Pictures by RFA/Leng Maly
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Cambodia: where fear, magic and murder intertwine
via CAAI
An average of three Khmer are accused of sorcery and killed every year.
Terry McCoy
March 29, 2011
Pah Eang, 22 (left), and Nith Pov, 29 (right), sit underneath their new house, which has become a gathering place for the remaining family members of two accused “sorcerers” who were killed in this remote village six months ago. (Terry McCoy/GlobalPost)
BOMNOK, Cambodia — In the midday swelter of early hot season, Pah Eang shivered and walked into a mountainous forest she’d once visited every day. She said she was scared. She hadn’t been to this place, open and silent, in five months. Not since the killings and whispers of magic.
Pulling at her red sweatshirt, Pah dissolved into the Cardamom Mountains that ripple through western Cambodia, and began her search for a place that keeps this 22-year-old awake at night and plagues what’s left of her family. Her path wound deeper until everything was quiet and the only mark of humanity was a bamboo-thatched hut in a clearing so idyllic the savagery of what had occurred there was difficult to imagine.
Last September, Pah’s father and younger brother were killed around 1 a.m. in this hut. The father, Pheng Pah, 46, was stabbed to death while his son, Pah Broh, 15, had his throat slit. When the bodies were discovered the next morning, some villagers in this deeply rural community 25 miles from a paved road rejoiced. They said the father and son were “sorcerers” and had deserved to die.
The killings reflect a disturbing trend in rural Cambodia, where magic is a very real thing and the only way to silence it is through violence, and sometimes, death. An average of three Khmer are accused of sorcery and killed every year, and such witch hunts illustrate the growing chasm between increasingly urban cities and countryside mired in poverty, while showing how deep belief in the occult runs in this culture.
Since 2006, 17 accused sorcerers have been killed in provincial Cambodia, usually following a sickness in the community that villagers found suspicious, according to local non-governmental organizations. This is a far lower rate, however, than in the past. In 2001 alone, eight people were killed for suspected sorcery, a 2002 United Nations human rights report shows.
“They think the sorcerers are without morality. That they are evil.”
~Ek Sothea, a researcher for rights group Licahdo
And always behind these killings, there’s the victim’s family, left to struggle against discrimination and question why such a thing had happened — and whether they may be killed too.
“We don’t have any way to make money now,” said Pheng Pah’s wife, Nith Oun who moved her family to a relative’s house following her husband’s death. “I don’t have my husband. I don’t have my son. Because of [my neighbors’] superstitions. Because of magic. I’ll never forgive them for this.”
What’s more, roughly two-thirds of homicides involving sorcery don’t make it to criminal court. Of the 15 different cases involving sorcery accusations and homicide since 2006, only six have led to prosecution, Licahdo, a human rights group in Cambodia, recently reported. It’s as though such cases fall somewhere between the tangible world where laws and evidence are trusted — and the metaphysical, where vigilante justice warrants more faith.
After all, how can you prove magic?
The farther out you go into Cambodia’s countryside, however, down cracked dirt roads and into under-policed areas, the less proof matters. Belief does. Nearly everyone wraps talismans around their waists to protect against sorcery and evil spirits, and soldiers flex Sanskrit tattoos that they believe will fend off bullets in battle. Such practices and beliefs create an alternate geography that most rural Khmer inhabit where culture, fear, and magic coalesce.
“Most Cambodians live in a magical worldview,” said Jan Ovesen, a professor of anthropology at Uppsala University in Sweden who is researching magic in Cambodia’s countryside. “And accusations of sorcery are a function of this magical world view. You have to attribute misfortune to someone or something. Misfortune is not by chance. They think, ‘Someone must be wishing us evil.’ ”
According to NGO reports and more than a dozen additional interviews with villagers and local officials, a chilling story of revenge and delusion has emerged that describes what happened to Pheng Pah and his family. By all accounts, the accusations of witchcraft began as murmurs.
It was last August, one month before Pheng’s death, as planting season swept through this agrarian village called Bomnok at the base of the Cardamoms. A 23-year-old neighbor, recently-engaged Mao Chanly, had become devastatingly ill following an attack by a family dog her parents swore wasn’t rabid. No one in the village knew what was happening. People were panicked and confused. The murmurs grew louder and louder.
Mao’s family gave her an IV and mountain herbs, but nothing worked. Weeks passed. The sickness came at night; Mao described it to her parents as invisible hands grabbing and ripping her. Growths surfaced. Her parents grew desperate and they took her to the community pagoda.
What the monks said there confirmed the rumors: There was a sorcerer in the community. And Mao would die because of it.
The scene seems surreal, but it closely echoes what can often happen in rural Cambodia, according to Licadho and Adhoc, another human rights group in Cambodia. In places far removed from substantive education, superstition can quickly supplant rational explanation.
“After the sicknesses, the villagers create a plan to kill the [accused] sorcerer — by secret,” said Ek Sothea, a Licadho researcher, describing a typical homicide of an accused sorcerer. “They don’t tell the police. They think the police won’t believe them; the law protects sorcerers. They don’t have any evidence, but they believe that there are sorcerers. So everyone plans to kill by secret.
“They think the sorcerers are without morality. That they are evil.”
Soon, Mao was dead. And for a week afterward, the threats against Pheng and his family intensified, finally hitting a crescendo on a late September night when an unknown number of assailants descended on his forested hut where Pheng and his son slept guarding their rice fields.
No arrests were made after the killings. Commune police say all related suspects have fled, and there’s no way of knowing where to.
“The monks were certain — very certain — that there was someone who performed magic on my daughter,” Mao’s mother, Sian Sok Van said. “But I’m not mad at anyone. I’m not mad at anyone. We don’t know anything about the killings. I only have feelings of sadness and regret for the death of my daughter.”
In rural Cambodia, such occurrences, especially when there aren’t any arrests, usually end like this, without firm closure. The effects linger. And no one forgets.
