Thailand lobbies to stall Cambodia's temple plan

via Khmer NZ

The Nation (Thailand)

Publication Date : 30-07-2010

Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts on Thursday (July 29) to block Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple management plan from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.

Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.

At press time Thursday night, the World Heritage Committee had not yet considered the plan and Suwit hoped the committee would delay considering it for another year.

Thailand and Cambodia were once again at loggerheads over the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear when Cambodia submitted its management plan to run the world heritage-designated temple.

Unesco's World Heritage Committee is holding its annual meeting in Brasilia.

Preah Vihear has been inscribed on the world heritage list since July 2008 and Cambodia was obligated to submit for consideration its management plan for the temple.

Thailand expressed its concern over the plan, fearing Cambodia might make the disputed areas adjacent to the temple a buffer zone.

The Cambodian plan does not include areas to the north and the west of the temple, which are the subject of a border dispute with Thailand, according to a source close to the meeting.

At a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on the sidelines of the World Heritage Committee meeting, Suwit raised his concern that the area to the east of the temple, which is the core zone for the listed property, is also under Thai sovereignty.

The Thai Cabinet, after the ruling by the International Court of Justice in 1962, had relinquished the eastern area to Preah Vihear. However, Thai officials at the meeting in Brazil yesterday insisted that the area remained under Thai sovereignty.

Cambodia rejected the Thai claim and the meeting between Suwit and Sok An failed to find any common ground.

Meanwhile, Suwit prepared measures to respond to the Unesco and World Heritage Committee's decision. He was lobbying to have consideration of the plan delayed for at least one year. If the lobbying efforts failed, Suwit planned to issue a statement of protest, objecting to the temple management plan.

The protest statement for the records would state that Thailand would never recognise Cambodia's right over the Preah Vihear temple, the source said.

As a final option, Thailand might withdraw its membership from the World Heritage Committee, he said.

Cambodia said Thailand's move would harm its international reputation, as the objection to the Preah Vihear plan was an attempt by the Thai government and its extremist alliance to spoil the good relations between the two countries.

"Cambodia doesn't care at all about the objection," Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, was quoted as saying by The Phnom Penh Post.

The Cambodian government's spokesman, Phay Siphan, said the so-called overlapping area of 4.6 square kilometres adjacent to the Preah Vihear as claimed by Thailand was based on a unilaterally produced map but the Cambodian claim was based on the 1908 Siam-Franco map.

"Thailand's falsified establishment of the map to claim the area is an international crime," he said.

"Now Thailand's policy is, if they get nothing, they want to co-manage the eco-management."

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the management plan of Preah Vihear should not be approved until Thailand and Cambodia have settled the border dispute over the areas surrounding the temple.

The Joint Boundary Committee of the two countries is now in the process of negotiating the boundary demarcation but its work has made little progress.

Abhisit said that ideally all problems could be settled if Cambodia allowed Thailand to propose the Preah Vihear jointly as a World Heritage Site.

Thousands of pro-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members gathered in front of the Unesco regional office in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road Thursday night, waiting for the World Heritage Committee's decision on the Cambodian plan.

The PAD is a strong pressure group that is forcing the government to oppose the Cambodian plan over fear of losing territory.

Suthep: No tension along the border

via Khmer NZ

Published: 30/07/2010

The Thai-Cambodia border area remains quiet even though the World Heritage Committee has postponed its consideration of Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple to next year’s meeting in Bahrain, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said.

“There is nothing to worry about. Thai people should not panic as the government has a clear-cut guideline to settle the border dispute with our neighbour by peaceful means,” Mr Suthep said on Friday morning.

Mr Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, said the postponement gives an opportunity for Thailand and Cambodia to hold talks on the demarcation of the disputed border area.

Asked about reports that Cambodia had built a road and temple in the disputed area, the deputy premier said he needs more times to gather information on the matter. He would keep the public informed.

He called on all parties to refrain from making the Preah Vihear temple dispute a political issue for political gain or self-interest, because it is a matter of benefit for the nation and all Thai people.

Thailand wins 1st round of temple war

via Khmer NZ

Published: 30/07/2010

The World Heritage Committee has postponed the consideration of Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple to next year’s meeting in Bahrain, “Ruang Lao Chao Nee”, a television programme on Channel 3, reported on Friday morning.

The WHC, now meeting in Brazil, said that the documents supporting the management plan of Cambodia were sent to the World Heritage Centre instead of the heritage committee and therefore it had not enough time to consider details of the plan.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister and head of Thai team Suwit Khunkitti who is now in Brazil said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had phoned him to congratulate the Thai team on its victory.

“The prime minister thanked all members of the team for working hard to protect the country’s sovereignty,” Mr Suwit said.

Cambodian man clears land mines he set decades ago

via Khmer NZ

By Ebonne Ruffins, CNN

July 29, 2010

Siem Reap, Cambodia (CNN) -- Maneuvering slowly through grassy Cambodian terrain, a caravan of 20 men and women is on a search-and-rescue mission. Dressed in military fatigues, they are guided by a fearless leader who calculates every step and ensures the safest path for his comrades.

It takes just minutes for the unit to confront the first of many hidden targets: a muddied 20-year-old land mine buried a few inches beneath the ground.

"This is an active land mine made from Russia. [If] we step on [it] ... it explodes and cuts the leg off," says Aki Ra, leader of the Cambodian Self Help Demining team. He and his group are working to make their country safer by clearing land mines -- many of which Aki Ra planted himself years ago.

Aki Ra, a Cambodian native who does not recall his birth year, was a child soldier during the communist Khmer Rouge regime, a genocidal crusade responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Cambodians during the 1970s. He was raised by the army after being separated from his family during the internal conflict.

Around age 10, Aki Ra estimates, he was given a rifle that measured his own height. Soon after, he was taught to lay land mines.

