Cambodia, Thailand agree to deal on traffic

Photo by: STEVE FINCH
Travellers on the Thai-Cambodian border prepare to cross over to Poipet early last month. The two countries have signed an agreement on transshipping, it was announced Thursday in Phnom Penh.

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:01 Nathan Green

Border-crossing agreement announced Thursday would see daily exchange of trucks in bid to minimise trade obstacles

CAMBODIA and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding on the exchange of traffic rights Thursday in an effort to boost trade and tourism links between the two countries.

The agreement, which was signed by Cambodia’s Minister of Public Works and Transport Tram Iv Tek and Virachai Virameteekul, a minister attached to the Thai prime minister’s office, will allow a daily quota of trucks to cross the border without having to unload cargo and reload to a second truck on the other side.

Forty trucks from each side would initially be allowed to cross daily, but the quota is expected to be raised progressively.

It was signed on the sidelines of the Second Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Corridors Forum in Phnom Penh, a meeting of ministers from the six countries through which the Mekong River flows.

Arjun Goswami, head of the Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation Group for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which brokered the deal, said it was an important step in boosting trade between the two ASEAN neighbours.

“It will save time; it will increase the speed at which trade can take place,” he said.

Trucks would still need to clear customs under the agreement, and Goswami acknowledged that customs processes at the Poipet border with Thailand still had room for improvement.

“Trade facilitation is an issue for the whole of the GMS; it’s not an issue that’s location-specific to Poipet or location-specific to Bavet,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s major border crossings with Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. “That requires additional work by customs authorities throughout the GMS and by other agencies that are at the borders, and we are focusing a lot of effort in that area. The countries themselves recognise that this is a key issue.”

The memorandum is part of efforts on the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA), which was signed by the member countries of the GMS – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – in 1999 as a framework for streamlining intraregional trade.

In the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index for 2008 and 2009, Cambodia was ranked last among countries in Southeast Asia in terms of its customs burden, showing it has much work to do to catch up with its regional neighbours.

Slow progress
Arjun Thapan, the ADB’s director general for Southeast Asia, told the Post in June that progress on the Cross-Border Transport Agreement was “very much” behind schedule in the GMS, singling out talks between Cambodia and Thailand as a major sticking point, particularly when compared to negotiations with Vietnam.

Cambodia and Vietnam signed an agreement on the exchange of traffic rights in May this year with an initial quota of 40 trucks per day allowed to cross without unloading. That has since been increased to 150, but Thapan said Wednesday that the border crossing at Bavet was an example of how countries could work together to boost trade.

The site had been chosen as one of five border-crossing pilot sites by GMS members to get the CBTA working, he said. Between 2003 and 2006, the value of goods moved through the crossing grew 41 percent each year, and the number of people crossing grew 53 percent. The time it took to travel to Bavet from Phnom Penh along National Highway 1 was also reduced 30 percent over the period.

“Urban development along … [National Road 1] happened because there is life there, there is economic activity,” Thapan said, adding that the economic corridors could double or quadruple intraregional trade.

Kingdom, Philippines to set up air routes

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:01 May Kunmakara

CAMBODIA and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday towards allowing direct flights between the two countries, a State Secretariat of Civil Aviation official told the Post Thursday.

“Wednesday’s MoU opens our skies to direct flights from the Philippines. This will be good for our tourism sector," said SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng.

He said that the Philippines’ proposal would open seven weekly flights from Manila to Phnom Penh, 14 flights a week from Clark to Phnom Penh, plus 14 weekly flights to the capital from elsewhere in the Philippines.

“We have not reached a decision on their request yet because we still have to review the possible routes,” said Long Chheng. “I hope that both governments will reach an Air Service Agreement by the end of the year.”

So far in 2009, Cambodia has signed four agreements on direct flights: with Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and now the Philippines. Feasibility studies leading up to the pact have been jointly conducted by Cambodia and the Philippines since 2007.

Kong Sophearak, director general of statistics for the Tourism Ministry, said that his ministry had long been advocating the much-awaited deal as part of a broad effort to draw larger numbers of tourists from regional countries to Cambodia.

“Recently we’ve seen the number of tourists visiting our country from the Philippines increase year on year,” Kong Sophearak said, adding that since both countries are ASEAN members, their citizens do not require visas.

FAO set to launch silk initiative

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:01 Steve Finch

THE UN’s Food and Agricultural Agency announced Thursday the launch of a US$475,000 programme with the government aimed at assisting Cambodia’s struggling silk sector.

The money will be spent on a silkworm egg-production centre, the location for which is still to be determined, the FAO’s country representative Ajay Markanday said Thursday. The FAO has not yet set a time frame for the initiative, which he described as a “pilot exercise”.

Seven demonstration farms will also be established in Kampong Speu, Takeo, Kampot, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Pursat, Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey provinces, displaying new techniques for silkworm-rearing, an FAO press statement said. Agriculture ministry officials will be trained under the programme, it added.

“Silk is very important for [the Cambodian] rural economy, and poverty reduction, because it generates higher value-added than general crops such as rice,” said Markanday.

Domestic demand for silk is estimated at 400 tonnes per year, the FAO said, but less than 5 tonnes is produced annually, with the shortfall imported from China and Vietnam.

ABA banking on future expansion

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

ABA CEO Madi Akmambet says that despite the impact of the global economic crisis on Cambodian lenders, the bank expects to reduce bad-loan rates by the end of 2009.

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[THE] top four is a stable group, and we realise that they will ... be major players.
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Friday, 18 September 2009 15:00 Nathan Green

Despite a crowded banking sector, Advance Bank of Asia CEO Madi Akmambet says his bank can compete with the largest lenders in Cambodia as it battles to reduce non-performing loans

CEO TALK
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By Nathan Green

When Kazakhstan-based investment bank Visor Group bought Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA) in 2007, it inherited some problems in terms of its lending portfolio. What is your strategy for dealing with your non-performing loans (NPL), among the worst in Cambodia?

I wouldn’t say it’s a big problem. Of course we are facing an issue with NPLs, but every bank in Cambodia faces this issue now as a result of the global downturn and the structure of the domestic economy.

Our NPL ratio was quite high in 2007, around 25 percent, and we decreased it to around 12 to 13 percent last year. But it’s a question of economies of scale.

We had a small loan portfolio, and there were a few – and only a few – loans that could be classified as doubtful or bad loans.

We created allowances, provisioning, in accordance with National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) requirements, but this year we recovered a major part of these NPLs and expect to decrease our NPL ratio to around 7 percent.

ABA is a mid-sized lender, 15th in terms of deposits out of 24 commercial banks last year. There are now 28 banks. Can that many survive?
It’s a quite-competitive market, but it is also highly concentrated, with the top four capturing around 65 percent of market share, in terms of total assets.

