Police Blotter: 16-12-2010

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Sen David

Armed robbers rethink target of poor farmer

Three men abandoned an attempted armed robbery of the home of a 27-year-old female farmer in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town on Sunday, after conceding that the woman probably had nothing of value for them to steal. Police said three masked men entered the house and threatened the woman, who was home alone at the time, repeatedly with a gun, before deciding that her claims of poverty were believable and fleeing the scene empty-handed and without harming her. KOH SANTEPHEAP

Visit to in-laws’ home ends with a suicide

A 25-year-old woman died after poisoning herself during a visit to the home of her parents-in-law in Kampong Speu province’s Chbar Mon town on Sunday. The woman’s husband said his wife had been cooking with his mother when she suddenly left the room. He went looking for her shortly after and found her dead after having apparently swallowed a “poisonous drug”. The man said he and his wife “never argued” and that he did not know what could have caused her to commit suicide. KOH SANTEPHEAP

Man fails to instil party spirit with use of stave

A 27-year-old man was arrested in Prey Veng province’s Kampong Trabek district on Monday after he attacked two party guests with a wooden stave, inflicting severe injuries. Police said the party, which was held at the suspect’s brother’s house, had turned sour after an argument broke out between a group of revellers. The discord had apparently incensed the suspect, who attempted to restore the festive atmosphere by swinging at the arguing men with a stave. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Police chase ends in arrest of rogue driver

Police chased down and arrested a 25-year-old motorist who failed to stop and help after he crashed into a moto-taxi driver, causing severe injuries, in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Saturday. Police said the suspect, who had been driving a “modern car”, had admitted to causing the accident and agreed to pay compensation to the victim, who was sent to hospital. KAMPUCHEA THMEY

‘Neglected’ mentally ill woman drowns in pond

A 22-year-old mentally ill woman drowned in a pond in Kampong Cham province’s Ponhea Krek district on Monday. Police said the woman should not have been left unsupervised and accused her family of neglect. The victim’s mother said her daughter “always smoked cigarettes and drank wine” and “looked like a crazy person”. RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Seminar puts spotlight on refuse problems

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:01 Kim Yuthana

Environmental officials and representatives from the waste management sector met on Wednesday at the Ministry of Environment to discuss strategies for dealing more efficiently with the rising amounts of rubbish produced in the capital.

Cheak Ang, director of municipal department of environment, said at the meeting that the city must find ways to reduce the amount of rubbish generated daily and improve rubbish collection in order to handle the more than 1,300 tonnes of rubbish generated by residents of Phnom Penh each day.

“If we do not collect the waste regularly, it will affect people’s health and produce contagious insects and damage the beauty of Phnom Penh.”

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Environment earlier this year, each resident of Phnom Penh on average produces 0.7 kilograms of rubbish per day.

“Because of the increase in population, businesses and technologies, the quantity of collected rubbish continues to increase from 714 tonnes per day in 2004 to 1,335 tones per day in 2010,” the statement said.

Khim Nora, head of the waste management office in the municipal department of environment, said the amount of rubbish being deposited at the Dangkor dumpsite outside Phnom Penh is rising.

“From July 20, 2009 to December 10, 2010, the total waste deposited at the Dangkor dump was 38,627,207 tonnes,” he said during the meeting.

In April, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema announced that the city would impose fines of 10,000 riels on anyone caught littering.

A report from the department of environment showed that between May 1 and September 15, some 1,208 cases of littering were recorded and fines of more than 14 million riels were collected.

Fugitive kidnapping suspect back in custody

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Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Chrann Chamroeun

KAMPONG Cham provincial police re-arrested and charged a 27-year-old woman accused of kidnapping and attempted extortion after she escaped earlier in the week by climbing through the roof of a bathroom.

Police arrested Khuon Srey Neang, 27, late on Tuesday night in Koh Sotin district, where she had gone into hiding following her escape.

“We already sent her to provincial court this morning, where she has been officially charged with kidnapping and extortion,” said Chem Seng Hong, provincial deputy police chief.

He added that provincial police took great care and expense in tracking down the fugitive.

Khuon Srey Neang was arrested last week at a bank in Phnom Penh, where she was awaiting the transfer of a negotiated US$12,000 ransom transfer from the family of the abducted child, who was returned unharmed.

The suspect escaped a day after her arrest after police officers escorted her to a bathroom, where she locked the door from inside and climbed out a small opening in the roof.

Chem Seng Hong said the suspect would likely remain in pre-trial detention following questioning at the provincial court.

He added that he regretted the neglect that led to the escape.

“We were terribly sorry for the small negligence that let the offender flee from our detention facilities,” Chem Seng Hong said yesterday.

Export risk to growth says IMF

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Catherine James

THE International Monetary Fund has warned Cambodia’s export reliance on the United States and European markets is a “significant risk” to the Kingdom’s continued financial recovery.

While the IMF was upbeat in its yearly economic assessment of the Kingdom about a turnaround in growth since 2009, saying an export-led recovery was underway, it cautioned that significant risks “continue to cloud growth prospects”.

“The fragility of the global recovery exposes Cambodia’s narrow export base with its heavy reliance on the US and European markets to significant downside risks,” the annual report released late on Monday said.

It encouraged the government to continue to improve tax collection efforts, calling it “the best hope for Cambodia to meet the dual objective of securing fiscal sustainability and mobilising resources for its development needs”.

It recommended increasing the incentives for people to use the riel over the US dollar, describing de-dollarisation as a critical step towards monetary independence.

The IMF said it expected Cambodia’s gross domestic product growth to rise gradually to between 6 and 7 percent “over the medium term”.

CNVLD set to launch websites

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

The Cambodian National Volleyball League (Disabled) is embarking on a substantial technology drive as part of its build up for next July’s WOVD Standing Volleyball World Cup at Olympic Stadium.

