Cholera caused Kratie deaths

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:04 Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis

LABORATORY tests have confirmed that five people who died of severe vomiting and diarrhoea in Kratie province last month had contracted cholera, according to a health official who declined to provide further information on the number of cholera cases reported nationwide for fear it would impact tourism.

Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Communicable Diseases Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said Wednesday that the five deaths were the result of “acute watery diarrhoea caused by Vibrio cholerae”, a reference to the bacterium that causes cholera.

Asked if there were other reported cases of cholera in Kratie or elsewhere, Ly Sovann said, “I cannot make the data of the cholera cases public because we are afraid the data will hit profits in our country.” He went on to say that he was particularly concerned about how news of cholera cases might affect the Kingdom’s tourism sector.

Ly Sovann’s comments provided further evidence of the Health Ministry’s reluctance to acknowledge the recent presence of cholera in Cambodia.

Development partners and some health experts have in recent weeks said that it makes little difference whether cholera is diagnosed, and that the disease can be treated much like any case of acute watery diarrhoea.

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We are doctors, not politicians or working in tourist offices.

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However, not everyone has agreed.

In early February, health officials at a Phnom Penh paediatric hospital criticised the government for failing to announce an outbreak that they said had been reported to the Health Ministry last November, and suggested that economic considerations – in particular, the well-being of the tourism industry – were exerting undue influence over a matter of public health.

“We are doctors, not politicians or working in tourist offices,” Dr Beat Richner, director of the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, said at the time. “For us as doctors, it is most important that the people are informed.”

In a series of open letters published in local media that month, Richner argued that, contrary to statements made by World Health Organisation officials, cholera was a particularly acute form of watery diarrhoea that could kill within hours, and that it should be treated with antibiotics.

Dr Pieter van Maaren, the WHO’s country representative, on Wednesday reiterated the WHO’s position that cholera should be treated in the same way as other cases of acute watery diarrhoea, and said it was not necessary for cholera test results to be made public.

“People have a very poor association with the word cholera, and this is really affecting the work that the [Health Ministry] and its partners do.

People get scared when they hear the word cholera,” he said.

He added: “From a WHO perspective, we are very much following the health situation in the country; whether or not there is tourism doesn’t make any difference to us.”

However, Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre of Human Rights, said the government should be transparent about the number of cholera cases, and that past attempts by governments to de-emphasise reports of confirmed cases had contributed to the spread of the disease.

“No doubt it will have some impact on tourism,” he said, “but in the long run Cambodia will be a more trusted destination if we are transparent about this.”

Govt timber seizures proceed apace

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Srun Sengkry, the father of Srun Phirom, sits in his daughter’s warehouse on Wednesday. Officials detained Srun Phirom after the Russey Keo district warehouse was raided.

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:03 Tep Nimol and Chrann Chamroeun

RUSSEY Keo district authorities arrested two people in connection with illegal logging during a search of a warehouse in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, as similar crackdowns continued across the country, officials said.

Chan Sahuth, deputy district police chief, said the search was authorised following the issuing of a warrant by Phnom Penh Municipal Court. The subsequent search of the warehouse uncovered 5.7 cubic metres of luxury wood, which was sent to the Forestry Administration.

Ly Meng Kheang and his wife, Srun Phirom, were sent to the Cambodian military police station in Phnom Penh for questioning, Chan Sahuth added.

The search in Phnom Penh came among similar raids in Ratanakkiri, Kampong Cham and Siem Reap provinces.

Thoang Savuth, deputy governor of Ratanakkiri province, said authorities had intercepted nearly 450 cubic metres of luxury wood since Prime Minister Hun Sen in January told an audience of military commanders that he would no longer put up with illegal logging operations conducted by high-ranking officials.

“We haven’t arrested anyone because the majority of the wood was found abandoned in the forests,” he said.

He added that even before the January directive, provincial authorities had seized more than 200 cubic metres of luxury wood.

Njem Sela, Siem Reap’s provincial deputy police chief, said military police have led operations to raid and search various locations.

“From March we have cracked down on one large place involved in illegal logging and confiscated a total of around 5 cubic metres of luxury wood and 95 cubic metres of normal wood,” he said. “We have also detained seven suspects and sent them to provincial court for questioning.”

Lak Leang, Kampong Cham’s deputy military police chief, said authorities had confiscated 4,000 pieces of luxury wood from 10 locations.

Officials endorse methadone plan

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:03 Irwin Loy

DRUG and health officials have approved a plan to begin Cambodia’s first methadone treatment programme for drug users, meaning the long-delayed pilot could begin within months.

Officials with the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD) and the Ministry of Health on Wednesday endorsed the pilot programme for methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). The move could be the final bureaucratic hurdle in getting the project off the ground after lengthy delays that had frustrated those who work with drug users.

“People who are dependent on drugs need access to evidence-informed health interventions in their communities,” said Eng Huot, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Health.

The pilot programme will be the first state-run alternative to compulsory drug centres, which critics say are little more than “boot camps” that subject detainees to violent abuse.

Advocates say MMT allows people who are addicted to heroin to stabilise their lives. The treatment itself is not aimed at ending addiction; rather, it replaces heroin with controlled doses of methadone, a synthetic opioid that has similar effects.