This top four is a stable group, and we realise that they will continue to be major players, at least in the near future, but it is not so clear that all the mid-sized banks will be strong players in the market.

If you look at the results from the first seven months of this year, not all banks are growing this year; some are decreasing.

In terms of ABA’s branch network, it has expanded from one branch in 2007 to eight branches. Is it fair to say ABA has an aggressive expansion policy?
When the Visor Group bought ABA in 2007, it was a one-branch bank.

We had a strategy to develop the bank more aggressively, which we did by expanding our branch network because that is a channel to deliver our products and services to the market.

We will continue this strategy, and in the most optimistic scenario we will be able to open three branches per year over the next three years.

Aside from new branches, what is ABA’s strategy for growth?
Our short-term strategy is first of all to be a profitable bank.

As you can see in the NBC [2008 banking supervision] report, we had some losses last year and the year before, but that was just because of branch network expansion, the global downturn and its impact on our loan portfolio.

In the mid-term, when we have improved our key financial indicators and are growing, we will apply to be assigned by credit rating agencies, and I think we can then go to the international capital markets.

There are a lot of financial instruments, a lot of ways to attract funds. We expect also that the Cambodia Stock Exchange will be launched.

It’s always a good opportunity to be listed in any stock exchange.

So what is the bank’s long-term goal?
Over the next three or four years, say by the end of 2012, our strategy is to be recognised within the top 10 banks of Cambodia, with market share of 4 to 5 percent – our market share is now only around 1 percent.

We want to be recognised as a stable, mid-sized bank capable of offering a full range of services to Cambodian customers.

We are positioning ourselves as a universal bank, but one focusing on SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises], because SMEs are the main growth driver of the economy, contributing 65 percent to GDP, 85 percent of the workforce, 93 percent of all enterprises.

Retail is the secondary priority, and we will offer new products for the retail sector.

The corporate sector is still a priority, but we are focusing on being selective, taking a target market approach.

How do you plan to find viable customers among SMEs?
A major part of the SME sector is the agriculture sector, which is not stable, and they sometimes have difficulty with finance.

But there are a lot of other sectors, too, including wholesale and retail trade, hotels, restaurants and other services, tourism and construction.

We are not saying we will cover all SME clients. We have our credit underwriting approach, our analysis of the credit worthiness of borrowers, and we will use and implement international practices. We will see where we can invest and where we cannot.

You are in the process of rebranding. When can we expect to see the new brand and what will it tell us about ABA?
I don’t want to give an exact date, but in the next month or so.

We will keep our name – we will still be the Advanced Bank of Asia, but we will use the short name ABA Bank in the market.

We will also become more aggressive with PR, with advertising on TV and radio and in newspapers to tell our Cambodian customers, the business community here, that yes, we can offer new products, that we can offer higher quality services.

It is not just a new name and a new logo; the rebranding has a strong foundation with some new products in the pipeline.

What products are these?
Since Visor bought this one branch bank, we have developed ABA in terms of infrastructure, we have upgraded our cost system, we have installed a card-processing centre for Visa and Mastercard.

We launched Mastercard in May this year, and we are in the process of testing and certification with Visa to launch in November or December.

We have also launched Internet banking, but we have not promoted it properly because we stopped our advertising when we began preparing the rebranding.

Our functionality will be the largest on the market; we can offer outwards remittances abroad, which other banks cannot, at least not outside of their bank network.

We also launched a new SME loan policy on the first of June, but again there was no promotion. Despite this, we have already seen demand for this product grow.

We will improve our deposit products as well, not only in terms of interest rates but also in terms of being flexible to meet client needs.

There is a lot of room to grow, to develop our product line, our client relationship services, our methods, our customer care, call centre, sales department. We are working on the whole package.

Muslim world ally in garment access to US

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:00 Nathan Green

Analysis
----------------------------------
Nathan Green

Cambodia’s efforts to win duty-free access to the United States market may have taken an unlikely step forward on the coattails of US moves to improve ties with the Muslim world.

In a meeting with her Bangladeshi counterpart Dipu Moni on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to look at the possibility of a trade and investment framework to make it easier for US companies to invest in the democratic and secular Muslim-majority nation.

In response, Dipu Moni said she asked Clinton to work for duty-free and quota-free access for Bangladeshi goods to the US market.

While it is far too early to tell if Clinton’s words will ever translate into action, US President Barack Obama’s signature policy of repairing ties with the Islamic world can only nudge talks in the right direction.

And Cambodia stands to benefit if the US chooses the easiest way forward and passes legislation already before its Congress extending duty-free access to 14 least-developed countries, including Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Few give Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein’s Trade Act of 2009, which is currently before the US Senate’s finance committee, much hope of becoming law purely on trade-assistance grounds. Critics say Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka account for 99 percent of the total exports to the US from the 14 countries, meaning it will do little to improve the fortunes of those most in need of asssistance.

Garment Manufacturer’s Association of Cambodia Secretary General Ken Loo said to the Post last week “we are always hopeful” when asked about the likelihood that the legislation would be enacted, hardly a sign of confidence it will get pushed through.

Hopes have been dashed in the past, with two similar bills – the Trade Act of 2005 and the Trade Act of 2007 – both failing to get through the committee.

According to Loo, the two early bills were both sponsored after lobbying by the association, which has visited the US “five or six” times since 2004 to press Cambodia’s case for access.

In its attempts to lobby the US government, Loo said GMAC initially tried to go it alone before throwing the country’s lot in with other developing nations from the region, acknowledging that a regional trade pact was far more likely to get the nod from US lawmakers than a bilateral deal.

In this case, Cambodia’s beleaguered garment industry, which saw exports to the US drop 30 percent in the first half of 2009 to US$725.7 million, will hope the regional theory holds, and that it can ride in on the back of Bangladesh.

And if Diane Feinstein’s legislative aspirations are dashed purely on trade terms, Cambodia will do well to wish Barack Obama all the best in efforts to repair ties with the Muslim world.

Four boxing stars banned for Australia fights

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:00 May Titthara

THE Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation have banned star kickboxers Outh Phouthang, Chey Kosal, and brothers Pich Seyha and Pich Sophan from competing at home following their unapproved trips to Australia for prizefights.

Federation President Oum Yourann confirmed that the fighters have been dismissed because they went to Australia “without asking permission” from the governing body.

“[We] not only delete their names from the Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation list, also their names in soldiers and military police [lists],” he said. “We are now preparing to file a complaint to people who guaranteed them to fight in Australia.”

“We have banned them since they returned in July,” stated Oum Yourann, adding that the dismissal will be officially announced at a press conference after the Pchum Ben holiday.

