National concerns take regional stage

The Star Online

BEHIND THE HEADLINES
By BUNN NAGARA

Hot domestic issues in Thailand are spilling over its borders into the rest of the region.
THE new Thai government is reaching beyond Bangkok-based protests to address other, broader concerns. With an Asean summit to host in less than three weeks, this workload is urgent but involuntary.

After last month’s Cabinet-level visits to the troubled southernmost provinces, the defence minister has been in discussions with his counterpart in Cambodia. Both countries last July began their latest round of rival claims over Preah Vihar temple, in an on-off feud since 1954.

On Friday Gen Pravit Wongsuwan and his ministerial colleagues were in Phnom Penh on his first official visit to discuss normalisation of relations and troop pullbacks in the temple area.

Pravit had said this introductory visit for the Joint Boundary Commission would not raise issues concerning border disputes. The new government is hoping that a fresh initiative on familiar problems would help resolve them, and Cambodian leaders are responding accordingly.

Easing tensions: Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (left) and Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong holding a news conference after their meeting in Phnom Penh on Jan 26. Kasit was in Cambodia to discuss the disputed land around the Preah Vihear temple. — Reuters

The Hindu temple’s location seems destined for controversy and rival territorial claims. It is poised on a hill in the Dangrek Mountains on the Thai-Cambodian border, with the site shifting in national origins between the two countries.

For Thailand, the temple had been built in Bhumsrol village in Bueng Malu sub-district and Kantharalak district of Sisaket province in eastern Thailand.

But after its 1962 World Court ruling, Preah Vihar came to be in Svay Chrum village of Kan Tout commune, in Choam Khsant district of Preah Vihar province in northern Cambodia.

The sticky situation owes much to geographical ambiguity and historical uncertainty, as well as easier access to the temple being from the Thai side.

Today’s frequently prickly sense of territory only worsens the vicious cycle of division, separation and exclusion of age-old identities in the region.

In 1010, Suryavarman I ascended the throne as king of the Khmer Empire. Twelve years later he, said to be of aristocratic birth and Malay origin, expanded his rule into parts of Siam and Laos.

Occasionally niggling pettiness creeps in, even in the naming of the temple. Thailand wants it known as Phra Viharn-Preah Vihear, but Cambodia prefers the more internationally accepted Preah Vihear.

There may also be deeper interests at play to make the dispute more substantive and intractable. A patch of land around the temple coincides with a disputed oil-rich offshore block claimed by both countries.

All of this serves to bring more worldly concerns into perspective for Thailand and Cambodia, including another planned meeting of Thais in the neighbouring country.

On Wednesday some 30 parliamentarians from the Pheu Thai party allied to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra were hoping to meet him in Koh Kong, south-western Cambodia.

The next day the Cambodian ambassador to Thailand denied any knowledge of an impending visit by Thaksin there.

Yesterday, one of the MPs said the trip to Koh Kong was postponed indefinitely. Another said the meeting would be in Hong Kong instead.

Meanwhile billionaire Thaksin, on the run after a two-year court conviction for graft, has reportedly been hiring US lobbyists to discredit Thailand in the past two years. In his phone-in to supporters in Thailand last Monday, he admitted to financing anti-government actions.

The matter concerning American lobbyists in Thaksin’s pay will be raised in discussions with the US ambassador on Tuesday by former premier and current chief government adviser Chuan Leekpai.

Britain and Japan have already barred Thaksin from entering because of his conviction. China has yet to oppose his visits, but requires that he must not use Chinese territory to destabilise the situation in Thailand.

Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samuttharak on Friday reminded Thaksin’s supporters of this requirement following reports that he might now meet them in Hong Kong or Macau.

This followed criticism of Thaksin the day before by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Tuagsuban that Thaksin was now trying to usurp the royal prerogative by trying to become Thailand’s first president. That provoked a pro-Thaksin MP to censure Suthep for undue mudslinging.

Nonetheless, there is public disquiet over Thaksin’s phone-in when he admitted to being behind red-shirted protesters. He did not endear himself to critics or neutral observers either when he then compared himself to once-persecuted African leader Nelson Mandela.

Thaksin’s supporters are still pushing the envelope to discredit the government during the coming Asean summit. Government officials have already moved the venue from Bangkok to Hua Hin in anticipation of more street demonstrations.

Pro-Thaksin activists are also seeking to have the Asean Charter rewritten, arguing that it is “a direct product of the (post-Thaksin, coup-mediated) dictatorial regime.” While such arguments are unlikely to carry weight with Asean, their accompanying sentiments and actions can still pose a challenge to security.

A pro-Thaksin MP now wants Japan and China to clarify reports of travel restrictions placed on Thaksin, warning that his 10 million-strong supporters might boycott Chinese and Japanese goods. But to exercise that threat, Thaksin’s supporters would need to overcome the popularity of Chinese and Japanese products.

Although now out of politics, Thaksin is still competing for popularity, this time with imported goods.

Australia struggles to battle wildfires - 7 Feb 09

Thousands of firefighters and hundreds of volunteers are battling wildfires in southeastern Australia.

In the state of Victoria, dozens have been killed and at least 100 homes destroyed in the blazes.

People are busy trying to protect their homes and to avoid the heat, as the temperature reaches record levels.

Al Jazeera's Jayne Azzopardi reports.

Cambodia: 'Country for Sale'

Global Witness discuss on Al Jazeera the findings from their latest report 'Country for Sale', which documents how rights to exploit oil and mineral resources have been allocated behind closed doors by a small number of powerbrokers surrounding the prime minister and other senior officials.

The beneficiaries of many of these deals are members of the ruling elite or their family members. Meanwhile, millions of dollars paid by oil and mining companies to secure access to these resources appear to be missing from the national accounts.

To download the Global Witness report go to:
http://www.globalwitness.org/media_li...

MPs delay Thaksin visit

MPs from the Pheu Thai Party had earlier planned to meet Thaksin (left) over the weekend. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

THE STARITS TIMES
Feb 8, 2009

BANGKOK - OPPOSITION politicians loyal to convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra have postponed their trips to meet him in Cambodia and Hong Kong out of fear for his safety, some of them said on Saturday.

The MPs from the Pheu Thai Party had earlier planned to meet Thaksin over the weekend.

Jatuporn Promphan, a Pheu Thai party-list MP, said he was concerned about Thaksin's safety and the difficulties the former premier was facing due to his irregular residency abroad.

Party MP Samart Kaewmechai said some MPs may have the right to decide if they wanted to go and see Thaksin but he believed that all MPs from the party already had some way to contact him.

Surawit Konsomboon, another Pheu Thai MP from Chaiyaphum, said he would also postpone his plan and added that it may be best that a small batch of MPs meet Thaksin at a time.

Other MPs such as Pracha Prasopdee said his plan to meet the former premier in Hong Kong this weekend has been postponed indefinitely. However, he added that some northeastern MPs might meet Thaksin through an arrangement made by the former PM's younger brother Payap Shinawatra.

Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samuttarak said he believes the meeting will be about choosing a new Pheu Thai leader and the fact that Thaksin is still the man who will decide means the party cannot choose its own leader through a proper process.

A new Pheu Thai leader, said Buranat, will likely assume the role of mobilising red-shirt protesters against the government and will bring about a new round of political conflict.

"Thaksin has the right to express his views through his phone-ins but he must consider the country's law by fighting through the judicial process. The Democrat Party has reiterated that the government will guarantee his safety," Mr Buranat said.

In a related development, Thepthai Senpong, personal spokesman of Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, said every nation has the right to decide whether to bar individuals like Thaksin from entering its country or not and urged Pheu Thai MPs not to cause diplomatic strains.

"I have all the documents but fear that it wouldn't be proper to reveal it. Pheu Thai MPs shouldn't worry that it will affect bilateral relations but these MPs must be careful in pressuring embassies of various states or threatening to boycott their goods, as it will affect bilateral relations. If they want to know, they can ask during the House session," Thepthai said.

He added that some discussion can be done in confidentiality without naming affected countries in question. -- THE NATION/ANN

The Khmer Rouge tribunal: Lessons for Kenya?

THE STANDARD

By Yash Ghai

Criminal trials in international tribunals or a tribunal with national and international membership are increasingly being viewed as the only way to bring dictators, and other highly placed state officials, responsible for the misery of thousands to justice. The best-known instance of this kind of hybrid court is the Cambodian tribunal for trial of leading members of the Khmer Rouge regime. There are similarities with Kenya, and interestingly, Dr Kofi Annan played a key role in the establishment of the Cambodian tribunal.