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PEOPLE WILL NOT BE CURED. BUT PEOPLE WILL STABILISE THEIR LIVES.

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For a country in which compulsory treatment has been the only option for drug users, the notion of maintaining addiction can be controversial, said one NACD official, who cautioned that it will take time for some to become comfortable with the idea.

“Many people think that when people take methadone, they may stop using drugs,” said Thong Sokunthea, the director of the NACD’s research and control department. “In reality, they don’t stop.… People will not be cured. But people will stabilise their lives.”

MMT is also a key tool to reduce the transmission of HIV among drug users, he said.

“If methadone is effective as other countries have shown, we expect that the methadone programme will be very beneficial to people in Cambodia.”

The one-year, US$350,000 pilot will be funded by donors and run by the Health Ministry, using a clinic based in the Cambodian-Russian Friendship Hospital. The pilot is expected to treat 100 people over the course of the year.

However, two types of resources must be available if the programme is to be a success, said Graham Shaw, the technical adviser on drug use with the World Health Organisation, who designed the pilot.

The plan calls for a staff of more than 20 doctors, pharmacists, nurses, case managers and counsellors. They will have to be trained in an intensive six-week course, Shaw said.

And the availability of follow-up supports already in short supply in the Kingdom – rehabilitation, vocational training, counselling and job placements – will be critical.

“They’re vital. Without them the medical part of it will fail,” Shaw said. “If drug users go back to environments and friends who keep on using heroin or opium, then almost certainly these people will relapse. That’s been found all over the world.”

Shaw said such supports will be available at first for roughly 50 people, necessitating a cautious start to the programme, which could begin in two months at the earliest.

Shaw said he is hopeful the introduction of MMT signifies a shift away from the government’s existing compulsory treatment model.

Methadone elsewhere

In neighbouring countries, drug experts say, methadone has been implemented with promising signs of its efficacy. In Malaysia, the number of people detained in compulsory treatment centres dropped as MMT was scaled up, said Simon Baldwin, the senior technical officer on HIV and drugs for the NGO Family Health International.

In Ho Chi Minh City, where more than 1,000 people are enrolled, MMT has allowed drug users to find jobs and live normal lives, he said.

“Methadone is a positive step simply because it works,” Baldwin said.

Authorities in Vietnam also announced a significant expansion of MMT after studies found a drop in petty crime following the introduction of methadone, said David Jacka, the medical officer for HIV and injection drug use for the WHO in Vietnam.

“Compulsory treatment and detention is always more attractive when you have no other option,” Jacka said in an email, though he noted that Vietnam continues to build compulsory drug detention centres.

“At present, the impact of methadone on detention centres is still speculative,” he said.

In the meantime, the project’s proponents acknowledge MMT will provide a response to only a small part of Cambodia’s addiction issues. The WHO estimates there are at least 2,000 injection drug users in the Kingdom, compared to more than 50,000 amphetamine users.

Groundbreaking for two dams

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha

A CHINESE hydropower company today will hold a ceremony in Phnom Penh marking the groundbreaking on a hydropower dam project in Koh Kong province, officials said Wednesday.

China Huadian Hong Kong Limited, a Chinese state-owned firm, has invested US$558 million to build the 338-megawatt Stung Russey Chrum Krom dam, which is set to come on line in 2013.

Eang Sophalleth, a spokesman for Prime Minister Hun Sen, told reporters that Yun Gongmin, China Huadian’s president, met the premier on Tuesday and informed him that Suy Sem, minister of industry, mines and energy, had agreed to start construction on the dam, which lies in the densely forested Cardamom Mountains.

“The construction of the dam is a symbol of the relationship between China and Cambodia, and shows a company’s achievement in Cambodia,” he quoted Yun Gongmin as saying.

On Monday, another Chinese company, the China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, broke ground on a separate project in Koh Kong. The $540 million Stung Tatay dam, which will produce 246 megawatts of electricity, is expected to be completed by 2014.

Pech Siyon, director of the Koh Kong provincial Department of Industry, Mines and Energy, said that after the construction of the two dams is completed, power costs in Koh Kong would plummet, alleviating the province’s reliance on electricity imported from Thailand.

He added that Koh Kong is currently consuming four megawatts of electricity from Thailand and is negotiating to purchase a further 11 megawatts to keep pace with industrial and consumer demand.

However, some critics are concerned that Cambodia’s spate of hydropower projects will end up irreversibly damaging the environment.

A 2008 report issued jointly by the US-based International Rivers and the Rivers Coalition in Cambodia stated that planning for hydropower projects had demonstrated “limited transparency or accountability to Cambodia’s citizens”, warning that “poorly conceived hydropower development could irreparably damage these resources and undermine Cambodia’s sustainable development”.

US to donate $5 million to tribunal

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony

US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp addresses reporters at the US Embassy on Wednesday. The US will contribute US$5 million to the Khmer Rouge tribunal in 2010, Rapp announced.

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I think i’m confident that the way is open for us to continue to contribute.

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via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:03 James O'Toole

THE United States plans to donate US$5 million to the Khmer Rouge tribunal in 2010, US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp announced Wednesday, praising the court’s progress in investigating the regime’s senior leaders and addressing the issue of corruption.

