The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

Domestic Trade: Poultry farms feel pinch of illegal imports

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Thursday, 10 June 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

The Cambodian Chicken Raisers Association says poultry farmers are struggling to sell their products because of rampant smuggling of eggs and chicken meat from other countries. Chhay Sok Huor, association president, said Tuesday that local farmers can’t improve sales unless unofficial imports from neighboring countries are stopped. At present, the association’s members, which include about 230 farmhouses, sell about 450,000 eggs and 30,000 chickens to local markets per day – a little less than half the total daily demand across Cambodia, he said. “We will be able to sell twice as many ... into local markets compared to what we are selling now if the authorities were able to prevent illegal import ... from abroad,” he said. Association figures show that some 500,000 eggs and 7 tonnes of chicken are unofficially imported from Vietnam and Thailand. Local farmers sell for average prices of 300 riels (US$0.07) to 350 riels per egg and 8,500 riels to 9,500 riels per kilogram of chicken, whereas imported products normally sell at 200 riels per egg and 8,000 riels per kilogram of chicken.

Child sex case: Swede’s appeal is postponed

Thursday, 10 June 2010 15:01 Kim Yuthana

Child sex case

The Appeal Court on Wednesday postponed a hearing in the case of a Swedish paedophile who in January received a six-and-a-half year sentence for having sex with his 9-year-old adopted son and two other boys. Judge Nhoung Thul said Johan Brahim Escori, who was 62 at the time of his conviction, had failed to appear at the court, and that the hearing would be rescheduled for August. He noted that all parties, including Escori, had been issued summonses for the hearing, but that only representatives of the Swedish embassy in Phnom Penh had appeared. Escori was arrested on May 7, 2009 at a hotel in Phnom Penh where he had been staying with his adopted son. The Municipal Court in January ordered him to may 4 million riels (US$955) in compensation, and ruled that he would be deported after serving his sentence. Neither his lawyer nor the prosecutor handling the case could be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Migrants: Men’s return from India pushed back

Thursday, 10 June 2010 15:02 Mom Kunthear

Migrants

The repatriation of eight Cambodian men believed to have been trafficked to India has been delayed after an organisation that has agreed to pay for their return flights requested more documentation, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Tuesday. Koy Kuong said earlier this week that they were due to return to Cambodia on Wednesday. He said Wednesday, though, that officials in India working for the International Organisation on Migration “need more information”, though he added that he did not expect the delay to be lengthy. “The sponsors for buying the plane tickets for those eight men in India need more information about those people from our embassy in India and the Indian authorities, so they have to suspend their return to Cambodia,” he said. The men are suspected to have struck a deal with a middleman in Cambodia that they thought would lead to jobs in Thailand, only to find themselves being transported to India unexpectedly. Bruno Maltoni, a project coordinator at the IOM in Phnom Penh, said Wednesday that he did not know when the men would be returned.

Témoignage de Mr Phim Pak un des propriétaires des Rizières près du borne 270.MPG

Cambodian farmer Phim Pak testifying about the potential loss of his rice field from the continuation of border posts planting in Anh-chanh village, Borey Chulsa district, Takeo province:

Land property titles issued by the Cambodian authority to Anh-chanh villagers:

Click on the border sketch above to zoom in

Cambodian Capital's Colonial Architecture Disappears

Robert Carmichael | Phnom Penh

09 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: VOA - Robert Carmichael
Cambodia's soon to be renovated Hotel le Royale, Phnom Penh, May 2010

Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, is in the midst of an architectual transformation. Most of the buildings in the relatively young city are only two or three stories tall. But now much of the city's century-old French colonial architecture is being demolished, to make way for modern high-rises.

The change is being driven Cambodia's dramatic economic growth over the past decade, creating jobs and new infrastructure to one of Asia's poorest countries. A robust economy also means that the capital's old French colonial architecture is being rapidly replaced with modern residential and office high-rises, altering the city's skyline.

Some architects and historians here say as many as 40 percent of the colonial buildings that survived decades of war and the brutal Khmer Rouge government have been demolished in the past 20 years.

VOA - Robert Carmichael
Signs of architectural transformation in Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh

Michel Verrot is a French architect Michel Verrot, a longtime Cambodian resident, heads the Heritage Mission, a French-funded project trying to preserve what remains of the architecture from 150-year-old French colonial period. Verrot explains that during France's rule, Phnom Penh was designed as a city of gardens, avenues and pleasing views -- now lost in the rush to modernity.

"What is happening is that all the views are becoming very, very disturbed, with things very, very different without any idea, without any global idea of the town development," said Verrot. "This is really today the most important problem. The second one is that everything is done without any general plan. We do the things one after one," Verrot said.

The Heritage Mission has mapped the architectural history of Phnom Penh, and has helped restore several buildings, including the iconic Central Market, which is a favorite with tourists.

And owners have restored a few commercial buildings, like the Hotel le Royal.

Verrot thinks the government has little interest in preserving old buildings. He says that is in part because the gem of Cambodian architecture - the temple complex of Angkor Wat - so dominates discourse that it leaves little space for other types of architecture.

But Cambodia's colonial architectural heritage is also part of the country's history, even if recalling that past can prove uncomfortable.

Cambodia's top culture ministry official Samraing Kimsan says his office's ability to preserve the city's architectual history is limited. The task is made more complicated, he adds, by the attitude of many Cambodians.

"They do not understand or do not love the traditional and old style of building," said Samraing Kimsan. "They do not understand."

Samraing Kimsan says the ministry struggles to educate people to value old buildings despite a lack of money in the budget to preserve historical structures. He adds, the French government has funded some preservation efforts, but that money may not last.

"Everywhere in Cambodia the provincial departments are all French colonialist buildings. So many old buildings are French buildings - (they) need to be restored. France has not much money," Samraing Kimsan said. "But the government needs to get money. But we are now on the way of development."

Samraing Kimsan himself seems less than enthusiastic about colonial buildings, describing them as windy, in need of air-conditioning, and expensive to restore. His preference is to develop a modern, Khmer-style architecture that marries the old with the new.

