Advancing Global Advocacy on Sex Worker Health and Human Rights meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Tactical Technology Collective

Tactical Technology Collective was invited to contribute to a three day meeting called "Advancing Global Advocacy on Sex Workers' Health and Human Rights"in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as part of a larger project aimed at increasing the ability of sex worker advocates to utilize information and communications technologies. This project is part of Tactical Tech's Movement Building Program, providing longer-term needs-based mentoring and capacity building for specific issue areas and networks.

Tactical designed a training track specifically geared to the participants of the meeting that included sessions called "Taming the ICT Beast,""ICT Tools That You Can Use in Your Advocacy Work NOW!," & "Using ICT for Successful Advocacy Strategies." We presented these trainings in partnership with Melissa Gira, a well-respected blogger and sex worker advocate from San Francisco, CA.

Tactical Tech is currently compiling a thorough information technology needs assessment of grantees of SHARP (Sexual Health and Rights Project), which is part of OSI's Public Health Network. We will be releasing the final report of our findings in June, 2007.
Preliminary findings include:

-Mobiles are used for outreach to sex workers, this is a key technology when considering how to organize and increase participation from constituents.

-Web and email is used predominantly for advocacy work and to a limited extent for cross-country solidarity networking.

-As most organizations have reliable access to the Internet, the biggest likely barrier to international networking will be language and content creation (i.e. posting resources as opposed to asking questions on email lists).

-There is a general flair and tendency towards innovative and creative uses of technology, such as photographs, PowerPoint, videos, karaoke, audio, etc.; this could be partly due to cross-cultural and literacy barriers, but also partly due to the creative nature of the community.

-Privacy is a concern for a number of groups; some groups reported knowledge of surveillance, however none are using digital security technologies, though many are using informal ways of protecting themselves.

-The biggest barrier cited by respondents to accessing technology is cost.

Next Stop for Big Oil: Cambodia?

A Cambodian smuggler (L) rides his motorbike in Kandal province loaded with gasoline he got from neighbouring Vietnam, some 40 kms south of Phnom Penh. TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images

Global February 14, 2008

As Chevron and partner Mitsui Oil explore offshore, skeptics worry that Cambodia will fall prey to the "oil curse"

In the world of $90-a-barrel oil, oil companies have plenty of incentive to search in unusual places for the fossil fuel. One of the newest energy frontiers is in the clear blue waters off the coast of Cambodia. Here, where fishing sampans sail among scattered, picturesque islands in the Gulf of Thailand, U.S. oil giant Chevron (CVX) has drilled 15 exploratory wells 150 kilometers offshore from the tourist town of Sihanoukville. If all goes according to plan, Chevron will begin extracting oil and gas from these wells by 2011.

Onshore, many Cambodians are watching—some hopefully, others nervously—about what oil might mean for one of the world's poorest nations. Prime Minister Hun Sen has recently called discussion about the oil finds "premature" and "speculative," and will say little about the prospects, which Chevron initially estimated at 400 million barrels. That's not much compared to neighboring Indonesia, with 4.3 billion barrels in reserve, or Malaysia, with 3 billion. But for a poor country like Cambodia, which has precious few energy resources, it's a big deal. Quietly, the premier has been lining up undisclosed partners for a small domestic oil refinery while the Cambodia National Petroleum Authority has begun talking about setting up a national oil company.

How important is oil for Cambodia? The International Monetary Fund produced a "moderate economic scenario" last year that showed revenues to the government from oil could be $174 million when Chevron's production starts in 2011, peaking at $1.7 billion annually after 10 years.

For a country with a total national budget of just $1.2 billion, such a windfall could bring such benefits as raises for public teachers now paid $80 a month, rebuilding the education and health systems destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era, or bringing electricity and clean water to the bypassed rural areas that make up almost all of the country. "There are a lot of uncertainties about the amount of oil available," says IMF Resident Director John Nelmes, who explains the $1.7 billion estimate is a conservative one based on total reserves of 500 million barrels.
Overlapping Claims With Thailand.

Of course, the size of the estimated oil reserves hardly ranks Cambodia with the big leagues. But the current picture in Cambodia could change. In addition to Chevron's Block A, five other blocks licensed for exploration are so far unexplored. And in an overlapping claims area with Thailand there are huge unexplored oil fields that cover an area as much as all six existing blocks combined. Cambodia and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding in 2001 to resolve the overlapping claims, but no progress has been made since then and diplomatic ties worsened after Cambodians burned down the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh in 2003. Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Sok An says negotiations are expected to resume soon and he's willing to split the claims "on a 50-50 basis."

The question is, how should an undeveloped country like Cambodia proceed in tapping those resources? The possibility that Hun Sen's government might set up a state-owned oil company and a state-owned refinery horrifies some foreign advisors who worry that Cambodia could fall victim to what economists call the oil curse. That's the phenomenon of corruption in developing countries with state-owned companies that control abundant oil reserves. It's too easy for corrupt government officials to skim profits from state-controlled oil companies, says Warwick Browne, a former extractive industries project manager for Oxfam America in Cambodia.

Having a Phnom Penh-controlled oil and gas company would be "a very bad move," says Browne, adding that such state-owned entities "are black holes for corruption." He says a small national oil refinery would probably not be profitable and the government would have to subsidize sales to the population while forgoing the opportunity to earn needed foreign exchange by exporting to neighboring countries.

Other Obstacles
Government officials won't discuss these questions publicly. Chevron, after three years of exploration at a cost of more than $120 million, says in a public statement that the undersea reservoir has a complex design and contains "small dispersed fields, rather than one core field." Translation: It will take more technical expertise and cost more to extract. With partner Mitsui Oil Exploration (Moeco), Chevron is considering a third round of exploratory drilling in 2008 and 2009.

Another complication: a recent dispute between the joint venture and the government over the way Chevron would eventually be taxed on royalties. The two sides are expected to compromise eventually but won't discuss the matter. Even so, production will probably begin by 2011 under terms of Chevron's and Moeco's license with the government. (Chevron officials in Bangkok declined to comment.)

The licensing of the other blocks taking place is raising eyebrows. Browne says the information about the contracts is kept secret in the hands of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who signs the concessions, and Te Duong Tara, head of the Cambodia National Petroleum Authority. (Both declined BusinessWeek requests for interviews.) Quietly, the CNPA over the past year has handed out licenses for the five other blocks to three Chinese companies and two international partner groups.
Beefed-Up Security

One block went to a consortium including Singapore Petroleum, Malaysia's Resourceful Petroleum, and Thailand's PTTEP International. Another went to a consortium led by Indonesian company Medco Energi Internasional Tbk with partners Kuwait Energy and Sweden's Lundin Petroleum. The others went to Chinese companies, including Chinese National Offshore Oil (CNOOC) and China Petrotech Holdings.

Meanwhile offshore, the Cambodian Navy recently ordered patrols to ensure security in the Gulf surrounding the oil fields, an area where Cambodia and Thailand have had a border dispute.
Now all eyes are on Chevron. A petroleum consultant who asked to remain anonymous says the other companies are waiting to see; their contracts allow for six years of exploration before production is required. "They're gambling. Very often they sit back and wait and see if there are any hits. The strategy is to wait, watch, and then decide whether to drop out or resell their license," the consultant says.

Calls for Anti-Corruption Laws

The government is growing impatient with all the pessimists. Hun Sen, in a rare and testy public mention of oil, assured 600 people at a Nov. 7 investment conference in Phnom Penh that the country knows how to avoid the oil curse. "Cambodia is on the right path," the Prime Minister said. "I am hopeful Cambodia will be able to benefit from the sector in the near future."

Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy in December urged lawmakers to adopt an anti-corruption law before the oil begins flowing to prevent government "looting of the nation's oil wealth."

Andrew Symon, petroleum researcher with Menas Asia, a research company from Britain, says he's optimistic about the potential: "It's an exciting area and very contentious politically. If there were to be gas this would be very significant for Cambodia," But, he wryly notes, "There's no shortage of voices wanting this to be a curse. It almost makes it seem it should be left in the ground."

