Talking about a green future

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
Environment week aims to encourage local Cambodians to look after the environment, not trash it like this river in Siem Reap.



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

Written by Bennett Murray
Monday, 01 June 2009

Cambodia’s second annual Environment Week features a range of events designed to encourage Cambodians to look after the world around them

French NGO GERES, the French embassy and the French development agency AFD are coordinating Cambodia's second Environment Week, which runs today to Sunday.

The week is to feature film screenings at the Institute of Technology, the French Cultural Centre (CCF), Meta House, a display at Wat Phnom and a three-day Eco-Festival at the park east of Wat Botum running from Friday to Tuesday.

"The idea is to have one week in the year where we talk about the environment," explained GERES Deputy Director Charlotte Nivollet. "Whoever has something to say about the environment, whoever has experience on how to address the main environmental issues that the human being is facing nowadays."

In particular, the coordinators hope to raise environmental awareness amongst the Cambodian population and to promote discussion amongst the country's main environmental actors.

The events at Wat Botum park are the centerpiece of Environment Week. Lasting for three days, it will feature a tent complete with the displays of NGOs that deal with the environment.

"They can show the general public what they are doing," explained Nivollet. "People can walk around and have a look and discuss with the organisers."

The festival will feature a stage where quizzes, role-plays and music acts will take place. "There are lots of songs going on from student groups," explained filmmaker and photographer Allan Michaud, who is organising the eco-festival. Additionally, there will be films shown each night from 6pm to 9:30pm.

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The obvious thing is to raise awareness ... rather than have Khmers rely on donors to ... babysit them.
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Local emphasis
According to Michaud, environmental awareness is low in Cambodia. "I think most of the problem in this country is that it just needs people to be aware. Be aware of their own personal problems and issues that they're bringing up."

Events such as Environment Week are intended to change these attitudes. "The obvious thing is to raise awareness and try to educate people, rather than have Khmers rely on donors to come in and NGOs to come in to look after them and babysit them. They need to be the ones looking at their environment and trying to take care of it."

Michaud hopes to get Cambodia's urban population interested in environmental issues in particular. "My personal aim with doing the big event in Wat Botum park is that we need to target the Phnom Penh audience. They're the ones who actually have some power in the country," he said.

"We have all the rural people understanding about their local problems, but if you can get the urban people to understand, particularly the students ... they can take the steps in the future."

Building on success
Environment Week originated in 2007 when the French Cultural Centre featured a three-day film festival featuring movies dealing with environmental issues. "It was quite a small event, but it was very successful," Michaud said.

Nivollet said the event was then expanded the following year by participants who wanted to do "something bigger" on the environment. "We started by just meeting together and thinking what we could do bigger than all these screenings, and we were thinking of something to reach as many people as possible," she said.

With the French embassy taking the lead initiative, the film festival was expanded last September into the first Environment Week with the collaboration of GERES and AFD.

"There were a lot of seminars and discussions which aimed at specifically targeted groups of people," said Michaud, adding that this year's event aimed to be much more public.

Nivollet stressed that GERES, the French embassy and AFD are coordinating the events, but not organising them. "We are here to facilitate the thing and to communicate on the events, but we are not organising the events," she said.

"It will be a success only if the participants want it to be a success."

ADB calls for curb on transport emissions in developing countries

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

Written by Nathan Green
Monday, 01 June 2009

WITHOUT immediate action, the transport sectors of developing countries will account for the overwhelming share of increased carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, according to a new declaration by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

While developed countries are still responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, emissions from developing countries - particularly in Asia - are growing rapidly.

Transport-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to increase 57 percent from 2005 to 2030, with transport sectors in developing countries expected to contribute about 80 percent of this increase, the Bellagio Declaration on Transportation and Climate Change said.

Most GHG emissions in the transport sector and virtually all the expected growth in emissions come from private cars and trucks.

Key principles
The declaration, which outlines how the transport sectors in developing countries can reduce future greenhouse gas emissions, is the result of a three-day conference in Bellagio, Italy, last month. It calls on governments and the transport industry to embrace a range of key principles.

These include reducing the need for travel through better integration of land use and transport; more effective use of carbon finance mechanisms to fund sustainable transport policies; and recognition of the benefits of low-carbon transport in reducing the local air pollution, noise, congestion and road accidents that define many urban areas.

"The Bellagio Meeting will greatly help ADB to develop its Sustainable Transport Initiative, which aims to help Asian countries change their transport investment patterns and secure a low-carbon, sustainable transport future," WooChong Um, Director of ADB's Energy, Transport and Water Division said in a media statement.

The Bellagio meeting, which was held in mid-May, was organised by the ADB and the Clean Air Institute, and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. It also helped build consensus on how transport sector policies must be reflected in the upcoming UN Climate Change discussions in Copenhagen in December, the media statement said.

Government inaction worsens climate threat

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
Around 85 percent of Cambodians depend on the land, putting them very much in harm’s way when it comes to climate change.

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

Written by Eleanor Ainge Roy
Monday, 01 June 2009

THE threat of climate change is gradually making its way to the top of policymakers agenda's worldwide, but in Cambodia such action is proving slower to catch on.

But with 85 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people living in rural areas and largely relying on the land for their survival, according to United Nations estimates, the issue could soon be a critical one.

What will these people do if the land begins to revolt?
GERES, an environmental NGO, released a climate change awareness report in March that showed that 85 percent of Cambodian people are already beginning to see the effects of climate change.

The report cited "unprecedented occurrences of pests, unseasonable rains, droughts and floods" in many areas of Cambodia and said these exacerbated the difficulties faced by people reliant on agricultural systems for their livelihood.

"People speak of the increase in temperature, the irregularity of the wet and dry season, and the growing prevalence of floods and droughts," said Nop Polin, national climate change awareness coordinator in GERES's Climate Change Unit.

"However, one of the main challenges in the battle against climate change in Cambodia is that most people don't know why these changes are occurring. They don't understand the term climate change or any of the causes - such as smoke and deforestation. Without understanding the scientific links they don't care about things like cutting down the forest."

According to the report, 61 percent of people interviewed stated they were "very concerned" about climate change, and 97 percent of those that had heard of climate change said they believed they would be affected.

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The most important thing is for people to start taking individual responsibility by choosing to change.
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However as an indication of the low level of detailed knowledge concerning climate change, most respondents to the GERES survey viewed climate change as a localised issue.

Ing Heng, deputy dean of the faculty of science at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, has seen firsthand the changes documented in the GERES report. "The changes taking place day-to-day are not very noticeable," he said.

"But if we look back 20 or 30 years, old people will tell you the weather was different then. Young people today don't appreciate the difference because they don't know what it used to be like here."

Worse to come
But these changes being noted across the land are just the beginning.
According to the UN Development Programme's Environmental and Energy Team Leader Lay Khim, if Cambodia fails to respond swiftly to the threat of climate change it faces the possibility of sea level rises of 20 to 60 centimetres by the end of the century, an increase in malaria and other waterborne diseases, acute water shortages and a shortage of clean water.

Lay Khim is adamant that the Cambodian government must start preparing more long-term strategies to deal with the looming threat of climate change and prioritise communication with development agencies and NGOs. Climate change needs to be addressed as a development issue, he said, and co-operation between government departments - such as health, environment and agricultural - is crucial.

"We need to get serious about long-term policy planning," he said. "Scientists are aware of the threat but we don't yet know how big it is, and it's very important to start preparing the mindset of the population today, and also investigating investment options in technology, in information, in capacity building to prepare communities for the changes that will come."

Government action
The Ministry of Environment established its own climate change unit in 2006, but many experts are concerned that with only seven full-time employees its capacity is too limited.

Nop Polin was also concerned the unit was not focused enough on awareness raising and was worried about political interference in environmental concerns.

