UN looks to long-term recovery plans after slew of disasters in Asia-Pacific

Filipinos go hand-in-hand to help each other who were caught in the flood

(Post by CAAI News Media)

5 October 2009 – United Nations agencies are mobilizing to provide longer-term recovery aid to a raft of countries in Asia and the Pacific, where a relentless barrage of tropical storms, earthquakes and tsunamis have hit millions of people in recent days.

“Within hours after the catastrophes hit, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) began working in support of national authorities to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs in these countries,” said UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark in Bangkok, where she is holding meetings.

“UNDP is now preparing to support countries’ plans for longer-term recovery after waters recede and rubble is cleared,” she added, noting that with rapid support teams had already been sent to Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, which have been inundated by typhoon-spawned flood waters, and Bhutan, Indonesia, Samoa and Tonga, which were hit by earthquakes and/or subsequent tsunamis.

In the Philippines, Typhoon Parma reached the far northern province of Cagayan over the weekend, a week after Typhoon Ketsana (also known as Ondoy) inundated Manila, the capital, and affected more than 3.1 million people. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (OCHA) said nearly 870,000 people are in more than 720 evacuation shelters. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is mounting a three-month emergency operation.

In the Indonesian island of Sumatra the confirmed death toll from three earthquakes last week stands at 603 but is expected to rise significantly, since thousands are trapped and feared dead in the collapsed buildings in Padang, the provincial capital. A nine-member UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team has been deployed there.

Nevertheless, nearly 70,000 children have returned to classes in Padang, according to local education authorities, as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) rushed school supplies to the region, rapidly erecting the first of 250 classroom tents, as part of its initial support to re-starting education, along with school materials and recreational equipment.

“This is an important sign that life will return to normal for children affected by this tragedy,” UNICEF Country Representative in Indonesia Angela Kearney said.

“Many children I have met amidst the shattered buildings of Padang expressed their fears for the future – they are worried about more shocks, about losing their homes, and about never going back to school again. Today, children can see that schools will re-open, and that they will be able to continue their learning. It’s a first step towards bringing the comfort and reassurance that these children so desperately need.”

Food, tents and emergency shelter, medical supplies, hygiene kits, petrol, generators, heavy equipment, water and sanitation assistance, education and post-traumatic counseling have been identified as priority needs in Sumatra.

In American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga’s northern island of Niuatoputapu, where more than 120 are now confirmed dead, and waves destroyed homes and public infrastructure including sea walls, hospitals, schools, roads and tourist resorts, UNDP has made available emergency grants to support coordination efforts, a needs assessment and an early recovery plan.

After wreaking havoc in the Philippines, Typhoon Ketsana moved into Viet Nam. But with warning of the impending storm, approximately 200,000 people were evacuated by national emergency services.

“Early warning saves lives,” Ms. Clark said. “With the increasing impact of climate change, this area of our work will need to grow in order to help those most vulnerable to disasters,” she added.

Unexpected floods also wrought havoc in South India. Even Bhutan was not spared from disaster when an earthquake in the east of the remote mountainous country killed 12 people, and damaged nearly 43,500 homes, 89 schools and more than 115 Government offices and 400 monasteries. A joint World Bank and UN damage assessment has begun in two affected districts.

Slum Dwellers are at the brunt of nature's wrath

By NOELEEN HEYZER

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

Published on October 6, 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

YESTERDAY I met with a group of nearly 2,000 slum dwellers from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Burma, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Thailand. They came to the United Nations Escap Building to present me with a petition demanding that their right to shelter be respected.

This group represents just some of the 500 million slum dwellers who live in Asia and the Pacific and comprise 40 per cent of all who live in our region's cities. If present trends continue in the next decade, another 230 million people will be forced to live in conditions that lack access to adequate shelter, sanitation services and clean water.

The poor also often have no choice but to live on marginal lands, prone to flooding and landslides, in flimsy shelters and overcrowded settlements that expose them to other hazards. Of the thousands being reported dead or missing following last week's series of disasters, it should come as no surprise that many will be the poor and vulnerable from these types of settlements.

It is almost unprecedented for any region to experience so many disasters over such a short period of time. From the Philippines - which was hit by the one-two punch of Typhoon Ketsana and Typhoon Parma - and the flooding in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, to the earthquakes that rocked Indonesia and The tsunami that struck the Samoas and Tonga, the resulting loss of lives, casualties and destruction to property is heartbreaking.

These disasters are a brutal reminder that climate change will only increase the magnitude and frequency of weather-related disasters. Just this year, India has been suffering its worst drought in nearly 40 years, while in August, Taiwan lost nearly 800 people to Typhoon Morakot. Asia and the Pacific overall has experienced over 80 per cent of the global casualties related to extreme weather events over the past seven years. We can only expect these types of disasters to get worse if meaningful action on climate change is not taken.

This connection between the plight of slum dwellers and the effects of climate change was readily apparent to another group yesterday. Just prior to the slum dwellers' march, hundreds of people concerned about climate change assembled in front of the United Nations Escap Building as negotiators continued to seek consensus on sealing a deal in Copenhagen that takes into account the concerns of developing countries. These marchers exchanged flags with members of the Four Regions Slum Network in a symbolic gesture meant to highlight the link between the two issues.

Watching these demonstrators only reinforced in me the urgency with which we need tackle these two inextricably linked challenges - overcoming poverty and combating climate change - facing most developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. Failure to tackle one will undermine the efforts to deal with the other. So while not all of the natural disasters of the last week can be linked to climate change, they do underscore the need for an agreement that is both environmentally friendly and development oriented.

