AKP - Agent Kampuchea Press

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AKP/01

NA President Receives Out-going S. Korean Ambassador

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly, met here on Aug. 18 with out-going Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Cambodia H.E. Lee Kyung-Soo.

The out-going S. Korean diplomat said during his diplomatic mission, he noted remarkable democratic and economic development in the Kingdom. “This shows the efforts from both Cambodian legislative and executive bodies,” he said.

The trade exchange between Cambodia and S. Korea has also developed significantly, he added, pledging to continue to help promote the relationship and cooperation between the two nations even though he completed his diplomatic mission in the Kingdom.

In reply, Samdech Chakrei Heng Samrin expressed deep thanks to the government and people of the Republic of Korea for their precious assistance to Cambodia, especially in training human resource, receiving Cambodian labor and providing grants and loans for infrastructure construction.

In Cambodia, he said, S. Korea is in the lead in eight key domains - investment, tourism, cultural exchange, vocational training, Information Technology (IT), construction, finance, and airline services.

The Republic of Korea further supported Cambodia’s candidacy as a member of the World Heritage Committee in Paris 2009, he stressed. --AKP

(By Théng)

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AKP/02

PM Supports DK Fund’s Projects

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has expressed his full support to the projects of the DK Fund of the Republic of Korea in Cambodia.

The projects include the creation of a vocational training center in Preah Sihanouk province, scholarship granting to Cambodian poor students and the construction of a medical school, Ieng Sophalet, assistant to the Cambodian premier told reporters after the meeting here on Aug. 18 between Samdech Techo Hun Sen and visiting U.S.-based DK Fund’s President Mr. Dong Koo Kim.

During the meeting, added the assistant, Mr. Dong Koo Kim told Samdech Techo Hun Sen that he will provide scholarships to Cambodian poor students for a 10-year period starting from 2010 onwards. He further explained he decided to provide scholarships to Cambodian students because Cambodia and the Cambodian people have good relationship with other countries, including the Republic of Korea.

In reply, Samdech Techo Hun Sen warmly welcomed and supported the above-said projects and recommended Mr. Dong Koo Kim to work with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. --AKP

(By SOKMOM Nimul)

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AKP/03

ADB Pledges to Provide US$597.7 Million to Cambodia

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to provide US$597.7 million in grant and loan to Cambodia for a three-year period, from 2011 to 2013.

The promise was made known here on Aug. 18 upon the meeting between Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance H.E. Keat Chhon and ADB Country Director Mr. Putu Kamayana.

Of the total amount, some US$558.5 million will be used to support 23 development projects in nine fields including agriculture, natural resources and rural development, communication, energy, urban development, clean water supply, education and vocational training, financial development, and public and private development, according to a press release of the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The rest, US$39.2 million, will be used for 36 local and Greater Mekong Subregion-framework projects, it said.

Mr. Putu Kamayana said the ADB’s assistance to Cambodia for the next three years saw an increase if compared with that of the last three years. This is due to Cambodia’s commitment and endeavors in developing the country and alleviating poverty.

For his parts, H.E. Keat Chhon said ADB continued to play key role in Cambodian development. --AKP

(By LIM Nary)

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AKP/04

Commerce Minister Attends GMS Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- Cambodian Senior Minister and Commerce Minister H.E. Cham Prasidh left here on Aug. 17 for Vietnam to join the Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Meeting, taking place on Aug. 19-20 in Hanoi.

According to a press release of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the purpose of the meeting is to promote regional cooperation, especially to find out long-term development strategy for the 2010-2022 period.

The participants are also expected to discuss a strategic project on regional railway link, a plan of action on environment, agricultural support program and renewable energy program, etc.

The meeting is attended by ministers from the GMS member countries – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – as well as ADB officials.

Besides the meeting, Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh is scheduled to attend an ASEAN meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, said an official of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce. --AKP

(By SOKMOM Nimul)

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AKP/05

Cambodia Opens Trade Fair to Promote Investment and Trade Chances

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- Cambodia opened trade fair on Wednesday with an aim to promote investment and trade opportunities in this country.

The three-day trade fair opened Wednesday through Friday is expected to bring in more than 200 international exhibitors and millions of dollars of investment and trading opportunities, reported Chinese News Agency Xinhua.

The fair is organized by Cambodia Investment & Business Development (CIBD) and supported by Cambodia Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and Cambodia Professionals Network (COMPRONET)-- is held at Diamond Island Conventional & Exhibition Center, in a newly developed island in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh.

The trade fair brings in about 60 booths taken up mostly by the foreign companies, include companies from ASEAN countries, South Korea, China, Japan, India, and others which are interested to explore the investment and trading opportunities, according to Mong Lina, spokesperson for the event.

H.E. Cham Prasidh, senior minister and minister of commerce, said in his message for CIBD that the CIBD Fair 2010 will be one of the catalysts that ensure our investment and trading activities are uninterrupted and will further fuel demand for our local made products internationally.

“The convergence of business interest, cultural diversity and natural attraction in Cambodia offers new, unique and high value trading and business opportunities, which we hope delegates will explore,” H.E. Cham Prasidh said.

He added that the commitment shown by the organizer has opened up a platform for international trade to bring in the much needed investment fund and job opportunities for Cambodia.

The organizing Chairman of CIBD, L.L. Koong said in his speech during the launching ceremony that, in looking at economic opportunities in Cambodia, one always needs to look at them in the context of Cambodia’s larger relationship with the region.

“In 1999, Cambodia became a member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a political grouping which groups 10 countries with a total population of about 550 million and a GDP of something under US$600 billion - at purchasing power parity, US$1.8 trillion,” he said.

He commended that Cambodia is one of the most open economies in this region.

According to the Heritage Foundations index of Economic Freedom, Cambodia ranked 35th among 170 countries in terms of economic freedom.

This puts it on a par with Japan and well ahead of several of its neighbors.