For three years, Aki Ra worked as a mine layer for the Khmer Rouge. He then did the same job for the Vietnamese army that overthrew his village.

"I maybe planted 4,000 to 5,000 land mines in a [single] month," said Aki Ra, who says he's about 40 years old now. "We planted them all over the place."

According to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, an estimated 4 million to 6 million land mines were laid in Cambodia during three decades of conflict. The mines were planted to defend strategic military locations, target warring opponents and deny the use of roads.

"I had [bad] feelings, because sometimes we were fighting against our friends and relatives," Aki Ra said. "I felt sad when I saw a lot of people were killed. A lot of people were suffering from land mines. [But] I did not know what to do, [because] we were under orders."

Approximately 63,000 civilians and soldiers have been in accidents involving land mines and other explosive weapons, according to the Cambodian Mine Victim Information System. Nearly 19,000 of them were killed. Today, Cambodia reportedly has one amputee for every 290 people, one of the highest ratios in the world.

When the United Nations came in the early 1990s to help restore peace to Cambodia, Aki Ra saw an opportunity to begin undoing the damage he and others had done. He started training with the U.N. and helping them clear mines.

It was around this time he got the name he goes by today. He was born Eoun Yeak, but he was so skilled at clearing mines that his supervisors began comparing him to AKIRA, a heavy-duty appliance company in Japan. One reportedly commented, "He works just like an AKIRA." The name stuck.

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In 1993, one year after working with the U.N., Aki Ra decided to begin clearing mines alone.

"Some of the areas I was clearing were places where I used to plant mines before," he said. "I didn't have any equipment. ... I clear by knife, by stick."

For Aki Ra, this bare-hands technique "wasn't dangerous. It was easy."

But easy didn't mean legal. The method was not in accordance with international standards, which requires protective gear and other professional equipment. So in 2005, he went to the United Kingdom to receive formal training and accreditation.

Aki Ra estimates that he and his group have cleared more than 50,000 land mines and unexploded weapons

In 2008, Aki Ra formed his nonprofit demining organization. Comprised of native Cambodians, it includes former soldiers and war crime victims. One of the workers is an amputee who lost a leg to a land mine.

"[Our] goal is to clear land mines in rural villages for the people who need the land for building houses or farming or building schools," Aki Ra said.

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Aki Ra and his organization devote all of their donated funds to clearing Cambodia's rural "low-priority" villages. These villages, populated primarily by poor farmers, do not always receive first dibs for minefield clearance projects because of their remoteness and limited traffic. At times, they're completely overlooked.

"Villagers report land mines every day, and they ask us to destroy [them]," Aki Ra said. "The people are afraid of mines. Whether there are a lot of land mines or only a few, [we] still have to clear the area so that the people in the village can be safe."

Kuot Visoth, chief of Prey Thom village, was relieved when the team arrived in early July to clear his village.

"I know the area around the school has a lot of land mines, and I am afraid that when the children come to school and play, they will step on them, or the villagers' buffaloes grazing in the area would be killed," Visoth said.

Aki Ra estimates that he and his group have cleared more than 50,000 land mines and unexploded war weapons such as bombs and grenades. The Cambodian government says there are 3 million to 5 million mines still undiscovered.

Many of Aki Ra's recovered land mines and unexploded weapons are on display at a museum in Siem Reap. For $2, visitors can touch defused mines and bombs as well as AK-47 rifles and war uniforms.

"I had an idea to open a land mine museum to teach people to understand about war, land mines," he said. "Even though the war [is] finished, [these explosives] still kill people, and the land cannot be used."

Also at the museum is an orphanage that Aki Ra and his wife, Hourt, opened about a decade ago. Roughly 100 children, some injured by land mines, have been cared for over the years. The orphanage provides food and shelter for the children and sends them to public school.

"I brought them to the museum because I could provide them with [a] better situation," Aki Ra said. "If I didn't help them, they would have a very difficult life."

The orphanage's first resident, Sot "Tol" Visay, lost a leg to a mine. He was living on the street when Aki Ra was demining in his province. Aki Ra offered Visay a home, and Visay has spent the past seven years living there.

"This place has been very good to me," said Visay, now 21. "Mr. Aki Ra does not want anything from me. Instead, he encourages all people here to study, to gain knowledge."

Hourt died last year from a stroke, leaving Aki Ra to care for his three biological children and 27 orphans ages 10 to 20. Aki Ra is thankful to have caretakers, teachers, a chef and a driver who help look after the children during his demining missions, which can last up to 25 consecutive days every month.

"All the children living in my center I consider as my own children. They call me father," said Aki Ra, whose efforts in Cambodia will be highlighted in an upcoming documentary, "A Perfect Soldier." "I have told them about my personal life. They understand all about my history. I tell the children that they should study hard, do good acts and love each other."

Want to get involved? Check out the Cambodian Self Help Demining website at http://www.cambodianselfhelpdemining.org/  and see how to help.

You can nominate a 2010 CNN Hero at cnnheroes.com.

CU-Boulder students protest immigration law on Arizona streets

http://www.dailycamera.com/

via Khmer NZ

Graduate: 'This experience has been emotionally intense'

By Vanessa Miller Camera Staff Writer

Posted: 07/29/2010

Growing up in Denver with Cambodian parents who came to the United States in 1979 to escape the violence in their home nation, University of Colorado senior Melissa Khat said she has a deep appreciation for the nation's immigration roots.

That's why on Thursday -- the day Arizona's controversial immigration law took effect -- Khat, 22, and several of her Boulder-based friends were on the streets in Tucson to "stand in solidarity" with others who feel the law goes too far and promotes racial profiling.

On Wednesday evening, after opponents celebrated a judge's order blocking much of the state's immigration law, Khat and her group joined dozens of protesters in the small town of Guadalupe, just south of Phoenix.

