Cambodia Military Shake up!

Cambodia's Gen. Ke Kim Yan, left, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, listens to his Prime Minister Hun Sen, right, during the celebration of Independent Day, Nov. 9, 2007, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The head of Cambodia's armed forces has been dismissed from his post and replaced by a loyalist of Prime Minister Hun Sen.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia's Gen. Ke Kim Yan, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, is seen on June 26, 2007, at Kampot province, about 130 kilometers (80. 6 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The head of Cambodia's armed forces has been dismissed from his post and replaced by a loyalist of Prime Minister Hun Sen.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian armed forces commander fired

Taiwan News

Associated Press
2009-01-22

The head of Cambodia's armed forces was dismissed from his post Thursday and replaced with a longtime loyalist of Prime Minister Hun Sen with whom he served in the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.

A royal decree announced the removal of Gen. Ke Kim Yan, the commander in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, who was replaced by his deputy, Gen. Pol Saroeun.

No reason was given for the move. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said it was a normal reshuffle, which was initiated by the government.

After Ke Kim Yan, 53, failed to support Hun Sen's 1997 coup against then co-Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh, he was marginalized and left without any real power. He was threatened several times with dismissal by the prime minister, whose control of the country is virtually unchallenged.

Ke Kim Yan joined the Cambodian armed forces in 1979 and became its head in 1999. Politically he allied himself with Hun Sen's rivals in the ruling Cambodian People's Party leadership.

Pol Saroeun, meanwhile, is known to have close ties to Hun Sen. Both served during the communist Khmer Rouge regime that took power in 1975, and both fled the murderous group before it was ousted in 1979.

Several other top members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party are also former members of the Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies are widely considered responsible for the deaths of at least 1.7 million people though execution, starvation, overwork and starvation. Several members are the regime have been charged with war crimes at a U.N.-backed genocide tribunal.

Economy Hitting Chicken Farms Hard

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
22 January 2009

Chicken farmers in Kandal province have lost hundreds of thousands dollars this year, thanks to the high cost of purchasing and caring for fowl and the recent low cost of selling them.

At least 49 individual chicken farms in Damnak Ampil commune, Ang Snuol district, alone, have closed since October, when prices began to fall in the wake of the global economic crisis, said Noy Sy Nuon, chief of the commune.

Each farm raised between 3,000 to 4,000 chickens, and the cost of raising each, from the purchase of chicks, to food and vaccine, is around $4, he said. But each chicken was now only selling for about $1.50 or $2, he said, leading many of the farms into bankruptcy. For 49 farms, the loss amounted to around $686,000.

All of the farms had been purchased by former rice farmers who sold their land to invest in raising poultry, Noy Sy Nuon said.

“Commune authorities are very concerned about the people living in this commune, after their bankruptcy and the sell-off of their farmland,” he said. “In my commune, there are many more chicken farms than in other areas in the district.”

The heavy impact of the global financial downturn comes amid renewed worry of bird flu in Kandal province, where authorities have culled at least 450 birds.

Mok Vy, 40, a Damnak Ampil farmer, said she had sold farmland for $8,000 and purchased a chicken farm to improve her living conditions.

“But I failed completely and lost all $8,000 from the sale,” she said.

At least 15 chicken farms in her village closed the same way, she said.

Mon Yann, 63, chief of Damnak Ampil village, said he himself had lost $5,000 in a chicken farm. At least 20 other chicken farms in the village had gone bankrupt, he said.

The main reason of the bankruptcy in the chicken farms was the rise in costs of raising the chickens, which exceeded the income, said Saing Soy, 61.

“If we insist on continuing to raise chickens, we will lose our farmland, houses and sometimes loans,” he said.

Var Lay, a 41-year-old farmer, said she had wanted her chicken farm to support her family, to replace rice farming or work outside the village, but she had not been lucky.

Survivor Welcomes Impending Trial of Duch

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
22 January 2009

A survivor of Cambodia’s killing fields says he welcomes the news that jailed prison chief Duch will finally see trial, with the date of his initial hearing fast approaching.

Van Nath, who survived the Tuol Sleng prison where Duch was the director and where at least 12,000 Cambodians were tortured and later executed, said the upcoming trial, scheduled for February and March, was “the chance we have been waiting for, so long coming.”

Van Nath, 64, was among only a handful of inmates to survive the prison, which has been turned into a museum in Phnom Penh. He survived because he was able to paint portraits of Pol Pot and other leaders.

“But most important is the day of liberation, Jan. 7,” he said, referring to the day in 1979 when Vietnamese forces pushed the Khmer Rouge, out of Phnom Penh. “I was out of prison on that day.”

For his role as director of Tuol Sleng, Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The initial hearing of his trial under the Khmer Rouge tribunal will be held Feb. 17. His trial is expected to begin in earnest in March.

Tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath called the beginning of the trial “a response to the expectations of millions of people and the victims who suffered under the regime of Democratic Kampuchea.”

Hundreds Mark Murder of Union Activist

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
22 January 2009

Hundreds of people gathered in Phnom Penh Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of popular labor leader Chea Vichea.

The crowd amassed at the headquarters of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, which was once led by Chea Vichea and is now led by his younger brother, Chea Mony.

“I attended the anniversary today to show that I want the government to find justice for Chea Vichea,” said Chanty, a 23-year-old worker from Cambohanse Factory.

Chea Vichea was gunned down in broad daylight in front of a newspaper stand near Wat Lanka, in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district, on the morning of Jan. 22, 2004.

He had been a popular leader of garment factory workers, capable of calling huge demonstrations in Cambodia’s only real export industry.

Two men, Born Samnang and Sok Samoeun, were subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing. But both are widely considered innocent, and in December the Supreme Court ordered a review of their case by the Appeals Court and ordered their temporary release.

Human rights officials say the true killers of Chea Vichea remain at large, and on Thursday opposition leader Sam Rainsy urged further investigation into the killing and called on the US administration of newly elected president Barack Obama to help.

“Please, new president Barack Obama, help the Khmer people to seek the real killers and to punish them by law,” Sam Rainsy told the crowd. “I believe there is still someone behind the killers. So the real killers should be unmasked.”

Ministry of Interior spokesman Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak said police had not closed the investigation and were waiting for Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a request to resume the search.

Municipal court officials said the case of Chea Vichea was in the hands of the Appeals Court, but Appeals Court officials said they were waiting for the case to come from the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Vice President Khim Pon declined to comment.

Hong Kim Suon, lawyer for Sok Samoeun, said the case remained at the Supreme Court and he was not sure when it would move to the Appeals Court.

Indian doctor gets prestigious Cambodian award

PhoneIndia.com
January 22,2009

New Delhi, Jan 22 Chinkholal Thangsing, a doctor from India, who is currently Asia Pacific bureau chief of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has been honoured with a prestigious Cambodian award for his contribution towards humanitarian services in the country.

&apos Royal order of Sahametrei&aposis conferred primarily on foreigners who have rendered distinguished services to the King and to the nation by Royal decree of the King of Cambodia, a release issued by AIDS healthcare foundation (AHF) here said.

"The award recognised Thangsing&aposs exemplary contribution and dedication towards humanitarian services rendered by him and and the organisation for the people living with HIV/ AIDS and general public in Cambodia,"it said.

Giving away the award, Cambodia&aposs Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said," This is a big honour and my proud privilege to hand over the&aposSahametrei&aposto you, to honour and recognise your selfless dedication and contribution to better the lives of our people."

AHF is the US&aposlargest non-profit HIV/ AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider. Its bureau operates in Cambodia, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal.

Cambodian opposition unites under Democratic Movement for Change

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Ron Abney
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Dear Editor,

This [recent union] is a very important step in the democratic effort.

I applaud this brave act, as it puts together the two undisputed leaders in the opposition movement.

