US troop withdrawals bring joy, more violence

Photo by: AFP
An Iraqi policewoman demonstrates her training during a parade Tuesday to mark the withdrawal of US troops from cities and towns across the nation.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:06

Domestic police and soldiers assume control following US troop pullback, as deadly car bombing in Kirkuk draws attention to the challenge ahead.

BAGHDAD - Iraqi forces were in control of towns and cities nationwide on Wednesday after the pullout of US troops six years after the invasion, but a bloody car bombing underscored the tough challenge ahead.

US President Barack Obama, who opposed the 2003 war ordered by his predecessor George W Bush, hailed the US withdrawal as an "important milestone" but warned of difficult days of bloodshed and violence ahead.

The landmark handover was marred on Tuesday by a car bomb attack on a popular market in Kirkuk, an oil hub which has long been riven by ethnic tensions.

Thirty-three people were killed and 92 wounded including women and children, according to local authorities.

"The explosion occurred at a very busy time. I only saw fire and my stall was thrown over. I saw traders on fire in their shops and there were dead and wounded people on the ground," said Aras Omar Ghaffour, a 28-year-old vegetable stallholder.

Iraq marked the American pullback with a national holiday six years after the invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein but sparked an insurgency and sectarian bloodshed that left tens of thousands dead.

Iraq's 500,000 police and 250,000 soldiers are now in charge of security for urban areas while most of the 133,000 US troops remaining in the country will be based outside towns and cities.

The Americans will largely play a training and support role ahead of a complete pullout ordered by Obama by the end of 2011.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki took on critics of Iraq's local security forces, saying they were up to the task of taking over from the Americans.

"It is an offence to the Iraqis. The people who said that the foreign troops would never withdraw and would keep permanent bases in our country were giving a green light to the terrorists to kill civilians," he said.

The US military said four soldiers died from combat-related injuries on Monday, taking to 4,321 the number of American troops killed since the invasion.

"Make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead. We know that the violence in Iraq will continue; we see that already in the senseless bombing in Kirkuk earlier today," Obama said at the White House.

"This is an important step forward, as a sovereign and united Iraq continues to take control of its own destiny," he said, adding that Iraqi leaders now had to make "hard choices" to resolve political issues and bolster security.

"Today's transition is further proof that those who have tried to pull Iraq into the abyss of disunion and civil war are on the wrong side of history."

Obama has asked Vice President Joe Biden to oversee the US departure from Iraq and Washington's effort to promote internal political reconciliation.

Maliki had warned earlier this month that insurgent groups and militias were likely to step up attacks in the run-up to June 30 in a bid to undermine confidence in Iraq's own security forces, despite an overall fall in violence.

The deadliest attack this year occurred near Kirkuk on June 20 when 72 people were killed.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he expects "sporadic attacks" as al-Qaeda fighters "increase the level of violence to try to pretend that they forced us out of the cities" and show weakness in the Iraqi forces.

The top US commander General Ray Odierno told US reporters in a video briefing from Baghdad that he believed Iraq was now better off "not having a dictator such as Saddam Hussein.

"They are now going to be able to see that they can move ahead, and the people of Iraq will have a say in their government."

But he declined to say how many US troops would be left in urban centres, saying that figure "will be different every single day", adding that the remaining US troops would be acting as trainers and advisers.

New airline set to take off

MIXED HISTORY OF AIR SERVICE

Cambodian airlines have a history marred by safety concerns and financial difficulties. One of the worst Cambodian air accidents involved Progress MulTi Air (PMT). One of its aircraft crashed in the mountainous region of Kampot, en route from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, in 2007. All 22 passengers and crew died, including 13 South Korean and three Czech tourists. Following the crash, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) carried out inspections of seven foreign airlines. PMT Air topped the list with 10 deficiencies and ultimately suspended flights in 2008. The airline also came under scrutiny in 2005, when a PMT aircraft struck the side of the runway on landing. There were no fatalities. Siem Reap Airways, founded in 2000, ceased operating last year amid concerns over safety standards and financial irregularities. An audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 2008 found the airline did not comply with the Cambodian safety regulations and raised concerns of the Cambodian civil aviation authorities' ability to enforce international safety standards. The European Commission also banned the airline from operating in Europe. Royal Khmer Airlines also came under criticism about its safety measures, this time from the South Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation in 2006. Over the past fifteen years, numerous airlines have tried and failed to become financially viable in Cambodia, including Royal Phnom Penh Airways, Kampuchea Airlines, Angkor Airways Corporation, First Cambodia Airlines, Royal Air Cambodge and Air Dream.

The twin-turbo ATR 72 short-haul airliner, built by French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR, seats 72 passengers and is operated by two pilots. It made its maiden flight in 1988. Over 50 airlines worldwide use the ATR 72, including Vietnam Airlines, TransAsia Airways, and Jet Airways. The ATR 72 was involved in six airline crashes between 1994 and 2008. The most serious crash occurred in 1994 when an American Eagle Flight crashed in icy conditions during descent. All four crew members and 64 passengers were killed. In 2005, a Tuninter Flight en route from Italy to Tunisia, developed engine problems. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Palermo, killing sixteen of the 39 people on board. A TransAsia Airways cargo flight from Taipei to Macau crashed due to icing in 2002, killing both crew members. Seventeen people were injured when an American Eagle Flight crashed on landing in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2004. In August last year an Air Dolomiti flight, en route from Germany to Italy, abandoned take off after a smoke alarm activated and flames were reportedly seen by passengers. In December, a Mount Cook Airlines flight en route from Wellington to Christchurch, New Zealand, lost power in its right engine one minute after take-off. The incident is still under investigation

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:06

Cambodia plans to put Cambodia Angkor Airline (CAA) into operation and inaugurate Preah Sihanouk International Airport, formerly the Kang Keng Airport, on July 27, officials said Wednesday.

Mao Havannal, secretary of state at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said that on the day of the airline's inauguration, only two ATR-72 Cambodia Angkor aircraft would fly between Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk province.

"In fact, on inauguration day, only the national air route by the newly established airline will fly. It is a kind of lightweight plane which flies locally, internationally and regionally to countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Bangkok," the secretary of state said.

Mao Havannal added that the national airline was a joint venture between the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines.

Plans to buy Airbus
According to a plan signed by the government and Vietnam Airlines, CAA will buy Airbus 320 and 321 aircraft in late 2009 and early 2010 to expand its routes to other foreign countries, including South Korea.

"I think that if the company sees that a joint venture can boost profits, the firm will order more planes to meet the company's needs," he added.

Officials from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation stated that representatives from certain regional airlines in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos would also be present in the July 27 inauguration ceremony to find out about Cambodia's business potential for airline business in their respective nations.

"Now, I am encouraging some foreign airlines to fly directly to Preah Sihanouk International Airport by asking them to pay low taxes on landing," the secretary of state said.

Travel agencies in the dark
Regarding the initial operation of CAA, no travel agencies have confirmed information about ticket booking by tourists who wish to visit Preah Sihanouk province.

Eam Kimsrun, director of Cambodia Jet Travel, said that tourists had not booked tickets to the coastal province with the Cambodian airline.

Ho Vandy, managing director of World Express Tour and Travel, said that his company had not received any official news concerning upcoming flights with CAA.

"We are yet to receive any official information about the name of our national airline, the price [of its tickets], its flights and the management of the airline. We are asking all relevant ministries and institutions to provide clear information to us so that it will be easy for us to give information to tourists," the director said.

However, he considered the first step of the national airline as new production for Cambodia's tourism sector, which has also been affected by the global economic crisis.

Airline to boost economy
CAA was formed not only to make profits but to also provide a good economic outlook for Cambodia, Vandy said, adding that the presence of the new national airline would help lure tourists traveling via large ships through Preah Sihanouk Port to visit Angkor Wat.

Sona Soth, director of Phnom Penh International Airport, said that in general, once an airport is in operation, it is already required to meet international air traffic standards. He said before the new airport opened, the International Civil Aviation Organisation inspected its navigation equipment, runway and infrastructure.