"A good number of community members blocked the main intersection into the community and stood there for an hour," Khat said.

The demonstration was peaceful, she said.

"Any peaceful action that we can take to get our voices heard will make a big difference," Khat said.

The judge's temporary injunction of the law Wednesday delayed some of its most contentious parts, including a section requiring officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws and parts requiring immigrants to carry their papers. Provisions of the law that are less controversial were allowed to take effect Thursday.

The state asked an appeals court to lift the judge's order Thursday as Arizona communities such as Tucson and Phoenix filled with protesters, including dozens who were arrested after confronting officers in riot gear.

Protests that Khat and her friends took part in Thursday were nonviolent shows of solidarity, she said. Some people held signs that read "I am not a document" and "We reject racism," and other people waved flags while walking through the streets and blocking intersections.

Temperatures soared to more than 100 degrees in parts of Arizona, but Khat said the heat was bearable because of the cause they were supporting.

"It's so worth the weather -- being here, standing among these people and being part of history," she said. "It's a motivating and inspirational experience for me."

Khat, who's studying international affairs at CU, said she's passionate about immigration issues because her parents were refugees.

"They have plenty of stories of struggling to be in the United States," she said, adding that the Arizona law adds even more pressure on immigrants trying to fit in and build a life. "It's racism, and clearly it's not something we can tolerate in the 21st century."

CU graduate Sergio Gutierrez, 23, who joined Khat in their drive from Boulder to Arizona this week, said he was compelled to protest out of disgust for provisions in the new law. Being among all types of people united in one cause has been refreshing, he said.

"It's nice to see everyone come together like this," he said. "This experience has been emotionally intense and symbolic for everyone, particularly for those people who are willing to get arrested."

He and Khat, who spent upwards of six hours in the Arizona sun Thursday, plan to hit the streets again today. Gutierrez said they will be "cop watching," which they have been trained to do.

"We will be watching the police and monitoring their behavior and their professionalism to make sure everyone is being treated appropriately," he said.

Two Massachusetts Teens Change Lives of Students in Cambodia

via Khmer NZ

Journeys Within

CONTACT: Andrea Ross

TEL: 877 454 3672

E-MAIL: andrea@journeys-within.com

WEB: www.journeys-within.com

Click Here for Media Kit

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Leah Petty and Claire Miller are pretty regular 13-year-olds: They go to school, have fun with their friends, and look forward to summer vacation. But these two teens are no ordinary young women that look forward to hanging out at the beach, the pool, or with friends. These girls look forward to making a difference. Three years ago while living with her family in Singapore, Leah visited Cambodia and was personally impacted by the poverty that she witnessed in this country. Rather than just ignore the problem, Leah talked to her best friend Claire and together they made a plan to raise money for Cambodia and to make a difference in the lives of kids their own age who were struggling just to survive.

For three years, the teens together have raised funds from friends and family to help their cause. Last weekend, Claire and Leah had one of their most successful fundraisers to date. They held a yard sale in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and thanks to donations from neighbors and friends raised over $1600. This means that to date, these remarkable teens have raised over $4,000 for Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), a non-profit organization in Cambodia that Leah and Claire chose to support because of the organizations’ proven effectiveness in offering practical assistance to local communities in Southeast Asia.

“We are so amazed by Leah and Claire,” said Andrea Ross, JWOC founder, “To be so young, yet to be able to really embrace the idea that they can make a difference in the world. It’s very inspiring and they embody everything that JWOC stands for: To see a problem and to solve it!”

After her initial trip, Leah visited Cambodia again and visited the JWOC projects she had helped support. She has seen first-hand the impact that her fundraising has had and she and Claire hope to return to Cambodia next summer to volunteer with JWOC so that they can once again be involved in the projects that they help make possible.

When asked what message she hopes that people will get from all of her hard work, Leah answered, “That any little thing can help. Whether it’s $10, $100, or $1000. The people there have so little compared to us. We complain if our hot water takes too long to heat up. Most of the people there don’t even have clean water, not to mention hot water. We don’t know what it feels like to be 10 years old and starving, our parents not putting us in school because they can’t afford it and they need you out to beg. Nobody should have to go through that.”

To date, the money that Leah and Claire have raised together has gone towards repairing wells, buying GPS units for well scouting teams, building a new library and computer center, and sending a JWOC Scholarship Student to university for four years.

About Journeys Within Our Community

JWOC was founded by Brandon and Andrea Ross, owners of Journeys Within Tour Company in response to guests and travelers desire to give back and make a difference. JWOC believes in its slogan, “See a Problem, Solve a Problem” and has been doing that for the last five years. More information can be found and donations can be made at

http://www.journeyswithinourcommunity.org/  or you can contact Andrea at 

 andrea@journeyswithinourcommunity.org .

Cambodia Pharmaceuticals And Healthcare Report Q3 2010

via Khmer NZ

Published on July 29, 2010

by Press Office

(Companiesandmarkets.com and OfficialWire)

LONDON, ENGLAND

Cambodia's pharmaceutical market was calculated to be worth KHR711bn (US$172mn) in 2009. We forecast drug consumption to increase at a rate of 11.6% over the next five years to reach a value of KHR1,232bn (US$302mn) in 2014. Our long range forecast is for the market to reach KHR2,062bn (US$516mn) in 2019, equivalent to annual growth of 11.2% over the 10-year period. In absolute terms, the country's pharmaceutical market is one of the smallest covered by BMI. However, its high growth potential emphasises Cambodia as an emerging target for drugmakers in the medium term. In the Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings for Q310, Cambodia is ranked the lowest of the 16 Asia Pacific markets surveyed. The country's medicine market is small in absolute terms and percapita expenditure is low. However, we are forecasting double-digit growth over the medium term. Fundamental disincentives to drugmakers include a young and predominantly rural population, a lack of respect for intellectual property, endemic corruption and excessive bureaucracy.