The CNVLD, which enjoys the unique distinction of hosting three successive biennial World Cups since 2007, is drawing logistical support from the United Nations Volunteer Program in the creation of two new websites dedicated exclusively to following the event and promoting the cause of Standing Volleyball worldwide.

UN experts will work with a CNVLD tech team in developing World Cup specific website www.2011volleyballworldcup.org. But of greater significance is the newly designed www.standingvolleyball.net, a site dealing with the latest news and discussions in the world of Standing Volleyball.

“Standing Volleyball is the most cost-effective way of enabling the disabled, especially amputees from post-conflict regions, and it is gaining popularity and recognition around the world. These websites will go a long way in bringing the communities together,” said CNVLD Secretary General Christopher Minko.

With a marked increase in the number of web users around the world, the CNVLD is counting on mobilising a collective global voice to launch an appeal to restore Standing volleyball to the Para-Olympics.

JBCF stay ahead in mini soccer league

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Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Dan Riley

The latest round of the Phnom Penh Post Mini Soccer Championship played out on Tuesday night at Kidzcool Astroturf pitch, as the competition goes into hibernation over Christmas and the New Year, to reemerge on January 13. Spurred on by their playoff disappointment in the last campaign, JBCF have again showed their intent on success with a near perfect record of 13 wins from 14 matches, their only blemish coming against reigning champions Devenco.

JBCF have scored an astonishing 89 goals more than they have conceded, and are clear favourites to repeat their first place finish in the regular season from the previous edition. Devenco, PPPost and Smart currently occupy the remaining playoff spots, but others further down the field remain in the hunt as the league enters its home stretch.

Hosts Kidzcool are almost polar opposites of JBCF, with no points to their name and a goal difference of -89. They suffered a demoralising 16-4 loss to Cellcard on Tuesday before being simply outclassed by JBCF 20-5. However, their relentless enthusiasm and hysterical goal celebrations have made their games some of the most entertaining to watch and a constant reminder of the spirit of the tourney.

Other results from an excessively humid Tuesday night saw PPPost edge Cellcard 9-6, while PPPost and JBCF gained 5-0 walkovers against the truant ANZ Royal, who seem to be on permanent bank holiday.

Making the most of the vacancy in the schedule, JBCF and PPPost played each other in a rearranged fixture. Despite some admirable skill and hearty defending from the PPPost men, the well-organised and tactically supreme JBCF ran out deserved 10-4 winners.

Secret war film on DVD next year

Marc Eberle shooting footage for his documentary The Most Secret Place on Earth, which he hopes will soon be released on DVD.

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Jim Pollard

ONE of the best documentaries in recent years – about America’s “secret war” in Laos during the conflict with Vietnam – remains unseen by people in the two countries that would benefit most from viewing this film.

The Most Secret Place on Earth, made by German filmmaker Marc Eberle, now based in Phnom Penh, outlines the conflict in Laos in the 1960s and 70s, and the extraordinary silence that followed the horrifying American bombing campaign.

Eberle uses archival footage plus interviews with key figures from the era to tell about the CIA’s recruitment of Hmong hilltribe people to fight the communists in the early 60s and the massive bombing of the Plain of Jars – brutal acts that many class as “war crimes” only revealed to Congress and the American public years after the events.

This is a significant film for a number of reasons. One is because the socialist regime in Vientiane is highly conservative and so secretive that few Laotians have a proper grasp of what occurred in their homeland just a few decades ago.

This was evident at a showing of the film at the Bangkok Foreign Correspondents’ Club last week when the Lao wife of one journalist told how 13 members of her family had died in the “secret” bombing of the Plain of Jars and how good it would be to show this film in her homeland, so people could understand the scale of what had occurred and why.

Another reason why this film is important is the appalling legacy from the war. Cambodia’s small neighbour is the country most polluted by cluster bombs in the entire world. An estimated 80 million “bombies” – small unexploded devices – remain littered through the country’s north and south. At the current pace of clearance, it would take a century to remove them all. United States assistance to remove these UXOs is still pitiful, when one considers the scale of the bombing – more than 2 million tonnes dropped over a period of nine years up to the mid-1970s.

Eberle said it was “really sad” that government officials in Vientiane and major media outlets in the US were shunning his film. “Both countries, for their very own reasons, have no interest in bringing this up.”

However, the film has been shown at film festivals in the US. “It was nominated for the History Makers’ Award in New York as well as at the San Francisco film festival, but [it has not been shown] on television [in the US],” he said.

“Two years ago the film was scheduled to be screened for the opening night of the first international film festival in Vientiane at the German embassy. A week before the screening date it was suddenly censored and couldn’t be shown without any specific reason given. I realised then that the film or story was still too sensitive for the Laotian authorities.

“I met the Laotian ambassador to Germany in Berlin for the German cinema premiere a few days later and he told me that he really liked the film and said that he would help me have it translated into Lao for a Lao audience. He assured me that with a few cuts here and there the film could be screened in Laos. I replied that that would be wonderful, however I cannot be the one who censors his own film.

“It was never really clear whether the problem was Vang Pao [the Hmong rebel leader who is interviewed briefly in the film], who is still a persona non grata in Laos or whether it was because of the ongoing conflicts with Hmong or for whatever reason.

“I would be very happy if the film could be shown in Laos and if the history [of the conflict] would be taught in schools – and if somebody takes it upon themselves to cut the film accordingly, so that it can be shown without turning it into propaganda,” said Eberle.

“That is beyond my control and up to them, but I will not do it myself or censor my own work. That would be counterproductive.”

Vang Pao, who was backed by the CIA to lead an army of Hmong fighters against the communists in the 1970s, now lives in the US. He was recently embroiled in an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the Lao government, until a judge in California ruled that the case against him was too weak. Now in his late 70s, he said in the film that he fought the communists because he favoured “democracy”. But Eberle’s film pulls no punches – it tells how Vang Pao was also thought to run a network of opium and heroin trafficking from the CIA base at Long Cheng, which is still off limits to tourists in the Xaisomboon restricted zone.