"Deforestation is one of our major concerns but it is very hard to talk about it - even people from the Ministry of Environment find it hard to talk about - because it involves high-ranked people doing such things," he said.

"In our reports we just recommend re-forestation - instead of explicitly criticising deforestation."
Ing Heng criticises the climate change unit for being ‘all talk, no action' though he concedes that their resources are too limited to do any substantial good.

Lay Khim called for the unit to expand and better support the development partners starting to take an interest in Cambodia's environmental issues and provide technical support to the industrial sectors to integrate climate change policies into their business plans.

"I envision over the next two to three years there will be more and more demands on this office to provide more co-ordination, better information sharing and better support of development partners," he said. "At its current capacity it will not be able to provide these services."

In the face of growing acknowledgement of the threat of climate change, NGOs working in the sector are finding there skills and knowledge in demand.

For instance, GERES has lately had requests for carbon audits from Phnom Penh hospitality business the FCC, the British Embassy and UNDP. It has also had over 100 applicants apply for a training course on climate change it will run in July.

But for Ing Heng, a lack of money to implement the programs required to address the impacts of global warming means it is ultimately down to individuals to make the changes needed for their own families and communities.

"Cambodia is a poor country and it doesn't have much money to spend on climate change," he said.

"Rural people care for the forests, they care for the land, but at the moment they are too poor to look after it properly. People in the cities have a high knowledge of climate change - but they are not doing anything.

"The most important thing is for people to start taking individual responsibility by choosing to change."

Cambodia trip can be carbon heavy for careless travellers

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

Written by Bennett Murray
Monday, 01 June 2009

Buying locally is one way for tourists to reduce carbon footprint, an an oportunity exists for businesses looking to cash in on conscience

Cambodia's level of carbon emissions are relatively small at less than 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita per year, but as the tourism industry grows, so does the rate of carbon emissions.

According to GERES Climate Change Unit Manager Minh Cuong Le Quan, tourism directly affects climate change on two accounts. "One is direct emissions from the travel of the tourists," he said, with air travel making a particularly high contribution.

According to the Lonely Planet, a couple flying from London to New York adds 2.68 tonnes of CO2 to their carbon footprint, or over a quarter of the average UK household's yearly emissions.

As tourists visit restaurants and hotels, and travel between them, they also add to domestic consumption of fossil fuels, further adding to Cambodia's total greenhouse gas emissions, Le Quan said.

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The first thing to do is take an honest look at one’s own practices.
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But there are also additional, more subtle ways that tourism increases Cambodia's energy consumption, he added, as tourists maintain their first world, high-consumption lifestyles.

"People tend to take showers the same way and take baths the same way they would in the West or Northeast Asia," Le Quan offered as an example.

Steps to reduce footprints
Le Quan suggested ways that tourists can lessen their carbon footprint. "The first thing to do is take an honest look at one's own practices," he said. "This begins by using the least-polluting modes of transportation."

According to Le Quan, economy class seats are two times less polluting than business class seats on airlines, and three times less polluting than first class.

He also recommended staying in "environment friendly" hotels, though recognised this could be difficult in Camboida due to an absence of any specific "climate friendly" labels.

However, a number of hotels and restaurants have already gone beyond the usual eco-friendly standards, he said, including properties owned by the FABS Group and the Foreign Correspondents Club in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

It is also more environmentally friendly to buy Cambodian-made products and crafts instead of imports, and tourists can also give money to carbon offset programs, which GERES is involved with.

"The idea is good," said Le Quan, but added that potential donors look carefully at the organisations they are giving money to, pointing out that many are for-profit businesses.

Getting off easy
Some critics of carbon offsetting have compared such donations to the payment for papal pardons.

"This is a valid criticism," Le Quan said. "If you just keep going your own way and just offset because you've got money to spend on it and want to feel good about it, that's a pardon."

Instead, he suggests reducing consumption before paying for offsets.

To Le Quan, adopting climate friendly practices is an opportunity for businesses. "It's an opportunity to the structure of companies to answer to the new economy which is emerging this century, which is socially and environmentally responsible," he said.

Walking a fine line in ecotourism

Cycling in the Chambok Community Based Ecotourism Site. Courtesy Mlup Baitong

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

Written by Stephanie Mee
Monday, 01 June 2009

While income generated by ecotourism has the potential to help preserve wilderness areas and sustain villages, not all 'ecotourism' businesses are living up to their responsibilities

With more than 43,000 square kilometres of protected forests, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and marine ecosystems, Cambodia has tremendous opportunities for ecotourism.

While ecotourism ventures are on the rise across the Kingdom, the line between what helps and what harms the environment - and the definition of ecotourism itself - is blurry.

For example, an environmental impact assessment report on a company given a land concession in Kandal province to build an ecotourism site concluded the work would pollute and destroy the habitats of both humans and animals.

The line is further blurred with authorised constructions in protected areas and the forcible displacement of locals to create room for tourism ventures which claim to be eco-friendly.

So how does one differentiate between legitimate ecotourism and tourism for mere economic gain?

In 1990, the International Ecotourism Society defined ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people".

In principle, ecotourism has minimal environmental impact, uses recycling and efficient sources of energy, conserves water and wildlife, and promotes sustainability within local communities. It requires the informed consent of local communities to use their land or territory, respects local culture, creates jobs for local people and benefits local economies.

According to Janet Newman, owner of the eco-friendly Rainbow Lodge in Koh Kong province, there are two main types of ecotourism in Cambodia: community based ecotourism (CBET) and private sector ecotourism.

In 1997, CBET was defined as tourism that takes environmental, social and cultural sustainability into account, she said.

"It is managed and owned by the community, for the community, with the purpose of enabling visitors to increase their awareness and learn about the community and local ways of life," Newman said. She said private sector ecotourism should try to emulate this definition.

A particularly good example of CBET in Cambodia is a site next to Kirirom National Park in Kampong Speu province.

The Chambok Community Based Ecotourism Site was created in 2001 by Mlup Baitong, a local Cambodian NGO devoted to environmental education and natural resource management, and a member of the Cambodia CBET Network.

The site boasts guided nature trails to a 40-metre-high waterfall, bird watching, traditional oxcart rides and homestays with local villagers. All revenues stay in the community and are used in part to conserve the forest.

View from hut at Rainbow Lodge, Koh Kong. STEPHANIE MEE

Project Coordinator Prak Thearith said before 2001 there was a lot of illegal hunting and logging in the area and the people were poor.

"We wanted to provide the villagers with income and encourage them not to destroy the environment," Prak Thearith said.

"For example, using ox-carts and drivers to transport tourists instead of illegal timber, or training hunters to be nature guides instead of hunting rare animals."

Today, income in the village has increased, literacy rates are up, infrastructure has improved, and the villagers are almost entirely self-sufficient. And villagers have an incentive to preserve the forest rather than deplete it.

Private sector tourism in Cambodia is also on the rise, notably with the huge successes of Rainbow Lodge in Koh Kong province and Yaklom Hill Lodge in Ratanakkiri province.

"I would say the potential for this kind of tourism market in Cambodia is very high, considering the abundant resources," said Sompong Sritatera, manager of Yaklom Hill Lodge.

But he warns many people abuse the word ecotourism to promote their business, with little or no background knowledge.

"For example, some people think that when you come to Ratanakiri, anything you have done here is ‘ecotourism'," he said. "Same for some business owners that market their place as offering ecotourism activities without even knowing the basics of it."

The mangrove walkway at Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary, Koh Kong. STEPHANIE MEE

Both Sompong Sritatera and Newman agreed that while ecotourism has the potential to grow in Cambodia, it will be difficult to implement properly unless people take steps to preserve the environment and local cultures rather than simply profit from Cambodia's natural resources.

"I do believe that there is a certain amount of will on behalf of the government to endorse and embrace ecotourism," said Newman.