"This airport is safe enough to land and take off on," he said.

S-21 survivor tells of painting for Duch

Photo by: AFP
Tuol Sleng survivor Bou Meng testifies at the Khmer Rouge tribunal Wednesday.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:06

Three decades after his release, Bou Meng confronts former jailer about his wife's fate.

A TUOL SLENG survivor described on Wednesday how he painted 3-metre high portraits of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot while under the watchful eye of prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, a task that he said saved him from death.

Bou Meng, 68, estimated that he spent a year-and-a-half at the secret detention facility, a period in which he was subjected to beatings and electric shocks to his inner thigh.

He told Cambodia's war crimes court that his treatment improved only after S-21 staff enlisted him to paint portraits of Pol Pot and Mao Tse-tung as well as cartoon-like propaganda images of Ho Chi Minh's head attached to the body of a dog.

As Bou Meng painted, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, sat in a nearby chair with his legs crossed, watching him and occasionally offering critiques, the artist said.

"At that time, [Duch] sat next to me watching me paint a portrait of Brother Number One, Pol Pot," he said. "He ordered me, ‘You should adjust the throat. It's not a tumor, it's just fat.'"

He said Duch told him he "would be used as human fertiliser" if he could not paint images that exactly resembled Pol Pot.

"I did not understand if I would be used to produce human fertiliser or if I would be the human fertiliser myself," he said.

He added: "I survived because I could paint the exact portrait of Pol Pot."

Bou Meng said Duch never beat him, though he did instruct him to fight with another detainee.

He recalled an incident in which Duch ordered the beating of a Vietnamese detainee who had falsely claimed he could make wax molds.

"Duch saw that he could not do it, and he ordered the interrogators to kick him like you kick a ball," Bou Meng said. "From what I understood he was angry that that person lied to him."

Duch ‘moved' by testimony
Bou Meng and his wife were sent to Tuol Sleng in 1977. His interrogators would later accuse him of espionage and force him to sign a false confession before ordering him to paint portraits.

Bou Meng said the only photo he had of his wife, who was presumably executed, was the one taken of her when they entered Tuol Sleng.

On Wednesday Bou Meng was given the chance to ask Duch where his wife was killed, saying that he would like to go to that spot and "pray for her soul".

In response, Duch said he did not know because the killing would have been carried out by one of his subordinates.

Duch said, though, that he had been "moved" by Bou Meng's testimony.

"Please accept the highest assurance of my regards and respect to the soul of your wife," Duch said before he began to cry.

Int'l watchdogs wage war of words over editor's punishment

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:06

INTERNATIONAL watchdogs have joined the chorus of criticism targeting the jailing of opposition newspaper editor Hang Chakra, who was sentenced last Friday to one year in prison after a Phnom Penh court found him guilty of spreading false information.

In a statement Tuesday, Amnesty International called for the government to "squash" the conviction of Hang Chakra and hold an immediate retrial, claiming Friday's proceedings fell short of international legal standards.

"This case demonstrates the absence of an independent judiciary in Cambodia, and the increasing intolerance of dissent and criticism within Cambodia's top echelons of power," Amnesty researcher Brittis Edman said in the statement.

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Hang Chakra must be freed and then articles 62 and 63... must be amended.
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The Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, to a one-year prison term and fined him 9 million riels (US$2,161) for disinformation.

The case was filed in response to a series of articles published in April and May that alleged corruption on the part of officials working under Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

What the case showed, Edman said, was that the laws governing press freedom in the Kingdom were vague and were now being abused to "harass, intimidate and even jail" government critics.

The France-based Reporters Without Borders agreed, saying that Prime Minister Hun Sen's 2007 decision to decriminalise defamation had been effectively reversed by the use of the UNTAC Criminal Code, rather than the more liberal 1995 Press Law, which does not allow jail sentences.

"His government has now regrettably abused a law about disinformation that was inherited from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)," the group said in a statement Tuesday.

"Hang Chakra must be freed, and then Articles 62 and 63 of the criminal code bequeathed by the UN must be amended."

The two statements came following a similar request from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which said Cambodian courts should not rely on "outdated laws" to prosecute defamation cases.

Jail time for journalists
Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre, said that a one-year jail term was disproportionate even if Hang Chakra was guilty.

"We have many ways of handling journalists when they make mistakes. We can have them make corrections when they publish disinformation," he said.

"Using the law to imprison journalists is not right."

But Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said international watchdogs should learn more about the particulars of the Hang Chakra case before passing judgement, adding that many journalists still lacked "professionalism".

"International [organisations] should learn a little more about why that person is in jail, and how many articles and what type of articles were [published]," he said.

"They insulted people, they misled people."

Russian man sentenced in absentia for child sex crimes

The phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

NGO says the accused, convicted of abusing three young boys in 2008, fled in August after his first sentence was suspended.

PHNOM Penh's Court of Appeal on Wednesday sentenced in absentia a convicted Russian paedophile to three years in prison, upholding an appeal by the prosecution, which argued that his original sentence was too weak and should never have been suspended.

Nikita Velov, 27, was arrested in January 2008 on suspicion of committing indecent acts with three boys aged 7 to 14 in Preah Sihanouk. At the time of his arrest, he was with one of the boys in a guesthouse.

He was found guilty in August by Preah Sihanouk provincial court, but his sentence was suspended, and he is believed to have fled the country not long after.

"We announced the verdict in absentia to convict Velov to serve a three-year jail sentence and ordered him to pay 15 million riels [US$3,602]combined to the three boys," Presiding Judge Nhoung Thol told the Post Wednesday.

The country director for the child rights NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) said Velov left Cambodia for Thailand via the Poipet border crossing last August.

"We are not sure whether the appeal judges at the hearing this morning knew or pretended not to know that the accused man left Cambodia through the Poipet border on August 5, 2008, wearing a wig," Samleang Seila said, adding that Velov had been released on bail after serving his initial sentence of six months.

Nhuong Thol told the Post Wednesday that he had "made the assumption that the man was not released".

"But if the man left Cambodia through the Poipet border like APLE says, we would then follow our ongoing procedure to investigate the man," he added.

Velov's defence lawyer, Nuon Chantha, declined to comment on his client's whereabouts Wednesday.

"It is a mystery why the court did not let us know clearly where the man is - whether he is in prison or whether he has fled Cambodia," said Peng Maneth, a lawyer working for APLE.

"We were completely sure that the accused left Cambodia, based on information we have received from the Ministry of Interior's Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection," Samleang Seila said.

Govt ratifies law to protect women

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

THE National Assembly ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of the Discrimination against Women on Tuesday with 94 parliamentarians supporting the UN treaty and only two lawmakers abstaining.

The protocol sets up legal mechanisms giving women who feel they have been discriminated against and exhausted all local solutions the ability to file a complaint to a UN committee where their case will be reviewed.

"This agreement can help women complain about their community or about a powerful man to the court," said Ing Kantha Phavi at the Minister of Women's Affairs. "And if the Cambodian courts cannot provide justice, a woman can file an international complaint [to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]."

Critical for development
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay told the Post that protecting women's right was critical to the further development of the Cambodian economy.

"Women are the backbone of the nation. Without women, there can be no development," he said.

Son Chhay said he hoped the treaty would push the government towards better protection for women's rights.

"Women have the same capacity as men, but right now women have only received a small number of the important roles. Many women are still victimised by their community and by powerful men," he said.

NGOs vie with judiciary in resolution of legal disputes

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Dey Krahorm residents wait for a judicial ruling outside Phnom Penh Municipal Court prior to their eviction earlier this year. Many in Cambodia say they have lost faith in the Kindom's court system and prefer seeking the help of non-governmental organisations to resolve legal disputes.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

DESPITE years of judicial reforms aimed at establishing a respected court system, many Cambodians still prefer to send their complaints to NGOs rather than place their trust in the judicial system, which many say remains under the control of politicians.

"The courts do not solve problems for us because the people who we want to sue are party members, so I don't want to spend my time suing them anymore," said Saren Ket, 48, who claims local politicians cheated him of his land in Kratie.

