Opposition Party Parliamentarians and Civil Society Officials Stated that the Government Does Not Implement the Constitution – Friday, 30.10.2009

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Posted on 31 October 2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 636

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

“On the occasion of the 5th Coronation Day of Preah Karuna Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, high ranking officials from the opposition parties, who are parliamentarians, and national and international observers, pointed to the Cambodian government’s obligation and need to implement the supreme law of the country by creating and reforming at least two institutions of Cambodia.

“A parliamentarian from the Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Son Chhay, agrees with the idea of an international observer, Mr. Lao Mong Hay, and of a civil society official of Cambodia as well of a parliamentarian [from the Human Rights Party], Mr. Kem Sokha over the duty that the King at present fulfills, especially the idea that the government must create and progress two supreme institutions led by the King.

From the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Article 23:

The King is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces. A Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Khmer Armed Forces shall be appointed to command the Armed Forces.

Article 24:

The King shall serve as Chairman of the Supreme Council of National Defense to be established by law.

“Mr. Son Chhay, a leader of the Sam Rainsy parliamentarians, said, ‘I hope that Cambodia will in the future create a Supreme Council of National Defense which, according to the Constitution, must be under the presidency of the King with the role as Chairman of that Supreme Council of National Defense.’

“Mr. Son Chhay agreed with a statement of a senior researcher of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong, Mr. Lao Mong Hay, in this point.

“Dr. Lao Mong Hay sees an obligation of the government, as stipulated in the Constitution of Cambodia, to create a Supreme Council of National Defense with the King as Chairman. So far, according to a statement of Mr. Lao Mong Hay, the government formed by the Cambodian People’s Party, with Mr. Hun Sen as the Prime Minister, has not discussed the creation of a Supreme Council of National Defense under the oversight by the King.

“Everything in the defense sector is seen being organized and decided directly by Prime Minister Hun Sen. This leads to criticism that the defense system of Cambodia is not conform with the Constitution of the country, which states the need to establish a Supreme Council of National Defense led by the King.

“The founder of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) – a large human rights organization in Cambodia, Ms. Pong Chhiv Kek [also known as Dr. Kek Galabru], said that in the five years since the coronation of Preah Karuna Preah Bath Norodom Sihamoni, it is seen by the public that in general, he cares for humanitarian affairs for his citizens. She expressed her concern related to a point of the Constitution which says that the King takes the thrown, but does not take the power.

From the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Article 7:

The King of Cambodia shall reign but shall not govern.

The King shall be the Head of State for life. The King shall be inviolable.

Article 8:

The King of Cambodia shall be a symbol of unity and eternity of the nation.

The King shall be guarantor of the national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the protector of rights and freedom for all citizens and the guarantor of international treaties.

“Ms. Pong Chhiv Kek said, ‘I regret that the Constitution states that the King reigns, but is not involved in political affairs, so that he could fulfill many other duties according to the constitution.’

“The Constitution of Cambodia stipulates that the King of Cambodia shall reign but shall not govern, though, according to another article, it makes the King responsible for the territorial integrity of Cambodia, for the protection of the rights and the freedom for all citizens, and for an independent court system, though he does not have the power to decide anything, and can only be burdened by the mistakes decided upon by the government.

“A parliamentarian and president of the Human Rights Party, Mr. Kem Sokha, noted also the point in the Constitution which states that the King must not be involved in politics, and that the King does not have power, as at present, the power is controlled by the government. According to his opinion, the King should be given the possibility to ensure the respect for human rights and the independence of the court system, as well as the right to pardon journalists and human rights activists who are jailed by government authorities. He stressed that at present, unless there is request from the government, the King does not decide to an amnesty, but Mr. Kem Sokha thinks that the government should not prevent the King from granting an amnesty.

From the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Article 27:

The King shall have the right to grant partial or complete amnesty.

“Senior politicians from the opposition parties and from civil society organization official expressed their ideas under the impression that the King seems to be restricted in fulfilling his duties which are stated as his rights, as stated in the Constitution, to help his people.

“Besides expressing good wishes to the King at the 5th Coronation Day after he succeeded his father, some scholars want to see the country’s Constitution implemented properly by the government, like by organizing the National Congress, which, as stated by the supreme law of Cambodia, is to be held annually under the chairmanship of the King. It is an event to remember the National Congress held by the current King’s father, Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk, to provide an opportunity for the citizens to express their concerns, hopes, and wishes, as well as to question the prime minister about how the country is ruled, while now, the Cambodian People’s Party government, especially Prime Minister Hun Sen, said that it is not possible to hold such a congress.

From the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Article :

Article 147:

The National Congress shall enable the people to be directly informed on various matters of national interests and to raise issues and requests for the State authority to solve.

Khmer citizens of both sexes shall have the right to participate in the National Congress.

Article 148:

The National Congress shall meet once a year in early December at the convocation of the Prime Minister.

It shall proceed under the chairmanship of the King.

Article 149:

The National Congress adopts recommendations to the Senate and the National Assembly, and to the Executive branch for reflection.

The organization and operation of the National Congress should be determined by law.

“But according to the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Right Party, and to national and international observers, the government could do what is stated in the Constitution, if the government had a real intention to do it.”

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #520, 30.10.2009

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Friday, 30 October 200

Cambodia eyes Nov. 4 rice tender

Saturday, October 31, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

MACTAN, Cebu -- Cambodia aims to double exports in five years and play a bigger role in the global rice market.

Ny Lyheng, managing director of the Federation of Cambodian Rice Millers Associations, said on Thursday that his group also plans to tap new markets, including the Philippines, as he expressed interest to participate in the Philippine tender on November 4.

