Gold tower 42 stops at 31

Photo by: Will Baxter
Gold tower 42 stands unfinished with 31 floors completed after developers confirmed Monday construction had temporarily halted on Phnom Penh's largest skyscraper.

via CAAI

Monday, 13 September 2010 20:46 Soeun Say

CONSTRUCTION at Phnom Penh’s Gold Tower 42 has been temporarily suspended, with developers unable to say when work will restart on the much-anticipated US$240-

million skyscraper.

When finished, Gold Tower was set to become the tallest building in the capital at 192 metres, dwarfing the 32-storey Canadia Tower at 118.1 metres. But so far, just 31 storeys of structure, being built on the corner of Sihanouk and Monivong boulevards, stand complete.

“It is true that we have, since the beginning of this month, temporarily put it on hold,” Kim-KW, a South Korean project director at developer Yon Woo Cambodia Co, said yesterday.

“We will continue progress again, but at the moment we don’t know when.”

Kim-KW refused to reveal the reason for the decision. But an administrator, who asked not to be named, said: “It is just a temporary suspension. We see that the economic situation is not getting better.”

A reporter visited the site yesterday and found it deserted, save for a handful of security guards.

Tower construction started in 2008 and was scheduled for completion in 2011.

Developers, dogged by unsubstantiated rumours last year that construction had halted and left buyers in limbo, previously said that up to 60 percent of the building had been sold.

Analysts yesterday expressed mixed reactions to the latest news to hit the sector, following the announcement of a 555-metre tall tower for the capital and a report that the Posco-backed Star River complex was on hold.

The president of the National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia, Sung Bonna, said large construction projects could face difficulties because demand for office and residential space was limited. He said that developers could have problems if they used funding from pre-sold units to finance building.

But Daniel Parkes, Cambodia country manager of real estate giant CB Richard Ellis, emphasised that “we have invested in our business here, and we are confident that Cambodia’s economy will improve. We look forward to construction resuming”.

Nun Pheany, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction, said they would visit the Gold Tower site.

KRT plans rule changes for victims

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony
The eighth plenary session of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia opens at the Cambodiana Hotel yesterday.

via CAAI

Monday, 13 September 2010 21:23 James O'Toole

THE Khmer Rouge tribunal, the first international war crimes court to allow direct participation by victims, convened a plenary session yesterday in which rule changes for victim participation and reparations will likely be adopted.

Acting plenary vice president Motoo Noguchi said the court was “eager to learn from our past experience and keep improving so that we can remain confident that our procedures are fair and meaningful”.

“The majority of this week will be devoted to discussions to amend internal rules concerning victims’ participation and reparation, in particular with a view to making the existing reparation system more meaningful and effective for real and sustainable benefit for victims,” Noguchi said.

Under the current rules, the court is empowered to grant “collective and moral” reparations to accepted civil parties. As part of July’s judgment against former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, the court’s Trial Chamber granted a pair of reparations requests from civil parties: It printed the names of accepted civil parties in the verdict and pledged to collect and publish all statements of apology made by Duch during the proceedings.

Civil party lawyers and court monitors criticised these reparations as unimaginative and insufficient, though the judges said in the decision that they did not have the power to fund projects or make recommendations to the government.

At a press conference on reparations and victim participation yesterday, Thun Saray, president of local rights group Adhoc, said rule changes adopted this week should allow the court to implement reparations in collaboration with civil society organisations and make recommendations to the government.

Although the Duch decision has been appealed to the tribunal’s Supreme Court Chamber, where a decision is expected next year, UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said any rule changes on reparations adopted by the plenary this week will not be applicable to Case 001.

‘Virgin’ victim complicates rape case

Photo by: Pha Lina
Sous Virak, who has been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl, is led into Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

via CAAI

Monday, 13 September 2010 22:09 Chrann Chamroeun

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court yesterday ordered the reinvestigation of the case against a 20-year-old Cambodian man who has been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl, citing a doctor’s report indicating that the alleged victim’s hymen was undamaged.

Sous Virak was arrested on November 22 of last year at a guesthouse near Central Market in Daun Penh district following a complaint submitted to municipal anti-human trafficking police by the girl’s parents, who accused him of luring her to the capital from her home in Takeo province and raping her four times.

At a hearing last month, a court clerk read out a report completed by a doctor from a referral hospital in the capital that claimed that the victim could not have been raped because her hymen was intact.

The report prompted verbal sparring between lawyers for the alleged victim and the accused. Afterwards, deputy prosecutor Plang Sophal said he intended to have judges lift the charges against Sous Virak.

Instead, Judge Ke Sakhan announced yesterday that the case would be reinvestigated.

“We need to summon the doctor from the Phnom Penh referral hospital who was involved with this case to clarify the examination report about the girl’s virginity,” he said.

Lawyers from both sides expressed disappointment with the outcome.

“We are not so happy with the court’s decision to reinvestigate, but it is done according to judicial procedure in order to make both sides happy,” said Nuon Phanith, a lawyer provided for the girl by the child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants.

He suggested that the doctor had not been thorough in preparing his report, and pointed to the fact that Sous Virak at one point confessed to police.

During the August hearing, Sous Virak said that confession had been made under duress.