Whether Cambodia, with no oil expertise, will be able to, as U.S. Ambassador Joe Mussomeli put it last February, use its oil resources for "tossing off the shackles of the Pol Pot regime" remains to be seen. According to Mussomeli, oil has been a "horrific curse" in many nations, "rendering the population destitute while a small, corrupt elite siphons off revenue that should go to improving the welfare of all the people." He has called for Cambodia to sign onto a "transparent policy framework" that ensures no one misuses the revenues.

Staff nurse Digby's long haul in aid of hospice

coventry.co.uk
Feb 14 2008

A NURSE is planning a marathon charity bike ride across South East Asia.

Digby Meacher, a staff nurse at Manor Hospital in Nuneaton, will travel through Thailand to Cambodia to raise money for Myton Hospice.

Starting in the Thai capital Bangkok, the 33-year-old, from Almond Avenue in Leamington, will cycle 350 miles over eight days to reach the famous temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Digby, along with the 40 other riders on the organised trip, will need to raise nearly £3,000 for the hospice, to go on the trip in April.

He said of his early training: "I've done a little bit here and there, and I'm riding to and from work, which is 18 miles there and back, so that will be 36 miles a day."

Digby has been raising funds for the trip by holding a guess the birthday of a teddy bear competition in surgeries and is also planning to sell advertising space on the fluorescent tabards the riders will wear.

He added: "I thought this would be a good thing to do. You can see the benefits Myton Hospice brings." o Anyone wanting to sponsor Digby can contact him on either 07966 146664 or via e-mail at digbymeacher@yahoo.co.uk

Donations can also be made online at www.justgiving.com/ thechallengedigbymeacher

AIDS Healthcare Foundation and NCHADS Partnership Adds 8th Cambodian AIDS Treatment Center in Kirivong

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, February 14, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, is honored to announce the partnership between the Cambodian Government and AHF and the start of its collaborative AIDS treatment center in Cambodia. The facility, AHF's eighth in the country, was dedicated Monday, February 11th in Kirivong with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony at the facility at the Kirivong Referral Hospital in Takeo Province. The Cambodian clinics are a partnership between , the and Cambodia's (NCHADS). The partnership aims to provide life-saving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to people living with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia in care centers in the Operational Districts (OD) of several provinces throughout the country. Other ART centers in the partnership in Cambodia include sites in Phnom Penh, and in the provinces of Kandal, Kampong Thom, Kampot, Prey Veng, Stung Treng and Svay Rieng.

"We are honored to open our eighth collaborative ART center in partnership with the Cambodian Ministry of Health and NCHADS at Kirivong, in Takeo Province, a facility which will bring relief, positive changes, better quality life and above all, hope of life to those in need in the surrounding area," said , Asia Pacific Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "Over the next five years, we will work together to expand and increase our collaborative initiatives in Cambodia, and AHF will continue to provide technical support and strengthen the roll out of antiretroviral treatment and the scale up of ART delivery services in Cambodia. It is our sincere hope that this collaboration between AHF and NCHADS will not only improve access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment throughout the country, but also serve as a shining example of a comprehensive and collaborative model of care for people living with HIV/AIDS."

One key aspect contributing to the success of AHF's work with its partners in Cambodia includes the linkage of clinic services provided together with other community and home-based services. In addition, the Cambodian partnership focuses on integrating the delivery of services under a Continuum of Care (CoC) approach -- an approach that recognizes the complexities surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to improve prevention efforts and optimize use of the oftentimes limited resources available in the successful care and treatment of those living with the disease.

Takeo Province, one of 20 provinces in Cambodia, is located in southwestern Cambodia about 130 kms from Phnom Penh. Kirivong serves as one of the ten Operational Health Districts (OD) of the province, where the population of the surrounding area is approximately 226,000 people. The Kirivong Operational District has one Referral Hospital and 19 Health Centers.

The ART Clinic, located at Kirivong Referral Hospital, was established in October 2005 by NCHADS and was supported by Europe Aid working with NCHADS from October 2005 to October 2007. At that time, Europe Aid ended its support to this clinic and NCHADS was left with no option but to seek support from elsewhere otherwise risk closing of the center.

"It was then that NCHADS contacted AHF Cambodia Cares to provide support for continuance of support to the ART Center. AHF Cambodia Cares started its partial support to the Kirivong Continuum of Care site in October, and began fully supporting it from January 2008 onward. This collaborative support provided by AHF Cambodia Cares to NCHADS will ensure treatment, care and support to hundreds of clients on ART will continue to receive the life saving medications without interruption," said , AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Country Program Manager for Cambodia. "The center will not only support and provide continued services to existing clients, but will also ensure rapid scale up of the lifesaving treatment to many more PLHAs in Kirivong."

Currently there are 336 clients at the Kirivong site on treatment and care and 181 clients on antiretroviral treatment. The objectives of this collaboration at Kirivong are similar to the partnerships' other projects throughout Cambodia, and include:

-- Capacity and skill building of the doctors and healthcare providers at the Kirivong Referral Hospital in collaboration with NCHADS, and

-- Establishment of an ART Clinic at the hospital and provision of free antiretroviral treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), including treatment of both adults and children.

The first case of HIV infection in Cambodia was reported in 1991 and was followed by a rapid rise in its transmission. Cambodia's national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate - around 3% in 1997 but decreasing to 1.9% in 2003 - is still understood to be one of the highest in Southeast Asia. According to a recent AFP/France 24 News Report (as cited on Kaiser Family Foundation's Daily HIV/AIDS Report

"It is a privilege for AHF to continue to be a part of this successful AIDS treatment effort in Cambodia, and I thank our partners at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mean Chhi Vun and his team at NCHADS, as well as our own dedicated staff at AHF's Asia Pacific Bureau for helping to make widespread treatment availability more and more a reality in Cambodia," said , President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the US' largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider. AHF currently provides treatment, care and support services to more than 62,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. Additional information is available at www.aidshealth.org.

Cambodia says it is terror free

newkerala.com

Phnom Penh, Feb 14 : Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has said the country is free of terrorism and must stay this way if the tourism industry is to continue growing, the Cambodian Daily reported Thursday.

Hun Sen made these remarks at the opening of the four-day Asean (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) anti-terrorism conference Wednesday in Siem Reap.

"If Cambodia is a target of a terrorist attack like what the Hambali group was trying to stage in 2002, the prosperity and development that we have achieved would definitely be destroyed," he told the US and Asean delegates at the conference.

Countries must join hands to combat this threat, he added. Cambodia was selected to host the conference as it had successfully helped the Thai and US authorities arrest Riduan Isamuddin, an Indonesian citizen and operations chief for the militant group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Jemaah Islamiyah was responsible for carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2003 Marriot Hotel bomb attack in Jakarta.

Chinese ‘Black Gold’ to Flow from Cambodia

By WILLIAM BOOT / BANGKOK
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Forced evictions from settled land; government collusion with commercial interests; a failed legal system; large untapped gas and oil reserves—and increasing Chinese influence.
Sound familiar?

It could be Burma, but it describes Cambodia today as the country awakens from its Khmer Rouge nightmare.

A new Amnesty International report says the Cambodian government involvement in land grabs for business merely underlines a process that has been underway for some time.

The report comes as evidence also emerges of China’s growing “fraternal” relations with the Phnom Penh government.

The closer ties aren’t because Beijing is keen to help the Cambodian people, say observers, but because of the insatiable Chinese appetite for oil and gas resources under the sea in Cambodian territorial waters, as well as the potential of the country’s rivers for Chinese state hydroelectric enterprises.

Cambodians might be sitting on as much as two billion barrels of oil and 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to recent reports by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

But both organizations have voiced concern that unless these resources are handled well, Cambodia could become the Nigeria of Southeast Asia.

Nigeria has netted US $450 billion from its oil during the last 35 years, but more than half the population still earns less than $1 a day, and there is a national debt of $30 billion.

About one-third of Cambodia’s 14 million people live on much less than $1 a day, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in 2007.

