Postcards reveal French effort to ‘market’ colonialism

Photo by: Collection of Joel Montague
A French postcard shows a replicated version of Angkor Wat in Paris in 1931.

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, 09 June 2010 15:00 Douglas Long

Phnom Penh

A lecture and slide show will be held tonight at Meta House exploring the transformation of Angkor Wat from an obscure archaeological site into a symbol of French colonialism in the early decades of the 20th century.

The lecture will be delivered by Joel Montague, who describes himself as possessing “indisputably the world’s largest collection of Cambodia

postcards from the colonial period”.

Many of these postcards depict replicas of Angkor Wat that were built in France for international exhibitions from 1900 to 1931, and this collection “constitutes the underpinnings of the lecture”, Mr Montague said.

A colonial exhibition in 1906 in Marseilles, for example, featured a nearly full-scale model of Angkor Wat made of stone, and was attended by the King of Cambodia, accompanied by a retinue of royal dancers. The feat of replicating Angkor Wat was repeated in 1931 at an even bigger exhibition in Paris, for which 33 million tickets were sold.

“Through the early 20th century it became increasingly difficult for France to justify to the public why they had colonies,” Mr Montague said.

“Through these exhibitions, the replicas became the logo of Cambodia as a nation. [France’s message] was that they had advanced the goal of their ‘civilising mission’ by rediscovering the great civilisation of Cambodia in the past and bringing it back to life and instilling pride among the Khmer in their great history.”

He said the “rediscovery” of Angkor Wat helped put the French in a positive light, allowing them to claim that they were not in Cambodia to exploit natural resources as they were doing in the other parts of Indochina.

“This was a marketing thing because initially this was not the reason France was in Indochina,” Mr Montague said. “It gave the impression that the French were altruistic, self-sacrificing, not being driven by economics.”

He added that the marketing ploy had repercussions beyond the end of the colonial era. “In a strange fashion, the promotion of Cambodian culture was useful in developing some form of national coherence by the Cambodians.”

Joel Montague will present his “Angkor-Kabuki” lecture and slide show at Meta House (6 Street 264) at 7pm tonight.

Workers salting lake fish in Cambodia for export to Thailand.

Family team work together salting lake fish in harsh conditions for export to Thailand. Siem Reap, Cambodia. March 2010.

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Family team work together salting lake fish in harsh conditions for export to Thailand. Siem Reap, Cambodia. March 2010.

Working in an chlorine laden atmosphere which burns and tears your eyes, an extended family team salt the locally caught fish in preparation for it's export to Thailand. After the salt and fish mixture are forked and raked together, the preserved 'delicacy' is packed into 50 litre buckets and loaded onto an open lorry for overnight transport to the Thai border.

The preserved fish, now ready for human consumption, sells in Thailand for around 40 Baht a kilogram (around 80 pence). The family workers earn around $40 a month, living in rooms adjacent to their micro factory.

Pupils give up gadgets and food for Cambodia

40-HOUR-FAMINE: Mt Hobson Middle School

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AMY MCGILLIVRAY - East And Bays Courier

09/06/2010

Giving up food, talking, sweets or electronics for 40 hours is a big ask but Mt Hobson Middle School's year 7 students did it willingly.

This year's 40 Hour Famine saw three year 7 students give up food, one stop talking, one go without sweets and 10 sacrifice electronics and technology in some form.

"We did it to help people in Cambodia," says Milo Larmer-Cottle, 11, who gave up his phone and Facebook.

Self-confessed chatterbox Imogen de Freyne, 11, took on the challenge of not talking for 40 hours.

"I had to walk around with a whiteboard and pen all the time," she says.

Elise Plunket says giving up electricity and technology was hard because they are a part of everyday life we use without thinking.

Entertaining themselves over the weekend was another challenge for the students.

"It was hard because you usually keep yourself entertained with electronics and I didn't have much to do," says Alexei Wilson, 12, who played with Lego instead.

Will Jeffries, 11, decided to read instead of watching television while Hamish Simpson, 11, took to playing outside.

The class appealed to friends and family to sponsor them for the annual event.

Robbie Tate, 11, raised $706 for World Vision for doing the famine. He asked his cousins to sponsor him, contributed his own pocketmoney and convinced friends to chip in.

Back row, from left: Millie Warbrick, Alexei Wilson, Milo Larmer-Cottle, Robbie Tate, Sophie Faulkner, Imogen de Freyne, Elise Plunket. Front row: Spencer Simpson, Felix Poole, Matthew Lawless, Hamish Simpson, Will Jeffries.

Thailand cites plots against king for clampdown on red-shirt dissent

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva leads his eight new cabinet members in a swearing-in ceremony in front of King Bhumibol (l.) at a hospital in Bangkok Monday.
Royal Household/Reuters

Thailand’s government accuses the red-shirt opposition of trying to topple revered King Bhumibol. Critics argue it’s using the monarchy – and strict laws against defaming it – as an excuse to crack down.

By Simon Montlake, Correspondent / June 8, 2010

Bangkok, Thailand

via Khmer NZ News Media

Two weeks after the first bloody clashes with red-shirt protesters, Thailand’s military spokesman handed out a printed flow chart. It drew links between more than 20 opposition figures, including three former prime ministers, key protest leaders, several exiled activists, and a Thai restaurant owner in California.

The point? To allege that the opposition was plotting to topple Thailand’s 218-year-old monarchy.

Such charges carry a sting: Royal defamation is punishable with jail time, and closet republicans live in fear of exposure. The claims also stirred dark memories of 1976, when a royalist militia massacred Thai students accused of similar disloyalty.