Defence lawyer Kim Socheat, meanwhile, said he was frustrated that the charges against Sous Virak had not been lifted, saying he had been held in jail for nine months unfairly.

The next hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.

Police Blotter: 14 Sep 2010

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Sen David

Would-be crook fails to steal woman’s moto

A 20-year-old man was arrested in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Friday after allegedly attempting to steal a woman’s motorbike. The victim said she entered a market and left her wheels outside, and when she returned she discovered a nefarious-looking character attempting to steal them. She shouted for help, and police immediately swooped in and arrested the would-be thief.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Disappointed thieves unimpressed by loot

Two men were arrested in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Saturday after police caught them throwing away a snatched bag that, to their dismay, contained only a book and a pen. Police said that while a foreigner was sitting in a tuk-tuk, the men drove past and stole the bag from her. However, they were shocked to find that no money was inside, and they seemingly weren’t impressed with the quality of the book or the pen. While they were throwing the bag away, police spotted and arrested them. The victim was unhurt, and police returned her worthless bag.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Tree kills speeding military officer

A military police officer died and two more were seriously injured after the car they were travelling in crashed into a tree in Ratanakkiri’s Banlung town on Friday. Police said the three were partying during the day, and that their car spun out of control while on the way home. The driver died immediately, while the two survivors were sent to hospital in serious condition. Police concluded that the crash was caused by excessive speed, and the tree.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

City woman raped in drunken slumber

A 30-year-old widow filed a complaint to police after she was allegedly raped on Saturday in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district. She told police that she had been drunk during the day, and that while she was sleeping it off a man came into her home and assaulted her. She said she attacked and wounded the man’s neck, and pointed to his injuries as proof of the rape attempt. However, the suspect has denied the charges against him.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Husband blamed for wife’s deadly stabbing

A woman was chopped to death by her drunken husband in Battambang province’s Samlot district on Friday. Police said the husband chopped his wife seven times with an axe during a heated argument. Neighbours said the couple had been quarrelling on the day of the incident, something they apparently did constantly. When the neighbours went to investigate, they discovered the wife dead in a pool of blood. Police are still on the hunt for the suspect.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Sokimex plans spur petition to PM

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Tang Muyleang, 48, points yesterday to part of her land in Meanchey district that was once a rice field but is now flooded. She has accused the Sokimex Company of pumping sand for a development project.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Chhay Channyda

A GROUP of 14 families in Meanchey district’s Prek Pra commune have petitioned Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene in an ongoing land dispute with Sok Kong, president of the Sokimex Company.

A government directive signed on August 6 by Council of Ministers secretary of state Seng Lim Nov, a copy of which was obtained yesterday, states that Sokimex owns 21.83 hectares of disputed land in Prek Pra commune’s O’Andong village.

According to the document, Sok Kong bought more than 200 hectares of land, including the disputed area, for US$6.54 million in 2004.

The directive states that any documents that identify other parties as owners of land that “overlapped” with the area owned by Sok Kong would be considered invalid if signed later than 1992.

A total of 14 families claim to possess legal documents dating back to 1999 – and authorised by a commune official – that say they are the rightful owners of the Prek Pra commune land.

Representatives of the 14 families – who one resident said included the wife of Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana and relatives of Hun Sen – thumb-printed a letter dated September 1 and addressed to the premier. The letter says that the land owned by Sok Kong is actually located in Nirodh commune, which borders Prek Pra commune, and is known as the Boeung Chhuok development area.

Included as an appendix to the letter is a document signed by Hun Sen in 2005 that gives Sok Kong permission to develop 200 hectares of land in Nirodh commune but makes no mention of land inside Prek Pra.

The September 1 letter clarifies that the 14 families are only opposed to the developments in Prek Pra.

“We fully support Samdech [Hun Sen’s] allowing Sok Kong to develop the Boeung Chhouk area as part of a contribution to economics, environment and society,” the letter says.

“But what is wrong is that the development affects our residents’ land.”

One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears for her safety, said the 14 families had not yet been given eviction notices, but that they were concerned that the company could order them to move “any day”.

“We hope that our letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen is heard, because in 2006 he ordered Sok Kong not to interfere with the residents’ land,” she said, referring to a newspaper article, also included as an appendix, that says that the premier instructed Sok Kong not to develop land belonging to the 14 families.

Sok Kong and Sokimex director Heu Heng could not be reached for comment yesterday, nor could Prek Pra commune chief Chuop Sitha, whose signature appears on the letter in support of the 14 families.

Bi Nay, district deputy governor, said yesterday that she was not aware that Sok Kong’s development plans would affect the 14 families.

“I just know that Sok Kong wants to create a satellite city following the master plan of the municipality,” she said. “What I know is that he bought the land from another [person]. I do not know if his land will affect other people’s land.”

Prison opens clinic, but questions remain

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Tep Nimol

THE Ratanakkiri Health Department has opened a health clinic at the provincial prison, officials said yesterday, about three weeks after local rights group Adhoc reported that one inmate had died and four others had fallen ill with various diseases.

Tha Bunthak, the department’s deputy director, said the facility opened on Friday.

“Previously, prisoners or detainees have been sent to hospital with chains or handcuffs attached to them, which surprises and terrifies other patients who are being hospitalised in the same room,” he said. “If their illness is not serious, we will treat them at the prison clinic, and only when they are in serious condition will we send them to hospital for treatment with prison guards watching over them.”