"Good examples of this are the mangrove walkway at Peam Krasop wildlife sanctuary and the ranger stations at Thma Bang and Chipat, all in Koh Kong province.

"However, many of these projects have been set up by organisations like Wildlife Alliance and Conservation International."

Newman said the future of successful ecotourism in Cambodia lay in education and awareness.

"We must ensure that Khmer people themselves understand the importance of such projects and see that some benefit will be passed on to them and their community," she said.

"This comes from education, not only of those in the field, but also education at an early stage at schools of the importance of the forests and rivers.

"Only if we can persuade the government and the people that there is a benefit to them in environmental and wildlife preservation will it ever happen.

"Therefore, the more people that insist on and support eco-friendly ventures, the more this message will filter through."

Government efforts to say forest coverage up slammed as greenwash by global NGO

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
This forest on the border of Virachey National Park has just been cleared in this file photo taken earlier this year.

FOREST coverage
TOTAL FOREST:

1990 – 12,946,000 ha
2000 – 11,541,000 ha
2005 – 10,447,000 ha

PRIMARY FOREST:

1990 – 766,000 ha
2000 – 456,000 ha
2005 – 322,000 ha
SOURCE: FAO

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

Written by Bennett Murray
Monday, 01 June 2009

Other natural resources also at risk of exploitation as Cambodia’s forests are decimated

RECENT government claims that Cambodia is nearing its Millennium Development Goal of maintaining 60 percent of forest coverage by 2010 have been dismissed by environmental groups concerned over uncontrolled exploitation of the precious resource.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's annual report released in April, more than 6 million trees were planted in Cambodia between 2004 and 2008, and Forestry Administration Director Ty Sokhun said that number is set to increase.

"We will grow and distribute 10 million trees to people throughout the country ... and encourage tree planting on 10,000 hectares of land," he told the Post in April.

UK-based NGO Global Witness, a frequent critic of the the Cambodian government over its environmental record, hotly contests the claim.

"Investigative work by Global Witness over the last decade has revealed widespread illegal exploitation of natural resources in Cambodia and a worrying lack of transparency at the highest levels," Global Witness campaigner Eleanor Nichol said in an email.

In 2007, Global Witness published a report - "Cambodia's Family Tree" - that exposed top-level corruption in resource harvesting and was subsequently banned in Cambodia.

It alleged that Cambodia's logging industry is heavily intertwined with the government via family and other personal connections and recommended that Cambodia's judicial authorities investigate the activities of Ty Sokhun and Chan Sarun, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. "Cambodia's most powerful logging syndicate is led by relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior officials," the report said.

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The same political elite who squandered the country’s timber resources are now ... managing its mineral and petroleum wealth.
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A recent report by the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation also highlights the gap between government claims and the reality in the country's forests. According to the report, Cambodia's primary tropical forest coverage fell 29 percent between 2000 and 2005 from 456,000 to 322,000 hectares. In 1990, Cambodia had 766,000 hectares of primary forest, the report said.

Global Witness said the real losses may be higher, as artificial plantations may sometimes be counted as natural forests in surveys. "Plantations are not natural and have few if any of the ecosystem benefits provided by natural forests," Nichol said.

"They are, in effect, agricultural crops. The inclusion of plantations in forest cover assessments can mask a decline in natural forest cover if plantations are on the increase."

Hit from both ends
But not all of Cambodia's deforestation is driven by powerful Cambodians, said Mathieu Van Rijn, the manager of the forestry unit at GERES, a French environmental NGO.

Part of the problem was rural farmers who make and sell charcoal in order to supplement their incomes during the dry season, he said. "You have to think about people who have almost no income during a certain period of time [each] year," he said, adding that GERES was working in rural areas to encourage sustainable charcoal production.

To do so, GERES has encouraged Cambodians to use the Yoshimuru Kiln to produce charcoal, which requires 30 percent less wood than traditional kilns, and to cook using the new Lao stove, which burns up to 22 percent less fuel than traditional stoves.

"You try to lower demand, and on the other side you try to supply what is needed in the new situation," Van Rijn said.

As GERES helps Cambodians to reduce their consumption of wood, Global Witness (which has been barred from Cambodia since 2005) continues to maintain that the greatest threat to Cambodian forests lies in government sanctioned, illegal logging schemes and other illegal land concessions.

But according to its February report "Country For Sale", the problem of corruption in allocating natural resource concessions isn't limited to timber. "The same political elite who squandered the country's timber resources are now responsible for managing its mineral and petroleum wealth," the report said.

"Like high-value timber, these resources are a one-off opportunity. Once they are gone, they are gone forever."

At least six out of 23 protected areas in Cambodia had some form of mining activity as of February 2009, Global Witness said. One, Mondulkiri province, has had 282,700 hectares, or 21 percent its protected area, allocated to mining concessions.

The Cambodian embassy in the UK issued a press release in response to the report accusing Global Witness of "pursuing a malicious campaign to try and discredit the country and its leaders" and insisted that the government was handling its resources responsibly.

"The Government is working hard to establish a sound and comprehensive framework governing the extractive industries," it said. "These will reflect best practice and be based on the principles of transparency and accountability."

Given the government's track record, Nichol said action needed to be taken by donor governments. "If Cambodia's donors want the country's natural resources to be managed in a way which benefits the Cambodian people, then they must confront high-level corruption which underpins the sector," Nichol's said.

"At a minimum, they must link all non-humanitarian aid to reforms that will make the government more accountable to the country's citizens. They can start by insisting that a credible anti-corruption law - which the government has been stalling for over a decade now - is passed immediately."

Bright idea gives light relief

Photo by: Bennett Murray
GERES Village Entrepreneur Supervisor Narein Sourn shows off a rechargeable lantern.

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

Written by Bennett Murray
Monday, 01 June 2009

An NGO aims to reduce the use of expensive and environmentally damaging kerosene lanterns by distributing LED replacements in rural Cambodia

A NEW initiative by French environmental NGO GERES aims to shine a light on energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint in rural areas from inefficient kerosene lanterns.

GERES Village Entrepreneur Supervisor Narein Sourn said the lack of a national power grid meant people in rural villages usually relied on kerosene lanterns for nighttime illumination, which was bad on many levels.

"The kerosene lamp is not good for the environment, and [villagers] spend much money to buy kerosene," he said.

It costs bewteen 200 and 400 riels to keep a lantern burning on kerosene for four to five hours, she said.

As an alternative, GERES has introduced longer-lasting, cleaner LED (light-emitting diode) lanterns to the countryside at the same price that villagers currently pay to run a kerosene lantern.

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The lantern has now become a tool to empower households.
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GERES rents the lanterns to central village operators, who in turn charge villagers 300 riels a night to rent the lanterns.

The lanterns can operate 12 hours a night for five days before the battery needs recharging.

At the end of the five-day period, the villagers return the battery to the village operator and are given a new one. The distributor then recharges the battery with a diesel-powered car battery and rents it out again.

GERES Eco Business Development Manager Ruben Mahendran estimated that the village distributor can make $45 a month in profit from the rentals.

Whereas villagers will typically burn 250 mililitres of kerosene a week with traditional lanterns, the LED lantern batteries only require 12.5mL of diesel to keep them charged for a week.

Furthermore, the LED lights do not expose the entire household to indoor pollution from the toxic fumes. The flammable kerosene also poses a fire hazard to rural homes.

GERES hopes to use solar power in the future to make the system truly environmentally friendly.

Not just green
In addition to the increased efficiency of LED lanterns, they also provide better lighting than kerosene lanterns, making it easier for students to study at night, according to Narein Sourn.

"Children cannot study very well with the kerosene, because the lamp is not bright enough," he said. "People can also work later into the night on economic activities such as weaving, silk-making and fishing."

GERES has run the project as a pilot program in five villages in Kandal province and has thus far distributed 300 lanterns.

