Police Blotter: 18 Mar 2010

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Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:03 Mom Kunthear

WOMAN SPILLS HOT FOOD ON HERSELF

A woman in Poipet town was seriously injured after she spilled scalding hot food over her body while on the way to the market Monday. The victim reported that she stumbled and fell down while she was carrying a pot of steaming food that had just been removed from her stove. The victim’s family sent the woman to be treated at the provincial hospital because of her injuries. They also cleaned the food that had been splashed on her body because it was important to them that the woman maintain good hygiene.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

ACCUSED THIEVES GET BUFFALOED BY COPS

Police in Kratie province have arrested two men after they were accused of stealing buffalo from local villagers. The arrests were made after villagers complained that they had been losing their draught animals on a nightly basis. Police say they believe the six alleged thieves would steal the buffalo under the cover of darkness, then hide in the forest before bringing the animals to be sold. Police are still looking for two suspects.

DEUM AMPIL

COP INTERVENES TO STOP WOULD-BE RAPE

Police in the capital’s Dangkor district say a man tried to rape a 68-year-old woman last week while she was on her way home from a wedding. The woman complained that the man grabbed her bottom while she was riding her bicycle home at night. The suspect allegedly dragged her into a rice field and attempted to rape her, but a policeman happened to be passing by at the time and heard the woman’s screams for help.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

DOORSTEP FRACAS LEADS TO ARREST

A man in Kandal province has been arrested after he allegedly attacked his mother and sister because they didn’t open the door as quickly as he wanted. Police said the suspect drank copious amounts of booze before he came home and called to his mother to open the door. But investigators said the mother and the suspect’s sister opened the door “too late”. When he was arrested, the suspect said he only fought with his mother and sister because his mom answered the door wielding a large stick.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

UNCLE ARRESTED and ACCUSED OF RAPE

Police in Banteay Meanchey province have arrested a man accused of raping his 9-year-old niece. Investigators say the suspect assaulted his young relative three times before the girl told her aunt. The girl’s parents said they sent the girl to live with her uncle and aunt because they went to Thailand to work. Police say the suspect told them he assaulted the girl because he was drunk.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Corporations do battle in mini soccer championship

Players train under the lights of the brand new mini soccer astroturf pitch at Kidzcool Children and Family Fun Village Wednesday

Kidzcool founder Eric Delacollette says he wants to give children the possibility to improve their skills on a perfectly flat pitch.

The Smart mobile team practice their close touch skills during a training session on the Kidzcool astroturf pitch Wednesday.

Photos by: Nestle Poell

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Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

The Phnom Penh Post Mini Soccer Championship kicks off this Tuesday with ten teams from various corporations facing off on the new astroturf pitch at Kidzcool

THIS Tuesday will see the start of the inaugural Phnom Penh Post Mini Soccer Championship hosted by Kidzcool Children and Family Fun Village on Chroy Changvar peninsular, Phnom Penh. Ten teams from local corporations including Smart Mobile, Devenco, Indochina Research, Expat Advisory Services, Total Petrol Stations, Infinity Insurance, Ezecom, KPMG, The Phnom Penh Post and Kidzcool, will do battle against each other in matches spread over the course of three months, building up to finals on June 11 to coincide with the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Four players from each team are allowed on the field at any one time, with one goalkeeper, and games will last 15 minutes each way.

The championship, played on Cambodia’s first ever astroturf pitch, is the brainchild of Kidzcool owner and self-confessed ‘crazy football lover’ Eric Delacollette.

“Sports events are, for the companies, a perfect way to build a team spirit inside and outside the business,” remarks Delacollette, a former Belgian professional footballer.

The corporate competition is really the introduction to the all-weather surface, which the owner hopes will become a leading facility in training young talent in Phnom Penh.

“As we have opened a large children’s playground, my idea was to give children of all levels the possibility to improve their technical skills on a perfectly flat grass pitch,” he said. “Starting in September, I will be launching a mini-soccer school for all kids aged 4-12. I really want to make it professional, meaning that children will train with the same shorts and shirts to give them more confidence and enjoyment from playing games.”

The 24-metre by 16-metre court is surrounded by advertising boards on all sides and is covered with a high metal roof with powerful lights to allow for non-interrupted play in all weathers and at all times.

“It’s nice to play soccer at night again,” noted Expat Advisory Services captain Richie Munro.

Infinity captain Shane Schneider was enthusiastic about the prospect of playing on such a high quality surface. “It will be a fast-paced competition which is exciting,” he expressed. “A small pitch means less space for running and ball control will win games. We will try to keep things simple and control the ball as much as we can.”

Munro at Expat echoed the minimalistic approach. “We have been going over some very basic strategy in training, and we know how we play best. But as far as tactics go we will stick to very simple football.”

Stephen Finch, The Phnom Penh Post captain, voiced concern that his team would be caught too high up the field. “Most of the time in training we’ve had four strikers going forward but much fewer defenders when it comes to getting back,” he stated.

“Playing with the panels is necessary; it means you’ll play with a fifth team mate,” revealed Kidzcool’s Delacollette.

Other teams, however, were more secretive about their gameplans. “We will show our tactics during the matches,” stated KPMG spokesman Chum Socheat.

Indochina Research’s wacky ensemble of colourfully named characters that include the likes of Phyrun the Genius, Unusual Francois, Evil Joel and Gordon the Terrible, are hoping to make a smooth transition from their home turf at Phnom Penh’s Old Stadium. Led by their enigmatic coach Billy the Hat, the Indochina warriors are “ready for this unique and most wanted experience, playing on Astroturf in Cambodia”.

Practice makes perfect

Training regimes ahead of the tournament are varied, especially as according to Kidzcool, some teams are playing for fun and some are playing to win.

KPMG’s Socheat said his men felt “honored and excited for our participation in the first ever competition for our team”.

On the other hand, Smart Mobile boast a wealth of match experience, with training and games played every weekend for almost a year. “Our team is quite experienced in full-size soccer, which is quite a different game in terms of tactics and dynamics [to mini soccer],” explains Kirill Mankovsky. “So definitely it will be a challenge, but we are not afraid of challenges.”