The Amnesty report warns that 150,000 Cambodians are at risk of losing their home and land as vested government-business interests push self-enriching developments.

“Depending upon the world price of oil, Cambodian reserves may be contributing annual revenues of $2 billion, several times the current level of domestic revenue and ODA (overseas development aid) combined—within perhaps five to ten years,” says a World Bank report.

But the bank adds: “International experience suggests that such petrochemical wealth may equally well result in a ‘resource curse’ that actually retards development and poverty reduction.”

That curse is the corruption which often ensues from sudden large wealth. Cambodia may be stable and improving after the years of Khmer Rouge chaos, but there is little sign of progress toward accountable and transparent government.

Prime Minister Hun Sen and his cronies maintain a tight grip on power.

Much of Cambodia’s potential is under the Gulf of Thailand, less than 200 kilometers from the sleepy port of Sihanoukville that is set to become a black-gold boom town—again with Chinese involvement.

Cambodia has six potential offshore hydrocarbon fields in its territorial waters, plus several sea areas disputed with neighbor Thailand. Only one of them has so far been explored.

The US oil company Chevron currently has the lead in undersea exploration work, with France’s Total, South Korea’s GS Caltex and Japan’s Mitsui Oil bidding for a slice of the action. But analysts say Chinese influence over the Hun Sen government could beat most of them to the big prize.

Two Chinese state enterprises, the China National Offshore Oil Company and China National Petroleum Corporation—which are also exerting influence in Burma in the offshore Shwe gas field and a planned oil transshipment land pipeline—are also studying the fields.

The China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation is set to build an oil refinery in Sihanoukville capable of processing 40,000 barrels a day. The refinery will likely cost more than $400 million.

The Cambodian NGO Center for Social Development estimates that, aside from international donor agencies, China has become the biggest commercial investor in the country, ranging from timber to textiles.

“What the Chinese really want out of Cambodia is the oil and gas, just like in Burma. Nothing else really matters,” said energy industries analyst-consultant Collin Reynolds in Bangkok.

“China is becoming increasingly dependent on importing both, and the closer to home they can get them the more they will seek to exert their influence to achieve that.”

Cambodian government disputes human rights group's charges of illegal forced evictions

Global News
Thursday, February 14, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AP) - Cambodia's government denied Thursday that it illegally evicts poor people from their land, accusing an international human rights group of concocting the allegation to get publicity.

London-based Amnesty International has tried "to manipulate facts, exaggerate the situation and invent reality in Cambodia" in making such allegations, the Cambodia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement called the allegations deplorable and accused Amnesty of trying "to make sound bites and grab headlines in the news without due regard for truth and reality in the country."

Danish Official Questions the Cambodian Tribunal's New Budget

scandasia.com
2008-02-14
Line Lagoni Leonhard

Official from the Danish representation in Phnom Penh, Tom Barthel Hansen, expresses concern regarding Cambodian genocide tribunal’s wish to triple it’s budget to 170 million dollars from the original 56,3 million dollars.

- The tribunal will have to explain clearly what kind of reforms they are undertaking with regards to administration and why they have chosen a budget like this, the Danish Embassy official says to AP.

The Cambodian war tribunal is formed with the support of several UN members. Amongst them Denmark, who has already contributed with about 500.000 dollars

The genocide tribunal was adopted in early 2006 after years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the UN. The tribunal right now holds five suspects for the crimes of the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge in the late seventies, which led to the death of more than 1,7 million people.

A budget document recently presented to donor nations in New York was obtained on Wednesday by the Associated Press (AP).

The Budget document says more money are needed to expand services and personnel to allow the tribunal to work through March 2011 – a little more than a year longer than expected.

The new budget is quoted to be ‘based on a more realistic expectation of the work of the court, with a maximum number of eight detainees’, but the budget document does not however explain, how these new conclusions have been made or who the additional three suspects might be.

Danish official, Tom Barthel Hansen, told the Associated Press that it is not yet clear, how the Danish government will respond to the tribunals request for further funding.

Casino industry to provide 20 mln USD of tax for Cambodia in 2008

Xinhua
14/2/2008

The burgeoning casino industry is expected to provide US$20 million of tax revenues for the Cambodian government in 2008, said national English-Khmer newspaper the Cambodian Daily today.

It contributed tax revenues of US$18 million in 2007, US$16 million in 2006 and US$12 million in 2005, the paper quoted statistics from the Ministry of Economics and Finance as saying.

The government calculates tax bills based on how many card tables and slot machines each establishment has, it said, adding that five new casinos opened in 2007, bring the total number to 29.

Currently, the largest casino concentrations are along the national borders, with 15 on the Thai frontier and 10 on the Vietnamese, as well as three in Sihanoukville and on in Phnom Penh.

Development pressures threaten Angkor Wat ruins

An aerial view over Banteay Srey temple, one of the many stone monuments built during the Angkorian period, in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, on Wednesday Jan. 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Feb. 13 2008
The Associated Press

SIEM REAP, Cambodia -- By destroying vast tracts of forest to enlarge their farm land, inhabitants of the wondrous city of Angkor lit the fuse to an ecological time bomb that spelled doom for what was once the world's largest urban area.

So believe archeologists engaged in groundbreaking research into the ancient civilization of Angkor.

And they are warning that history could repeat itself through reckless, headlong pursuit of dollars from tourists flocking to see Angkor's fabled monuments.

"It's just a weird cycle. It seems like Angkor is self-repeating itself,'' said Mitch Hendrickson, who recently led an excavation as part of research into Angkor as a human settlement.

Conservationists have long expressed concerns about the state of the monuments, especially the stress from the tourist invasion. They also say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet rising demand of hotels, guesthouses and residents in the adjoining town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the centuries-old temples so much that they might sink and collapse.

"There's just so much building going on without any concern about the long term. Things are moving so fast in Siem Reap today that it's going to chew itself up very quickly and become unsustainable,'' said Hendrickson, an archeologist from the University of Sydney, Australia.

From their city, Angkorian kings ruled over most of Southeast Asia during their pinnacle between the ninth and 14th centuries, overseeing construction of architectural stone marvels, including Angkor Wat, regarded as a marvel of religious architecture.

While the 1431 invasion from what is now Thailand has long been regarded as a major cause of Angkor's fall, archeologists from the Australian university's Greater Angkor Project believe earlier ecological forces led to the city's demise.

Their findings supported a theory in the early 1950s by Bernard-Philippe Groslier, a prominent French archeologist, that the collapse of Angkor resulted from over-exploitation of the environment.

Angkor's inhabitants started rice farming from the low-lying area near the Tonle Sap lake just south of Siem Reap town, said Roland Fletcher, another archeologist with the project.

But gradually, they cut down natural forest to extend their farmland up to the slope of Kulen mountain, 80 kilometres to the north, said Fletcher, who led 10 archeologists to excavate various sites near the Angkor complex.

Flooding ensued, and huge amounts of sediment and sand were washed down to fill up canals -- thus probably choking the vital water management system.

Using NASA's airborne imaging radar data, the project has conducted numerous aerial and ground surveys across nearly 3,110 square kilometres which revealed that the city -- with about one million inhabitants -- was far larger than previously thought.

It covered some 1,000 square kilometres and featured a sophisticated hydraulic system that proved too vast to manage.

Angkor was "a huge low-density, dispersed urban complex'' comparable to Los Angeles and "by far the most extensive preindustrial city on the planet,'' Fletcher said.

Its water network included an artificial canal used for diverting water from a natural river about 25 kilometres north of Angkor, and two mammoth, man-made reservoirs known as the East and West Barays.

"They (people) probably didn't necessarily need any of this extra water ... because just a rain-fed rice agriculture is quite sufficient to feed a very substantial population,'' said Damian Evans, a project member.

One theory, he said, was that the Angkorian kings built the water system just "to demonstrate their power and their authority to rule.''

But he said only excavations and soil analysis could yield more clues.

"It's a process of going to those sites on the ground and looking for finer detailed information like the profiles of the canals underneath the ground and the types of sediment that lie within those canals,'' he said.