Cambodia is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses
http://english.vovnews.vn/
via CAAI
29/03/2011
(VOV) - Cambodia is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses, however, to conquer this market they must have specific production and trade promotion strategies.
This assessment was made at the seminar “Cambodia- open market for Vietnamese businesses” held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 29.
Vietnamese products are favoured in Cambodia thanks to their reasonable prices and high quality. Two-way trade between the two countries reached US$382 million in the first two months of this year, up 65 percent compared to the same period last year. Vietnam exported goods to Cambodia worth US$306 million, up 44 percent and the main products included plastics, garments, steel and seafood.
Experts said that Vietnamese businesses have not fully exploited this export market as Cambodian infrastructure is poor and lacks a banking payment system, commercial centres, stocks and telecommunications. They have also not paid due attention to long-term investment in the market.
At the seminar, businesses were updated with the latest information about preferential commercial and investment policies in Cambodia and the developing retail distribution network.
Vietnamese trade counselor in Cambodia, Vu Thinh Cuong, said businesses seeking investment opportunities in Cambodia should research partners and projects at Vietnamese representative offices there. He also said that businesses should focus investment on agriculture and industry.
Tea Banh: GBC must meet only in Indonesia
via CAAI
Published: 29/03/2011
Online news: Local News
The Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) meeting must be held only in Indonesia, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh said on Tuesday.
Gen Tea Banh, in saying this, turned down Thai Defence Minister Prawit Songsuwon's proposal that the 8th GBC, which was supposed to be hosted by Cambodia this year, remain strictly bilateral and be held in either Cambodia or Thailand.
Defence Minister Prawit Songsuwon (left) and Cambodia's Deputy PM Tea Banh
The Cambodian general said that at this stage talks between Thailand and Cambodia cannot be bilateral because both the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) passed resolutions that Indonesia should act as mediator.
"Therefore, I will talk to Thailand only in the presence of Indonesian mediators and in Indonesia only," he said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen also does not want bilateral talks with Thailand, be it the GBC or the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting, Gen Tea Banh said in an interview with the Bangkok Post in Phnom Penh.
"Whether or not the GBC meeting will be held depends on the Thai side. So I cannot say whether the GBC will be held at all if Thailand insists in not going to Indonesia. Cambodia's stand on this matter is clear," he said.
On the border situation, Gen Tea Banh said Cambodian soldiers would remain at their present positions, and so would Thai soldiers, as long as there were no talks between the two sides.
He said Cambodia will continue to work on the development plan for the disputed area around Preah Vihear temple.
"In fact, I don't want the situation between Thailand and Cambodia to remain unresolved like this, because we are neighbours.
"We can't move away from each other nor be separated. No matter what, we have to hold talks, but I don't know when," Gen Tea Banh said.
He said Thai and Cambodian soldiers had frequently clashed because some political groups in Thailand wanted the situation to be this way, despite the fact that the conflict between the two countries was negotiable.
On Gen Prawit's proposal that Thai and Cambodian soldiers set up joint checkpoints in the disputed area, without involvement by Indonesian observers, Gen Tea Banh said Asean had resolved that Indonesia should be involved because Thailand and Cambodia had never been able to reach a settlement between them.
"I would like the Thai media to help promote relations between the two countries. Don't let a group of people destroy our long relationship.
"Somdej Hun Sen said the two countries are inseparable. So we need to talk and cooperate," he said.
An informed source in Cambodia said Maj-Gen Hun Manet, deputy commander of Hun Sen's Body Guards Unit, had travelled to Indonesia to prepare for the JBC and GBC meetings, even though the Thai Defence Ministry had not made a commitment to take part in them.
Indonesia has proposed the GBC and JBC be held at Bogor on April 7-8.
The source said Hun Sen and the Indonesian government are very close, as Indonesia has provided military assistance to Cambodia.
According to the source, Thailand had tried to persuade Cambodia to allow Thai Buddhist monks to stay with Cambodian monks at Wat Kaeo Sikha Khiri Savara in the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area, so that Thai soldiers would not have to be sent there.
Yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid
On the issue of detained yellow-shirt activisit Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, Gen Tea Banh said he has no idea when the pair will be granted a royal padon.
Gen Tea Banh said in response to questions that procedural steps must be taken in seeking a royal pardon for the convicts, adding that he did not know if Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had forwarded the petition for a royal pardon filed by Veera and Ratree to the king.
Nobody could say what the outcome would be, or if or when they would be released, he said.
"It's not that anybody can just ask to be released. The Cambodian justice process cannot be interfered with," he said.
Gen Wichit Yathip, a former deputy army chief and a close aide to former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, said the Democrat-led government should seek help from people who could talk to Cambodia, in order to help the two jailed yellow-shirt activists.
"But the government and the Foreign Ministry have never asked Gen Chavalit or me for help," Gen Wichit said.
Gen Wichit was in Phnom Penh today to take part in the opening of the new Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra hotel of Thai businessman Supachai Veeranarong. The opening ceremony was chaired by Gen Tea Banh.
Gen Chavalit did not attend the event, but sent his wife Khunying Phankrue to represent him.
Veera and Ratree were sentenced to eight and six years in jail respectively after being found guilty of illegal entry and espionage.
They and five other Thais were arrested on Dec 29, initially for illegal entry.
The five other Thais were found guilty of illegal entry and then freed after the remaining eight months of their nine-month jail sentences were suspended.
Students help children in Cambodia
via CAAI
Tuesday 29 March 2011
YOUNGSTERS who spent a year raising £12,000 so they could help children in Cambodia have had their dreams come true.
Eight teenagers from across West Norfolk travelled 6,200 miles to help build a children’s play area in the town of Takeo last month, as part of the New Futures Volunteer Project.
The youngsters, aged 17 to 19, travelled with three youth workers from Norfolk County Council’s Children’s Services and returned from their once-in-a-lifetime trip two weeks ago.
