SEZ investors get one-stop service in Phnom Penh

Nguon sovan; The front gate of the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone, which hopes to eventually attract more than 200 investors.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nguon Sovan
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Administrative centre will simplify paperwork and cut out ministry middlemen looking for 'under-the-table' money

THE Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) on Monday introduced a "one-stop" service option aimed at simplifying application procedures for potential investors in the zone.

Investors now have a central administrative office located at the PPSEZ that can process all necessary paperwork for investment, Lim Chhiv Ho, chairwoman of the zone, told the Post.

"Previous investors were required to submit documents and proposals to five ministries, and they often complained of rampant corruption, or the requirement of ‘under-the-table money', among ministry officials, as well as long delays in processing necessary paperwork," said Lim Chhiv Ho. "Such frustrations will no longer affect investors."

Chea Vuthy, administration chairman of the zone and the deputy secretary general of the Cambodia Special Economic Zone Board, said investment laws state that proposals take at least 28 days to process. He said the new one-stop office will cut that time to three days.

"Through our one-stop administration centre, investors will have a much easier time completing their paperwork," he said.

"They will simply pay a fee of 7 million riels (US$1,700) to the government for any investment project."

He said the PPSEZ is the third zone to adopt the one-stop service, after the Manhattan and Tai Seng SEZs in Svay Rieng province.

Phased development

The PPSEZ was founded in April 2006 with investments of $92 million, covering an area of some 352 hectares about 18 kilometres outside Phnom Penh in Kandal province.

Its development was projected to cover three phases. The first phase, which the zone has already completed, was the creation of an international-standard infrastructure, including a power station, water supply and sewage systems, internet capability and a dry port - at a cost of $15 million.

Lim Chhiv Ho said that until now, a large number of the zone's investors come from Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Japan, but that she expects a new investor from Great Britain.

"Currently, there are 22 local and foreign companies that have invested with us, including nine companies that have been approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia. Seven others have begun construction on plants in the PPSEZ," she said.

"Companies have invested in factories that manufacture garments, cartons, shoes and even a Yamaha motor plant from Japan," she said.

She added the zone's industrial land price has been fixed at a cost of $50 per square metre.

Cambodia currently has 19 licensed Special Economic Zones. Most are located near the borders with Vietnam and Thailand.

Draft law targets piracy

Vandy Rattana; Punters browse pirated CDs and DVDs at a street-side stand in Phnom Penh.

Members Only
Cambodia joined the World Trade Organisation in 2004, becoming only the second Least Developed Country (LDC) to gain admittance after years of negotiations and the adoption of laws to cut corruption and achieve greater transparency.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nguon Sovan and Hor Hab
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

New committee aims to promote cooperation among government ministries to protect intellectual property rights and ensure compliance with WTO rules

A DRAFT law on the establishment of a National Committee of Intellectual Property Management (NCIPM) was approved by the Council of Ministers last week as the government works to curb piracy in fulfilment of its WTO membership requirements.

The draft law aims to promote cooperation among ministries and the private sector, a council news release said, drawing a complicated and sometimes contradictory fight against piracy under one umbrella group.

"The NCIPM will consist of 13 concerned ministries chaired by the Commerce Ministry and vice chaired by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy and the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry," Lao Reasey, deputy chief of the Commerce Ministry's Intellectual Property Rights Department's international cooperation and legal affairs bureau, told the Post on Sunday.

Trademarks, geographical indications and compulsory licensing all fall under the Commerce Ministry's jurisdiction, he said.

Copyrights and intellectual rights, however, come under the Culture Ministry, while the Industry Ministry is in charge of patents and utility models, making enforcement difficult.

"The role of the NCIPM is to study the relevant laws as Cambodia is a signatory of the WTO. We have to comply with the WTO and to compile new laws to enable Cambodia to enter international treaties or conventions on intellectual property," Lao Reasey said.

"Solid intellectual property rights are a part of attracting and building confidence among foreign investors in Cambodia," he added.

An intellectual property law was passed in 1999 controlling trademarks, patents and copyrights, but piracy remains rampant.

Pirated CDs, VCDs and software are commonplace, as well as cigarettes and high-end whiskey.

Lao Reasey agreed that piracy is a problem, but added that the situation has improved.

"It cannot be as strong as those of Japan or France because those countries have had such laws for hundreds of years, while Cambodia just introduced the laws in 1999," he said. "However, we have put our efforts into training, into disseminating information among law firms, small and medium enterprises, and university students, and we hope more and more people will understand intellectual property rights."

Sim Sarak, director general of administration in charge of the copyright office of the Culture Ministry, told the Post that since 1999, Cambodia has had only three intellectual property laws: trademarks, patents, and copyright and piracy laws.

"The NCIPM is very crucial to compiling further intellectual property laws to align Cambodia to WTO's laws," Sim Sarak said.

"So far, the laws have not been enforced ... but we hope when the NCIPM is formed, the laws will be strictly enforced," he said.

"[Piracy] has strongly discouraged artists from writing books or shooting movies because their works will be pirated," he said.

Opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovan also questioned the government's willingness to enforce new legislation, saying: "Laws are useless if they're never enforced".

But others said it was too premature to fault the government's anti-piracy efforts.

"It is too early to put all the blame on the government, but we should allow time for enforcement to improve," said Pily Wong, general manager of Microsoft's office in Cambodia. "The NCIPM will be helpful in this respect."

Teachers assoc president injured

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Ou Norn, a president of the Takeo Teachers Association was injured on his eyebrow by Vietnamese border police after he accidentally crossed the Vietnamese border and travelled 50 metres into that country's territory Monday. Ny Chandaravuth, vice president of the Teachers Association, was with Norn and said they wanted only to see the border and had no intention of crossing. Norn said that he made a mistake and a fine would have been sufficient punishment.

Cambodians attend paralympic games

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Cheang Sokha
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

A Cambodian National Paralympics Committee delegation has gone to Beijing to participate in the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games. Two officials and competitor Kim Vanna left Monday and will return September 18. The 13th Paralympic Games will be held September 6-17.

New WB manager for Cambodia

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by CAMILLA BJERREKEAR
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Qimiao Fan on Monday was appointed World Bank's country manager for Cambodia by the World Bank vice president for East Asia and Pacific region, James Adam, the bank said in a statement. Fan, a Chinese national, has been working for the World Bank for more than 12 years and has more than 10 years experience in the private sector and at academic institutions, the bank said. Fan has recently left his position as lead economist and program leader for the Investment Climate Capacity Enhancement Program and the Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure Program at the World Bank, the statement said.

Plenty of plenary

TRACEY SHELTON

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by TRACEY SHELTON
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Co-investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde (centre) adjusts his headphones while sitting next to his Cambodian counterpart, Judge You Bun Leng, at the fourth plenary of Khmer Rouge Tribunal jurists Monday.

Flying foxes get the boot from Wat Phnom: official

VANDY RATTANA; Flying foxes are seen swooping over Wat Phnom – but they may not be there for much longer.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khouth Sophakchakrya
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

The fox bats that surround Wat Phnom every evening may soon be a thing of the past if Phnom Penh officials have their way

THE Phnom Penh municipality has evicted thousands of flying foxes - or fox bats - from the children's park on the southeast side of Wat Phnom as part of the city's ongoing drive to beautify the city, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema said.