Rapp said the US was anxious to make up for its initially tepid financial support of the tribunal, adding that “credible steps” taken by the UN and the Cambodian government to combat corruption had reinforced American support for the court.

“This decision to provide further funding to the court reflects our commitment to see this process through to its conclusion and help Cambodia build a society based on the rule of law,” Rapp said.

The funds, Rapp said, will be limited to the UN side of the hybrid court, rather than the national side, and were contingent upon a judgment by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that allegations of corruption were being dealt with effectively. The ambassador met this week with Uth Chhorn, the National Audit Authority chief who has been tasked with investigating complaints from court employees, and cited his appointment last year as a positive step on this front.

Though Rapp declined to discuss the specifics of future contributions to the tribunal, he said the US anticipated providing support over the next several years, provided that the court continues to make progress against corruption and mismanagement.

“If there were steps back in those areas, it would be difficult to proceed with funding, but having seen the steps taken.... I think I’m confident that the way is open for us to continue to contribute,” he said.

The announcement came after Rapp spent Tuesday at the tribunal, meeting with senior national and international staff members.

“We are very pleased with the announcement of $5 million, which is a significant contribution to help the court fulfill its mandate,” UN court spokesman Lars Olsen said. “We hope that other countries will follow the example of the US.”

Though observers have raised questions in recent months about political interference at the court, Rapp said he was unconcerned by remarks from Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials who have publicly expressed their opposition to prosecutions beyond the court’s second case.

“There’s been comments about the court by political figures for a long period of time, indeed since the court was formed, and it’s not surprising that people who are interested in the court would make comments about it,” Rapp said.

Based on meetings with government officials and court staff, Rapp added that he did not believe that the court’s investigations had been disrupted by external forces.

In December, Hun Sen publicly denied interfering in the court’s work, though he warned that further prosecutions, pending in the tribunal’s third and fourth cases, could plunge the country into civil war.

The premier has also critcised the court’s attempt to summon as witnesses six senior government officials, including National Assembly president Heng Samrin and Senate president Chea Sim, who have apparently ignored these requests. With none of the officials having appeared before the court’s co-investigating judges as of January, Judge Marcel Lemonde concluded that it would not be feasible to pursue their testimony any further.

Amnesty takes aim at ASEAN rights body

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:03 Sebastian Strangio

RIGHTS group Amnesty International has expressed its “disappointment” that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has reportedly refused to look into complaints of human rights abuses in the region, as its inaugural meetings began in Jakarta this week.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the group said without fulfilling its mandate to promote and protect human rights among the 10-member ASEAN bloc, the commission “risks reducing itself to an irrelevant and futile exercise in public relations”.

“Amnesty International calls upon the commission to reverse its decision and apply its mandate, which includes protection of human rights, in line with international law and standards,” the statement said.

The group said a complaint filed by Noemi E Parcon, the widow of one of the 32 Filipino journalists killed in Ampatuan, Philippines, in November 2009, requesting help for victims’ families to “seek justice”, was rejected by an AICHR commissioner, who was cited as saying the body would focus on “thematic” reports of rights abuses, but not individual complaints.

“The fact that the commission decided, in its very first official meeting, that it cannot help victims of the deadliest single attack on journalists in history to seek redress clearly does not bode well for its future,” Amnesty International said.

Om Yentieng, chairman of the government-run Cambodian Human Rights Committee, said Wednesday that he did not have time to speak to the press.

The AICHR was launched in October 2009 in accordance with Article 14 of the ASEAN Charter. This week’s meetings, which are closed to the public, are scheduled to finish today.

SRP seeks Sihanouk’s aid

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

SAM Rainsy Party officials say they will seek the help of King Father Norodom Sihanouk on the issue of border incursions by the Vietnamese, a party official said Wednesday, as the former monarch returned from Beijing.

“He returned to Cambodia while the ruling [Cambodian People’s Party] threatens the people who struggled to protect the border land,” SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said. “We will ask him to find justice for us because he understands about the border work.”

Sihanouk, who receives medical treatment in China, travelled home with his wife, Queen Mother Monineath Sihanouk, and son, King Norodom Sihamoni.

The royal family was met at Phnom Penh International Airport by a delegation of leaders, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and Senate President Chea Sim, before travelling back to the Royal Palace.

“The King Father and his wife returned to Cambodia to join this happy New Year with his people,” said Um Daravuth, the King’s Cabinet officer.

During his time abroad, Sihamoni received a routine health check in Beijing, before travelling on to Prague and France.

Fire victims reject relocation

Photo by: Will Baxter

Residents of the Tuol Kork community that was devastated by a fire last month continue to rebuild their homes on Wednesday. Officials say 62 families have rejected offers of relocation land in Dangkor district.

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 Vong Sokheng

Though most families plan to move, at least 62 intend to stay in Boeung Kak 2.

AT LEAST 62 families who lost their homes during the Boeung Kak 2 commune fire in Tuol Kork district last month have rejected an offer to relocate to land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in Dangkor district, local authorities said Wednesday.

District officials have said that an electrical fire in a resident’s home sparked the March 8 blaze, which destroyed 178 homes as well as 31 dormitory rooms in Neak Von pagoda, leaving 257 families, 181 students and 90 monks homeless.

