Garment pay strike continues

Photo by: Pha Lina
Employees of the Sun Lu Fong garment factory in Meanchey district raise their hands in unison during a strike at the factory yesterday.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 Tep Nimol

AROUND 160 garment workers continued to strike yesterday outside the gates of a factory in Meanchey district, where they have camped out day and night since Thursday to agitate for improved working conditions.

Ien Pov, a union representative at the Sun Lu Fong factory, said workers had made eight demands to the factory’s management, including a request that workers receive US$80 in severance pay for every year they have worked at the factory.

“Most workers want me to continue to hold the strike after learning that the factory owner has violated their rights and the law,” he said.

But union officials and local authorities say the demands of the workers may not reflect their rights under labour laws.

Som Aun, president of the Cambodian Labour Union Confederation, said that the severance pay demand especially was a step too far.

“Their demands cannot be settled in just a short time because what they have demanded is illegal,” he said.

“This condition is not mentioned in the Cambodian Labour Law. They can receive that kind of payment only if they are fired by the factory.”

Som Aun issued a letter on Saturday calling the strike “illegal” and said that the confederation had decided in a meeting on August 16 not to sanction the strike because he wanted to meet with the factory’s management to discuss the workers’ demands.

Last week, the Arbitration Council dismissed a complaint filed in July by 160 workers from the factory, citing the illegality of the resignation clause.

“The factory will discuss their demands and try to solve the problem outside the court system if the approximately 20 percent of workers who are on strike agree to go back to work,” Som Aun said.

Sok Nan, deputy administrative director of Sun Ly Fong factory, said yesterday that fewer than 50 workers were still taking part in the strike.

“I have no idea how the factory will deal with the protesting workers, but we are not paying attention to the strike,” she said.

Meanwhile, Keo Sareoun, the chief of Chak Angre Leu commune, said authorities planned to crack down on the striking workers today.

“It is difficult for us to maintain order and safety at night when such an anarchic strike is happening,” he said. “On Monday, I will not allow them to protest in the area any longer.”

He declined to say what measures would be taken to disperse the protesters.

Ien Pov said that about 20 local police officers had already warned the protesters. “The police have told us that if we continue to protest our security cannot be guaranteed,” he said.

Two men hurt in acid attack; toll rises to 30

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear

AT least 30 people have been injured by acid attacks this year, as an assault this weekend saw two men hospitalised.

Activists warn that the number of people affected by acid violence so far in 2010 has likely already eclipsed last year’s total.

The Saturday attack happened in Russey Keo district’s Tuol Sangke commune, said Chan Sahuth, the deputy district police chief.

“We are searching to arrest the suspect but we don’t clearly know the reasons behind the attack,” he said.

He identified the two victims, both construction workers, as 30-year-old Hin Seng and 26-year-old Chhang Nab.

Chhun Sophea, programme manager at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, said the two men had been riding a motorbike when they were attacked.

CASC staff members visited the men at Calmette Hospital on Saturday, she said.

She said that Hin Seng had told her he believed he was the target of the attack, but that he could not identify the assailant.

Hin Seng’s injuries are the more serious of the two, she said – the 30-year-old suffered severe burns on half of his body.

The attack brings the number of reported acid attack victims up to 30 this year, just short of the 33 survivors recorded by CASC last year.

However, Chhun Sophea noted that the 2009 figure included an unspecified number of older attacks that weren’t reported until last year.

“The number of survivors is up to 30 so far this year already, and we are only in August,” she said. “This is quite a drastic number.”

This year’s tally was inflated by a single attack outside a garment factory in Dangkor district last week that injured eight people. Police initially reported only four victims but Chhun Sophea said there were twice as many.

A government committee tasked with drafting new legislation to curb acid violence was formed in February after a spate of attacks that began late last year.

Representatives of the committee originally said they expected to finalise the draft law shortly after Khmer New Year, but officials have revised the timeline until the end of the year.

Chhun Sophea said she believed authorities were serious about cracking down on acid violence, but she urged them to prioritise work on the new legislation.

“The law needs to come out urgently now,” she said.

“With all of these attacks happening, there is an urgent need for this new law.”

Rights groups slam dispute verdict

Photo by: Rann Reuy
After Friday’s court hearing in Siem Reap, Chi Kraeng villagers beg provincial officials not to disrobe a monk who led protests in their commune’s ongoing land dispute.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 Rann Reuy and Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Siem Reap province

LOCAL rights groups have criticised Siem Reap provincial court’s conviction of nine villagers from Chi Kraeng district last week, describing the decision as “another injustice” for those involved in the long-running land dispute.

On Friday, presiding judge Chhay Kong handed each of the nine a three-year jail sentence after finding them guilty of membership in an illegal armed force, suspending the remainder of their sentences.

The villagers, originally charged with attempted intentional manslaughter, were arrested after a March 2009 altercation in which police allegedly fired on a crowd in the district’s Chi Kraeng commune, injuring four residents.

Although the nine will be allowed to go free, human rights activists have criticised the fact that no charge has been filed against any of the officers accused of being involved in the shooting.

In a statement after the verdict, the local rights group Adhoc expressed “regret” over the three-year jail sentence.

“The Chi Kraeng villagers have suffered injustice again and again since 2008,” it said.

The arrests stemmed from a land dispute dating back to 1986, when one large village was divided equally between Chi Kraeng and Anlong Samnor communes, leaving an unspecified area of farmland in dispute. In January 2009, the provincial court ruled that the land to belong to Anlong Samnor, sparking conflict between the two communes.