Armed with a printed digital map of the Angkor area, Evans and Fletcher toured an excavation site at the West Baray where archeologists dug trenches to seek traces of an ancient channel through the bank. They were trying to determine whether the channel really existed and could have served both as water inlet and outlet.

The reservoir is walled by four banks -- now covered with jungle -- each 12 metres high, 110 metres wide and about 20 kilometres in length. It can store up to almost 51 million cubic metres of water.

Fletcher called it "the single largest artifact and piece of engineering in the preindustrial world.''

"All of this work is aimed at understanding how the water management system of Angkor functioned ... and how it stopped working,'' he said, adding that forest clearance is "the current key piece of information'' about the ecological peril that caused Angkor to tumble.

Although past environmental problems were associated with deforestation, they also underline the menace the tourism boom is posing to the temples, the researchers say.

"The same types of things which we knew were problems of Angkor are essentially being repeated in our modern-day context in the Angkor area -- things like unsustainable use of water, massive overdevelopment without any consideration of the long-term effects,'' Evans said. "There's definitely lessons to be learned from what happened here before.''

Demand-Side Governance Pushes Reform in Cambodia

Students browsing at one of the 40 booths that described existing civil society efforts to tackle governance challenges.

"By building capacity of civil society to have a voice in demanding governance reforms, the Bank is launching a bold new initiative which is right on the button,” said Nisha Agrawal, outgoing Country Manager for Cambodia.

The government of Cambodia is supportive of these efforts. H.E. Ngy Chanphal, Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Interior, said the launch of PECSA was a great opportunity to share each other's experiences.

worldbank.org

- First large-scale program dedicated to building civil society capacity to tackle governance challenges

- Social accountability school will provide training by leading practitioners

- Project focusing on demand-side of governance will open door for more citizent involvement

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, February 12, 2008—Cambodia comes close to the bottom for most indicators of governance. It is also a country where government and civil society have an uneasy relationship. So, on the face of it, this is an unlikely venue for the World Bank’s first large-scale program dedicated to building civil society capacity to tackle governance challenges. But that is precisely what has been launched with the support of a $2 million grant from the LICUS Trust Fund.

The Program to Enhance Capacity in Social Accountability (PECSA) is a 2-year initiative that will provide training, mentoring, networking and other support designed to bring to Cambodia some of the world’s most effective civil society practices to combat corruption and promote good governance.

A key plank in the strategy is to link groups in Cambodia with experienced governance reformers in Philippines and India—two countries where civil society activity in the field of social accountability is most advanced and effective.

PECSA will also provide grants to national and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), other grassroots organizations, policy and research centers, professional associations, trade unions, and independent media, for piloting social accountability programs so that those who have been trained or mentored can put into practice what they have learned.

An Open House with Pioneers and Reformers

PECSA was unveiled in December 2007 at a public event in Phnom Penh where more than 900 people took part. Half of these attended the day-long program of seminars and workshops —which included presentations from leading international practitioners as well as social accountability pioneers in Cambodia and senior reformers in government. H.E. Ngy Chanphal, Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Interior, said the launch of PECSA was a great opportunity to share each other's experiences.

Several hundred people visited the stalls surrounding the conference center showcasing about 40 existing and pioneering ventures of social accountability in the country. Country Manager Nisha Agrawal stressed that, “by building capacity of civil society to have a voice in demanding governance reforms, the Bank is launching a bold new initiative which is right on the button.” One of the most widely respected NGO leaders in Cambodia, Yeng Virak, founder of the Community Legal Education Center, spoke enthusiastically about the event, in which he participated, and the program it launched. “I like what is happening here!” he said, “Leaders and the people who are led should understand one another and work together. I am happy to be part of this work.”

Essay Competition on Governance

Hundreds of young people also contributed to an essay competition on governance. The winning group’s essay was a rallying call to youth to take on a leadership role in helping the government become more effective and accountable. One suggestion was to launch a Student Parliament to help young people better understand political power and track the activities of their grown-up counterparts.

The next main event, scheduled for March–April 2008, will be an intensive Social Accountability School (modeled on a Summer School format) that will offer training in a range of social accountability practices, given by many of the world’s leading practitioners. Participants staying the full course and following up with practical exercises will receive a Diploma in Social Accountability, with the option to extend studies and earn a Master’s degree.

The Demand Side of Governance

The timing of PECSA is particularly important. At present the government and the Bank are designing a new project to be financed by a $20 million IDA grant to support governance reform by focusing on the demand-side.

The Demand for Good Governance Project (DFGG) will support a number of government institutions that are prepared to pave the way for more open and accountable government, opening doors for new opportunities for citizen involvement. This is the leading component of the Bank’s key objective in Cambodia—to help the government shake off the problems of corruption and lack of accountability that have severely hampered progress to date.

The project will also have a grant component to support a range of civil society initiatives for governance reform in priority sectors. The success of this project depends, in part, on how prepared and resourced civil society organizations are to take up the opportunities it presents them for engaging in governance reform. PECSA is designed to give a big boost to this and to pilot the grant-making approach that will eventually be used on a larger scale by the DFGG Project.

According to Bhuvan Bhatnagar, the task team leader, “Working on the demand-side is a critical, but often neglected, part of governance reform. So this is a valuable opportunity to expand our understanding of building demand for good governance in a challenging environment, bringing together the public and private sector. It will teach us important lessons not only for Cambodia, but also for other high risk countries.”

The PECSA program and its launch are described fully in the January newsletter of the World Bank in Cambodia.

ROYAL EMBASSY OF CAMBODIA

64 Brondesbury Park, Willesden Park, London NW6 7AT,

Tel: 020 84517850, Fax: 020 8451 7594
Email: cambodianembassy@btconnect.com, Website: www.cambodianembassy.org.uk

2008 Media Releases

4 February

New Policy and Leadership: Key Challenges to Global Witness in 2008

Once again, Global Witness Director Simon Taylor is trying to impress by playing celebrities in Global Witness’s press release on 22 January 2008 entitled “US move to ban top Cambodian officials ….. to get tough on corruption “.

The Embassy was disappointed by the Global Witness Director’s deliberated intention to discredit and to plot against the Government of Cambodia and its leaders at the single occasion found. This can probably explained in the same way dogs are happier to lick bones found in the domestic waste. We find it hardto believe that, the “UNEDUCATED” still exist in such number and continue to
lead Global Witness.

The present code of conduct regulating Global Witness is insufficient: IT IS TIME TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR A REVISED GUIDELINES OF GLOBAL WITNESS BY ITS FUNDERSTRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS-DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS OF CANADA, IRELAND, NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN AND UK.

The Royal Government has considered “Environmental Protection is a Prerequisite Condition” for ensuring sustainable socio-economic development by enhancing equity and justice in utilizing national resources and environmental services in a way that benefits all people. In this sense, the Royal Government has introduced a rigorous measure against violators to crack down anarchic
activities such as deforestation, banning large-scale forest exploitation.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has introduced and implemented an insightful forestry reform with high determination and, national and international support, we have successfully strengthened national order and the ability to control, maintain, protect, plant and to proudly develop the national forestry sector. Until now, regarding some works, Cambodia is leading and acting as a role model in the region such as the implementation of international forestry regime, and forestry technical code.

Phnom Penh : Happy Valentine's Day !

A group of students buy fresh flowers at a sidewalk stall for their loved ones in celebration of Valentine's Day Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008.(AP Photo/Pat Roque)

A couple on motorcycle buy roses from a vendor on Valentine's Day in Phnom Penh February 14, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

A vendor prepares roses for sale on Valentine's Day in Phnom Penh on February 14, 2008.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Cambodia Tribunal: Up to 8 Defendants

examiner.com
Feb 13, 2008
By KER MUNTHIT, AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia's genocide tribunal expects to try up to eight suspects over the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule, while seeking to nearly double its staffing levels to 530, according to a tribunal planning document.