Prison chief Ngin Nael could not be reached for comment yesterday. But provincial deputy governor Sor Neak said the clinic, stationed in a previously vacant room in the prison compound, lacked equipment.

“The clinic does not have medical equipment,” Neak said. “It is just a room reserved for prisoners and detainees to stay and get treatment of minor illnesses only.”

Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, yesterday questioned that the facility would lead to tangible improvements in the prisoners’ health.

Information minister rebuts interference allegations

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Cheang Sokha

MINISTER of Information Khieu Kanharith yesterday rejected assertions from two international judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal that he and other government officials may have interfered with the work of the court.

In a decision released by the tribunal on Friday, international Pre-Trial Chamber judges Rowan Downing and Catherine Marchi-Uhel said comments made by Khieu Kanharith last year “may amount to an interference or reflect other efforts to prevent the testimony” of six government officials summoned to appear at the court.

They recommended an internal investigation to determine if any interference had in fact occurred, though the three Cambodian judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber sided against them, preventing such an inquest from taking place.

Khieu Kanharith rejected the notion that any interference had taken place at the court.

“If there was interference from the government, would those foreign judges agree to stay on? Would they be under the control of the government?” he said. “I think people talking about this have their own political agenda. They are not working for the court, but have only come here to provoke for some other purpose.”

Khieu Kanharaith said last year that foreign officials at the tribunal could “pack their clothes and return home” if they disagreed with the government’s stated opposition to the summonses for the officials. Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the time that he too opposed the summonses, citing concerns about unfairness for the defendants.

Tribunal appeal: Duch team calls for extension

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Cheang Sokha and James O'toole

Tribunal appeal

LAWYERS for former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, have requested an extension of the deadline to file an appeal on behalf of their client, the first to be convicted at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

Lawyers Kar Savuth and Kang Ritheary said in a request released yesterday that the “size and complexity of this case necessitate an extended time for preparation of an appeal”.

While he could not comment directly on the request, United Nations court spokesman Lars Olsen said that generally, “if a legally binding deadline is not respected, it means that the filing would normally be null and void”. Court rules give the parties 90 days from the verdict to file appeals.

Kar Savuth said Kang Ritheary’s recent appointment – he joined the defence team last month after Duch dismissed international co-lawyer Francois Roux – had made it difficult to complete the appeal in a timely manner.

“We do not know if the court will agree with our proposal or not, but if another month passes and we are still not finished, we will ask for further time,” Kar Savuth said.

Cambodian worker shot in Thailand

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Cheang Sokha and Cameron Wells

THE remains of a Cambodian migrant worker believed to have been shot dead in Thailand by his employer were repatriated yesterday, a border official said.

Chim Chamnan, chief of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Relations office in Pailin province, said the victim, 24-year-old Vath Vanna, was shot in the head by his manager on Saturday following a scuffle at a drinking party.

He said the body had then been burned beyond recognition in a bid to destroy the evidence of the killing.

“The corpse has been returned [yesterday] evening, and his relatives picked his body up,” he said. “We have written a complaint and sent it to our superiors to log a lawsuit.”

He said Thai authorities had arrested the suspect, who was being held in a prison in Chanburi province.

Dy Phen, deputy chief of the border office of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, said only a liver and some bones remained following the burning.

“It is a cruel act from a human being,” he said. “We have sent a report to the consular officials in [Thailand’s] Sa Kaeo province, to file a complaint and find justice for the victim.”

Regional migration rights

The report out of Pailin province came as civil society groups gathered in Phnom Penh to discuss the importance of ensuring the safety of migrant workers as regional economies continue to integrate.

Sinapan Samydorai, who convened yesterday’s meeting of the Taskforce on ASEAN Migrant Workers, said there was “an urgent need for an agreement to protect” the rights of migrants.

“The ASEAN economy will be integrated in 2015, and promoting safe migration is crucial,” he said. “Many Cambodians are sent to work overseas, but we must ensure that their basic rights should be respected.”

Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, noted that some prospective migrant workers had allegedly been abused even before leaving Cambodia, citing the cases of women training to become domestic servants in Malaysia.

Smugglers burst through blockade

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:01 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap province

OFFICIALS in Siem Reap province fired on the vehicles of suspected wood smugglers who drove through a blockade set up along National Road 67 in Banteay Srei district on Sunday night.

The anti-smuggling operation was being carried out in concert with members of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit, the unit’s commander said.

Hing Bunheang, who is also deputy commander in chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, said he had ordered his officials to stop a member of the bodyguard unit suspected of taking advantage of his position to transport stolen luxury wood.

“I ordered to shoot last night, but they fled into the forest after we blew out their tyres,” he said yesterday.

Tea Kimsoth, the provincial director of the Forestry Administration, said the officials shot out the tyres of six of eight cars after they sped through the blockade, and that no one was injured.

After the cars stopped, most of the suspected smugglers fled the scene on foot, he said.

Hing Bunheang said two people in the cars were arrested, but declined to provide further details.

Tea Kimsoth said officials confiscated the cars and 4 cubic metres of valuable wood. “I will send the case to court tomorrow, along with the evidence,” he said.

On Sunday, police in Siem Reap province’s Varin district said they were on the hunt for a gunman who shot at a Forestry Administration official during a separate operation on Friday.

