Phnom Penh's anti-drugs chief charged with possession, bribery

Picture by DAP News

Posted : Mon, 19 Oct 2009

By : dpa

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Phnom Penh - The head of Phnom Penh's anti-drugs police team has been charged with illegal possession of drugs and taking bribes from arrested drug dealers, national media reported Monday. Lieutenant-Colonel Touch Muysor was suspended earlier this month after police found thousands of amphetamine tablets in his office.

A court prosecutor told the Cambodia Daily newspaper that Lt-Col Touch was formally charged over the weekend, but had been under suspicion since 2005.

The prosecutor said one charge relates to possession of drugs, while the other is for taking bribes to ensure that the cases of arrested dealers were shelved before even making it to court.

Lt-Col Touch is the second ranking officer in Cambodia's drugs force to be arrested this month. On October 2, Bun Pov, a lieutenant in the national anti-drugs police force, was arrested just one week into the job after police raided his home and found 18 kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine tablets.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in a series of arrests the same day which saw seven dealers apprehended. However police would not say whether any of the cases were linked.

Cambodia has long been seen as a regional transit point for drugs shipments.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: No Welcome Mat for Civil Society at ASEAN Summit

http://www.ipsnews.net/
(Posted by CAAI News Media)

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 19 (IPS) - A summit of regional leaders due to begin in Thailand on Oct. 23 has brought into relief a rift within the 10-member bloc about the space that should be given to civil society voices at such a gathering.

This political faultline comes at a time when the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) moves ahead to reinvent itself as a rules-based, people-centred regional body by 2015. An ASEAN charter came into force in December last year in this effort to create a body that closely resembles the European Union (EU) in some ways.

ASEAN, whose members include Brunei, Burma (or Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, was initially established in 1967 at the height of the Cold War to serve as a bulwark against the spread of communism.

Thailand, as the host of the 15th ASEAN summit in Cha-am, a resort town south of Bangkok, was hoping to cement a permanent place for an encounter between government leaders and representatives of the region’s non- governmental organisations (NGOs), said a diplomatic source.

For now, the summit’s agenda still says so. A meeting between the two groups is still on the cards from 11:50 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. on the opening day of the Cha-am meeting.

Yet the reality is otherwise, the diplomatic source from a South-east Asian country revealed to IPS. "Objections have been raised by Laos, echoing the concerns already expressed by Myanmar and Cambodia," the diplomat added. "The relevance of this engagement between ASEAN leaders and civil society is to be downgraded."

A well-informed Thai columnist on South-east Asian affairs has shed more light on what appears to be a move by countries that have no semblance of a democracy -- or ones that come down strongly on critical voices at home -- to convert this NGO-ASEAN leaders engagement into an informal exchange.

"Thailand’s long-standing plan to institutionalise the interface between ASEAN leaders and representatives of the more than 70 ASEAN civil society organisations (CSO) are crumbling," wrote Kavi Chongkittavorn in a commentary this week in ‘The Nation’, an English-language daily.

"Last week, at the ASEAN Joint Coordinating Meeting in Bangkok, a landlocked member proposed any such meeting in the future, including the forthcoming Cha-am summit, should be optional," he wrote. "ASEAN senior officials quickly took up Vientiane’s idea, which reflected the high anxiety held by their leaders since the historic event last February during the 14th ASEAN summit."

When pressed if this move did signify a "downgrading" of this meeting at future summits, a senior Thai foreign ministry official offered a diplomatic response. "We would like to see civil society participation at the ASEAN summit as a permanent pillar," said Vitavas Srivihok, director general of the ASEAN affairs department. "But we have to take a realistic approach, respecting the political development and internal process of each ASEAN country."

"Next year this meeting may come in the form of a seminar, a dinner or a reception," he adds, referring to the 16th summit to be hosted by Vietnam, one of the two ASEAN countries governed by communist parties. Laos, the region’s poorest country, is the other.

But that is not all that exposes a reluctance by ASEAN leaders to meet NGO representatives at the summit. A selection criteria of who speaks on behalf of civil society has been introduced, giving authority to the foreign ministry from, say, military-ruled Burma to approve who makes up the NGO delegation from its country.

"All the names of civil society representatives have to be sent through foreign ministries. Our colleagues from Myanmar, in particular, wanted this," Vitavas confirmed. "But this is not true with all countries. Thailand will give our civil society the full freedom to nominate their names."

Little wonder why NGO leaders are alarmed at this turn of events, marking a slide backwards from the benchmark that was set in February, when Thailand hosted the 14th ASEAN summit in Cha-am.

Using deft diplomacy, the hosts succeeded in holding for the first time in ASEAN’s 42-year-history a formal, face-to-face meeting between government leaders and NGO representatives that lasted 20 minutes. Strong protests by Burmese Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen – both of whom threatened to walk out of that meeting – had to be accommodated, denying the presence of the Burmese and Cambodian NGO delegates at this interface.

