Tea Banh: Prawit agrees to Indonesia GBC meeting

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Published: 30/03/2011

Online news: Local News

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has agreed to attend the General Border Committee (GBC) meeting in Indonesia, according to Cambodia's Defence Minister Tea Banh.

Gen Tea Banh announced the agreement in an interview with the Bangkok Post in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

Gen Prawit has repeatedly said he would not go to the GBC meeting, scheduled to be held in Bogor, Indonesia, on April 7-8. He has said the GBC should be purely bilateral and the meeting held in either Cambodia or Thailand, not in Indonesia or any other third country.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon (left) and his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

Gen Tea Banh claimed he had talked over this matter with Gen Prawit and that the Thai minister had agreed to go to the meeting in Indonesia.

He said he would himself leave for Indonesia on April 6.

"The Thai side can't insist not going because it has agreed with the United Nations Security Council and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to let Indonesia mediate talks with Cambodia," Gen Tea Banh said.

"I still believe Gen Prawit will definitely go to Indonesia for the April 7-8 meeting. I'll be waiting for him over there," he added.

An informed source said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has made it a policy for the Cambodian army that in talks with their Thai counterparts they must insist on not withdrawing Cambodian troops from the 4.6 square kilometre disputed area.

Hun Sen has said Cambodian soldiers were duty-bound to remain in the area, regardless of for how long.

His objective is for Thailand to accept observers from Indonesia into the disputed area for inspections, the source said.

The source also said Hun Sen would not be happy if he happened to see a Cambodian soldier talk to a Thai soldier in the Thai language.

"The prime minister said Cambodian soldiers must speak Cambodian, and use an interpreter if necessary," the source said.

Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh government insists Thai investors are welcome in Cambodia despite the long-standing border conflict between the two countries.

Thai investors, too, are confident the tense border conflict will not affect their investment plans.

Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Thai investors are eligible for tax privileges and Thai products imported by them are exempted from taxation for a period of three to eight years.

Mr Thong Khon was full of praise for such Thai businessman as Supachai Verapuchong, managing director of the Sofitel Phnom Penh Pookeerhra Hotel, for his continued investment in Cambodia even though the hotel, formerly known as the Royal Phnom Penh, was severely damaged in an anti-Thai rioting in Phnom Penh in December 2006.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's policy is to encourage more foreign investment in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Koh Kong.

Countries in this region which have invested in Cambodia are China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Those from elsewhere include Australia, Portugal, England, the United States and France.

Mr Supachai, who invested more than two billion baht in the five-star Sofitel Phnom Penh Pookeethra Hotel, said even though the relations between Thailand and Cambodia are plagued with uncertainty he has confidence in the Cambodian government's policy toward investors, including those from Thailand.

In 2006, Mr Supachai invested US$40 million in the Sofitel Ankor Hotel and a golf course in Siem Reap.

"Despite turbulence, Thailand and Cambodia are neighbours. We have to walk together as friends," he said.

"In four years from now, there will not be a tariff wall in Asean. The question is whether Thai investors and the Thai government are ready for the days ahead, when business competition will be tougher.

"So we should establish business ties, which will subsequently lead to improvement of relations in other fields," Mr Supachai said.

Cambodia's riel survives alongside the dollar

via CAAI

By Guy De Launey

BBC News, Phnom Penh

In Cambodia, money talks as loudly as it does anywhere else in the world - but at least it never burns a hole in your pocket.

That's because there aren't any coins. You can't talk about coppers or nickels in Cambodian riel. The national bank gave up striking anything metallic more than a decade ago.

People use the Cambodian currency for anything less than a dollar

Instead there's a lot of paper. Right down to the seldom-seen fifty riel note. That's worth all of a cent and a quarter - and it's regarded with about as much affection as the pitifully lightweight one yen coin in Japan.

So wallets, billfolds and purses bulge with dozens of notes - ranging from the crisply-minted to the well-used and filthy. But to many people, the riel is simply small change.

Almost all significant transactions are priced - and paid for - in US dollars. For the visitor it starts with the visa fee on arrival at the airport. But it continues everywhere else in the country.

ATMs pay out in dollars - and all but a tiny percentage of bank deposits are in the US currency.

As for lending, most financial institutions won't even consider doling out anything other than Benjamin Franklin and his presidential friends.

Bombing the bank

International travellers are used to hotels and airlines setting their prices in dollars to get round local currency fluctuations.

But here the shops, tradespeople and even the motorbike taxi drivers accept the folding green. And young people entering the increasing white-collar workforce expect their salary to be quoted in dollars.

But there are no quarters, dimes or any other American coins in use here. So people use the Cambodian currency for anything less than a dollar.

Everyone knows the exchange rate - 4,000 to the dollar - give or take the odd hundred riel.

It's been that way since at least the start of the century - so people are actually fairly relaxed about taking payments in either currency. A $5 bill or a 20,000 riel note - it's all the same to most Cambodians.

Although the money exchanges at the markets do a brisk trade with people hoping to turn a profit from minor fluctuations in the rates.

It's a system that seems to keep everyone happy. And when you look at the history, it's easy to understand why.