The organizer is putting in efforts to organize comprehensive business matching session to enable the entrepreneurs from overseas to have direct and close interaction with the Cambodian entrepreneurs and government officers. --AKP

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AKP/06

Integrated Efforts Crucial in Helping Cambodia to Respond to Climate Change

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- The Royal Government of Cambodia and its development partners on Wednesday stressed on the need for integrated efforts under different climate change-related initiatives to ensure high efficiency in helping the country to respond to the impact of this global problem.

The message came during the inception workshop of the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) which was held today (Aug. 18). The event marked the beginning of a new implementation phase of the CCCA following its launch on Feb. 25 this year, said a press release of the Cambodian Ministry of Environment.

H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Senior Minister and Minister of Environment, Chairman of the National Climate Change Committee, opened the workshop by reiterating the high attention of the Royal Government of Cambodia is tackling impacts of climate change as a strategic priority for reducing poverty.

“We are undertaking this task at a time when climate change-related issues are becoming more and more serious, requiring the utmost attention in our national development agenda,” the minister said in the occasion of opening session.

“Because climate change is a cross-sectoral issue directly concerning ministries and institutions that are charged with tasks of national development, the Royal Government of Cambodia has recognized the need to streamline climate change issues into the national policy and the socio-economic development plan at national and sub-national levels, as well as into other relevant sectors,” he added.

Cambodia, where some 80 percent of the population live in the countryside and depend on agriculture for livelihoods, is deemed vulnerable to impacts of climate change events such as drought, erratic patterns of rain falls, and flooding. However, along with these challenges there are also opportunities for funding to least developed countries like Cambodia. But Cambodia needs to prepare and strengthen its institutional capacity to make use of those opportunities for sustainable socio-economic development.

The CCCA, a multi-donor funded initiative, was created for this objective. The CCCA will strengthen the key institutions – including the National Committee on Climate Change, the Climate Change Department, and key climate change functional units within sectors at national and sub-national levels. The aim is to support the integration of climate change considerations into policy and planning processes to build a national adaptation system.

The CCCA initiative is supported by the Climate Change Trust Fund of US$8.9 million – which covers the period 2010-2012 – from the European Union, UNDP, SIDA, and DANIDA, the representatives of which also attended the workshop on Wednesday.

For climate change impacts are too big for any single project, ministry or development partner to act alone, it is crucial to consolidate and harmonise different initiatives through the promotion of a National Programme for climate change, Rafael Dochao Moreno, Chargé d’Affaires, European Union Delegation to Cambodia, said in his speech on behalf of all the CCCA donors.

“The CCCA is NOT a programme of the Ministry of Environment; it is a programme of the National Climate Change Committee and as such requires commitment and engagement from all ministries,” he said.

“We propose that a consolidated effort be made by all involved in climate change to support the establishment of a National Programme for climate change – to be established by the Government, with the support of development partners and civil society organizations – to align climate change initiatives and donor support with national strategies and priorities,” he said.

“A programmatic approach can reduce transactions costs, strengthen national ownership and leadership, and enhance efficiency and effectiveness in order to promote greater impacts,” he added.

Following the launching of CCCA early this year a programme team was assembled to draw up plans for the next phase of the programme implementation.

The aim of the workshop was to assist the team to understand and take ownership of the objectives and the expected results of the programme. It will also include, among other issues, review of the progress made during the inception phase, discussion of grant guidelines, discussion of capacity development approach and harmonization and expected results of the work of the CCCA initiative first year, 2010-2011. --AKP

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AKP/07

Minister of Justice: Wild Animal Trade Endangers Cambodia’s Natural Resources

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- Minister of Justice H.E. Ang Vong Vathana has asked his ministry’s officials to further cooperate to stop wild animal trade.

The wild animal trade has been endangering Cambodian’s natural resources, he said when presiding over the opening workshop on wild animal crime held here yesterday.

This workshop is an important occasion for the law enforcement officials to learn about this crime, and local and cross-border cooperation to help combat and crack down all illegal wild animal trade, he said.

The workshop was jointly organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice and the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) and sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). --AKP

Khan Sophirom

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AKP/08

Books of Duch’s Verdict Become a Document of a Great Value

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010, AKP -- Books of Duch’s verdict have become a document of a great value for courthouse of Kandal province.

Officials from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal handed over copies of Duch’s judgment to judges, prosecutors and court clerks at the Courthouse in Kandal province on Aug. 17.

Mr. Kranh Tony, the tribunal’s acting director of administration, said the books were useful for lawyers, law students and researchers to understand the half-UN-Cambodian tribunal and the trial proceedings of international justice standards.

He said the judgment was a remedy for treating for the injury of the feelings to the long-awaited victims.

He stressed that the development of the law field was also in response to the legal and juridical reform of the Cambodian royal government.

The substantive part of the trial against KAING Guek Eav, alias Duch, started on Mar. 30, 2009. Closing arguments ended on Nov. 27, 2009 after a total of 72 trial days, during which 24 witnesses, 22 Civil Parties and nine experts listened to the court hearings. More than 28,000 people followed the proceedings from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Mr. In Vanvibol, head of the Kandal provincial court thanked officials from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal for the books, saying that court officials would study the judgment from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is formally known.

5,000 copies of the 450-page judgment and 17,000 copies of 36-page summary version have been printed, according to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. --AKP

(By THOU Peou)

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AKP/09

Russia to Train Cambodian Military

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP --- The Russian Federation has agreed to train Cambodian military officers with military technical skills in its country.

The information was made known here recently during a meeting between Cambodian military trainees and Russian military attaché to Cambodia, Col. Nikolay Nikolayuk.

According to Keo Sambath, deputy director of International Relations Department of the National Defense Ministry, 20 young officers will be sent for training in Russia in the near future.

Russia had suspended its military relations and cooperation with Cambodia in the 1990s and has resumed in 2007, he said.