Police block supporters of three activists

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Chhay Channyda

POLICE were deployed in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district yesterday to prevent villagers from accompanying three community representatives to Phnom Penh, where they are to be questioned today over a complaint related to a dispute with a sugar company, one of the representatives said.

You Tho, Phal Vannak and Ieng Chiva have been summoned to appear at the Ministry of Interior by In Bora, director of the Interior Ministry’s Penal Police Department, prompting concerns that they could be arrested.

The three men hail from Thpong district’s Omlaing commune. Since February, they have been advocating on behalf of more than 2,000 families affected by a 9,000-hectare land concession awarded to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, which is owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat.

“I told the villagers that they do not have to come support me. If the ministry wants to arrest me, they can arrest me,” You Tho said after arriving in Phnom Penh yesterday.

In March, he and fellow representative Khem Vuthy were held for about one week over their alleged involvement in the torching of a makeshift shelter owned by the company.

You Tho said he doubted that many villagers would make it to Phnom Penh because of the police presence.

“I could not count how many police I saw, but I noticed them standing along the road, from the village until we reached the district town,” he said, and added that some checkpoints were manned by as many as 10 officers.

The questioning scheduled for today stems from allegations that the three men illegally detained Phnom Penh Sugar representative Chheang Kimsruon during a demonstration last month, when about 300 Omlaing villagers blocked a section of National Road 52 in Kampong Speu.

Hab Dam, Omlaing commune chief, confirmed that district authorities had deployed police yesterday to prevent villagers from travelling to Phnom Penh.

More called to testify in logging case

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Meas Sokchea

NINE members of a conservation NGO based in Kampong Speu province have been summoned to the provincial court on suspicion of illegal logging, and one of them was questioned yesterday, the group’s director said.

Chea Hean, director of the National Resource and Wildlife Preservation Organisation, said last week that he had been summoned in response to a complaint from Chhun Chhea Heng, the head of the Oral Mountain Animal Refuge. He said yesterday that additional summonses had been issued for eight of his workers in response to the same complaint.

The complaint from Chhun Chea Heng, Chea Hean said, accuses the NGO members of illegal logging and extortion.

Chhun Chea Heng is one of 241 officials accused by Chea Hean of turning a blind eye to illegal logging in Kampong Speu. All 241 officials were named in a complaint submitted by Chea Hean to the government’s newly established Anticorruption Unit on August 30.

Neither Chhun Chea Heng nor Om Yienteng, the head of the ACU, could be reached for comment yesterday. Iv Borin, the Kampong Speu provincial court judge identified by Chea Hean as handling the questioning of all nine members of his organisation, declined to comment on the case.

Chea Hean said yesterday that he was not afraid to respond to his summons – which calls for him to appear at the court on Wednesday – but that his staffers were rattled by the prospect of being detained following their appearances at the court.

“I am not afraid, but my staff is scared,” he said. “I have already made a promise before the court. If I have logged illegally in Oral district then I would like to hand myself over to the court and be sentenced to the death penalty.”

Loas Veth, the NGO staffer who appeared for questioning at the court yesterday, said he had been accused of illegal logging, wearing a fake uniform and extortion. He was released after the session was completed.

“I have some concerns, but I believe I am not guilty of anything so the court will give me justice,” he said.

Strike impact: Production stops at 10 factories

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Nguon Sovan

Strike impact

AS thousands of garment workers took to the streets yesterday in a bid to raise minimum wages, manufacturers considered the potential fallout from mass strikes this week.

Ken Loo, secretary-general of Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said employees from 19 GMAC factories went on strike, and that 10 had seen production stop.

Though it was too early to estimate the costs of the strikes on owners, he said that all those involved in the manufacturing process – from factory owners, to buyers and workers – could be affected.

“It affects buyers. Sometimes, good clients help us and allow us to delay goods consignments - but the delay is not free.The factories have to discount [the cost] for them, so we can send goods to them late,” he said.

He said that if Cambodia does provide favourable conditions for investors they may look abroad for business, for workers that could mean unemployment.

An anonymous official at Yung Wah Industrial (Cambodia), which makes knitted and woven T-shirts in Kandal’s Takhmao district, said that around 30 percent of its workers went on strike.

The workers are asking for the minimum wage to be raised to US$93 a month.

Mong Reththy to build $32m cooking oil plant

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

AGRICULTURAL investment firm Mong Reththy Group and an unnamed Thai company have agreed to invest US$32 million in a joint venture to build Cambodia’s first cooking-oil plant.

Mong Reththy, senator and head of Mong Reththy Group, said yesterday that an agreement had been made, and that the plant would be built in Preah Sihanouk province next year, capable of producing 100 tonnes of cooking oil per day by 2012.

“I think that now is the time for us to build a plant because more and more cooking oil is being imported and used in the country at the moment,” he said.

According to Mong Reththy Group, which operates Cambodia’s biggest palm-oil plantation, the Kingdom currently imports more than 30,000 tonnes of cooking oil worth about $36.5 million per year from Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

Mong Reththy said that his company did not want to continue to export raw palm oil while local demand was increasing.

“We will try our best to build the plant because we want our people to have access to products they produce by themselves, instead of using imported ones,” he said.

