Officials discuss Law on Land Management

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:04 Kim Yuthana

CAMBODIA is in the process of drafting a new Law on Land Management, which will earmark certain areas of the country for development or conservation, officials said in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

During a two-day conference on the proposed law, which is being formulated by the General Secretariat of the Land Policy Council in the Ministry of Land Management, ministry officials said the new law is in the process of being drafted and would be put together in consultation with relevant nongovernmental organisations.

Roth Sarin, secretary general of the Council, said the discussion was conducted in order to gather input so that standardised policies could be established for inclusion in the law.

He did not specify when the draft could be officially completed, but said that following the conference, which wound up on Wednesday, the Land Policy Council’s general secretariat would make some adjustments to the law and conduct broader discussions during which it would seek additional input from NGOs.

According to a copy of the draft legislation obtained by the Post, the Law on Land Management is being designed to ensure that land and natural resources will be used with “effectiveness, stability and equity in order to promote economic and social development”.

The draft of the law also states that “constant population growth and the changes in lifestyle in the cultural and economical context of globalisation require effective land management”.

Closed dams a headache for fishermen

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Cameron Wells and Tha Piseth

RIVER conservation advocates said Wednesday that the closing of dams in Vietnam had caused the Sesan River in northeast Cambodia to become so dry that it was occasionally possible to walk from one side to the other, and that fluctuating water levels were threatening villagers dependent on the river’s fish.

The 3S Rivers Protection Network (3SPN) said in a statement that the water shortage in the Sesan – particularly in the O’Yadav and Andong Meas districts of Ratanakkiri province – had been caused by the Yali Falls hydroelectric dam, located 80 kilometres from the Cambodian border, as well as five other dams in Vietnam.

Sev Doeun, a spokesman for 3SPN, said in an interview that the recent temporary closures of the Yali Falls dam had not only threatened fishermen’s livelihoods, but had also made some of them ill.

“On February 2, they closed the dam and prevented the water from flowing,” he said. “When the water wasn’t flowing, the young people were getting rashes. Also, when it was low, the people found it hard to row and fish.”

Their problems didn’t end when the dam was reopened on Tuesday, he added.

“When the water was low, they had to leave the boats on the riverbed, but when it reopened the boats floated away,” he said. “The fishermen couldn’t find them. The people were [also] scared when it reopened because there could be flooding.”

Concerns in Vietnam

The 3SPN statement follows a forum held at Vietnam’s Can Tho University on February 3 at which experts said they were worried that dams built on the Mekong would disrupt fish migrations “that are critical to the life cycle of 70 percent of the Mekong’s commercial fish catch” in Vietnam.

Experts expressed concern about plans for the construction of 11 further hydropower dams on separate Mekong tributaries, which they said would affect water quality and cause riverbank erosion.

Ratanakkiri provincial officials said they were too busy to comment on Wednesday.

City gardeners demand severance

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Phnom Penh garden workers laid off on January 1 gather Wednesday to demand that the government give them severance pay.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Chhay Channyda

AROUND 70 municipal garden workers who lost their jobs as part of a nationwide reduction in contracted and temporary government staff say they will continue to press their claims for one year’s worth of severance pay, even though local officials rejected their appeals on Wednesday.

Gardener Kong Narin, 44, said the workers met with Sam Samoth, chief of the Garden Office at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, who said their demands could not be met.

“They said that if 271 gardeners demand one year’s pay, more workers in other sectors who get laid off will make the same demands as us,” she said.

The garden workers, who were told that their jobs had been terminated in December, filed a complaint with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cabinet on January 18 demanding one year’s worth of severance pay. The layoffs went into effect on January 1.

Kong Narin said officials at the meeting also asked the gardeners to stop pressing their demands, but she vowed that the workers would take their grievances to the prime minister’s home in Takhmao.

She added: “Since I stopped working, I have not found a job yet. The burden of my family depends on my two children, who have small salaries.”

Meanwhile, more than 100 workers who have stayed on as gardeners for City Hall have seen their salaries slashed from 255,000 riels to 210,000 riels (about US$50) and have been forced to take on heavier work loads, Kong Narin said.

Sam Samoth could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but told the Post in January that the authorities had no choice but to lay off half of all contracted and temporary workers for 2010.

Chreang Sophan, a Phnom Penh deputy governor, said Wednesday that there was nothing City Hall could do to help the workers.

Phnom Penh homeless in decline: govt

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Sen David

THE number of people living on the streets of Phnom Penh dropped sharply in 2009, according to a government report released Tuesday, though NGOs that provide services to the homeless said the figures appeared to be a low estimate.

The report, prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, cites a 44-percent decrease in the number of homeless people in the capital – from 4,189 to 2,337.

Speaking at a conference at which the findings were unveiled, Son Sophal, director of the Department of Social Affairs, said the numbers reflected the fact that NGOs and the government had been paying more attention to the homeless.

“The number is down because the government supported homeless people by donating money and urging children to go to school, and also because of the work of some NGOs,” he said.

“But street people are still a concern for society, because they affect social order and tourism, especially the street children who do not go to school.”

The government came under fire from rights groups on several occasions last year for sweeping up homeless people – along with sex workers and drug users – and sending them to centres run by the Social Affairs Department in advance of holidays and other events, notably an EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting held in May.