Col. Nikolay Nikolayuk said the Russian Federation always helps Cambodia in training human resource, including military officers and civil servants. --AKP

(By CHEA Vannak)

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AKP/10

Cambodia, Vietnam Fight Against Border Crimes

Phnom Penh, August 19, 2010 AKP -- The Police forces of Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province and Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Phuoc signed on Wednesday in Binh Phouc a cooperative program to fight against crimes in border areas, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

According to Director of Binh Phuoc provincial Police Department Nguyen Chi Cuong, police forces of the two provinces will exchange information relating to border criminals and work closely to facilitate border demarcation and marker planting between the two countries, VNA said.

They will also tightly control all border travel of citizens of each country and create favorable conditions for people of both countries to exchange goods, visit family members and undertake medical check-ups, it added.

The police forces of Mondulkiri and Binh Phuoc provinces have worked together to prevent illegal wood product transportation, drug trafficking and the trading of stolen motorbikes, said VNA. --AKP

Taking the plunge

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:00 Uong Ratana

A boy leaps into the Tonle Sap river just north of the Japanese Friendship Bridge yesterday.

Man on wires

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:00 Uong Ratana

An Electricite du Cambodge employee tries to make sense of a mass of tangled power lines on Norodom Boulevard on Monday.

Trofimov confesses in court

Photo by: AFP
Russian Alexander Trofimov covers his face while exiting Sihanoukville Municipal Court in August 2008, following an appeal against his conviction on child sex charges.

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:03 Chrann Chamroeun

IN a stunning reversal, convicted Russian paedophile Alexander Trofimov yesterday admitted to a raft of child sex charges and offered apologies to his victims and their families in a bid to secure a reduced sentence.

At a hearing of the Appeal Court yesterday, presiding Judge Seng Sivutha read out a letter in which the 42-year-old Russian man confessed to charges in two of the three cases against him.

“I acknowledge and confess my guilt on two of the three counts, and for the third count I would like the charges lifted against me,” Seng Sivutha read to the court.

“With my confessions of guilt, I would like to make my apology to all Cambodian people and families of the victims who have been sexually abused by me, and I would like to request that the court cut my sentence down to the minimum.”

Trofimov, who was not present for yesterday’s proceedings, was once director of the US$300 million Koh Puos development in Preah Sihanouk province. In October 2007, he was arrested in Sihanoukville on suspicion that he had sexually abused up to 19 Cambodian girls since 2005.

In March 2008, Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Trofimov under Cambodia’s old debauchery law and sentenced him to 13 years in prison – a term reduced to six years on appeal.

In November 2008, Preah Sihanouk court sentenced him to eight more years for purchasing child prostitution, and added a further three years in January 2009 for a separate case involving 17 underage girls. All three cases were heard yesterday at the Appeal Court, and a verdict in all three cases is expected on August 26.

After the letter was read out to the court, Trofimov’s defence lawyer, Saing Vannak, requested that the court merge all three charges into a single charge, meaning that his client could face a maximum total of eight years prison – nine less than the sum of his current sentences.

“I would like to request the court to cut the sentence down against my client and absorb the convictions into the maximum sentence,” he said.

Peng Maneth, a lawyer provided to the victims by child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants, opposed the request.

“I request that the court not absorb the convictions, which is impossible because the three cases were separate,” she said.

She also requested that the court deport Trofimov to Russia following the completion of his sentence.

After the hearing, APLE lawyer Nuon Panith described Trofimov’s confessions as “very surprising and interesting”.

“We applaud Sasha’s courage and bravery in confessing his guilt,” he said.

Eventful case

Trofimov’s in-court confession caps a colourful trial history in Cambodia’s largest-profile paedophile case.

In June last year, Prum Piseth, a Justice Ministry official, was arrested for allegedly forging documents, including one that approved the extradition of Trofimov to his native Russia, where he is also wanted for child sex crimes. The official was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 10 million riels ($2,380).

A concurrent civil case was held against the official, in which Trofimov’s assistant Keo Valy demanded that Prum Piseth return $253,500 Trofimov allegedly paid to have the documents forged.

In the same month the official was arrested, Trofimov was reportedly allowed to leave prison to visit his investment project in Preah Sihanouk province. The prison director was later demoted over the scandal.

Couple flees country over leaflet accusation

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea

TWO opposition Sam Rainsy Party activists suspected of distributing antigovernment leaflets in the capital last week have fled to Thailand for fear of arrest, but continue to deny any involvement in the incident.

Chea Socheab and his wife Chea Daly came under suspicion after the fliers appeared around Wat Phnom on the morning of August 11. A motorbike-taxi driver arrested in connection with the incident told police that he took Chea Daly to distribute the leaflets on that day and then dropped her off at the SRP’s headquarters on Sothearos Boulevard.

The two fled to Thailand soon afterwards. Speaking by phone yesterday, Chea Socheab denied any involvement in the scattering of the fliers.

“My wife has been pregnant for five or six months; how was she able to do that? The government must find clear proof to accuse us,” he said. “I have wondered so much about why they have accused us like this.”

He said that the pair had no idea about the origin of the fliers, which lambasted the ruling Cambodian People’s Party and accused senior officials of being stooges of Vietnam.

Chea Socheab, a longtime SRP activist who was briefly arrested during election campaigning in 2003, said that he and his wife fled because they did not trust the Cambodian court system to try their case fairly.

Phnom Penh municipal police chief Touch Naruth said Tuesday that police had sent the case to the court and he would pursue the couple if requested.

“If an offence has occurred, I must follow it. I will not give up,” he said.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said yesterday that police have not yet received an arrest warrant for the pair, and that there was little evidence tying the two to the leaflets. “If he flees it is up to him. We do not have anything to put the heat on him,” he said.

Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for local rights group Adhoc, confirmed that the pair had contacted his organisation from Thailand seeking help, and called on the authorities to drop the charges.

“We must receive the criticism. We are public officials,” he said.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann declined to comment.

ASEAN to consider border talks

Photo by: Sovan Philong
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan shakes hands with Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong in Phnom Penh earlier this week.

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha

ASEAN chair Vietnam has said it is considering mediation in the long-running border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, with bilateral talks between the two countries currently stalled.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong wrote to Vietnamese foreign minister Pham Gia Khiem last week to request ASEAN involvement in the dispute in order to prevent “large-scale armed conflict”.

This followed a letter, written by Prime Minister Hun Sen to the UN Security Council, in which the premier called for international intervention, later warning that tension could lead to “bloodshed”.

“As ASEAN chair, Vietnam is actively consulting other ASEAN countries about the proposal that ASEAN mediates over the Preah Vihear dispute,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga said in a statement Tuesday.

Nguyen said that Vietnam hoped to see a peaceful settlement of the dispute, and called on Cambodia and Thailand to refrain “from armed conflict and from acts that could affect ASEAN solidarity”.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said the government welcomed Vietnam’s move to open dialogue on the issue.

“Cambodia and Thailand are members of ASEAN, so in order to avoid bloodshed or large-scale armed conflict, we need to utilise a multilateral mechanism initiated by

ASEAN,” Koy Kuong said.

Thai officials have repeatedly said they favour bilateral negotiations through the existing Joint Border Committee, though JBC negotiations have been stalled since last year pending approval of the committee’s latest agreements by the Thai parliament.

Yesterday, the Thai government said a planned parliamentary vote to approve these agreements had been postponed, prompting charges from Cambodian officials that Thailand was intentionally delaying the process.

A report from Thai state media yesterday quoted Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban as saying that Thailand was still against international mediation.

“Mr Suthep reiterated that the solutions to the border demarcation dispute between Thailand and Cambodia should be sought through bilateral negotiations, and that there was no need for either party to ask an international body to step in to help solve the conflict,” the report said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

Stronger wildlife laws needed, officials say

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 Chhay Channyda

NEW laws and harsher penalties are needed to prosecute people who trade in illegal wildlife, government officials said yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day regional anti-wildlife trafficking workshop in Phnom Penh, Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana said that a lack of concrete wildlife management legislation combined with weak penalties for illegal traders meant there was little to deter would-be perpetrators.

“Wildlife trade is a serious problem threatening the national resources of Cambodia,” he said.

According to Article 93 of Cambodia’s Law on Forestry, passed in 2002, individuals found guilty of trading illegally in wildlife face prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to 100 million riels (US$23,518).

Tim Sipha, director of the Legislation and Law Enforcement Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that 44 suspects had been sent to court charged with wildlife crimes so far this year.

“Wildlife crimes happen most in northeastern parts of the country where there are many forests,” he said.

Suon Sovann, deputy director of the Forestry Administration’s Legislation and Law Enforcement Department, said the government considered wildlife to be state property, and that it was therefore the state’s responsibility to protect species from poaching.

He said that most Cambodian wildlife trafficking was across the border for sale in neighbouring Vietnam and Laos.

Trafficking hearings often flawed: report

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 Irwin Loy

CAMBODIA’S judges and court officials may have a poor understanding of the Kingdom’s controversial anti-human trafficking legislation, leading victims to be “re-victimised” as their cases proceed through the legal system, a new report suggests.

The report, released yesterday by the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, found problems associated with attempts to prosecute cases using the 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. CCHR trial monitors observed 18 trials between August and December last year and found evidence to suggest that judges need a better understanding of the laws they are implementing.

“It is clear that the application of the law has been inconsistent at best and incorrect at worst,” the report says.

Though trial monitors found that judges usually informed suspects of the charges they were facing and the relevant laws, they also found that satisfactory explanations were rare. This finding, the CCHR report says, “casts doubt on the judiciary’s understanding” of human trafficking laws.

The report says that many victims involved in human trafficking cases are juveniles, and that courts may be ill-prepared to deal with young victims.

“The data revealed no clear evidence that the courts possesses a deep understanding of issues relating to juvenile justice,” CCHR stated.

In one case, a defence lawyer for a 51-year-old man accused of forcing an 11-year-old girl to perform sex acts was permitted to ask the victim questions in a loud, intimidating voice. The trial judges, meanwhile, frequently left the courtroom and spoke on their telephones.

In a separate case, trial monitors suspected that a 19-year-old suspect was allowed to contact his 6-year-old alleged victim before the trial. The victim’s lawyer also did not ask that her identity be kept secret.

The rights of the accused, as well, may not be adequately protected, CCHR found. Trial monitors found that public notices for human trafficking hearings were rarely posted, and that unacceptable delays to trials were common.

In one case, a hearing was delayed five times. In most cases, delays were attributed to lawyers or judges who failed to show up to hearings.

“Undue delay of trials is not only a violation of the rights of the accused, but can have negative psychological impacts on the victim as well as increasing the opportunities for intimidation of the victim prior to testifying,” it states in the report.

Trial monitors raised “major concerns” over the length of pretrial detention. In one case, an accused person was held in pretrial detention for 20 months – five times the maximum allowed.

The report did note some positive findings. Trial monitors were pleased to find a high proportion of female lawyers representing female trafficking victims, with 11 of 15 trials that proceeded to court including female lawyers.

In June, the United States state department removed Cambodia from a watchlist of countries judged to be making insufficient gains in fighting human trafficking, saying the Kingdom had stepped up the apprehension and prosecution of offenders.

American officials have noted “confusion” in the government’s implementation of the trafficking law, however, as “trafficking” was sometimes conflated with non-coerced sex work and other offences.

Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana said yesterday that he could not comment because he had not yet seen the report.

