Skin condition leaves local officials puzzled

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 Tep Nimol and Khuon Leakhana

VILLAGERS in Kampong Speu and Kandal provinces have been attacked by a mysterious insect-borne skin condition that has stymied local health officials.

Ao Vanthen, director of the Kampong Speu Health Department, said Thursday that 70 families in Prey Kuy and Tuol Prich villages in the province’s Samraong district had broken out in strange spots and itches, originally assumed to be caused by insects.

“It is not a contagious disease. Spots come out and we become itchy immediately after we touch the insects,” he said.

Ly Svan, deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Infectious Diseases, said the ministry still did not know what kind of disease was assailing the villagers, but that authorities are investigating it.

He said that according to preliminary investigations, the disease was “not very serious”.

Ao Vanthen said recent swarms of flies might be behind the skin ailment, counseling villagers to wash and clean themselves often to avoid the rashes. He said health officials were in the process of treating those who have previously been affected by the unknown condition.

Opening of new airport delayed until 2010

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 Nathan Green

THE official opening of Preah Sihanouk International Airport has been delayed until next year at the request of the French embassy, State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) Secretary of State Mao Havannal said Thursday.

The sole airport in the coastal resort city, which has been upgraded by airport operator Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA), was due to be opened Thursday.

But Mao Havannal said he now expected the official opening to be held in March, adding that the airport was already fully operational and ready to handle flights as soon as there was demand.

He said he expected some chartered flights to begin operating by the end of this year or early next year.

“Cambodia Angkor Air may also offer some flights this year or early 2010 depending on demand,” he said.

Soy Sokhan, the SSCA undersecretary of state in charge of CAA, said last month that the airline would initially fly only chartered flights from Sihanoukville, though it was examining establishing regular routes between the resort and both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

Preah Sihanouk International Airport was a notable absentee when the SCA published its winter season flight schedules last month for Cambodia’s airports.

SCA Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Deviller told the Post in March that the official launch of the airport was a matter for the government, which expected “to have French government officials present”.

SCA operates Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports, as well as Preah Sihanouk International Airport, which Deviller said is now fully operational.

A flexible Myanmar dialogue

Photo by: AFP

Earlier this year a woman passes a banner calling for the release of Myanmar opposition icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the past 20 years in detention at the behest of the country’s ruling military junta.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 Robert Taylor

US engagement with the nation may have laid groundwork for improved diplomacy, but the generals are still firmly in control.

COMMENT
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ROBERT TAYLOR

THE two-hour summit meeting of US President Barrack Obama and the leaders of the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held on Sunday, at the end of the APEC meeting in Singapore, stimulated much idle speculation about possible future political developments in Myanmar. This was because the hyped meeting was the first encounter between a senior Burmese government official, Prime Minister Thein Sein, and a US president since Lyndon Johnson welcomed General Ne Win to the White House in 1966. Then, in the midst of the Cold War, neutralist Burma was hailed as a cheap but effective bulwark against Chinese communist expansion into Southeast Asia. When the Cold War ended, and the containment of communism ceased to be the centre of American foreign policy, Myanmar soon became a favoured whipping boy for the Clinton and Bush administrations, ultimately obscuring larger issues at stake in US-Asian relations.

President Obama is taking a different tack. Whether the administration in Washington really expects the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military government in Naypyidaw to heed its insistent strictures regarding the release from house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other opponents of the regime, or reopen negotiations on the political future of the country prior to elections slated for next year, is unclear. They would be naive if they expected much from sending two top state department officials for two days of talks in Yangon and Naypyidaw or to dangle economic rewards in front of the generals who have governed Myanmar for the past 20 years, accepting no foreign advice and precious little foreign economic assistance. Whatever else the Americans are currently doing, in statements to the effect that they are establishing no conditions on a dialogue with the SPDC they are positioning themselves to be able to improve relations with Myanmar after elections in 2010 create a new government with a civilian face. The European Union member states will doubtless probably soon be playing catch-up.

The ASEAN-US summit provided President Obama an opportunity to reiterate his call for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. This call was made in his first speech on his initial Asian sojourn the day before. Having twice called for the end of her home detention, once in the hearing of Prime Minister Thein Sein, he fulfilled a political obligation to her supporters and his critics back in Washington. However, the American willingness to see the issuing of a summit final communique that made no mention of political prisoners but merely called for the 2010 elections to be fair and inclusive, demonstrated a degree of diplomatic flexibility that the former Bush administration was unable to display. The return of the Americans to the ASEAN meeting shows both a measure of respect for regional sensitivities and a realistic perception of what American power can and cannot achieve in Asia.

Back in Myanmar, the issuance of a letter from Suu Kyi to SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe, written on November 11 to request a meeting to discuss cooperation in the future, with the background of the US flurry of interest, prompted even more speculation. Her presumption to approach the head of state as an equal, when all previous talks between her and senior government officials since 1988 have failed, suggests this effort will probably be ignored. Her unwillingness to address the conditions set down by the government for a meeting with the senior general in October 2007 – that she agree to renounce her policy of resisting all authority, her call for utter devastation and her previous requests that Western governments impose economic sanctions – will probably guarantee no response to her letter. The dead letter box will once more be opened.