The world is at a historical turning point and must respond appropriately. Firstly, we must not roll back the gains made in the fight against climate change and erode the progress achieved through the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Consensus.

Secondly, the recent spate of calamities reminds us that Asia and the Pacific is the world's disaster hot spot. A person living in the region is four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than someone living in Africa, and 25 times more likely than someone living in Europe or North America. We need to improve our region's disaster preparedness. Studies have shown that for every dollar invested in risks associated with disaster, four to seven dollars can be saved. Investing in disaster risk reduction and prevention measures is not only a moral imperative, it is financially smart.

The poor and vulnerable will always be the ones who suffer most in disasters. Only 1 in 5 people in our region have access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, posing an obstacle to recovery in the aftermath of such tragedies. But the poor are not just victims. They can also be agents of change if development is to be inclusive and sustainable. There are several wonderful examples in Asia and the Pacific that show when the poor are mobilised and given the opportunity and support, they can change not only their own destiny, but also our cities, towns, and indeed, our societies, to become more sustainable and resilient.

The climate-change talks must result in meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a range of adaptation measures that assist the poor and vulnerable. They must include provisions for disaster risk reduction and prevention measures that help reduce, and in some cases avoid, the tragic loss of life and property we are witnessing. Officials in Indonesia were quoted as saying they lacked the necessary heavy equipment to dig through the rubble and recover buried victims. As a result, the hopes of those missing loved ones diminishes with each passing day and the death toll rises.

It is clear that developing countries do not have the capacity or resources to respond to the challenges of climate change on their own. They will need access to new technologies, funding and skill development from the international community if they are to both mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change. Yet Mother Nature is not waiting for a bureaucratic resolution, and she does not accept compromises. We must set aside our differences if an agreement is to be reached this December in Copenhagen that protects the ecosystems upon which all our lives depend. The march of our region's slum dwellers is a vivid reminder of who will be the first to suffer if we do not act now.

Cambodia Not Alone in Resource Mismanagement

By VOA Khmer, Sothearith Im

Original report from Washington

05 October 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

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 Part Five of the original VOA Khmer weekly series, airing Sundays in Cambodia.

Similar to other poor countries rich in resources, Cambodia faces problems in management of its timber and minerals, experts say. Common problems include inequity in distribution of revenues, bureaucratic politics, corruption, non-transparency and the absence of system of checks and balances.

Glen Matlack, an environmental and plant biology professor at Ohio University, said the situation in Cambodia was not surprising.

“I think that’s very similar to many cases in the world,” Matlack said. “I am sorry to say it. It is normal for the government to sell concessions of resources. It happens all the time in every tropical continent. It’s not a mystery. It’s a process. It’s a form of crime that is well understood. We have many examples. So, we cannot plead surprise or ignorance when it happens.”

Similarly, 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,” was struck by how similar the challenges are facing Cambodia and the rest of the developing countries.

“Regardless of the region of the countries, regardless of what the resources were, whether they were timber, or oil, or mineral, or water, or anything else,” Ascher said. “I think the same kind of situation would hold in Cambodia, the same kind of discipline in managing the natural resources should hold, and the same principle. So, I really don’t see that Cambodia would be an exceptional case in any significant way.”

The London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness in February published a report about Cambodia’s extractive industries, including evidence-based allegations against the country’s political and economic elites, asserting that a ruling clique is at least partly mismanaging Cambodia’s natural resources.

The Global Witness report focused on the government’s management of gem mining, oil and natural gas extraction plans. In a report in June 2007, Global Witness looked at the logging industry in Cambodia, alleging that top officials and their family members benefited from the business of timber export.

Eleanor Nichol, a Global Witness campaigner, called Cambodia an extreme example of natural resource corruption.

In many countries, Global Witness looks at only one natural resource economy, either mining or oil, for example, but in Cambodia, the group looks at the exploitation of the entire sector of natural resources, from forestry, fisheries, land, mining and oil concessions.

“The fundamental underlying factor which binds all of these together is impunity, under which a small group of individuals are able to operate, which allows them to go into, say, the forest or the land or the mine or the oil concessions, and to claim them for their own,” Nichol said.

“The only thing that will hope to address this is the application of the rule of law in Cambodia, and that must start at the top, with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Deputy Prime Minister Sok An carrying out thorough investigations when there appears to be wrongdoing being carried out by members of the inner circle of political and military elites,” she said.

Global Witness’s reports are banned in Cambodia, but Ascher, who acknowledged the group as well established, said such reporting should be taken seriously.

“The government of Cambodia has to decide on how to deal with this in interaction with civil society groups in Cambodia,” he said. “That’s not at all surprising. I’ve seen a number of countries where government officials will sometimes take a negative view of a highly critical report. Sometimes they correctly hold the view that outsiders cannot fully appreciate the kind of challenges they face.”

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 Cambodia does not have a good history in managing natural resources effectively or efficiently.

“There needs to be a fresh start on working with the private sector and taxing the private sector effectively,” Collier said. “The key step is [a] transparent arrangement with the private sector. Global Witness I think is a very well respected organization. Those criticisms need to be taken seriously.”

Cambodia is blessed with natural resources. Beneath its soil run veins of gems, gold and iron, and under its sea, oil. On its land are natural forests that offer timber wealth, and in its fresh and salt water are fish, the main source of protein for citizens.

However, few Cambodians benefit, despite this abundance, experts say, as the revenues go into the hands of political and economic elites.

Vietnam-Cambodia joint venture to boost rice shipments

October 5, 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Vietnam and Cambodia signed an agreement on Monday to form a food processing joint venture focused on boosting Cambodian rice shipments.