Mr. Ny said Ambassador Noe Wong and his staff at the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh recently toured the facilities of Baitang (Kampuchea) Plc. (Cambodia Green Plc), which operates the first and biggest rice milling plant in Cambodia. The plant has the capacity to produce 720 metric tons a day, Mr. Ny added.

Cambodia presently produces around eight million metric tons of paddy rice, only half of which is for domestic consumption. The other half, which translates to about 3 million MT of milled rice, is exported to Germany, France, Malaysia and other countries.

The target is to more than double exports to 8 million MT of milled rice by 2015, Mr. Ny said.

"Cambodia has great potential to be a major player (in the rice market). We can compete in terms of quality and quantity," Mr. Ny said.

To increase production, Mr. Ny said they will cultivate more lands for rice, increase the cropping periods, improve farming techniques and upgrade rice mills.

The government had provided the federation a loan, part of which was used to held upgrade milling equipment throughout the country.

"Now, 15% of our mills are ready to export. They are expected to start exporting in 2010," Mr. Ny told delegates to the World Rice Conference here that ended Thursday.

The rest of the mills will continue to cater to domestic requirements while upgrading their equipment.

Cambodia presently has 2.6 million hectares of ricelands. "We have a very big land area. We can increase our irrigated lands," Mr. Ny said.

Other emerging rice exporters are Myanmar, which targets to export 1 million MT next year; and Uruguay, whose paddy exports may reach 1.25 million MT, or about 800,000 MT of milled rice. -- Marites S. Villamor

Setting record straight on Ratchada

By The Nation

Published on October 31, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

We all know that politicians can push the "boundaries" further than the rest of us, but Chalerm's latest attempt is unbelievable. In what was billed as a desperate effort to defend his political lord and master Thaksin Shinawatra, Chalerm told the Parliament on Thursday that Thailand had no grounds to ask Cambodia, or anybody for that matter, for the extradition of the former premier convicted of corruption.

First of all, Chalerm said, the body that tried Thaksin was the political section of the Supreme Court, and because this was a "political section", Thaksin's crime should be "political" in nature.

Moreover, he said, Thaksin did not violate any laws; he just did something the law didn't want him to do. Is this his way of saying that Thaksin's conflict of interest were just untoward but not illegal? Was he also whitewashing the major problems of today's public figures in Thailand?

Basically, Chalerm is saying that Thaksin's crimes can't be considered crimes because others were committing them too. He is saying that, as a public figure, one doesn't have to stay within the narrow perimeter of the law, that one can hide behind the usual excuses, or show a contempt towards the law just like others do.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Thaksin broke the law by giving his wife official consent to buy state-owned land in Ratchadaphisek.

While the ruling and other incidents involving Thaksin have divided Thailand more than anything in history, one thing is clear: Law was violated in the acquisition of the land and finding Thaksin guilty for it is purely legal, not political.

Chalerm was mixing things up to try and reinforce the blurred picture that Thaksin is trying to present to the world that what happened to him was "political", not legal. Of course, the coup was a big setback for democracy. But irrespective of the coup that deposed him, Thaksin violated the law and needs to be imprisoned. Everything is there in the letter of the law.

In addition, Chalerm is also trying to suggest that Thaksin's election victories prove that he has never done anything wrong. If elections can erase crimes, why do we need the judiciary? Is Chalerm suggesting that all a country needs for its political system are just the executive and legislative branches?

Chalerm and like-minded colleagues need to wake up, move on and live up to the promises they made to the nation and the people who elected them. Thais deserve better from their elected representatives.

Cambodia's Mysterious 'Jungle Woman' Sick, Stressed Out

Cambodian Rochom Soy (L), would-be mother of Rochom P'ngieng takes care of her at Oyadao district in Rottanakiri province in 2007. Known as Cambodia's "jungle woman", Rochom P'ngieng, whose case gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has been hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said Friday.(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

The woman believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, Cambodia's "jungle woman", is pictured here in her house in a remote jungle village in Rattanakiri province in 2007. The woman, whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, was hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said. (AFP/File/AFP)

FILE - In this file photo taken on Jan. 19, 2007, a woman believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed the 'jungle woman,' sits in her home in Oyadao, Rattanak Kiri province about 660 kilometers, (410 miles) north east of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. P'ngieng, dubbed the 'jungle woman' after emerging, naked and unable to speak from the wilds of northeastern Cambodia two years ago, is sick and apparently suffering from mental illness, a doctor said Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, a woman believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed the 'jungle woman,' holds a wooden pole looking away at her home in Oyadao, Rattanak Kiri province, about 660 kilometers (410 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. P'ngieng, dubbed the 'jungle woman' after emerging, naked and unable to speak from the wilds of northeastern Cambodia two years ago, is sick and apparently suffering from mental illness, a doctor said Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Friday, October 30, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A woman dubbed the "jungle woman" after emerging naked and unable to speak from the wilds of northeastern Cambodia two years ago is sick and apparently suffering from mental illness, a doctor said Friday.

Hing Phan Sokhunthea, chief of Rattanakiri province hospital, said the woman, believed to be 28-year-old Rochom P'ngieng, was taken home Friday after four days in a hospital even though she remained weak and the cause of her nervous distress remained unclear.

She was brought from the jungle in early 2007 after being caught trying to steal food from a villager. Her case attracted international attention after a local family claimed she was their daughter, who was 8 years old when she disappeared in 1988 while herding buffalo in a remote area.

However, the relationship was never proven, and it was never established how she could have survived in the wild for 19 years. Some villagers suspected she was not Rochom P'ngieng, but someone else suffering from mental problems who had been lost in the jungle for a much briefer time.

The man who claims to be her father, Sal Lou, said Friday by telephone that the woman still does not speak any intelligible language.

He said his daughter was hospitalized Monday after she refused to eat any rice for almost a month.