"The lantern has now become a tool to empower households," Mahendran said.

GERES has also been conducting market research in Kampong Chhnang with the intention of expanding the project. In the future, GERES hopes to make a profit from the rentals that can in turn be invested in further rural development projects.

Meeting looks to strategies for containing crisis in Asia

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh during opening speeches Thursday at the Aid For Trade conference in Siem Reap. Photo Supplied

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

Written by Robbie Corey Boulet
Monday, 01 June 2009

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy notes falling contributions to Aid for Trade programme designed to help developing countries build economic ties

Siem Reap

CAMBODIA will in the coming weeks co-chair a group charged with preparing recommendations to bolster trade finance in developing Asia, a task that the head of the World Trade Organisation said Thursday would be crucial for a regional economic recovery.

Speaking on the sidelines of a regional trade conference in Siem Reap, Pascal Lamy told the Post that the economic crisis could limit the level of donor funding for Aid for Trade, an initiative launched in 2005 that aims to help developing countries expand trade and implement WTO agreements.

"We know that there is a risk because of budgetary pressures," Lamy said. "But we are trying to fight this."

A background paper at the conference noted that Aid for Trade to ASEAN countries was on the decline even before the downturn, having dropped 8 percent in 2007 compared with a 2002-05 baseline.

The paper, produced by the WTO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, asserts: "A shortfall in financial flows to developing countries is a real possibility, and developed country demand for the commodities on which much of their recent growth was based is declining."

The lack of trade finance - as well as declining commodity prices and "the inability to conclude" the Doha Round of global trade talks - "risk jeopardising the contribution of trade to economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries", the paper states.

Sok Sopheak, director general for international trade at the Ministry of Commerce, is to represent Cambodia in the Aid for Trade Regional Technical Group meetings this month, which Japan is to co-chair. Recommendations produced by the group are to be presented during a global review of the Aid for Trade initiative, to be held in Geneva July 6-7.

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A shortfall in financial flows to developing countries is a real possibility.
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In his keynote address, Lamy said ASEAN countries could be among the first to recover from the downturn so long as they avoided protectionism, a point echoed by Jong-Wha Lee, acting chief economist at the Asian Development Bank.

"It's absolutely true that ASEAN countries could recover more quickly than industrialised countries," Lee told the Post on Friday, citing higher growth potential, fairly sound financial systems and effective stimulus packages as factors working in the region's favour.

But Lee said Cambodia would not achieve the double-digit growth rates of the years preceding the crisis without a global recovery.

Though he emphasised the importance of remaining open to international trade, Lamy said he believed the crisis had revealed a need for Cambodia to promote domestic consumption so as to make local industries less vulnerable to the vagaries of global consumer demand.

"What this crisis will probably trigger is an acceleration of this rebalancing" away from foreign consumption toward domestic consumption, he said in an interview. "It's not a question of either/or. It's a question of finding the right balance."

Though he said Cambodia, like other ASEAN countries, had been "hurt very heavily by this crisis", Lee commended the government for "very coherent policies in terms of promoting trade".

Working with private sector
Mona Haddad, sector manager for the World Bank's International Trade Department, also praised government trade policies, saying in a presentation that Cambodia had been successful in coordinating aid and creating links between development partners and the private sector.

During the Siem Reap conference, which brought together government, private sector and donor representatives, participants echoed Lamy's call for expanded trade finance and policies to facilitate trade.

Patricia Francis, executive director of the Geneva-based International Trade Centre, said she hoped the regional working group would recommend that assistance be provided to developing countries as they devise trade-promotion policies.

"Without that, the region will not be globally competitive," she said in an interview.

During a panel she chaired on the role of the private sector in expanding trade, Francis said she hoped that private sector representatives would be included in policy discussions.

"In the developing world, we have public sector representatives, but sometimes we don't know if there has been dialogue with the private sector," she said. "We have to remember that these are the people who trade."

In Brief: Investment approved

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

Written by Kay Kimsong
Monday, 01 June 2009

THE Council of Ministers on Friday approved a plan drafted by the Ministry of Planning to spend US$2.8 billion on public investment from 2010 to the end of 2012, it said in a statement. The plan relates to 536 projects, 389 of which are direct investment with the remainder technical assistance projects, said the council. Minister of Planning Chhay Than told the Post ahead of approval in March that the majority of the budget would be spent on infrastructure and irrigation with about half the money coming from development partners.

Electricity subsidies cost $20m in first quarter: govt

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
Government subsidies for electricity have dropped from $300 million for the whole of last year to $20 million for the first quarter.

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

Written by Chun Sophal
Monday, 01 June 2009

State spending on electricity subsidies falls on back of decreasing oil prices as government says costs will drop further with Vietnamese imports

THE government has announced it provided a US$20 million electricity subsidy to residents in Phnom Penh and Kandal province for the first quarter of 2009.

Speaking at the National Assembly on Thursday, Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said that keeping electricity prices down would help minimise the impact of the global economic downturn and help reduce poverty.

"The world economic crisis is showing its effect on Cambodia's economy more and more. So to fight this problem, the government must quietly continue to [reduce] electricity prices," he said.

The government put $300 million towards electricity use in 2008 in an attempt to deal with higher oil prices and the onset of the financial crisis.

Victor Jona, deputy director general of the Ministry of Industry, which is in charge of energy, said on Sunday that the subsidy would reduce the cost of electricity by almost 50 percent.

"The original electricity price should be 800 riels (US$0.19) per kilowatt. But after the aid from the government, the electricity authority will charge between 390 and 690 riels per kilowatt for people who use between 50 and 100 kilowatts per month," he said.

Victor Jona added that at present residents from about 70,000 houses in Phnom Penh and Kandal province looked set to gain from the subsidy. "Every month the government has ... been spending a lot of money to aid the price of millions of kilowatts of electricity to help keep people's living standards stable amidst the world economic crisis," said Victor Jona.

"We hope that the original price of electricity will decrease a little bit from July 2009 when the distribution of electricity from Vietnam arrives here, and then the government may no longer give as much money," he added, explaining that electricity purchased from Vietnam was cheaper than that produced from oil in Cambodia.

Cambodia last month agreed to increase Vietnamese electricity imports.

Police Blotter: 1 Jun 2009

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

Written by Lim Phalla
Monday, 01 June 2009

FREED CONVICT SENT BACK TO PRISON
A Battambang man who had just been released from prison on drug charges was arrested again on Friday after he destroyed his household possessions and hit his mother and younger sister. Heang Chanthy, 30, had been in jail for six months for destroying household property and using illegal substances. He was reported to police by his mother and sister.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Worker forced to confess to crime
Rith Sovannara, 18, has been accused of stealing US$470 and 1,000 Thai baht from a man in Pteah Prey commune, Pursat, after he was taken to the police station by his boss and forced to confess. Police said the suspect, who is from Koas Krala district, Battambang, had already spent most of the money on a cellphone and prostitutes. The incident happened while the suspect was attending an event in Pursat.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Fake jewellery sellers caught
Two men were arrested by police when they attempted to sell fake platinum rings to jewellery sellers at Teuk Thla market, Phnom Penh, on Friday morning. The suspects, Chhun Vy, 33, and Chey Samrach, 29, both live in Dangkor district, Phnom Penh. Police said they found the men in possession of six rings the pair claimed to be made of platinum, but were actually made of a cheaper metal.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

TEACHER KILLED IN MOTORBIKE ACCIDENT
A 34-year-old teacher died instantly when his motorbike collided with another on the way home from a wedding. Saroeun Saykhamthorn of Sokha Phally High School was on National Road 4 in Kampong Speu province when he hit the oncoming vehicle on Friday night. Two people who were on the other motorbike, Horm Sokim, 22, and Chuon Rithy, 23, were both severely injured and were taken to hospital.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Preah Khan Reach jump clear at top of CPL

Photo by: NICK SELLS
Kirivong Sok Sen Chey’s Him Salam (left, orange shirt) skips over a sliding challenge from Build Bright United’s Nhem Sovannara during their Cambodian Premier League game at Olympic Stadium Saturday.