However, tourism is a key industry here in Cambodia, and the government is encouraging tourists to stay longer than the usual three days at Angkor Wat, in the town of Siem Reap. Verrot says preserving old buildings in Phnom Penh would fit with that aim. He and other preservation advocates also note that renovating old buildings has other benefits.

They say it is much cheaper to renovate than to rebuild. Renovation uses local materials, while new buildings require expensive imported steel and glass.

But the government does not see Phnom Penh as a heritage town, as it does Siem Reap. And critics say that means the focus for the capital is on modernity: glass and marble high-rise towers, as in other Southeast Asian cities, such as Bangkok.

The Conditions of the US$1.1 Billion Aid Require Hun Sen to Keep His Promise about Reforms and to Adhere to Policies of Transparency and Good Governance – Wednesday, 9.6.2010

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

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Posted on 10 June 2010

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 668

“Donors and aid organizations provide development aid to Cambodia because they want the Cambodian government to create mechanisms to fight corruption, effectively implementing an anti-corruption law. In 2010, Cambodia received pledges of US$1.1 billion of aid from donors, where Japan provides US$131 million, comparable to China that provides more than US$100 million. The third big donor is the United States of America that provides US$68 million, Germany more than US$65 million, and Australia more than US$61 million. Besides, the Asia Development Bank, the World Bank, and many other global institutions provide most of the rest of the aid amounting to US$352 million.

“Also, twelve organizations of the United Nations provide more than US$86 million, and European countries, including through the European Commission, provide more than US$255 million, among which Germany provides most with US$65 million.

“Besides the intention to see the government organize anti-corruption mechanisms, the donors and aid organizations as well as international financial institutions focus on the plans to maintain macro-economic stability and to reduce the poverty of Khmer citizens, by suggesting that increased aid efficiency is essential, and they hope that the Cambodian government will use the aid efficiently and transparently, to encourage economic growth. If Cambodia cannot achieve economic growth, poverty alleviation will be difficult. Therefore, the donors and aid organizations will step up their mechanisms to carefully monitor the use of aid.

“The country director of the World Bank in Cambodia called for concentration to strengthen the economic basis, like through the improvement of competitiveness and of the investment atmosphere, the provision of concession land that benefits the poor, solutions for citizens who lose their land, public administration reforms, and especially the improvement of transparent control and use of income from natural resources.

“The International Monetary Fund, an institution that provides technical assistance on finance and banking, suggested that the Cambodian government has to cut down the national deficit that increased by 6% in 2009 down to 5% by eliminating tax exemptions, though they are important to attract investors.

“Formerly, in order to attract investors to Cambodia, the government decided not to tax factories or enterprises newly opened during the first two or three years, depending on whether those factors or enterprises had gained profit or lost.

“Also, the representative of the European Union demanded the improvement of education quality and the promotion of primary education, fields which are still weak. He said that the number of people who cannot attend school is still high. Thus, the government has to ensure that boys and girls have equal opportunities to go to school, so as to increase educational opportunities for girls. And the government has to decrease the number of students that drop out from school.

“Not only in Cambodia, but also in other developing countries in the world, financial aid is crucial for the development of these countries.

“Among the more than 14 million Khmer citizens, about 4 million live under the poverty line. In 2006, Cambodia received more than US$700 million financial aid, and the figures keep increasing from year to year, where in 2010 the aid pledges increased to US$1.1 billion. Nevertheless, expert officials estimated that in 2011, the aid will decline to US$958 million and in 2012 to US$750 million.

“The opposition parties suggested to donors and aid organizations not to provide aid to the government, accusing the government of committing corruption, and the government does not use the aid properly. But the aid keeps rising anyway.

“It is good that the government is successful in trusting donors and aid organizations in its ruling. But what the government had promised is not just to satisfy the donors. The government must work on its weak points and should not arbitrarily react against criticisms. Particularly, it should be able to carry out its commitment to conduct public administrative and judicial reforms, to strengthen the transparent management of income from oil and gas resources, and to strengthen the effective implementation of the anti-corruption law.

“If the government can achieve success following its commitments, we believe that the aid to be provided in 2011 would be more than that in 2010.”

Khmer Amatak, Vol.11, #777, 9.6.2010

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Wednesday, 9 June 2010

Cambodian government suppressing film about murder, says director

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Bradley Cox accuses authorities of blocking screenings of investigative documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea?

Ben Child and agencies guardian.co.uk

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Show of hands ... Cambodian People's party leader Chea Sim (centre) prays at a ceremony on the widely criticised political group's 55th birthday. Photograph: Mak Remissa/EPA

A documentary about the unsolved murder of an influential Cambodian trade-union leader who fought for increased wages and improved working conditions has been banned by the country's government, according to its director.

Bradley Cox, a US film-maker working in the south-east Asian state, said the authorities had blocked all screenings of his film Who Killed Chea Vichea? over the past month. The 55-minute piece, which had its European debut at the Cannes film festival last month, does not accuse the Cambodian government of orchestrating the killing of a figure who was linked to the opposition Sam Rainsy party, but does deal with the subject of corruption within the impoverished country of 14 million people.

Vichea, leader of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was shot in the head and chest on the morning of 22 January 2004 as he waited at a newspaper stand in the capital, Phnom Penh. Cox was on the scene with a camera moments later and has been following the case ever since. Two men were tried for the murder and sentenced to 20 years each in prison, but both were provisionally released by the Cambodian supreme court last year and the case remains unsolved.

Cambodia is in theory a multi-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy, but the ruling Cambodian People's party has been accused by human rights groups and opposition lawyers of abusing its parliamentary majority to push through laws that limit freedom of expression.

"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," Rich Garella, one of the producers on the film and a former managing editor of The Cambodia Daily, told Reuters. Cox said: "I would encourage Cambodian government officials to practice what they preach."

Last month trade unionists attempted to screen the film at the very spot where Vichea was murdered, but riot police arrived swiftly to dismantle and seize the screens.

The Cambodian information minister, Khieu Kanharith, told Reuters that the documentary might have been banned "because it intends to accuse the government of murder". The authorities have reportedly labelled the film an illegal import and vowed to prevent screenings "wherever they are held".

Chinese businessmen visit Cambodia to seek investment opportunities

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June 09, 2010

A delegation of Chinese businessmen on Wednesday met with Cambodian business people for investment opportunities and local business partners, aimed at strengthening trade cooperation between the two countries.