"She was very sick and her condition looks worse than when she was first found," he said. "She is very skinny now."

He said he decided to take her back home after her condition didn't improve and she kept trying to run away.

The Rattanakiri doctor said a preliminary diagnosis found she suffered from a nervous condition.

"We wanted her to stay longer in the hospital, so that we could learn more about her mental state, but her father took her back home without letting us know," said Hing Phan Sokunthea.

Cambodia can deny Thaksin extradition bid by Thailand: Attorney-General

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(Posted by CAAI News Media)

BANGKOK, Oct 30 (TNA) - Cambodia reserves the right to deny a request by Thailand to extradite ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he stays in the neighbouring country, but substantial grounds must be provided for the denial, according to the Attorney-General Julasingh Wasantsingh.

Mr Julasingh said he did not focus on anybody in particular, but would touch only on the principle that even though Thailand and Cambodia had signed an extradition treaty, in practice the country which was asked for the extradition has the full right to deny the request.

However, that country must justify its denial in line with international practice.

As for Mr Thaksin’s case, the Office of the Attorney-General has not been informed about his whereabouts so the office could not make the request.

If the police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that Mr Thaksin is in Cambodia, Thai officials would seek extradition, but it depends on Phnom Penh's decision.

He added that Thailand had formerly denied such requests from some countries, but the kingdom was able to provide strong grounds to clarify its decisions in the past.

Mr Hun Sen told reporters during attending the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Thailand that Mr Thaksin could remain in Cambodia as his guest and could be his economic advisor, saying he was not interfering in Thailand's internal affairs, but that Cambodia has the right to exercise its sovereignty and make such a decision.

Ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2006, convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term for malfeasance in the controversial Bangkok Ratchadapisek land purchase, Mr Thaksin now living in self-exile abroad and is reportedly a close friend of Mr Hun Sen. (TNA)

Cambodian PM to attend first Mekong-Japan summit in Japan

http://www.chinaview.cn/
2009-10-30

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a high delegation to participate in the first Mekong-Japan Summit from Nov. 6 to 7, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan, according to a statement released by the Cambodian Foreign Ministry on Friday.

The statement said the delegation will include Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Cham Prasidh, senior minister and Minister of Commerce.

"This forthcoming summit clearly demonstrates the political commitment at the highest level of the Mekong countries and Japan for a comprehensive development of the Mekong region, including management of the Mekong River," the statement said.

During his stay in Japan, Hun Sen will be received in the Royal Audience by His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito at his Royal Palace, meet Takahiro Yokomichi, speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, Eda Satsuki, president of the House of Councilors, and also hold a bilateral meeting with Hatoyama Yukio, Prime Minister of Japan.

The statement said at the end of the summit, Hun Sen will attend a joint press conference and signing ceremony on the Tokyo Declaration on a "New Partnership for the Common Flourishing Future" between Japan and the Mekong region countries, appended with the Japan-Mekong Action Plan.

Editor: Deng Shasha

Two commercial air routes between Vietnam and Cambodia to open

10/30/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The Cambodia State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) is coordinating with Vietnam’s flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to open two new air routes between the two countries, connecting Cambodia’s Sihanoukville City to Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island and Can Tho City.

Each route will have a scheduled flight everyday.

The selected areas are attractive to tourists from both countries. According to Ho Vandy, President of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents, Phu Quoc Island and Can Tho City are both big tourism centres.

After the two new routes are put into operation, Phu Quoc and Can Tho are expected to supply a lot of tourists to Cambodia’s tourism industry.

Cambodian luxury hotels witness drop in occupancy

Friday, 30th October 2009

Source : HVS International

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Luxury hotels in Cambodia have witnessed a double-digit drop in occupancy due to the global economic crisis.

Some hotels in the market have reported a decline of approximately 10% in occupancy rate in the 2009 autumn period compared to the same period in 2008.

In comparison, Siem Reap, Cambodia's main tourist destination, has suffered more than the capital city, Phnom Penh, as guests usually stay for a longer period in Phnom Penh.

Other than the financial crisis, the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak and the Thailand border dispute have also affected the market.

http://www.hvs.com/

City company exports first specialized autos to Cambodia

A street-washing and plant-watering truck to be exported to Cambodia on October 30. (Photo: SGGP)

Friday ,Oct 30,2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco) delivered two specialized vehicles worth US$153,000 to representatives of Phnom Penh City Hall, Cambodia on October 30.

The vehicles include a specially made Isuzu drain-vacuum truck and a Hino street-washing and plant-watering truck.

It is the first time Samco has exported specialized automobiles to Cambodia and the company says it expects to export more such vehicles in the near future.

SAMCO is a state-owned manufacturing company in Ho Chi Minh City that specializes in repair and maintenance services for all types of cars.

It produces, builds and assembles buses and specialized vehicles including top names like Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Hino, Hyundai, and Daewoo.

The company has a high-tech training center which receives support from international high-profile auto companies.

Samco provides inter-provincial and public transport services as well as builds and provides waterway transportation services.

By Ng.Kh - Translated by T.Huong

Cambodian beggars in HCM City

Cambodian child beggars in HCM City.

30/10/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

VietNamNet Bridge – A small group of Cambodian child beggars have appeared in HCM City in recent months.

At 6pm at a crossroads on Dien Bien Phu street, three kids in ragged and dirty clothes, holding plastic bowls stand at traffic lights asking for small change.

The two older children collect the cash while a much younger child lies naked on the pavement.

They eventually disperse when they hear a police whistle. Next day they are back – but this time the group includes six children and two women.

The two women sat on the pavement while six children divided into three groups, work around the roundabout of Dien Bien Phu street.