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

Written by Andy Brouwer
Monday, 01 June 2009

Preah Khan Reach's 2-0 win over Post Tel Sunday pushes them two points clear of the rest after Build Bright United had held the lead over Saturday night

SATURDAY'S first CPL matchup saw National Defence Ministry (MND) face Spark FC. Two goals in the last fifteen minutes brought the contest to life in what had been an otherwise drab affair. The crowd at the Olympic Stadium had been looking forward to the head-to-head between last season's Golden Book winner Khim Borey of MND and current CPL leading scorer, Spark's Justine Prince.

As it turned out, both strikers had a frustrating afternoon with a poor supply line leaving them with no clear opportunities throughout the game. With goalmouth action at a premium in a forgettable first half, the heavens opened and rain lashed down as the second period got underway. But it wasn't until the 75th minute that MND cranked up the action level, when Thong Oudom bundled home a corner from Nov Sokseila that evaded the Spark goalkeeper, to put his side a goal ahead.

Five minutes later, Spark substitute Plong Chanthou made a telling contribution with his first touch, crossing from the right-hand byeline for Meak Chhordaravuth to flex his neck muscles and send his header under the crossbar for the equaliser. With only one team looking for a winning goal, MND's Nov Sokseila hit a powerful drive from way out that was well saved, and in time added on, Phuong Soksana walloped a shot that thundered back off the crossbar. The final whistle went soon after to ensure honours were shared.

Build Bright United hop to the top
In Saturday's second game, Build Bright United (BBU) leapfrogged Kirivong Sok Sen Chey into top spot in the Cambodia Premier League with a hard-fought 1-0 success over the Takeo province team. Man of the moment was makeshift striker Prum Puthsethy who latched onto a long hopeful ball over the top of the defence from Nigerian teammate Oriola Adeseye and finished coolly with a low drive that nestled in the corner of the net with just two minutes of the first-half remaining. It was pretty tame fare for most of the first period, with only the goal and Vietnamese Lam Than Tang's volley for Kirivong that flew wide brightening up the game.

After the break, Kirivong did most of the pressing as you might expect, but two efforts from Adesye were the closest they got to finding an equaliser. At the other end, a rare mistake by Samuel Oseika allowed BBU's Cliff Goodluck to weave his way into the penalty area, though his sweetly-struck shot came back into play off the upright. The game wasn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, though BBU weren't worrying too much about it as they sat atop the CPL table overnight Saturday.

Photo by: NICK SELLS
Phouchung Neak’s Joseph Olatubosn (right) chases the ball past Naga Corp captain Oum Thavarak during their game Sunday at Olympic Stadium.

Naga swallow up Phouchung
In Sunday's early fixture, Naga Corp relaunched their campaign with a 5-2 thumping of Phouchung Neak. Naga dominated from start to finish with Sunday Okonkwo leading the charge with a goal in each half.

The first period saw Friday Nwakuna and Meas Channa also finding the net for Naga, while Phouchung's solitary reply came from a sweetly struck penalty by substitute Ouk Thon.

After the interval, Naga sub Neang Chenla added to Naga's plight along with Okonkwo's second, and Pov Samnang grabbed a second consolation goal for Phouchung.

With time added on, Oghenekevwe Auwara compounded the problems for Phouchung by getting sent off for an elbow on Meas Channa. Phouchung remain firmly at the foot of the table, with no points from five games and a negative ten goal difference.

Preah Khan Reach for the stars
In a rather unconvincing win in Sunday's later kickoff, Preah Khan Reach (PKR) put two past Post Tel Club to reclaim their place at the head of the table.

Being one up at the break thanks to Samel Nasa's sixth minute tap-in, PKR's Olisa Onyemerea was very wasteful, missing a quartet of second half headed chances. An own goal by Post Tel's Soth Sotheavy in the dying moments of the game helped confirm the victory although Post Tel had a Gafar Surosinmi penalty saved in the last minute by PKR keeper Ouk Mich.

With the win, Preah Khan Reach go two points clear at the summit on 12 points from a possible 15, with BBU hot on their trail. Phnom Penh Crown will look to climb the league with a win over struggling Khemara Keila Wednesday to put them three points off the pace of the leader.

Angkor Wat revenues down 20pc in Q1

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

Written by Ros Dina
Monday, 01 June 2009

REVENUES from Angkor Wat admission fees have shrunk by 20 percent in the first quarter, the Apsara Authority - which runs the temple complex - announced Sunday, citing the knock-on effects of Thai political turmoil.

"Most foreign tourists enter Cambodia through Thailand. So, if Thailand has a problem, we are inevitably affected by their problem," said Bun Narith, director general of the Apsara Authority.

He added that the decrease happened in line with a 22-percent drop in foreign visitors this year up to the end of March. The number of visitors to Angkor Wat continued to drop by 16 percent in April, he added.

"In 2007, more than US$32 million was earned from selling tickets to Angkor Wat, and the amount decreased about 5 percent in 2008," he said.

Sokha Hotels, which belongs to Sok Kong, the owner of Sokimex, has the right to collect ticket income for the government.

According to Bun Narith, 10 percent of the income is spent on tax and the remaining 90 percent is divided following an agreed formula: each party gets 50 percent from the first $3 million in revenues, after which 15 percent is used by the Apsara Authority for conservation and development of the temples, and the rest is divided 80-20 percent between the government and Sokha Hotels respectively.

According to the Apsara Authority, this formula has been followed since the second agreement between the government and Sokha Hotels in 2005.

Svay Sothy, a representative of Sokha Hotels, said his company reviews its contract with the government every five years, and the second contract will end in 2010.

The Apsara Authority's Department of Angkor Tourism Development showed that the number of tourists who visited Angkor Wat had decreased 13 percent in January, 26 percent in February, 26 percent in March, and 16 percent in April compared with last year's figures.

New MFI to issue property loans

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
The construction sector has seen reduced activity and an increase in nonperforming loans since the economic crisis hit.

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

Written by Nguon Sovan
Monday, 01 June 2009

First Finance – a joint venture with Phillip Capital Group of Singapore and private investors – says it will lend to the struggling property sector despite the continuing downturn and bad loans

WHILE most banks remain reluctant to provide real estate loans to customers amid the global financial downturn, a new microfinance institution set to launch June 8 says it will channel lending to house purchases and construction.

"For the first time, home financing will be available to middle- and lower-income Cambodians," Talmage Payne, CEO of newcomer First Finance, told the Post on Friday. "We are going to offer a product that the other [microfinance institutions] are not touching - loans for house purchasing."

First Finance is a joint venture between Phillip Capital Group and local individual investors. The Phillip Capital Group is a Singapore-based Asian financial house with operations in eight countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe.

"We see largely younger Cambodians getting educations who really want to improve their lives. Many of them want to own their first home," he added.

He said First Finance will offer long-term repayment loans - up to 15 years - with a competitive interest rate. "The medium loan size is US$14,000, and clients will be required to use the title of the house or apartment they are buying as collateral."

The UN Development Programme said last month that more than 30 percent of construction projects "may have been placed on hold due to the global downturn", while analysts have blamed a rise in nonperforming loans this year on the faltering property market.

Payne said that despite the current downturn in real estate, First Finance had not been discouraged to invest.

"The Cambodian economy will come back soon, so we want to be ready," he said. "For those people that have the income and resources, it will be a good time to buy because it's cheaper due to the downturn period."

First Finance will expand to cities in Preah Sihanouk and Battambang provinces by 2010, said Payne.

Hout Ieng Tong, president of the Cambodia Microfinance Association and general manager of Hattha Kaksekar Limited, said Sunday that he welcomed the new institution.