The cap on the number of prosecutions was noted in a document that outlines the tribunal's proposal to increase its budget to $170 million - a sharp increase from the original $56.3 million.
The document with the revised budget estimate - presented to donor nations in New York last month - was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The tribunal, which opened its offices in early 2006 after years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the U.N., took five suspects into custody last year and hopes to begin their trials later this year.

Starvation, overwork, lack of medical care and execution led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during the 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime.

The budget document says more money is needed to expand services and personnel to allow the tribunal to operate through March 2011, instead of December 2009 as had been anticipated earlier.

"This extension is based on a more realistic expectation of the work of the court, with a maximum number of eight detainees," it said. The document did not explain how the number had been arrived at, or who the additional suspects might be.

The five senior Khmer Rouge leaders under detention - including the group's former head of state, Khieu Samphan, and its foreign minister, Ieng Sary - are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There are fears that the aging and infirm defendants could die before facing justice. The group's leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Officials authorized to speak for the tribunal could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The tribunal has been dogged by allegations of corruption and delays. Donors have pressed it for reforms and more transparency in its conduct.

"The tribunal will have to explain clearly what kind of reforms they are undertaking with regards to administration and why they have chosen a budget like this," said Tom Barthel Hansen, a Danish Embassy official, whose country contributed about $500,000 to the original budget.

He said it was not yet clear how his government would respond to the new request.

Sacravatoons: An ScapeHyena

Courtesy of sacravatoon : http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

Rice says US disappointed by the pace of change in Cambodia

pr-inside.com

2008-02-14

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States is disappointed about the pace of change in Cambodia.

Rice told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. wants to see more progress in that country.

Some 1.7 million Cambodians died under the communist Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s.

Cambodia's U.N.-backed genocide tribunal has five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge in custody awaiting trial.Corruption in Cambodia is a way of life. Most civil servants earn only about $25 (¤17) a month.

Cambodia to receive $70m aid, loans

ABC Radio Australia
14/02/2008

Britain, Japan, the World Bank and the European Union have agreed to provide over $US70 million in aid and loans for Cambodia.

Representatives from the countries say it is hoped the money will help reduce Cambodia's rate of poverty and to improve its economy.

Cambodia's minister of economics and finance, Keat Chhun, says the money 'will be used for the reforms of public financial management, private sector development, as well as natural resource and land management'.

Genocides haunt survivors

Kevin Butler, Staff Writer
02/13/2008

LONG BEACH - Phansy Peang lost her family, including her children, during the massacres of the Khmer Rouge in her native Cambodia.

Years later, Peang, 60, still is haunted and suffers depression, occasionally dreaming of her children that perished.

"It's lucky for me that I can see them in my dreams," she said.

Peang was among three survivors of genocidal regimes that shared their harrowing stories during a panel discussion Wednesday, part of a human rights forum at Cal State Long Beach.

The three-day President's Forum on International Human Rights, which concluded Wednesday, focused on "Modern Genocides and Global Responsibility."

Mariana Francisco, a Mayan woman who survived mass killings in Guatemala in the 1980s, described how she witnessed tortures and executions while serving as a nurse in her native country.

At least 200,000 Guatemalans died or disappeared as a result of the military's effort to suppress the Mayan population, whom government officials accused of harboring communist sympathies during a civil war.

When she was 8, she witnessed her brother's kidnapping by troops to force him to join the army, she said.

Some boys from Mayan villages who were conscripted into the army later wielded weapons against their indigenous community, she said.

Lillian Black, who spent seven months as a prisoner in the Nazi-run Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, described how her family was forcibly moved to a ghetto and then placed into crowded train cars.

Upon arriving at the concentration camp, Nazi guards separated the passengers into two lines - in one stood her parents, in the other Black and her sister.

Black and her sister, who also survived, never saw their parents again.

The Nazi guards cut off her hair, gave her clothes and wooden shoes and later made her break stones as a slave laborer.

Early on in her time in the camp, Black, then 14 years old, did not realize mass executions were occurring.

She asked another person in the camp what had happened to her parents.

"She said, `Do you really want to know? Look over there where the fires are. That's where they are,"' Black said.

Black, 77, transferred to another camp and liberated by the U.S. military, said she has struggled with feelings of guilt at having survived. Her distress once caused her to visit a psychiatrist.

"He said, `You know, you have a right to live, it's OK,"' she said.

The Government Plans to Draft Law Allowing Foreigners to Have the Right to Own Khmer Land

Posted on 14 February 2008.

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 547

“An official from the Council of Ministers recently said that a new draft law allowing foreigners to own Khmer land will be sent to the National Assembly to be deliberated and adopted in the near future.

“The draft law, which is known to have been initiated to satisfy the goal of wealthy foreigners, especially Chinese and Yuon [Vietnamese], is receiving strong reactions from civil society and from Khmer people.

“Ms. Pung Chhiv Kek [Dr. Kek Galabru], president of the local human rights organization Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, said that nowadays, land issues in Cambodia are moving towards a crisis; if the law permits foreigners to own Khmer land, it would cause a situation of double deprivation.

“Based on the Cambodian constitution, foreigner shall not have the right to own a house or a building, and they shall not have the right to own a plot of land in Cambodia, this right is only for those who hold Khmer citizenship. If the new draft law is adopted, it would be a surprise and very terrifying for the future of Cambodia. Parts of Cambodian land would be lost to foreigners for money.

“The director of an organization working on legal issues based in Cambodia, the Cambodian National Research Organization, said that if this new law is promulgated, it will seriously affect Cambodia’s sovereignty.

“It is to be noted that currently there are some companies owned by foreigners who have been given the right by the government to own several thousand hectares of land through what is called land or forest concessions. Some of these contracts have a validity of up to 90 years. This means that they are land owners for one or two generations. Examples are the granting of land to a Yuon [Vietnamese] company to plant rubber trees in Ratanakiri on more than 100,000 hectares of land, and authorizing a forest concession to a Yuon company in Kompong Thom.

“These actions give those foreign companies the opportunity to destroy natural forests and to use the lands granted by the state in an anarchical way.

“It is remembered that during the 1970s, through the leasing of the Snuol rubber plantation in Kratie to a Yuon company, it had been used as a military base to fight the government. But now, it is believed that such leasings provide a good opportunity for the neighboring foreigners to invade Khmer lands.

“Referring to the people in Ratanakiri, today there are many Yuon rubber plantations that have been in operation in this province, employing their own [Vietnamese] workers. This became dangerous for Khmers, because after the Hun Sen government had seized the forests where Khmer people were doing their business, and granting it to foreign companies with the argument that those foreign companies would provide jobs to Khmer people - but finally it is nothing, and the jobs are only for their own [foreign] labor. This is becoming a serious tragedy for Khmer people and for the country.

“Relating to this case, according to a government official, Khmer major companies are just a tool of foreign businesspeople; they establish close relations with Hun Sen government officials to connect the lines to get commission from foreigners. The foreigners are not afraid to spend their money to buy a country. This is a big factor, pushing to have a draft law, allowing foreigners to own land in Cambodia.

“Such trends that led to this kind of criticism, seems to be sensitive since last year, and Prime Minister Hun Sen himself announced in a public forum that his government would not sell the state’s sovereignty and its decision rights. But some observers noted that Hun Sen seems not to know what state power sovereignty is. Until now the state’s mechanisms seem to be led by private businesspeople, while Prime Minister Hun Sen is just a tool.”

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.2, #108, 13.2.2008

Cambodia Calls for Regime Change at Global Witness

Thu., Feb. 14, 2008
Global Witness

Cambodian Hammer fails to crack nut - Cambodian Embassy in London calls for regime change at Global Witness

Following Global Witness’ recommendation that new World Bank President Robert Zoellick take advantage of his recent trip to Cambodia by calling for a credible investigation into evidence of an illegal logging network surrounding the Cambodian Prime Minister and other senior officials (exposed in Global Witness’ June 2007 report ‘Cambodia’s Family Trees’), the Cambodian government, increasingly desperate to defend their already tarnished public image, has issued a press release demanding a change in Global Witness’ leadership and a call to the organisation’s donors to cut funding.