From asking around reporters traced them back to a marshy piece of land along the Nguyen Huu Tho road, District 7, which looks like a dumping ground. There are several tents made of coconut leaves and a small house.

Local residents say the house owner pitied the children so he allowed them to live in the house free. They also said that there are over 50 Cambodian people who have been living in this area for around 7 months.

A Cambodian man, who can speak a little Vietnamese, told VietNamNet that they came from Cambodia and they often return home each 3-4 months.

These Cambodian earn their living by collecting waste and begging.

Local government has several times sent them back home but they returned, said Tran Mong Thanh, chairman of Tan Hung ward. Thanh said there are many other Cambodians in HCM City, not only in his ward.

Mai Thi Hoa from the HCM City Department of War Invalids and Social Affairs said that under the HCM City’s regulations, all beggars will be gathered at social patronage centres and then be sent back to their homes.

Tu Truc

Cambodia to warn people against A/H1N1, HIV/AIDS at water festival

http://www.chinaview.cn/
2009-10-30

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian authorities have prepared two messages on prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS and A/H1N1 virus at the upcoming water festival, government and international organization officials said Friday.

Sok Touch, director of the communicable disease control department of Ministry of Health said his ministry has prepared some 500,000 leaflets to be distributed during the three-day festival.

He said the leaflets recommend the attendees to the event to be well aware of the disease by which it encourages people to avoid the flu by "covering up cough and wash hands among others."

Also, Dan Bora, communication officer of Population Service International (PSI) said about 1,000 volunteers coordinated by PSIand in cooperation with national AIDS authority will hand out 250,000 condoms during the three-day event.

He said brothels will be the main target for distributions of the condoms.

Cambodia is known as a successful country in curbing with the spread of HIV/AIDS through a campaign of "100 percent condom use."

Chea Sokhom, secretary general of the National and International Festival Committee, said Thursday that 391 boats with more than 25,000 racers have been registered to take part in the water festival which is scheduled to begin from Nov. 1 through 3.

Cambodia's boat races or water festival is a three-day event crediting Cambodia's strong armed forces in defeating enemies by using boats.

King Norodom Sihamoni is expected to preside over the races, and will be accompanied by the government leaders, including Prime Minister Hun Sen and members of the foreign diplomatic corps.

Every year, millions of Cambodians are coming from across the country and are flocking to Phnom Penh to view and enjoy the boat races.

The 1,700-meter race is held on the Mekong River in the capital in front of the Royal Palace.

Editor: Deng Shasha

The Holocaust In Cambodia

http://www.australia.to/

Written by John Pilger

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

John Pilger recalls the stricken society he found in Cambodia in 1979 which he described in his epic dispatches and documentary, Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia He reminds us that the Pol Pot horror emerged from the bombing ordered by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, and that Cambodia was again "punished" when its liberators came from the wrong side of the cold war and the Thatcher government send special forces to train the Khmer Rouge in exile

October 29, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The aircraft flew low, following the Mekong River west from Vietnam. Once over Cambodia, what we saw silenced all of us on board. There appeared to be nobody, no movement, not even an animal, as if the great population of Asia had stopped at the border.

Whole villages were empty. Chairs and beds, pots and mats lay in the street, a car on its side, a bent bicycle. Behind fallen power lines lay or sat a single human shadow; it did not move. From the paddies, lines of tall wild grass followed straight lines. Fertilised by the remains of thousands upon thousands of men, women and children, these marked common graves in a nation where as many as two million people, or more than a quarter of the population, were “missing”.

At the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Belsen in 1945, The Times correspondent wrote: “It is my duty to describe something beyond the imagination of mankind.” That was how I felt in 1979 when I entered Cambodia, a country sealed from the outside world for almost four years since “Year Zero”.

Year Zero had begun shortly after sunrise on April 17, 1975 when Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge guerrillas entered the capital, Phnom Penh. They wore black and marched in single file along the wide boulevards. At one o’clock, they ordered the city abandoned. The sick and wounded were forced at gunpoint from their hospital beds; families were separated; the old and disabled fell beside the road. “Don’t take anything with you,” the men in black ordered. “You will be coming back tomorrow.”

Tomorrow never came. An age of slavery began. Anybody who owned cars and such “luxuries”, anybody who lived in a city or town or had a modern skill, anybody who knew or worked with foreigners, was in grave danger; some were already under sentence of death. Out of the Royal Cambodian Ballet company of 500 dancers, perhaps 30 survived. Doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers were starved, or worked to death, or murdered.

For me, entering the silent, grey humidity of Phnom Penh was like walking into a city the size of Manchester in the wake of a nuclear cataclysm which had spared only the buildings. There was no power, no drinking water, no shops, no services of any kind. At the railway station trains stood empty at various stages of interrupted departure. Personal belongings and pieces of clothing fluttered on the platforms, as they fluttered on the mass graves beyond.

I walked along Monivong Avenue to the National Library which had been converted to pigsty, as a symbol, all its books burned. It was dream-like. There was wasteland where the Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral had stood; it had been dismantled stone by stone. When the afternoon monsoon rains broke, the deserted streets were suddenly awash with money. With every downpour a worthless fortune of new and unused banknotes sluiced out of the Bank of Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge had blown up as they fled.

Inside, a cheque book lay open on the counter. A pair of glasses rested on an open ledger. I slipped and fell on a floor brittle with coins.

For the first few hours I had no sense of even the remains of a population. The few human shapes I glimpsed seemed incoherent, and on catching sight of me, would flit into a doorway. A child ran into a wardrobe lying on its side which was his or her refuge. In a crumbling Esso filling station an old woman and three emaciated infants squatted around a pot containing a mixture of roots and leaves, which bubbled over a fire fuelled with paper money: such grotesque irony: people in need of everything had money to burn.

