Life goes on despite KR tribunal

Photo by: Sovann Philong
Business as usual – on July 27, people cycle past the notorious S-21 site in Phnom Penh, just a day after the Khmer Rouge tribunal announced Duch’s sentence.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:01 Benny Widyono

Analysis

--------------------------------------------------------------

Benny Widyono

The conviction, on July 26, of Kaing Guek Eav, or “Duch”, the former prison chief of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, drew international media attention to Cambodia, at least for one news cycle. The verdict of the United Nations-sponsored tribunal was important in that, for the first time, a key Khmer Rouge official was held accountable for the unspeakable crimes of the regime. The press highlighted the outcry that the “real” sentence, 19 years in jail, was too lenient.

International coverage of the Duch verdict eclipses two issues. First, the international community is ambivalent about the tribunal. Many consider it deeply flawed by interference by the Cambodian government. Others, especially in the West, insist that the tribunal must continue, as if this were the only road to justice and reconciliation in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Nothing is farther from the truth.

Given the trial’s 30-year delay, Cambodia has since returned to stability and won the confidence of both donor and business communities.

Cambodia’s growth rate over 10 years stands at 7 percent to 13 percent. This is the result of a rise in tourism and private investment, but also because of the generous inflow of foreign aid, since 1993, when a new Cambodian government was formed after United Nations-sponsored elections.

Given Cambodia’s expanding population today, most know very little about and have no experience of the Khmer Rouge era. Recent surveys indicate that Cambodians are paying little attention to the tribunal. The youth of Cambodia, like their peers in Hong Kong, Shanghai and elsewhere are more focused on building the future.

A less evident problem is that the past role of international actors in the Cambodian tragedy has been whitewashed. Almost in unison, they now assert that the Vietnamese liberation of Cambodia from Khmer Rouge rule, in January 1979, was followed by “10 years of civil war”. What they fail to report is that this civil war was largely brought on by what happened in faraway New York, where, incredibly enough, spearheaded by the United States and China, the UN continued to recognise the ousted Khmer Rouge as the legitimate government of Cambodia, rather than the new People’s Republic of Kampuchea, which soon gained control over 90 percent of the country. The alleged reason was that Vietnam had invaded Cambodia, but the obvious truth was that Vietnam was on the wrong side.

Opposing this UN decision to maintain Khmer Rouge representation were the Soviet bloc, India and a number of others, who were easily outvoted.

This stalemate continued for 11 years during which the Khmer Rouge flag continued to fly over Manhattan. To disguise this outrage, the Khmer Rouge was draped in sheep’s clothing, as a “Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK)”, with two non-communist factions, the Royalist FUNCINPEC and a pro-American group, the KPNLF.

In the field, this CGDK received ample aid from its Western backers, fuelling and prolonging the “civil war” referred to by the international press today. With the end of the cold war, in 1991, the Paris Peace Agreements were signed, and the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia brought the stalemate to an end by organising elections that established a new legitimate coalition government in Cambodia.

Having succeeded in seating the Khmer Rouge in the UN General Assembly for 11 more years, obviously the West was not in a big hurry to put the Khmer Rouge on trial. It is ironic that the international press and Western academics, almost in unison, now insist that the KR trials must continue, and that the Cambodian government should not protect anyone from the tribunal.

If the international tribunal were to end tomorrow, Cambodia would continue on its path to progress and reconciliation, aided by private investment and generous donors, whose efforts continue to lift Cambodia from poverty. This, understandably, is the subject that concerns Cambodians today.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Benny Widyono, from Indonesia, was governor of Siem Reap Province in Cambodia under the United Nations Transitional Authority, 1992-1993, and the secretary general’s political representative to Cambodia from 1994 to 1997. He is the author of Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge and the United Nations, published in 2008.

The state of the nation’s banking

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Han Peng Kwang, senior vice president of Malaysia-based HwangDBS Commercial Bank Plc, discusses Cambodia’s competitive and crowded banking sector.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan

CEO TALK

--------------------------------------------------------------

Han Peng Kwang

via Khmer NZ

Malaysia-based HwangDBS Commercial Bank Plc launched in Cambodia one year ago. Its country head, Han Peng Kwang, sat down with the Post to discuss its burgeoning business and the state of the Kingdom’s banking industry.

Your bank has been in the Kingdom for a year. How has business been?

HwangDBS Commercial Bank opened its doors amid the global financial crisis. Though it was certainly challenging, we have had some opportunities, allowing us to record a considerably lower-than-expected pre-tax loss of US$0.77 million with total operating revenue of $0.44 million [last year].

Naturally, we started with building up our deposits by offering attractive rates. As at 31 July 2010, our total deposits stand at $19.3 million and outstanding loans at $3.8 million.

As a newer entrant to the market, how will HwangDBS build its customer base?

I believe that there is tremendous room for growth given that the Cambodian economy is still young, and there is a large percentage of the local population that are still wary of banks or have limited access to such facilities. Most banks are located in urban cities, whilst over 80 percent of the population lives in the countryside.

What are some of the opportunities and challenges the bank sees in the Cambodian banking industry at the moment?

The main challenge for us is our network. We have only one outlet at the moment.

The other major challenge is competition, given that there are currently 28 banks in Cambodia competing for the same piece of the pie.

HwangDBS CB differentiates itself through our service and our commitment to provide convenient, fast and efficient banking services to our customers.

If our customers are not able to come to us, we will go to them. To address the challenge of network and reach we are planning to open another two branches in Phnom Penh by end of this year and to look into the possibility of joining an ATM network with other banks.

The Kingdom also has interest rates that are generally much higher than most of the rest of the world. Does this effect your operations? What are the interest rates the bank offers in term of loan and deposit?

This is the cost of doing business in a developing country. To be competitive, we have to structure our products competitively by identifying the needs. Whilst the deposit rates are high, the loan rates are even higher. Currently our deposit rate for our Savings account is 1 percent per annum.

Our fixed deposit rates range from 1.75 percent to 3.25 percent depending on the tenure.

Having said that, high rates are a norm, but you can see that the rates have also been falling compared to a few months ago. I believe they will continue to fall gradually in the next three to five years as the economy develops, locals become more affluent and the market efficiency improves along with the development of a sustainable credit market.