A feasibility study for the plant was 60 percent complete and should be finished by the end of this year or early next, Mong Reththy said, and according to the results so far, the company would take about 18 months to construct the plant.

The Group, which has a 10,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Prey Nub district of Preah Sihanouk province, has been trying to build an oil plant since it started the palm oil plantation in 1996. As yet, the plants had yielded too little for the operation of a factory, Mong Reththy said.

The amount of raw palm oil the company currently produces – 60 tonnes per day – would still be insufficient for the cooking oil plant to be economically feasible. Therefore, the company would begin expanding its plantations to 30,000 hectares, he said.

Currently, the company’s entire produce is sold to firms from India and Switzerland for around $700 per tonne, he said.

Hostel banks against lakeside

Photo by: Rick ValEnzuela
Heng Sovy at his Mini Banana guesthouse on Phnom Penh’s Street 278, also known as Golden Street .

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Jeremy Mullins and Veng Rathana

GUESTHOUSE owners are opening new hostels in an attempt to lure budget tourists away from Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake, a long-established backpacker draw that has been slated for redevelopment.

As the draining of Boeung Kak continued last week, hostel owner Heng Sovy celebrated the opening of his second guesthouse close to the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmom district.

Mini Banana, which joins his first backpacker-oriented Top Banana guesthouse on Street 278, also known as Golden Street, is a new seven-room establishment that cost US$12,000, discounting the cost of the lease, to set up.

Heng Sovy said that redevelopment, coupled with increasing concerns about safety and cleanliness among travellers, means that tourists may be drawn away from the lakeside towards other areas of town.

“I have no idea where backpackers will go, but I am trying to get them to come here,” he said As Heng Sovy is banking on Chamkarmom as a tourist draw, owners in other areas are also contemplating the future.

The area around O’Russey market could become the main backpacker destination if the lake is filled in, said Tat guesthouse owner Touch Thady yesterday.

“In this area, there are guesthouses which have low prices unlike other areas – and backpackers need only cheap guesthouses,” he said.

Despite the changes underway at lakeside, many believe that backpacker dollars will continue to flow into the area.

Cambodia Hotel Association President Luu Meng said that although his association focused on hotels rather than guesthouses, Boeung Kak was still a draw for foreign budget travellers.

“That area is popular for Westerners, and has been so for a long time,” he said.

The lakeside is still visited by Phnom Penh’s residents as well as budget travellers, said Martin Cleary, who recently sold his Boeung Kak bar, the Drunken Frog.

“From what I can gather, they [lakeside establishments] are still getting custom,” he said.

Fewer budget travellers had made the trip to the lakeside in recent months, but it was in keeping with a general decline in backpackers over the year, according to Cleary.

Fallout from the economic crisis, the conflict in Bangkok, and border issues between Thailand and Cambodia could be to blame for lower numbers, he said.

“We’ll find out a bit more in high season,” he said, as business typically picked up in October and November.

Although Cleary has sold his stake in the Drunken Frog, he said it was driven by a lifestyle choice rather than concerns about the fate of lakeside establishments.

Wi-Fi? In a tuk-tuk?

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 10:49 Heng Chivoan

Two technologies dear to the heart of Phnom Penh’s expat community – the tuk-tuk and free Wi-Fi – have been combined. Mobile-phone provider qb has launched 15 special tuk-tuks that are set to travel around the capital offering an internet connection to “anyone in the area”. The vehicles will also act as showrooms for qb.

Cambodian Open goes fourth

Photo by: Rann Reuy
Tourism Minister Thong Khon and Johnnie Walker Southeast Asia general manager Samuel Fischer display the Cambodian Open winners trophy at a press conference outside Angkor Wat yesterday.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap

Siem Reap’s Phokeethra Country Club is set to host the fourth edition of the annual Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open golf tournament from December 9-12, with high expectations for a repeat of last year’s strong participation.

Htwe Hla Han, senior director of the Asian Tour, revealed that up to 130 professional golfers from around 25 countries will contest for a total prize purse of US$300,000.

“The Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will be played once again at the highly rated Phokeethra Country Club, and I am confident that [this] world-class venue will provide a stern test of golf for the Asian Tour stars,” said Han during a press conference at the Angkor Wat complex yesterday.

Cambodian officials expressed their belief that the three-day tournament will enhance the local tourism sector, along with other events such as the 15th International Half Marathon to be held on a course around the Angkor temples on December 5, and a Triathlon slated for February next year.

“I am optimistic that [the Cambodian Open] will not only promote Siem Reap and Cambodia extensively, but will also increase the number of tourists visiting Siem Reap, as well as other attractive tourist destinations throughout the country,” said Hor Sarun, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism.

Professional American golfer Bryan Saltus clinched the title at Phookethra Country Club in the inaugural year in 2007. Thai golf star Thongchai Jaidee was crowned champion in 2008, and Australia’s Marcus Both celebrated victory ahead of 124 professionals from 24 countries last year.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said his hope was for local amateur golfers to use the annual tournaments as a springboard to gain professional status on the Asian Tour.

“Cambodia has a lot of amateurs, but we have to respect the standard of professionals,” he said. “I hope [in the future] maybe some of them can be professional.”

Top Cambodian amateur Ly Hong said that, although he did not expect to match the level of the professionals, he was looking to benefit from improvements made over the past year.