Boxers knocked out by ban
Chey Kosal expressed his shock at the decision. “I don’t know what happed,” he said. “When we [returned] back from fighting in Australia for two months and half, President Oum Yourann stopped us [from fighting].”

The Siem Reap legend also noted his dismay at being booted out of his military position, and prohibited from becoming a trainer or committee member. “They want us to become civilians,” he remarked. “I am really saddened. I have been working in this career about 10 years already. At the end I have nothing.”

Chey Kosal claimed the federation had not given the fighters a real reason for the ban. “[They] just said that we went to Australia without confirming with them,” he stated.

“I want to apply to fight as a civilian, [but] they did not allow [it],” he revealed. “So at the present time, I am working as motodop.”

Fellow banned boxer Pich Sophan insisted that the group of fighters had already asked for permission to travel to Australia, which was duly granted by the federation.

“They allowed us three months,” he said. “But the real reason they stop us is because they were angry with us, and wanted to give us a problem.”

Pich Sophan also claimed that the federation had rejected an offer of a written apology from the four fighters. “I have tried all my best to fight for the Cambodian Amateur Boxing Federation, but in the end I’ve been left with only scars from wounds,” he retorted.

Sibling Pich Seiha said the reason behind travelling abroad to fight internationally was purely financial. “We want to [travel] abroad to fight to get more money to support our lives,” he said. “In this country, it difficult to [earn] money, and you do not get much.”

With the ban on sporting and military activities, Pich Seiha realised life would become even harder.

“Now I have no job,” he admitted. “I [can] only stay at home because I have no other skills. It’s difficult for us because [the federation] have power, they can do what they want. Why can other boxers go abroad to fight, and we cannot?”

Athletes look to impress in Hanoi Games

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Cambodian athletes line up for a presentation during a National Olympic Committee seminar at the Sunway Hotel on June 8.

Friday, 18 September 2009 15:00 Ken Gadaffi

Cambodian athletes will look to make strong performances in the upcoming third Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi next month in the hope of gaining national team selection for the SEA Games in Laos in December

WITH the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos barely three months away, members of the reconstituted National Olympic Committee of Cambodia are busy making plans to ensure a good performance by the Cambodian delegates, who will be donning the blue-and-red kits come December. National team hopefuls will try to impress their sport federation executives at the third Asian Indoor Games held in Hanoi from October 30 to November 8.

Newly appointed committee Secretary General Vath Chamroeun revealed that Cambodia would be taking part in six events at the Asian Indoor Games, held for the first time in Vietnam.

“This is a great sporting event, held exclusively by Asian countries for those sports that have not yet got a chance to join continental and world arenas,” he said. “We are going to use the Asian Indoor Games to prepare our atheletes for the forthcoming SEA Games.”

The Indoor Games are expected to feature a total of 23 sports. The NOCC have announced that around 30 Cambodian athletes would be sent to Vietnam to take part in six events, namely table tennis, badminton, wrestling, judo, futsal and indoor volleyball.

“Our main focus is for the 2009 SEA Games in Laos and 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China,” noted Vath Chamroeun. “Nevertheless, we will be going to Hanoi to try to win. We are preparing the athletes to be fit and in good shape.

“Preparation for participation guarantees performance. Without preparation, [and] good attitude, there cannot be good performance,” the official said.

Vath Chamroeun, who is also secretary general of the Cambodian Wrestling Federation and chief of department at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, is optimistic that the new term of the NOCC will see rapid development of Cambodian sport.

“We have our plans already set out,” he declared. “We are working together with the Ministry of Tourism; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; and with support from the IOC [International Olympic Committee] and Olympic Council of Asia, we hope to move Cambodian sports forward.”

The objective of the Cambodian Olympic committee is now to reform sports facilities and infrastructure in Cambodia in order to compete with regional neighbours.

“The government is not happy that we are lagging behind in sports,” Vath Chamroeun revealed. “We are being challenged by Laos’s hosting of the SEA Games. We have the facilities to some extent, but our major concern is lack of human resources in the area of sports. Thus, we are going to look into the technical and administrative aspect of sports development to enable us host the [regional competitions] in the near future.”

Picture Gallery Preah Vihear Temple

A file picture taken on April 5, 2009 shows Cambodian soldiers standing guard near by the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, around 540 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. Cambodia on June 20, 2009 rebuked Thailand for reopening a debate over an ancient temple on their disputed border that has led to seven soldiers being killed in recent months. AFP/Getty Images

A file picture taken on April 5, 2009 shows Cambodian soldiers standing guard near by the Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, around 540 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. Cambodia on June 20, 2009 rebuked Thailand for reopening a debate over an ancient temple on their disputed border that has led to seven soldiers being killed in recent months. AFP/Getty Images

Cambodian buddhist monks pray and hold a picture of the Preah Vihear temple at a pagoda in Phnom Penh, to mark the 1st Anniversary of the northern temples world heritage listing. Cambodia on July 7, happily and noisily marked the one-year anniversary of the UNESCO listing of the ancient 11th-century Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site as a border dispute with neighbouring Thailand remained tense. AFP/Getty Images

Cambodian dancers perform in Phnom Penh, during an event to mark the 1st Anniversary of the northern Preah Vihear temples world heritage listing. Cambodia on July 7, happily and noisily marked the one-year anniversary of the UNESCO listing of the ancient 11th-century Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site as a border dispute with neighbouring Thailand remained tense. AFP/Getty Images

A Cambodian dancer waits before a performance in Phnom Penh, at an event to mark the 1st Anniversary of the northern Preah Vihear temples world heritage listing. Cambodia on July 7, happily and noisily marked the one-year anniversary of the UNESCO listing of the ancient 11th-century Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site as a border dispute with neighbouring Thailand remained tense. AFP/Getty Images

A Thai soldier (in black) talks to Cambodian soldiers at Sekha Krisvarak pagoda in Preah Vihear, north of Phnom Penh. Cambodia celebrated the one year anniversary of the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a long-running source of Thai-Cambodian tension

Cambodian soldiers stand guard at the Sekha Krisvarak pagoda in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh. Cambodia celebrated the one year anniversary of the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple s listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a long-running source of Thai-Cambodian tension

Multi-Faceted Problems Stymie Resource Development

By Sothearith Im, VOA, Khmer
Original report from Washington
17 September 2009

[Editor’s note: VOA Khmer recently spoke with specialists in the field of natural resource management in developing countries and learned that Cambodia is not alone in struggling to use natural resources to benefit its citizens. The resource curse, where natural riches fail to help the poor, is a worldwide scourge, the global experts told VOA Khmer in numerous interviews. Below is the second part of a weekly series.]

Myriad factors lead to the abuse of natural resources, keeping their value out of the hands of everyday citizens, experts say. The absence of political will, of transparent management, of laws and regulations, and of capacity, and the existence of patronage systems, corruption, bureaucratic politics, abuse of power, and others, all add up to create problems.