Three weeks later, after failed peace negotiations, the military sent in troops to end the red-shirt rally. The May 19 crackdown raised the toll during two months of protests to 88 killed and about 2,000 injured, the worst political violence seen in a generation. The government has blamed pro-red “terrorists” for fomenting much of the violence, angering protesters who say troops killed unarmed civilians.

As Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva struggles to govern his bitter, divided nation, the royalist fears stirred by the demonstrations – and repackaged by the military for media consumption – remain a potent force. For now, the clampdown on red-shirt dissent is framed as a law-and-order operation that requires continued emergency rule and the suspension of civil rights in Bangkok and 22 provinces. Human rights groups say hundreds of activists have been detained without trial, including several accused by the military of plotting against the crown.

“The protection of the monarchy is the Abhisit government's ultimate trump card. That trump card is not needed now because the Reds have been dispersed and the government survived a no-confidence debate,” says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

Backlash against the king

King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world’s longest-reigning monarch and is revered by many Thais as a father figure. While his constitutional powers are limited, his influence is extensive and he has mediated in previous political crises. Some red-shirt leaders called on the king to intervene in the current conflict, to no avail.

Bhumibol has been confined to a hospital since September. His fading health has sharpened concerns over the suitability of his successor, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, and the palace’s vulnerability in a period of political turmoil. Much of this debate is conducted behind closed doors due to legal and social constraints.

During the protests, red-shirt leaders repeatedly criticized Thailand’s aristocracy as a brake on democracy and development, a message that resonated with rural and working-class supporters. In private, some activists go further, saying the royal family must butt out of politics or face the consequences if their allies lose power.

“They think they own the country. They think they own us,” says a businessman and red-shirt supporter.

This backlash against royal tutelage is also a direct threat to the powerful Army, which styles itself as the defender of the palace. In 2006, it staged a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom it accused of disloyalty to the throne, a charge that he has denied. He now lives in exile and backs the red shirts.

Prime Minister Abhisit has backed the military’s campaign to root out republican plots and claimed that red-shirt protests had a “higher purpose” than forcing new elections. Asked for evidence of such plots, Abhisit cited antimonarchy writings by a minority of red shirts, in contrast to the majority who are “loyal subjects.”

“We have a number of cases where there is violations of law concerning the security of the monarchy, which is clearly there in print. People have openly said they have the aim to do just that. From there, we look at people who are involved in producing these kinds of materials,” he told a May 29 press conference with foreign media.

Clamping down

Since the coup, authorities have ramped up criminal prosecutions of anyone who defames the royal family using a century-old lese majeste law and a new cybercrime law. Last year, an engineer was sentenced to 10 years in jail for posting an antiroyal video on YouTube. Others have been investigated for comments posted online and for refusing to stand up for the royal anthem at a cinema.

Only a handful of these cases have received public attention. But judicial statistics collated by David Streckfuss, an American academic in Khon Kaen and an expert on lese majeste, show a wave of court judgments that have gone unnoticed, possibly because of social stigma. Between 2005 and 2009, the number of Thais prosecuted under the law rose from 33 a year to 164, according to his data. Those found guilty face a mandatory jail term of between three and 15 years.

Analysts say Abhisit is walking a difficult line between clamping down on antiroyal and other radical sentiments and gradually easing restrictions so as to promote social and political reconciliation, which he says should precede any elections. Some argue that the intimidation of opponents using draconian laws may become the norm as long as the military and the palace perceive an existential threat.

But Michael Montesano, an expert on Thai history at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, says this threat may no longer be effective in justifying authoritarianism, unlike in the past. “While clearly designed as a strategy of demagoguery and polarization,” he says, “they have so far failed to generate as much hatred as would have been the case three or for decades ago.”

Gov't to conduct artificial rainmaking operations to ease drought in N Thailand

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June 08, 2010

Thailand's government will conduct artificial rainmaking operations to ease the drought crisis in the North of Thailand, Deputy Prime Minister Major General Sanan Kajornprasart said Tuesday, the Bangkok Post's website reported.

The water levels in the Bhumibol and Sirikit Dam in the North of Thailand had hit a critical level.

"Officials have confirmed that clouds in the North are adequate to conduct artificial rainmaking operations and they will take place above the dams," Major General Sanan said.

Major General Sanan also urged farmers to postpone sowing of in- season or floating-rice crops for a month to ensure a sufficient supply of water.

For the situation in capital Bangkok, there is enough tap water for the people in Bangkok, the deputy premier said.

"The current quantity of water is enough for making tap water, as we have diverted water from the Mae Klong River to produce the tap water for Bangkok," Major General Sanan said.

The Mae Klong River, which is one of the rivers in the central part of Thailand, is originated in central Kanchaburi province.

Source: Xinhua

Thailand's court grants bail to 2 opposition MPs charged with terrorism

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June 08, 2010

Thailand's Criminal Court on Tuesday granted bail to two opposition Pheu Thai Party MPs Jatuporn Promphan and Karun Hosakul after the two posted one million baht (30,600 U.S. dollars) in cash as guarantee each, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) earlier asked the court to detain the two without bail, however the court disagreed.

The two MPs, who are also the core leaders of the anti- government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) group, were charged with instigating people to commit act of terrorism in connection with the May 19 rioting and arson attacks.

Source: Xinhua

Thailand appoints chairman of independent panel to probe political violence

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June 08, 2010

Thailand's weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday resolved to appoint former attorney-general Kanit na Nakhon a chairman of an independent fact-finding committee to probe the April-May political violence, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The April-May political violence resulted in nearly 90 deaths and about 2,000 injuries.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the cabinet authorized Kanit to complete selecting the panel's members by 15 days.