Working in partnership with the New Futures Orphanage, the group spent three weeks designing and building a play area complete with a swing, roundabout, see-saws and a giant pirate ship.
They also helped build a huge climbing frame for the orphanage.
It is hoped the play area will become a focal point and safe space for children living in the town and the orphanage.
The youngsters also hope future volunteers will add a football and volleyball pitch.
Trip organiser and youth worker Claire Boothby said it was a huge success.
She said: “The whole experience has been hugely rewarding for the young people involved, not only because of their interaction with the local community, but also due to the independence, confidence and skills they have gained – such as woodwork, sewing and hand-washing clothes and English teaching.”
The group is due to hold a presentation evening at Holt Hall next Friday, when they will give a talk about their experiences and learning from the project.
They also plan to take the presentation out to schools across Norfolk to encourage others to volunteer.
One of the youngsters who travelled to Cambodia was Sophie Willis, 17, of Swaffham.
Here is an extract from one of her blogs about the trip:
“We are a week-and-a-half into our stay in Cambodia and have already had the experience of a lifetime.
“The wave of heat that hit us as we left the airport was a sign of weather to come, something we have enjoyed at moments, tolerated at others, and moaned about most of the time!
“The play area framework was put together by a local welder who was extremely talented and efficient.
“We also had lots of eager helpers from the orphanage as well as other volunteers. It’s hard work in the sun, but it’s coming together nicely.
“Aside from work at the orphanage, we have experienced a number of other things: Cambodian food, Cambodian countryside and landscapes, and perhaps most memorably, Cambodian roads. None of us knew how many things could be carried on a moped! We have adjusted to it now, but the first minibus ride from the airport to our accommodation in Phnom Penh was an eye-opener!
“Cambodia itself has become a favourite in many of our eyes. Despite having not left yet, a few people are planning their return visit!”
Cambodia, DPRK defense officials meet to share experience
March 29, 2011
Cambodian and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) defense officials met here on Monday aiming to strengthen cooperation and share experience on national defense, said a Cambodian spokesman.
A nine defense officials delegation from the DPRK, headed by Pak Jae-gyong, vice minister of the People's Armed Forces of the DPRK, held a meeting with Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh on Monday afternoon, Chhum Socheat, the spokesman for the Cambodian Defense Ministry, said after the meeting.
"The delegation's visit in Cambodia is to re-strengthen cooperation between Cambodia and the DPRK in all sectors," he said. "Also, both sides have shared experience on national defense."
Later in the day, the delegation met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Pak Jae-gyong conveyed greetings from President Kim Jong-il to Hun Sen and thanked Cambodia for the warm welcome to his delegation during the visit, the premier's spokesman Eng Sophalleth told reporters after a 30-minute meeting.
Pak said the relation between the DPRK and Cambodia has been built by Marshall Kim Il Sung and former King Norodom Sihanouk and it has lasted for more than 40 years since.
Pak Jae-gyong also invited Hun Sen to visit the DPRK.
In response, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia is pleased to expand cooperation with the DPRK in all sectors, especially in trades and commerce, according to Eang Sophalleth.
Hun Sen accepted the invitation to visit the DPRK at a proper time in the future.
The delegation arrived in Cambodia on Sunday for a three day visit. They will also visit engineering schools for Cambodian armed forces.
Source: Xinhua
Cambodia's Disabled Fight Poverty, Inequality
A former Khmer Rouge soldier who lost both arms to an anti-personnel landmine. (Photo: http://npac.ca/)
via CAAI
By CATHERINE WILSON / ASIA SENTINEL
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cambodia remains littered with millions of unexploded devices left over from 30 years of civil war, the brutality of the Khmer Rouge and conflict with Vietnam.
The government itself believes that as many as 2 percent of the country's 14.7 million people are disabled with landmine casualties a significant proportion.
Poung Mai, who lost both legs when he stepped on a landmine, is one of those victims. He and Chhum Sopheap, who has suffered from polio, are seated on the ground in the midday sun next to the ticket kiosk inside the entrance gates to the National Museum in Phnom Penh with a basket of books to sell, each one carefully wrapped in plastic to lessen the inevitable damage from perpetual sun and dust.
They are among more than 60,000 physically disabled in Cambodia who struggle against poverty, discrimination, unequal access to education and employment and an under-funded and under-resourced state support system.
Cambodia is one of the poorest and most landmine contaminated countries in the world and the challenge of achieving economic inclusion, education and rehabilitation of the disabled is considerable. Numerous demining organisations, such as the Cambodian Mine Action Center, are steadily working to clear the country of millions of unexploded bombs and ordnances in rural regions, especially in the northwest close to the border with Thailand.
With 80 percent of the population residing in rural provinces, the prevalence of landmines has significantly reduced access to agricultural land, forests and water resources, and led to one of the highest rates of disability in the world as people in farming communities are maimed and killed as they go about their daily lives.
According to the Cambodia Mine Victim Information System (CMVIS), there were 286 landmine casualties in 2010, an increase on the 244 reported in 2009 and 271 in 2008, with 15 new casualties in January this year. It estimates that since 1979 there have been 63,821 mine casualties, which corresponds to 39 landmine deaths and injuries every week for 31 years, with about 44,000 survivors.
Poung Mai is from Prey Khmoa village in Prey Veng province where his family were rice farmers.
"During the civil war in Cambodia, the government [Khmer Rouge] arrested me and I was made to work in forestry, woodcutting," he said, "and then I stepped on a landmine." He was 28 years of age when both legs were amputated.
"After I stepped on the landmine, it was difficult," he continued, "I went around begging everywhere, at the market, to feed my family."
Poung has seven children. In 1990 he was removed by authorities to a center that provided food and shelter, but no prospect of livelihood. He subsequently left and found his way to Phnom Penh, where he continued to beg until he joined the Angkor Association for the Disabled in 2009, an organization of people with disabilities founded by Sem Sovantha, who suffered double amputation by a landmine, to provide shelter and training to members and campaign against discrimination.