"We were hopeful that the success of the last ASEAN summit would be repeated. We wanted the interface to be institutionalised," said Yuyun Wahyuningrum, the East Asia programme manager of the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development, a regional lobby group. "But we are disappointed at what we are hearing. Making this meeting optional will be downgrading its importance."

"The new selection criteria is also a problem," she said in an interview. "It is creating a climate of fear among civil society activists coming from countries like Burma and Laos."

"Why are the ASEAN leaders afraid of us?" she asked. "We are trying to build a dialogue. This interface is important to make civil society visible as our commitment to the people-centred ASEAN mentioned in the charter."

A watered-down civil society encounter with the region’s leader will expose the credibility of ASEAN, added Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, who moderated the dialogue between government leaders and NGO representative at the last summit. "It comes at a critical moment when ASEAN is trying to make itself an inclusive, people- friendly body, than a club for government leaders and bureaucrats."

"The ASEAN charter is being violated by this effort to ignore the importance of civil society," he told IPS. "It will end up bankrupt if it keeps doing more of this."

Thailand blazes trail for human rights

Published: 19/10/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Thailand will launch Asean's first major push into the protection of human rights at the body's summit this weekend.

Thailand, as host of the 15th Asean summit at Hua Hin and Cha-am, will spearhead the inauguration of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the adoption of a declaration on climate change, and draft a declaration on education cooperation.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Asean should become a "community of action" which was able to act decisively.

All 10 leaders from the Asean region including Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, will convene for the summit to be in Phetchaburi's Cha-am district and Prachuap Khiri Khan's Hua Hin district from Friday to Sunday.

Among the meetings at the summit, the inauguration of the AICHR is expected to be the highlight.

The AICHR will serve as the region's main body in promoting and protecting the human rights of the peoples of Asean, particularly children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities. Its first, informal meeting will be held at the summit.

In addition, Asean foreign ministers will meet with the High Level Legal Experts Group, set up to assist Asean settle disputes, to discuss progress on the Dispute Settlement Mechanisms (DSM).

The DSM will help resolve disputes according to the rules and regulations under the three pillars of the Asean Charter only. It will not resolve disputes between states.

The dispute over the Preah Vihear temple on the border between Thailand and Cambodia will not be included in this DSM, said Asean Affairs Department director-general Vitavas Srivihok.

Mr Vitavas also said the Asean ministers would sign an agreement on the grouping's privileges and immunities.

Other issues affecting the people's well-being, including food and energy security, financial stability, pandemics and disaster management, will also be discussed.

Asean leaders will also take the opportunity of the summit to meet with representatives of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and Asean Youth and Asean Civil Society Organisations.

Mr Vitavas said the US$1.2 billion (40billion baht) Chiang Mai Initiative regional fund to help countries which face a liquidity crunch could not be launched at this summit but leaders do intend to finalise it this year.

It is possible finance ministers might hold a back-to-back meeting with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation delegates in Singapore next month or hold a special meeting in Thailand in December, Mr Vitavas said.

At least 42 agreements will be signed during the summit, he said.

On the economic front, the Commerce Ministry will invite representatives from the region's car industry to discuss the promotion and strengthening of the industry during the Asean Economic Ministers meeting, Trade Negotiations Department director-general Nuntawan Sakuntanaga said.

Mrs Nuntawan said the AEM would sign a memorandum of understanding with China on the establishment of an Asean-China centre on intellectual property.

The summit will announce the elimination of tariffs on products under the normal track of the Asean-China free trade agreement and the Asean-Korea FTA as well as the announcement of the entry into force of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA, she said.

Alcohol suspected in high-speed crash that killed 3

Three people are dead after a BMW with a suspected drunk driver at the wheel crashed into a minivan on Finch Ave. W. at Tobermory Dr. (Oct. 17, 2009) DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

Published On Sun Oct 18 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

A family originally from Cambodia was returning home from temple late Saturday when a BMW, going up to 200 km/h with a suspected drunk driver at the wheel, hurtled into their minivan, cracking it in half and killing three people.

Hon To, 44, and her 24-year-old daughter Khan (Christine) Taing were pronounced dead at the scene of the horrific crash just before midnight on Finch Ave. W. at Tobermory Dr., said family member Yun Ho.

Taing was studying nursing at the University of Toronto, he added.

The other minivan passenger pronounced dead at the scene was a female family friend and fellow worshipper about to be dropped off at her home, Ho said.

To's husband, Pho Taing, 43, is in hospital in critical condition, as is a fifth passenger of the Honda Odyssey, a woman. Police said this afternoon that one of them is in "grave" condition while the other suffered less serious injuries, but wouldn't identify them.

The three dead were all thrown from the cracked-open minivan. Traffic officers were stunned by the wreckage, saying it's the kind of destruction seen occasionally on highways but not on a Toronto street. The van was turning when it was hit.

Jenny To, a friend of the 24-year-old victim, told the Star this afternoon that Taing was a "social butterfly."