The SPDC laid down its seven-step road map to the establishment of new political order in 2003. It has been following that plan slowly but steadily ever since, having achieved the ratification of a new constitution by a miraculous public referendum in May last year. The next step in the road map will be the holding of elections, followed by the convening of a legislature and the formation of a new government. Demands by the NLD and their supporters to reopen issues foreclosed by the ratification of the new constitution will continue to be ignored. The government is taking the final steps to prepare for the elections next year. The completion of the process of turning former insurgent armed foes into border security forces under the auspices of the national army is now under way. This is a crucial step to ensuring domestic peace and stability under the new order.

The issuance of a new election law, which will determine the conditions under which political parties can be organised and rules by which they will be allowed to campaign, is still awaited. Until that document is promulgated, most expected political life to be put on hold. Inside the country, people interested in politics are expectant of some modest change after the elections in 2010.

They do not expect a revolution, nor a sudden revision of the constitution to address those aspects of it to which democratic purists strongly object.

The Myanmar army has created for itself a constitutional order that will preserve peace and stability in such a way as it believes history has proved is essential. This may be a self-serving reading of history, but no less real for that.

The SPDC is not going to give up what it has planned for itself and its country for unknown and untried promises of cooperation with foes of 20 years’ standing, with whom previous attempts at dialogued proved to be fruitless.

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Robert Taylor is a former research associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and author of Burma: Political Economy under Military Rule.

Police Blotter: 20 Nov 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 Thet Sambath

DOG DAYS FOR CLASSY FELINE’S OWNERS

A French man and his Cambodian wife filed a complaint to police after their neighbour’s dog attacked and killed their cat in Preah Sihanouk province’s Sihanoukville town on Tuesday. The cat’s owners said that the cat was purchased in France for US$700 and had only been in Cambodia for 20 days before it was killed. Police turned down the couple’s request for compensation.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

AK-47S LEAD POLICE TO PROLIFIC ROBBER

A man was arrested after police found two AK-47 assault rifles at his home in Kandal province on Tuesday. The suspect, 51-year-old Leab Sokha, is a prolific robber who has operated across the country and was once imprisoned for five years for armed robbery, police said, adding that they were investigating his current activities when they searched his house and found the weapons. He will be sent to court in Kampong Chhnang province because he was involved in a robbery there.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

HOODLUMS BEAT UP, ROB BLIND BEGGAR

Two men were arrested for beating up a blind beggar in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on Monday. The victim, Uk Pisith, said he had collected 11,500 riels that day and was going to use it to buy food and drinks. The suspects, a 24-year-old and a 19-year old, approached the victim and started to kick him. A bystander who tried to intervene was injured in the head when the suspects threw a stone at him.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

SUICIDE LINKED TO CONFUSION OVER OX

l A 27-year-old man hanged himself in Kampong Speu province on Sunday after it was revealed the ox his mother gave him was not a gift, as he had previously thought. The victim’s mother had given him an ox that he thought was a gift until she told him that he was only supposed to take care of it temporarily. Several days after his mother reclaimed the ox, he committed suicide in a ricefield. Police confirmed that it was a suicide and no foul play was involved.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

MALAYSIAN CITIZEN ARRESTED OVER DEBT

A Malaysian man who was trying to run away from a US$8,000 debt was arrested in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Sunday. His Cambodian business partner said the suspect had borrowed the money on April 5 to open a massage parlour and had agreed to pay it back on May 4 with $1,200 interest, which he failed to do. The suspect admitted to borrowing the money for his business ventures and was detained pending further investigations, police said.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

TRC buys Delta stake

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 JEREMY MULLINS

MALAYSIAN firm Trans Resources Corporation (TRC) Synergy Berhad announced Wednesday the acquisition of a 26 percent stake in Cambodia’s Delta Garden Limited for US$1.95 million. The deal was facilitated through a subsidiary, TRC Land (Cambodia) Limited, formed on October 28 as an investment vehicle for the company in construction and property-development sectors in the Kingdom, a statement said. Delta Garden said it intends to construct 123 housing units along the Tonle Bassac river, south of Phnom Penh, but refused to comment on the present state of construction at the site.

First for bank meeting

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:02 Nguon Sovan

CAMBODIA hosted the ASEAN Banking Council Meeting of the ASEAN Bankers Association for the first time Thursday as the two-day event kicked off in Phnom Penh with discussions covering cooperation on finance, investment and trade, as well as education. “Cambodia has enjoyed political stability and rapid economic growth for the past decade and is now on the investment map of many businessmen,” Pung Kheav Se, chairman of the Association of Banks in Cambodia, said in a welcome message to delegates.

Govt calls for shared mobile towers

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Mobile-phone antennas dominate parts of the Kingdom’s skyline, including that of Street 178 (above) close to Phnom Penh’s riverside.

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We do not want to see too many antennas dotted along roads in the future.
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(Posted by CAAI news Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 CHUN SOPHAL AND JEREMY MULLINS

Telecoms Minister So Khun says measure would cut costs, but private sector remains concerned

MINISTER of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun called Thursday for Cambodia’s nine mobile-phone companies to share infrastructure, a measure that has already raised concerns within the private sector as to how exactly the requirement would be implemented following the future passage of a telecommunications law.

Speaking in Phnom Penh at a conference on the issue that included private-sector representatives, So Khun said the initiative would avoid duplication of infrastructure, thereby reducing the sector’s expenses and its potential impact on the Kingdom’s skyline.

“We do not want to see too many antennas dotted along roads in the future,” he said.

