Weightlifter shows strength in face of adversity

http://www.abc.net.au/

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Triumph through adversity ... Vannara Be has risen from grape farming to gold medal-hunting. (Getty Images)

By Jano Gibson in Delhi

Updated October 1, 2010

As a little boy, Vannara Be grew up hearing about the torture inflicted on his relatives by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Two of his father's siblings were murdered, his grandmother lost an eye and his father was left with severe psychological mental scars.

But almost 30 years since that reign of terror, 22-year-old Be has become the first Cambodian-born competitor to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games.

The diminutive weightlifter, who lived with his parents and three siblings on the outskirts of Phnom Penh until he was 10, only received his Australian citizenship late last year.

Not until today, at a press conference in Delhi, did he learn he was the first Cambodian to wear the green and gold.

"I just found out today," he said.

"It's pretty nervous. Suddenly you are representing your country."

His family's first link to Australia came through one of his uncles, who fled to the country on a boat in the 1980s.

His uncle was granted refugee status and eventually persuaded Be's father to come to Australia for a short work trip at a farm in Victoria.

The owner of the farm offered to sponsor him to return on a working visa.

The whole family arrived in Australia in 1998, but it was only last November that Be received his citizenship.

He said he took up weightlifting to get out of school and had never really had the ambition to represent Australia.

"As a little kid you go to school. To get out of school you go play different sports," he said.

Be, who will be competing in the 62-kilogram weightlifting competition, said he can hoist 148 kilograms.

He credited some of his physical strength to his early days working with his mother in her Cambodian shop and later with his father on the farm.

"During picking season you carry weights around, like grapes in a bucket," he said.

"I'm not too sure where I get my strength from.

"Maybe from there, picking grapes."

Joint marketing of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos

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By Ilja Pankow | Sep 30, 2010

The sixth edition of the ITE HCMC opened its doors on September 30th in a two day event which ends on the 2nd of October in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The event is the flagship event of a fair which features the joint marketing of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The event offers exhibitors, buyers and visitors the opportunity to explore Asia´s most authentic and exciting tourism potential from the three countries, as well as Thailand and Myanmar. Myanmar is expected to join the trio of Southeast Asian nations in their joint-marketing initiatives.

Visitors can see over 150 travel specialist, tour operators and national tourism organizations from some 16 countries and regions at Vietnam´s largest tourism event. The exhibition was opened by the ministers of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in a colorful event which included traditional dance, trumpets and singers. It should be the largest and most exciting ITE exhibition ever.

The aim of the show is to bring all of regional and local exhibitors, international buyers and travel trade professionals to exchange growing business for inbound and outbound travel opportunities in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam: Three Countries One Destination. This year is the first at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre (SECC) what will provide a more conducive environment for buyer seller networking and a better expansion of the event.

The exhibition offer to discover new tourism products and also allows exhibitors, buyers and trade visitors the opportunity to network with key decision from provincial departments of tourism.

Some event highlights included Vietnam Night on the 30th of September with the second annual Tourism Alliance Awards (TAA). The TAA is an event within the ITE HCMC umbrella, designed to recognize the brightest travel-trade companies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The winners will be featured on the 1st of October on our site. Cambodia Night will be on October 1st, and we will include further reporting about this event.

Source: tourism-insider.com

Cambodian school displays anti-genocide slogans

Cambodian students walk under an anti-genocide slogans at a school in Phnom Penh

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PHNOM PENH — A high school in the Cambodian capital became the first in the country on Friday to display anti-genocide slogans in an effort to educate youngsters about the murderous Khmer Rouge regime.

Pupils arriving for the first day of the school year at Indra Devi High School were greeted with the message, mounted in blue on the side of the library building. It reflected a growing willingness to discuss the country's bloody past.

"Talking about experiences during the Khmer Rouge regime is to promote reconciliation and to educate children about forgiveness and tolerance," the sign said.

Directly below it, a second slogan, also in Khmer and English, read: "Learning about the history of Democratic Kampuchea is to prevent genocide," referring to the communist movement's name for their 1975-1979 regime.

From early next year, the messages will appear in every high school in the country.

The "Killing Fields" era, when up to two million people died of execution, overwork and starvation, is a much-discussed topic in the classroom, said student So Rithchhaya.

"The teachers talk a lot about it," he told AFP.

"We need the slogans, it can make us remember our history," said the 15-year-old, wearing his boy scout uniform for the unveiling.

Maths teacher Kouy Seak Leang added: "My students cannot know enough about the Khmer Rouge."

More than 70 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people were born after the Khmer Rouge were ousted in 1979.

The scheme is backed by the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, which collects evidence of Khmer Rouge atrocities.

"The purpose of placing anti-genocide slogans in high schools is to raise awareness among students and teachers about genocide and genocide prevention," the organisation said in a statement.

The school's unveiling ceremony comes just two weeks after a UN-backed war crimes court announced that four senior regime leaders will stand trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It will be the tribunal's second case following the July conviction of former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, for overseeing the deaths of some 15,000 men, women and children at a Phnom Penh detention centre.

PM clinches rogue red shirt deal in New York

ABHISIT PRAISES HUN SEN AFTER US MEET

Published: 26/09/2010

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NEW YORK : Cambodia has pledged to send rogue red shirts caught on its territory back to Thailand and resolve the border dispute near Preah Vihear temple through talks, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

The Thai and Cambodian leaders met on Friday for the first time since Thailand opposed Cambodia's management plan for the Hindu temple at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil in August.