The August 5 press release describes Global Witness’ request to Mr Zoellick as both “amusing and disturbing” and urges funders to “review the credibility and ill-intention of Global Witness Director,” adding “his discriminatory nature may be ill suited to lead Global Witness in the current situation and the future.”

“Cambodia’s Family Trees is based on several years of rigorous investigations into Cambodia’s forest sector and offers an in-depth exposé of illegal logging, kidnapping and attempted murder by relatives of the prime minister and other senior officials. I fail to see why calling for a credible investigation into these findings is either amusing or disturbing,” said Global Witness Director, Simon Taylor. “This latest announcement from the Cambodian Embassy is symptomatic of the government’s reluctance to deal with the facts presented in our report. Attempts to suppress our activities will not make these very real issues of governance and natural resource mismanagement disappear,” he said, adding “Either respond to our calls for an investigation to prove impunity in Cambodia does not exist, or stop complaining.”

“It’s also worth noting that the Cambodian government are happy to benefit from the freedom of the press here in the UK, whilst our report is banned in Cambodia and the prime minister’s brother is reported to have threatened Global Witness staff with violence,” said Taylor.

The press release highlighted economic growth over the past decade in Cambodia and improvements in the investment climate. Yet last month a World Bank survey of corruption in 207 countries ranked Cambodia in the bottom ten percent, as did the 2006 Transparency International "corruption perceptions index". The Cambodian government is still repaying millions of dollars siphoned off in a graft scandal that forced the Bank to temporarily suspend three key aid projects last year. Meanwhile, an estimated 35% of the Cambodian population continues to live in poverty.

“Quoting economic growth rates is meaningless if the vast proportion of state assets are under the control of an unaccountable elite,” said Taylor. “Changing the status quo will necessitate addressing the rampant corruption which allows a small group of individuals to profit from the exploitation of Cambodia’s natural resources at the expense of the country’s poor. There must be an effective judicial investigation into our report’s findings and the international donor community must insist that this happens.”

Remains of Japanese village found in Cambodia

ABC Radio Australia
14/02/2008

The site of a Japanese village dating back to the 17th century has reportedly been found in the outskirts of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

Japanese archaeologist Hiroshi Sugiyama says the finding is based on excavations and document anlaysis.

He says Japanese people came to Cambodia aboard ships between 1601 and 1635, and there were around a hundred of the them living in the village during that time.

Most are said to have been involved in trade or religious affairs.

The Japanese archaeologist presented the findings during a public lecture at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.The Japanese Embassy says it plans to install a marker at the site for Japanese tourists.

Thai Suspends Flights To Brunei

By Ben Ng

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thailand's national carrier Thai Airways International has suspended all its flights in and out of Brunei Darussalam, sources told the Bulletin.

A spokesperson for the airline acknowledged the reports saying flights have been suspended "due to commercial requirements" effective February 12, declining to comment further as she was not authorised to speak to the media.

"We will release an official statement to the media once everything is ready," the spokesperson said yesterday.

Thai Airways in 2003 suspended flights to Phnom Penh due to the "unsettled" situation in the Cambodian capital and strained bilateral ties.

"The flights to and from Phnom Penh remain suspended out of concern for passenger safety since the situation in Phnom Penh is considered unsettled, while relations between Thailand and Kampuchea (Cambodia) have not returned to normal," the company said in a statement.

Despite the flight suspension that began January 30 following anti-Thai violence that erupted a day earlier in Phnom Penh, the Thai Airways office in the Cambodian capital reopened for business a few days later. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Cambodia a promising market for LPI Capital

Tee Choon Yeow

The Star on Line
Thursday February 14, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: LPI Capital Bhd is upbeat on its prospects in Cambodia, where it set up CampuBank Lonpac Insurance Plc last August with Public Bank Bhd.

Executive director Tee Choon Yeow said Cambodia was a “very promising” market for the group.

“Cambodia is a completely new market and there are only about five licensed insurers in this country. At the same time, the insurance industry penetration is very low, less than 10%. We are looking forward for more profit in Cambodia,” he said after the company AGM yesterday.
LPI Capital, which has a 45% interest in CampuBank Lonpac Insurance, provides general and personal insurance products through subsidiary Lonpac Insurance Bhd.

The company aimed to be the leading general insurer in Cambodia, Tee said, adding that CampuBank Lonpac Insurance currently had no agents but would soon be recruiting.

He believed its operation in Cambodia would contribute positively to the group going forward. Currently, overseas operations contribute about 12% to the group’s revenue with the bulk of it from Singapore.

Tee said LPI Capital would not discount the prospects of venturing into Vietnam since it would be able to leverage on Public Bank’s presence in the country.

LPI Capital, he said, had been conducting feasibility studies in Vietnam and, if it were to venture into Vietnam, it would possibly use the same model in Cambodia.

Meanwhile, LPI Capital intends to maintain the levels of its interim and final dividends.

“We believe in paying high dividends and we expect to maintain the dividend payout,” Tee said.
For the financial year ended Dec 31 (FY07), LPI declared an interim dividend of 30 sen, a final dividend of 55 sen and a special dividend of 25 sen per share.

LPI posted a net profit of RM87.8mil on revenue of RM551.6mil in FY07, up from RM78.1mil and RM473.5mil respectively in FY06.

Earnings per share improved to 63.8 sen from 56.6 sen previously.

Development Bank President to Visit Cambodia

By Sok Khemara,
VOA Khmer
Washington
13 February 2008

Sok Khemara repors in Khmer(1.15 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, will visit Cambodia next week to discuss assistance programs and future cooperation with senior government officials.

Kuroda will open a railroad rehabilitation initiative and sign a $71 million grant and loan package, said Argun Gosawmi, the ADB’s Cambodia director.

Opposition lawmaker Yim Sovann said Cambodia still faced critical issues surrounding corruption and the loss of $500 million yearly, even as 34 percent of the population lives under the poverty line.

Cambodia is facing a widening gap between rich and poor, as well as instability due to land theft, he said, calling on the international community and leaders such as the ADB—one of the country’s biggest donors—to raise the issue of corruption with the government.

Minister of Public Works Son Chanthol said Wednesday the railroad would be rehabilitated with the help of the ADB package.

Election Monitor Recommends NEC Focus

By Sok Khemara,
VOA Khmer
Washington
13 February 2008

Sok Khemara reports in Khmer (1.25MB) - Listen (MP3)

A leading election monitor said Tuesday the national election body should start now focusing on election irregularities in order to ensure fair elections.

The National Election Committee should look at irregularities, complaints, threats, intimidation and campaign material collection, said Puthea Hang, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections.

“I understand that the NEC is trying to do self reform so first they should take public opinion,” he said.

The NEC has called on political parties and non-governmental agencies to prepare recommendations this month for smooth elections of acceptable standards.

Puthea Hang said agencies will hold meetings this week to submit recommendations to the NEC.
Nicfec plans to push for a regulation within the NEC that nullifies results where election procedures are ignored.

For example, if there are threats, polling stations are opened late or ballot boxes are found unlocked, the results from that area should be rejected, he said.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said the NEC has fully applied election laws in the past and worked to solve complaints.

The NEC will review all the recommendations from political parties and election groups, he said, adding that the deadline for recommendations is Feb. 20.

Defections Don’t Hurt Popularity, SRP Says

By Heng Reaksmey,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
13 February 2008

Heng Reaksmey reports in Khmer (974 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Wednesday the ongoing defections from his party to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party are unlikely to hurt his popularity among the people.

Voters will not follow the defectors and will remain supportive, he told VOA Khmer.

The CPP’s strategy is to make offers of money and political positions as the national elections approach, so it is normal for a handful of politicians to move around beforehand, he said.

“However, I am not that nervous, as I know for sure that our voters would not follow those defectors,” he said.

Chit Sarith, who recently resigned from the Sam Rainsy Party, said he and other former opposition members had not demanded anything from the CPP for joining, he said.

“It's up to [Prime Minister Hun Sen] to offer anything, and I demanded nothing,” Chit Sarith said.