The Chinese delegation, consisting of around 80 business people from 50 companies of Guangzhou, the capital city of China's Guangdong province, met with more than 100 Cambodian business people headed by Kith Meng, president of Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), on Wednesday at Naga World Hotel.

Yu Ruheng, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangzhou Council, said that trade volume between Guangzhou and Cambodia has increased by 1.8 percent to 3.78 million U.S. dollars in 2009 from 3.71 million U. S. dollars in 2008. In the first four months of this year, the two- way trade between Guangzhou and Cambodia rose by a year-on-year 46. 31 percent to 1.35 million U.S. dollars.

"This shows a very good surging point due to the strong relationship between Cambodia and China; However, the trade volume is still small, meaning that we have a lot of room to grow," he said. "I do hope that Guangzhou will be able to expand its trade volume for trade cooperation with many other ASEAN's countries including Cambodia to achieve the great outcome."

Goods Cambodia imported from Guangzhou are machinery, electronics, furniture, light products, medicine while Cambodia's main exports to Guangzhou are agricultural products, fishes, and timbers.

Yu Ruheng also promised to invite Cambodian companies to join all trade fairs in order to take market share in Guagzhou and other markets in China.

Kith Meng during the meeting said that it is the right time that they observed investment opportunities in Cambodia because now Cambodia has gained full peace and stability. And investment environment is favorable for investors, especially, Cambodia has low cost of labor.

"By combining China's experience in developing manufacturing industries, in combination with an increasingly reliable electricity supply and improved physical infrastructure here and relatively low cost labor force, Cambodia is the favorable place for Chinese investors," said Kith Meng.

Source: Xinhua

Premier Hun Sen Profits from Suppression and Aid

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By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, June 9, 2010 (IPS) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is savouring another victory. His latest triumph: a string of verdicts against an opposition lawmaker that has guaranteed him the liberty to insult women and get away with it.

His target, however, refuses to be silenced even after her latest showdown with Hun Sen, who celebrated 25 years as the South-east Asian country’s leader this year. Nor has she changed her views about the Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court’s decision against the outspoken parliamentarian in a bizarre case that also put the country’s judiciary on trial.

The superior court’s verdict on Jun. 3, including a fine of 16.5 million riels (4,000 U.S. dollars), was the third judicial ruling against the 54-year-old Mu Sochua. In August last year, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found the former minister of women’s affairs guilty of having insulted Hun Sen. In October 2009, she lost again following an attempt with the Court of Appeal.

"I will not pay the fine. They can confiscate my property. They can even take me to jail," a defiant Mu Sochua told IPS during a telephone interview from the Cambodian capital. "I think it is a serious mistake for the ruling party to push this case at a time when the country needs reform of the judiciary."

"The judges were under trial from the beginning," she observed of the case that began early last year, when she first filed a defamation case against Hun Sen. It followed a speech he had delivered in Khmer, where he referred to her as "cheung klang" (meaning "strong legs"), a demeaning term for women in the country.

But the powerful leader of the Cambodian People’s Party turned the tables on the parliamentarian from the Sam Rainsy Party. The ruling party stripped Mu Sochua of her parliamentary immunity to help Hun Sen file a counter defamation charge against her. Adding insult to injury, a court dismissed the defamation case Mu Sochua had first filed against the premier.

Hun Sen’s latest judicial triumph has broader implications in a country struggling to get back on its feet after a 1991 peace deal brought to an end decades of bloody conflict. The timing of the superior court’s verdict, in fact, has triggered questions about the role Western donors have in aiding Cambodia’s reconstruction.

On Jun. 3, while Hun Sen was celebrating the silencing of one of the country’s foremost champions of democracy, free speech and human rights, international donors pledged 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in aid for this year, up from last year’s 950 million dollars.

The largest aid package in Cambodia’s history came at the end of a two-day donor conference in Phnom Penh, lifting the pressure on the Hun Sen administration to push ahead with five areas of reform. Three areas spelled out in 2004 by donors included changes to fight corruption and increase accountability, legal and judicial reform and protection of human rights and public administration reform.

That little had changed over the years was highlighted by a coalition of non- governmental organisation (NGOs) on the eve of this month’s donor meeting. "Serious actions, such as court convictions of corruption cases, remain selective or are limited within certain political considerations," stated the NGO Forum on Cambodia.

The financial windfall for the Cambodian regime – despite a record of defamation lawsuits against opposition parliamentarians, intimidation of the media, a growing list of corruption scandals in the natural resources sector and stripping the environment for private profit – has disheartened civil society groups.

"All the talk by donors about strengthening democracy and human rights in Cambodia is just words; it is not meaningful," said Hang Chhaya, executive director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy, which seeks to champion democratic values in the South-east Asian state. "The Mu Sochua verdict was a slap on the face of freedom of speech."

There is a growing belief that Hun Sen’s ability to get away with bullying his opponents while being propped up by the donor community has more to do with China’s spreading influence in Cambodia.

Beijing’s 1.2 billion dollar package in aid and soft loans to Cambodia in December last year confirmed the battle for influence being waged in a country where one-third lives in absolute poverty.

China gave Cambodia the funds shortly after Phnom Penh deported 20 Uighur refugees from Xingjian, a province in north-west China. Both the United Nations and the United States criticised the expulsion, saying it violated international refugee law.

The Uighurs belong to a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority in China.

"The donors have taken into account China’s economic role in Cambodia," said Ou Virak, head of the Phnom-Penh based Cambodia Centre for Human Rights. "There is a lot of self interest at play."

Some analysts admit that Cambodia’s international donors, who include Japan, Australia, the United States and the World Bank, fear that if they walk away, China will consolidate its control, leaving Western donors "little influence."

Such an act would be deeply embarrassing for the donors for another reason. "Cambodia has become the poster child of post-conflict reconstruction since the 1991 Paris Peace Accords," said Shalmali Guttal, senior researcher for Focus on the Global South, a Bangkok-based regional think tank. "Donors couldn’t abandon it now for that would mean admitting failure."

"The Mu Sochua case reveals the lengths they are prepared to go," noted Guttal. "The donors are willing to stamp on their own benchmarks for reform in order to be in the game in Cambodia."