David Harding, international coordinator for training programmes at the NGO Mith Samlanh, said he believed the number of homeless people was likely on the decline, but that the government figures were far too low.

“We’re estimating, based on figures in the last five years by UNICEF, that there are 20,000 to 24,000 street children alone in Phnom Penh, and this is considered to be the general rule of thumb,” he said.

“But in support of the ministry’s report, we are seeing a reduction in the number of street children. That is the trend.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAVID BOYLE

Bayon drainage system discovered

Photo by: Rann Reuy
A dig site near the Bayon temple where Cambodian and Japanese archaeologists say they have uncovered an ancient drainage system.

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While we did not expect to find it, we did, and it has made us happy.
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via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap Province

A TEAM of Cambodian and Japanese archaeologists says it has uncovered an ancient man-made drainage system at the site of the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom.

The temple, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, has been the subject of three digs since 1999, but this is the first time such a drainage system has been discovered, according to the archeologists.

“The drainage system is for rainwater flow from the first and second levels,” said Heng Kamsan, one of the archaeologists.

Heng Kamsan said 14 metres of the 70-centimetre-wide drain had been dug up, and that its covering of laterite stone was due to be removed next week.

He said the archaeologists had at first been hoping to learn more about the condition and construction of the temple’s foundation.

After one largely fruitless month of work, however, he said the archaeologists were elated to happen upon the drainage system.

“While we did not expect to find it, we did, and it has made us happy,” he said.

The ongoing dig, which began in January, is being carried out under the auspices of UNESCO and the Apsara Authority, which manages the Angkor Wat temple complex. Heng Kamsan, who is deputy director of the archaeology and prehistory department at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, is one of three Cambodian archaeologists participating in the dig.

He said the dig was expected to conclude by the end of March, though he noted that the temple remains open to tourists.

Germany pledges more funds for Kingdom’s demining operations

Photo by: UNDP/LUFF

A deminer for the Cambodian Mine Action Centre conducts a baseline survey with families living near land set to be cleared. Germany has pledged funds for clearance in Siem Reap and Oddar Meanchey.

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Sam Rith

THE German government on Wednesday pledged US$1.4 million for humanitarian demining projects to be carried out this year in Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces, which are among the Kingdom’s more mine-affected regions.

At a signing ceremony, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Cambodian Mine Action Centre Demining Unit 6 could use the funding to clear 400 hectares of land, work he said would benefit more than 700 families.

Germany has been sponsoring the unit since 1999. In a press release, the German embassy said the unit was “among the best” in the Kingdom “in terms of qualification, security and output”.

“For years the work of CMAC DU 6 has always been most exemplary and cost-effective,” the statement said.

Koy Kuong said the German government has granted roughly $10 million – $9 million in cash and $1 million in materials – for demining projects in the last decade.

In December, parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty formally approved Cambodia’s request to push back the deadline for clearing all antipersonnel mines by 10 years, though the government’s formal extension request asserted that “current productivity levels will not be sufficient” to meet the revised goal.

The government has estimated that 648.8 square kilometres of land still need to be cleared, although this figure has not been backed up by technical research.

The most recent “Portfolio of Mine Action Projects” report from the UN found that the mine action community was facing a 74-percent funding shortfall for 2010, which some observers said was the product of both the economic crisis and donor fatigue.

KR survivor stories adapted to stage

Photo by: DC-CAM

Actors perform Breaking the Silence on Tuesday in Takeo province

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:03 Emily Crane

THE stories of Khmer Rouge cadres and survivors will be performed on stage this Friday at the National Institute of Education, as the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam) and Amrita Peforming Arts bring a dramatisation of a DC-Cam documentary to Phnom Penh for the final leg of a travelling tour.

Seven actors portray the victims and cadres as part of the one-hour performance, called Breaking the Silence. The production toured Cambodia for the first time last year, and DC-Cam decided to reprise it as the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s critical second case approaches. That case will include the four regime leaders awaiting trial: Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan.

The performances began last week and have been held in Kampot and Takeo provinces, with two staged at Takeo’s Kraing Ta Chan prison, one of the sites falling under the scope of investigation in Case 002.

Coupled with these performances are daily radio broadcasts on three stations, as well as classroom performances for high school students, DC-Cam outreach coordinator Sayana Ser said.

“It is important for people to know about Case 002. People have the right to participate in the tribunal process because there are many people who still have questions that they need answered,” she said. “The [court] belongs to the people of Cambodia. It was created for them and is one way to reconcile and to seek justice on some level.”

Suon Bun Rith, country director for Amrita Performing Arts, said Breaking the Silence came to fruition after two years of research by DC-Cam.

“I have been working on it since the very beginning, and I really think this can serve as a healing process for people and can allow people to be involved in the tribunal process,” he said.

Garments still suffering

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Garment workers' unions have threatened strikes after calling on the industry to raise minimum wages above $50 per month, factors that GMAC said could hurt garment manufacturers this year.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:01 Steve Finch

Exports of garments and apparel fell just 0.2pc in December, but GMAC said the low 2008 base dampened any optimism

GARMENT and apparel shipments, Cambodia’s main export products, fell just 0.2 percent in December campared with the year before, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Wednesday – the smallest decline of 2009, but still far from a recovery, said the secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia.