Thim Sam An, deputy governor of Tuol Kork district, said Monday that residents would not be forcibly evicted, but that officials would encourage them to rethink their position.

“We will still give the villagers time so they can make a decision about relocation, but we won’t force them,” Thim Sam An said.

“We will make a final list of the villagers who still want to live at the fire site,” he said, adding that families choosing to stay would be offered a 3.92-by-5.5-metre plot of land before the rainy season.

Some 140 families have already accepted the offer to relocate to Dangkor district, where drainage, water and roads are already in place, Thim Sam An said.

He said he was unaware of any development plans for the Boeung Kak 2 commune site, and that villagers were welcome to continue living there.

However, at least one resident, a 74-year-old woman, said she had been prevented from rebuilding for the time being. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that despite the delay, she had decided to remain at the site, though she noted that her new plot will be considerably smaller than the 8-by-25-metre house that she lost.

“I have agreed to take the new offer from the authorities because my family members work in Phnom Penh,” she said.

Competition grows among Siem Reap’s nighttime markets

Photo by: Rann Reuy

The Siem Reap Night Market, which reopened last month after being closed by authorities in January.

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 Rann Reuy

Siem Reap Province

THE controversial Siem Reap Night Market has reopened after being closed for more than two months by provincial authorities, amid concerns that an increase in venues will hurt nighttime businesses already stuggling during the tourist low season.

The market – which opened in early January – caused an uproar among nearby businesses and others who said it blocked a major thoroughfare next to Pub Street and siphoned business from existing markets.

The situation threatens to repeat itself, as an increasing number of markets compete for both vendors and fewer tourists, said Lim Nam, proprietor of the Angkor Night Market.

“In a city of more than 800 stalls, Siem Reap doesn’t have the demand to justify the rising number of night markets,” he said Wednesday.

He added that his 200-stall market was only able to attract 60 vendors.

Siem Reap Night Market owner Huy Leng said Wednesday that he has been operating from a legal vending area underneath a local house for the past 10 days.

However, he also complained of a lack of business, saying that rent was eating away at his finances as he tried to attract vendors by letting them lease stalls rent-free for three months.

“I’m not satisfied with the situation.... I’ve had to pay rent on the site, while letting vendors operate free of charge, and I’m running this market in the low season,” he said.

Bun Tharith, deputy governor of Siem Reap province, said he supported the increase in night markets, but that he wanted them to operate in a way that prevents conflict between owners.

Other market proprietors, such as Noon Night Market owner Seng Phalkun, did not share Lim Nam’s concern about increased competition.

“I am not concerned about the competition.... Success depends on other things, like proper management, marketing and product availability,” he said, adding that his problem was with new markets not having a proper place to conduct business.

Thai Permits: Deadline passes for migrants

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 James O'Toole

Thai Permits

Thousands of Cambodians registered to work in Thailand may have missed Wednesday’s deadline to verify their nationalities and secure renewed employment permits in the country, according to statistics from the Thai ministry of labour. Ministry documents translated into English by Thailand’s Human Rights and Development Foundation state that as of last Friday, 37,983 of the 124,902 Cambodians who were previously legal workers in Thailand had not yet registered for nationality-verification. Thai officials have said that workers who did not register by the deadline would be deported, and Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Wednesday that this policy remained in place.

SRP officials storm out of city workshop

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 Meas Sokchea

DOZENS of Sam Rainsy Party district councillors stormed out of a workshop at City Hall on Wednesday in response to what they perceived as attacks on their party’s leadership, then staged a press conference at which they called for Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun to be removed from his post.

The workshop, which was convened to cover the effective use of city data books, descended into partisan rancour after Mann Chhoeun accused “opposition lawmakers” of groundlessly blaming municipal officials for the eviction of poor residents of Phnom Penh to the capital’s outskirts.

SRP district councillors at the event said afterwards it was clear that Mann Chhoeun had been referring to their party, and also that the deputy governor said he had wanted to knock out their teeth.

“I have always heard Mr Mann Chhoeun attack the opposition party. He did not say the specific party name, but he was focusing on the SRP,” Thach Khunsarin, a Meanchey district councillor, said at the press conference staged at party headquarters following the walkout.

“We would like to request that the government remove Mr Mann Chhoeun from his post as Phnom Penh deputy governor.”

SRP lawmaker Ho Vann also said he believed Mann Chhoeun’s behaviour was evidence that he is unfit for his role.

“What we heard from Mann Chhoeun today was impolite. He is not suitable to be a leader. Beating us until our teeth fall out – is he suitable to be deputy governor? He is not a politician, and this is not a time to propagandise,” he said.

Reached Wednesday afternoon, Mann Chhoeun denied the allegations levelled against him by the SRP district councillors.

“I just called on them to learn on behalf of the authorities. Some of them did not want to work but attacked instead. Then they walked out. This shows that they do not have good manners, that they are impolite people,” Mann Chhoeun said.

Takhmao incinerator planned

Photo by: uy Nousereimony

A sign in Dangkor district’s Choeung Ek commune directs users to the Kingdom’s first medical waste incinerator, which was erected in October 2008.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

THE Cambodian Red Cross has announced plans to build a new medical waste incinerator in Kandal province’s Takhmao town early next year, following what officials described as the success of the Kingdom’s first incinerator, erected in October 2008 in Dangkor district.