The other reason why Eberle’s film is sensitive is because Laos and the US have been involved in negotiations to grant Laos normal trade relations with the US.

Peace activist Fred Branfman, the man who “blew the whistle” on America’s secret bombing in Laos, attended the screening in Bangkok.

Branfman has just released a new edition of his book Voices from the Plain of Jars, which documents the suffering of Lao refugees who fled the war in the north.

Branfman made scathing remarks about how a “criminal syndicate” – former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and presidents Johnson and Nixon – could conduct wars without telling their own people what they were doing. He feared the bombing of Laos was being replicated today with the drone attacks on supposed militants in northern Pakistan. Overall, he felt humans were “a very sick species” to allow such activities to go on without sanction.

Eberle hopes a DVD version of his film will be available next year.

Cross-cultural music scores

Keo Dorivan leads Lao and Cambodian musicians in two free concerts at the CCF.

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Emilie Boulenger

TRADITIONAL Cambodian and Lao musicians have been working together this week, creating a piece to be played at two free concerts tomorrow and Saturday at 7pm at the French Cultural Centre’s cinema (CCF).

The three Lao and nine Cambodians have been working on their music under the leadership of Cambodian national, Keo Dorivan.

Having previously played in Laos, Dorivan, who is both a musician and a teacher at the Royal University of Fine Arts and plays flute and khène – a traditional Lao bamboo mouth organ – wanted to invite Lao musicians to his country for a cultural exchange.

“Khène accompanies all the ceremonies of daily life in Laos,” said Olivier Planchon, deputy director of the French Cultural Centre.

On Sunday, six Cambodian musicians from NGO Phare Ponleu Selpak will accompany early 20th-century silent comedy films. These will be screened free of charge at the Freedom Park at 7pm.

The musicians, who have been rehearsing tirelessly, promise the musical score will provide plenty of giggles.

The Freedom Park is located on Street 108, between streets 51 and 63.

Apsara excellence

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Heng Chivoan

Women perform a traditional Khmer dance as part of the opening ceremony of the 5th Cambodia Import-Export and One Province One Product Exhibition 2010, which will be held from December 15-18 at the Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Centre in Phnom Penh.

Wat Phnom gets makeover

Photo by: Sovan Philong

via CAAI

Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Sovan Philong

Women take part in a ground-breaking ceremony at Wat Phnom in central Phnom Penh yesterday. City Hall has pledged to spend US$180,000 to refurbish the capital’s landmark.

Where there's a will

Photo by: SOVAN PHILON

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Thursday, 16 December 2010 15:00 Sovan Philong

Forty-two-year-old Mao Sikhorn, who lost his right hand and lower left arm during a land mine explosion in 1987 when he was a soldier in Kampong Speu province, navigates his fishing boat through morning glory fields in Boeung Tumpun yesterday. Mao Sikhorn, who was married in 1990, provides for his wife and three children by catching and selling fish, despite his disability.

Killer elephant finally subdued

Mahouts secure the now subdued Sambo as a veterinarian injects a final dose of tranquilisers into the subdued elephant - December 15, 2010. ADAM MILLER.

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Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:57 Adam Miller and Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

An elephant that has wreaked havoc in Kampong Speu province’s Mon village in the last two weeks was finally subdued yesterday by wildlife experts and local authorities using tranquilisers.

The elephant, known as Sambo, trampled its owner on December 3 and fled into nearby jungle, from which it has since terrorised local residents by raiding farms and destroying crops.

Jack Highwood, director of the NGO Elephants Livelihood Initiative Environment in Mondulkiri province, assisted in subduing the rampaging elephant, who was shot with tranquiliser darts and then chained to the ground in an effort to restrain the animal until authorities decide where to transport it.

“It’s a wait-and-see situation. He’s sedated and chained quite heavily, and we’ve tied the chains to a log in the ground which we’ve buried in order to keep him under control. Hopefully, that will hold him,” Highwood said.

“The next step is to limit his food and water intake and keep him alive. We will help the Forestry Administration look after him until they can find a solution.”

Animal experts from the ELIE, the World Wildlife Alliance and the Forestry Administration worked together to subdue Sambo, while local police and military helped keep the crowds of onlookers back from the unpredictable and hostile elephant.

“Until now, we were not able to catch Sambo because he was very aggressive and no one could get close to him to detain him and prevent him from hurting or killing other people,” Kampong Speu Governor Kang Heang said yesterday.

He added that local authorities lacked the equipment and resources to properly control the elephant, which led to delays in taking action, as authorities and the experts involved wanted to use peaceful means to capture him.

“Today is a huge accomplishment. The Forestry Administration, the World Wildlife Alliance and the ELIE managed to successfully work together with local authorities to capture the elephant and keep it alive. The FA did a very good job of tranquilising the elephant, and he is not dead because we prevented him from falling over,” said Highwood.

What comes next depends on the Forestry Administration, which has yet to determine where the elephant will ultimately end up.

“The options in Cambodia are very limited. The best option appears to be the Phnom Tamao Zoo, but that is not my decision; that is the Forestry Administration’s decision, and we would

be more than happy to help them with fundraising,” said Highwood.

“Domestic elephants cannot return to the forest. In some situations sanctuary is a possibility. A week ago or a time closer to the sad event of the elephant’s killing of his mahout, we could have possibly taken it into our sanctuary, but now it knows how to chase and kill people, and it is a danger to humans and other elephants.”

Mobitel offers stake in firm

Photo by: Will Baxter
A group of young women walk by a promotional Cellcard umbrella in Phnom Penh yesterday.

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 19:54 Jeremy Mullins

Mobitel entered exclusive negotiations with France Telecom this week over the sale of a stake in the Cambodian mobile provider, according to industry sources.

“The company is not for sale, but a minority stake is available,” said an industry insider, requesting anonymity.