Ken Loo told the Post that the decline – to US$254.12 million from $254.638 million a year before – was worrying because December 2008 had been a bad month for many businesses here as the global economic crisis had started to hurt Cambodian exports.

“You look at it year on year and it’s good, but if you look at November and December, its bad news,” he said Wednesday following the release of the data.

Garment and apparel exports dropped an annualised 18.16 percent in November following an October fall of just over 2 percent, a sign of the inconsistent nature of the sector and ongoing delays in economic recovery.

“It’s not getting worse, it’s just as bad,” said Loo, adding that anecdotal evidence suggested that there would not be an improvement once figures for January and February are released later this year.

Overall garment and apparel exports slumped 15.83 percent, an improvement on the 20 percent fall over the first 10 months of 2009, but again an indication that the better end to last year had simply been due to the lower base at the end of 2008 when demand began to plummet as main markets the United States and Europe began to suffer from the post-Lehman fallout.

Still, there were positives. The sector’s concerted effort to diversify markets away from North America and Europe appear to have had some effect.

Garment and apparel exports to Japan climbed 58.8 percent last year to $47.7 million, and to markets other than Japan, North America and the European Union, exports rose 25.6 percent to $185.8 million.

“There has been a significant shift,” said Loo, adding that these new markets still represented only a tiny fraction of total garment exports and were improving on a tiny base.

And although garment exports were slightly down in December, US shipments climbed 14.63 percent to $142.89 million, a sign that the Kingdom’s main market was beginning to raise demand.

The US economy began to show signs of recovery at the end of last year as GDP climbed 5.7 percent in the last quarter, according to figures from the US commerce department – the largest upswing in six years.

US duties set to continue

However, the US showed no sign it would cut duties on Cambodian garments, as it has done with other least-developed countries, albeit those that export less to the world’s largest economy than Cambodia.

At the start of last month, Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US house of representatives, calling for a reduction in tariffs. US embassy spokesman John Johnson confirmed on January 27 that the letter had been received by the US state department and would be passed on to Pelosi.

However, Loo said Wednesday that he did not expect any movement on the issue until the last quarter at the earliest.

“I personally wonder when [the US government] will have time to look at external matters,” he said, citing continued problems with the US economy.

Loo added that Cambodia’s garment industry remained under threat from other factors closer to home. Garment workers have threatened strikes this month as unions called this week for the industry to consider raising workers’ monthly wages above $50 per month.

Three more VN rubber companies to get land

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:01 Chun Sophal

VIETNAMESE companies Viet Loa, Dong Phu Snoul and Rubber Kontum are set to receive 21,000 hectares of economic land concessions for rubber plantations, it was announced at an annual industry meeting.

Leng Rithy, president of Vietnamese Rubber Enterprise Federation in Cambodia, said at an annual conference on plantations, held in Phnom Penh Tuesday, that the firms are due to be granted concessions in Kratie province in June.

This follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Chan Sarun, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, on September 22. The memorandum marked out plans with Cao Duc Phat, Vietnam’s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, to invest in growing rubber on 100,000 hectares of Cambodian land.

“We hope that the three companies will help develop and enable rubber plantations to cover all the land stated in the agreement which the two countries signed,” Leng Rithy said.

So far, around 78,000 hectares of land concessions has been granted to 11 Vietnamese companies to grow rubber in Kratie, Kampong Thom, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear provinces.

On Tuesday, Chan Sarun said that developing the crop created job opportunities and brought economic growth.

Leng Rithy added that Vietnamese Rubber Enterprise Federation, under its US$600 million investment project, managed to grow 10,659 hectares of rubber last year, adding that in 2010 it would grow an additional 20,000 hectares.

“We are trying to grow rubber on 100,000 hectares by 2012 to help turn the country into a big regional exporter in the near future,” he said.

Trade with Laos rose 4pc in 2009

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:01 May Kunmakara

OFFICIALS from Cambodia and Laos said Wednesday they were optimistic about the future of bilateral trade following a rise of 4 percent last year, despite the onset of the global economic crisis.

Official figures released by the Laos Embassy in Phnom Penh showed that trade between the two ASEAN neighbours remained very low, however, at just US$274,780 in 2009 compared to $264,180 the previous year.

“Our trade will get stronger,” the Laos Embassy's First Secretary Kengchai Sixanonh said Wednesday, adding that there was considerable scope for shipments in each direction, particularly in agricultural products.

However, a 2008 trade surplus for Cambodia of $38,620 turned into a tiny deficit of $8,880 last year. And although trade improved in 2009 it was still down on the bilateral record between the two achieved in 2007: $295,037.

“Trade between us is not as much as with Vietnam and Thailand,” Nguon Meng Tech, director general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday.

Trade will pick up, he added, especially when the free trade area commences in 2015.