"Any time we felt lonely we would call each other," she said.

The 21-year-old driver of the BMW suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is in police custody in hospital. Police say he will be charged in the crash.

Moments before the impact, the westbound BMW flew past a police cruiser heading east on Finch, said Sgt. Tim Burrows of Traffic Services. The officers witnessed the crash in their rear view mirror, he added.

The BMW was "out of control" and continued about 100 metres after smashing the minivan in two, Burrows said.

Police believe the BMW's driver had been drinking. The man has been investigated for drinking and driving in the past, Burrows said, though he could not confirm any prior convictions.

"All in all, this was an absolutely atrocious night on our roadways," Burrows said, adding that at least half a dozen other drivers were arrested for drinking and driving offences.

"Drinking and driving is a no-brain issue," Burrows said. "Once you've added alcohol to your system, driving should be out of the equation."

This afternoon, the front of the minivan lay on grass between the sidewalk and road, wires and metal protruding from its open end. Firefighters cut one piece of the van apart, removing its contents.

Finch was closed between Sentinel Rd. and Driftwood Ave. as police investigated.

With files from Stephen Smysnuik and The Canadian Press

(CAAI News Media) Cambodia in Pictures - Beautiful Phnom Penh

UAE seeks East Asia food security links

Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said the UAE is looking for partners in rice, wheat, sugar and meat production and Emirati delegations have been negotiating with potential partners to achieve this goal.Image Credit: Supplied Picture

http://gulfnews.com/

UAE explores investment in Cambodian rice

By Duraid Al Baik, Associate Editor, Gulf News
Published: October 18, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Dubai: Rice consumed in the UAE might soon come from Cambodia as the visit of the UAE delegation to the East Asian country proves "very encouraging" according to Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy.

Al Mansouri, who headed the Emirati delegation to Cambodia last week, told Gulf News there is great potential in agricultural investment there and a technical team has been formed to evaluate the feasibility of launching a large-scale planting facility there next year.

The minister, who just concluded an official visit there, said Cambodia could become a hub for UAE investments in a variety of activities including food production and fisheries.

"The visit was very successful in exploring the potential for investments in the agriculture sector and other economic sectors including tourism," he said.

"We went to Cambodia to explore the feasibility of producing rice as part of the government's policy to achieve food security in 15 basic food items; we realised that other food products might be successful as well, including soya beans and meat," he said.

In addition, he said the fact that the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, is just a one-hour flight from Bangkok, Thailand, makes it very attractive for tourism from the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East.

"Thus, tourism represents another investment opportunity for investors from the UAE," Al Mansouri said.

Cambodia produces 7 million tonnes of rice per annum with the potential to double the harvest if modern technology is used.

One third of its rice is consumed locally and the rest is exported to neighbouring countries including Thailand and Vietnam from where it is exported to the rest of the world.

The UAE consumes 800,000 tonnes of rice of a variety of types, all of which is imported from a number of countries.

Research

The delegation visited a research centre that is striving to enhance the quantity and quality of rice that Cambodia grows and explored the possibility of conducting tests to produce the kinds of rice that are popular in the UAE.

If an agreement materialises, Cambodia will be the fourth country after Sudan, Egypt and Pakistan to receive UAE agricultural investments intended to achieve a food security plan drawn up by the federal government.

A number of private local companies are taking part as strategic partners to assess, invest and manage agricultural projects in foreign locations.

Al Mansouri said the technical team will study investment laws and infrastructure that will contribute to the success of investment in Cambodia and will start detailed negotiations to gain a full picture about the feasibility of investment in the agricultural project.

"The delegation will assess the possession of land either by purchase or through a 99-year lease contract with the government.

"The VIP welcome for the UAE delegation illustrated the great interest on the part of Cambodia in investments from the UAE. The delegation was received by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia and Prime Minister Hun Sin, in addition to eight other ministers including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Economy Keat Chhon.

"All Cambodian officials expressed deep interest in promoting relations between their country and the UAE," he said.

He said the UAE is looking for partners in rice, wheat, sugar and meat production and Emirati delegations have been in direct negotiations with potential partners to achieve this goal.

No financial limit

Al Mansouri said: "We are looking for potential partners to invest in agriculture projects abroad including countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East."

He added that there is no financial limit to how much the UAE can invest in these projects since the objective is to achieve food security for the country.

"We have been looking for investments in meat-producing projects and wheat farms in Australia.

"Canada has substantial opportunity for wheat production for the UAE," he added.

Apart from building a strategic reserve in 15 food items which have been identified as the most necessary for residents of the UAE, he said the strategic reserve can be used to curb manipulation of prices in case of shortages in the market.

Khudaim Abdullah Al Dar'ie, Vice President of Dahra Agricultural Company (DAC) and member of the UAE delegation to Thailand, said the technical team will test all aspects of rice production in Cambodia including laboratory tests on the current production and its suitability for the market and consumer tastes in the UAE.