The fact-finding committee can independently define working procedures, the prime minister said.

Meanwhile, the defense and interior ministry have been assigned to prove weapons found at the anti-government rally sites, Abhisit said.

The two ministries have three weeks to prove the weapons and make a preliminary report to the government, Abhisit added.

Source: Xinhua

Cambodia Bans Acclaimed Documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea? With Government Vowing to Block Screenings 'Wherever They Are Held'

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NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cambodian government has banned the acclaimed documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea?, U.S. director Bradley Cox's film that investigates the mysterious 2004 assassination of Chea Vichea, one of Cambodia's most influential union leaders who spent years fighting for increased wages and improved working conditions for the nation's 300,000 garment workers. The movie, which had its European premiere last month at the Cannes Independent Film Festival, has received accolades from festivals around the world and was named one of Amnesty International's Top Ten Movies That Matter.

In May, in honor of International Labor Day, trade unionists attempted to hold the film's Cambodian premiere at the very location where Vichea was murdered, but riot police raided the scene, and dismantled and seized the screens. The Cambodian government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, immediately declared the film an illegal import and announced that it intends to prevent any screenings "wherever they are held." Asserts one of the premiere's organizers, "If the authorities acted like this, it means that some officials could have been involved in Chea Vichea's murder."

The making of the film was no easy feat. For much of the past decade, Bradley Cox--an award-winning activist-documentarian who is currently receiving treatment for a gunshot wound in Bangkok where he has been covering the Thai military crackdown--has been living in Southeast Asia, unraveling the mystery behind Vichea's murder and other newsworthy stories. Cox was on the scene with his camera just moments after the fatal shots to Vichea, and conducted his own investigation over the next five years.

In an unprecedented look at the inner workings of one of the world's most corrupt states, Cox's documentary reconstructs a police plot that framed two innocent men who were sentenced to 20 years each. Several of the witnesses who appear in the film have fled the country or gone into hiding for safety reasons. Cox also became persona non grata in Cambodia, eventually having to leave for his own safety. To the surprise of many in the human rights community, the murder case was reopened in late 2008 and the Supreme Court provisionally released the two men on January 1, 2009.

"Did the courts simply come to their senses and suddenly discover unprecedented independence from the government? Hell no. But the release of Who Killed Chea Vichea? loomed," said Eric Pape, a former Newsweek correspondent who has reported on Cambodia for fifteen years. "Remember, Cambodian police never identified any other suspects. I imagine there's a reason for that."

The Cambodian authorities maintain the right to seize any media "that is produced or imported illegally," and, after the attempted screening of Who Killed Chea Vichea?, Cambodian police repeatedly tried to confiscate the film from union organizers. Organizations in Cambodia regularly screen imported films without direct government approval, from French films at the Centre Culturel Francais to popular Hollywood or American independent films at the Foreign Correspondents Club. The authorities denied that their decision had any connection to politics, but there is no other politically charged film that has been banned in Cambodia since the 1980s.

Cambodia is a major recipient of foreign aid from Western countries including the United States, the UK, France and Australia. Its constitution was written with the help of foreign donors and guarantees "freedom of expression, press, publication and assembly."

"This is what governments do when they don't want their own people to know the facts and when they can't afford to show weakness, even for an instant," said Rich Garella, one of the film's producers, and a former managing editor of The Cambodia Daily.

"I would encourage Cambodian government officials to practice what they preach," said Cox. The government's action, he added, is "the very stuff of dictatorships."

Who Killed Chea Vichea? is a co-production of Loud Mouth Films Limited and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Hi-res image of Chea Vichea (graphic image, post-assassination):

http://brgd.net/c1wyhE

SOURCE Loud Mouth Films Limited

Who Killed Chea Vichea? Banned In Cambodia

via Khmer NZ News Media

Published: Jun 8, 2010

by Staff

Cambodian Leaders Ban Trade Union Hero's Murder Documentary

Moviemaker Bradley Cox's hard-hitting film about the 2004 assassination of union leader Chea Vichea has been banned in Cambodia after government forces shut down screenings of the movie on international Labour Day last month (May10).

Who Killed Chea Vichea? had its European premiere at the Cannes Independent Film Festival last month (May10) and was recently named one of Amnesty International's Top 10 Movies That Matter.

But the film won't be shown in Vichea's native Cambodia.

Trade union leaders attempted to hold the film's Cambodian premiere at the very location where Vichea was murdered, but riot police raided the site and seized footage.

Cambodian leader Prime Minister Hun Sen has since declared the provocative film an illegal import, and insists all screenings will be prevented.

Director Cox spent much of the past decade piecing the movie together and he is currently receiving treatment for a gunshot wound in Bangkok, where he investigated Vichea's murder.

Cox's documentary reconstructs a police plot that framed two innocent men who were sentenced to 20 years each. Several of the witnesses who appear in the film have fled the country or gone into hiding for safety reasons. The film has led to the re-opening of the murder case and the Supreme Court provisionally released the two men wrongly accused of Vichea's murder last year (09). (c) WENN

Gulf Spill a Reminder of Cambodia Shortfalls

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 08 June 2010

via CAAI News Media

Photo: AP
This big pelican is soaked with spill oil in Gulf of Mexico.

“In response to any possible oil spill in the future, a coast guard authority and a petroleum safety administration should be set up to be in charge of safeguarding the environment, ” Mam Sambath, chairman of the Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency, a coalition of non-governmental agencies, said. “All of the companies exploring for oil should also be encouraged to create an association which is tasked with coping with the possible oil spill.”

