The rise of the responsible tourist

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Nora Lindstrom

Although capitalism is usually not associated with altruistic intentions, tourism increasingly is proving to be a sector in which private gain and the public good can have a happy marriage

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is now a globally accepted buzzword in every industry, reworking economic trends and shifting cultural attitudes and behaviour. CSR acts as a form of self-regulation for companies, monitoring and alleviating the social, environmental and cultural effects of business activities.

Businesses want to show that they “care” amid the destruction and exploitation of Planet Earth. They are gradually recognising the benefits that responsible tourism can bring to destinations, in terms of employment and the preservation of cultural and natural heritage. Preserving historic architecture and environmental conservation in the name of promoting tourism may come across as less of an issue.

According to the Economic Institute of Cambodia, it is not always easy for visitors and foreign investors hoping to contribute by raising the bar of Cambodian culture. Traditional performing arts, historic restoration, handicrafts and other local aspects are often poorly managed and neglected, with few businesses undertaking or supporting initiatives in this area. Few Cambodian products and services are available that similarly meet the needs and standards of the industry. A vast majority of food products is imported into Cambodia from Vietnam and Thailand. Hence, tourism is not boosting the economy as much as it should.

Willem Niemeijer co-founded and now manages Khiri Travels, an independent operator running responsible travel tours in Indochina. Since its conception in 1994, the company has emphasised giving something back to the community and is widely considered a leader in socially responsible tourism by many.

“The tourism sector is one of the largest employers in the world,” Niemeijer said. “Employment is the way out of poverty. So when NGOs work together with the tourism sector, good things can be achieved.”

Merging the profit-oriented, private-owned tourism with less-commercial NGO initiatives can result in practices with emerging benefits such as fair compensation and promoting employment opportunities and resources. The company has developed its own not-for-profit division, Khiri Reach. According to Willem, the aim of Khiri Reach is to provide a way for organisations and private persons to support its initiatives without overhead costs diluting donations. He added, “Khiri Travel donates the use of the network of offices, transport and communication in Cambodia and Thailand, Laos, Vietnam. Many of the staff are volunteering their time and efforts.” Projects that can be found on the itinerary and visited by Khiri travellers are mainly the ones supported.

Stay another day

Susan Kennedy, a socially responsible tourism practitioner in Cambodia, is keen on the potential of socially responsible tourism’s popularity in Cambodia. She is helping prepare the upcoming Stay Another Day booklet, a tourist-oriented publication that showcases socially responsible tourism initiatives by both the private and NGO sectors.

Kennedy observed increased interest from private sector initiatives, many of which are reported in the booklet. “In 2007, it was about 20 percent businesses. In 2008 it was 35 percent, and this year it’s 40 percent,” she says, noting that both NGO and private-sector initiatives have to be evaluated based on their social, cultural and environmental sustainability.

The booklet itself has also gone private. From having been heavily donor-backed before, it now has a private publisher. Although prices for advertising an initiative have consequently increased, the ad renewal rate nevertheless stands at 65 percent.

“Going into the private sector will make the booklet financially sustainable,” Kennedy noted. She adds that many of the ecotourism projects in Cambodia are currently unsustainable without donor support, something she hopes will change in the future. “It can take generations to build the sector,” she said, implying donor funds are unlikely to last that long. “There is a need for the private sector to back things up”.

Community focus

An initiative publicised in the Stay Another Day guide is the Chambok Community-based Ecotourism site, in Kirirom National Park in Kampong Speu province. Initiated by environmental NGO Mlup Baitong in 2001, the project was created to reduce deforestation in the Kampong Speu area. Though the organisation’s objectives are foremost to protect the environment and its natural resources, Executive Director Va Moeurn is certain of how such a narrow approach was unsustainable when implemented and not inclusive of their other needs.

Today, the site is visited annually by nearly 20,000 local and foreign tourists, bringing in more than US$20,000 in net revenue for the 700 households in the area. Tourists come to the site either by contacting Chambok directly, or via any commercial tour company the initiative has developed links with.

The income from the site is now sufficient for the community to protect the forest and earn daily wages,” Va Moeurn said. He added, however, that Mlup Baitong supports other development initiatives in the villages. “We encourage the community to participate in tourism activities, but we tell them clearly that income from tourism is only additional income,” he explained.

Connecting nonprofit with for-profit activities is seen by Va Moeurn to be simpler in tourism than in other sectors. “The private and the NGO sector have the same purpose – to gain from tourism,” he said. “It’s easier to link the two in the tourism sector than in the forestry sector where the two often have different aims – such as logging versus protection of the forest”.