Cambodia didn't have a currency of any kind in the late 1970s - when the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge banned money, and blew up the national bank. When the riel was reintroduced in the 1980s, the new, Vietnamese-backed government initially had to give it away - such was the lack of public confidence.

The revived currency plunged when United Nations forces ran Cambodia in the early 90s - bringing oodles of dollars with them. Eventually the riel settled into its peg of 4,000 to the dollar - and a clear role as second fiddle.

Dollarisation?

Familiar fudge: Share prices will be quoted in riels, trades may be settled in dollars

But recently there have been agitations for that to change. And they've been taking the long-delayed launch of the Cambodian Stock Exchange as a cue.

The Wall Street Journal published an editorial last month, making the case for Cambodia to use the Exchange as an opportunity to embrace full dollarisation. It would, said the paper, attract more foreign investors - who wouldn't need to worry about currency fluctuations hitting their profits, the way they have in neighbouring Vietnam.

But there's a powerful pro-riel lobby in the government and the National Bank. And they see the Exchange as, perhaps, the final opportunity for the riel to make it as an independent currency.

The solution is a fudge with a familiar ring to it. When the Exchange opens, possibly in a few months' time, share prices will be quoted in riel. But trades may also be settled in dollars - at least for the first three years of the Exchange's operation.

It could all be enormously confusing - or as simple as paying in one currency and getting your change in another. And it's not as if Cambodia is short of practice in that.

Cambodia fully supports Timor-Leste to enter ASEAN: PM

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March 30, 2011 

Cambodia will fully support the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year or next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday.

Hun Sen made the remarks during a 30-minute meeting with the visiting President of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta at the Peace Palace.

"Cambodia fully supported Timor-Leste to become the 11th member of ASEAN," said Hun Sen during the meeting. "Cambodia's support is regardless Timor-Leste is a small or big, poor or rich country, but to reflect the equal rights of the countries in the region."

Hun Sen expressed his hope that Timor-Leste will be able to join the association this year or next year.

Meanwhile Jose Ramos-Horta said that today Timor-Leste is full of peace and stability, and its economy has a growth of over ten percent since 2007.

He added that the country now has no external debt, instead, it has money surplus deposited in the bank.

"Therefore, the Timor-Leste's request to enter the ASEAN will not be a burden for any country in the bloc," said Jose Ramos- Horta. "Timor-Leste's intention to join ASEAN is to integrate into the ASEAN region and to strengthen and expand regional cooperation."

Timor-Leste submitted a formal application on March 4 to join the ASEAN to the current chair of Indonesia.

Koy Kuong, the spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, said after the meeting that Cambodia and Timor-Leste also pledged to cooperate on oil and gas sector and Cambodia will send a delegation to study about the management of oil and gas in Timor- Leste.

Jose Ramos-Horta, accompanied by Minister of Commerce, Tourism and Industry Gil Da Costa Alves, arrived here on Tuesday morning for a three-day state visit.

Earlier in the day, he was granted a royal audience to King Norodom Sihamoni, and he will pay courtesy calls on Cambodia's Senate President Chea Sim, the National Assembly President Heng Samrin on Wednesday.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Source: Xinhua

Vietnam-Cambodia friendship to develop strongly

http://english.vovnews.vn/

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30/03/2011

State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan has expressed her belief that with efforts by states and people, the friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia will continue to grow and flourish.

The Vice State President was speaking at a reception for visiting delegation of Cambodian citizens headed by Khun Chhy, former Cambodian Transport Minister, in Hanoi on March 29.

She applauded the traditional friendship and mutual assistance and fostered by generations of Vietnamese and Cambodians during the past struggle for national liberation and the current process of national construction and emphasized the need to uphold these precious traditions.

Khun Chhy appreciated assistance from the Vietnamese people to help the Cambodian people escape from genocide and said Cambodia will never forget the help and devotion of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in the past.

He informed the host that during the visit the delegation met Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts, who had helped the Cambodian people overcome their past difficulties.

The same day, the Cambodian delegation was received by Vu Xuan Hong, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, who expressed his hope that the visit would contribute to boosting the traditional friendship between the two people.

The Cambodian delegation also paid a tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum.

VOVNews/VNA

Cambodians evicted in 'land grab'

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Residents lose homes around Phnom Penh lake to make way for real estate development

Jon Gorvett

Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 29 March 2011

A woman walks through polluted water in Boueng Kak Lake, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Residents living around the lake fear they will be forcibly evicted by developers. Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP

It was early in the morning when housewife Ngin Savoeun woke to cries for help from her neighbours. A survivor of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime – whose soldiers had murdered her husband in 1979 – she had not imagined she would hear such cries again in her lifetime.

Yet on that night in November, she heard the screams of neighbours as they rushed from their homes around the shore of Boeung Kak Lake, located in the heart of the country's capital, Phnom Penh.

And then she had to flee as well.

This time, however, her home was not under threat from Khmer Rouge guerrillas, but was instead demolished by armed construction workers, hired by a land development corporation to carry out one of the capital's most ambitious new property developments.