Domestic savings will also need to improve as Cambodia is currently an exception to the rule where Asian economies are often characterized by high domestic savings. By increasing the money supply in the banking system, the interest rates or the cost of borrowing should fall.

Coming from Malaysia, what have you observed regarding Cambodian perceptions of borrowing and depositing money compared to Malaysia?

There is definitely a big difference, both in terms of the perception and habits. Malaysia has been privileged to have experienced peace, which allowed their economy to develop and prosper. The banking system is fairly developed, and almost every Malaysian has at least one or more bank account. There is no fear of a bank going bankrupt or closing.

What about the sector in Cambodia?

The banking sector in Cambodia is still fairly young.

Many Cambodians still harbour distrust towards banks after a few closed and many lost their life savings in the late 1990s. As such, money is still kept in homes, where it is unsafe.

The younger generation is more receptive towards the idea of putting money in banks and is starting to see the benefits and convenience of doing so.

As more gain employment, they will eventually open a bank account, start saving, own a credit card and apply for loans to purchase a motorbike, car and even a house. In term of borrowings, we noted that more and more Cambodians now understand the benefits of borrowing.

Cambodia now has a huge number of commercial banks (28) and will reach 30 by the end of this year as CIMB and Bank of China set up shop.

The National Bank of Cambodia in late 2008 regulated the commercial banks to triple its registered capital to $37.5 million by the end of this year, what is your opinion on this issue?

This is natural for a developing economy as the government understands the importance of attracting foreign capital investment. What will happen eventually is that the banking sector will consolidate. The strong will become stronger, and the weaker banks will eventually be absorbed or will eventually close.

On our part, HwangDBS CB will be increasing the number of bank branches over the next three years, and at the same time we will be increasing our paid-up capital to $37.5 million from $30 million before the end of this year.

All these, I believe, [are] strong proof of our commitment to doing business in Cambodia.

Interview by Nguon Sovan

CDC inks good investment month

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:01 Chun Sophal

THE Council for the Development of Cambodia approved US$300 million worth of investments in July, nearly double its total investments approved in June, according to a CDC report obtained yesterday.

Fifteen large investment projects were given the green light, with 10 projects worth $278 million approved in the agricultural sector, and another five investments worth $20 million rubber-stamped for the industrial sector.

The government approved 63 investment projects worth $1.377 billion in the first seven months of the year, whereas an equal number of projects worth $1.473 billion were granted the go-ahead during the first seven months of 2009, figures show.

The CDC approved investment by 13 companies from eight countries during July, according to its report, and cleared four Chinese companies to launch investment projects in the Kingdom.

Sugarcane attracted particularly large investment, with China’s Yellow Field International Limited and Great Field International planning to invest $74.6 million and $66.4 million respectively to grow sugarcane and other crops.

Meanwhile, United States-based Horizon Agriculture Development Co and Singapore and Malaysia’s Mondul Agri Resources Company plan to invest $28.8 million and $30 million respectively to grow rubber trees.

However, former Asian Development Bank senior country economist Eric Sidgwick warned that it was important to focus on the overall trend with regard to the CDC’s investment figures, as they tend to vary from month to month.

“Investments in a small economy like Cambodia are lumpy, and figures for one month do not necessarily entail any change in the underlying trend,” he said earlier this year.

CDC Deputy Secretary General Duy Thov said an increasing number of foreign companies were interested in investing in Cambodia’s agricultural and product-processing sectors.

Hotels open despite economy

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:01 Soeun Say

TWENTY new hotels in Cambodia have been granted licences during the first six months of the year, a figure that Tourism Ministry officials called a “strong sign for the tourism sector” yesterday.

The new hotels will join another 110 that received licences during the period, the ministry’s Tourism Industry Department Director Prak Chan Dara said yesterday.

“The number of tourists increases every year – that’s why we need the hotels,” as gradual economic recovery has spurred growth in tourist arrivals, he said.

“We hope the number of new hotels will continue to grow in the second half of the year,” he said.

Aside from the opening of hotels amid poor domestic economic conditions, he said, there was ample evidence of the tourism industry’s long-term growth.

“Despite the world economic crisis, tourists are still coming,” he said. “The number of tourists is increasing every year – that’s why I decided to open.”

Figures obtained by the Post earlier this week show that 455 hotels are licensed to operate in the Kingdom, and they are required to renew their licences every two years.

Ratanakkiri Tourism Department director Nget Pitou said the province had seen three new hotels and seven guesthouses during the first half of the year.

The province now has seven hotels and 21 guesthouses, but needs more, he said.

“It is not enough for tourists, and we have no facilities for big events,” he said. “We need more hotels and guesthouses in Ratanakkiri.”

Titanium-mining figures much too good to be true

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:01 Steve Finch

THE prospect of Cambodia developing its biggest mine to date – the United Khmer Group titanium concession in Koh Kong province – promises considerable economic potential. Unfortunately, the project quite simply does not add up.

CEO Chea Chet’s assertion that the mine could generate revenues of up to US$2,500 per tonne of slag is frankly absurd. To begin with, titanium slag has been fetching less than a third of this price all year in a market that at the beginning of 2010 was considered overheated due to high Chinese demand.

Last month delivered titanium slag from Hebei province, the highest-value in China at the time, fetched a top price of 4,600 yuan, or $670 per tonne, which includes government tax. The actual revenue generated for the mining firm itself would therefore have been even lower.

Since May, prices in China – the main foreign investor in the Koh Kong mine – have fallen as Chinese manufacturers have used up stockpiles of the raw material. This does not necessarily impact the United Khmer Group mine, as it will not start production until mid-2011 at the earliest, but considering the highest prices in the market today, the mine is worth more like $36 billion at the absolute maximum. According to Robert Porter, general manager of investor relations and corporate affairs at Australian miner Iluka, the value is even lower at $21.6 billion. He should know – Iluka is the second-largest producer of titanium minerals on the planet. Why then is United Khmer Group inflating the value of the mine so drastically?

Even if the concession were only to produce revenues at the lower, more realistic end of these estimates, it would represent a significant natural resource for Cambodia – under current legislation the Kingdom would generate tax worth 30 percent of total profits. But then, the resource has to be handled correctly by the government and all stakeholders if it is to realise its true economic potential, and here there are further concerns.