"We want to sue a thief, but if they are all thieves, how can they help us?"

Even though donor funding continues to go into improving the judicial system, rights groups have not seen a drop in demand for their services.

Local rights group Licadho says it has already received 918 complaints in 2009, which puts them on pace to inch past the 1,748 lodged last year.

Thon Saray, a coordinator with rights group Adhoc, said that authorities have lost the trust of their communities because too many government figures have given money and powerful positions to their family members while ignoring the plight of others.

"The government doesn't pay attention to people, and they help only their relatives. That's why most people don't trust them anymore," he said.

Another Adhoc coordinator, Thim Narin, said that many are afraid of using the courts to complain about issues that might involve the government.

"Some villagers don't want to complain about the local authorities or the governors in their areas because their complaints could be answered with violence or they could be forced to take what they don't want," he said.

Saren Ket said that by trying to use the courts to deal with an issue in which the government is complicit has put him in physical danger.

"I am really afraid of the authorities' threats to me, but I think that if I am afraid or not afraid, I could still suffer," he said.

After exhausting all other avenues, Saren Ket turned to a local rights NGO for help.

Sao Savon, 64, a retired military officer in Banteay Meanchey, said that despite the promises from local officials, he believed the judiciary was unable to help him.

In his experience, the only groups that have come to his aid without asking for any money are NGOs.

"Organisations not related to the Cambodian government are my angels because they pay attention to me and make me have hope with them," he said.

"They have never used bad words to me or taken money from me."

Suy Mongleang, secretary general of the General Secretariat for Legal and Judicial Reform in the Council of Ministers, said last month that the Cambodian judiciary was not perfect but that it was improving.

"If you ask whether we have got there 100 percent yet, we have not got there," he said. "We are in the middle of the process of getting what everybody wants."

Suy Mongleang said that the judicial framework is not the problem, but that the reforms were imposed so quickly that attitudes have yet to catch up.

"I blame the country for having reformed too quickly," he said.

"It is human beings. You blame people for having Land Cruisers and big cars. You tell me from the heart: Do you want that or not?"

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEBASTIAN STRANGIO

UN expert calls threats to lawyers 'concerning'

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

THE UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers has expressed concern about recent attempts to restrict the freedom of Cambodian lawyers to represent their clients.

According to a statement released Wednesday in Geneva, Leandro Despouy said the investigation of Sam Rainsy Party lawyer Kong Sam Onn was evidence of a worrying new trend that could have a "chilling effect" on the profession.

"To be able to represent their clients effectively, lawyers should not be subject to threats or intimidation, nor should they be targeted for prosecution or disciplinary action merely for having acted in the interests of their clients," Despouy said.

"Lawyers play an important role as defenders of human rights and must be free to represent their clients as they see fit."

Kong Sam Onn, who represents Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua in her lawsuit against Prime Minister Hun Sen, is under investigation by the Bar Association of Cambodia following complaints from Hun Sen's lawyer that he breached professional codes of ethics by speaking publicly about the case.

SRP lawmaker's trial to begin later this month

Photo by: Robert Carmichael
Kong Sam Onn (left) at a press conference in April.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

Court says it will consider defamation charges against Ho Vann, who is currently overseas, whether the lawmaker is present or not.

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court is set to begin trial proceedings later this month in a defamation case filed by 22 high-ranking army officials against opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Ho Vann.

According to a court citation issued Friday by Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, Ho Vann has been summoned to appear at the court on July 17.

Ho Vann faces charges under Article 63 of the UNTAC penal code and Article 10 of the 1995 Press Law, according to the citation. Although he is currently overseas, Ho Vann will be tried whether he is present or not.

"In case the person concerned does not appear before Phnom Penh Municipal Court as scheduled, the court will take the name of Ho Vann to judge the defamation charges in absentia," the citation reads.

Ho Vann was sued for defamation by 22 senior RCAF officials after he made comments to a local newspaper allegedly denigrating the quality of the academic degrees they received from a Vietnamese military institute.

Despite claiming he was misquoted by the newspaper, the National Assembly voted to suspend Ho Vann's parliamentary immunity last week, allowing the charges to be brought against him.

Ho Vann's lawyer Kong Sam Onn said Wednesday he had received the citation from the court. But he said he would request a postponement if his client could not appear on the scheduled date.

"It is not a proper time for us. I will discuss with my client first to ask for postponing the hearing," he said, adding that the court should not consider the charges without his client present.

"If they judge my client in absentia, I will reject the judgement and file a countersuit, so they will be forced to try him again," Kong Sam Onn said.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said Wednesday that Ho Vann was preparing to respond to the court but could not say whether Ho Vann would return in time for the proceedings.

He said the trial process was set up to punish Ho Vann whether he was present or not.

"I dare to predict that the court will not find justice for Ho Vann. Whether he is present at the court or not is not important because they have already prepared [the verdict]. This is an attempt to intimidate and silence the opposition party's voice," he said.

Deputy Prosecutor Sok Roeun could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Hun Sen again calls for sand export ban, study of impacts

Photo by: Sebastian Strangio
Koh Kong province for export earlier this year.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:05

PM repeats May ban request, saying he doesn't want history to hold him responsible for the environmental effects of dredging

PRIME Minister Hun Sen has again announced a ban on the export of sand in an attempt to protect the country's rivers and marine areas from the environmental degradation caused by sand dredging.

"All sand business must be shut down," Hun Sen said during a speech in Kampot province Wednesday.

"I raise this issue in order to warn experts not to make business from sand, which can have a destructive impact on nearby areas."

The prime minister's announcement reiterated a statement in a letter he sent to the relevant ministries on May 8, ordering them to halt all sand-export operations pending proper environmental studies.

But as in his earlier order, Hun Sen said sand dredging will still be permitted in areas where the damage to the environment could be minimised.

"I am afraid that history will put the blame on me for the sales that will have a destructive impact on our islands," Hun Sen added, appealing to the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy to join hands to study the impact of sand operations.

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand from the Kingdom's rivers and coastal areas have been dredged and shipped to Singapore, for use in land reclamation.

In March, the Post reported that the Hong Kong-based Winton Enterprises Co Ltd was removing thousands of tons of sand each week from estuaries in Koh Kong province, a practice that environmentalists said was having severe effects on the local environment.

Indonesia and the Philippines are among the countries that have banned the practice because of its destructive impact on riverbeds and shorelines.

Pech Siyon, Koh Kong provincial director of Industry, Mines and Energy, said Wednesday that three local sand-dredging companies had postponed their business, but that the LYP Group, the local partner of Winton Enterprises, had acquired permission to fulfill the remainder of its export orders.

"All companies have temporarily halted their activity and await the re-approval of the proper ministries," he said.

Cambodian officials rebut Thai claims of tardy P Vihear filing

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:04

Thai authorities say Kingdom has failed to offer a plan to guard and preserve disputed temple, but PVNA says plan was submitted months ago.

CAMBODIAN authorities say recent comments from high-ranking Thai officials regarding Preah Vihear temple are just plain wrong.

According to Thailand's natural resources and environment minister, Cambodia was unable to submit a detailed plan for safeguarding Preah Vihear temple to the World Heritage Committee, a charge that the Preah Vihear National Authority (PVNA) denies.

Suwit Khunkitti, the Thai environment minister, claimed that Cambodia now has until February 2010 to send in its conservation plan, according to a report in the Thai daily The Nation.

The acting Thai government spokesman, Panitan Watanayagorn, called the delay a victory for Thailand that would give the country a chance to continue its campaign for joint control of the 11th-century temple, The Nation report stated.

But Hang Soth, the general director of the PVNA, says Cambodia submitted conservation plans to UNESCO on April 4.

"We don't understand why Thai leaders have said Cambodia has until February next year to submit the plan," he said, adding: "We have already submitted our projects.... Cambodians made the temple. Why can't we conserve it?"