"Logistics, transportation and storage facilities will be checked to ensure the feasibility of the UAE investments in Cambodia," Al Dar'ie said.

DAC is the strategic partner of the UAE government in foreign agricultural investment and is currently managing projects in Egypt, Pakistan, Spain and the US.

Al Mansouri called on other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to take a unified stand and start negotiating foreign agricultural investments as a bloc, a step that he said would give the GCC an advantage in negotiating their terms.

"We are aware of similar moves from parties in the GCC to invest in agricultural projects in foreign destinations. We believe that with the expertise and potential we have in the region, the UAE can play a great role in amalgamating the goal of achieving food security in the region," he added.

Prosecutors: Mom approved of boyfriend's sexual abuse of daughter, 11

By Lisa Lednicer, The Oregonian
October 17, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

HILLSBORO – Seren Kong was a lonely widow with five children when she met Dam Rath at a welfare office. He charmed her and made her feel wanted. Then, after moving into her house, he started molesting her two underage daughters.

Dam Rath

Kong not only approved of the sexual abuse but also consented when Rath offered to pay her if she allowed the abuse to continue, prosecutors said. She took her youngest daughter for a car ride and told the 11-year-old girl of the arrangement. When the girl resisted, prosecutors said, Kong answered that if the daughter loved her mother, she'd do what she said.

Kong, 62, of Hillsboro pleaded guilty in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday to attempted rape, attempted sodomy and attempted compelling prostitution. Judge Thomas W. Kohl sentenced her to about 4 1/2 years in prison.

Rath, 54, was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison for the abuse of Kong's daughters, which occurred over two years. Rath served six years and three months in prison for shooting his wife to death in 1996.

Seren Kong

Police arrested Rath and Kong last November after her daughter told a friend about the abuse. The friend told a school counselor.

Deputy District Attorney Dan Hesson said Rath worked as a cook in a Thai restaurant and the money he paid Kong didn't amount to much. Kong was in the room when some of the abuse occurred, he said.

Kong's attorney, Ethan Levi, said Kong suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome after seeing people murdered in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime. She spent two years in a Thai refugee camp. Kong doesn't speak English and survives on disability checks.

"There are many, many mitigating facts in the case," Levi said. "The case didn't resolve fairly. The children didn't want this result to happen."

Hesson said if the case had gone to trial and Kong was convicted, she could have received a minimum of 25 years in prison. He said her daughters didn't want their mother to serve a long prison sentence, so prosecutors offered a lighter sentence in exchange for her testimony against Rath.

Hesson said the youngest daughter now lives with a relative and is doing well in school.

-- Lisa Grace Lednicer

Cambodia can offer strategic support to UAE's food security program: Al Mansouri (updated)

http://www.wam.org.ae/
Oct 17, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

WAM Dubai, October 17, 2009: During an official visit to Cambodia, His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, stressed that the Cambodian agriculture sector serves as a strategic support for the UAE's food security programme.

The UAE delegation headed by Al Mansouri has visited various ministries and senior Cambodian officials including the Prime Minister and Ministers of Economy, Agriculture, Transport, Telecommunication, Water and Environment.

The discussions with Cambodian government mainly focused on enhancing cooperation in the agriculture sector and ways to explore investments in this vital sector, which is regarded as the backbone of the Cambodian economy, contributing to 29 per cent of the GDP and supporting 85 per cent of the workforce of the country.

Al Mansouri said during his meeting with the Cambodian Minister of agriculture that the UAE is keen to explore the opportunities in rice cultivation in Cambodia, and will form a technical team which will visit Cambodia to check on-ground possibilities of investing in Cambodian farmlands.

Al Mansouri visited the Rice Research Centre in Cambodia and evaluated the varities of rice and took samples to be tested in the UAE agricultural labs, to check its quality and their suitability for UAE consumers.

He underlined that: "Food security is a high priority to the UAE and we look forward to building a strategic food reserve that can meet the needs of the whole region. The Cambodian government is exerting huge efforts to develop its agriculture infrastructure and we are keen to study all possibilities and opportunities that can lead to strategic partnerships with Cambodia. We will form a specialized team to visit Cambodia to test the soil and water and to explore its agricultural potential to meet our food security programme.

WAM/MN

Cambodia Has No Insurance for the Durability of Buildings – Saturday, 17.10.2009

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

Posted on 18 October 2009.

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 634

(POsted by CAAI News Media)

“Phnom Penh: People are always excited when they travel along roads with new buildings and construction sites, but senior staff of insurance companies in Cambodia claimed that by now, there is still no insurance for building durability in Cambodia.

“In Phnom Penh, many high rise buildings are being constructed nowadays, especially along the Monivong Boulevard. Representatives of insurance companies in Cambodia said that Cambodia has no law requiring high rise building to pay for building durability insurance.

“A manager of an insurance company who asked not to be named said that so far, in Cambodia there is no law requiring to contract building durability insurance for high rise buildings. That is why construction quality is still a challenging issue, and clients have just to trust.