France Telecom – Europe’s third largest telecoms company – was negotiating for 40 percent of the provider, the source added.

Several foreign firms had been in discussions over a majority stake in Mobitel over the past year, until Cambodian owners The Royal Group improved its financial position by refinancing through the Bank of China in early November, he said.

In November, conglomerate The Royal Group inked a US$591-million deal to refinance Mobitel’s existing debts and expand its services with the Bank of China acting as main lender.

Prime Minister Hun Sen witnessed the deal in Phnom Penh, along with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress.

Another person associated with France Telecom’s position confirmed this week’s negotiations. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, he said: “We very much hope to succeed,” but did not elaborate further.

Mobitel Chief Executive Officer David Spriggs declined to comment yesterday. The Royal Group and France Telecom officials did not return request for comment.

France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard said last month that the firm may direct some of its €7 billion ($9.45 billion) war chest for emerging market expansion to Southeast Asia as its historic turf in Africa became more crowded.

He singled out possibilities in Southeast Asia, particularly the former French colonies of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports claimed yesterday that Indonesia’s largest mobile phone company Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) was in talks with Mobitel over a potential purchase of a majority stake in the firm.

“I hope that the process of acquisition will be completed by the first quarter next year,” Telkom Chief Commissioner Tanri Abeng said, according to the report.

However, several Cambodian industry insiders said they were not aware of negotiations when contacted by The Post yesterday.

Statistics from Cambodia’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications obtained from an industry source show Mobitel has dropped to be the second largest mobile provider by subscriber numbers.

The largest was Metfone – owned by Viettel, a subsidiary of the Vietnamese military – claiming 2.84 million subscribers in November, or 33 percent of the total.

Mobitel claimed 2.73 million subscribers in the month, representing 32 percent of the overall total.

Hello, owned by Malaysia-based Axiata, came in third with 870,000 subscribers, or 10 percent share.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun could not be contacted yesterday, while secretary of state La Narath claimed he was “too busy” to respond.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING SANOEURN SAMBATH AND BLOOMBERG

Cambodia slammed in latest WikiLeak cables

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 18:51 Sebastian Strangio

Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew said Cambodia should not have been accepted into ASEAN due to its lack of shared values with the bloc’s founding members, according to a secret diplomatic cable released yesterday by the website WikiLeaks.

The cable, marked “confidential” and sent by the United States embassy in Singapore, documents a 2007 meeting between Lee and top American officials. At the meeting, Lee reportedly said ASEAN should not have admitted Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam as members in the 1990s.

“The older members of ASEAN shared common values and an antipathy to communism,” the cable states, describing Lee’s views.

“Those values had been ‘muddied’ by the new members, and their economic and social problems made it doubtful they would ever behave like the older ASEAN members.”

Lee, Singapore’s long-serving former prime minister, went on to say that he was most optimistic about the Vietnamese, describing them as “bright, fast learners” who would contribute to ASEAN’s development. He also said Hanoi did not wish to see China’s influence in the region become too great.

In comparison, he said, Cambodia had “not recovered yet from its difficult history and the political system is too personalised around Prime Minister Hun Sen”.

Lee also dismissed Laos as an “outpost” for China, saying Vientiane reported back to Beijing on the content of all ASEAN meetings.

The ASEAN bloc was founded in 1967 as a bulwark against the expansion of communism in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as members.

Vietnam joined in 1995, with Laos and Myanmar following suit in 1997. Cambodia was the last to join, in April 1999, after the July 1997 factional fighting led to a delay in its full membership.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that he did not wish to comment on the cable’s contents. “We have to read it carefully and try to understand it deeply. Right now, I do not want to make any comment,” he said.

A regional observer based in Singapore said Lee’s views on Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar reflected widespread fears that a “two-track” ASEAN had developed since the 1990s.

But the analyst, who did not wished to be named due to the sensitive nature of the cable’s contents, said he was surprised Lee would harp on the anticommunist origins of ASEAN, since by about 2000, the bloc was “well into the process of reinventing itself as much more than an anticommunist grouping”.

“In retrospect, there’s a real need to reassess [Lee’s] perspective,” said the observer.

US embassy spokesman Mark Wenig declined to comment in detail, except to say that Washington “fully supports Cambodia’s participation in ASEAN”. Officials at the Singaporean embassy in Phnom Penh could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Lee’s comments were made during an October 16, 2007, discussion with then-US Ambassador to Singapore Patricia L Herbold and Thomas J Christensen, then-deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. Lee, 87, now holds the title of “minister mentor” and remains a highly influential figure in Singaporean politics.

In other parts of the cable, Lee described Myanmar’s ruling generals as “dense” and “stupid” people who have mismanaged the country’s vast natural resources. “Lee said dealing with the regime was like ‘talking to dead people’,” the cable said.

In a separate cable released by WikiLeaks yesterday, a Chinese official cited the Cambodian peace process as an example of the benefits of increased cooperation between the US and China.

The cable was sent by the US embassy in Beijing in March 2007 and detailed talks between a top US State Department official and China’s assistant foreign minister Cui Tiankai.

The cables are just two of more than 250,000 American foreign policy documents WikiLeaks has been releasing gradually since November 28.

A total of 1,477 had been released as of yesterday evening. The WikiLeaks archive also includes 777 cables from the US embassy in Phnom Penh, none of which has been released so far.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

Trade show suffers post-tragedy

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 20:28 Rann Reuy

Vendors at a four-day trade fair on Diamond Island yesterday said there had been a decline in buyers to the exhibition due to the notoriety of November’s bridge disaster.

While there were some 326 stalls occupied by vendors at the Ministry of Commerce-backed annual Import-Export and One Province One Product exhibition – an increase on last year’s 200 booths – the number of visitors were on the downswing, according to many.