The Cambodian Military: Open for Corporate Sponsors

Members of the Cambodian military take part in a parade on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Oct. 13, 2009. Chor Sokunthea / Reuters

By Brendan Brady / Phnom Penh

Wednesday, Jun. 09, 2010

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A land dispute in March between a sugar-plantation developer and a small community in the province of Kampong Speu motivated military police stationed nearby to spring into action, ostensibly in order to prevent an eruption of violence. It didn't take long, though, for the villagers to view the supposed peacekeepers as intimidators.

It wasn't the first time military personnel were seen as supporting the business interests of Ly Yong Phat, a prominent developer and Senator with the country's ruling party. Last October in the province of Oddar Meanchey, 100 families were driven off their land by members of an infantry brigade stationed in the area. They were moved to make way for another Ly plantation, according to the local rights group Licadho. Now that Ly's businesses will be officially sponsoring both of these military units following a new government initiative, says Licadho's Mathieu Pellerin, "it looks like a job-well-done payback."

At the end of February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen kicked off a program creating partnerships in which businesses would provide donations for particular units of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. The government has framed the initiative, which involves some 60 pairings, as facilitating the magnanimous inclination of corporations operating in Cambodia to support the welfare of the country's troops. Observers, however, caution that the program will ultimately serve to further enmesh the country's powerbrokers — political, military and business — into a network to serve their mutual interests and ensure everyone's allegiance to the ruling party.

The Cambodian military regularly guards large-scale private land concessions across the country, according to rights groups, and has been used to evict the rural poor for business developments. Hun Sen's new policy, says U.S.-based watchdog group Global Witness, is a step toward formalizing that process. "Global Witness has documented links between Cambodia's military and powerful business tycoons for many years now, so the relationships are not new," says Eleanor Nichol, a campaigner with the group, which was expelled from Cambodia in 2007 after publishing a report, fervently refuted by the government, that linked prominent officials in the government, military and business community with the illegal logging trade. "This latest move ... to officially sanction these partnerships is particularly shocking because it legitimizes a guns-for-hire scenario."

The government and companies participating in the new patronage program reject claims that the partnerships could lead to improprieties. Ly Yong Phat says his involvement in the program is to compensate for the military's lack of funding for troops' basic needs. Corporate support, according to a government memo, will "solve the dire situation of the armed forces, police, military police and their families through a culture of sharing." The government has responded to criticisms by specifying that donations would likely come in the form of food and shelter.

The program has confounded regional security experts. "It's not unusual in militarized states like Iran, Yemen, Turkey and Vietnam for the army to own and run corporations, but the direct corporate sponsorship of active-duty units is something new and very worrying," says John Harrison, a security expert based in Singapore. The only country in the region that comes close to having a similar system is Indonesia, says Carlyle Thayer, a professor of Asian security affairs at Australia's University of New South Wales. Like Cambodia, Indonesia has a long history of blurred lines between military and political power. For years, Indonesia has used "foundations" to collect donations from the private sector to compensate for shortages in public military funding. While some of the money has been used for its intended purpose of supporting military families, the system has promoted alliances between the Indonesian army and companies wherein donations are exchanged for "mafia-like" criminal services, according to Human Rights Watch.

Cambodia's army-sponsorship initiative goes against the grain of business divestment in the militaries of China and Vietnam, says Thayer. Citing a need to bolster security preparedness in the army, the Chinese government in 1998 forced its entrepreneurial army to sell off the majority of its investments and compensated the subsequent revenue shortfall by increasing defense spending. Two years ago, Vietnam called for a similar plan in the name of army discipline. "Cambodia should heed [those] lessons," says Thayer.

But unlike China and Vietnam, where booming economic growth helped bolster state funding for the military, Cambodia's army is badly strapped for cash. The problem is exacerbated by the deployment of large numbers of troops along the border with Thailand, as the two countries continue to engage in a protracted border-demarcation dispute. Even though the corporate donations are ostensibly voluntary, organizing official partnerships raises questions about the pressures companies will face to participate — and what benefits will be extended, or denied, to them based on their contributions. The end result, warn a litany of local and international rights groups, could be a cash-driven race to the top among companies vying for government favor, matched by a race to the bottom in state support of laypeople involved in rows with influential corporations.

Observers have also raised concerns that the initiative could further skew Cambodia's political landscape, which has seen a dramatic consolidation of power by the ruling Cambodian People's Party over the past decade. "In times of need, the public in many countries will spontaneously support their military ... Cambodia's new program is something very different," says Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore. By soliciting funds for the army, the government can position itself to arouse nationalist fervor that will, in turn, translate into support for its political backer: the ruling party itself.

Washington Bronze Exhibit Draws Thousands

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

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On the metro platform, in Washington DC, a billboard highlights the “Gods of Angkor” exhibit.

“I want to go to Cambodia,” she said, “and once I am there, I will take my family to see Angkor Wat temple.”

For thousands of visitors at the Freer and Sackler Gallery in Washington, 36 bronze masterpieces from Cambodia’s National Museum offer a rare look the richness of an ancient culture.

The exhibit, called “Gods of Angkor,” is the first of its kind in Washington—a show of all Cambodian works, explained curator Louise Cort. “We think this is the first exhibition of its kind in the United States.”

The bronze works have been on display since the middle of May and will remain here until January 2011, before moving to the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Some of the bronzes date back to pre-Angkorian time, others from the Angkorian period. The 36 represent a small fraction of the 7,000 pieces housed at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

“We wanted a small exhibition because we wanted people not to be overwhelmed by the number of things,” Cort told VOA Khmer in a recent interview. “We want them to be able to walk in and look carefully at each piece, one at a time, and find the piece they like the best and be able to look at it slowly and really carefully.”

The bronze works come from Buddhist and Hindu periods and are placed in three linked galleries.

Displays in the first gallery include a decorated urn and a bell, both of which were rare and highly valued items traded over long distances in Southeast Asia. Also include here are statues of a crowned Buddha, the elephant-headed Ganesha and a kneeling woman.