“He added, ‘So far, Cambodian law requires only to have third party liability insurance during the period of the construction, but there is still a gap to achieve insurance for building durability.’

“He went on to say that in other countries, almost all construction activity includes to contract durability insurance for buildings. Therefore, the quality of construction in those countries is guaranteed, and the durability of buildings can be predicted, while in Cambodia, there is no such thing.

“The director of the Caminco Insurance company, Mr. Duong Vibol, said on 15 October 2009 that also his insurance company offers insurance services related to the construction of buildings, but the agents of the company have not been able to attract clients constructing big and high rise buildings.

“He said, ‘I do not know what the requirements of the laws are, but we have assigned agents to talk to them, but so far, there is no response – or they said that they had already bought insurance from abroad.’

“Also the director of the Forte Insurance company, Mr. Yak Chamroenrith, said on the same day that most high rise buildings being constructed along the Monivong Boulevard belong to clients of his company, but they contracted only third party liability insurance, but there is no insurance yet for the durability of the buildings. He said, ‘In modern countries, there is such a service, but in Cambodia, there is none.’

“According to Mr. Chamroenrith, the third party liability insurance is a service that guarantees payments only for accidents that might happen during the construction, but it does not guarantee the quality or the durability of buildings.’

“He continued to say that for the insurance of building durability, many studies have to be made and conditions have to be fulfilled.

“While local insurance companies claimed that high rise buildings being constructed do not have insurance for the durability of the building, they said that those big constructions companies might have insurance service contracts with companies abroad.

“Mr. Chamroenrith added that in general, the construction of such high rise building is not conducted without proper thinking about the quality. Most conditions have to be met to have insurance, even during the stage of the construction. But what he is concerned about is the quality of buildings constructed by private developers.

“Though those high rise buildings may already have insurance, the above mentioned anonymous person suggested that the construction companies should pay for insurance from local companies.

“He added, ‘The construction is conducted in Cambodia, while the insurance is bought from foreign countries. This can be risky.’

“He went on to say that to promote the local insurance sector, all construction companies should contract such services from local insurance companies.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5023, 17.10.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Saturday, 17 October 2009

High-ranking Cambodian Army Officers Visit Border

Written by DAP NEWS -- Sunday, 18 October 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

High-ranking Cambodian army officials on Saturday paid a visit to at the fortified positions of Cambodian soldiers guarding the border with Thailand.

The visit is part of ongoing efforts to safeguard Cambodia’s sovereignty from Thai soldiers who have repeatedly attempted to encroach illegally on Cambodian soil since July 15, 2008, according to an army source.

“This visit is to boost morale and check the military situation at the border,” Chea Dara, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces commander stationed at Preah Vihear, told DAP News Cambodia on Saturday.

“The situation is much better which we can say that we can fight back resolutely against our enemies,” Chea Dara avowed.

Chea Dara vowed that his newly buoyant soldiers would not to lose “even one millimeter of land,” as per the orders of premier Hun Sen.

“If anyone encroaches illegally, our soldiers will use our 12-millimeter artillery.” The visit of high-ranking Cambodian army officials comes after Thai regional commander Kanok visited Thai soldiers at the border. Cambodia soldiers stationed at Preah Vihear temple expressed surprise as Thai Regional Commander Kanok made a surprise visit to the border on Wednesday, according to a high ranking Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) official.

“Before the Thai regional commander Kanok visited, we heard the sound of three tanks and some soldiers,” Cambodian Preah Vihear Army Commander Srey Doeuk told DAP News Cambodia on Thursday.

“The Thai army party came at about 10am on October 14, starting their visit at the Or Chak Creng area, then the Tasim gate, Phnom Trorb, and Sombok Khmoum,” he added.

However, Srey Doeuk claimed that the RCAF personnel initially thought the visit was from the highest-ranking Thai Army Chief.

‘No Fear’ of Sam Rainsy, Hor Namhong Claims

Written by DAP NEWS -- Sunday, 18 October 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong on Saturday told reporters that he has no fear of Cambodia´s main opposition party leader Sam Rainsy, referring to an ongoing defamation case passed to the French Appeal Court. The French court has delayed the hearing until March 2010.

One source claimed that Sam Rainsy is collecting evidence to better fight his case.

“I don’t fear at all about the evidence he is collecting right now,” Hor Namhong told reporters after returning with PM Hun Sen from China.

“I tell journalists and NGOs that if the court in France condemns Sam Rainsy, do not raise objections about freedom of speech as he accused me of a very serious criminal offense,” Hor Namhong added, referring to Sam Raoinsy’s alleged accusation that Hor Namhong was a member of the Khmer Rouge (KR), and was at one point in charge of one of the KR’s sinister ‘re-education’ centers.

Sam Rainsy could not be reached for comment on Saturday. SRP Secretary-General Keo Sovannaroth told DAP News Cambodia that the issue is personal so she cannot comment.