But be very careful, as Hun Sen always moves to break up democratic parties, and I call on [Kem] Sokha and [Sam] Rainsy, two genuine heroes, to keep a strong front.

It seems Hun Sen is afraid of opposition to his bullying strongman government.

So I call on the two opposition leaders to be extra careful, as Hun Sen has a special way to punish those in the opposition. Just remember 3/30/97.

Ron Abney Cochran,
Georgia
USA

Cambodia To Press Visiting Thai Minister On Border Row

Easy Bourse
Thursday January 22nd, 2009

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP)--Cambodia will press Thailand's foreign minister for a solution to a border dispute during his first official visit to the kingdom next week, a Cambodian government spokesman said Thursday.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, King Norodom Sihamoni and other high-ranking government officials during his Jan. 25-26 visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's foreign ministry said.

A ministry spokesman said officials including Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will urge Kasit to help broker an agreement to defuse their sometimes violent territorial dispute as soon as possible.

Soldiers from Cambodia and Thailand clashed on Oct. 15 on disputed border land near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, leaving four soldiers dead.

"We expect him (Kasit) to be flexible and positive on the border," spokesman Koy Kuong said, adding that the Thai foreign minister had pledged a peaceful solution in a call to his Cambodian counterpart last month.

Thai foreign ministry officials weren't immediately available to confirm Kasit's trip.

Kasit was one of the most controversial appointments when new Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva named his cabinet on Dec. 20 because of his role in protests, which closed Bangkok's airports in November and December.

Kasit, a staunch nationalist, has criticized the previous government's handling of the crisis with Cambodia.

The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated, partly because it is littered with land mines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

The most recent tensions began in July when the Khmer temple was awarded United Nations World Heritage status, rekindling a long-running disagreement over the ownership of the surrounding land.

HRW decries Khmer Krom abuse

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Brendan Brady and Neth Pheaktra
Thursday, 22 January 2009

THE Vietnamese government should immediately free Khmer Krom activists in prison or under house arrest for demonstrating, New York-based advocacy organisation Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday.

The 125-page report, "On the Margins: Rights Abuses of Ethnic Khmer in Vietnam's Mekong Delta", documents what the group calls a persistent, often violent campaign by Vietnam to stifle the rights and distinct identity of ethnic Khmers in the south of the country. It also accuses the Cambodian government of abbeting its "close ally" in the suppression of ethnic Khmers - known locally as Khmer Krom - who have fled across the border to Cambodia and proposes greater freedoms for their communities.

Human Rights Watch says it drew on witness interviews in both countries and internal Vietnamese government documents in its research, which it says reveals that "Khmer Krom in the Mekong Delta face serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, association, information and movement".

"This is bare-knuckled, indefensible political repression," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, in an email interview with the Post Wednesday, adding that the grip of both states on activists has tightened over the last year.

Publication of the report coincided with news of the release from prison of five activist ethnic Khmer monks in Vietnam. According to a statement from the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, a Phnom Penh-based association, the Vietnamese government has still prohibited the men - all of whom were defrocked following their incarceration - from travelling, being re-ordained or stepping foot in Buddhist temples.

Ang Charith, head of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organisation, welcomed international attention on the issue.

"The rights of the Khmer Krom to practise their religion and live in peace is always abused by the Vietnamese state," he said. "And for the Khmer Krom who flee to Cambodia, their rights have also been violated and their security is uncertain.

" Vietnamese embassy spokesman Trinh Ba Cam rejected the report, saying that the Vietnamese government did not discriminate against any of its 54 ethnic groups, so there is "no need to analyse the situation in detail".

Court to probe union slaying

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Suspect Born Samnang offers thanks upon his release from prison on December 31.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Sebastian Strangio
Thursday, 22 January 2009

On fifth anniversary of Chea Vichea's killing, those close to slain unionist are calling on government to ensure independence of new investigation.

FIVE years after the murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea - and three weeks since the release of the two men imprisoned for the crime - Phnom Penh's Court of Appeal is set to reopen investigations into the circumstances surrounding the killing.

But in the run-up to a commemorative march scheduled for early this morning, court monitors and others close to the slain union leader called on the government to ensure a fair and open investigation into his death.

On December 31, the Supreme Court ordered the provisional release of previously convicted suspects Born Samnang, 24, and Sok Sam Oeun, 36, citing contradictory evidence in their previous trials and turning over the case to the Appeal Court and Ministry of Interior for further investigations.

Although court monitors praised the release of the two men as possible evidence of a flowering of independence in the Kingdom's notoriously corrupt judiciary, Chea Vichea's brother Chea Mony told the Post that there was no guarantee the investigation will be seen through to a just conclusion.

"It was very mysterious that the Supreme Court released the two innocent men on bail temporarily and turned the case over to the Court of Appeal," he said.

"It isn't yet known how the process of the investigation will be organised."

Minister of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Sok Sam Oeun's defence lawyer Hong Kim Suon said he expected investigations to begin in the coming weeks.

"The case documents are now being prepared to be filed to the Court of Appeal to conduct an investigation which, according to judicial procedure, takes at least a month," he said. "I don't know whether the case is now in the hands of the Court of Appeal."

Five years on

To mark the fifth anniversary of Chea Vichea's killing, the Cambodian Confederation of Unions organised a commemorative parade that was to march this morning from the union headquarters in Boeung Keng Kang 3 to the site near Wat Lanka where Chea Vichea was gunned down in 2004.

Chea Mony said that the event, in addition to marking his brother's life and work, was a plea for "an independent court to conduct a reinvestigation into the killing with numerous witnesses of whom former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov is [among] the [most] important".

" It isn't yet known how the process of the investigation will be organised. "

Freed suspect Sok Sam Oeun said he and his father would be attending the ceremony, requesting that the government "hunt for the real killers so they can be punished thereby ending the charges against me".

"I don't feel any concerns or worry for my safety since I am innocent," he added.

However, some observers are more pessimistic about the possibility of an independent investigation into the trade unionist's murder.

On Tuesday, the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party - now operating under the banner of the Democratic Movement for Change - issued a joint statement saying that the release of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun was an admission [by the government] of their innocence and that a fair investigation was unlikely to ensue.

"The release on bail of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun ... further demonstrates that the government of Cambodia is certain of their innocence but refuses to stop its travesty of justice," the statement said.

Human Rights Watch's Sarah Colm was similarly sceptical, telling the Post on December 31 that "one case doesn't make or break a long pattern of deeply entrenched impunity".

But Ham Sunrith, deputy director of monitoring and protection at local rights group Licadho, was more optimistic, saying that the authority of the Supreme Court could force the investigation ahead.

"The Court of Appeal was appointed by the Supreme Court to find more witnesses and more evidence in this case," he said, adding that the court had already set a good precedent by releasing the two suspects on bail - something that is mandated by the Criminal Code, though rarely observed.

"This is a good model for other courts," he said.

"The Supreme Court is a high court and it has [already] set a good precedent that suspects be released pending investigations."

Sam Rainsy seeks delay in NEC suit

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Meas Sokchea
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Criticises court for no action on his CPP suit

OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy on Wednesday said he would seek to postpone a lawsuit brought against him by the National Election Committee (NEC), claiming that his busy schedule would not allow him to appear in court.

The election committee fined the SRP president for making derogatory remarks about the leaders of the ruling Cambodian People's Party during national elections in July last year.

Sam Rainsy said he would be speaking to his lawyer about a delay, adding that he could not explain why the Municipal Court was only acting on one side of the issue.

Selective justice?

"Why hasn't the court taken action on the SRP lawsuit against the NEC and commune chiefs and leaders of the Cambodian People's Party for voting irregularities during the national election?" he asked.
"This is a big issue, and we have lodged a complaint with the court, but it has taken no action except to bring the NEC lawsuit against me," he said.

