Domestic Violence Against Sex Workers in Cambodia

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/

By Chan Dyna and Keo Sichan and Melissa Cockroft

December 16, 2010

via CAAI

This article is part of a series published by RH Reality Check in partnership with the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) to commemorate the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, December 17th, 2010. It is excerpted from Research For Sex Work 12, published 17 December 2010 by the NSWP, an organization that upholds the voice of sex workers globally and connects regional networks advocating for the rights of female, male, and transgender sex workers. Download the full journal, with eight more articles about sex work and violence, for free at nswp.org. See all articles in this series here.

Much attention related to sex workers in Cambodia in recent times has focused on violence committed by police and local authorities since the passing of the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation in 2008.1 In sharp contrast, little attention has been given to violence experienced by sex workers from those closest to them: their husbands, boyfriends and partners. This article provides a brief discussion of intimate partner violence experienced by Cambodian sex workers and some of the challenges for the Cambodian Prostitute Union (CPU) to support them in addressing this issue. Established in 1998, the CPU is the first sex workers collective in Cambodia, providing support, advocacy for sex workers rights, and education on HIV prevention and health care to sex workers based in Phnom Penh.

My husband regularly beats me, every day. Usually he uses his belt or his hand, sometimes he kicks me too. He beats me because we have problems with our income. He doesn’t have a job and relies on me to support him. Even though we don’t have much money, he gambles and plays cards. He also uses yama [methamphetamines]. Sometimes I stay in a guesthouse or at my relatives’ house to try and escape his violence but he always finds me. He follows me everywhere so I cannot escape him. Every night he follows me to the long road where I get my clients. My husband says I should charge $10 per client. He always comes with me and waits for me. After I am finished with the client he collects the money from me. He says that I cannot be trusted with the money because I am stupid.

These are the words of CPU member Song Vann, 28 years of age. She has a 7-year old son who lives with her mother. Song Vann has been with her current husband2 for over two years. She vividly remembers one particularly violent incident:

One night I only received $5 from a client. When my husband saw that I only had $5 he became very angry. He argued with me, saying that I had kept $5 for myself. He cursed me and pushed me onto the road. I was lying face down. He repeatedly stamped on the back of my head with his foot, banging my face into the road. It didn’t bleed but I got a very large bump on my forehead and scratches across my face. This happened on the side of the main road where sex workers stand to get clients. Maybe ten other women saw my husband do this but they didn’t do anything. It’s normal for a husband to beat his wife. You don’t interfere in one’s family business...

Karma

Like many other Cambodian women, Song Vann believes that she deserves to be beaten:

‘I think I experience violence because I am illiterate and not clever, also because of my past life. Maybe I committed a lot of sins in my past life and now I have to pay for them.’

The CPU sees cases like Song Vann’s all the time. Many members believe that they experience violence and other hardships in their lives because of karma, even though others realise that violence is not because of their sins but because their husbands are bad and Cambodian society tolerates violence against women and sex workers. Solving violence committed by husbands and partners is very difficult. Sometimes the CPU calls the police to intervene when members have experienced domestic violence. Officers then come to the house and say to the husband: ‘If you do this again, we will arrest you.’ But the next day they will say that domestic violence is a family matter that should be resolved in the family, and that they do not want to encourage divorce.

Weak Enforcement of the Law

The 2005 Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of the Victim provides legal protection for women in Cambodia. However for Cambodian women more generally, social and cultural attitudes that encourage silence around reporting of domestic violence and reconciliation between couples, combined with corruption and a lack of understanding of the law by police and local authorities, result in weak enforcement and implementation of the law. As a result, few cases of domestic violence make it to court and where formal complaints are made, frequently out-of-court settlements and non-legally binding divorce contracts are made.

For Cambodian sex workers it is even more difficult. As many Cambodian sex workers typically have no ID card and no permanent address,3 it is difficult for them to make a complaint to the local authorities. Sex workers are also commonly not legally married, which creates difficulties for proving the existence of the relationship to authorities. As sex workers often experience violence at the hands of the police, they are understandably reluctant to approach the police for assistance and do not trust them. Police officers are also likely to discriminate against sex workers, refusing to assist women once they become aware that they are sex workers. Due to the prevalence of corruption within Cambodian society, for sex workers who seek to make a formal complaint, they must also pay unofficial ‘fees’ every step of the way to the police, local authorities and court officials, which many sex workers cannot afford.

How Sex Workers Fight Back

The CPU provides education to sex workers and their abusive husbands about the domestic violence law as well as counselling between husbands and members. The CPU also assists the women to make a formal complaint to the local authorities and will accompany them to ensure that they are not discriminated against. Safe shelter with relevant women’s legal and human rights organisations will also be sought for women who experience extreme violence, at the request of the women. Whilst the CPU cannot provide direct legal assistance, it refers sex workers to supportive local legal or human rights organisations that can provide advice and a lawyer if a sex worker wishes to take the case to court. The CPU leader (Chan Dyna) also regularly talks on public radio to advocate for sex workers’ rights and to stop discrimination and violence against sex workers.

And what happened to Song Vann? The CPU had referred her to a local organisation that could assist her in accessing a safe house, legal services and support, but Song Vann decided to stay with her husband. We understand that it is difficult for her to escape the cycle of violence common in cases of domestic violence and we cannot force her to leave her husband. The CPU continues to provide counselling and support for Song Vann and her husband to try and minimise harm caused to her. We hope that in the future, with the support of other CPU members, she will have the strength and confidence to leave her husband.

About the Authors

Chan Dyna is the leader of the Cambodian Prostitute Union. Keo Sichan and Melissa Cockroft are with the Cambodian Women’s Development Agency, a local women’s NGO which provides technical support and assistance to the CPU.

Notes

1 How this law has provided justification for the use of force against sex workers has been highlighted through both local advocacy efforts and the report Off the Streets: Arbitrary detention and other abuses against sex workers in Cambodia, published by Human Rights Watch in July 2010.

2 Like many sex workers in Cambodia Song Vann refers to her partner as her ‘husband’ although they are not legally married.