Hor Namhong has filed a defamation lawsuit against Sam Rainsy in a French court following the publication in France of Rooted in Stone, a book by the opposition leader that included the controversial allegations.

Cambodia Asks Thailand to Respect Border Agreements

Written by DAP NEWS -- Sunday, 18 October 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister, Hor Namhong, on Saturday said that Thailand should respect already approved border resettlement agreements between the two neighbors. He made the statement at a meeting of foreign ministers, the Joint Border Committee (JBC) and other high-ranking leaders.

“We are making effort to push to plant the border markers near Preah Vihear temple soon but the Thai Government is silent over this issue,” Hor Namhong told reporters after a Cambodian delegation led by PM Hun Sen returned from China where he attended a trade fair in Sichuan Province.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen will raise border issues at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Thailand on October 23-25 and publicly ask Thailand side to respect border agreements, the veteran Cambodian FM added.

“I myself worked with three Thais to deal with border issues with bilateral deals, and the border committees from both sides also did similarly, but … the Thai side did not implement or follow” the agreements, Hor Namhong said.

“We have wasted time and money travelling to bilateral talks.”

He said that “everything is in the hands of the Thai National Assembly [NA] because the Thai Governemnt said that any border agreement needs to be approved by parliament. But now it was delayed.”

He claimed, however, that the Thai Government has not pushed the Thai NA over the issue. “We noted that Thai PM Abhisit raised border issues between Cambodia and Thailand near Preah Vihear with UN secretary general and the Thai Environment Minister also raised the border issue in Spain. Moreover, The ASEAN secretary general, Thai national Surin Pitsuwan, said that if any country member feels that the Thai-Cambodian border dispute affects ASEAN’s image, the foreign ministers from other 8 country members – except from Thailand and Cambodia – can raise the issue for discussion at the regional meeting.”

Hor Namhong said the ASEAN meeting is a good opportunity to help find appropriate solutions to the conflict.

But the Thais do not seem affable to such multilateral arbitration over the issue, he said. He claimed he has asked “many times to respect the results of bilateral talks on border issues; Cambodia is patient to deal border issues with Thailand.”

Heavily armed Cambodian and Thai troops have been facing each other at areas near the 11th century Khmer Preah Vihear temple since mid-2008 after the UNESCO World Heritage Committee listed Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site. Three armed clashes have claimed the lives of several soldiers from both sides.

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RED SHIRTS : Anti-government demonstrators and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra chant slogans during a rally outside the government house in Bangkok

A demonstrator holds a portrait of exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa (CAAI News Media)

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stand on the road outside the Government House during a rally in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rallied this weekend to demand the government submit a petition seeking a royal pardon for Thaksin. REUTERS/Kerek Wongsa (CAAI News Media)

 Soldiers walk inside the grounds of Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rally this weekend to demand the government submits a petition backed by 3.5 million people to the country's revered king asking for a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

A soldier stands guard next to a barricade at the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rally this weekend to demand the government submits a petition backed by 3.5 million people to the country's revered king asking for a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

Soldiers stand guard at the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rally this weekend to demand the government submits a petition backed by 3.5 million people to the country's revered king asking for a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

Policemen and soldiers stand guard at the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rally this weekend to demand the government submits a petition backed by 3.5 million people to the country's revered king asking for a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

A demonstrator looks at portraits of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra during a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Thailand's "red shirts" rally this weekend to demand the government submit a petition backed by 3.5 million people to the country's revered king asking for a royal pardon for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

Anti-government demonstrators and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold a picture of Thaksin as they chant slogans during a rally outside the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Thousands of demonstrators took part in the rally demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign or dissolve the parliament. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong) (CAAI News Media)

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra rally outside the Government House in Bangkok October 17, 2009. Several thousand "red shirt" protesters rallied in Bangkok amid tight security on Saturday to demand the Thai government submits its petition seeking a royal pardon for Thaksin. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom (CAAI News Media)

Anti-government demonstrators and supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra chant slogans during a rally outside the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Thousands of demonstrators took part in the rally demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign or dissolve the parliament. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong) (CAAI News Media)

Speed bumps on the Asean highway

By SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE

THE NATION

Published on October 18, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has garnered praise from other national leaders at previous Asean meetings, but the full-scale summit he's hosting next week in Cha-am/Hua Hin will test him.

Abhisit's cool and steady hand on the reins at the 14th summit in the same locale early this year impressed Malaysia's then-premier, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who raved to reporters afterwards.

The academically inclined Abhisit has little problem conducting meetings of any kind thanks to his knack for staying on top of issues and responding appropriately.

Foreign Ministry officials were ready with back-up details for the Prime Minister at the earlier Asean gathering and found he didn't need them. No one needed to whisper in his ear.

The 15th summit next weekend - October 23 to 25 - is a full-scale meeting with Asean's East Asian and Pacific Rim partners attending, meaning there will be 16 state leaders in all.