In the mid 1970s, the Khmer Rouge, a communist party, committed to the "moral" regeneration of Cambodia, seized power and embarked upon the total re-organisation of State and society. Millions of people were forcibly moved out of cities into the country side, subjected to forced labour, humiliated, tortured, and killed- 1.7 millions of them, a quarter of the population.
In Cambodia, as in Kenya, a compelling reason for an international or a hybrid court is the weaknesses in the national legal and judicial system.

The Khmer Rouge regime had destroyed the previous system, including statute books and legal records, and killed such judges and lawyers as were unable to flee the country. Key members of the regime that came into power after the UN’s "rehabilitation" of the country with close association with the Khmer Rouge movement had little inclination to institute legal proceedings against those most responsible for the genocide and other crimes.

Unlike Kenya, the purpose of the special tribunal was not to deal with immediate or contemporary problems but the recent past. Its main objective was accountability to Cambodians for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. There was an element of national reconciliation, perhaps more accurately, putting the past behind them.

It was also intended to repudiate emphatically the practice of impunity, which characterised past and present regimes.

It was to promote awareness among the people about the meaning of justice.

The international community played a key role in bringing peace in Cambodia after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The UN helped to rehabilitate the infrastructure and the economy, and in the transition to democracy. After a general election and a new constitution, the UN was given a special role to monitor and strengthen the protection of human rights, with the assistance of the Secretary General’s Special Representative for human rights.

The process of negotiating and organising an internationally acceptable tribunal for trials of Khmer Rouge leaders started in 1997. Experts advised then Secretary-General Kofi Annan that, due to wide scale corruption among judges and prosecutors, and their subservience to the government, it was impossible for a local tribunal to conduct fair and credible trials. They also ruled out a hybrid court, being convinced that its Cambodian members would take orders from prime minister Hun Sen, who, along with some of his Cabinet colleagues, had previously been part of the Khmer Rouge. It recommended a fully international tribunal, sitting outside Cambodia, but in a neighbouring country, so that Cambodians could follow the proceedings. Annan favoured this approach.

The UN-Cambodia Agreement and the Status of the ECCC Law

After long and intense negotiations, in which almost all the points of a UN draft were rejected by the Cambodian government, and under pressure particularly from the governments of France and Japan, UN negotiators reached an agreement based largely on a 2001 Cambodian law, which envisaged a tribunal, which was part of the Cambodian system.

But the ECCC is detached from the Cambodian system, having a self-contained system of investigations, prosecutions, trials and appeals, unconnected to the rest of the national system. The UN was also able to extract the concession that although the tribunal would operate under Cambodia law (which included elements of international law), this could not be amended without consultation with the UN. And it agreed that if the ECCC did not or could not function independently in accordance with the Agreement, the UN would withdraw and provide no further assistance.

Structure of the ECCC

The principal organ is the Trial Chamber and the Supreme Courts Chamber. Following the French legal system, there are investigating judges who review the investigations conducted by the prosecutions and decide whether the case can proceed. There are also offices of the prosecutors and defence, supported by the UN.

The Supreme Court Chamber consists of four Cambodian and three international judges and the Trial Court of three Cambodian and two international judges. There are two co-investigating judges and two prosecutors, for each; one local and one international member. The local judges and prosecutors are appointed by the Cambodian Supreme Council of Magistracy (an independent, constitutional body), and the international by the same body from a list of nominees presented by the UN Secretary General. Thus the Cambodian authorities make the final decision even on international judges and prosecutors (although within limits) while the UN has no say on local judges. The appointments are made for the duration of the tribunal. The law says that judges and prosecutors, who should be persons of high moral character, integrity, impartiality and "shall be independent in the performance of their functions and shall not accept or seek instructions from any Government or any other source".

Decision making

The law enjoins all judges and prosecutors to "attempt to achieve unanimity in their decisions". If investigating judges or prosecutors cannot agree, the case proceeds, but either collectively or individually, they can refer the matter to the judges of a special court, the Pre-Trial Court. This court consists of five judges, three Cambodian (including the presiding judge) and two international, and may, by a vote of at least four judges stop the trial. The decision of the Trial Court is also made by at least four of the five judges; and that of the Supreme Court by at least five judges. When the court is divided, both majority and minority judgements must be delivered.

Administration of the ECCC

The ECCC has, at the insistence of the Cambodian government, no Registrar as head of the administration and representative of the court – only an Office of Administration, headed by a Cambodian appointed Director. This gives the Cambodian government great control over the administration, critical to the functioning of the tribunal. Numerous allegations of corruption have been made against the Cambodian judges and staff.

Funding of the ECCC

In principle, the UN is responsible for the expenses associated with the international participation, including salaries of international judges, prosecutors, defence and administrative staff, and security arrangements. The Cambodian government is responsible for the salaries of local judges, prosecutors and staff, and provides the premises. It is now clear that the trials will take longer than anticipated (even if no new additional persons are charged). The total costs will certainly exceed US$100 million (from the original estimate of around 19 million). The UN is expected to pick up at least 90 per cent. Cambodia has been reluctant to deliver its contribution and friendly governments have paid substantial sums for it.

Annan’s request for funding from the regular UN budget was rejected. Though there is a Trust Fund administered by the UNDP, there are always financial pressures, throwing into doubt the continued existence of the tribunal, the completion of trials of accused already indicted, and has a dampening effect on investigations for fresh indictments.

Jurisdictional issues

The applicable law is a combination of Cambodian and international law. The international crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Cambodian crimes (provided for under the ECCC law) include homicide, torture, religious persecution and destruction of cultural property in armed conflict.

Persons to be tried are "senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge regime) and those who were most responsible for the crimes and serious violations of Cambodian penal law, international humanitarian law and custom, and international conventions recognised by Cambodia," between 1975 and 1979.

There was considerable discussion before the tribunal was set up as to who should be tried, and how many. The Cambodian government was anxious to limit the trial to two or thee persons. The expert team had envisaged about 20. Recently, it became public that the Cambodian prosecutor on the tribunal has refused to sanction any new prosecutions, contrary to the assessment of the international prosecutor. There is also the issue of the cut off date for prosecution, since atrocities have continued to be committed, implicating several senior members of the current government.

It is accepted that due to the problem of time and money, only a handful of accused can be tried in international tribunals. Still to restrict trials to old men, whom only intensive medical treatment can keep alive to stand trial, and who have freely admitted their guilt and remorse, seems to go against the whole idea of such trials.

Legal procedure and representation

The Cambodian rules of procedure apply but where they are unclear or inconsistent with international standards, "guidance may also be sought in procedural rules established at the international level".

The rights of the accused include the full protection ensured in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including presumption of innocence, fair and public hearing, and legal representation. The tribunal has recruited experienced lawyers who represent the accused.
Representatives of Member States of the UN, of the Secretary General, of the media and of national and international NGOs are guaranteed access at all times to the proceedings (unless publicity would prejudice justice). NGOs are playing a critical role in monitoring and identifying improper practices.

Protection of witnesses, experts, members of the ECCC

The Agreement says that witnesses and experts, the judges, or the co-prosecutors shall not be prosecuted, or subjected to any restriction on their liberty by the Cambodian authorities. They shall not be subjected by the authorities to any measure, which may affect the free and independent exercise of their functions.

Punishment, penalties, and amnesties

Cambodia is notorious for impunities that members and friends of the government enjoy as well as for the harassment of its opponents through prosecutors and judges. Constitutionally, pardons and amnesties can only be granted by the King, in his own discretion; in practice decisions on these matters are the prime minister’s. The Agreement forbids an amnesty or pardon for any persons who may be investigated for or convicted of crimes referred to in the present Agreement. Consistently with the UN practice, the maximum possible penalty is life imprisonment.

Experience

The institutions and rules for decision-making are complex, indeed cumbersome. They require constant negotiations between the international and local judges, prosecutors and administrative staff. The use of three languages and some tensions between judges trained in the common law and those in the civil law have added to the problems.

The Cambodian government has interfered in various ways in the work of the ECCC. In this way the weakness and corruption within the national legal system have infected the ECCC, instead of the ECCC influencing the conduct of local judges and prosecutors.

Lessons for Kenya

If the national regime is not interested in the punishment of perpetrators of crimes against humanity, and particularly if important members of the Government may have been implicated in the violence, it is exceedingly hard for the international community, particularly through a hybrid tribunal, to ensure that justice is done.

Secondly, criminal trials cannot achieve the variety of tasks (including "transitional justice") envisaged in Cambodia, and their tasks should be confined to impartial and thorough investigation, fair trials and punishment of the guilty.

Thirdly, structural features, including the balance between local and international components and the extent and form of funding, will determine the effectiveness of the tribunal.

Fourthly, it is important to have adequate systems of monitoring, both official and non-governmental. Looking at the recommendations of the Waki Commission, it seems that some of these lessons have been taken on board, and others should be included in the Statute of the Special Tribunal.