To begin with, the concession appears to be more than twice the legally permitted limit at more than 20,000 hectares. More importantly, environmental concerns should be appropriately considered, a point that has already caused behind-the-scenes disagreement within the government. That the mine appears to lie within a protected forest area is just one concern.

Just 10 kilometres away from the edge of the concession, Chi Pat is set to be the country’s foremost eco-tourism site when a high-end lodge currently under construction is completed in partnership with Wildlife Alliance. The key will therefore be making sure both projects can live together without the mine degrading the local environment to such an extent that the area is no longer attractive to the expected surge in tourists.

As we have seen in the case of neighbouring Laos, which generates 15 percent of its GDP from mining, extractive industries can play a major role in developing economies. But the Cambodian government needs to guarantee that mining plays a positive role for everyone concerned.

Amateur golf open proves a real hit

Photo Supplied
Emmett “Hefner” McHenry arrives in style for the opening of the Angkor Amateur Open at Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:00 Peter Olszewski

SUNDAY saw the completion of the Angkor Amateur Open golf tournament, which proved to be a lively mix of sporting expertise and socialising. There was a bright lights, big city aspect to the tourney with several Cambodian dignitaries playing, attracting television cameras and crews.

Last year’s Division C winner, Sokha Angkor Resort general manager Emmett McHenry, took the social aspect to a flamboyant degree by

emulating Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and arriving at the course on day one bedecked in raiment that might possibly pass as a dressing gown, and together with a gaggle of golfers, spilled from the hotel’s large and ostentatious limousine.

Earlier in the week, McHenry had taken the over-long limousine for a test run to see whether it could in fact navigate the numerous bends and corners on the road leading to the Angkor Golf Resort, the venue for the tournament.

The three-day event attracted a field of 48 golfers from Thailand, Malaysia, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to compete in four separate handicap divisions.

Phnom Penh’s Lesley Saunderson triumphed in the Ladies Division with a blistering second round providing a 10-stroke win over her nearest rival, Kanyakorn Powers of Thailand.

A very keenly contested Division C, which comprised most of the field, saw HE Bin Chhin take the honours from local golfer Chea Sopheak. Last year’s winner, the usually competitive Emmett McHenry, saw his game fall into a heap, possibly due to the exertions of arriving by limousine.

Division B’s Sunday play saw overnight leader Brendan O’driscoll fall away badly with his second round, allowing a superb rally from HE Chhay Seng Our to claim top spot with one of the best rounds of the day. Richard Erlebach continued his impressive form to take the runner-up spot, after the O’driscoll capitulation.

Another strong turnout of quality golfers for Division A saw Scott Puzey come from behind with a scintillating even par 72 to win this year’s Open.

Saturday’s round one leader, Robin Briars from Thailand, slumped to a disappointing seven over par on his second round, allowing Puzey to claim top prize.

In the nett division, local talent Ly Hong continued his rich form by claiming the runner-up spot behind Thailand’s Nick Toon.

Dirty laundry finally gets aired

Photo by: Nicky Hosford
Huang Cuen Long is pictured with son Kenzie, lucky owner of a supply of clean nappies.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:00 Nicky Hosford

It’s news of absolutely no significance on a global scale, and even on a Cambodian scale it’s inconsequential. But to Siem Reap residents sans washing machine it’s a big deal – the arrival of the first Western-style, laundromat-style clothes washing service.

On the surface, washing clothes in Siem Reap can seem a doddle. Just chuck the washing into a bag and send it off to a local cleaner for a small fee.

The downside is that the clothes are scrubbed by hand in cold water and dried in the sun.

While at first that may seem charmingly ethnic, it has its downsides. Hand scrubbing quickly disintegrates items such as shirts and other items, which are often scrubbed right down to their stitches. Cold water means that bedding is never really hygienically clean, and sun drying means dust gathers on the garments.

The only alternative is to send washing to five-star hotels for exorbitant fees. But with the opening of 3 Hours Laundry, a young Indonesian entrepreneur is now providing a valuable improvement on the current system.

Huang Cuen Long had a problem with the dust in his clothes, as he’s allergic to it. He was already looking for business opportunities in Siem Reap and the itching helped him to settle on opening his own laundrette here, using frontloading washing machines and tumble dryers, instead of top-loaders or the deadly scrubbing brush.

Hot water means cleaner and presumably more hygienic clothes, and drying in a machine means colours will no longer fade so fast, or clothes moulder, under the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Finally, the use of fabric softener ensures clothes will come up soft and sweet-smelling.

I did one wash there, and the mud stains that are usually left by my own top-loading machine were gone. I had a pair of actually white, white trousers again. The use of fabric softener was noticeable, and everything came back soft and fragrant, like fresh laundry used to be.

There is a special rate for the month of August, and Huang will soon be running a collection and delivery service for Siem Reap’s laundry needs. The laundry is on the road to Psar Krom – take the middle road at the junction between Sivutha Boulevard and the road to Chong Kneas, then continue for 300 metres.

African visitors learn water hyacinth weaving

Photo by: Nicky Hosford
Visitors from Benin – from left, Dominique Faïzoun, Martine De Souza and Nicole Dossa – learn about weaving at Prek Toal.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:00 Nicky Hosford

LOCAL NGO Osmose is host this month to a small group from the West African state of Benin, here to learn from women in Prek Toal floating village the intricacies of water hyacinth weaving.

Since 2005, Osmose has supported a small cooperative of women from Prek Toal, who weave the invasive aquatic plant into mats, baskets and accessories, and have gained a reputation for quality and design.

Beninites Nicole Dossa and Martine De Souza are staying in the floating village to learn the craft, and are using the ecotourism services developed by members of the village over the last year. Both have been enjoying their trip.

“The women are completely professional. We’re so impressed with them,” De Souza said.

Another member of the group, Dominique Faïzoun, will spend his time in Siem Reap studying the processes and practices involved in running an ecotourism business, and how the development of local handicrafts skills can be used to improve livelihoods.

Knowledge garnered here will be applied in Benin to another floating village, at Ganvié, a commune of about 23,000 people, 25 kilometres from the capital Cotonou.

There, the team, along with the Benin government and UN, will develop an ecotourism industry to forestall the potentially negative effects of tourism, and to develop a handicrafts industry to assist uneducated girls and widows.