Chhum Sopheap, also from Prey Veng province, came to Phnom Penh in 1997, sleeping on the streets until he started selling books at the National Museum in 2007.
Both say that the very small income they earn from selling books, on average $4.00 per day, enables them to rent a room and leave behind homelessness, which is often accompanied by alcoholism, mental ill-health, hunger and disease. Belonging to a disabled organization has also marginally improved their experience with the public, they say.
"When they are not with an association," Sem Sovantha explained, "there is a problem with the authorities. When they have an association, people will accept them and talk to them."
However, negative social attitudes and discrimination toward the disabled, such as physical harassment, social ostracism and economic exclusion, remain widespread.
Chhum claims that he mostly receives a positive response from visitors and tourists at the National Museum, "but the official in the area is not so happy about us, because he thinks it is not appropriate for us to be selling to tourists."
Local tour guides also attempt to dissuade visitors from being patrons.
"The customer would like to buy," Chhum explains, "but the customer believes the tour guide when he says ‘no, no', because at another shop the tour guide will get a commission."
According to a 2009 ILO report, "People with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups in Cambodian society. They lack equal access to education, training and employment.
While many workers with disabilities have considerable skills, many have not had the opportunity to develop their potential."
The Cambodian government introduced a Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2009 to support the right to employment without discrimination, and in the same year adopted a National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, including landmine survivors, in order to better address needs and provide services. The stated priorities of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation include strengthening and expanding welfare and rehabilitation services for the disabled, but, according to the Cambodian Disabled Peoples Organization, lack of human and financial resources has hindered real progress toward these goals, although the work of NGOs has resulted in the provision of more vocational training courses.
"Social acceptance and social attitudes toward disabled people and landmine amputees can be improved step by step through the Royal Government having a Disability Law and National Plan for persons with disability," a CDPO spokesperson said, "The problem in Cambodia is that we have the laws, but no budget to implement them."
In the meantime, Chhum Sopheap and Poung Mai strive to sell their books, many of which are biographies and stories of Cambodians, like themselves, who have struggled through the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge era and are determined to not only survive, but live to see a better future.
Cambodia’s landmine generation fights inequality
By Asia Sentinel
Mar 29, 2011
Landmine explosions/casualties still affect thousands, writes Asia Sentinel’s Catherine Wilson
Cambodia remains littered with millions of unexploded devices left over from 30 years of civil war, the brutality of the Khmer Rouge and conflict with Vietnam.
The government itself believes that as many as 2 percent of the country’s 14.7 million people are disabled with landmine casualties a significant proportion.
Poung Mai, who lost both legs when he stepped on a landmine, is one of those victims. He and Chhum Sopheap, who has suffered from polio, are seated on the ground in the midday sun next to the ticket kiosk inside the entrance gates to the National Museum in Phnom Penh with a basket of books to sell, each one carefully wrapped in plastic to lessen the inevitable damage from perpetual sun and dust.
They are among more than 60,000 physically disabled in Cambodia who struggle against poverty, discrimination, unequal access to education and employment and an under-funded and under-resourced state support system.
Cambodia is one of the poorest and most landmine contaminated countries in the world and the challenge of achieving economic inclusion, education and rehabilitation of the disabled is considerable. Numerous demining organisations, such as the Cambodian Mine Action Center, are steadily working to clear the country of millions of unexploded bombs and ordnances in rural regions, especially in the northwest close to the border with Thailand.
With 80 percent of the population residing in rural provinces, the prevalence of landmines has significantly reduced access to agricultural land, forests and water resources, and led to one of the highest rates of disability in the world as people in farming communities are maimed and killed as they go about their daily lives.
Robinson shows class at Motocross event
New Zealand rider James Robinson goes airborne on the way to winning the Class A division title of the 2011 Total Motocross International Championships at the Preak Leap racetrack on Sunday. Photo by: Sreng Meng Srun
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
via CAAI
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:00H S Manjunath
New Zealander James Robinson rode his bike with great aplomb to speed away with top honours in Class A on a day of thrills and spills at Saturday’s 2011 Total Motocross International Championships at Preak Leap race track on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Navigating the rugged terrain with relish, the Kiwi finished ahead of Thailand’s Pakasith, who had a margin to spare over local favourite Pierre-Yves Catry.
The Cambodian interest was well sustained in Class B when Iv Leng produced a masterful jump finish to signal his win ahead of fellow countryman Vong Ching Chov. Malaysia’s Zakaria Meki took third place.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Craig Steven Fundak kept two local riders at bay to grab the top prize in Class C. Than Chamroeun and Lim Pheng chased the winner hard to snatch podium places.
In an all-Cambodian affair, Chea Lykheang finished at the top of Class D, pushing Seang Makara and Pov Piseth down the pecking order.
The MTB class saw local motorheads Seng Makara, Long Vannara and But Chhoeun fill the top three spots.