"Cambodia's Premier Hun Sen told me that if he finds wanted red shirt protesters in his country, he will send them back to Thailand," Mr Abhisit said yesterday.

They met after the summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United States on Friday.

Relations between the countries eased after former premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave up his job as economic adviser to Phnom Penh in August.

Cambodian authorities arrested wanted red shirts Kobchai Boonplod, 41, and his wife Varissareeya Boonsom, 42, in Siem Reap on July 3 and handed them over to Thailand two days later in Phnom Penh.

They are fighting charges of possessing and setting off explosives to cause harm to people and property, and taking a bomb into a public area.

Police suspect they are the masterminds of the June 22 bombing near the Bhumjaithai Party HQ. The pair, who allegedly fled to Cambodia to escape the law, denied the charges.

Mr Abhisit praised Hun Sen for Phnom Penh's cooperation in sending the two back to Thailand.

Some leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship are believed to have fled to Cambodia after the army dispersed their protest in May.

Mr Abhisit said he and Hun Sen agreed that work on demarcating the boundary between the countries should proceed as planned.

Thailand and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 to set up a Joint Boundary Commission to demarcate overlapping parts of their boundary.

But the framework for border demarcation has not been approved by parliament as required by the constitution.

"We would like the [negotiation] process to move forward and will not let border problems affect our overall relationship," said Mr Abhisit.

The two leaders also agreed to foster ties through various activities to avoid conflicts.

"I think the relationship between us will improve if we proceed as agreed," said Mr Abhisit.

Before returning to Bangkok, the prime minister met a group of Thais who live in the US.

He said a better political atmosphere is needed in the country before he calls a general election. "I have never ruled out an early election although I can serve my full term and stay until early 2012.

"I am willing to hold an early election if it will solve political problems. But if dissolving the house leads to violence, an election will be meaningless," he told his Thai audience.

Thirty red shirt protesters shouted at Mr Abhisit in front of the Plaza Athenee hotel on his way back from the Asean-US summit at the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Yelling at his motorcade, they protested against the military crackdown on red shirt demonstrators in May.

The group held aloft banners, with one reading: "PM: You can't fool the world. 91 killed."

AKP - Agent Kampuchea Press

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Cambodian Premier’s Message to Students on New Academic Year 2010-2011

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP Prime - Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has praised the educational sector for its development.

In his message sent to the students across the country on the new school-year 2010-2011 starting today, the Cambodian premier highlighted the successes in the field of education, including the increase in the number of schooling to 92 percent in the academic year 2009-2010, the creation of lower secondary school in almost every commune and district through the country, the increase in the number of school establishments and education personnel.

The premier said for the new academic year, the royal government will make further efforts to ensure that all children and youths have equal access to basic education and to implement the child rights to draw the parties involved, mainly students’ parents to form a studying environment in a comfortable way.

He also took the opportunity to urge all the students to love themselves and their parents, as well as to distance themselves from drug-related chemical materials.In his 5-page message, he also raised the Teacher Day to be held on Oct. 5, dedicating the day to be  eternally in the hearts of all students in all generations. --AKP   

(By SOKMOM Nimul)  

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Japan To Build Neurosurgical Hospital in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP -- Japan has planned to invest some US$150 million in building a neurosurgical hospital in Cambodia.

The investment project was raised by Dr. Shigemi Kitahara, chairman of Kitahara Neurosurgical Institute, Japan, during a meeting here on Sept. 30 with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister H.E. Keat Chhon.

This project is part of the Comprehensive Asia Development Plan studied by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), he said.

In reply, H.E. Keat Chhon warmly welcomed the investment project, under which not only a hospital for neurosurgery, heart disease and cancer, but also a university for the above said skills will be built.

The Cambodian deputy prime minister asked the Japanese side to conduct further detailed study to ensure the success of the project. --AKP

(By LIM Nary)

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Cambodia Signs MOU with China for IT Assistance

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Sok An said that Chinese IT support for Cambodia will be immensely beneficial as the country moves towards the application of  IT for E-government, E-commerce, E-health and E-education by linking Phnom Penh to all provinces and to the outside world in the future.

H.E. Sok San said this after a signing ceremony late Thursday with the Vice President of ZTE Corporation of China, according to the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

Mr. Zhao Yong, the Vice President of the company for East and South East Asia Region, signed the MOU with Cambodia’s Chun Vat, Secretary General of NiDA. The project is to assist Cambodia to enhance its IT sector to facilitate the Cambodian government’s administrative work and trade.

NiDA - National Information Communications Technology Development Authority was established in 2000 with support from South Korea.

NiDA has facilitated the government’s communications through the Government Administration Information System (GAIS) for communicating within Phnom Penh and will soon expand to the Provincial Administration Information System (PAIS).

H.E. Sok An said that  the installation of optic cables by China’s ZTE, would enhance the access for Cambodia's rural people to learn more through E-education, E-health as well as facilitating the government in communicating with the provincial and local levels.

The Cambodian deputy prime minister said that Chinese IT support will benefit Cambodia which will apply the IT system for E-banking, E-taxation, and E-customs in the future.

