Tearing at the seams

Photo by: Sovan Philong
Garment workers buy snacks during a break outside the Tack Fat garment factory in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Ith Sothoeuth and James O'Toole

Government and NGOs are scrambling to stitch a safety net as the struggling garment industry sheds thousands of jobs.

As the economic downturn tightens its stranglehold on Cambodian exports, the statistics suggest there is more pain to come: The number of labour strikes between January and June has almost doubled since the same period last year. Of the 23 cases, 17 were related to the garment industry, according to the Phnom Penh Municipal Police.

This is just one of many grim indicators for the sector. The Ministry of Commerce predicts garment exports will fall by "at least" 30 percent this year. The Cambodian Development Resource Institute says wages fell by 18 percent between May 2008 and May 2009. Since January, according to the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, 78 Cambodian garment factories have closed and 30 more have suspended production.

While US imports from Cambodia have declined sharply, exports to the US from regional competitors such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and China have increased. "There's concern not just over the economic downturn, but about competitors in the industry," said Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association. Other garment-producing nations in the region are passing Cambodia by, Chun Sophal said, because of lower labour costs or more efficient production.

"We bring more efficient machines; we try to encourage workers to be more efficient; we try to negotiate for cheaper raw materials ... [but] everything is hitting rock bottom already," Roger Phan, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, told the Post.

A recent report by the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) estimated that 60,000 Cambodian garment workers have lost their jobs since the economic downturn began, and said more layoffs are sure to come.

Further job losses will be felt across the Cambodian economy. UNIAP estimates that of a population of 14 million, about 2 million Cambodians depend on the garment industry - 400,000 through direct employment and another 1.6 million through remittances.

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Everything is hitting rock bottom already.
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Searching for new jobs
NGOs and the government are trying to address the issue through vocational training, but identifying industries to absorb former garment workers - the majority of whom are unskilled and have limited education - is proving a challenge.

Helen Sworn is the director of Chab Dai Coalition, a partnership between NGOs and private companies to retrain women from the garment sector.

She said that although vocational training programmes abound in Cambodia, many of them are designed with insufficient attention to the demands of the labour market. "It's great to have another sewing programme," she said, "but where are those girls going to go?"

Many former garment workers turn to the entertainment sector, Sworn said, including jobs in beer gardens, massage parlours and sex work. "That's been a lure for them ... because it's low-skill and they earn a similar amount to what they get in the garment factories." Such jobs often put women at risk of sex trafficking, she warned, adding that there are also "huge issues of debt bondage".

Heng Suor, director general of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, said roughly 40,000 former garment workers, from an applicant pool of around 70,000, had participated in government-sponsored retraining programmes ranging in length from one to four months. The government has yet to consider the issue of job placement, he said.

Buot Channy, 30, has been working at Phnom Penh's Tack Fat garment factory since 2004. Six months pregnant, she worries about losing her job, although she is critical of the irregular pay and reduced hours. "It seems irregular; sometimes we have work to do, sometimes we don't, and the paycheck is always difficult to get," she said.

Sok Kim, 46, is another Tack Fat employee. She, too, is worried about losing her job and has already prepared for that scenario. "I have bought a sewing machine for my house," she said. "If I lose my job, I will go back to my home in Takhmao." Like Buot Channy and other workers interviewed, she was unaware of the Ministry of Labour's retraining programme.

Photo by: (SOURCE: EMC)
Cambodian jobs are plotted according to their vulnerability to the economic crisis and their suitability for low-skill workers.

Going back home
Leaving the capital and heading home may be the best option for many laid-off garment workers, according to Chan Sophal. He cited agriculture as one of the most promising sectors, as did Michael Smiddy, a senior consultant at Emerging Markets Consulting. Of the 40,000 spots in the Labour Ministry's programme, over 30,000 are reserved for agriculture. The sector is as low-skill and labour-intensive as factory work, with excellent potential for growth, Smiddy said. Crop yields are improving, and profits will increase further if processing facilities are improved, he added.

For some, however, the loss of a factory job means not a new career but early retirement. Ouk Sokha, a worker at Phnom Penh's GoldTex Garment Manufacturing Ltd, said she often worries about unemployment but has no contingency plan. "Maybe I would go back to my hometown in Prey Veng," she said. "I am too old to find a new job."

Petrol prices jump 3pc with more hikes likely

Photo by: Sovan Philong
Customers leave a Sokimex petrol station in Phnom Penh on Wednesday

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Nguon Sovan and Chun Sophal

Rising global oil costs blamed for price climb at local pumps

PRICES at petrol stations climbed about 3 percent Wednesday, despite calls last week from Prime Minister Hun Sen for lower fuel costs, and petroleum officials said additional price spikes should be expected as world oil prices rise.

Caltex, Total and Tela stations on Wednesday raised petrol prices to 4,200 riels [US$1.02] per litre for super petrol, from 4,050 riels Tuesday, and 3,950 riels for regular petrol from 3,850 riels.

Sokimex prices also rose to 4,150 riels for super from 4,000 riels, and 3,900 riels from 3,800 riels for regular.

Bin Many Mialia, business division manager at the Thai energy firm PTT, said Wednesday that oil prices have sharply increased in the last few weeks, which he attributed to a devaluation of Cambodia's currency and weather-related transportation difficulties.

He added that there were no signs that petrol prices would drop. "If the price of crude or refined oil remains flat for another week, we will increase our prices an additional 100 riels to 150 riels per litre next week," Bin Many Mialia said.

Chhun Oun, managing director of Tela Cambodia, also cited rising world oil prices as an explanation for local price hikes, but added that petrol prices could come down by the end of the year if other economic indicators begin to improve.

Each player in Cambodia's oil market is driven by a different set of motives in establishing their prices, said Nay Chamnap, a communications specialist at Chevron (Cambodia), in an email Wednesday.

"At Caltex, changes in the landed cost of product, foreign exchange fluctuations, freight rates, government taxes/excise and the like all have a direct effect on pricing," she wrote. "However, these are not the only determinants of price, and at the end of the day, market forces and competition play a crucial role."

Stephane Dion, managing director of Total Cambodge, wrote in an email Wednesday that the complexity of the world oil market makes valid forecasts of future pricing nearly impossible, even for seasoned experts.

"One might assume that there will be further tensions on the oil product market ... leading to higher prices," he said.

Finance Minister Keat Chhon said Wednesday that, while it could not intervene, the government urged fuel companies to keep their prices down.

"The ministry constantly calls meetings with those petroleum companies to advise them to sell gasoline according to the imported prices of gasoline, not based on the price on the international market," he said.

Petrol prices in Cambodia reached a record high of 5,800 riels per litre in August 2008. In January, prices dropped to 2,900 riels, but have climbed steadily since then.

Hun Sen to officials: Collect all motor taxes

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Chun Sophal

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday ordered all tax and customs officials to collect outstanding duties on motorbikes and automobiles throughout the Kingdom that have not paid required import and road fees.

In a speech Wednesday to more than 1,300 students at a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said officials must go directly to police stations and collect taxes on all vehicles that have been confiscated for not keeping current on fees.

"We want this tax-collection measure to be effectively implemented throughout the country and want everyone to understand this problem," he said.

Kum Nhem, deputy director general of Cambodia's General Department of Customs and Excise, said Wednesday that his officials would work with police in every province to collect tax on all vehicles with outstanding fee balances.

"Under this measure, we hope that tax revenues will increase," said Kum Nhem.

Cambodia's customs office reported last week that US$51.4 million in taxes had been collected in July this year, but did not specify how much of that amount related to automobile fees.

Suon Van Hong, deputy director of the Department of Land Transportation at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said Wednesday that more than 800,000 motorbikes and more than 200,000 automobiles have been registered with the ministry.

He added that the department did not have exact figures on how many vehicles were currently operating without having paid taxes.