A decade of economic growth and political stability has allowed Cambodia to begin to tackle its underdeveloped healthcare system. Measures such as health equity funds, a new social health insurance system and the use of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) has begun to reduce inequalities in the system. The public health budget has grown in line with economic growth. However, per capita health expenditure remains low and around 60% of healthcare costs are paid out-of-pocket.

Government figures show that the national health budget is increasing. However, contributions from foreign donors exceed government contributions at a rate of around 2:1. This reliance on foreign contributions means that health expenditure levels are exposed to fluctuations in the exchange rate. Counterfeit drugs are a major constraint on legitimate drug market growth. Around 65% of the illegal pharmacies operating in Cambodia have been closed, according to the US Pharmacopeia in May 2010. The development comes as the result of a major anti-counterfeiting operation undertaken by the Cambodian government for over five months. According to figures released by the Cambodian Ministry of Health, the number of illegal pharmacies was reduced from 1,081 to 379 between November 2009 and March 2010.

The domestic pharmaceutical industry comprises seven small manufacturers dealing in basic generic medicines. The bulk of demand is met through imports, both from developed markets (such as France) and nascent markets (such as India, Thailand and Vietnam).

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MAG Cambodia - May report

via Khmer NZ

 

29 Jul 2010

Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

Website: http://www.maginternational.org/cambodia

 

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

 

Reporting period: 1-31 May 2010

 

Summary:

• Clearance of 173,825 square metres (sq/m) of suspect land by MAG clearance teams
• Removal and destruction of 1,604 dangerous items: 361 anti-personnel mines, 20 anti-tank mine, 1,223 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO); including 531 Small Arms Light Weapons, 444 cluster munitions, 10 items of 101+mm, and 238 other items
• Beneficiaries of MAG activities: 13,502 people from 2,769 families
• Community Liaison activities: one team meeting, 34 village visits, eight pre-clearance assessments, one post-clearance assessment, two technical assessments, the generation of 31 UXO reports, three case studies and nine Risk Reduction Education sessions
• Mine Risk Reduction Education reached 1,826 individuals in 108 sessions
• Preparation of 107,448 sq/m of land by mechanical vegetation clearance and hand-held strimmers.

Basic Mine Risk Education includes communicating the message that local villagers should not touch mines or explosive remnants of war.

MAG Cambodia

Reducing Risk in Northwest Cambodia

 

Whilst extensive Mine Risk Education (MRE) has been delivered in Cambodia for many years, mine risk is still a major factor for the lives of people living in the northwest of the country.

 

Over the last four years there has been a general downward trend in the number of accidents caused by mines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), but in May this year there was a significant increase in accidents, with 50 new casualties from 19 accidents in eight provinces.

 

This represents an increase of 317 per cent compared with the 12 casualties reported in May 2009.

 

Many of the accidents today are caused by farmers extending farming land in suspect areas. The greater mechanisation of farming in the northwest is also resulting in an increasing number of accidents caused by anti-tank mines.

 

In addition, accidents are still being caused by people tampering with ordnance.

 

The MAG Community Liaison teams are addressing the ongoing problem in communities by providing targeted Risk Reduction Education (RRE).

 

On 20 May, MAG's Community Liaison (CL) team delivered RRE within the village of Bour Run village, Bavel district of Battambang. Before arrival in the village, the CL team consulted all available secondary data regarding the mine/ERW impact in the village and any reported high-risk activities.

 

On arrival in the village the team met with the village chief and the Community Based Mine Risk Reduction (CBMRR) volunteer in order to identify specific households whose livelihood activities are thought to be at-risk from the impact of mines and ERW, and to gather information regarding specific groups of people undertaking high-risk activities.

 

Once the data collection was completed, the CL team developed targeted MRE sessions appropriate to the high-risk activities and individuals identified. Sessions were then conducted with each of the groups at a time and place that was suitable for them.

 

In Bour Run village, high-risk people included those that intended to extend land for agriculture, people who are likely to access unsafe areas to collect natural resources and forest products, economic migrants that may travel through suspected areas, and those likely to deliberately tamper with explosives out of curiosity or familiarity.

 

As it is understood that communities sometimes have little choice but to put themselves in direct danger from explosive items, when promoting and providing Mine RRE to target groups the CL team conduct participatory discussions to try to encourage suggestions for livelihood alternatives, behaviour change and safe practices when undertaking high-risk activities.

 

MAG thanks the following donors to the Cambodia programme: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Finn Church Aid; Lutheran World Federation; NVESD; UK Department for International Development (DFID / UKAid); Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State.

For more information on this or other MAG programmes across the world, please visit http://www.maginternational.org/ .

The World's Oldest Oppression

http://www.americamagazine.org/

via Khmer NZ

Posted at: Thursday, July 29, 2010
Author: John Coleman, S.J.

The trafficking of women and children for purposes of sex has grown exponentially to become a major criminal activity—generating funds of around $12 billion a year, just behind the criminal funds generated by illegal drug and arms sales. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines trafficking as follows: “The recruitment, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, or abduction or fraud or deception, or the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of person having control of another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others, or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

Because it is usually clandestine, precise statistics on sexual trafficking world-wide can be hard to estimate. The United States State Department reckons the number to run, minimally, to about 800,000 yearly. Other estimates (for example, by the Human Rights Law Group) run into the millions annually. Moreover, it seems to be growing apace. In 1996 at the First World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Stockholm, the issue was raised as a growing phenomenon. The International Labor Organization in 1998 saw it as an issue of global concern on the rise. The Second World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in 2001 estimated that the situation had worsened since 1996.