As the US grapples with the implications of the Gulf Coast oil spill, environmental and other groups in Cambodia say the country needs to do more to safeguard its own environment as it moves toward increased oil and gas exploration.

The BP oil spill, now in its sixth week, has poured thousands of barrels of oil into the sea. The environmental costs are likely to be huge, but the political costs are now beginning to mount for the US administration.

Analysts in Cambodia say that if the country does not want to undergo a similar experience, the government must put in place certain protective mechanisms.

Cambodia lacks a coast guard authority, a safety administration and protective agreements with companies who are exploring Cambodia’s oil and gas reserves, even though it expects oil to start flowing by 2012.

“In response to any possible oil spill in the future, a coast guard authority and a petroleum safety administration should be set up to be in charge of safeguarding the environment, ” Mam Sambath, chairman of the Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency, a coalition of non-governmental agencies, said. “All of the companies exploring for oil should also be encouraged to create an association which is tasked with coping with the possible oil spill.”

The newly established authorities should not be put under the existing Cambodian National Petroleum Authority so that separated technical management can be ensured for an effective mechanism, Mam Sambath said.

At least 13 companies have so far been granted exploration licenses with some already beginning exploration. Full drilling could begin soon in what experts estimate is a reserve of 400 million to 700 million barrels of oil worth billions of dollars. However, the money comes with risks, as the Gulf spill has shown, and observers say Cambodia lacks the institutions and agreements to deal with them.

Ou Virak, president of Cambodian Human Rights Center, who also manages a website monitoring development trends, said the government also needs to make a protective agreement with oil companies to have all the necessary pre-cautious put in place.

“Any company granted the extracting right has to be tasked with setting up detailed plans to protect the environment and the people, who might be affected by a possible oil incident,” he said. “If any company does not provide the protective plans or if the plans are not reasonable or inadequate, the government should reject them.”

The government could also apply for an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to learn from other member countries ways to better manage oil risks, as well as revenues. EITI works with more than 30 countries to increase transparency and accountability in oil revenue.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said EITI candidate status for Cambodia is not necessary because the country is already transparent in managing its oil revenue. The establishment of additional authorities to deal with any possible oil spill is not needed either, he said, as the country already has the National Petroleum Authority.

“If we created some more authorities, we would be criticized for spending more money,” he said.

National Petroleum Authority officials declined to comment on protective mechanisms for possible oil spills.

However, Cheam Yiep, a ruling party National Assembly member, said the Gulf spill had encouraged lawmakers to push for separate agreements with oil companies to ensure Cambodia is better prepared for such an incident.

“We will use the US experience as an example and basis for discussion and for an agreement with companies to extract oil in our country,” he told VOA Khmer.

Yim Sovann, an opposition lawmaker, said parliament needs to enact more laws to guarantee safety in the oil industry and that it needs to push the government to apply for EITI status to ensure transparency and accountability in management of revenue from the extractive industries.

Lawmakers Select Two Anti-Corruption Representatives

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 08 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: AP
General view of Cambodian national assembly debate.

Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday the two legislative candidates do not have experience investigating corruption. “But we will follow up on their work,” he said. “I’m not interested in the history of Prak Sok and Top Sam, but I am more interested in the willingness of the government to fight corruption.”

The National Assembly and Senate established their representatives on a new anti-corruption council on Tuesday, voting respectively for Top Sam and Prak Sok, two members of the Constitutional Council since its 1998 inception.

Now the two men, who must be finally approved by the king, will be a part of the 11-member National Anti-Corruption Council, which prepares strategies and policies to fight graft under a new law passed this year. The council also makes recommendations to its counterpart, the Anti-Corruption Unit, which is in charge of enforcing the policies.

Top Sam, who is 63, was a secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce until 1998. Prak Sok, who is 67, was a judge and deputy chief of the Supreme Court until he joined the Constitutional Council.

Both men welcomed the news on Tuesday.

“I am very happy to get the new job, and I am committed to doing my best to fulfill my new job strongly and effectively,” Prak Sok told VOA Khmer Tuesday.

But critics say they doubt the men or the new council will effectively combat Cambodia’s corruption, often blamed on government officials within the ruling party.

“We don’t believe in the independence or effectiveness of the representatives of the National Assembly and the Senate in fighting corruption in Cambodia, because the two men come from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, and the two will get pressure from the ruling party before deciding any case,” Mam Sitha, director of the Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Tuesday. “The council can decide on small corruption and not powerful corruption, and they cannot decide on the main power behind the corruption.”

Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said Tuesday the two legislative candidates do not have experience investigating corruption. “But we will follow up on their work,” he said. “I’m not interested in the history of Prak Sok and Top Sam, but I am more interested in the willingness of the government to fight corruption.”

Pen Thol, a member of the Constitutional Council who worked with the candidates for the past six years, said both had good relationships with the seven other members of the Constitutional Council in working groups. They were both effective decision-makers and worked hard on decisions by the council, which examines election complaints as well as constitutional matters, Pen Thol said.

Hundreds of Millions Pledged, Many Reforms Sought

Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 08 June 2010

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Photo: Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
The meeting between donors and Cambodia government officials at government place, Phnom Penh.

“We expect that the Cambodian government will make the best use of our assistance to Cambodia in an effective and transparent way in order to achieve economic growth,” Masafumi Kuroki, Japan’s ambassador, said. “If there is no economic growth, it is very difficult to reduce poverty. So we will strengthen mechanisms to monitor aid.”