“Today's signing ceremony marked another landmark of cooperation with our great friend China,” said H.E. Sok An, who is also Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers. --AKP

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Cambodia, Vietnam Localities Cooperate in Disaster Control

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP -- The Disaster Management Committee (DMC) of Cambodia’s Kandal province and the Vietnamese province of An Giang and have jointly held a seminar on urgent cross-border cooperation in disaster control between the two neighbours in An Giang.

“The Kandal-An Giang Urgent Cross-border Cooperation” is one of the five components of a programme on flood management and mitigation in the Mekong River, which began in June 2007, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.  

The programme focuses on research and rescue work, information exchange on storm and flood forecasts, health care, as well as agricultural, seafood and veterinary cooperation, it said.

The participants at the seminar agreed that the cooperation between the two provinces has been implemented under signed contents.

However, localities in An Giang province should provide more support for their Cambodian neighbours, especially in medical check-ups and treatment, mushroom growing and vaccination for livestock, added VNA. --AKP

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Phnom Penh Volunteer Doctor Group Provides Free Treatment to People

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP -- A group of Phnom Penh municipal volunteer doctors led by Health Minister H.E. Mam Bun Heng on Sept. 30 provided free medical check-up and treatment to people in Trapaing Chhouk village, Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh.

The Phnom Penh volunteer doctor group was set up in 1999 with an aim to provide free medical treatment to poor people living in Phnom Penh, said Dr. Sok Sokun, director of the municipal health department, adding that this is the 9^th time that the group came to Sen Sok district.

           

H.E. Mam Bun Heng said the Royal Government of Cambodia has attached much importance to the people’s health. The government has built health infrastructure throughout the country – health centers, referral hospitals, etc. – and established volunteer medical doctor groups to help cure the poor, he said.

On the occasion, the health minister conveyed best wishes from Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen to people on the upcoming Pchum Ben Festival. --AKP

(By CHEA Vannak)

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Four Cambodian Taekwondo Fighters Join Vientiane Taekwondo Friendship

Phnom Penh, October 1, 2010 AKP -- Four Cambodian taekwondo fighters left here on Wednesday to join the Vientiane Taekwondo Friendship to be held on Oct. 2-3.

Mr. Hem Samnang, secretary-general of Taekwondo Federation of Cambodia told AKP today that the three male taekwondo fighters – Chhoy Bouthan, Chan Sovutha, and Phal Sovannath – and female taekwondo fighter, Sim Rachana will compete with other professional taekwondo teams from other three ASEAN member countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

The two-day friendship tournament will be about WTF (World Taekwondo Federation of S. Korea) category.

The Cambodian team is scheduled to return home on Oct. 5. --AKP

(By Théng)

King Father celebrates China’s birthday

Photo by: AFP

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Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 AFP

King Father Norodom Sihanouk and Chinese President Hu Jintao attend an official banquet on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on Thursday. The banquet was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Tires burn at the lake

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Thursday, 30 September 2010 19:01 Khouth Sophakchakrya

ABOUT 100 disgruntled residents of the Boeung Kak lakeside have set fire to tyres near sand-pumping equipment being used to fill in the lake, and later clashed with police as they tried to make their way to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Phnom Penh home.

Ly Mom, a community representative from Village 24 in Daun Penh district’s Srah Chak commune, said the protest occurred spontaneously after local authorities and Shukaku Inc employees refused to halt efforts to fill in the lake, causing a number of homes to be inundated with mud earlier in the morning.

“We had just asked them to temporarily stop pumping the sand to prevent our homes from flooding,” she said.

After their request was denied, residents burned several tyres on the sand near the company’s equipment.

When they attempted to leave Srah Chak commune and walk to Hun Sen’s home, they were blocked by police and military police, according to a statement released by the Housing Rights Task Force.

“As the situation developed, the increasingly beleaguered protesters, largely consisting of women and children, faced violence on the part of the police, who pushed people and pinned some women against a wall,” the statement said.

HRTF secretary general Sia Phearum said that the actions of the police “reflect the increasing pressure and intimidation of residents of Boeung Kak”.

“The company and local police force have no right to surround and intimidate community members, who were only exercising their right to freedom of expression and imparting information,” he said.

In February 2007, Shukaku Inc, a local developer owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Lao Meng Khin, signed a lease agreement with the municipality giving it the right to develop the lakeside. The following year the company began filling in the lake to make way for a 133-hectare housing and commercial development. Housing rights advocates say that more than 4,000 families will be displaced by the project.

Sok Sambath, Daun Penh district governor, met with the protesters at the blockade and asked them to write a letter detailing their complaints and demands. At first he promised to forward the document to Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema; later, he said he would pass it to Hun Sen. “I promise to send your requests to the premier....He will decide for everyone how to resolve this problem,” he said.

Kingdom’s bourse gets New York nod

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Thursday, 30 September 2010 21:41 Luke Hunt

SENIOR international investment figures have lauded the prospect of Cambodia establishing its own stock exchange but warned authorities to enforce appropriate regulations and not to repeat the previous mistakes of bourses elsewhere.

Speaking at a conference in Malaysia that focused on alternative investments, analysts forecast a tough two years as the world emerged from the global financial crisis, after which economies would still be dominated by a period of low growth and low interest rates that would restrict returns on bonds, cash and traditional equities.