The lack of transparent management of the resources in developing countries is not surprising, said Glen Matlack, an environmental professor at Ohio University. Governments sell concessions in the extractive industries, but the fees don’t serve the public good, and often these deals are made out of the public’s eye.

“Fairy typical of South American and Southeast Asian governments is that a concession is sold by the government to a working company or resource extraction company and the fees go to the government,” Matlack said. “It is often the problem because the receipt of the fees is controlled by the government. It has nothing to do with the region in which the resources are extracted. Rarely does the fee filter back to the people in the region, and it’s vulnerable to corruption.”

Paul Collier, an Oxford University economist and author of “The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It,” told VOA Khmer by phone that revenue generated from concessions must be funneled into government coffers, not to private businessmen.

It is the citizens who own the resources, he said, and the resources won’t last forever.

“The revenues get badly spent,” he said. “So instead of revenues being well spent on good investment, they are used for public consumption, and they become a battleground between politicians. I think in Bolivia, it exactly happens. It’s been a battleground, and the money is spent on public consumption instead of on investment.”

William Ascher, a professor of government and economics at Claremont Mckenna College, in California, and author of “Why Governments Waste Natural Resources: Policy Failures in Developing Countries,” said the common cause of the problem is a lack of clear jurisdiction or responsibility.

Rivalries grow within government agencies, which leads to greater exploitation of natural resources. Some governments create inter-ministerial groups, but members then fight for power and their own interests, he said.

“Each ministry, in order to do the job, typically would want to have more power, more jurisdiction, more resources,” Ascher told VOA Khmer by phone. “So there’s a built-in rivalry among ministries within the government, even though they’re all from the same party. Sometimes this can lead to bad policy if it is not clear who has jurisdiction over what aspect.”

Somit Varma, director of the World Bank’s oil, gas, mining, and chemicals department told VOA Khmer in an interview at his office in Washington that, among the many challenges facing developing countries, a lack of the capacity or skilled human resources is crucial. Many developing countries lack experienced, professional managers and the skilled human resources to actually do the job.

“One of the areas which is challenging is the capacity in the country to actually implement it,” Varma said. “And building capacity, we all in development business, we know this is very difficult. It takes years to build capacity. It’s not easy, but you need dedicated government on the other side.”

In many developing countries political patronage is practiced, in which national resources are used to reward individuals, groups, families or ethnicities for electoral support, as politicians use illegal gifts, fraudulently awarded appointments or government contracts.

This is also one of the major causes of natural resource mismanagement.

Some governments of developing countries acknowledge these problems, but some either do not realize them or ignore them, the experts said. Many are reluctant or do not have the political will to fix them, because the system for inequality of wealth distribution benefits a handful of decision-makers, family members and business associates.

Tribunal’s Civil Parties File for Compensation

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
17 September 2009

Four civil parties to the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal filed for reparation Wednesday, requesting free medical care, the erection of a memorial and the dissemination of an apology from the regime’s former prison chief, Duch.

“The joint filling from all four civil party groups also requested the final judgment from the Trail Chamber specific to reparation to victims” said Hong Kimsoun, a civil party lawyer for two groups. Reparation could include “a memorial, or to build a school or hospital,” he said.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is coming to the end of his trial, the tribunal’s first, on atrocity charges related to the death and torture of 12,380 people.

Chhum Mei, 79, who survived Duch’s Tuol Sleng prison, said he wanted to see a memorial built benefitting people like him. He also needs money to hold a ceremony for his wife and relatives, he said.

Tribunal spokesman Dim Sovannarom said it remains unclear where money for such reparations could come from.

Tribunal judges have already determined that individual financial compensation will not be allowed, though collective and moral reparations are possible.

The courts can order reparations for a group of victims, for example, or they can order the publication of a judgment in the mass media at the expense of a convicted person. The court can also order a memorial built or the establishment of mental health clinics for victims.

Meanwhile, defense lawyers for Duch on Thursday rejected a request to submit more documents to civil parties, claiming the deadline had passed.

Police: Terrorism mastermind Noordin Top dead

FILE - In this combination file photo released by the Indonesian National police, Malaysian terror suspect Noordin Mohammad Top is seen, more recently in photo at right. An Indonesian police chief said Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, that Top, a regional terrorism mastermind who eluded capture for nine years and is blamed for a string of deadly attacks in Indonesia, was killed in a police raid on a terrorist hideout in Central Java.(AP Photo/Indonesian National Police, File)

By IMRON ROSYID and ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writers Imron Rosyid And Anthony Deutsch, Associated Press Writers – Thu Sep 17, 10:06 am ET
SOLO, Indonesia – Noordin Muhammed Top, a militant mastermind who eluded capture for seven years and terrorized Indonesia with a string of deadly al-Qaida-funded bombings, was killed during a raid Thursday, the Indonesian police chief said.

Police hunting for suspects in bombings of two luxury Jakarta hotels raided a hide-out in central Indonesia, sparking an hours-long gunfight that ended at dawn with an explosion. Four suspected militants died, including Noordin, national police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said. Three suspects also were captured.

The operation left behind a charred house with no roof and blown-out walls. Noordin's remains were found inside the house on the outskirts of the town of Solo in central Java, the main Indonesian island, Danuri said.

Fingerprints of Noordin's obtained from authorities in his native Malaysia and stored on a police database matched those of the body, Danuri said. DNA tests have not yet been conducted. The bodies were flown to Jakarta for autopsies.

"It is Noordin M. Top," Danuri told a nationally televised news conference to loud cheers from the audience of reporters, photographers and TV crews. Documents and laptop computers confiscated from the house prove that Noordin "is the leader of al-Qaida in Southeast Asia," he said.

Hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of explosives, M-16 assault rifles, grenades and bombs were removed from the house as ambulances shuttled away the dead and injured.

"We asked Noordin M. Top to surrender, but they kept firing," Danuri said. "That is how he died. ... He even had bullets in his pockets."

Noordin fled to Indonesia in 2002 amid a crackdown on Muslim extremists in Malaysia in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. He is accused of heading a splinter group of the al-Qaida-funded regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah and has been implicated in every major attack in Indonesia since 2002, including two separate bombings on the resort island of Bali that together killed 222 people, mostly foreigners.

He has also been blamed for a pair of suicide bombings at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in July, an earlier attack on the Marriott in 2003 and a bombing at the Australian Embassy in 2004.

"The most dangerous terrorist in Southeast Asia has been put out of commission," said Jim Della-Giacoma, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group think tank.

"It would have been better if police had managed to arrest him alive, but it appears that this was not an option," he said. "Unfortunately, Noordin's death does not mean an end to terrorism in Indonesia, though it has been dealt a significant blow."