Phun Saly, deputy head of a palm sugar processing enterprise in the San Tuk district of Kampong Thom said many had brought items such as food, bedding, and souvenirs to sell, but there were few who came to buy.

“Not many people have come, because the accident seems fresh,” she said yesterday on the first day of the exhibition, which is slated to wrap up on December 18.

Sroin Kimsroy, a vendor of local foods from Banteay Meanchey province, said he had initially thought to stay away from the event because some people had still not recovered from the shock of the catastrophe.

“I was worried. I thought I would not be able to take part, but later I realised the organisers were being very careful,” he said.

Acting Minister of Commerce Kem Sithan said the exhibition consisted of 244 companies, and was anticipated to attract between 60,000 and 100,000 visitors, but did not directly discuss whether people were staying away from the exhibition due to last month’s tragedy.

“I think we have prepared smoothly,” he said at yesterday’s fair.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said he had observed increased progress with the event from year to year after touring the stalls yesterday.

“From day to day, [the number of] Cambodian products have increased,” he said.

He added the exhibition served as a platform for businessmen to meet each other.

Last month more than 100 vendors at the Diamond Island night market requested the landlord to suspend rent for the next three months. Some cited up to a 90 percent drop in customers since the bridge stampede on November 22 which killed over 350 people.

Ministry accused of graft

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 20:06 Mom Kunthear

A woman has filed a complaint to the Anticorruption Unit accusing Interior Ministry officials in Phnom Penh of extorting money from her after wrongfully arresting and detaining her son.

Teng Sokchea, 46, said yesterday that she filed a complaint to the ACU on Monday after her 22-year-old son and three of his friends had been arrested in Russey Keo district on Sunday, and accused of buying a motorbike with fake licence plates.

She said the four suspects were detained in a cell at the Ministry of Interior overnight, and were only released the following morning when family members arrived to pay fees of up to US$400 demanded by officials.

“They accused my son and his friends of buying a motorbike with fake number plates and they tried to force my son to admit the crime they accused him of,” she said.

“I gave $250 to the officer for the release of my son. At first I told them that I have only $200, but they asked me for $50 more,” she said, adding that she had had to borrow the extra $50.

She said her son had bought the motorbike in question from his uncle, and denied that it had fake number plates.

“I still wonder why the police arrested and detained my son that night,” she said. “He is a good person and he did not do anything wrong from the law.”

But Horm Kunthy, director of the Investigations Bureau at the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Police Department, said yesterday that the arrests were justified.

“We got information from the local police [that they] suspected that [the four accused] bought a motorbike from a thief to sell in the province, and then we went to arrest them in order to question them,” he said.

He said he had accepted money from Teng Sokchea in exchange for her son’s release, but claimed that Teng Sokchea had offered the money freely.

“Actually she agreed to give me $250 [in exchange] for taking her son back home,” he said, adding that officials had only agreed to accept the money and release Teng Sokchea’s son because they “felt pity for her”.

He said he was not concerned about the possibility of an ACU investigation.

“I don’t care or worry about her complaint to the ACU because it is her right to do that and I will prepare myself to appear to answer all the questions about her case if the ACU officers invite me for questioning,” he said, adding that he was not worried “because I am not wrong”.

ACU head Om Yentieng, and spokesman Keo Remy could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Refugee centre closure linked to Vietnam PM

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 19:40 Cheang Sokha and Sebastian Strangio

A local rights group has linked the upcoming closure of a United Nations-administered refugee centre in Phnom Penh to the visit of a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Cambodia last month.

The site, in Sen Sok district, now houses about 76 refugees and asylum seekers from Vietnam – members of highland ethnic minorities that rights groups say face ethnic and religious persecution by the Vietnamese government.

On November 29, the government wrote to the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to inform the agency that it would close the site on January 1.

The letter called on UNHCR to speed the resettlement of 62 registered Montagnard refugees at the site, but said any unregistered asylum seekers – officials say there are “more than 10” – would be deported to Vietnam upon the centre’s closure.

In a statement yesterday, the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights said the decision to close the Sen Sok site on January 1 was “further evidence that the treatment of political refugees in Cambodia is secondary to the [government’s] political and economic prerogatives”.

CCHR compared the case to the government’s forcible deportation of 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers to China in December last year, which it linked to the prior announcement of a US$1.2 billion Chinese aid-and-loans package.

Similarly, it added, “the decision to close the centre and to repatriate the Montagnards comes a month after Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung led a high-ranking delegation to Cambodia”. Dung made a three-day visit to Cambodia on November 14.

CCHR called on the government to refrain from putting human lives in peril “in exchange for political capital and financial gain”.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong rejected the claim. “No one has influence on Cambodia’s policy. We decided to close it down on our own,” he said.

Also yesterday, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the centre was being shuttered because there was little hope UNHCR could staunch the flow of Montagnard asylum seekers from Vietnam.

“They should resolve it in Vietnam, but they are just doing it here to get the money,” he said. “If we allow them to keep the site open until UNHCR has grand children, they still won’t resolve the matter.”

Khieu Sopheak said UNHCR has requested a three-month extension in order to process the resettlement of the 62 approved refugees at the site, but repeated that unregistered people would be deported.

“For those who have not been interviewed or granted asylum, we have immigration laws,” he said. “They have to be repatriated to the place where they came from.”

Kitty McKinsey, UNHCR’s Asia spokeswoman, did not comment in detail on the government’s reason for closing the centre, except to say that the agency was “simply trying to find solutions for 62 people”.

Andrew Swan, a programme manager for the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, said last year’s Uighur deportation showed how “fickle” Phnom Penh was to outside pressure. He added that there was “no clear reason” why an extension should not be granted to UNHCR.

Since 2001, around 2,000 Montagnards have fled to Cambodia due to official crackdowns inside Vietnam. Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that around 300 Montagnards are currently serving jail terms for their religious or political beliefs.