Expat Advisory are also looking to benefit from playing regular games of 11-a-side. “We hope our fitness is the winner for us,” states Munro, whilst conceding that “the beer begs to differ”.

The Post skipper Finch was also feeling slightly apprehensive at the prospect of playing four-a-side games in 35-degree heat twice a week, although he admitted his team had been “playing once a week, smoking less and watching a lot more football on television”.

Kidzcool, meanwhile, seem content with preparations which they claimed consisted of nothing but sessions at the nearby Maxine’s (aka Snowy’s) bar.

Despite its competitive nature that could well see some pent up aggression from the office unleashed on opponents, the general spirit of the event seems that of good-hearted exercise and team bonding.

“Be ready to enjoy and to be fair; it’s only a sport and these are friendly meetings,” reminded the organisers.

“Skill is one thing ... but heart and commitment is another. Infinity team members have plenty of both,” declares Schneider, while Munro says the Expat side will wait for the first couple of weeks to play out before “the trash talking can begin”.

Smart Mobile, however, are on the offensive early. “Shiver and tremble!” warns Mankovsky. “We are coming after you!”

Whatever transpires over the coming weeks, all parties seem eager to go out and try their best in what promises to be a hard-fought but thoroughly enjoyable competition, and one that should pave the way for bigger and better things in the future.

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

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Gameweek 30 winner

Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

SOME powerhouse performances from some powerhouse players made for a feast of high scores in the latest Post Fantasy league gameweek. However, a lone centurion both consolidated his position at the top of the table and claimed the weekly bounty of a $20 phone voucher and T-shirt from Cellcard. Jack Ellis with his team NorfolknChance bagged a brilliant 102 points, in no small thanks to Aston Villa’s James Milner as captain for 24 points as well as the terrifying trio of Rooney (13), Drogba (10) and Torres (19) upfront. Ellis now sits a formidable 63 points proud of the nearest rival at the summit of the league. But there are still eight riveting rounds left for the rest to catch up, beginning with gameweek 31 which has a transfer deadline at 6:30pm this Saturday.

$35m Canadia project

Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:00 Soeun Say

A US$35 million housing project next to Phnom Penh International Airport will be completed by early 2011 and is nearly full, despite the economic downturn, a Canadia Bank official said Wednesday. Construction of Airway Complex City, financed by the bank, began in early 2009 and sits on 6.5 hectares of land in Dangkor District’s Chom Chao Commune, said Sok Sambath, a project manager at Canadia Bank. The complex includes 192 flats, 65 three-story connected houses and 32 luxury villas directly across the road from the airport. “We have already sold about 90 percent, and most of my clients are Cambodian businesspersons,” said Sok Sambath, who is in charge of commercial housing and construction. Prices range from $90,000 for the least expensive flats to $300,000 for the most pricey villas, and the bank has established payment schedules between seven and 10 years.

Malaysia Airlines steady

Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:00 May Kunmakara

MALAYSIA Airlines suffered a slight decline in its Cambodian business in 2009, though it beat the industry average, as a company official said he sees business picking up this year. Malaysia Airlines saw a 2.6 percent decline in Cambodian passengers, a decrease from 43,855 in 2008 to 42,715 in 2009, Abdul Karim Md Isa, the company’s manager in Cambodia, wrote in an email Tuesday. “2009 was a tough year for the airline industry, and our operation in Cambodia was not immune from the global crisis,” he said. The airline managed to outperform other carriers operating in Cambodia, which saw a total decline of 10.3 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to the Ministry of Tourism. At the same time, the number of Malaysian visitors dropped 3.7 percent. Malaysia Airlines, which began operations here in 1992, runs daily flights between Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur and thrice-weekly flights from Siem Reap to the Malaysian capital. The airline’s Cambodia manager said it might start flights to Sihanoukville International Airport.

WWF inks rattan guide

Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:03 Khouth Sophakchakrya

CONSERVATIONISTS hope a new field guide documenting some of the Kingdom’s many species of rattan will help make the domestic industry sustainable over the long term.

The rattan field guide, produced with research supported by the conservation group WWF, documents rattan species in 13 provinces. It is hoped people in the domestic rattan-producing industry will use the guide to learn the ideal places to plant correct rattan species to meet market demands, cutting down on wasted harvests.

“Currently, the Cambodian rattan industry cannot compete with other rattan-manufacturing countries,” said Michelle Owen, the conservation programme manager for the WWF in Cambodia.

The field guide is part of a project aimed at enhancing the Cambodian rattan industry and improve its competitiveness in what is estimated to be a US$4 billion global market.

A Video Game for Landmine Avoidance

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BY Ariel Schwartz

Hey, kids! Worried that you'll be blown up by landmines left over from past wars? Landmine Lookout can help. The video game, designed by researchers at Michigan State University, is designed to teach Cambodian children how to avoid landmines in the civil war-torn country.

Why a video game? Simple: It's hard to get little kids to pay attention to Powerpoint presentations. Instead, Landmine Lookout makes landmine avoidance fun. In the game, each player has to navigate through a maze filled with landmine warning signs while helping a pet find food. If the landmine indicators are avoided, the pet gets its grub.

MSU has already received a $78,000 grant from the U.S. State Department's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement for the game's development. Once all the kinks are worked out, the researchers plan to send the game to kids in Cambodia for testing. Eventually, the game could be packaged along with the One Laptop per Child PCs--perhaps to landmine-riddled nations around the world. It makes sense--TV and video games have long been used for educational purposes. Landmine Lookout just makes the stakes a bit higher.

The Order of Hun Sen to Prohibit Khmer Citizens from Gambling in Casinos Is Not Applied by the Owner of the Naga Casino – Wednesday, 17.3.2010

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

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Posted on 17 March 2010

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 656

“The Naga Casino, located in Phnom Penh, is operating to extract money from people addicted to gambling in Cambodia, earning colossal profits, while small casinos had been shut down by the Cambodian government, and those addicted to gambling include some officials, and even parliamentarians who frequently appear there.