Ny Chakrya, Adhoc’s head investigatior, said that the verdict was “socially unjust” because police involved in the shooting hadn’t been charged.

“The people were shot and seriously injured by the authorities, and hundreds of hectares of their rice fields were confiscated,” he said.

The villagers’ defence lawyer, Ham Sunrith, said that the court failed to find enough evidence to find the villagers guilty on the original charge of attempted intentional manslaughter, and had changed the charge to suit the evidence.

Am Sam Ath, a senior monitor for the rights group Licadho, said that the original charge had made little sense.

“Police opened fire on Chi Kraeng villagers who were harvesting their rice, and caused some serious injuries,” he said. “But the court charged the villagers with an attempt to kill authorities and using illegal weapons.

“How can we say this is justice for those people? We cannot.”

Ty Soveinthal, a Siem Reap court prosecutor, declined to comment on the verdict, but said the villagers were free to file an appeal.

Military officer linked to wildlife smuggling

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 Mom Kunthear and Thet Sambath

RATANAKKIRI provincial authorities have identified a military officer as the owner of an abandoned car that was found near the Vietnamese border last week carrying more than 300 kilograms of protected wildlife.

Nov Dara, deputy chief of the provincial Bureau for Combating Economic Crime, yesterday identified the car’s owner as as Prum Saream, a military border officer based in Ratanakkiri.

“We sent a report and the car to the provincial Forestry Department in order for them to investigate this case,” he said. “I have handed over details of this person’s identity, such as his name and position, to forestry officials already.”

Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said that so far, the military official was denying involvement.

“Prum Saream said it is his car, but that his friend borrowed it from him and he did not know it was being loaded with wildlife,” he said. Pen Bonnar said the officer would not face punishment if he was able to provide evidence to support his alibi.

On Monday last week, provincial authorities discovered the car abandoned near the Vietnamese border and confiscated 354 kilograms of protected wildlife, including snakes, turtles, civets and newts.

Pen Bonnar said wildlife trafficking was not uncommon in Ratanakkiri.

“We see that authorities do not seem to have a strong enough ability to confiscate wildlife until they are criticised by people,” he said.

Meanwhile, authorities in Kandal province on Friday confiscated 116 kilograms of wildlife, including turtles, snakes and newts, in a raid in Koh Thom district’s Sampov Puon commune.

Provincial police chief Iv Chamroeun said a suspect had been sent to court for further questioning.

Lakeside exodus continues

Photo by: Will Baxter
A man dismantles his family’s home in Village 22 at Boeung Kak lakeside on Saturday. Driven out by flooding and poor sanitation, dozens of lakeside families have agreed to leave the area in exchange for “inadequate” compensation payments.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 Chhay Channyda and Sun Mesa

DOZENS of families from the city’s Boeung Kak lake-side began dismantling their homes over the weekend, as creeping flood-waters forced them into accepting what they have described as “inadequate” government compensation payments.

“The compensation amount is not adequate, but I accepted the money to move because I am afraid that if we continued to live here we would get nothing,” said Thoun Sophoun, a 51-year-old lakeside resident who dismantled his home in Village 22 yesterday.

He said he was given US$470 after registering to relocate and was told he would receive an additional $8,000 after dismantling his home.

Frustrated by flooding and unsanitary living conditions, other lakeside residents could be seen dismantling their homes, often working in calf-deep, polluted water.

“My health gets worse every day because there is polluted water flooding my house. It is a difficult life for us,” said Im Trop, 64, a resident of Village 2.

Displaced by development

Residents blame the recent flooding on heavy rains, poor drainage and recently renewed efforts by local developer Shukaku Inc to fill in the lake. Shukaku is planning a 133-hectare housing and commercial development on the site.

Housing rights groups estimate that more than 4,000 families will be displaced by the controversial project.

Chhay Thirith, the chief of Srah Chak commune, said on Friday that a total of 1,256 residents have accepted compensation packages and left the development zone since 2008. An additional 400 families have recently agreed to relocate and are waiting for their paperwork to be processed by City Hall, he said.

But residents said yesterday that the authorities’ statistics were inflated.

“Just last week I met with representatives from all the affected villages, and less than 100 new families have registered for compensation,” said Be Pharom, a Village 22 representative. Twenty new families had registered for compensation packages this weekend, she said, and 13 families had pulled down their homes in Villages 6 and 22.

Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said that by last Friday 67 new families had agreed to move “because they have no patience to live in bad pollution and a bad environment”.

“The people don’t like the compensation offer, but they have no choice,” he said. “There is no chance to negotiate.”

Neup Ly, a community empowerment officer at HRTF, said that according to a Srah Chak commune census, only about 900 families had left the lakeside since 2008. He said that the flooding caused by the filling of the lake was one strategy used by Shukaku to “force residents to accept inadequate compensation”.

Chhay Thirith said that Shukaku would resolve the drainage problem within a week.

“The company is finishing a 3-metre-wide water pump so that water will flow faster and soon take water out of residents’ homes,” he said.

Boeung Kak lakeside residents have vowed to continue protesting if the area is not drained by this Friday.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY WILL BAXTER

Tragedy’s aftermath in Svay Rieng

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Suon Sopheaktra, 13, recovers at Svay Rieng Provincial Hospital on Friday, a day after being stabbed by his uncle, who went on to kill five of his family members before taking his own life.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:03 May Titthara

Svay Rieng province

TEN police officers were stationed outside Suon Sopheaktra’s room at Svay Rieng provincial hospital on Friday, and 10 doctors had been tasked with monitoring his condition.