Opposition Party Prevented by Vietnam From Checking Border Demacration

NA delegation visits Cambodia

via CAAI

12/15/2010

A delegation from the National Defence and Security Committee from the National Assembly of Vietnam, led by Director Le Quang Binh is visiting to Cambodia from December 13-17.

On December 14, the Vietnamese delegation met with the Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Tep Ngorn and Acting Chairman of the Interior, National Defense, Investigation and Public Functions Commission, Pal Sam Eurn.

Mr Binh praised the Cambodian Parliament’s role in helping the Royal Government in leading the country, maintaining stability, developing the economy and winning trust in the international arena.

He took this occasion to express his deep sympathy over the recent Koh Pich disaster and said he believed the Cambodian government would soon deal with the aftermaths of the tragedy.

Senate Vice President Tep Ngorn said the Cambodian Parliament supports the Royal Government in demarcation of the border with Vietnam and expressed hopes that the visit would help promote traditional relations between the two legislative bodies.

During his meeting with Mr Pal Sam Eurn, they briefed each other of the economic and political situation in their respective countries and issues of common concern while praising both countries’ cooperation with the International community.

Later the same day, the Vietnamese delegation also met with Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh and visited the National Department for Military Provision. During its stay, the delegation is also scheduled to visit several units of the Cambodian army and police force in Siem Reap province.

PM assigns Foreign Ministry to help three Thais jailed in Cambodia

BANGKOK, Dec 15 - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Wednesday he has assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help three Thai foragers who were sentenced to 18 months jail term in Cambodia for illegal entry into Cambodian territory.

Mr Abhisit said the trio had been prosecuted in Cambodia in accordance with that country's legal process and the government is trying find legal remedies to help them.

"I have asked Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya about this and it was affirmed that the ministry is currently following the situation. We're studying how we can benefit from the agreements made between Thailand and Cambodia regarding this issue," said Mr Abhisit.

A collaboration has been made on the matter at a local level, the prime minister added.

The trio -- Sanong Wongcharoen, Ling Pongphet, and Laen Sapsri from the northeastern province of Surin's Sangkha district -- were arrested in August by Cambodian border patrol police, after they strayed across the border, and were charged by Cambodia with spying while hunting and foraging for food in the forest along the border.

Senior Thai officials had earlier said the three men were not spies and their arrest had nothing to do with the border dispute between the two nations. (MCOT online news)

Constructive Cambodian: An ode to Phnom Penh

The riverside has benefitted from development, if you prefer well-maintained, carefully designed public places. POST FILES

 Constructive Cambodian

Lift's weekly editorial on things important to you

An ode to Phnom Penh, by Kounila Keo, senior writer for Lift and lifetime resident of Cambodia's capital.

facebook.com/liftcambodia

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Q: How does Phnom Penh compare to the cities you’ve been to?

via CAAI

Wednesday, 15 December 2010 15:00 Kounila Keo

When people think about Phnom Penh, they remember the past when Phnom Penh was considered the “Pearl of Asia” and one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina. But, with the race to build the highest building in Phnom Penh for the past 10 years, the skyline has changed quickly and will surely change at a more rapid speed in the years to come.

Phnom Penh is nearly 600 years old and is still quite a small city. History has it that one of the Cambodian kings, King Ponhea Yat, in 1434 moved the capital from Longvek (now Pursat). The name Phnom means a hill or mountain where Penh was taken from the name of Lady Penh whom Cambodians call “Yay Penh”. According to an old folk tale, Yay Penh one day found four Buddha figurines that prompted her to have people build up a hill, these days called “Wat Phnom” by the locals, and it houses the four figurines.

When it comes to the present, Phnom Penh was rightfully chosen by the king for its convenient location, a junction of three rivers: Mekong, Bassac, Tonle Sap rivers, and they all still exist. According to Cambodian belief, where there is water, there is prosperity. And though the resources in the river are in danger, there is still plenty to be caught. The fact that even city people believe in the power of the earth is evidence of the country’s dependence on agriculture, and Phnom Penh is the commercial, cultural, industrial and historical centre for Cambodia, and with it, all the riches it holds.

For those who came to Phnom Penh early, the city’s shape and feel have shifted drastically, particularly in the past 10 years when the government as well as investors have been planning increasingly ambitious building projects. The news that unveils the plan to build one of the highest buildings in Asia surprised the whole nation when Cambodia’s Prime Minister said Cambodia would erect a 555-metre tall high-rise. Reportedly, the world’s tallest building is in Dubai (828 metres), while the current second one is in Taiwan (509 metres). In Phnom Penh, Canadia tower, 118.1 metres, is the tallest one followed by the 42-storey Golden Tower, which is to be started after a pause for financial reasons in the last three months.

Having travelled for quite a while, I started to realise that different cities are endowed with different auras. In big metropolitan cities, the message is out loud: people need to become rich and perhaps be smarter. A tourist who comes to Phnom Penh for the first time might think Phnom Penh is a transitioning city. It is embracing the old colonial and modern architecture simultaneously, while urbanisation has been a government priority for almost a decade. Many of the urban slums that were once a distraction to tourists were washed away and the people were sent to places far away from the city and reportedly without enough support.

Besides, one can find sheer poverty within the vicinity of an incredibly luxurious life in Phnom Penh. People come from every place thoughout Cambodia to the capital for the same old reason: to find a better job, and God willing, a more comfortable life. With a reportedly 30 percent of the population living under less than two dollars a day, that reality does not exist for many people. The damage to wallets caused by an increase in fuel consumption by cars and vehicles, is compounded by the increasingly unsafe air and, too often, traffic fatalities and accidents, which are rising every year. It also means moving toward a speedy lifestyle that affects clothing, food and everything else, while poor people are living in many worse parts of the city.

If one could ask what message Phnom Penh sends to visitors, I would be up to answer: “You should get richer faster because everybody else is getting rich now.” Families are evicted every week, people must move out and leave their life. Last month nearly 400 people died in a few hours, one of the great tragedies we have seen. These events are scary, but Phnom Penh seems to keep speeding forward without stopping to watch the accidents that are happening.