Tourist slump hitting Cambodia's silk sector

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Soeun Say

THE global recession has driven Cambodia's silk sector to the brink of bankruptcy, producers and vendors said Wednesday, adding that sales have dropped as much as 50 percent in the last several months.

Sok Sinath, 45, who owns a small silk-weaving business in Koh Dach village in Kandal province, said most silk producers there feared that they were facing ruin, and that some have already closed.

"Last year, my business was good. But as the economic crisis began affecting tourism, sales have been quiet," she said, adding that she has been forced to drop her prices as much as 50 percent.

Nop Naren, 52, said she had to abandon her business because it was no longer profitable.

"I had to quit two months ago because I could not sell my products. My family has been forced to rely on my two daughters, who work in a garment factory," she said.

Vendors in Phnom Penh have also seen steep declines in trade.

"Without tourists and without a better economy, I don't know how long my shop will be able to survive," said Chan Phary, owner of Tuol Tumpong Silk Shop.

Other manufacturers have been able to compensate slightly for a decline in tourist-related sales through exports.

Neng Thavy, communications manager for Angkor Silk Farm and the Artisans Angkor outlet in Siem Reap, said current sales depend heavily on orders from outside the country.

"We've been able to recover a bit from clients in Vietnam, Korea, Japan and the United States," she said.

Men Sinoeun, executive director of the Artisans Association of Cambodia, a training and trade group, said silk sales last year generated US$2.7 million in revenues for the group's 41 member organisations, but that sales in the first half of 2009 have totaled only $1.1 million.

Brunei rice deal inked

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
May Kunmakara

CAMBODIA reached an agreement on Tuesday with Brunei to export 1,500 tonnes of prime-grade milled rice, an official confirmed Wednesday.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the deal was struck between Brunei Ambassador Pengiran Haji Ismail and Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, but declined to provide details of the agreement.

"At this time, Brunei has not expressed its long-term intent to secure rice exports, but has agreed to purchase 1,500 tonnes of milled rice from a local producer," said Phay Siphan, who referred any additional questions on the deal to the Brunei Embassy.

A member of the Brunei Embassy in Phnom Penh also declined Wednesday to provide details of the scope and duration of the agreement.

But two local companies said they have received inquiries from Brunei officials about the purchase of rice, though no formal sale has yet been secured.

Phou Puy, head of Cambodia's Rice Milling Association, said he was contacted by Brunei officials about yearly purchases of top-grade rice - which sells for about US$780 million per tonne. "This would be our first sale of rice to Brunei, and I think they are currently researching prices."

A producer thirsting for exposure

In directorial mode: Ros Sokhom, in the green cap, helps his cinematographer line up a shot. Photo Supplied

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My film can educate ... on how to protect ecology and natural resources.
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The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Roth Meas

Khmer filmmaker explains how his health-promoting documentary could benefit those Cambodians still plagued by the unavailability of clean water

Adocumentary film that deals with environmental issues in Cambodia will be rescreened at Reyum Institute Friday at 6pm.

The film is called Water for Life and was produced by NGO Cambodia Health Education Media Service (CHEMS) with support from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

According to Ros Sokhom, the 35-year-old director and producer, the purpose of screening Water for Life is to show people how to protect the environment, with a particular focus on the importance of clean water for their health.

Ros Sokhom says that people still lack clean drinking water in some parts of Cambodia.

Even those who live in areas with an abundance of water, such as in the vicinity of Tonle Sap lake or the islands of Koh Kong province, still don't necessarily have access to clean water, he said.

Some people spend a great deal of money on water, and those without such funds often resort to using an unclean option, he said.

The UNDP has worked on projects to set up water suppliers or reservoirs and helped with the distribution of water purifiers to those people.

Ros Sokhom's film links the subject to the age-old connection between people and water - hence the title Water for Life.

The film runs 30 minutes and takes place across three different locations: Tonle Sap lake, Koh Kong and Chambok, in Kampong Speu province.

In addition, Sokhom included depictions of water and its life-giving properties found at Angkor Wat.

Inscriptions of water and fish on the temple walls, the director says, help show the strong connection between the lives of local people and water.

Ros Sokhom and his small but dedicated team of three collaborators started shooting in January and finished Water for Life just three months later.

The film has been screened several times but never outside of Phnom Penh.

This was a particular disappointment to Sokhom, who targeted his documentary at the people and authorities who live and operate in areas that lack clean water.

"My film can educate the relevant people on how to protect ecology and natural resources.
"More importantly, it can show how to keep them substantial," he said.

Ros Sokhom knows that a screening in Phnom Penh doesn't guarantee a big audience, and he says Cambodians are more drawn to entertainment than serious documentaries.

"We tried to make it quite entertaining, but at the same time, we wanted to educate people, which was always the main aim.

"I am hopeful that the incredible landscapes and many beautiful birds will catch the attention of the audience," he said, adding: "There are many people who have never been to those places before, and that might pique their interest," he said.

Even though Ros Sokhom has not yet had the opportunity to show the film to its intended audience, he says he is happy to have educated a few viewers so far.

The producer-director hopes to screen the documentary for people in the affected areas one day.

Water for Life marked Ros Sokhom's first foray into environmental issues. He had previously worked on films that dealt mainly with health or human trafficking.

He is clearly proud of his Cambodian team and the sterling work ethic they displayed to finish such an arduous production in just three months.

With the film costing the UNDP as little as US$8,000, perhaps Ros Sokhom will get an opportunity to spread the good word again very soon.

Zepp swims for Pailin team

Christian Zepp (third left, back) poses for a photograph with his Cellcard National Volleyball League (Disabled) team, the Pailin Frechen Lions, at Olympic Stadium. CNVLD

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
CNVLD

Coach Christian Zepp of the national disabled volleyball team plans a 50-hour, 50km swim in his German hometown to support the Pailin Frechen Lions team

FRECHEN, Germany - Inspirational coach Christian Zepp of Germany, who led the Cambodian national volleyball team (disabled) to third place in the 2007 World Organisation for Volleyball (Disabled) Standing Up World Cup held in Phnom Penh, is to swim 50 kilometres in 50 hours this weekend in Frechen to raise sponsorship for the Pailin Frechen Lions, a team in the 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League (Disabled).

Frechen city, Christian Zepp's hometown near the city of Cologne, is proud to possess one of the oldest and best-maintained swimming pools in the country, and in August 2008, Zepp swam an amazing 40.7km in a competition designed to save the historic sports facility. His cash prize for winning the 2008 event was presented by the mayor of Frechen city, who then increased the amount to €600 (US$850) in recognition of Zepp's pledge to donate the entire amount to Cambodia's Pailin Frechen Lions volleyball team.

Starting Friday, the 32-year-old hopes to smash his previous record by swimming a mind-boggling 50km in just 50 hours to ensure the Pailin Frechen Lions continue to Stand Up in the 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League (Disabled).

Revered by Cambodians for his outstanding contribution to the national volleyball team during the 2007 World Cup, Zepp has called for all citizens of Frechen to sponsor him for any amount they can afford in his efforts to support the disabled athletes from Pailin, one of the areas in Cambodia most affected by land mines. "Even for Germans, small amounts of money can make a huge difference for people in Cambodia," Zepp writes to the Post by email.

Christian Zepp emerges from Frechen swimming pool after completing a leg of his 40.7km swim in August 2008. CNVLD

Zepp also wished to praise the efforts of the CNVLD, especially the "amazingly hardworking" Secretary General Christopher Minko and his co-workers.

"They inspired me to use my abilities for more than only working in a bureau and earning money," said Zepp.

Zepp also assured that Cambodia will soon become the leader in disabled sports in the region, through its continued efforts and increasing awareness throughout the Kingdom. "I hope to improve the standard of life and standard of sporting skills, so that well-being of the athletes improves, and we can claim for being No 1 in the world in standing volleyball and disabled sports one day," Zepp declared.