At a primary school called Tuol Sleng, I walked through what had become the “interrogation unit” and the “torture and massacre unit”. Beneath iron beds I found blood and tufts of hair still on the floor. “Speaking is absolutely forbidden,” said a sign. “Before doing something, anything, the authorisation of the warden must be obtained.”

After a while, one sound had a terrible syncopation: rising and falling day and night. Without milk and medicines, children were stricken with preventable disease like dysentery. It seemed that the very fabric of the society had begun to unravel. The first surveys revealed that many women had stopped menstruating.

What compounded this was the isolation imposed on Cambodia by the West because its liberators, the Vietnamese, had come from the wrong side of the cold war, having driven America out of their country in 1975. Cambodia had been the West’s dirty secret since President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger ordered a “secret bombing”, extending the war in Vietnam into Cambodia in the early 1970s, killing hundreds of thousands of peasants. “If this doesn’t work,” an aide heard Nixon say to Kissinger, “it’ll be your ass, Henry.” It worked in handing Pol Pot his chance to seize power.

When I arrived in the aftermath, no Western aid had reached Cambodia. Only Oxfam defied the Foreign Office in London, which had lied that the Vietnamese were obstructing aid. In September 1979, a DC-8 jet took off from Luxembourg, filled with enough penicillin, vitamins and milk to restore some 70,000 children -- all of it paid for by Daily Mirror readers who had responded to my reports and Eric Piper’s pictures in two historic issues of the paper which sold every copy.

Following on from the Mirror, on October 30, 1979, ITV broadcast Year Zero: the silent death of Cambodia, the documentary I made with the late David Munro. Forty sacks of post arrived at the ATV studios in Birmingham, with £1 million in the first few days. “This is for Cambodia,” wrote an anonymous Bristol bus driver, enclosing his week’s wage. An elderly woman sent her pension for two months. A single parent sent her savings of £50. People expressed that unremitting sense of decency and community which is at the core of British society. Unsolicited, they gave more than £20 million. This helped rescue normal life in faraway country. It restored a clean water supply in Phnom Penh, stocked hospitals and schools, supported orphanages and re-opened a desperately needed clothing factory.

Such an extraordinary public outpouring broke the US and British governments’ blockade of Cambodia. Incredibly, the Thatcher government had continued to support the defunct Pol Pot regime in the United Nations and even sent the SAS to train his exiled troops in camps in Thailand and Malaysia. Last March, the former SAS soldier Chris Ryan, now a best-selling author, lamented in a newspaper interview “when John Pilger, the foreign correspondent, discovered we were training the Khmer Rouge in the Far east [we] were sent home and I had to return the £10,000 we’d been given for food and accommodation”.

Today, Pol Pot is dead and several of his elderly henchmen are on trial in a UN/Cambodian court for crimes against humanity. Henry Kissinger, whose bombing opened the door to the nightmare of Year Zero, is still at large. Cambodians remain desperately poor, dependent on an often seedy tourism and sweated labour.

For me, their resilience remains almost magical. In the years that followed their liberation, I never saw as many weddings or received as many wedding invitations. They became symbols of life and hope. And yet, only in Cambodia would a child ask an adult, as a twelve-year-old asked me, with fear crossing his face: “Are you a friend? Please say.”

Cambodian dad, four sons electrocuted

http://news.asiaone.com/

Fri, Oct 30, 2009

AFP

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH - A Cambodian father and his four sons died in a chain of electrocution on Friday when the front door to the family's corrugated-metal house cut into a power line, police said.

The deadly incident happened in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo commune when Mok En, 65, opened the door and it hit a power line connected to his home, triggering his electrocution, local police chief Sun Kanareth told AFP.

"When he opened up the door, it pinched the electric wire and he was immediately electrocuted and fell down with his left hand holding the door," he said.

"But the sons thought he had been hit by a fainting spell and they rushed to help him. So they were all electrocuted as soon as they touched the father," he added.

Four-fifths of Cambodians do not have proper access to electricity, and many use unsafe methods to tap into power grids.

Hun Sen, Thaksin and corrupt coalitions

By Frank G. Anderson

Column: Thai Traditions

Published: October 30, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Nakhonratchasima, Thailand — Last April the Bangkok Post, Thailand’s English-language daily, ran an article passing on a “leak” from the Royal Thai Air Force that it had tracked former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s private jet as it crossed the border into Cambodia, once each at Phnom Penh and Koh Kong.

At the time, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh denied any contact between Cambodia and Thaksin. He rhetorically asked why Thaksin would want to come to Cambodia, and added that his country could do nothing to help the fugitive prime minister. He also said, "I have never seen Thaksin come here to Cambodia.”

So perhaps a few eyebrows were raised when Cambodia’s prime minister indicated in late October that he had a warm place in his heart for Thaksin.

Hun Sen, as he arrived in Thailand on Oct. 23 for the latest ASEAN summit, loudly proclaimed that Thaksin was welcome in his country and that he would not extradite him to Thailand if so requested by Thai authorities. He even pointed out that Article 3 of a Thai-Cambodian extradition treaty prohibits the extradition of those accused of political offenses. He went further to suggest that he would appoint the fugitive to be his economic adviser.

In response, Thailand’s current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva politely but pointedly told the Cambodian leader that he should not let himself be used as a pawn, but should work with other ASEAN members to meet the organization’s goals

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban subsequently had a two-hour talk with Hun Sen explaining the Thai government’s position regarding Thaksin. Suthep came out of the meeting publicly confident that Hun Sen would not make any more such comments. Perhaps privately he knew better.

According to claims by the anti-Thaksin People’s Alliance for Democracy, the ousted prime minister had already established friendly relations – allegedly in the form of personal financial benefits – with the Cambodian government in parlaying Thai sovereignty over the temple of Khao Phreah Vihear that sits on the two countries’ border for offshore oil concessions from Cambodia, that Thaksin would allegedly benefit from.