Though just nine months in office, Abhisit has met most of them several times.

And he's also on steady ground with the central issue on the agenda: formally inaugurating the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights.

He's quite familiar with the other topics, too - food and energy security, establishing rules to settle internal disputes, and dealing with natural disasters, climate change and the economic crisis.

But Abhisit faces two critical challenges at the summit: domestic security and the border conflict with Cambodia, which is a fellow Asean member as well as a next-door neighbour.

Abhisit appears to have made summit security a priority, warning that the draconian Internal Security Law would be enforced in Cha-am/Hua Hin and Bangkok through most of October.

The move is not groundless, with anti-government red-shirt protesters having shut down the April Asean meeting in Pattaya. Thailand, which yields the Asean chairmanship at the end of this year, cannot afford another such disruption.

The red shirts of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship have threatened to derail next week's summit if the government blocks their concurrent rally in Bangkok.

And facing Abhisit across the table at the coming summit will be Cambodian Premier Hun Sen, who will raise the long-standing and newly revived dispute over Preah Vihear.

The issue became heated again last year when Thailand objected to Cambodia's bid to have the centuries-old temple listed as a World Heritage site.

Although a UN agency ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear is Cambodian property, the Abhisit government is insisting that the adjacent 4.6 square kilometres were never properly demarcated and in fact belong to Thailand.

A joint boundary commission has undertaken the slow process of demarcation, but Hun Sen wants to talk about the temple at the Asean summit, his foreign minister Hor Namhong has indicated.

In its several attempts since last year to have an international forum decide the temple's fate, including last year's Asean ministerial meeting in Singapore, Cambodia has tended to be bombastic in its claim to ownership.

Thailand's representatives have been repeatedly forced to explain their position.

How will Abhisit handle the situation if Hun Sen mentions Preah Vihear in every session next weekend? As the summit's chairman, he'll be hard-pressed to respond fairly, if not prevented from doing so by Asean's rules of conduct.

Unless Abhisit manages to sideline the Preah Vihear conflict ahead of the summit, Hun Sen could well be the one this time to cast a gloomy shadow over the gathering.

Violence against women

http://www.thebigskyweekly.com/

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Brutality and torture must stop

By Anne Pettinger

MSU News Service

A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner told a large crowd gathered at Montana State University recently that the central cause of our time will be to create greater gender equity around the globe.

New York Times columnist and author Nicholas Kristof said this century’s paramount moral challenge is the violence and brutality inflicted on women and girls in developing countries, just as in the 19th century, where the greatest moral challenge was slavery, and the 20th century, where it was totalitarianism.

“It’s a question of lost potential,” Kristof told an audience of about 1,000 people gathered at MSU’s SUB ballrooms. “The misuse (of women and girls) is not only a tragedy, it’s also a huge opportunity.”

The lecture followed the release of Kristof’s new book, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” which details why sex trafficking, gender-based violence and maternal mortality belong on the international agenda. Kristof, 50, wrote the book with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, who was the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Originally from Yamhill, Ore., Kristof graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University and then went on to study law at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He studied Arabic in Cairo, Chinese in Taipei, lived on four continents, reported on six, and has traveled to more than 140 countries, plus all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island.

In 1990 Kristof and WuDunn earned a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for their reporting on the pro-democracy student movement and the related Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Kristof won his second Pulitzer in 2006 for his columns that focused on genocide in Darfur.

According to one study Kristof cited Monday evening, between 60 and 100 million women are missing from around the world. Kristof pointed to several things to explain this disparity, such as sex-selective abortion, where mothers choose to abort their female fetuses, families living in poverty who often choose to feed their sons and starve their daughters, and a reluctance to seek health care for girls when they are sick.

Sex trafficking is truly modern slavery, Kristof said, with 800,000 girls trafficked each year, by coercion, across international boundaries. Also, violence against women and girls, such as acid attacks, mass rapes, genital mutilation and bride burnings, are shockingly common occurrences in the developing world.

Throughout the lecture, Kristof interspersed stories about women and girls he had met while reporting in developing countries. He showed images of some of these individuals, including a girl whose eye had been gouged out by a brothel owner and a woman whose husband had thrown acid on her face.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening in the 21st century,” Kristof said after describing some of the horrors he witnessed and heard about in brothels. It “should truly shame us all.”

But though the problems are tremendous, Kristof thinks there are solutions. For example, educating girls can be an extraordinarily powerful tool in fighting poverty and extremism.

“Women and girls aren’t the problem,” Kristof said. “They’re the solution.”

In general, women and girls are the greatest unexploited resources in poor countries, Kristof added.

He pointed to microfinance loans -- or small cash loans with no interest -- as one way to assist women and their families in developing countries. One woman he met in Pakistan, he said, received a $65 microloan and started an embroidery business. When she couldn’t keep up with the demand for her goods, she began hiring other people, eventually employing 30 different families. With the money she earned, she invested in her daughters’ education and was able to do things like install running water and electricity in her family’s home.