"We want our children to have a pleasant environment to play in," Kep Chuktema told the Post Sunday, adding that the large volume of bat waste produced by the flying mammals had made the park unsanitary.

Five days ago, the municipality draped kites, scarecrows and bells across the tops of Wat Phnom's lauan, or Chheuo Teal, trees. The decorations had the desired effect: the flying fox population has largely migrated to the northeast corner of Wat Phnom, in the vicinity of the Cambodian Development Council (CDC).

The municipality decided not to cull the flying fox population, but simply to frighten them into leaving the children's park.

"We are concerned that the bats will be trapped for food if they move outside of the capital, but we have no choice [about evicting them from the park at Wat Phnom]," Kep Chuktema added.

But conservation groups have expressed concern that Cambodia's population of the species will be seriously affected by the move.

Damaged habitat

According to Sheng Teak, country director of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), it would have been far better for the municipality to build shelters near Wat Phnom for the flying foxes. This would have encouraged the mammals to nest in designated areas, limiting the impact of the waste they generate in the area.

"If we want to attract tourists to visit Wat Phnom, we should protect the flying foxes," he said.

Flying foxes are bats of the genus Pteropus and belong to the Megachiroptera sub-order. They are the largest bats in the world and live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Australia, Oceania, islands off East Africa and a number of remote oceanic islands in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Many species of the bat are threatened today with extinction, and a number of species have died out as a result of human consumption.

KRT roadshow makes the rounds

THOMAS GAM NIELSEN; Nong Srim (right) and his friend Net Tong listen at Friday’s justice and reconciliation forum held in Kampong Cham.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Camilla Bjerrekaer and Thomas Gam Nielsen
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Hopes for justice are rising as the first public trial of a former Khmer Rouge leader approaches, but many Cambodians remain baffled over the role of Cambodia's genocide court

KAMPONG CHAM - Uong Maly travelled for the first time in August to Tuol Sleng, the former Khmer Rouge torture centre turned genocide museum, and the Choeung Ek killing fields - some of the starkest reminders of the apocalypse that engulfed Cambodia 30 years ago.

"When I got back, I came home with questions that I wanted to ask in order to release my feelings," she said. "I wanted to ask if other countries were also killing their own people."

The 63-year-old Kampong Cham native came a small step closer to getting those answers last week when she attended the latest forum organised by the Center for Social Development (CSD) aimed at getting Cambodians to talk about their country's past and giving them insight into efforts to bring former regime leaders to justice.

For some, the forum took on added poignancy following last month's indictment by Khmer Rouge tribunal judges of Kaing Guek Eav, the Tuol Sleng prison chief better known as Duch who will be the first defendant sent to trial.

"I do not have revenge left, I want justice," said Net Tong, a farmer from Prey Sralao village in Kampong Cham who lost 10 family members under the 1975-79 regime.

"We want to put away the past and feel peaceful. If the [detained] people get jailed, we will feel very happy," he added.

Both Net Tong, 60, and his friend, 62-year-old Nong Srim, said they came to the forum, which was attended by tribunal officials, with little knowledge of how Cambodia plans to prosecute regime leaders through the UN-backed tribunal.

"Before we didn't know the exact process of the tribunal, but now we feel better informed," Nong Srim said.

Net Tong added: "I want people to understand the process. After this forum I will spread the information about the prosecution in my village."

Get involved

Sok Leang, a senior assistant at CSD who facilitated last week's forum, said it was important for the tribunal to be explained to Cambodians, many of whom lacked even the most basic knowledge of how the court worked.

"We want to inform people about the tribunal, and we want them to understand that they have rights," Sok Leang said. "Their suffering can be eased through this court, and they have the right to get involved in the legal process."

More than 150 people participated in Friday's forum, and organisers said they hoped these people would take their experiences back to their villages.

"We want to remind people about the past so that they can act as catalysts ... to get others engaged in the dialogue, to inspire and encourage them to talk," Sok Leang said.

"We always encourage [the participants] in every public forum to disseminate the information we give them," Sok Leang said.

"If you know someone who would like to file a complaint, get them informed and get back to us."

For Oung Maly, simply being able to attend the forum was "victory" for her.

"We hope that we get justice for the Cambodian people. Before we just heard [of the process], never saw it, but now we can participate."

Police, military suspended for role in illegal logging

GEORGE MCLEOD; Illegal logging is gutting Cambodia’s forests.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Seven officials disciplined for involvement in illegal logging operation, but monitors fear scheme is much more widespread

SEVEN officials have been suspended for involvement in an illegal logging ring in Ratanakkiri Province's Andong Meas district.

"The five policemen and two soldiers were suspended after it was found out that they helped businesses in illegal logging," provincial police chief Ray Rai told the Post Sunday.

He identified two of the perpetrators as border military personnel Seng Khemarak and Ou Y Sophon.

He said their punishment, which began last Monday, would be "suspension for a couple of weeks, or a month, since it's their first time", adding that a second infraction would earn them criminal charges.

"They have admitted to having helped businesses log and to having received bribes for it," Ray Rai said. "We have to take action to punish them because we are worried their activities would spread," he said.

Impunity reigns

Ratanakkiri province was the scene of one of Cambodia's most far-reaching illegal logging schemes to be prosecuted so far, although the results appear to have had limited effect.

The chief defendant, former provincial governor Kham Khoeun, was sentenced in 2006 to 17 years in prison but has never been detained.

A prominent CPP figure, Kham Khoeun is reportedly living freely in Laos.

Six other officials were also convicted for their roles in the scam, a sophisticated multimillion-dollar logging racket which stripped trees from Virachey National Park and trucked them across the border to Vietnam.

Pen Bonnar, the coordinator in Ratanakkiri for the Cambodian rights group Adhoc, said that as a serious problem in Cambodia, illegal logging should be met with more than suspensions.

"They [perpetrators] should be punished for committing a serious crime," he said, adding that he would send incriminating evidence to the courts to encourage more serious action be taken against the officers.

According to him, the suspended officers had been abetting illegal loggers in the area for years.

"These officers had conspired with a number of rich men to log these forests for three years but last year they caused more serious destruction, which was noticed," he said.

Pen Bonnar said 60 felled trees, between one and two metres in width, were found in Lumphat district last weekend alone, adding that the list of culprits runs deeper than the group already identified.

"I know some police officers as well as district and forestry officials who are involved in logging here," he said.

Orphans heading to Hawaii

VANDY RATTANA; One of the 30 orphans heading to Hawaii helps pack the traditional Khmer instruments and props the group is taking.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Priyanka Bhonsulet
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Thirty children to travel to the American tropical island state for a series of traditional Khmer dance performances and to learn how to surf

CHECK Sreysrash could not keep the smile off her face as she described her upcoming trip to Hawaii with 29 other children from the Future Light Orphanage of Worldmate (FLOW). "It is a golden opportunity," she said, beaming.

Funded by the online organisation Email Foster Parents International (EFPI), 30 children are to fly to Hawaii today where they will stay for two weeks, performing traditional Khmer dances for audiences across the American state.