Cavifoods, with a registered capital of US$8 billion, will build a rice processing mill this year and then another factory to make bread and instant noodles.

The Southern Food Corporation, one of Vietnam’s two biggest state-owned food companies, will have a stake in the Cambodia-based joint venture.

The Vietnam Food Association said last month that a joint venture with Cambodia is necessary because it would shield Vietnam from tough competition against the neighboring country in future rice exports.

Also on Monday, Five Stars International Joint Stock Company, a Ho Chi Minh City-based fertilizer producer, set up a joint venture to manufacture and distribute fertilizer in Cambodia.

Source: VNA

UN Report: Migration Improves Human Welfare

A migrant worker walks at Shanghai Train Station in Shanghai, China (File)

VOA

By Daniel Schearf

Bangkok

05 October 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

A U.N. report says migrant workers improve human welfare at home and in host nations. The report says governments should make it easier for workers to travel abroad.

A new report by the U.N. Development Program says migrant workers bring significant benefits to both their host and home countries.

The UNDP's annual human-development report says migration not only increases incomes and access to education and health care for the workers, it also creates jobs and innovation in host nations.

The report says the money migrant workers send home exceeds official development assistance by about four times in most developing countries, except in Africa.

But Helen Clark, the administrator with the UNDP, says the global economic slowdown and rising unemployment have led to a backlash against migrants in some countries.

"This report suggests that fears about migrants taking the jobs or lowering the wages of local people, placing an unwelcome burden on local services, or costing taxpayers money, are generally exaggerated," she said.

The U.N. report says most people in host nations are not against migration when jobs are plentiful and says governments should take steps to help migration advance human development.

The report says official procedures and fees can slow migration and encourage illegal migration.

It cites as example agreements between Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand that make recruiting fees as much as five months of a migrant worker's salary, take four months to process, and require withholding 15 percent of wages until the worker returns to their home country.

The report says smugglers in the region charge migrant workers about one month's salary, but notes that migrants who choose the illegal route risk exploitation, fines, and jail time.

Jeni Klugman, the author of the report, says the UNDP encourages governments to simplify procedures and lower the costs of migration, especially for low-skilled workers.

"The key argument in the report is not that migration is a substitute for development. It is no substitute for sustained and accelerated efforts to develop at home," said Klugman. "At the same time, it can be an important complement. And in countries around the world we can see that the flow of ideas, of people, of money, can bring all sorts of transformative effects to home countries."

The U.N. report says governments also place undue restrictions on women migrants. It cites Burma, Saudi Arabia, and Swaziland's restrictions on women leaving the country and says more than 20 nations do not allow women to apply for passports on their own.

The U.N. report also ranked people's well being on a Human Development Index based on data from 2007.

Out of 182 countries and territories, the top three on the development scale were Norway, Australia, and Iceland, while the worst off were Niger, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone.

The report says a person in Norway earns an average income 85 times what someone in Niger earns, while a child born in Niger is expected to live 30 years less than a child born in Norway.

The HDI ranking is based on gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, literacy, and school enrollment.

NZ to give $600,000 to Indonesia after quake

http://www.nbr.co.nz/

NZPA | Monday October 5 2009

New Zealand is giving $600,000 to help quake-struck Indonesia and a further $400,000 to assist Southeast Asian countries hit by a typhoon.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced the $1 million package today saying it was initial support.

The money would go to rescue efforts and emergency provisions after the September 30 quake in western Sumatra in Indonesia.

Typhoon Ketsana struck the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, and funding would help address the devastation caused by flooding in those countries, Mr McCully said.

"The death toll from the Indonesian earthquakes is estimated to be approaching 3000, with thousands more injured or homeless.

"Padang city and surrounding towns have been heavily hit, with schools, hospitals, hotels and markets destroyed.

"Fires have caused further damage, and heavy rain is making access difficult, and hampering search and rescue efforts."

The New Zealand money would be managed by Red Cross and other aid agencies to provide medical supplies, petrol, generators, sanitation equipment, food and shelter.

"The Philippines has been most severely hit by Typhoon Ketsana, with Manila suffering its worst floods in 40 years.

"Throughout the country three million homes have been damaged, with over 300,000 people displaced and nearly 300 deaths reported.

"Vietnam and Cambodia have also been hit, with deaths, significant damage, and displacement of people."

Further was to come with another major typhoon in the region building strength.

Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong expressed sympathy for New Zealand families waiting to hear news of loved ones in the affected countries.

"This is an anxious time for many New Zealanders who are waiting by the phone as rescuers work through the rubble and damage to find survivors of the wide-spread devastation caused by these tragic disasters," she said.

"Our thoughts are with the thousands of people who have been killed, wounded or who lost their homes as a result of these horrific natural disasters and also those here in New Zealand who are waiting to hear whether their family and friends are safe."

Anyone wanting information about friends and family in Indonesia or the Philippines should call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Telenor ends Russia telecoms dispute

Telenor and Altimo will combine their common assets to create a new mobile operator

By Anna Smolchenko (AFP)

(Post by CAAI News Media)

MOSCOW — Norwegian telecom firm Telenor and Russia's Altimo announced on Monday the creation of new a mobile operator, ending a protracted feud over control of a leading Russian mobile operator.

Telenor and Altimo, a unit of a conglomerate controlled by billionaire Mikhail Fridman, will combine their common assets in Vimpelcom and Kyivstar to create a new mobile operator, in a deal that means "resolution of all outstanding disputes" between the two firms, the companies said.

"We have turned a five-year struggle into an exciting venture for the future," Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive of Telenor Group, said in the statement.

