long been must-see tourist attractions there. Jingmei Human Rights Memorial Park and Green Island Culture Park, both created at sites that witnessed 30,000 political cases involving between 140,000 to 150,000 victims of the White Terror, have been praised by various groups for their value as memorials.

The question — given that Taiwan is a democratic country in pursuit of cross-strait reconciliation — is why the civic groups and political victims who want these sites to be preserved are being accused of tearing society apart and fueling conflict. The answer is the pan-green camp’s short-sighted political manipulation. The pan-green camp has exploited the human rights value of the sites and the nation’s history of political persecution as a tool. By rushing through the creation of the Jingmei Human Rights Memorial Park for its electoral value in 2007, the camp displayed a lack of reflection and deeper understanding of the historical background.

Amid the controversy, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) urged the Council for Cultural Affairs to consider Taiwan’s history, the feelings of inmates and expectations of residents in planning the park. Ma said that revitalizing historical sites need not conflict with preserving their meaning for human rights in Taiwan.

While paying tribute to victims of political persecution at a human rights monument on Green Island on Oct. 14, 2007, Ma said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had chosen to face history rather than gloss over or avoid it, and that the party would not allow such a tragedy to happen again.

Amid this controversy, the council should remember the original purpose of building Jingmei Human Rights Memorial Park rather than get caught up over whether to rename it.

The council should also temporarily stop allowing cultural and artist groups to move into spaces that were once used for the detention or sentencing of political prisoners, including the military court, the first court, the detention center, the secret police center and other spaces.

It should then develop a long-term plan with an open attitude to ensure that these spaces are preserved in such a way as to commemorate human rights. As to other spaces in the park, the government could plant grass and attract investment from the cultural sector to meet the calls of residents who want more open spaces and cultural activities.

Facing history is the first step toward reconciliation and museums and parks that commemorate human rights are sites that can touch the hearts of visitors.

If the KMT can accomplish tasks that could not be completed under the previous administration and in doing so openly face the excruciating history of political entanglement between the pro-unification and pro-independence factions during the Martial Law era, it would be the beginning of real social reconciliation.

Former political dissidents and individuals concerned with transitional justice hope Jingmei Human Rights Memorial Park and Green Island Culture Park will be preserved, along with other areas, including the former military prison in Ankeng (安坑), Taipei County, the former correctional center in Tucheng (土城), Taipei County, and the navy guesthouse in Fengshan (鳳山), Kaohsiung County.

This is something the government can do immediately and would have particular significance following the passage of the Act Governing Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (公民與政治權利國際公約及經濟社會文化權利國際公約施行法).

Transitional justice may yet see a comeback; Ma should seize an historic opportunity.

Huang Luo-feei is secretary-general of the Association of Mainlander Taiwanese.

TRANSLATED BY TED YANG

DC-Cam expert weighs in on tribunal translation problems

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

Apr 26, 2009
Posted by Elena in ECCC, Duch

After writing my blog post about translation at the tribunal last week, I received a copy of this piece written by Kok-Thay Eng from the Documentation Center of Cambodia. He raises some good points that, given my lack of translation experience, I would not have considered. I've pasted his thoughts below:

I have had some experience translating the Khmer Rouge historical and legal documents at DC-Cam. With so much pressure, the interpretation/translation team at the ECCC has been hard at work doing their jobs.

Translation/interpretation can only be as good as the original statement. My experience in translating interview transcripts suggests that speech in Khmer tend to be incomplete or missing information, especially speech by villagers and traumatized victims. Only people who are familiar with their stories can follow. When a translator tries to replicate this in the target language, listeners might feel it is a translation mistake when in fact that was how it is stated in the original. In addition, as much as Cambodia is going through political and social transitions, Khmer language is also being transformed through trade, the media, civil society interactions and international politics. New ideas and concepts are everywhere in Cambodia , which are not settling down. Both translators and readers are trying to catch up. In Khmer language there is no consensus on legal terminology. I believe that in English, there is such consensus since modern laws have been widely practiced and concepts are written, discussed and used in many formats over and over. Therefore interpreting legal speech from Khmer to English can be daunting because original language might not be clear enough. Interpretation from English to Khmer can also be difficult because the listeners in Khmer might not understand interpreted legal concepts. Of course there are law dictionaries but in special cases confusions can happen.