Similar sentiments are echoed by Yorth Bunny, coordinator of the Cambodia Community-Based Ecotourism Network (CCBEN). However, he also noted many community-based initiatives need private sector guidance to ensure quality standards in service as well as facilities. CCBEN facilitates such learning. “Our vision is for the initiatives to be self-sustainable, but that can’t be achieved in a short time,” he said, adding that both private and NGO actors have to work closely together to effect socially responsible change.

Scenic and safe, Taiwan shines as a destination

Photo by: Roger Mitton

The narrow lanes of Chiufen are lined with charming teahouses and local snack shops.

Photo by: Roger Mitton
Dine on juicy dumplings personally rolled and stuffed by skilled chefs.

Travel between Phnom Penh and Taipei:

There are nonstop flights by China Airlines and Eva Airways for around $700 return. A better bet is to take Air Asia from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and on to Taipei for about $300 return.

Hotels:

Brother Hotel, 255 Nanking East Road, Taipei. Phone: 886 227 123 456. Email: brohotel@ms19.hinet.net . Online: www.brotherhotel.com.tw. Cost: $120/ night for a double. Airport pickup is $18 per person.

Hotel I-Tsun, 140 Wenchuan Road, Xinbeitou. Phone: 886 228 912 121/3. Cost: $75 double room Western style or $115 tatami style.

Eating:

Din Tai Fung, 194 Xinyi Road. Phone: 886 223 218 928. For xiao long bao – steamed soup dumplings – a full meal costs around $10 per head.

Kunming Islamic Restaurant, 26 Lane 81 Fuhsing N Road, near the Brother Hotel. Phone: 01 2751 6776. Indian and Yunnan food.

Karen Teppanyaki, Floor B1, Taipei 101, Xinyi Road.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Roger Mitton

Come for urban and natural wonders, stay for the steamed soup dumplings

Only a handful of people think of Taiwan as a travel destination – few until they have been there before. Then, like myself, they often return quickly. And for good reason: It is scenic, safe, efficient and friendly.

The capital, Taipei, is one of Asia’s most vibrant cities, with great restaurants, funky bars and shopping to beat the band. And its surrounding countryside offers jagged mountain ranges, inland lakes, steaming hot springs, and a majestic, unspoiled coastline.

The first thing that impresses is the wonderfully efficient airport. Don’t misunderstand: There’s nothing elaborate or stylish about the place. It’s just sheer efficiency – quite unlike the shopping-mall chaos of airports like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.

The airport also has a fabulous information centre where you can pick up all the maps and brochures you’ll ever need before you head into town.

I always choose to stay at Taipei’s Brother Hotel, partly because it offers an efficient and affordable airport pickup and has a great central location right next to a Metro stop and lots of excellent restaurants, including one of my favourites – the Kunming Islamic Restaurant just across the road. But don’t let the culinary delights and the hotel’s treats detain you – there are sights to be savoured.

Start by going up the amazing Taipei 101, still the world’s tallest building at 439.2 metres (1,440.9 feet). It features a series of eight segments of eight floors each, because in Chinese culture the number eight signifies abundance, prosperity and good fortune.

Taipei 101 also has the world’s fastest elevator, which zips you up to the top at more than 60km/h.

After taking in the breathtaking view, check out the stylish shops, and then head down to B1, where there’s a jewel of a spot called Karen Teppanyaki that serves mouthwatering grilled steaks, ribs and seafoods.

Thus fortified, it’s time for Taiwan’s fabulous National Palace Museum, nestled in the city’s hilly northern suburbs, and easily reached via the Metro to Shilin and a bus outside the station that drops you off at the museum.

There are free guided tours in English at 10am and 3pm if you want to get into the details, or else you can just wander around the museum’s three floors at your leisure.

The collection on display beats anything in mainland China for the simple reason that when General Chiang Kaishek’s Kuomintang were facing defeat in the civil war of the late 1940s, they shipped all the best treasures over to Taiwan, leaving only the “dregs” for Beijing. Among the highlights are dazzling gems from the Qing Dynasty, and painting and calligraphy galleries.

After this dose of Taiwanese culture, indulge yourself at Din Tai Fung, which is famous for xiao long bao – steamed soup dumplings. Try the exquisite thin-skinned pork and vegetable variety, you’re sure to order seconds.