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign of Foreign Affairs, said the Thai statements are meant to cover up their failure at the UNESCO meeting in Spain, where they were unable to get their challenge to the Preah Vihear listing on the agenda.
"The Thai leaders' comments are just to hide their failure to review the listing," he said.

The director of UNESCO was unavailable to comment.

Costs for high school testing rise nearly 20pc

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:04

THE Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport plans to spend 9.7 billion riels (US$2.33 million) on the end-of-year high school examinations, a nearly 20 percent increase from last year, according to Ly Sathik, the director of the ministry's finance department.

"We have to spend more than before because we have more students, inspectors and security guards for transporting test documents to the examination room, and we have to enforce the rules during the exam," Ly Sathik said.

There are 156,419 official invigilators for this year's exam, which takes two days and is scheduled for July 6 and 7. Last year, Ly Sathik said, there were only 8,419 invigilators.

"We have to enforce discipline during exam time in every examination room, and we have to punish students and inspectors if they violate the exam rules," he said.

But Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), said Wednesday that he remains sceptical that the increase in funding would result in better enforcement.

"I don't think that if they spend more money on discipline during examinations it will be better than before ... because they just say that but have never done it," he said. "I think the examination room will still see bribes because I have never seen any inspectors or teachers punished."

'Fresh' approach to helmet safety

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:04

Contestants in CTN's Smart Boys and Girls competition participate in a campaign on Wednesday to promote road safety and to draw attention to the increased threat of traffic-related injuries or deaths among motorbike drivers who refuse to wear helmets.

NGO arises from a dark past

Photo by: Kyle Sherer
Children at the Phum Thnarl Primary School in Siem Reap.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:04

SIEM REAP

Family Care Cambodia emerged from a notorious American cult, but the NGO has helped to develop and fund one of the best schools in Siem Reap province.

A SCHOOL that was highly rated this year by the provincial education department as among the best in Siem Reap is sponsored by an NGO that spun off the infamous Children of God cult.

Ann and Alex Soldner are the project managers of Family Care Cambodia, which has helped the Phum Thnarl Primary School over the past six years by providing three new classrooms and 30 computers, funding six staff members, and supplying students with uniforms, bags and books. Em Bunthoen, the Siem Reap representative of Family Care Cambodia, told the Post that in a routine inspection in January, representatives of the provincial department of education said that the school is leading other primary schools in the fields of environment, hygiene and discipline.

Ung Sireidy, the director of the provincial department of education, told the Post that the school "is not the best, but is better than a lot of schools".

Family Care Cambodia is an arm of the Family Care Foundation, which is coupled with The Family International - formerly known as Children of God - an organisation founded in 1968 in California and made famous for a slew of child sexual abuse scandals and a recruitment method dubbed "flirty fishing", where some women members were prostituted out to raise funds and gather converts.

Ann Soldner was a high-ranking "first-generation member", with the Children of God through the controversy, but said the troubled history of the organisation is irrelevant. "I don't see why that's so important," she told the Post.

"Those problems have nothing to do with Family Care Cambodia."

Family Care Cambodia is listed by the exfamily.org Web site as a pseudonym of The Family International. The Web site is compiled by former members of Children of God.

The Family International was formerly known as The Family, and before that the Family of Love, and before that the Children of God.

The Soldners founded Family Care Cambodia in 2002 and began working with the Phum Thnarl school in 2003. In addition to the Phum Thnarl school, the organisation works with a protection shelter in Phnom Penh for children recovering from sexual abuse.

On its Web site, the Family Care Foundation, the parent organisation of Family Care Cambodia, claims to have distributed more than 2 million Bibles and pieces of "gospel literature" around the world. Ann Soldner said that while other Family Care Foundation projects may emphasise Christianity, hers does not set out to convert. "We're not about Bible distributing, we're not about Children of God. We're about us. Many of our volunteers are Christians, but that's just their personal beliefs. I do this to serve our fellow man and, yes, that comes from a belief in God."

Soldner said that "there isn't a direct link, per se" between Family Care Cambodia and The Family International, which is led by Karen Zerby,
the former wife of the Children of God founder. Zerby is most well known as the mother of the boy featured in The Story of Davidito, a 762-page book printed in 1982, which contained pictures and descriptions of her infant son engaging in sexual activities with adults.

The mission statement on the Family International Web site states four aims. One is to provide humanitarian aid to "those in need" and three are concerned with spreading religion and the message that the "Great Tribulation" and "Second Coming of Jesus Christ" are "soon to come".

In a document titled "Introducing FCC" authored by Ann and Alex Soldner, Family Care Cambodia is described as "a pioneer project of The Family International" and one of its stated projects is to "Offer Character Development, Community Services and Christian Study courses".

AMATEUR GOLF: Angkor Resort to Host First Amateur Open

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:03

AMATEUR GOLF

THE inaugural Angkor Amateur Open will run from August 14 to August 16 at the Angkor Golf Resort and is the first amateur open of its kind in Cambodia.

Participants from Sweden, Hungary and Australia have expressed interest in competing, and golf associations from Hong Kong and Nepal have also contacted the resort about sending a strong international field to compete.

Resort manager Adam Robertson said, "Of 350 emails we have sent, we have received 87 positive replies. It promises to be a golfing tournament with a real international flavour".

The Open will be played over three days, with Friday a practice day. A two-round stroke-play tournament will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

There will be possibly four handicap divisions, allowing all levels of golfers to compete, and organisers will soon decide on the categories.

"This is an auspicious occasion in Angkor Golf Resort's history," Robertson said. "We congratulate our course designer, Nick Faldo, for receiving a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours, making him Sir Nick Faldo, and we also celebrate one-and-a-half years since the resort's opening. In the short time since completion, we have been awarded ‘Best New Golf Course' by Asian Golf Monthly readers."

Four hotels - Angkor Palace Resort, Le Meridien, Royal Angkor Resort, and Sokha - have teamed with Angkor Golf Resort to provide conducive rates for participants.

Sir Nick Faldo has been invited to attend the welcome dinner, and the winner of the Vietnam Gannon Open, to be played from July 24-26 in Dalat, will be invited to play.

Details can be found on the official website: www.angkor-golf.com.

Angkor tomb raider nabbed by police

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:03

A MAN suspected of illegally gathering ancient artefacts from a compound at Angkor Wat was sent to Siem Reap provincial court on Wednesday, Heritage Police officials said.

"We sent him to the provincial court already, but we don't know how long it will be until the court charges him," said Li Hok Seng, a deputy director of the Heritage Police.

Chea Sophart, also a deputy director of the Heritage Police, said Sunday the 34-year-old Banteay Meanchey man identified only as Ryn was arrested while using an electric-powered machine to collect artefacts about 400 metres northeast of Takeo temple on Sunday.

Police quoted Ryn as saying that on 10 previous occasions he had collected statues and other artefacts from the Banteay Chhmar temple compound in Banteay Meanchey province, which he sold to Thai clients.

"We always allow our Heritage Police to check the forest every two days because we are afraid that we'll have people gathering ancient artefacts," said Li Hok Seng.

Pheoung Chindareth, head of Penal Police in Siem Reap, said an investigation into a suspected gang of artefact thieves was now under way and that it wasn't the first case of thievery at the temple.

"At present, we still have people who are illegally trafficking ancient artefacts, but we haven't found them yet," he added.

According to Chea Sophart, Ryn could face a prison term of between one and three years if convicted.

Prek Toal praised at delta meet

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY SAM VEASNA CENTRE
A spot-billed pelican at the Prek Toal bird sanctuary.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:03

THE Prek Toal bird sanctuary in the Tonle Sap biosphere reserve has been labelled a "model" for environmental management by an instructor from a four-day conference on deltas held at the Angkor Century Hotel last week. The Dragon Asia summit, titled "Science transforming vulnerable deltas to resilient deltas: Harmonising natural systems with societal needs", began last Monday, and was attended by over 100 members of the Dragon Institute.

The Dragon (Delta Research and Global Observation Network) Institute is an association of "scientists, managers, and policymakers" concerned with international lake and delta research.