Sam Rainsy was subpoenaed by the Municipal Court earlier this month and ordered to appear on Tuesday to pay a fine of 10 million riels (US$2,391).

Ouk Savuth, chief prosecutor at the court, told the Post Wednesday that he was acting in strict accordance with the laws of Cambodia in proceeding with the lawsuit.

He added that the court will take action on all legal complaints but could offer no indication of when or if the court would hear Sam Rainsy's case against the NEC.

'Palpable detoriation' of local press freedom: watchdog

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
Phouk Sopheap, a newspaper vendor on Street 51, at her newsstand.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Brett Worthington
Thursday, 22 January 2009

FOR the Cambodian press, 2008 was a year of "palpable deterioration", according to the Southeast Asian Press Alliance in its annual review of media in the region.

The report, released Sunday, said tensions had escalated between the media and government following a series of threats to journalists during last July's general elections, casting doubt on the future of press freedom in Cambodia.

The group said the consolidation of power by the Cambodian People's Party has compromised the ability of opposition parties to prevent the passage of censorship laws.

While only a tiny fraction of Cambodians use the internet, the country's emerging blogging community, which is typically critical of the state, was vulnerable to being targeted by authorities, it said. It cited efforts by Cambodian officials to ban the online art of Cambodian-American artist Reahu, which depicts partially nude Apsara dancers, as an alarming sign of the government's inclinations towards internet material it finds objectionable.

Describing Cambodia's laws as "dubious" and courts as "weak", the watchdog group said the government's press laws had provisions "aimed at curtailing press freedom and hindering the work of journalists".

It said the ambiguous design of the laws, which "vaguely define offences deemed harmful to national security", ensured judges and authorities had the ability to unjustly prosecute members of the media.

The report comes in the wake of a storm of criticism against an audiovisual media law proposed by the Ministry of Information.

Local media blasted the proposal, the details of which have not been publicly disclosed, and said it would be used as a tool of state censorship against online material critical of the government.

But Information Minister Khieu Kanharith has claimed the draft law is widely misunderstood, insisting that it would regulate the platforms of radio, TV and print media, but not their content.

The bill, he said, pertained to licensing of radio and television networks and printing houses.

"Are they for profit, or non-profit? Do they have a board of members?" he explained.

He also said the proposed legislation would not bear on the internet.

"The internet is not my area. You have nearly two million pages [online]. We don't even have the human resources to regulate it."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BRENDAN BRADY

40pc of population in dark on KRT

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

An ECCC civil party holds a photograph of her sister, who was killed in Tuol Sleng prison, at her home in Prey Veng.

ECCC Awareness

Had no knowledge of the ECCC - 39 percentHad limited knowledge of the ECCC - 46 percent

Said they would watch the ECCC proceedings if broadcast on live TV - 98 percent

Did not know what the ECCC would achieve - 37 percent

Believed former Khmer Rouge should be held accountable for their crimes - 90 percent

Believed reparations should go to victims - 88 percent

SOURCE: HUMAN RIGHTS CENTRE, UC-BERKELEY

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Robbie Corey-Boulet
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Few Cambodians have full knowledge of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, and one-third of those who do say they doubt the court is neutral, a recent academic survey has revealed.

A SURVEY released Wednesday found that 85 percent of Cambodians had little or no knowledge of the Khmer Rouge tribunal last September, nearly a full year after all five of the former Khmer Rouge leaders who are currently detained had been charged and taken into custody.

In addition to this lack of knowledge, the survey pointed to some public doubts about the court's objectivity: One-third of respondents familiar with the tribunal said they did not believe the court was neutral, with 23 percent saying it was corrupt.

In conducting the survey, the Human Rights Centre at the University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley), interviewed 1,000 Cambodians in all 24 provinces and municipalities between September 9 and October 1. A report detailing the results was presented Wednesday at a day-long conference at the Sunway Hotel.

Helen Jarvis, the court's chief of public affairs, disputed the findings, saying that the results were "not consistent with our own feedback in the field". She pointed to a February 2008 survey released by the International Republican Institute that reported a higher level of public knowledge about the tribunal. In that survey, which involved 2,000 interviews, 71 percent of respondents said they "were aware of the Khmer Rouge tribunal that is putting top leaders of the Khmer Rouge on trial".

Jarvis questioned the wisdom of concluding from the Human Rights Centre data that the court had failed in advertising its mission and operations.

"The Berkeley report does not present any control data as to the extent of knowledge by their informants on other facts and developments in Cambodia or abroad, so we do not know if it is reporting a generalised deficit in knowledge, or a specific deficit in relation to the ECCC," she wrote in an email to the Post.

But Phuong Pham, director of research for the Human Rights Centre, said the report drew from a nationally representative sample and that researchers controlled for literacy and education levels, adding that she did not believe ignorance of the court was symptomatic of a broader knowledge deficit among respondents.

Call to raise awareness

The report called for a multipronged campaign to raise awareness, including the broadcasting of public service announcements and weekly summaries of trial proceedings on radio and television, frequent media interviews with judges and staff, and expanded educational materials.

"The only way this trial can be successful is if more people understand what is going on," said Patrick Vinck, director of the Initiative for Vulnerable Populations at UC-Berkeley.

Richard Rogers, interim chief of the court's defence support section, echoed this call for more outreach.

"I think that it's important for the court and for NGOs to deal with that issue by speaking on the radio and promoting the work of the court."

Rogers said it was concerning that one-third of respondents openly doubted the court's neutrality, but he said this was likely a reflection of how Cambodians perceive the national court system.

"Survey after survey has shown that many Cambodians are not satisfied with the way that their local courts function," he said. "They often feel that the courts are there to promote the interests of the powerful."

Pham said she expected public awareness of the tribunal to increase as the trials get under-way. Initial hearings for the trial of Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch, are scheduled to begin February 17.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SARAH WHYTE

Deadline set for S-21 victims wanting to appear at Duch trial

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Georgia Wilkins
Thursday, 22 January 2009

The KRT makes its final call for victims in the lead-up to Tuol Sleng prison chief Duch's trial

VICTIMS of the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng prison centre have until February 2 to register as civil parties to the trial of prison chief Duch, the court announced Wednesday.

"Any person who has suffered harm as a result of the commission of any of these crimes should submit to the Victims Unit their Civil Party Application before [this date]," said a statement from the court's Victims Unit.

As the trial's February 17 start date approaches, the court has begun a final round of media calls, "actively encouraging" victims to come forward to be recognised by the court.

"We are preparing announcements in the coming days for radio and newspapers," said the court's public affairs officer, Helen Jarvis.

As of last month, 28 people had been officially recognised as civil parties for the upcoming trial, with 70 more applications being processed, Jarvis said Tuesday.

She also said that nearly 3,000 people had filed complaints against the five former regime leaders currently held by the court.

According to the internal rules of the court, civil party applications need to be filed at least 10 days before the initial hearing, and any new applications need to be reviewed before the start of the trial.

Deadline approaching

Michelle Staggs Kelsall, deputy director of the Asian International Justice Initiative at the East-West Centre, a court monitoring group, said she was concerned that an overburdened Victims Unit could struggle to process applications in time for the trial.

"The question really is whether all existing applications at 10 days before trial will likely have been reviewed by the initial hearing," she said.

But despite signs that the Victims Unit is overstretched, lawyers for civil parties have expressed confidence the unit will be able to process submissions in time.

"I have good hope that those applications that are submitted within the deadline will be processed," Silke Studzinsky, international lawyer for civil parties said Wednesday.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ROBBIE COREY-BOULET

Artists should focus work on traditional Khmer mores: govt

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Thursday, 22 January 2009

WITH an eye to drawing international attention to Khmer culture, the government is urging local artists to focus their work around traditional Cambodian subject matter to help preserve and promote the Kingdom's heritage.