Next morning, it’s time for some fresh air and exercise, so take bus 260 from Taipei Main Station to the fabulous jagged peaks and winding trails of Yangmingshan National Park. The 40-minute ride takes you up 700 metres, where it’s much cooler and where the views are spectacular.

After your hike, head over to nearby Beitou to sample the hot springs. The steaming jade-coloured water is said to be good for arthritis, rejuvenating skin and other ailments. It is truly hot, so take your time slipping in and let your aching muscles slowly recover.

The town of Beitou, formerly a red-light district but now family-oriented, is full of hotels and restaurants. A good spot to stay is the secluded Hotel I-Tsun, tucked down a side lane, where the hot spring-fed baths are open for guests 24 hours a day.

From Beitou, it’s a short Metro ride to Danshui, where you can get the bus round to the incredible rock formations in the Yeliu Geopark. One formation is shaped like Cleopatra’s head and is reputedly more than 3,000 years old.

Yeliu’s other attraction is the fantastic selection of seafood restaurants that draw Taiwanese from miles around. Try the steamed mussels and grilled fresh mackerel – you won’t want to leave.

But you must proceed and the next stop is the nearby historic gold-mining town of Chiufen up in the hills overlooking the rugged shoreline of Taiwan’s Pacific coast. The gold ore has long since given out, but the town’s narrow lanes are lined with traditional teahouses, souvenir shops, art galleries and temples.

Chiufen, with its fantastic views and clean mountain air, is full of guesthouses and hotels, so you’ll have no trouble finding accomodation. You can take a bus to Juifang and from there, a train for the 40-minute ride back.

This magical trip can easily be done in a week.

The picture-postcard 'Paris of the East'

by: Roger Mitton

Enjoy restaurant-quality renditions and curbside delicacies at the city’s modern eateries.

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A riverine city with bright lights and bustling boulevards, elegant hotels, and a stylish Opera House.

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Photo by: Roger Mitton

Revel in the city’s eclectic charms - a mix of intimate inroads and bustling boulevards.

Travel between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh:

Getting to/from HCMC:

The 40-minute flights from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to HCMC by Vietnam Airlines are criminally expensive at $294 with a return flight. Ignore them and take an express bus for $12 one-way. Use either Mekong Express, 87 Sisowath Quay at Street 102 (phone 023 427 518), or Sapaco Tourist, 309 Sihanouk Blvd at Street 274 (phone 023 210 300).

Accommodation:

Majestic Hotel, 1 Dong Khoi St. Phone: (84 -8) 3829 5517. Fax: (84-8) 3829 5510. Email: hotelmajestic@sgtourist.com.vn . Online: http://www.majesticsaigon.com.vn/. Riverside Hotel, 18-20 Ton Duc Thang St. Phone: 3823 1117. Fax: 3825 1417. Email: hotelriversidesg@hcm.vnn.vn . Online: http://www.riversidehotelsg.com/. Saigon Royal Hotel, 12D Cach Mang Thang Tam St. Phone: (84-8) 3829 4846. Email: saigonroyal@hcm.vnn.vn

Restaurants:

May Bon Phuong, Cu Xa Do Thanh, 132/6 Vuon Chuoi, 335/5 Dien Bien Phu. Phone: 3833 4743. Luong Son, 31 Ly Tu Trong. Phone: 3825 1330. L'Etoile, 180 bis Hai Ba Trung. Phone: 3829 7939.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Roger Mitton

Savouring the elegance of Ho Chi Minh City – and its exhilarating and wearying energy – is a prospect that could appeal to any traveller

ImaginE a public holiday coming up with the appealing prospect of a long weekend away beckoning. Where to go from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap that’s convenient, tantalising and affordable? Ho Chi Minh City is the spot.

The locals still call it Saigon, while old Asia hands remember it as the “Paris of the East” – a riverine city with bright lights and bustling boulevards, elegant hotels and gourmet restaurants, fine shops, a stylish opera house and pretty women. What more could you want?

And it’s easy to get there. Ignore the rip-off flights and take the limousine bus service from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City for a mere US$12. Buses depart hourly from 6am onwards. Buy a ticket in advance, reserve a seat, and at no extra cost the bus company will pick you up at your hotel and take you to the bus station.

Choose a window seat and you can watch the countryside roll by as you head towards Vietnam’s biggest and funkiest city, crossing the Mekong River by the Neak Leung ferry where hawkers jostle around the bus selling fruits, drinks, fishes and dried insects.