Currently the Pailin Frechen Lions need all they help they can get, lying eighth out of 10 teams in the CNVLD table, having lost both their games so far. Zepp will return to Cambodia in November to prepare the national team for the 2009 Volleyball Standing Up World Cup held again in Phnom Penh from December 14-22. CNVLD

Crown boss spits fire over dismissal

Phnom Penh Crown manager Makara Be strongly disapproved of the decision to send off Lor Pichseila Wednesday.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Ken Gadaffi

FOR the second game running, a Phnom Penh Crown player was sent off for a second bookable offence, putting the team amongst the league's bad boys. Referee Sreng Haoudy showed Crown defender Lor Pichseila his second yellow card Wednesday for bundling over Khemara's Kuoch Sokumpheak during their midweek game, a decision that left manager Makara Be fuming.

The Crown boss was seen confronting match officials as they walked off the pitch for halftime, and in his postmatch reaction condemned the referee's decision outright.

"The referee got it all wrong once again by sending my player off when it was clear that both players were running shoulder to shoulder," Makara Be asserted. "The Khemara player [Kuoch Sokumpheak] tried to get in front of my player [Lor Pichseila], and tripped up.... That was a stupid decision [by the ref] to make, which nearly cost us this game."

Khemara Keila manager Los Salakhan conversely suggested that the referee allowed Crown players to get away with some obvious infringements. "The referee allowed the [Crown] players to bully my players ... which affected our rhythm," he stated. "We missed the chance to go top, which is regrettable."

Meanwhile, FFC appointed referee instructor Tetsu Karakida of Japan said the decision by Sreng Haoudy was fair. "In my opinion, the referee was spot-on in his decision to send the player off," he said. "There was intent to stop the Khemara player."

Photos by Nick Sells (www.nicksellsphotography.com)

Man-down Crown grind out victory; MND pull back Spark

National Defence Ministry’s Sin Dalin (left) skips over a sliding tackle from Spark FC’s Puth Savuth during their Cambodian Premier League match Wednesday at Olympic Stadium.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Andy Brouwer

Phnom Penh Crown held on for a 2-1 win over Khemara Keila Wednesday, while National Defence Ministry overcame a two-goal deficit to draw with Spark FC

AFTER being reduced to 10 men for the entire second half of their Cambodian Premier League clash against arch rivals Khemara Keila, Phnom Penh Crown showed exactly the grit and determination that has taken them back to the top of the table, and which won them the championship last season, with a 2-1 win Wednesday.

On a threadbare playing surface, Crown began the game in confident fashion and could've opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute, when Srey Veasna was denied by a last-ditch tackle on the goal-line by Joel Omoraka. Four minutes later they opened their account, when Chan Rithy danced his way past two defenders, one of which was his younger brother Chan Dara, and confidently sidefooted his effort past Khemara goalkeeper Mak Theara.

Khemara came back strongly, and a couple of opportunities came the way of their star striker Kuoch Sokumpheak, who wasted both of them on a day he'd presumably rather forget.

With the Khemara captain having an off day, it was left to strike partner Nelson Oladiji to grab the spotlight, when he headed in a Loch Ratha corner to equalize, five minutes before half-time.

A minute before the interval, Kuoch Sokumpheak went over in a heap, and the referee brought out a second yellow card followed by a red for Crown defender Lor Pichseila , who protested all the way to the dressing room.

Crown responded by bringing on national U-19 captain and young starlet Keo Sokngorn, and within five minutes of the restart he cashed in on some slack defensive marking to head in a free kick floated into the area by Ek Sovannara. Sokngorn had been doubtful for the game with a knee strain after playing three games for the U-19 team in Vietnam last week, but made his presence felt immediately with his undoubted flair.

Phnom Penh Crown's Oscar Mpoko (left) fends off the challenge from Khemara Keila’s Tiab Chandarasokha during their CPL clash Wednesday at Olympic Stadium.

With the wind knocked out of their sails, Khemara never fully recovered, finding it impossible to take advantage of their numerical superiority, though both sides created guilt-edged chances as the game ebbed and flowed from end to end.

For Crown, Chan Chhaya and Srey Veasna were guilty of not increasing their team's lead even further, though for Khemara, Chhun Kirivutharo, David Adeyinka and Loch Ratha will be kicking themsleves that they didn't do better when their opportunities arose.

The win for Crown takes them back to the top of the table with a two point lead over Preah Khan Reach, while Khemara remain in third.

MND 2-2 Spark FC
This was a tale of the Spark FC's top shot Prince Justine doing what he does best, and a comeback by the Ministry of National Defence team (MND) who'd looked dead and buried until an unlikely hero struck three minutes from the end.

In the first half, Prince Justine, with his own shoot-on-sight policy, found MND goalkeeper Samreth Seiha in defiant mood, having just reclaimed his place at the expense of the injured Sou Yaty. Justine showed off his thunderbolt shooting from all angles, but Samrith Seiha was up to the task at hand, and gave no quarter to the Nigerian marksman, who leads the CPL's scoring charts.

The duel continued after the half time interval, and it was Justine who came out on top after just two minutes from the restart. MND conceded a free kick on the edge of the penalty box, dead center and as Justine unleashed a thunderous drive, the defensive wall disintegrated leaving Samreth Seiha stranded and the ball rocketing into the net.

Phnom Penh Crown's Chan Chhaya (left) holds off Khemara Keila’s Chhun Kirivuntharo during their CPL match Wednesday.

MND were in danger of losing their cool, when Sin Dalin should've been sent for an early bath after leaving his studs in the leg of Spark defender Oung Saboros.

On 63 minutes, Spark and Justine were at it again. This time Samreth Seiha was penalised for carrying the ball out of his area, and Justine fired another of his trademark free-kick scorchers past the wall, and past the unsighted keeper for his 15th goal of the season, rounded off with a customary backward somersault.

Within a couple of minutes, MND grabbed a lifeline when Um Kompheak stole in unnoticed to head home a Pheak Rady corner.

Spark had switched off and were made to pay, and in Nov Sokseila, MND had the game's most valuable player, terrorizing the Spark defence for the rest of the second half.

With three minutes left on the clock, Nov Sokseila danced his way down the right wing and sent over the most perfect cross imaginable. MND substitute Thong Oudom, who'd been thrown on up front in a desperate search for an equaliser, duly obliged by rising above everyone else and sending his header into the net to ignite a mass celebration by the MND bench. It was a fitting conclusion to a gritty comeback by the Army team.

Photos by Nick Sells (www.nicksellsphotography.com)

Points mean prizes in our Fantasy League

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Post Staff

Points are crucial to win our fantasy league, so here's how to get them and what limitations your team has

Squad selection
A manager may enter one Fantasy Premier League squad; multiple squads will be deleted. Squads must consist of: two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards.

You can select up to three players from any one team. If a player is transferred during the season and this transfer takes you over this limit, then you will need to go back under the limit when making your next transfers.

Each player has been given a value. The total value of your initial squad must not exceed £100 million.

Formations
From your 15-player squad, you select 11 players to form your team each Gameweek. Only starting or automatically substituted players will earn points for your team.

Your team can play in any formation providing one goalkeeper and at least three defenders and one forward are selected.

To change formation simply select your chosen 11 players on the My Team page. The computer will automatically choose your formation based on the players you have selected.

Players can only play in their designated position. For example, you can't play a defender as an attacker.

Any changes you make to your team will become active at the next deadline.

Captains
You must nominate a member of your team to be captain. This player will score double the number of points he would usually have been awarded that Gameweek.

If your captain does not play, then he will be automatically substituted in accordance with the rules at the end of the Gameweek.

Automatic substitutions
If your goalkeeper plays no part in the Gameweek, then the computer will substitute him for your replacement goalkeeper, if he played in the Gameweek.

If any of your outfield players play no part in the Gameweek, then the computer will try to substitute the inactive player for one of your replacements. This is done by replacing him with your highest priority substitute who actually played in the Gameweek and doesn't break the formation rules.