“Some investments in Asia are already a little overpriced but over the long term in Asia you can’t go wrong,” said Georges Ugeux, former executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange.

“Don’t try and re-invent the wheel ... build a structure that’s close to other markets so liquidity comes naturally.”

He said that if US dollars and Cambodian riels were used in the exchange, given the dual currency system within the broader economy, it would “reduce one of the great risks confronting the markets – currency fluctuations”.

A recurring issue brought up among experts was the need for disclosure laws. Uguex together with Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary general of the United Nations Conference of Trade and

Development, said without proper oversight Cambodia’s tiny pool of potential investors would be left to trade among themselves.

“You can’t get outside capital unless you have disclosure. You have to be very clean; otherwise, investors simply will not trust you,” Ugeux said. He urged Cambodian leaders to follow the Chinese model in opening up business accounts.

As a former director general of the World Trade Organisation and deputy prime minister of Thailand, who successfully steered his country through the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, Supachai has witnessed changing economic patterns over decades.

He was also an instigator of Thai foreign policy when Cambodia began its transition to a peacetime economy more than a decade ago.

“We have helped Cambodia a lot over the years, and I think they’re doing well,” he said.

“I laud the idea of a stock market. It will be a very good thing for them to have.” But he warned against the excessive hype and speculation that led to spectacular crashes on the Thai stock market as far back as 20 and 30 years ago, when the country “didn’t have the right kind of governance”.

“What’s needed is oversight, adequate companies and adequate finance laws,” Supachai said.

His sentiments were echoed by another senior Asian bureaucrat, Jalilah Baba, director general of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority. His group is responsible for approving incoming and outgoing investments.

“We see Cambodia as a country that is coming up and we should have a presence there. If we’re comfortable, we will go there,” she said.

While disclosure concerns topped investor priorities, others were less concerned about the running of a potential exchange or index-linked investments that might prove attractive to fund managers, and were more interested in the type of company that would list.

Financial author and investor Mary Buffett said her former father-in-law, Warren Buffet – among the world’s wealthiest individuals – would be interested in buying stakes in Cambodian companies.

She said Buffett-type investors would look for what she called “toll companies”.

These are companies with an earnings history, command brand loyalty with long-term prospects and are run by honest and competent people. Such companies include banks, publishing houses, telcos and insurance agencies.

Resources type stocks like oil and gas, gold or bauxite were not on the agenda, she said.

“One problem is the companies do not have a history of earnings, which is something that Warren looks at very closely,” she said. “But in time, they will. [Then] from his perspective he’ll will go there ... so why not Cambodia.”

Despite numerous delays, many believe that a Cambodian stock exchange is inevitable. The government has vowed to launch the bourse by next July “at any cost”.

Officials from the Korean exchange – which owns 45 percent of the planned bourse – have warned initially it would have “basic” features.

Laos’ Xayabury dam impact potentially ‘catastrophic’

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Thursday, 30 September 2010 22:09 Will Baxter and Cheang Sokha

A hydropower dam proposed for Laos’ northern Xayabury province could have serious negative effects on fisheries, biodiversity and livelihoods downstream in Cambodia, a spokesman for the World Wide Fund for Nature has said.

“Cambodia will be one of the hardest hit countries from the construction of any, including Xayabury, of the proposed 11 lower Mekong mainstream dams,” said Marc Goichot, a senior adviser on sustainable infrastructure at WWF Greater Mekong.

“These impacts are potentially catastrophic, and can include riverbank erosion, impacting the riverside homes of millions of Cambodians.”

Laos notified the Mekong River Commission of its plan for the 1,260-megawatt dam on September 22.

Goichot’s assessment was far bleaker than that of Pich Dun, secretary general of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee, who acknowledged that the dam would “affect fish migration, but not very seriously”.

“According to the study, the dam is being built far from Cambodia, so only some kinds of fish are migrating from here to there, and that is why the effects will not be so huge,” Pich Dun said.

“But if all 11 dams are built, the people on the lower Mekong will face difficulties with the change in the flow of sediments to their crops,” he said.

But Goichot said the dam would “lead to the extinction of the Mekong giant catfish in the wild and probably other fish species”.

Sam Nouv, deputy director for the Fisheries Administration, said he, too, was “concerned” about the dam. “When a dam is built on the upstream, it really impacts the fisheries in Cambodia,” he said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SAM RITH

Justice still scarce for acid-attack victims

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Thursday, 30 September 2010 22:05 Mom Kunthear and Brooke Lewis

WHAT would you like to see happen to your attackers?” a judge asks a young man and woman who were recently doused with acid while innocently enjoying a stroll.

“I want to see them jailed for life,” the woman says.

Her response elicits a chorus of cheers, applause and laughter from an audience made up largely of acid burn victims and their families, who had gathered for an improvised play on acid attacks staged at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity in Kandal province.

The play, performed by acid burn victims and CASC staffers, was part of the charity’s bimonthly meeting, a three-day affair that will conclude Friday.

Its story, of an acid-attack perpetrator being brought to justice, is one that those in attendance hope will become a common reality with the introduction of a new draft law that is expected to be finalised soon.