The merger puts an end to a bitter corporate feud that had for a half a decade festered between Telenor and Alfa Group over control of Vimpelcom, Russia's second-biggest mobile operator.

Altimo and Telenor have now agreed to suspend all their ongoing legal proceedings and will move to withdraw or settle them before the deal is completed by mid-2010, the companies said.

Baksaas was one of a handful of executives who met with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin over lunch last week, the same day the powerful premier called on foreign investors to commit to Russia.

Analysts welcomed the deal, saying its main motive has been an attempt by the Russian firm and the Nordic company to put their differences behind them.

"Thank God the two companies have found the strength to come to a compromise," said Konstantin Belov, a telecoms analyst with UralSib, saying the merger would be a positive signal for investors.

"The conflict is over. This is a fact," added Yevgeny Golosnoi, a telecoms analyst at Troika Dialog.

He estimated a market value of the new company at about 21 billion dollars (14.4 billion euros), compared to Vimpelcom's current market value of about 18 billion dollars. The new company accounted for 85 million subscribers last year, the company said.

Under the deal, Telenor would receive 35.42 percent of voting shares in the new firm, while Altimo would get 43.89 percent. The new company will be called VimpelCom Ltd, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and incorporated in Bermuda.

Altimo is the telecoms arm of Alfa Group, one of Russia's largest financial-industrial conglomerates, whose main shareholder is billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Alfa owns 44 percent of Vimpelcom.

"The governance structure agreed for Vimpelcom Ltd is designed to significantly reduce the potential for new disputes between the shareholders," the companies said.

The five-year battle saw numerous proceedings in the Russian court system which raised concerns about the business climate for foreign firms working in Russia.

Telenor could have lost its stake in Vimpelcom, after judges in February ordered that the Norwegian firm should pay compensation of 1.7 billion dollars to Farimex, an obscure minority Vimpelcom shareholder.

In June, Russian authorities ordered the sale of almost all of the 30 percent stake owned by Telenor in Vimpelcom, after seizing the Norwegian firm's stake in a legal row.

Kyivstar is the biggest mobile operator in Ukraine, in which Telenor has 56.52 percent and Altimo 43.5 percent.

Shares in Telenor jumped 13.70 percent in initial trading earlier on Monday after an announcement that it had reached the deal.

Fridman's Alfa Group had been involved in a similar row with BP over control their Russian oil venture TNK-BP which ended last year with a shake-up of the ownership structure.

Global slowdown tatters Cambodian garment industry

(Post by CAAI News Media)

(AP:PHNOM PENH, Cambodia) The global recession forced the closure of 77 garment factories in Cambodia in the first nine months of 2009, throwing more than 30,000 people out of work, the government said.

Another 53 factories suspended operations in the January to September period but roughly half have since reopened, according to a report from the Ministry of Labor obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Cambodia's garment industry is the main foreign exchange earner for the poor Southeast Asian country. Garment exports from Cambodia in 2008 were worth about $2.8 billion, with 70 percent of shipments going to retailers in the United States. The European Union is the second-biggest market.

"The closing of garment factories in Cambodia is mainly due to declining purchase orders from countries affected by the global financial crisis," said Oum Mean, deputy labor minister.

The Asian Development Bank said last month it expects Cambodia's economy to shrink 1.5 percent this year.

Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said the association was trying to make Cambodian factories more competitive by reducing bureaucracy, the number of illegal strikes and the costs involved in exports.

There are about 520 garment factories operating in Cambodia which employ some 360,000 workers, mostly women.

SA man held in Cambodia released on bail

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/
Imraan Karolia
A South African man, who has spent over two weeks behind bars in Cambodia, has now been granted bail.
André Bester was arrested in the Asian country last month after a jet ski accident in which his friend Paul Hutchins died.
South Africa’s ambassador to Thailand has yet to receive the reasons for his detention and why he was charged.
Bester’s father Jan has told Eyewitness News he is overjoyed his son has been released.

Cambodia to Export Organic Rice to Germany

2009-10-05

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Cambodia will start exporting organic jasmine rice to Germany at the beginning of next year, following an agreement originally made in 2007, local media reported on Monday, citing the Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC).

Lang Seng Haung, CEDAC's enterprise manager, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying that Cambodia would ship 100 tonnes of the rice to Germany in January as part of a three-year export agreement totaling 450 tonnes at the price of 1,400 U.S. dollars a tonne.

"We will increase our supply of this kind of rice to Germany in the coming years, which will afford Cambodian farmers an opportunity," he said, referring to the agreement, which will see 150 tonnes exported in 2011 and a further 200 tonnes during the following year to conclude the current deal.

In 2007, CEDAC, representing 8,000 organic rice growers in seven provinces, signed the trade agreement with German-based company Richers.

Lang Heng Haung said he anticipated that the United States would agree with further export orders of organic jasmine rice. Those orders would likely reach "at least 150 tonnes" in total over next year, he said.

So far this year CEDAC members have exported about 75 tonnes of organic rice, 60 tonnes of which went to the U.S. and 15 tonnes to Malaysia.

Web Editor: Cao Jie

Vietnam discusses Cambodia, Myanmar situations

October 5, 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

A Vietnamese representative to the UN talked about situations in Cambodia and Myanmar at the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council that closed on October 2.

In regard to the council’s technical assistance and capacity building for Cambodia, Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Dung hailed recent achievements in politics, economics, society and culture recorded by the Cambodian government and people as well as progress in implementing basic and free human rights in the country.

Ambassador Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations Office, WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, mentioned outstanding issues and challenges the Cambodian government is facing and called on the international community and the Council to further provide technical assistance in order to help the country overcome its difficulties and challenges.