Transfers
After selecting your squad you can still deal in the transfer market. Unlimited squad transfers can be made, 1 transfer can be made between each Gameweek deadline without charge. Each additional transfer made in the same gameweek will deduct 4 points from your total at the next deadline.

If you don't use your free transfer, then you'll be able to make an additional free transfer the following Gameweek. These saved transfers don't accumulate and can only be used the following Gameweek.

All transfers before the start of the season are made at no cost. For teams entering after the start of the season, no points will be deducted before their first deadline.

You can play one transfer wild card a season. All transfers made in the Gameweek your wild card is played will be without points deduction. You play your wild card when confirming transfers.
Any transfers you make will become active at the next deadline.

Deadlines
Any changes to your team (substitutions, transfers, captain changes, substitution priorities) must be made by the Gameweek deadline to take effect for that set of matches. Deadline for Gameweek 1, as in the start of the season, is Saturday at 5:30pm.

Player values
Player prices vary during the season dependent on the popularity of the player in the transfer market. Player values will not change until the season starts.

If you sell a player for a higher price than you paid, then a sell-on fee of 50 percent (rounded up to the nearest 0.1 million) will be applied on the profits. For example, if you buy a player for 4.2 million and when you transfer him his value is 4.5 million then you will only receive 4.3 million.

Scoring
During the season, the fantasy football players will be allocated a point score after each Barclays Premier League game based on the following system.
_____________________

CELLCARD have agreed to sponsor The Phnom Penh Post Fantasy Football League, offering a US$20 Cellcard scratchcard and Cellcard T-shirt for the highest points scorer each week. For the most skilful manager of the season, Cellcard will award a 3G handset with Cellcard SIM and a Cellcard T-shirt. Employees of Cellcard and The Phnom Penh Post will not be eligible to win. You have until 11:30am on Saturday, August 15, to register your team in time for the first round of matches. You can still register a team after this date but you will not receive points from the previous week/s. Go to fantasy.premierleague.com and click on Not registered? Sign up. Then enter in your details, including chosen username, password, email address and personal details before providing your own team name (comical/satirical names encouraged). Once you have registered your team, you can start selecting players. Finally, when your squad is complete (and within budget) you can click on the Leagues tab on the left panel. Then click on Create/Join to reach the screen where you should enter the Post league code 112590-31633 (don’t forget the dash). Good luck and enjoy what promises to be an enthralling Barclays Premiership season.

DAN RILEY

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

In Brief: New maybank branch

Thursday, 13 August 2009
Nguon Sovan

Malayan Banking Bhd, better known as Maybank, announced Monday the opening of a fifth branch in Cambodia, located in Chbar Ampov in Meanchey district, Phnom Penh. Jubely Pa, country head of Maybank Cambodia operations, said Tuesday that the new branch is part of the bank's long-term strategy to strengthen its presence in the region and support Cambodia's expanding economy. The Chbar Ampov branch is the third to open in Cambodia this year, following a branch opening on Mao Tse-tung Boulevard in January and another in Siem Reap in June.

In Brief: S'ville port funds

Thursday, 13 August 2009
Cheang Sokha

Japan is expected today to sign two agreements worth more than US$80 million in development funding, including a $72 million loan for two new docks at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Cambodian and Japanese officials said. The docks are expected to enable Cambodia to expand shipping capabilities by allowing larger ships at the facility, they said. Construction on the port is expected to begin in 2011 and be completed by 2014, Lou Kim Chhun, director general of the port, said Tuesday. A separate $10 million aid package will be used to promote economic and social development, the Japanese Embassy said in a statement Monday.

Conference on Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia development triangle

VOV News
http://english.vovnews.vn

08/12/2009

Representatives from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have gathered at a conference in Vientiane, Laos to discuss measures to strengthen cooperation in developing the triangle region between the three countries.

The implementation of Japanese-funded projects to develop the triangle region is also under discussion.

Last year, the government of Japan announced an aid package of US$20 million to fund some projects in the triangle region, which mostly focused on developing human resources and boosting economic development.

Of the aid package, Vietnam received US$3.5 million, Laos and Cambodia US$7.5 million each and the remaining money was went to research and survey activities.

Participants also dealt with some issues such as the organizing and managing transport services in the East-West Corridor, supporting efforts to overcome the negative impact of the global financial crisis and coping with climate change and calamities in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

They proposed that the government of Japan encourage Japanese enterprises to actively partcipate in a cooperative programme with the three countries.

Cambodian Government Accused of Creating “AIDS Colony”

http://www.weirdasianews.com

By bmchargue

12-08-2009

The uniqueness of leper colonies will soon be called into question with the accusation by human rights groups of the Cambodian Government herding HIV and AIDS-infected individuals and families into a segregated “AIDS colony” just outside the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

Over one hundred human rights groups from all around the world have expressed concern to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Health Minister Mam Bun Heng over the deplorable conditions, as more than forty families have been forced to endure since being rounded up from the Borei Keila district of Phnom Penh and sent to Tuol Sambo approximately twenty-five kilometers away.

The living conditions were deemed “life-threatening” in the letter, and described by Human Rights Watch as “crude, green metal sheds” that “lack running water and adequate sanitation.” Those with HIV and AIDS are particularly vulnerable to the health risks posed by such conditions, and according to Rebecca Schleifer of Human Rights Watch, “For them, these substandard conditions can mean a death sentence or a ticket to a hospital.”

Mann Chhoeun, Phnom Penh’s Deputy Governor spoke with the English-language Phnom Penh Post, stating that they are working on bringing clean water to the inhabitants of the village, as well as providing permanent medical assistance in the form of The Center of Hope, a mission from a local hospital that assists with the medical concerns of the poor. A representative of The Center of Hope, however, said it had no plans to open up a permanent facility in the area, but will continue their weekly mobile health services.

Approximately 67,200 adults and 3,800 children in Cambodia are infected with HIV or AIDS. Those relocated are comprised of taxi drivers, seamstresses, cleaners, and day laborers. Their experience is made all the more difficult by the lack of available jobs in such a remote city, as well as the increasing danger of insufficient medical help.

Anti-corruption watchdog to join UN-backed genocide court in Cambodia

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Phnom Penh

UN News Centre
http://www.un.org/

12 August 2009 – The United Nations and Cambodia have announced an agreement to establish an anti-corruption watchdog to oversee the tribunal set up to bring to justice the perpetrators of the country’s notorious ‘killing fields’ genocide over three decades ago.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), set up in 2003 by the UN and Cambodia and staffed by local and international employees, is tasked with trying senior leaders and those most responsible for serious violations of Cambodian and international law committed during the Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 and 1979.

Designating an Independent Counsellor “represents a further step to help strengthen the human resources management in the entire ECCC administration, including anti-corruption measures,” according to a joint statement issued today in Phnom Penh, the capital, by UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksøe-Jensen and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

The new office will “ensure the requirements of due process of law, including full protection of staff on both sides of the ECCC against any possible retaliation for good faith reporting of wrongdoing,” the statement added.

“In this context, the Independent Counsellor will be available to all staff to bring forward any concerns confidentially, and will be empowered to address such concerns.”

The tribunal is staffed by a mixture of Cambodian and international employees and judges, and there are two prosecutors: Robert Petit, who is stepping down as International Co-Prosecutor on 1 September, and Chea Leang, who is Cambodian.

Estimates vary, but as many as 2 million people are thought to have died during the rule of the Khmer Rouge, which was then followed by a protracted period of civil war in the impoverished South-East Asian country.

Currently there are two cases before the court, including the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, also known as “Duch,” who is charged with crimes including torture and premeditated murder while he was in charge of the renowned S-21 detention camp. Nuon Chea faces charges of having planned and ordered the murder, torture and enslavement of civilians.