“An official who used to go to the Naga Casino, said that all kinds of gambling devices, such as slot machines and electronic games, exist in the Naga Casino. For common people, they can gamble on the ground floor hall of the Naga Casino. But for big clients such as some oknhas, senior officials, and parliamentarians who are addicted to gambling, they gamble in special rooms on the upper floors.

“According to general observations, among 100 gamblers who enter to gamble, most of them lose. The Naga Casino might benefit from its clients up to 90% of the money they spend. This is completely different from other countries where casinos are allowed to retain just about 3% of the money from their clients [and pay back the rest as winning money to their clients].

“Some gamblers are informed by the casino about the many rewards, and there are advertisements to attract gamblers, making them more obsessed from day to day. Moreover, on the compound of the casino, clients can order food, drinks, and cigarettes for free.

“In the casino, there is music played for the addicted gamblers with singers wearing short skirts, showing their thighs to please the gamblers, after they have lost everything.

“Those addicted to gambling said that after 7:00 in the evening, many people rush into the large gambling hall that provides the impression as if they were attending a party, and most gamblers are Khmers, 95%. The rest of 5% are Asian nationals, such as Yuon [Vietnamese], Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese.

“Based on Mr. Hun Sen’s order, Khmer citizens are not allowed to enter to gamble in casinos, but the Naga Casino allows Khmers to gamble freely. Some Khmers said that as long as you have money, you can enter the Naga Casino anytime and there are no problems.

“Special cameras are set up in the casino for security reasons, and an internal security department of Mr. Sok Phal [a deputy commissioner of the National Police] is also present there. That means that the police can monitor all activities of Khmer citizens, including those of government officials, oknhas, and parliamentarians, who are addicted to gambling whenever they enter the Naga Casino, but still, there is no action taken by the government to close the casino. According to some unofficial sources, it is estimated that addicted gamblers, who enter the casino, bring with them each day at least US$3 to US$4 million to be lost there. This casino is very lucrative, as it attracts addicted gamblers from small casinos that were closed by the government and it amasses all the profits alone there.

“It should be remembered that before small casinos were closed countrywide, it was seen that a Malaysian investor and owner of the Naga Casino, Mr. Chen Lip Keong, donated to Her Excellency Bun Rany Hun Sen [head of the Cambodian Red Cross] US$1 million, thousands of garments, and an ambulance. After [the Director General of the National Police] Mr. Hok Lundy died in a helicopter crash in Svay Rieng, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced to revoke the licenses and to close slot machine casinos nationwide. This resulted in the transfer of clients of small casinos automatically to the Naga Casino.

“Recently, Mr. Hun Sen reminded the Khmer authorities to close gambling sites and to restrict Khmer citizens from entering to gamble in casinos that operate with licenses, such as the Naga Casino and other casinos along the Siamese [Thai] and Yuon [Vietnamese] borders. Mr. Hun Sen warned that if any casinos, or the authorities monitoring them, permit Khmer citizens to enter, those casinos will be shut down and the police officials involved will be punished.

“However, it is really regrettable that some casinos owned by oknhas, who are investors and who are from the Cambodian People’s Party, especially also the Naga Casino, do not follow Mr. Hun Sen’s order. The Naga Casino has more clients of Khmer nationality entering to gamble, after Mr. Hun Sen ordered to close gambling sites and to ban Khmer citizens from going into the casinos to gamble, simply because the Naga Casino is not afraid of Mr. Hun Sen’s order since it had donated money and materials to the Cambodian Red Cross. At present, the Naga Casino seems open for Khmer citizens and offers a lot of incentives for gambling there.

“An agent of Khmer Amatak could get into the casino very easily, because guards did not ask him for his identification card. The agent wonders why the guards, especially the police of the Department of Information and Investigation of the Ministry of Interior posted there, do not care about Mr. Hun Sen’s order not to allow Khmers to enter the casino to gamble. The agent reached the ground floor and the upper floors and found that Khmer citizens, especially officials and businessmen of medium range, were openly gambling happily, as they did not need to hide themselves, as they would have to do at prohibited gambling sites, and they do not need to travel to casinos along the borders, which takes much time and money.

“Because of the growing number of Khmer citizens who enter the Naga Casino to gamble, this casino announced to recruit more staff to add to the current number of 2,000. According to information from the Naga Casino, more than 2,000 new staff are going to be recruited into the casino.

“Observers said that Mr. Hun Sen’s order is applied only to Khmer citizens who are poor and powerless, but it is not applied to all of the powerful, investors, oknhas, and especially not in big casinos with close relations to the Cambodian People’s Party, as they provide much financial support to officials of the Cambodian People’s Party and some humanitarian organizations. Typically, the owner of the Naga Casino consolidates his position by contributing millions of dollars and materials to the Cambodian Red Cross, and he seems to consider Mr. Hun Sen’s order as supporting his casino business, making him earn more profit than before, as there is no more competition from small gambling sites.

“Regarding the case of the Naga Casino, it is said that it is not afraid of anyone except of Mr. Hun Sen. Thus, to open the casino for Khmer citizens to enter is not something new, but it is just to attract Khmer citizens, to take their money, and to use it to bribe powerful officials. If Mr. Hun Sen really has the intention to suppress all gambling, he should dare to remove the ’social worms’ that are making Khmer citizens to become poorer, and that are using casinos and other incentives to attract Khmer citizens. Also, it results from the weakness of the law enforcement authorities of the Cambodian government.

“The Naga Casino seriously violates the law about the suppression of gambling and it particularly violates Mr. Hun Sen’s order.”

Khmer Amatak, Vol.11, #745, 17.3.2010

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Khmer Rouge Tribunal vs. Karmic Justice

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By SOPHAL EAR

Published: March 17, 2010

When my mother — who saved me and four siblings from starvation under the Khmer Rouge in 1976 — passed away in October 2009 at the age of 73, I realized that for her justice delayed had become justice denied. (I’m embarrassed to admit it, but the words “justice delayed is justice denied” had never really sunk in until my mother’s passing.)