Dr James Wandersee, a professor of Educational Theory, Policy and Practice at Louisiana State University, and a course instructor at the conference, said Siem Reap was chosen for the conference because of its proximity to the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap.

He said Cambodia can learn a lot from the US about environmental management - especially from its mistakes.

"It's a mistake to control the river, rather than letting nature take its course," he said. "We've seen that in the States."

In addition to up-river damming, he said the well-being of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap are threatened by climate change, and a future problem will be the relocation of people in areas that will be changed by altered water levels.

But while Cambodia faces threats to its deltas, Wandersee said that Prek Toal, the nature reserve and popular day-trip for Siem Reap tourists, is a leading example of environmental management. Prek Toal is a bird-watchers paradise and much-touted example of "eco-tourism" as well as being home to a variety of rare birds such as the spot-billed pelican.

Delegates were taken to Prek Toal by Osmose, a nonprofit tour organisation that uses funds raised from tours to assist conservation and provide education and resources to the local community.

Harsh lessons from the past hold key to healing

Photo by: GEORGIA WILKINS
Students peruse their first copies of the school textbook A History of Democratic Kampuchea.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:02

A new official history textbook which outlines atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge is designed to help open up conversations and critical thinking.

Decades after the fall of the belligerent Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian government is still dragging its feet in educating people about the genocide.

The knowledge gap in education about the genocide drove author Kamboly Dy to write A History of Democratic Kampuchea, Cambodia's latest official history textbook, recently approved by the Ministry of Education.

Understanding the past, however horrendous, is the first step towards restoring humanity and identity of a nation, said Youk Chhang, director of Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam).

Sharing this belief, 48 Cambodian and international experts have committed to the Genocide Education Project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to teach children in Cambodia the history of Democratic Kampuchea.

"We want Cambodia to get out of the ‘survivor' identity and become educators," Youk Chhang told the Post.

A national conference to train teachers across Cambodia how to teach about the genocide, based on the new history book, is taking place at the Senate Library from Monday to July 7.

The endeavour is a first, yet a crucial one for the nation to move on.

"Only through understanding the past sufferings could we as a nation begin to heal and reconcile," Kamboly Dy said.

The new history book serves to trigger conversations about teachers' and students' own experiences with the genocide. This approach aims to
develop students' critical thinking while accommodating personal perceptions and unintended traumas.

"It's so difficult to find a ground that we can all agree on," said Youk Chhang.

"Some of the teachers are survivors, some born after the Khmer Rouge. They perceive this differently. The teachers who lived under the Khmer Rouge tend to be more emotional while the ones born after KR might lack historical understandings.

"We're concerned that that could lead to emotional teaching and perhaps could provoke anger among students who could be children of former Khmer Rouge," he said.


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Only through under-standing past sufferings could We as a nation begin to heal and reconcile.

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Setting itself apart from the usual chronological approach, the 200-page textbook contextualises Cambodian history through comparative studies with other massacres in modern times: Rwanda, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia.

"We want to help students connect what happened in the past with what's happening in the present," Kamboly Dy said.

The new book also incorporates activities to put its content in perspective, such as active reading, group discussions, guest lectures, theatre arts and field trips. Kamboly Dy said such action-based teaching generates open conversations and develops valuable thinkers.

Compared with 15 years ago, young people tended to come forward more visibly nowadays, according to Youk Chhang.

He said he believed the genocide tribunal plays the key role in facilitating this dynamic.

"The tribunal set a very important foundation to lift this off the ground and it's up to Cambodians to use it," he said. "This project would have been difficult without the tribunal being established in Cambodia."

The international attention cultivated by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has also contributed to a more open society in Cambodia, he said. "Media coverage and open discussions in the past 15 years have warmed up everybody and made people want to be in charge of their own history," he added.

Youk Chaa said the project should become self-sufficient within the next three years.

In the meantime, DC-Cam will maintain its support by providing resources, trainings, monitoring and evaluations.

DC-Cam has published and distributed 1 million copies of A History of Democratic Kampuchea to students from grades 9 to 12 across Cambodia.

A pdf copy is also available online for international readers.

The book has been translated into English, and versions in Chinese, French, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese are coming up December this year, Kamboly Dy said.

US Embassy assists in training journalists

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:02

THE US Embassy, in cooperation with Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ), started a three-day training course on Monday titled "Economic and Environmental Reporting".

The course is designed to improve the capacity of working journalists in Cambodia.

Twenty journalists from both the print and broadcast media were trained in the three-day course which ran from Monday to Wednesday at the CCJ office.

The course is being conducted by experienced American lecturer Rusty Todd, director of business journalism at the University of Hong Kong and professor at the University of Texas School of Journalism.

Pen Samithy, CCJ president, said the course was a great opportunity for the Cambodian journalists to gain more experience and knowledge from Todd, who has extensive experience and skill in his field of business journalism.

Pen Samithy said he hoped the training course would encourage the Cambodian journalists to report more on economic and environmental issues, in an effort to preserve the country's environment and develop its economy.

The training course is fully supported by the US embassy in Cambodia.

"The US Embassy is pleased to once again be able to work with CCJ in an effort to build capacity amongst this country's journalists," said US embassy spokesman John Johnson.

Johnson said improvements in the journalists' skills would assist them in reporting on issues which were important to the Cambodia's economic development.

The US Embassy also makes a financial contribution to a one-year computer training project run by the CCJ.

The computer course is making an effort to help the Cambodian journalists to benefit from better understanding information and communication technologies.

Art competition puts Cambodian students amid global art scene

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:01

University art competition gives a chance for three Cambodian high school students to have their artworks exhibited in Japan.

The Cambodia University is preparing to hold its art competition on July 5 for painting and sculpture.

The event will be called the Painting and Sculpture Festival, said Por Malis, deputy director of operation of the Cambodia University.

"We are open for high school students in grades 11 and 12 who want to participate in our program," she said.

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We want to encourage the students who have genius for art...
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Por Malis said entrants could send their paintings or sculptures to her school, where judges would begin the selection process of three winners
to be announced on July 5.

"On the competition day, we have to ask them to paint or sculpt it again to the same as the painting and sculptures that they sent because we want to make sure that they are the owners of the painting," she said.

All competitors have to paint or sculpt works that have meanings related to human charity, peace and development, international relations, a new idea for the world or protection of our culture.

"They have to do it by their hands," she said. The paintings must be 100cm-by-100cm, and sculptures have to be 150cm-by-80cm, she said.

"We want to encourage the students who have genius for art or paintings, and we want Cambodian students to be known internationally.

"We will select the top three of the winners, and we will give them an award for the competition in Cambodia, and then we will send 10 paintings and sculptures to Japan, where three will be selected for exhibition in Japan," she said.

For the first prize winner will receive 200,000 riels (approximately US$500), a winner's certificate and an airline ticket to visit Japan.

The second-prize winner gets 160,000 riels ($400) with a winner's certificate, and the third-prize winner gets 120,000 riels ($300) and a winner's certificate.

STUDENT VOICES: Education standards are being held back by truancy, bribery

Photo by: NATHAN GREEN
Hy Sovanna says students must study hard and strive to get ahead to succeed.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:01

STUDENT VOICES

As a student pursuing two university degrees at the same time, I have always cared about my future. I am not quite sure what will become of me when I graduate from my universities, due to the current quality of education in the country.

Evidently, not only I but also many other students are concerned about the quality of education. I am not alone.

At the same time, whenever I glance at my city, I realise it is changing, taking on a new, better face, in a remarkable way, but our education standards remain questionable.

Situations in high schools, especially, really prove the point. From my personal observation, quite a number of students have developed a habit of skipping school to hang out with their peers, riding motorcycles along the riverside and hanging care-free along the street until it's time to go home.

This is definitely wrong, that students who will grow up to support the backbone of the nation in the future are allowed to commit such acts.
Another flaw in our education is that high schools in Cambodia do not even have adequately qualified teachers, who have real paedagogy to teach students. If teachers do not even know how to teach or have not been equipped with the right teaching methodologies, it is hard for students to learn well and to feel motivated to keep learning.