At the 2009 National Culture Meeting, officials gathered to discuss the need to create what they called "cultural industries" to strengthen Cambodian culture and export it globally.

"Developing and protecting the cultural inheritance of Khmer culture through enforcing copyright laws and increasing human resources will improve Cambodia as a centre for spreading Khmer culture to the world," Him Chhem, minister of culture and fine arts, said during the meeting at the Chaktomuk Conference Hall on Tuesday.

The meeting, which included representatives from Unesco, also focused on the need for artists and craftsmen to increase the quality and quantity of their cultural products in order to support the national economy.

Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An called for greater conservation of temples and heritage buildings in order to keep tourist levels up.

"We need to rebuild ancient temples and improve ancient high grounds to attract local and international tourists," said Men Sam An.

She added that reinforcing traditional values in art would protect against what she saw as the "current of cultural globalisation" filtering into Cambodia through foreign TV shows and other imported cultural products.

"We are not only wanting to develop human resources in this sector, but also create a strong industry of Cambodian culture for the market to protect against the flood of vagabond culture from foreign countries," she said.

Artists need real benefits

Teruo Jinnai, Unesco representative to Cambodia, said that conservation and cultural policy development would be effective so long as the artisans and artists can get real benefits through the sustainability of the cultural sector.

"We need to work ... to create projects that support the artists in order to develop the cultural products and cultural industries," he said.

More wells for soldiers at Preah Vihear

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Thet Sambath
Thursday, 22 January 2009

AS part of an effort to provide more water for soldiers at Preah Vihear temple, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has begun constructing a network of wells and steel pipes that will transport water to the temple from nearby villages and hillsides.

The ministry began constructing the wells in late December, said Sor Thavy, deputy governor of Preah Vihear province, adding that there are now wells in three villages in Choam Ksan district. Pipe construction began last week.

"Hun Sen ordered us to have wells dug and pipes built to take water from the hillsides for people and soldiers at Preah Vihear temple," Sor Thavy said.

Presently, he said, the only water supply is from a small pond located near the temple.

The government plans to construct 30 wells within 20 kilometres of the temple, said an official at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction who declined to be named.

Yim Phim, commander of Brigade 8, said one of the wells that has already been constructed can provide up to 2,000 cubic metres of water in one hour.

Puppy-in-training

Photo by:Tracey Shelton

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Tracey Shelton
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Four-and-a-half-month-old David, the youngest of 12 pups at the Cambodian Mine Action Center training facility in Kampong Chhnang, waits for his trainer Nguon Thy last month. David is still training with rags and a rubber Kong, but at eight months he will begin training with TNT. Nguon Thy says there are currently 85 mine-sniffing dogs working in Cambodia.

Tracking Asia's 'ancient highways'

Photo by: Peter Olszewski

Phillipe Peycam shown at Angkor Wat.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kyle Sherer
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Siem Reap

New initiative hopes collaboration among regional archaeologists will shed light on common past

THE Centre for Khmer Studies has embarked on a venture to unite archaeologists from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to train a new generation of researchers and shed light on their common regional history.

The first workshop session, titled "Ancient Highways: From the Tonle Sap to the South China Sea. Paving the Way for Regional Archaeological Collaboration in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam", took place in Siem Reap from January 13-14.

Outbreaks of war and uneasy relations between governments have prevented scholars from resolving the many unanswered questions about Southeast Asia's ancient history.

Seeking to address this, researchers from Vietnam and Laos approached the Center for Khmer Studies, hoping it would facilitate the creation of a network for sharing findings and launching multinational projects.

The "Ancient Highways" initiative seeks to establish a common regional methodology for reporting and interpreting findings, as well as generate research projects that involve archaeologists from all participating countries.

Dr Phillipe Peycam, director at the Centre for Khmer Studies, described the workshop as part of "a long process of empowering Cambodian and regional archaeologists".

Regional collaboration will provide Siem Reap researchers with access to valuable archaeological sites in Vietnam and Laos and train them in the well-tested Vietnamese fieldwork practices. In turn, Laotian archaeologists will benefit from the restoration techniques, equipment and experience of Cambodian archaeologists.

The workshop marks the first time that Laotian scholars have collaborated with their counterparts in neighbouring countries, and Thong Lith, director at the Laos Department of Culture Heritage, told the Post that "the workshop is very important because archaeology education in my country is very poor, and the projects will give my staff a chance to train in Cambodia and Vietnam".

The aim of the collaborative research is to discover the nature of the relationships between the ancient civilisations that constructed the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, the Champa ruins in Vietnam and the Wat Phou structures in Laos.

Scholars believe that trading and migration took place between the three societies, but are unsure of its extent and the exact nature of these contacts.

By pooling resources and opening borders, archaeologists from the three countries can more easily determine the dynamics of the empires that inhabited Southeast Asia centuries ago.

American returns to Cambodia to forge a future for orphans

Photo by: kyle sherer

David Biviano, adviser to the Cambodian Children's House of Peace.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Kyle Sherer
Thursday, 22 January 2009

WHEN David Biviano, PhD, heard that the Khmer Friendly House orphanage where he was serving as a volunteer was due to close in June 2008, he retuned home to the US.

But only long enough to sell his house and say his goodbyes, before returning to Siem Reap to sign on as official adviser to Hem Sathya, director of the Cambodian Children's House of Peace.

This institution was founded to take care of the 10 remaining children from the folded orphanage, but has since expanded to include another 20 children from Siem Reap province.

Just over a month after its official opening on December 27, 2008, the House of Peace, or Santepheap, is preparing to launch a weekly traditional Khmer dance show, to start on Sunday, February 1.

Biviano said that rather than bring in a professional dance troupe, the children at Santepheap could be encouraged to do the job themselves.

Luckily, 10 of the children at Santepheap are already trained dancers, due to a program at their previous orphanage. But for many of the children it is a new experience.

Biviano says, "We continued the effort to train the children in traditional Khmer dance. We are also going to provide them training in music".

Biviano hopes this will put the children in touch with their culture and attract supporters for Santepheap.

Biviano told the Post that "the main aim of Santepheap is to provide a safe and secure facility for poor children from the countryside to grow up with sufficient food, housing, clothing, medical care, education, and a place where they are supported to become good citizens of Cambodia when they leave at 18".

"They all go to primary school in the Cambodian system, and they live here, where we provide additional programs like sports, cultural development, spiritual development and English training. We also provide vocational, transitional training for the children," he said.

He added also that the orphanage has an emphasis on spiritual development.

"Every evening ... in consideration of the children's Buddhist culture," he said.

"We have a five-minute silent meditation followed by a brief talk that I give on how we can live together in peace.

$25 million crane set to boost S'ville port

Photo by: Nguon Sovan
A ship in Sihanoukville. Freight forwarders hope a new crane will speed operations.

30%Estimated decline in cargo volume.
The freight forwarding industry estimates that trade volumes will drop even further in the first months of 2009 as last year's orders are cleared from the books.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by CHUN SOPHAL AND HOR HAB
Thursday, 22 January 2009

A new cargo crane marks further modernisation of Cambodia's main port, but the economic downturn threatens prospects for increased traffic.

SIHANOUKVILLE Autonomous Port (SAP) is boosting capacity and speed with a new US$25 million heavy crane bought from Japan. The upgrade comes despite falling international trade that has hit shipping companies and ports across the globe.

"This equipment will double the rate of cargo transfer and help the port to expand operations," said Lou Kim Chhu, chairman and CEO of Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.

"The crane can transfer 45 tonnes of cargo at a time, or 28 containers per hour."

Funds for the new equipment would come from concessionary Japanese loans.

Lou Kim Chhun told the Post Tuesday that the new heavy crane will start operations on February 15.

"We believe that this heavy crane will help improve the quality of service in the port and increase efficiency," he said.