"Most of the MFIs focus lending on small businesses rather than home buyers," he said, explaining that more customers benefitted from loans given to micro-, small- or medium-sized enterprises rather than individual real estate buyers.

He said that Hattha Kaksekar planned to lend $30 million this year, but would not issue property loans.

Bun Mony, a board member of the Cambodia Microfinance Association and general manager of Sathapana Limited, said Sunday this was a new market for MFIs.

"First Finance will be an evolutionary institution, and its focus on loans for house purchases reflects the progress of the real estate sector in Cambodia," he said.

Tourism key to future of Phnom Penh cyclos

The life of the capital’s cyclo drivers is not an easy one. Tracey Shelton

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

Written by Nora Lindstrom
Monday, 01 June 2009

Amidt a general slump in demand for cyclos, tourism is becoming increasingly more important in providing essential income for drivers

Once a common way to get around Phnom Penh, cyclos in the capital has seen a significant drop in numbers over the past few years. Though the battle against the tuk-tuk may be lost, tourism is proving the traditional vehicle's saving grace.

"According to statistics from 1996, there used to be around 10,000 cyclo drivers in Phnom Penh in the mid-'90s," said Nouv Sarany, coordinator at Cyclo Centre, an NGO that provides support and facilities to the capital's cyclo drivers. "Today, however, it's more like 3,000."

A survey conducted by NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut on behalf of the centre in 2008 confirms this. The research attributes the decline in cyclos to increased popularity of the tuk-tuk as a means of transportation, as well as increased use of private cars and motorcycles.

A hard life
Sok Vireak, 36, is from Svay Rieng province and has been working as a cyclo driver in the capital for about 10 years. He spends the dry season looking for customers mainly around Phnom Penh's markets, and returns to his homeland during the rainy season to work in the rice paddies.

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The best thing about them is that they are slow; it gives people time to see the scenery around them.
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"Before, there were a lot of clients for us cyclo drivers, but now people prefer to use tuk-tuks," he said. "I would like to upgrade to a tuk-tuk, too, but I have no money."

Like almost 80 percent of his colleagues, Sok Vireak rents his cyclo for around 2,000 riels per day.

Nouv Sarany says some drivers prefer renting cyclos so they can return home on a regular basis without worrying about where to leave their vehicles. Another reason for renting, however, is the lack of capital. A second-hand cyclo costs around US$50, while a new one can be as expensive as $150.

"On a good day, I can earn 10,000 riels," Sok Vireak said. As the price of a decent meal has risen to 3,000 riels, he says, this is not enough.

The feeling is echoed by 58-year-old Oum Pouy. Originally from Kandal province, he has spent the last 19 years taking customers around the capital on his cyclo. He currenltly struggles to support his wife and three children in his home province.

He is luckier than Sok Vireak, however, as he - unlike his colleague, who sleeps outside Kandal market - has convinced a shop owner to let him sleep on the premises.

Nevertheless, Oum Pouy describes his life as full of ordeals, mostly relating to lack of money.

"I had a very good relationship with the rental shop owner, but then I helped a friend to rent a cyclo," he said. "My friend then sold the cyclo and ran away. Now the shop owner doesn't trust me anymore."

Other common issues facing the men include health problems, lack of education and alcohol abuse.

Cyclo Centre's Nouv Sarany said drinking is a recurring and widespread problem among cyclo drivers. The 2008 survey cites two cyclo drivers as having died of liver cirrhosis. Both Sok Vireak and Oum Pouy sheepishly admit to enjoying their fair share of rice wine.

Green tourism
Amid a general slump in demand for cyclos, tourism is becoming increasingly lucrative and providing essential income for the drivers.

Through Phnom Penh's Cyclo Centre, travel agencies can hire cyclos to conduct sightseeing tours around the city. This leisurely way of exploring the capital has proven popular among foreigners, and calls for tours come in on a regular basis.

"It's a nonpolluting, green way to get around," said Nouv Sarany. Individuals can also book cyclos through the centre for rates starting at US$2.50 per hour and $10 for a day.

Stefanie Irmer, director of Khmer Architectural Tours, which employs cyclos for some of their tours, thinks they are the ideal means of transportation in Phnom Penh.

"The best thing about them is that they are slow; it gives people time to see the scenery around them," she said.

She acknowledges cyclos are a dying species but hopes tourism will give a second life to this unique way of traversing the urban jungle.

"Our cyclo tours are always fully booked," she said.

To organise your own cyclo tour or book a driver, contact the Cyclo Centre on 023 991 178, or email cyclocenter@camintel.com

8th Session of the UNPFII 2009 : 7 Item : Future Work

saviour746

Security tightened as ROK summit begins

Shanghai Daily

http://www.shanghaidaily.com

Source: Agencies 2009-6-1

THE Republic of Korea imposed heavy security yesterday for a summit with Southeast Asian leaders following nuclear and missile tests by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that have frayed nerves across the region.

The summit venue of Seogwipo - on the island of Jeju off the southern coast - is the farthest city away from the North. Still, a nervous South Korean government is taking no chances, positioning a surface-to-air missile outside the venue aimed toward the north.

Some 5,000 police officers, including approximately 200 commandos, and special vehicles that can analyze sarin gas and other chemicals have been deployed nearby, said Kim Soo-byung, a presidential security spokesman.

Leaders of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began arriving for the two-day summit, which officially begins today.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The summit, which is being held to commemorate 20 years of relations between South Korea and the bloc, has been in the works for months. South Korea says it sees the meeting as an opportunity to raise its diplomatic profile and solidify economic ties with the region.

But North Korea's bout of saber-rattling, including last week's underground nuclear test and a subsequent series of short-range missile launches off its eastern coast, threatens to steal the limelight.

South Korean officials said last Saturday that spy satellites had spotted signs that the North may be preparing to transport a long-range missile to a launch site.

The UN Security Council is still weighing how to react to the North's belligerent moves that have earned Pyongyang criticism from the United States, Europe, Russia and China.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last Saturday that North Korea's progress on nuclear weapons and long-range missiles is "a harbinger of a dark future" and has created an urgent need for more pressure on the government to change.

Gates, speaking at an annual meeting of defense and security officials in Singapore, said Pyongyang's efforts pose the potential for an arms race in Asia that could spread beyond the region.

Trade With ASEAN Up 34 Percent

The Korea Times
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr

05-31-2009

By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

Trade between Korea and ASEAN member countries grew significantly since the signing of a bilateral trade pact on goods exports, statistics showed.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Korea's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), comprising Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, increased to $73 billion for the one year since the agreement took effect, from $58.4 billion trade seen during the year before. The two sides are scheduled tomorrow to sign trade the investment portion of their free trade agreement (FTA), the last in a three-phase setup.

Trade with all ASEAN member countries grew so much that ASEAN is now the third largest trade partner for Korea, behind China and the European Union.

The total trade for the two years after the agreement recorded $138 billion, up 33.8 percent from $103.2 billion seen for the two years before the agreement, despite the global financial crisis.

The brisk trade took place in auto and steel trade. Korea's export of autos and parts to ASEAN, the world's 11th largest economy, jumped 77.3 percent in the first year after the pact took effect in the middle of 2007. Steel exports increased by 23.3 percent, and petrochemicals by 20.8 percent.

Korea is increasingly importing agricultural and fisheries products from the region. Its investments in ASEAN, with a population of 580 million and the GDP of $1.3 trillion, recorded $5.9 billion in 2008, making the region the second largest destination for the country following the United States.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the FTA is positively affecting trade between the two parties, and expects it to grow further. It cited Thailand's signing of an agreement on goods trade in February as a positive factor. The Korea-ASEAN FTA comprises of three parts ― agreement on trade of goods, services and investment.