Notwithstanding the beauty of the flowers produced by water hyacinth, it is a pest and is known as one of the world’s worst aquatic weeds because of its astounding growth rate and capacity to block waterways.

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

via Khmer NZ

Beer profits frothing up

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:00 Jeremy Mullins

ASIA Pacific Breweries, the producer of Tiger and Anchor beer, saw its Indochina profits for the May to July quarter climb 30 percent to over US$40 million compared to the period last year, according to financial statements released yesterday. Its Indochina business, including its joint ownership stale in Cambodia Brewery Ltd as well as Vietnam and Laos operations, generated 42 percent of the firm’s total $97.4 million global profits and around one-third of its worldwide $462 million revenue for the quarter, it said. Cambodia Brewery officials did not return a request for comment yesterday.

Sihanoukville Port sees 17pc jump in shipments

Friday, 13 August 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

FREIGHT shipments through the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port increased 17 percent in July over the previous month, according to figures obtained yesterday. Some 23,146 twenty-foot equivalent units were shipped through the port last month, a 17.2 percent increase on the 19,750 TEUs shipped in June. Total freight shipments through the port in the first seven months totalled 126,770 TEUs, a 3.2 percent increase on the 122,783 that went through the port in the same period in 2009. The port has seen large increases in shipments in some products such as oil, acacia wood, garments and construction materials, Sihanoukville Autonomous Port deputy director general Ma Sun Hot said yesterday.

S 21 Survivors Receive Duch Verdict (Khmer Language)

Siem Eap Court Hold Hearing of Representatives of Land Protestors (Khmer Language)

Cambodia Celebrates 16th International Day for Indigenous People (Khmer Language)

Cambodians fight for higher pay

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, August 12, 2010

A union movement in Cambodia is growing as workers step up protests, demanding higher pay to cope with rising inflation.

Last month the government raised the minimum wage for employees in the garment industry, which accounts for a massive portion of the country's exports, but many workers say the salary increase is not enough to meet the skyrocketing costs of food and housing rents.

Due to a recent plunge in consumer demand from abroad, thousands of people have also lost their jobs.

Aela Callan reports from Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, on how many are struggling to survive amid the soaring living costs.

Hun Sen will seek UN chief mediation in border row

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/

via Khmer NZ

Published on August 13, 2010

Cambodian PM says talks won't resume until earlier agreements are approved by Thai lawmakers

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday said he will ask UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to play the role as coordinator for border issues with Thailand, China's state-owned news agency reported.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will visit Cambodia on October 27- 28.

"I will ask him to act as coordinator," Hun Sen announced at a meeting of the Tonle Sap Conversation in Phnom Penh yesterday, Xinhua reported.

The premier, however, insisted the bilateral border talks will not be resumed unless Thai lawmakers approved the border agreements reached by both border committees in past years - or it would be a waste of time. Hun Sen had earlier called for a third party such as the UN or Asean to join in the border talks.

"It is ridiculous that Thailand accuses Cambodia of invading and using force," Hun Sen said, adding that according to the judgement of the Hague International Court in 1962, the Preah Vihear temple and its surrounding area belonged to Cambodia, so there is no disputed border between Cambodia and Thailand.

"I don't know where the area of 4.6 square kilometres is - so how can I ask my people and army to withdraw?"

He also appealed to Thai media to consider their stories [carefully] before publishing, following Prime Minister Abhisit's claim Thai media had misquoted him.

Hun Sen reiterated that Cambodia does not seek to use force to resolve the border issue, but, he said, "we will defend our territorial integrity."

Meanwhile, the current feud over Preah Vihear Temple and the surrounding land between Thailand and Cambodia will not likely lead to war because Cambodia is a "good friend" to Thailand - but Thais should not escalate the matter further, said General Chavalit Yongchaiyud, chairman of the Pheu Thai Party yesterday.

"We can be angry at one another but will eventually reconcile and speak nicely to one another," said Chavalit, as the tension continued. "Soldiers on both sides love one another too. They cross the border to drink together and so the risk of using force is minimal. But we all must help and those with opinions must air their views carefully... This doesn't mean we would give up our land - but there are ways to approach the matter both openly and secretly."

Chavalit said the government needed more than support from all sides.

The remarks by Chavalit were not received well by Thepthai Saenphong, spokesperson to the leader of the Democrat Party. Thepthai accused Chavalit of being at the heart of the Thai-Cambodian conflict because, after Chavalit's visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in October 2009, Thaksin Shinawatra was made an economic adviser to the Cambodian premier. Chavalit should recognise that he had a part in creating the Thai-Cambodian conflict, Thepthai added.

Thepthai also added that prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is "highly mature" and so will not engage in battle of words with the Cambodian counterpart.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party spokeperson Buranat Samutarak alleged the statement made by the Cambodian premier in his letter to the UN Security Council suspiciously resembled words used by Robert Amstersdam, Thaksin's lawyer. Buranat also said the claim by Hun Sen that Thailand might resort to force is an intentional attempt to misinterpret what Abhisit said, despite the prime minister's assurance that no force would be used.

Buranat added that Thailand is trying to resolve the matter through bilateral means but Cambodia is trying to drag other parties into the conflict while habouring people who are politically opposed to the Thai government, namely some red shirt leaders. He added that both parties should refer to the MOU the Group of Paris Accord signed in 1991 between Thailand, Cambodia in 18 other states in order to sort things out.

PM warns Hun Sen to be discreet

Cambodia PM calls on UN chief Ban for help

via Khmer NZ

Published: 13/08/2010

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has warned his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, to be careful how he interprets information he receives through the media concerning the territorial dispute over the Preah Vihear temple.

Hun Sen was reported on the Cambodian Information Center website yesterday as saying he would ask the UN secretary-general to act as a coordinator on border issues with Thailand.

Mr Abhisit said Hun Sen should be careful about interpreting information on such sensitive issues through the media.

He said Thailand would explain the dispute to the global community.

"We want to solve these problems peacefully, without the use of force," Mr Abhisit said.

However, Mr Abhisit said the government would push out the Cambodian communities who have settled in the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area surrounding the temple.

Hun Sen on Sunday wrote to the UN General Assembly and the Security Council to say Mr Abhisit had threatened to use military force against Cambodia to settle the border dispute.

Thailand late last month opposed a proposal before Unesco's World Heritage Committee that it consider Cambodia's management plan for the temple.