Police Blotter: 11 Feb 2010

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:02 Phak Seangly

REPORTER ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTING RAPE

A female masseuse accused a 40-year-old man of attempting to rape her at a guesthouse in Siem Reap town on Saturday, police said. The 22-year-old woman reported that the suspect employed her to give him a massage, but after one hour of massaging, attempted to rape her when she was about to leave the room. She managed to escape from him. The suspect, a reporter for a local newspaper, dismissed the accusations. However, police sent him to the provincial court.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

POLICE START FRACAS OVER TRAFFIC FINE

A 26-year-old student was attacked by special intervention police on Monday in Phnom Penh’s Prampi Makara district. According to the victim’s friend, the police ordered the victim to pay a fine for not wearing a helmet. Consequently, he showed them a fine invoice given by traffic police who had just fined him a few minutes before. The police still demanded that he pay the fine, leading to an argument. The student said that police officers hit him with a torch and handcuffed him before sending him to their headquarters, where they continued the assault, leaving him with serious wounds. The accused police officers confessed to the charge and promised to pay him compensation.

DEUM AMPIL

MAN NABBED FOR SHOOTING IN-LAW

District police on Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old man and his younger brother, 15, in Svay Rieng province’s Chantrea district. The older brother was suspected of intentionally killing his father-in-law with a rifle on Sunday night, police said. Police added that the perpetrator shot the victim to death and concealed the rifle near his home. The accused man confessed to the killing and said he was furious after his father-in-law hit him during an argument. The elder brother was sent to the provincial court to be sentenced on Tuesday, but police said the younger was released.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

MAN ACCUSED IN RAPE OF DRUNKEN WOMAN

A 23-year-old worker was apprehended one day after he was accused of raping a drunken woman on Tuesday in Kampong Thom province’s San Dan district, police said. According to the 16-year-old victim, she, along with two other women, drank alcohol with four male workers. Later, the suspect took her to a nearby abandoned home and raped her while she was drunk. The victim’s parents said they found their daughter alone at the home. In front of police, the suspect denied committing the rape. However, an examination disclosed that the woman was raped, and the suspect was sent to the provincial court on Wednesday.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Leopard to invest in ACLEDA

Photo by: SOVAN PHILONG

ACLEDA Bank employees wait to serve customers in December at the headquarters in Phnom Penh. The ACLEDA Staff Association is set to sell shares to Leopard Capital within the next few weeks.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan and Ellie Dyer

Investment fund to buy 7.7 percent stake, according to preliminary agreement

ACLEDA Staff Association Plc (ASA) is set to sell a 7.7 percent stake in the major Cambodian bank to Leopard Cambodia Fund for an undisclosed sum, officials said Wednesday.

Svay Hay, chairman of ASA and vice president and head of ACLEDA’s capital markets division, said that ASA had decided to sell 7.7 percent, or 5.24 million shares, to the investment fund. ASA had owned 19 percent, or 12.9 million, of ACLEDA’s total shares and had been an investor since 2000.

“Cambodia is working towards introducing a stock exchange, so we want an experienced partner to join with us to share their experiences and help the bank progress in the future,” he said, declining to disclose the price of the purchase.

The Post has calculated, by using data from the bank’s annual financial statement, that the 7.7 percent stake has a book value of around US$8.17 million.

Svay Hay said that ASA had negotiated with Leopard for about three months and expects the deal, which is in its “final stage”, to be concluded by the end of February.

In an email Wednesday, Leopard CEO Douglas Clayton confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been signed, but said the transaction is not expected to be complete until a couple of weeks from now. He said the bank “is on its way to becoming a regional multinational”. It also has branches in Laos.

The prospective deal comes after ACLEDA’s profits for 2009 dropped 49 percent to $9.9 million from $19.4 million in 2008, according to its unaudited income statement. By the end of last year, its total assets were $922 million.

The share sale also follows business group Jardine Matheson’s announcement in December that it expects to purchase 12.25 percent of ACLEDA shares from FMO, the Dutch international development bank, by the end of the month.

According to a news release from Leopard issued Wednesday its investment committee has given conditional approval to three more proposals. The investment targets are minority stakes in a microfinance institution, a seafood-processing factory, and a WiMax Internet company.

On January 29, it added, the general partner issued a drawdown notice to limited partners for $7.9 million.

Several Internet service providers (ISPs) in Cambodia want to introduce WiMax technology to the Kingdom. However, the future of such a service is currently in doubt due to the government issuing overlapping licences to distribute the technology through the radio frequency spectrum.

Last month, it was discovered that a TV company had been given a licence already distributed to nine ISPs. Multiple companies using the same frequency, experts said, would make WiMax impossible to use. Seven of the companies affected have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen for clarification on the issue.

On Wednesday, an unnamed executive from one of the ISPs said: “The ISPs remain worried about their businesses, which are still affected on a real-time basis.

“We still have not received a viable proposal from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and have had no response from the Prime Minister.”

Their strategy, he added, was to work through the problem with the Government-Private Sector Forum.

Leopard Capital’s CEO Douglas Clayton did not disclose details of the other investments.

“We haven’t fully closed these deals, so we think it is better to delay describing them in greater detail,” he said. “There is always a chance they won’t happen.”

Building of PSihanouk coal plant set to start

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

GROUNDBREAKING will begin for a 100-megawatt coal power plant in Preah Sihanouk province today amid pleas to the government to ensure its green credentials before allowing it to open.

Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, minister of economy and finance, is to inaugurate the construction site.

Heng Kunleang, director of the Department of Energy Development for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, told the Post on Wednesday that the construction would be completed in three years.

“We hope that the power generated by the plant will be distributed not only to Preah Sihanouk province but also Phnom Penh,” he said.