Migrant workers repatriated after working ‘hell’ abroad

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony
Trafficking victims wait at the office of local rights group Licadho yesterday, after returning to Cambodia from Thailand and Malaysia.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 May Titthara and Will Baxter

SIXTEEN migrants who were trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia returned to Phnom Penh yesterday after being detained for several months in a Malaysian prison.

Mom Sokchar, programme manager for Legal Support for Children and Women, a local rights group, said yesterday that 14 men from the group had been trafficked through Samut Prakan province in Thailand and later forced to work without pay on Thai fishing vessels.

“They were forced to work like slaves on the boat,” he said. “They never received their salary, and some of them were working at sea for 10 years.”

The men eventually escaped by jumping overboard when their vessel docked near Malaysia and subsequently asked to be “arrested” by the Malaysian police, he said, and some of the men were held in prison for as long as 10 months.

The men, who hail from seven provinces, were “cheated” by traffickers who promised them well-paid jobs in factories, and in the construction and fishing industries.

“They had no jobs in Cambodia so when they heard that they could get US$16 per day they had to go,” he said.

Bun Sarei, a 31-year-old trafficking victim from Battambang province, said that he was deceived by a broker to whom he paid a fee of about $32 to secure a job working on a dock in Thailand.

“I was cheated and forced to work as a fishermen at sea,” he said. He said that he had been drugged and had later woken up on a fishing vessel.

“I was surprised when I woke up because my body was surrounded by the sea,” he said. “At first I cried, but then I was beaten by the boat captain until I stopped. It was like hell.”

Manfred Hornung, a legal adviser with Licadho, called the case a “stereotypical story” involving the “movement of people with an element of deceit [and] with the purpose of exploitation”.

Mom Sokchar said the lone woman from the group travelled to Malaysia with the aid of a recruitment firm and had been paid to work as a maid, but fled after being abused by her employer.

Another man worked in a Malaysian garment factory, but had been forced to pay off a large fee to the broker who secured his job, he said.

According to a study conducted last year by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, almost one-quarter of deportees returning through Poipet are trafficking victims. The study also suggested that men were twice as likely to have been cheated or trafficked.

In May, eight men returned to Cambodia after escaping from a Malaysian fishing vessel where they had been forced to work as virtual servants for one to three years.

Four injured in acid attack

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Keo Savorn, 23, is comforted by her aunt at Calmette Hospital after she was attacked with acid outside a garment factory yesterday.

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Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 Mom Kunthear and Kim Samath

ONE woman was critically injured and three others suffered mild burns in an acid attack outside a garment factory in the capital’s Dangkor district yesterday morning.

Keo Savorn, a 23-year-old garment factory worker who was badly burned in the attack, said she was leaving the Chantex Garment Company building to buy refreshments during a lunch break at 11:45am when a man poured a half-litre of acid over her face.

“When I was walking to buy sugarcane juice I saw the man walking in front of me carrying a bottle of acid,” she said from her bed at Calmette Hospital, her face shrouded in plasters and bandages.

“I thought it was pure water because all workers always carry a water bottle in their hands when they leave work,” she added.

Keo Savorn said she had noticed the man shortly before he attacked her and knew that he worked in the laundry department at the Chentex factory.

“I could recognise his face because I saw him before he threw acid on me, but I don’t know his name,” she said. However, she said she had never spoken to the man and suspected that someone else had hired him to attack her.

“I filed a complaint to the authorities to arrest the suspect and the mastermind behind the case, and to punish them through the law,” she said. She said she plans to request US$10,000 in compensation.

Three people standing near her had also been splashed with the corrosive liquid, she said, but they were not seriously injured, and the attacker fled the scene on a motorbike.

Hen Sokheang, a 20-year-old worker at the factory, was also sent to Calmette for treatment yesterday.

“I was very shocked when I got the acid attack, but I am lucky because it burned only my heel,” she said.

She said the other two victims, both vendors who sell refreshments outside the factory, had received medical treatment for minor burns at another hospital.

Born Samath, district police chief, said that the victims had provided a description of the attacker, and that police expected to be able to make an arrest within the next couple of days.

“I will not allow the suspect to be free, and maybe two days later we can arrest him because we know his identity already,” he said.

He said he believed the attack had been intended to target only Keo Savorn.

Ouk Kimlek, an under secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and deputy director of a government committee tasked with drafting new legislation designed to curb acid violence, yesterday urged police to prosecute the attacker.

“The suspect or perpetrator must be responsible for the crime they committed, and they have to be punished through the law,” he said.

Representatives of the committee, which was formed in February following a spate of acid attacks that began late last year, originally said that they expected to finalise a draft of the new law shortly after Khmer New Year, but later said that more time was needed to revise the draft.

Early drafts of the law provided for harsher sentences for perpetrators of acid violence, including life imprisonment for the most serious attacks.

Ouk Kimlek said yesterday that the government committee would try to complete the law “as soon as possible”.

Prey Veng abbot ordered to move in face of villagers’ accusations

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 May Titthara

AUTHORITIES in Prey Veng province have ordered a Buddhist abbot to move from his pagoda for his own safety after villagers accused him of committing acts that violated the teachings of the Buddha.

Local villagers have accused Sok Da, abbot of the Neak Rainsey pagoda in Prey Veng’s Ba Phnom district, of drinking wine and having sexual intercourse.

Chea Vanny, the province’s chief monk, said there was no evidence that the abbot had committed the offences.

“They have accused him because they want to evict that monk from the pagoda, and they have the support of the district governor behind them,” he said.

He said the dispute stemmed from an incident in which the abbot’s dog allegedly ate food reserved for the youngest monk in the pagoda, who has relatives in the district governor’s office.

“It is a small problem, but they want to make it into a big case and evict the abbot from the pagoda,” he said.

District chief monk Nuth Vannak said that they had requested that the abbot relocate to another pagoda following investigations.