As an observant Buddhist, however, my mother probably had the last word. She always said that no matter what happened to the Khmer Rouge leadership in their current lifetime, Karmic justice would prevail in the next: They would be reborn as cockroaches.

I am certain that this belief has helped millions of survivors cope with the reality that, after more than three decades since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, not a single leader has been held to account.

Indeed, Cambodians will largely be yawning when the Khmer Rouge tribunal, known formally as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and jointly organized with the United Nations, issues its first verdict, on the guilt or innocence of Kaing Guek Eav, widely known as Comrade Duch.

The man who headed S-21, a torture center to which an estimated 16,000 people were sent and where less than a dozen survived, confessed his crimes seven years before the tribunal started, saying: “My confession is rather like Saint Paul’s. I’m the chief of sinners.”

Even during the tribunal itself, Duch declared: “To the survivors, I stand by my acknowledgment of all crimes inflicted on you at S-21. I acknowledge them in both the moral and legal context.”

After nine months of testimony and millions of dollars spent, what verdict but guilty can there be when the defendant has made such statements under oath? What purpose has going through the motions served?

Whether the issue is degree of guilt (no one claims Duch was in charge of policy and he has testified that “even though I knew these orders were criminal ... it was a life and death problem for me and my family”) or plain punishment (the maximum sentence is life in prison), each day that has passed is itself an injustice.

If, after four years and $13 million in contributions to the Cambodian government from Japan, the Europe Commission and others, and $76 million in contributions to the United Nations by more than 21 donors, one guilty verdict is all the tribunal has to show, survivors of the Khmer Rouge may just as well consider justice denied.

Plagued by corruption, the tribunal was essentially hijacked to advance domestic and international agendas. For domestic politicians, the goal was to control the process by placing it in a heavily secured military base some 20 kilometers from Phnom Penh and to reduce its scope by limiting the number of individuals it could indict (five) while currying international favor for addressing, superficially at least, crimes against humanity.

The Cambodian government has even sought to limit the witnesses the tribunal could call to testify under the oft-repeated claim of the threat of another civil war. “If the court wants to charge more former senior Khmer Rouge cadres, [it] must show the reasons to Prime Minister Hun Sen,” the prime minister said, referring to himself in the third person. In any case, the tribunal has no independent means of enforcing its subpoenas without government cooperation.

For many of the foreigners involved, Cambodia served as yet another venue for pushing hybrid models of transitional justice while creating jobs for international civil servants and a stage for foreign lawyers whose careers depend on adding another tribunal to their curriculum vitae. If nothing else, they can pat themselves on the back for showing the Cambodians how justice is done.

But what has happened is the reverse. The tribunal was plagued by corruption, lack of judicial independence and shattered integrity. The appointment of a devout Marxist-Leninist as head of the Victims Unit in May 2009, fully endorsed by the U.N. head of the tribunal, sealed the tribunal’s fate as an international and domestic farce.

Thus, the euphemistically “streamlined” participation of about 4,000 “Civil Parties” (tribunal-recognized victims, including me) who shall be represented in court by only two “civil party lead co-lawyers” (with as yet undefined internal procedures of accountability and selection) imposed by the tribunal on Feb. 9, 2010, came as no surprise.

When I filed my civil complaint in 2008, I was required to outline what compensation I wanted. When I said I didn’t want any compensation and that this isn’t about money, it’s about justice for the past and accountability for the future, you could have heard a pin drop. I should have said that I would like my father and brother back; no amount of compensation can do that.

Justice in that sense is meaningless, but my hope was that in the not-too-distant future the next Pol Pot might have to think twice about genocide.

A truth commission would have been a marked contrast to the combative style of the current tribunal, which has seen denials by anyone potentially indictable and even those ready to confess. Indeed, as South Africa’s experience has shown, truth commissions can work under the right circumstances.

But I doubt the circumstances were ever right in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge had a sense of irony when they created a Ministry of Truth. Ever since then, the first casualty of Cambodian politics has been truth.

Lost in all this are those very Cambodians for whom the tribunal was supposed to enact international standards of justice and be a cathartic experience. Instead, the tribunal has been corrosive. Jaded from a failed 1993 U.N. exercise in democracy that led inexorably toward authoritarianism, Cambodians have learned their lesson: Don’t believe in international promises; they are not kept.

Sophal Ear is an assistant professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is writing a book on the unintended consequences of foreign aid in Cambodia.

PIME missionary: Saint Paul Institute a centre of excellence for education in Cambodia

http://www.asianews.it/

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03/17/2010

The new centre of higher education is "an impressive undertaking" a credit to Catholic schools "in the university world." Fr. Alberto Caccaro: the focus on "quality and content", to provide a valid path to students in need. The centre, equipped with a library and 25 classrooms with Internet access, will house 190 students.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - The new Higher Institute of Saint Paul is "an impressive undertaking" it credits Catholic schools "in the university world", offering training to young people in agricultural sciences and information technology. Fr. Alberto Caccaro a missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), years in Cambodia, welcomes the birth of the first centre of higher learning founded and led by the local Catholic Church. "Education in Cambodia - he explains to AsiaNews - is a huge market where there are cases of wrongdoing. An initiative of this kind is welcome. "

On 2 March, less than a year after the laying of the cornerstone the Higher Institute Sao Paulo was opened, strongly wanted by Mgr. Olivier Schmitthaeusler, the new coadjutor bishop of Phnom Penh, and realized through joint efforts of the Catholic Church in Cambodia. The centre is located in Takeo, 70 miles south of the capital (in the picture the bishop in front of the school under construction), and intends to become a "centre of excellence," said the bishop, "for all poor students, who do not have the financial means to continue their studies in Phnom Penh. "

The inauguration ceremony was attended by numerous Cambodian government authorities, including the Deputy Prime Minister, representatives of the Ministry of Education and colleagues from agriculture, together with the apostolic nuncio, Mgr. Salvatore Pennacchio. "Their presence - said Father Caccaro - makes clear how important the project is".