3 In Cambodia to obtain an ID card you need to have a permanent address. Because sex workers frequently move to try to find work or escape crackdowns, they often do not have a fixed address, or they have no relatives whose address they can use. They are also reluctant to go to the authorities to obtain an ID card due to discrimination and mistrust.

Thailand, Cambodia drop visas

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Published: 17/12/2010

SA KAEO : Thailand and Cambodia have revoked the need for entry visas between the two countries as a "gift" for the people to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Sunday.

Bangkok and Phnom Penh have agreed to allow their citizens a 14-day stay in each country without the need for a visa, effective yesterday.

Senior authorities yesterday celebrated the joint decision on the Thai-Cambodia Friendship Bridge near the Klong Luek border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet district.

Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey governor Ung Oeun viewed the agreement as a "gift for the people of the two countries" while Sa Kaeo governor Sanit Naksuksi welcomed the move as a way to promote tourism and trade.

The friendly gesture was a break from the usual tension that has lingered since Thailand and Cambodia locked horns over their overlapping borders in the Preah Vihear area.

The ugly Indian visits serene and gentle Cambodia

 via CAAI

Madhu Jain

Friday, December 17, 2010


Madhu Jain

Each time I return to India after a longer-than-brief spell abroad I want to kiss the soil. This land of ours has given birth to some of the world’s greatest thinkers and religions.

Not to forget the soul-satisfying daal-chaval and roti. But the same precious soil has also given birth to the un-biodegradable caste system. Not even conversion to another religion completely uproots it.

Nor does migration to other continents: I have come across several Goan Catholics or Syrian Christians who boast about their Brahmin ancestry. Nor does death: some cemeteries in India are reserved for Brahmin converts to Christianity.

Normally, I don’t think about such matters. But I have just returned from a blissful week in Cambodia. Siem Reap, located in the north-western part of the country, is the gateway to the millennium-old famed Angkor temples of the ancient Khmer Empire.

The awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, spread over 240 hectares and surrounded by a beautiful moat, is the largest religious monument in the world. Originally known as Vrah Vishnulok — the sacred abode of Lord Vishnu — it was a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu by Khmer king Suryavarman II in the first half of the 12th century.

The eight-armed statue of Vishnu that that once stood in the central shrine was probably moved to the outer gallery when Buddhism became the predominant religion towards the end of the 12th century. King Jayavarman VII, a convert to the Mahayana Buddhist sect, erected Buddhist shrines in Angkor and many Hindu shrines were transformed into Buddhist ones.

But I digress; the point I want to make is that casteism appears to be absent here — to an uninformed eye like mine. And this, despite the brief resurgence of Hinduism in the 13th century. Perhaps, it was offloaded during the transition from Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism later in the century: over 90% of the Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists.

Brought to this region from what is now Sri Lanka, this tradition went against the royal elitism of the Angkor kings, Hindus and Buddhists alike.

There are only two kinds of Cambodians today according to our young and wise — and inordinately courteous — driver: the rich and poor.

Who are the rich? “Government servants,” pat came the answer, “there is so much corruption”. Well, they might have exorcised the caste system to a great extent but corruption is something the Cambodians still share with India.

What we don’t share, alas, is the prevalent gentleness of the people in this lush, green temple-dotted land. God knows this poor country has had more than its share of suffering: the genocide and devastation caused by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge lie just beneath the surface.

Actually, on it as well: museums recount unimaginably horrific evidence of the killing fields.

Yet, you see little but the serene smiles and hear the ubiquitous “sorry” (almost as omnipresent as hello or thank you). Even the pesky, insistent tuk tuk valas (motorcycle-driven autorickshaws) are not aggressive. Nor are the salesmen and women with whom you have to bargain incessantly.

Actually, I caught myself more than once bargaining too aggressively — or worse ticking off a waiter in a restaurant who had brought the wrong order. I was becoming the Ugly Indian.

Fortunately, towards the end of our stay I toned down the aggression and found myself saying “sorry” as frequently as the people of Siem Reap.

Cambodian airport project includes new city

via CAAI

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A South Korean company contracted to build a new airport serving visitors to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples says its $1 billion project will also encompass a new city and industrial estate.

NSRIA Co. Ltd. in a statement received Thursday said its planned New Siem Reap International Airport and linked developments represent Cambodia's "largest national project" and Korea's first-ever export of its airport development and operation expertise.

The statement, which expands upon partial information released by the Cambodian government and in the Korean press, said its concession for the project spans 65 years — covering five years of construction and 60 years of operation — after which it can be extended.

NSRIA is Cambodian joint venture whose main investors are two South Korean companies, Lees A&A Co. Ltd. and Camko Airport Co. Ltd.

The statement said the project will include an adjacent "Special Economic Zone," a dry port and a 15.4 square mile (40 square kilometer) city.

South Korea in recent years has become a major investor in Cambodia, ranking number two after China by some measurements. However, some ambitious Korean-funded real estate developments in Phnom Penh, the capital, have stalled.

The new airport will be able to handle Boeing 747s, making it the country's first capable of handling direct long haul flights from Europe and North America, said the statement. The area is currently served by a modern but small airport.

The airport will be located 25 miles (40 km) east of Angkor Wat, the statement said, alleviating concerns about potential noise and vibration damage to the centuries-old temples at Angkor, Cambodia's main tourist attraction.

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

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2011, with operations to start in late 2015. At the end of the $500 million first phase, the airport will have the capacity to handle 4 million passengers a year, and will be able to handle 15 million after expansion.

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

The statement said the special economic zone will provide an alternative for South Korean companies to investing in China and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam where labor costs are rising from low levels.

Hart Feuer ’05 Sees Cambodia as Model for Sustainable Agriculture

http://www.lafayette.edu/

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December 16, 2010

By Kate Helm

Cambodia isn’t the first country to come to mind when thinking about agricultural advancement, but it could be the model of the future, says Hart Feuer ’05, in the final year of studies for his Ph.D. in international development at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany. He lived in Cambodia while studying how developing countries with predominantly pre-modern agricultural sectors explore divergent food economies.