Check Sreysrash, who wants to become a lawyer, was put into the orphanage when she was two years old because her family could not afford to take care of her. The 18-year-old has been dancing for seven years now. She has been to Japan once to perform and said she has gotten over her fear of flying.

"Japan was very interesting and the people were very friendly. Hawaii will be different, maybe more beautiful," she told the Post Monday.

Sharing Khmer culture

Joining her will be 19-year-old Yann Sambath, who was preparing for his first overseas trip and looking forward to showing other nations traditional Khmer dance.

"I've been practicing dance for almost five years, and what I like most about it is we can show our culture to other countries," he said.

In Yann Sambath's imagination, Hawaii is "like heaven with all the beautiful beaches and high mountains."

What excites him most, however, is not beaches but classrooms. "I would like to learn about [Hawaii's] education system in order to develop my own country," he said.

Rob Hail, founder of EFPI, has been based in Hawaii for 35 years and said the children on tour will not just be performing.

"We're going to the zoo, aquarium and surfing," he said. "They're going to be performing in three high schools, so they have the chance to sit in some classes."

Though the last few days have been full of pre-departure preparations, Hail said they had a blessing ceremony Sunday.

"We privately held a memorial for one of our main dancers, Srey Poch, who died in March from [autoimmune disease] lupus and would have loved to be on this trip."

LOCAL GOVT: Officials to get legal training

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chrann Chamroeun
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Two top management seminars on the legal framework of local administration in Cambodia are to be held in September as part of the Project on Improvement of Local Administration in Cambodia (PILAC). The project contributes to reforms in decentralisation and de-concentration through capacity building of public officials for local administration. The two-hour seminars, organised with the support of the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center, will provide an opportunity for senior officials to both learn and share their experiences about the recent administrative management laws promulgated in March, said Prum Soka, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior.

Dead fish raise suspicions

HENG CHIVOAN; Fishermen cross the Samrong Lake in Kandal province Monday amid a sea of green scum and alleged pollutants.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kay Kimsong and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

A Korean-owned biofuel factory is blamed by local officials and villagers for dead fish and polluted water in the province's Samrong Lake

Provincial officials and local villagers in Kandal province claim liquid waste from a Korean-owned bio-fuel factory has polluted a public lake and poisoned tonnes of fish.

Tong Simy, governor of Ponhea Leu district, said polluted water from a poorly designed waste pond at the MH Bio Energy Co was responsible for the poisoning of fish in the 325-hectare Samrong Lake.

He said the company could face closure if it does not take steps to stop the waste leakage.

"It is our responsibility ... to protect our villagers," Tong Simy told the Post Monday. "I think the company has been careless, and we will ask the government to intervene if the pollution continues."

Lee Dong Jun, executive director of MH Bio Energy, denied the allegation and complained about media coverage of villagers' complaints.

Company denials

"What was reported in local newspapers is not real information," he told the Post Monday.

"We have our own pond for liquid waste from the factory. I think people are just exaggerating. I can't believe reporters would make up a story like this."

BH Bio Energy produces ethanol for export and has operated in Kandal province since July.

Tong Simy said Samrong and Prek Phnov communes have been most affected by the waste leakage. Villagers depend on the lake for fish, farming and drinking water.

"We must protect our fishermen and those who need water for farming and livestock," Tong Simy said, adding that environmental officials have been informed of the pollution.

" WE DON’T REALLY TRUST THE COMPANY BECAUSE OUR FISH CONTINUE TO DIE. "

"We are investigating the matter, and we will watch the activities of the company closely," he said.

Local villagers say hundreds of families have been affected by the waste leakage and that they are afraid to continue using water from Samrong Lake.

So Tharin, 55, a resident of Duong village in Prek Phnov commune, said he suffered skin irritations after inspecting dead fish from the lake.

"I saw waste water flowing from a pipe at the factory into the lake, and some of the fish have been poisoned," he said.

Chao Bun Thong, chief of Duong village, said 60 percent of residents in his village are fishermen and rely on Samrong Lake for their livelihoods.

"I have seen the dead fish, and I've made a report to several government ministries," he said.

Chao Bun Thong said he is concerned about potential damage to his village's rice fields and has assigned local residents to watch the bio-fuel factory.

"We don't really trust the company because our fish continue to die," he said. He added that the company has started shipping excess waste water from the company pond to Kampong Speu.

Company head Lee Dong Jun said his company has produced bio-fuels for 30 years and has a strict policy of protecting the environment.

"My business is a legal business and represents the future of Cambodia's economy," he said.

KRT judges urge action on graft

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

But corruption allegations to be kept off plenary agenda

Judges to the Khmer Rouge tribunal urged Monday that "troubling" allegations of corruption within the UN-backed court be fully dealt with, publicly acknowledging for the first time issues of graft among Cambodian staff.

The accusations that employees on the Cambodian side of the court were forced to kick back significant portions of their salaries to their bosses, however, are not likely to appear on the agenda of the fourth plenary session of judges, which runs through Friday, one court official said.

"One of the major issues that has been troubling for all the judges is that of corruption within the ECCC," said New Zealand Trial Chamber Judge Silvia Cartwright at the opening of the plenary.

"We welcome all efforts to ensure that the allegations are dealt with fully and fairly.... These historic trials, which are so important for the people of Cambodia, must not be tainted by corruption," she added.

The session was opened by one of court's the newly nominated "ethics monitors", Judge Kong Srim, who did not mention corruption but expressed concern at the continued need for funding at the tribunal, which is facing a US$40 million shortfall.

"We still face some financial uncertainty," he said, adding that the Cambodian side was funded through March 2009.

The UN Development Program, which has managed millions of dollars for the tribunal, froze funding after the kickback allegations re-emerged earlier this year.

The UN is currently reviewing the accusations.

Amid the scandal, judges confirmed that this plenary would be devoted mostly to a review of the court's internal workings, such as "scope of appeals and legal representation of civil parties".

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee called Friday on the plenary session to "not limit or preclude" civil party participation, despite concerns that they delay proceedings.

It said the judges "must be mindful that any amendments adopted relating to victim participation reflect the scope of victims' rights under Cambodian law."

Boeung Kak lake protest held

HENG CHIVOAN; One of 300 Boeung Kak residents thumbprints a complaint over the lake’s reclamation at City Hall on Monday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chhay Channyda
Tuesday, 02 September 2008

HUNDREDS of Boeung Kak residents marched on City Hall Monday demanding the municipal government halt the filling in of the lake and provide market-value compensation for those losing their homes to the development.

Local developer Shukaku Inc started pumping sand into the lake August 26 at the first stage of a controversial 133-hectare housing and commercial project that will see all but 10 percent of the lake reclaimed.

Protest leader Bun Navy said that three villagers were allowed to enter City Hall to submit thumbprints and a signed petition.

"We were told by an official at the administrative office that they would solve the problems for us within one week. If there is no solution, we will go to Prime Minister Hun Sen's house next week," he said.

Protestor Keo Lon said the lake was being filled under a veil of secrecy. "I live near the most affected area, in Village 4, where the sand pipe has been installed. Villagers were not informed about the sand or told about the development until the work started last week," she said.

"I have lived here for 16 years, but didn't know anything about the new development until I saw it in the media."