The Sihanoukville project is 80-percent owned by Malaysian firm Leader Universal Holding’s Cambodian subsidiary, with the remainder held by Cambodian International Investment Development Group. In December, Leader announced it had hired Beijing-based Huadian Engineering Company to build the plant. It followed an application to invest US$200 million in the project in 2006.

Heng Kunleang said the ministry had spent a long time studying the proposed project for possible environmental impacts and economic effectiveness before giving the scheme the green light.

“We want power for the sake of development, but we will never forget to consider any negative effects it may have on the environment, which is concern for all of us,” he said.

Van Nara, an environmentalist from the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Environment and Culture, said Wednesday that the government should be very careful in its development of coal power plants. He said that if an environmental impact examination was not done carefully, problems could surface in the future. He added that in parts of Thailand, coal power plants have polluted the air and surrounding water, making residents sick or disabled.

“I think that the power generated by the plant will help fill in the present demand for electricity in the country,” he said. “But the government must thoroughly inspect the plant before allowing official operations to start. Cambodia also has many other good choices to produce electricity, such as solar and wind power.”

Thiv Sophearith, chief of the Office of Air Noise and Vibration Management, said: “We think that the company may have already put enough measures in to prevent environmental pollution.”

According to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, it plans to approve construction of a second 100-megawatt coal power plant in Preah Sihanouk province this year.

Masks not just for criminals

Photo by: Terry McCoy

Hede Hab, 23, listens to music while outfitted with a novelty face mask near Phnom Penh’s Central Market on Sunday afternoon. “I like Korean style; I love Korea,” he said, explaining why he wears fashionable face masks.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Terry McCoy

KAMPONG THOM PROVINCE

LAY LIDA stares into the mirror, studying the minute details discernable only by a teenage girl.

The 17-year-old’s synopsis: This ensemble has got to be perfect. She’s meeting friends later. There could be boys. But the outfit is missing a key component: the right surgical mask.

Glancing past the blue ones in her parents’ shop in Kampong Thom town, she descends upon a pink face mask – it just feels like a pink sort of day, she explains. “Masks make me more beautiful,” she says. “They make me look good.”

Call this the anti-fashion trend, one that hides, rather than augments, someone’s look. It’s a marriage between practicality and chic that – bolstered by fears of H1N1, air pollution and the dusty grip of the dry season – is sweeping across Cambodia and other parts of Asia, according to fashion experts, surgical mask producers, sellers and wearers.

“This is a kind of fashion,” said Amra Doeur, who works at Tom & Alice Custom Tailors in Phnom Penh. “Everyone wears masks to protect their body, but the fashion part is choosing what mask is the best.”

Already, novelty masks have crept into a few shops and stores across Cambodia to meet this new demand for fashionable masks. “I envision these masks in hospital paediatrics departments, libraries, schools and airports,” said Irina Blok, an America-based designer of novelty masks who has sold roughly 500 so far. “There’s huge potential out there.”

A walk through any urban market clearly shows the ubiquity and diversity of surgical masks in the Kingdom.

A varied selection hangs in just about any market shop that sells masks, with cartoon-adorned items in every colour of the rainbow dangling freely, stripping any sinister value once inherent to masks. It’s certainly hard to imagine any self-respecting maniacal killer or ninja going about his business wearing a pink mask emblazoned with a teddy bear asking, “Tough enuff?”

Fortunately, the purpose of these masks isn’t mayhem. It’s health and protection, in particular blocking dust particles and providing a perceived protection from common sicknesses like influenza.

Cambodians are a sensible people, said Chea Botom, owner of a souvenir shop in Siem Reap. Usually, they don’t do things superfluously. So in today’s world, with so many airborne pathogens, masks have become like your credit card: Don’t leave home without it.

So why not enliven something that is deemed necessary? Chea Botom says this love affair with facial gauze is all because of Japan. Just as many Western fashions matriculate from the streets of Paris, much of Asia’s fashion is linked to Japan. The mask is no different.

In the early 1900s, after Japan had been enveloped by the Industrial Revolution – and all the dirt and disease that went with it – the face mask gained popularity outside of the operating room, reflecting the country’s abhorrence of germs and grime.

A decade ago, when an incipient Cambodian tourism industry spawned direct contact with other Asians and their surgical masks, the trend quickly infected the Kingdom.

Still, the style of fashionable masks remains “in its infancy”, said Fiona Kizston, owner of Wild Poppy in Siem Reap. “But once Cambodians see Asians from other countries wearing novelty masks more often, it will catch on here.”

So for now, forget the rhetorical question – “tough enuff?” – that some novelty masks pose. Because hiding behind a mask from dust and the flu may not be the best barometer of moxie.

Instead, let’s ask: Practical enuff? Or, better: Fashionable enuff? Yes and yes.

Partnering the sacred in music and dance

French cellist Vincent Courtois will play the classical music of Johann Sebastian Bach at Chenla Theatre this weekend. CCF

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Sarah Outhwaite

A weekend performance at Chenla Theatre will bring together the music of Bach and the traditional dance of Cambodia

Phnom Penh

THE French musician and the Cambodian dancer work together in perfect tandem, playing their instruments of cello and body.

Only when they stop for conversation does distance open between their perspectives on the duet. To the musician, classical heritage has been revered to the point of rigidity. To the dancer, having a classical heritage remains a fragile privilege.