However, having said that there are a few ways that interpretation at the ECCC might be improved. The interpreters at the ECCC should study speech patterns of people who speak often at the ECCC. They should also study those people's views, positions and their frequently used terminologies. For example, they should study Duch's case file, his biography, the way he speaks, the prison system and related legal terminologies for his particular case. Different interpreters should specialize in different people. Interpreters should also try to anticipate court discussions. In addition, one should also recognize that beyond a certain period of simultaneous/consecutive interpretation, the interpreter can get confused. At this point shift should be made. As much as the interpreters are trying their best to help the communication within the courtroom, legal personnel in the court should also simplify their speech and be as precise as possible.

The translation issues at the ECCC highlight the vital role of the translation/interpretation works for the functioning of the court. It should be treated as a very important element in the court process. Translator/interpreter also needs trainings as much as other personnel at the court do. There are always mistakes in the interpretation/translation if we try to find them.

East-end family helps another in the Far East

Ben Latour, 14, second from left, his mom Jennifer McSporran, sister Brea Latour, 12, and McSporran's partner John Stewart, all of Blackburn Hamlet, spent eight days in February and March living with a Cambodian family and helping them build a house.
Photograph by: provided by the McSporran family, The Ottawa Citizen

Siblings raised $3,000 to build well, house for family in Cambodia

http://www.ottawacitizen.com
By Larissa Cardey, The Ottawa Citizen
April 26, 2009

They spent months raising the money, by babysitting, pet-sitting, tutoring, collecting bottles and cans for deposit, and doing other odd jobs. When they were done, hardworking siblings Brea, 12, and Ben Latour, 14, of Blackburn Hamlet, had $3,000.

And while most kids their age would head to the mall with that kind of cash, these two put their money toward building a house, a well and a washroom for a poor family on the other side of the world.

"It was just great," Brea says of the experience. "Just the feeling of helping people and the smiles ... It's overwhelming. I just adore it so much."

"They have worked hard to raise the money and they were there to make a difference, too," says their mother Jennifer McSporran.

Along with McSporran and her partner John Stewart, Ben and Brea brought their hard-earned money to Bos, a village in Cambodia, where they took part in a project sponsored by Voluntary Projects Overseas, an organization based in Britain. During a six-week trip to Southeast Asia in February and March, they spent eight days living with the family -- eating and sleeping on the same wooden platform with them -- and helping with the construction.

"It was really great being able to stay ... in the community with the family. The other volunteers didn't do that," Ben says.

The two families got to know each other better this way, despite the fact they didn't speak each other's languages, he says.

In the intense heat, the four worked with other volunteers to help build the house and cleared the land to make a garden with the family. By the time they left, half the roof, the floorboards and the frame were done. Other volunteers have since finished the house.

"We had blisters all the time and we have calluses now from doing all the work," McSporran says.

This isn't the first time Ben and Brea have participated in a development project. In 2006, they went to the Dominican Republic with their mother and Stewart, and, while they stayed at a resort, they brought suitcases filled with clothes and personal, medical and school supplies and distributed them to families. They also made two trips to Guatemala in 2007 and 2008 with their mother and other volunteers to help build houses.

McSporran says she decided to take her family to Cambodia because this type of project provides an opportunity to get to know other people and their culture instead of just being a tourist, and make a difference in their lives by giving them "a hand up" and not "a handout."

"I've always felt it's very important to instil those values in the kids, and it's a great way to bring our family together to have a common goal and to show my commitment to those values."

Ben says the best part of the project was just being there and knowing that he was making a difference.