Armed forces chief denies troop withdrawals at Preah Vihear

BANGKOK, Feb 7 (TNA) -- Thailand's Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara on Saturday denied an international news report from Phnom Penh that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to withdraw their troops from the disputed Preah Vihear temple.

The Thai rebuttal followed a news report Friday quoting Cambodia's prime minister after meeting Thailand's Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan as saying that the two countries had resolved their main differences and had agreed to withdraw their troops Preah Vihear.

The report quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen as saying that the withdrawn troops would be replaced by joint observer teams next month to facilitate de-mining and border demarcation.
But Gen. Songkitti said Gen. Prawit's one-day official visit to Cambodia was meant only for introducing himself to Cambodian leaders after his appointment.

Despite it not being on the agenda, Gen. Prawit and Mr. Hun Sen discussed the Preah Vihear issue, but they only agreed that clashes should not occur there again, which is a positive sign, Gen. Songkitti said.

Regarding troop withdrawals from the temple area, Gen. Songkitti said, the issue would be left for further discussion by concerned committee members.

Tensions at the Thai-Cambodian border arose after Preah Vihear was awarded world heritage status by the United Nations last year. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century temple belongs to Cambodia, but the demarcation of the surrounding land remains in dispute. (TNA)

Global Witness Encourages Donor Countries to Use Their Influence on the Government to Check how Oil, Gas, and Minerals Exploration Licenses Were Given

Posted on 8 February 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 598

“Global Witness released a report for 2008 with big titles on the book cover ‘Country for Sale - How Cambodia’s elite has captured the country’s extractive industries.’ This book describes mysteries, corruption, and irregularities related to the provision of concessions to foreign oil, gas, and minerals exploring companies in Cambodia - but some high-ranking officials of the Cambodian government denied all Global Witness allegations.

“Global Witness, based in London/England, an organization monitoring the exploitation of global natural resources ['Global Witness works to increase transparency in the granting of mineral concessions, in the flow of revenues from oil and gas companies to governments and in the trading of resources'], released a [72 pages] report on 5 February 2009 with the title, Country for Sale, in which it revealed many things about top officials of the government of Cambodia, allegedly involved in and colluding with corruption, jeopardizing forests and other natural resources.

“The report of Global Witness said that during the last 15 years, 45% of the land in Cambodia has been contracted out by concessions to foreign entities, and millions of dollars were received by the government from private companies to secure their concessions – but it is known that this money was lost and did not go to the books of the Ministry of Economics and Finance. Global Witness reports that its investigations discovered that oil, gas, and mineral exploring licenses were provided secretly to ruling officials and their relatives, and especially, that they are controlled by the military of Cambodia. Those top military officials are General Ouk Koasa, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces – RCAF – commander in charge of military development regions; Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh’s brother, Mr. Cham Borei; Prime Minister Hun Sen’s younger cousin, Okhna Dy Chouch or Hun Chouch; army commander, General Meas Sophea; a senator, Oknha Ly Yong Phat; a special advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights of the government, Mr. Om Yentieng; a senator and director of the Pheapimex Company, Mr. Lao Meng Khin; the RCAF commander-in-chief, General Pol Saroeun, and Oknha Try Heng.

“The report of Global Witness found that RCAF forces were deployed to guard areas rich in mineral resources such as in Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, and Pursat, and citizens’ land in those areas was grabbed through threats and violence. The report spoke also about the institution in charge of the oil and gas industry, called the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, an institution under direct control of the government – administered by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An

“Global Witness added that all ministries, departments, institutions, or authorities do not have any power over that institution, adding that the same politicians and powerful people involved in illegal logging now take control over the oil, gas, and mineral resources, and a handful of powerful people ruling the country have awarded expensive land concessions to private companies without transparency. Global Witness stated that mineral resources and the forest in Cambodia exist only once, and when those valuable natural resources are exhausted, they will disappear forever. All persons mentioned in the allegations by Global Witness regarding corruption, like some generals, oknhas, high-ranking officials of the government, such as General Ouk Koasa, Mr. Cham Borei, Mr. Dy Chouch or Hun Chouch, General Meas Sophea, Senator Ly Yong Phat, Senator Lao Meng Khin, and Oknha Try Heng could not be reached for comment. However, some government officials who provided interviews to Global Witness, claimed that the Global Witness report exaggerates the facts and is not true.

“Global Witness found that a special advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Royal Government of Om Yentieng, has received a mineral exploration license quietly; he said that Global Witness has distorted information about the Cambodian government for many years, adding, ‘I think that if that organization Global Witness knows what is right and wrong, and has trust towards the respect of the truth, one could call it to swear an oath with me. If I am wrong, I would die, and if I am not wrong, it [Global Witness] would die. This would be a quick and trustworthy method for the listeners to judge. But I believe that if they [Global Witness] want to lie, they do not lack continuing lying stories. Therefore I think that this is not strange and surprising, because they have lied for many years already. They have distorted information about Cambodia for many years.’

“A Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Mr. Tea Banh, reacted strongly to the Global Witness report, saying that he cannot accept allegations by this organization without any evidence. Mr. Tea Banh added that those having mineral exploration licenses have them all legally.

“The RCAF commander-in-chief, General Pol Saroeun, about whom Global Witness has written in the report, accusing him of having received a mineral exploration license quietly, denied that he is involved as a businessman, he said that he is just a military person. Mr. Pol Saroeun added, ‘No, I never had a company. I never do business. I am a soldier. Why is Global Witness accusing people like silly? They seem to look down on people too much.’

“A secretary of state of the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy, Mr. Ith Prang, said that the oil resources ow being explored to be exploited in future, have not yet produced even one percent of what is expected. The Cambodian government is not stupid in managing all natural resources.

“He continued to say, ‘So far, no oil has yet been produced, we just known that there is oil. Therefore, we have not planned how to use it, because no oil has been extracted yet. But the government is not stupid in distributing revenues of its resources.’ A secretary of state of the Ministry of Environment, Mr. Prach Son, said that many oil and mineral exploration companies in Cambodia are from foreign countries, from China or from Australia. All those companies get exploration licenses in Cambodia, but they are not allowed to take raw materials to their countries.

“Global Witness has tried to ask for explanations from government officials, oknhas, generals, companies mentioned in its report, but has, so far, not received sufficient explanations. It has not even obtained a response from Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen reacting to the report since it was released officially. There is only the Li Phoeung [?] company of China that provided an explanation, but Global Witness does not show the details [original unclear – actually, only the Swedish company Lundin Petroleum responded to the inquiries of Global witness – but for information referring to their website].

“The Global Witness director, Mr. Gavin Hayman, said that what the Cambodian government should do is not to provide new concessions too quickly to private companies. The Cambodian government should rather verify and conduct audits on the concessions already provided to those private companies. He went on to say that all donor countries should put pressure on the Cambodian government not to provide new concessions too quickly to private oil, gas, or mineral exploration companies, and to verify them again. The report has found that 70 companies have already received concession contracts and are exploring minerals. Those concessions have been provided without transparency, because there is no clear system in place for providing concessions, besides delivering them to high-ranking officials of the government. Also, he voiced concern about the loss of mineral resources for which concessions have been provided to foreign companies involved in serious human rights abuses in Cambodia, and the government should work effectively to control them.

“Global Witness showed in its report that some oil exploration companies in Cambodia had paid money to the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, and that money was probably not put into the National Treasury. The report added that oil, gas, and mineral exploration companies are required to pay kickbacks for signing up to bids for concessions with the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority. Like a company from Indonesia, PT Medco Energi Internasional, which has spent US$7.5 million to the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority. Moreover, each company having stakes in mineral exploration according to contracts, is also required to pay taxes annually. In the first year, a tax with the amount of US$800,000 was required to be paid for each concession.

“Global Witness added that in 2006 and 2007, money was not seen to have been put into the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The report said also that an oil exploration company has been exploring oil along the Tonle Sap Lake, the biggest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, which produces between 40% and 70% of fish for the Cambodian people. The Tonle Sap basin is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Global Witness criticized donor countries for not using their influences through development funds to improve good governance, while the annual international aid for Cambodia is equal to half of the national budget.”

Khmer Aphivaot Sethakech, Vol. 7, #336, 6.2.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 6 February 2009

HUN SEN'S TROOP PULLOUT CLAIM DENIED

Bangkok Post

By: WASSANA NANUAM
Published: 8/02/2009 at 12:00 AM

Thailand has not agreed on the proposed troop withdrawal from the disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear Hindu temple as claimed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Wibulsak Neepal, commander of the 2nd Army Region, said no agreement on a troop pullout was reached at Friday's meeting between Mr Hun Sen and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan during his visit to Phnom Penh.