As part of this work, thousands of tonnes of mud and sand, scooped up from a nearby river, were being pumped directly into the homes of hundreds of local residents – often, the residents say, without warning. "They started pumping the water and sand in at night," says Tep Vanny, "while we were sleeping."

In this way, developers were attempting the complete removal of a 90-hectare historic lake from the heart of the capital and its replacement by a residential, commercial and entertainment district. About 20,000 people, many of whom have lived on the lake and around its edges for decades, are in danger of losing their homes.

According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya P Subedi, this is "not an isolated case". It is "representative of the problems of this nature that exist in the country. Land grabbing by the rich and powerful is a major problem."

Cambodian civil rights group Adhoc says that last year alone, 12,389 families became the victims of forced evictions. Another rights group, housing advocates STT, estimates that around 10% of the population of Phnom Penh has faced eviction in the last decade.

At the same time, the Cambodian ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries says that the government granted more than 1.38m hectares of land in concessions to 142 different private companies between 1993 and June 2010.

Many of these evictions – including those at Boeung Kak – have taken place under the noses of international agencies.

Last month the World Bank announced the results of an internal inquiry into evictions that had taken place during a land-titling project involving the bank and the Cambodian government that ran from 2002 to 2009. The World Bank concluded in an official statement that the evictions at Boeung Kak had taken place "in violation of bank policy on involuntary resettlement" and "resulted in grave harm to the affected families and communities."

Residents had been "denied access to due process of adjudication of their property claims" and were displaced "in violation of policies the bank agreed with the government for handling resettlement", it said in the statement, calling on the Cambodian government to end the evictions.

Cambodia's ministry of land management countered that the Boeung Kak settlements had been outside the remit of the land-titling project, and were therefore "not under the conditions set for social safeguards".

"The problem goes back to the war," says Sung Bonna, chief executive officer of Bonna Realty Group and vice-president of the Cambodian Real Estate Development Association. "When the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975, they destroyed all the records of who owned what and made everything the property of the state."

The Khmer Rouge forcibly evacuated the population of Phnom Penh. Many Cambodians' homes were destroyed, while many people tried to settle away from the violence. Boeung Kak Lake was one such place.

In 2001, the government recognised the lack of land title and ruled that those who could prove more than five years of continuous, unchallenged occupancy of a property could apply to own it. Many Boeung Kak residents applied, but were denied title en masse, according to a January report on the issue from Bridges Across Borders Cambodia, an NGO advocating for the residents.

"In the same month, the Cambodian government entered into a 99-year lease agreement with private developer Shukaku Inc," the report also said. Representatives from Shukaku Inc declined to comment on the matter.

"The problems have all arisen first because of the war and second because of a lack of proper management of the changes," says Bonna. "But now, though, we have a much-improving situation and more or less soon, the problem will be no more."

Indeed, now only around a quarter of Boeung Kak Lake remains. "I spent three and a half years living in hell under the Khmer Rouge," said Ngin, surveying the half buried remains of her home of 32 years. "And now I am in hell again."

Residents warn of protest

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Residents threatened with eviction from the Boeung Kak lake area protest outside City Hall in Phnom Penh last Friday.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

via CAAI

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:01Khouth Sophak Chakrya

Resident of the Boeung Kak lakeside said yesterday that they would organise protests if a meeting scheduled for today with Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Kep Chuktema did not achieve a resolution to their alternative development plan for families threatened with eviction.

City Hall on Monday issued a letter confirming the meeting between Kep Chuktema and five villager representatives to discuss a request for the allocation of 15 hectares of land for villagers at the site of a commercial and residential development project on the Boeung Kak lakeside.

Huot Muth Dy, a resident of Village 20 in Daun Penh district’s Srah Chak commune, said that she hopes the meeting will end in a victory for potentially displaced villagers.

“I hope that the result of the discussions will be positive and bring an end to the dispute between villagers and authorities and Shukaku Inc,” said Huot Muth Dy.

Nop Phearom, a resident of Village 1, said that the representatives should reject any offer from authorities that does not support villagers’ requests.

“If it is negative, we will make a stronger protest than before,” said Nop Phearom. “To reach this step, we have agreed not to accept financial compensation or any other developments in other places.”

More than 100 lakeside villagers had prepared on Sunday to assemble at City Hall for a meeting with Kep Chuktema before being informed by Daun Penh District Deputy Governor Sok Penhvuth that the meeting had been delayed until today.

Villagers demanded written confirmation from officials that the meeting would in fact take place. They then received the letter on Monday from City Hall Administration Chief Ly Saveth.

In 2007, Kep Chuktema signed a 99-year lease for Shukaku Inc – a development firm owned by ruling party Senator Lao Meng Khin, and Chinese firm Erdos Hong Jun Property Development Co – to develop a US$79 million commercial and residential project on 133 hectares of land around Boeung Kak lake, which rights organisations estimate will lead to the eviction of at least 4,000 families.

Duch sentencing debated

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

via CAAI

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:02James O'Toole and Cheang Sokha

Prosecutors at the Khmer Rouge tribunal demanded in appeal hearings yesterday that Kaing Guek Eav receive an increased prison term to properly account for the “massive” and “grave” crimes he committed as head of S-21 prison.