The government has given Tower Master Cambodia Co Ltd a 35-year licence to build shared mobile infrastructure across the country. The company is 80 percent owned by an unnamed Malaysian firm, with the remaining 20 percent taken by Ung Veasna, the president of the new firm.

“We hope that the participation and sharing of experiences in using these joint antennas will help boost growth of the economy and improve the country’s telecommunications service quality,” Ung Veasna said at Thursday’s meeting.

The first stage of the process would see the company invest US$20 million to build 100 joint antennas across the Kingdom.

In a bid to raise capacity from the current roughly 2.3 million mobile-phone users to 5.3 million, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) plans to build a total of 4,500 antennas, according to documents presented Thursday.

How this plan will be achieved remains hugely controversial within the mobile-phone sector, given that some companies have operated in the Kingdom for years and spent tens of millions of dollars on infrastructure to gain a competitive advantage, whereas others have entered only recently.

A draft of a proposed telecoms law states in Article 50(b) that “a licensee shall share the facilities with other licensees”, a clause that has raised concern in some firms in the sector.

In its recommendations to the ministry in response to the draft, the private sector said at the end of September that it agreed that sharing infrastructure was beneficial in reducing costs and environmental impact, but that, within Cambodia, market forces had not been given sufficient time to work.

“Mandatory facilities sharing will reduce the incentive on operators to build such infrastructure,” said the recommendations, which were refined before submission to the ministry.

“This may result in less than the optimal number of towers being constructed such that when the operators commence infilling their networks to improve coverage and provide better service, they are unable to do so as all tower capacity has been filled.”

The nine-page feedback document adds: “This will result in a delay in improvements to the network while additional towers are built.”

Mobitel, the country’s first mobile-phone operator and largest by market share, this year announced a $350 million three-year rural expansion programme after the signing of a $100 million loan secured through the International Finance Corporation.

Viettel, the Vietnamese military-run operator under the brand name Metphone, confirmed similarly ambitious plans to extend its infrastructure at the end of last month.

Managing Director Nguyen Duy Tho said the firm would activate an additional 3,000 base receiver stations by the end of this month as it targets coverage of nearly 95 percent of Cambodia’s population.

Neither Mobitel nor Viettel were available for comment on the new MPTC recommendations Thursday.

Smart Mobile supported the initiative in principal, said spokesman Rattana Um, adding that the Cyprus-based firm was awaiting further direction from the ministry, but expressing some concern about how infrastructure-sharing would be implemented in practice.

Le Meridien makes it an award hat-trick

General Manager Gregory Anderson accepts Le Meridien’s 2009 World Travel Award in London.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 POST STAFF

Le Meridien Angkor was a winner at the World Travel Awards 2009, in the categories of Cambodia’s Leading Hotel and Cambodia’s Leading Spa Resort, for the third consecutive year.

The awards, based on over 170,000 industry professional votes worldwide for the very best travel, tourism and hospitality products and services, were announced at the 16th World Travel Awards Regional Ceremony in London on November 7.

Le Meridien Angkor seems to have a stranglehold on these awards and the hotel’s ebullient Australian general manager, Gregory Anderson, issued a press statement saying this achievement was a “superb testament” to the dedicated management team and associates.

Anderson embarked on two 13-hour flights in one weekend, to and from London, to collect the gong, an experience which left him “buggered’ but “well pleased”.

Anderson said the high level of guest satisfaction is what makes the hotel distinctive.

He said staff undergo intensive training so they can connect and empathise with guests, and last year high-end Japanese tour operator Jalpak listed the hotel as number one in terms of guest satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Siem Reap’s ultra-luxurious boutique hotel, The Sothea, managed by Sarah Moya, has been included in DestinAsian magazine’s Luxe List for 2009, and is the only resort listed for Cambodia.

Indonesia-based DestinAsian was established in 2001 and claims to be the “leading award-winning travel and lifestyle magazine in the Asia-Pacific region, with a print run of 41,250 copies and a readership of 123,750 per edition.”

It is distributed in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Deluge double doesn't dent duo's dynamism

Photo by: Lily Partland

Virgilio Calaguian and Peter Oxley outside their Cockatoo Resort and Restaurant.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 POST STAFF

Siem Reap’s odd couple, guesthouse proprietors Peter Oxley and Virgilio Calaguian, are still recovering after their Cockatoo Resort and Restaurant, which opened its doors in August, was badly affected by the September Siem Reap floods, with all the rooms knee-deep in water.

Guests at the resort had to be relocated to other hotels, and bookings had to be cancelled while the resort shut down for a month.

Meanwhile, in a second blow, Calaguian’s house in his home country, the Philippines, was also flooded and his treasured classic movie poster collection, as well as career memorabilia, “just vanished” when his library went under.

The duo had an eclectic mix of jobs before relocating to Siem Reap and reinventing themselves as resort proprietors.

Oxley, who lived in Tokyo for almost 20 years, acted in advertisements and once impersonated director George Lucas in an elaborate prank on a famous pop star for Fuji Television. He also worked as a commercial photographer, including a very brief stint as a paparazzo when David Beckham was in Tokyo.

Calaguian won prestigious awards in the advertising industry as creative director for Standard Advertising in Manila, which held accounts for Nissan Motors and Canon cameras among others, before becoming a travel and lifestyle writer for Lonely Planet and other publications.

The two are now on a steep learning curve to master their new career and are planning 40s and 50s classic film nights, wine-tasting evenings, and maybe live music and barbecues to attract guests and locals to their resort.