"There is no agreement. The matter has been raised during the defence minister's self-introduction visit to Cambodia after assuming office," he said. He added that the troop withdrawal call would be looked into by a working committee set up to handle border demarcation disputes and that he expected an outcome soon.

However, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, which is working to resolve the outstanding issues, met in Bangkok this week without making any progress. The delegations could not agree on the name of a military team which will monitor the border area and on the name for the temple.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak stressed that even if a troop pullout agreement was reached, Thailand was unlikely to make full withdrawal from the disputed areas. Those in charge of coordination would remain in place and the troop pullout would not put Thailand at a disadvantage, he said, pointing to the fact that the military has procedures to follow to uphold sovereignty.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak noted that the army was considering reopening Pha Mor E Daeng in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province to tourists. The area has been off-limits following the flare-up of border tensions. A source said yesterday the Cambodian prime minister demanded Thailand pull all its troops out of the disputed border areas.

"We never agreed. If we do, it will not be easy to send them back in again," said the source.

Phnom Penh court dismisses probe into Khmer Rouge court kickbacks+

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Phnom Penh Municipal Court has dismissed an investigation into corruption charges filed against Cambodia's deputy prime minister and some senior officials, a prosecutor said Saturday.

Sok Kalyan, a prosecutor at the court, said the decision was made Thursday.

Andrew Ianuzzi, one of three complainants, confirmed he had received notice dismissing the complaint and suggested the dismissal might be related to "political motivation."

Last month, co-lawyers Michiel Pestman and Victor Koppe and legal consultant Ianuzzi filed the complaint with the municipal court charging corruption within the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

The lawyers are international co-lawyers for Nuon Chea, who is detained at the ECCC's facilities on war crime and crimes against humanity charges.

The trio alleged a portion of salaries for Cambodian judges and staff at the ECCC was kicked back to several government officials.

Among those they alleged to have benefited are Sok An, the deputy prime minister in charge of the Khmer Rouge trial, Sean Visoth, director of the ECCC administration, and his former chief of personnel Keo Thyvuth.

"There is no reason for judges to cut their salaries to pay kickbacks to government officials, as alleged. We absolutely reject such an accusation," the ECCC co-judges said in a statement released soon after the complaint was filed on Jan. 9.

Thailand 'won't withdraw' from temple

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

Bangkok Post
7/02/2009

Thailand denied on Saturday a statement by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that it had agreed to a proposed troop withdrawal plan from disputed territory surrounding the Preah Vihear temple.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak Neepal, commander of 2nd Army Region, said no agreement on troop pullout was reached in a Friday meeting between Mr Hun Sen and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan during the latter's visit to Phnom Penh.

"There is no agreement. The matter has been raised during the defence minister's self-introduction visit to Cambodia after assuming office,'' he said.

He said that a troop withdrawal proposal would be developed by a working committee set up to handle border demarcation disputes and that he expected an outcome soon.

However, the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission, which is working to resolve the outstanding issues, met in Bangkok this week without making any progress. The delegations could not agree on the name of a military team which will monitor the border area and on the name for the temple.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak stressed that even if a troop pull-out agreement was reached, Thailand was unlikely to withdraw all forces from the disputed areas. Those in charge of coordination would remain in place.

He also said troop withdrawal would not put Thailand at a disadvantage, saying the military has procedures to follow to uphold sovereignty.

Lt-Gen Wibulsak noted that the army was considering reopening Pha Mor E Daeng in Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket province to tourists. The area was off limits following border tension.

A source said Saturday the Cambodian prime minister demanded Thailand pull its troops out from the disputed area along the border.

"We never agreed. If we do, it will not be easy to send them back in again,'' said the source.

Supreme Commander Gen Songkitti Jaggabatara said Saturday border disputes were raised during the meeting but no agreement was reached.

He said the issues would be worked out by joint committees set up to demarcate and develop the Thai-Cambodian border.

"But we do agree there should not be any incident in the border areas,'' said the supreme commander.

Gen Songkitti was apparently referring to clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops in October last year which left four soldiers dead.

Tension along the border flared up last July when Cambodia moved to have the temple of Preah Vihear listed as a world heritage site.

Exam of beaten boy shows previous injuries

The Eagle Tribune Online

Gretchen Putnam
mailto:Putnamgputnam@eagletribune.com

LAWRENCE — Medical exams of the 9-year-old boy who police say was "savagely" beaten by his mother's boyfriend revealed he had several serious and unreported injuries in the past.

The Division of Children and Families notified police a bone scan of the boy showed likely compression fractures of four or five vertabraes in the boy's upper back and one in his lower back. It also showed a breaks in his upper arm bone, two ribs and the right pelvic bone.

Police said the report also says it is difficult to determine how old the injuries are and further testing is needed.

Thoun Rin, 31, is being held without bail on child assault charges. The boy was brought to the hospital last Friday with severe bruising to his face and lower back. He told police Rin beat him daily and he never told his mother because he was afraid he would be beaten more.

The boy said the latest beating happened last Wednesday, when Rin grabbed him by the neck and punched him in the head and struck him 10 times. The boy told police that Rin only stopped when he heard his mother coming up the stairs and walked out of the room, saying "look what happens when you jump on the bed."

Chief John Romero said the boy's mother told police her son had never broken any bones in the past. He said police asked DCF to let them know if the boy's medical exams showed something different.

Rin is charged with assault and battery on a child under 14 causing bodily injury and assault and battery on a household member.

Rin faces up to five years in prison or two and a half years in the house of correction if he is convicted on the assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury charge, and two and a half years in the house of correction and a $1,000 fine upon conviction on the charge of assault and battery on a household member.

The boy's biological father left for Cambodia on the day of the last beating, but has been contacted and is returning as soon as he can get a flight back, police said.

The DCF has taken custody of the victim and his 3-year-old brother, police said.

Thaksin not in Cambodia: Hun Sen

Bangkok Post

By: BangkokPost.com
Published: 7/02/2009
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra is not in Cambodia's Koh Kong as reported by Thai media.

The statement came as Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan visits Hun Sen in Phnom Penh.

According to reports, Hun Sen also affirmed Gen Prawit that he will attend the 14th Asean summit to be held in Thailand later this month.

No deal on troop withdrawal at border: Songkitti

Bangkok Post
By: BangkokPost.com
7/02/2009

Thailand and Cambodia have not agreed on troop withdrawal from disputed area around the Preah Vihear temple when Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Supreme Commander Songkitti Jaggabatara said Saturday.

Gen Songkitti, however, said Thailand and Cambodia have discussed about border conflicts, and agreed that clashes along the border should not happen in the future.

On the troop withdrawal, committees in charge of the matter will have to discuss more thoroughly on the issue in order to solve the conflicts along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Cambodia, Thailand border to be free of troops

Border talks: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) shaking hands with Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh yesterday.

Picture: AFP

THE BRUNEI TIMES

PHNOM PENH

Saturday, February 7, 2009

CAMBODIA and Thailand agreed yesterday to withdraw the remaining troops on their disputed border to avoid a repeat of last year's armed clashes near a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, speaking to reporters after meeting Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, said they agreed to jointly demarcate the jungle-clad area where four soldiers died in a firefight last October.

"There will be no more military confrontation in that area," Hun Sen said.

He added the two neighbours would work together to develop the area for tourism.

"I told the Thai delegation that this is an historic moment. We have solved the problems today so there will be no troubled legacy for our next generations," Hun Sen said.

Prawit, who was accompanied on the trip by Thailand's top military brass, told reporters: "Everything is OK. No problems."

One Thai and three Cambodian soldiers died in last year's exchange of rifle and rocket fire, which both sides accused the other of starting. The Preah Vihear temple has been a source of tension for generations. Reuters

Taking Christmas to Cambodia

Dancing with joy, a few of the girls twirl scarves at the orphanage in Cambodia where Twyla Ayton spent time as a volunteer last year.
photos submitted

From bclocalnews.com
February 06, 2009

Cambodia again. I could hardly believe that I was being given the chance to go back to my beloved orphanage in Cambodia.

In March 2007, a team of six (assembled from the Okanagan, through an organization in Kelowna) had the chance to visit Cambodia on a short excursion from Thailand called a Vision Trip. During that trip, we “stumbled” upon an orphanage in a village named Kampong Thom. The visit wasn’t part of our original plan, but the three-hour visit would change our lives and, inevitably, the lives of these 20 children.

An article was written last year about our adventures to Cambodia. I was amazed at how the community responded. Santa’s Anonymous gave donations of everything from clothing, shoes, and toys to craft items. Unbeknownst to them, they donated the exact amount of new dolls for the little girls that were there, and two cars for each boy. The community was so generous that I was able to share items with a few different orphanages and village kids. There were 125 stuffed animals alone, not to mention the other toys, clothing, and school supplies. Biggest thanks ever to all who gave.