It argued the Cambodian plan encroached on Thailand's territorial sovereignty by incorporating the surrounding area.

Hun Sen said yesterday he would ask UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to play the role of coordinator in border issues with Thailand.

Mr Ban would visit Cambodia on Oct27-28, Hun Sen said.

However, he insisted that bilateral border talks with Thailand would not resume until the Thai parliament approved border agreements reached by border committees in past years. Otherwise, the talks would be a waste of time, he said.

Hun Sen said he would also invite a third party, such as the UN or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to join the border talks.

"It is ridiculous for Thailand to accuse Cambodia of encroaching on the area or using force," he said.

The International Court of Justice in the Hague found in 1962 that the Preah Vihear temple and its surrounding area belonged to Cambodia, so there was no disputed border between Cambodia and Thailand, he said.

"I don't know this area of 4.6 square kilometres [near the temple which Thailand insists is part of Si Sa Ket], so how can I ask my people and army to withdraw?" he said.

Hun Sen reiterated that Cambodia did not want to use force to resolve the border issue, but said "we will defend our territorial integrity".

Meanwhile, the Thai Foreign Ministry has set up a new working group to oversee the issue.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has appointed his secretary, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, to head the working group.

Mr Chavanond said he would call a meeting of the group on Monday to prepare a response to Cambodia and the UN.

"This group will make decisions about the Foreign Ministry's position on border problems with Cambodia," he said. "It will help prevent public confusion and provide accurate and timely responses on the situation to the international community."

Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said yesterday he was confident the two sides would be able to settle their differences peacefully and the problem would not escalate into a war.

Troops from the two countries who are stationed along the border are close and have good ties. "They love each other," Gen Chavalit said.

KRouge jail survivors grow to accept Duch sentence

Skulls are displayed at the Choeung Ek killing fields memorial near Phnom Penn in July

via Khmer NZ

PHNOM PENH — A group of rare survivors of the Khmer Rouge's main prison said Thursday they accepted the sentence handed to their former jailer Duch, having initially criticised it as too lenient.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was sentenced to 30 years in jail by a UN-backed court last month for crimes against humanity over the mass murder of 15,000 men, women and children at Tuol Sleng prison.

Many survivors and relatives of victims were dismayed by the sentence, which also took into account the years Duch has served since his arrest in 1999, meaning that he could walk free in about 19 years.

But three prominent survivors, who had demanded Duch be sentenced to life in jail, changed their minds on Thursday after receiving copies of the court ruling during a ceremony at the former prison.

They raised the verdict books into the air and told the souls of those killed there: "This is justice that we have been waiting for."

"I am very pleased after receiving copies of the verdict book from the court," said Bou Meng, one of a handful of inmates who survived Tuol Sleng.

"The verdict is not 100 percent perfect, but it is acceptable," he said.

Fellow survivor Chum Mey told reporters that he had changed his mind after taking into account the court's independence and its efforts to seek justice for the victims.

"This is a historic verdict for the young generation," said Chum Mey, who suffered 12 days of beatings at Tuol Sleng until he falsely confessed to spying on the regime.

The court has printed thousands of copies of the 450-page verdict to be distributed to the Cambodian people, according to a spokesman for the tribunal.

Duch, 67, was the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face an international tribunal.

He was initially handed 35 years but the court reduced the jail sentence on the grounds that he had been detained illegally for years before the UN-backed tribunal was established. His lawyer has said he plans to appeal.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst horrors of the 20th century, wiping out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and execution.

Finding Clarity and Inner Stillness Through Meditation

Question of Further Indictments Continues to Hang Over Tribunal

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
Thursday, 12 August 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP
An unidentified former soldier looks on near the once Khmer Rouge-stronghold border town of Pailin.

“If they just arrest people continuously, there will be much impact, and the situation will change to turmoil and then to war.”

Following the recent Khmer Rouge tribunal verdict for Duch, the UN-backed court has still been unable to deal with the question of more indictments beyond five leaders currently in custody.

A former Khmer Rouge district chief who could face charges for her role in the regime says five defendants is enough already. But tribunal observers warn that truth and reconciliation will be diminished if the UN-backed court does not expand the number of suspects.

The tribunal is now focusing on its second case, to try for atrocity crimes Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirity, and possibly Kaing Kek Iev. But there are further indictments possible in the third and fourth cases.

“If they just arrest people continuously, there will be much impact, and the situation will change to turmoil and then to war,” said Im Chaem, now a deputy commune chief in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng. “If it just ends [with five jailed Khmer Rouge], there will be no war.”

Researchers say she could be named if the list of suspects for the tribunal is expanded. The names of those under investigation for possible indictment has not been made public.

Speaking from her home in Anlong Veng, Im Chaem did not give a detailed explanation how the country might be destabilized by further arrests, but her warnings were similar to those of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the tribunal's Cambodian prosecutor, Chea Leang.

All have said the more suspects could erode the peace that was brokered in the late 1990s, as soldiers and commanders of the Khmer Rouge integrated into the government.

Former Khmer Rouge leaders now hold key positions in government, from provincial governors to deputy governors, district chiefs, army division chiefs, and deputy regimental commanders, especially in the northwest.

Im Chaem, the former Khmer Rouge district chief of Proneth Preah in Banteay Meanchey province, said the trials of the five Khmer Rouge leaders now in custody would give her a “clear” feeling.

“Other people and myself are just following the speeches of [Prime Minister] Hun Sen, who says only five should be tried, and that others were not involved,” she said. “That is why there is nothing to think about and nothing to fear for my past involvement in the regime.”

“There was war everywhere,” she said of the turbulent past. “So if the leaders are brought to detention and convicted for some years in prison, then how should we feel, the low-level who worked according to orders from the top? They asked us to do something and we did it, and whether the work was deep or not deep, we didn't know.”

Some experts have expressed doubt that the tribunal will be able to bring the reconciliation it seeks, especially in its so-far limited scope. It took years to finish the first trial, of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, who was sentenced to a commuted 19 years in prison for atrocity crimes just last month.

“Anyone who was in Cambodia in the late 1990s knows that part of the reason the tribunal got cooperation from Cambodians was because they agreed to only focus on the very top,” said Peter Maguire, author of “Facing Death in Cambodia.”