She said that the lake's water level has risen one centimetre a day since filling began and will start flooding houses in five days if the pumping continues.

Bunn Rachana, a monitoring officer for the NGO coalition Housing Rights Task Force, said at the protest that "it is not acceptable that no compensation has yet been provided, but that the company has started filling the lake. It is not only affecting people living around the lake, but every Phnom Penh resident. It will cause floods in the city".

Bunn Rachana is also concerned that the Ministry of Environment has not yet made public its environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project, which supposedly gave the green light last month.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said: "City Hall [has] accepted the petition from the villagers and is now reviewing it." He declined to comment further.

Puth Sorithy, EIA department director at the Ministry of Environment, also declined to comment on the Boeung Kak EIA, referring reporters to Environment Minister Mok Mareth, who could not be reached Monday.

Cambodia: The Virginity Trade

Harrowing and intimate interviews from all sides of the virginity trade that exists in Cambodia today. Produced and Directed by Matthew Watson for Zealot Films.

Sacravatoons :" Cambodia: the Virginity Trade "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Sacravatoons :" The Compensation "

Courtesy Sacravatoon

Joel Brinkley: Sad stories from Cambodia

The Sacramento Bee
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

By Joel Brinkley

ANDOUNG, Cambodia — Well past the city limits, beyond the sign that says "Bon Voyage; See You Again," after the paved roads end, down a rutted dirt track, Un Thea sits in the mud outside her shanty house, peeling bamboo shoots – and seething.

Two years ago, soldiers and police showed up in the middle of the night to throw her family and more than 1,000 others out of their homes on a plot in central Phnom Penh. The soldiers torched the crude houses before Un and the others had time even to retrieve their meager belongings. Then all of the residents were herded onto buses and ferried out here, about 15 miles away, and dumped in a rice paddy without so much as a bottle of water or a tarp for cover.

Then the soldiers left — though a few stayed behind to turn away the aid groups that came out to drop off emergency rations. Un's case is among several thousands more or less similar land seizures across Cambodia in the last three years.

"Out here, it is hard making business," Un complains with considerable understatement. She is 25 but already looks decades older.

"They dumped us here and gave us no money, no land title. Nothing." Cambodia is a democracy.

The modern state grew out of a U.N. peace conference in 1991 intended to create a free nation from the rubble the Khmer Rouge left behind. Since then, the government has purported to manage the country according to the rule of law.

Every democratic country, including the United States, fails at times to live up to its democratic ideals. But the cruelty the Cambodian government visits upon its weakest citizens can be breathtaking. You expect this in North Korea, or Zimbabwe. But Cambodia? In late July Cambodians voted in national elections that were generally peaceful with scattered complaints. Government leaders tolerate human rights groups that regularly castigate them and, within limits, critical stories in the news media.

Still, stories like Un's can overwhelm the positive developments here.

Chum Bon Rong is secretary of state in the National Land Authority, which is supposed to arbitrate land disputes like the Andoung case. Last week he told me that his agency has received more than 3,000 land-seizure appeals in the last two and one-half years. Of those, he acknowledged, only about 50 have been judged in favor of plaintiffs, the impoverished people whose land was seized. Even among those 50, he acknowledged with a rueful grin, "sometimes the cases disappear" after referral to another agency that is supposed to implement the Land Authority's findings.

In 2001, under pressure from the West, Cambodia enacted a Land Law that was supposed to set clear rules for property disputes.

Seven years later, the government has yet to write the regulations implementing that law. Meantime, the seizures continue unabated. Phnom Penh is booming, and when a developer spots a choice piece of land, he simply pays off the proper official to win a newly minted land title.
All that's left is rid the property of its pesky residents — almost always poor, uneducated people like Un.

Once the residents have been disposed of, they are forgotten.

Licadho, a local human rights group, noted in a new report that Un and the others dumped out here suffer from "malnutrition, typhoid, dengue fever, hepatitis A or B, hypertension, respiratory tract infections, gastro-intestinal illnesses including stress-related ulcers, depression," and last in this litany, "anger management problems." Um and her husband built a one-room shelter on stilts from scrap wood, bamboo matting and plastic tarps. Ten people now live in and under the house. She has no electricity or running water. No one in this community has a phone; there's not a single toilet.

"We have to buy water from the water seller," she says, nodding toward an earthen cistern beside the house. Mosquito larvae seem to roil the water surface. Tacked to her shelter's front wall, a poster warns of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness.

Um says she can make about 5,000 riel selling her peeled bamboo shoots at market. That's $1.22. She sends her young sons into Phnom Penh "to shine shoes for the people. They go and stay for a month." A few months ago, the United Nations issued a report saying the government here always "tilts in favor of businesses" that want to develop land, "pitting poor farmers against developers." Even though his own agency's numbers show the very same thing, Chum says complaints like that from abroad are "a case of propaganda."

World Bank appoints new country manager in Cambodia

www.chinaview.cn

2008-09-02

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has announced the appointment of Mr. Qimiao Fan as Country Manager of the World Bank Country Office in Cambodia, said a press release received here on Tuesday.

Mr. Fan's appointment is effective Sept. 1, 2008, it said.

Mr. Fan, a Chinese national, joined the World Bank in 1991 through the Young Professionals Program and worked as a country economist on Russia during the crucial years of Russia's early transition, the release said, adding that he also worked briefly in the World Bank's Africa Region and Investment Department.

In early 1998, he took leave from the Bank and went to work as a senior executive in the private sector in China, before returning to the World Bank in late 2002, it said.

Mr. Fan is currently a Lead Economist and Program Leader for the Investment Climate Capacity Enhancement Program and the Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure Program at the World Bank Institute, it said, adding that in this position, he has developed and implemented a number of innovative capacity building programs focused on regulatory reforms in challenging country environments.

Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked at the London School of Economics in England and at the Jiangxi Institute of Finance and Economics in China, it said.

With over twenty-two years of work experience with the World Bank, the private sector and academic institutions, Mr. Fan brings a unique combination of strong analytical skills on development issues, World Bank operations, and private sector management experience to the position, it added.

Editor: An

U.N.-assisted tribunal officials attend a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008

U.N.-assisted tribunal's judges, Motoo Noguchi, center, of Japan, sits between Cambodians Sim Rith, left, and Ya Narin, right, during a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Cambodia's genocide tribunal opened on Monday a weeklong meeting of its judicial officials to chart the next course toward opening the first trial but under the shadow of recent kickback allegations within its rank.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

U.N.-assisted tribunal officials attend a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Cambodia's genocide tribunal opened on Monday a weeklong meeting of its judicial officials to chart the next course toward opening the first trial but under the shadow of recent kickback allegations within its rank.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

U.N.-assisted tribunal's judges, Motoo Noguchi, center, of Japan, sits between Cambodians Sim Rith, left, and Ya Narin, right, during a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Cambodia's genocide tribunal opened on Monday a weeklong meeting of its judicial officials to chart the next course toward opening the first trial but under the shadow of recent kickback allegations within its rank.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