The accused, better known as Duch, received a 30-year jail term last July in the first verdict handed down by the court, reduced from 35 years because of his excessive pre-trial detention following his arrest in 1999.

In explaining the decision not to impose a life sentence, judges said at the time that a number of mitigating factors had been considered, including Duch’s “cooperation with the chamber, admission of responsibility, limited expressions of remorse, the coercive environment in Democratic Kampuchea and the potential for rehabilitation”.

Yesterday, however, prosecutors argued that any such mitigating factors “reach a vanishing point” in view of the gravity of the crimes at S-21 and Duch’s audacious bid for acquittal.

“The accused’s continued request for release underscores, in a case like this, involving massive criminality, the fact that the accused to this day lacks real, sincere remorse for what happened,” International Co-Prosecutor Andrew Cayley said.

Over six months of trial hearings in 2009, Duch accepted qualified responsibility for his crimes and said he would willingly receive punishment, even offering at one point to submit himself to public stoning. During closing arguments in November that year, however, he and defence attorney Kar Savuth shocked the court by breaking from their previous strategy and asking for an acquittal.

The defence has since carried this forward in their appeal, arguing that Duch falls outside the court’s mandate to try “senior leaders” and those “most responsible” for crimes committed under Democratic

Kampuchea.

“The accused’s assertion that he does not constitute one of those most responsible for serious crimes that occurred during the DK period is inconsistent with the notion that he admits responsibility for the grave crimes for which he is charged,” Cayley said, adding that Duch’s “belated challenge to the legal basis for his prosecution and his request for release highlights … the insincere, selective and opportunistic nature of his cooperation with this court.”

Prosecutors have called on the Supreme Court judges to hand Duch a 45-year sentence, commuted from a life term in recognition of his unlawful pre-trial detention.

“We call for the imposition of a life term, reduced to 45 years simply to take account of that period of illegal detention, but for the purposes of history, a life term must be imposed in this case,” Cayley said.

Defence lawyer Kang Ritheary said his team had not made a written submission on the sentencing issue in response to the prosecutors’ appeal because they maintained that Duch never should have been tried in the first place. Under questioning from judges, however, Kang Ritheary said a 15-year term would be adequate given Duch’s “good gestures” in cooperating with the court as well as the mitigating factors in the case.

“Duch did his best to free himself from involvement with the crimes, but he had no choice other than implementing the orders, otherwise he would have been killed,” Kang Ritheary said. “The accused acted against his will, the accused expressed his remorse and showed signs that he can be changed and reintegrated into the society.”

A point of contention as judges interrogated the respective sides was whether the tribunal is bound in sentencing by provisions of the Kingdom’s 2009 penal code. The penal code stipulates that in crimes against humanity cases in which mitigating factors negate a life sentence, reduced sentences should fall between 15 and 30 years.

While Kang Ritheary said Duch should receive no more than a 15-year term, the prosecutors argued that the United N-backed court “can depart from ordinary Cambodian law on sentencing” and should not be bound by the 30-year limit. They also called for Duch’s single conviction for crimes against humanity to be broken down into specific offences in order to create “a proper historical record of convictions to fully describe what the respondent did”.

Regardless of how long a sentence Duch ultimately receives, he will get credit for the nearly 12 years he has already spent in detention. Under his current, 30-year sentence, he could thus walk free in roughly 18 years time.

Chum Mey, 80, one of the few living survivors of S-21, said outside the hearing yesterday that the tribunal’s credibility will be lost if Duch’s sentence is reduced.

“I want the Supreme Court to sentence him to life imprisonment, but if not that, then 45 years would be acceptable,” Chum Mey said. “If they uphold the previous decision, I will not be happy.”

Forestry administration’s senior official in Cambodia jailed for three months

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 09:24 DAP-NEWS/CHAN VIRAK

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, MARCH 30, 2011-Former deputy director of forestry administration office for Memot district of Kompong Cham province, Teang Tray, has been jailed for three months in the charge of making bribery and corruption related to illegal logging and illegal timber export.

The sources to Kampong Cham provincial court said that on March 24, the court opened the trail process of illegal logging in Kompong Cham province and the court announced verdict for Teang Tray, former deputy director for Memot district for one year but practiced for three months only in jail and rest was cancelled. Tray is a strong man for timber business in his location and he is also senior officials that had never been afraid of senior officials in Phnom Penh.

And Thon Van Viravuthy, head of Memot district forestry administration office and Tray were fired from position in 2010. But Van escaped from arrest and he is still at large at that time.

But the sources stresses now Van plans to pay money for new position at the forestry administration in Phnom Penh and he planned to get new role as office head for forestry administration authority. The officials at the forestry administration could not comment on that.

In 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen took serious action against illegal logging and timber smuggling to foreign countries. Samdech Hun Sen at that time ordered to arrest Tray and his officials.

Since2005, The Government has banned the export of forest and hardwood product and is replanting to 60 per cent of land coverage in 2015 as stated in millennium development goals. Moreover, the Forestry Administration previously said that totally, about 100 officials charged of involvement in illegal logging. And the confiscated timber products sold for over millions US dollars..