Last March, a team of seven and myself had the sheer pleasure of returning to the same orphanage/church bursting with the generous donations from this community. Upon our return, we found that the money that was sent ahead of us had been used to pour cement around the well, build room partitions for the pastor and his wife and for the girls and boys, new toilet facilities were constructed, and doors were made that were needed to finish the building.

We stayed right at the orphanage for five nights. Sleep seemed to be a commodity as we had to battle the loud speakers blaring with deafening sounds from chanting Buddhist monks throughout the night, barking dogs, and roosters sounding off not knowing what time it was. Ear plugs were a gift from God.

During the day, our team helped build clothing lines, tables for the children to do their studies on, a pump for the well, assembled beds, and helped build a new kitchen. The ladies and I would share stories, play games and work on crafts with the children who weren’t at school. One day we rode bikes with them to school. It was interesting to see the differences between Cambodian and Canadian school systems.

Each night, their favourite pastime was to read the Bible and sing. We would then present them with a different gift each night. They were so appreciative of everything, but they could hardly believe their eyes when they were each presented with their own brand-new toy. It was like Christmas coming to Cambodia that evening.

When it came time to leave our little friends, a lot of tears were shed from both sides and our hearts were broken. I know staying with them in their own environment was an experience that would be ingrained on our hearts forever. I am grateful for every moment.

We also got a chance to visit another little village that is well on its way to becoming self-sufficient. A man who has been working with the pastor in that village, teaching him fish and produce farming, has agreed that he would help our little orphanage/church as well. So instead of constantly filtering money into them, our goal is to see to it that they become self-sufficient in the long run.

As a result of the article written last year, I was able to share my story with students at Ellison elementary school. They did a fundraiser that raised $501. It bought the children beds, and also helped purchase a cement table with benches, and bikes for the kids to ride to and from school, so they wouldn’t have to walk so far in the heat. They also sent school supplies and made bracelets for each of the kids. This just goes to show that no matter your age, you can make a difference.

I have returned to Ellison to share with them what their money has done for the children. They again have decided to do a fundraiser to raise money for books and vitamin supplements for the children. Their challenge to other schools would be to share love in the community first and then globally. Amazing how a little love from one side of the world can spread to the other. It definitely goes to show that there are no boundaries to love.

The team will return this month for a follow-up visit to Cambodia as well as working in a slum in Bangladesh. Donations of pencils, erasers, sharpeners, beads, stickers, skipping ropes, toothbrushes, stuffed animals, and any lightweight item would be appreciated. Donations can be dropped off at Community Baptist Church. If you'd like more information, I will be hosting a fundraiser luncheon and slide show today at noon at Community Baptist Church in Vernon.

Cambodian PM denies rumors of ruling party infighting

www.chinaview.cn

2009-02-07

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The recent replacement of Royal Cambodian Arms Forces' (RCAF) commander-in-chief was not indicative of any leadership infighting of the major ruling party of the kingdom, said national media on Saturday.

Internal conflict of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had nothing to do with the Jan. 22 decision to oust long-serving Ke Kim Yan, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily quoted Prime Minister Hun Sen as saying.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the premier denied that there was any conflict, adding that whether RCAF commander-in-chief had been removed or not, CPP would be free of conflict.

"They say this removal was just to beef up Hun Sen's forces and weaken (CPP President and Senate President) Chea Sim's force. I would like to assert that, if we hadn't removed Ke Kim Yan, there would still be no problem inside CPP," he said.

"I would like to clarify things with the opposition who have endlessly commented that I wouldn't dare to touch the important army commanders, but when I removed him, you commented that it was the result of internal conflict of CPP," he said.

"I would like to assert that CPP doesn't have such a tradition of conflict on this issue, because this is the right of the premier to manage and control the military, police and other public administration," he said, adding that the removal aimed at "speeding reform" within the armed forces.

As the background of its reports, the Cambodia Daily said that "many have seen the abrupt removal of Ke Kim Yan as indicative of infighting within the leadership of the ruling party, with many rumors circulating about a behind-the-scenes battle between Hun Sen and Chea Sim."

Editor: Lin Liyu

Increasing Cambodia’s Competitiveness

From scoop.co.nz
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Press Release: UNDP

Cambodia Economic Forum Increasing Cambodia’s Competitiveness

For Growth and Poverty Reduction in the Face of the Global Financial Crisis

PHNOM PENH, 5 FEBRUARY 2009: Despite remarkable recent economic growth and steady progress towards reducing poverty, the effects of the global financial crisis are now being felt in Phnom Penh. The question of what Cambodia can do to mitigate the effects of this crisis is becoming increasingly urgent as tourism numbers taper off and garment factory orders dwindle. Key Cambodian policymakers, development partners and private sector stakeholders met today at the Third Cambodia Economic Forum (CEF), hosted by The Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC), to debate possible rapid policy responses that could prevent Cambodia’s recent gains from being eroded.

This year’s forum focused on “Increasing Cambodia’s Competitiveness for Growth and Poverty Reduction in the Face of the Global Financial Crisis” and was presided over by Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen. A range of policy perspectives and options on how to improve Cambodia’s competitiveness and sustain its rapid economic growth in the context of the worldwide economic situation were today presented to the Royal Government of Cambodia, the private sector and development partners. Discussion focused on policies to firmly regain macroeconomic stability, diversify sources of growth, increase productivity, expand market access, and enhance trade while continuing to reduce poverty.

“The Government is fully committed to systemic measures to limit the impacts of the global financial crisis on Cambodia’s financial system and its economy”, said Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen in his keynote address at the forum as he elaborated key measures taken by the government covering different aspects of macroeconomic, structural and sectoral policies.

“As Cambodia takes its place on the international stage – with its accession to the World Trade Organisation, taking a stronger role in the UN and sending peacekeepers to Sudan – it also grows more susceptible to the economic shocks affecting the rest of the world,” said UNDP Resident Representative Douglas Broderick at the event. “Integration with regional and global economies exposes Cambodia to new risks along with new opportunities.”

Four groundbreaking studies were presented by SNEC with the support of UNDP, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Cambodia: Key Aspects of Competitiveness, identifies sectors where Cambodia has the potential to gain competitive advantages.

Cambodia: Sustaining Rapid Growth in a Challenging Environment identifies the main sources of growth, the key binding constraints to growth, and strategies to alleviate those constraints and to manage rapid growth. The Financial Crisis and its Impact on Cambodia’s Sustainable Economic Development and Explaining Inflation in Cambodia provide the context essential for related research and analysis aimed at addressing the impacts of the crisis on Cambodia and improving lives in the country.

“Today’s [forum] provides a useful spotlight on the current economic challenges facing Cambodia, and on ways to counter the worsening impact of the global financial crisis and ensure long-term sustainable and equitable growth that results in a better life for all Cambodians," said World Bank Country Manager Qimiao Fan

"A rigorous assessment of the vulnerabilities the Cambodian economy experienced as a result of the economic shocks of 2008 can help provide a sharper focus on the priorities which need to be addressed for Cambodia's future competitiveness and sustainable growth," said Arjun Goswami, ADB Country Director.

The CEF is an annual conference organised by SNEC with support from UNDP and aims to present concrete, well-researched policy perspectives, to discuss Cambodian economic policy options with the Royal Government of Cambodia and to open dialogue with key experts and stakeholders on specific and practical recommendations for policy formulation and implementation. The CEF provides an opportunity to collect feedback and input from partners and experts, enriching the analysis and policy making process.

Today’s participants included senior government officials from both ministerial and provincial levels, diplomats, development partners, and representatives from the private sector, national and international NGOs, civil society and academia.

The first CEF, held in January 2006 and presided over by the Prime Minister, focused on an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the Cambodian Economy and on sharing international experiences for emerging petroleum and mining producing countries. In May 2007, the second CEF focused on Agriculture and Rural Development, specifically on pro-poor growth policies for the improvement of rural livelihoods.

Cambodians Use Makeshift Trains Built With Bamboo

By VOA Khmer, Washington
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
06 February 2009

Battambang is a main hub to the capital, Phnom Penh, and has long been one of the country's leading rice-producing provinces. It is Cambodia's second largest city with a population of about one million people but trains are irregular, and they often travel at little more than walking pace.
At the Battambang train station abandoned train carriages lay idle, the so-called bamboo trains have become an unofficial part of Cambodia's transport network.

With an official train service departing just once a week, local people have come to rely heavily on the de facto train network. They have taken matters into their own hands by establishing a network of vehicles they call "noris" or "lorries" to get around in. This is bamboo train driver, Ngol Ngoun.