The school’s main aim is to train young people in agriculture and information technology and provides specific programs in collaboration with the Royal University of Agriculture in Phnom Penh, Ngee An Polytechnic and the Lien Aid Foundation of Singapore. Also thanks to funding from a benefactor to the Asian city-state, the Catholic institution has a library of 800 square meters and a main building consisting of 25 classrooms with computers and Internet connections, which will house about 190 students.

"The structure is very large - adds Fr. Caccaro - and offers the opportunity to take courses via the Internet, held in Phnom Penh. A similar situation applies for lessons hosted abroad and transmitted in real time in the institute”. Faced with the high cost of management, emphasizes the missionary, "the ambition of the project is remarkable."

Fr. Caccaro explains that "education is a colossal market in Cambodia today, with cases of corruption and speculation. "An initiative - he adds - of this kind, trying to figure out how to maintain the high quality of the educational proposal in view of the high number of students, is greatly welcomed." The priest states that the "real challenge" will be "quality, content, effective learning without shortcuts."

Finally, on 20 March in the Cambodian Catholic community will celebrate the ordination of Olivier Schmitthaeusler as bishop coadjutor of Phnom Penh.

Chinese vice premier visits Cambodia

via CAAI News Media

March 17, 2010

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu arrived here on Wednesday evening to start his three-day official visit to Cambodia at the invitation of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Office of the Council of Ministers Sok An.

Cambodian senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Office of the Council of Ministers as well as Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue met Hui Liangyu and the Chinese delegation at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

During his stay here, Hui will have meetings with Sok An and Prime Minister Hun Sen. The meetings will focus on enhancing the traditional friendship relationships and cooperation between the two countries on various fields.

Meanwhile, both sides will sign some cooperation documents.

Cambodia is the first leg of Hui's five-nation visit which will also take him to the Laos, Palestine, Israel and India.

Source: Xinhua

Critics Worry Over Value of Expensive Tribunal

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By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

17 March 2010

With millions more dollars budgeted for the Khmer Rouge tribunal, at least some observers are questioning the value of the UN-backed court.

Donor countries have approved an $85 million budget for the next two years of the court, which has so far tried only one Khmer Rouge leader, the prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch.

The court is working toward its second trial, of five jailed leaders, but Jean-Michel Filipi, a French researcher who travels from province to province, told VOA Khmer the “immense” budget of the court is unlikely to produce revelations from those on trial.

Money could be better spent elsewhere, he said.

“Please look at the health care treatment for the old men who are accused,” he said. “They have access to health care that the Cambodian people the equivalent of 200 years in the future.”

Since 2003, Filipi has been asking Cambodians abut the tribunal.

“People in rural areas of the provinces are not interested in the trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, and they do not have a culture of discussion” on the issue, he said.

The trial’s of those leaders in detention—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Duch—are not on the minds of all Cambodians.

In 2009 the US-based International Republican Institute questioned 1,600 people in 12 provinces on their attitudes toward the tribunal. Of those, 82 percent were aware the tribunal, but 21 percent were not aware Duch was on trial at the time.

The budget for the tribunal far exceeds any money spent on Cambodia’s judiciary, which is widely perceived as corrupt, biased or ineffective.

“The government has provided $3 million for the function of the Ministry of Justice and for the courts across the country, for the Appeals Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Council of Magistracy,” said Long Panhavuth, a tribunal monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative. “But there is $40 million a year for [tribunal] expenditure. It’s a big gap.”

Filipi said the “colossal” sum of money being spent on the tribunal should go toward agriculture, energy and education.

However, defenders of the tribunal say the court has to spend a lot of money because of its unique nature.

“You cannot compare the expenditure at the [tribunal] with the expenditure in a normal court in Cambodia,” said Lars Olsen, a spokesman for the court.

“First of all, the [tribunal] is doing a lot of work that normal Cambodian courts are not doing; for instance, the level of victim participation and the programs,” he said. “Secondly we have the outreach program, [including] bringing villagers from all across the country to Phnom Penh to watch the proceedings. These are things that are not happening in regular Cambodian courts.”

In addition, a third of the tribunal staff is international, requiring additional sums for salaries, he said. Where salaries run from $300 to $5,000 a month for Cambodians, based on their positions, costs for international staff can greatly exceed that.

The prosecution of crimes that took place 30 years ago is complex, requiring more resources, he said. “This court is not expensive.”

Senior Chinese Official Arrives for Trade Talks

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By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

17 March 2010

Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Hui Liangyu arrived in Cambodia Wednesday to hold trade talks with Cambodian leaders.

The two countries maintain cooperation in politics, economy, trade, culture and people-to-people exchanges, and close coordination on international and regional affairs, according to officials.

In a three-day visit, Hui Liangyu is expected to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Council Minister Sok An and Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chayly.

He will sign agreements on agriculture and telecommunications, including a joint venture between China’s Hua Wei and Cambodia’s Mobitel, according to Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers.

“Hun Sen has always encouraged Chinese investors to Cambodia as well as providing opportunities of technical change and the increase of investment services for Cambodian laborers,” he said.

Hui Liangyu’s arrival comes just months after the December visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, during which China pledged $1.2 billion in assistance.

China invested more than $6.5 billion in Cambodia from 1994 to 2009, according to government figures. China’s investment of $4.3 billion in investment in 2008 comprised 40 percent of total foreign investment.

ADRA Project Focuses on Preparing Cambodia's Children for First Year of School

via CAAI News Media

17 Mar 2010

Source: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International

Nadia McGill

Website: http://www.adra.org

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

SILVER SPRING, Md. --To help Cambodia's youngest children improve their odds of succeeding in school, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) began a project that is helping parents and caregivers develop a supportive environment for their children in preparation for their first year of primary school.

"Our goal is to create an environment where children can reach their full potential in a fun and dynamic atmosphere," said Ann Stickle, associate director for ADRA Cambodia. "This will contribute to Millennium Development Goal number two, which states that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling."