US doctors descend on Siem Reap in fourth heart surgery mission

An operation during last year’s heart surgery mission at Angkor Hospital for Children.

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 POST STAFF

Another heart surgery mission at the Angkor Hospital for Children is gearing up, with procedures due to start on Monday, December 7.

This is the fourth such mission in two years, where American doctors and other medical personnel donate their vacation time to perform heart surgery on children suffering from patent ductus arterious, a leaky-heart condition that causes the lungs to fill with blood.

The professionals will arrive from the University of California and Rady Children’s Hospital, both in San Diego, as well as the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

The endeavour is sponsored by Variety Children’s Lifeline in Solana Beach, California, and the simple, half-hour procedure can save children’s lives and allow them to leave the hospital, cured, after just two days.

In the last three heart surgery missions at Angkor Hospital for Children, the team has repaired 55 hearts.

Susan Grossfeld, mission coordinator, said, “We now have 20 children currently scheduled for life-saving heart surgery, ranging from infants to teens. During the week the team is at the hospital it is not uncommon for new diagnoses to appear daily, so we anticipate more than that number will be candidates for surgery.”

The missions are the brainchild of Peter Chhun, a US-based NBC TV director who is also president and founder of Hearts Without Boundaries.

Chhun told 7Days, “While our work is tremendously gratifying, it is only a drop in the bucket. Tragically, there are thousands of children in Cambodia who have congenital heart defects and require procedures and facilities that are not available in their country.”

Man About Town

(Posted by CAAI news Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 Peter Olszewski

Post-Thaksin tourism

An article in the Bangkok Post on November 10 stated that the conflict with Thailand over Thaksin could cost Cambodia 30 to 40 billion baht in lost tourism income.

And, according to Apichart Sangka-aree, an advisor to the Association of Thai Travel Agents, ‘’European tourists are now refraining from visiting Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and are instead visiting the north east of Thailand, which has a similar culture and tourist attractions.”

This was met with derision by most Bangkok Post readers who posted online comments, with several suggesting if there was going to be a loser, it would be Thailand.

For example, Frequentflier commented, “Having been to Angkor Wat three times in my life, there is nothing to match it anywhere on this planet. I don’t for one minute believe it will stop western tourists from visiting this wonder of the world.”

Ricefieldradio added, “If you are poor but your daughter is beautiful, while your neighbour is rich with an ugly girl, who will people line up to visit?”

Doctor, doctor

A singing and dancing doctor from the US provided entertainment at the Santepheap NGO’s first birthday celebration on Monday night.

Dr Daniel Susott, who performed a mix of Cambodian and Western songs, has a long connection to Cambodia. He worked in refugee camps 30 years ago on the Thai border and found homes for orphaned children.

One of the children he rescued accompanied him on this visit to Siem Reap in her first trip home since she left to live in America 19 years ago.

Santepheap has 32 children aged 10-18 years, and advisor David Biviano said the home’s first year of existence had been a great success.

“They are really thriving here. A lot of our students started at the bottom of the class and now many are in the top 10-15 percent – some even at the top,” he said.

NGO gets the book

Last week’s story about a Siem Reap NGO, This Life Cambodia, needing $600 of final funding to publish a book titled In This Life, detailing the stories and lives of 21 scholarship students, got a good result.

The Minister of Information, Kieu Kanharith, read the story and rode to the rescue, pledging over $200 of the required funding shortfall.

The NGO, needless to say, was delighted.

The changing faces of the Angkor Photo Festival

Jean Francois Perigois and Eric De Vries.

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The recent history of the angkor photo festival has been intriguing...
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(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:01 Peter Olszewski

When is a festival not a festival? When it is the Angkor Photo Festival. Although the event is not being held this year, despite recent assurances from some organisers that it would, some vital components of it are still going to run.

This includes the Angkor Photo Workshops for young Asian photographers from November 22-28 at FCC Angkor. And now a substitute for the festival’s usual involvement with local cafes and galleries has emerged, in the guise of the Angkor Alternative exhibition.

This will launch at Eric de Vries’s 4Faces café and gallery on Saturday evening at 7pm, in response to the half-baked idea of dropping the festival.

“There is no festival this year and we cannot use the name,” de Vries said. “When I opened this café and gallery, I wanted to be a part of the festival because I have the space. So my thinking now is: Why not do something during that time? And Angkor Alternative means we’re running something beside just the workshops.”

The 4Faces exhibition is titled “Jean Francois Perigois vs Eric de Vries”. The work of both photographers will be exhibited side by side, and both will give unusual interpretations of the Angkor experience. Perigois’s photos will show black-and-white views of Angkor, with highlights in colour. De Vries, meanwhile, explains that his contribution will be some photos for his recent Hello Darling bar girl exhibition combined with photos of Angkor apsaras.

Also contributing to the festival feel will be the November 26 launch of John McDermott’s long-awaited book, Elegy: Reflections on Angkor. McDermott will play a part in the surviving remnant of the festival, the workshops, because, according to an October 4 posting on the Angkor Photo Workshops Blog, “John [McDermott] will spend some time with a number of students toward the end of the week, to talk and show what it takes to print images for exhibition and run a photo gallery”.

The recent history of the Angkor Photo Festival has been intriguing. In mid-June this year, energetic Paris-based festival coordinator Camille Plante announced she was leaving at the end of that month, following rumours that the festival had run out of sponsorship funds and could no longer pay her.