Ngo Ngoun: "It's very safe to travel on this railway here. Plus it's easy to carry crops, or tools, or whatever, back and forth to the rice fields. That's why people like it so much-- it brings them directly to their rice fields safely and easily."

The trains are constructed from bamboo and are built with tiny electric engines which allow the vehicles to reach top speeds of about 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour. The villagers use any wood they can find including warped and broken rails which can make for a bumpy ride but that does not seem to worry the locals who are accustomed to travelling on the bamboo trains in large groups. Rice farmer, Teng Kann, says he regularly uses the train.

Teng Kann: "I take the train because it's cheaper than using the motobike for my business. Also, the noris comes and goes at night time, and when people get sick, they can go to hospital for less- if you hire a car it will cost you a lot more."

The low fares apply not only to local villagers but to young foreign tourists travelling on a budget. Matteo Keffer from Italy says it is "incredible to see how the (villagers) utilise the old (French) colonial infrastructure."

Matteo Keffer: "It's incredible to see how they utilise the old colonial infrastructure for their benefit and the farmers around here are reall friendly. Battambang itself was a pleasant surprise."

Federica Fruhwirth: "Now let's hope we get home in one piece."

The official railways survived decades of civil war and sabotage by the Khmer Rouge but years without maintenance have taken their toll and the service is not without quirks. There is only one track - so if two trains meet, the train transporting the lightest load has to be taken off the rails. Yet the simple design of the vehicles means the trains can be easily dismantled. So for now local people say they will continue to rely on the bamboo railway even though Cambodia's rail authorities plan to rebuild the country's entire rail network by 2011.

Information for this report was provided by APTN.

Advocates call for social pension scheme in developing countries

BANGKOK POST

By: Bangkokpost.com
Published: 6/02/2009

Social pensions should be introduced in developing countries for better financial and social security, say advocates.

"A social pensions system can act as a powerful tool for the government to pull people out of poverty, because it is cost-effective and realistic,'' said Eduardo Klien, Regional Representative of HelpAge International, an NGO group advocating universal social pensions worldwide.

More than 70 countries across the world provide social pension, including at least 50 low and middle income countries. Their experience shows social pension is affordable and practical, Mr Klien said.

The term social pension is defined as "non-contributory cash income usually given to old people by the government.''

Asean countries, except Cambodia, offer social insurance for public sector employees but that is as far as it goes. The general public does not enjoy similar coverage.

Despite an existence of a large number of workers outside the mainstream, or registered workforce, there is no established scheme for their social protection, according to Fifi Anggrani Arif, Asean Secretariat's technical officer for its development unit.

Asean, with the exception of Brunei, does not have universal social assistance coverage, financed from tax revenues, and supplemented by various charities or aid organisations.

In most Asean countries, social protection is scattered around state agencies.

In Thailand, the non-mainstream workforce does not enjoy any social protection. Statistics show that one-fourth of the senior citizens are poor and more than 10% in this segment live below the poverty line.

The poor are vulnerable and neglected, said Viennarat Chuangwiwat of the United Nations Population Fund.

Old people had paid taxes in one form or another all their lives. They made significant contributions to society, so they too deserve something in return, said Ms Viennarat.

The concept of social protection implies an investment in people in order to prevent and reduce poverty. It also builds up a country through promotion of quality workforce and uplift living standards. This in the end will forge national peace and security.

If properly designed and executed, the basic or universal pension will be affordable in Thailand, she noted.

"The Thai government is aware of the rise of the ageing population. In fact, it is one of the first Asean countries to take note of the problem and established the National Committee for the Elderly soon after the Vienna Assembly on Ageing (1982),'' she said.

Thailand has also the 20-year national long-term plan of action for the elderly to address various issues including income and employment for the aged. The guarantee of income security for senior citizens was also incorporated in the constitution.

However, the social security system is sometimes inaccessible to the elderly and impeded by red tape and people's lack of understanding of how it works.

But experts agree the system can be improved to make the golden years truly meaningful.

Planting Seeds of Hope in the Killing Fields

Photo by Jerad Gallinger/Torontoist.

TORONTOIST
By Jerad Gallinger in News on February 6, 2009

Angkor Restaurant, Toronto's first Cambodian eatery, is set to shut its doors after twelve years of business. Founded by Chandaramony Eang in 1997, the Gerrard Street East fixture has had a good run, earning praise for its affordable and delectable fare.

But while Angkor is certainly not the only local enterprise to meet its end in the midst of the current recession, the reasons for its impending closure are more complex than a simple matter of economics. Eang, a Cambodian refugee who first came to Canada in 1985, is selling his beloved restaurant so that he can return to his homeland to help impoverished villagers through his charity, Aid for Victims of Cambodian Landmines (AVCLM).

Chandaramony Eang stands below a portrait of his grandfather inside his Gerrard Street East restaurant. Photo by Jerad Gallinger/Torontoist.

Over tea and pad thai on a snowy January afternoon, Eang explained how thirty years of war plummeted his country from prosperity into destitution. "Cambodia used to be a country that would [produce] a lot of rice and grain and sell it around the [region]: to China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Countries would buy from Cambodia. Now, because the landmines crippled the economy, Cambodians cannot even produce enough grain to feed themselves. My people used to sell grain around the world. Now they beg for food."

Eang witnessed Cambodia's descent into poverty firsthand. The son of a high-ranking military officer and the grandson of former Cambodian prime minister Penn Nouth, he spent his early years volunteering for the Red Cross, helping villagers fleeing a countryside beset by civil war. After Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge seized the capital Phnom Penh in 1975, Eang and his eight brothers and sisters were forced into slave labour in the infamous Killing Fields, where they dug graves for victims of the regime. "During the Khmer Rouge," he says, "I [went] to sleep hungry, because they [only gave] you a little bit of food, and then they forced you to work all day, fifteen hour days." Out of his siblings, only one sister and two brothers survived Pol Pot's rule.

Although he was eventually able to flee Cambodia following the toppling of the Khmer Rouge by Vietnamese forces in 1979, Eang's liberty came at a heavy cost. While attempting to avoid soldiers battling near the Thai border, he and another refugee triggered a landmine buried underfoot. His fellow traveller lost both legs to the ensuing blast and quickly succumbed to his injuries. Eang escaped with shrapnel wounds and was able to find his way to a United Nations refugee camp across the border. A fragment of the landmine remains embedded in the back of his knee, a reminder of his journey to freedom and of those who were not so fortunate.

Just as Eang still carries shrapnel in his leg, Cambodia's soil is haunted by the injurious debris of its recent history. Foremost among these are Agent Orange, the infamous herbicide sprayed by American troops across Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and landmines—as many as six million of them—buried throughout the country during three decades of bloody internecine conflict. These remnants of war have caused immense hardship for Cambodian farmers and their families, reducing crop yields, killing tens of thousands, and leaving many villagers with little to eat.

Chandaramony Eang poses with landmines found during his most recent trip to Cambodia. Photo by Chandaramony Eang.

Eang's experience under the Khmer Rouge gives him insight into the plight of Cambodians today. "They go to sleep hungry like [I did]," he explains. "So I know. I understand their pain. I understand their suffering and [what] they've been through. So I've got to do something to go back and help them."

It's that desire to effect change that led Eang to create AVCLM in 2002. He estimates that he has put $400,000 of his own money into the registered charity over the past seven years and has taken out substantial personal loans to help fund the group's work.

His financial sacrifice has paid off for the villagers receiving AVCLM's assistance. During his most recent trip to Cambodia in 2008, Eang delivered farming equipment and a bicycle for local children, worked with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre to clear landmines from farmers' fields, and financed the building of a high-tech well to reduce the need to travel through mine-ravaged jungles to gather water. AVCLM also provides seed, rice, and other necessities, and has purchased land on which Eang plans to build a model village for seven hundred Cambodians displaced by poverty, landmines, and development.

Angkor is currently on the market, and once it has been sold Eang will move to Cambodia to do non-profit work full time. But while he looks for a buyer, the restaurant remains open for business, and AVCLM is working on ways to raise funds for its projects. A cookbook featuring Eang's secret recipes is in the works, and a concert and auction are being planned for the coming months. Watch for details on AVCLM's website when it relaunches in the near future.

Thanks to reader Dan Naccarato for the tip.

Cambodia – potential market for Vietnamese products

Biti’s footwear, Vinamilk dairy products and Vissan processed food have become the choice of Cambodian consumers instead of Chinese and Thai goods.

06/02/2009

VietNamNet Bridge – Neighbouring Cambodia has emerged as a potential market for Vietnamese products, according to the Industry and Trade Ministry.

The ministry said that there is a growing demand for Vietnamese products, mainly in steel, fertilizer, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, plastics, garment and textiles.