Hart Feuer '05

“After the UN-sponsored elections in 1993, the government and development agencies that entered Cambodia introduced far more humane and ecologically minded agricultural models, which are already crowding out chemical agriculture,” explains Feuer. “Instead of being niche movements, much like organic and local are in the U.S., sustainable agriculture in Cambodia could become the norm. And that is something worth studying, worth learning from.”

After completing his Ph.D., Feuer plans to return to Cambodia to find a job that includes research and social action or a position in the field of ecological agriculture development. He also is considering remaining in Germany or moving to England and working for an international agency involved with eco-certification.

The journey to Cambodia began on College Hill when Feuer received a fellowship from the Center for Khmer Studies, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, to spend three months in Siem Reap, Cambodia, for his honors thesis research. He analyzed the social capital, market interaction, and income-generation capacity of two semi-rural villages there.

Feuer, a native of Oregon who majored in economics & business and German, also traveled to Israel as an undergraduate and spent a semester abroad in Germany. “The capability to travel and live abroad conferred on us by our American passport is a privilege that not many citizens in other nations of the world have,” he says.

Feuer sees his current success as the culmination of a subconscious decision to explore his family roots by studying German as an undergraduate. His ancestry can be traced to Finland, modern-day Ukraine, and Germany.

“I now speak German, pay taxes here, benefit from state-administered health care, and reside in the region where my maternal grandfather’s family used to live,” he says. “How romantic is that?”

Academic achievement is nothing new for Feuer, who received a prestigious graduate scholarship from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation that funded his master’s degree in the philosophy of development at Oxford University and continues to finance his doctoral program.

“The most rewarding aspect of my work is the opportunity to experience and study how cultures at different stages of development think about and understand things that have been normalized to Westerners,” says Feuer, who maintains a concurrent research project studying organic rice markets and advancing traditional medicine in Cambodia. “By the time I left Lafayette, I had the confidence and enough language ability to continue my education and career elsewhere. Each aspect of one’s life – whether it is one’s grandparents’ cultural background, extracurricular activities, or grades – contributes to who you are and what you choose to do.”

Flying to Cambodia: A $1 Billion Aerotropolis

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BY Jenara NerenbergToday

The New Siem Reap International Airport is breaking ground next year, backed by South Koreans.

How do you say "aerotropolis" in Khmer? Looks like we're about to find out.

Cambodia will begin construction on its very own airport city next year--the New Siem Reap International Airport, with an adjacent special economic zone, dry port, and 15.4 square mile city--to capitalize on increasing tourist numbers from neighboring countries and increasing foreign investment interest.

The airport will be completed in five and a half years at a cost of $1 billion and the contracted South Korean-Cambodian joint venture, NSRIA Co. Ltd., will operate it for 65 years. The airport, 25 miles east of Angkor Wat, will accommodate 747s, allowing direct flights to arrive from Europe and North America.

An airport city such as Cambodia's fits the label of an aerotropolis--a planned city with an airport as its central node and related infrastructure, businesses, and working families surrounding it. An Aerotropolis thus becomes an engine of local economic development, something Cambodia is desperately in need of.

"It doesn't matter how much they spend on the project, or how much expertise the South Korean investors bring to bear. What matters is how many flights a day the airport has, and to where," says Fast Company contributor and author of the forthcoming book, Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, Greg Lindsay.

"There's a saying that 'airlines don't serve airports; they serve markets,' meaning they want to go where passengers already are," says Lindsay. "In this case, the tourist draw of Angkor Wat could be a big help and considering the United Nations' World Tourism Organization expects China to have 100 million outbound tourists a year by 2020, Cambodia is probably trying to snag a few million."

Cambodia hopes that its very own aerotropolis will help spur local economic development, via foreign investment and the appeal of cheap labor. But the question remains whether there will be enough numbers flying in and out of the country. This year the country saw 2.3 million visitors, but the annual capacity of the new airport will be 15 million, leaving a huge gap to be filled. Where will all the tourists and foreign investors come from?

"With enough flights and enough connectivity, anything is possible," Lindsay tells Fast Company. "The likely model for Cambodia's aerotropolis is Subic Bay in the Philippines, which transformed the former U.S. Navy base into a fairly large high-tech manufacturing zone in the 1990s after FedEx opened its pan-Asian hub there."

As Cambodia is increasingly in competition with its neighbors--namely Vietnam, as well as China, where the first Kashgar-Pakistan cargo flight was just launched this week--it's likely that the country wants to secure its current standing among tourists and its future standing in the realm of trade.

"Vietnam is building its own massive new international airport outside Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok tried to build its own aerotropolis in 2006, only to be derailed by political turmoil," Lindsay points out. "Can Cambodia succeed in winning a piece for themselves? Who knows, but they're certainly willing to try."

Follow me, Jenara Nerenberg, on Twitter.

[Image courtesy of Greg Lindsay, from his forthcoming book, Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next]

Princess Bopha Devi On The "Apsara Mera" Classical Khmer Ballet

Thais Seeking Return of Three Nationals: Report

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 16 December 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

Thailand is seeking the return of three nationals arrested in Cambodia and sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegal entry and unlawful possession of weapons earlier this year, the Bangkok Post reported Thursday.

However, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Cambodia has not yet received an official request.

The three suspects—Lan Sapsri, 53, Lim Puangpet, 39, and Sanong Wongcharoen, 36—all from Thailand’s Surin province, were arrested in August in Oddar Meanchey province.

They were sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $250 fine in Siem Reap provincial court last week.

The Post quoted Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying this week his foreign minister was looking into the arrests and seeking a way to bring them back.

Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said no such request had come through diplomatic channels. However, he said, Cambodia was seeking the return of four of its own nationals.

Both sides have traditionally seen a number of cross-border arrests. In August 2009, they agreed to send respective nationals back across the border to serve out their time in home prisons.