Hun Sen’s apparent disregard for Thailand’s sensitivities is not really all that difficult to understand. Like Europe and other countries that considered hypocritical certain policies by the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, so too it is likely that Cambodia feels Thailand is hypocritical – saying one thing but doing quite another.

Thai people, unsurprisingly, have different opinions concerning Hun Sen’s comments in support of Thaksin, but most appear to be critical. One pro-PAD activist, in fact, threatened to lead a large group of protesters to surround the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, mostly because of the Khao Phreah Vihear temple dispute, but also because of what is viewed as Cambodian government interference in domestic Thai politics.

One protest leader who did demonstrate against the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok said, “Hun Sen's action intentionally showed hostility to Thailand, its government and its military as well as the Thai people. It is interference in Thai politics.”

As if for Thailand to further shoot itself in the foot over the issue of handing Cambodia hundreds of acres of land around Khao Phreah Vihear, Thai TV viewers were treated to a speech by Lt. Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, an army specialist and flamboyant individualist, in a recent TV interview.

When asked about the real problem behind the Khao Phreah Vihear issue and why the army could not resolve what Thailand views as seizure of its territory, Sawasdipol replied, “The army … it’s a ‘play golf’ army, ‘country club’ type. That’s why.” This is the same man who had earlier helped train guards for the pro-Thaksin Red Shirts until told by his superiors to stop, and who had allegedly been involved in violence against the People’s Alliance for Democracy in 2008.

Thailand’s relations with its “friendly neighboring countries” Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Malaysia have been traditionally less than ideal – for the majority of people in each nation, that is. But for business and political sleight-of-hand on both sides, the relationship has been very lucrative. Thaksin and look-alike “investors” gained immense fortunes through various deals with all these countries, including telecommunications contracts, oil concessions, lumber operations, construction and more.

For his part, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has his hands full keeping together a weak political coalition that has been described as one where everyone gets what he wants, and may abandon the ship, sinking the coalition, if he doesn’t.

This coalition includes Pranawm Phokham, parliamentarian from Nakhonratchasima and board member of the Motherland Party, which is composed of both pro- and anti-Thaksin members. A glittering example of the fruit of Pranawm’s labor during his political life includes a multimillion dollar resort home, now under construction near a controversial forestry reserve region of Wang Nam Khiew in Nakhonratchasima province.

Pranawm was one of 28 members of parliament who voted for Abhisit to become prime minister. Quid pro quo for Pranawm may include Thailand’s own version of its U.S. counterpart, “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

--

(Frank G. Anderson is the Thailand representative of American Citizens Abroad. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Thailand from 1965-67, working in community development. A freelance writer and founder of northeast Thailand's first local English language newspaper, the Korat Post – www.thekoratpost.com – he has spent over eight years in Thailand "embedded" with the local media. He has an MBA in information management and an associate degree in construction technology. ©Copyright Frank G. Anderson.)

Cambodian Youth Program Leader Awarded $25,000 Peace Prize

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Phalen Lim fled Cambodia at the age of 2 in 1975, during the regime of the Khmer Rouge, and has never forgotten what it was like to start over as an immigrant in a new country. Now, the community leader is being awarded with a $25,000 California Peace Prize, reports The Orange County Register.

Lim and her family initially sought out help from the service agency The Cambodian Family (TCF) when they arrived in Santa Ana, California. Now, as the director of youth programs for the organization, Lim's job is to support and inspire young people to become balanced, healthy leaders. Serving refugees and immigrants, The Cambodian Family's emphasis is on community health, such as trauma resolution and stress reduction, employment services and youth programs.

The California Wellness Foundation, a private group whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of Californians, will present the peace awards tonight in San Francisco. It applauded Lim as an "integral leader in an agency that combats gang violence and promotes cultural pride and understanding in Santa Ana."

Lim mentors around 60 Cambodian and Latino youths, and impresses upon them the importance of working with what they have. She plans to put some of the prize money towards her son's education, and allocate a portion of it to the youngsters at The Cambodian Family.

Despite these accomplishments, she remains humble:

"I must have done something good to deserve it," she says now. But she's quick to add: "It's not just about me. It's about the work that I did and about the people that I serve."

You can donate to The Cambodian Family here.

Thais To Explain Thaksin Charges to Hun Sen

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

29 October 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The Thai government said this week it will send an official document to Prime Minister Hun Sen regarding ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, following a war of words between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over Cambodia’s right to refuse extradition.

Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.

Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.

Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.

“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”

Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.

Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.

Katen Worshippers Barred from Remote Pagoda

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

29 October 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Police in Kampong Thom province have blocked villagers from participating in a Buddhist ceremony at a remote pagoda on disputed land for the past two days, officials said Thursday.

Celebrants of the Katen ceremony, in which the faithful bring offerings to sequestered monks, were stopped 15 kilometers outside the pagoda, in Santhouk district, which the provincial governor called “illegitimate.”

“We blocked them, but it does not mean we’re preventing people from holding the ceremony,” the governor, Chhun Choan, said. “That place is part of a land concession given to a company for the investment of rubber.”

Villagers from the provinces of Kandal and Kampong Cham had meant to travel to the Meakea Prachea Hema Voan pagoda, with gifts for monks who must remain on the premises for three months. The Katen ceremony ends Nov. 2.

“Yesterday, they blocked one convoy, and today another,” said Leng Chea, a monk’s assistant. “If they claim that the pagoda is illegal, they must wait until the ceremony is finished.”

The pagoda, located 100 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was built by an association assisting debilitated soldiers. It is little more than a small house where two monks live.

Khun Sok Kea, head of the association, said he had acquired the land legally in 2004.