I first became aware and interested in this horrendous criminal violation of human rights and dignity issue when I began teaching and writing about globalization a decade or so ago. I wanted also to know how criminal elements used the new tools of globalization ( the internet, world travel and banking etc) to further criminal activities such as smuggling, arms and drugs sales and prostitution. I chanced upon a 2005 book by a Canadian journalist, Victor Malarek, The Natashas: The New Global Sex Trade. Malarak recounted in that book the tales of numerous Eastern European women from the old Soviet bloc countries who were promised jobs in western Europe as nannies or maids only to find themselves, first, brutally raped by the criminals who contacted them, having their passports removed and kept under guard in the bordellos across Europe where they were whisked. The portrait was one not of happy hookers or the world’s oldest profession but rather of the world’s oldest oppression.

Prostitution, to be sure, is not a new phenomenon. But the global reach of transporting women from Eastern Europe or South Asia to cities such as London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Melbourne is something new. Much of the trafficking in Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, Columbia and Eastern Europe is controlled by large criminal organizations.

They target certain key countries (Moldavia, Ukraine, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia) to recruit young women ( sometimes they are sold by their parents) who are, then, sent, first, to some key transit countries (Austria, Israel, Mexico) and then to their final destination countries (Australia, The United States, Japan, Korea being major receiving countries). Key traffickers target also places with a lot of United States troops ( e.g. Korea) or where there are UN Peace keepers. One Ukrainian trafficked woman, Olega recognized eight of her former clients (UN Peacekeepers) when the bar she was forced to work out of in Bosnia was raided.

Over the past decade, words of concern about the phenomenon of sex trafficking have proliferated but to little effect. Laws are weak (and often punish the prostitute but not “ the john”); governments are corrupt; many of the economies from which the women are snatched into sex slavery are in shambles and national and international resolve is shaky.

A year ago in Rome, at a remarkable congress organized by the International Union of Superiors General and the International Organization for Migration, dozens of women religious spoke to the issue. "Human trafficking is one of the effects of the globalization of poverty and hunger against which governments are only engaged in a war of words." The statement from the congress complained that national policies were ineffective in getting women who were forced into prostitution off the street. They saw the phenomenon of sex slavery as not only a violation of human rights but “an embarrassment for all humanity."

Trafficking feeds on the three famous P’s: Patriarchy (men’s sense of entitlement over women), poverty and powerlessness. Many prostitutes freed from their slavery return because of the lack of economic alternatives. Most studies of prostitutes, however, show high rates of physical assault and rape. One study of 207 trafficked women, conducted by the London School of Health and Tropical Hygiene, found that 8 out of the ten women had been physically beaten or assaulted. 61% had been threatened with a gun.

One of the difficulties in addressing the issue of global prostitution is the different stance of those who want to right the wrongs. There are abolitionists versus reformists. Abolitionists, such as in a 2003 statement by the Coalition Against the Trafficking of Women, oppose any legalization of prostitution. They see prostitution as an inherently degrading profession for the women and a violation of human dignity to see sex and a woman’s body as an item to bought and sold. An alternative NGO, The Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, rejoins that abolition of prostitution is doomed. They seek its legalization and a renaming of prostitutes as ‘ sex workers’, with all the labor rights of any worker. Places which have legalized prostitution ( e.g. Amsterdam, Melbourne), however, have seen little diminution of a criminal element or of the influx of sex trafficked slaves. Mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam rued the impact of legalization in his city. In Melbourne, for the 100 legal bordellos there are 400 underground, illegal brothels, many of which employ trafficked women from Indonesia or Thailand.

In a new book, The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men who Buy It, Victor Malarek takes the position of the abolitionists. He champions a stringent newish law in Sweden which targets the johns. In Sweden, selling sex is de-criminalized (giving the woman some leeway). But buying sex is a crime. Middlemen who purchase a sexual service for someone else face a fine and a possible jail term of up to six months. Anyone who has sex with a trafficked woman or with a woman who has bruises on her body gets a specially heavy fine or jail sentence. Norway has followed Sweden’s law. Norway’s justice minister explained the rationale: “People are not merchandise. By criminalizing the purchase of sexual favors, Norway will become less attractive in the eye of human traffickers.” Norway also has initiatives to help women leave prostitution.

John Coleman, S.J.

Thailand Threatens to Pull Out of UN World Heritage Committee Over Border Dispute

VOA, Ron Corben | Bangkok
29 July 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP
Preah Vihear temple is seen near Cambodian-Thai border in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (File photo)

Thailand is threatening to withdraw support from the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization if the U.N. World Heritage Committee backs a Cambodian plan to manage a 900-year-old Hindu temple site bordering the two countries.

The Thai government's threat to withdraw from the 21-nation UNESCO World Heritage Committee was made as the panel prepared to vote on a new Cambodian proposed management plan for the 900-year-old Khmer temple.

Source of tension

The Preah Vihear temple site lies immediately inside the Cambodian border on the top of a 525-meter-high cliff in the Dangrek Mountain range. But access to the temple complex is only readily available from the Thai side.

In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that that the temple is on the Cambodian side of the border, but failed to determine ownership of an adjacent piece of land. Since then, Thailand has sought to have both countries jointly seek World Heritage listing for the site.

But in 2008, then Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama was forced to resign after a Thai court found he had breached the constitution by signing a joint communiqué with Cambodia. This opened the way for Cambodia to make a separate application for World Heritage listing.

New friction

Under a proposed development plan for the temple, Thailand fears Cambodia may create a buffer zone around the site, marking what Thailand sees as occupation of its territory.

The Thai government has been lobbying committee member states to postpone the vote until both countries settle the border disputes covering land immediately surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Minister for Natural Resources Suvit Khunkitti attended the meeting and had the full backing of the Cabinet for Thailand to withdraw from the World Heritage Committee.