“I have to update the website and the transfer will be done,” she told the 7Days at the time. But on June 15 she informed the Asian Photography Blog: “There will be only free photo workshops next November in Siem Reap, no festival for this year unfortunately.”

Organisers continued to assure 7Days that the festival would go ahead. On September 11 7Days was privy to part of a meeting between a festival organiser, Bangkok-based photographer and publisher Roland Neveu, and FCC Angkor general manager Benoit Jancloes to cement a deal to make the FCC the hub of this year’s workshops and festival.

Following that meeting, 7Days reported in the September 18 issue: “The annual Angkor Photography Festival has been saved from oblivion at the eleventh hour, with organiser Roland Neveu last week scotching rumours that lack of sponsorship meant the end of the festival.

“But he admits it was a close call. Neveu ... said he found the term ‘scaled down’ offensive and much preferred the description of a festival with a ‘new focus’.”

Now the festival’s website carries this simple message: “Next Angkor Photo Festival in November 2010, with official support from the French Culture Ministry.”

Swimming Fed to send six out to SEA

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:00 Ung Chamroeun

HEM Thon, executive member of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and general secretary of the Cambodian Amateur Swimming Federation (KASF) has announced that six national swimmers will be sent to the 25th SEA Games in Laos in December. Hem Thon Ponleu, Sao Sethroath and Yuri Chamroeun will compete in the males division while Hem Thon Vitiny, Seng Samphors and Yin Davin make up the female contingent.

Ponleu is the youngest son of Hem Thon and has won many medals from previous national championships. At the 2009 national championships, he took gold in nearly all the categories. Sao Sethroath came first in the 100 metres backstroke, and second over 200 metres. Yuri Chamroeun is currently in an U15s tournament in Indonesia, where his father is an official at the Cambodian embassy.

Vitiny is Hem Thon’s granddaughter. At the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand, she made the last eight, setting a new precident for Cambodia. At the 2009 national championships, she won first place in 100 metres breaststroke while Seng Samphors triumphed in the 200 metres backstroke. Yin Davin finished second in 200 metres breast stroke.

According to Hem Thon, KASF will present the six swimmers to the media during a press conference Tuesday. Before departing to Laos for the SEA Games, they will participate in the last of the domestic competitions this calendar year at the Olympic Stadium complex swimming pool from November 25-27.

Tennis Cup attracts stars

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Friday, 20 November 2009 15:00 Ek Chamroeun and Dan Riley

The 14th Tep Khunnah Memorial Cup begins today with its best-ever field

THE 14th annual Tep Khunnah Memorial Cup tennis tournament gets under way today at the Cambodian Country Club (CCC). The weeklong event organised by the Tennis Federation of Cambodia (TFC) culminates in grand finals on November 28.

According to a press release Thursday from the TFC, this year’s competition “boasts the strongest international competitors to ever play on Cambodian soil”.

The federation hope to showcase the top players in a special Super Singles competition featuring five internationals and three Cambodians players, namely Tan Nysan, Bun Kenny and Orn Sambath. The local lads will face the top three players in Vietnam; Bui Tri Nguyen, Hoang Than Trung and Do Minh Quan, as well as US player Nathan Thompson – currently ranked 350 on the ATP – and Timo Sivapruska from Thailand.

The Super Singles format, which starts Wednesday, is a two group round robin tournament, with the winner of each pool playing in the final at 4pm next Saturday. The TFC are keen to encourage spectators, who can view the highest level of tennis ever played in Cambodia free of charge at the CCC.

TFC General Secretary Tep Rithivit, for whose father the event commemorates, voiced his confidence in the Cambodian contingent, adding that the competition is the best way for the players to prepare for the upcoming SEA Games in Laos next month. “We are sure that our players will make a surprise at the SEA Games because they train regularly and have a good relationship with the coach,” he said during a press conference Thursday.

The TFC executive noted that the federation sent three players to the previous SEA Games in Thailand, but, due to the success of Tan Nysan obtaining a bronze medal, they had been allowed to send six delegates to this year’s tournament.

Aside from the main spectacle of the Super Singles, there are five other categories that around 70 tennis players will compete over: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, junior singles (under 18), and veteran’s singles (over 45).

Fire destroys over 200 houses in Russey Keo

Pictures and Video by DAP News

November 19, 2009

(Posted by CAAI news Media)

Cambodian troops arrive to bolster UN force in Chad, Central African Republic

MINURCAT peacekeeper with Sudanese children from the Oure Cassoni refugee camp in Bahaï, Eastern Chad

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

19 November 2009 – The United Nations mission set up to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid in Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) received a boost this week with the arrival of troops from Cambodia.

The 42 Cambodian soldiers will be assisting in the movement of UN personnel and logistic assets in eastern Chad, where humanitarian agencies are providing aid to some 250,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, as well as 160,000 displaced Chadians.

Northern CAR has also been affected by a spill-over from Darfur as well as by displacement from other armed groups.

In 2007, the Security Council established the mission, known as MINURCAT, which currently stands at only 53 per cent of its authorized strength, or 2,750 troops, due to difficulties faced by some contributing countries in acquiring and transporting equipment.

Last month Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmund Mulet told the Council that the UN is doing everything possible to expedite the deployment of all pledged contingents.