Biti’s footwear, Vinamilk dairy products and Vissan processed food have become the choice of Cambodian consumers instead of Chinese and Thai goods.

Moreover, Cambodian visitors to Ho Chi Minh City like to go shopping at supermarkets and have health checks-up at Cho Ray, Binh Dan and Gia Dinh hospitals. According to local tourism firms, each Cambodian visitor spends an estimated 850-2,000 USD during their visits.

Jumping at the chance, many Vietnamese enterprises have opened their shops in Cambodia. In 2008, over 150 Vietnamese businesses set up companies, representative offices and shops in the country.

However, the Vietnamese Trade Mission to Cambodia said that few Vietnamese businesses build long-term plans to develop this market.

Vietnam is currently the third largest exporter to Cambodia after Thailand and China while Cambodia is the 16th biggest market of Vietnam.

The country plans to raise the trade turnover with Cambodia to 2.45 billion USD by 2010.In 2008, Vietnam earned 1.43 billion USD from exports to Cambodia, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent.

VietNamNet/VNA

Interview with Richard Rechtman (1/2): "Cambodian refugees overwhelmed by their dead"

Phnom Penh (Cambodia) February 5th 2009: Richard Rechtman, psychiatrist,

and Soko Phay Vakalis at the Bophana Center workshop for visual artists.

©John Vink/ Magnum

Ka-set
By Stéphanie Gée
06-02-2009

Richard Rechtman never imagined he would be spending so much time working with Cambodian refugees living in France. The psychiatrist, who also happens to be an anthropologist, is medical director of the Institut Marcel Rivière, a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Social Issues (IRIS) Institute of the EHESS (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) in Paris and editor-in-chief of the French magazine l'Évolution Psychiatrique. Since 1986, he has been listening to, healing, curing and leading researches on the Cambodian diaspora living on the French territory, a community now composed of some 40,000 beings. He set foot for the first time on the Cambodian territory after accepting an invitation to work on creation workshops organised in Phnom Penh by the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre. In a two-part interview by Ka-set, he goes back over his experience and career, his approach as a professional and man with a cause as well as his views and theories.

Ka-set : As early as 1986, you started working with Cambodian refugees living in France. Why did you wait 22 years before coming to Cambodia?

Richard Rechtman : First of all, I always wanted to specialise in the question of exile and social disparity linked with exile. Even before working with Cambodians, I took an interest in asylum seekers, political refugees and immigrants too.

It was an era when humanitarian medicine and psychiatry were starting to gain media coverage and people won much acclaim in going abroad for three days to give examinations and then come back saying 'I was there'... I didn't want to do that […] but rather wanted to carry out regular work within a community which resettled in France, with all the complexities that exist in acculturation, etc. My main interest was not Cambodia but Cambodians in France. Now that I have come here, I realise there are many things I would have understood earlier if I had come here, it's obvious. But I also think there are many things I would not have been able to see had I come earlier, especially regarding the specificity of culture transplantation and the specificity of views about the past, and mainly the dead. I wouldn't have been able to interpret them like I have done, because there was this need to be immersed in these two cultures.

This is when I understood that Cambodian refugees did not think about the dead but that they were overwhelmed by their dead. They are not in a process of remembrance... It's a physical, psychological invasion and an everyday presence. And I think that I was able to understand that in France thanks to this discrepancy, but also because there was this certain exteriority as to the place they came from. You're going to tell me that these are mere rationalisations – maybe there were other reasons... But in any case, I didn't miss it, and I didn't want to come here as a tourist.

K7 : So what made you make your mind up and come here?

RR : Two reasons for that. First, my fondness for Rithy Panh [filmmaker and co-founder of the Bophana Centre] who once told me: 'One day, I'll take you to Cambodia!'. [laughs] And then, the Bophana Centre offered me to do something I couldn't refuse: they offered me to meet, and work with Vann Nath [a painter, who survived S-21]!

Then, a year ago, I was asked to help a team of psychologists at the PSE [Pour un Sourire d'Enfant] organisation. I made a rather crazy suggestion: holding an internet supervision every fortnight - and it's going really well! During my biweekly Cambodian consultation, I communicate with them for an hour on Skype and they talk to me about their patients. […] Conditions, it's true, are complicated: an average connection, we have to speak English, which I wanted – having no in-between interpreter in order to be on an equal footing when it comes to language difficulty; it creates bonds. I wanted to come and meet them.

K7 : How did you end up working with Cambodian refugees?

RR : First, I worked in the only transit centre, in Créteil, which welcomed all refugees coming from Southeast Asia to France. And the question was raised as to the opening of a psychiatric centre, since these people come with very big problems. Back then, nobody worked on Southeast Asia as a psychiatrist, so they asked me as I also studied ethnology and started to take an interest in that region of the world. I was a beginner in my ethnology and psychiatry course, and I accepted that consultation. I saw a great deal of Cambodians coming and going, many mentally ill people too.

Later, countries like France accepted refugees who had stayed in refugee camps for a long time and had serious mental disorders... Quite frankly, I didn't see that as a good idea. Transplanting schizophrenic persons like that, into a foreign country, when they don't know the language and will have no friends there... It meant sending them straight to a psychiatric hospital – in a foreign country! I was very concerned and made a report on that, which wasn't followed at the time. I was rather young, it was only normal...

When I finished my internship, I wanted to create a Cambodian consultation in a free health centre – I wanted it to be public psychiatry, for free, in the places where there were many Asians, i.e. in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. We created something very original. We had three interpreters (in Khmer, Vietnamese and Lao languages) but very rapidly, it turned out that among our patients, there were many more Cambodians, whom I was more importantly interested in, intellectually speaking.

[…] I was very lucky because the director of that hospital helped me a great deal and gave me the ability to work. This is how the project was built. Afterwards, it expanded since in the meantime I was leading an investigation among the Cambodian community, to know how it managed to rebuild itself; the professor who supervised my Master's dissertation in ethnology, Charles Meyer, opened for me all doors to the community living in France. […] And then, a network of people started sending me patients.

When I met Cambodians, at the pagoda for instance, they told me: 'You know, there are no mentally ill people among us, this is a European construct'. One day, at the pagoda, a guy, whom I'd bumped into several times and who kept repeating to me that there were no mentally ill people in their community, told me: 'By the way, are you a psychiatrist? Are you seeing patients? I know someone – he is not mentally ill – but it would be good if you could see him!' I thought nobody in the community would send me patients, considering how coy they were when it came to mentally ill people. But then, saying that they were not mentally ill and that they came to see me because I was nice and I showed an interest in Cambodians was enough – my number of patients shot up. This completely changed the deal, and I was given the ability to be very much part of the Cambodian community, not as a member, but as someone who did a considerable favour, in the sense that they could send me people. And I said that there were no crazy people.

K7 : Did your status of foreigner help you in that job?

RR : Absolutely. I remember a patient, a woman, who faced terrible family disputes and most of all, you could sense her personal story was affected by sexuality. She clammed up and told me: 'You do know that in my country we don't talk about those things'. I replied that I did and that it was precisely the reason why she had come to see me. It made her laugh and she started talking. The role of a medical practitioner is also to be able to breach certain rules. Is is also to be able to do what we do not speak. The idea that in a culture you don't talk about particular things doesn't mean you don't think about them. That's all the work I have been trying to do.

K7 : Could go back over the attachment that survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime showed towards their dead and which you observed?

RR : What took me a long time to understand is the fact that there was a presence of the dead which was very overwhelming. Here is a little clinical 'action replay' for you to understand how I became aware of that:

A young Cambodian woman, seen by everyone as gifted, was sent to me by her mother. She had gone through a breakdown before taking her baccalaureate, which she failed, and started suffering from mental anorexia. She was very poorly. Her father was dead. I struggled to get anywhere with that young woman's case so one day, I thought about meeting her with her mother. The mother was desperate because all hope of success had vanished and to her, her daughter would never reach the level she expected – and she had come to France precisely for that purpose. I was slightly intrusive and asked where she was during Pol Pot's regime. The daughter looked at her mother and said: 'Who is Pol Pot?' She had never heard about him! I asked the mother: 'Did you never mention it to her?' 'No, never.' 'Why?' 'Why, because they're all dead!' The daughter then said: 'Oh, I know that, that all my family have died!' I asked her if she had any idea who they were and she said 'no, they're dead!'. It was the first time I heard that: 'they are dead'. The state of being dead – and nothing before that. The mother could not say anything else than 'they are dead'.