"If the process adopting that plan is approved, not only Khun Suvit is authorized to object to that plan - not to vote for that plan - he is authorized to express his ideas, his concerns and also the wishes of the Thai government to reconsider the membership of the World Heritage Committee," Panitan said.

Thai proposal

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is calling for a return to a 2000 agreement centered on the border demarcation. He said Thailand would only accept Cambodia's management plan if the temple is jointly listed between the two countries.

The temple site gained World Heritage listing in 2008, but has remained a source of nationalist tensions since then. Pro-nationalist groups in Thailand protested earlier this week outside the UNESCO offices in Bangkok.

Avoiding clashes

In recent years, rising tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have led to cross-border clashes, with the Thai army accusing Cambodian troops of laying land mines in the region.

UNESCO's director general, Irina Bokova, released a statement calling for dialogue in safeguarding the temple site. She also said the World Heritage Committee's first concern is to protect and promote the region's heritage, and emblems of peace, dialogue and reconciliation.

Kasit lays down the law

Kasit: Submits letter to WHC members

via Khmer NZ

Published: 30/07/2010

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has submitted a strongly worded letter to World Heritage Committee members outlining Thailand's fierce objections to Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple.

The Foreign Ministry also began furious lobbying yesterday for the WHC to postpone consideration of the plan.

Deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs Chittriya Pinthong met with diplomats from 10 countries who sit on the 21-member committee: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, China, France, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. France, Sweden, Switzerland and Brazil sent their ambassadors to the ministry.

"As long as the demarcation has not been finished, Thailand cannot cooperate with any decision by the WHC," Mr Kasit said in his letter.

He also said Thailand was upset as the WHC appeared not to have realised the sensitivity and importance of the temple issue. Any decision made now on the management plan would raise tensions between the two countries, he said.

"The WHC has also neglected the fact that the management plan for the Preah Vihear temple cannot achieve concrete results and be a success because it has ignored the Thai role in helping preserve the temple," he said.

The temple has been listed as a world heritage site since 2008.

The Thai lobbying came as Thailand and Cambodia were unable to break their deadlock over the issue in Brasilia, the Brazilian capital serving as the venue for the WHC meeting.

Talks between Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, brokered by Brazilian chairman Jao Luiz Silva Ferreira, took place on Wednesday after the WHC adjourned its discussion of Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear to allow both countries to try to patch up their differences.

In tense 30-minute talks, Sok An told Mr Suwit Cambodia had made compromises with Thailand and it could not make any more changes, a source close to the meeting said.

The Cambodian deputy premier stressed that Cambodia's management plan included the eastern part of the temple, but the Thai delegation argued that demarcation of the area had not yet been settled, the source said.

The government on Wednesday threatened to withdraw from the WHC if the committee members approved the Cambodian plan.

The source said at this stage the option of Thailand giving up its membership of the WHC was not needed.

The source said Thailand would make its stand clear by rejecting Cambodia's management plan.

If the WHC continued to consider the plan, the delegation would issue a statement denouncing the WHC, saying it had failed to comply with regulations and had allowed Cambodia to submit its management plan late.

Cambodia should have handed in its plan six months ahead of the meeting but it made its submission less than 24 hours before the meeting began.

The source said the delegation would walk out if the denunciation failed to change the WHC's mind.

The controversy surrounding the Preah Vihear temple is expected to intensify tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border even though authorities insist the border situation is relatively calm.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and the leaders of the three armed forces met yesterday to discuss the matter.

Mr Suthep faulted the WHC for listing Preah Vihear as a heritage site because it sits next to an overlapping 4.6-square-kilometre zone claimed by the two countries. He said the WHC's listing of the temple triggered the dispute between the neighbours.

"The WHC shouldn't be an agency which creates a conflict between two countries," he said.

Mr Suthep said the border situation was normal but the military was prepared and on full alert for any untoward events.

"Don't speculate about what they will do. We are just prepared," he said.

Gen Prawit said the armed forces had a plan to deal with the border situation. He insisted that joint border committees had been working well.

In Brazil, Thailand Objects Again to Preah Vihear Plans

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Thursday, 29 July 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP

At a meeting of Unesco in Brazil, Thai officials said they do not agree with a Cambodian management plan for the 11th-Century temple.

“Protecting and enhancing our natural and cultural heritage means building the peace, respect and solidarity which lies at the heart of Unesco's mission.”

Thailand has re-raised objections to the World Heritage status of Preah Vihear temple on the northern border.

At a meeting of Unesco in Brazil, Thai officials said they do not agree with a Cambodian management plan for the 11th-Century temple, which is now at the heart of an ongoing military standoff on the border.

Both Thailand and Cambodia have had troops amassed along the border since the July 2008 inception of the temple as a Heritage site under Cambodian control.

Unesco spokeswoman Sue Williams told VOA Khmer from Brazil that Cambodia had presented a plan for consideration. However, she said the border dispute between the two countries was “strictly bilateral” and declined to comment further on the Thai objections.

Cambodia's management plan, submitted by a delegation led by Cabinet Minister Sok An, has provoked strong disapproval from Thailand, which claims a 4-kilometer strip of land near Preah Vihear temple.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was quoted in the Bangkok Post saying Thailand would reconsider its ties with Unesco if the body approves the plan.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said Thailand’s argument was to ultimately co-manage the temple, which sits on a high precipice overlooking the plains of Preah Vihear province.

Unesco Director General Irina Bokova said in a statement that the Brazil meeting, which ends Aug. 3, will examine the state of conservation of the temple.

“Protecting and enhancing our natural and cultural heritage means building the peace, respect and solidarity which lies at the heart of Unesco's mission,” she said. “It is our common responsibility to makes these sites emblems of peace, dialogue and reconciliation.”

At least eight soldiers have died in ensuing skirmishes since the military standoff began, along a border that has yet to be fully demarcated by either side.