Doubts linger on NGO law

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:02Thomas Miller

Representatives from NGOs again requested that officials at the ministries of interior and foreign affairs accept changes to a second draft of the government’s contentious draft NGO law during a closed-door meeting yesterday, but found limited success.

Officials said it would be “the last consultation” with them on the law, following a large public meeting in January and several smaller private meetings since, said Chith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum.

Lun Borithy, executive director of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, said relations between the government and NGOs were “very tense”.

“We’re not hopeful,” he said.

“It was a very tense meeting, and it did not really live up to our expectations as being a truthful and meaningful dialogue.”

Lun Borithy said several “sticking points” were raised. “But there was no real concrete promise that they will be taken fully on board.”

NGOs have raised numerous concerns with the law, arguing that it would violate freedom of association and expose the vast sector to arbitrary governmental authority.

Seng Soheng, a representative for Community Peace-building Network, said the second draft was unacceptable and included few changes from the first.

“We cannot accept this law, because they put much pressure on local and international NGOs operating in Cambodia,” said Seng Soheng.

NGOs have said mandatory registration would violate the freedom to associate and impose requirements too burdensome for small organisations. That provision has been retained, and officials rejected appeals to remove it, participants said.

Chith Sam Ath said it was “difficult to say” whether the law was acceptable.

The legislation is expected to be submitted to the Council of Ministers soon, perhaps as early as the end of the week.

Nouth Sa An, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, and Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said NGOs could still work with the law but would face limitations.

“Even if this does not change, we can work under this law,” he said. “But we [will] not have much freedom.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MAY TITTHARA

AKP - The Agence Kampuchea Press

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Cambodia Fully Supports Timor-Leste to Become ASEAN Member

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has expressed Cambodia’s full support to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Cambodian premier hoped that Timor-Leste will become the ASEAN 11th member this year or next year, H.E. Koy Kuong, undersecretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation told reporters upon the meeting between Samdech Techo Hun Sen and visiting President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta held here on Tuesday at the Peace Palace.

Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen also explained that Cambodia’s support to Timor-Leste is regardless the country is poor or rich, small or big, but to reflect the equal rights of the countries in the region.

He further said that Cambodia is delighted to see Timor-Leste is in peace, stability and economic growth and he accepted the invitation to pay a visit to the country in an appropriate time this year, said Ieng Sophalet, assistant to the Cambodian prime minister.

For his part, President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, told Samdech Techo Hun Sen of his country’s situation, indicating that Timor-Leste’s economic growth has reached ten percent since 2007 and the country now has no external debt, but money surplus deposited in the bank.

“Therefore, the Timor-Leste’s request to join ASEAN will not be a burden for any country,” he stressed, adding that Timor-Leste’s objective is to integrate into the region and to strengthen and expand the regional cooperation.

H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta arrived here yesterday morning for a three-day state visit. On the same day, he was received in a royal audience by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.

According to the schedule, the president of Timor-Leste will pay courtesy calls on Senate President Samdech Akka Moha Thamma Pothisal Chea Sim, and National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin on Mar. 30. –AKP

Article in Khmer by CHEY Phum Pul

Article in English by SOKMOM Nimul

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Cambodia Launches Latest Report on Progress of Millennium Development Goals

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Cambodia’s latest report on the progress of the Millennium Development Goals was officially launched today, drawing attention to the needs for greater interventions to address three goals in particular: tackling extreme poverty, reducing maternal death and protecting natural resources.

The Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs) Update 2010 said the country’s progress towards its Millennium Development Goals has been substantial but varied. The greatest progress has been made in CMDG4 (Reduce child mortality) and CMDG6 (Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases). There has been slow progress made in trying to achieve universal primary education (CMDG2), promote gender equality and empower women (CMDG3), and clear land mines and explosive remnants of war (CMDG9).

In remaining years leading up the 2015 target date, more attentions will be needed on CMDG1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger), CMDG5 (improve maternal health), and CMDG7 (ensuring environmental sustainability). Some aspects of the three goals are “worryingly off-track”, according to the report which was launched during a workshop in Siem Reap today.

“The new CMDG report shows us clearly what we can achieve by 2015 and what we might not achieve,” H.E. Chhay Than, Senior Minister and Minister of Planning, said at the launching ceremony.

“We need to put emphasis on the economic development aspect as it is the first and foremost means to achieve social development. For instance, we say we want to reduce poverty but how can we do so if we still have no food in the plate and no hospital for the sick,” he added.

The 2010 report was prepared by the Ministry of Planning with the technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is the fifth report on the achievements of CMDGs.

The new report pointed to rural-urban income gap, high maternal deaths and lack of access for women to emergency obstetric care, and high dependency on wood for fuel and issues surrounding land titling as among the factors behind the lack of progress in the CMDG1, 5 and 7.