For Brea, the best part was how the Cambodian family they helped "went from being really poor to a bit wealthier and ... more respected in the community."

She says she learned "how so little can make such a big difference" in her family's lives and in the lives of the people they helped.

Brea says she tried to teach some English, using pictures, and many people from the community came to learn.

While the experience was physically difficult, it was "very, very enriching to live in such intimate closeness to a family from a culture that's from the other side of the planet and to do so for day after day after day not sharing any language," says Stewart.

He is now financing the schooling of three of the children in the Cambodian family in memory of his daughter, who died nearly 10 years ago.

It looks like there will be more development projects in the future for Ben and Brea. McSporran, who works with Foreign Affairs, will have an overseas posting next year and she has requested to go to a developing country.

It's "great to just know you can make a change," Ben says.

Cambodia's ruling party concludes 34th plenum

www.chinaview.cn

2009-04-26

PHNOM PENH, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The major ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) here on Sunday concluded its 34th plenum with resolutions on a variety of topics right ahead of the upcoming local election on May 17.

During the plenum, CPP decided to add Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon, Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly, Vice President of Senate Tep Ngorn, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Kun Kim, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of RCAF and Commander-in-Chief of RCAF Infantry Meas Sophea, and National Police Chief Neth Savoeun, into the list of permanent members of its central committee, according to a statement following the meeting.

Meanwhile, the party manifested that the current Prime Minister Hun Sen will become its candidate for the premiership of next national election in 2013.

CPP also vowed to make concerted efforts to win the local election, the statement added.

The participants of the plenum also expressed their support for the peace and stability as well as the economic and social development of the kingdom, the efforts of the military force to defend the country and people, the joint governance of CPP and the Funcinpec Party, and some other national issues.

CPP has remained as the major ruling party of the government since peace was restored in the kingdom in 1993.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

HUMANITARIAN: The miracle of Makara

Local medical mission gives Cambodian girl hope for better life

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
http://www.lockportjournal.com

By Joyce Miles
E-mail Joyce
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

Makara Thouen walked unassisted to her seat on a flight home to Cambodia a couple days ago. It was a miracle facilitated by two Lockport families who opened their homes and hearts to a stranger.

Over a seven-week period, Deborah and Ron Franco, and doctors Helen and Andrew Cappuccino, lived life as they normally do — and changed the fate of a girl who’s about the same age as their own children.

“Things are possible when they seem impossible,” Deborah Franco said. “A team effort is what it takes.”

Before she came to Buffalo in early March, Makara, 14, could not walk without crutches. Her right leg was afflicted with an aneurysmal bone cyst, a tumor that made the bone so weak, she broke it twice the past few years just by walking. In a very poor country, the only “cure” for Makara’s condition is amputation, and a girl who can’t walk is a terrible burden on her family.

Franco, a sales associate for the humanitarian travel agency Raptim International, learned about Makara from an agent of the medical relief mission Operation Renewed Hope and knew she could help. She relayed Makara’s story to her close friend Helen Cappuccino, who in turn passed it on to her husband.

Andrew Cappuccino, an orthopedic surgeon, was prepared to travel to Cambodia in order to treat the girl. When he learned the medical facilities there weren’t sufficient to support the surgery he knew would be necessary, the team effort turned to bringing Makara to the United States.

It was easier said than done.

Franco said Makara’s first attempt at a visa was denied, and it took attorneys in Cambodia more than a year to get that denial overturned.

The Cappuccinos set on the task of recruiting a hospital to host the surgery and had some difficulties. Helen Cappuccino said several children’s hospitals were approached, and all declined, perhaps out of concern for liability.

The only information anyone had on Makara’s condition going into treatment was an X-ray and diagnosis by a Cambodian doctor. Ultimately, the Cappuccinos’ employer, Kenmore Mercy Hospital, signed on for the mission.