Donor countries and international development agencies offered Cambodia up to $1.1 billion in aid this year, which came amid calls for reform. But those reforms can sometimes seem as varied as the streams of aid that accompany them. Local governance, macro-economics, education, the judiciary—each has proponents for reform.

“The money is going down, but there is no local accountability over how that money is spent,” Richard Bridle, a representative of Unicef, told VOA Khmer during an annual donor meeting last week. Once there is local accountability, he said, “they you get the level of scrutiny that allows citizens to be able to hold public servants accountable for the services that are supposed to be there.”

Bridle, whose Unicef pledged $16 million for the government, urged decision-makers to approve local financial laws that could be implemented as early as this year.

His suggestion represents a core reform inside public administration, but it wasn’t the only one. Many conditions were put forward by donors during last week’s two-day meeting.

Donors also pushed for reforms to battle corruption, which costs the country as estimated $500 million a year, or nearly half what donors pledged. The government passed an anti-graft law this year that was 15 years in the making, but it remains to be seen how well it will work. German Ambassador Frank Marcus Mann, in statements during last week’s meeting, asked the government how it will implement the law effectively.

Donors also urged the government to maintain economic stability and to reduce poverty, something they said will require efficient use of the money.

“We expect that the Cambodian government will make the best use of our assistance to Cambodia in an effective and transparent way in order to achieve economic growth,” Masafumi Kuroki, Japan’s ambassador, said. “If there is no economic growth, it is very difficult to reduce poverty. So we will strengthen mechanisms to monitor aid.”

Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s country director, told VOA Khmer at the end of the meeting that she wanted to see more economic diversity, improved competitiveness and investment climate, and land concessions that provide benefits to the poor. The World Bank is also looking for more transparency in managing the revenue of natural resources, she said.

Cambodia’s budget deficit, too, remains a concern.

IMF representative John Nelmes said the government should try to keep the deficit below 5 percent of GDP, which it could do by eliminating tax exemptions and tax holidays for investors that are not in fact the main attraction to them.

The EU, meanwhile, would like to see stronger education and higher enrollment.

“The number of people dropping out of school is still quite high,” said Rafael Dochao Moreno, Charge d’Affaires of the European Commission in Cambodia. “So it is one of the things that you should try to make sure of, that boys and girls have the same rights to go to school. So we can increase the number of girls going to school, and the second is that the rate of students abandoning school should be reduced.”

For all the concerns, donors offered about $110 million more this year than they did in 2009.

International finance institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and Global Fund, provided the majority of funding, around $352 million.

Japan offered $131 million, followed by China with $100 million, and the US and Australia with $61 million each. Nine countries from the European Union pledged $255 million, including $65 million from Germany. The UN’s 13 agencies pledged $86 million in total.

Cambodia has around 4 million people living below the poverty line, and donor support has remained a major contributor to national development. Aid has steadily increased, from $700 million in 2006 to $1 billion last year. According to funding data, that could change, with donor funding expected to fall to $958 million in 2011 and $750 million the year after

Meanwhile, Cambodia is carrying around $4 billion in debt.

Rights and development organizations said during last week’s meetings they wanted to see more reform of the judicial system and greater transparency in the management of natural resources, but donor representatives said development can take a long time.

In the end, in a joint statement from the government and donors, each side said they were committed to pushing reforms in public administration, the judiciary, revenue management, and the implementation of the anti-graft law, among others.

No Injuries Reported in Brief Border Clash

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Tuesday, 08 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: AP
A Cambodian soldier carries a B-40 rocket launcher as he heads to his tent near the famed Preah Vihear temple at the Cambodia-Thai border at Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009.

“The soldiers of Trapaing Prasath district were patrolling, and they met accidentally with Thai soldiers who were on patrol as well,” he said. “Both sides opened fire.”

Cambodian and Thai troops engaged in a brief exchange of gunfire on Tuesday, but neither side reported injuries.

The clash, which began just before 10 am in the Dangrek Mountains of Oddar Meanchey province, lasted only five minutes, said Chhum Socheat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, who blamed the exchange on a “misunderstanding.”

“The soldiers of Trapaing Prasath district were patrolling, and they met accidentally with Thai soldiers who were on patrol as well,” he said. “Both sides opened fire.”

Chhum Socheat said the Thai soldiers likely thought they were firing on illegal loggers, not soldiers. Commanders on both sides were already discussing the issue, he said.

Cambodia and Thailand have both amassed troops along the northern border, following the inception of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site under Cambodian control. Both sides lay claim to land near the temple, fueling a standoff that has gone on since July 2008. Sporadic clashes have left a handful of killed soldiers on each side. The latest clash took place in O’smach district in April, though no one was hurt.

A Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday the Thais had not yet verified reports of the engagement.

Asst Secretary Eric P. Schwartz Traveling to Australia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia

via Khmer NZ News Media

Published: June 08, 2010

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric P. Schwartz will visit Australia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia from June 7 - 18 of this year.

In Australia, Mr. Schwartz will attend the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Donor Support Group High Level Meeting on June 8-9, and meet with Australian Government officials.

In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Mr. Schwartz will meet with government officials and international organizations implementing assistance programs in the region.

Source: U.S. Department of State

Mo Sochua Ready to Go to Jail

RFAKhmerVideo — June 04, 2010 — http://www.rfa.org/khmer/

Vietnam, Cambodia to complete border issues in 2012

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06/08/2010

Vietnam and Cambodia have vowed to complete border demarcation and landmark planting along their common border by late 2012 as agreed previously by their top leaders.