Faster shipping

According to SAP reports, the port transferred about 260,000 containers in 2008. He said that the new equipment will permit cargo ships to reduce their parking time by half.

So Nguon, director of So Nguon Transportation and Services Import Export, and co-chair of the Energy, Infrastructure and Transport Working Group, said that the new crane is part of the country's efforts to boost shipping infrastructure.

"My company transports about 1,000 containers per month, and we expect to be able to transport more once this crane is equipped because we won't have to wait longer for old and smaller cranes to lift cargo," So Nguon said.

"We need more heavy cargo cranes that meet international standards to expand more in the future," he added.

Sin Chanthy, general secretary of the Cambodia Freight Forwarders Association, welcomed the upgrade but said that slow customs clearance remains a major problem for local companies.

"If the working process does not change, the speed of cargo transfer will stay the same, even with better equipment," he said. "Sometimes we have to wait from noon until late at night while the inspection period takes about 10 or 20 minutes," he added.

He recommended that the government address the problem to speed the country's logistics systems.

International slowdown

But with the economic slowdown cutting international trade, the port expects to see only five percent to six percent growth for 2009.

Yet Sin Chanthy said that even those figures could be too ambitious.

He estimated that cargo traffic fell by between 20 percent and 30 percent in the last quarter of 2008, which he blamed on the decline in construction materials imports.

He said volumes for 2009 could fall further when current orders are cleared.

Cambodia can, however, count itself better off than many international ports that have fared worse as global trade volumes register their first decline in decades.

The US's two top ports, Long Beach and Los Angeles, were down 18 percent year-on-year - a steeper drop than the industry has seen in previous recessions, according to figures reported in London's The Telegraph. Regional trade is falling fast, which could mean more hard times for ports in East Asia. Japanese exports fell 27 percent from a year earlier, while Korea's were down 30 percent and Taiwan's fell 42 percent.

Metered taxis report tenfold increase in their ridership

Photo by: Tracey Shelton
One of the city's new air-conditioned taxis on parade in Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Sam Rith
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Travellers in Phnom Penh are increasingly turning towards air-conditioned taxis instead of aggressive tuk-tuk drivers.

Cambodia's only metred-taxi company, Global Trade Development (Cambodia), reports brisk ridership since it launched in the Kingdom in July last year.

In a market previously monopolised by tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis, the introduction of air-conditioned taxi cars was a difficult first-step, says Global Trade Development CEO Lim Sovann.

Six months ago the company was only receiving between 20 and 30 customers a day, but since then traffic has increased more than tenfold.

"Given that we were the first company to start investing in metered taxis in Cambodia, we have met a lot of difficulties," he said.

Public displeasure with the city's often pushy and aggressive tuk-tuk drivers has helped the company attract both local and foreign customers.

"Now each day we receive 400 customers. About 85 percent of them are Cambodians and the rest are foreigners," he added, a sign that the local population has begun to accept changes in the transport market.

The service, which costs customers 4,000 riels (US$1) for every two kilometres, has almost reached its capacity. The company's initial investment of $1.5 million saw the introduction of 24 cars in Phnom Penh with a further 12 recently imported vehicles ready to be introduced for service in the capital, all from China.

Bun Sambo, an employee at Global Trade Development, pointed to the safety, air-conditioned interior and low-cost - when four people travel in the same car - as the main advantages that attracted customers to metered taxis.

"We are almost at the point where we need more cars to supply our customers," said Hun Chhunhav, who is in charge of receiving phone calls from customers at the company office.

The company noted that about 95 percent of feedback from customers was positive, with negative comments mostly related to the slowness of the service during peak traffic times.

Despite the significant increase in business, Lim Sovann says the company has not yet broken even, but he plans to expand service outside the capital.

"We have to strengthen our service to be reliable for our customers in Phnom Penh city first," he said.

He added that investment could rise by $3 million to $4 million in the future.

Unsurprisingly, the competition from metered taxis in Phnom Penh has impacted tuk-tuk operators.

"There has been a decrease in customers taking tuk-tuk services due to the presence of metered taxis in Phnom Penh and the economic downturn that means fewer people are travelling," said Heng Sam Orn, general secretary of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association which represents Tuk-Tuk operators in Cambodia.

"When they take a metred taxi once, they often stop taking tuk-tuks."

Camko City development to get first 100 occupants

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

A display model of the Camko City development in Phnom Penh. About 100 families have moved into the homes.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Soeun Say
Thursday, 22 January 2009

With phase one of the commercial and residential project complete, new owners will begin moving in by March.

Phnom Penh's much-vaunted commercial and residential development project Camko City will see its first residents take possession of their new homes in March, a company official told the Post on Saturday.

Kheng Ser, assistant to Camko City Vice President DK Kim, said the first 100 families will move in by March this year.

"We have sold more than 80 percent of the residences in the first phase of development, and they will move in by March," he said.

Phase one of the development saw the construction of 1,009 units comprising townhouses, villas and condominiums, Kheng Ser said.

Some 164 townhouses and 18 villas have already been sold, he said, adding that the company has also pre-sold 700 condominium units.

Camko City invested US$109 million in its first phase of construction, Kheng Ser said, adding that phase two will see owners take possession of their properties in 2011.

Targeting business people

The price point on Camko City properties puts them out of reach for many of the country's residents. Apartments start at $108,000 and can cost as much as $130,000, with condos running between $135,000 and $300,000.

Townhouses run between $220,000 and $300,000, while villas go for between $350,000 and $400,000, Kheng Ser said.

The luxury properties have proven popular with local and foreign business people, he said, with foreign nationals from France, Australia, the United States, Korea and China among those who snapped up properties in the company's first phase of sales.

City Hall is excited about the progress of the project and hopes the new complex will help alleviate congestion on the capital's busy streets by allowing people to live closer to where they work, Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun told the Post.

"Camko City is an important addition to the city because it will help ease the burden on the environment and city infrastructure by the capital's growing population," he said.

Research from City Hall showed that Phnom Penh needs to build 10,000 new homes each year to keep pace with population growth, Mann Chhoeun said.

A ‘modern' city

Real estate broker Touch Monychakriya, 29, said she purchased two townhouses, at $240,000 per unit, in the first phase of development. She plans to live in one and let out the other.

"I've been looking forward to living [in Camko City] because it provides a good and safe environment and it will be a modern city," she said.

Chay Srey, 50, a Cambodian-Australian citizen, said she bought a villa in Camko City as a retirement home.

"I will come back to live in my country next year because I am now old and don't want to live abroad anymore," she said.

Not every phase one purchaser is quite so optimistic.

Nouv Sophea, 38, also a resident, said she feels uncomfortable about the fact that the development was built by filling in Pong Peay lake.

Camko City is being build by developer World City with a $2 billion investment from South Korea's Shinhan Bank. The project began in December 2005 and expects to finish in 2018. The development lies on 119 hectares of land in Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district that were reclaimed from Pong Peay lake.

Tourism industry applauds Kuwait deal

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Chun Sophal
Thursday, 22 January 2009

Cambodia's travel industry applauded a recent agreement to allow direct flights to Kuwait, saying the move could give a much-needed boost to the sector.

"Kuwait is a rich country and we look forward to seeing more visitors from there," said Ho Vandy, president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents.

"I know that we will receive a lot of tourists from this country," he said.

The Cambodian government said it would send a team to Kuwait to design a promotional campaign to attract visitors.

"Next month Kuwait will have direct flights to Cambodia and, under this new agreement, we expect to see 50,000 tourists this year and 100,000 next year [from Kuwait]," Minister of Tourism Thong Khon told reporters after returning from Kuwait Friday.

Only about 700 Kuwaitis visited Cambodia in 2008.

Cambodia has seen a flood of investment from the Middle East, mainly from Kuwait and UAE, with Israel's first trade and investment delegation planned in March.