Franco worked a deal with Korean Airlines to donate Makara’s round trip. When a seat to the United States came open, she received notice that Makara was finally coming — in two weeks. She drove to Chicago to meet the girl on March 7.

Makara’s surgery consisted of cyst removal, bone grafting and insertion of a metal rod into her leg. Amazing to her sponsors, she was on her feet and submitting to physical therapy in a matter of days.

“It was a one-and-a-half hour surgery, not the marathon that we expected. Makara’s recovery has been phenomenal,” Deborah said.

“She is the strongest, bravest girl,” Helen added. “She came here and faced this all by herself ... and in all this time I don’t think she cried once. She cried a little bit right before the surgery, but that’s it.”

Friends of the Francos and Cappuccinos, and entities friendly to their mission including Lockport Fitness Center and Lockport Kiwanis Club, helped support Makara’s recovery with a variety of thoughtful small gifts.

Meanwhile, the Francos’ and Cappuccinos’ children played big brother/big sister to Makara, sharing her delight as she experienced normal American stuff — computers, rap music, sweet snacks — for the first time. Alex Franco taught her some English and a few songs on the piano. Lizz Cappuccino brought her to school last week.

One of the biggest “firsts” of all for Makara likely was her realization that, after years of struggling with limited mobility, she could walk unassisted again. She marked the milestone with the Francos by throwing her crutches in the garbage, shouting “no more!” as she did.

“The look on her face was pure glee,” Alex said. “Two words, and that huge smile, said everything.”

For her hosts, Makara’s return home Friday was bittersweet. They grew fond of her quickly, and initially thought of letting her stay here until her visa expired in June; but as Deborah and Helen watched the girl more closely they came to believe that would be a mistake. Encouraging her to get more used to American life — and the chocolate and the “I Love Lucy” reruns that she’d already fallen in love with — seemed almost cruel.

“In the village where Makara lives, people walk a mile to get water. They bathe in a river and ... sleep on wooden planks,” Deborah said. “She came to a country full of hope and now she has to go back to a country with no hope.”

While she was here, Makara apparently decided that her goal is to get an education and teach English to Cambodians. To help her realize it, Deborah worked out an arrangement with Operation Renewed Hope to maintain an online trust fund for Makara (www.operationrenewedhope.org). Monthly pledges will be accepted to cover the cost of feeding, clothing and schooling the girl.

Deborah is contributing personally to the effort by writing a children’s book, “The Miracle of Makara,” illustrated by Lockport native Dan DiPaolo. The story will portray Makara’s journey, beginning with her flight from Cambodia.

“It’ll be an excellent, inspiring children’s book,” Deborah said. “It’s a fundraiser for Operation Renewed Hope and the Makara Trust — and also so that Makara will have something to show her grandkids some day.”

Contact reporter Joyce Miles at 439-9222, ext. 6245.

Music Review: - Sleepwalking Through The Mekong (Original Soundtrack)

BC Music
http://blogcritics.org

Written by Greg Barbrick
Published April 26, 2009

The soundtrack to Dengue Fever’s powerful documentary Sleepwalking Through The Mekong is as much a treasure as the film itself.

As you may or may not know, Dengue Fever is a L.A. band whose mission is to resurrect the rich musical heritage of Cambodia. It is a legacy which was nearly wiped off the face of the Earth by the Khmer Rouge. While this is certainly a noble undertaking, there is another aspect to their quest. Their music just purely and simply rocks, whether you understand the lyrics or not.

When Dengue Fever came together in Los Angeles, the one missing ingredient was finding an actual Cambodian singer for the band. They hit the jackpot with Chham Nimol, a former Cambodian pop star who had relocated to L.A. five years previous to joining the band. With all of the pieces of the puzzle complete, Dengue Fever began to garner notice. They released three CDs and gigged regularly, steadily building their audience.