Some teachers, with whom I used to study during my high school years, were not really knowledgeable enough to teach. They seemed lazy and very poorly motivated, which may somehow result from their low salaries. They clearly lacked energy, willingness and the desire to carry out their responsibilities.

For example, when the class started, the teachers talked around the lessons or they just read, skipping some parts, and superficially explained.

With this care-free, reckless behaviour, most students were usually not well-informed enough to do well in exams, which resulted in students cheating and bribing, for example.

If you do not understand, will you enjoy your study? No. Likewise, from day to day, I just sat and kept listening although I did not know what they were talking about.

Also, bribery and unreasonable payments demanded from students are so common that it has become a culture amongst most public-school teachers.

For instance, with all exams, teachers will definitely gain a lot from the students, by in advance selling documents about what is going to appear on actual exam paper and selling the test paper on the exam day.

These buying-and-selling habits, peeping at answer sheets and other forms of cheating are ignored and somehow encouraged. Money the students get from their parents goes to cover their daily expenses, to the teachers, and to be saved.

At the end of month, they would be in the class and negotiate with teachers whether or not teachers can do something about their absences.

They would give teachers some of their money for eliminating absences; therefore, they need not be concerned that they could not take the tests.

Remarkably, if students want to pass the exam without testing, they can possibly do it by bribing the teacher, who will ensure doing all exams for them.

Besides bribery in the class, loose school rules are also a major point that enables some students do anything they want in class. Students generally come late or are absent from school many times, but are not punished.

The regulations are already in place, but they do not influence them. People break regulations and are not penalised. So they feel secure after doing something wrong. It sounds as if no one really wants to abide by the rules.

Universities also have similar issues as the high schools. Some lecturers are able to teach in one university because of family connections, not due to the real education, teaching experience and pedagogy.

It is unbelievable that some schools do not care about the future of students. They care only about profit. Some students gain nothing from classes, which waste time as teachers just read through - and what can they do if they already paid money? If they complain to school directors, they will give them the cold shoulder.

Moreover, students lack research skills. Cambodian students seldom go to the library to find important books to read when they have free time. They usually spend their time doing useless things like riding motorcycles or going to a karaoke club and so forth.

As we can see, several problems are holding back improvements to the quality of our education.

After expressing my opinion about the poor quality of education, I still believe our education will be enhanced to the standards of other countries and every student will get a proper job after graduation.

Having a higher quality of human resources can make a society run more smoothly.

I am a student - I cannot solve this problem. I can only express my feelings. All I can do just strive to study hard and be a volunteer for organisations such as AIESEC, which is the international organisation developing leadership skill and international exchange.

I succeeded in the first step in building my leadership skills recently when I became the vice president of incoming exchange in AIESEC. It has changed my entire life through the amazing international experiences. Everyone should volunteer, in any places, in order to gain experience.

If you just learn through theory without practising, it is worthless. You will forget it soon.

Practice begets success!
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Hy Sovanna is a student at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. He is also vice president of incoming exchange for the international youth leadership platform AISEC.

Food prices in capital climb 1.7pc in second quarter

Photo by: STEVE FINCH
Vendors sell their wares at Phnom Penh's Central Market. Food prices increased in price by 1.7 percent in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2009.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:01

Trade Promotion Department figures indicate a probable return to inflation compared with the first quarter, in which prices were down nearly 5pc.

NEW government figures show quarterly food inflation hit 1.7 percent in the three months to Tuesday compared with the previous quarter, during which Cambodia saw deflation of nearly 5 percent.

The food prices - released by the Trade Promotions Department, a division of the Ministry of Commerce - were aggregated for 36 products, from rice to fruit to smoked fish, sold in Phnom Penh's markets.

As the figures were released, the government's main statistics body agreed that a rise in inflation was likely for June. The National Institute of Statistics (NIS), which releases its monthly inflation figures next week and whose calculations are based on a much broader range of goods including fuel, said its June figures would likely show inflation picking up.

"Compared to previous months we will see a little increase [in inflation in June]," said NIS director Sorn Siphan. However, he would not be drawn on a final figure.

Though year-on-year inflation has remained negative in 2009, Sorn Siphan expects that will change later this year. He said he believes June will show a smaller contraction than the minus-5.7-percent annualised rate recorded in May.

"And in the next two or three months [annualised inflation] may be positive," he said.

Meanwhile, a kilogram of grade-one rice showed a small increase of less than 1 percent from 2,460 riels (US$0.59) to 2,480 riels in the second quarter. Paddy was up 1.85 percent.

Among the largest climbers were fruit, with tomatoes up 58 percent, bananas up 12 percent, oranges up 8 percent, and pineapples up around 4 percent.

Yaing Sang Koma, president of the Cambodian Centre for the Study and Development of Agriculture (CEDAC), an agricultural NGO, pointed out that the cyclical nature of agricultural production affects inflation.

"Generally [inflation] rises in the second quarter," he said on Wednesday. "In the first quarter, various crops are harvested - there is a glut of agricultural products, which pulls down prices."

Yaing Sang Koma said output normally drops in the second quarter, and added that the modest increases in food prices had hardly affected farmers compared to more violent fluctuations in the recent past.

The latest data mark a relative stabilisation in prices after inflation hit a peak in July and August last year before falling again as the economic crisis constrained demand at the end of 2008. That trend extended into the start of 2009, with year-on-year inflation rates negative so far this year.

NIS figures showed that the consumer price index (CPI) for May this year was 1 percent higher than in April. However, prices were still 5.7 percent lower than in May 2008.

The London-based Economist Intelligence Unit predicted in its June outlook for the Kingdom that inflation would "slow sharply" this year. That slowdown comes off government data showing 19.7 percent CPI inflation for 2008, the highest since records began in the mid-1990s.

"Domestic prices for rice and petrol have fallen sharply since mid-2008, and we forecast that they will continue to do so in 2009, in line with global trends," the EIU noted.

Oil inflation threat
One concern for the government remains the increase in global oil prices, leading to a rise in prices at the pumps. Petrol prices have risen more than a quarter this year, and diesel has gone up 15 percent.

On Wednesday some petrol stations were selling a litre of petrol for 4,000 riels, marking the first time prices have broken the 4,000-riels mark this year despite a meeting held between Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon and key petrol retailers this week in which he asked them not to boost prices.

However, retailers may not have much choice. A barrel of benchmark Brent Crude oil passed the $70 mark on Wednesday in Singapore, from which most of Cambodia's oil is imported.

Cambodia remains susceptible to fluctuations in oil prices because it imports all its oil products and maintains just three months' stock.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NGUON SOVAN

Leading maker of fish sauce in Cambodia aims for US

Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN
A worker manages the production line at the Kampot Fish Sauce factory in Kampot. The company is hoping to make its first overseas sales to the United States.

Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:01

Kampot

Kampot Fish Sauce looks to branch out and tap into overseas market after complaining of glut of local manufacturers producing substandard goods.

THE Kingdom's most popular fish sauce brand has told the Post it is looking to target the US market in a bid to boost sales. Toung Sopheap, the owner of Ngov Heng Kampot Fish Sauce processing factory, which makes Kampot Fish Sauce, said her husband is currently in the United States seeking marketing and distribution partners.

"We need to grow our sales and look at new markets overseas because we have run into some problems with the local market - there are many illegal fish sauce companies making a cheap, low-quality product," she said.

Toung Sopheap said her company is inspected every six months by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, and supplies 60,000 litres of fish sauce, soybean sauce and chilli sauce a month to wholesalers across the country.

"Despite the economic crisis damaging other sectors, we haven't been affected. Production and demand haven't dropped," she said. "I certainly hope we'll export to the US this year, because our sauce is very popular among Cambodian-American visitors to Cambodia."

Meng Saktheara, the director general in charge of the ministry's small and medium enterprise department, said 800 fish and soy sauce manufacturers were operating in Cambodia.

Some - such as Toung Sopheap's factory - are recognised by the ministry as producing a quality product.