Fishermen Say They Are Forced Into Illegal Catches

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Thursday, 29 July 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP

Commercial fishing for the next three months is forbidden.

“If we didn’t do it, we would have nothing to eat,” he said, looking at fishing nets hanging on a nearby wall. “Fishing is our farming here.”

Local fishermen on the Tonle Sap lake in the province of Battambang say they continue to fish illegally during the off-season.

In interviews with VOA Khmer, the fishermen said they have no choice but to continue fishing, sometimes with banned equipment, in order to feed their families, despite a three-month ban instituted by the government that begins each July.

“The ban is like breaking our rice pot,” said 53-year-old fisherman Chhun Leang.

He sat in a wooden house on the great lake, in the floating village of Anlung Ta Our, in Ek Phnom district, and when boats passed their wakes shook his home.

“Unlike the people on land who are farmers, we fishermen have no land for farming,” he said. “We only depend on fishing.”

Commercial fishing for the next three months is forbidden. This is the breeding season. Small nets and handmade gear are allowed, but fishermen like Chhun Leang say that isn't enough.

He earns about $250 a month, working a medium-sized net rig that is banned this time a year. Even if these were permitted, he said, these days he barely catches enough fish to feed his family.

“So despite the ban, myself and other fishermen in the commune still secretly fish with our rigging,” he said. There are crackdowns, he said, but he keeps fishing. “Otherwise, we cannot survive.”

His neighbor five houses down, Yon Phann, agreed.

“If we didn’t do it, we would have nothing to eat,” he said, looking at fishing nets hanging on a nearby wall. “Fishing is our farming here.”

More than 70 percent of the 10,000 people living in this commune, Koh Chi Verng, are fishermen. The rest sell goods or repair boats.

Commune Chief Bun Beng said that every year people face hard times during the three-month ban, so at times he turns a blind eye to some illegal fishing.

“They can catch just a kilo or two of fish a day, and they sell it for rice to eat,” he said in an interview at his own floating house. “This is all they can do here because we have no rice to harvest.”

On the other hand, he said, he advises people not to use heavy rigging during the ban, and he encourages them to breed fish and raise eels to supplement their catches.

Nao Thuok, head of Agriculture Ministry’s fishery administration, said there is no exception for any particular fishing community in the use of banned gear this season.

“Any such act will be cracked down on,” he said. “This is according to the law, which must be implemented to benefit all the people across the country, not just that particular community or a small number of others.”

“All floating communities around the Tonle Sap should only fish for family consumption during this ban season,” he said, “so that more fish can breed for them to catch at the end of the season.”

Duch Sentence Brings Tears, Relief Among US-Cambodians

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Thursday, 29 July 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP

Duch, a former S-21 prison chief.

“I think this is an injustice, to reduce his sentence to 19 years.”

Among US-Cambodians, this week's sentencing of Kaing Kek Iev, the Khmer Rouge torture chief better known as Duch, brought with it mixed emotions.

Tears, sobs and disappointment combined with endeavors toward calm among the immigrant community, after Duch was handed a commuted sentence of 19 years for the torture and execution of more than 12,000 people at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.

“I think this is an injustice, to reduce his sentence to 19 years,” said Kuch Chanly, a Cambodian resident of Maryland.

Judges at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal issued a 35-year sentence that was reduced for time served on Monday in a landmark case for the court. But that sentence did little to allay Kuch Chanly's mistrust of the tribunal.

“From the beginning, I never trusted this court, which has been conducted in Cambodia, in a place controlled by the former Khmer Rouge themselves,” he said. “Millions of Cambodian victims like myself, who lost both parents, siblings, uncles, aunties, nieces and nephews, must consider taking legal action and peaceful action to demand a retrial from this court so that we can get a fair trial.”

The tribunal's mandate is to try the senior-most leaders of the regime, but there are in fact members of the government who were lower-ranking cadre. A 1998 amnesty for the Khmer Rouge, which brought peace to a protracted civil war, also brought many Khmer Rouge under the government.

“For millions of Cambodian victims like me who lost both my parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews have to consider taking a legal and peaceful action to demand this court for a retrial so that we can get a fair trial,” Kuch Chanly said.

Duch, now 67, was the first to be tried under the new court, which formed in 2006 after years of wrangling between the government and the UN.

“When I heard the verdict, I found it hard to believe that he had this day,” said Him Chanrithy, the author of a Khmer Rouge memoir. She wept as she discussed the sentencing, issued Monday in a public declaration at the court outside Phnom Penh.

“I think the sentence handed down to him was too little,” she said. “But in another thought, I feel that my parents and other Khmers who were killed have begun to receive some justice now, after a long wait.”

Not everyone disapproved of the sentencing.

“We Cambodian-Americans living in the US are happy to see that the court has sentenced Duch for his crimes during the Khmer Rouge regime,” said Yap Kimtung, president of the group Cambodian-Americans for Human Rights and Democracy. “Either 35 or 19 years is acceptable,” he said. “The main point is that we have seen the culprit punished at last.”

“This verdict is right, but for those who suffered under the regime, it is not yet enough,” said Sok Nen, president of the Cambodian Association in Illinois. “However, we have to follow what is the judge's decision.”

The reach of Khmer Rouge trauma went well beyond Cambodia. Those who fled the regime and settled in the US experience trauma as acutely as the survivors who remained behind.

“Many of my patients and those known by my colleagues called us up and said this trial was just a joke,” said Kuoch Theanvy, executive director of the Cambodian Health Initiative, which is based in the US. “Some of my clients cried on the phone and told me the judgement had not delivered justice for them.”

Cambodia mass killings: Victims' relative tells her story

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via Khmer NZ

The first man to be sentenced over his part in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge mass killings, Comrade Duch, was convicted on Monday of war crimes and crimes against humanity for running a prison centre where thousands were tortured and killed in the 1970s.