Experts See Plea in Words of Nuon Chea

By Mean Veasna,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
13 February 2008

Mean Veasna reports in Khmer(991 KB) - Listen (MP3)

In his words during a bail hearing last week, jailed Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea may have embedded a plea for intervention from the government, tribunal observers said recently.

During statements at his hearing, Nuon Chea praised the government and the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but the tribunal is beyond the reach of such intervention, the observers and tribunal officials told VOA Khmer.

“Intervention from foreign countries is still blocking the development of Cambodia to a certain extent,” Nuon Chea said to a panel of pre-trial judges during his hearing.

“The rectangular and win-win strategies of the Cambodian government led by Samdech Akkiak Moha Sena Dechchor Hun Sen will win over all these obstacles,” he said, including several honorifics before the prime minister’s name.

Such statements are attempts to use the tribunal as a “mail box” to pass messages to top officials like Hun Sen, said Hisham Mousar, a tribunal monitor for the rights group Adhoc. “The tribunal is composed of different elements, and its weaknesses are well understood by the Khmer.”

Cambodia’s national courts are roundly criticized for politicization and intervention, but observers said the tribunal was not the same.

“Nuon Chea still thinks Hun Sen is a king, and if [Hun Sen] was able to arrest him and put him in jail, he should be able to release him as well,” said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

View from a Hill: Scavenging at Stung Meanchey

This images are show of how living condition of the poor Cambodian under the Hun Sen's regime

http://www.bigempire.com/sake/stung_meanchey.html

PHNOM PENH - The white and gray cloud hanging over Stung Meanchey Municipal Waste Dump on a recent weekday morning is thick and smothering. The smoke is rising from the perpetually burning fires around the site's nearly seven hectares of undulating hills of fetid garbage.

"Actually, today the conditions are quite good," says Hong Sot, one of a few hundred recyclable material collectors at Phnom Penh, Cambodia's largest garbage dump. "Usually the smoke is much more intense."

Sot, sweat clinging to the side of his face, is outfitted in a heavy gray shirt and plaid bandana. He is taking a short break from the activity at the top of the nearby hill. There, collectors frantically pick through freshly dumped Phnom Penh refuse. At his feet are large bundles of what is considered recyclable booty - bottles, chunks of metal, plastic bags, and paper - that have been hauled down from the work area.

In front of him is a dirt slope covered by a series of metal plates, upon which are a few idling trucks. Dump workers call on the vehicles one by one, their wheels often spinning on the accumulated muck as they move up onto a slightly elevated and open apron. Standing in the middle of this clear space is a gentleman sporting sunglasses and sharp brown shorts. He repeatedly blows on a whistle to indicate where the new loads should be dropped.

As the bed of each truck is slowly tipped upward the frenzy begins. The collectors (primarily men and women, but also many children) poke and smack at the descending bags before they even reach the ground. A bulldozer then sweeps in, narrowly missing a few members of the scavenging mob, all knee-deep in garbage, to push the pile to the side, where the whirlwind chaos continues.

An outsider's view of Stung Meanchey, referred to as "smoky mountain" and located about 15 minutes by car from the city center, is likely that of a harrowing scene of maddening futility. Yet for the thousands of workers toiling atop its reeking mounds, the dump provides a dubious means of survival.

Equipment is simple. A pair of rubber boots, a mesh bag, one hooked metal stick, and a decent fabric covering for one's head are the basics. Some workers can be seen at the edge of the fracas leisurely sharpening the ends of their sticks with stones.
"It is not difficult," says Ki Lorn of the work. "If I don't have a job, I don't eat."

With a red check scarf around her head, the forty-year-old Lorn estimates her daily gains to be between 1.75 and 2.50 dollars. One kilogram of plastic fetches ten cents; one kilogram of iron is worth a quarter of that; and a single glass bottle goes for two and a half cents. The native of Takeo Province, which borders Vietnam, says that she has never found anything overly valuable during her searches but knows of some lucky hunters who have found small cash and mobile phones.

Nine storage depots line both sides of the dump's bumpy entrance road, which is filled with scurrying chickens and stray dogs. Venders arrive from within Cambodia or Vietnam to break deals with middlemen to haul away the materials.

It is an understatement to say that the work is fraught with hazards. Upon their descent from the trucks, some bags get stuck and workers smack at them with their rods, often causing the contents to literally explode into the air. A blast of sawdust or plant clippings can turn the conditions from highly hazy to very non-breathable.

Lorn has seen multiple deaths over her nearly 4 years foraging at the dump. Two months ago was the latest one she witnessed - a man, between 25 and 30 years old, was crushed. "A bulldozer pushed a mound of garbage right onto him," she remembers.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Stung Meanchey is the number of children digging through the piles. One young boy, a half-empty bag slung over his shoulder, can be seen on this day scurrying through the site wearing a black viser from McDonald's - which does not have a franchise in Cambodia - that reads "I'm lovin' it" just above the bill.

"Three children have died over the past year because of accidents with trucks and bulldozers," says Mech Sokha, president of the Center for Children to Happiness (CCH), an orphanage that takes children from the dump and provides them with education and training. "They often work in the night until midnight with small lights on their heads. But sometimes the drivers cannot see them or the children are in such a hurry to grab valuable things that they do not care about safety."

CCH, founded in 2002, is a non-governmental organization that receives enough private donations annually to support 140 children within its three facilities, all of which are located in southern Phnom Penh. In addition to being given the opportunity to attend nearby primary schools, the children receive lessons in mathematics and English and training in cooking and motorbike repair.

The children of CCH have no competent guardians, and nearly all having been pickers at Stung Meanchey at one time or another. Many were previously roaming the streets in ragged clothing, drifting within a tenuous existence of hopelessness. One motherless eleven-year-old girl arrived at CCH soon after escaping from her father's third failed attempt to sell her into prostitution.

Sokha makes regular visits to Stung Meanchey to assess the condition of the children working the grounds. He has noticed that the smoke from the perpetual fires, which are fueled by the natural release of methane, cause lung problems in many children. Further, many consume meager meals of noodles and rice from vending carts, whose bowls and spoons are washed with brown water. During the rainy seasons the clinging clouds may subside but depressions in the topography turn to swamps, exacerbating common ailments like diarrhea brought about by dysentery.

Many children do not wear shoes or boots, Sokha says, so injuries due to contact with broken glass, iron plates, nails and needles are common. (Used hypodermic needles are considered fairly valuable considering each returns one cent.)

Sokha has numerous success stories to tell. Many graduates have gone on to get decent jobs that pay fair salaries. "But most importantly," he says, "they feel confidence and motivation through their own actions and decisions. They now know how to live in a big society safely, peacefully, and in happiness."

With the capacity limits of Stung Meanchey already being tested, proper waste disposal is an ongoing problem for Phnom Penh that will likely not improve soon. The metropolis, the capital city of an economy that has grown an average of 11.4 percent annually through the middle of last year, generates 667 tons daily - a figure that is expected to double right along with its current population of 1.2 million in less than a decade. In some areas of the landfill, the rubbish is already so staggering that it rises five meters high, adding to the misery of the slums that occupy the three nearby villages slums.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded a study that in 2005 formulated a master plan to relocate Stung Meanchey. By the middle of the next decade, the dump is expected to be relocated to a new 100-hectare site in Dang Kor. The area is positioned further to the south from Stung Meanchey, will contain a buffer zone for adjoining properties, and feature gas removal and litter containment installations.

Given few options, likely the collectors will be making the trek as well. "I have no chance to get another job," Lorn says. "Everything is here."

Journalism watchdog concerned about Cambodian press freedom

Wed, 13 Feb 2008
Author : DPA

Phnom Penh - Paris-based journalism watchdog Reporters Without Borders expressed concern about Cambodian press independence in the lead-up to national elections in July in its annual report released Tuesday. The group also said it was concerned that three journalists had reportedly received death threats for covering logging issues and that it believed one newspaper had been temporarily closed after reprinting part of a report on the issue made by anti-corruption non- government organization Global Witness.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen ... can count on the support of the majority of the broadcast media (and) the highly-politicised written press struggles to maintain its role of challenging authority," the international journalism watchdog claimed.