“Uncle Nang stabbed my grandmother in the neck, and then he stabbed me in the stomach, back and shoulder,” Suon Sopheaktra said, struggling to stay conscious as he lay on his hospital bed.

“I only survived by hiding under the bed.”

Doctors expect the 13-year-old, from Svay Rieng’s Svay Chrom commune, to make a full recovery from his injuries. For many in the community, however, the scars from last Thursday’s events may well be indelible.

Police say Suon Sopheaktra’s uncle, 35-year-old Kouch Samnang, murdered five family members on Thursday morning and injured three others before taking his own life. Neighbours and relatives say that in the days since, they have struggled to make sense of the crime.

Kouch Samnang killed his mother-in-law, two sisters-in-law and his wife before finally murdering his 2-year-old son, said Suon Sopheaktra. The man’s 16-year-old sister-in-law and 3-year-old daughter were also seriously injured.

“He asked his 3-year-old daughter to forgive him, and then he threw her against the wall,” Suon Sopheaktra said.

Svay Rieng provincial police chief Prach Rim said last week that the violence had apparently begun when Kouch Samnang was prevented from raping Srey Mab, the 16-year-old sister-in-law whom he had sexually assaulted twice before.

After the attacks, Suon Sopheaktra said, Kouch Samnang went to wash in a pond behind the house before returning and hanging himself.

The 3-year-old was sent to the capital’s Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital for treatment after the attack, a relative said, and the 16-year-old is recovering at Calmette Hospital.

An unlikely setting

Svay Chrom’s Thmor Sar village, a quiet community where homes are shaded by mango trees, seems an incongruous setting for a tale of horrific violence. Sitting outside the home where her mother and three sisters were killed, 36-year-old Sin Chandy said tearfully that she was still trying to process what she had seen inside.

“On Thursday morning, I couldn’t contact any of my sisters or my mother, so I decided to drive my motorbike to the house,” Sin Chandy said.

She arrived to find the doors locked, so she had to call a neighbour to climb through an upstairs window and let her inside.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said, recalling the moment she stepped through the door to find the floors soaked with blood. “I just fell down on my knees and started crying. I never thought that this could happen to my family, because we’ve never had a problem with anyone.”

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Suon Sibeth lights incense on Friday for her mother, Chea Sokhum, and other relatives killed in Thursday’s massacre.

Sin Chandy said her mother, 60-year-old Chea Sokhum, had travelled to Svay Rieng from Siem Reap province after Kouch Samnang first raped his sister-in-law.

“My mother asked Nang to move to Kampong Speu with his wife, but his wife did not want to go, so my mother asked her to come to Siem Reap until she felt better,” Sin Chandy said. A complaint was not filed after the rape because it was deemed a “family problem”, she said.

Despite these issues, the family seemed calm and friendly, said Prak Dara, a village resident.

“I could not believe this when I heard the news,” he said. “Who would dare try to kill his son and daughter?”

Kouch Samnang was initially buried without ceremony in a rice field about 200 metres from the home. On Friday, however, local residents dug up his corpse and moved it another 400 metres away because they did not want an “evil ghost” in their midst, Sin Chandy said. She said that the home was to be dismantled after funeral services for the victims to ensure that Kouch Samnang’s ghost would not return.

Another Thmor Sar resident, 52-year-old Pring Sokha, said even that ignominious treatment was more than Kouch Samnang deserved.

“That man should not be allowed to be buried – he should be hung from a tree and eaten by animals,” he said.

“I cannot find the words to describe what he did.”

Government too slow to respond: SRP

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 Meas Sokchea

THE opposition Sam Rainsy Party says the government has systematically failed to respond to its letters seeking information from Prime Minister Hun Sen and the National Assembly, and suggests that senior officials have “looked down” on Assembly President Heng Samrin.

In a report released on Friday, the party stated that 16 letters had been sent to Hun Sen this year, only four of which drew responses. In 2009, the SRP says it sent 24 letters, of which 13 elicited a response.

The report says 132 similar letters were sent to various arms of the government in 2009, but that only 39 of those letters drew official responses. In 2010, the report says, 47 letters have been sent to the government, prompting just 15 responses so far.

SRP lawmaker Son Chhay said the lack of response was evidence that government officials were “looking down” on National Assembly President Heng Samrin, through whom all the letters were addressed.

“With no responses like this, they have looked down on the Assembly president,” he said. Son Chhay said that between 1993 and 2010, only six government officials had appeared in parliament to clarify irregularities highlighted by opposition parties.

“We do not want to keep provoking, but we want people to know how much money government officials have to build their villas,” he said.

But Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, yesterday dismissed the report, saying that all SRP letters had been responded to, and that no minister was so “insolent” as to ignore Heng Samrin.

“When opposition party letters ask questions through Assembly President Heng Samrin, who dares to be obstinate with Samdech Heng Samrin,” he said. “There are no ministers so insolent not to answer questions raised by the Assembly.”

He said that all questions asked to the Prime Minister had been answered, and that the SRP should write new letters if it did not like the responses it received.

“Prime Minister Hun Sen does not dare gesticulate [or oppose] Heng Samrin,” he said.

Fainting hits another factory

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 May Titthara

A GARMENT factory in Kampong Chhnang province was briefly shut at the weekend after almost 200 workers fainted on the job, officials said.

Roughly 185 employees at the M&V garment factory passed out and were sent to hospital Saturday, said Pao Sitha, director of the Kampong Chhnang Department of Labour and Vocational Training. He suggested a variety of explanations, from shock at a sudden power cut to health issues.