In the play, a female perpetrator is found to have masterminded the attack on the young couple, and the judge orders her to pay US$20,000 in compensation to each of the victims. She is also sentenced to 73 years in prison.

Keo Sreyvy, a 37-year-old acid burn victim who played the perpetrator, said she believed there would be fewer attacks if such sentences were the norm.

“There would not be so many victims if the law punished the perpetrators for what they did, like what we showed in the end of the play,” she said.

Her own case underscores the fact that, at present, many attackers are not punished at all.

In early 2009, she said, her brother-in-law poured a litre of acid over her head and body after she accused him of trafficking his own daughter. Keo Sreyvy was blinded in her left eye by the attack, which also left her with serious burns to her face, torso and left hand.

She said that although she was able to identify her attacker, police told her they did not have enough evidence to make an arrest.

“I filed a complaint to the court nearly two years ago, but the court has not found justice for me yet,” she said. “I feel disappointed with the police and also the courts. I don’t believe in the law anymore.”

In mid-September, Ouk Kimlek, undersecretary of state at the Interior Ministry and deputy director of a committee tasked with drafting legislation to curb acid violence, said a draft would be finalised by the end of the month. On Thursday, he said the draft had not been finished because the committee had been “so busy with other work”.

“We will try to send it to the [Interior Minister Sar Kheng] early in October,” he said.

The committee was formed in February following a spate of reported attacks that began late last year.

Members originally said they expected to finalise the legislation shortly after Khmer New Year.

Early drafts of the law called for harsh punishments for perpetrators of acid crimes, including life sentences for the most serious attacks, a provision that Ouk Kimlek said yesterday remained in the latest version of the law.

Kou Bora, a member of the Interior Ministry’s Legislation Council, visited CASC Thursday to speak with victims and staff about the draft. He said that although the legislation did have a significant punitive component, its primary focus was on preventative measures, such as the regulation of acid sales.

“The most important point that we focused on is prevention more than punishment, because [punishments] are included under the criminal law,” he said.

He said increased legal assistance for victims was also a government priority.

“We have planned to provide free legal aid to acid victims,” he said, but added that he was not sure when the service would become available.

United Kingdom Ambassador Andrew Mace, who also attended Thursday’s meeting at CASC, said he was optimistic that the new law would be a “very important contribution” to the effort to curb acid attacks, but noted that increased awareness and understanding of the issue would also be essential.

“There’s a very wide range of issues to cover, and it’s a very complex issue that cannot be dealt with just through a piece of law,” he said. “I think proper understanding of what leads to the attacks in the first place would be helpful in understanding how Cambodian society can prevent the attacks.”

He said the discussions and performances that took place at the CASC meeting were good examples of the sort of awareness-raising that could help prevent future attacks.

“I’m not sure that people who carry out these attacks always appreciate the real consequences, and I think that it’s very powerful, the sort of thing we’ve seen today,” he said. “People telling their stories – that can help to change attitudes.”

CASC has recorded 18 attacks involving 32 victims – plus four burn victims who were injured in accidents rather than attacks – so far this year. Last year, CASC recorded a total of 28 attacks and 33 victims.

Second US indictment implicates ‘dozens’

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Thursday, 30 September 2010 21:53 Chhay Channyda and Keeley Smith

An investigation into a scam involving attempts to secure legal permanent residence in the United States for Cambodians by staging fake marriages has led to a second indictment, according to US media reports.

A Fox News affiliate based in the US state of Kentucky reported that the second indictment implicated “dozens of people”.

In April, a 25-year-old American man pleaded guilty to charges of marriage fraud and conspiracy to commit marriage fraud in connection with the scam.

The US Department of Justice had alleged that the man was one figure in a “large-scale marriage-fraud ring” that involved US citizens travelling to Cambodia and engaging in “fraudulent marriages”.

The defendants have been accused of staging photos with their Cambodian fiancées at tourist locations throughout Cambodia in order to create the illusion of a long-term relationship.

The Kentucky-based Louisville Courier-Journal reported in April that those arrested were recruited and bribed US$1,000 to $5,000 to enter into engagements with Cambodians, and then paid matching amounts after marriages were finalised in the US. The same reported noted that 23 people had been arrested in the case.

The Fox affiliate reported this week that the defendants face up to 75 years behind bars.

Bith Kimhong, director of the Ministry of Interior’s anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau, declined to comment on the case beyond saying that it was “old”.

He said that “no new cases of fake marriage” had since been reported in Cambodia.

Funcinpec HQ on the block

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Written by Vong Sokheng

Thursday, 30 September 2010 21:28

Funcinpec plans to sell its party headquarters on Norodom Boulevard, party officials have said, as the planned merger with the Nationalist Party moves a step closer.

Lu Laysreng, the party’s deputy president, confirmed yesterday that the party had put the building on the market, and was hoping to net around US$4 million in the sale.

“We will sell it if there is a profit, and in case we cannot find new headquarters, we will go to work at a pagoda,” he said.

Funcinpec President Keo Puth Reaksmey said that the planned merger of Funcinpec and the NP – which split acrimoniously in 2006 – would happen in time for the 2012 commune elections and 2013 national elections. When it did, he said, the party would require a larger headquarters, and leaders are hoping to find a new site on the outskirts of the city.