The judges jailed him for 35 years, but because of time served, he will spend only another 19 in prison.

Survivors have expressed outrage and prosecutors are considering an appeal.

A former pupil of Comrade Duch, Channary, was taught maths by him when attending Skuon high school in Cambodia's Kompong Cham province in the 1960's.

She lost many members of her family under the Khmer Rouge and now lives in the United States where she's the leader of the Cambodian Women's Organisation in San Jose.

Cambodia Garment Strike Spotlights on Labor Rights

via Khmer NZ

7/29/2010

The wraith of global meltdown is still resonating in some form or the other in most outsourcing dependent countries. The recent Cambodia garment workers’ strike turns out to be a perfect case in point to the premise.

On Tuesday, the Cambodian police with riot gears thwarted a week-long strike sparked off by the suspension of a union official at a Malaysian-owned garment factory, which produced goods for international brands including Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma. It has been reported that the clashes between more than 100 armed police force and 3,000 garment workers in Phnom Penh had resulted in nine women being hurt, though authorities maintain the operations did not hurt anyone.

The BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says the unrest could be a symptom of a wider social malaise owing to dwindling orders in Cambodia's crucial garment industry which resulted in tens of thousands of job losses. Early this month, government increased the minimum wage from about $50 to $60, but the double-digit inflation and the trade unions demands of above $80 seemed to be bogging down the effect.

Albeit the unions retracted from a three-day general strike in protest against the meagre rise, the union official’s suspension is believed to have aggravated the situation. But last week’s Huffington Post report interpreted these strikes as a knee-jerk reaction to irrational calibration of wages by the outsourcing firms or associated agencies.

Interestingly, in last week’s blog by Auret van Heerden, President and CEO of the Fair Labour Association visualizes firms that build strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes into their operations and culture would have the edge in many markets. Nevertheless, evidences show such practices by firms are beyond procurement principles as it solely reckons pricing and related aspects devoid of labour rights - especially post-meltdown.

Cambodia’s textile industry accounts for around 85 percent of exports, and is the country’s third-largest source of income after tourism and agriculture. The Southeast Asian state continues to be in the grip of labour problems particularly after the global economic crisis that bombed exports severely to create an economic landscape of joblessness - and desertion of production units by the employers.

By Jose Roy

DAP News. Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

via Khmer NZ

Cambodia Completely Rejected Thai Proposal

Thursday, 29 July 2010 14:59 Edited by Mr. Rasmey

Cambodia, Phnom Penh, July 29, 2010- Mr. Sok An, Special Envoy of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of the Council of Ministers, completely rejected a proposal made by the Thai government for the cancellation of an agenda for the development and conservation of the Preah Vihear temple areas at a meeting to be held at 11pm in Cambodia.

The rejection of Thailand's proposal occurred after Deputy Prime Minister Sok An had met for talks in Brazil with Mr. Suwit Khunkitti, Minister of Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment.

“ Deputy Prime Minister Sok An's rejection occurred after Cambodia had kept a lot of patience and given a lot of understandings to Thailand, which is Cambodia's neighboring country, but now Cambodia no longer keeps its patience and can not accept Thailand's proposal,” a report from Brazil said.

Cambodian Court sentenced three years for illegal bond issuer

Thursday, 29 July 2010 13:34 DAP-NEWS

Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Court on Thursday sentenced Khim Oudumvithyrith, 43, a Cambodian citizen for three years in jail for first ever illegal bond issuer.

Khim violated the law of issue of selling securities of the country, and court ruled three years for Khim over the charge of the illegal security selling but Khim needs to serve his term in jail for four months only and the rest of the jail term is abolished,” Judge Chea Sokheang announced the verdict.

Chea added that the jail term has included the time of arresting Khim since 28 March, 2010.

Tomorrow Khim will be released from prison because he already served four months already in detention in jail. An Analyst said the condemnation of Khim is just for a warning of issuing security before the stock market in Cambodia opening in 2011.

Khim used to conduct several times of training students about stock market through seminar.

Enemies of the People

via Khmer NZ

How a low-budget film helped to catch a Khmer Rouge leader

Jul 29th 2010

THE Khmer Rouge “Brother Number 2”, Nuon Chea, plays with his grandchildren, watches a broadcast of Saddam Hussein’s execution and dreams of Democratic Kampuchea. For years Pol Pot’s right-hand man has had visits from Thet Sambat, a journalist whose parents and brother died in the genocide. The writer wants to learn why, but does not tell his story, hoping that the taciturn ex-leader will volunteer an explanation. He also tracks down Khuon and Suon, low-level cadres who executed villagers, slit stomachs to eat their gall bladders and buried victims in ditches.

The edgy and often surreal conversations of these men are shown in “Enemies of the People”, a prize-winning documentary made on a shoestring. It has drawn interest from the tribunal that will try Mr Nuon Chea and three other regime leaders next year, and which has tried to subpoena the footage.

The film has two climactic moments. First, when the writer brings the cadres to Mr Nuon Chea, who initially says Cambodians were not responsible for killings and then assures his former underlings: “You did not have any intention, therefore you did not commit any sin”. His hybrid Buddhist-Maoist logic is chilling. “Ours was a clean regime”, he insists. Even now he calls his victims “enemies of the people”, their deaths justified by the revolution. Then the writer reveals (just before Mr Nuon Chea’s arrest) how his family suffered. Brother Number 2 seems moved—he too lost many relatives to a regime which he helped run. Distinctions between victims and perpetrators are blurred in a traumatised country.

Never before have cadres confessed to murder on screen; and never since has this leader spoken frankly of his role. Mr Thet Sambat shows a smiling determination to uncover terrible histories, but says that “I need to stop researching the past.” Others will conclude the opposite.