“If this court can barely try Duch, they have no right to make noise about more trials,” he said.

Other observers say the tribunal should push ahead with as many trials as possible, to widen its impact.

“If the court is capable of completing effective prosecutions and fair trials of the four high level defendants charged in case 2 and the remaining defendants in cases 3 [and] 4, it will have provided an important measure of accountability and helped reveal the truth of Khmer Rouge crimes,” said James Goldston, executive director of the US-based Open Society Justice Initiative, which monitors the tribunal.

The question is whether the government can protect mid-level Khmer Rouge cadre while still focusing on a wider tier of senior leaders. If Duch was tried as a prison chief, can others of his level also be indicted?

If such a relatively low-level figure was tried, said one court observer who asked not to be named, then senior leaders can claim they were mid-level, and outside of the court's mandate to try the senior-most cadre.

Meanwhile, according to one lawyer who requested anonymity, those figures now in custody have invoked rights of silence and have not cooperated with the court, making it hard for judges to seek further testimony.

As for Im Chaem, she said she won't testify at the court.

“I don't know what work there is for me to go for, because I don't know anything,” she said, laughing. “Even if I'm called, I absolutely will not go, because I know nothing.”

Sok Pheap, a two-star general and deputy chief of the government's Border Committee, was a former commander of a Khmer Rouge division in the area of Malai. He told VOA Khmer in a phone interview that he had no knowledge of senior decisions because he was busy on the front lines.

“They ordered me to fight and fire and lay landmines, and I did, not thinking about politics,” he said. “I never even slept in the village. How can I know? I had always been in the jungle and never even knew a mattress or pillow until reintegration.”

Other former Khmer Rouge cadre contacted by VOA Khmer claimed the recent verdict in the Duch trial had not caused concern in former Khmer Rouge areas.

People in those areas “have confidence in the government that it will not mess up or disturb the feelings of those who were the commanders who were just victims of the [senior leaders] of the regime,” said Yim Phanna, a former Khmer Rouge commander based in Anglong Veng. He is the current chief of the district.

Tribunal Begins Public Distribution of Duch Verdict

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Thursday, 12 August 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP
About two million Cambodians are estimated to have died in the Khmer Rouge regime.

“I raise up this verdict for the souls of those who died here to accept it, and to see that the perpetrator is condemned in history to 35 years in prison.”

The Khmer Rouge tribunal began distributing official copies of the judgment for torture chief Kaing Kek Iev on Thursday, as several survivors of his notorious Tuol Sleng prison said they hoped the souls of his victims would accept the court's verdict.

The book was handed out at Tuol Sleng, which is now a museum, the mass grave site of Choeung Ek, and in Phnom Penh's Prey Sar commune.

“I raise up this verdict for the souls of those who died here to accept it, and to see that the perpetrator is condemned in history to 35 years in prison,” Van Nath, a 64-year-old survivor of the prison said at the ceremony.

The UN-backed court expects to distribute around 27,000 copies of the full verdict around the country, for use in education facilities and libraries.

The verdict, which found Duch, as he is commonly known, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, commuted a 35-year term to 19 years in prison, following leniency and time served.

Some victims have said the sentence was too light for Duch's responsibility in the torture and execution of more than 12,000 people. But on Thursday, the call was for acceptance.

“My wife was killed at Choeung Ek lake,” said Bou Meng, another survivor of the prison. “I pray to the souls of my wife, my children and the Cambodian people to accept [the verdict] peacefully.”

Thursday's distribution was part of an outreach effort from the tribunal.

The distribution of the judgement will begin a process “to make sure that normal Cambodian people can read the verdict and get a copy of the verdict if they want to,” tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen said.

Survivors like Van Nath and Bou Meng were the first to receive copies, he said.

“We hope that they will use the book to teach their children,” Reach Sambath, a spokesman for the Cambodian side of the hybrid court, said.

A copy will be kept as a “historical document” at Tuol Sleng, the museum's director, Keso Ponnaker, said.

Thai, Cambodian Defense Ministries Postpone Border Meeting

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Thursday, 12 August 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: by Taing Sarada
The 7th General Border Meeting, which was to be held in Thailand on Aug. 27, was officially delayed because Thailand's defense minsitry had not prepared necessary documents, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said Thursday.

The meeting was to be “a very important basis for maintaining security and peace along the border.”

Cambodia and Thailand have indefinitely postponed an annual border meeting in the midst of an ongoing row over Preah Vihear temple, Cambodia's defense minister said Thursday.

The 7th General Border Meeting, which was to be held in Thailand on Aug. 27, was officially delayed because Thailand's defense minsitry had not prepared necessary documents, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said Thursday.

At the meeting, both side were expected to sign agreements on border security, cooperation on landmine disposal, prevention of drug and human trafficking, and other security measures.

The meeting was to be “a very important basis for maintaining security and peace along the border,” said Chhum Socheath, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense.

Both sides have said the postponement is not related to a recent dust-up over Preah Vihear temple, where the ownership of a nearby 4.6-kilometer stretch of land is disputed.

The Bangkok Post on Wednesday quoted Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya saying a Joint Boundary Committee meeting should be conducted over the border row.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who earlier this week filed letters to senior UN officials over the ongoing dispute, said talks between foreign ministers were not necessary until the Thai parliament ratifies official records of previous meetings.

Rights Investigation Alleges Abuse at Aid Organization

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Thursday, 12 August 2010

via Khmer NZ

Photo: AP
Cambodian drug users, who declined to be identified, show arms at the place where they live and use narcotics behind a pagoda in Phnom Penh.

“I lived with the organization for two years, but I moved away from the area, because my 13-year-old daughter was raped by a security guard.”

A major rights group is calling on the government to investigate abuses allegedly carried out by an organization set up to help with AIDS and drug abuse.

In a statement issued Thursday, Adhoc said the Administration of Drugs and AIDS Research and Prevention organization had committed “serious human rights violations,” including “land rights violations of 57 families...many raping cases, physical and mental torture...intimidation and arm[ed] threats.”

The Preah Vihear province research organization, ADASP, is directed by a powerful businessman and two-star general named Pen Lim.

“I lived with the organization for two years, but I moved away from the area, because my 13-year-old daughter was raped by a security guard,” Khim Khon, a 54-year-old villager in Kantout commune, told reporters in Phnom Penh Thursday. “When I complained about the rape of my daughter, the security guard of the organization hand-cuffed me and beat me and made me spend the night in the office of the organization.”