Regarding Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, the Vietnamese diplomat noted that adoption of a resolution on people is a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.

Vietnam claimed that only periodic review mechanism is the most suitable one of the Council to discuss human rights situation in countries. Therefore, the international community’s continued co-operation and assistance for Myanmar are very important and will be effective once they base on co-operation with the government and people of Myanmar, Ambassador Dung said.

The 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted 28 resolutions and three decisions and reports of a series of countries, including Vietnam, under the periodic review mechanism.

The next session will take place from March 1-29 next year. (VNA)

Typhoon death toll in Cambodia reaches 17

Mon, 05 Oct 2009

By : dpa

(Post by CAAI news Media)

Phnom Penh - Cambodian authorities on Monday said 17 people died and 65 were injured after Typhoon Ketsana swept through the country last week. "This is the biggest storm that I have seen in all my time working here," said Keo Vy, the deputy head of information at the National Committee for Disaster Management, who has worked at the centre since 1995.

Keo Vy said the toll could increase to 21 if four other people who drowned off the southern coast when their vessel sank on September 30 were included. One person survived the sinking.

The committee said about 22,700 families were affected by the storm in four provinces. Nearly 200 homes were destroyed and 644 others were damaged.

The typhoon caused widespread flooding, with its effects felt across Cambodia. The disaster agency said the storm damaged at least 22,000 hectares of rice fields.

The country director of international aid agency Oxfam-GB said Monday that as many as 35,000 hectares of rice fields were damaged.

"We are still in an emergency situation," said Francis Perez, adding that Oxfam was providing aid in some areas and still assessing conditions in others.

Oxfam said 14,000 families were displaced by the typhoon.

"We are looking at reaching 5,000 families this week, and have helped 2,500 families. So we are halfway to our target," Perez said.

The national disaster agency said the typhoon killed nine people in Kampong Thom province, 150 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, and three others in Siem Reap. Three more died in Ratanakkiri province in the east, while two were killed in Kampong Chhnang province.

Ketsana made landfall in central Vietnam early last week causing at least 159 deaths and widespread flooding before heading west into Cambodia. It had earlier caused severe damage and hundreds of deaths in the Philippines.

Active Travel Asia Kicks Off Cambodia Biking Tour Promotion in Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

(Post by CAAI News Media)

With the 3- days cycling tour around Angkor Wat, Active Travel Asia make new adventure tour for travelers who love biking and dicover the hidden 8th wonder - Angkor Wat, Cambodia by bicycle in summer 2009.

Online PR News – 04-October-2009 – This 3- days cycling tour brings travelers to explore Siem Reap in Cambodia, not only its highlighted Angkor Complex, but also small local villages, markets, pagodas, to have an opportunity to interact with local passers-by and immerse in Cambodian cultures.

Upon arrival in Siem Reap, travelers transfer to hotel in Siem Riep for check-in. The rest of the day is free to explore Siem Reap, the gateway to the impressive Angkor Wat which is located 7km south of Siem Reap. With its many bars, café’s and restaurants, Siem Reap is a bustling town that relies on the tourism industry and has all the amenities travelers need when travelers travel.

Second day, travelers start exploring Angkor Wat by bike. Angkor Wat is one of the biggest religious monuments in the world and represents the Khmer heritage. Its stunning base relief, massive towers and huge entrance way will simply awe travelers in every sense.

Travelers continue heading to the former capital Angkor Thom (Bayon, Terrace of the Elephants) and Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for its massive overgrown trees. It was used as set for the movie Tomb Raider. In the afternoon, travelers cycle to Banteay Kdey and explore this massive complex before travelers head back to Siem Reap for refreshing and dinner.

Last day, travelers are free to explore the town of Siem Reap and shopping in local market before leaving Siem Reap.

Cheaper Option

Book the Cheaper Option and save from 4% to 5% (depending on the group size)

From 9 persons: on request

This Cheaper Option is offered to those who seek for good travel experience at an affordable budget. Travelers are offered the finest 2-star hotels instead of 3-star hotels in all destinations. These 2-star hotels are chosen for good location, clean, comfortable room and nice staff.

More information at

http://www.activetravelcambodia.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=67

Trial and tribulations in Cambodia

Southeast Asia

Oct 6, 2009

(Post by CAAI News Media)

By Jared Ferrie

PHNOM PENH - In a legal landmark for Cambodians and for international justice, testimony at the first trial of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has successfully come to a close. But as judges deliberate the verdict of one self-confessed former torture chief, the fate of the tribunal itself is also in question.

A series of controversies, including Prime Minister Hun Sen's warnings that more trials would undermine national security and potentially re-ignite civil war, threaten to unravel future cases against former leaders of the radical Maoist regime. The man who stirred the controversy, former international prosecutor Robert Petit, left his post on September 1 for "personal and family reasons" as testimony was wrapping up.

Petit announced last December that he intended to charge six more suspects up and beyond the five who have already been detained and await trial. That sparked a legal dispute with his Cambodian co-prosecutor, who filed an objection, and the ire of Hun Sen.

"If you tried [more suspects] without taking national unification and peace into consideration, and if war re-occurred, killing between 200,000 and 300,000 people more, who would be responsible for it?" Hun Sen asked in a speech to mark the release of census results on September 7. Hun Sen said previously that he would rather see the court fail than pursue more prosecutions.

International rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have condemned his statements as political interference in the legal process. Other analysts have dismissed his civil war threat, speculating instead that Hun Sen is bidding to protect political allies in his government.

The prime minister was once a low level member of the Khmer Rouge, but he defected and fled to Vietnam. Other former Khmer Rouge members in government include Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Keat Chhon and president of the National Assembly Heng Samrin.