The second gallery is dedicated to the evolution of bronze styles within Khmer culture. Buddhist sculptures from the pre-Angkorian 6th to 8th centuries demonstrate early Khmer adaptations of Indian prototypes. Here too are seven diverse figures unearthed together in 2006 that reveal a dynamic interaction of early bronze sculptors.

The third gallery shows the distinctly Angkorian style that evolved from the 11th to 14th centuries. Objects here include a crowned naga-headed Buddha, Hindu sculptures and ritual objects such as an incense burner, lamp and rice ladle.

“These sculptures are beautiful,” said Drew Hoster, a US foreign service trainee who visited the exhibit. “I am happy that American people are able to see them.

Michelle Bennett, another visitor, said she was very interested in Cambodian culture.

“I want to go to Cambodia,” she said, “and once I am there, I will take my family to see Angkor Wat temple.”

Lisa Kalajian, who’s next job posting will be in Cambodia, said she was happy to see sculptures in the US.

“When I go to work in Cambodia, I will go to Angkor Wat temple and take my family there too,” she said.

Several events will also accompany the exhibit. The Cambodian-American composer Ung Chinary, who performed for the exhibit’s first week, is scheduled for another performance in August.

And experts like John Guy, who specializes in the study of South and Southeast Asian art, are holding a series of lectures.

Following a lecture on Saturday, Guy told VOA Khmer the bronzes were sometimes used in religious ceremonies, but they could also be part of daily life, representing wealth and power for the elite.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Freer and Sackler Gallery, which is known for featuring Asian art and culture, and Cambodia’s National Museum.

“We want people to be able to come here and have a more personal feeling of connection to the cultures of Asia,” Cort said. “We want to help introduce some to that half of the world and all the cultures that are in it.”

And, for those that miss the show or want to repeat it, there is a 160-page illustrated catalogue.

Vietnam Denies Claims of Encroachment

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

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Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, left, and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen take part in a welcome ceremony after Dung's arrival in Phnom Penh.

“Saying that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian land is fully fabricated, baseless and deliberately ill-minded."

Vietnamese officials strongly denied any border encroachment with Cambodia on Tuesday, calling claims by opposition leader Sam Rainsy “fully fabricated” and “ill-minded.”

Sam Rainsy has posted a map on his party’s website claiming the current demarcation process is allowing the loss of Cambodian land, a delicate political topic in Cambodia. He is facing criminal charges as a result.

Sam Rainsy remains in exile and is already facing two years in jail on charges related to uprooting border markers in Svay Rieng province in 2009. He is currently in the US to build political support for his party and recently gave a talk in Seattle, where he claimed Vietnamese encroachment was swallowing Cambodian land.

A statement from the Vietnamese government sent to VOA Khmer said the two governments are currently in the process of marking the borders according to agreements from 1985 and 2005 through a joint border committee.

“Saying that Vietnam is encroaching on Cambodian land is fully fabricated, baseless and deliberately ill-minded,” the Vietnamese government said.

The statement also denied claims that Sam Rainsy was being prosecuted at the behest of the Vietnamese government.

“Sam Rainsy is being tried by the Cambodian court for his violation of Cambodian law, and this has no relation with Vietnam,” it said.

‘Effective’ Tribunal Crucial for Donor Support: Expert

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

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Photo: AP
In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, judges for Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal and officers stand up before a session of Kaing Guek Eav.

"The most important factor for the court in raising needed funds is to demonstrate that it is operating effectively and efficiently and meeting the goals it was set up to accomplish."

Editor’s note: International donors recently nearly $17 million to extend the operations of the Khmer Rouge tribunal through the rest of the year. That money falls well short of the $85 million requested by tribunal officials for 2010 and 2011, and it comes as the Cambodian side of the UN-backed court faces dire financial straights. Heather Ryan, a tribunal monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, discussed the court’s current situation with VOA Khmer by phone.

Based on your understanding, why did the donors offer so little money for the tribunal?

It is difficult to know what impacts the decisions of donors. Changing political or financial situations of some donor states may have affected their contributions. It is important to remember that a single donor conference does not represent what donors will give throughout the year. Additional states may well make pledges to the court later in the year, and some donors may make additional contributions.

The most important factor for the court in raising needed funds is to demonstrate that it is operating effectively and efficiently and meeting the goals it was set up to accomplish. In that regard the court must strive to demonstrate that it is operating independently and that its work is accessible the people of Cambodia.

Some observers say further cases beyond the two the tribunal is currently dealing with would provide a greater sense of justice for Cambodians, especially because the currently detained leaders have remained silent. What do you think?

It is important that the court begin active investigation of cases 003 and 004 if it is to demonstrate that it is operating efficiently and independently. Cases 003 and 004 may well be important to giving Cambodians a fuller understanding of what happened during the Khmer Rouge period, as they may involve accused persons who are "most responsible" for atrocities but who operated at a different level than the senior leaders in Case 002. The international prosecutor obviously believed they were important and serious cases when he submitted them for formal investigation. The investigating judges now have a responsibility to fully process the cases and follow the evidence to determine if arrests and formal charges are appropriate.

There has been a delay in getting in a UN legal expert for the tribunal. What are the consequences of this delay?

The delay in the appointment of a UN legal expert is troubling for several reasons. Such an expert is needed immediately to assist in raising essential funds for the court, deal with questions about political interference with the prosecutorial and judicial processes, and to ensure that the court moves forward at an acceptable pace. Each is a pressing problem and the longer the UN delays in effectively dealing with them, the more difficult they will be to solve.

How will that affect victims, especially civil party applications for the court, if the court limits the scope of its investigation?

The broader the investigations done by the court, the greater the opportunities for victims to participate as civil parties and to understand the details of what happened during the Khmer Rouge period in all parts of Cambodia. An investigation in cases 003 and 004 will likely broaden the scope of the court’s overall investigation of Khmer Rouge crimes and provide more meaningful information and justice to victims.

Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, is expected to hear a verdict in his trial on July 26. What would a reasonable sentence be according to international standards or other courts, considering many victims want him to serve a life sentence?