The agreement was reached during a special session in Phnom Penh on June 8 between the chairmen of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on land border demarcation and landmark planting.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Ho Xuan Son, Deputy Foreign Minister, Chairman of the National Border Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on land border demarcation and landmark planting.

The Cambodian delegation was led by Var Kim Hong, Senior Minister in charge of border affairs, Chairman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Committee on land border demarcation and landmark planting.

Both parties reviewed and discussed measures to speed up the work on land. Accordingly, a workshop will be held in Vietnam’s Can Tho City in mid July 2010 to draw experience and complete the procedure for border demarcation and landmark planting. They also agreed to hold a meeting of a mapping group in Phnom Penh in late June 2010.

The two chairmen agreed to convene their upcoming meeting in Vietnam this September.

Cambodia's tax, custom revenues drop last year

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June 08, 2010

Tax revenues in Cambodia decreased by 8 percent to 1 billion U.S. dollars last year due to the impact of global financial downturn, an official said Tuesday.

Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said at the opening of a seminar about training for finance officials that the tax department earned a revenue of 362.2 million U.S. dollars in 2009, 2.8 percent increase from 352.4 million U.S. dollars a year earlier, whereas the customs department earned a revenue of 640.2 million U.S. dollars last year, 13 percent decline from 738.6 million U.S. dollars a year earlier.

Hang Chuon Naron said that since the start of public financial reform in 2005, the government attained the revenues growth of 26 percent per year, but due to the global financial crisis, the revenues for the 2009 had declined.

He said that with a lot of revenues, the government has deposited 700 million U.S. dollars in the account at the national bank of Cambodia.

"The government has reformed from a country with budget deficit to a country with budget of great amount," he said.

Source:Xinhua

World Bank Applauds Cambodia For Success In Financial Industry

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PHNOM PENH, June 8 (Bernama) -- The World Bank applauded Cambodia on Tuesday for a success in its financial industry, thanks to the national bank's regulations and standards, as well as close supervision, China's Xinhua news agency quoted World Bank Country Manager Qimiao Fan as saying.

He said the success of Cambodia's finance industry is proof that improving corporate governance works, as many Cambodia's commercial banks and micro-finance institutitions have raised their standards of corporate governance and been rewarded with greater investment.

Fan also forecasted that Cambodia will have a promising future with several number of sectors with strong growth potential, a young population with a lifetime of work ahead, a stable society, as well as a good geographic location close to much large markets in Asia.

Meanwhile, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia Chea Chanto said the recent bad experience of the world financial crisis has taught Cambodia how the failure of bank and financial system can impact livelihoods.

"It is important that countries such as Cambodia take stock of this lesson and seek to avoid a repeat in our own banking and financial system," he said at the workshop titled "Corporate Governance for Banking and Financial Institutions."

Having learned from the Asian financial crisis, he said the national bank has taken a series of measures to better supervise and regulate the banking and financial system in the country.

"Banks have an overwhelmingly dominant position in the country's financial system, representing more than 90 percent and are extremely important engines of economic growth, citing they are the source of finance for the majority of firms," he explained.

Cambodian and Thai troops exchange fire, no injuries reported

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

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Jun 8, 2010

Phnom Penh - The Ministry of Defence said Cambodian and Thai troops briefly exchanged fire along the border early Tuesday.

General Chhum Socheat, a ministry spokesman, said no Cambodian soldiers were injured in the morning exchange. He said he did not know whether there were Thai casualties.

'After the fighting stopped, the two sides met each other and said that a mistake caused the (clash),' he said of the six-minute clash.

'I heard that we were in our area and the Thais were in theirs, and (the soldiers) could not see each other clearly,' he added.

The exchange of gunfire took place in Oddar Meanchey province around 40 kilometres west of Preah Vihear temple, a regular flashpoint between the two nations.

The relationship between Cambodia and Thailand has been tense for nearly two years with sporadic clashes. Much of their common border has yet to be demarcated.

Diplomatic relations worsened markedly in October when Cambodia appointed Thailand's fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as a government adviser.

Cambodia, Thai troops border clash: Cambodian army

Cambodian soldiers are seen close to the Cambodia-Thailand border near the contested Preah Vihear temple

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PHNOM PENH — Cambodian and Thai troops exchanged fire briefly on their border Tuesday, the latest in a series of clashes between the neighbours, a Cambodian official said.

The shoot-out on Cambodia's northwestern border lasted for about six minutes, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, Cambodian defence ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat told AFP.

The incident occurred as soldiers from both sides were patrolling the border area, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) away from Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear temple, which is at the centre of a land dispute between the two nations.

"It was a misunderstanding because the area is a place where illegal smuggling of timber usually takes place," the spokesman said, adding that the exchange of fire ended after the two sides contacted each other.

Cambodia and Thailand have been locked in nationalist tensions and a troop standoff at their disputed border since July 2008, when the Preah Vihear temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status.

Relations deteriorated further in November after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as his economic adviser and refused to extradite him to Thailand.

UN envoy to look at Cambodia justice system

By Guy Delauney
BBC News, Phnom Penh

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Hun Sen's government has been criticised for prosecuting critics

The UN Human Rights Special Envoy for Cambodia is making his third visit to the country.

Surya Subedi plans to look at the country's judicial system, which has long faced allegations of corruption and political interference.

A pressure group says that defendants are often denied their basic rights.

Last year, Professor Subedi said that bringing criminal charges against critics of the government was "disproportionate and unjustifiable".

The visit comes a week after the Supreme Court found a prominent opposition figure guilty of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen.

A succession of land disputes have meanwhile sparked protests by poor villagers, who argue that judges tend to favour well-connected individuals.