A May 2007 Global Witness report on illegal logging which claimed that high ranking officials were involved in the industry was quickly banned from distribution in Cambodia, and many of the officials named in it have accused it of being defamatory. Some journalists said the ban illustrated a lack of freedom of information in Cambodia.

"Ahead of legislative elections scheduled for July 2008, there are fears that the ruling party will tighten its grip still further on electronic media," it said in the report.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith has repeatedly said he defends the right to a free press in Cambodia and strenuously denied allegations that the media is muzzled. Media in Cambodia is regarded by analysts as one of the most open in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Media watchdog concerned about Cambodia

Bangkok Post

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Paris-based journalism watchdog Reporters Without Borders expressed concern about Cambodian press independence in the lead-up to national elections in July in its annual report released Tuesday.

The group also said it was concerned that three journalists had reportedly received death threats for covering logging issues and that it believed one newspaper had been temporarily closed after reprinting part of a report on the issue made by anti-corruption non- government organization Global Witness.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen ... can count on the support of the majority of the broadcast media (and) the highly-politicised written press struggles to maintain its role of challenging authority," the international journalism watchdog claimed.

A May 2007 Global Witness report on illegal logging which claimed that high ranking officials were involved in the industry was quickly banned from distribution in Cambodia, and many of the officials named in it have accused it of being defamatory. Some journalists said the ban illustrated a lack of freedom of information in Cambodia.

"Ahead of legislative elections scheduled for July 2008, there are fears that the ruling party will tighten its grip still further on electronic media," it said in the report.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith has repeatedly said he defends the right to a free press in Cambodia and strenuously denied allegations that the media is muzzled. Media in Cambodia is regarded by analysts as one of the most open in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Cambodian genocide tribunal to try up to 8 defendants, hire more staff

The Associated Press
Published: February 13, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia : Cambodia's genocide tribunal expects to try up to eight suspects over the Khmer Rouge's brutal rule, while seeking to nearly double its staffing levels to 530, according to a tribunal planning document.

The cap on the number of prosecutions was noted in a document that outlines the tribunal's proposal to increase its budget to $170 million — a sharp increase from the original $56.3 million.
The document with the revised budget estimate — presented to donor nations in New York last month — was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The tribunal, which opened its offices in early 2006 after years of wrangling between the Cambodian government and the U.N., took five suspects into custody last year and hopes to begin their trials later this year.

Starvation, overwork, lack of medical care and execution led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during the 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime.

The budget document says more money is needed to expand services and personnel to allow the tribunal to operate through March 2011, instead of December 2009 as had been anticipated earlier.

"This extension is based on a more realistic expectation of the work of the court, with a maximum number of eight detainees," it said. The document did not explain how the number had been arrived at, or who the additional suspects might be.

The five senior Khmer Rouge leaders under detention — including the group's former head of state, Khieu Samphan, and its foreign minister, Ieng Sary — are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There are fears that the aging and infirm defendants could die before facing justice. The group's leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Officials authorized to speak for the tribunal could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The tribunal has been dogged by allegations of corruption and delays. Donors have pressed it for reforms and more transparency in its conduct.

"The tribunal will have to explain clearly what kind of reforms they are undertaking with regards to administration and why they have chosen a budget like this," said Tom Barthel Hansen, a Danish Embassy official, whose country contributed about $500,000 to the original budget.

He said it was not yet clear how his government would respond to the new request.

Int'l community provides over $70 mln for Cambodia

chinaview.cn
2008-02-13 20:29:36

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The representatives of the United Kingdom (UK), Japan, the World Bank and the European Union (EU) to Cambodia on Wednesday provided over 70 million U.S. dollars of grant aid and loan for Cambodia to reduce its poverty and improve economy.

"The finance will be used for the reforms of public financial management, private sector development, as well as natural resource and land management from 2007 to 2010," said Keat Chhun, Cambodian Minister of Economics and Finance.

He signed an agreement with Japanese Ambassador Katsuhiro Shinohara, British Ambassador David Reader, the World Bank's country director Nisha Agrawal and EU's representative Rafael Dochao Moreno.

"We will spend this budget to match the development goals with effectiveness, transparency and accountability," he added.

David Readers said on behalf of the donors that this reflected the determination of the four development partners in helping Cambodia achieve the development goals, reduce poverty and speed up the economic growth and reforms.

Among the 70 million dollars, the UK provided 15 million dollars as grant aid, the World Bank 15 million dollars asgrant aid, the EU 33 million dollars as grant aid and Japan 8.5 million dollars as concession loan, according to a joint press release.

Editor: Jiang Yuxia

President Kuroda to sign 71 mln usd grant for Cambodia next week - ADB

forextv.com
02/13/08

MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said president Haruhiko Kuroda will visit Cambodia and Vietnam next week to discuss ADB's assistance programs and future areas of cooperation and sign a 71 mln usd grant and loan package for Cambodia.

Kuroda will visit Cambodia on Feb 17-19, meet senior government officials and help launch a major transportation initiative, the bank said.

The president will also visit Vietnam on Feb 19-21, meet senior government officials, private sector representatives and development assistance partners, and visit an ADB-supported HIV/AIDS prevention program for youth, the agency added.

The visit comes ahead of the Third Greater Mekong Subregion Summit in March, where leaders from six Mekong nations will discuss measures to strengthen regional cooperation, foster development, and enhance the region's competitiveness, the ADB said.

Ex-Khmer Rouge chief on silence strike

FRANCE 24 EXCLUSIVE
Wednesday 13 February 2008

C. Payen, FRANCE 24's correspondent in Cambodia, reports that Khieu Samphan ex-Khmer Rouge chief on genocide charges will abstain from speaking at his trial to protest administrative irregularities.

According to C. Payen, FRANCE 24's correspondent in Cambodia, Khieu Samphan, ex-Khmer Rouge chief facing genocide charges, will abstain from speaking at his trial to protest against administrative irregularities. "This is not good news for the trial", says Payen. Indeed, the Khmer Rouge trial is likely to face further delays unless the matter is resolved quickly.
Samphan's French lawyer Jacques Verges blames the Cambodian administrative machinery. He claims that proper procedures have not been observed, and deplores the unusual administrative delays. He condemns, in particular, the incomplete translation of the case files into French, which blocks the defence from obtaining all the information required.

Pol Pot number two blames outsiders for ills

PHNOM PENH, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Khmer Rouge "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea blamed foreigners on Friday for Cambodia's current ills, thereby refusing to acknowledge the legacy of Pol Pot's murderous regime at the U.N.-backed "Killing Fields" tribunal.

"My fellow Cambodians, today Cambodia is enjoying peace, solidarity and national reconciliation and its development is improving gradually," the octogenarian former guerrilla chief, charged with crimes against humanity, said at his bail hearing.

"But difficulties remain due to the influence of foreign countries that are hindering Cambodia's growth," he said without elaborating.

His only other words were in praise of Prime Minister Hun Sen, a one-eyed ex-Khmer Rouge fighter who defected to Vietnam in the late 1970s before returning with the 1979 Vietnamese invasion that ousted Pol Pot's four-year reign of terror.

An estimated 1.7 million people were executed or died of torture, disease and starvation under the ultra-Maoist regime as Pol Pot's dream of creating an agrarian peasant utopia descended into the nightmare of the "Killing Fields".

The effects of the "Year Zero" revolution and the nearly two decades of civil war that followed are still being felt 30 years later, with Cambodia one of the poorest and most heavily mined countries in Asia.

The court is expected to rule on Nuon Chea's bail request in several days. He is highly unlikely to be freed.

Besides Nuon Chea, top cadres now in custody are former President Khieu Samphan, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, and Duch, head of Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng, or "S-21" interrogation and torture centre.

Pol Pot died in 1998 in the final Khmer Rouge redoubt of Anlong Veng on the Thai border.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael Battye and Bill Tarrant)