The three-year A New Day for Kids (ANDK) project will benefit an estimated 3,600 adults and 1,800 children under the age of six, and is in line with the goals of education strategies launched by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. It is currently being implemented in the districts of Kravanh and Veal Veng, in the province of Pursat in western Cambodia.

Although Cambodia has made substantial improvements in recent years, the World Bank reports that much work still remains to be done in the country where only 27 percent of school-age children complete the seventh grade.

"Since most children drop out of school in the early grades, a good preparation for school by both children and their parents will increase their success rates," Stickle continued.

Through the use of Regenerated Freirean Literacy Through Empowering Community Techniques (REFLECT) Methodology, which combines adult education and literacy in a participative manner, ADRA-trained facilitators educate adults on topics such as early childhood care and development, and parenting. ANDK also targets pre-school aged children, utilizing pre-school activities to stimulate children's imagination, creativity, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

"We aim to improve parenting skills, and provide a sort of on-site laboratory where parents can learn to work with their children during their most formative years," said Stickle.

ANDK works with the Provincial Department of Women's Affairs and other government partners as monitors and supporters of the program. With the assistance of village chiefs and leaders, community-based facilitators are selected and then trained in basic community development.

To help them improve their quality of life, participants also receive education in livelihood skills, such as literacy, numeracy, agriculture and livestock management, ultimately benefiting the future of their children.

The project, which is scheduled to run until June of 2011, is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), ADRA Australia, and ADRA Norway.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Cambodia offers gap year travellers ‘a glimpse of some of Southeast Asia’s rarest birds’

http://www.i-to-i.com/

via CAAI News Media

Posted 17 Mar 2010

Gap year travellers heading to Cambodia may want to stop off at a place that houses some of Southeast Asia’s most endangered bird species.

Tonle Sap Lake is described by Bamboo Travel as being "one of the most productive bodies of water in the world" and the most important breeding ground for a variety of birds on the continent.

The Prek Toal Biosphere protects an area in the north-west region of the lake and it is where thousands of birds gather between November and April.

Some of the rare feathered creatures that can be seen from a number of viewing platforms in this space are storks, pelicans, terns, darters, ibis and cormorants.

The lake also provides over half the fish consumed in the country and many floating families and communities can be found on the water.

Last week, it was revealed that volunteers are to be led on an expedition to the Siem Reap province in Cambodia by the Mines Advisory Group to help build a house in the region.

Cambodian teaching labour of love

GIVING NEW HOPE: Lennox Head woman Robyn McIntyre with some of the Cambodian children she teaches through her work with welfare organisation New Hope.

via CAAI News Media

18th March 2010

WHEN Robyn McIntyre retired from her job as principal of Lennox Head Public School six years ago, she never imagined she would return to the classroom.

But through welfare organisation New Hope, she now spends time teaching children in Cambodia, giving them a chance at a better life.

“Two years ago, a friend and I went to Cambodia as volunteer tourists,” she said. “We worked at a small, rural school for two weeks and we loved doing that.

“Then I met a Brisbane woman who was setting up a school and a clinic in a village just outside of Siem Reap.

“It’s an area where there are lots of brothels. These are unskilled girls who fall into this kind of work and can’t get out.

“This is a forgotten area. The local people have no food and no medical aid. They forage for worms to eat.

“So this Brisbane woman and a Cambodian man set up a school and a clinic, offering lessons in beauty therapy, sewing, cooking and computers so these people could build up their skills and get other employment.”

Straight away, Ms McIntyre knew that she wanted to be involved with New Hope. After spending six weeks in the village that year, she returned last year for four months as the school’s educational director.

“It’s tough,” she said.

“The first classroom I walked into in Cambodia was a bamboo hut with a dirt floor and no electricity.

“I had sweat pouring off me and insects all over me. But it was wonderful. You find out a lot about yourself, and you have to recognise what you can do to help.

“I’m going back in July for six weeks and I’m really looking forward to it. They are beautiful people.”

The villagers still live in extreme poverty. Ms McIntyre says human trafficking is rife, and many families are so poor they are forced to sell their children to survive.

“I’ve seen evidence of it,” she said.

“I know of one very, very poor family who were offered $2000 for their girls, aged six and nine.

“The girls would have been auctioned off for their virginity.

“But the mother said no and immediately came to see us at New Hope.

“We gave them rice, we looked after them. We said, ‘you don’t have to sell your girls’.

“It’s a dreadful position for these people to be in.

“One boy’s father was going to sell him for $100. That boy is now living in our shelter.”

Although the situation in the village is still desperate, Ms McIntyre has seen ‘huge improvements’ over the past two years.

As an ex-teacher, Ms McIntyre knows that education is the key to a better future. “If between now and when I die, I can make a difference to one person’s life, then my life has been worthwhile,” she said.

“It’s difficult for me when I come back to Australia and I see kids who place no value on their education.

“It is the difference between a good life and a bad one.

“I know kids in Cambodia who would literally cut off their right arm to be able to go to school.

“When I am teaching in Cambodia, my heart sings. So often in an Australian classroom, you are battling.

“But I never dreamed I would be doing something like this.”

New Hope relies on donations to operate, but Ms McIntyre said it was a constant battle. That’s why, when she’s in Australia, she raises awareness of New Hope by giving talks to various groups.

She is available for group talks and can be contacted on 6687 6271.

Interventionon on Cambodia's UPR Report

via CAAI News Media

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

UNPO's Maggie Murphy will make an intervention on behalf of Interfaith International at the occasion of the consideration of Cambodia's Universal Periodic Review report at the 13th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The intervention concerns violations against the Khmer Krom population including asylum seekers, and expresses grave concern at the refoulement of 20 Uyghur asylum seekers in December 2009 despite Cambodia's signature to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Intervention by Maggie Murphy

Interfaith International and partners welcome the efforts made by Cambodia to update their reports to different Treaty bodies and we enourage the government to abide by their commitments made during the last session of CERD to systematically eliminate discrimination against indigenous groups and minorities.