This is when I started transforming my job a little. 'But before being dead, what were they?' The mother was taken aback by the question. I continued: 'Because they surely lived, before...!' And I told the daughter: 'The way they died is not your business but before they died is indeed your business. Why don't you question your mother?' Then, all at once, the mother started talking about her father, with whom she had very strong bonds. She explained that he wanted her to go and study, but the plan did not go that far because of the arrival of the Khmer Rouge... It is not the trauma, but what could not be said about another story.

When we honour our dead, we should say we honour our living, who are not any more: we keep a bond there, it is a metaphor. We do not think about them as corpses. I became aware that all my Cambodian patients only talked about one thing, the dead, who are everywhere - which is not the case of the ghosts we encounter in very separate mental worlds, where all sense of reality and real life disappears. […] Then, I went to enquire about the Khmer Rouge propaganda, what they had done... Not about the technical nature of it but about the intention of genocide. Some great texts, like the one written by Primo Levi, recount this attempt of dehumanisation. After that, I read survivors' stories, which had been published, but they were told and addressed in a certain way and you can feel it while reading them. There is almost compassion in the way the narrative is related. I understood that people are always asked to recount stories for the dead. This is why I decided, in the same way that an archaeologist would act, to look for traces of an intention of genocide, from what we see in the consequences this had on psyche, of course, and on society in general. For the dead to be just the dead: this, in my view, is almost the evidence of an intention of genocide. [...] It is impossible to imagine a society without funeral rites, a society which does not honour its dead, and this is what makes us human beings, even in the worst of situations! [...] And the Khmer Rouge tried to destroy that bond between the dead and the living, to annihilate people. The first step of that was to destroy the dead, then kill death, kill the living, and then cut off all social bonds... for beings to find themselves all alone while in the meantime, they keep being told that they must be the element among an unknown multitude, which is not based on networks of solidarity but on the obligation of being multiple...

Finally, the use of death not as a threat. As an anthropologist, I compared this with war crimes. War crimes are synonymous with demonstration. For instance, the mutilation of bodies during the Algerian War. Why? For the person who passes by next can see it! There, in the case of the Khmer Rouge, it's nothing like that! People do not know when executions are going to be carried out, people do not know where the bodies are. Death is not used to terrorise but to be identified with the living. The dead and the living find themselves in the same space. And if Jacques Vergès can say it is the mistake of a small administration and that it is no intention of genocide, he will have to prove why it was done. [...] For every individual, it is not so easy to kill another human being. The Khmer Rouge solved that riddle, you only have to create conditions such that the person you kill is not a human being. And here, you have the framework of the whole genocide. Killing becomes easy, people don't have to be perverts or bastards to do it and they don't even have a guilty conscience afterwards.

K7 : In your job, you do not put much emphasis on trauma...

RR : Yes, for several reasons. I wrote a book with Didier Fassin – The Empire of Trauma: An Enquiry into the Condition of Victimhood [Princeton University Press, due for release in English May 2009], which is not criticism of the trauma, far from it, but a vast deconstruction of the social and contemporary uses of trauma. [...] I reckon that mental health goes far beyond trauma and that focusing on it means taking the risk of sometimes letting many other forms of expression pass us by, whether they be linked or not to that period of suffering.

Trauma is given more importance than necessary, and especially importance of a moral nature. We say: we have to mend these people because they are traumatised. No! We do not mend these people because they are traumatised but because what was done to them is unbearable, unacceptable, intolerable. It is injustice, whether they were traumatised or not. But today, it is one of my greatest fears, we are coming to legitimise a political action in the name of the fact that people suffer psychologically within their soul. But does this mean that if they do not suffer, they can stand and bear everything? Some do not suffer psychologically because of social injustice. But should we just leave them like that? As a psychiatrist, I heal people who suffer, and as a man involved in political action, this categorisation disappears, as far as I am concerned, and I think about the people in need... I am quite hostile to categorisations... [laughs]

The second part of this interview will be published on Monday February 9th.

CAMBODIA: Chevron Silent on Bribery Allegations

IPS

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
Friday, February 06, 2009

BANGKOK, Feb 6 (IPS) - U.S. energy giant Chevron is under fire for failing to disclose the amount of money it allegedly paid to secure rights to drill for offshore oil in corruption-ridden Cambodia.

‘’It is yet to respond to our detailed questions in a letter written to the company in October 2008,’’ says Gavin Hayman, campaigns director for Global Witness (GW), a London-based anti-corruption watchdog. ‘’It is not in favour of supplying information about what it pays foreign governments to secure rights for oil exploration.’’

Chevron’s attitude towards disclosure ‘’will be telling,’’ he explained in an interview, since such revelations will help measure the scale of ‘’under the table payments’’ involved in a country where a small and powerful elite has ‘’captured the country’s emerging oil and mineral sectors’’ for personal gain.

But disclosure about money paid to access the resource is only one part of the transparency and accountability equation. GW activist insists that the oil companies should also disclose what they would pay Cambodia once the revenue starts flowing.

Hayman made the comments following a launch here this week of a report by GW which warns of a corruption disaster as the South-east Asian country ‘’appears to be on the verge of an oil, gas and minerals windfall.’’

‘’Cambodia today is a country for sale,’’ reveals the 68-page report. ‘’Having made their fortune from logging much of the country’s forests resources, Cambodia’s elite have diversified their commercial interests to encompass other forms of state assets.’’

‘’Financial bonuses paid to secure concessions [for oil and mining] - totalling millions of dollars - do not show up, as far as GW can see, in the 2006 and 2007 revenue reports from the ministry of economy and finance,’’ notes the report, ‘Country for Sale’. ‘’Oil company contracts and information on concession allocations are a closely guarded secret within the CNPA [Cambodian National Petroleum Authority].’’

Yet what is better known is the presence of Chevron among the companies from Australia, China, Indonesia, South Korea and the United States that have been competing to secure rights to explore oil in the six blocks off Cambodia’s western coast.

‘’With the exception of Chevron, the government of Cambodia has not publicly announced the names of those companies to whom it has awarded oil and gas exploration rights,’’ states the report. ‘’Block A was awarded to U.S. oil company Chevron in 2002. Chevron’s activities in Block A are the most advanced of all oil companies currently operating in Cambodia.’’

GW estimates that oil will start flowing in 2011 and peak in 2021. Proceeds range from 174 million US dollars in the first year to 1.7 billion dollars when extraction peaks.

But GW doubts that such income from Cambodia’s natural resources will flow to those who need it most - the country’s millions still mired in poverty following nearly two decades of a bloody conflict and a brutal rule by the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime.

Currently, over 35 percent of Cambodia’s 13.3 million people live in dire conditions, on less than one dollar a day. And U.N. reports have revealed that life expectancy is 58 years, while nearly a third of children under five years are malnourished.

Yet for a small cabal of political, military and economic elite, the period since the 1991 peace accords has been a journey on the road to immense - and ill-gotten - wealth. In 2007, for instance, GW revealed in a report that illegal logging in Cambodia by the elite raked in over 13 million dollars.

Such greed by the elite has not only raised the alarm that Cambodia is on the verge of becoming a kleptocracy, but it has been rated as among the most corrupt countries. In 2007, the global anti-graft watchdog Transparency International ranked Cambodia 162nd among 179 countries surveyed for corruption, making it the most corrupt country in Asia after Burma.

The ease with which the powerful few have filled their personal coffers stems from a lack of independent bodies backed by strong laws and resources to curb corruption. ‘’Any state that has weak anti-corruption institutions is not going to have proper level of oversight,’’ says Donald Bowser, head of the Cambodia office of the Mainstreaming Anti-corruption for Equity Project, funded by the development arm of the U.S. government.

‘’There are local concerns about the misuse of the country’s extractive industry for personal gain,’’ Bowser said during a telephone interview from Phnom Penh. ‘’A civil society coalition has been formed to campaign against this form of corruption.’’

But such campaigns face a daunting challenge. The Cambodian government under the grip of an increasingly authoritarian Prime Minster Hun Sen has yet to implement strong anti-corruption measures that have been called for by the country’s foreign donors, who fund nearly half the national budget.

Activists like Hayman of GW also point fingers at international financial institutions like the World Bank for being complicit in the corrupt culture of Cambodia’s rising kleptocrats. ‘’The World Bank is particularly bad,’’ he charges. ‘’They have a bad track record of forgetting civil society to monitor all steps of programmes in Cambodia to ensure accountability.’’

However, the Bank thinks otherwise. ‘’The World Bank shares many of the concerns NGOs (non-governmental organisations) have raised about the government’s management of extractive industry in Cambodia,’’ it said in a statement released to IPS from its Phnom Penh office.

‘’Although the Bank has not been directly involved in extractive industries in Cambodia, our dialogue with the government includes discussion of policy reforms that will help to ensure that any revenue generated through extractive industries benefit the people of Cambodia,’’ it added.

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