The director general of the Institute of Cambodian Standards, Ping Sivlay, said just 30 makers of fish sauce currently hold the Standard Certificate and follow ministry guidelines.

Higher quality required
He said most producers wanting to export would have to adopt better standards in order to meet stringent international food-quality guidelines.

"If the industry wants to improve its quality and meet the standards required to compete with imported and local producers, they should first apply for Cambodia's Standard Certificate," he said.

"That way we can recommend their product and ensure they manufacture according to a proper standard."

The Ngov Heng Kampot Fish Sauce processing factory was established in Kampot in 1995 with a capital investment of US$100,000.

It employs 32 staff, and has 40 storage tanks that refine 2,000 litres of sauce a day.

PM issues instructions on land tax, fisheries

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:01

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday urged the authorities in Kep to tax the owners of unused plots of land in the province. He also said landowners must fence off land.

"[The provincial governor] must get landowners from Phnom Penh to construct proper fences around their plots," Hun Sen said on Wednesday at a ceremony to release fish fry into a Kep reservoir. "I think the state must force them ... [We] cannot keep the situation like this because Kep province is a tourist destination."

Hun Sen said that because plots remain undeveloped, plant growth spreads onto adjacent roads and affects tourism.

"There must be strict measures in place to improve municipal beauty," he said, adding that the system for taxing unused land needs to be strengthened. "We have a law to enable taxation. If owners do not pay tax, we must sue to seize the land."

Has Sareth, governor of Kep, told the Post there are 1,250 undeveloped and unfenced plots surrounding Kep town.

"Roughly 20 to 30 percent of the owners of unused land plots have paid tax, and the rest is uncollected," he said. "This is because landowners living in Phnom Penh or other provinces sometimes buy land to resell - and it's often hard to locate them."

At the same event the prime minister called on fishing lot operators to establish nurseries and keep stocks of breeding fish. If they do not, he warned, their licences to operate fishing lots will be given to others.

He said the country's 165 fish nurseries produce 60 million fry annually for 162 fishing lots.

"If the 162 lots can also produce baby fish, they are more capable than the farmers, so they could produce perhaps an extra 200 or 300 million fry annually," he said.

The premier said the fisheries sector has created jobs for 1.4 million people, or 10 percent of the population.

Fish is the most important protein source in Cambodia. Ministry of Agriculture figures last year showed a total catch of 471,000 tonnes of fish.

Most were freshwater fish - some 365,000 tonnes - but 66,000 tonnes of marine species were also landed, and 40,000 tonnes of aquaculture fish were harvested.

Cambodia fails to sell garments to Japan

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:00

THE Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) announced on Wednesday it has failed to boost local industry by tapping the Japanese clothing market.

Cheath Khemara, GMAC's labour issue officer, told the Post Wednesday that the Kingdom had lost out because producers were unable to compete with neighbouring countries on quality, transportation and pricing.

"We really regret we failed to grab such a big market, but we will keep trying in the hope that we can enter Japan in future," he said.

He said exporting to Japan would add at least US$100 million annually in garment revenues.

The president of GMAC, Van Sou Ieng, led a delegation to Japan in November in a bid to persuade buyers to consider Cambodian garments.

The delegation included manufacturers, government officials and union representatives, and concluded with Japan agreeing to a trial purchase of 10,000 suits and 100,000 pairs of shoes. That deal has not happened.

One of the delegates on that trip, Chea Vuthy from the Council for the Development of Cambodia, told the Post he was not aware of the reasons for failure.

He added that responsibility lay with the Ministry of Commerce.

However, Mean Sophea, who is director of the department of trade preferences at the ministry, was unable to comment on Wednesday as he was in a meeting.

Ath Thun, the president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Unions, an umbrella organisation that has more than 50 garment unions as members, said the failure was a great loss.

Japan is a large market, he said, and its consumers can afford to pay higher prices than people in other markets.

"To my mind loss of confidence by workers in their job security and their low salaries are the main factors which contributed to low quality," Ath Thun said. "But I don't think these are the main reasons for the failure to enter Japan."

Ath Thun said that, more importantly, the government needs to make the bureaucratic process more transparent and improve infrastructure used by the industry.

"Then I am sure we can make a new deal which will allow us to export garment products to Japan," he said.

Cambodia has long wanted to export garments to Japan, the world's third-largest market for such exports after the US and the European Union.

The industry earns revenues of $3 billion annually.

How rice wine ferments the Cambodian spirit

Photo by: STEPHANIE MEE
Dos Lun fills an order for srah sohl in Takeo (Left) Dos Lun stokes the fire to heat the rice wine.

The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:00

Rice wine is a popular tipple all over East and Southeast Asia, and, as one soon discovers, it comes in a wide variety of styles and possesses an assortment of medicinal qualities.

AN old English proverb says, "Good wine needs no bush", meaning that something of good quality does not need to be advertised. This is especially true of Cambodia's traditional alcoholic beverage srah sohl, or rice wine.

As rice is the primary staple of most Cambodian diets, it comes as no surprise that the cheapest and most popular alcoholic beverage for most Cambodians is a potent brew made from the plentiful grain.

Similar to sake from Japan or cheongju from Korea, rice wine in Cambodia is produced by fermenting grains of rice until the starches in the rice convert into sugars, resulting in a mildly alcoholic liquid. Unlike wine made from grapes, the fermentation period can take as little as 24 hours.

"Once you have the equipment, the process is quite simply really," said Dos Lun of Tang Russey village in Takeo province.

Every second day Dos Lun boils 25 kilos of rice, lays it to dry in the sun, and then transfers it to plastic buckets, where it is mixed with a natural fermenting agent called dom bai in Khmer. The mixture is then left to bubble and ferment overnight. Once the rice has fermented, it is dumped into a large metal vat along with pure rainwater and covered with a purpose-built lid, sealed with a rice husk paste.

Leftover rice husks and scrap wood are used to start a small fire under the vat, heating the rice mixture so that the watery, alcoholic mixture evaporates, travelling up two metal pipes protruding from the lid and down through a concrete container full of water. The water in the container cools the liquid in the pipes, and a small spigot at the bottom of the container releases the clear, pure, mildly grainy-flavoured rice wine.

Three stages
"There are three stages of wine," said Dos Lun. "The first batch is extremely strong, and is not suitable for drinking. The second stage is the best, at about 30-percent alcohol content, and the third stage is very weak. I often mix the first and third batches to create an evenly balanced blend."

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If you don't drink, how will the rice wine merchant make his living?
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Dos Lun sells his natural rice wine from his stilted wooden house in the midst of rice fields and cow paddocks for 2,000 riels a litre, and can sell as many as 20 litres a day. "People like to buy rice wine from me because they know it's natural and not bad for you," he said. "You have to be careful because some producers of rice wine that sell in bulk from stores or roadside stalls put chemicals and pesticides in the wine to make it taste stronger, but really it just makes you sick."

Takeo native Khem Sokkhieng said, "I like to drink rice wine during special festivals or holidays and sometimes when I'm relaxing with friends or family, but some people drink it every day. Farmers who work in the rice fields will often drink one glass of srah sohl in the morning before they go to the fields in order to warm their body, and then again at night to relax."

Srah sohl can also be used as a base for traditional Khmer medicinal remedies, which many claim can cure everything from muscle aches, fatigue and stomach disorders to menstrual cramps and labour pains.

Medicinal
Medicinal rice wine in Cambodia goes by the name srah tinum, and can be produced by infusing pure rice wine with items such as herbs, roots, tree bark, and even insects.

Chen Veasna, owner of Restaurant No 66, a family-run restaurant on Street 360, has been selling srah tinum at the two-level restaurant for fifteen years, and believes wholeheartedly in its healing powers.

"All of the wine we sell here is good for aches and pains in the body," she said. "Some of the varieties are particularly good for women, although anybody can drink any of the varieties. And the greatest advantage of our wine is that it doesn't burn your stomach when you drink it because it contains no harsh mixtures or harmful ingredients."