In the Philippines, where authorities are fighting an Islamist insurgency in the south, Noordin's death was welcomed by authorities as a sign that terrorists cannot hide from the law forever.

"It's a major accomplishment, it's a big blow to their leadership, to their capability to train new bombers," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, who leads assaults against al-Qaida-linked militants. "There are gains being made in the anti-terrrorism campaign in the region."

A spokesman for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was aware of reports of Noordin's death. "We are awaiting official confirmation from the Indonesian government," he said. Dozens of Australians were killed in the 2002 bombing of Bali nightclubs.

An Indonesian counterterrorism official said the militants killed Thursday included alleged bomb-maker Bagus Budi Pranato. The captured militants included a pregnant woman who is being treated at a hospital, national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said. She was in stable condition.

___

Deutsch reported from Jakarta. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed from Manila.

Cambodia seeks re-arrests

Sep 17, 2009

PHNOM PENH - THE Cambodian government has asked judicial authorities to re-arrest 270 criminal suspects who have been released by courts around the country, according to a letter seen by AFP on Thursday.

The government cabinet letter dated September 11 requested the Supreme Council of the Magistracy's disciplinary body to 'investigate irregular cases committed by judges and prosecutors'.

'The release of 270 (suspects) in criminal cases is a subject the disciplinary council must clearly examine and investigate to have (them) charged and re-arrested,' said the letter.

The letter went on to ask Cambodia's ministry of justice to inform courts around the country to severely punish those who repeatedly commit crimes.

Cambodia has been trying to reform its judicial system, but activists accuse court officials of being widely corrupt. -- AFP

LEADER INKS POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT & IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT IN CAMBODIA

Bernama - Friday, September 18

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Leader Universal Holdings Bhd has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), a wholly state-owned limited liability enterprise incorporated by Royal Decree of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the company said under the PPA, the EDC undertakes to purchase from Leader on a minimum take basis of 86 per cent of dependable capacity per annum and other terms and conditions as set out in the PPA.

On June 11, Leader signed a joint venture and shareholders agreement with Cambodia International Investment Development Group Co Ltd (CIIDG) to build, own and operate the 100 Megawatt coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville via Cambodia Energy Ltd, a joint-venture company between Leader and CIIDG, with a percentage shareholdings of 80 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.

Leader has also entered into an Implementation Agreement with the Cambodian government to implement power projects. -- BERNAMA

PJR TOM

Q&A: A humble rice farmer from Cambodia teaches reconciliation

New Zealand film-maker Stanley Harper with Yan Chheing, star of Cambodia Dreams, a documentary chronicling her life as a refugee and returnee to Cambodia over 18 years.

17 Sep 2009
Source: UNHCR

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

BANGKOK, Thailand, September 17 (UNHCR) – New Zealand film-maker Stanley Harper has worked with artists such as Roman Polanski and the late Sir John Gielgud. But no one has captivated him quite as much as a Cambodian grandmother called Yan Chheing, a refugee who became the star of a documentary Harper worked on for 18 years, chronicling the parallel lives of her extended family, half of whom went to a refugee camp in Thailand while half remained in their village in Cambodia. The resulting film, "Cambodia Dreams," was praised by India's The Hindu newspaper as a work that "connected a family, reconciled a community, rebuilt hope in a ravaged country." Harper, who now lives in Cambodia, sat down recently in Bangkok to talk with Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR Senior Regional Public Information Officer for Asia.

You originally wanted to finish the film in 1992 before the repatriation that year of some 350,000 Cambodian refugees in Thailand. What happened?

Most of our funding came from a very wealthy Thai businessman. We had taken the [refugee] family home early and finished filming in April 1992, but in May 1992 there was a coup in Thailand and his company barred him from putting any more money into our project. So it crashed. That was the end of it. I tried again many times, in '93, '95 and '97 to raise funding to get the film finished.

Over the years you have actually made three films about this family. What drew you back to them?

I made my first film for the BBC Global Reports Special for the UN Year of Peace 1986 and that's where I met my family, as some of those forgotten by peace. I thought this grandmother, this former rice farmer, was so special. She had been living in refugee camps since 1980 and she had a memory of what Cambodia was in times of peace and prosperity, but her grandchildren had all been born in refugee camps and knew nothing except handouts and living behind fences.

The first time I went back to see my family in their village [in 1997], I hadn't been back since 1991. I remember being a bit depressed about them because it didn't seem like they had made leaps and jumps. That night when I was back at the hotel it hit me that I had seen a miracle and I had almost missed it. The mother and the daughter were still together. It was reconciliation and it was lasting. They had come together and they had stayed together. I realized the film was even more important. It is a real story about why it is positive to help people in need. It does work.

In the film, one member of the family who stayed in Cambodia envies the ones who are refugees in Thailand. Did that surprise you?

No, not at all. Cambodia had just come through the Khmer Rouge and, before that, roughly five years of civil war. It was just devastated. The granny was the leader of the refugees, the spokesperson for the camp: "We want to live and work for ourselves. We want to go home. We don't want to be behind a fence. We don't want to live on charity." And she remembers her dream of Cambodia as it was, everything was perfect.

And then there's Tha, her daughter, who's the spokesperson for the villagers who stayed behind. Tha's daughter died because she couldn't get medicine, but the refugees have free medical care. Those inside Cambodia had nothing and no help and those in the border camps had everything – Western medicine, food, shelter, water, they didn't even have to work. They could just sit around and have a good time. That was the feeling – paradise, what more do you want?

For me this film shows one good thing: the real model for dealing with a refugee problem. It was locally contained, regionally resolved, and the people went home. That's amazing.

Cambodia Dreams is set in Thailand and Cambodia, but does it have meaning to people in other parts of the world?

I think it's timeless and universal. It could be anywhere in the world. What is it about? It is about belonging. It's largely about tenacity, the resilience of humanity to overcome, to hold fast to a dream, not lose sight of it and achieve it. It's a really beautiful, pure, wonderful story about generosity, humanity, love, forgiveness, reconciliation. There is not one word of politics in that film. No one is right and no one is wrong.

You got a lot of support from UN agencies to make your film, but there isn't one word of propaganda for the United Nations in the film. At the same time, what do you think the film implicitly says about the UN?

The film is very much the essence of what the whole UN was set up for. It's the spirit, the heart and the soul of the UN. The essence of the UN is inherent in the film: helping people in any mess is positive.

The film was shown in Cambodia last year. What was the reaction?

I showed the film to the King [Norodom Sihamoni], who loved it, and then the Prime Minister [Hun Sen]. He loved the film; it brought tears to his eyes and he [sponsored] an official screening in Cambodia. Then it went out on all seven Cambodian networks at the same time. What was amazing was that all political parties love the film.