We urge Cambodia to ensure that international standards related to asylum procedure are adhered to, and that the process of accepting or returning asylum seekers is not politicised under the influence of the individuals’ countries of origin.

The forceful repatriation of Khmer Krom from Cambodia to Vietnam is an urgent concern which needs immediate attention since they face arbitrary arrest and detention torture upon return.

Furthermore, although the Cambodian government has clearly stated that Khmer Krom indigenous peoples who flee to Cambodia from Vietnam are entitled to Cambodian citizenship, the reality is very different. The Khmer Krom upon arrival are treated neither as citizens nor as refugees, rarely granted identity papers, forced to change their names and asked to provide impossible documentation such as Cambodian birth certificates. This dire situation is compounded by widespread corruption. Without identity papers, Khmer Krom are in legal limbo, denied the right to vote, prevented from seeking employment and are unable to occupy property or own land.

In addition, we are extremely concerned about the December 2009 deportation of 20 Uyghur asylum seekers to China, which was carried out at gun point. This is despite Cambodia’s signature to the 1951 Convention on Refugees. The Uyghurs, who had been registered by the UNHCR as “persons of concern” were hastily removed just two days after changes were made to a sub-decree on refugee procedure. The circumstances were highly politicised since the following day the Chinese Vice-President made an official visit to Cambodia. As was forwarned by the international community, the location and wellbeing of the 20 Uyghurs remains unknown.

Thank you Chairman.

Fiji cyclone damage overwhelming, leader says

Fiji TV screengrab shows damage caused by Cyclone Tomas. Relief efforts have started after the cyclone devastated areas in the north and east of the Pacific nation, according to officials. (AFP/Fiji TV)

via CAAI News Media

By PITA LIGAIULA, Associated Press

SUVA, Fiji – The South Pacific island nation of Fiji has suffered overwhelming damage from a powerful cyclone that battered its shores for more than three days, the prime minister said Wednesday as relief operations were launched in the country's northern regions.

Fiji sent naval patrol boats laden with supplies and support staff sailing for the northern islands that bore the full brunt of the storm, while Australian and New Zealand air force planes began airlifting emergency supplies to the island group and carrying out surveillance over affected northern areas.

Only one death has been reported, but the full extent of the damage has yet to be determined because communications to the hardest hit areas were cut off for days.

"It is evident that wherever (Cyclone) Tomas has struck, the damage has been overwhelming," Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Fiji's prime minister and military chief, said Wednesday as the first reports began to roll in.

Cyclone Tomas, packing winds of up to 130 mph (205 kph) at its center and gusts of up to 175 mph (280 kph), started hitting Fiji late Friday. It blasted through the northern Lau and Lomaiviti island groups and the northern coast of the second biggest island, Vanua Levu, before losing strength as it moved out to sea Wednesday, the nation's weather office said.

Matt Boterhoven, senior forecaster at Fiji's Tropical Cyclone Center, said "the good news is it's accelerating away from Fiji ... and weakening in the cooler waters."

All storm and strong wind warnings for Fiji have been canceled, he said. Earlier, sea surges of up to 23 feet (7 meters) were reported in the Lau island group, which was hit head-on by the cyclone, he said.

A nationwide curfew was lifted Wednesday, but a state of emergency will remain in effect for 30 days in the country's northern and eastern divisions.

On the northern island of Koro, seven of the 14 villages have been badly damaged, said Julian Hennings, a spokesman for the island's Dere Bay Resort.

"Some of the houses have blown away. A lot of trees have been uprooted, some of the roads have been blocked off because the waves have picked up rocks and coral and have dumped it on the road," he said. One of four landing jetties was also severely damaged.

Tiny Cikobia Island, home to about 400 people, suffered four days of hammering from the cyclone, which smashed houses, uprooted trees, washed away all local boats and scattered debris across the island, Fiji Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.

It received a brief phone call from an unnamed man at Vuninuku village on the island who said damage was so massive that it would take two days to clear the way to the only school near the village.

Before it could get the villager's name, the phone line to the island went dead again, the state-owned station said. A surveillance flight will check the island later Wednesday and a navy patrol boat is expected to reach there Thursday.

National Disaster Management Office spokesman Pajiliai Dobui said aerial surveillance was already under way over some northern islands "and we hope to tell from the air how serious the damage has been."

Offshore islands remained out of all contact "so we have still not got any word about casualties," he said.

Power, water, sewage and communications were still disrupted in many northern areas, but a key airport at Labasa in northern Vanua Levu had reopened for emergency supply flights.

Troops have been deployed to provide relief, including food, water and basic supplies.

Anthony Blake, relief coordinator at the Disaster Management Office, said shelter was top priority after preliminary reports indicated Tomas had caused "extensive damage" to the Lau group and the northern island of Cikobia.

"The people are living in caves at the moment," he said.

A New Zealand air force Hercules airplane that surveyed some northern areas found that "quite a few villages look like they have been hit pretty hard," Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki told New Zealand's Stuff news Web site.

Many homes had lost their roofs and some houses were destroyed, he said, adding that not many people were seen. "We think they have fled to safety inland," Tamariki said.

Fiji's commissioner for its northern region, Col. Inia Seruratu, who was on board the flight, said he was confident most people were safe since they had received plenty of warning.

ADRA Project Focuses on Preparing Cambodia's Children for First Year of School

Photo: ADRA Cambodia

http://www.stanet.ch/

via CAAI News Media

Silver Spring, Maryland/USA, 17.03.2010

To help Cambodia’s youngest children improve their odds of succeeding in school, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) began a project that is helping parents and caregivers develop a supportive environment for their children in preparation for their first year of primary school.

“Our goal is to create an environment where children can reach their full potential in a fun and dynamic atmosphere,” said Ann Stickle, associate director for ADRA Cambodia. “This will contribute to Millennium Development Goal number two, which states that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.”