The driving time is only four hours, but immigration procedures at the border take an hour and there is also a one-hour lunch stop, during which you can change money into dong – the exchange rate is about 17,500 dong to the US dollar. If you take the 7am bus, you’ll step out into central Ho Chi Minh City at 1 pm.

On arrival, stroll away from the taxi touts around the bus stop and pick up a Mai Linh, Vinasun or Vina Taxi a block or so away.

The metred fare to any central hotel will not be more than 30,000 to 40,000 dong.

Ho Chi Minh City has a wide range of hotels from budget to five-star. For a treat, consider the famous French colonial Hotel Majestic beside the Saigon River at the bottom of elegant Dong Khoi Street – the former Rue Catinat is the city’s Bond Street or Fifth Avenue. At around $150 a night, it’s not cheap, but the rooms are lovely, the location incomparable and the big buffet breakfast superb.

An economic alternative is the nearby Riverside Hotel (not to be confused with the pricey Renaissance Riverside), which has the same great location and offers spacious doubles from $60 to $80.

For an ace budget spot try the friendly Saigon Royal Hotel, which is not as scenically located but makes up for that in price and service. At $35 a night for a big double, it is hard to beat.

After checking in, you’re ready to explore. First, just amble around the downtown area, starting with Dong Khoi Street. At the top end is the wonderfully ornate opera house, where shows are remarkably cheap, and the evocative Continental Hotel, frequented by Graham Greene’s Quiet American. Around the corner is historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which is always overflowing on Sunday mornings.

Head down Dong Khoi towards the river, checking out the stylish shops and be sure to take a break in one of the excellent cafes – Java is my favourite with its exquisite coffee and delectable cakes.

Then, depending on your taste and energy level, visit the city’s other attractions like Ben Thanh Market, where, even if you buy nothing – and you’ll be lucky to get away with that – the atmosphere is worth soaking up.

From Ben Thanh, pick up a local bus to Cholon, the old Chinatown, and check out the temples and Old World ambience.

The War Remnants Museum is also a fascinating and sobering experience, which sets you up for a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a two-hour drive northwest of the city, where you can explore the subterranean maze used by the Viet Cong in the liberation war of the 1960s.

Top on my list of choice eating places is a gem called May Bon Phuong, where you can sample the exquisite barbecued chicken with five flavours or the small fish with eggs or the fish escalope. The bill for two is rarely more than 160,000 dong, or less than $10. If you take your own wine they don’t charge you to open it.

More well-known is Luong Son, an open-air barbecue-and-beer place where every dish is good and zesty, especially the deep-fried frog’s legs, the barbecued goat, and the speciality: tangy marinated beef (bo tung xeo) cooked on your own tabletop brazier.

Another great eatery that Cambodians will love is L’Etoile, which offers a three-course family dinner with French and Asian flavours for $12, or you can splurge on the four-course menu du chef for $20. This is the place to go for that special occasion.

Afterwards, consider a nightcap at one of the city’s famous rooftop bars, like those at the Hotel Majestic or the Rex Hotel where war-era journalists drank, or if you want a more vibrant scene hit the Caravelle Hotel’s Saigon Saigon Bar, where the city’s in-crowd gather.

Ho Chi Minh City has everything anyone could ask for.

Combing Cambodia's idyllic coast

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

Discard raucous city vibes for intimate charms of the coast.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Clarence Heathcliffe

Sink into seaside pleasures of unspoilt luxury and escapism

There is something soothing about the ritual at Koh Kong immigration once you get used to it.

First, there is the throng of spivs offering useless advice and needless assistance, then there is the profoundly dishonest and shifty-looking immigration official quoting prices that he seems to make up on the spot.

Hardened travellers might enjoy the interview in the office with the gimlet-eyed lady who officiates. It is extremely unlikely that you will actually pay the real price, though apocryphal stories do exist of those who have the time and inclination to wait two hours and negotiate with tenacity.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia. You have arrived at the border crossing on the Gulf of Siam, now quite a busy route because a road exists from here to the resort town of Sihanoukville and on to the coastal towns of Kampot and Kep.

Koh Kong itself might not appeal to the traveller used to the more ordered society of Thailand: There are no 7-11s or other detritus of Western influences. Instead you have crumbling, spacious buildings and uncrowded, if not particularly clean streets.

The main attractions do not lie in the town itself – though the Westerners who live there seem to enjoy themselves well enough by patronising one another’s bars – but outside, in the verdant jungle and on the pristine beaches.