If the trial judges find Duch guilty of crimes, they have wide discretion in deciding on a sentence. They can assess a sentence of between five years and life in prison under the [tribunal] law. The judges will have to consider many factors, including the gravity of the crimes, the nature of any remorse of Duch and the fact that he was illegally held in detention for many years, in deciding on an appropriate sentence. They will likely explain the reasoning for the sentence they decide on in the final judgment. Other international tribunals have typically given the most severe sentences to the highest-level perpetrators and slightly shorter sentences to lower-level perpetrators. The goal of the judges is to find a sentence that seems just under all the circumstances of the case.

Victims are also looking for compensation. What kind of compensation would be fair? And has the tribunal done enough to seek compensation?

The rules of the [tribunal] are very restrictive on what reparations civil parties can seek. Victims who are civil parties are not entitled to financial compensation from the accused person or from the court. The court’s rules only allow it to award “collective and moral reparations” in the Duch case. Examples of such reparations in the rules of the court include an order to the accused to, one, publish the judgment in a newspaper; and, two, fund a non-profit activity that benefits victims.

In ‘Khmeropedies,’ an Exercise of Cambodian Dance Style

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Photo: Courtesy of Amrita Performing Arts
Choreographer Emmanuelle Phuong, dancers Chey Cankethea and Phon Sopheap, at the rehearsals of Khmeropédies II.

"The main purpose of Khmeropedies is to share my experience as a dancer in the West, a very different technique with Cambodian classical dancers, and see if they can live together."

Amrita Performing Arts is scheduled to perform at the Howard Gilman Performance Space Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City later this month, as it bring a new contemporary dance method to the US.

Amrita performers will first bring Khmeropedies One and Two to the Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven Connecticut from June 16 to June 19, followed by four performances at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York from June 24 to June 26.

The performers in Khmeropedies are trained in Khmer classical dance and represent the next generation of Cambodian creativity. Contemporary Khmer dance is a brand new discipline that had to look abroad for its initial performance. Khmeropedies I was performed in New York in April 2007 at the Baryshnikov Art Center.

Emmanuele Phuon, the main choreographer, is a French-Cambodian who lives in Brussels. She started training with the Royal Ballet of Cambodia at age 5. In 1975 she moved to Bangkok with her mother and then to Avignon, France. She studied and graduated from the Conservatoire National de Dance in 1986. In 1987, Phuon went to New York and has performed with the Elisa Monte Dance Company and the Baryshnikov White Oak Dance Project.

“The main purpose of Khmeropedies is to share my experience as a dancer in the West, a very different technique with Cambodian classical dancers, and see if they can live together,” she told VOA Khmer.

“Khmeropedies is a play between the words Khmer and Gymnopedies, a reference to a French composer and pianist in 1887, and could mean an exercise in Khmer style,” she said.

Phuon said the basic idea for the work was to take Khmer classical dance and apply it in different ways and to different themes and to push it as far as possible from its original form while keeping it recognizable.

Chey Chankethya, one of Cambodia’s best classical dancers, said Cambodia artists need to take part in festivals and other environments to develop their art.

“To me the Khmeropedies, a contemporary piece of work, is not just only about showing movement or beauty of the dance, but it reveals a new Cambodian thought,” she said. “The dance piece is able to tell the audience exactly how the traditional Cambodian dance transforms over time and how one culture acts together with others.”

Part Two of Khmeropedies is about the dialogue between an older star dancer and teacher, Sam Sathya, who is rooted in traditions, and her three young students, who are curious and want to experiment with other techniques.

The four performers in Khmeropedies are Sam Sathya, Chumvan Sodhachivy, Chey Chankethya and Phon Sopheab.

Chumvan Sodhachivy, a solo star in Khmeropedies I, began training in Cambodian classical dance in 1994. She was trained specifically in Neay Rong, the male role, folk dance and Sbek Thom, large shadow puppetry. She participated in many dance festivals and has participated in numerous workshops with international artists from India, Indonesia, the US and the World Dance Alliance.

“I think it is a great opportunity to bring the new face of Cambodian dance to US audiences who mostly have only experienced Cambodian classical dance,” she said. “It is important to share with the rest of the world the cultural transformation taking place in Cambodia.”

Groups Want Donor Money Well Spent

Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Wednesday, 09 June 2010

via Khmer NZ News Media

Donors meet with Cambodian government officials in Phnom Penh

“The development made by the government has yet to satisfy people."

With $1.1 billion in funding pledged by donors last week, the leader of Cambodia’s minority opposition party and the head of a leading non-government agency say the money should be watched closely to ensure it helps the country’s poor.

Ahead of a two-day meeting last week, members of the development community put forward their own proposals for spending the money, including increased reform of the judiciary, the proper implementation of current laws and protection of the indigenous.

Sin Somuny, executive director of Medicam, which provides healthcare assistance to the country, told “Hello VOA” on Monday that in order to meet such goals, “the right to access to information for local communities is needed.”

Asked whether the aid money will help reduce poverty—a key goal of the government—Sin Somuny said it would depend on the effective use of the money for development.

Last week’s cumulative aid pledge represented yet another increase in money, but Kem Sokha, president of the Human Rights Party, told “Hello VOA” there has been little change in the country’s development.

Human resources, health and agriculture are all major sectors that need attention, he said, so that the impoverished can benefit from the aid money.

“The development made by the government has yet to satisfy people,” Kem Sokha said. “Compared with a few years ago, it is a bit better, but many problems remain.”

MOU Signed Between Cambodia and India in Water Sector

http://pib.nic.in/

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between Cambodia and India at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, today in water sector. The MoU will pave way for preparation of technically sound and economically sustainable projects with expert manpower availability and experience of Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) in diverse climatic and geographic conditions. The MoU was signed during the visit of Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister for Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs on a three day visit of Cambodia since 7th of this month. This visit is a follow-up of Agreement signed between Royal Government of Cambodia and Government of India in December, 2007 for cooperation in water sector. This visit will also strengthen bilateral cooperation between India and Cambodia, Shri Bansal said. He visited project sites of WAPCOS Ltd, a Government of India Undertaking under Ministry of Water Resources, which is undertaking projects related to Water Resources and Power Development in Cambodia.

Shri Bansal met Mr. Lim Kean, Minister for Water Resources and Meteorology, Royal Government of Cambodia at Phnom Penh. During the meeting the Minister observed that bilateral cooperation between India and Cambodia dates back to early seventies when the Tonlesap Multipurpose project was taken up. He pointed out the historical and cultural similarities between the two nations. The Minister also referred about the achievements made by India in water sector since Independence.