On September 2, the tribunal ruled that prosecutors could make submissions to the investigating judges in order to open up judicial investigations of the former Khmer Rouge members Petit had been building cases against. It was a split decision: Cambodian judges on the tribunal tried to block the move, while the international judges allowed for it.

Since his political and legal bombshell, Petit has been tight-lipped with the media. But in an interview the day before his departure from Cambodia, he spoke more openly to this correspondent.

"I am unconcerned about any politician's opinion about my work. It's not their job to take that on. It's mine; it's the court's," he said over coffee at Le Royal, the hotel immortalized in the film The Killing Fields as the refuge of the last rag-tag band of journalists left in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge took over the city in 1975.

Petit said he hoped the prosecution would continue to pursue charges against six more suspects, in addition to the five who have already been arrested, "without any priorities other than the law and the evidence".

The five former leaders who await or are on trial include: Khieu Samphan, the former Khmer Rouge head of state; Ieng Sary, who held the post of foreign minister; Ieng Thirith, his wife and former minister for social affairs; Nuon Chea, known as "Brother Number Two", who served as deceased Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's deputy; and former S-21 prison warden Kaing Guek Eav, better known by his revolutionary name Duch.

The additional six suspects identified by Petit have not been named publicly, but a source familiar with the investigation said they include at least one government official and a retired general. The source also said one of the suspects has already died. The Cambodia Daily newspaper identified him as the Khmer Rouge's former commerce minister, Van Rith, who died in November.

In a 2001 publication, Stephen Heder and Brian Tittemore named seven former Khmer Rouge leaders who they said the strongest cases could be made against. The list included some of these currently facing charges, but the authors also mentioned Meah Mut, a former Khmer Rouge commander, who now serves in an advisory position to the Ministry of Defense. He stands accused of transferring members of his division to the S-21 detention center.

"I believe there's enough evidence to justify prosecuting [the six unnamed suspects] and qualifying them as either senior leaders or the most responsible," said Petit, without referring to specific individuals. "That's my only concern."

Legal threats

He rejected the claim that expanding the scope of the prosecution would spark armed conflict, saying that Cambodians have no wish to return to war after suffering some of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. Petit suggested that if violence were to occur following an arrest, it would most likely be politically orchestrated. "It's not going to happen," he said. "And if something were going to happen, I would question the genuineness of it."

Hun Sen, who until recently had presided over fast economic growth and relative political stability, seems determined to thwart further prosecutions, judging from his September 7 speech. "I have achieved this work [peace], I will not allow anybody to destroy it," he said.

However the tribunal is in danger of collapse even without political interference. Claims that Cambodian administrative staff at the tribunal were forced to pay kickbacks to superiors in order to acquire and maintain their jobs were made in a United Nations report leaked to the media over two years ago. Yet no one has yet been named or charged for corruption.

The UN and Cambodian government appointed Uth Chhorn in August as an independent counselor, a position created in part to investigate the corruption allegations. But, on September 24, he told reporters that his job is not to resolve corruption charges. Rather, he said he will pass on information provided to him about corrupt practices to senior UN and government officials.

A German parliamentary delegation published a report last November implicating Sean Visoth, the head of the tribunal's administration, in the alleged corruption. He went on sick leave that same month and has not yet returned to work.

As the corruption controversy simmers, and as judges consider the case against the first defendant, Duch, prosecutors are already busy trying to build solid cases against the four suspects remaining to be tried. Those cases promise to be far more complex as Duch is the only one of the original five suspects who has admitted his guilt.

To be sure, it would have been hard for Duch to deny his role in the atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge. There are thousands of pages of documentary evidence linking him to the crimes committed at the S-21 prison, where as many as 17,000 people were tortured before being executed.

Under Duch's supervision, meticulous records of interrogation and torture were kept at S-21. While apologizing repeatedly in court to his victims, Duch also said he and his family would have been killed had he not carried out the murders ordered by his Khmer Rouge superiors.

The remaining four suspects, all of whom held much higher ranks, reject accusations that they led a regime that presided over the deaths of at least 1.7 million of its own citizens. All four suspects deny any knowledge of atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge. Petit however said he was not worried about the cases against them.

"It is true that in general this regime did have secrecy and paranoia as some of its hallmarks. But if you've created that secrecy, if you've created that paranoia, if you've enforced it and made sure it permeates the structure that you're running ... then it doesn't help you much provided that it can be proven that you were in charge and that you did create these institutions," he said. "And I don't think that's going to be much of an issue here."

Of greater concern, perhaps, is the question of whether the suspects will live long enough to have their day in court. They are all elderly and some are known to have serious health problems.

Closing arguments in the Duch trial are set for November and a verdict is expected in 2010. A date has not been set for the trial of the remaining four suspects that have been identified and are currently incarcerated. Although prosecutors are now free to investigate and bring charges against the additional unnamed six suspects mentioned by Petit, nobody has been willing, at least publicly, to say if or when that might happen.

"It is important to say that this does not automatically mean there will be more prosecutions," Lars Olsen, a spokesman for the court, told reporters on September 2. "It means [the international prosecutor] is no longer barred by the disagreement with Cambodian colleagues."

Still, there is still a strong possibility that Duch will be the only Khmer Rouge member to be tried for his role in the regime that prompted historians to add "autogenocide", a term that refers to the extermination of citizens by a regime that shares the same ethnicity, to the English language.

After decades of ignoring almost inconceivable atrocities, and then finally pouring more than US$150 million into a tribunal now hotly contested by politicians and officials, the international community may yet fail to bring justice to Cambodia.