``ASEAN is the major export market which can offset the sluggish mood in the developed market following the global economic crisis. The ministry will strengthen policy efforts to expand market share there,'' it said. Korea's share in the region stood at 5.1 percent as of 2007, growing from the 4.7 percent seen two years ago, but it is still small compared with China's 12.3 or Japan's 11.4 percent.

The ministry said it would strengthen the basis for economic cooperation with ASEAN through official development assistance.

Stretching the Reach of the Law

The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com

By RICHARD GOLDSTONE
Published: May 31, 2009

When Peru’s Supreme Court found former president Alberto Fujimori guilty in April of the kidnapping, injury and murder of civilians in the 1990s and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, the historic verdict resonated around the world: the first conviction of an elected Latin American leader for human rights abuses by his own country.

Fujimori joins a growing list of former leaders facing charges of human rights abuses in domestic and international courts. They include Charles Taylor of Liberia; Hissène Habré of Chad; Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Kaing Guek Eav of Cambodia.

This year, the International Criminal Court, the world’s first permanent court to investigate and try individuals accused of committing genocide war crimes, and crimes against humanity, issued the first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state — President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan.

These cases demonstrate the growing power and reach of a developing system of international justice that includes the International Criminal Court, special tribunals and regional courts and commissions. This system is working toward a new era of accountability for atrocities and is having a profound influence on national courts.

Two factors have brought about this important trend. The first is a mature global network of human rights organizations.

In the Fujimori case, Human Rights Watch gathered evidence that connected the former president with the military intelligence officers who massacred civilians in 1991 and 1992. The International Center for Transitional Justice helped Peruvian officials establish rules for a fair trial, supplying the Supreme Court with resources about theories of criminal responsibility. Other organizations, such Access to Justice in Nigeria, the Blacksoil Center for the Protection of Media Rights in Russia, and Pro Juarez in Mexico, do similar work in other cases.

The second factor is the credibility of the new institutions of international justice.

As chief prosecutor for the international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, I helped investigate and prosecute some of the worst crimes of the last decades of the 20th century. In 1994, when we began our work, the horrors and trauma were still fresh. Our work was urgent, and there was every temptation to rush to judgment.

Instead, we insisted on establishing and observing due process. If the courts were to be instruments of real justice and have credibility in the eyes of the world, our proceedings had to be as transparent, fair and thorough as we could make them. Firsthand testimony from witnesses and surviving victims was important — but so was a strong defense for the accused.

I believe these principles have helped make the case for international justice and prompted national courts, from Peru to Cambodia, to take action. The prosecution of crimes against humanity is not an exercise in partisan score-settling. It is an assertion of the core values of civilized society.

The international community affirmed its commitment to these values in the Responsibility to Protect, adopted by the United Nations in 2005, which asserts the duty to intervene when nations fail to protect, or persecute, their citizens.

Fujimori’s conviction demonstrates the progress we have achieved toward making these values normative. With a coalition of local and worldwide human rights defenders, an international system of justice that commands growing respect, and a global commitment to defend the innocent in every nation, the elements are in place for a more just and peaceful future.

Justice Richard Goldstone is the former chief prosecutor of the international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Suu Kyi likely to be imprisoned again

AAP

http://au.news.yahoo.com

June 1, 2009

Burma's military junta has accused Aung San Suu Kyi of covering up a visit to her home by a US man which led to her trial, as the pro-democracy icon hit back against the "bullying" generals.

The regime said on Sunday that the Nobel laureate is not above the law, and issued its sternest warning yet against foreign interference in the case, under which she faces up to five years' jail for breaching her house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi has proclaimed her innocence at the closed prison trial, insisting that she only offered "temporary shelter" to American John Yettaw after he swam to her lakeside house, and has branded the proceedings as biased.

"It is no doubt that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has committed a cover up of the truth by her failure to report an illegal immigrant to the authorities concerned," Major General Aye Myint, Burma's deputy defence minister, told a security forum in Singapore.

"Thus there was no option but to open legal proceedings in accordance with the law," Aye Myint said. "She permitted him to stay ... She communicated, provided him food and shelter."

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention, mostly at her crumbling lakeside mansion. She was moved to Rangoon's notorious Insein prison and charged on May 14.

The 63-year-old opposition leader met her lawyers at the jail on Saturday ahead of final arguments in the case, which are due to be heard on Friday. A guilty verdict is widely expected.

Her party said on Sunday that she's upset that Burmese authorities entered her residential compound without permission to stage a reconstruction of Yettaw's visit for the purposes of the trial.

"Aung San Suu Kyi said she is not completely satisfied as Mr Yettaw and the authorities went into her compound last week for a demonstration (of how he got into the property)," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.

"It was not in accordance with the law. She said it was unjust bullying," added Nyan Win, who is also part of her legal team.

Yettaw, a 53-year-old Mormon and former US military veteran, was arrested on May 6 after swimming to Aung San Suu Kyi's house using a pair of homemade flippers, and spending two nights there.

He has told the court he had a vision that Aung San Suu Kyi would be assassinated by "terrorists" and was told by God to warn both the opposition leader and the Burmese government.

Aung San Suu Kyi said in a statement to the court last week that she could not be held responsible as the junta had failed to boost security despite her having reported that Yettaw made a previous visit to the house in November 2008.

However, Nyan Win quoted the democracy campaigner as saying that she "has no grudge to Mr Yettaw and his family".

International critics accuse Burma's military regime of trumping up the charges in a bid to keep her locked up ahead of elections in 2010, as the latest six-year period of her house arrest expired on Wednesday.

But in his speech in Singapore, Burma's Aye Myint said the case against Aung San Suu Kyi is an internal matter.

"Countries should refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar (Burma) that will affect peace and security of the region," said Aye Myint.

"It is the universal legal principle that no one is above the law," he said.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at the same forum on Saturday, pressed Burma to free Aung San Suu Kyi and said there needs to be "real change in Burma".

Ann Taylor, Britain's minister for international defence and security, made a similar call on Sunday.

Burma last week hit back at rare criticism from the normally placid fellow members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the treatment of the democracy campaigner.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, said ASEAN leaders will discuss Burma at a summit in South Korea on June 1-2.

Meanwhile, more than 100 people rallied in Singapore late on Sunday as part of a regional effort by civil rights groups to press Burma's military rulers to release Aung San Suu Kyi.

Similar rallies were also held simultaneously in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand, organisers said.

Asians talk of peace, haggle over arms

Japan's Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks during the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore May 30, 2009. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


By Nopporn Wong-Anan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia's defense policymakers spoke of peace in the region's top security conference in Singapore, but have been also huddling in the corridors of a luxury hotel haggling over deals with arms suppliers. Nopporn Wong-anan Singapore (reuters) - Asia's Defense Policymakers Spoke Of Peace In The Region's Top Security Conference In Singapore, But Have Been Also Huddling In The Corridors Of A Luxury Hotel Haggling Over Deals With Arms Suppliers. – Sun May 31

The annual Asia Security Conference, a forum for discussion, brought together some of the world's main arms-makers with military chiefs nervously eyeing their neighbors' moves and looking to upgrade defenses in a region full of long-running insurgencies, potential maritime disputes and growing wealth.

"Defense suppliers find it very important to be here to make a set of contacts," said Jonathan Pollack, professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the U.S. Naval War College.

Japan's defense minister told the gathering that the country, anxious about North Korea's latest nuclear test, would not strike first but it was still looking to boost its air force with Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jets.

Top executives from firms such as Boeing, the Pentagon's No.2 defense supplier, flew to Singapore to rub shoulders with potential clients, as they look to expand foreign sales at a time when the Obama government is starting to cap defense project spending.

"In the event that I'm meeting with any defense suppliers, it will be the last I'll be speaking to you," Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Reuters, fresh from a military success that ended a two-decade old Tamil Tiger insurgency.