My own favourite spots are the Ta Tai falls, with its crystal waters and beautiful setting, and the mangrove boardwalk. There is something eerie about walking through mangroves that always puts me in mind of early explorers who became lost on some distant coastline and had to try to find their way through.

The island of Koh Kong, supposedly to be developed soon by big figures in Thai and Cambodian society, offers deserted beaches and great fishing. Irregular tours can be arranged from the Blue Marlin or Bob’s bar.

Diving is also a possibility, with a couple of interesting sites within easy reach of the town. There are plenty of guesthouses, and doubtless you will be encouraged by your motodop from the border to patronise one of his choice. Should you decline, the Blue Marlin offers good rooms for a reasonable price. The variety of eating and drinking choices is not huge but adequate.

Leaving Koh Kong these days will probably involve a bus trip, as the boat, formerly quicker, has been largely superseded by the new road, which has cut the land journey down to four hours.

It is a pleasant journey giving views over vast tracts of jungle and, seaward, great swathes of mangrove. Smugly sitting on the bus with your ticket, you would do well not to ask the actual price of the ticket at the station. I did and found out that my extremely happy and helpful motodop’s “small commission” was the same price as the ticket itself. Nobody leaves Koh Kong without being rolled somewhere.

Sihanoukville is the only beach resort in Cambodia that offers anything approaching international standards of hotel choice and food. Mercifully, it offers much more besides. Though not nearly as attractive as it was before the trees that lined the boulevards years ago were cut, Sihanoukville still retains much charm, and its uncrowded and separated beaches make it feel unhurried and varied.

Ochheuteal beach is the busiest one, attracting a crowd of young people eager to immerse themselves in Khmer culture ( booze cruises, happy hours, “happy” pizzas, etc.) whereas the more mature male fraternity can often be found instructing young Khmer ladies in the art of pool at the Freedom Hotel. These courteous, avuncular, somewhat corpulent figures are often to be seen escorting their ladies home late at night – who says the age of chivalry has died.

Victory Hill is the place for an evening’s music where musicians jam and the audience, mercifully inebriated, suffers and claps at appropriate junctures. If you follow the searchlight you will find your way to the Airport Disco, a new Russian venture that sells surprisingly good food in the daytime and plays astounding dreary techno music in the evening. It is definitely worth a visit.

On your way down there you will most likely follow a dark path and will pass the platoon of tuk-tuk drivers. A voice will gently and inevitably out call, “smoke, sir?” – they are not selling tobacco. However many times you turn down this offer you will always be asked: Hope springs eternal.

For veteran expats there is regular quiz at Sakal guesthouse, which attracts a friendly bunch of politically incorrect Trojan drinkers. The night brings out the pedant in us all, and fantastically useless bits of knowledge are displayed and defended with drunken indignation. It is good fun, and the tables are sometimes turned when the quizmaster is one of the contestants.

Sun Tour is one cruise that stands out above the rest. Run with Teutonic efficiency, it leaves from Victory Beach at 10am (ish) – even the Germans have to bow to Cambodian time. The boat is purpose-built and really is a superb example of marine engineering. Highlights include lazing on the top sun deck, jumping into the water from the same – not for the fainthearted – and swimming to the beautiful beaches. Snorkelling, though pleasant, does not equate with the Great Barrier Reef.

Another day excursion is to Ream National Park – this is not a booze cruise but a pleasant day spent watching birdlife and, perhaps, spotting dolphins.

Food is surprisingly varied in Sihanoukville, with pleasant French overtones. Good wine is available, and coffee and baguettes are widely sold. Totally unsuited to the climate, Vienna schnitzel seems to becoming widely available – The Savory Guesthouse offers good value as does the Swiss Garden.

Otres beach offers some interesting options by the expats who have opted to bale out on the coast. Try the fish tacos at Cantina if you have an afternoon to spare.

It is an interesting ride over to the beach and on the way back you can go and see a film at the Top Cat Cinema near the Golden Lions. This unique entity seats about 50 and is a great place to watch movies. You can smoke in there as well – not exclusively tobacco, either.

If you manage to tear yourself away from Kompong Som – and many don’t – you only have a short journey to Kampot and the brooding mountain of Bokor on the left-hand side. Worth a trip up, it has the remains of a French Hill station – or at least it did. Currently it is being developed, so the road might be closed.

Kampot is delightfully situated on a river and has several old colonial buildings. The rapids are a bit of a disappointment, especially as a hydroelectric project makes for a dusty journey to them. The town itself is attractive and a nice stop on the way to Kep, which is a delight.