What are your future plans for Cambodia Dreams?

It will be shown in Tokyo at the Refugee Film Festival on the 2nd and 3rd of October and at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong on the 7th of October. The real challenge with a film like this is getting worldwide distribution, but I really don't have any means myself. I have an unrealistic dream. I would just love the film to go out in places like Palestine and Israel, North and South Korea, Taiwan and China, in Burma. That would be my dream.

UNHCR news

Children cross borders, rivers to get an education

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Vietnamese children living in Cambodia cross a river to return home from school.

Nguyen Thi Diem has to row a boat across Cambodia border twice a day to get her children to school and and back.

Many Vietnamese families moved to Koh Thum District in Kandal Province of the neighboring country many years ago as they found it easier to subsist on fishing and farming there.

However, the children do not know the local language, so more than 500 of them travel back to Vietnam every day, crossing many rivers to attend classes in An Giang Province.

Diem said she feels weary and sad and every time she sees such scenes.

Diep Hoang Nang, an eighth-grader at the Khanh An Junior High in An Giang, said there’s a school near his house in Cambodia but it only teaches subjects in the Khmer language.

Nguyen Van Tien, whose children also cross the border to school every day, said “The children only need to learn to read and write. That would be an achievement already.”

Many children do quit school right after learning to read and write to help their parents make a living, said Hinh Quoc Khinh, president of the B Primary School in An Giang.

But some children have left entered college and done well, Nang said, adding they are the examples for others to follow. From them, “we learn to escape poverty.”

By sending her daughter to school back home, Huynh Thi My Huong only hoped to get her literate, but Le My Duyen has performed so well that her parents have agreed to keep her on.

The ninth-grader at Khanh Ha Junior High said she would try to win admission to college.

Le Van Tam, vice president of the school, said half of the students getting good grades are the Vietnamese children living in Cambodia.

Tam said poverty and the traveling problems have made many children quit school, but “once they’ve managed to overcome the problems, they study very hard.”

Local authorities in Khanh An Province have arranged with pier operators on both sides to carry the children for free.

Yet Tam expressed concern that the journeys on boat are not very safe for the children.

Reported by Tien Trinh

Thailand 'lying' over boy's death, says Cambodia

By The Nation
Published on September 18, 2009

Cambodia yesterday accused Thailand of lying when it denied involvement in the death of a Cambodian teenager near the border of Thailand's northeastern Surin province.

The young Cambodian was reportedly shot and burned alive as he and other Cambodian loggers tried to escape from the Thai military into Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province.

The Second Army Region Commander Lt. General Wiboonsak Neeparn said he had checked records of all agencies under his command and found no evidence of any shooting.

"There was no such incident in the area. I wonder why Cambodia made such a report?" the commander said.

The Thai Foreign Ministry has maintained the same stance, saying the brutal incident never happened.

Ministry spokesperson Wimon Kidchob said earlier Thai soldiers fired bullets into the air after finding eight Cambodians sneaking into Thailand to cut down trees.

The denial has angered authorities in Cambodia, both in Oddar Meanchey and in Phnom Penh.

Oddar Meanchey Governor Pich Sokhin called the Thai assertion a lie. "How could our people have been injured and killed if their soldiers shot into the air?" the governor was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post.

"Their interpretation is a lie to avoid responsibility and to hide their cruelty from the public. Our people are injured and dead. How can they say they are not responsible?"

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry has sent a diplomatic note to Bangkok asking for an explanation and is still awaiting an official reply.

Phnom Penh has urged Thailand to conduct an investigation into the case and find and punish those responsible.

Cambodia riot police, dogs face PAD

Published: 17/09/2009

Phnom Penh (AFP) - Cambodia deployed riot police Thursday at an ancient temple on the disputed border with Thailand where Thai protesters are due to hold a protest at the weekend, the defence ministry said.

The yellow shirt leaders say the rally on Saturday near the Preah Vihear temple will demand that the government push Cambodian forces out of the area.

The disputed frontier around the temple has been the scene of several deadly clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces since the ruins were granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

Cambodian defence ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said at least 50 police with dogs, batons, and tear gas have been deployed at the temple ahead of the demonstration.

"Our anti-riot police have been deployed to the border Preah Vihear temple in case the Thai Yellow Shirt protesters illegally cross the border to cause problems," Chhum Socheat said.

"We will order our forces to prevent them from entering. We don't want bloodshed to happen, but if they don't listen to us, we will use our self-defence measures," he said.

The Yellow Shirts helped the current Thai government come to power with a blockade of Bangkok's airports last December, but have since turned their fire on the administration over its handling of the temple issue.

Their protest is scheduled on the same day as the red shirts are to rally in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of the coup that toppled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Cambodia halved the number of troops around the temple at the end of August after tensions eased in the area.

The two countries have been at loggerheads for decades over Preah Vihear.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is in northeastern Thailand.

The last gunbattle in the temple area in April left three people dead while clashes there in 2008 killed another four people.

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

Cambodia, Thailand sign MOU of exchange of traffic rights for border trade

www.chinaview.cn

2009-09-17

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for exchange of traffic rights to boost the crossing border trade and transport facilitation between the two countries.

The MOU was signed at the end of the Second GMS Economic Corridors Forum in Phnom Penh under the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

"It is a bilateral agreement and also it has implemented the GMS cooperation in speeding up the trade and transport facilitation," Cham Prasidh, senior minister and minister of commerce told reporters at a press conference after the Forum.

"Both agreed to allow access of 40 trucks per day to and from both countries. The access is not only to the border area but to the whole country," he said, adding that it will promote the bilateral trade of the two neighboring countries.

Currently, Cambodia exports goods worth about 30 million U.S. dollars each year through Poi Pet border gate into Thailand and Thailand exports goods worth about 400 million U.S. dollars through that border gate into Cambodia, according to Cham Prasidh.

"We already signed such MOU with Vietnam aiming at boosting bilateral trade," he noted.

At the same time, Virachai Virameteekul, minister attached to the Thai Prime Minister's office said at the Second GMS Economic Corridors Forum that this agreement will inspire for more agreements of this kind among other GMS (Great Mekong Subregion Cooperation) member countries. "Transport facilitation is important and so is trade facilitation," he said.

In this connection, trade and custom facilitation, including harmonization of rules and regulations must be accelerated, and the involving governmental officials from both sides will work together for this trade and transport facilitation, he noted.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Testimony finishes at Cambodian Khmer Rouge trial

In this photo taken on Aug. 17, 2009, tourists walk past photos of the former Khmer Rouge prisoners displayed at S-21 prison, known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. On Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, the museum, formerly a prison and torture center operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, has been declared by the U.N. to be an archive of worldwide significance for its historical documents. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Testimony concluded Thursday in the first U.N.-backed trial of a high-ranking member of Cambodia's former Khmer Rouge regime.