U.N.-assisted tribunal's co-prosecutor Canadian Robert Petit, left, and American Richard Rogers, right, with the defense support section, listen during a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Cambodia's genocide tribunal opened on Monday a weeklong meeting of its judicial officials to chart the next course toward opening the first trial but under the shadow of recent kickback allegations within its rank.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Day in Pictures

A yellow-cheeked crested gibbon sits in a cage at Cambodia's Phnom Tamau Zoo in Takeo province, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. The New-York-based Wildlife Conservation Society announced its findings in a statement Friday. The group says its researchers, working with Cambodian wildlife officials, have counted 42,000 black-shanked douc langurs along with 2,500 yellow-cheeked crested gibbons in the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area in a remote northeastern corner of the country.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A yellow-cheeked crested gibbon yawns in a cage at Cambodia's Phnom Tamau Zoo in Takeo province, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Unchecked development could threaten two rare monkey species, yellow-cheeked crested gibbon and black-shanked douc langurs, that were recently discovered in Cambodia's remote northeast, international researchers said Monday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A yellow-cheeked crested gibbon sits in a cage at Cambodia's Phnom Tamau Zoo in Takeo province, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Unchecked development could threaten two rare monkey species, yellow-cheeked crested gibbon and black-shanked douc langurs, that were recently discovered in Cambodia's remote northeast, international researchers said Monday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A yellow-cheeked crested gibbon sits in a cage at Cambodia's Phnom Tamau Zoo in Takeo province, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Unchecked development could threaten two rare monkey species, yellow-cheeked crested gibbon and black-shanked douc langurs, that were recently discovered in Cambodia's remote northeast, international researchers said Monday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Timeline: Thailand crisis

Street protests calling on Samak to quit began in May [AFP]

Al Jazeera
Tuesday, September 02, 2008

The Thai prime minister has declared a state of emergency, hoping to bring an end to protests against his rule and the worst street violence seen in a decade.

Protesters demanding Samak Sundaravej's resignation have been laying siege to Bangkok's main government compound for a week, the latest flashpoint in a series of woes for Samak's seven-month-old government.

His party's election ended nearly a year-and-a-half of military rule after the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister, but the shadow of his predecessor continues to hang over Samak.

Following are the key events leading up to the declaration of emergency rule:

December 23, 2007: Samak leads the People Power party (PPP) to election victory.

February 6, 2008: Samak unveils a cabinet made up of members of a six-party coalition which holds nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats.

February 28: Thaksin, who had been in self-imposed exile for 17 months, gets hero's welcome from supporters as he returns to Thailand and goes straight to court, where he is released on bail on corruption charges.

May 25: The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a collection of anti-government groups, launches street protests calling for Samak to resign for seeking constitutional amendments they believe are aimed at helping Thaksin.

July 8-10: Court decisions force out of office three senior government officials - Chiya Sasomsub, the health minister, Noppadon Pattama, the foreign minister, and Yongyut Tiyapairat, the house speaker and PPP deputy leader.

July 15: A military standoff breaks out near a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodia border, with the PAD accusing Samak of relinquishing Thai territory to help Thaksin with a business deal in the neighbouring country.

July 31: Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, is convicted of tax evasion and released on bail.

August 11: Thaksin and his wife go into exile in Britain, claiming they will not get a fair trial on the corruption charges mounting against them.

August 26: At least 35,000 PAD-led protesters raid a TV station, surround three ministries and break into Bangkok's main government compound in what they say is their "final war" against the government.

August 29: Scuffles break out between police and PAD supporters still laying siege to Government House. Protests spread, forcing the temporary closure of three airports at southern tourist hubs and a disruption to rail services.

September 2: Samak declares a state of emergency in Bangkok after overnight clashes leave one dead and dozens injured, allowing the army to move in to help restore order.

September 2: Thai election commission finds the PPP guilty of buying votes during December's general election and recommends the Supreme Court disband the party.

Hurricane Gustav prompts Louisiana couple to take flight -- again

Shrimpers Neang Pum and Sobong In fled Cambodia and survived Hurricane Katrina. Now they're forced to leave the boat they call home, with little gas and no place to go.

By Erika Hayasaki, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 2, 2008

JENNINGS, LA. -- They left the shrimp boat in which they work and live on the Louisiana shore, driving north at noon, daring the hurricane in their red Ford Expedition.

They were running on a tank of gas, and there were no stations open for miles.

Neang Pum, 66, and her boyfriend, Sobong In, 69, came to the United States as Cambodian refugees more than two decades ago. On Monday, they fled Hurricane Gustav -- which sent palm fronds flying, trees toppling and waves of water across the highway before them.

Pum and In had moved into a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer after Hurricane Katrina three years ago, but the government recently took that home away. So the couple were living in the shrimp boat in Empire, La.

Pum said they hadn't had enough money to evacuate ahead of Gustav, so they decided to ride it out. But as the hurricane crashed along the coast Monday, rocking their boat with terrifying power, the couple decided to head to Lafayette, La., 200 miles away, where they had a friend with food and water to share.

"The hurricane was getting angry," Pum said. "My friend said, 'You must go; you will die.' "

The couple loaded the SUV with a pink flowered pillow, a striped burgundy blanket, a carton of ramen noodles, $40 in cash and their black-and- orange dog, Lucky Boy.

But by 4 p.m., the winds and rain on Interstate 10 had become so severe that they pulled up across the street from the Jennings Travel Center -- home to a casino, restaurant and truckers rest stop -- and hoped police would stop to help them.

Their gas was running dangerously low.

At the travel center, which was boarded up with strips of plywood, its gas pumps wrapped in plastic tarps, a man and woman with guns waved people away. Selina Landry, 43, a security guard in a Tinkerbell T-shirt with a pistol under her arm, had been charged with keeping looters away from the store. She brought her 20-year-old son, his wife and their 6-month-old daughter along. They had spent the night in the warehouse-shaped building, along with three other security guards and their families.

As rain swirled and wind whipped outside the building, children slept on black sofas and watched "Hannah Montana" while the adults monitored weather reports.Walking toward the sandbags that lined the front of the store -- near the zebra-print purses, popcorn balls, straw cowboy hats and bottles of hot sauce -- Landry said: "We're not scared one bit; we're cautious."

The guards and their families planned to hide in a cooler if the storm got worse, she added. "We're respectful of the storm."

Across the street, Pum and In could not find anyone to help them.

The couple were at least an hour from Lafayette -- where one person has been reported killed by a falling tree -- and the winds were pushing 80 mph. Through the foggy windows of their SUV, Pum and In watched the covering on a four-story yellow building flap in the wind.

"Maybe I should stay here and wait until it opens for gas," said In, looking at the shuttered station across the street as fierce gusts rocked the Expedition from side to side. He braced the steering wheel with his tanned, weathered hands, with dirt underneath his fingernails from shrimping.

"No," Pum told him. "It's not open today."

Barefoot and wearing a green jade bracelet, Pum looked away, shaking her head. Lucky Boy jumped into the back seat, whimpering near an American flag, a cooler and a beach towel.

"I don't have gasoline," she said, "I don't know what to do. I'm so scared."

After an hour, with the wind still screaming, the couple decided to keep driving.

Thailand's political stalemate deepens

Standoff: Protesters who took over Government House in Bangkok last week refuse to leave until the prime minister resigns. Andy Nelson/The Christian Science Monitor

Activists have disrupted air and rail travel, and refuse to leave government grounds.