“I hope I do not have pressure as before because I know the rules how to play well,” he said during a phone interview with the Post yesterday.

Ly Hong also raised concerns that Cambodian golf courses are still too expensive for amateurs to practice on.

Thong Khon recognised the difficulty that local golfers had affording the fees to play on local courses. “It would be cheaper if there are more than seven golf courses in Cambodia,” he said.

Banteay Meanchey triumph

Photo by: Sreng Meng Srun
The Banteay Meanchey women’s team celebrate with the trophy after beating Siem Reap 4-1 in the National Women’s Football Championship final yesterday at Meanchey University ground in Banteay Meanchey.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

With a vociferous home crowd cheering them on every kick of the way, unbeaten Banteay Meanchey proved far too strong for Siem Reap as they clinched the 2010 National Women’s Football Championship with a 4-1 victory in the final at Meanchey University yesterday.

Ever alert Til Srey Mao reacted with great alacrity to a miscued goal kick to fire Bantaey Meanchey into the lead on 23 minutes. The home side’s superiority in all facets of the game was never in doubt from then on.

Striker Kim Sopheak capped a brilliant individual effort through the backline with a neat chip over the keeper to ensure a 2-0 cushion into the break. Siem Reap’s troubles were further compounded when their stopper picked up an injury on the pitch and had to be replaced for the second session.

A breathtaking solo run by Sok Oun sent hundreds of fans into a wild celebration when she managed to break into the box for her side’s third goal that nearly broke Siem Reap’s back.

Photo by: Sreng Meng Srun
Banteay Meanchey striker Kim Sopeak (right) tries to dispossess Siem Reap’s Ji Lyna during their National Women’s Football Championship final match yesterday.

However, the deflated visitors had their spirits somewhat revived, at least momentarily, when Huev Yav found the net, making the most of a rare drop of guard by the Bantaey Meanchey defence.

But ideas of a comeback were quickly dispelled, as Banteay Meanchey substitute Bun Kim Houv ensured that she got the better of exchanges with Siem Reap’s replacement keeper, who had done well to block two goal bound shots in quick succession.

Battambang claim third place

In the third place playoff earlier yesterday at the same venue, Battambang were back to their best in beating Steung Treng 3-1, with 14-year-old Dep Panida conjuring a brace that pushed her total tournament tally to eight and confirming her golden boot honour.

The teenager’s first goal was a distant drive that found the top corner of the net, and in sharp contrast her second was a neat inside foot finish in a crowded box.

12-year-old Lieng Srey Pouv’s swift reaction goal from inside the box added to the Battambang cause, before Stung Treng managed to reduce the margin when Vuth Lary’s goal bound effort took a freakish bounce over the Battambang keeper.

National team face V-League friendlies

via CAAI

Tuesday, 14 September 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

The Cambodian national football team, currently in Vietnam’s Hong Anh Gia Lai province for a preparatory camp ahead of October’s Suzuki Cup qualifiers, will be heading to Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday to play a series of friendlies against some of the V-League clubs over the next few weeks.

The squad of 25 players and four officials selected at the end of the 2010 Metfone C-league season left Phnom Penh on a 45-day training programme under the newly appointed South Korean coach Lee Tae Hoon three weeks ago. The players have been put through intensive training sessions at the Hoang Anh Gia Lai club facility, interspersed with a couple of warm up games against local outfits.

“Feed back from the coach indicated that everything was going smoothly, though Lee Tae Hoon suggested on more than one occasion that a lot needs to be done to make the side fighting fit,” said a Football Federation of Cambodia source, who wished to remain anonymous.

The next phase of the programme is considered the most crucial part of the tour, since it involves contests against some of the best V-League teams.

FFC President Sao Sokha will be travel to Vietnam tomorrow for a meeting with the Hoang Anh Gia Lai club president, and is expected to watch the national team in action during his visit.

India, Cambodia can cooperate in various fields: Pratibha Patil

via CAAI

Published: Monday, Sep 13, 2010

Place: PHNOM PENH | Agency: PTI

India today expressed its willingness to cooperate with Cambodia in infrastructural projects and conservation of historical monuments along with human resource development and capacity building.

"While human resource development and capacity building have been the primary focus of our bilateral relations, India is extremely happy to cooperate with Cambodia in infrastructural projects, as well as in projects related to conservation and preservation of historical monuments," President Pratibha Patil said.

She was speaking at a reception given by the Indian community in Phnom Penh in her honour.

Patil, who arrived here on a six-day state visit, appreciated the role played by the Cambodian government in facilitating India's engagement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

"It is worth mentioning that India attained Summit level partnership with ASEAN under Cambodia's chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2002," she said.

Under Cambodia's ASEAN chairmanship in 2012, a commemorative summit in India will be organised to mark the country's 20-year association with the regional body, she said.

Expressing "extreme satisfaction" with India's friendly and cooperative ties with Cambodia, Patil said New Delhi would continue to work for strengthening of these ties.

Bilateral relations between the two countries, first established by independent India during 1950s, were renewed in 1981 after the end of Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

The President also asked the Indian diaspora here to be the bridge between the two countries to access knowledge, expertise, resources and markets for the development of the country of their origin.

Patil arrived here as part of the second leg of her visit to two ASEAN countries - Laos and Cambodia.