Investors who have wanted to change the skyline of Phnom Penh and build more shopping malls, supermarkets, department stores and other luxurious facilities, have been granted the rights and favourable conditions to do so in the government’s bid to reduce poverty and boost development. Expectably, in a few years to come, Phnom Penh’s skyline will be looking very different.

Taiwan attends trade fair in Cambodia after five-year hiatus

via CAAI

Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 15 (CNA) More than 40 Taiwanese firms made their debut appearance at an international industrial machinery fair in Cambodia Wednesday in an effort to expand trade and economic ties between the two countries.

The group of 44 companies, led by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), attended the Cambodia Machine Tech 2010 in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the first time Taiwan has been represented in five years.

Cambodia is an emerging market, particularly in consumer product development, said Yeh Chi-ling, head of the TAITRA exhibition department.

In addition, there is increasing demand in Cambodia for various products, including food- and produce-wrapping facilities, plastics and rubber, Yeh added.

Yeh said she expects Taiwan's exhibits of machinery, components, information and communications technology and consumer products will find their way into the Cambodian market.

The two sides' trade value was more than US$372 million in 2009, compared with US$354 million in the first eight months of this year alone, according to statistics, which suggest that this year's total is likely to exceed that of last year. (By Tony Fang and Kendra Lin) ENDITEM/J

UN requests Cambodia delay immigration centre closure

http://australianetworknews.com/

via CAAI

The Cambodian Government says it is considering a request from the UN to postpone the closure of an immigration centre for Vietnamese Montagnards.

The Montagnards have fled the Vietnamese highlands saying they face persecution over their Christian beliefs and land rights protests.

Sixty-two of them have UN refugee status and are awaiting resettlement, while 14 have not been recognised as refugees.

Cambodia wants the centre closed by the first of January but UNHCR spokeswoman for Asia, Kitty McKinsey, says they're negotiating a delay.

We have asked them for more time to find a lasting solution for the 62 refugees who are there and we hope we will get a positive response from the Cambodian Government.

SKorean company gets contract for Angkor airport

via CAAI

Dec 16, 2010

By The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia has awarded a contract to a South Korean property developer to build a new international airport to serve the famous Angkor Wat temple complex, an official said Wednesday.

Chea Vuthy, a spokesman for the Cambodian Development Council, a government agency that oversees investment, said Lees A&A Co. will build the $1 billion airport in Siem Reap province.

He said the Cabinet approved the project in October.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said construction would begin by the end of next year, with the first phase due to be completed in 2015. The airport will be 36 miles (60 kilometers) east of Angkor, Siem Reap provincial officials said.

Cambodia hosted 2.3 million visitors this year, with about half of them visiting the temples, according to Kong Sophearak, statistics director for the Tourism Ministry.

There is concern that the temples at Angkor, already damaged by warfare, looting and the ravages of weather, could be harmed by a further influx of tourists.

In October the U.S.-based Global Heritage Fund listed Angkor as one of more than 200 global heritage sites "facing irreversible loss and damage today."

Visitors climbing over the ruins are causing "heavy deterioration of original Khmer stonework," it warned in a report, adding that nearby hotels and restaurants are sapping the region's aquifer, causing some of the temples' towers to sink into the ground.

Yonhap said an expansion of the airport planned for 2032 would bring its capacity to about 15.5 million passengers annually. It cited the Korean company as saying it was negotiating with prospective investors to provide $500 million to finance the first phase of the project.

Chea Vuthy was unable to confirm the details. However, the Phnom Penh Post reported earlier that the contract had been awarded to NSIA Co., a joint venture of Lees A&A and Camco Airport, another South Korean company.

The newspaper quoted Siem Reap province Deputy Gov. Bun Tharith as saying the contract would be in the form of a build-operate-transfer agreement, which would eventually turn over control of the airport to the government.

(This version CORRECTS name of company to Lees instead of Lease in paragraph 2)

cambodia bird-watching tours, bird-watching tours in Cambodia, Siem Reap bird-watching

http://www.prlog.org/

via CAAI

Siem Reap - Angkor Watt with sightseeing activities at relics & temples - Extension trip to Mechrey Natural Bird-Watching Preservation Centre - Siem Reap

PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 15, 2010 – DAY 01: ARRIVAL - SIEM REAP (-/-/-)

Upon arrival at Siem Reap Airport, meet and welcome with your tour guide then transfer to hotel for check–in. After check–in, proceed to start your trip to visit Artisans D’Angkor to discover the traditional Khmer techniques used for stone and wood carving, we continue visiting the Silk farm at Pouk commune, , enjoy sunset on Bangkeng Hill.

Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap

DAY 02: SIEM REAP (B/-/-)

This morning, visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom (Great Angkor or Great City). Angkor Thom is a l 3km walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. The ancient walled city of Angkor Thom contains the famous Bayon Temple with its more than 200 enormous, mysterious smiling faces. Next, visit to the Terrace of the Elephants. Impressive, two and half–meter tall wall spanning the heart of Angkor Thom in the front of Baphoun and Phimeanakas, Carved elephants and giant guards adorn the wall. Terrace of the Leper King – a double terrace at the north end of the Terrace of the Elephants with deeply carved nagas, demons and other mythological beings. Continue to Ta Prohm – a temple in its “natural state”. Surround by jungle, its labyrinth of stone hallways is overgrown with the roots and limbs of the massive Banyan trees which envelope the stones like tentacles. After lunch, visit ANGKOR WAT – on e of the Seven Wonders of the World. Angkor Wat, the largest temples in the world, with a volume of stone equalling that of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt/ The temples of Angkor, built from 879–1191AD, when the Khmer civilization was at the height of its development. Tonight, enjoy your dinner with Khmer traditional Dance show (meal is separately quoted).