Jared Ferrie is freelance journalist based in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia sees drop in tourists to Preah Vihear Temple

www.chinaview.cn

2009-10-05

(Post by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of visitors to the Preah Vihear Temple complex dropped by a-third in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to a local media report on Monday.

The decrease was a reaction to the ongoing dispute with Thailand over ownership of the land surrounding the World Heritage site, Kong Vibol, director of Preah Vihear province's tourism department, told the Phnom Penh Post.

The official also blamed a general downturn in tourism arrivals, bad weather and lingering fears of influenza A/H1N1.

Only 12,214 people visited the temple complex in last quarter, down 33.93 percent from 18,487 visitors over the same period a year earlier, he was quoted by the report as saying.

The number of foreign visitors dropped 44.6 percent to 426, and the number of domestic tourists went down 34.04 percent to 11,788, Tourism Department figures showed.

Over the period, 47,682 people visited the province, including 40,857 from other parts of Cambodia, down 32.78 percent year-on-year, and 6,825 foreign visitors, down 89.17 percent, the Post reported.

Kong Vibol said he expected a recovery in the last quarter as the peak season begins and the global economy continues to show signs of recovery. Dissipating border tensions would also help, he added.

The Post said that Prime Minister Hun Sen announced in early September that Cambodian troops at the temple would be withdrawn following a bilateral agreement that effectively ended the 13-month standoff over the temple.

Om Phirom, chief of the temple's Heritage Police, said at the time the drawdown in troops led to a surge in tourist numbers, with around 200 Cambodian and 50 foreign tourists daily.

Editor: Bi Mingxin

Cambodia, South Korea to sign oil, energy agreement

www.chinaview.cn

2009-10-05

(Post by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and South Korean governments will sign an agreement of oil and energy cooperation during the two-day official visiting by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak later this month, an official said here on Monday.

"Both sides will sign the agreement on seeking mines, oil, gas, and energy cooperation to push the economic development in the country," Eang Sophalleth, spokesman for Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters after the meeting between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and visiting Shin Jae Hyun, ambassador in charge of cooperation, natural resources and energy affairs to the South Korean President.

Shin's visit is to pave the way for President Lee Myung-bok's visit in Cambodia on October 22-23.

The bilateral cooperation will serve the mutual benefits, Eang said, adding that Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his hope that it will help speed up the country's economic development.

Shin also expressed his sympathy and condolences to Cambodian victims who suffered from Ketsana storm last week and hoped the Ketsana-hit regions would be restored soon under the Cambodian government's leadership.

South Korea has contributed to building rural infrastructure, irrigation systems, and road restorations in Cambodia and has helped e-government, information technology in Cambodia. Moreover, South Korea also joined to invest in a stock exchange which plans to open next year in Cambodia.

Editor: Fang Yang

20,000 garment workers lose jobs in Cambodia

Cambodia's garment industry is the impoverished country's largest source of income

(AFP) – (Post by CAAI News Media0

PHNOM PENH — The global economic downturn has forced at least 20,000 workers to lose their jobs in Cambodia's garment industry this year, a labour ministry report showed Monday.

Between January and September, 77 factories were closed across the country resulting in the loss of 30,617 jobs, according to the report obtained by AFP.

Although 40 new factories opened in same the period and created more employment, more than 20,000 job losses remained, it showed.

Another 53 factories also suspended operations during the period but about half have reopened.

"The closure of the factories is due to fewer purchase orders," Oum Mean, secretary of state at the Ministry of Labour, told AFP.

"We can assume that this has been caused by the global financial crisis because the consumption in big countries has declined and this made some factories receive no purchase orders," he said.

In the face of shrinking demand from the US, the largest importer of Cambodian-made garments, the government is seeking new markets for textiles in Asia and Europe, Oum Mean added.

Cambodia's garment industry is the impoverished country's largest source of income, providing 80 percent of its foreign exchange earnings and employing an estimated 350,000 people last year.

The International Monetary Fund said last month that Cambodia's economy will contract 2.75 percent this year as the global economic crisis takes its toll.

Lost in the flood

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 05 October 2009 15:02 Heng Chivoan

Families from Tuol Sangkae commune in Russei Keo district demonstrate in their village on Sunday, requesting that Prime Minister Hun Sen act to stop floods caused by the filling-in of Boeung Kak lake.

Storm leaves Kingdom on verge of crisis

Photo by: AFP

A woman cradles her child as she waits for aid from the Cambodian Red Cross in the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana in Kampong Thom province.

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 05 October 2009 15:03 May Titthara and Irwin Loy

Aid agencies say remote settlements are difficult to reach; death toll rises.

A HUMANITARIAN crisis loomed across the Kingdom on Sunday as aid agencies struggled to reach people in remote parts of the country caught in the path of Typhoon Ketsana when it struck Cambodia with devastating force last week.

At least 10,000 people are still in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, according to Oxfam, although there are fears the true figure could be much higher. More than eight provinces were severely affected by the storm, creating a “staggering demand” for aid, the group said.

Relief workers stationed across the country reported serious difficulties transporting much-needed supplies to the worst-hit provinces, as still-rising floodwaters left vast stretches of the country’s rugged terrain almost completely cut off.

While survivors of the flash floods and 185mph winds began the daunting task of rebuilding their shattered lives, experts warned on Sunday that the damage wrought on the Kingdom’s food supplies could trigger serious long-term shortages.

“The concern in Cambodia is huge,” said Francis Perez, country director for Oxfam International in Cambodia. “We’re talking about thousands of people in need of emergency assistance just in Kampong Thom province alone. I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination we could assume that more than half of the affected people have been reached by emergency relief.”