Cambodia Prepares To Assess Its Development Goals

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C
Monday, 13 September 2010

via CAAI

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cambodia is behind on saving mothers in childbirth and protecting the environment.

“We have good figures on both prevention and treatment.”

When world leaders gather in New York next week to discuss the Millennium Development Goals of UN countries, they will find Cambodia well along on benchmarks for HIV and AIDS, but lagging in maternal mortality and other goals.

MDGs were pledged by 189 countries in 2000, creating targets for 2015. In that time, Cambodia has gained ground in the fight against HIV, AIDS and child mortality, officials said. But it is behind on saving mothers in childbirth and protecting the environment.

Tia Phalla, vice chairman of the National AIDS Authority, said Cambodia has reached a goal of 0.9 percent prevalence.

“We have good figures on both prevention and treatment,” he told VOA Khmer.

In child mortality, which was a prime concern in the past, Cambodia has made “remarkable progress” since 2000, Sherif Rushdy, the UNDP program adviser in charge of Cambodia's MDGs, said in an e-mail.

Infant mortality improved from 95 to 60 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2000 and 2008, while deaths for children under five years old fell from 124 to 83 death per 1,000 live births from 2000 to 2005, Rushdy wrote, quoting figures from the Ministry of Health.

Both rates were expected to “far exceed” Cambodia's 2015 goals, which may be revised further, Rushdy wrote.

But even with such improvement, Cambodia retains one of the highest child mortality rates in the region.

There is also concern it may not meet its goals in maternal mortality, and environmental protection, despite a sanguine report issued last week by the Center for Global Study. That report found Cambodia among countries that could achieve most of its 2015 targets, although it only looked into a small number of those.

“We need to deepen our study on these issues,” said Hou Taing Eng, secretary of state for the Ministry of Planning.

Meanwhile, the administration of US President Barack Obama in July unveiled its own strategic plan to help developing countries meet their goals, including investing in health and education, economic growth and well-governed institutions; empowering women and girls; and watching development outcomes and accountability.

“We applaud President Obama's MDG plan,” Gregory Adams, the director of aid effectiveness for Oxfam America, said in a statement. “We urge the president at the September summit to make an appeal to the world's leaders that achieving the MDGs is a winnable fight, but one that cannot be done in isolation. It is a global effort, and as a global community we need a policy and funding to win it.”

The US provided $68.5 million to Cambodia through USAID in 2010, “part of the broader program of US assistance in Cambodia,” according to the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.

The US aid package focused on health care and education in rural areas, reduction of HIV and AIDS, good governance and rule of law, as well as food security and climate change, the Embassy said in a statement.

Cambodia still has a high poverty rate—about 30 percent of its population live below the poverty line—and there is room for improvement, development experts say.

“We believe that resources provided by development partners to Cambodia should be used more effectively and transparently,” Seang Soleak, a spokesman for Oxfam America's Cambodia office, said. “We have seen that assistance has so far not effectively tackled grave issues affecting the poor, especially those in rural areas.”

Cambodia supports India's bid for UN Security Council seat - Summary

via CAAI

Posted : Mon, 13 Sep 2010

By : dpa

Phnom Penh - Cambodia confirmed Monday that it would support India's bid to secure a permanent seat on an enlarged UN Security Council in comments that coincided with the arrival in Phnom Penh of Indian President Pratibha Patil.

Koy Kuong, a spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that in return, Cambodia sought India's support for its own UN ambitions.

"We hope that India will reciprocate in kind to support Cambodia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2013 to 2014," he said. "We should mutually support each other."

Cambodia's position followed a statement from Patil in which she noted that Cambodia and Laos, where she has spent the past five days, had given "unconditional support" to India's efforts to secure a permanent seat on the UN's highest decision-making body.

Patil began her five-day visit to Cambodia Monday and was expected to discuss investment and security issues.

She said Cambodia, Laos and India shared a cultural heritage dating back centuries.

"I will assure [Cambodia and Laos] that they can count on India as a willing development partner," she said at the start of her trip to both nations.

Patil said India wanted to boost trade and investment with Cambodia, which she described as growing but "much below potential."

The Indian embassy in Phnom Penh listed total trade between the two nations at 50 million dollars for 2008-09, the bulk of it Indian exports, such as pharmaceuticals, cotton and machinery.

Patil was expected to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen, King Norodom Sihamoni and senior government officials.

Patil arrives in Cambodia to boost ties

via CAAI

Phnom Penh, Sep 13 : Indian President Pratibha Patil arrived in Cambodia Monday as part of her two-nation visit to Laos and Cambodia, seeking to enhance ties with ASEAN countries and reaffirming India's 'Look East' policy.

Concluding her tour to Laos Monday, Patil reached the Phnom Penh International Airport where she was welcomed by Kong Sam Ol, deputy prime minister and minister of the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Patil said at the start of her trip to both nations that the visit will enhance India's partnership with the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"I will assure (Cambodia and Laos) that they can count on India as a willing development partner," she was quoted as saying by DPA.

Patil said India wanted to boost trade and investment, which she described as growing but "much below potential".

During her Cambodia visit, Patil will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and preside over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation between the National Auditing Authority of Cambodia and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Xinhua reported citing official statement.