Khim Khon said she had bought land from ADASP, which had been granted a concession by the national government, but she has moved away.

Pao Pok, a 74-year-old former resident at ADASP, told reporters his niece was raped in 2008 by ADASP security guards.

Pao Pok said his complaints to Pen Lim were ignored. He said living in the guarded compound was like living as a trapped animal.

Pen Lim could not be reached for comment Thursday. However, Tol Ret, a representative of the organization, denied Adhoc's allegations.

Sok Hay, governor of Choam Ksann district, where the organization operates, told VOA Khmer by phone he had received complaints from villagers. Authorities will now be investigating the allegations, he said.

Cambodian women save the world, in Prey Veng mission

http://www.asianews.it/

via Khmer NZ

08/12/2010

by Alberto Caccaro

Fr Alberto Caccaro, a PIME missionary who has lived in Cambodia for the past ten years, wrote the following letter after a brief holiday in Italy. In it, he describes daily life at his mission, focusing on a woman trying to get a daughter into school, a Christian woman coping with a small child, a blind girl who wants to “feel” close and pray for missionaries.

Prey Veng (AsiaNews) – We are publishing in its entirety a letter Father Alberto sent to his friends in Italy:

“If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it;

blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches[.”1

“Are we here, perhaps, for saying: house,

bridge, fountain, gate, jug, fruit-tree, window –

at most: column, tower . . . .”2

Two days ago, a widowed mother came. She wanted to register her teenage daughter in our school. I saw her arrive on a battered motorbike, skidding, motor sputtering along, but moving nonetheless. They were three on the bike. The woman had a niece, in addition to her daughter, also coming for registration. They were from a not-so distant village, but hard to get to because of a very rough road.

She wore a pair of sunglasses as old as the motorcycle, but useful to hide an eye impairment. I only figured it out after talking to her. Slowly, she told me that to get to the school she had to borrow the bike from a neighbour. And since it had no registration plate, she had to borrow that too from a second neighbour, one with the right sized holes so that it could be properly attached and not give her away to the highway police. Since she had no helmet, which is increasingly becoming a must even in the countryside, she borrowed one from a third neighbour . . . . In order to hide how poor she was, instead of borrowing all three from one person, she borrowed each piece from a different neighbour.

All set and ready to go on her borrowed bike, plate and helmet, she brought the two girls to the school. As she spoke to me, I could not but notice, almost like a background stage to what she was saying, two teeth on her upper dental arch, and one on the lower arch. Nothing more. Yet, she was shooting away, speaking with such passion about her daughter, her niece and their desire to study that I saw in what she lacked what made her a full person, and gave her a sense of being complete.

What Rainer Maria Rilke said is true. We must be able to evoke the richness of what would otherwise appear plain and remain so. I realise that I am not in Prey Veng to achieve big things. I only have to observe and evoke, name the richness that is hiding in the heart of so many poor and limping mothers, . . . on the go, always. “Are we here, perhaps, for saying: house, bridge, fountain, gate, jug, fruit-tree, window – at most: column, tower”. Bike, plate, helmet . . . Say the name till one evokes,3 and thus rescue from oblivion. Mothers save the world . . . .

Hang had her first child two months ago. Married about a year ago, she became the mother of a beautiful baby boy. Since she had the child, she has not been to Mass. I finally met up with her a few days ago. She told me about her husband, who is not Catholic, and who is often away from home, working far away. He will not be able to be at the baby’s baptism, on the Feast Day of the Assumption. She spoke about her child crying at the night, how no one can sleep, her faraway husband who comes back on rare and short visits, perhaps just one night, before going away. Even on the day the child was born, they called him several times to go back work. Then the birth came, and the sleepless nights . . . .

She did notice one thing though. When the father is back and sleeps at home, the child is all quite and sleeps. One night, another one of those without dad, powerless to do anything about the child’s cries, she took one of her husband’s shirts and wrapped the babe in it. A few moments later, he stopped crying. “Perhaps,” the young mother said, “my baby recognised his dad’s smell and is soothed by it, as if the father was there.” She tried it again and it worked.

I was moved by the thought that a two-month child could recognise whether his dad was home or not, and express what he felt, crying. I told the woman to explain to her husband that, whilst work is necessary, it could not be used as an excuse to stay away from his son. I don’t know how things will work out in the end, but the little prince cries when his daddy goes away, leaving an empty home of abandoned walls.

Thinking about these two mothers, the words of a contemporary poet came back to me. “Women shall save the world. Of course, fathers shape it, children turn it into an adventure, building it anew. But it is mothers who save it. We see it when times are hard, when conflicts break out, and we do not know what to do. It is then that mothers, some mothers, save it. Their patient sowing and their secret strength guard it and revive it.”4

When I was in Italy, I met a little princess. I was visiting the Giorgio Macchi Elementary School in Somma. I had been invited to speak to 250 children, all at once. When I came into the gym, they called me “friend” several times in so many different languages, and sang a cute refrain, “With my hand in your hand, with my heart in your heart”. Eventually, I spoke, for about an hour, everyone listening carefully. At the end, a girl accompanied by her teacher came towards me. She asked me, “Father Alberto can I take your hands?” I realise then that her head was slightly tilted, the way blind people do. The teacher confirmed it. Stephanie, that is her name, listened to me for an hour, but that was not enough. She wanted to feel if what she heard was true. She grasped my hands. I sat down and she, with unexpected confidence, bent resting on my knee. I thought, “Stephanie, you who can see what I cannot yet see, always say a little prayer for us missionaries.” There and then, I felt the gift of a deep communion. This little princess brought me to a deeper and truer level, one where Church, Family, School and Society are but one, single body, “With my hand in your hand, with my heart in your heart”. I asked the children to sing the song again.

During the months of my stay in Italy, I met so many beautiful people. I will not repeat their names for fear of leaving someone out. I just thank them all; those in the schools, monasteries, parishes that I visited; the priests, nuns, relatives, friends; those who organised parties and those who made sure I saw the sea; the Alpini, the young people of Akuna Matata; the seniors in rest homes and those at Il Girasole centre; those who sang for me and for Cambodia; those who were ill and all those I only met for a brief moment. My thoughts go especially to my elementary school teacher, Ms Franca, whom I had not seen in 30 years. I promise I shall remember everyone when I celebrate the Eucharist every day, in particular those who asked me for special prayers.