Thaksin denies he's off to Cambodia

Published: 30/10/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra early on Friday denied a media report that he will go to Cambodia to celebrate Loy Krathong and to thank Cambodian leader Hun Sen for his promise not to allow his extradition to Thailand.

“I will not go to Cambodia and will stay here in a Muslim country,” Thaksin said on his twitter@thaksinlive website.

The ex-premier said that from Nov 1 he will be able to directly contact Thai people via SMS. “If you want to discuss economic matters, lock on to 'follow' in 'thaksinbiz'.''

Regarding his loss of his police rank, Thaksin said it was now clear that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is a supporter of the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

Citing Puea Thai MP for Samut Prakarn Pracha Prasopdee, most local dailies reported on Friday morning that Thaksin will on Nov 2 travel by his personal jet to Cambodia.

Mr Abhisit on Thursday reaffirmed that if Thaksin does turn up in Cambodia his government would seek his extradition.

5 killed, 1 seriously injured by electric shock in Cambodia

http://www.chinaview.cn/
2009-10-30

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and one was seriously injured by an electric shock caused by short circuit on Friday morning in Phnom Penh, police from Phnom Penh authority said.

The incident occurred on Friday morning, at about 6:30 o'clock local time, in a family who's old father, 67-years-old, was first found died at the door, and other four people were killed and one was seriously injured when they wanted to support the old man, according to a policeman who asked not to be named.

Police said the incident was caused by short circuit because the family's house was in a low-lying place and had water standing due to raining for several days. Four were died instantly, and another one was seriously injured. They all killed by short circuit because their house was built mostly by used iron sheets.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

Thailand & Cambodia Argue About Thaksin & the Coup

Friday, 30 October 2009

Column: Richard S. Ehrlich

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand and Cambodia have descended into a loud political feud about Bangkok's 2006 coup, and Thailand's current threat to demand the extradition of its fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The rift between the two Buddhist-majority nations in the heart of Southeast Asia was expected to worsen if Mr. Thaksin accepts Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's surprise offer of a temporary house.

"There is an extradition process," warned Thailand's powerful Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday (October 27).

"The turmoil following Cambodian leader Hun Sen's remarks, about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being welcome in his country, has thrown the government into a spin," the Bangkok Post newspaper, which opposes Mr. Thaksin, reported on Tuesday (October 27).

Ratcheting up his rhetoric, Mr. Hun Sen compared Mr. Thaksin to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has languished under house arrest in Rangoon for 14 years.

"Many people are talking about Mrs. Suu Kyi of Burma. Why can't I talk about the victim, Thaksin?" Mr. Hun Sen said on October 23.

"That cannot be regarded as interference by Cambodia into Thai internal affairs. Without the coup d'etat in 2006, such a thing would not have happened," Hun Sen said.

Soft-spoken Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lashed out Mr. Hun Sen's remarks.

"There are few people in the world who believe Thaksin is similar to that of Mr. Suu Kyi," Mr. Abhisit said later that day.

"I hope Prime Minister Hun Sen will receive the right information and change his mind on the matter."

Cambodia's government spokesman Phay Siphan said on October 23: "Cambodia has a right to offer Thaksin to visit Cambodia, and we have no obligation to send him back to Thailand."

If "former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra wishes to travel to Cambodia anytime...the Cambodian prime minister is ready to prepare a residence for [his] stay in Cambodia," reported Cambodia's government-run TVK television on October 22, according to Agence-France Presse.

Mr. Thaksin has been an international fugitive, based mostly in Dubai, dodging a two-year prison sentence for a conflict of interest.

That conviction involved a Bangkok real estate deal -- for his now divorced wife -- which was arranged when he was prime minister.

Mr. Thaksin became prime minister in 2001 when most voters elected the billionaire telecommunications tycoon, hoping he would boost the economy and modernize Thailand.

Mr. Thaksin was removed in September 2006 by Thailand's U.S.-trained military in a bloodless coup when they used tanks, armored personnel carriers, Humvees and other weapons to seize power.

He has unsuccessfully tried to return to power with the help of allied politicians, and get back his two billion U.S. dollars worth of assets which the coup leaders froze.

International human rights groups, however, want Mr. Thaksin investigated for his role in the alleged extrajudicial murder of more than 2,000 people during his government's "war on drugs."

Mr. Thaksin remains politically active in self-exile.

He helps lead a mass movement of so-called "Red Shirts" who claim to represent Thailand's majority lower classes, especially in the countryside.

Together they demand an immediate election, expecting Mr. Thaksin's allies to win.

They are opposed by the "Yellow Shirts" who claim to support Thailand's urban middle class and constitutional monarchy.

Led by Sondhi Limthongkul, the Yellow Shirts blockaded Bangkok's international and domestic airports in November 2008 for eight days, stranding more than 300,000 people worldwide.

Their blockade helped weaken a government allied to Mr. Thaksin, and paved the way for Parliament to elect Mr. Abhisit.

Mr. Abhisit's fragile coalition government enjoys the military's support, and much of his personal security is handled by the military.

Thailand's wealthy elite have mostly thrown their weight behind Mr. Abhisit as well, and appear nervous about Mr. Thaksin and the Red Shirts plotting to destabilize Bangkok.

Cambodia's prime minister has thrown a wild card into this dangerous mix, apparently hoping to attract big investments by Mr. Thaksin and weaken Bangkok's strategy over a smoldering border dispute, according to some analysts.

"It is true that I would invite former Prime Minister Thaksin to visit Cambodia anytime, and to be my economic advisor," Mr. Hun Sen said on October 22.

Thailand and Cambodia are former war-time enemies -- and current investment partners -- so the stakes are high for all sides to quell their public sniping.