'Basic rights'

The Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, a local organisation funded by the UN, has also sought to drawn attention to the plight of defendants.

It says that basic judicial rights, including the right to be tried in person, are frequently not met.

Of trials held in absentia, it says, nine out of ten trials in absentia last for less than 30 minutes, and many call no witnesses.

It is potentially tricky territory for Professor Subedi, who - unlike his predecessors - has maintained a good relationship with government officials.

But he seems to be able to deliver criticism in a way that does not put noses out of joint.

Amazing Cambodia

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BY JULIANA PHANG

Tue, 08 Jun 2010

DURING the last Chinese New Year holidays, my family and I visited Cambodia, a county of contrast and historical appeal.

We visited not only the historical monument of Angkor Wat at Siem Reap, but also witnessed the very moving and tragic heritage left behind at Tuol Sleng Museum in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

This is the site of a former secondary school used by Pol Pot, the mad, misguided prime minister of Cambodia in the 1970s, as a torture centre. He purportedly led three million (out of the population of eight million!) Cambodians to their death during his short four-year reign.

We then took a boat ride on the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Asia, which is also a Unesco heritage site. We saw how the Vietnamese immigrants live their daily lives on boats – even their church, mosque, schools, clinic and basketball court were on boats!

It was an added bonus that we managed to catch the partial eclipse of the sun on Feb 28 and watched the fabulous sunset on the lake.

Cambodia is a country at a crossroad. While the people in the more popular areas like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are used to the influx of tourists, the locals in places such as Stung Treng or Banlung are less so.

Always ask permission before you take somebody’s picture, as many in the more remote areas do not like to be photographed, and some in the urban areas will ask for payment.

A surprising thing in Cambodia is that almost everything is more expensive than in Malaysia. Petrol is about US$1(RM3.20) per litre whereas in Malaysia, it is RM1.80. We silently said a prayer of thanks to our government for subsidising our fuel.

The cheapest food in Cambodia cost US$1.20 for a bowl of rice or noodles. Our guide, Ravin, told us that prices have rocketed in the last two years and many poor people are suffering the effects.

Some could only afford plain rice for their meals. Salaries remain very low – and the disparity between the poor and rich is getting wider by the day.

As this tiny country grows as the result of the boom in tourism, more and more international eateries have sprung up. You can even find roti canai, puri and capati in Siem Reap.

We had expected Chinese and Thai cuisine (due to the proximity of Thailand and China) and western too (because of the influx of western tourists) but certainly not food from a place as far away as India!

But be careful about the accommodation especially if you are on a self-planned tour like we were. The hotel we booked through the Air Asia website (Khemera Angkor Hotel) was touted to be a four-star hotel but hardly can be called three stars.

At the promotional price of RM225 per night, we had expected a suite or at least a reasonably big room. But the room we got was standard (although the staff insisted that it was a deluxe) and the pool was tiny.

The hotel was badly lit at night, the corridors dark and the buffet breakfast was only average. And when we asked for another room, they wanted to charge us US$120 (RM420) per night!

We felt even worse when a Singaporean couple we met told us they were staying in a four-star hotel at only US$40 a night.

Luckily for us, our Cambodian tour operator got us US$15 (RM49) rooms in the Angkor Deluxe Inn, waiving his commission of US$5 after hearing of our experience. We moved out of the hotel even though we had already paid for three other nights.

The three-month-old inn had clean rooms with all the basic facilities like TV, aircon and even a ceiling fan. The only thing it doesn’t have are tea- and coffee-making facilities.

But at that rate and with friendly and helpful staff to boot, we certainly didn’t mind.

Another thing to be aware in Cambodia is hiring your own transport and guide.

The van driver who picked us up from the airport wanted us to hire his van for US$40 (RM131) a day to Angkor Wat. When our tour guide came to pick us up, the van driver became quite rude to the poor man when he discovered the guide was charging us only US$25 (RM82) a day.

All in, it was a truly memorable trip and we were thankful to have seen and learnt so much about the country in the short span of six days.

DAP News ; Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

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UN Injects $5 million to Improve Cambodian Food Security for 2010- 2012

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 09:16 DAP-NEWS/ Ek Madra

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, June 8, 2010– The United Nations announced on Tuesday to launch three-year joint program of $5 million designed to improve food security and reduce under-nutrition among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.

The program will be piloted in two provinces of Svay Rieng and Kampong Speu, considered by the World Food Program to be ‘chronically food-insecure’, said the UNDP press release.

The joint program, to be implemented between 2010 and 2012, was developed in close consultation between government ministries, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

UN Resident Coordinator Douglas Broderick said in the release: "the joint program provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the government’s response to food insecurity and malnutrition in Cambodia. It is also a significant step forward for the UN in Cambodia to deliver as one.”

Levels of maternal and child under-nutrition are considerably high in Cambodia, said the release.

Poverty, food insecurity, inadequate knowledge and poor nutrition and feeding practices are the main causes of malnutrition among women and children in the country, it said.

The Cambodia anthropometrics survey in 2008 showed that 39.5 percent of children below the age of five were chronically malnourished, 28.8 percent were underweight and 8.9 percent were acutely malnourished, it said.

French Deputy Commerce Minister to visit Cambodia to Boost Bilateral Trade

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 11:07 DAP-NEWS/ Ek Madra

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, June 8, 2010 – A French deputy commerce minister Anne-Marie Idrac is to visit Cambodia from 9- 11 March aims to improve bilateral trade of the two countries, according to the embassy release on Tuesday.

“Anne-Marie Idrac will hold talk (with Cambodian officials) on the perspective of improving the economic exchange between France and Cambodia,” said the release.