Photo exhibition shows aftermath of conflict

A young Khmer Rouge fighter (left) and Cambodian refugees both photos featured in the photo exhibition by Pierre Toutain-Dorbec.

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Nora Lindstrom
Thursday, 22 January 2009

French photojournalist Pierre Toutain-Dorbec's work contrasts life in Khmer Rouge commando camps with refugee camps along the Thailand border.

An exhibition showcasing 35 black-and-white photographs taken in 1979-80 by French photographer Pierre Toutain-Dorbec opens today at Phnom Penh's Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre.

Presented in collaboration with the Human Rights Centre at the University of California, Berkeley, and funded by the Open Society Justice Initiative, Confronting the Past: The Aftermath of the Khmer Rouge Regime provides a singular close-up of life at a Khmer Rouge commando camp, as well as rare insights into the initial refugee flows across the border to Thailand.

Toutain-Dorbec, who will not be present for the exhibition, worked as a photojournalist in Cambodia when the pictures were taken.

He isn't quite sure how he managed to get so close to the Khmer Rouge during such a tumultuous time.

"I think the real question is why they let me go with them. I have no answer, sorry," he wrote in an email.

Commenting on the juxtaposition between depicting life first under the Khmer Rouge and then in refugee camps, Toutain-Dorbec said:

"Pictures of the Khmer Rouge were taken leisurely at a Khmer Rouge camp inside Cambodia, where they were sleeping, and making ... arms like punji or landmines. It is an intentional juxtaposition because it was like that. All those events were happening at the same time, in [the] same period, at more or less the same place (inside Cambodia or along the Thai border)."

A joint effort

Surprisingly, Toutain-Dorbec's photographs have never been showcased in Cambodia. In fact, it was rather by chance that they come to be exhibited this time, too.

Patrick Vinck, director of the Initiative for Vulnerable Populations at the Human Rights Centre at Berkeley, explains how he happened to meet Toutain-Dorbec while doing research for his centre's Cambodia project.

"[Toutain-Dorbec] told us about his experience in Cambodia as a photojournalist in the mid-'70s and early ‘80s. ... We saw his pictures and we thought they were amazing. Also, they had never been shown here in Cambodia," he said.

"We thought they provided a somewhat unusual perspective, in the sense that I think there have been quite a few pictures of the conflict itself and what happened during the Khmer Rouge regime, but very little about the late ‘70s and the refugee movements, especially across to Thailand, and what the life of those refugees was like," he continued.

The artist himself hopes the exhibition will help Cambodians face their past.

" I think the real question is why [the khmer rouge] let me go with them. I have no answer, sorry."

"A genocide has been committed, so like many people concerned by human rights [and] peace, I try to speak clear and loud. That is because I think that silence is not a good answer after a genocide. A way to avoid other genocides in the future is, maybe, to talk about previous genocides," he wrote. "Through this exhibition, I want to say never again."

Vinck reasons along similar lines.

"The commonality between our research project and Pierre's pictures, we felt, is this process of looking back to what happened and how was that period, and at the same time looking forward to the future; how knowing what happened and admitting what happened and taking accountability for what happened contributes to [post-conflict] reconstruction," he said.

The exhibition and his centre's research project are complementary, he said.

"Art can bring emotions that a dry, scientific report cannot do. It is a more graphic and direct representation. You see things. It draws you in. You can spend 10 minutes looking at a picture, and it echoes something you can relate to," he said.

Showcasing loss and hope

Photographs of the Khmer Rouge featured in the exhibition include close-ups of child soldiers with guns, war-elephant patrols and soldiers seemingly on the run.

"The mood in the camp was extremely sad, a deep sadness. The feeling was reinforced by the fact that most [Khmer Rouge soldiers] were looking at the future without any hope. They were like people with no future," Toutain-Dorbec wrote.

In contrast, photos from the refugee camps, though sharing a deep sense of sadness and despair, also offer a glimmer of hope.

Smiling recipients of international aid, women giving birth and humanitarian aid workers performing surgery all echo an anticipation of a future life and a transition towards peace.

Yet simultaneously, arresting portraits of survivors-turned-refugees reveal the pain and suffering inherent in their bleak situation.

"Confronting the Past: The Aftermath of The Khmer Rouge" opens tonight at Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre and will run for one month.

The Human Rights Centre's report, So We Will Never Forget: A Population-based Survey on Attitudes About Social Reconstruction and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)" was made public yesterday.

Fairfield woman’s Cambodia work hailed

Leigh Mathews has been named Victoria's 2009 Young Australian of the Year. JOSIE HAYDEN N23NL500

News Community Media

21 Jan 09
by Elizabeth Allen

FAIRFIELD resident Leigh Mathews has been named Victoria’s 2009 Young Australian of the Year for her dedication to improving the lives of Cambodian children.

Devastated by the conditions she saw while teaching English in a Cambodian village in 2004, the then 23-year-old felt compelled to do something to help.

“I couldn’t just leave without trying,” Ms Mathews said.
She spent six months volunteering with local organisations, looking at what medical and social services there were for the displaced children, street kids and families.

There were none.

She formed the Future Cambodia Fund, a charity developing projects to improve education and health, including a street kids clinic and water sanitation for communities who had no access to clean water.

“Many people are dying from treatable and preventable diseases,” Ms Mathews said.

On top of her full-time job at a women’s crisis centre, Ms Mathews, now aged 27, works seven days a week with other volunteers, fundraising and organising projects with help from charity organisations in Cambodia.

Ms Mathews is now a candidate for the Young Australian of the Year, which will be announced on Australia Day 2009.

She hopes that her Victorian award will bring attention to the plight of displaced children around the world, and motivate other young people to make a difference.

“I really hope this award can inspire young people who see injustice in the world to believe they can do something about it,” Ms Mathews said.

Expert calls for Cambodian gov't to lower bank reserve rate

People's Daily Online
January 22, 2009

The government must lower the reserve rate of banks so that financial institutions can loan more money and fuel the economy in the grips of a financial slowdown, national media reported on Thursday.

The National Bank of Cambodia, in an attempt to lower inflation and cool the lending market, began requiring in May 2008 that banks double their reserves from 8 to 16 percent of all their foreign currency.

"Inflation is coming down particularly in food and energy costs(since December 2008) and now the danger is the economy slowing down, so at some stage (the government) might relax some of its policies on credit squeezing," English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted John Brinsden, vice president of the Acleda Bank, as saying.

The reserve rate has significantly cut Acleda's ability to issue loans, he said, adding that outstanding loans at Acleda grew just 5 percent in the last six months of 2008 after the central bank doubled the reserve rate.

Prior to that, in the first six months of 2008, outstanding loans at Acleda grew 50 percent to more than 450 million U.S. dollars, he said.

"We just do not have the funds we would like (available)," he added.

The Cambodian economy enjoyed double-digit increase during the 2005-2007 period, but down to below 10 percent in 2008 and will further slide to around 5 percent in 2009, according to the forecasts by experts and international financial institutions.

Source:Xinhua

Cambodia opposition seeks Obama's help in murder probe

Cambodians remember the 5th anniversary of the death of labour leader Chea Vichea

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia's opposition leader Thursday urged US President Barack Obama to help find the killers of a prominent union boss, as hundreds of people gathered to mark five years since his murder.

Chea Vichea, who headed the country's largest labour union and was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, was gunned down at a Phnom Penh newsstand on January 22, 2004.

The daylight murder shocked Cambodia and badly fractured the country's nascent workers' movement. It was condemned by rights groups as a brutal attempt to silence opposition-linked unions.

"I beg US President Barack Obama to help Cambodian people find the criminals to bring them to justice," opposition leader Sam Rainsy told a crowd Thursday at the spot where Chea Vichea was shot.

The politician marched through Phnom Penh with some 300 garment workers and unionists to place wreaths and light incense sticks at the newsstand.