UN Seeks Extension for Montagnard Site

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 16 December 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP

Montagnards from neighbouring Vietnam await registration by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff in Korng village, Ratanakiri province, in 2004

“We hope that we will get a favorable response from the Cambodian government.”

The UN office for refugees is Phnom Penh has requested an extension to keep open a center for Montagnard refugees, as it seeks to settle the last of a wave of asylum seekers that began in 2001.

The closure of the UNHCR center would mean an end to that program, after thousands of refugees fled Vietnam, especially between 2001 and 2004.

Many of the Montagnards, who were friendly to US forces during the war with Vietnam and said they had suffered under the Vietnamese government, have resettled in the US.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry had ordered a Jan. 1, 2011, close date for the site, but the UN has asked for a three-month extension.

A government spokesman said Cambodia was considering the request, with a decision expected next week.

Sixty-two asylum seekers who were granted refugee status remain at the site, while another 14 who were not recognized as refugees will be sent back to Vietnam.

The closure of the sight will mean an end to a program that has already moved nearly 1,000 refugees to third countries, after they complained of oppressive treatment in Vietnam and fled across the border. About 750 were sent back to Vietnam.

Kitty McKinsey, a spokeswoman for UNHCR, said the agency needs more time to process those who remain.

“We hope that we will get a favorable response from the Cambodian government” to the extension request, she said.

Naly Pilorge, director of the rights group Licadho, said she was surprised to hear of the site’s closure. Cambodia has an obligation under UN agreements to recognize and protect refugees, she said. “We would like the Cambodian government to provide further explanation and justification on how they took this decision,” she said.

Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the site had lasted “long enough,” adding that the government wanted it closed “to avoid more refugees” coming to Cambodia.

Hospitals Continue Treating Bridge Stampede Victims

Thida Win, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 16 December 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP

A Cambodian doctor checks blood pressure of survivors of the Nov. 22 bridge stampede at Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh.

“I still have chest pain, and it goes down to my toes.”

Though many of the wounded have gone home, the Nov. 22 bridge stampede has left hospitals with dozens to care for, while many are having a hard time recovering.

Calmette hospital is home to many of the most seriously injured. In one room here, three patients lie on beds with white sheets, all victims of the stampede, which killed 353 people and injured nearly 400 others.

Among those hurt under the crush of people was Som Kuch Sano, 17. He lies on his bed and grips a bolster pillow. He is high school student from Kandal province. He closes his eyes and groans. He is in too much pain to be interviewed, his calf badly damaged from the trammeling.

“Doctors say there is still blood frozen in the muscle,” his mother Meas Sophana, says. “It required an immediate surgery; otherwise it would have damaged his kidney. The doctors won’t say when he’ll be released. They don’t tell us much. They only come here and say nothing serious.”

Meas Sophana says the surgeon told her that her son will not be lame from his injuries.

Nearby is Outh Nary, 39, a resident of Kandal province. Her left leg was crushed in the stampede, and she still cannot walk on it. The pain, she says, goes all the way through her body.

“I still have chest pain, and it goes down to my toes,” she says. “I cannot move my leg, and my ankle is still weak. I have a lame walk. It won’t be like before. Doctors say there is blood pressure on the ankle. They say I’ll be able to move my leg in the future, but I don’t hold much hope. I am afraid I won’t move like before.”

Some patients at Calmette have been moved outside of the rooms. Some receive IVs, while others remain in critical condition. Staff members ask those that can to move their hands and legs. Some patients need transfusions to remove toxins from their blood.

And while the government has offered to pay those who need treatment abroad, in Vietnam for example, no one so far has taken it up on the offer. Of the 353 dead from the bridge stampede, a number died in hospital, some of them days later.

Nhem Vanda, vice chairman of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said those who are still in the hospital will need time to heal, with injuries in their kidneys, lungs or even brains.

“In general they are good, but their pace of recovery is not the same,” he said. “Some will need a longer time. Some have already left the hospitals. Some are serious, some are minor. We don’t know of other dangers, but the doctors have been trying their best.”

Swift Growth in Key Sectors Boosts Economy

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 16 December 2010

via CAAI

Photo: AP

The Cambodian textile export sector has seen a 21 percent increase over the last 10 months.

“All of these sectors show that Cambodia’s economy has risen out from under the financial economic crisis the world went through in 2008 and 2009.”

Cambodian officials say the economy has now recovered from setbacks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, with key sectors growing much in past months.

The International Monetary Fund said it expects Cambodia’s economic growth rate to reach between 6 percent and 7 percent in 2011, a figure Cambodian officials concur with.

Growth will be based on the strengthening textile export sector, which increased 21 percent over the last 10 months; the tourism sector, which grew 15 percent; and agriculture export, up 5 percent.

“All of these sectors show that Cambodia’s economy has risen out from under the financial economic crisis the world went through in 2008 and 2009,” said Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The government and the IMF both agree on a 6 percent growth rate, with 4 percent inflation, he said. The IMF concluded a growth rate of 4.8 percent in 2010.

Cambodia, which relies heavily on donor aid and loans, saw a big boon to its economy in the investment from China and Vietnam, in energy, telecoms, agriculture and mining. The garment sector still relies heavily on orders from the US.

Visa-free Entry : New Years Gift For Thais And Cambodians

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BANGKOK, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Thailand and Cambodia mark 60 years of bilateral relations, following a visa-exemption agreement went into effect Thursday, allowing 14 days visa-free entry to passport holders as New Year celebrations draw near, Thai News agency said.

Thais and Cambodians can now cross the border without having to apply for a visa, either at the embassy, or on arrival at the border check point.

The opening event was held at Khlong Luek Village border check point, near the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge in Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo.

The ceremony was jointly chaired by Sanit Naksuksi, Governor of Thailand's Sa Kaeo province, together with Ung Oeun, Governor of Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province, jointly chaired the ceremony.

Governor Sanit said Thai and Cambodian officials favored a visa-exemption agreement, as a new year's gift for passport holders to allow an extended-stay across the border for up to 14 days.

"The new exemption is an indication of good relations between both countries and worked to improve inter-state tourism and trade.