Corruption watchdog picked for Khmer Rouge trial

Taiwan News
http://www.etaiwannews.com

Associated Press
2009-08-12

Cambodia and the United Nations have agreed on the appointment of a corruption watchdog at the country's Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, they announced Wednesday.
Allegations of corruption _ notably that some Cambodian personnel paid kickbacks to get their jobs _ have threatened to undermine the credibility of the tribunal, which seeks to establish accountability for the estimated 1.7 million deaths under the communist Khmer Rouge's 1975-79 rule.

The allegations also have jeopardized the tribunal's funding, which largely comes from foreign donors.

"I think this new measure is going to address all the issues we have had in the past," said tribunal spokeswoman Yuko Maeda.

The U.N.-backed tribunal has parallel teams of international and Cambodian personnel who work in tandem.

Its first trial, of the Khmer Rouge's top jailer, began earlier this year. Four other former senior Khmer Rouge officials are in the tribunal's custody.

The corruption allegations originally were made more than two years ago by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a New York-based group monitoring the tribunal. Cambodian and some U.N. officials have publicly denied them.

But the allegations were revived in February when a report on the German parliament's Web site alleged that a top U.N. tribunal official had acknowledged the kickbacks and accused a senior Cambodian administrator of corruption.

Wednesday's announcement said Cambodian Auditor-General Uth Chhorn will take the job, which includes protecting any whistle-blowers from retaliation.

Cambodia: A land up for sale?

Ramon Fil says he was tricked into signing away more land

By Robert Walker
BBC World Service
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Romam Fil is moving rapidly through a dense patch of forest. Every few metres he pauses and points to edible plants and roots that the Jarai people of north eastern Cambodia have relied on for generations.

Then suddenly the trees come to an end. In front of us is a vast clearing, the red earth churned up and dotted with tree stumps.

Beyond that, stretching as far as we can see is a rubber plantation, the young trees are still thin and spindly and sway gently in the breeze.

This is the scene of a battle the Jarai people of Kong Yu village have been fighting, and losing for the past five years.

It started when local officials called a meeting and said they needed some of the forest.

"They told us they wanted to give part of our land to disabled soldiers," said Mr Fil.

"They said if you don't give us the land, we'll take it. So we agreed to give them a small area, just 50 hectares."

The villagers say they were then invited to a party and when many of them were drunk they were asked to put their thumbprints on documents.

"Most of us don't know how to read or write, and the chiefs did not explain what the thumbprints were for," said Mr Fil.

The villagers later found they had signed away more than 400 hectares - and the land was not for disabled soldiers, but a private company who began making way for the rubber plantation.

"They cleared areas where our people had their farms, and they destroyed our burial ground," said Mr Fil.

Political connections?

Lawyers for the owner of the plantation company, a powerful businesswoman called Keat Kolney, insist she bought the land legally.

The Cambodian government has been accused of undermining the poor

But groups advocating for local land rights in Cambodia say part of the reason she was able to acquire the land is because she is married to a senior official in the ministry of land management.

It is not the only case where those closely connected to senior government figures are alleged to have taken land from poor Cambodians.

Five years ago, in north-western Pursat province a large grazing area was turned into an economic land concession - land the government grants to private firms for investment in large-scale agriculture.

It was allocated to a politically well-connected company called Pheapimex.

"They just came one day with their bulldozers and started clearing the land straight away," said Chamran, a farmer in the area.

"So we organised a demonstration but then a grenade was thrown among us - we don't know who by. Nine people were injured. The military police pointed a gun in my stomach and said if you hold another demonstration we will kill you."

Transparent process

Under the law, land concessions granted by the government should not exceed 10,000 hectares but the Pheapimex concession, although much of it is so far inactive, covers 300,000 hectares.

Global Witness, an environmental pressure group, estimates Pheapimex now controls 7% of Cambodia's land area.

The organisation says the company's owners, a prominent senator and his wife, have strong links to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Pheapimex did not reply to requests for a response to these allegations, but the Cambodian government maintains that the process by which private companies acquire land is both transparent and legal.

"The requirement is not to be close to the prime minister," said Phay Siphan, spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers.

"The requirement is that you have enough capital, you have the technology to develop the land."

'Kleptocratic state'

It is not just in rural areas that people complain of losing land.

Cambodia's recent stability, following decades of violence, has attracted a rapid boom in tourism and a race among foreign and local entrepreneurs for prime real estate on which to build new resorts.

Farmers have been threatened with jail if they demonstrate

Many of the country's beaches have already been bought up.

And rights groups estimate that 30,000 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes in the capital Phnom Penh over the past five years to make way for new developments.

The roots of the problem date back to the 1970s when the brutal Khmer Rouge regime abolished private property and destroyed many title documents.

A land law passed in 2001 recognises the rights of people who have lived on land without dispute for five years or more, but in many cases it is not being implemented.

The UN estimates hundreds of thousands of Cambodians are now affected by land disputes.

The government has said that they are not forcefully taking land from farmers

But land is not the only state asset being sold at an alarming rate.

Beginning in the 1990s, large swathes of the country's rich forests were bought up by logging companies.

Now sizeable mining and gas concessions are also being granted to private enterprises.

Eleanor Nichol of Global Witness believes individual members of the Cambodian government, right up to the highest levels, are benefiting.

"Essentially what we're dealing with here is a kleptocratic state which is using the country and its assets as their own personal slush fund," she said.

The Cambodian government rejects these allegations.

"They could accuse [the government of] anything they like. Cambodia operates under a modernised state of law. Everyone is together under one law,” said Phay Siphan.

Back in Kong Yu village, the Jarai people are waiting to hear the result of suit filed in a local court to try to get their land back.

"If the company gets the land, many of our people will starve," says Mr Fil.

"If we lose the land, we have lost everything.”

Assignment is broadcast on BBC World Service on Thursday at 0906 GMT and repeated at 1406 GMT, 1906 GMT, 2306 GMT and on Saturday at 1106 GMT.
You can listen online or download the podcast .

Vietnamese firms kick off trade events in Cambodia

http://vietnewsonline.vn

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Compiled by Hong Nguyen

A series of trade events will take place this month at the Tinh Bien Border Gate between Vietnam and Cambodia, as Vietnamese companies look closer to home to offset slowing exports to Europe and the U.S.

A trade festival for Vietnamese made goods will be held at the border gate in Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province, provincial People’s Committee chairman Le Minh Chieu told Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing) newspaper.

The event is timed to coincide with the opening of the Tinh Bien Commerical Zone and to give made-in-Vietnam goods more exposure in Cambodia, said Chieu, co-organizer of the event along with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The two-day festival will showcase a wide variety of Vietnamese goods on sale at ten duty free supermarkets and play host to the signing of a number of export contracts with Cambodian distributors.

Vietnamese products have gained considerable popularity among Cambodian consumers thanks to numerous fairs and trade events held in the country over the past eight years.

Vietnamese businesses taking part in the event will also provide Cambodian farmers with technical agricultural aid and free health check-ups.

A report on the Cambodian retail market will also be released on the occasion.

Vietnam’s Center of Business Studies and Assistance (BSA) also plans to conduct a consumer survey on made-in-Vietnam products in the neighboring market.

The survey is expected to cost VND300 million (US$17,539), to be funded by the Vietnamese Goods of High Quality Club.

The results of the survey will be published as a manual for Vietnamese businesses looking to set up shop in Cambodia.

In recent years, two-way trade has grown on average growth by 40 percent each year, from US$935 million in 2006 to $1.2 billion in 2007 and nearly $1.7 billion in 2008. Both sides expect that figure to rise to more than US$2 billion by next year, according to a Vietnamese government website.

Duch Would Accept Stoning for His Crimes

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 August 2009

The former chief of a notorious Khmer Rouge prison said on Wednesday he wished he could be stoned to death for his crimes, as people in the Bible had.

“If it were the Khmer culture, like after the death of Jesus Christ, of people throwing stones…I would accept if the Cambodian people did the same,” said Duch, a born-again Christian facing atrocity crimes charges for the deaths of 12,380 people.