“He did not do what people have accused him of, so we can’t defrock him, but we requested that he stay at a new pagoda to end the dispute,” he said. “If he stays in that pagoda, the dispute will not end and he could face violence.”

But Sok Da said that if he moved, he would be admitting guilt.

“The reason they accuse me is because I am strict with the pagoda committee when they take money,” he said. “I will not leave this pagoda because I did nothing wrong.”

Sok Da’s supporters have collected 624 thumbprints to take to Supreme Patriarch Nun Nget in Phnom Penh, asking for intervention in the case.

Tonle Sap lake: Officials talk sustainable tourism

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:02 Rann Reuy

Tonle Sap lake

Tourism officials in Siem Reap province have announced that they intend to establish a “learning laboratory for sustainability” as well as a “master plan for sustainable tourism development” as part of efforts to promote responsible tourism around the Tonle Sap lake.

Speaking during a three-day workshop in Siem Reap on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Thong Khong said that the aim of both initiatives would be to ensure that as tourism develops around the Tonle Sap lake, South East Asia’s largest freshwater lake, it would contribute to the alleviation of poverty in local communities and assist in the conservation of the area’s bounty of natural resources.

Thok Sokhom, director of the International Cooperation and ASEAN Department at the Tourism Ministry, said officials hoped to finalise the master plan by November this year.

“We will look to establish the learning lab in Siem Reap,” he added. The three-day workshop is scheduled to finish today.

Forum issues climate warning

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
A monk walks under the shade of a parasol in Hun Sen park yesterday. Officials predict that climate change will increase the frequency of extreme weather events throughout the country.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Brooke Lewis

CAMBODIA’S national ministries need to work together to mitigate the impact that changing weather patterns could have on the country’s human and economic development, officials said yesterday at a national climate change workshop.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a Cambodia Climate Change Alliance workshop in Phnom Penh, Rafael Dochao Moreno, chargé d’affaires for the delegation of the European Union in Cambodia, said the Kingdom, as a developing country, was especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

“Climate change will fundamentally affect the main drivers for economic and human development in Cambodia,” he told the workshop. “The effects of climate change have the potential to increase existing inequalities, as well as present new challenges that will have direct implications for the achievement of the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals.”

The challenges that climate change could present, Moreno said, range from “increased frequency and severity of storms, floods and droughts, to shifting rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and human development”.

The CCCA, a partnership between government and international donors that will act as an implementing body for the inter-ministerial National Climate Change Committee, was officially launched in February this year and has received a total of US$8.9 million in funding from international donors including the EU.

Moreno emphasised that the CCCA is not a programme of the Environment Ministry but of the NCCC and, as such, “requires commitment and engagement from all ministries”.

Minister of Environment Mok Mareth, who also chairs the NCCC, said yesterday that the alliance would assist in the development of coordinated national policies and strategies to combat climate change over the coming decades. “We are undertaking this task at a time when climate change-related issues are becoming more and more serious, requiring the utmost attention,” he said.

Police bust up engagement celebration

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Mom Kunthear and Christy Choi

POLICE broke up an engagement party for seven Cambodian-Korean couples in Tuol Kork district on Tuesday morning, suspecting that the pairs were getting married without following proper procedure.

Hy Prou, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh municipal police, said police received a tip-off on Tuesday that the couples were being married through a marriage broker in violation of Cambodian law.

“We stopped the party because they threw the party without asking permission from the authorities and they didn’t respect the [law],” he said.

Hy Prou said the couples were released with just a warning after it was found the women had not been forced to attend and because the couples maintained that they were just being “introduced” to each other.

In November 2008, following a spike in marriages between Korean men and Cambodian women, the government banned brokers from arranging foreign marriages.

A blanket ban on foreign marriages followed in March 2010, because of concerns for women who were migrating overseas.

When the ban was lifted in late April, the government introduced requirements that foreigners looking to marry Cambodians appear in person to submit applications to the relevant authorities.

Though police did not make any arrests during Tuesday’s raid, there have been concerns raised about the Association for People Protection, the group that organised the meeting.

Jiyoung Leean, a member of the South Korea-based Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternatives, wrote in May that APP claims to have been “established under the Ministry of Interior in Cambodia to help Cambodian women who want to have international marriage”.

She said that the group was using nonprofit terminology in order to mask the nature of its operations.

Officials at the Interior and Foreign ministries could not provide confirmation about APP’s status yesterday.

Representatives from APP also declined to comment.

Four testify in case of meth lab

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Thet Sambath

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court yesterday questioned four suspects in relation to drug trafficking allegations following their arrest this week.

Police arrested two men and two women on Sunday, during a raid in Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district. They also confiscated about 200 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 49 packets of drug precursor chemicals and other materials used in drug production.

But court prosecutor Ek Chheng Huot said that no charges have yet been laid, since the investigation is still ongoing.

“I am questioning these people. I have not charged them yet because I need to collect more evidence,” he said. “I have questioned the four people, but I need more time before I charge them.”

Phnom Penh deputy police chief Sok Khemarin said yesterday that after their arrest, all four had confessed to being involved in drug trafficking and production.

“They have confessed that they have used and sold drugs to other people for many years, and they have made drugs for over a year now,” he said.

Japan offers support for farmers in three Tonle Sap provinces

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Khouth Sophakchakrya

THE Japan International Cooperation Agency pledged US$4.4 million yesterday to help improve the productivity and income of farmers in areas along the Tonle Sap lake in Battambang, Pursat and Kampong Chhnang provinces.

Yasujiro Suzuki, chief representative of JICA Cambodia, said at yesterday’s signing ceremony that the JICA-sponsored project would help the Cambodian government reach its goal of boosting rice exports to 1 million tonnes by 2015.

San Vanty, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that the project – which will focus on agriculture production techniques, seed quality and irrigation – would target 30 communes in Battambang province, four in Pursat and two in Kampong Chhnang.