The typhoon destroyed large swathes of Cambodia’s rice crops and left a trail of dead livestock in its wake, just weeks before the November harvest was due to start. Oxfam’s initial estimates of the damage have since doubled: As many as 50,000 hectares of rice paddies may have been destroyed, it said in a statement Saturday.

“In areas where we have been conducting assessments, damages to crops are as much as 90 percent,” said Perez. “That will have a longer-term impact on people’s lives. In most of the fields where there have been floods, particularly in Kampong Thom province, crops have been submerged for more than two weeks. The farmers say that will ensure the crops will not survive.”

As the country struggled to calculate the long-term cost of the storm, the immediate human cost continued to climb. The official death toll from the National Committee for Disaster Management rose to 15 over the weekend: nine people in Kampong Thom province, three in Ratanakkiri and three in Battambang. Additional reports of fatalities, including a report of 17-year-old boy believed to have drowned while in Siem Reap’s swollen river, had not been confirmed.

Efforts to get aid to the people most in need have been “severely hampered” by widespread flooding, said.

Photo by: AFP

A Cambodian woman inspects the damage at her home following the passing of Typhoon Ketsana in Kampong Thom province. Aid agencies are battling to reach those in need.

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THE WATER LEVELS ARE GETTING HIGHER AND HIGHER. WE ARE MOVING PEOPLE TO SAFETY NOW.

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Uy Sam Ath, director of disaster management for the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC). In Preah Vihear, where it normally takes the CRC 45 minutes to distribute basic food aid to 1,000 families, dangerously high water levels in the wake of the storm meant the process took an arduous four days to complete.

At the same time, parts of Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri provinces have proved completely impassable, leading CRC to appeal to its Vietnamese counterparts for help in what Uy Sam Ath described as the largest domestic rescue effort he has seen since catastrophic flooding in 2000 destroyed more than 300,000 homes.

Provincial officials reported continued flooding Sunday night, and several attempted to evacuate people to higher ground.

Chhun Chhorn, Kompong Thom provincial governor, said: “The water levels are getting higher and higher. We are moving people to safety now.”

People living along the Stung Sen River in Sandan, Prasat Balang and Prasat Sambor districts have been warned to make emergency plans, he said.

In Stung Treng province, Governor Loy Sophat said floodwaters had risen higher than expected, and authorities put the entire province on alert. “The flood has destroyed more than 3,000 hectares of rice paddies, affecting every district in the province,” he said.

In Ratanakkiri, where three people were confirmed killed, emergency food aid was being delivered by helicopter, said Governor Pao Ham Phan.

Two of the victims were crushed by falling trees; the third drowned when the boat in which he was fishing capsized. Despite the deaths, the governor said most people in the province had been well-prepared. “Because we knew about the storm first, we could save our people on time,” he said.

Kham Phoeun, governor of Kratie province, said most people had been evacuated from the rising floodwaters, but that about 180 hectares of rice had been destroyed.

Near Preah Vihear, military personnel had to clear the road after a landslide blocked it in two places following heavy rain Friday night. “Our soldiers are used to it, so they are not affected by it,” Yim Phim, commander of Brigade 8, said Sunday.

Polling stations in several provinces were also closed due to flooding, preventing voters from checking their details on the electoral register, according to officials. Tep Nytha, secretary general of the National Election Committee, said: “People only have until October 20 to check their names on voter lists, but now our country is facing a natural disaster. It has really interrupted our work.” People in the affected provinces of Kampong Thom, Pursat, Ratanakkiri and Preah Vihear would be given an extended deadline, he said.

As the waters begin to recede, aid agencies are bracing themselves for the next phase: recovery. The CRC will provide water-purification systems, health education and seeds in what it insists will be a modest cleanup operation compared with neighbouring countries where Ketsana first struck, leaving hundreds dead.

“We cannot compare the impact [in Cambodia] to Indonesia, the Philippines or Vietnam,” Uy Sam Ath said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MOM KUNTHEAR AND THET SAMBATH

Access key to border security: military

Photo by: Lily Partland.

People play in the swollen waters of the Siem Reap River on Saturday. A 17-year-old boy is believed to have drowned when he tried to save a fellow swimmer over the weekend.

(Post by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 05 October 2009 15:02 Thet Sambath and Chhay Channyda

MILITARY commanders stationed near Preah Vihear temple said Sunday that construction of a new road connecting Ko Muoy village 7 kilometres west of the complex is nearly complete and will make the transfer of troops to the Thai-Cambodian border area more efficient.

Yim Phim, commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 8, said workers had less than one full day of labour to complete the final 100 metres of the Ko Muoy road.

“This road is part of a military strategy to make troops more mobile and to get them to the front line more rapidly,” he said.

Also Sunday, Ten Navun, an officer for RCAF Battalion 404, said soldiers were continuing to build concrete trenches and buildings at the front line in Chom Ksan district, 7 kilometres east of the temple complex.

Photo by: Peter Olszewski.

Sivutha Boulevard, Siem Reap’s main thouroughfare, was temporarily transformed into a waterway on Saturday.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying that roads built by the Cambodian government near Preah Vihear temple did not necessarily belong to Cambodia.

At a press conference on Friday, Pen Ngoeun, an adviser to the Council of Ministers, criticised Thai officials for using a “unilateral map” to justify claims to disputed border territory.

He also said Thailand had ignored a 1962 ruling from the International Court of Justice asserting that the temple belonged to Cambodia.

“The truth is that Thailand still has ambitions to take Cambodian territory,” he said.

Officials at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached Sunday.