The two leaders will also sign an agreement for Stung Tasal Water Resource Development Project (Phase 2) between Cambodian government and the Export-Import Bank of India.

Besides attending a ceremony for Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Asian Traditional Textiles Museum, Patil is expected to discuss with officials here topics including anti-terrorism cooperation, foreign investment and infrastructure development projects.

She will encourage the delegation of 40 businessmen accompanying her to take advantage of "mutually advantageous opportunities".

Patil is also slated to visit the popular Angkor Wat temples.

Groups slam ‘deliberate’ flooding

Photo by: Will Baxter
Shukaku Inc pumps sand into Boeung Kak lake on Saturday as a young resident looks on.

via CAAI

Monday, 13 September 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

THE health and well-being of more than 1,000 families from the Boeung Kak lakeside is under threat from “deliberate flooding” by a local company that is filling in the lake to make way for a controversial development, rights groups said.

“The continued pumping of sand into the lake, and the inefficient drainage measures, indicates the flooding is a deliberate measure to increase pressure on residents to move away,” Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said in a statement issued Friday. He said the flooding exposed residents to “health hazards and conditions not fit for living”. “Children and women were affected with itchy skin and other illnesses because of the polluted water,” he said yesterday.

David Pred, executive director of Bridges Across Borders Cambodia, said in the statement that exposing children to sewage-laden water was “a particularly repulsive tactic” on the part of the developers.

Residents blame recent flash floods on a 133-hectare housing and commercial project being developed by Shukaku Inc, a company headed by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin.

Housing rights advocates say that more than 4,000 families will ultimately be displaced by the project.

Sok Penhvuth, deputy governor of Daun Penh district, said yesterday that recent flooding and poor sanitation had prompted “hundreds of families” to accept US$8,500 in exchange for agreeing to leave the lakeside.

“We hope that other residents will subsequently decide to volunteer to relocate,” he said.

Men Sokha, chief of Village 22 in Srah Chak commune, one of the areas affected by the project, said that around 100 families from his village had decided to accept the $8,500 compensation payout, and that a smaller group had accepted 4-by-10-metre apartments in Dangkor district.

Heng Mom, a resident of nearby Village 22, said Shukaku should pay the residents a fair market price for their land.

“We want to continue living in our home,” she said.

“However, I will relocate as soon as possible if the company pays my family between $30,000 and $40,000.”

Thais release migrant trio jailed in June

via CAAI

Monday, 13 September 2010 15:02 Tep Nimol

THAILAND has released three Cambodian migrant workers who were arrested in Thailand’s Samut Sakhon province in June on suspicion of being illegal immigrants, Cambodian officials said yesterday.

The trio were part of a group of 34 migrant workers arrested in a raid on a meat-packing plant. Thai officials said at the time of their arrest that they would be held in Thailand so they could testify against the owner of the plant, who has been accused of committing human rights abuses against his workers.

But Lim Tech, an official at the Thai-Cambodian Border Relations office in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town, said yesterday that three of the workers – 48-year-old Yang Eury and her two children, 20-year-old daughter Beung Chanrath and 18-year-old son Beung Chhun Ly – had been released on Friday in response to a request from their relatives that was relayed through the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“The victims’ relatives filed a complaint directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help the workers. They need to return soon because the grandmother of the two children is seriously ill in Banteay Meanchey province,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the repatriation of the three workers had been carried out in accordance with a bilateral memorandum of understanding.

“The case of the three workers being sent to Cambodia is very special,” he said.

“The embassy decided to intervene so they could see the 85-year-old [seriously ill] grandmother.”

Lim Tech said he had heard that five additional workers had recently escaped from the facility at which all 29 were being held.

“We are wondering why they escaped because Thai authorities did not subject them to violence,” he said. “They are living in the training centre and are allowed to do construction work, getting paid about 1,200 baht (US$39) each day,” he said.

Koy Kuong said yesterday that he had not heard about any workers escaping.

Lim Tech said the 21 workers remaining in Thailand had been summoned to appear in court on October 5.

President Pratibha Patil arrives in Cambodia on six day state visit.

via CAAI

Press Trust Of India

Phnom Penh, September 13, 2010

President Pratibha Patil arrived here today on a six-day state visit to Cambodia, during which she will meet King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen. Patil arrived here from Laos as part of the second leg of her visit to the two ASEAN countries.

During the visit, the two sides will also sign cultural and business agreements. She was received at Phnom Penh airport by Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia Samdech Chaufea Veang Kong Som Ol and several senior defence and civil officials.

The President will be accorded a ceremonial welcome tomorrow prior to her meeting with King Sihamoni.

She will visit the Independence Monument and lay a wreath there in memory of those who fought for Cambodia's independence from France. The monument was built in 1953. President of the Cambodian Senate Chena Sim, President of the National Assembly Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Hun Sen will call on President Patil separately tomorrow at the Royal Palace.

Patil is travelling with a high-level business delegation from India.

During this state visit, the Indian President will also meet members of the India-Cambodia Friendship School and attend a India-Cambodia Business meeting on Wednesday.

The 6-day visit also includes a trip to Seam Reap to visit the world famous Ankor Wat and several museums located there. She will lay the foundation stone for the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Museum for traditional Asian Textiles at Seam Reap.

The two countries had already signed the Mekong-Ganga Agreement which encourages trade and cultural ties between them.