Royal Railway Workers Protest over Salaries, after the Royal Railways of Cambodia Have Been Contracted over to a Private Company – Wednesday, 18.11.2009

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
Posted on 19 November 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 639

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

“Phnom Penh: The Cambodian government had signed an agreement to hand over the railway to the Toll Cambodia company to conduct the rail transportation operations for 30 years; the transport operations on the Cambodian railways as a public enterprise was terminated at the end of October 2009.

“The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Tram Iv Tek, said that of the more than 1,000 railway staff and officials, only 670 are accepted by the company to continue working, while some of the others remain under the control of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

“An employee responsible for transport operations, Mr. Nguon Chan Hon, told Deum Ampil in anger, ‘Already 47 days have passed, but the company has not released the salaries of the workers; we do not cause any trouble, but we just want our salaries paid, because no one seems to responsible for it, after some were changed back from being on an autonomous enterprise, back to be under the state again.’ He added, ‘Development at the Royal Railways of Cambodia totally stopped, trains run at speeds of 40km/h down to 5km/h. What I tried to do all is lost.’

“A train driver, Mr. Nou Navy, said, ‘We do not want to trouble the leaders, but we want to ask about our salaries since October, and in November it is the 15th day. When the door is closed like this, we do not know the day set for the salaries to be paid. I met the head of accounting, and they said that a date has not yet been set, and we have to wait, because at present, there are four train lines operated: the Sokimex line, two coal train lines, and the Touk Meas line. A date cannot be specified yet, therefore you have to wait.’

“He added, ‘Even while it is a public workplace, it is not known where the specially designated money from the government, Riel 20,000 [approx. US$5] has gone. We have received nothing since the day Samdech Hun Sen announced to designate some money. At present, I only earn a salary of Riel 116,000 [approx. U$29] per month, and I have been working as a train driver for 28 years. Other workers shouted annoyingly, ‘Even nobody is promoted to new positions, and nobody knows when the salaries will be paid; if there are promotions, this happens only to their partisans.’

“Another driver, Mr. Sam Yan, said, ‘I would like to ask the Royal Government to pay attention to the workers, because for many years, they earned Riel 60,000 to Riel 70,000 [US$15 to US$17] and the highest level is Riel 120,000 [approx. US$30], for people in leadership positions only. Therefore, you people on the higher levels, please help to check this, so that staff workers stay calm.’

“A train engine mechanic, Mr. Soy Sambath, said, ‘More than 20 years ago, when I entered to work here in 1979, 80% of the railway infrastructure was left undestroyed, but today, by this hour, it is zero. It has to be rebuilt again from zero to 100%; most of the land had been leased away, and there is not even the necessary money to pay the salaries for the workers. If the money received for leasing land, formerly belonging to the railway, would be made know to the workers, and the money would be offered to the workers for their salaries, they would be satisfied.’

“Another worked, a lathe mechanic, Ms. Sokhim, said, ‘During 1979 and 1980, when the country just woke up from war, the railways managed to earn profit, but now when the country has peace, things have disintegrated, and there have been frequent derailings and other train accidents.’

“[Royal Railways of Cambodia Director-General] Sokhom Pheakavanmony told Deum Ampil, ‘I had already received the report and they are justified to worry, because as we all know, since 15 November 2009, the Royal Government decided, announced through Decrees 163 and 164, to hand over the Royal Railways of Cambodia to the Toll Cambodia company. Normally, when a cooperation is terminated by such an immediate transfer, the workers did not get any information, making them think that they lost their salaries. But actually, it is not so. Their salaries are guaranteed by clear contracts from the Ministry as well as from the Royal Railways of Cambodia. Their salaries are not lost, but it is just because they did not receive any clear information.’ He added that soon they will get information, which can reach only 40% to 50% of them, as some staff do not stay in one place, and some workers stay at far away provinces, so time is needed to access the information. ‘Therefore, there is no problem, We solved it already and today, we have just finished discussing it.’ He went on to say ‘Railways are a public enterprise, controlled by the public enterprise law, and the management of staff is based on regulations… . Normally, it is like this, when the railways is handed over to a new company. There could be some struggle between different opinions, and the management must follow the decisions of the government.’

“The under-secretary of state in charge of the Royal Railways of Cambodia, Mr. Touch Chankosal, told Deum Ampil, ‘I did not know that the workers had protested.’”

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #339, 18.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

ANALYSIS - Has Thaksin's Cambodian stunt backfired?

Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra (L) is embraced by a supporter as he greets red-shirted supporters at a hotel in Siem Reap November 12, 2009. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Thu Nov 19, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thaksin Shinawatra's provocative trip to neighbouring Cambodia last week has stirred up trouble back home in Thailand, but by triggering a nationalist row, the fugitive ex-premier may get more than he bargained for.

Polls show Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's popularity has climbed as a result of his measured response to Thaksin's taunts and his handling of Cambodia's refusal to extradite him to serve a two-year prison sentence for graft.

Some believe the wily billionaire may have badly miscalculated by getting into bed with old foe Cambodia, which could alienate some of his more moderate supporters.

"There's been no gain for Thaksin's popularity and by playing up this situation, this will make him unpopular, even among his supporters," said Thai political scientist Somjai Phagaphasvivat.

"The only way it would have worked is if Abhisit had overreacted, but he's responded carefully and logically and he will become more popular at Thaksin's expense."

The outrage at Thaksin's alliance with Cambodian premier Hun Sen and his meetings in Cambodia with political allies has come mostly from the anti-Thaksin media and the influential "yellow shirts", who staged a mass rally on Sunday to show their contempt, some even calling for the beheading of his henchmen.