The three-year A New Day for Kids (ANDK) project will benefit an estimated 3,600 adults and 1,800 children under the age of six, and is in line with the goals of education strategies launched by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. It is currently being implemented in the districts of Kravanh and Veal Veng, in the province of Pursat in western Cambodia.

Although Cambodia has made substantial improvements in recent years, the World Bank reports that much work still remains to be done in the country where only 27 percent of school-age children complete the seventh grade.

“Since most children drop out of school in the early grades, a good preparation for school by both children and their parents will increase their success rates,” Stickle continued.

Through the use of Regenerated Freirean Literacy Through Empowering Community Techniques (REFLECT) Methodology, which combines adult education and literacy in a participative manner, ADRA-trained facilitators educate adults on topics such as early childhood care and development, and parenting. ANDK also targets pre-school aged children, utilizing pre-school activities to stimulate children’s imagination, creativity, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

“We aim to improve parenting skills, and provide a sort of on-site laboratory where parents can learn to work with their children during their most formative years,” said Stickle.

ANDK works with the Provincial Department of Women’s Affairs and other government partners as monitors and supporters of the program. With the assistance of village chiefs and leaders, community-based facilitators are selected and then trained in basic community development.

To help them improve their quality of life, participants also receive education in livelihood skills, such as literacy, numeracy, agriculture and livestock management, ultimately benefiting the future of their children.

The project, which is scheduled to run until June of 2011, is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), ADRA Australia, and ADRA Norway.

ADRA International is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

Indigenous Cambodians decry foreign land concessions

via CAAI News Media

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH, March 17 (Reuters) - Indigenous Cambodians on Wednesday urged the government to suspend hundreds of concessions awarded to foreign and local companies they say are operating on disputed land.

Representatives of Cambodia's 17 ethnic groups said the government had not consulted local communities or given fair compensation before approving large concessions to companies to grow rubber, run mines and build hydroelectric dams.

"I ask the government to suspend the concessions in all 15 provinces and cities," said villager Ven Samin, who is embroiled in a dispute over land leased by Chinese firms in Kompong Speu province, 48 km (30 miles) outside Phnom Penh.

"The Chinese concession was agreed without consultation or approval with and from local communities. It has seriously affected indigenous people," she added.

In a bid to attract foreign investment to improve its fledgling economy, the impoverished country has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants and farms.

Cambodia is relying on foreign help in modernising and expanding its agriculture, mining and energy sectors in the hope of creating jobs and boosting exports, especially of commodities like rice, rubber and sugar.

Rights groups and international donors have long complained that government officials have rode roughshod over people's rights, ordering mass evictions from farmland and prime urban real estate to lease to foreign companies.

Sao Vansey, executive director of Cambodia's Indigenous Community Support Organisation, called on foreign investors and donors to reconsider deals with the government.

"They should examine if their investments support equity, if they are appropriate to the local circumstance and if their activities to date are in respect of indigenous peoples' rights," Sao Vansey said.

Indigenous organisations in 15 Asian countries sent an open letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen complaining that concessions were awarded without the consent of local people.

The government has approved nearly 100 mining deals throughout the country, many intruding on land occupied by indigenous groups, according to a report submitted by the Indigenous People NGO Network to the United Nations.

Another Cambodian non-governmental organisation, Forum on Cambodia, said one million hectares of disputed land had been made available for local and foreign companies.

"Their land is being grabbed by these companies, the powerful and investors," said the group's executive director, Chhit Sam Ath. "The violations of indigenous peoples' rights are serious." (Editing by Martin Petty)

Cambodia Vietnam Improve Cross Borer Links

http://www.prlog.org/

via CAAI News Media

Tourism in Cambodia has grown rapidly in number of tourists. Cambodia is rich in cultural and natural resource; as a result, Cambodia is noticed and ranked as one of the foremost destinations in Southeast Asia...

PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 17, 2010 – Tourism in Cambodia has grown rapidly in number of tourists. Cambodia is rich in cultural and natural resource; as a result, Cambodia is noticed and ranked as one of the foremost destinations in Southeast Asia. According to Ministry of Tourism in Cambodia, international tourist arrival in 2007 was 2.1 million and grew 18.5 % and it is expected that the number will increase up to 3.2 million in 2010. In cooperation with Vietnam, Cambodia has developed the cross border link in order to facilitate more convenient travel between the two border countries.

At a meeting held in Ang Yang province Vietnam, an area known to Khmers as Kumpuchea krom, official from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and industry inked as Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Vietnamese Commerce Ministry to help increase cross border trade.

The meeting focused on infrastructure improvements and markets and economic zones in the border area between Cambodia and Vietnam.The amount of cross border trades has mushroomed in recent past years, growing at an annual rate of over 30%. Between 2001 and 2007, total cross border trade turn over between the two countries was over US$ 3.06 billion, of which Vietnam exported US$ 2.83 billion worth of goods to Cambodia and imported US$ 228.6 million of goods from Cambodia.The two Countries aim to increase two way trade turnover by 27 per cent every year to reach US$ 2.3 billion in 2010 and US$ 6.5 billion in 2015.

Cambodian general jailed for attacking boy who scared his daughter

via CAAI News Media

Posted : Wed, 17 Mar 2010

By : dpa

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court convicted a senior naval officer of assault after he attacked two teachers and a 10-year-old boy who scared his daughter, local media reported Wednesday. General Keo Monysoka, the deputy commander of Ream Naval Base near the southern tourist resort of Sihanoukville, carried out the attack on March 6 after the boy used a live turtle to frighten the general's 14-year-old daughter.

On hearing of the incident, the general and his adult son drove to the boy's school, where the general kicked and pulled the hair of two teachers and attacked the boy.

The general's adult son, who is now on the run, also allegedly pushed the boy to the ground and injured him.

The court handed the one-star general a one-year suspended sentence and ordered him to spend 10 days in jail. The judge also instructed Keo Monysoka to pay 6,500 dollars in compensation to the three victims.

Cambodian military officials enjoy relative impunity for their actions. The country's military has more than 2,000 generals, making it among the most top-heavy in the world.