“With less than five years left to the MDG 2015 target date, this report represents an important milestone for UNDP’s work in Cambodia,” Mr. Natharoun Ngo, assistant country director and team leader of the Poverty Reduction unit at UNDP Cambodia. –AKP

By KHAN Sophirom

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Cambodia, UNDP Hold Talks on “Action Plan for 2011-2015”

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Cambodia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) opened here on Mar. 29 the annual meeting on “Development Cooperation Financing Framework” under the presidency of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance H.E. Keat Chhon.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Chheang Yanara, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of Cambodian Development and Rehabilitation Committee, and Mrs. Elena Tischenko, UNDP Director to Cambodia as well as technical officials and experts.

According to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the meeting focused on “UNDP’s Country Programme Action Plan 2011-2015” and aimed to support UNDP’s key fields including poverty reduction, democratic governance, environmental and climate change management, etc. –AKP

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International Co-prosecutor Appeals for Increasing Sentence Against Duch

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – International co-prosecutor appealed the UN-backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia to increase the sentence for Khmer Rouge War Crime Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch from 35 to 45 years term in jail.

In a hearing process at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) held on Mar. 29, Mr. Andrew Cayley, international prosecutor, asked the court to stiffen the sentence against Duch from 35 to 45 years or to life in prison and not to be released in exchange for any conditions.

In the court hearing held a day before yesterday, Dutch’s defense lawyer Mr. Kar Savuth asked the court to release his client, arguing that the tribunal does not have jurisdiction to convict his client, it means that Duch is not the one who is responsible for the guilty that the court found.

He insisted that Duch was obliged to carry out orders as other prison chiefs did in the regime.

All the suggestions made by Duch’s defense lawyer were opposed by national prosecutor.

As planned, the hearing lasts for three days and is expected to finish today.

Last year, the tribunal found the chief of infamous S-21 torture center during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) Duch guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 35 years of imprisonment. –AKP

By THOU Peou

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Cambodia Fully Supports Timor-Leste to Become ASEAN Member

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen has expressed Cambodia’s full support to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Cambodian premier hoped that Timor-Leste will become the ASEAN 11th member this year or next year, H.E. Koy Kuong, undersecretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation told reporters upon the meeting between Samdech Techo Hun Sen and visiting President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta held here on Tuesday at the Peace Palace.

Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen also explained that Cambodia’s support to Timor-Leste is regardless the country is poor or rich, small or big, but to reflect the equal rights of the countries in the region.

He further said that Cambodia is delighted to see Timor-Leste is in peace, stability and economic growth and he accepted the invitation to pay a visit to the country in an appropriate time this year, said Ieng Sophalet, assistant to the Cambodian prime minister.

For his part, President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, told Samdech Techo Hun Sen of his country’s situation, indicating that Timor-Leste’s economic growth has reached ten percent since 2007 and the country now has no external debt, but money surplus deposited in the bank.

“Therefore, the Timor-Leste’s request to join ASEAN will not be a burden for any country,” he stressed, adding that Timor-Leste’s objective is to integrate into the region and to strengthen and expand the regional cooperation.

H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta arrived here yesterday morning for a three-day state visit. On the same day, he was received in a royal audience by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.

According to the schedule, the president of Timor-Leste will pay courtesy calls on Senate President Samdech Akka Moha Thamma Pothisal Chea Sim, and National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin on Mar. 30. –AKP

Article in Khmer by CHEY Phum Pul

Article in English by SOKMOM Nimul

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Senior Officials of China, ASEAN To Consult in East China

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Senior officials of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold their 17th annual consultations in east China city of Hangzhou on Mar. 30-31.

Chinese News Agency Xinhua quoted a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying that Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue and senior officials of the ASEAN countries will attend the meeting to discuss China-ASEAN relations as well as regional and international issues of common concern.

The meeting, hosted by China and the ASEAN countries alternatively every year, is considered an important mechanism for the two sides, said the press release.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. –AKP

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Cambodia-VN Friendship To Develop Firmly

Phnom Penh, March 30, 2011 AKP – Vietnamese Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan has expressed her belief that with efforts by states and people, the friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia would develop firmly.

The Vietnamese vice state president expressed her aspiration while receiving a visiting Cambodian delegation headed by Khun Chhy, former Cambodian Transport Minister, in Hanoi on Mar. 29, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Stressing the traditional friendship and mutual assistance during the past struggle for national liberation and the current national construction, Doan confirmed that the fine relations between the two countries resulted from the efforts and devotion of generations of Vietnamese and Cambodians and there was a responsibility in educating young people to continue these precious traditions.

Khun Chhy appreciated assistance from the Vietnamese people to help the Cambodian people escape from genocide and said Cambodia would never forget the help and devotion of the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers in the past.

He informed the hosts that during the visit the delegation met Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts, who stood side by side with the Cambodian people during their past difficulties.

The same day, the Cambodian delegation was received by Vu Xuan Hong, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, who expressed his hope that the visit would contribute to boosting the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

The Cambodian delegation also paid a tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum. –AKP

Distressed maid set to return

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:02Mom Kunthear and David Boyle

A woman who reportedly said she was being tortured and forcibly detained by her employer in Kuala Lumpur during a phone call has been located and will be sent back to Cambodia next week, officials from the Malaysian embassy said yesterday.