“They were afraid when the electricity in the factory was cut off, causing some workers to faint,” he said. “Then other workers followed them and fainted as well.”

Pao Sitha said it was likely that the workers were prone to fainting because they lacked vitamins from not having enough food to eat.

One of the workers, Meas Sopheap, said she fainted after inhaling strong chemicals from the fabrics.

“I was working, but I smelled this awful smell from the cotton inside the factory, and it caused me to collapse and lose consciousness,” she said.

Sam Chankea, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said doctors informed him that the workers fainted because of a lack of proper nutrients in their food. “In my opinion, if a lack of vitamins caused almost 200 workers to faint, maybe the factory should shut down,” he said.

Sam Chankea suggested that the chemicals found in the cotton may have also played a role in the mass fainting.

Last week, in two incidents, more than 100 workers fainted at the Manhattan Cambodia garment factory in Kampong Cham province, forcing its temporary closure.

Vimpelcom merger scheme set to create $25bn company

Photo by: Sovan Philong
An employee of Vimpelcom's Cambodian subsidiary Beeline promotes its phone service in Phnom Penh. Vimpelcom and Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris are reportedly in talks over a merger that would create a company valued at more than US$25 billion.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 Bloomberg

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is in talks to merge the bulk of his telecommunications assets with Russian mobile-phone company

VimpelCom Ltd in a transaction that could create a company valued at more than US$25 billion, insiders said yesterday.

Sawiris would become a significant minority investor in the new company, which would include his Weather Investments SpA’s 51 percent stake in Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Holding SAE and Italian mobile operator Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA, said the sources.

Although negotiations were progressing, the structure of a deal hadn’t been decided, and an agreement might not be reached, the sources said.

“The acquisitions will lead to a significant increase in VimpelCom’s debt and will trigger a review by ratings agencies but not necessarily a downgrade,” said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Ural-Sib Financial Corp. “A lot will depend on price paid for the assets and the impact on cash flows and the balance sheet.”

The debt for VimpelCom Ltd and its subsidiaries, including Cambodia’s Beeline mobile-phone service provider, would increase to 2.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation following the acquisition, said Maxim Raskosnov, a banking analyst at Moscow-based investment bank Renaissance Capital. This compares with a current level of 1.5 times EBITDA.

Wind Italy had net debt of €8.29 billion (US$10.5 billion) as of June 30 and Orascom Telecom had debt of $4.61 billion at that date.

The transaction would create an entity with a combined total mobile subscriber base of more than 200 million customers and give VimpelCom, Russia’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, access to markets in Africa and the Middle East.

It is Sawiris’s second attempt this year to sell Orascom assets, after talks with South Africa’s MTN Group Ltd collapsed in June.

VimpelCom, with headquarters in Amsterdam and listed in New York, was formed by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group and Norway’s Telenor ASA to consolidate holdings in Russian and Ukrainian mobile-phone operators. VimpelCom is 39.6 percent-owned by Telenor, while Alfa’s Altimo unit controls 39.2 percent and minority shareholders own 21.2 percent, according to VimpelCom’s website.

Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard and VimpelCom’s spokeswoman Elena Prokhorova yesterday declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Wind said the division wasn’t in talks. Sawiris and spokespeople for Weather and Orascom Telecom couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

VimpelCom and Weather were discussing issues including the structure of a combined entity and corporate governance, and there remained a chance that no deal would be reached, said one source.

VimpelCom has a market value of about $19 billion. Pierre Merveille, a senior credit analyst at Spread Research, said the value of Weather’s combined holdings is close to $6 billion, consisting of $2.4 billion for Orascom and $3.6 billion for Wind, excluding debt.

“One of the attractions of the deal would be the ability to reduce financing costs of Mr Sawiris’s assets by using VimpelCom’s balance sheet and ‘creditability’,” Dalibor Vavruska, an analyst at ING Groep NV, said last week.

Sawiris is restructuring debt. VimpelCom posted a $412 million profit in the first quarter.

VimpelCom Chief Executive Officer Alexander Izosimov said in February that the company had a structure that was “very adaptable and open for mergers” and may “actually create quite a sizeable player”.

MTN, Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator, ended talks to buy some of Orascom’s assets in June after the Algerian government objected to the sale of Cairo-based Orascom’s unit in that country. The government ordered the division to pay $596 million in back taxes last year. Orascom, the biggest mobile-phone operator in the Middle East, said in April that it paid the disputed amount, pending an appeal.

The Algerian government has expressed that it is interested in buying the unit, known as Djezzy.

Kingdom’s Angkor Air accredited

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 May Kunmakara

CAMBODIA Angkor Air has received Cambodian accreditation to operate after a previous audit revealed it had not been approved as an operator under domestic law.

The airline – 51 percent owned by the Cambodian government, with the remainder held by Vietnam Airlines – previously flew under Vietnam Airlines’ air operator certificate, rather than as opposed to the Cambodian licensing body the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

SSCA Cabinet Chief Long Chheng said the airline had been granted Cambodian certification.

“The CAA has now fulfilled many of the technical procedures we require,” he said.

The airline currently operates two ATR-72 aircraft and an Airbus 321, with up to 16 daily flights connecting Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.

SSCA Undersecretary of State Soy Sokhan said the company’s purchase of two more planes would help it expand its flights in the region.

“We plan to begin flights to South Korea, China and Japan late this year or in early 2011, whenever the new aircraft arrive,” he said.