Sam Rainsy criticised authorities for failing to arrest the real culprits, but said he hoped that a "push from outside" would bring "change" in the case of Chea Vichea's murder over the next year.

Cambodia's highest court late last month provisionally released two men convicted of killing Chea Vichea and ordered the case to be re-tried, citing unclear evidence.

The two men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, had been arrested just days after the union chief's 2004 death, convicted of murder and quickly sentenced to 20 years each in prison.

The United States and UN welcomed the decision by the court to order a retrial. International and local rights watchdogs had called the conviction and trial deeply flawed and said the true perpetrators remained at large.

But two other labour leaders have also been murdered since Chea Vichea's killing, in an escalation of attacks against workers' rights advocates.

Their deaths cast a pall over Cambodia's key garment industry, with several major clothing labels warning the government that swift justice was needed for their continued presence in the country.

People march to mark the fifth anniversary of Chea Vichea death in Phnom Penh; Vichea was shot dead at a news stand in central Phnom Penh in January

People hold a portrait of Chea Vichea, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia, and flowers as they march to mark the fifth anniversary of his death in Phnom Penh January 22, 2009. Vichea was shot dead at a news stand in central Phnom Penh in January 2004.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A woman burns incense and prays in front of a portrait of Chea Vichea, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia, to mark the fifth anniversary of his death in Phnom Penh January 22, 2009. Vichea was shot dead at a news stand in central Phnom Penh in January 2004.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A woman burns incense and prays in front of a portrait of Chea Vichea, former president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of Cambodia, to mark the fifth anniversary of his death in Phnom Penh January 22, 2009. Vichea was shot dead at a news stand in central Phnom Penh in January 2004.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Hun Sen predicts hasty demise of new opposition alliance

www.chinaview.cn

2009-01-22

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned that the recent alliance of two main opposition parties will not last, national media reported on Thursday.

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Human Rights Party (HRP), which are two main opposition parties in the Cambodian National Assembly (NA), agreed last week in principle to establish a political alliance called the Democratic Movement of Change (DMC) for the upcoming elections.

"When I want (the alliance) to separate, they will be separated," English-language newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted the premier as saying on Tuesday in Oddar Meanchey province.

"I would like to tell you that now one-third of their members have defected to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP)," he said.

Hun Sen belongs to CPP, which is the major ruling party.

"I am never scared of these mergers. Do not say that an alliance will cause CPP to fall," he added.

The DMC is a new political force to lead and advance the country to have prosperity, according to the joint statement issued by both parties.

The upcoming elections include the 2012 commune councils election and the 2013 general election.

"Our candidates will be registered to represent only one party in polling constituency," SRP president Sam Rainsy and HRP president Kem Sokha told reporters at a press conference.

"We will walk on the non-violent and legal strategies for political actions," Sam Rainsy said, adding that the movement does not oppose any individual or parties.

Meanwhile, Khem Sokha appealed to intellectuals and democratic supporters to join the DMC for upcoming elections.

In last year's general election, CPP won some 90 seats, SRP 26 and HRP 3 in all the 123 seats in NA.

Editor: Lu Yanan

Vietnam: Halt Abuses of Ethnic Khmer in Mekong Delta

Len Duong

Government Suppresses Peaceful Protests for Religious, Cultural, and Land Rights

(New York, January 21, 2009) – The Vietnamese government should immediately free Khmer Krom Buddhist monks and land rights activists in prison or under house arrest for the peaceful expression of their political and religious beliefs, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Khmer Krom is a large ethnic group in the Mekong Delta that is central to Vietnam-Cambodia relations.

The 125-page report, “On the Margins: Rights Abuses of Ethnic Khmer in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta,” documents ongoing violations of the rights of the Khmer Krom in southern Vietnam and also abuses in Cambodia against Khmer Krom who have fled there for refuge. Wary about possible Khmer Krom nationalist aspirations, Vietnam has suppressed peaceful expressions of dissent and banned Khmer Krom human rights publications. It also tightly controls the Theravada Buddhism practiced by the Khmer Krom, who see this form of Buddhism as the foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity.

“Vietnam’s response to peaceful protests provides a window into the severe and often shrouded methods it uses to stifle dissent,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should be trying to engage in dialogue with the Khmer Krom, rather than throwing them in jail.”

Drawing on detailed interviews with witnesses in both Vietnam and Cambodia, the report shows that Khmer Krom in Vietnam face serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, association, information, and movement. In researching this report, Human Rights Watch came into possession of internal memos circulated by the Communist Party of Vietnam and Vietnamese government officials outlining their concerns about unrest among Khmer Krom in the Mekong Delta and strategies to monitor, infiltrate, and silence Khmer Krom activists. The documents are included in an appendix to the report.

“The official documents we publish today lay bare the efforts by the Vietnamese government to silence critics,” said Adams. “This is bare-knuckled, indefensible political repression.”

“On the Margins” provides a rare, in-depth account of a protest conducted by 200 Khmer Krom Buddhist monks in Soc Trang province, Vietnam, in February 2007. Protesters called for greater religious freedom and more Khmer-language education. Although the protest was peaceful and lasted only a few hours, the Vietnamese government responded harshly. Police surrounded the pagodas of monks suspected of leading the protest. Local authorities and government-appointed Buddhist officials subsequently expelled at least 20 monks from the monkhood, forcing them to defrock and give up their monks’ robes, and banishing them from their pagodas. The authorities sent the monks back to their home villages and put them under house arrest or police detention, without issuing arrest warrants or specifying the charges against them. During interrogations, police beat some of the monks.

In May 2007, the Soc Trang provincial court convicted five of the monks on charges of “disrupting traffic” and sentenced them to two to four years of imprisonment. Some of the monks were beaten during interrogation. After the demonstrations, the authorities instituted stricter surveillance of Khmer Krom activists, restricted and monitored their movements, banned their publications, and monitored their telephones.

The report also examines rights abuses of Khmer Krom who have moved to Cambodia, where they remain among Cambodia’s most disenfranchised groups. Because they are often perceived as ethnic Vietnamese by Cambodians, many Khmer Krom in Cambodia face social and economic discrimination and unnecessary hurdles to legalizing their status.

The Cambodian government has repeatedly stated that it considers the Khmer Krom to be Cambodian citizens. Yet the Cambodian authorities often react harshly when Khmer Krom become too critical of the Vietnamese government, a close ally of the Cambodian government. In 2007, Cambodian police forcefully dispersed a series of protests in Phnom Penh by Khmer Krom monks denouncing the rights abuses they had experienced in Vietnam.

In February 2007, a Khmer Krom monk, Eang Sok Thoeun, was killed in suspicious circumstances after he participated in a protest in Phnom Penh. In June 2007, Cambodian authorities arrested, defrocked, and deported to Vietnam a Khmer Krom activist monk, Tim Sakhorn, who was sentenced in Vietnam to a year in prison. Human Rights Watch called on the Cambodian government to investigate thoroughly the killing of Eang Sok Thoeun, and on the Vietnamese government to allow Tim Sakhorn, placed under house arrest in Vietnam after his release from prison in May 2008, to return to his home in Cambodia if he chooses.

“The killing, imprisonment, and defrocking of Khmer Krom monks sends a chilling message to Khmer Krom activists in both Cambodia and Vietnam,” said Adams. “An ethnic group that should enjoy the protection of two countries finds itself stripped of protection by both.”
Selected accounts from the report

All names in quotation marks in the report are pseudonyms to protect interviewees from government reprisals.

“I had prepared myself for self-immolation. I had a lighter and gasoline bottle. I’d wrapped my body in cloth already. If they did not comply with my proposals, I would immolate. I said, ‘If you don’t comply, if my body is burned, you will have to take responsibility.’ I was distraught because I had not done anything wrong.”