Quiet, tucked away and forgotten for years, Kep is only now making a gradual comeback. The famed crab is a bit overrated, but the walk round the tiny national park – basically the hill that overlooks the town – is great. There are wonderful sunset views and evidence of monkeys and birds in the trees. Perhaps with not the greatest degree of sensitivity to the environment, the path is being widened to a road – get there before people start driving Humvees round it, playing loud music.

There are plenty of delightful little guesthouses, Botanica stands out for its garden, but the choice is wide.

You have reached the end of Cambodia’s coast. This is just a taster, and there is still much to explore, but there is plenty to enjoy.

You won’t get the bright lights of Pattaya, but you would be unlikely to be lonely unless so inclined. The coast is full of vigour and people doing things and starting businesses. It has the liveliness of a place starting afresh after a years of neglect.

No one should leave Cambodia without visiting Angkor, but if you have the time the coast offers a pleasant antidote to wandering around those fabulous ruins with a guidebook.

Police Blotter: 19 Oct 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:03 Thet Sambath

LAW COMES DOWN ON THREE LAWMEN

Three misbehaving policemen in Kandal province are under investigation by their squad’s internal discipline department after allegedly getting drunk and shooting a man before beating him unconscious. Police said the attack happened last Monday in Kandal province’s Muk Kampoul district, when the victim, an air-conditioner repairman, was shot in his arm then beaten unconscious.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

HIGHWAY ROBBERY VICTIM FIGHTS BACK

A quick-thinking victim of a drive-by thief took justice into her own hands in Phnom Penh on Thursday, when she tackled one of two suspects who she said stole her golden necklace. Police say the woman had been zipping by on her motorbike when a man swiped her necklace. The woman managed to grab one thief; another suspect, however, escaped with her prized piece of jewellery.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

BERATED HUSBAND DOWNS CHEMICALS

A man tried to kill himself by swallowing potentially deadly chemicals after his wife criticised him for staying out and drinking, police said. The incident happened Friday in Kampong Chhnang province. After a booze-filled evening, the man returned home at midnight to a tongue-lashing from his wife, police said. The man ingested the chemicals to kill himself because he was “disappointed” that his wife blamed him, police said. The man’s wife managed to save his life by rushing him to a hospital.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

WHODUNIT? WHY? POLICE DON'T KNOW

Police in the capital are at a loss to explain why a group of “gangsters” beat a motorbike taxi driver unconscious last week. Phnom Penh police say officers saved the man’s life by taking him to a hospital after the beating Thursday in the capital’s Meanchey district but added that the “gangsters” managed to flee the scene. No one knows what sparked the attack, police said.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

SUSPECTED MUGGER CLAIMS INNONCENCE

A man accused of mugging a woman for her telephone in Phnom Penh last week had just been released from prison after a five-year stint in the slammer, police in the capital said. The 22-year-old man is suspected of having robbed the woman in Tuol Sangke commune, Tuol Kork district on Thursday. However, the man has proclaimed his innocence, police said, telling investigators that he was drunk and never stole the phone.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

In Brief: Shuttlecocks take flight

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Ung Chamroeun

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, in collaboration with the Cambodian Badminton Federation (CBF), opened the 2009 National Badminton Championship at Olympic Stadium Sunday featuring about 100 participants from 11 clubs. The tournament is split into levels A-I and A-II, with single and team categories for both men and women. Chea Bun Heng, representative of the organising committee, said the CBF had also added U13 and seniors (40-50 years old) categories this year.

In Brief: Investment slide eases

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Chun Sophal

APPROVED investments in the Kingdom fell by a slower pace in September although over the first nine months they were still down 82.23 percent to US$1.61 billion compared to the same period last year, according to figures from the Council for the Development of Cambodia. Last month the value of projects approved by the government fell 33.38 percent year on year to $44.91 million compared to a 86.75 percent drop in August and a fall of 93.54 percent in July, figures showed. Services and tourism saw the largest annualised decline in approvals, but agriculture reversed that trend with nearly half a billion dollars in project approvals in the third quarter.

In Brief: Central Market reopens

Monday, 19 October 2009 15:00 Chun Sophal

PHNOM Penh's iconic Central Market has reopened part of its newly refurbished eastern side, finishing the first phase of a US$4.2 million renovation project. Sok Kim Heng, president of the market, said Sunday that the new wing opened Thursday. "For the second stage, we will open the jewellery stores soon; now we are renovating," he added. Arte-Villa Pare of France began the project in December 2008 and is due to have completed each of four stages by the end of 2010.

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