The Pakistani woman’s stories, and others he told, are an “example of how you can taken these women who would otherwise be completely squandered and turned into real assets, not just for themselves, but for their families,” Kristof said.

In addition to microfinance, he noted that investments in education and health care for women and girls in developing countries are some of the most successful forms of aid.

Kristof said education is especially important. He praised Bozeman’s Greg Mortenson for his work to build schools for girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Bozeman-based Central Asia Institute. Mortenson’s work is especially admirable because Kristof thinks education may be the single most transformative answer for the problems in the developing world.

For people who wonder if it’s depressing to report on such terrible problems, Kristof admits it is difficult.

“But, side by side with the very worst of humanity, you invariably see the very best,” he said. “I come back from these places truly inspired by these people.”

Kristof thinks many people want to help, but are worried about corruption and bureaucracy in aid organizations. Asking whether aid really works is a fair question, and it’s important to acknowledge that there are good reasons to be skeptical about aid, he said. But, many projects have also been very successful.

“There are so many groups out there that are doing extraordinary work,” Kristof said.

Al Mansouri meets Cambodian PM

2009-10-17

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

WAM Phnom Penh/Cambodia, Oct 17th, 2009 (WAM)--UAE Economy Minister HE Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri has met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where they discussed potential resources of each side to explore setting up of joint investment ventures, particularly in the field of irrigation, agricultural land reclamation and telecommunications.

The Cambodian PM hailed the progress being experienced by the UAE, stressing that his country was looking forward to strengthening strategic relations with the UAE through wooing investments into Cambodia.

On his part, Al Mansouri lauded the plans of the Cambodian government to build distinguished relations with the UAE, indicating that promising investments opportunities have been explored during the visit.

Earlier, the UAE minister met with Cambodian Agricultural Minister and discussed cooperation between the two countries, focusing on the agricultural land reclamation for long term investment. It has also been agreed to set a team to study opportunities in the agricultural sector in Cambodia.

The Cambodian minister welcomed the UAE plans of the land reclamation in Cambodia, indicating Cambodia will be a partner to the UAE in regard to the agriculture.

Al Mansouri underscored that "we look forward to building strategic food reserve to achieve food security and supply the whole region, adding that Cambodia will be "our strategic partner for achieving the strategic food security.

WAM/MN

China agrees $853 million in loans for Cambodia

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct 17 (Reuters) - China will provide $853 million in loans to Cambodia for infrastructure, irrigation and dam projects to boost its economy and reduce poverty, Cambodia's foreign minister said on Saturday.

The agreement was clinched on Friday when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of an economy and trade fair in Sichuan, Hor Namhong told reporters.

"China continues to help Cambodia's infrastructure development, even though China is itself faced with problems from the global economic crisis," he said.

China will provide $593 million for 11 projects proposed by Cambodia's government in 2009, in addition to $260 million for five projects requested last year, Namhong added.

The money will be invested in new roads near the borders of Thailand and Vietnam and the expansion of existing links to the capital of Phnom Penh.

At least $30 million will be invested in expanding the capacity of the Phnom Penh port to meet the increasing demand of cargo ships docked on Tonle Sap River.

Cambodia is keen to develop new dams and irrigation projects to boost its agriculture sector, which contributed 34 percent of gross domestic product last year, followed by the tourism and garment manufacturing sectors.

An estimated 30 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people live beneath the poverty line, earning less than a dollar per day.

China is Cambodia's biggest aid donor, providing $600 million in 2007 and about $260 million in 2008, according to the state-run Council for Development of Cambodia.

It is also Cambodia's biggest foreign direct investor and has pumped $1 billion into the Southeast Asian nation this year. (Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)

China to continue its assistance to Cambodian infrastructure: FM

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2009-10-17

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- China said it will continue to provide financial assistance to Cambodia to develop projects of infrastructure in the country, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said on Saturday.

"Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for bilateral talks and China will continue to support Cambodia to push economic, social and infrastructure development,"Hor Namhong told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport after the delegation led by Prime Minister Hun Sen returned home from China.

"The fund will be used to build roads, bridges, irrigation systems and hydro powers, expand electricity on outskirts of Phnom Penh and also in rural areas to help poor and improve people's living conditions," Hor said.

Moreover, Hor added that the Chinese Premier said during the meeting that Chinese government will provide 100 million RMB yuan (about 14.65 million U.S. dollars) to Cambodia for its government to help develop and restore infrastructure in the typhoon Ketsana-hit regions.

The visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to China this time is fruitful and brings benefits for the country and people, Hor added.

Hor told reporters that Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Western China International Economy and Trade Fair (WCIETF) in Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan Province and also met with Liu Qibao, secretary of the Communist Party of China Sichuan Provincial Committee.

"Sichuan authorities also provided 50 water pumps, 30 tractors,10 trucks for serving agricultural fields. They also provided scholarship for training our officials and students in their province," Hor added.

Editor: Lin Zhi