Thaksin appears to have gained little from the stage-managed visit to Cambodia although it may be too soon to tell what effect it will have on his support base among the rural poor in the vote-rich north and northeast.

However, his ardent "red shirt" supporters have already declared they will continue to back him and plan to hold their first prolonged rally since April, when protests snowballed into Thailand's worst violence in 17 years.

INVESTORS CONCERNED

That episode caused huge embarrassment for Thailand, which saw its credit ratings downgraded amid concern over the endless cycle of political violence in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

Some argue that Thaksin's supporters will stick with him because of what he represents rather than out of simple personal loyalty.

He may be a billionaire, but he has stood up to the old elites in the military, aristocracy and business sector, who they say acted undemocratically to sideline the former premier.

"The Thaksin loyalty is greater than the person -- it's what it all means and what he stands for," said David Streckfuss, a University of Wisconsin historian currently based in the Thaksin stronghold of Khon Khen.

"My impression is this won't backfire, because there's already too much momentum for something that is beyond Thaksin."

Tim Powdrill, an analyst for security consultancy Riskline ApS, said Thaksin's biggest fans were unlikely to see his appointment as Cambodia's economic tsar as unpatriotic, but moderate supporters could be swayed by the nationalism generated by the diplomatic spat.

"The deal doesn't seem likely to cost Thaksin his most loyal support. For them, perhaps, he seems one step closer to returning home and these supporters will surely like the idea of Thaksin thumbing his nose at his domestic enemies," he said.

"However, Thaksin does still risk finding himself on the wrong side of popular nationalism and his hardcore support alone won't be enough to support his ultimate goal of a return."

Regardless of who has gained the upper hand in recent weeks, there is little doubt the political stakes have been raised, with neither side in any mood to compromise and growing prospects of further instability.

"Thaksin is in exile and has nothing to lose. He can take drastic measures, even spark violent confrontation," said Somjai, the Thammasat University political scientist.

"Political tensions are now even more heightened and will remain this way for the foreseeable future."

(Editing by Alan Raybould and Ron Popeski)

Thai PM: Gov't seeking ways to help Thai firm in Cambodia

November 19, 2009

(Posted by CAAI news Media)

The Thai Foreign Ministry has been instructed to help solve a problem at Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd (CATS) after the Cambodian government takes control of CATS, Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thursday.

The Cambodian government has appointed a supervisor to oversee CATS, while Thai employees have not been allowed to continue working in the firm, Thai News Agency reported.

The Thai Foreign Ministry will look into agreements concerning investors' protection as CATS will consult with the ministry on how it can regain its own right, Abhisit said.

Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd is a wholly-owned unit of Thailand's Samart Corporation.

Abhisit said the Thai government has been working how to deal with Cambodia, which has claimed that the Cambodian government's action on CATS is concerned with security.

Having controlled CATS by the Cambodia government occurs after Siwarak Chothipong, a 31-year-old-Thai man, who worked as engineer at CATS, has been arrested from Nov. 11, according to the arrest warrant of prosecutor of Phnom Penh Municipality Court.

Cambodia has charged Siwarak of having had confidential information affecting Cambodia's national security, a senior Thai official said Wednesday.

According to a news report by the Khmer language newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea, Siwarak spied through copying the letters of flights of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Cambodia and Prime Minister Hun Sen from CATS -- Cambodia Air Traffic Services Co Ltd which has duties to control all flights in country and he sent those reports to Thailand.

Siwarak has been detained in a prison in Phnom Penh since last week as the Thai government is now in the process of seeking a release for him.

Thailand and Cambodia have downgraded their diplomatic relations due to conflict over an appointment of Thaksin as an economic advisor to Cambodia's government and Prime Minister Hun Sen on Nov.4.

A day after the appointment of Thaksin, the Cambodian government announced recall of its ambassador to Thailand in a move to respond to the Thai government's recall of its ambassador to Cambodia.

Thaksin was ousted by the military coup in September 2006, in accusation of corruption, and has been kept in exile since then.

He returned to Thailand in February 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later fled into exile again and was convicted in absentia.

Source: Xinhua

Thailand and Cambodia are not enemies : Panitan

By The Nation
Published on November 20, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Thailand should re-establish diplomatic ties with Cambodia for the country's interest, it was agreed at yesterday's seminar on bilateral ties.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, the caretaker government spokesman, said that the current spat between the two countries was merely political. The two countries were no enemies and there should be no concern of a war between them, he added.

"The relationships in other aspects, including trade and investment, remain unchanged. At present, Thailand is Cambodia's seventh largest trading partner," he said.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on "Stop, pull in or open a battle: Thai-Cambodian ties amidst the Thai political conflict", which was organised at Chulalongkorn University.

Panitan, formerly a lecturer at the university, said the current conflict required cooperation from the two countries in order to solve it in a diplomatic way.

Former deputy prime minister Chaturon Chaisang said during the panel discussion that the new round of conflict was caused by "a severe wave of nationalism" in both countries.

"All the parties involved should find out a common solution in order to protect the country's interest," he said.

Chaturon, an ally of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, said the government's decision to cancel a bilateral agreement on maritime overlapping area with Cambodia would cause Thailand to lose rather than gain. He said it was a wrong strategy to freeze Thailand's aid to Cambodia.

Surachai Sirikrai, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University, agreed that Thailand should retain good ties with Cambodia at a time when East Asian is consolidating economically.