Police Blotter: 29 Mar 2011
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
via CAAI
via CAAI
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:01Sen David
Elderly man found dead after missing a month
The bodyof a 78-year-old man was found in the bushes in an area of Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Saturday. Police said that a boy was walking home when he found the corpse and immediately alerted police. Police said the man had been dead for one month and they managed to locate the deceased man’s wife who said that he lived in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kork district and had been missing for two months. Police concluded that no foul play had taken place and that the victim had suffered from an unknown disease.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
Drug duo arrested in trafficking swoop
POLICE in Battambang city arrested two drug trafficking suspects on Saturday. Police said that they were arrested while in the process of selling an unknown quantity of drugs to numerous customers and admitted to selling drugs on various occasions over the past few months in Battambang. Police have sent them to court and are searching for more drug trafficking and drug abuse suspects involved in the case.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
Driver almost killed in drunken moto accident
A 32-YEAR-OLD man was severely injured in a traffic accident on Friday. Police said that he drove his motorbike home and on the way another motorbike crashed into him. The victim nearly died but fortunately he was sent to the hospital immediately and managed to survive. The suspects escaped and police say the blame rests solely with them because they were drunk and driving erratically.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
Illegal wood transport suspects arrested
TWO men were arrested after they illegally transported luxury wood taken from a national park near Pursat city on Friday. Police said that police seized 19 pieces of luxury wood and a car the suspects used in the theft, after stopping them in a national park. The suspects claimed they were not selling the wood and were merely transporting for a fee of $25 each. The suspects were then sent to the provincial forest administration and later sent to court.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
Barking blocks burglars in Battambang city
MILITARY police in Battambang city arrested three thieves who attempted to rob a victim’s house on Saturday. Police said that six suspects attempted to rob the victim after waiting outside the house and three of them jumped over the victim’s fence, but luckily the victim’s dog barked and alerted him to the attempted robbery. Police were called immediately and three of the suspects were arrested while the other three escaped.
Duels over Duch begin
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
via CAAI
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:03James O’Toole and Cheang Sokha
Appeals in the case of former S-21 prison chief Kaing Guek Eav began at the Khmer Rouge tribunal yesterday with a contentious debate on the court’s jurisdiction and its right to try the accused, better known as Duch.
Prosecutors, the defence and civil party lawyers have all appealed the original judgment handed down last July, in which Duch was found guilty of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and sentenced to 30 years prison. Yesterday’s proceedings focused on the defence appeal, with lawyers Kar Savuth and Kang Ritheary charging that Duch falls outside the court’s mandate to prosecute “senior leaders” and those “most responsible” for crimes committed under Democratic Kampuchea.
In a rambling and often incoherent address at the outset of the hearing, Kar Savuth accused the tribunal of violating Cambodian law in its decision to try Duch, referencing documents including the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and the 1994 Law to Outlaw the Democratic Kampuchea Group that he said restrict prosecutions of Khmer Rouge cadres.
“When there was a dispute between Thailand and Cambodia at the border, there was an appeal to the international community to really force Thailand to respect the law,” Kar Savuth said, drawing chuckles from the gallery. “When Thailand does not really respect these regulations, we say that Thailand is behaving unlawfully, and we believe that this tribunal would not really follow the footsteps of Thailand.”
Kar Savuth later added that because the Khmer Rouge were “lawless”, “whatever any individual did was not against the law”. He also questioned why former KR standing committee members So Phim and Ta Mok had not been identified as suspects by the court.
Ta Mok was arrested in 1999 before dying in custody in 2006. So Phim committed suicide in 1978.
Both Kar Savuth and Kang Ritheary also questioned why Duch could be considered one of those “most responsible” when the dozens of other prison chiefs of the DK era had not been arrested as well.
“Duch [was] merely the chief of a prison, similar to the 195 chiefs of prisons throughout Cambodia,” Kar Savuth said, adding that many former KR officials had been peacefully reintegrated into the government without facing charges.
“Even now at the Ministry of Defence, there are former Khmer Rouge cadres who have rank and status,” he said.
Terith Chy, head of the Victim Participation Project at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said the defence arguments were “probably more for the crowd than for the judges”.
“That’s our worry.... [that] people might buy what Kar Savuth has said, because he’s such a character, but we feel that these are not the legal arguments that [a] judge is looking for,” Terith Chy said.
“It’s obvious it’s unfair, why just one prison chief is prosecuted and why not others, but looking from the available evidence at the court, looking at the gravity of what happened in Tuol Sleng, looking at the responsibility of Duch ... he’s the type of person to be prosecuted.”
Co-prosecutor Chea Leang said the jurisdictional challenge was illegitimate since it had not been raised during the initial hearing as required by court rules. That aside, she said Duch was clearly one of those “most responsible” for Khmer Rouge crimes.
“The policy of the Communist Party of Kampuchea was implemented by the security centres, and the security apparatus was the heart of the policy of the CPK in smashing enemies,” she said. “S-21 was the most important office in this apparatus.”
Civil party lawyer Martine Jacquin added that Duch had “full control over the actions of his subordinates and over everything that happened at S-21”, a facility in which nearly all of the perhaps 14,000 people who entered were eventually killed.
The accused himself spoke only briefly at the beginning of the hearing, telling the court that he authorised his lawyers to act on his behalf. Wearing a white jacket over a button-down shirt, he appeared frail and at times did not seem to be paying attention to the proceedings.
Eng Try, 56, of Kampong Cham province, said outside the court that he had lost his parents and six siblings to the Khmer Rouge and strongly opposed the defence team’s bid for acquittal.
“My suffering from the Khmer Rouge regime is tremendous. He should serve life imprisonment,” Eng Try said.
Prosecutors requested in their appeal that Duch receive a 45-year jail term, commuted from life in prison because of his excessive pre-trial detention. This issue will be discussed when the tribunal reconvenes today.
Cambodian garment workers clash with police
http://www.trust.org/
via CAAI
Source: reuters
By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH, March 28 (Reuters) - At least eight female garment workers were injured on Monday in clashes with Cambodian riot police, who used shields and electric shock batons to end a protest over a factory closure, witnesses and a union said.
Some demonstrators were pushed to the ground and shocked with batons when police with guns and riot gear were deployed to forcibly end a road blockade by an estimated 1,000 female workers who were demanding unpaid wages and compensation after a local factory went bankrupt.
The clashes were the latest setback for an industry that forms a vital part of Cambodia's fledgling $10 billion economy. The garment sector was badly hit during the global economic slump from 2008 and more recently has been plagued by strikes over low pay and working conditions.
"Police were ordered to beat up workers, some were hit in the heads and shoulders and others were pushed to the ground," said Chhoeun Chanthy, a 30-year-old garment worker . "We were not afraid, we were peaceful."