"Plans to build-on relations at the local level will also be carried out in Sa Kaeo in extending daily times for temporary crossing at Ta Phraya District; Nong Prue, and Ban Khao Din, Khlong Had," he said.

The new temporary crossing schedule will change from 09.00 am - 04.00 pm to 09.00 am - 5.00 pm. -- BERNAMA

Cambodia welcomes more Chinese investment: PM

via CAAI

December 17, 2010

Cambodia welcomes more investment from east China's Jiangsu Province, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday.

Hun Sen, who is paying a five-day visit in China, made the remarks when meeting with Luo Zhijun, secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), in Nanjing, provincial capital of Jiangsu.

As an economic power of China, Jiangsu Province has made great contribution in getting China out of the global financial crisis. Cambodia has benefited from the fast development of Chinese economy including that of Jiangsu Province, Hun Sen said.

Hongdou Group Co., Ltd., a Jiangsu-based enterprise in clothing, tire, biological pharmacy and real estate, is building an industrial park in Sihanoukville Province, southern Cambodia, Hun Sen said.

Hun Sen hoped that he hoped both parties could work together to develop the industrial park.

Luo, for his part, appreciated the great efforts and contribution Hun Sen has made in promoting the friendly communication, bilateral exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia.

Luo said he believed that the prime minister's visit would enhance the mutual understanding, promote pragmatic cooperation and establish a win-win relationship between the two countries.

Jiangsu Province maintains close and friendly communication with Cambodia. The province's Wuxi City is sister city to Cambodia's Sihanoukville City. Many enterprises in Jiangsu Province have invested in Cambodia, Luo said.

We are willing to enhance the communication and cooperation with Cambodia in a variety of areas, Luo said.

Luo also introduced basic information of Jiangsu Province to Hun Sen. With a long history, well-developed science and education and comprehensive industry sectors, Jiangsu's economy has ranked high among the provinces in China, Luo said.

Currently, the province's aggregate economic volume accounts for 10 percent of that of China, with a GDP per capita of 7,000 U.S. dollars. Its foreign investment ranks number one in China, accounting for around 30 percent of the total of China. Its imports and Exports ranks number two in China.

Hun Sen arrived in Beijing on Monday to start his official visit to China, during which he also visited north China's coastal municipality of Tianjin.

Source:Xinhua

Cambodian PM Concludes China Visit

http://english.cri.cn/

via CAAI

2010-12-17

Xinhua

Web Editor: Zhang

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen left Nanjing Friday morning, concluding his five-day official visit to China.

During the visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao and China's top legislator Wu Bangguo met with Hun Sen respectively. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held talks with him.

China and Cambodia on Monday agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation. Both sides signed 13 deals on cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure, finance and consular affairs.

Besides Beijing, Hun Sen also visited north China's port city Tianjin and east China's Jiangsu Province.

Khmer Surin Culture Presented For the First Time In Cambodia

The formation of a dream

http://www.woodburnindependent.com/

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Former Kennedy High School student Kurt Berning wants to provide middle and high school education in Cambodia through a nonprofit

By: Lindsay Keefer
 

Photo By: Submitted

Kurt Berning

Cambodian elementary students receive a lot of foreign aid for their education. However, secondary students are often with little or no help, which is why JFK graduate Kurt Berning has started Global Alliance for Developing Education, to help with aid for secondary education.

MT. ANGEL — A John F. Kennedy High School graduate may have landed his dream job a year and a half before graduating from college.

University of Portland junior Kurt Berning, a 2008 graduate of the Mt. Angel high school, and classmate Kenny King, who hails from Snohomish, Wash., developed a business idea to educate people in developing countries.

“Our basic mission is to build and strengthen schools in developing countries, starting with Cambodia,” Berning said.

Both students are among 18 in the university’s Entrepreneur Scholar Program, which provides classroom activity and applied experience, including travel abroad, to expose students to new and different ways of doing business while encouraging them to start their own businesses.

“Both of us always wanted to do something and the E-Scholar Program gave us a reason to start it,” Berning said. “It provided the impetus for making everything happen.”

Berning said there is a benefit to starting the business while still going to college.

“I don’t need to be paid for this right now because I’m in school. I have another job, so this is a great year and a half to develop the business, iron out the kinks and assess the risk and opportunity,” he said.

After the regime of Pol Pot in the 1970s, which resulted in the genocide of millions of Cambodians, the country is behind many of its neighbors in education, Berning said.

“All the intellectual and educated people were wiped out. That’s kind of why we’re there,” he said, adding that King’s family was impacted by a recent visit to the country.

Through their new company, Global Alliance for Developing Education (ADE), the two students are working to gain nonprofit status so they can specifically support secondary education for rural villagers in Cambodia.

“There are a lot of nonprofits there focusing on primary schools,” Berning said. “It’s a lucrative area because the kids are cute and it’s easy to put in pictures.”

He said that while secondary education in Cambodia is free, pupils often can’t afford uniforms and books that would only cost $30 in the U.S.

“We’re definitely focusing on the rural areas,” Berning said.

“The cities are saturated with nonprofits there. In rural Cambodia, about 26 percent of students actually make it to the middle school level. That means 74 percent will never receive more than a fourth-grade education. That’s why we want to target our work there.”

The cost to run a business in Cambodia isn’t that expensive according to U.S. standards, Berning said.

“We have the opportunity to do a lot of good in relation to what we could do in the U.S.,” he said.

“To build a high quality school building is $19,000. A teacher’s salary is $2,000 to $3,000. That’s a very respectable wage. There’s a lot you can do with a small amount.”

Berning said he wasn’t always so globally minded.

“I definitely started college with the notion that I would make a lot of money and succeed as fast as possible and be financially wealthy,” he said. “My priorities have changed. Seeing what life is like around the world, I want to go the nonprofit route. Honestly, I don’t want to make a lot of money from this business. … I think it’s really the opportunity to make a difference.”

A trip is planned over spring break in March through the E-Scholar Program, with stops in China before the duo heads to Cambodia for the first time.