Rath Aun, executive director of the medical waste department at the Red Cross, said health facilities in Takhmao had requested that an incinerator and dump site be built in the area to provide a safer way of disposing of medical waste.

“Right now, medical waste is being disposed of in ways that are harmful to public health and the environment,” he said. “Used needles, medical scissors, discarded bandages, placenta, flesh and blood are being buried or dumped at garbage sites.”

He added that the Cambodian Red Cross was reviewing the costs associated with constructing a new incinerator and dump site.

Though the Red Cross and the city covered the US$1 million cost of the existing incinerator, dump site and associated infrastructure in Dangkor district, additional assistance came from outside Cambodia: Project leaders received building materials and technical assistance from Germany, the body of the incinerator was sent from the Netherlands, and Vietnam provided piping for construction.

The facility currently generates between US$6,000 and $7,000 per month for the Red Cross in Phnom Penh, which uses the revenue for its own programmes and also for covering the incinerator’s maintenance fees, Rath Aun said.

Penh Pheakdey, the manager of the incinerator in Dangkor’s Choeung Ek commune, said that, on average, about 1 tonne of refuse is collected each day from 630 public and private medical facilities in Phnom Penh, which pay a fee for the service. Since the incinerator became operational, more than 400 tonnes of waste have been burned at the site, he said.

Few indigenous women in government: study

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:01 Chhay Channyda

SEXUAL discrimination and lack of education are preventing indigenous women from serving in government posts, according to a study presented on Wednesday.

The study, supported by the German development organisation GTZ and the Heinroch Boll Foundation, also found that indigenous women were willing if not eager to work as civil servants “in order to show their capacity and to eliminate discrimination”.

The study draws from interviews conducted in 2009 with women in four provinces: Mondulkiri, Kratie, Ratanakkiri and Stung Treng.

In two of those provinces – Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri – no women had been selected to serve as commune chiefs in areas populated by indigenous groups. Both provinces, though, boasted female indigenous heads of their women’s affairs departments.

Kratie also did not have any female indigenous commune chiefs. The researchers were unable to conclude whether any of the commune chiefs in Stung Treng were indigenous women.

The researchers also found that many of the indigenous women working in commune offices in the four provinces were “cleaners, tea-makers and hostesses during meetings”, though they said this could not be attributed to discrimination against indigenous women but rather to discrimination against women in general.

Thida Khus, the executive director of the NGO Silaka and secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics, a coalition of eight Cambodian NGOs, said she hoped the research would prompt the government to take steps to bolster the political participation of women.

“We want to take steps to improve their livelihoods,” she said.

Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said during the launch of the study’s findings on Wednesday that many indigenous women were reluctant to participate in group activities.

“They find it hard when they are selected to be involved in a commune work. It is a new heavy burden for them after looking after children,” she said, adding that one way to encourage women to enter politics would be to encourage men to take on housework.

She added, though, that the government was trying to incorporate more women in politics at all levels, and pointed to Men Sam An, a female deputy prime minister, as proof that its efforts were meeting with success.

“Just below the prime minister, who is a man, we have a deputy prime minister, who is female,” she said.

Police Blotter: 1 Apr 2010

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Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:01 Phak Seangly

POLICE ARRESTS STOP 'GANGSTER' BRAWL

Police in Kampong Thom province have arrested a group of at least 19 “gangsters” as they were preparing for a brawl with a rival gang, officials reported. Officers said the members of the group were caught with sticks, cleavers and swords in what had been a devious plan to attack their foes during a village dance party. Police said the people who were arrested were sent to receive an “education”. They were then required to sign a contract promising not to participate in such gangster-like behaviour again, before they were released and accompanied home by their parents. All the “gangsters” are students, police said.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

FAKE DOCTOR ON THE LOOSE, POLICE SAY

Police say a fake doctor is on the run in Kampong Thom province after he allegedly killed a woman accidentally by injecting her with something he said would cure an illness. It is alleged the 65-year-old man purported himself to be a doctor, and gave unprofessional treatment – for a price – to sick people in two Kampong Thom villages. Police said the deceased woman, 55, asked the “doctor” to treat a cold and cough. The man allegedly gave the woman an injection that caused her to die instantly, police said.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

STICK-THROWING MAN ACCUSED OF ABUSE

A 40-year-old man in Battambang province has been arrested after his wife accused him of repeatedly beating her in an ongoing case of alleged domestic violence. Police said the suspect never helped his wife earn money for the family. Instead, the man was constantly drunk, they said. On Sunday, the man asked his wife for money to buy booze. When she refused, the man used his daughter’s cell phone to call his relatives, saying he needed money to have his rice fields ploughed. The phone’s SIM card was later removed, and the man allegedly became furious, throwing a load of wooden sticks at his wife and striking her in the head. Police said the man was sent to the police station to face further questioning this week.

DEUM AMPIL

STEPDAD TURNS IN ACCUSED THIEF SON

Two men in Kandal province have been arrested for allegedly stealing a motorbike after the stepfather of one of the men told authorities he had found the stolen vehicle hidden in his house. Police said the two suspects stole the motorbike Monday morning when the rightful owner left it unattended, adding that the two men have confessed to the crime.