Dancer Belle Chumvan and cellist Vincent Courtois rehearse their duet, the centrepiece of this Friday’s premier Suites at Chenla Theatre.

The second of three performances in this month’s Dansez Roam series, it is organised by the French Cultural Centre and Amrita Performing Arts.

The show pairs Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites – those lovingly overplayed pinnacles of Western classical music – with dancers for whom the music is entirely fresh.

Accompanying Cambodians allows Courtois to rethink Bach, and he finds this a welcome departure from convention.

“Bach is so sacred in the West, where it’s so much in the collective unconscious,” he says. “I like that the dancers are totally virgin to this music. I become new to it, too.”

Performer Chumvan has choreographed an extended solo to the second cello suite. This encounter offers exciting possibilities but also reminds her of the delicate nature of her own sacred dance.

“I feel the music is sad,” Chumvan says. “I start thinking of all the teachers, singers and master artists who died because of Khmer Rouge. Always the experts.”

Chumvan is one of nine dancers developing personal interpretations of the Bach suites. A group of Amrita performers collaborates with Courtois on the first suite, and a different group choreographs for the third suite. In the final piece Courtois is joined by young musicians who play harmonies to his Bach cello on their traditional instruments.

Courtois delights in how the familiar classical music is revitalised through the sound of Cambodian accompaniment. “It feels so anachronistic that in the end, it’s not,” he says.

Contemporary dance often privileges exploration in this way. Chumvan notes how confusing it can become.

“Ten teachers give 10 different ideas,” she says. “Not like classical with only one way.”

Chumvan continues to question what “contemporary” means and how strongly her spirit moves toward it. The very teachers she reveres in her Bach choreography have cautioned her against altering traditions so recently recovered.

“The master says, you start to do something crazy? You want to kill classical?” says Chumvan. “But if we have something new, we have a new choice.”

Chumvan continues to ask hard questions as she develops her ideas and synchronicity with Courtois in preparation for the performance.

While rehearsing with the cello, Chumvan’s movements radiate from the core of Cambodian dance but extend beyond it with sensitive speed and lizard-like clarity.

When young Cambodians tell Chumvan they want to emulate her contemporary style, she asks them, “Do you know Khmer dance? First, you should understand who you are.”

Hearing this, Courtois gives his own perspective. “You can forget your roots if you know them,” he says, indicating his heart.

For Chumvan, this point has not yet been reached. “Here, everything develops,” she reminds us, “and like everything else, culture is still not really grown up.”

Vincent Courtois and Cambodian dancers will present Suites at 7pm on February 12 and 13 at Chenla Theatre in Phnom Penh Cultural Centre (at Mao Tse Tung and Monireth boulevards).

Sim Narith jumps to double

2010 Norodom Sihanouk Show Jumping champion Sim Narith (centre) celebrates on the podium with second-placed John You (left) and third-placed Philippe Garcia Sunday.

Sim Narith rides during his final round of the 2010 show jumping competition at the Cambodian Coutnry Club Sunday

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

Expert local equestrian Sim Narith clinched his second successive Norodom Sihanouk du Cambodge Show Jumping championship after a Jump Off Sunday

THE 2010 Norodom Sihanouk Du Cambodge Show Jumping Championships concluded Sunday at the Cambodian Country Club with a thrilling ‘Jump Off’ in the Grand Prix category to decide overall champion. Local rider and reigning champion Sim Narith rode best on the day to clinch the title once more, ahead of John You in second and Philippe Garcia.

Sim Narith and John You had booked their places in the three-man playoff with a joint lowest score of 10 points earlier Sunday, while Philippe Garcia’s 19 points pipped Hoy Sopharith on 20 to advance to the last stage.

Earlier, John Cvetko had sealed victory in the adult division with 6 points, with Pat Makara in second on 8, and Mona Tep and Dul Samtal sharing third with 10.

In the Galop 4 class, Louise Boyle completed a dominant round to end with 12 points and finish first, ahead of second placed Alyssa Rohan on 19. Rey Ry and Tess Galloway registered 22 points each to finish joint third.

Galop 2 saw Pierre Louise Debessombes triumph with 7 points, with Meas Marya behind on 10, and Florence Belloy on 11.

Nolan Tep, meanwhile, commanded the Galop 1 division with 7 points, as Gabriel Goosens took second on 11, and siblings Louise and Esther Guibert settled on 12.

Finally, in the Pony 1 class, Laura Belloy bettered her sister’s bronze with a gold after scoring 9 points, while Paul and Jean Debessombes grabbed second and third respectively on 13 and 17 points.

The event was presided over by Her Royal Highness, Princess Norodom Bopha Devi, who gave out medals and trophies to the winning competitors.

Photos by Nick Sells (http://www.nicksellsphotography.com/)

Hun Sen Cup quarterfinal ties to challenge sides' consistency

Preah Khan Reach’s Prak Monyoudom (centre, green) gets close attention from three Khemara Keila players during their Cambodian Premier League Super 4 playoffs semifinal at Olympic Stadium September 12, 2009.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Ung Chamroeun

Kampong Chhnang’s Rithi Sen, the last provincial team left standing, will look to shatter National Defence Ministry’s semifinals dreams for yet another year

THE remaining two quarterfinal fixtures, to be played on February 21, give some mouthwatering prospects in the 2010 Samdech Hun Sen Cup. One tie will create history for one of its clubs, as they advance to the semifinals for the first time, while the other tie sees a classic matchup between well-acquainted Cambodian Premier League rivals.