Police Blotter: 23 Aug 2010

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:00 Sun Narin

BUILDERS GET BELLS RUNG BY MYSTERY 'GANGSTERS'

A construction worker was killed and his colleague seriously injured when a group of men described as “gangsters” attacked the pair and stole a mobile phone, witnesses said. It is alleged that the attack happened on Wednesday night in Phnom Penh as the two victims were making their way home from work. Witnesses said the suspects somehow took offence when the two victims appeared to be staring at them, so they pounced on them and took the phone. Police said they found the victims lying on the road. They were unable to identify the suspects.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

SLEEPY MAN DIES AFTER SINGLE-VEHICLE CRASH

Police are blaming a drowsy driver for his own death after a lorry swerved off the road in Kampong Speu province on Friday and struck a tree. Police said the man was driving a truck on Friday afternoon when he drifted off to the side of the road, smashed into a tree and flipped his vehicle. Officers tried to send the man to hospital, but he died before doctors could help him.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

CORN-CART COLLISION HAS SOLDIER IN HOSPITAL

A soldier driving a motorbike on Wednesday suffered a serious head injury after he collided with a bicycle cart used to sell boiled corn. Witnesses said the soldier appeared to be drunk at the time of the accident and was not wearing a helmet. The victim apparently crashed into the boiled corn cart and then tumbled onto the road, unconscious. The soldier has been sent to hospital, and police are holding on to the motorbike.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

LIGHTNING DEATHS WORRY PREAH SIHANOUK LOCALS

Three people were killed in Preah Sihanouk province after they were struck by lightning last week, officials said. On Tuesday, two people died while they were working on their farms. On Friday, another man struck and killed while he was standing in water. Police said local people were terrified because they had not previously seen so much death caused by lightning strikes.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

TWO SERIOUSLY HURT IN MOTORBIKE ACCIDENT

Two men on a motorbike were seriously injured in Kampot province last week after their vehicle collided with a passing car. Witnesses said the two men on the motorbike had been driving down the road on Thursday evening without flashing the vehicle’s headlight. The motorbike and the car somehow converged. The two men were sent to hospital, whereas the car driver is believed to have run away. Police are looking to question the driver of the car.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Hard asset: Gold prices close in on local record

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 Soeun Say

Hard asset

CAMBODIA’S gold prices increased 2 percent last week in line with global prices, nearing record highs, Phnom Penh dealers said yesterday.

One damlung – the King-dom’s preferred method of denominating gold, equal to 1.2 troy ounces – traded at US$1,480 on Sunday, up $30 from $1,450 a week earlier, according to officials from Phnom Penh’s Ly Hour Exchange.

“The surge in Cambodian gold prices is due to rising prices on international markets,” Ly Hour owner Sieng Lim said yesterday.

“But we cannot predict whether gold will increase or decrease this week: Everything depends on international markets.”

Most of the Kingdom’s gold arrives from overseas markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong, according to Sieng Lim.

Gold previously climbed as high as $1,510 per damlung on the Ly Hour Exchange in June.

It closed at $1,228.10 a troy ounce Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, below its all-time record of $1,265.30 on June 21.

Virin Ratank, owner of Phnom Penh-based dealer Virin Ratank Gold Jewelry, said gold was testing all-time highs on domestic markets, benefiting those who denominate their savings in the precious metal.

“Khmer people like to save in gold rather than cash,” she said. “So when it goes up in price, many people will benefit.”

However, the domestic gold prices were difficult to predict.

“Today, I’m selling gold at $1,480 per damlung, but for tomorrow, I don’t know.”

Mokod Pich Gold Shop near the capital’s Central Market was also selling at $1,480, said sales representative Kong Vichka.

Warning of shortfall in rice crop

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 Koam Tivea and Jeremy Mullins

LACK of rains and unusually high temperatures in June could create a “sharp retrenchment” in Cambodia’s rice harvest this year to levels unseen since 2006, according to the latest United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation rice report.

Production of rice is likely to fall 22 percent to 5.9 million unmilled tonnes this year compared with 7.8 million tonnes of paddy farmed in 2009, it said in a report released on Friday.

“Prospects for the season have been marred by drought conditions, which have been affecting the greater Mekong sub-region since late last year,” the report said.

Cambodian Centre for Study and Development in Agriculture enterprise manager Lang Seng Horng said drought conditions were affecting only some parts of the country. “The important thing is that farmers choose to grow rice from good seedlings and ensure proper use of fertiliser,” he said.

Oum Ryna, deputy director of the Kingdom’s department of Meteorology, said late rains could reverse the drought. “We expect rain levels to be close to last year from the middle to the end of the rainy season, and rain will still fall until November,” he said yesterday.

Cambodia needs a sensible energy plan

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:02 Steve Finch

NEWS that the government plans to introduce nuclear power plants to the Kingdom should be welcomed as a long-term boost for economic activity in the country, even if concerns over safety always plague the production of nuclear energy.

Cambodia’s woefully inadequate supply and transmission of electricity remains one of the main structural problems afflicting the economy, prompting high energy costs for the country's key industry, garment manufacture.

The only problem is that nuclear energy production is unlikely for many years, probably not until 2020, according to Ith Praing, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.

Still, at least the announcement shows the government is trying to solve the issue and is thinking long term while considering sensible answers to the energy problem.

In the shorter term, the government has made some surprisingly poor decisions in terms of boosting energy production, notably permitting Malaysian firm Leader Universal to build a 100-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville.

Though this facility will contribute quickly to energy production – it is due to go online at the end of 2012 – the choice of location could backfire badly on the economy.

Cambodia has been trying to promote Sihanoukville as the latest Southeast Asian beach resort for some time, an effort that has struggled despite the rehabilitation of the province’s airport by French firm Société Concessionaire des Aeroports.