“We have a couple of contacts. … We plan to meet with those organizations that work in rural villages and go out to a couple rural destinations,” Berning said.

“We’ll meet with the people who we’re going to sponsor, look at operations, look at where we would go. We’re going to do as much work as possible.”

When they come back to University of Portland, the duo will work on a fundraiser banquet, slated for April 1, which will be the kickoff for spreading the word about their program.

“We’ll be able to come back and share our experiences and get a couple people from Cambodia to speak,” Berning said about the event.

If the program becomes successful and expands beyond Cambodia, Berning said he hopes the next stop would be in Australia.

“I studied abroad in Australia last spring,” he said. “I had a very strong experience while we were on a trip into the Outback, learning about Aboriginal tribes.

“They’re facing some of the same problems in education but nobody in Australia is taking a stand for their rights. My idea was to move back and help their cause. … Our business is starting in Cambodia, but it doesn’t have to end there.”

In the meantime, University of Portland students can donate unused points from their meal plans to Global ADE to help finance the fundraiser dinner.

To make reservations for the April 1 banquet, which will cost $50 a plate and is open to the public, contact Kurt Berning at 503-428-8902 or berning12@up.edu.

Championing Land Rights

via CAAI

2010-12-15

A woman in Cambodia creates the first free legal aid firm for the poor.

Photo courtesy of State Department
Ith Mathoura (R) stands with U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli, Cambodian Minister of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs Ing Khanthaphavy, and Oung Chanthol, another award recipient, at the International Women of Courage Award ceremony, March 12, 2007.

As Cambodia gets deluged with land issues, 30-year-old Ith Mathoura is pioneering an effort to help the underpriviled fight for their rights to hold property.

Daughter of a senior official in the Ministry of Justice and a merchant mother, she received her law degree in 2003 and later founded the Somreth Law Group, a law firm providing free legal services to poor Cambodians.

Most of the firm’s cases are related to land disputes.

In 2007, she received the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage award for her work in providing community education and legal aid to minority groups in Cambodia’s Rattanakiri Province.

Before establishing the law firm, Ith Mathoura, who is the oldest among five siblings, worked for a year in 2008 as legal advisor to an international NGO, which had worked closely with the Interior Ministry.

“I think that with the work I do today, I am not just helping those in need but am contributing time and effort to helping society. My law firm is the first to provide free legal services needed by the poor," Ith Mathoura said.

“Presently we have large cases in Kompot Province, in Phnom Penh, in Odar Meanchey Province, and in other provinces. We handle cases involving a variety of issues, but because problems with land have become rampant in Cambodia, most of our cases concern these issues.

“We have trained people in how to analyze the law within the context of land disputes. We have also created posters and distributed them to people in some provinces while explaining their legal rights as property owners and how the law protects those rights. We have also investigated land disputes and have prepared reports and submitted them to higher levels [of authority] for examination.

“We have observed that a majority of land dispute cases involve people who have money and power and who know how to get hold of large pieces of land. In most cases, these disputes arise from land concessions and because of economic development in places where people live in the cities and in the provinces. These are difficult problems to resolve, because the government has already given these parcels of land away.

“I would like to request that everyone consider the law, along with the question of what is right and wrong, and what is good and bad. We should understand that our actions can have a detrimental impact on other people and can cause many problems and prevent them from living happy lives.”

Interviewed by Naline Pea for RFA’s Khmer service.

Thai-Cambodian ties back on track (minus Thaksin)

via CAAI

Published: 16/12/2010

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia are seemingly back on track - after two years of strain as a result of the controversy over Preah Vihear temple and the appointment of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as Phnom Penh's adviser.

The Preah Vihear temple: the surrounding land under dispute should be left to the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission to resolve.

The improved ties were reiterated in Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's remarks in an interview with the media on Dec 6, that the two countries' relationship had "returned to normal". His statement signals a good gesture for the two sides to foster good ties once again.

And it has come at the right time, as the two countries will be celebrating six decades of diplomatic relations this Sunday in Phnom Penh. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will represent Thailand at the celebrations in the Cambodian capital. Improved ties are what people of both countries would definitely like to see. But Thailand and Cambodia still have sensitive issues to work out. These include the border demarcation and the stalled development plan for Preah Vihear temple. These two problems remain unresolved.

The Hindu temple was listed as a World Heritage site in 2008 but the development plan was blocked by Thailand at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil this year, as Bangkok wanted first to resolve the issue of overlapping boundaries around the temple.

The next WHC meeting is scheduled for June next year in Bahrain. From now until the Bahrain meeting, the two leaders have to continue a dialogue to find a compromise solution on the issue.

In order not to let the issue damage improving ties, both Thai and Cambodian leaders should separate their diplomatic relationship from the border problems.

A good example of this is how Thailand and Laos handles their relationship. Bangkok and Vientiane enjoy good diplomatic relations and various cooperation while leaving the border demarcation to the Thai-Lao Joint Boundary Commission to handle. Border problems are normally very sensitive and take time to resolve.

What made ties between Thailand and Cambodia more complicated was the issue of the ousted former prime minister, who has close personal ties with the Cambodian premier.

The relationship between the two countries worsened after Thaksin was appointed as economic adviser to the Cambodian government in November last year. Bangkok recalled Thai ambassador to Phnom Penh Prasas Prasasvinitchai and Cambodia reacted in the same manner.

However, relations improved after Thaksin resigned from the position on Aug 23 this year, and the Thai government resumed the normalisation of diplomatic relations the very next day. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Mr Hun Sen have met four times at international meetings, and this has helped improve relations between the two.

Thailand uses the same strategy it pursues with Laos, for Cambodia.

Direction-general of the East Asian Affairs Department, Pasakorn Siriyaphan, said the Foreign Ministry maintains good relations with Cambodia and lets the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission tackle the border problem.

Cambodia now understands the legal procedure in Thailand, which cannot move forward the border demarcation as the three memoranda of understanding on the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission have not been approved by parliament, he added.

"It is a good sign that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has understood Prime Minister Abhisit's explanation that Thailand has its own internal process," Mr Pasakorn said.