Chea Mony, president of the Cambodia's Free Trade Union (FTU), told Reuters the total number of injured was unknown and some workers were being held in police custody.
"This is very serious. These workers were only in dispute with employers," Chea Mony said. "This violence is not justified," he said, adding that a government committee tasked with dealing with such disputes was "useless".
Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth declined to comment and a legal representative for the factory was unavailable.
Garment manufacturing is Cambodia's third-biggest currency earner after agriculture and tourism. About 30,000 jobs were lost in 2009 after a drop in sales to the United States and Europe.
The downturn led to a strike by more than 210,000 garment factory workers last year and more mass strikes have been threatened over a controversial move by the government to regulate trade unions. [ID:nSGE72E03M]
Cambodia exported garments, textiles and shoes to the value of $2.3 billion in 2009, down from $2.9 billion in 2008. According to the World Bank, the sector is in recovery and exports grew 24 percent in 2010 after a 20 percent contraction.
An estimated 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people work in the sector and send vital cash to impoverished rural villages where many people live on less than $1 a day.
Cambodian factories produce clothes for many Western brands, including Gap Inc , Nike Inc , Marks and Spencer Group PLC , Tesco PLC , H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB , Puma , Next Plc and Inditex , the world's biggest clothing retailer and owner of Zara. (Editing by Martin Petty)
Thais discriminates against Khmer: Samdech PM Hun Sen
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 03:04 By Chan Virak
Cambodia Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said that some Thais have showed the manner of discrimination against Khmer when the Khmer have travelled or visited in Thailand.
“Some Thai Taxi drivers asked about the identity of people when they know the passengers as Khmer, they told them to get out from the taxi,” Samdech told the graduation ceremony of a university in Phnom Penh.
“I also raised the issue with the outgoing Thai ambassador while he paid the courtesy call, he stress. The ambassador asked me to provide the safety for Thai businesspeople here,” Samdech said. I told him back Cambodia needs Thai investors and businesspeople and their safeties were guaranteed and protected,” Samdech explained.
Sopheak Ly, a DJ for a local radio station in Phnom Penh said that he was kicked off the bus in Aranyaprateth of Thailand while he planned to travel to Bangkok. I showed my passport. The driver knows me as Khmer, he told me to get off the bus. i complained with our border police and they will raised the issue with Thai police, he said.
Last week, Thai officials at border gates with Pailin province of Cambodia banned Cambodia’s products to Thailand with accusation of disqualified products. Cambodia officials urged to have fair business connection between two countries. If they banned Cambodian products, Cambodia has rights to block their products. At Choam Sa- ngam border gate of Oddar Mean Chey province, Cambodia blocked Thai products.
Last year, a Khmer boy burned alive by Thai soldiers while he entered Thailand illegally. Cambodian government urged Thai side to use international norms and laws for that issue in the processing of implementing the human rights.
Thai troop invaded Cambodian soil on July 15, 2008 near 11 century Khmer Preah Vihear temple by using own map a week after Cambodia enlisted the temple successfully as world heritage site.
Thailand’s intention plans to block the temple from development and conservation. In 1962, the world court ruled that the temple located in Khmer territory. So all Thai soldiers removed from the temple and before leaving, Thai troops destroyed statues and stolen a wall of Khmer inscription.
On, Feb 4-7, fresh fighting occurred and Thai troops damaged some parts of the temple. The UNESCO calls for the meeting for both sides in Paris in May.
PM urges Thai border talks
Photo by: Pha Lina
Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks at the Institute of National Education in Phnom Penh Yesterday.
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:03Vong Sokheng
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday warned that Thailand needed to respect the role of Indonesia in helping to resolve an ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, after the Thai parliament on Friday delayed approval of the latest round of border talks between the two countries.
Speaking to about 2,000 students at a graduation ceremony at the Institute of National Education, Hun Sen said that Thailand had been recalcitrant toward the instruction of the United Nations Security Council which last month appointed Indonesia to intervene in the border dispute near Preah Vihear temple.
“Thailand has to take responsibility in front of the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and the UNSC,” said Hun Sen.
“[The] Cambodian Government has had an absolute determination for preparing to go to [Indonesia] and it is a matter of Thailand if it will go or not.”
Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, called for a meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee – which deals with defence issues, and the bilateral Joint Border Committee in Bogor Indonesia on March 24-25 – but later postponed the meeting until April 7-8.
Following clashes near the Preah Vihear temple in February that left at least 10 people dead and dozens injured, Thailand and Cambodia also agreed to accept a team of Indonesian observers to the disputed border area adjacent to the temple.
Thai military officials including army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha have since expressed opposition to these meetings, and denied acceptance of military observers from Indonesia.
“[The Thai] foreign minister said they should go. [The Thai] prime minister also said they should go but [the Thai] army chief had said they shouldn’t. However, it is up to Thailand,” said Hun Sen at the ceremony.
“They shouldn’t be afraid of a third party that is coming to monitor.”
Hun Sen added that the government had already prepared a safety bunker, five vehicles, radio communications and hotel accommodation in Phnom Penh for Indonesian military observers.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that Cambodia has not yet received an official letter of confirmation from Thailand.
“[Thailand] has remained unclear,” said Koy Kuong.
Thani Thongphakdi, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Food ban angers workers
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:03Mom Kunthear
Workers at the M&V International Manufacturing Ltd garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province said yesterday that the factory owners have prohibited them from bringing certain foods and beverages into the workplace, following a full day of negotiations over the policy.
Noun Samol, a worker representative, said the factory has dismissed workers’ requests to be allowed to bring certain foods and drinks to work.
“More than 5,000 workers in the factory are not happy with the company’s policy of prohibiting cakes, other food items, soft drinks or other coloured beverages into the factory,” she said yesterday.
“Factory security will seize all such items if workers attempt to bring them inside.”