His statement followed a claim for justice by Ou Thon, 64, who said she lost all four of her children and her husband to the Khmer Rouge, at the killing fields of Choeung Ek, which were administered by Duch.

Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, admitted it was the Cambodian people who suffered the most under the regime.

“I recognize my culpability,” he said.

Groups Lodge Massive Land Complaint

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 August 2009

More than 300 representatives from 19 provinces urged government agencies and offices to resolve disputes in more than 700,000 hectares of land, complaining their daily existence was threatened by their displacement.

“We are losing land, forests and fisheries that are important sources of our daily livelihoods, because of some private companies and powerful officials,” said Hor Sam Art, a representative of family in Battambang province.

The group, from 29 different communities, filed a joint complaint to the offices of the prime minister, the Council of Ministers, the National Authority for Land Dispute Resolution, and the Ministry of Land Management on Tuesday.

The complaint included 119,218 signatures, from disputes in 164 villages in provinces ranging across the entire country.

“We want the government to know our sufferings, difficulties and needs,” Hor Sam Art said. “We know that we are making difficulty to the government in the complaints. We have made many complaints with local government, but it did not find a resolution.”

The complaints included pictures of land dispute locations and reports of shooting injuries and death, beatings, detention, imprisonment of dissenters and the clearing of houses and crops.

“We request the government to quickly suspend or end the new concession contracts and development projects affecting the livelihoods of the communities, as well as put an end to threats and arrests and release prisoners,” the group said in a joint statement.

“We do not have any intention of disgracing the government, but we have no choice, because in the past we’ve protested and complained again and again, but we have not found a resolution,” said Seng Sok Heng, a representative from Banteay Meanchey province.

Ny Chakya, chief investigator for the right group Licadho, said the group would follow whether the government can find soltuions.

“Providing economic land concessions to private companies in the wrong direction affects people’s family economic development and jeopardizes the government’s poverty reduction plan,” he said.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the complaints will be solved “in conformity with the law.”

The government reviews the laws for land property of ethnic minorities, he said, and if it finds companies breaking the law, it ends the contract with the company.

“Now we’ve ordered the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and the concerned provincial authorities to investigates the complaints of the communities,” he said.

Seaweed Company’s Public Offering Illegal: Officials

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 August 2009

A Malaysian seaweed company in Kampot province has begun selling public shares to local citizens as a way to raise investment capital, a move the government claims is illegal.

Since early 2009, FMC Services, Bhd., has invested nearly $3 million in growing seaweed on the coast, which sells as foodstuff in Japan, China, Korea, the US and Europe and can be used in cosmetics.

The company had been using about 60 hectares of sea area, but plans to increase that to 10,000 hectares, offering in September unlimited shares at $300 per share, said Mei Ratha, FMC’s Cambodia representative.

Shares could yield an increase in value of 30 percent the first year, 50 percent the second and 75 percent the third, with value doubling in the fourth year, he said, adding that around 400 people are waiting to buy in.

“Don’t wait and see,” Mei Ratha said. “Time is limited. Come and buy shares. It is beneficial. More beneficial than keeping your money with other people.”

However, on learning of the scheme, Minh Ban Kosal, director-general of the Securities Commission of Cambodia, said the public offering was not yet legal in Cambodia.

“If my company wants to sell shares, I can sell them to people I know, but not publicly announce it and ask the public to buy them,” he said.

Cambodia plans to establish a stock exchange at the end of the year, listing between four and 10 companies, but FMC is not among them, he said, adding the commission would immediately look into the offering.

Mei Ratha said he had not asked for permission to sell the shares, denying the company had done anything wrong in seeking to raise capital. The company was not only selling shares in Cambodia, but other countries as well.

Risk of bankruptcy will be insured for shareholders, he said.

Sam Ganty, a stocks expert who sits on the Securities Commission, said the shares were illegal and risky.

“If we buy shares when we know nothing about the company, and the company doesn’t have permission to sell such kind of shares, I think the shares are very risky,” he said.

JOINT STATEMENT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT COUNSELLOR

http://www.un.org

JOINT STATEMENT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT COUNSELLOR
AT EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS IN COURTS OF CAMBODIA

PHNOM PENH/ NEW YORK, 12 August (Office of Legal Affairs) -- Following is the text of a joint statement on the establishment of an Independent Counsellor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia:

Further to the meetings of 9 December 2008, 23 February 2009, and 6 to 8 April 2009, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Royal Government Task Force on the Khmer Rouge Trials, H.E. Sok An, and United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Mr. Peter Taksøe-Jensen, are pleased to announce that they have concluded the text of an “Agreement to Establish an Independent Counsellor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia”. The Agreement is based on the significant achievements made by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) as witnessed by the over 12,000 Cambodian citizens who have so far attended court proceedings in the first case. Both parties recognised the continuing importance of this progress toward addressing impunity for the crimes of the former Khmer Rouge regime. The Agreement was reached following detailed consultations with, and with the full support of, the Friends of the ECCC (the Ambassadors of the principal donor countries). The text of the Agreement is attached to this Joint Statement.

The designation of an Independent Counsellor builds on the existing structure of national and international Ethics Monitors and the Joint Sessions established by the Joint Statements of 10 December 2008 and 23 February 2009. It represents a further step to help strengthen the human resources management in the entire ECCC administration, including anti-corruption measures, to ensure the requirements of due process of law, including full protection of staff on both sides of the ECCC against any possible retaliation for good faith reporting of wrongdoing. In this context, the Independent Counsellor will be available to all staff to bring forward any concerns confidentially, and will be empowered to address such concerns.

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations have respectively proposed a number of individuals as candidates for the role of Independent Counsellor. After due consideration and extensive discussion between the parties, and after consultation with, and with the full support of the Friends of the ECCC, the parties have mutually agreed that H.E. Mr. Uth Chhorn, the Auditor General of Cambodia, should be selected to serve as the Independent Counsellor.

H.E. Sok An and Mr. Peter Taksøe-Jensen firmly believe that this new mechanism will enable staff in the entire administration of the ECCC to raise concerns confidentially, without fear of retaliation, and that it should be capable of effectively addressing any allegations of misconduct. The parties will carefully monitor the implementation of the existing structure and the function of the Independent Counsellor established by the attached Agreement, and will keep open the possibility of reviewing the arrangements in order to take any opportunities to improve them further, as appropriate.

The full text of the Agreement follows:

Agreement to Establish an Independent Counsellor
At the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

Noting the Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia signed in Phnom Penh on 6 June 2003 (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”) concerning the Prosecution under Cambodian Law of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (hereinafter referred to as “the ECCC”), and the Joint Statements issued by the parties on 10 December 2008 and 23 February 2009 concerning the Joint Sessions between the national and international sides of the ECCC; and,

Recalling the Joint Statement of 23 February 2009, in which the parties noted that the Joint Sessions had promoted greater mutual understanding of the need to strengthen the human resources management in the entire administration, including anti-corruption measures, and agreed that a structure should be established, based on existing mechanisms, to ensure the requirements of due process of law, including full protection of staff on both sides of the ECCC against any possible retaliation for good faith reporting of wrongdoing;

Therefore, the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations agree to the following:

1. In addition to the existing structure of national and international Ethics Monitors and the Joint Sessions, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) and the United Nations shall agree the designation of an Independent Counsellor to be available to all staff to bring their concerns confidentially.

2. The Independent Counsellor shall be an individual who is acceptable to both the RGC and the United Nations chosen in consultation with the group of friends of the ECCC. He or she shall be appointed neither on a Cambodian contract nor United Nations’ contract, but in accordance with the mandate and the terms of reference set out in paragraph 3 below with details on funds to be used to be worked out by mutual agreement between the UN and the RGC.