Court to question two in DARPO case

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Written by Thet Sambath

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01

TWO residents of Preah Vihear province’s Choam Ksan district will appear for questioning at the provincial court today in connection with a case involving an NGO accused of human rights abuses, their lawyer said yesterday.

Long Lun said 50-year-old Khin Khon and her husband, 48-year-old Chib Rath, had travelled from Phnom Penh to Preah Vihear yesterday after receiving summonses from provincial court prosecutor Keo Sim last week.

“I will ask the court to find justice for my clients and demand that the real criminals be accused and arrested,” he said.

Both villagers were among a group of 10 representatives of families in Choam Ksan district who have called for an investigation into the Drugs and AIDS Research and Prevention Organisation, an NGO run by a one-star general who is also an adviser to Senate President Chea Sim.

DARPO was granted a 556-hectare social land concession in the district in 2007.

At a press conference in Phnom Penh on September 6, Khin Khon accused a security guard working for DARPO of raping her 13-year-old daughter, and said unidentified men threatened and beat her after she filed a complaint.

Choam Ksan residents have also accused DARPO of torture and unlawful forced eviction. The NGO has denied any wrongdoing.

Three villagers questioned at the provincial court last month were charged with incitement, disinformation and forgery after a judge said they had falsified complaints against DARPO. Two remain behind bars.

Thailand mulls new migrant registration

vis CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 James O’Toole and Sam Rith

THE Thai government is considering reopening a registration process for migrant labourers that could allow tens of thousands of Cambodian workers currently at risk of deportation to remain in Thailand legally, officials said yesterday.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said yesterday that because of the “backlog” of workers who missed the deadline for the registration process, Thailand’s ministry of labour was considering reopening it.

“The ministry is working on that, but the cabinet has not yet received a formal proposal on the issue,” Panitan said.

The Thai government set a February deadline for migrant workers to apply for a process known as “nationality verification” that would allow them to renew their work permits. Though 124,902 legal Cambodian migrant workers were eligible to participate in this registration process, just 81,601 took part, according to figures provided by Bangkok-based rights group the Human Rights and Development Foundation.

As a consequence, 43,301 Cambodian migrants who were legally registered prior to the deadline faced the possibility of deportation, as did the untold thousands of Cambodian workers who entered Thailand illegally.

More than 1,000 Cambodian workers who missed the registration deadline had been arrested and detained by the end of June, after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva authorised a crackdown in a June 2 directive.

Last week, Thai Minister of Labour Chalermchai Sri-on said the government was preparing to reopen the registration process because of a labour shortage, Thai state media reported.

Othsman Hassan, secretary of state at the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, said he had travelled to Thailand earlier this week to confer with Thai labour ministry officials on the process of registering Cambodian workers.

“So far, over 80,000 Cambodian workers have already registered, and we estimate that there are still over 90,000 Cambodian workers who have not yet registered” he said.

Othsman Hassan said Thai officials had requested that the Cambodian government assist in registering more Cambodian workers.

“Due to Thailand’s increasing development, they are open to having more Cambodian workers,” he said.

Critics of Thailand’s registration policy said it was instituted unnecessarily swiftly and left no recourse for migrant workers who had entered the country illegally.

“It is addressing regular migrants and leaves out the irregular migrants, and that is something that represents a threat of massive expulsions, with the obvious consequences of violations of human rights. That’s a great concern to me,” Jorge Bustamente, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said in an interview with Radio Australia in February.

As Thai labour officials move forward with their review of migrant policy, they must develop a framework that is “in unison with the genuine situation on the ground”, said Andy Hall, director of the HRDF’s Migrant Justice Programme.

In a statement released yesterday, a group of 13 civil society organisations based in Thailand called for Thai authorities to raise awareness among migrant workers about the registration process and allow children and other dependants of workers to be registered as well.

Fire compensation planned

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Firefighters work to extinguish a burning tanker truck last week. Officials in Prampi Makara district have begun meeting with residents to determine compensation.

Written by Kim Yuthana

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01

OFFICIALS in the capital’s Prampi Makara district have organised meetings with local residents to determine compensation for those whose property was destroyed in a tanker fire last week.

The blaze broke out in Prampi Makara’s Veal Vong commune when a Sokimex fuel truck carrying roughly 8,000 litres of petrol exploded near the Socheat garage. 43-year-old Pou Cheng, the owner of the garage, met on Wednesday with residents and district officials to negotiate compensation offers, Prampi Makara district governor Som Sovann said.

Victims began submitting claims to district officials in relation to the fire last week.

“All cases cannot be solved at the same time because the situation is complicated, so we need to work step by step,” Som Sovann said. He declined to saw how many residents had submitted claims, though four families had done so as of Thursday last week.

In addition to those for homes, claims were filed for an SUV, motorbikes and cyclos that were damaged in the blaze, Som Sovann said.

Pou Cheng’s wife, 49-year-old Nuth Samoeun, was charged with arson last week in connection with the explosion of the fuel truck, which destroyed five homes and sent a plume of black smoke rising over the city. The driver of the truck has also been charged, though he fled the scene after the explosion and remains on the run.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Te Sam Ang said he would examine the complaints and compensation process as he evaluated Nuth Samoeun’s case.

Chea Theit, a 52-year-old resident of Veal Vong commune, claimed to have lost roughly US$220,000 worth of property in the fire, including his home. “I want them to compensate me for the rebuilding of my house,” he said.