– “Ponleak,” a Khmer Krom monk who was arrested after participating in the peaceful protest in Soc Trang in February 2007

“First, the police interrogated me every day, then a couple of times a week. Sometimes they questioned me from morning until 10 p.m. at night – I wasn’t allowed to go home. … They slapped the back of my head with their palms and hit me with rolled-up paper. They asked many questions and tried to frighten me by showing me handcuffs. … The confession letter was already written. They forced me to copy what they wrote. If not, they would not allow me to eat or go home. I am not against the Vietnamese government. I abide by Vietnamese law. But they said I was not loyal to the nation.”

– Khmer Krom monk who was defrocked and placed under house arrest after participating in a peaceful protest in Soc Trang province in 2007

“Two monks were under the heaviest pressure: they shouted out because they were beaten very severely. It is painful to remember the treatment of Kim Muol by the interrogation cadre, who beat him and punched him twice, one blow on his breastbone and another on his face. It sounded like ‘wham wham wham.’ Then they grabbed him and tightly squeezed his head in their hands…”

– Handwritten letter in Khmer, written by the five monks while in prison

“They violate the rights of the ethnic minorities. We have no right to protest about the confiscation of our land. If I demand my land back, they say I want to overthrow the government, start a political movement.”

– Khmer Krom protest leader from An Giang province, June 2008

“When I got back to my pagoda after joining the demonstration, I was placed under 24-hour surveillance. Police surrounded my pagoda, which was filled with local authorities. The police would follow me when I went out to beg for alms… Later, the police said if I didn’t want to be defrocked, I must ‘work’ with them. ‘Your job is to follow the other monks’ activities and make reports,’ they said.”

– “Kosal,” a Khmer Krom Buddhist abbot from Soc Trang province

Tet get-together for Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia

VOV News
01/22/2009

The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia held a get-together for Vietnamese nationals in Phnom Penh on January 21 to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The event was also attended by Var Kim Hong, senior minister and chairman of the Cambodian Committee for Border Affairs, and Long Visalo, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Lao and Cuban ambassadors to Cambodia.

Addressing the function, ambassador Nguyen Chien Thang extended New Year Greetings to all the Vietnamese community in Cambodia. He affirmed that the community is an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation, and called Vietnamese nationals to work harder to further strengthen the traditional friendship between the two neighbouring nations.

He also thanked the Cambodian Government for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese nationals to integrate well into the local community.

Hosts and guests raised toasts and enjoyed a special performance given by Vietnamese artists from Military Zone No7.

Earlier on January 20, ambassador Thang paid a pre-Tet visit and presented 100 gifts to Vietnamese nationals residing in Preh Tateng commune of Kandal province. On this occasion, embassy officials and representatives from the Army-run Telecommunication Company (Viettel) presented more than 400 Tet gifts to the Vietnamese in Phnom Penh and Kompong Chhnang province.

Cambodia Will Start the First Stock Market in December, but Will Not Be Successful as Planned - Wednesday, 21.1.2009

Posted on 22 January 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 596

“Phnom Penh: The meltdown of the global economy, the lack of trust from investors, the lack of skills, the weakness of laws and of the judicial system, and corruption are considered by experts to be obstacles against the expected success of a stock market in Cambodia. This assessment is made as Cambodia plans to start the process of its first stock market in December 2009.

“It should be noted that a stock market is a gathering forum which allows investors and the general people to invest in companies that they trust, in order bring back profits for them. Those companies participating in a stock market can sell their shares to anybody and take the money like a loan for extending their activities, expecting profit; citizens can buy shares in order to become shareholders and co-owners of a shares selling company. Such clients can receive benefits, as long as the company makes profit.

“At present, the global economy is facing a crisis, and the stock markets of all countries are low, because many owners of shares sold their shares in order to recoup [as much as is left of their] original capital, and many other potential customers give up their intentions to invest in the stock market.

“The Chief Researcher of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, Mr. Chab Sothearith, said that the general loss of trust from investors will make it difficult for a stock market in Cambodia to take off.

“In should be noted that the Cambodian government announced a stock market project in September 2007 with Korea Exchange of South Korea, which put up 45% of the share capital as a partner immediately. After the announcement, the Cambodia Securities and Stock Exchange Law was adopted, and a Securities Commission of Cambodia was created, to encourage the creation of a stock exchange, which will issue shares and take action against companies that violate the law.

“However, stock exchange experts said that Cambodia still has a lot of shortcomings which are an obstacle for the progress of starting a stock exchange at the end of this year.

“An advisor of the National Accounting Council and finance professor of the Royal University of Economy and Law, Mr. Soum Chanthy, said that so far, Cambodia has very few stock market experts and does not have a proper and sufficiently complex technical basis to meet the operations of a stock market.

“In addition, Cambodia needs a firm legal system and courts with high capabilities to quickly and justly solve issues related to doing business in a stock market.

“Mr. Soum Chanthy added that although there is still one year left to create a stock market, Cambodia is not yet capable to meet all shortcomings mentioned above, making the stock market plan progress slowly.

“The director of the Cambodia Institute of Development Studies, Mr. Kang Chandararoth, said that while Cambodia has not yet an anti-corruption law, the creation of a stock market will provide high hazards, and losses will have to be faced by investors.

“The Cambodian government has not yet adopted an anti-corruption law for many years.
“Mr. Kang Chandararath went on to say that corruption can happen at state and private companies, like hiding facts in financial reports about capital, losses, and profits.

“It should be noted that part of success of a successful investment of capital depends on good governance and financial transparency of companies; their situation needs to be disclosed publicly; however, among more than 2,000 enterprises operating in Cambodia, less than 20% publish annual reports. This information comes from the National Accounting Council at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“A secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mr. Ngy Tayi, agreed with the definition of the problems mentioned above, and he said that at present, the Ministry continues to encourage different companies to organize their reports properly before they are allowed to participate in the stock market. In the meantime, the director of the general commercial development project of Korea Exchange, Mr. In Myo Lee [phonetic], said that a stock market can help to reduce corruption in Cambodia.

“Cambodia wants to attract national and international investors from more than 400 companies to this stock market, but so far, according to Korean investors who are partners, there are only three state-controlled companies which plan to register something at the stock market of Cambodia.”

Khmer Sthapana, Vol.2, #188, 21.1.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Baker Tilly sees potential in Cambodia

Business Times

Thursday, January 22, 2009

MALAYSIA's Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng, one of only 21 approved international audit firms in Cambodia, says the kingdom's developing economy is a good investment destination amid the global economic downturn.

"We are excited with the market potential in Cambodia. Our new office is launched to assist international corporations in the country," Baker Tilly executive partner Andrew Heng said in a statement.

Baker Tilly partner Lock Peng Kuan added that investing in a developing market like Cambodia is a good strategy in view of the global economic slowdown.

The Cambodian stock exchange is planning to launch in December 2009.

The audit firm is hoping to capture a portion of the pre-IPO (initial public offering) transactions in the privatisation of enterprises as well as the international corporations, Lock said.

Baker Tilly's Phnom Penh office was launched last week.

Hong Panharith, inspector-general to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the guest of honour. It was also attended by Bun Honn, the Ministry of Justice's secretary of state and Teh Sing, president of the Malaysia Business Council of Cambodia.

Three Baker Tilly group partners - Heng, Lock and associate partner Joe Heng - have been admitted as certified public accountants and approved auditors with Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors.

"We hope Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng's presence would contribute to the growth of corporate governance in the Cambodian commercial sector and in the large economy," Panharith said.

Since the early 1990s, Cambodia has enjoyed over a decade of high average economic growth at an average 7.1 per cent per annum, government officials said.

This is driven largely by the construction and tourism sectors and, since the late 1990s, a rapidly emerging garment sector.

Government officials said there is an increase in private investment in response to an improved investment climate, as government reforms begin to show results.