Vang Srey Leak, 23, an employee of M&V, said earlier this week that company officials told her the policy was imposed to prevent damage or staining to factory’s products from certain foods or beverages.
“All the workers will hold the big protest in front of the factory if it does not come up with a result that we can accept,” said Vang Srey Leak.
Noun Samol said that she would send a letter of intervention to the Arbitration Council today in order to seek assistance in the dispute.
“I don’t know what the workers will do if the company insists on prohibiting certain foods from the workplace,” she said, adding that employees would continue working as normal until a resolution was reached by the Arbitration Council.
Yin Phearum, an M&V official, said Sunday that the company could not allow workers to bring food or other items that could compromise the factory’s products or workplace.
“We’ve had problems with insects destroying our clothes, so that’s why we have prohibited workers from bringing certain food items and sweet drinks into the workplace,” he said.
Yin Phearum said the company was not worried about a protest and that the policy would remain in place.
Officials at the Kampong Thom provincial department of labour and vocational training could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Six charged in club raid
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:03Kim Yuthana
Siem Reap provincial court on Wednesday charged six supervisors at a karaoke club in Siem Reap town for prostitution following the arrest of 72 female workers and nine supervisors in a raid last Tuesday, provincial officials said yesterday.
Siem Reap provincial court deputy president Sok Leang said that the suspects were being detained at the provincial prison pending a court hearing.
“We don’t know when the hearing starts while an investigating judge is continuing investigating and hunting for the karaoke [club] owner,” said Sok Leang.
Seventy-two women and nine supervisors were arrested in a raid by provincial authorities at Wonder Club in Siem Reap town last Tuesday under suspicion of prostitution and illegal sex trafficking.
Sun Bunthorn, chief of the provincial Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau, said that three of the supervisors were not involved and were released after questioning and the 72 women were sent to the provincial department of social affairs.
“This is the fourth case of cracking down on prostitution in Siem Reap province this year,” said Sun Bunthorn.
Illegal shooting: Two soldiers arrested for firing guns near mosque
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:03Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
Illegal shooting
Two Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldiers were arrested last week in connection with illegal shootings in Phnom Penh.
Ya Kim Y, deputy commander of the Phnom Penh military police, said the two soldiers were arrested on March 25 at about midnight in Srah Chak commune in Daun Penh district after firing several rounds into the air in front of a mosque.
He said police confiscated one hand gun at the time of the soldiers’ arrest.
“These soldiers got very drunk after having drinks with their friends at a Karaoke shop in Srah Chak commune,” he said.
“They arrived in front of a Khmer mosque and fired many bullets into the air. They have both been sent to military court for charges in connection with the shooting.”
Ya Kim Y added that according to official codes of conduct, any soldier or officer guilty of shooting a weapon outside the confines of their official duties is subject to at least three months in prison.
Officials at the Military Court could not be reached for comment this week.
Liberty Mining sale planned
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:01Tom Brennan
AUSTRALIAN conglomerate Transol Corp has said it would sell Liberty Mining Group, which operates four sites in Cambodia, and its controlled subsidiaries to “non-related Canadian private interests” in a cash and stock deal.
Liberty Mining, also an Australian company, operates a joint mining venture with Canada-based Prairie Pacific Mining at four projects in Cambodia’s Ratanakkiri province.
Transol, which operates digital music, computer and Web businesses, stated it will receive US$600,000 for the sale of Liberty, plus 600,000 Class “A” shares in an entity intending to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The value of those shares is still under negotiation as part of the listing process on the TSX.
Transol will also earn a 2.5-percent net smelter royalty for Liberty and Prairie Pacific’s four Cambodian projects in around Ban Lung and O Yadav districts, to a maximum aggregate payment of $800,000, according to a statement released Friday.
Maxum Metals, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Transol, will be transferred to Liberty Group.
The deal also means Transol will not push forward with its plans to give Liberty seed capital funding or Liberty’s anticipated listing on the Australian Stock Exchange, a move that was announced in December.
As a result of the deal, Transol said it would also not proceed with the planned purchase of two Cambodian projects owned by Summer Gold.
Summer Gold has agreed to repay Transol the initial cost of the acquisition, which was $350,000. “It is intended that the purchasing entity will complete due diligence within four weeks being on or around 23 April 2011 and, subject to a positive outcome, shareholder approval will be sought late May/ June with settlement occurring two days thereafter,” the statement said.
Richard Stanger, managing director of Liberty Mining in Cambodia, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
John Paul Dau, country director for Prairie Pacific Mining, would not comment on the transaction when approached for comment yesterday.
Currency risk in CSX two-day settlements
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:01May Kunmakara and Jeremy Mullins
THE Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia is set to require trades on the new stock exchange to be settled after two days, as experts said the timeframe ought to be kept as short as possible.
Although analysts widely supported the timeframe, called ‘T + 2’ in a draft prakas, or edict, obtained yesterday, they said a shorter settlement period will minimise the impact of currency fluctuations on transactions.
Companies are set list on the Cambodia Securities Exchange in riel, but settlements are allowed in either local currency or dollars for the first three years of operation.
Asian Development Bank’s Principal Economist at the Office of Regional Economic Integration Jayant Menon wrote yesterday that it was the settlement period where exposure to currency risk really exists, given the currency of listing and the currency of settlement could differ.
“Therefore, the shorter the better,” he said. “… T+2 is quite short, especially for an emerging market.”
The main challenge for the clearance system was the legal and regulatory framework, he said.
“These need to be strengthened, and the National Bank of Cambodia needs to be actively involved in ensuring this,” he wrote.
ACLEDA Securities Director Svay Hay said he supported two-day time frame.
“It is acceptable for us because we will have enough time to [complete] operations,” he said. “Using T+2 is very good – we don’t aim to use T+3 or more, which takes too much time.”
Svay Hay allowed that there would be some exchange rate risk for investors with capital in United States dollars if the riel fluctuated – but he added the riel had remained relatively stable over the last few years.