Varieties of medicinal rice wine at the restaurant include srah gondia, a dark, rum-coloured brew that is made by infusing red termites in rice wine and then straining the bodies out. The resulting drink tastes a bit sweet and earthy, with flavours of almonds and nutmeg. It is said to help with blood circulation and menstrual cramps.

Srah bondul pich is made from the woody stems of a small plant native to Cambodia and possesses a vibrant yellow colour, with an extremely strong, bitter taste that coats the tongue long after it is swallowed. It is said to be most beneficial for elderly people and cure arthritis, rheumatism and body pains.

Srah tinum chen sei is the most common type of medicinal rice wine in Cambodia and is often taken to alleviate stomach disorders and fatigue. The best tasting wine by far at Restaurant No 66 is srah dom narp k'mull, a strongly alcoholic, sweet and slightly spicy blend, made from black sticky rice. The busy restaurant also sells regular srah sohl.

Hangover-free
All rice wine at Restaurant No 66 is sold by the litre and varies in price depending on the variety. "I can't even count the number of people that come here every day to purchase rice wine," said Chen Veasna. "People love it because it is healthy and it won't give you a headache or hangover the next morning, provided, of course, you don't go overboard on it."

Whether imbibed as a social lubricant, for pleasure, or for curative purposes, srah sohl is a long-established element of traditional Khmer culture, and to quote a common Khmer colloquialism, "If you don't drink, how will the rice wine merchant make his living?"

Basketball Federation start with the basics

Photo by: NICK SELLS
Girls teams from Human Resources Universoty (in blue) and Stung Treng street children (in yellow) play during the Cambodian College Basketball tournament inside Olympic Stadium Wednesday.

The Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:00

THE newly reconstituted Cambodia Basketball Federation (CBF) will aim to take basketball in the Kingdom to greater heights, revealed CBF Secretary General Mak Chanphirun. The Basketball Federation underwent restructuring December 12 of last year, with Cambodian Ambassador to Korea Lim Samkol emerging as president, Plong Ly Dern elected as vice president and an 11-strong executive committee put in place.

"We have set out three main targets this year," stated Mak Chanphirun. "First is a coaching clinic in September, then a 3-on-3 tournament in October. [The year will] culminate with a referees clinic in December."

According to the Mak Chanphirun, who is also on the staff at the National Assembly, there is a dearth of qualified basketball coaches and referees in Cambodia, which significantly limits the development of the game. The secretary asserted that the federation is working hard to raise the standard of the game just like their counterparts, the Cambodian Football Federation. "The problem is lack of coaches," he said. "We [presently] have only 3 basketball coaches. It was five initially, but two have gone to the Taekwondo Federation. This is why we are planning the coaching clinic to help us train new coaches for the sport."

Mak Chanphirun went on to remark that most of the coaches obtain general sports coaching certificates, and lack specific basketball knowledge. "To get good players, you need good coaches," he said, adding that good players also need good referees. "Thus we also need to train referees to know the rules of the game [Basketball]."

Mak Chanphirun also mentioned that SEA Games hosts Laos have failed to provide sufficient facilities to allow nations to compete in basketball at the tournament in December. Nevertheless, the BFC official said they have mapped out plans to keep the national team busy in preparation for series of competitions coming up in 2010. "We will not relent in our preparations," he declared.

Currently Cambodia boasts only four basketball teams, so there are no major domestic tournaments. However, in the near future the CBF, along with the Sports ministry intend to start a league featuring teams developed from grassroots programmes across the country. BFC President Lim Samkol is also attempting to attract foreign sponsors to support the programmes of the federation. "Our president [Lim Somkol] is doing his best even from abroad," claimed Mak Chanphirun. "We hope to promote the awareness of the game starting with the
three-on-three tournament, and then [build up] to the five-a-side games."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education, Youths and Sports is holding a college basketball tournament, which started Saturday at the Olympic Stadium, comprised of five boys teams (Build Bright University, Norton University, Human Resources University, University of Technology and Cambodia Mekong University) and four girls teams (Build Bright University, Human Resources University, Mith Samlang organization, and a street team from Stung Treng). The final games are scheduled to play out on Wednesday at 2:30pm. The CBF is keeping a keen eye on the tournament with the hope of selecting the best players to play for the national teams.

Migrant fishermen fall through cracks in Thailand trafficking laws

Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com

By JOEL BRINKLEY
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Published: Thursday, Jul. 2, 2009

PAILIN, Cambodia -- Don't ever accept an invitation to go fishing in Thailand. You might not come back.

Almost daily, bodies are washing ashore along the coasts of Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia. These are unfortunate migrants, most of them from here in Cambodia. These people were sold to Thai fishermen who took them out to sea, worked them until they starved to death and then threw them overboard. It happens all the time.

The problem got so bad that the United States Senate's Foreign Relations Committee and the United Nations both but put out reports in recent weeks excoriating Thai and Malaysian authorities for selling Cambodian and Burmese migrants to Thai boat captains, sending them to a near-certain death. "If they are unable to pay for their release," the Senate report said, "the refugees are sold into forced labor, most commonly on fishing boats."

Once on the boat, "they don't come back," said Maj. Gen Visut Vanichbut of the Thai police. "All they get to eat is the fish that get left over in the net. They aren't paid. If they get sick, they're thrown overboard."

When they die, from overwork or starvation, their bodies are thrown to the sharks. In most cases, no one knew the victim was on the boat, and so no one claims the body if it washes ashore.

The general told me about this last year. But the United Nations report shows that the hideous problem continues at full force even now. It quotes several Cambodians who watched fishermen decapitate captives or throw them overboard. Several governments, not just Thailand's, are at fault. And by all accounts, the economic crisis is exacerbating the problem.

Until just now, the Cambodian law governing trafficking did not even recognize men as potential victims. The laws were written to protect women and children drawn into sexual slavery. But in June, the government in Phnom Penh announced that it was revising the statute.

"Today we change our strategy also to focus on men," Kong Chhan, a deputy director in the Ministry of Social Affairs, told the Phnom Penh Post.

Now we can only wait for Thailand to change its strategy.

Most of the news you hear from Thailand these days involves the riots and demonstrations to overturn whatever government happens to be in power. No one talks about the fishing-boat problem. The fishermen pay off the police. The police then cover up the crimes, and so hundreds of victims continue to die month after month.

If a victim manages to survive, then Thailand is well-equipped to care for him and then use international agencies to help send him home. The Thai government has shelters and administrators whose jobs are to help human-trafficking victims. I have seen them. The shelters are quite nice. And that serves as a stark illustration of a noxious paradox that afflicts human-trafficking enforcement in Thailand, Cambodia and much of the world.

When human trafficking first came into focus for law-enforcement a decade ago, legal and political officials everywhere put primary emphasis on protecting the victims the people who were lured into slavery and abused. Stories a decade ago of police and immigration agents jailing and then deporting the trafficking victims along with their captors horrified human-rights advocates, and their complaints were quite influential when the first human-trafficking laws were drafted.

That victim-oriented approach has held firm all these years, and "it has proved to work perfectly for the Thai," said Lance Bonneau head of the International Organization of Migration office in Bangkok, his tone oozing disgust. His organization works with the Thai government to send trafficking victims back home to Cambodia, Burma just as other IOM officers do all over the world.

"If you 'save' the victim," Bonneau told me, "there's no pressure to go after the traffickers" who are paying off the police. "It doesn't upset any of the arrangements the police have" with the fishing boat captains, the brothel and dance-club owners or others who enslave hapless victims. The traffickers can pursue their unconscionable work; the police can continue taking their kickbacks.

When the State Department researches its annual Trafficking in Persons report each year and asks Thailand what it is doing to fight trafficking, the Thai can point to their anti-trafficking laws and to those lovely shelters for victims. Usually, that's enough to save Thailand from a poor rating.

Thailand officials responded to the Senate and United Nations allegations with angry denials. Maybe in Washington's next report, it will look a little deeper at Thailand.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Joel Brinkley is a former Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for The New York Times and now a professor of journalism at Stanford University. Readers may send him e-mail at: brinkley@foreign-matters.com