CTN journalist summoned

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 May Titthara

A JOURNALIST for Cambodia Television Network said yesterday that he had been summoned by the Banteay Meanchey provincial court on suspicion of spreading disinformation for his coverage of a land dispute.

Soush Saroeun, executive managing director of the ARP-OITC Group, which filed the complaint, said CTN’s coverage of the dispute had been unfairly biased against his firm.

“Our lawyer filed a complaint against them because we bought the land from villagers and allowed them to plant rice on our land, but [CTN] looked down on us,” Soush Saroeun said.

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The complaint is strange because they did not ask us for a correction, but filed... directly to the court.

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Banteay Meanchey provincial prosecutor So Rath said the complaint alleged that CTN’s Lai Ly had affected the “honour” of ARP-OITC with its report on the land dispute in Banteay Meanchey’s Phnom Srok district.

Lai Ly has been ordered to appear at the provincial court on October 11.

Soush Saran said the conflict had emerged over 7 hectares of land out of 100 hectares his firm purchased in 2008. The 7 hectares, he said, are also claimed by Lay Saran, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deputy commander in Phnom Srok district.

Lay Saran could not be reached for comment. Lai Ly said yesterday that he had yet to receive the summons.

The report in question, which appeared on CTN’s website, was balanced and included comments from all parties concerned, he added.

“I respected the professional code of ethics, so I am not worried,” he said.

CTN news director Huy Vannak said the complaint had failed to make specific allegations about the report.

“The complaint is strange because they did not ask us for a correction, but filed the complaint directly to the court,” he said.

Um Sarin, president of the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, said that if the court chooses to bring charges against Lai Ly or CTN, it should bring them under the Kingdom’s 1995 Press Law, rather than utilising criminal defamation or disinformation charges.

In a report released last month, Surya Subedi, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, recommended that defamation and disinformation be decriminalised.

“The law regarding defamation and disinformation has been used selectively and in a biased manner against journalists, human rights activists and political leaders, and the courts do not seem to interpret the law and the restrictions on freedom of expression according to domestic laws, much less international standards binding Cambodia,” Subedi wrote.

Garment factories: Workers reinstated after PM call

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 Mom Kunthear

Garment factories

A GARMENT factory in Kampong Speu province yesterday gave 22 suspended employees permission to return to work in response to an appeal from Prime Minister Hun Sen, a union leader said.

In a speech on Wednesday, Hun Sen urged factory owners to reinstate workers who were suspended after participating in a large-scale strike last month.

Kin Im, a union representative at the Sangwoo factory, said he had received a letter from the factory owner yesterday instructing him and 21 other suspended union members to return to work today.

“I am very happy to return to work,” he said.

State must provide better access for disabled people

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 Wayne Slattery

Dear Editor,

I went past the Canadia Tower and was appalled to see that at the two main entrances, access was via a set of stairs without a ramp or handrail to be seen.

How can this be allowed to happen? This is supposedly the premier office building in Cambodia. Does Canadia Bank and its other tenants have no interest in disabled persons?

I am amazed at new hotels and other buildings being built without any consideration for access – there only needs to be one ramp and/or one set of steps with a handrail.

The government is making big strides in advancing the cause of disabled persons with the National Law on Disability and the recent quota system of minimum levels of employment for disabled persons. However, building access standards seem to be lacking.

I am a person of advancing age who has a disability. I had polio as a child and now wear a brace on one leg. I get around by being careful and using a walking stick, and am enjoying myself here while working as a volunteer.

But all these steps – at commercial, NGO and government buildings.

Not only do they have steps (from two to too many), but they do not have handrails; for many physically disabled persons, a handrail would help them up and down steps that would be otherwise insurmountable.

Don’t even mention ramps for wheelchairs. The number I have seen can be counted on two hands.

Ramps are vital for people in wheelchairs and invaluable for less mobile people carrying items, persons using walking sticks etc.

In my home country, things are not perfect, but new buildings and government buildings are expected to provide access to all members of the community.

I call on the various disability groups to band together and convince the relevant government authorities to enforce a code of practice requiring new buildings to adhere to this rule.

Cambodia has a high number of disabled persons, and with the growth of tourism is attracting higher numbers of older tourists, some of whom have mobility problems. Cambodia has a young population, but it will age and some will become more disabled. The time to act is now.

Tourists vote with their wallets and their feet, however unsteady they may be. I have reached a point where, if I need to buy something, stay somewhere or buy a service, I look for the one with better access, even if it is more expensive.

Again I call on the National Centre for Disabled Persons, Cambodian Disabled Persons Organisation, Association of Blind Persons, Disability Action Council, Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, and the many other disability organisations to begin a public campaign to improve access for everyone in Cambodia.

Wayne Slattery

Phnom Penh

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Send letters to: newsroom@phnompenhpost.com or PO?Box 146, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Post reserves the right to edit letters to a shorter length. The views expressed above are solely the author’s and do not reflect any positions taken by The Phnom Penh Post.