The Minister for Water Resources and Meteorology, Royal Government of Cambodia thanked the Government of India for providing the Lines of Credit to Cambodia in water sector. He talked about the greater role India can play in the global economy in the times to come. He also appreciated the technological and economic advancement made by India. The Minister requested for sanction of line of credit from India for two irrigation projects namely Stung Svaslab and Stung Kliet for ensuring water security in the project area and sanction of grant from India for Water Resources Planning study in Siem Reap area for proper utilization of Water Resources in Angkor Region and for Ground Water Mapping in Cambodia for Utilization and Recharge of ground water aquifers.

Mr. Bun Hean, Secretary of State, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, Royal Government of Cambodia and Mr. R. K. Gupta, Chairman Cum Managing Director, WAPCOS Ltd, for cooperation in Water Resources Management signed the MOU in the presence of both the Ministers and Shri. R.K. Sachdeva, Ambassador of India in Cambodia. The visit will strengthen Indo-Cambodia relationship.

Vietnam and Cambodia speed up border marker planting

via Khmer NZ News Media

June 9, 2010

Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to complete the planting of markers along their common border by the end of 2012.

The agreement was reached during a two-day meeting between the chairmen of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Border Demarcation and Marker Planting and the Head of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Committee on Border Demarcation and Marker Planting.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Ho Xuan Son, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the National Border Committee and the Cambodian delegation was headed by Var Kim Hong, Senior Minister in charge of border affairs.

At the meeting, which concluded in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh on June 8, the two sides reviewed the progress on marker planting over the past time while comparing notes on measures to speed up the mission.

They reached an agreement to organise a meeting on maker planting in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho in mid July and another meeting of a mapping group in Phnom Penh in late June 2010.

They also agreed to early set up a set of maps of border terrain between the two countries through an international bidding and to organise the next meeting in Vietnam in September. (VNA)

Investigators' spat reveals more divisions at Khmer Rouge tribunal

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

via Khmer NZ News Media

Jun 9, 2010

Phnom Penh - Further divisions in Cambodia's war crimes tribunal came to light Wednesday after its two senior investigators openly disagreed on when to proceed with cases against five new suspects.

The hybrid UN-Cambodian court, which is tasked with trying those responsible for Khmer Rouge-era crimes, has a dual structure in which local and foreign staff fill equal positions in each of the court's operational areas.

Documents released Wednesday showed Cambodian investigating judge You Bunleng reversed an earlier agreement with his international counterpart to start investigations into the five suspects, none of whom has been named by the court.

Court spokesman Lars Olsen said tribunal rules meant international investigating judge Marcel Lemonde would proceed alone.

'The international investigating judge will go ahead by himself and start the investigation,' Olsen said.

In his memorandum to Lemonde, You Bunleng said he had changed his mind after taking into account several factors, including the state of Cambodia's society.

That echoed comments made by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has argued that the prosecutions could lead to civil war. His weighing-in on the tribunal led to accusations of political interference.

You Bunleng told his international counterpart that they could discuss the issue in September once formal notices to prosecute four ageing Khmer Rouge leaders now in custody were issued.

Youk Chhang - who heads DC-Cam, an archive of material relating to the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge - said he was encouraged that You Bunleng had not ruled out investigating the new cases.

'The good news is that he is not saying no,' Youk Chhang said in reference to fears that political pressure could stop those cases.

Judgement in the tribunal's first case - that of the former head of the S-21 prison, Comrade Duch - was scheduled for July 26. Duch was prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the deaths of more than 12,000 people who entered S-21 in Phnom Penh.

The four surviving senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge are in detention for their alleged involvement in the deaths of 1.7 million people. Their trials were expected to begin early next year.

The four are: former Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue; former head of state Khieu Samphan; former foreign minister Ieng Sary; and his wife, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith.

Around 1.7 million people are thought to have died from execution, disease, starvation and overwork during the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia. Its leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998 on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Binh Dinh launched new Vietnam-Cambodia border marker

via Khmer NZ News Media

06/09/2010

The launch ceremony for the Vietnam-Cambodia border marker No. 241 was jointly held on June 9 by the An Giang Provincial People’s Committee and Cambodian authorities from Kandal province.

The border marker, located at the Tien River International Border Gate in the southern province of An Giang, is the starting point of the border line between An Giang and Kandal.

After one year of construction, border marker No. 241 has been completed, covering an area of 3,600m2. It was made from an entire granite stone to a design approved by both governments.

Both the Tien River and Kaomsamno International Border Gates are the most dynamic and developed among the two countries’ border gates. Their export revenue accounts for 65 percent of the total Vietnamese export earnings from all of the two countries’ border gates.

China Buys Cambodia

http://www.strategypage.com/

via Khmer NZ News Media

June 9, 2010: China is developing (or buying) close ties with Cambodia. This month, China will deliver 257 brand new military trucks to Cambodia, along with 50,000 military uniforms. This sort of charity is needed because Cambodia has never really recovered from its disastrous experiment in communist government (the Khmer Rouge) in the 1970s. That killed off 15 percent of the population (including nearly all the ethnic Chinese community) and trashed the economy. China supported that Khmer Rouge (as fellow communists), but Khmer Rouge aggression against Vietnam resulted in Vietnam invading in 1979 and deposing the Khmer Rouge. But as the decades went by, former Khmer Rouge officials got back in power, and China made nice.

China aspires to be a world power. It's understood that China cannot do this alone. Even the mighty United States has allies it depends on. Who can China depend on? Not a lot. In fact, China has a rather disturbing roster of friends. There's Pakistan, a corrupt nation, always on the verge of falling apart and one of the few remaining sanctuaries for Islamic terrorists. China is also cozy with North Korea, Iran and Myanmar, pariah nations all.

So China has been forced to improvise. This has resulted in uniting the search for allies, with business opportunities, China embraces countries willing to do business (especially if they have needed raw materials), no matter what their international reputation. As a result, China has made friends with some of the most unsavory states of Africa. China is nonplussed by Western disdain at this behavior. It's business, and the outcast states have few nations they can do business with. That cuts down on the competition. Operating conditions are less than ideal, but the Chinese are accustomed to dealing with corruption and criminal gangs. It's really a good fit.