3. Mandate and terms of reference of the Independent Counsellor:

(a) The Independent Counsellor shall:

(i) be a person of high integrity and good reputation;

(ii) be neither an employee of the ECCC, nor the United Nations, nor a political appointee in the RGC;

(iii) take into account the context in which the ECCC operates, and its specificities, while respecting international standards;

(iv) have relevant professional qualifications and experience;

(v) ideally be fluent in two of the official languages of the ECCC;

(vi) be a good communicator, including having the ability to communicate effectively with high level government and diplomatic officials;

(vii) have cross-cultural awareness;

(viii)be able to relate to all personnel, from the lowest to the highest ranking, including administrative, technical and judicial personnel.

(b) The Independent Counsellor, in exercising his or her function, shall:

(i) carry out his or her responsibilities impartially and independently;

(ii) provide counseling to staff confidentially raised with him or her;

(iii) carry out his or her responsibilities strictly confidentially, except:

(I) to keep the Joint Sessions informed about his or her activities, whilst respecting the confidentiality of staff who have approached him or her;

(II) to inform the Deputy Prime Minister of RGC and the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs of the United Nations at Headquarters in the event of any concerns which he or she deems appropriate to raise at that level.

(iv) If the Independent Counsellor raises an issue referred to in sub-paragraph (iii)(II) above, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs shall seek to resolve the matter promptly through consultations.

4. The RGC and the United Nations will share on an equal basis the costs of the function of the Independent Counsellor.

5. The initial appointee for the position of Independent Counsellor is referenced in Annex. If at any time the initially appointed Independent Counsellor is unable to continue to carry out the functions of the office, he or she shall be replaced by another person who fulfills the criteria elaborated in paragraph 3 above and who shall be mutually agreed by both parties and chosen in consultation with the group of Friends of the ECCC.

6. This Agreement and Annex are made in two original copies, and will come into effect on the date on which both signatures are affixed.

For the Royal Government of Cambodia

Sok An
Deputy Prime Minister and
Chairman of the Royal Government
Task Force on the Khmer Rouge Trials
Phnom Penh, 07 August 2009

For the United Nations

Peter Taksøe-Jensen
Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
New York, 11 August 2009

---

Annex -- Independent Counsellor Designation


We, the undersigned, on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the United Nations (UN), have concluded an “Agreement to Establish an Independent Counsellor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia”. Pursuant to the terms of that Agreement the parties proposed a number of individuals as candidates for the function of Independent Counsellor. After due consideration and extensive discussion between the RGC and UN, and in consultation with the Friends of the ECCC, we hereby select H.E. Mr. Uth Chhorn, Auditor General of Cambodia, to serve in this capacity.

For the Royal Government of Cambodia

Sok An
Deputy Prime Minister and
Chairman of the Royal Government
Task Force on the Khmer Rouge Trials
Phnom Penh, 07 August 2009

For the United Nations

Peter Taksøe-Jensen
Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs
New York, 11 August 2009

Int'l conference held for conservation of Cambodian Prasat Banteay Chmar

2009-08-12
Xinhua English

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Second Conference on Conservation Project of Prasat Banteay Chmar was jointly organized in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the provincial authority, and the UNESCO, the official news agency AKP reported on Wednesday.

The three-day conference ended Monday was attended by Khim Sarith, secretary of state to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Banteay Meanchey Governor Ung Oeurn, and the representatives of the British and U.S. embassies, and a number of national and foreign historians.

"The entire people in the province, especially those living in the vicinity, supported the conservation project of Prasat Banteay Chmar," said Banteay Meanchey Governor Ung Oeurn, underlining that people are prepared to participate in the conservation activities with a view to list it as one of the World Heritage.

Prasat Banteay Chmar, one of the great ancient Khmer architectures during the reign of King Jayavarman VII (11811218 A.D.), comprises the values of culture, architecture, arts and religion, said Khim Sarith.

He recalled that many ancient temples and historical stations had been damaged by the nature and by human acts of destructions due to the prolonged wars for many years in Cambodia.

Jonh Sandy, the Global Heritage Fund representative, said his organization and the ministry had concluded a MOU, not only for the conservation project of Prasat Banteay Chmar, but also for the professional staff training, the establishment and development of an association of tourism, and particularly the preparation of Prasat Banteay Chmar to be listed in the World Heritage.

A catch-all hearing and a prosecution running out of steam

Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 11/08/2009: On Day 57 of Duch’s trial at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
©John Vink/ Magnum

Ka-set
http://cambodia.ka-set.info

By Stéphanie Gée
12-08-2009

Tuesday August 11th, Duch did not deny that witness Saom Meth used to be under his orders at S-21. Unsurprisingly, the accused rejected the former guard’s claim that he tortured prisoners himself and swore that if that had been the case, he would have made no secret of it. After this witness’ testimony, the Chamber proceeded to the chain reading of the minutes of other witnesses’ hearings. By late morning, the international co-Prosecutor was rebuffed by the judges for an inopportune intervention. After the lunch break, a new face was on show. It was no longer Anees Ahmed who represented the prosecution, but another of his colleagues, Belgian Vincent de Wilde, who made his first appearance as the fifth international co-Prosecutor in this trial. A strategy of the interchangeable that has failed to be fruitful until now.

Earlier in the day, civil party group 3 announced they renounced to the hearing of one or possibly two of their civil parties, who feature among those contested on the previous day by the accused. The latter expressed doubt that the relatives these parties represent were actually imprisoned at S-21.

A witness tired of being faced with his past statements
Saom Meth’s interrogation resumed with the co-Prosecutors. The Cambodian one asked him to reconfirm several points in the statement he made with the investigators of the office of the co-Investigating Judges. Did he witness the technique of the fan, which consisted in exposing a naked wet detainee to the air produced by one of those machines? The witness’ answer: what he said was true, he did “not invent anything.” When sometimes, Thuy [interrogator at the special prison] interrogated a detainee and failed to make him talk, did Duch then intervene to threaten the prisoner? “What I said is true.” Did he really see Duch give a couple of kicks to a prisoner while urging him to answer quickly? “What I said is the truth…” In his statement, Saom Meth also specified that the accused came everyday to the place where he was on guard duty. Did he confirm it? “When I made that statement, I was a little excessive. Please forgive me for that.” Also, he no longer said he witnessed with his own eyes a practice consisting in piercing prisoners’ nails with needles.

Was Saom Meth afraid of Duch? “Of course […]! Out of the fifty members comprising the messengers unit [at S-21], only four or five stayed. The others disappeared. That’s when I started to fear him.” How did the accused behave with the guards? “He was not arrogant but smiling. Sometimes, he even laughed with them.”

Saom Meth saved by Him Huy?
Ty Srina, of civil party group 1, continued the interrogation following the same principle of verifying. The witness said he maintained what he had already declared to the office of the co-Investigating Judges. “Was there any mutual assistance at S-21?”, the young woman asked him, referring to the fact that former cadre Him Huy (in charge of the transfer of prisoners to the Choeung Ek execution site) assigned him to farming work at Prey Sar (S-24) when he was at risk of knowing the same fate as his brother, who was arrested, sent to S-21 and executed. “It is true. He helped me. I don’t know if he did the same for other people.” Later, Saom Meth explained that Huy had advised him in that critical moment to “be strong and not say anything” and promised to help him with one instruction: conceal his connection to this brother fallen out of grace.

Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 11/08/2009: The accused Duch on a screen in the ECCC press room
©John Vink/ Magnum

“What I saw and said is the truth,” the witness, slightly exasperated, said to the next lawyer, who also faced him with his previous statements. As for the Santebal rules, he did not see them written on the walls or a blackboard – like the one now displayed at the Tuol Sleng museum and which Duch attributed to the sole Vietnamese – but learned them during political meetings.

The defence satisfied with the witness’ answers
Turn to the defence. Kar Savuth asked him if he saw the accused kill a prisoner with his own hands. The witness answered negatively. Did he “ever receive instructions directly from Duch?” No, Saom Meth again replied, specifying that he obeyed only to his group leader. Duch’s lawyer welcomed the two replies with a “I thank you [for your statements]” filled with contentment. No, the witness was not happy at all with his work “because people were arrested and killed.” “I thank you for declaring that you were not happy with your work at S-21,” Kar Savuth commented on the same tone.