DEUM AMPIL

Traffic at capital’s port surged 42pc during Q1

Photo by: Pha Lina

Containers sit on the quay in Phnom Penh last month. In the first quarter, traffic growth at the port was 42 percent year on year, two percentage points lower than its projected figure for the whole of 2010.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:01 Chun Sophal

However, growth rate declined month on month, figures show

FREIGHT shipments through Phnom Penh Autonomous Port jumped an annualised 42 percent in the first quarter of 2010, slightly below growth expectations, according to official figures.

Nearly 12,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods were shipped between the capital and Cai Mep deepwater port in Vietnam, an increase from 8,400 TEUs in the first quarter of 2009.

The rise in shipments was projected to continue, Eang Veng Sun, deputy director general for the port, said on Wednesday.

“What we can expect now is for the activity of shipping products like rice, corn, textiles, construction materials, general items and raw materials for the garment sector to be busier than before,” he said.

More than 4,000 TEUs of freight were shipped in March, a rise of over 3,600 TEUs on March 2009.

The quarterly rise came from annualised growth of 75 percent in January, 51.5 percent in February and 26 percent last month.

The overall increase was just below the port’s 44 percent projection for growth in 2010, amounting to 62,500 TEUs in goods.

“I believe that our services will keep increasing in the future, because more and more customers are switching to the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port,” Eang Veng Sun said.

The capital has been shipping goods through Cai Mep since July 2009 and has seen an average monthly increase of 22 percent since the deepwater port opened in June 2009.

The Vietnamese port makes it easier for Phnom Penh suppliers to move goods along the Mekong River, saving up to 10 days of travel and reducing transshipment activities in ports like Singapore.

Vietnam and Cambodia have also worked to reduce shipping times by agreeing on single cargo inspections at the border.

The opening of the Cai Mep port has hurt Sihanoukville, but it too saw revenue and shipments slightly increase.

The Sihanoukville port, the Kingdom’s largest facility, reported an annualised rise in shipments of 13.35 percent in the first two months this year, indicating a modest recovery in the economy; however, the port reported only a 1.96 percent rise in revenue for the period.

Kiry Phal, executive director of Gemadept, a company that has been using the Phnom Penh port since 2004, said Wednesday that his company had increased shipment activity through capital by 15 percent each month up to about 2,000 containers of goods, including garments and agricultural products.

Tradelabs deal with Winsoft

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan

TRADELABS PLC has signed a deal with Winsoft Co for distribution of algorithmic betting products for casinos and Web sites, but a company official told the Post late Tuesday that the complex nature of the product has dissuaded potential customers from signing up.

TradeLabs creates algorithms for automated futures trading, along with gambling software and has approached Cambodian casinos to act as middlemen for high-end gamblers in international computer gaming. Winsoft is Cambodia’s Microsoft distributor.

Gambling algorithms help players determine odds, giving them an edge in online gaming, said Pily Wong, TradeLabs Cambodia manager. Gamblers play in virtual casinos while real casinos facilitating the play take a cut of the winnings.

“The software is not sold to casinos or Internet betting Web sites, but we install it for them and share profits won from international betting,” said Wong. “We have introduced this to many casinos in Cambodia, but they’ve shown no interest.

“They don’t understand this. This is a big concern for us to start up this project,” he said, adding that the players need to deposit a minimum US$50,000 to bet.

Corruption No1 issue, say women in business

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:01 Ellie Dyer

FEMALE entrepreneurs highlighted corruption as the most important issue facing businesswomen in Cambodia, during a meeting Wednesday attended by government officials and international experts.

Around 80 women working in tourism, small and medium enterprises, agriculture, handicrafts and manufacturing joined together at the Intercontinental Hotel in Phnom Penh to discuss their working environment.

Conference participants said that corruption, tax levels and their lack of a coherent voice were among top concerns.

According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), women are underrepresented in official business forums. Although around 62 percent of Cambodian businesses – mostly small enterprises – are owned by women, according to 2008 figures, relatively few attend regular meetings set up between the government and private sector.

“Women entrepreneurs are an enormous untapped resource for economic development. If women’s businesses were able to achieve their potential, they could make much greater contributions to job creation, improving incomes, developing human resources, paying taxes and contributing to economic growth,” said Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, according to a transcript of her speech.

The forum closed with women volunteering to represent their sectors at official meetings.

Brenda Murphy, a consultant with London-based Law and Development Partnership, who helped present the forum as part of a two-year project in Cambodia, said: “This is the first stage of the process. We are trying a bottom-up approach to seek out the issues.”

Building business after the crisis

Photo by: Pha Lina

South Korean investors have shown strong interest in Cambodia in recent years, but many have focused on real estate without adding value to the domestic economy, says Nam-Shik Kang, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the Cambodian government puts in more effort for investors, more and more will come."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:00 May Kunmakara

Korean Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia Chairman Nam-Shik Kang says trade is rebounding

How did the economic crisis impact bilateral trade and investment?

Cambodia has fundamentally poor financial [structures], so the global financial crisis did not impact Cambodia directly.

But ... Korea, China or some other countries, had a big problem with the crisis, making Korean investment and other countries pull back from Cambodia.