By Simon Montlake Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the September 2, 2008

BANGKOK, THAILAND - By day, they listen to protest speeches, shake their rattles, and line up for free meals. By night, they bed down in the doorways of ornate buildings inside a walled government compound, guarded by their own militia against possible police attack.

A week after occupying the seat of civilian power here, thousands of Thai antigovernment protestors are digging in for the long haul. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej – the main target of their sit-in – refuses to resign. A court last week ordered the arrest of nine protest leaders, but their lawyers are appealing. Authorities withdrew an eviction notice for protesters after clashes Friday with police, who were forced to retreat.

As pro-government supporters gather in smaller numbers in a nearby park, fears of violent confrontation are growing, underscoring deep social and political divisions. At stake are Thailand's shaky democracy and the future role of elites aligned with the monarchy and the military, whose dominance has been upended by decades of rapid social change.

In 2006, similar street protests against then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, paralyzed the nation and led to a military coup that did little to heal these divisions. Mr. Thaksin and his wife recently sought exile in Britain after losing the first of several court cases filed over alleged abuses of power during his five years in office.

In an emergency session on Sunday, Mr. Samak berated his opponents in parliament for siding with protestors who had broken the law. He rejected a motion to dissolve parliament as a way out of the crisis.

"I want to show the world that democracy in Thailand was built to last," he said.

Two airports in southern Thailand reopened Sunday after protesters forced their closure Friday, stranding thousands of foreign tourists.

But railway services are still being disrupted by walkouts. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the group that seized the prime minister's compound, has threatened to escalate such actions if their demands aren't met.

Among these royalist opponents of Samak, there is anger at the return to power of old political faces. They accuse Samak of corruption at the behest of Thaksin, his political patron, and of surrendering territory to Cambodia in a border temple dispute. Some call for an overhaul of a political system that gives too much weight to the poor, Thaksin's loyal constituency.

Leaders of the PAD are hostile to Western-style democracy, arguing that it has failed to produce suitable leaders and instead encouraged vote-buying and corruption. In its place, they propose a partially elected legislature and a backstop role for the military to keep politicians in line.

"It's a failure of political parties. Not a failure of democracy," says Kasit Piromya, a former Thai diplomat and an opposition supporter.

This criticism reflects both the frustration borne out of Thaksin's electoral success – repeated last December by Samak – and a conservative backlash against globalization. The PAD was formed in 2006 after Thaksin sold his family-owned telecommunications company to Singapore's government, igniting nationalist anger. A military-installed government later sought unsuccessfully to restrict foreign ownership in Thailand.

In 2006, tens of thousands of Bangkok residents wore royalist yellow at all-night PAD rallies. Far fewer have joined the current protests, though, while some former allies have condemned the vandalism of state property and use of weapons as extremist.

Police last week seized stacks of golf clubs and sticks from the PAD. Middle-class Thais who marched against Thaksin are weary of political turmoil and fiery nationalism.

Yet smaller numbers don't lessen Samak's burden in tackling the PAD, says Panitan Wattanayagorn, a professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Sending riot police to oust them, as was attempted last week, could spark mayhem, and the blame would likely fall on the government, not the protestors. "If this crisis ends in bloodshed, regardless of the cause, the prime minister must leave office," he says.

Some PAD supporters want King Bhumipol, a constitutional monarch who has long been a guarantor of political stability, to step in. In 1992, Bhumipol intervened after months of antigovernment street protests ended in a massacre by troops. A royally appointed government was credited with steering the country back to normality.

Korn Chatikavanij, deputy leader of the opposition Democrat Party, says the government's refusal to dissolve parliament or negotiate with the PAD has created a dangerous stalemate. "The only force that could tip the scales one way or another is the military," he says.

Until now, the military has stayed out of the crisis. Samak has aligned himself closely with the current Army chief, who has ruled out staging a coup to end the crisis.

These tensions are belied by the atmosphere at the compound, where middle-class families picnic on ceremonial gardens that usually play host to foreign dignitaries and civil servants.

Outdoor market stalls sell clothes, souvenirs, snacks, and camp chairs. Rows of temporary toilets and showers offer relief to round-the-clock demonstrators.

But there's also a mood of fatalism among supporters who recall past political showdowns. "We don't worry about violence. We come in peace. But we're ready for anything," says Marut Asdorn, a truck-company owner.

The Government and the UN backing the poor farmers

Cambodge Soir

02-09-2008

In a press release dated 30th of August from the Xinhua press agency, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Chan Sarun, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced a joint action in favour of the poor farmers.

The aid project in favour of the disadvantaged Cambodian farmers is the result of the cooperation between the Minister Chan Sarun and the FAO representative, Omar Salah Ahmed. It is part of the program “Initiative concerning rising food prices”, launched in December 2007 by the FAO, aiming to solve the global food crisis by promoting local production. It’s also being carried out in the framework of the technical cooperation program (TCP).

A rice seed distribution ceremony was held last Thursday under the presence of both men in the Bati district, Takeo province, outlining the main goals of this project. Besides seeds, petrochemical fertilisers will be handed out to the most disadvantaged farmers. These products became indeed difficult to obtain due to the oil crisis. The project spreads out over two seasons: the rainy season, from July to September 2008 and the dry season, from November 2008 until January 2009.

It is urgent to ensure affordable prices and a sufficient local production for the population. However, the FAO has more plans. It wishes to launch a larger program in order to substantially improve the productivity and the methods of preservation on the Cambodian countryside.

The NEC should announce the official election results tomorrow

Cambodge Soir

02-09-2008

The National Election Committee is waiting for a confirmation from the Constitutional Council in order to officially announce the definitive election results, which could happen today.

According to Tep Nitha, General Secretary of the NEC, the Constitutional Council should inform him on Monday that he has solved all the complaints regarding the elections. Tep Nitha specifies that “as a result, the NEC will be able to announce the election results from Tuesday morning onwards”. Keo Phalla, in charge of the complaints office, declares that hundreds of complaints made during the election campaign have been solved. He reveals that he “now takes care of administrative formalities such as the drafting of lists of elected representatives…”

No less than 258 complaints had been submitted to the NEC during the election period, followed by 205 complaints during the election process and the ballot counting, and by five complaints after the announcement of the preliminary results. During this same period, the Constitutional Council received six, then three complaints respectively. All have been solved.

The definitive results, ready to be announced by the NEC, should thus not differ from the preliminary results, in other words a landslide victory for the CPP. The SRP and HRP have decided to submit their dispute in front of international courts. They spoke to the 1991 Paris Agreements signatories, particularly to the co-chairmen like France and Indonesia, with the hope of receiving support. Both opposition parties accuse the CPP of election fraud. They’re demanding a revote in several polling stations.

Civic Parties’ freedom of expression, the KRT’s pas de deux

Cambodge Soir

02-09-2008

Thanks to a directive, and starting from today, everyone will know everything about the do’s and the don’ts before the Pre-trial Chamber.