Idrac, who will be accompanied by a number of French businessmen, will meet with Cambodian finance minister Keat Chhon, who is also deputy prime minister.

She will also hold meeting with another deputy prime minister Sok An, who is minister in charge of the office of the council of minister, on June 10.

Sok An is to accompany Idrac to inaugurate the Golden Rice mill in Oudong of Kampong Speu province. The French investor and the French Development Assistance financed the $7 million-rice milling, said the release.

Idrac has planned to visit a construction site of Sofitel hotel, which is a second hotel invested by French investment group, Accor, in Cambodia.

Idrac will fly to Siem Reap, the home of Angkor which is the Cambodian biggest tourist destination, where she will meet with French investors.

Thai Troops Opened Fire on the Cambodian Border Military Patrol

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 07:42 DAP-NEWS/ Tep Piseth

CAMBODIA, ODOR MEANCHEY, June 8, 2010-“The Thai troops opened fire on the Cambodian border military patrol at about 9 O’ clock and 50 minutes on Tuesday morning of June 08, 2010 at Ochambak point near Chhukrun region in Trapangprasat district, Odar Meanchey province,” according to the sources told DAP News center.

“The exchange of gunfire occurred while the Thai troops ran into 15 Cambodian soldiers patrolling the Cambodian border. Soon after that, The Thai troops at first opened fire on the Cambodian soldiers by using both M16 guns and M79 guns. In response to the Thai invading enemies, The Cambodian soldiers decided to return fire by using PKM guns,” Deputy Military Commander-in-Chief of the Cambodian Royal Armed Forces Chea Dara told the DAP News Center.

“It was believed that the Thai troops were killed and injured during the exchange of gunfire, but the Cambodian soldiers did not suffer any heavy casualties,” according to the sources.

Edited by Mr. Rasmey (Mr. Go For It)

Cambodia Elects a Member for National Anti-Corruption Commission

Tuesday, 08 June 2010 03:45 DAP-NEWS/ Ek Madra

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, June 8, 2010 – Cambodia on Tuesday elected a former Member of the Constitutional Council to work for the National Anti-corruption Commission, said the President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin.

An 83 MPs out of 106, who turned up on Tuesday, voted in favor of Top Sam, a former member of the Constitutional Council of Cambodia, to work for work for the National Anti-corruption Commission.

The country’s legislative body approved in March the anti-corruption law enabled the country to establish the mechanism of national anti-corruption commission and the anti-corruption unit.

Officials said the government will employ 11 members in total to work for the national anti-corruption commission. They represent the government institutions, legislative body as well as the royal palace.

“Top Sam is now elected as a member, represents the National Assembly, to work for the National Anti-corruption Commission,” Heng Samrin told the floor after voting.

The 123-seat National Assembly’s move on Tuesday showed the government’s commitment to fight graft, which has been concerned by donors who injected Cambodia last week almost $1.1 billion for this impoverished nation’s development for 2010.

Opposition party sought for a clear definition of the corruption term and called for an independence of national anti-corruption commission and the anti-corruption unit—given the fact that members, of the anti-corruption institution, are to be appointed and financed by the government.

U.S. ambassador Carol A. Rodley said in 2009 that corruption has been a problem that affected every single person in Cambodia.

“According to various studies, corruption costs Cambodia up to $500 million per year in terms of forgone state revenue that could otherwise be spent on public services in education and health care and jobs for Cambodian youth,” said Rodley.

She said that $500 million is equivalent to the cost of constructing 20,000 six-room school buildings or the ability to pay every civil servant in Cambodia an additional $260 per month.

Cambodian officials rejected Rodley’s comment as unsubstantiated.

The Berlin-based Transparency International (TI), the global coalition against corruption which surveyed nearly 200 countries, has said in its Corruption Index (CPI) ranked Cambodia as one of the worst corrupt country in the world.

The Cambodian Solders Standing at Tamon Temple Found an Ancient Inscription Being a Meter in Height

Monday, 07 June 2010 15:41 DAP-NEWS/

Cambodia,Phnom Penh, June 07, 2010-The Cambodian Royal Armed Forces standing at Takrabey temple bordering Thailand found an ancient inscription which is a meter in height, 48 centimeters in width and about 8-centimeter thickness.

The Cambodian soldiers found an ancient inscription on Friday of June 04,2010, which is in a distance of 200 meters in the Eastern part of Takrabey temple in Kokmon village, Kokmon commune, Banteay Ampil district, Oddarmeanchey province.

“”On the surface of the inscription, The Cambodian soldiers found a Sanskrit language,which means that there is a king whose name is Posotta, who ordered Tamorn, a supreme military commander Taprakod pranuttong, and Taprum called tatisommayya, a Buddhist lay preacher to a small tamon temple and a big tamon temple to defend the territory of the temples.

“The Sanskrit language said that this supreme military commander is very skillful at warfare and war strategy. He always rides a buffalo when he goes to war-Unfortunately, when his buffalo died, the people have called him Takrobey until the present”, Mr. Nak Vongsa confirmed.

“The inscription has so far been kept at Tamon temple’s military headquarters, and we are now waiting for the order from our military officers,” he added.

Edited by Mr.Rasmey (Go For It)

Khmer Rouge tribunal Case 002 on show

Photo by: Sovan Philong

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Tuesday, 08 June 2010 15:00 Sovan Philong

Visitors walk through an exhibition of photographs, archival material and other documents pertaining to the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s second case on Monday. The exhibition, titled “Genocide: the Importance of Case 002”, opened at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum on Saturday.