The tribunal is trying Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who commanded S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, where up to 16,000 people were tortured and then taken away to be killed. He is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.

Four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are in custody awaiting trial.

The tribunal is seeking justice for an estimated 1.7 million people who died from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition as a result of the ultra-communist group's policies while in power in 1975-79.

Pending rulings on the final submissions to the court, more courtroom questioning might be conducted, the tribunal said in a statement. Otherwise, closing arguments are set to start on Nov. 23.

Duch, pronounced DOIK, is the only one of the accused Khmer Rouge leaders to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Cambodia has no death penalty.

The tribunal said the trial had been in session for 72 working days since opening on March 30. It said nine expert witnesses, 17 witnesses on facts, seven character witnesses and 22 "civil parties" — representing victims — had testified.

It said more than 23,000 people had observed the trial from the public gallery in the courtroom.

On Wednesday, in his final testimony, Duch accepted responsibility for his role in overseeing the prison and asked for forgiveness from the families of the victims, gestures he has made several times during the trial. He also told the court that he was ready to accept heavy punishment for his actions.

He has denied personally killing or torturing the S-21 prisoners, and said he felt compelled by fear for his own life to follow the orders of senior Khmer Rouge leaders.

Cambodia in Pictures

Former Khmer Rouge prison chief S-21, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as "Duch", is pictured in court in 2008. Duch gave his final testimony to Cambodia's war crimes tribunal Wednesday with an unexpected invitation to victims of the regime to visit him in prison.(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

In this photo taken on July 19, 2009, a Cambodian woman points to a painting depicting torture as she tours the former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison, known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. On Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, the museum, formerly a prison and torture center operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, has been declared by the U.N. to be an archive of worldwide significance for its historical documents.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Tourists look at portraits of victims displayed inside the Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, where thousands of Cambodian died during the brutal 1975-79 regime. Cambodia's Khmer Rouge court has finished hearing evidence against the regime's prison chief, ending six months of gruelling testimony about atrocities in the jail where 15,000 people died. (AFP/File/Nicolas Asfouri)

Cambodians, along with their belongings, pile up on a pickup truck in the capital Phnom Penh's outskirts in Cambodia, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Thousands of Cambodians head homes in the countryside to celebrate the traditional Pchum Ben festival for the dead. The celebrations run from Sept. 18 to 20. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian people drive motorbikes on a busy street in the capital Phnom Penh's outskirts in Cambodia, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Thousands of Cambodians head homes in the countryside to celebrate the traditional Pchum Ben festival for the dead. The celebrations run from Sept. 18 to 20.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodians, along with their belongings, pile up on a pickup truck driven in the capital Phnom Penh's outskirts, Cambodia, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Thousands of Cambodians head homes in the countryside to celebrate the traditional Pchum Ben festival for the dead. The celebrations run from Sept. 18 to 20. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

In this photo taken March 13, 2009, Cambodia's famed Preah Vihear temple is seen on the Cambodian-Thai- border in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia and Thailand have dispatched riot police to backup soldiers at a disputed border area ahead of a weekend rally by Thai protesters that risks reviving a long-standing feud between the neighbors, officials said Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

In this photo taken March 13, 2009, a Cambodian soldier looks at the Thai border through binoculars from an entrance of Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple near the Cambodian-Thai border, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodia and Thailand have dispatched riot police to backup soldiers at a disputed border area ahead of a weekend rally by Thai protesters that risks reviving a long-standing feud between the neighbors, officials said Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Unsettled peace in Cambodia

By Chak Sopheap
Guest Commentary
Published: September 17, 2009

Niigata, Japan — The world will soon once again celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace, marked every year on Sept. 21. Yet the world is far from peace as civil wars, religious conflicts, growing insurgencies and the economic downturn bring more hardship than joy and smiles to people. Cambodia is no exception.

Cambodia claims to be a peaceful state, having recovered from a series of civil wars that included horrendous acts of genocide. However, there must be a clear consensus on how the country defines peace.

Peace should not be described as merely the absence of war or violence, which is “negative peace.” It should also include communal harmony, socioeconomic cooperation and equal political representation in government for all citizens. These, along with good governance, which respects the rights of the people, constitute the positive side of peace, or rather peace building.

Even when we say “absence of violence,” we must first examine what violence is. While war is direct visible violence, there is also a kind of “structural violence,” the result of bad and harmful state policies that have long-term negative effects on people, such as hunger and poverty, which harm and put peoples’ lives at risk.

If we look at the current trend in Cambodia, negative peace has been obtained but is jeopardizing positive peace. While parts of the economy are making considerable progress, more than 30 percent of the population is still living in extreme poverty. In addition, with corruption and continuous human rights violations – especially forced evictions and land grabbing under so-called development claims – there is little hope that Cambodia can move out of poverty.

In its current pursuit of development, the government of Cambodia has abused and violated people’s rights to housing and development. The judicial system is corrupt and the state is the main violator of the law. This state of affairs has rendered poor communities voiceless and powerless.

At the same time, freedom of expression – a fundamental right – has also been abused by the government, which applies various ill-defined laws with the help of the judiciary it controls as a political tool to silence critics. It is not surprising that the government recently filed many lawsuits against political activists, journalists and human rights defenders.

Systematic structural violence has not yet affected peace in Cambodia, but it will soon if the government does not undertake and implement reforms immediately. For example, there is fear that the ongoing land grabbing and evictions by the government could lead to a peasant revolution. This would then revive the cycle of bitter agrarian revolution that brought past political regimes, like Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, to power.

The government therefore must commit to not only maintaining negative peace, but also to building positive peace in order to attain social harmony.

--

(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

Army denies Cambodian teenager killed by Thai military

http://enews.mcot.net

BANGKOK, Sept 17 (TNA) - A senior Thai Army officer denied a report in a Cambodian newspaper that Thai soldiers shot a Cambodian teenager and burned him alive, saying that the military units along the Thai-Cambodian border denied that such an incident happened.

Lt-Gen Wiboonsak Neephan, commander of the Second Army Region responsible for security affairs along the northeastern border told Thai News Agency that he had inquired every units along Thai-Cambodian border and the officials confirmed that nothing similar to the news report ever occurred and that he did not know why there was such a report in the media.

He affirmed that Thai soldiers would not do such a barbaric act as reported in the Cambodian newspaper and stated he thought that the information could be incorrect.

Gen Wiboonsak affirmed that the Thai-Cambodian Border Peacekeeping Committee is working closely to avoid border disputes and to offer certainty that actions are within the legal framework and agreements.

He added that Thailand and Cambodia had agreement to solve border disputes and the incident should not have happened.