Under Section 190 of the constitution, the three documents need parliament's approval first to give Thai officials the mandate to negotiate with their Cambodian counterparts on the demarcation issue. The matter has been put on parliament's agenda four times but still has not got anywhere.

For Cambodia, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told the Bangkok Post that Phnom Penh will not raise the temple issue for the time being and has rather placed its attention on how to strengthen bilateral relations. "We can drop the Preah Vihear temple issue and focus on how to improve mutual understanding between our two nations," Mr Khieu Kanharith said.

But the temple issue still remains a time bomb awaiting challenges from the two countries.

A government source said if Cambodia still proposes its management plan to the WHC, Thailand will keep opposing it because the plan involves some area over which the two countries claim ownership and the issue of sovereignty has not been settled. "We don't know if Cambodia will bring up the Preah Vihear issue again because its next local elections are scheduled for 2012. If the two countries can settle this problem diplomatically and do not let it become a political issue, that will be good," the same source said.

Mr Pasakorn said one thing the two countries will have to eliminate is the feeling of hatred which many Cambodians harbour towards Thais. "We are doing it all [to create better understanding between Thais and Cambodians] and I think things are moving along the right track," Mr Pasakorn said.

Cambodia Geared To Host An Unforgettable Event

http://www.etbmice.com/

via CAAI

Thursday, December 16, 2010

This year’s ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) TRAVEX (Travel Exchange) 2011 registered an overwhelming response, with over 500 exhibition booths fully sold by end October 2010. All ten member-nations will be well-represented at this annual leisure travel trade event which showcases the largest contingent of ASEAN destination products and services.

While some 1,000 buyers have registered their interest to source at the event, only 400 have been selected to attend under a privileged hosting programme. Buyer profile this year includes delegates from Asia-Pacific (55 per cent), Europe (37 per cent) and the rest of the world.

A total of 1,600 delegates are expected at this year’s ATF 2011. His Excellency So Mara, Secretary of State, Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia remarked, “ASEAN is one of the few regions in the world that offers a lot of tourism value in the international market. Demand for ASEAN will continue to grow and we can see that in the increasing interest of international buyers and proliferation of ASEAN products and services at the upcoming ATF.”

ATF 2011 marks the event’s 30th anniversary. ASEAN member-nation Cambodia, will host ATF 2011 in Phnom Penh from 15 to 21 January. ATF TRAVEX, the 3-day travel trade mart component of the event will take place from 19 to 21 January at the Diamond Island Convention & Exhibition Centre. His Excellency Dr. Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, Cambodia and Chairman of ATF 2011 Host Committee, said “This year’s theme ‘A World of Wonders and Diversity’ embodies everything that Cambodia has to offer as a compelling destination. We look forward to welcoming all ATF participants and international delegates to the Kingdom of Cambodia. We have taken great pride to create plenty of opportunities for them to discover our country’s rich cultural, natural and historical heritage.”

Business appointments and meetings which encompass the majority of delegates’ schedules over the 3-days are just some of the many highlights that ATF 2011 will offer. ASEAN Tourism Conference (ATC) – the educational front of ATF – will feature topics such as Ecotourism and Sustainable tourism in the ASEAN region as well as managing tourism in destinations which are home to Heritage Sites. Invited speakers hail from global institutions such as United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Global Sustainable Tourism Council and will engage the audience through thought-provoking sessions and interactive panel discussions on key issues in ASEAN tourism today.

ATF 2011 is also poised as an event with bountiful networking opportunities, teeing off with the ever-popular game of golf at the Royal Cambodia Phnom Penh Golf Course.

Hosted by The Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia, the ATF 2011 Opening Ceremony is set to be a spectacular event featuring some 500 local and foreign performers in traditional and contemporary performances. The Ministry is also pulling out all stops to ensure a feast for the senses with a strong play on the latest pyrotechnics and sound effects technology. Delegates can also look forward to a stunning 30 minutes fireworks highlight.

Over the 3 days, delegates can wine, dine and enjoy the company of their peers at several hosted luncheons, dinners as well as at 3 late night functions at Nagaworld, Raffles Hotel Le Royal and Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra.

Pre-show city tours of Phnom Penh and post-show tours to popular Cambodian destinations such as Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong are also available to hosted buyers and media delegates.

Source : Asean Tourism Forum

No license be revoked for developers of SEZs: Cambodian official

via CAAI

December 16, 2010

A senior government official said Thursday there is no license revocation for the developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Cambodia despite they have speed down or abandon their zone development since the global financial crisis.

According to the report from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), since 2002, the CDC has granted licenses to 21 SEZs with an estimate of the promised investment of more than 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Those SEZs are located along the borders with Thailand and Vietnam, and on the outskirts of Phnom Penh as well as in Preah Sihanouk province, where the international port is located.

Chea Vuthy, deputy secretary general of the CDC in charge of the Cambodia's SEZs, said that currently among the 21 licensed SEZs, only four are in operations with about 50 investors in the zones, and two are being built.

"Despite most of them suspend or quit their zone development, the government has no plan to revoke their license although the law stated to do so," he told reporters after a business forum on Thursday. "It's up to them to decide if they continue to develop or not."

"If they continue to develop, it benefits the government, but if they do not develop, we lose nothing because both land and money are their own properties," he said.

He said among the four operational SEZs are Phnom Penh SEZ, Manhattan SEZ and Tai Seng SEZ at Vietnam border, and Sihanoukville SEZ, which is a joint venture of 3 billion U.S. dollars between China's Jiangsu Taihu Cambodia International Economic Cooperation Zone Investment Co. Ltd. and the Cambodia International Investment Group Co. Ltd.

And the two being built are Neang Kok SEZ in Koh Kong province and Sihanoukville Port SEZ.

The government considers SEZs as an important part of the country's economic development because they bring infrastructure, jobs, skills, enhanced productivity, at the same time, investors in the SEZs will benefit from a number of fiscal incentives, including income tax, customs, and VAT benefits, said Chea Vuthy.