Have you seen any recovery to these investments?

Actually, in the last three years, from 2007 [through] 2009, many Korean investments were huge in Cambodia, but I don’t think this was real investment.

They were investing in land and real estate, not manufacturing. Cambodia is an underdeveloped country, so Cambodia not only needs real estate investment, but many investments to bring on the manufacturing industry.

What are your views on Cambodia’s real estate sector?

Cambodia’s land prices are high compared to other countries. For instance, land in Phnom Penh is almost the same as Seoul. This is crazy.

All of this makes everybody [more concerned] coming to Cambodia. I think this is not actual investment in the country, so we should see the real situation here.

What progress do you see here in terms of trade?

I think that the garment industry in Cambodia is likely to go up, and there are orders coming in from the US.

However, the construction sector will take longer. I received a report from the Korean Trade Promotion and Investment Agency recently, and our bilateral trade has started to get better, from early this year.

And it will continue to grow because Korea’s economy is also good now.

In which sector are South Koreans most interested to invest?

Of course, now first is construction, second is garments, third is the financial sector and fourth is tourism.

But of these sectors, I still think that the garment sector has the most potential for investment here.

I have met many Korean investors who want to move their factories from China and Vietnam, asking me about that. So we hope that Cambodia’s government will help them come here.

I think the garment industry has the highest potential, compared to other countries, because Cambodia has a lot of manpower, which is a significant point for the country’s growth.

The government should use this power more usefully. If the Cambodian government puts in more effort for investors, more and more will come.

How is the Korean trade relationship here compared to other countries?

Our relationship in terms of investment is not so good yet in Cambodia.

Cambodia should have some things to help investors, like changing some regulations or laws, and many other things to facilitate investment.

The significant factor making investors hesitate to come here are the high costs, like clearing customs, electricity and others, compared to other countries.

Another ... thing is having too many worker unions. A factory can have three or five unions, and sometimes they make problems with the management.

However, this is getting better compared to previous years.

The upcoming stock exchange allows for dual listings on the Korean Stock exchange. Is it realistic for Cambodian companies to expect such a listing? How might that boost trade?

I think this is progress for the country, the establishment of a stock exchange, which is a starting place for business.

However, I don’t know what the exact effect will be.

Also, the Cambodian people don’t know exactly how this will affect their lives.

But we keep watching for the future [of the exchange], because it is very important to have it started.

With the help from Korea, which has a lot of experience with that, I think it will be a great help in making growth for Cambodian companies.

So maybe the two countries will have a good chance for growth in business.

More South Korean tourists come to Cambodia than from any other country. And trade and investment by South Korean firms is high. Why is there such an interest in Cambodia?

I have stayed for more than 10 years in Cambodia, so I can understand something, because we have familiar cultures and societies.

Cambodians look familiar to Koreans.

I have been to many countries, but they are not like Cambodia. That’s why we see so many Koreans coming here for tourism, trade or investment.

Many Korean companies come here and invest in manufacturing, which employs thousands of Cambodian workers.

We have Asiana and Korean Airlines flying daily between the two countries.

This will make our relationship stronger in terms of country ties, and trade and investment will get stronger and stronger.

Are you optimistic about bilateral trade for 2010?

As you know, the global financial crisis has not finished yet, but I think in 2010 or next year, the global crisis and the Korean economy will have recovered.

So our two countries will be getting better, and I think there will be more investors from Korea coming to Cambodia.

I think that in the future – not soon, but around a year later – it will be getting better and better.

As chairman of KOCHAM, I encourage Korean people to come and invest in Cambodia.

Bassac Children aim to preserve traditional arts

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony
The Children of Bassac perform at the National Museum in Phnom Penh on March 25.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:00 Ou Mom

AT the beginning of March the Children of Bassac traditional Khmer dance troupe closed out the two-week National Drama and Arts Festival with an invitation-only performance at the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

The troupe is now performing for the public at the same venue, with the second of two shows scheduled for tonight at 7pm. The shows serve as a preview to the weekly performance season in November and December.

The Children of Bassac troupe was formed in 2003 by traditional theatre singer Ieng Sithol under the name Cultural Economic Association for Orphans and Poor Children. He renamed the group earlier this year to remind people of its origins in the Bassac community in Phnom Penh where the performers – a company of dancers aged 16 to 21 – still live and rehearse.

Ieng Sithol said he founded the group to provide poor and street children with the opportunity to learn traditional Khmer music and dance.

“Most of the children in the programme can sing, dance and play traditional instruments,” he said. “They can get some income doing this, but what’s more important is that it helps the children avoid lives of drug use, thievery and prostitution, which are not valuable activities in society.”

In 2005 the group joined with Cambodian Living Arts, increasing opportunities for the children to learn more skills and earn a bit more money. The Children of Bassac now perform at least three times a month at traditional festivals and weddings, and some of them have also performed abroad in places such as Britain and Japan.

One of the performers, 18-year-old Chamroeun Sopheak, even won a prize last year for the best female singer in the nationwide Song Heritage Competition, aired on the Cambodia Television Network.

Chamroeun Sopheak has studied with the Children of Bassac since she was 12 years old, and she is now a grade-11 student at the Royal University of Fine Arts.