The English-language Phnom Penh Post on Monday quoted Thon Nol, governor of Samrong district in Oddar Meanchey province as saying that a Cambodian teenager named Yon Rith, 16, was arrested and burned alive after Thai armed forces accused him of illegally felling trees.

Another teenager from the same village in Kon Kreal commune, 18-year-old Mao Kleung, was also shot and seriously wounded, he said, but villagers managed to carry him to Cambodian territory, and he is now in an Oddar Meanchey hospital.

Meanwhile, foreign media quoted Cambodian Deputy Foreign Minister Ouch Borith as saying that he had seen evidence proving the incident took place and urged Thailand to investigate what he said was a "brutal and inhumane" act.

Mr Borith said he had seen photographs of the charred body of a boy. He did not provide any evidence Thai soldiers were responsible.

As for the planned rally of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) near the Preah Vihear temple, Gen Wiboonsak said the contested area was dangerous zone and had few accommodations to facilitate the demonstrators.

The PAD “Yellow Shirts” plan to rally at the border province of Si Sa Ket on Saturday to protest against the Cambodian government, urging the Cambodians to withdraw their military and civilians from occupying the 4.6 square kilometre contested zone surrounding the 11th-century temple.

He said the Thai military had provided an area for the protesters to gather and urged the people who joined the rally to demonstrate under the legal framework and to bear in mind safety concerns.

Gen Wiboonsak said he believed the public know about the Thai-Cambodian border disputes and it would depend on cooperation from the public to ease the problems. He added that the public should realise (the importance) oft bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia and admitted that the protest may cause difficulty for the border talks.

Meanwhile, a reporter in Si Sa Ket reported that police had set up barricades at Phoomsarol temple in Kantharalak district to block the road to Khao Phra Wihan National Park to inspect vehicles and people who pass the entrance to the park.

The reporter said paramilitary rangers and military personnel from the Suranaree Task Force had also set up barricades with barbed-wire and other obstacles at the Forest Fire Control Unit Office about100 metres from the national park checkpoint and did not allow anyone to enter the park, including media.

Khao Phra Viharn National Park is the Thai gateway to the ancient Preah Vihear Temple.

Twenty PAD members reportedly occupied the border cooperation office near the park checkpoint and security personnel detained them at the office.

In related developments, French news agency Agence France Presse quoted the Cambodian Defence Ministry as saying that Cambodia deployed riot police Thursday at an ancient temple on the disputed border with Thailand where Thai protesters are due to hold a protest at the weekend.

Cambodian defence ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat was quoted saying that 50 police with dogs, batons, and tear gas were deployed at Preah Vihear temple in case the Thai protesters illegally crossed the border to cause problems. (TNA)

Parliamentarians from the Ruling Party and from the Opposition Parties Argued over Democracy in Cambodia – Wednesday, 16.9.2009

Posted on 17 September 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 630

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

“On Tuesday, representatives of the Cambodian People’s Party responded and expressed strong disagreement over the comments about the respect for human rights and the implementation of democracy in Cambodia by the president of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Sam Rainsy, who claimed, ‘Freedom, the respect for human rights, and democracy exist only as an image in Cambodia, but their real essence is not applied.’

“The National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia organized a forum about democracy under the topics of political understanding and tolerance on 15 September 2009, in which also many parliamentarians, ambassadors, and civil society officials attended [see The Mirror of 14.9.2009: Officials of the Opposition Parties and of the Ruling Party Will Discuss Mutual Tolerance in Front of Diplomats]

“The forum about the democratic process in Cambodia in an international perspective was organized after there had been some comments from a parliamentarian from Kampot who is a deputy secretary-general of the Sam Rainsy Party, Ms. Mu Sochua, making the accusation that in Cambodia, the respect for human rights and democracy had deteriorated, and the court system is not independent.

“Mr. Sam Rainsy said during the forum that holding elections every five years is not enough to have democratic processes, and previously, the European Union observers had assessed the elections in Cambodia to have been of a very low grade.

“Mr. Sam Rainsy added, ‘The government makes only efforts to create an image of democracy; the country has a National Assembly, but the role of its members, the parliamentarians, does not comply with democratic principles, not considering that the country is a democratic country, because the National Assembly is only rubber-stamping [decisions made somewhere else].’

“Responding to Mr. Sam Rainsy, the chairperson of the Commission on International Affairs and Information of the National Assembly, Mr. Chheang Von, expressed deep regret about this statement, saying ‘that H.E. Sam Rainsy had said that Cambodia has only an image of democracy – I really regret this, while in fact the citizens’ rights include the right through which they can elect their leaders to rule the country.’

“Mr. Chheang Von added, regarding international agencies’ opinions that had participated to observe and monitor the elections in Cambodia, that not only the European Union, but also the United States of America, England, and Germany, had highly assessed the election results.

“The president of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akkak Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, said during the forum that it was the first time that the National Assembly of Cambodia celebrated the International Day of Democracy [by holding the present meeting] after there had been an unanimous vote by the United Nation General Assembly in late 2007 about the creation of an international day to welcome democracy, designating the date of 15 September every year.

“Samdech Heng Samrin went on to say, ‘The topic for this year of 2009 was about political understanding and democracy, which is very meaningful, especially for democratic countries, and it requires us to respect and value each other with equal rights in front of the law, as well as within the range of our own responsibility. Therefore, through the celebration of the International Day of Democracy by the National Assembly of Cambodia under the topic of political understanding and tolerance, we will be encouraged to understand more clearly the importance of creating a culture of tolerance in society, especially also in politics.’

“The chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Mr. Om Yentieng said, ‘The two important points of democracy in Cambodia are: first, though the Cambodian economy is in difficulty, the implementation of democracy does not derail because of this economic process, and the Royal Government has started this task with empty hands, and second, the implementation of democracy is related to the culture of the Khmer society, by which we are proud that there are no points contrasting the culture towards the implementation of democracy and the respect of human rights in Cambodia.’

“The British Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Andrew Mace, said, ‘These challenges are not important for any specific country, but they are problems that all democratic countries have to understand and to solve.’

“The president of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL), Mr. Kol Panha, stated, ‘Cambodia will become more proud if the Royal Government of Cambodia, the National Assembly, and the Senate implemented principles and vowed to ensure an efficient rule of law, of good governance, of democratic principles, of the rule of the state through the Constitution, and to respect, promote, and protect human rights as stated in international treaties.’

“A UN representative to Cambodia, Mr. Douglas Roderick, said during the forum, ‘Thus, the celebration provides an opportunity to reflect how much this nation has progressed since the first democratic elections in May 1993. And it is time to consider the different roles and responsibilities, and to join to guarantee that his country will continue to promote and implement democracy more deeply.’”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #290, 16.9.2009
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Wednesday, 16 September 2009