AIR AND NAVAL DEMAND

Boeing's defense chief Jim Albaugh told a briefing he saw growing Asian demand for air and naval forces as the region looks to protect its trade and territory.

Boeing met with India's top military official Vijay Singh at one of the hotel's private conference rooms, but the meeting was brief, and Singh later met with Britain's BAE Systems.

Boeing may not have had much luck, as Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Banh told Reuters he also met Boeing but was not buying anything for now.

Boeing is vying for a $10 billion Indian contract for warplanes, one of the world's biggest arms deals, together with Lockheed, Saab, Russia and a European consortium.

India plans to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years to modernize its largely Soviet-era weapons systems. China is spending 15 percent more on its military budget this year, leading to fears among some of an Asian arms race.

"What you do see in the region is a reaction between the military programs of certain countries," said Tim Huxley, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the conference's organizer. "There are many players, each of which is looking over their shoulders."

Indonesia, hoping to update its hardware, spoke at the meeting to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates about buying Lockheed C-130 transport planes, and told Reuters it could be in a financial position in 2-3 years to buy jets and submarines.

The world's fourth-most populous nation aims to raise its defense spending to 1.2 percent of GDP within five years, from 0.68 percent or $3.3 billion now, its defense minister said.

Indonesia's southern neighbor Australia this month released a blueprint for a $72 billion military upgrade, though its defense minister told the conference spending was "rather modest" when looking across the region.

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was asked at the meeting if the defense plan clashed with his vision for a regional security architecture and EU-style community, and replied countries had to pursue that and a defense build-up.

"The chance of conflict can never be ruled out," Rudd said.

(Additional reporting by Candida Ng and Harry Suhartono; Writing by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by bill Tarrant)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi trades barbs with junta

Protesters holding pictures and flowers call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally in front of the Myanmar embassy in Tokyo on May 30. Myanmar's military junta accused Aung San Suu Kyi Sunday of covering up a visit to her home by a US man which led to her trial, as the pro-democracy icon hit back against the "bullying" generals.(AFP/Toshifumi Kitamura)



Sun May 31

YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar's military junta accused Aung San Suu Kyi Sunday of covering up a visit to her home by a US man which led to her trial, as the pro-democracy icon hit back against the "bullying" generals.

The regime said the Nobel laureate was not above the law and issued its sternest warning yet against foreign interference in the case, under which she faces up to five years' jail for breaching her house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi has proclaimed her innocence at the closed prison trial, insisting that she only offered "temporary shelter" to American John Yettaw after he swam to her lakeside house, and has branded the proceedings as biased.

"It is no doubt that has committed a cover-up of the truth by her failure to report an illegal immigrant to the authorities concerned," Major General Aye Myint, Myanmar's deputy defence minister, told a security forum in Singapore.

"Thus there was no option but to open legal proceedings in accordance with the law," Aye Myint said. "She permitted him to stay.... She communicated, provided him food and shelter."

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention, mostly at her crumbling lakeside mansion. She was moved to Yangon's notorious and charged on May 14.

The 63-year-old opposition leader met with her lawyers at the jail on Saturday ahead of final arguments in the case, which are due to be heard on Friday. A guilty verdict is widely expected.

Her party said Sunday that she was upset that Myanmar authorities had entered her residential compound without permission to stage a reconstruction of Yettaw's visit for the purposes of the trial.

"Aung San Suu Kyi said she is not completely satisfied as Mr Yettaw and the authorities went into her compound last week for a demonstration (of how he got into the property)," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.

"It was not in accordance with the law. She said it was unjust bullying," added Nyan Win, who is also part of her legal team.

Yettaw, a 53-year-old Mormon and former US military veteran, was arrested on May 6 after swimming to Aung San Suu Kyi's house using a pair of homemade flippers and spending two nights there.

He has told the court that he had had a vision that Aung San Suu Kyi would be assassinated by "terrorists" and was told by God to warn both the opposition leader and the Myanmar government.

Aung San Suu Kyi said in a statement to the court this week that she could not be held responsible as the junta had failed to boost security despite her having reported that Yettaw made a previous visit to the house in November 2008.

However Nyan Win quoted the democracy campaigner as saying that she "has no grudge to Mr Yettaw and his family."

International critics accuse Myanmar's military regime of trumping up the charges in a bid to keep her locked up ahead of elections in 2010, as the latest six-year period of her house arrest expired on Wednesday.

But in his speech in Singapore, Myanmar's Aye Myint said the case against Aung San Suu Kyi was an internal matter.

"Countries should refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar that will affect peace and security of the region," said Aye Myint.

"It is the universal legal principle that no one is above the law," he said

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at the same forum on Saturday, pressed Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi and said there needed to be "real change in Burma". Burma is Myanmar's former name.

Ann Taylor, Britain's minister for international defence and security, made a similar call on Sunday.

Myanmar last week hit back at rare criticism from the normally placid fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the treatment of the democracy campaigner.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member bloc, said ASEAN leaders would discuss Myanmar at a summit in South Korea on June 1-2.

Resistance to malaria drug growing

The Hindu

http://www.thehindu.com

Monday, Jun 01, 2009

David Batty

London: Growing resistance to the world’s most effective drug treatment for malaria in Cambodia is a development that could threaten the lives of millions of people, scientists have warned.

Malaria experts said the problem in Cambodia must be contained as there were no other effective drug treatments available. The drugs are now taking upto four or five days to clear all malaria parasites from the blood rather than two or three days, according to the U.K. study by the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit.

Dr. Glenn McConkey, a malaria expert at Leeds University, said: “This could be a major threat in terms of drug resistance.” He said there was a danger that the prevalence of resistance to artemesinin could become as widespread as that to chloroquine, which used to be the mainstay of drug treatment.

“It’s a matter of time before resistance to artemesinin in widespread. The concern is that it will spread before we can develop a new drug to replace it,” said Dr. McConkey. Professor Brian Greenwood, professor of tropical medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said resistance to the drug was at present only partial and patients should still be cured if they took artemisinins in combination with another antimalarial, as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

He said that Cambodian pharmacies were supplying patients with artemisnin alone, or flawed courses of the drug were sold that did not contain enough active ingredients to kill the malaria parasite. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

Cambodia women in health battle

Cambodian villagers are encouraged to give birth in the local health centre

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Sunday, 31 May 2009

By Jill McGivering
BBC News, Cambodia

In Cambodia , five women die every day because of inadequate health care during childbirth - making it a leading cause of death among women of child-bearing age.

The government is trying to improve health services but it is proving a long slow process.

Lvea village, in north-western Cambodia, is a collection of wooden stilt-houses along a dirt track, hectic with dogs, piglets and chickens.

Most of the women here have been told to have their babies in the local health centre.
So when one woman, Low't, went into labour recently with her ninth child, she made her way there too.

Sad but common story

Her neighbour, Ron, told me what happened:

"The delivery went well - but afterwards Low't started to feel faint. She was losing blood.

"The health centre didn't have the right medicine - so they went eight kilometres (5 miles) by trailer to a larger one.

"The midwife there couldn't stop the bleeding either, and sent them to the hospital in the nearest town.

"They were still travelling, heading downriver by boat, when Low't died."

It's a sad but common story.

Eighty per cent of Cambodia 's population live in rural areas and the public health system is weak.

In recent years, the government has made it a priority to strengthen its network of trained midwives.

Most Cambodians live in rural areas, where the health system is not strong

They now attend more than half of all births - a significant increase.

Many local clinics function better, even if they're still poorly equipped.

But midwives are paid very little - and can be distracted by running private businesses too.

In Lvea village, the women were cautious about criticising the midwives who tried but failed to save Low't's life.

But one woman made this plea to her government: "Please supply good quality medicine to the health centre so that it can help us."

Progress is being made.

But for women like Low't, it's simply too little, too late.