Kampuchea Thmey newspaper reported on March 18 that the woman had made a random call to a university student in Phnom Penh pleading her to ask the Cambodian government to help her escape from her employer.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Malaysian embassy said they had taken swift action to locate the woman and had sent officials in Malaysia to her residence to provide essential assistance.

“The embassy contacted the woman through the phone number posted in the paper and talked to a woman who expressed that [she was] abused and suffered,” the statement said.

The statement also promised the Malaysian embassy would work closely with the Cambodian government and the other relevant partners to protect the Cambodian workers both in Cambodia and Malaysia.

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I try to talk to her, but I cannot because her boss does not allow her to leave home.

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Raja Saiful Ridzuwan, deputy chief of mission at the Malaysian embassy, yesterday declined to identify the woman or the company allegedly detaining her, but said these details would be available when she returned next week.

Yet another complaint alleging a Cambodian domestic worker in Malaysia was being tortured and illegally detained was filed with the rights group Adhoc yesterday.

Men Thorn, 36, said yesterday she filed a complaint against the AP Sentosa Training Centre with local rights group Adhoc after receiving a distressing phone call from her sister Men Syna’s neighbour in Malaysia, who said her sibling was being abused.

“I got the call from my sister’s neighbour, who my sister needed help from to reach me so that I could help intervene from Cambodia to release her from Malaysia because the employer tortures and detains her and doesn’t allow her to talk with anyone nearby,” she said.

The neighbour, an 18-year-old Cambodian woman who also works at a factory in Malaysia and asked only to be identified as Vy said she was afraid that if Men Syna’s boss caught her seeking help from outsiders that he would further punish her.

“I try to talk to her, but I cannot because her boss does not allow her to leave home or talk to anyone,” she said.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that the government would not be careless with this case.

“We will take measures immediately in cases [where] we get information or a letter from the family member, but until now I haven’t got any information about this case yet,” he said.

Additional reporting by Khuon Leakhana

Former Tack Fat workers continue protests

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:02Tep Nimol

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday handed down an injunction prohibiting bankrupt garment factory Tack Fat from selling, renting or transferring property or equipment, as over 1,000 former employees staged a protest demanding that Tack Fat expand compensation after they lost their jobs when the factory closed this month.

The former employees demanded that Tack Fat meet five requirements of

Cambodia’s labour law relating to severance of workers due to bankruptcy.

Sri Kim You, a lawyer for Tack Fat owner Kuk Voeng, said yesterday that Tack Fat was trying to negotiate a resolution to the dispute for both parties through the Social Affairs Ministry’s committee for solving disputes between employers and workers.

“The company has the capacity to pay three points of the compensation but a resolution was passed by the committee to find the possibility of better solution,” said Sri Kim You. Tack Fat have agreed to pay seniority bonuses, one month of wages and a lump sum payment of US$150 to each worker.

Chhean Thida, a representative of former Tack Fat employees, said that workers would protest if a suitable outcome was not reached during the meeting.

Soy Siphun, director of the committee for solving disputes between employers and workers, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Soy Sopheap begs for forgiveness

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Media personality Soy Sopheap adjusts a poster at the re-opening of Deum Ampil Newspaper in December 2010. Soy Sopheap attended court yesterday to clarify defamation allegations.

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:02Buth Reaksmey Kongkea

Prominent television personality Soy Sopheap was summoned to Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday to clarify defamation accusations alleged by Son Soubert, a political analyst and former member of the Constitutional Council.

Ek Chheng Huot, deputy prosecutor at the Municipal Court, said yesterday that Soy Sopheap, director of Deum Ampil News and a presenter for Bayon TV, faced a complaint by Son Soubert on February 4 over accusations of defamation stemming from comments suggesting that Son Sann – Son Soubert’s father and former prime minister – sold land located near Preah Vihear temple to Thailand in the 1980s.

“Soy Sopheap was accused with defamation of Samdech Son Sann who is the father of His Excellency Son Soubert. He has already appeared in court and clarified about his accusations yesterday and I have not decided whether he will be charged or not yet,” Ek Chheng Hout said yesterday.

Soy Sopheap said in court that he was confused and had made a mistake in his political commentary regarding Son Sann and had pleaded for a pardon from Son Soubert with regard to the comments. He said he had also made a correction publicly on Bayon TV shortly after the incident.

“I am responsible about what I had said related to Samdech Son Sann, and I have also recognised that I had been confused about this. I hope that the court will not take any legal action against me because I have begged for a pardon from Son Soubert already,” he said, adding that he plans to publicly beg for a pardon and reiterate his corrections on Bayon Television tonight.

“There is a culture of responsibility for journalists when they have made mistakes [in publications] and it is also in the press law,” he said.

Son Soubert claimed in court yesterday that Soy Sopheap had not yet pleaded with him for a pardon regarding his political commentary against his father, except for praising his father’s courage.

“I think that Soy Sopheap’s accusation was very bad for my father’s reputation ... so I could not accept his words that just praised my father’s heroism but did not withdraw his wrongful commentary against him.”

He added that he will consider withdrawing his complaint against Soy Sopheap if he accepts that he had made a mistake, makes a correction and condemns his previous characterisations of Son Sann.