China played on these friendships last year to get Cambodia to expel twenty Chinese citizens (ethnic Turks, or Uighurs) suspected of participating in recent ethnic violence, and sending them back to China. China does not want the separatist minded Uighurs setting up operations outside China, and is using all its diplomatic clout to extradite wanted Chinese citizens from foreign sanctuaries. The United States, and the UN, protested this move. The U.S. went further, and cancelled a promised shipment of free military trucks two months ago. China then stepped up with replacements, along with a $1.2 aid package of grants and loans. Cambodians feel much better about China these days.

Cambodian draft law on unions worries labour leader

via Khmer NZ News Media

Wed Jun 9, 2010

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia is drafting a law to regulate trade unions and defend the interests of workers and employers, a government official said on Wednesday, but a workers' leader said the law would interfere in unions' business.

Relations have at times been strained over recent years between a government trying to attract foreign investment and develop a fledgling industrial sector and workers' groups intent on supporting their members.

"We have created this law as part of the contribution to build the country as a state with rule of law," Oum Mean, secretary of state at the Labour Ministry, told Reuters.

Cambodia, still dealing with the legacy of decades of conflict including the communist Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" rule, has a predominantly agricultural economy but sectors such as garments and tourism are becoming increasingly important.

The law on trade unions aims "to provide for the rights of workers and employers to establish and join respective professional organisations as the basis of harmonious industrial relations," according to a copy of the draft bill.

It would guarantee the right to collective bargaining between workers and employers, enhance industrial relations and ensure employment and national development, it states.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, at times criticised by his opponents and chided by foreign backers over restrictions on political freedom, proposed the bill in April, Oum Mean said, adding the draft would be made public for discussion.

But Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodia Confederation of Unions, said the law would interfere with the rights of labour groups and benefit the government.

"It is a restriction," said Rong Chhun, whose confederation is made up of about 90,000 members of the Free Trade Union and the Cambodia Independent Teachers Association.

In particular, Rong Chhun said he took issue with a requirement that unions report their financial situation to the government every year.

"The ministry will interfere a lot in unions' work," Rong Chhun told Reuters, saying those who donated to unions should know how their money was being spent, not the government.

A union could be suspended if it was late in submitting its financial report, he said. The bill also makes union leaders legally responsible if strikes turn violent, with punishment including possible prison terms and suspension of the union.

"Unions which really serve workers' interests will face problems," Rong Chhun said.

Oum Mean dismissed such concerns.

Last week, one of Cambodia's biggest unions threatened to organise a garment workers' strike to demand an increase in the minimum wage.

An influential trade union leader, Chea Vichea, was shot dead on a street in Phnom Penh in 2004. His killing is unsolved.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

French man sentenced in Cambodia

via Khmer NZ News Media

June 9, 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A French tourist has been sentenced to seven months in prison for sex with a 15-year-old Cambodian prostitute.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court Wednesday convicted Olivier Madrieres, 48, for soliciting sex from a child prostitute and reduced an initial two-year prison term to seven months. He was also ordered to pay 3 million riel ($715) as compensation to the victim's family.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and corruption in law enforcement. But the country's police and courts have stepped up action against sex offenders in recent years.

Cambodia bans US assassination documentary film

A woman burns incense and prays in front of a portrait of Chea Vichea, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia, to mark the fifth anniversary of his death in Phnom Penh January 22, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Chor Sokunthea

WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?: The US documentary has been banned in the country which it criticises.

via Khmer NZ News Media

Reuters

Last updated 09/06/2010

The Cambodian government has banned a documentary about the unsolved 2004 assassination of influential trade union leader Chea Vichea, according to the film's US director Bradley Cox.

Cox said the government has blocked any screenings of Who Killed Chea Vichea? over the past month - the first banning of a politically charged film since the 1980s in Cambodia which is widely criticised for restrictions on political freedoms.

The movie had its European premiere at the Cannes independent film festival last month and has been put by Amnesty International's on its list of the Top Ten Movies That Matter.

Cox said trade unionists tried to show the movie on May 10 at the spot where Vichea was killed to mark International Labour Day but police raided the location, leading to a declaration by the government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, that the movie was an illegal import.

"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 producers of the Loud Mouth Film movie, and a former managing editor of The Cambodia Daily.

"I would encourage Cambodian government officials to practice what they preach," said Cox in a statement.

Cambodian Information Minister and the top government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said he was not fully aware of the reasons for the ban but in part it was because the documentary intended to blame his government of Vichea's murder.

"It might have been that the documentary intends to accuse the government of murder," Khieu Kanharith told Reuters.

The 55-minute documentary asks the question who killed Chea Vichea but does not give the answer. It does, however, look at corruption within the impoverished Southeast Asian country.

The banning of the film comes as the ruling Cambodian People's Party is accused by rights groups and opposition lawmakers of abusing its parliamentary majority to push through laws that limit freedom of expression.

Cambodia passed legislation last year tightening defamation laws and outlawing public protests by more than 200 people which donors said were moves to stifle criticism of the ruling party.

Vichea, the leader of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia with close links to the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, was shot in the head and chest in the morning of January 22, 2004, at a newspaper kiosk in the capital Phnom Penh.

Cox was on the scene with his camera just moments after the shooting and conducted his own investigation over the next five years.

Two men were arrested days within days and sentenced to 20 years in prison each but in 2008 Cambodian authorities reopened the case and the two men were provisionally released by the Supreme Court in January 2009.

No betting on WC, Cambodia cops warn citizens

via Khmer NZ News Media

2010/06/09

CAMBODIAN authorities have warned that they will arrest anyone trying to bet on the upcoming World Cup football tournament.

Phnom Penh’s police chief Touch Naruth said the announcement fits with a ban on all forms of gambling decreed by Prime Minister Hun Sen in February 2009.

“We know that some countries in the world allow betting on the World Cup, but Cambodia will not allow it,” he said.

The government last year outlawed all forms of gambling by Cambodians citing a link between the practice and a perceived decline in moral standards. — Sapa-DPA