O/N, Siem Reap (B)

DAY 03: SIEM REAP - MECHREY NATURAL BIRD WATCHING (B/L/-)

This morning after breakfast at hotel go shopping at Old Market and drive to Western Barray, after lunch time start the journey to Mechrey Natural is located in Peam Ta Our village, Keo Por Commune, Puok District, Siem Reap; 15 km on the south west of Siem reap. Just only 25 minutes drive, arrival village you will enjoy Ox-cart riding around 2-Km then continue to an ancient-built port waiting to board the tourists on the boat to discover the attractive nature along the waterway, at first you will see a floating village where hundreds of families earn their living depending entirely by fishing in a traditional way. an old pagoda constructed in 1964 on 2700 m2 island engulfed with water and a stopover to take photos of surrounding natural beauty such as floating houses, traditional fishing, people living, and children rowing boat to school. To travel further, you will go through an impressive flooded forests stretching over 24 km2. The forest is a habitat of hundreds types of fish and waterbirds and from November to May, hundreds of waterbirds will come to this area to look for foods as it is a safe and full of proteins for those birds, especially this area is only 6 km from Conservation of Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary, Return to Siem Reap

O/N at hotel in Siem Reap

DAY 04: SIEM REAP-DEPARTURE (B/-/-)

After breakfast at hotel free at your own leisure then transfer to airport for flight departure

* Inclusive prices:

+ Transportation in private air-conditioned

+ Accommodation in twin/triple shared

+ Local English speaking guide

+ Admission fee to indicated sights

+ Boat trip as mention in the program (if any),

+ Meals: Daily breakfast, L & D at local restaurant

+ Drinking water & cold tissue on vehicle

+ Gov’t tax and service charge

+ Luggage handling, Car park and Toll fees

+ 1FOC on Half Twin for group 15paying pax,

+ DNQ Travel’s gift on arrival

+ Complimentary Cambodia map

* Exclusive prices:

+ Visa on arrival US$20/pax

+ Int’l air tickets to / from Cambodia

+ Int’l airport tax from Cambodia,US$25/pax

+ Travel Insurance in all kinds

+ Single room (quoted separately)

+ Tip, drinks, personal expenses

+ Others services aren’t mentioned,

+ New Year Eve, Christmas Eve,

+ Odyssey rates from 29 December to 06 January.

CAMBODIA: When elephants and humans clash

via CAAI

15 Dec 2010

Source: Content partner // IRIN

KOH KONG, 15 December 2010 (IRIN) - Sokha Seang, a 33-year-old rice farmer, recalls the night last spring when a herd of elephants trampled over his property.

"They were hungry. I was angry, but I understand why they did it," he said. The pachyderms ate most of his food stock.

In Cambodia, poor farmers like Seang cannot afford to lose crops; a third of the population lives below the national poverty line of US$0.75 a day, according to government statistics.

They kill marauding elephants with guns, sharp bamboo sticks, or by leaving out poisoned food. Sometimes, the elephants retaliate by running over people.

This time, Seang set aside his instinct to fight back, with the help of NGOs. "We need to live with them peacefully," said Seang, whose remote village of Prey Proseth lies in the southwest province of Koh Kong.

Protecting livelihoods, preserving wildlife

Conflicts between elephants and farmers are common across Asia, one factor that has caused the animal population to dwindle and farmers to lose their livelihoods.

Experts such as Sereivathana Tuy, 40, are encouraging farmers to find ways to live peacefully with the elephants. Tuy is a Cambodia-based elephant specialist at Flora and Fauna International [ http://www.fauna-flora.org/ ], a wildlife non-profit organization based in Cambridge, UK.

He teaches farmers to alternate crops such as cucumbers and white radishes, which can be harvested several times a year. This gives elephants fewer chances to eat them.

Villagers have also learned to ward off elephants by planting chilli peppers around their land, rather than maiming them with weapons, as elephants dislike the smell, Tuy said.

For Tuy, both sides can preserve their ways of life. The villagers keep their harvest while the elephant population can also be conserved, he told IRIN in Koh Kong.

In Cambodia, fewer than 500 elephants are thought to roam in the wild today. In 1995, there were an estimated 2,000 wild elephants.

Building trust

The clash between elephants and humans became a problem after the communist Khmer Rouge regime was ousted in 1979. In the next two decades, under-regulated development caused deforestation, forcing elephants to search for food and water on farmlands outside their traditional forests.

Some Cambodians sought expensive elephant tails, tusks and the tips of their trunks - body parts that were believed to bring power - and displayed them in their houses to show their status.

These practices led to widespread poaching, says Tuy.

As a park ranger in Cambodia in the 1990s, Tuy developed a community-based model for ending human-elephant conflicts that revolves around building trust with farmers.

Tuy's method begins with hiring teachers who teach children about elephants in four schools in remote areas. The children then pass the knowledge on to their parents, who are supposed to discuss it with the other villagers.

Before 2005, elephant killings were often reported to the police, who would arrest the perpetrators, then jail or fine them more than $2,000. Under Cambodian laws, poachers or elephant killers may also be jailed for 10 years.

Angry villagers said they knew of no other option to protect their land.

The situation might be improving, however. Tuy estimates there have been between five and 10 elephant attacks on humans since 2003, and only one death since 2005 - a sign that farmers are using safer methods to drive away the elephants.

Many methods are backed by empirical evidence. One study last year found that "community-based crop-guarding methods" - the sort of collective guarding using traditional tools that Tuy teaches to villagers - warded off elephants in about 90 percent of attempted raids around Way Kambas National Park, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

"It ties in with a growing realization that a lot of the top-down methods haven't worked especially well," Simon Hedges, Asian elephant coordinator at the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), [ http://www.wcs.org/ ] told IRIN from London.

"It's not really realistic for all communities across... Africa and Asia to expect that the government is going to deal with elephants for them," he added.