Source: Xinhua

Cambodian airport project includes new city

via CAAI

Dec 16, 2010

By The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A South Korean company contracted to build a new airport serving visitors to Cambodia's famed Angkor temples says its $1 billion project will also encompass a new city and industrial estate.

NSRIA Co. Ltd. in a statement received Thursday said its planned New Siem Reap International Airport and linked developments represent Cambodia's "largest national project" and Korea's first-ever export of its airport development and operation expertise.

The statement, which expands upon partial information released by the Cambodian government and in the Korean press, said its concession for the project spans 65 years — covering five years of construction and 60 years of operation — after which it can be extended.

NSRIA is Cambodian joint venture whose main investors are two South Korean companies, Lees A&A Co. Ltd. and Camko Airport Co. Ltd.

The statement said the project will include an adjacent "Special Economic Zone," a dry port and a 15.4 square mile (40 square kilometer) city.

South Korea in recent years has become a major investor in Cambodia, ranking number two after China by some measurements. However, some ambitious Korean-funded real estate developments in Phnom Penh, the capital, have stalled.

The new airport will be able to handle Boeing 747s, making it the country's first capable of handling direct long haul flights from Europe and North America, said the statement. The area is currently served by a modern but small airport.

The airport will be located 25 miles (40 km) east of Angkor Wat, the statement said, alleviating concerns about potential noise and vibration damage to the centuries-old temples at Angkor, Cambodia's main tourist attraction.

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

Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2011, with operations to start in late 2015. At the end of the $500 million first phase, the airport will have the capacity to handle 4 million passengers a year, and will be able to handle 15 million after expansion.

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

The statement said the special economic zone will provide an alternative for South Korean companies to investing in China and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam where labor costs are rising from low levels.

Cambodia orders closure of refugee centre for Vietnamese

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/

via CAAI

Dec 16, 2010

Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government has ordered the closure of a UN centre for asylum seekers from the Vietnamese highlands, prompting fears that some could face persecution when repatriated.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the German Press Agency dpa that the centre had been ordered to close by January 1 because the government '[does] not want it anymore.'

'We want to finish it. If we keep it longer, the problem will exist on and on,' Koy Kuong said.

Of the 76 Montagnards - members of ethnic minority groups in the Vietnamese highlands - currently housed at the site, only 62 have had their refugee claims successfully processed, allowing them to be resettled in a third country. Koy Kuong said the other 14, as well as any new arrivals, would be sent back to Vietnam.

'We see there's no problem at all in Vietnam because Vietnam is a peaceful country,' Koy Kuong said. 'No rebellion, no turmoil, no civil war.'

Thousands of Montagnards fled to Cambodia earlier this decade after clashing with security forces during protests over land rights and religious freedom. Human Rights Watch estimates that approximately 300 Montagnard Christians are currently imprisoned for political or religious reasons.

'Montagnards continue to face arrest and imprisonment in Vietnam, primarily for belonging to independent Christian house churches that the government alleges are using religion to forward a political agenda,' Human Rights Watch said in a statement Wednesday.

Kitty McKinsey, the Asia spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said the UN had requested that the Cambodian government 'kindly give us more time to find long-term solutions for the 62 refugees who are on the site.' She did not comment on the 14 who have yet to be granted refugee status.

In December 2009, the Cambodian government repatriated 20 Uighur Chinese asylum seekers over the objections of the United States and international rights groups. The deportation came ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to sign agreements offering Cambodia 1.2 billion dollars worth of economic assistance.

Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Craig Thomas Carr, 59, of Kent, Wash., pleaded guilty in July to sexual exploitation of a child. In his plea agreement, he admitted that prior to his January trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, he made e-mail contact with a taxi driver there. The driver agreed to identify young females for Carr to have sex with during Carr’s trip to Cambodia.

via CAAI

16 December 2010

news Newsdesk

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

A Washington state man who traveled to Cambodia to have sex with young girls was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Craig Thomas Carr, 59, of Kent, Wash., pleaded guilty in July to sexual exploitation of a child. In his plea agreement, he admitted that prior to his January trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, he made e-mail contact with a taxi driver there. The driver agreed to identify young females for Carr to have sex with during Carr’s trip to Cambodia. Carr expressed an interest in girls about 12-years-old and sent sexually explicit photographs of girls this age to the cab driver to show the approximate age of the girls he was seeking.

Prior to his departure for Cambodia, Carr made plans to take naked photos of the young girls, requesting the address of a FedEx store in Phnom Penh. He planned to send the explicit photos directly to his home while he was still in Cambodia.

Carr traveled to Phnom Penh from Seattle on January 13. During the next eight days, he admits that he had sex with three young Cambodian females.

On January 22, he was arrested by the Cambodian National Police. He remained in the custody of Cambodian authorities until he was removed from that country and escorted back to the United States by HSI agents on May 7.

“This prison sentence is appropriate punishment for the defendant who thought he could travel overseas, sexually abuse young children, rob them of their innocence without consequence and evade detection by U.S. law enforcement authorities,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of HSI in the Pacific Northwest. “HSI aggressively investigates this type of case by using our unique enforcement authorities under the PROTECT Act, which allow us to work closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to ensure that child predators pay the price for their heinous behavior.”

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones told Carr, “You prey on the most vulnerable of victims…very young girls. What you were doing, satisfying your fantasy one night, leads to a lifetime of nightmares for them.”

In addition to his prison sentence and a lifetime of supervised release, Carr will be required to register as a sex offender. In addition, Judge Jones ordered him to pay a fine of $11,000, which was the same amount of money Carr spent on his trip to Cambodia, and to pay $8,000 in restitution to his young victims in Cambodia.

Carr was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington under the PROTECT Act. The PROTECT Act, which went into effect seven years ago, substantially strengthened federal laws against predatory crimes involving children outside the United States by adding new crimes and increasing the penalties for these charges.

This investigation is part of Operation Predator, an ongoing ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE encourages the public to reporter suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Original news source: http://www.ethiopianreview.com/news/201002/?p=15972