Rithi Sen v National Defence Ministry

National Defence Ministry (MND) have made the Samdech Hun Sen Cup quarterfinals for the fourth successive year, and will be looking to finally break through and claim a coveted place in the semifinals. This year they are presented with probably the best chance to do just that, as they face Cup novices Rithi Sen from Kampong Chhnang province.

The Army side advanced to the quarterfinals following a nervy 4-3 victory on penalties over provincial side Koh Kong. Rithi Sen became the first provincial team to grace the last eight round after a fascinating 4-2 win over Cambodian Premier League (CPL) side Kirivong Sok Sen Chey. That match lasted 120 minutes and saw two Kirivong men sent off.

Hor Sok Heng, assistant coach of MND, goes into the quarterfinal tie humbled by the previous round. “We thought that provincial side Koh Kong would not be difficult for us, but we couldn’t score any goals against them and only won because of penalties,” he asserted. “We will now meet Rithi Sen, which will be a big challenge for us, so we need to play with determination.”

The coach also revealed two injury concerns for MND. “Midfielder Nov Soseila picked up a problem with his ankle when playing for the national team against South Koreans side Ulsan University [January 23], and his injury became more serious while playing against Koh Kong [last Saturday]. Defender Khek Khemarin has a calf muscle strain.

“Presently, we are not certain whether either can help the team in the upcoming match or not, but we need take care of them and hope that they will be fit soon,” said Hor Sok Heng.

National Defence Ministry’s Khek Khemarin plays during the last 16 Cup match against Koh Kong last Saturday.

Tam Matt, coach of Rithi Sen, was enthused by his team’s triumphant shock result. “We defeated the Takeo provincial side [Kirivong Sok Sen Chey] in Division A2, and now we’ve beaten them again,” he exclaimed. “I recognize that Kirivong Sok Sen Chey is a strong team, and we won over them because two of their players were sent off. We will next meet MND in the quarterfinals. Do we scare them? I don’t think so. With a big team such as MND, we will need to use all our energy.”

Tam Matt was given confidence that during the preliminary round, MND had registered a flattering 4-0 win against Kampong Chhnang side DATE after a goalless first half, but Rithi Sen had knocked in more than 10 against the same side during a friendly. In fact, the coach was already thinking about the next round.

“Some of my players will need to play carefully because they received yellow cards from the previous match, especially Ly Chem, our specialist in the central position,” Tam Matt said. The coach also applauded the contribution of supporters, some of whom had traveled from Kampong Chhnang to watch the previous game. “The fans are considered our 12th player on the field,” Tam Matt said. “Our players will do the best because of the moral support from the fans.”

Preah Khan Reach v Khemara Keila

Preah Khan Reach (PKR) and Khemara Keila both reached the quarterfinals thanks to resounding 5-0 victories over Oddar Meanchey and Prek Pra Keila respectively. There will be little that the teams don’t know about each other, having met in two out of three previous tournaments and clashed regularly in CPL fixtures.

Khemara won the first of their Cup ties back in 2007 with a thrilling 5-3 scoreline in the last 16 stage on the way to clinching the trophy. The following year, PKR claimed sweet revenge in the semifinal, beating Khemara 5-4 on penalties, although they lost the final 1-0 to Phnom Penh Crown. Last year, Khemara [playing as Ranger FC] were knocked out by Naga Corp in the quarterfinals, whereas PKR won third place after stomping Phouchung Neak 3-0 in the playoffs.

Results from the past two CPL seasons have the clubs tied at two wins apiece, although Khemara have a slender two-goal aggregate advantage. Khemara will also be boosted by the return from suspension of last year’s Golden Boot winner Kuoch Sokumpheak, who amassed 21 goals in the previous competition.

Despite financial difficulties, Khemara have signed new players including Ouk Chheng Hoat from Post Tel Club, Sok Pheng from National Defence Ministry, and Soun Makara from quarterfinal opponents PKR. “I hope that my boys will make me smile, even though some new players have yet to integrate fully in the club,” said Khemara manager, Lah Salakhan. “But we’ll keep them busy training during our preparations.”

Prak Sovannara, head coach of PKR, sees the match against historic rivals Khemara as a test. “Khemara have a good record in Cambodian football – they are also runners-up of the 2009 CPL – so we will face a big challenge,” he said. “Our team members need to work together and push the players to focus on training.”

The PKR coach affirmed that his squad members are currently free from injury, and that two former Khemara players, Peas Sothy and Ung Kanyanith – who was appointed as coach of Khemara last year – will play against their old employer.

Meanwhile, PKR captain Samel Nasa said he has high hopes that his side will overcome Khemara, as half of the PKR side boast national team experience.