“We don’t have large fluctuations [in the value of the riel],” he said. “This is good, as it will draw investors to the market.”
Cambodia Securities Exchange Chief Executive Officer Hong Sok Hour said the SECC continued to work on the more complex regulations to ensure a successful exchange, which is set to launch in July.
“We are a new market, we will have some difficulty with the first step – that is why we want to develop simple [regulations],” he said.
ACLEDA Bank, CANADIA Bank, and the Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia have been licensed as cash settlement agents by the SECC earlier this month.
Operators of a clearing facility will also be obligated to set up accounts under the oversight of the CSX, according to the draft parkas obtained yesterday.
Trading hours will initially be set from 8:00 am to 11:30 am, and trades are scheduled to be executed twice daily, at 9:00 am and 11:30 am.
Trading days are slated to be Monday to Friday, except public holidays.
Members who failed to settle a trade may see their trade cancelled, or have their trading suspended for a fixed period of time.
The SECC will hold public consultations on the timeframe – termed “T+2” – today and Wednesday, as well as the other provisions included in the draft “Rules on Securities Market Operations” prakas.
Battambang’s first mall opens
The Borey Thmey Shopping Mall is seen in Battambang’s Svay Por commune in October 2010. Photo by: Soeun Say
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I believe it doesn’t matter to local vendors at the market like us, because we are different from them.
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:01Soeun Say
BATTAMBANG’S first shopping mall has opened its doors, but local traders say they are unconcerned by competition from the new US$18 million centre.
The four-storey Borey Thmey Shopping Mall in Battambang’s Svay Por Commune officially opened at the weekend and contains 600 units, said Manager of Sales Administration Neang Neath Thanith.
Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An attended its launch.
“We’re the first shopping mall in Battambang city and now we’re open for business to our customers in the province,” said Neang Neath Thanith.
So far it has sold about 80 percent of available store space, she said, stating that its status as the first shopping mall in the Cambodian city coupled with a “good location” would fuel future success.
The mall is owned by Lim Chhiv Ho, who is both chairwoman of Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone and Managing Director of Attwood Import-Export.
Despite the mall offering a new experience for local consumers, vendors at the city’s Phsar Nat market and Boeung Chhok market believe they have nothing to worry about.
Reth Chanthol, a fabric seller at Boeung Chhok market located near the new centre, told The Post yesterday she welcomed the new shopping mall.
“Our clients are far different from [theirs], our market focuses on poor people,” she said,
Keo Sinoun, a vegetable vendor at the city’s Phsar Nat, agreed.
She said: “I think that shopping mall focuses on only middle- and high-class customers, so I believe that it doesn’t matter to local vendors at the market like us because we are different from them.”
Meanwhile local officials highlighted recent development in Battambang.
Uy Liv, a member of counsellors at Battambang Provincial Hall, said the province has seen its agricultural and construction sector improve – with new housing development and hotels being set up.
He said that the shopping mall would create employment for the local people and would help boost the local economy.
“We are proud to have the shopping mall here, it will create more jobs for people and make their standard of living better,” he said.
Leopard gets claws around advisory firm
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:00Tom Brennan
PRIVATE-EQUITY firm Leopard Capital Fund will invest US$1 million in a professional advisory firm that provides legal and tax advisory services to clients in Southeast Asia, the company announced yesterday.
Leopard Capital, parent company of Leopard Capital Fund, did not disclose the terms of the deal or name the advisory firm, saying the transaction was “very sensitive”.
A statement from the company said only that the advisory firm would use the proceeds “to fund its expansion into new markets and improve its [management information systems].”
Scott Lewis, managing partner at Leopard Capital, would not comment yesterday on how much the deal could mean for his company, but he did say it “meets our return threshold for a relatively low-risk investment”.
“We don’t see a lot of downside risk,” he said.
The growth of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia has and will continue to create demand for tax and legal advisory services, Lewis said.
“If there’s going to be a lot of investment in these economies, then they’re going to benefit a lot from that,” he said, as the investing companies will have “an obvious need for legal advice”.
Lewis said the deal was an obvious strategic move for Leopard Capital given how much it was already using the advisory firm’s services. “We were paying them a lot of money,” he said, “and so the idea dawned on us that they might be doing a pretty good business.”
He also hoped the advisory firm would serve as a source of business referrals for his company, he said.
Leopard Capital has invested in numerous Cambodian businesses including Kingdom Breweries, Nautisco Seafood Manufacturing and ACLEDA Bank.
Labour challenges in ASEAN integration
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Tuesday, 29 March 2011 15:00May Kunmakara
CAMBODIA will face challenges from the inevitable worker migration that takes place across the ASEAN region once full economic integration arrives in 2015, trade union experts said on Friday.
In a meeting held at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian labour community expressed concern about the effect that integration could have on the Kingdom.
“We will face the flow of workers among ASEAN member states, so we are concerned about the impact on migrant workers’ rights. That’s a very big issue,” said Vong Sovan, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions. He said it was critical these issues be addressed before the integration take place.
Som Aun, president of the Cambodian Labor Union Federation, said Cambodia needs to make a better effort to facilitate cooperation among the concerned institutions and government to improve working conditions here, as well as regulation.
“Our participation in the [ASEAN Services Employees Trade Union Council] is to recommend to the government that it protect competition,” he said. Som Aun also called for better training for Cambodian workers ahead of 2015 so that they could compete with neighboring countries for jobs.
Christopher Ng, regional secretary of UNI Asia & Pacific Global Union, said the integration would impact workers’ standard of living according to their circumstances in each ASEAN country. Therefore, Cambodia must benefit as much as it can from that integration.
“The migration of workers is a very important issue. ASEAN has to discuss policy to ensure that the migration of workers would be carefully regulated,” he said. “The trade unions here have to be … participating in the discussion regarding the migration policy.”
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