The civic parties which aren’t represented by a lawyer will have the possibility to speak out on their own behalf before the Pre-trial Chamber “when their interests differ from the ones of the prosecution”. Whenever they wish to take the floor during a hearing, they’ll have to submit a written request and indicate the motives and content of their intervention, at least ten days before the hearing. The reason is to respect “the right of the victims to truth, justice and the fair rights of each party”.

There is no ambiguity concerning the lawyers and prosecutors. However, some uncertainties existed regarding the freedom of expression of the civic parties. The President, Prak Kimsan, has solved the situation in a directive from the 29th of August, with reference to the intervention of civic parties which are not represented by a lawyer during the hearings.

A text following the hearing of Ieng Sary in July, during which Seng Theary, a civic party, had dismissed her lawyer in order to testify on her own behalf. This strategy aims at getting round the refusal of the magistrates, while this practice had been allowed during previous hearings. In a decision dating from last week, the Pre-trial Chamber confirmed the refusal of the magistrates, stating that the July hearing of Ieng Sary wouldn’t be postponed.

Judges must not encroach on civil party rights, local organizations say

The Post.blog

Posted by Elena in ECCC

As the Khmer Rouge Tribunal's fourth plenary session opened Monday, civil society groups expressed concern that judges could use the week-long conference to limit civil parties' rights at the court.

"Despite initially adopting a progressive approach, the Pre-Trial Chamber's treatment of civil party participation has been restrictive of late," according to a statement from DC-Cam. "... The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) has expressed concern that the judges may amend the Internal Rules at the Plenary to limit civil parties' rights."

Included on the plenary agenda are "a number of amendments to the Internal Rules, and revisions to Practice Directions" related to issues such as transcripts of proceedings, scope of appeals and legal representation of Civil Parties, Kong Srim, president of the Supreme Court Chamber, said during a press conference Monday.

"The Rules are the framework under which we can deliver fair and open justice for the people of Cambodia," continued Judge Sylvia Cartwright. "As the process evolves, it is often necessary to amend or even add rules to ensure we can do just this."

But representatives from CHRAC hope amendments aren't too drastic when it comes to civil party participation.

Both Cambodian Law and the ECCC Internal Rules "permit victims to play an active role in the legal proceedings with full procedural rights, similar to those afforded to the charged person," according to a CHRAC statement issued Friday. "These participation rights afford the key beneficiaries of ECCC proceedings -- the victims -- direct access to justice and the opportunity to present their personal experiences, views and concerns."

As of July 30, the ECCC's Victim's Unit has received 1,743 complaints and civil party applications, the CHRAC statement continues.

Thus, a strong desire for participation exists. Perhaps too strong, argue those who think extensive civil party participation could delay and hamper tribunal proceedings.

The tension reached a flashpoint in July when civil party Theary Seng attempted to address the Pre-Trial Chamber in person during the hearing of Ieng Sary. In a split decision, the chamber denied her the chance to speak. Her subsequent application for reconsideration was recently denied by the court. However, the court did issue separate directions to unrepresented civil parties, saying that they could speak at pre-trial proceedings if they requested permission at least 10 days in advance.

"The challenge facing the Plenary Session's participants is to find a meaningful way of organizing the effective participation of a potentially large number of victims," the CHRAC statement reads. Joint legal representation and time limits for oral submissions can help achieve this goal.

"The court can regulate civil party participation without limiting the rights of victims, such as the right to speak in person," according to the CHRAC statement. "Thus, there is no need to restrict the rights of victims."

Cambodia: Tribunal Worries About Corruption

U.N.-assisted tribunal's judges, Motoo Noguchi, center, of Japan, sits between Cambodians Sim Rith, left, and Ya Narin, right, during a meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, 1 Sept 2008. (Photo courtesy: AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

2008-09-02

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: A judge for Cambodia's genocide tribunal urged colleagues on Monday to aggressively investigate corruption allegations, saying such charges undermine the body's efforts to obtain justice for victims of the Khmer Rouge.

Accusations of graft have been leveled at the U.N.-assisted tribunal twice in the past two years and earlier this year caused donors to temporarily hold back more than US$300,000 for the monthly payroll for 250 Cambodian staff members.

Silvia Cartwright, a judge from New Zealand, called on the court to spare no effort in dealing with any future corruption issues at a planning meeting for the body, which is moving toward convening its first trial.

The tribunal is tasked with seeking justice for the atrocities committed by the communist Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies caused some 1.7 million deaths when the group was in power in 1975-79.

Cartwright, in her speech opening the meeting, described corruption in the ranks as "one of the major issues that has been troubling for all the judges.

The upcoming trials "are so important for the people of Cambodia (and) must not be tainted by corruption," she said.

In 2007, allegations arose that Cambodian nationals on the tribunal staff had paid for their jobs.

An investigation ended inconclusively, though procedures were changed to safeguard against such corruption. In June of this year, charges of kickbacks surfaced again. Salaries were initially withheld but paid once a probe, which is still under way, began.

Those working in the tribunal's Cambodian component dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated. Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said that Cambodian staff members are committed to curbing any corrupt acts.

"We do not want to hear such allegations again as they can be quite troubling for the court," he said Monday (1 Sept).

He said during this week's meeting, the judges and prosecutors plan to make some amendments to the tribunal's guiding rules.

At this week's meeting, judges and prosecutors will make some changes to the tribunal's rules and discuss "weak and strong points" of the court as it prepares for its first trial, that of Kaing Guek Eav, one of five suspects in custody. Kaing Guek Eav ran the S-21 prison, which was the Khmer Rouge's largest torture facility.

The trial of the 66-year-old, also known as Duch, had been expected to open in late September.

But there are fears it could be delayed after the prosecutors decided to appeal the recent official order for him to stand trial. They want to have more charges added against Duch, who has already been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It is not clear how long it will take to rule on the prosecutors' appeal.

(By KER MUNTHIT/ AP)

YAMAHA MOTOR SETS UP ASSEMBLY, SALES OPS IN CAMBODIA

TOKYO, Sep 02, 2008 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX)

Yamaha Motor Co. (TSE:7272) said Monday that it has established a Cambodian assembly and sales unit that will roll out motorcycles using parts produced at a facility in neighboring Thailand.

Yamaha has a 70 per cent stake in Yamaha Motor Cambodia Co., which was set up in Phnom Penh on Sunday. Capitalized at about 1.2 billion yen (US$11.1 million), the unit is 20 per cent-owned by trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp. (TSE:8015), with the other 10 per cent held by local trading company Kong Nuon Import & Export Co.

This new unit is to acquire more than 90,000 sq. meters of land and will spend about 1 billion yen to construct a new factory on it by July 2009. This facility is expected to assemble 30,000 motorcycles in 2010.

According to Yamaha, the Cambodian motorcycle market totaled about 130,000 units in 2007 but is projected to grow to more than 500,000 units by 2015.

(Nikkei)

Cambodian tribunal worries about corruption

International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Published: September 1, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A judge for Cambodia's genocide tribunal urged colleagues on Monday to aggressively investigate corruption allegations, saying such charges undermine the body's efforts to obtain justice for victims of the Khmer Rouge.

Accusations of graft have been leveled at the U.N.-assisted tribunal twice in the past two years and earlier this year caused donors to temporarily hold back more than US$300,000 for the monthly payroll for 250 Cambodian staff members.