Surely, building a power station that burns coal, the most polluting fuel available, does not bode well for tourism in Sihanoukville – SCA has already experienced major problems attracting scheduled flights to the resort.

Presumably, the decision to build the plant in Sihanoukville was made because of its large port that would be used to import coal.

However, Cambodia’s largest deposits are believed to exist at the opposite end of the country. At least 150 million tonnes of the fossil fuel are estimated to be lying below the surface in the north of the Kingdom.

“By using domestic coal, Cambodia will no longer need to depend on imported fossil fuels to power its electricity-generating plants,” according to the government’s Invest in Cambodia website.

So why was the decision made to build the new coal plant in Sihanoukville (with another planned for the area)?

Nuclear power is as efficient as coal production in terms of cost without the associated carbon dioxide and smog. The waste produced is also far less, even if it is very difficult to manage safely.

Countries including Britain have in recent years held heated public debate regarding the development of new nuclear plants in a bid to develop greener energy, and neighbouring Vietnam in June announced it would go nuclear to meet its increasing demand for electricity.

Cambodia is, therefore, following a well-worn path in considering nuclear industry, but the government needs to ensure that the private sector and the general public are included in the nuclear debate so that the country makes the right decision for all concerned parties.

By doing so, Cambodia should be able to avoid making poor choices regarding its energy future – such as its current plans for coal-fired energy production.

With this in mind, the government’s early announcement of its nuclear intentions represents a good first step.

ASEAN focuses on logistics

Photo by: AFP
Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh, far right, attends a meeting of ASEAN economic ministers in Da Nang, Vietnam.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan

Da Nang, Vietnam

ASEAN officials have vowed to cooperate more closely on logistics integration in the region, as officials estimate that government barriers account for 30 percent of the cost of moving goods between the 10 member states, including Cambodia.

Members of the bloc had launched a road map aimed at streamlining a number of business activities including supply, distribution and monitoring the movements of goods, ASEAN director of market integration Subash Pillai said yesterday.

“The road map aims to speed up logistics by 2013, and, in the long term, make ASEAN a logistics centre in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said yesterday at a meeting of ASEAN economic ministers in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Government-imposed barriers accounted for about 30 percent of costs for intra-ASEAN shipping, he said.

That was a number the road map aimed to reduce.

Launched two years ago, the road map encourages four paths of action – lowering tariffs to increase the flow of goods, trade and investment liberalisation to improve investment in the logistics sector, enhancing the capacity of the sector and improving human resources capacity.

Procedural delays on shipments are due to be reduced under the terms of the road map, said Cambodia Chamber of Commerce deputy chairman Sorn Sokna.

He cited the example of goods travelling from China to Cambodia via Vietnam. Previously, shipments like these required a customs check in Vietnam.

However, once the new scheme comes into effect, goods may be shipped directly from the People’s Republic to Cambodia, he said.

“When this scheme happens, it will help logistics services become faster and cheaper within ASEAN,” he said yesterday.

Cambodia maintains a less-extensive logistics tail compared with neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand, according to Ministry of Public Works and Transportation Planning Department deputy director Cheam Sovanny.

“Our roads, railroads, waterways and air connection are still weak,” he said.

“Through this new road map, we hope Cambodia will strive hard to develop the physical infrastructure to keep up with the development of logistics services in these countries.”

It is still a complicated process to transport goods across the Cambodian border, as both the Finance Ministry’s Department of Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Commerce’s CamControl Department are charged with overseeing part of the process, he said yesterday.

“This scheme will be good for Cambodia and other ASEAN countries. Facilitating logistics will play an important role in reducing time and costs, and improving efficiency.”

Trade with Thailand reaches fresh heights

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:01 Soeun Say

Trade between Cambodia and Thailand surged 76 percent in the first seven months through July this year compared with the same period last year, rising to levels almost surpassing the total trade for 2009.

Bilateral trade increased to US$1.61 billion for the first seven months, eclipsing 2009’s first seven months of $913 million and only $50 million off 2009’s total of $1.66 billion, according to statistics provided yesterday by the Thai embassy’s Foreign Trade Promotion Office.

Chan Nora, a secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, said yesterday that agricultural produce, namely corn products, were considered the main drivers behind the surge.

“From my observations, I have seen Cambodia exported a lot of corn products to Thailand in this year. Corn production has been increasing very much,” he said.

Chan Nora said that in recent months fertiliser imports from Thailand have also been on the rise.

Mao Thora, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said the statistics released yesterday pointed to a recovery after the global financial crisis dealt a blow to trade in 2009.

Trade between the two nations dropped 22 percent between 2008 and 2009.

“I think that everything is returning to normal. It seems that the world economic crisis recovery is making the imports and exports increase. I don’t know what might be the main product making trade increase,” he said.

The figures show that Thailand’s exports to the Kingdom rose to US$1.47 billion for the seven months, up from $881.15 million during the same period last year, while Cambodia’s goods shipped to Thailand reached $133.63 million, up 312 percent from $32.41 million.

Thailand’s exports included petroleum, processed goods, consumer products, building materials, fruits, vegetables and cosmetics, whereas Cambodia primarily sent agricultural products, secondhand garments, recyclable metal and fish.

Cambodian officials said in June that Thailand’s agricultural subsidies, which saw the Thai government temporarily extend loans to farmers in 2009, had contributed to slowing trade during the first four months of last year.

However the border tension between the two nations was not regarded as an economic barrier: The FTPO has previously said the 2009 trade dip was a result of the global crisis, not the border dispute.