Occasional killings on both sides have continued in and around the ancient stone ruins of Preah Vihear, a Hindu temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

That dispute dates back to the 1950s, and continued even after the International Court in the Hague, Netherlands, confirmed Cambodia's ownership in 1962.

The conflict flared again after the ruins were declared a World Heritage Site in July 2008 by the World Heritage Committee, based on Cambodia's proposal to cash in on its tourism potential.

Thailand and Cambodia have suffered much worse relations in the past.

After Richard Nixon became president of the United States in 1969, he used Thailand as one of several military staging areas for heavy aerial bombing raids against communists in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, until America's wars ended in 1975 -- one year after Nixon's presidency -- with the U.S. defeated in all three countries.

Washington and Bangkok later indirectly backed Cambodia's communist Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, when his jungle-based guerrillas were in a loose alliance with other Cambodian rebels fighting against Vietnam's 1979-1989 occupation of Cambodia.

Thai and Cambodian politicians have been fleeing to each other's country for the past 50 years, seeking sanctuary from coups, arrest warrants, and other threats.

In 1957, when Thai dictator Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat unleashed a military coup against Prime Minister Phibun Songkram, the toppled leader fled Thailand for Cambodia in his Ford Thunderbird car.

*************

Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978. He is co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of investigative journalism. His web page

Vietnam, Cambodia police step up anti-crime co-operation

October 30, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Vietnamese and Cambodian policemen are mulling over agreements on criminal justice support and extradition to enable the creation of a full-fledged legal foundation for their joint efforts to fight crime.

Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on October 29, they assessed what they have gained in the fight against cross-border crime and identified specific areas that need to be stepped up in future.

Minister of Public Security Gen. Le Hong Anh highly valued close and effective co-operation between Vietnamese and Cambodian police in fighting criminals and maintaining social order and safety.

’The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security has reinforced co-operation with the Cambodian Ministry of the Interior and the National Police of Cambodia, on helping manage the increasing crime rate in both countries,’ General Anh said.

He said he hoped bilateral co-operation in the field would be conducted more closely and effectively in the coming time.

Addressing the meeting, State Secretary of the Cambodian Ministry of the Interior Gen. Em Sam An, admitted that transnational crimes have adversely impacted security in localities along both nations’ borders.

He underlined the urgent need to beef up bilateral co-operation in maintaining social order and security in the two countries.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security put forward orientations to step up co-operation with the Cambodian National Police in the 2009-2010 period, including increasing the sharing of information on crime, especially transnational crime.

It proposed that Vietnamese and Cambodian police intensify collaboration to promptly address issues arising from the two countries’ enforcement of their laws and their maintenance of social order and security. It also proposed that Vietnamese police assist in the organisation of anti-crime training courses for their Cambodian colleagues.

The Vietnamese side suggested the establishment of flexible but effective co-operation at all levels, particularly in localities sharing the borderline, to handle complicated issues relating to security and social order.

The ministry also suggested the opening of police liaison offices in each other’s countries to aid the promotion of bilateral co-operation in the field.

The Ministry of Public Security reported that crime along the Vietnam-Cambodia border is very complicated, ranging from drug-related crimes and the trafficking of women, to the illegal arms trade, smuggling, gambling, robbery, and illegal immigration.

In 2008 and the first nine months of this year, police uncovered 1,893 cases of smuggling involving over VND 93.5 billion in goods and brought to light dozens of cases of trafficking in women and children in areas along the common border.

They arrested 43 people belonging to 12 criminal rings involved in stealing motorbikes in Vietnam and transporting them to Cambodia.

Police from the ten Vietnamese and Cambodian provinces have jointly investigated 569 drug-related cases, arresting 1,085 people and seizing 4.76 kg of heroin and 395.7 kg of marijuana. (VNA)

Cambodian 'jungle woman' hospitalised

The woman believed to be Rochom P'ngieng, Cambodia's "jungle woman", is pictured here in her house in a remote jungle village in Rattanakiri province in 2007. The woman, whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, was hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said. (AFP/File/AFP)

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia's "jungle woman", whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, was hospitalised after refusing food, her father and a doctor said Friday.

But the tale of Rochom P'ngieng, which has involved disputes over her real identity and how she spent her missing years, took a further twist when her father then removed her from the clinic against doctors' advice.

Rochom P'ngieng went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600 kilometres (400 miles) northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.

In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging the ground for pieces of dried rice in the forest.

She could not utter a word of any intelligible language, instead making what Sal Lou, the man who says he is her father, calls "animal noises".

Cambodians described her as "jungle woman" and "half-animal girl".

Sal Lou told AFP by telephone on Friday that Rochom P'ngieng was admitted to the provincial hospital on Monday.

"She has refused to eat rice for about one month. She is skinny now... She still cannot speak. She acts totally like a monkey. Last night, she took off her clothes, and went to hide in the bathroom," Sal Lou said.

"Her condition looks worse than the time we brought her from the jungle. She always wants to take off her clothes and crawl back to the jungle," he added.

But he said in a later call that he had brought her home because it was too difficult to keep her from fleeing the hospital.

"We have to hold her hand all the time (at the hospital). Otherwise she would take her clothes off and run away," he said, adding that he would now appeal to charities to take over her care.

Doctor Hing Phan Sokunthea, director of Ratanakkiri provincial hospital, confirmed that Sal Lou had defied medical advice and checked her out of the hospital.

"We wanted to monitor her situation more, but we don't know what to do because the father already took his daughter out of hospital," he said.

The jungles of Ratanakkiri -- some of the most isolated and wild in Cambodia -- are known to have held hidden groups of hill tribes in the recent past.

In November 2004, 34 people from four hill tribe families emerged from the dense forest where they had fled in 1979 after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which they supported.