“In the near future, agricultural productivity and income of farmers in the target areas ... will be improved through collaboration and implementation of this project,” he said. The project is to commence in September and last for four and a half years.

Cheam Chan Sophorn, director of the Battambang provincial agriculture department, said he hoped that by the end of the JICA project, the province would be able to “double or triple the amount of rice for export to regional and international markets”.

Meanwhile, farmers living in the three target provinces said yesterday that they were concerned about this year’s ongoing drought.

“I am concerned about not having enough water to supply to my rice seedlings this year ... because of drought and a lack of irrigation systems,” said Kuch Veng, a farmer from Krakor district in Pursat province.

Tan Soksan, a farmer in Kampong Chhnang’s Rolea Phear district, agreed that it had been difficult to grow rice this year due to water shortages.

“I and other farmers in my village have serious concerns about the lack of rains,” he said, and some rice crops had died due to lack of water.

Lay Pisith, director of the Pursat provincial agriculture department, said that officials in Krakor and Bakan districts have been forced to manually pump water into their ricefields in order to counter the effects of the drought.

Ngan Nany, director of the agriculture department in Kampong Chhnang province, said yesterday that recent rains had helped to improve the situation. “We hope that the rice seedlings of our farmers will not have any more problems,” he said.

Police Blotter: 19 Aug 2010

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:00 Veng Rachana

DRUNKEN DRIVER DIES AFTER CRASH WITH FARMER

One man died instantly and two were seriously injured when a speeding motorbike hit a farmer in Oddar Meanchey’s Trapaing Prasat district on Monday. Police said two soldiers – who had just received their salaries and were “severely drunk” – were riding the motorbike and collided with a farmer who was crossing the road. The driver died instantly, but the farmer and passenger somehow survived. The injured parties where immediately sent to hospital, while the body of the driver was sent to his family. The motorbike was kept at the police station.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

MAN KNIFES TWO FRIENDS FOLLOWING WINE, DESSERT

Police arrested a 26-year-old man accused of slashing his two friends with a knife in Oddar Meanchey’s Anlong Veng district on Saturday. Witnesses report that the three men were drinking wine for two hours, before eating dessert and leaving a restaurant. As the three passed the suspect’s mother-in-law’s house, the suspect retrieved the knife and slashed at both of his friends, seriously injuring both. Villagers said the attack was revenge against the two victims, who injured the suspect’s brother.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

PATROL SHUTS DOWN SERIAL BURGLARS IN CITY

Police arrested two men as they were robbing a house in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district last Thursday. Police said they were routinely patrolling the area, to “ensure security and eliminate crime”. While doing so, they saw the two suspects breaking into a house and arrested them on the spot. Police said the suspects had been involved in at least four burglaries prior to their arrest.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

OFFICIALS SAY ROBBERY WAS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND

A 31-year-old teacher was shot dead during an apparent robbery in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune on Tuesday. A bullet was found in the victim’s waist, and his motorbike was missing. Commune officials said the robbery was the first of its kind in the area. The vicitm’s family collected the body.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

BUNGLED RAID NETS NOTHING ON GAMBLERS

Police bungled a raid on an internet cafe suspected of offering a football gambling service in Siem Reap’s Svay Dangkum commune on Monday. Police said they have observed the hall since it opened, with one officer even going undercover disguised as a gambler. However, they could not find any evidence suggesting that the place was in fact a gambling hall, and instead closed the cafe because it was being run without a legal licence. Police watchdogs said the operation was rushed.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

GI status leads to a boom for Kampot pepper trade

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Catherine James

Kampot Pepper certified with Geographical Indicator status has sold out in Cambodia within months of being officially registered, blazing a trail for several domestic commodities under consideration for this international standard.

“Before GI status we never sold out of stock during the harvest season of January to the end of May,” said Nguon Lay, president of the Kampot Pepper Farmers’ Association.

“But once we got GI, all the orders came at the same time.”

GI status is an internationally accepted standard that protects the intellectual property rights of a product linked to a specific geographical location or origin – the same status tying production of the sparkling wine champagne to the Champagne region in France.

Kampong Speu palm sugar, which received the GI stamp the same day as the pepper, has similarly seen demand balloon since April.

“I noticed that after we got GI there was high demand from abroad,” said Sam Saroeurn, president of Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion Association.

From 400,000 tonnes of sugar produced last harvest, only 30 tonnes met the standard.

“I hope we will be able to increase our production by about 20 percent this harvest season – November to April – to meet the increase in demand,” he said.

Lao Reasey, chief of the Ministry of Commerce’s GI bureau, said the amount of work and money that went into achieving GI-certification was worthwhile, with pepper farmers gaining the most benefit.

“Kampot pepper used to sell for about $3 per kilo, and now it can sell for $5.75 per kilo,” he said

The bureau is focusing its energies on two new products for GI consideration – Durian Kampot and Neang Oum Rice – with the proposals expected to be submitted “very soon”.

It had shelved plans to request the other four domestic products previously under consideration – including Siem Reap fish paste, Battambang rice, Phnom Srok silk and Pursat cardamom – because of “budget constraints”, he said.

Dom Price, owner of Kampot province guesthouse and restaurant Rikitikitavi, welcomed the success of the local pepper, though he was not sure what it might mean for his Kampot pepper-laden menu.

“We’d be pretty disappointed if it has run out,” he said. He had about a month’s worth of stock left in his stores.

Around 17 tonnes of pepper was produced in the 2010 season on 9.75 hectares of farmland in Kampot province. Only 10 tonnes met the GI quality standard, Nguon Lay said, of which around 6 tonnes were exported abroad.

“We expect to increase production by at least 10 percent next year – all our members are trying to increase to keep up with the high demand.”

He said he was also hopeful of a price increase.

The price has stayed level since January when the GI campaign was well under way.