Jiranan Wongmongkol, director of the Thai embassy’s FTPO in Phnom Penh, could not reached for comment.

Hotel wins five stars, raises rates

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:01 Rann Reuy

BOREI Angkor Resort and Spa in Siem Reap plans to raise its room rates by as much as 37 percent after receiving an official five-star designation by the Ministry of Tourism.

The five-star certification represented national-level recognition of the hotel’s improved amenities, which were reflected in the price increase, the hotel’s sales and marketing director Meansambo Nov said on Saturday.

“We will strongly strengthen service and enhance our clients’ happiness,” aiming to make guests “too happy to forget us”, she said.

The prices of its cheapest rooms will rise from US$135 to $185 per night, and the hotel’s most expensive offerings will increase to $1,100 from $900, she said.

The hotel – owned by Kouy Naline, wife of the Siem Reap military region’s commander in chief Khim Bun Song – has 188 rooms and caters to a mostly Western clientele. Roughly 50 percent of its guests hail from Europe.

The star-based certification system was created by a 2004 sub-decree; however the Tourism Ministry began earlier this year to require hotels to apply for certification through the programme when renewing their licences every two years.

The fee for the service varies relative to the level of classification granted – five-star hotels must fork over $300, whereas four-star hotels pay $250, three stars cost $200, one star $100, and no-star establishments must pay $50.

Tith Chantha, chairman of the official hotel-classification committee, said there are were nine five-star hotels in Siem Reap, including Borei Angkor Resort and Spa.

The bad news and then the really bad news in Vietnam

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:01 Roger Mitton

LET’s take the really bad news first, because not only did it stink, but the Western governments that would normally lambast this kind of thing held their noses and moved on.

Last Tuesday, at the 65th anniversary of Vietnam’s public security forces, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged the country’s police to continue to crush any fledgling political bodies that might threaten the ruling Communist Party regime.

He told the security services to fight the “cunning plots of hostile forces and to prevent political opposition parties setting up to threaten our government.”

Vietnam’s constitution forbids the existence of any political party except the Communist Party of Vietnam. Keep that in mind when you castigate Myanmar, which may horribly oppress opposition parties, but at least allows them to exist.

Days before Dung’s odious exhortation, its effects were demonstrated when the police arrested Professor Pham Minh Hoang, a lecturer in applied mathematics at the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Technology.

Hoang was charged with belonging to an opposition group, and while he was being arrested, the police read out Article 79 of Vietnam’s penal code, which bars “activities aimed at overthrowing the government”.

Under this provision, the authorities have detained dozens of pro-democracy activists and independent bloggers and sentenced them to years in jail.

An American diplomat in Hanoi informed me that public security officials have claimed quite aggressively that political dissidents were criminals.

“That is stupid and offensive,” he said.

But there was a deafening silence from the United States and Europe.

Indeed, last month, on the 15th anniversary of the normalisation of ties between Washington and Hanoi, the US senate foreign relations chairman, Senator John Kerry, said: “Vietnam’s domestic politics are gradually changing, becoming more open and transparent.”

Of course, they are. That’s why they arrested Hoang. That’s why they ban other political parties. That’s why they censor the internet.

That’s why, every Tuesday, the nation’s editors in chief troop over to the information ministry to be told what they can and can’t write.

Sure, Senator Kerry, things are getting more open and transparent in Vietnam. And pigs are flying higher too, you know.

Memo to Hanoi: There is nothing wrong with people getting involved in politics. As former US President John F Kennedy said: “Political action is the highest responsibility of a citizen.”

And now the bad news.

Vietnam has a collapsing currency. Last Tuesday, the same day that Hoang was arrested, Prime Minister Dung’s government devalued the dong for the third time since last November.

After the official 2.1 percent devaluation, the dong plummetted further and was not helped when a government adviser let slip that Vietnam risked a foreign-currency liquidity “shock”.

Its currency has now slumped 5.2 percent this year – the worst performance among 17 monitored Asian currencies.

Vietnam has racked up a catastrophic trade deficit this year that has nearly doubled to US$7.4 billion in the seven months to July.

It also has the world’s worst-performing stock market. The benchmark VN Index has dropped 8.4 percent this month, the most of 93 markets tracked by Bloomberg globally.

Dung’s communist regime is not only throwing innocent pro-democracy advocates into jail, but has proved utterly inept at running an economy.

Second memo to the dinosaurs: Consider why, despite social unrest, Thailand’s economy is booming.

The answer lies in last week’s comment by Thai Industry Minister Chaiwuti Bannawat, who said: “The government has a role to play in supporting the private sector, but not leading it. I don’t believe the government is more capable than the private sector.”

That last sentence should be blown up and hung over the desk of every Vietnamese official involved in leading its still largely state-run economy into bankruptcy.

And bureaucrats in Cambodia, which is becoming more and more economically tied to Vietnam, would be strongly advised to do the same.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roger Mitton is a former senior correspondent for Asiaweek and former bureau chief in Washington and Hanoi for The Straits Times.

Sam Sophea grabs bronze

Photo by: Nhan Sokvisal/ NOCC
Cambodia’s Sam Sothea with Bulgaria’s Yoana Damyanova with their bronze and silver medals after the victory ceremony on Saturday.

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:00 Ken Gadaffi

The Cambodian flag was proudly displayed on Saturday evening at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore as young sensation Sam Sothea clinched bronze in the 44-kilogram girls Judo after defeating her Bulgarian counterpart in the classification bout.