Duch contests: “If I had tortured, I would not have denied it”
Time for the observations of the accused. Duch recognised that Saom Meth was a guard at the Special Unit of S-21. “Overall, [his testimony] reflected the truth. However, regarding the allegation I came to torture prisoners where Thuy worked [made by Saom Meth on the previous day in court], I would not have denied it if I had done it. I want to establish things very clearly. As S-21 director, I committed serious crimes. I politically indoctrinated these people […] and passed on the criminal intentions of the CPK [Communist Party of Kampuchea] in my teachings, that is any person arrested by the party had to be considered an enemy. And this is one of the most serious crimes I committed. I am responsible for these more than 10,000 lives lost at S-21.”

Torture was not in his functions as S-21 director
Duch recalled having written and transmitted to his superiors documents highlighting the names of people whose arrest had not yet been decided by the Angkar. However, he nuanced, “whichever society we may live in, each person fulfils their task on the basis of the mission they are given. A guard could not be an interrogator, the same way an interrogator could not take some of his time to act as a guard. As S-21 director, I could not devote time to these tasks or people. It was not possible. I cannot deny it is a serious allegation to say I used to beat prisoners…”

The two times when the accused went to an interrogation room, it was Pon’s and not Thuy’s, whose violent methods against prisoners he was aware of, he claimed. Duch asked that a document be shown on the screen: they were the instructions he gave Thuy, a text carefully handwritten. “This document – recovered at S-21 – clearly shows that I did not go on site but I tried to encourage Thuy. However, the latter always believed he should refer to Pon.” Finally, the accused expressed his regrets to the witness and his family for the brother who was killed.

Reading of a long series of witness testimonies
From 11am to the end of the day, the clerks’ voice was heard for most of the time as they proceeded to the reading of minutes of testimonies of witnesses who were not summoned by the Chamber. The minutes were established by the investigators of the office of the co-Investigating Judges. Their reading continued until intoxicating the public’s ears.

First, there was Mok Setim, who was part of S-21 medical staff, after receiving a training in which he learned to “make medicinal remedies and ground medication.” He had to take care of prisoners so they could last until the end of interrogations. Among them, “thirty to forty” of them were pale because blood had been taken from them. He never saw Duch come and give orders. He acknowledged that most of the medication prescribed were not efficient.

After the reading was over, Kar Savuth noted for the defence that the witness confirmed that the S-21 medical staff members were “all male.” For his part, Duch repeated that the order to draw blood from prisoners came from his hierarchical superior Son Sen. It was difficult for him to determine if Mok Setim was a S-21 staff member or not.

No children seen at Choeung Ek
The second minutes concerned someone named Toy Teng, guard outside the S-21 detention centre before being transferred to the rice field at Prey Sar, after being accused following the arrest of one of his cousins. In a second hearing minutes, the witness declared he was sent together with his team to Choeung Ek and they had to dig pits, ensure the safety of the premises and “list the prisoners when they arrived and were executed.” “It could take a couple of days to dig a pit, according to the hardness of the soil.” The pits – “twenty or thirty” in all according to him – could each contain a dozen bodies. He never saw children brought to Choeung Ek. What was his state of mind when he worked at Choeung Ek ? “At the time, it was impossible not to do what you were told to do. It was a little like living with tigers.”

At the end of this reading, a civil party group 4 lawyer insisted on observing that this testimony was “clear.” “It appears that there was torture and execution.” A scoop… Defence counsel Kar Savuth then made his own comment. “It appears that [this witness] never saw the accused present at Choeung Ek.” Yet, if Toy Peng said he did not see Duch come to the execution site, he nuanced that even if he had, he would not have recognised him because he did not know Duch very well.

The international co-Prosecutor lectured by the judges
The international co-Prosecutor then wanted to shine. He invited the Chamber to ask the defence if they opposed or not the fact of not summoning the witnesses whose testimonies were read. The request was a flop. The president “did not understand very well” his rationale and recalled him that only the Chamber had the authority to decide to summon a witness or not. Nil Nonn called him to clarify himself. Anees Ahmed did it again. This time, judge Lavergne expressed his surprise. “This issue has already been discussed repeatedly,” he recalled: during the trial management meeting, in which the defence said they renounced the hearing of said witness in court; and again, last week, when the defence again confirmed they would not ask the witness to come to the trial. “So, I do not understand very well what is the sense of the request presented today by the co-Prosecutors…” Anees Ahmed was put in his place and his observation rejected. He did not prolong the discussion.

Kambol (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). 11/08/2009: The court building at the ECCC
©John Vink/ Magnum

Although he did not know Toy Peng’s face before meeting him during the reconstruction at Choeung Ek early 2008, Duch leaned towards believing he was a S-21 staff member.

An accused in contact with Democratic Kampuchea leaders?
The hearing of Som Sam Ol, former messenger with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Khmer Rouge, was read. He reported he saw Duch participate in 1977 “to a weekly meeting at Ministry B1 with Ieng Sary, Pol Pot, Son Sen, Nuon Chea and Ta Mok. Duch often participated to meetings with higher echelon members […], until the liberation. […] I knew about it because I was on the floor below the one where these meetings were held.” At Duch’s wedding at the house of the accused, which this witness said he was invited to, he noted the presence of “Son Sen, Nuon Chea and Ieng Thirith.” “So, I think that Duch was an important person since important people attended his wedding. And I think everyone knew the S-21 centre and the nature of Duch’s work because he was quite open about it.” About Duch, he said he had “noted he liked his work because every time I met him, he was always smiling and was very active in his work.”

The accused denies
Duch reacted to the statement by reading the answers he gave to the co-Investigating Judges when they confronted him to this testimony: “I would like to say that this statement is inaccurate. These high officials [Ieng Sary, Son Sen, etc] were not present at my wedding.” And he listed the names of the guests at his wedding. “I do not know why this witness made this declaration. Also, I think he was not a messenger with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but more likely a S-21 staff member.”

Another witness not really favourable to Duch
Another witness, Ouk Bun Seng, who was “re-educated” at Boeung Choeung Ek before being sent to S-24 (Prey Sar), told the investigators of the office of the co-Investigating Judges that in his escape from S-24 in 1979 when the Vietnamese troops arrived, he met with Duch in the Cardamoms. There, there were six prisoners, arrested by the subordinates of Duch, who said they should be “eliminated, whether they confess or not.” The witness also saw there a prisoner be tortured with an inflamed torch put in his mouth, while Duch stood nearby. However, he described Duch as “pleasant, friendly but firm,” in contrast to Huy, Prey Sar’s leader, who was “nasty.” After this new testimony was read, Duch said he never knew the witness. He denied in particular the episode of the torture in the Cardamoms because, he justified, everything was in disarray after January 7th 1979.

A testimony favourable to the defence
The following witness, named Toy Teng, had been assigned by Him Huy to Choeung Ek to receive the prisoners, dig pits and execute prisoners. He claimed he never saw Duch there, although he admitted not knowing him, and affirmed he never saw children be killed at Choeung Ek, not even with their heads smashed against a tree. The testimony which excerpts were read in court was demanded by the co-Prosecutors, although it served the defence better. Duch made no comment and his Cambodian lawyer noted that “for now, no testimony has indicated that the accused came to Choeung Ek.” With the exception however of Him Huy, who declared, on July 16th in court, he saw Duch at the killing fields.

After the last testimony was read, the accused deemed it “a little strange” on some points and wondered if that person, someone named Him Houn, was actually a former S-21 guard, as he alleged. But previously, Duch the meticulous made sure to correct a date, that of a meeting Son Sen participated to, which he he had previously given in court, as he had made a mistake… of a few days. The attention to detail, always.

(translated from French by Ji-Sook Lee)