Then Dengue Fever made the journey they were seemingly destined for. They toured Cambodia, which resulted in the documentary Sleepwalking Through The Mekong. The DVD is brilliant, highly recommended, and thoroughly deserving of all the accolades it has received. But the soundtrack is just as important. The film has a visual story to tell, and the music necessarily takes a back seat to it.

But the music really is the reason for the story, and by listening to this superb collection, one quickly sees what all the fuss is about. Dengue Fever obviously have a lot of influences. I count a dozen just off the top of my head on a cursory listen, and I’m sure that is just the tip of the iceberg. The title song bears this out in spades. Imagine Martin Denny in the dark Cambodian jungle, with a lonely guitar and a haunting female voice for companionship. It is an appropriately mysterious beginning for this experience.

The majority of music on this soundtrack is by Dengue Fever, but they pay tribute to some of Cambodia’s musical legends as well. There are tracks by Meas Samoun, Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, and Khee Sokley included here. Dengue Fever also get together with Master Musicians Tep Mary, and Kong Nai for some more traditional sounds.

The result is a tremendous sampler of music. Some have called what Dengue Fever do a sort of musical Bollywood. I disagree. Bollywood takes an inherently American film language, and spins it back. But what Dengue Fever do is far more subversive. They take the lost Cambodian music of the 60’s and 70’s, which was a Bollywood excersize, and spin that whole thing back to Cambodia. It is truly fascinating stuff.

Most of all, it just flat out rocks.

Malia Designs carry a cause from Brew City to Cambodia

One of the bags designed by Milwaukee's Leslie Vaglica.

http://onmilwaukee.com

By Molly Snyder Edler
OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer

Published April 26, 2009 at 2:39 p.m.
Tags: malia designs, recycled, bags, leslie vaglica, whole foods, fischberger's, milwaukee art museum, repurposed materials, green

It's a beautiful thing when fashion meets function. Such is the case with the creations of Malia Designs, a socially-conscious company that produces attractive, purposeful messenger bags, totes, scarves and wallets made in Cambodia by vendors with a human rights' mission.

Lia Valerio and Maria Forres Opdycke own the Chicago-based for-profit, and they hire designers in the United States such as Milwaukee's Leslie Vaglica.

"Malia bags are more than lovely and functional, they provide sustainable income for disadvantaged people," says Vaglica.

About a decade ago, Valerio served in the Peace Corps and then traveled around in Southeast Asia. In 2005, Opdycke spent time in Asia, too, and during their independent travels, both women witnessed human trafficking firsthand. Their experience inspired them to start a design business with the mission to provide a safe, secure working environment for Cambodians.

The Cambodian groups that make the bags (after they are designed by artists like Vaglica) are non-governmental / non-profit organizations dedicated to preventing human trafficking and providing employment for land mine victims, the disabled and street people. The goal is to bring their crafts to Western markets and therefor expand their access to sustainable income.

"We also work with women's co-ops and family producer groups that provide a much-needed source of income for some of the poorest people in the world," says Valerio.

Malia Designs' products are made from recycled rice bags, repurposed mosquito netting and locally-produced silk. They range in price between $30 and $60. The creations are available nation-wide, and in Milwaukee, they're sold at Fischberger's, 2445 N. Holton St., Whole Foods, 2305 N. Prospect Ave., and The Milwaukee Art Museum.

Vaglica, 26, grew up in Milwaukee and says her artistic mother taught her that it's possible and important to make a living doing art. Vaglica attended UW-Eau Claire and Mt. Mary College, where she determined sewing was her strong point. While attending Mt. Mary, she met Valerio who was a design student at the time.

Also, Vaglica is a freelance seamstress who makes dance costumes, roller derby uniforms and tennis apparel for Eliza Audley, a local company that produces garment in the United States.

"I am particularly proud that the money contributed by Malia went to a specific request of children in an orphanage in Cambodia this year: beds," says Vaglica. "Lia has developed such a good relationship with Malia's producers, she gets to see first hand the benefits. Just hearing her talk about it is very touching."