Sam Sothea’s eyes filled with tears of joy as she stood on the podium during the victory ceremony. “It is a big surprise for me because I didn’t know I would get this far, but I was determined to do well for my country and today I am happy to have won the bronze,” she said.

The 15-year-old Cambodian had defeated Cynthia Rahming from the Bahamas in the first round, before losing to Barbara Batizi from Hungary in the preliminary round to earn place in the Bronze medal playoff. Sothea then floored Yoana Damyanova of Bulgaria to claim Cambodia’s first medal in the Youth Olympic Games. The gold went to Korea’s Bae Seul Bi while Hungary’s Barbara Batizi carted home the silver.

Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia Vath Chamroeun expressed his delight on receiving news of Sothea’s success in Singapore.

“This is a good result for Cambodia,” he said. “We are proud of Sothea’s success. She is certainly one for the future and we hope to groom her for more success and see her qualify for the Olympics.”

Photo by: Yeo Wee Han/ SYOGOC
Bahamas’s Cynthia Rahming (below) struggles against Cambodia’s Sothea Sam in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games Girls’ 44kg Judo match at the Singapore International Convention Centre on Saturday.

NOCC Games Coordinator Nhan Sokvisal, who witnessed Sothea’s triumph in Singapore, was overcome with emotion. “I cannot help to control my tears of joy as I watched my country’s flag being hoisted,” he said.

“Sothea is a great fighter. After the first round victory, she was looking forward to get to the finals but was disappointed with the loss to the Hungarian girl. She gave her best in the match against the Bulgarian and at the end won the bronze.”

Earlier in the week, Cambodia’s fourth athlete in the Youth Olympics Games delegation had been disqualified after failing a weigh in. Wrestler Chab Sokneang was entered at 46 kilograms, but came in 4 kilograms over. Vath Chamroeun explained that the weight difference affected many countries in the Youth Olympics as the organisers maintained a strict regulation, unlike in senior competitions where an allowance of 4 to 5 kilograms is acceptable.

“We are disappointed that Sokneang couldn’t take part in the wrestling event,” said the NOCC official. “Sokneang was 52 kilograms when she left Cambodia, and we had put her on a training regime to loose weight before her event. Unfortunately she could only drop two kilos.”

Cheam Adam to fight in final

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:00 Robert Starkweather

Photo by: Robert Starkweather
Kao Roomchang stopped Lao Sinath in the second round with a flurry of elbows during their fight at Bayon TV boxing arena on Saturday

Cheam Adam outpointed Van Chanvey on Saturday to secure a bid for the inaugural TV3 light-welterweight title.

Cheam Adam, the soft-spoken 22-year-old from Kampong Cham, will face undefeated Koh Kong star Phon Phanna on September 4, in a contest to crown the station’s first 63.5 kilogram champion.

The title fight concludes a four-man round-robin tournament that began in July. In the co-feature Saturday, Phon Phanna survived a cut over the left eye to earn a decision over Nuon Phireak, who will join Van Chanvey in an early tournament exit. Phon Phanna narrowly beat Cheam Adam on points when the pair met in the first week of the tournament.

Photo by: Robert Starkweather
Kao Roomchang, red gloves, has faced and beaten CTN light-welterweight champion Lao Sinath twice, but both were non-title fights.

Kao Roomchang knocks out Lao Sinath

Across town at the Bayon TV boxing arena, Kao Roomchang smashed CTN light-welterweight champion Lao Sinath with elbows to score a swift second-round knockout.

Kao Roomchang rocked Lao Sinath with a left elbow in the opening minute to score the first of three eight-counts in the round. Lao Sinath said he never saw what hit him.

A half minute later, with Lao Sinath hurt and pinned against the ropes, Kao Roomchang unloaded another flurry of elbows, cutting Lao Sinath twice on the nose and forcing a bloodied and beaten champ to turn away.

Referee Chey Bunchoeu stopped to clean up the blood, then gave another eight count. The extra rest did little to help a badly shaken Lao Sinath.

Within seconds, another flurry of elbows dropped Lao Sinath to the canvas, and Chey Bunchoeu stepped in and stopped the fight for good.

“Easy,” said Kao Roomchang, who has faced and beaten Lao Sinath twice, but never in a title bout.

FFC chief hails new dawn as coach arrives

via Khmer NZ

Monday, 23 August 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

Newly appointed Cambodian national football team head coach Sejin Yeo of South Korea arrived in Phnom Penh late on Friday night, a day before the conclusion of the domestic season, which Football Federation of Cambodia President Sao Sokha hailed as the best and most competitive in the Kingdom’s history.

The FFC chief, who is also Commander of the Military Police, said it would be a dawn of hope for the country’s footballing fortunes under the new Korean tactician, who held a sturdy reputation back home as a dedicated coach.

“In all likelihood, the new coach will be taking the national team on a 45-day intensive training programme to neighbouring Vietnam in preparation for the 2010 Suzuki Cup scheduled to be played there [in December].”

It has been indicated that a private club will take care of the Cambodian team’s hospitality during the trip.

Quoting Preah Khan Reach’s entry to the playoff final as a shining example of a side scaling new heights, Sao Sokha said: “Next year it could be any other team getting into the top tier. Teams should not lose heart; they must work hard to get better results.”

Sejin Yeo, who is on a one-year contract, is expected to assume his duties soon. The 38-year old former coach of the Korean women’s A team was in the stands of Olympic Stadium on Saturday, keenly watching prospective candidates ahead of his squad selection during the final showdown between Phnom Penh Crown and Preah Khan Reach.