Slight inflation bodes well for the Kingdom

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan

PRICE inflation in Camboida increased 1.6 percent July compared to July last year, and 0.5 percent over June – a good sign for the Kingdom, according to country economist Chan Sophal.

Consumer Price Index figures obtained yesterday show rising costs for oil and gas led the rise in prices for the basket of goods tracked by the index – a weighted average of 259 common products ranging from biscuits to bicycles.

Fuel products were highlighted as the primary driver of the annualised 1.6 percent inflation in the figures compiled by the Ministry of Planning’s National Institute of Statistics.

Natural gas and petrol prices in the Kingdom increased by 32.2 percent and 17.7 percent respectively, the highest growth among the CPI items.

Cambodia Economic Association President Chan Sophal said inflation levels were still relatively small overall and were a positive sign for the nation’s economy.

“We haven’t closely kept track on prices of goods and commodities on the marketplace, but we have not seen any noticeable rises of the prices of goods last month,” he said.

Other categories seeing slight annualised increases included food and beverage, tobacco, clothing, footwear, water, electricity, healthcare, and transport. The largest drops were in telephone equipment, cars and grains excluding rice and cereal.

The CPI samples the prices of 259 goods from four outlets at five Phnom Penh markets.

Meanwhile, the riel, the predominant currency used in the tracking, has depreciated 2 percent against United States dollar since April.

Keeping the garment sector healthy

Photo by: Sovan Philong
GMAC Secretary General Ken Loo stands in his office in Phnom Penh. The garment association chief says the high cost of electricity and union activity are among the top challenges facing the Kingdom's garment sector.

via Khmer NZ

Thursday, 19 August 2010 15:00 May Kunmakara

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia discusses the state of Cambodia’s garment industry and the effects of the global financial crisis on the Kingdom’s most important export industry.

Could you tell us about GMAC, when was it established and why it is so important?

GMAC was formed in 1996, basically to allow all garment factories which were present at the time to have a voice to make representation to the government. Most garment factories at the time were [owned by] foreign investors.

Today, we have 255 members comprising all the exporting garment factories in Cambodia. Any factory that produces garments for exports has to be a member of GMAC.

How many garment factories operate outside of GMAC?

We do not have the exact figure, but I think there are about 100 factories. These factories either produce for the local market or act as subcontractors to exporting factories.

How much employment does the sector provide?

The industry employs approximately 290,000 workers directly. At the height of the industry before the financial crisis, in January 2008, the industry generated employment for 350,000 workers.

How has the global financial crisis affected the garment industry?

The garment industry is export-oriented. Almost all the garments produced are exported. During the crisis, there was an effort to diversify, and currently the US market accounts for 65 percent, Europe 25 percent, and another 10 percent to other countries such as Japan, Canada, etc.

The problems of the industry did not arise … because of the crisis. The crisis basically made these challenges more obvious, [such as] corruption. In addition, we have some well-documented infrastructural deficiencies.

What infrastructure deficiencies most affect the garment sector? How can they be corrected?

One of the main deficiencies is the high price of electricity. In Cambodia, the [cost] is about US$0.20 a kilowatt-hour, while in China and Vietnam it is about $0.08. If we want to compete with these two countries, then this becomes an important issue to resolve. Other challenges like compliance are not significant problems – we always comply with the law.

Moreover, in Cambodia we have to import all our raw materials for production.

Another major problem that we face here is the unions. First of all, there are simply too many unions. We have member factories that currently have more than 15 registered unions. Most unions don’t respect the law and often compete among themselves, causing the factories to suffer. GMAC supports the labour movement, but we need to ensure all unions follow the law, and in particular not disrespect the law by conducting illegal strikes.

Some say our garment industry has not yet escaped the nightmare of the crisis. What is your view?

We don’t know if the crisis is over or not – nobody knows. But I can say there are still a lot of challenges as mentioned above.

What did GMAC do during the economic slump?

During the crisis, GMAC of course lobbied the government to provide assistance to help us tide over.

Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen suspended the payment of the 1 percent Advance Profit Tax for all GMAC members for four years from 2008-2012.

The government reduced our mandatory contribution to the National Social Security Fund for the period of 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010.

Garment factories currently pay 0.5 percent of the 0.8 percent of salary mandated under the law while the government subsidises and pays for the remaining 0.3 percent.

Generally, our garment exports have relied on the US market, but its economy was hard-hit during the crisis. How are we diversifying?

Garment factories in Cambodia are contract manufacturers. We do not own any brand and rely on major international brands to place orders with us. We export our products to the destinations as dictated by our buyers.

The Cambodian government recently approved an increase in garment workers’ minimum wage from $50 into $61. How does this impact the industry? Would GMAC support or consider any further increases?

Of course, this definitely affects our members. But we feel that it is time to review the minimum wage as per our agreement made in 2006 during the previous adjustment in the minimum wage.

GMAC honoured our commitment to review the minimum wage in 2010, and we have done so, even though such an increase in wages would result in even greater pressure on the industry because of rising costs of raw materials and continued decline of our selling price.

The Labor Advisory Committee decided the new increase in the minimum wage would be effective from October 2010 through to 2014 and that the next review will be made in 2014.

What competition do we face from other countries?

Our main competitors are Vietnam and Bangladesh because they target the same market segment. Bangladesh is also a [UN-designated] Least Developed Country, and has similar trade preferences to us, but Vietnam is not. But Vietnam has other advantages like higher productivity and fewer unions. Both Bangladesh and Vietnam also has a supply of locally produced raw materials.

Chinese labour costs are growing higher in the garment industry. Could this attract investors to Cambodia?

In China, not only are labour costs going up but it is also increasingly difficult to attract workers to garment factories.

We have to make sure that we show a condusive investment climate. Even as Cambodia’s costs are also on the rise, if we can ensure such increase is less than that of our competitors, and that other factors remain stable and predictable, I am sure we will be able to attract many investors.