Police Blotter: 1 Oct 2010

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 Sen David

Student borrows bike from friend and sells it

A 19-year-old student was arrested after stealing his friend’s bike and selling it in Kandal province’s Takhmao town on Tuesday. The victim said he lent the bike to his friend while he was studying because his friend needed to run some errands. However, days passed and the suspect failed to return the bike. The suspect was eventually arrested, and he confessed to selling the bike.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Unloved prisoner dies from heart attack in jail

An inmate died from a suspected heart attack in Preah Sihanouk provincial prison on Monday, but his body has not been claimed by relatives because his family reportedly hated him. A prison official said that the inmate fainted and was sent to hospital. Doctors there said a heart attack caused him to collapse, and he was pronounced dead on arrival. The corpse has since been sent to a local pagoda by prison officials because the family refused to pick it up. A prison official said the family “hated him so much”.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Man refuses pal money for booze, gets knifed

A man was stabbed after he refused to give money to a drunk friend who wanted to buy more booze in Kampong Thom province’s Prasat Balaing district on Tuesday. Police said the suspect was always drunk. On the day in question, the suspect asked to borrow 10,000 riels (US$2.50) so he could buy cheap wine and continue drinking. The victim did not comply with the request, so the suspect allegedly stabbed him. He has been taken to hospital, and the suspect has been arrested.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Police stop drug sale between friends

Police arrested a man as he attempted to deliver drugs to the house of a friend in Banteay Meanchey province’s Serei Sophoan district on Tuesday. A neighbour had earlier approached police expressing concern that the man was at the centre of illicit deals in his village. When they arrested the suspect, police confiscated 10 bags of narcotics that he was in the process of depositing on the doorstep of a friend. Police said the friend escaped before police made it to his house. They are now on the hunt for him, and the arrested suspect has been sent to court for questioning.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Child-rape charge laid

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 Chhay Channyda

KAMPONG Chhnang provincial court has charged a 70-year-old man with raping a 4-year-old girl on four separate occasions at his home in Boribo district, officials said yesterday. Prak Sao Ny, the provincial anti-human trafficking police chief, said yesterday that police had arrested the suspect, Srey Maing, on Tuesday at his home and held him overnight after the alleged victim’s parents filed a complaint against him. He was sent to the court and charged on Wednesday. Prak Sao Ny said that after the first attack, the girl reported it to her mother, but that her mother did not believe her, thinking Srey Maing was a good neighbour. The mother only took the girl’s claims seriously after she caught Srey Maing trying to rape her, Prak Sao Ny said. Prosecutor Penh Vibol said Srey Maing had been charged under the Law on Aggravating Circumstances for Felonies and faces 15 to 20 years in prison if guilty.

Investment set for recovery

Construction proceeds at full tilt earlier this year on the US$280 million, 180-megawatt Kamchay hydro-power dam project being built with Chinese investment from Sinohydro Corporation. Photo by: David Boyle

via CAAI

Friday, 01 October 2010 15:01 Nguon Sovan and Jeremy Mullins

THE Council for the Development of Cambodia forecast yesterday that approved foreign investment in the Kingdom would drop 27 percent this year, compared to 2009, but was set to make a gradual recovery.

In a presentation given at Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich Island yesterday, Council for the Development of Cambodia’s investment board deputy secretary general Duy Thouv forecast projects worth $4.25 billion would be approved this year.

The fall would be the second year that approved Foreign Direct Investment has plummeted. In 2008, FDI hit a massive US$10.891 billion but fell 46 percent to $5.859 billion in 2009.

The CDC has predicted that after this year, approvals would gradually improve, to $4.46 billion in 2011, $5.8 billion in 2012 and $6.96 billion in 2013.

Despite the figures, officials remained positive about the Kingdom’s economy.

The 27 percent decline was not an indication of weakness, Duy Thouv said yesterday.

Instead, he said, 2009 had been a strong year, despite the global financial crisis.

“Of course the economy was hit by the crisis, but foreign direct investment was still high because of a sharp increase [in approvals] from Vietnam and China,” he said.

“Investment this year will be lower since there was no similar rush.”

Growth in FDI would stem from both internal and external factors, he said, highlighting a new rice policy boosting exports and the prospect of oil and gas production in 2012.

Special Economic Zones would also be established to attract additional businesses, he said.

The Kingdom has approved 21 SEZs. Of those, four are in operation, and two are being built, according to Duy Thouv’s presentation.

As of 2009, Cambodia had attracted more than $488 million worth of investment in the areas.

Economic experts also emphasised the importance of counting the impact of approved investment in real terms.

Chan Sophal, president of Cambodian Economic Association, said it was important to note the data registered only investment plans, and that many projects had never been implemented. There had been “huge investment figures” particularly in 2008, he said; however, some of the approved projects had never materialised.

“What we want to see is more implementation, more injection of capital on to those investment projects, not just papers showing approvals,” he said.

He said Cambodia had done well to attract investment, but that more could be done especially improving laws and regulations as well as easing restrictions inhibiting imports and exports.

Bretton Sciaroni, senior partner at Sciaroni and Associates, said that approved-investment data, although useful, did not make clear how much of the investments were actually made.

While Joshua Morris, managing director at Emerging Market Investments, echoed statements that figures could be misleading. Investors were becoming more critical when choosing potential projects, he warned.

“Foreign investment looking at the market now is more stable, more critical, with an eye to long-term goals,” he said. “Previously I think there were somewhat euphoric expectations of Cambodia.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING CATHERINE JAMES