Silvia Cartwright, a judge from New Zealand, called on the court to spare no effort in dealing with any future corruption issues at a planning meeting for the body, which is moving toward convening its first trial.

The tribunal is tasked with seeking justice for the atrocities committed by the communist Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies caused some 1.7 million deaths when the group was in power in 1975-79.

Cartwright, in her speech opening the meeting, described corruption in the ranks as "one of the major issues that has been troubling for all the judges.

The upcoming trials "are so important for the people of Cambodia (and) must not be tainted by corruption," she said.

In 2007, allegations arose that Cambodian nationals on the tribunal staff had paid for their jobs.

An investigation ended inconclusively, though procedures were changed to safeguard against such corruption. In June of this year, charges of kickbacks surfaced again. Salaries were initially withheld but paid once a probe, which is still under way, began.

Those working in the tribunal's Cambodian component dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated. Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath said that Cambodian staff members are committed to curbing any corrupt acts.

"We do not want to hear such allegations again as they can be quite troubling for the court," he said Monday.

He said during this week's meeting, the judges and prosecutors plan to make some amendments to the tribunal's guiding rules.

At this week's meeting, judges and prosecutors will make some changes to the tribunal's rules and discuss "weak and strong points" of the court as it prepares for its first trial, that of Kaing Guek Eav, one of five suspects in custody. Kaing Guek Eav ran the S-21 prison, which was the Khmer Rouge's largest torture facility.

The trial of the 66-year-old, also known as Duch, had been expected to open in late September.

But there are fears it could be delayed after the prosecutors decided to appeal the recent official order for him to stand trial. They want to have more charges added against Duch, who has already been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It is not clear how long it will take to rule on the prosecutors' appeal.

Fight to Save Cambodian Dolphin Continues

Or Channy, Executive Director of the Cambodia Rural Development Team

By Rory Byrne
Kratie,Cambodia
01 September 2008

Byrne report - Download (MP3) Byrne report - Listen (MP3)

Once upon a time, the Mekong River from Laos to Vietnam was teaming with thousands of freshwater dolphins, before more than thirty years of warfare and over-fishing nearly killed them off. But a recent study by the World Wildlife Fund found just 71 left, living in a short stretch of river from northern Cambodia to southern Laos. An effort to protect the endangered species by way of an eco-tourism project was begun several years ago, but as Rory Byrne reports for VOA from Kratie, Cambodia, is it too little, too late?

This small boat chugging up the Mekong River in Cambodia represents one of the last hopes for saving the endangered Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphin. The boat is carrying so-called "voluntourists" to the isolated fishing village of Sambor in northern Cambodia, which is close to an important breeding ground for some of the last remaining Mekong freshwater dolphins.

The foreign tourists will live and work in the impoverished village on the banks of the river in an effort to help protect the dolphin's natural habitat, while at the same time helping to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people.

Or Channy is Executive Director of the Cambodia Rural Development Team (CRDT), in Kratie, Cambodia.

"We are developing agriculture in the area, improving the health care system and digging wells and toilets. But most importantly we are trying to save the dolphins by providing local fishermen with an alternative way to earn a living through tourism," he said.

Tourists pay about $60 for their three day stay in the village most of which goes directly into the pockets of local people.

In a country where almost almost half the people earn about a dollar a day, villagers here can earn $3 per tourist per night for sleeps overs, plus $2 for every meal.

In return for earning an income from tourism, the villagers work to conserve the Irrawaddy dolphin's natural habitat. They have constructed fish farms in the village to help conserve the dolphin's dwindling food supply. Fishing with nets and explosives in the river has been banned while at the same time villagers are being encouraged to view the dolphins as an important natural asset that can help attract growing numbers of tourists.

In the past, people cared little for the mammals, says local historian Sok Sim:

"In the early 1970's there was a lot of bombing in this area and many dolphins were killed. Others died later at the hands of the local people who considered them to be useless fish because they could not eat them. They just shot them for fun."

While staying in the village, the tourists help to develop the local economy by working on development projects such as digging toilets or planting rice to help alleviate the villager's over-reliance on fishing.

When the sun gets too hot for outdoor work, tourists can teach the local children some words of English. Local people say they are delighted with the scheme. Srey Bern is the President of the local Development Committee:

"There are a lot of benefits to having foreigners stay in our village. In the first place we can learn a lot from them - they give us new ideas and we can learn about their culture. The extra money helps a lot but for me it is not the most important thing," he said.

Grace Byrnes, a tourist from Melbourne Australia, says the experience is invaluable for everyone.

"It's a really great experience and something that you're not going to do everyday. You can see that any type of help that you offer is really appreciated and it's something that I'd definitely recommend for anyone who wants to come over to Cambodia," said Byrnes.

Despite an initial spike in dolphin numbers reported in the months after the scheme was introduced, it remains unclear whether it will have any lasting impact in saving the remaining dolphins.

Scientists say a deadly new mystery disease seems to be killing off the dolphin's babies which is threatening to undo much of the projects good work.

There are real fears that the disease, which some blame on chemicals from gold-mining in the area, could soon wipe out the species completely.

But whether the dolphins can be saved or not, the conservation project is at least helping to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest people while at the same time offering tourists, and local people, a glimpse at completely different way of life.

Cambodia and South Africa Start to Improve Cooperation in Economy and Commerce

Posted on 2 September 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 576

“Phnom Penh: A discussion between Mr. Ouch Borith, secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Douglas Harvey Monroe Gibson, the ambassador of the Republic of South Africa [to Thailand], showed that the governments of both countries, Cambodia and South Africa, want to improve bilateral cooperation in the field of economy and commerce.

“Mr. Ouch Borith said that considering the planned bilateral cooperation in economy and commerce between both countries, the South African ambassador said that the government of South Africa wants to ask the government of Cambodia to open an honorary consulate in Cambodia as the first step to strengthen and to expand the economic and commercial cooperation.

“The Ambassador said that on 14 and 15 December 2008, he will lead a delegation to attend a trade exhibition in Phnom Penh. South Africa will show red wine and white wine produced in South Africa for sale in Cambodia.

“In the meantime, Mr. Ouch Borith reported to the South African ambassador about economic growth, political stability, and especially, the results of the recent fourth term parliamentary elections in Cambodia.

“The Ambassador said that South Africa has only sightly over 5% economic growth, and he highly assessed that Cambodia has strong economic growth, particularly in 2005 with more than 13%.

“The South African Ambassador went on to comment on the recent fourth term parliamentary elections, although he was in Bangkok, but he observed the election in Cambodia, that the elections were well organized and were free, fair and non-violent, which was a very important step towards implementing democracy in Cambodia.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4682, 31-1.8-9.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:Monday, 1 September 2008

SBI Opens Bank in Cambodia

Tokyo, Sept 1, 2008 (Jiji Press) - SBI Holdings Inc. <8473> opened a bank in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, becoming the first Japanese financial company to launch banking operations in the Southeast Asian country.

Phnom Penh Commercial Bank Ltd., owned 40 pct by SBI and 57 pct by South Korea's Hyundai Swiss, initially focuses on deposit-taking business. It plans to expand into such fields as real estate-related financing and financing for foreign firms operating in Cambodia.