“It is difficult to earn a living as a performer, but as art lovers it is better to use our talents to preserve the traditional arts and try our best to promote them,” she said.

Children of Bassac founder Ieng Sithol said the group is only a small part of the bigger effort to help poor children in Phnom Penh.

“We are only able to help about 10 or 20 percent of the children in the Bassac area who are susceptible to bad influences from society and their environment,” he said.

Ieng Sithol also revealed that he is uncertain about the future of the Children of Bassac.

“The children are growing, and they will eventually have their own families. I am thinking of how to help them grow stronger so they can continue to earn their living from the arts,” he said.

The Children of Bassac will perform at the National Museum tonight at 7pm. For more information, please call 012 650 229 or email vithur@cambodianlivingarts.org

Movin' pushes dancers beyond their comfort zones

Photo by: Sarah Outhwaite

Chhoun Chantrea smiles as Khon Chansithyka rushes to catch her.

via CAAI News Media

Thursday, 01 April 2010 15:00 Sarah Outhwaite

“DON’T be beautiful!” the director cries, as dancer Chhoun Chantrea convulses her way across the stage. In another corner, Yon Chantha seems victim to a terrible toothache. Her jaws twitch on invisible hooks that drag her into the space.

These dancers have trained since childhood in classical court regality and controlled grace. But now they work under the eye of Bob Ruijzendaal, a theatre director from the Netherlands.

Since 2008, Ruijzendaal has collaborated with Cambodian dancers to produce original, contemporary shows. Their third annual performance, Movin’, premiers Saturday at Sovanna Phum theatre in Phnom Penh.

All movement in the show comes from the dancers – particularly You Davy, who prefers choreography to performance. “It’s my first time to make dance as a partner,” Davy says. “I need to understand what I need and want.”

Ruijzendall arranges and encourages, tasking dancers beyond their comfort zones. He also selects the show music, which varies from sparse and percussive to sensually lush.

The results uncover effort in what often looks effortless, and pose questions about classical dance’s restraint. Three women become a wall of stone-faced apsaras. They rock unnaturally from leg to leg, like tipping statues. Tiny jerks and jiggles strain their faces beyond the effect of a natural mask.

Movin’ empowers simple exchanges, ordinarily too familiar for contemplation. When Ruijzendall explored visual contact between performer and audience, his dancers reacted so powerfully that an entire segment is now a solo for eyes alone.

Round-faced innocent Chhoun Chantrea meanders sweetly before audience faces, gazing them into flirtation. When she finally switches her attention to stunned partner Khon Chan-sithyka, he scarcely knows what to do with his body.

Ruijzendaal’s third year of directing in Phnom Penh confronts him with local dancers’ challenges. “Not many people tell them that less is more,” he observes. As performers struggle to evolve without abandoning tradition, he likes to remind them that stunning athleticism alone will not make art. “Get back to the basics of classical,” he says. “Learn to be silent in a new way.”

Meanwhile, the dancers continue to bravely explore: partnering across genders, and finding the strength to simply be themselves on stage. Ruijzendaal’s great secret, and lasting gift, is that by seeking extremes his performers discover unexpected ways to be beautiful.

Movin’ premiers April 3-4 at Sovanna Phum (166 Street 99 at Street 484). Tickets are $2 for locals, $6 for foreigners. Call 097-860-8856 for reservations.

ADRA Helps Displaced Residents Following Destructive Fire in Cambodian Capital

via CAAI News Media

31 Mar 2010

Source: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International

Nadia McGill

Website: http://www.adra.org/

Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.

When a house fire broke out in a low-income neighborhood in Cambodia's Phnom Penh in early March, ADRA and its partners responded, providing emergency supplies for 2,000 survivors.

(Photo Credit: ADRA Cambodia)

SILVER SPRING, Md.--More than 2,000 people were affected when a house fire broke out on March 8, destroying an entire block of homes in a low-income section of Tuol Kork, in Cambodia's capital city of Phnom Penh, reported the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

According to ADRA Cambodia country director, Mark Schwisow, house fires are common in the shanty areas of Phnom Penh due to the construction of small, wooden homes, which are often built in close proximity to each other. In addition, when an emergency occurs, Schwisow explained, the small entryways into these areas hinder critical response vehicles, which are unable to access the affected buildings, leading to widespread destruction of entire blocks of homes.

"Families have been forced to move in with family members and friends, or onto small spaces by the railroad, or the pagoda compound near where they lived," said Schwisow.

To meet the immediate needs of 2,000 survivors, ADRA worked with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cambodia to purchase emergency supplies and basic food supplements, including rice, sugar, oil, fish, noodles, and tarpaulins. This aid was distributed on March 10, in collaboration with the Phnom Penh governor's office, and with the support of other local institutions.

ADRA International, the ADRA Asia Regional Office, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cambodia, and ADRA Cambodia funded the response.

In April 2008 and 2009, ADRA also provided assistance to local residents following two separate fires that displaced more than 3,500 people in impoverished sections of Phnom Penh.

ADRA has been active in Cambodia since 1988 in the main sectors of Health, Water and Sanitation, and Food Security.

Follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest information as it happens.

To send your contribution to ADRA's Emergency Response Fund, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online at www.adra.org.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]