"But the problem is that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has interfered with Thailand's politics, which is against the rules of Asean," he said.

The academic said it appeared Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as his government's economic adviser intentionally to coincide with Cambodia's renewed border conflict with Thailand involving the listing of the Preah Vihear temple ruins as a Unesco World Heritage site.

General Waipoj Srinuan, former deputy permanent secretary of the Defence Ministry, told the seminar that Thailand should prevent the conflict with Cambodia from expanding and try to normalise the relationships with the neighbouring country.

He blamed Thailand's "weak foreign policies" for Cambodia's latest "attack" on the country's politics.

The retired general said that Cambodia, which has long been viewed as undeveloped, appeared to be trying to win acceptance from the world community.

He asked Thailand not to use developed countries' bullying tactic with Cambodia but instead should treat the neighbouring country with respect. "To bully them will cause the conflict to expand," he said.

Fire destroys over 200 houses in Russey Keo

Thursday, 19 November 2009 15:28 DAP NEWS .

By Arun Reah

DAP News Cambodia

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Over 200 houses were destroyed by fire on Thursday in the Russey Keo district of Phnom Penh a long National Road no. 5, according to a local police officer said.

The fire raged for around five hours, similar to last year’s blaze in the Teok Thla district of Phnom Penh.

Authorities cooperated to fight the flames but to little effect. However, nobody has yet been confirmed killed. Many fled.

Phnom Penh Police Chief Touch Naroth said that “We tried to intervene for them but … over 200 houses were completely destroyed.”

“Our police, ambulances and other security agencies cooperated to stop the fire, but it was so difficult, because the roads were very narrow.”

One local resident, Hap Sin, said that the fire started from the Kim pharmacy.

“I am very sad but I would like to warn all Cambodians to be careful,” Naroth added.

Translated by Bopha Makara

Hundreds of Cambodian Muslims homeless after fire

http://news.asiaone.com

Thu, Nov 19, 2009

AFP

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Nov 19, 2009 (AFP) - Hundreds of ethnic Cham Muslims were made homeless Thursday by a fire that gutted a crowded neighbourhood in Cambodia's capital, police said.

The blaze broke out at 7:30 am (0030 GMT) among poorly-built wooden houses mostly inhabited by members of the Muslim minority, local police chief Som Bunny said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

"At least 230 houses were completely burned down," he said, adding that authorities and firefighters took five hours to put out the flames.

There were no reports of injuries or deaths, authorities said.

Although large neighbourhood fires are increasingly rare in Phnom Penh, a series of suspicious blazes several years ago destroyed a number of slum areas, forcing tens of thousands to flee.

There are nearly 240,000 Cham Muslims in Cambodia, forming 1.6 percent of the population in the predominantly Buddhist country, according to a recent survey by the US-based Pew Research Centre.

Thailand 'extending every effort' to help Thai detained in Cambodia

19 November 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (TNA) - The Thai government has extended every effort to help Thai engineer detained on espionage charges in Cambodia as close coordination carried out between legal officers at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh and his employer, affirmed Dr Panitan Wattanayakorn, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister.

Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS) employee Siwarak Chutipong, 31, was arrested in Phnom Penh on spying charges last week when he was discovered releasing Thaksin Shinawatra’s flight schedule to a Thai embassy official in Phnom Penh.

Dr Panitan, who is also acting government spokesman, told reporters that Thailand's agencies concerned had working together to help release Mr Siwarak.

As for the report that Cambodian soldiers raided the CATS office, Dr Panitan said he believed it was done under Cambodian legal procedures to find evidence to support the accusation.

He added that the incident was not serious to the extent that the Cambodian government would revoke the CATS contract.

CATS is wholly-owned by the Samart Corporation and received a concession from the Cambodian government to supply aeronautical radio and air traffic control services to Cambodia.

Asked whether convicted ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra posted gossip on twitter, a social networking website, that he would visit the Thai-Cambodian border, would cause more problem, Mr Panitan said the government did not want the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia to further deteriorated further.

However, the former premier would be arrested if he entered Thai soil and stayed at border line in the northeastern region, he said.

Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva affirmed that the government would care for Thai investors in Cambodia.

The control of CATS by Cambodian authorities and Thai employees were not allowed to enter the company was considered the Cambodian security measure as the Thai engineer's charge involved its national security, he said.

He had asked to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to see the agreement on investor protection and CATS planned to later consult with the ministry on how to protect its concession in Cambodia. (TNA)

Sen claims exclusive siren use for his posse

November 19 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has decreed that only he and two other senior politicians may use sirens to clear the streets for their motorcades, local media reported Thursday.

In a sub-decree promulgated Monday, the prime minister specifically banned the country's ten deputy prime ministers and other politicians from using sirens to allow easier passage through the capital's sometimes congested roads.

The director of the department for public order at the national police, Him Yan, told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper that the move followed abuses of siren privileges. He said those had caused public disorder and traffic jams in the capital.

"Deputy prime ministers cannot use the sirens now," he told the paper.

Under the new legislation just three politicians may use sirens to move around the city: Prime Minister Hun Sen, the head of the Senate, and the head of the National Assembly.

Members of the royal family are still permitted to use sirens, as are the motorcades of visiting dignitaries with the rank of deputy minister or above.

The regulation does not affect emergency vehicles such as ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks. The military is also exempt from the ruling. - Sapa-dpa