Malia Designs donates a portion of their profits to an organization that fights child trafficking. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that adversely affects one million people every year, including people living in the United States.

"We believe that one way to counteract this global issue is to increase access to economic opportunity in the most affected areas," says Valerio. "Who can resist a great handbag that is 'designed to carry a cause?'"

Khmer Rouge survivors speak out

Um Sath (left), 89, of Long Beach, Calif., a Khmer Rouge survivor who lost her husband, three sons, and other relatives, at a Cambodian New Year celebration this month. She is one of many submitting testimony for a tribunal in Cambodia. (Barbara Davidson/ Los Angeles Times)

Tribunal may let some see justice

http://www.boston.com

By Joe Mozingo
Los Angeles Times
April 26, 2009

LONG BEACH, Calif. - At night, the old woman hears the voices of her children crying out for her. She knows they will never stop.

Um Sath is 89, and three decades have passed since the Khmer Rouge laid waste to Cambodia. But she shuts her eyes and taps her temples to show where the genocidal regime still rules with impunity.

"We miss you, Mama," the voices cry.

Sath spends much of her day sitting in silence. For years, she rarely left her house in Long Beach. Although she now finds peace chatting with the other haunted figures at a senior center, she has kept the echoes of the "killing fields" sealed tightly inside her head.

In March, she let them out - joining dozens of survivors at a recreation center in Long Beach to face their memories. They longed to see a reckoning for perpetrators of one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

Since February, a UN-backed tribunal in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh has put on trial the first of five Khmer Rouge leaders charged with crimes against humanity, for the brutal experiment in communism that took at least 1.7 million lives between 1975 and 1979.

Activists in the United States want refugees outside Cambodia to submit testimony in an effort to spur a judicial process beset by delays, limited funds, and allegations of corruption. They hope, along the way, to relieve the emotional torture of survivors.

"I'm hoping it will allow them to tell the world what happened," said Leakhena Nou, an assistant professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach who is leading the outreach effort in southern California, home of the world's largest Cambodian refugee community.

In the recreation center at a park, Nou explains to Sath and other victims the importance of submitting written testimony.

Nou understands this tribunal has problems. She knows it won't touch even a fraction of the era's killers. She knows political forces in Cambodia want to limit the tribunal's reach. She knows survivors' memories are fragmented and muddled. Asking them to condense incomprehensible horrors of that time into a few lines on a government form borders on cruel farce. And Nou hasn't even been assured that prosecutors will read the forms. But she still hopes this could be a starting point for Cambodians around the world to rally for justice.

She asks the survivors if they want to tell their stories to the group first. Sath stands up.

Sath and her husband were farmers and merchants along the Mekong River, south of Phnom Penh. In the middle class, with enough money to own a modest brick house, they were targets when the Khmer Rouge swept into power in 1975, brutally turning the country into a collective society of farm peasants. Intellectuals, teachers, doctors, bureaucrats, and soldiers were executed.

Khmer Rouge soldiers showed up at Sath's home with rifles, took her husband and told her to walk with her eight children. They had nothing but their clothes. Sath held her 6-year-old boy's hand. For days they wandered, following orders. Anyone who complained was dismissed by a bullet to the head.

One day, soldiers locked Sath in chains and took her husband. Days later, she overheard soldiers mention his execution.

Other stories poured out. One woman gets paper towels to hand around to wipe the tears.

When they get to the government forms, 21 people fill them out. No one remembers dates. Only one victim names a perpetrator. The rest do not remember their tormentors' names, never knew them, or are still scared.

Plight of Cambodia's poor worsens

ALJAZEERA IN VIDEO

As the global economy falters, concern is rising for those living on the margins of society.

Cambodia has enjoyed more than a decade of solid growth but, as that slows, more and more people are being left by the wayside.

Opposition politicians say corruption means that most of the foreign aid coming into the country is not reaching those in need. Laura Kyle reports from Phnom Penh.