The Pope recently said that the “no one who prays is ever alone”. For me, this is true when I celebrate the Eucharist. I experience the importance of the daily celebration as faithfulness in Christ and appeal to be in communion with Him, for this way, in the soul, another life is possible, one that can “understand, know, and love—or better” realise that this is “in her—in the Trinity, together with it, as does the Trinity itself!”5 I celebrate the Eucharist so as not to be alone. With Jesus present, our small church is an enchanting place that re-introduces me to the Mystery.

Often words are not enough for me to say all about what is visible and invisible around me. I feel a deep gratitude and an urgent need to evoke the presence of the Mystery and the Power of the Eternal. “He is here. He is here as on the first day. . . . He is here among us all the days of his eternity.6

For this reason, the mission I am living is dear to me, so is the house in which I live, the church where I pray, the school where we are trying to discover and identify that excess of meaning that every dictatorship, whatever their stripe, fears and stifles. We, instead, are made so that we can say, He is here.

See you soon,

Father Alberto

Prey Veng, 6 August 2010

Transfiguration of the Lord

[1] Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a young poet (Online edition retrieved on 12 August 2010 at http://www.carrothers.com/rilke1.htm).

[2] Rainer Maria Rilke, Ninth Duino Elegy.

[3] According to my old Italian dictionary, the famous Devoto-Oli, to evoke means “calling something forth from the world of mystery to that of sensory experience”.

[4] Text by Davide Rondoni.

[5] Saint John of the Cross, Spiritual Canticle.

[6] Charles Péguy

Cambodia wants UN chief to mediate with Thailand

via Khmer NZ

By SOPHENG CHEANG

Associated Press

2010-08-12

Cambodia's prime minister said Thursday he will ask United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help mediate talks he is proposing to help settle a border dispute with neighboring Thailand.

Speaking to government officials in the capital Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said he will raise the issue with Ban during the U.N chief's official visit to Cambodia on Oct. 27-28.

Thailand and Cambodia both claim a 1.8-square-mile (4.6-square-kilometer) patch of land near the cliff-top Preah Vihear temple. Hun Sen on Monday proposed an international conference to discuss the dispute "because the bilateral discussion is at an impasse now."

"We will request the United Nations Secretary-General to be the coordinator," Hun Sen said Thursday.

Thailand opposes the idea as unnecessary because a 2000 agreement between the two countries provides the framework for a solution.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday accused Cambodia of causing the current problem by moving people onto the disputed land. Both countries have a heavy troop presence in the area and have had several small but sometimes deadly clashes in the past few years.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the 11th century temple belongs to Phnom Penh.

UNESCO named it a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied for the status. The country submitted a management plan for the temple recently to UNESCO's World Heritage Commission, which deferred a decision until next year.

Abhisit is under pressure to move aggressively because Thai right-wing nationalists have protested that Cambodian actions there threaten Thailand's sovereignty.

Domestic political pressure limits Abhisit's ability to make compromises, while Hun Sen _ who runs Cambodia with an iron hand _ can act without much fear of criticism, and seems to enjoy taunting his Thai counterpart. His antagonism toward Abhisit's government may be ascribed to the Thai leader appointing as his foreign minister Kasit Piromya, who before taking the post had insulted Hun Sen in public speeches as a gangster and a bum.

Iran-Cambodia call for boosting ties

http://www.mcot.net/

via Khmer NZ

Tehran, August 12, (IRNA) – Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and visiting Cambodian Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Hornam Hung here Wednesday stressed the need for expansion of bilateral relations.

According to the News and Media Office of the Islamic parliament, Majlis, Larijani expressed delight over the expanding of friendly ties between both countries, adding that “Iran-Cambodia have broad potentials for strengthening and broadening their friendly ties based on proper planning.” Larijani stressed that Iran considers possession of nuclear weapons as a great threat against world peace and stability, emphasizing, “Iran’s peaceful nuclear program is fully within the framework of the international rules and regulations.” Referring to West’s stand towards the trilateral Tehran agreement, he said, “Such approaches lead to increased distrust in the international scene.” For his part, Hornam Hung praised Iran as a country with a rich culture and an ancient civilization, adding that “expansion of ties with Iran is of great significance for Cambodia.” Referring to the reached agreements in his ongoing visit of Iran, Hung expressed hope that ties between both countries would enter a new phase.

He also declared Cambodia's full support for the righteous Palestinian cause and for Iran’s absolute right to have full access to the entire cycle of the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

“My country has always opposed the interference of the United States in other countries’ internal affairs,” Hung stressed, criticizing the international community's observed double-standards in dealing with issues of significant importance. (IRNA)

Thailand Asked to Delay the Meeting on GBC,” Cambodian Defense Minister Said

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 12 August 2010 12:26 DAP NEWS / Vibol

CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, AUGUST 12, 2010-Cambodian Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh said on Thursday that his Thai counterpart asked to delay the meeting of GBC with indefinite time.

The Thai side said that they need more time to prepare documents for the meeting of GBC,” Tea Banh told reporters after the closing ceremony of Tonle Sap conservation Authority.

Thai Defense Minister called me by phone to delay the meeting,” Tea Banh added.

Gen. Chum Socheat, spokesman for defense ministry said that Thai side always plays trickily and very flexible with us.

PM Hun Sen this morning asked the deputies to stop bilateral talks with Thailand on border issues unless Thai National Assembly approved the previous documents that signed by Joint Border Committee which conducted for three times already.

But Thailand did not pass it yet. We do not want to lose time and the bilateral talks resume when the Thai National assembly passed the document and Thai government implemented,” PM Hun Sen said.

“We need the international community to help,” He said. He hinted that Indonesia or Japan could help us.

PM Hun Sen remarked that recently a Thai senator urged Thai military and government to use air forces to take Cambodian land of 4.6 square km. if he want to take that land, please come to take that land. Thailand used own map in 1976 that secretly was drawn by military forces to take Cambodian land of 4.6 square km.

In July 2008, Thai troops invaded Cambodia near Preah Vihear temple. And latest development, Thailand opposed management plan of Preah Vihear temple in Brazil.