Photos by Nick Sells (http://www.nicksellsphotography.com/)

Medallists to be awarded

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Thursday, 11 February 2010 15:00 Ung Chamroeun

THE Cambodian government will give prize money Friday at the National Institute of Education to successful athletes who claimed medals at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane. Cambodia sent 132 athletes in 19 sports disciplines to the biannual competition, held last year from December 9-18 in the Laos capital. A total of 40 medals were won - 3 golds, 10 silvers and 27 bronzes – with some athletes grabbing more than one each while others shared a medal for team events. According to Vath Chamroeun, General Secretary of National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, the cash rewards are given in accordance with a government sub-decree which states that each gold medallist will receive 24 million riels (US$5,770), silver medallists get 16 millions riels and bronzes earn 8 millions riel. Coaches also receive cash prizes equivalent to that of the highest medal won by their competitors, and the assistant coaches are granted 70 percent of the coach’s reward.

News in Picture : Red Shirt rally outside the Royal Thai Police Headquarters

A supporter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attends a rally outside the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok February 10, 2010. They accused law enforcement authorities of stalling on a case against their "yellow-shirted" rivals who closed down the airports for a week at the end of 2008. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

A supporter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attends a rally outside the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok February 10, 2010. They accused law enforcement authorities of stalling on a case against their "yellow-shirted" rivals who closed down the airports for a week at the end of 2008. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

A supporter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra attends a rally outside the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok February 10, 2010. They accused law enforcement authorities of stalling on a case against their "yellow-shirted" rivals who closed down the airports for a week at the end of 2008.REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Hun Sen ups stakes in border stand-off

via CAAI News Media

Published: 11/02/2010

Newspaper section: News

Cambodia has approached the International Court of Justice over the disputed territory near the Preah Vihear temple in a move that has stoked blazing tensions over the issue.

Thailand wants the dispute over the 4.6 sq km area settled by the two countries through the Joint Boundary Commission.

A Foreign Ministry source said the chances of a bilateral solution would diminish if the international court in the Hague became involved.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Tuesday his country would complain to the court that Thailand was occupying its land, Associated Press reported.

"Cambodia has reached the limits of its patience," Hun Sen said during a visit to the disputed border territory.

"Cambodia wants to solve this territorial dispute by filing a complaint to the international court at the Hague." He said he would also ask the United Nations to help solve the border issue.

What Cambodia plans to do is not new. In 2008, Phnom Penh tried to take the disputed area issue to the United Nations Security Council.

Thailand, under then prime minister Samak Sundaravej, successfully convinced members of the council in Thailand and New York, and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that the issue should not be resolved by outsiders.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the issue should be beyond the authority of the world court. He earlier insisted on using negotiations to fight for Thai sovereignty over the area around the temple as it is part of Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket.

The world court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia but it did not touch on the disputed area.

Nationalist passions have run high along the border since 2008, when Thailand first backed, then opposed, Cambodia's bid to have the temple declared a World Heritage site by the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation.

Cambodian-Thai relations worsened late last year when Cambodia named former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra an adviser on economic affairs.

The Cambodian government refused to extradite him to Thailand despite the government's request.

The two countries are now poised for a conflict over a management plan for the temple, submitted to Unesco by Cambodia. The UN agency requires Cambodia to safeguard the temple as a historical World Heritage site.

Thailand suspects that Cambodia has included part of the disputed area in its plan. The plan will be tabled for discussion by the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting in July in Brazil.

"It is clear that Cambodia will include N3, or the overlapping area of 4.6 kilometres, in the plan," said Vasu Poshyanandana, secretary-general of Thailand's International Council on Monuments and Sites.

"We will object to the plan before it is included in the conference's agenda," he said.

"Cambodia has carried out the plan without Thailand's consent. That makes the plan unacceptable."

Thailand will soon map out its position to counter the Cambodian proposal.

The landscape management plan will be circulated to members of the World Heritage Committee about six weeks before the meeting.

But Mr Vasu said: "We have no need to wait until that time."

Surakiart to govt: Just get over Thaksin

via CAAI News Media

Published: 11/02/2010

Newspaper section: News

The government needs to get over its obsession with Thaksin Shinawatra or it will lose what remains of its withered credibility overseas, says former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Thailand's post-coup standing in the international arena was deteriorating and it had lost the confidence of its neighbours, Mr Surakiart told a Chulalongkorn University forum yesterday.

Thailand had also lost its unique role as a regional coordinator and venue provider for sensitive issues, said the foreign minister who served under Thaksin.

"We've dropped off the radar as a positive influence on the international community, and joined the negative radar for our ongoing domestic political rifts that destroyed several international meetings hosted here last year," he said.

Thailand could reverse the harm it had done to itself if domestic politics, especially its obsession with self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin, were detached from foreign affairs.

"Thailand needs to make friends with its neighbours again," he said.

"Informal meetings, phone calls, short visits or quick lunches must be reintroduced at both ministerial and leader levels with key countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and China."

On the Cambodian dispute, he advised the government to separate politics from boundary issues and think carefully before retaliating to jibes.

"Of course, the leader of one country slamming another is a disgrace and we all know that [Cambodia] should also detach itself from nationalism when it approaches issues concerning Thailand.

"Thankfully, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva did not respond to the latest provocations, which could have spurred on the latest bilateral dispute even more."

Mr Surakiart said Thailand consistently underestimates other countries.

"We need to overhaul the way we evaluate situations regarding our neighbours. They have dignity, connections and friends much more than they had in the past, which is why Thailand's veto of Cambodia's unilateral listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site was unsuccessful," he said.