Emaxx defends licence claim

Photo by: Marisa Reichert

Frank May, COO of Digital Star, speaks to The Post in Phnom Penh yesterday.

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:01Jeremy Mullins

Telecommunications firm Digital Star Media plans to have 75 WiMAX towers in operation by the end of the year using a frequency range that has been claimed by other internet service providers.

Chief Operations Officer Frank May said that the firm was granted a licence for the 2.5GHz to 2.7GHz frequency range in 2007.

Among other uses, the licence enables Digital Star to provide internet access to computers as well as calls and data service for mobile phones using WiMAX – a form of “last mile” internet delivery, whereby the internet can be accessed wirelessly at long range.

However, the permit has been controversial.

Sok Channda, Chief Executive Officer of the parent company of MekongNet and AngkorNet Internet Service Providers, claimed on Monday that her firm had been granted a licence for a slice of that frequency range, but then it had then been given to another company.

Her firms had already invested substantially in WiMAX, but its plans had been stymied by overlapping licences. “We hope that the government can help us solve this problem,” she said this week.

It is not the first time ISPs looked to the government for clarification.

Last year, seven companies affected by licensing of the 2.5GHz to 2.7GHz range penned a joint letter to the Prime Minister over the issue.

May maintained yesterday that Digital Star had received the licence for the frequency first, following a successful application.

Other companies had been erroneously granted overlapping licences, but “were told in late 2009 to 2010 to get off our frequency,” he said.

He has high hopes for his company and believes that the launch of its WiMAX service under its Emaxx brand name next month will benefit Cambodia.

“What we’re bringing to Cambodia is something that is being done around the world. Cambodian people deserve good telecommunications,” he said.

The firm’s rollout of 75 WiMAX towers by year-end was expected to costs between US$65 to $75 million, aiming to attract some 150,000 subscribers by year end, he said.

“The first move is a big capital investment,” he said, adding the firm planned on further expansion.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to be number one. We’ll be a very strong, very powerful tier-two provider,” he added.

Highlighting the potential to provide mobile phone service, he said the firm aimed to introduce Long Term Evolution technology – so-called 4G – in 2012.

“LTE is moving forward all the time. These people who say who’s going to need it, they’re the people whose networks were installed four or five years ago. They’re in trouble. They bought in at very high cost for their base stations,” he said.

He claimed that Digital Star has one of three 4G licences awarded in Cambodia, adding the other two had gone to Viettel and Russian firm Altech.

Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun did not comment when contacted yesterday.

Frank May also highlighted the firm’s intent to provide internet access to rural areas, free of charge in some cases. It planned to expand partly through a tower sharing agreement with Mfone to reduce unnecessary expenses, he said.

Mfone chief executive officer Yap Wai Khee declined to comment on the agreement yesterday.

Inflation accelerates but rate remains 'acceptable'

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:01May Kunmakara

Consumer price inflation accelerated in February, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics, as prices for food and fuel keep rising.

In its monthly Consumer Price Index report, the NIS said prices last month rose 3.8

percent year-over-year, a bump up from the 3.3-percent year-over-year inflation seen in January.

Prices climbed 0.7 percent from January to February, the report said.

An NIS official said the limited inflation rate change was predictable given the current stability in the exchange rate between the Cambodian riel and the United States dollar. That stability has helped to keep inflation in the Kingdom in check.

“[The] recent exchange rate stability contributes to keeping the inflation rate from rising. That’s very good for our macro economy,” said Khin Song, deputy director general at the NIS.

“The rate is acceptable, as we predicted. Below 5 percent means that we are not too concerned,” he said.

Food prices rose 11.1 percent in February, compared to a year earlier, while the cost for cooking oil and fats jumped 7.7 percent. At the same time, gas for cooking soared 16.2 percent. Household water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased by 3.3 percent Gas for vehicles, advanced 15.9 percent. Transport prices went up 5.5 percent.

The NIS’s Khin Song recognised the increase in food costs, but said that energy inflation would not have a serious impact.

“I think the small increase in the price of these products was the effect of Chinese New Year,” he said. “Although we see fuel prices increased, they did not completely impact the entire price index.”

However, Olaf Unterroberdoerster, senior economist at the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, said last week that higher fuel costs tend to spill over to other prices, notably food and transportation.

Action for safer noodles

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Villagers make noodles in Takeo province in January. In a government effort to ensure customer safety noodle producers may now face fines for using preservatives such as Borax and formalin.

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:00Sieam Bunthy

Noodle-makers are being warned against using illegal preservatives such as Borax and formalin in their products by the Government, which has said that producers may face fines as it aims to improve consumer safety.

Yesterday, 38 string noodle producers from Phnom Penh and eight other provinces attended a training course on noodle producing methods held at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.

At the first seminar of its kind, Suy Sem, Minister for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said that the Government wanted noodle-makers to reach set standards and ensure customer safety.

He warned against using risky chemicals such as Borax in production.

The minister added that the body is set to warn and issue fines to string noodle makers which harm customers’ health.

Earlier this month, research from a specialist at the Royal Academy of Cambodia found between 41 and 80 percent of food products in Cambodia contained dangerous substances.

Borax and formalin, a substance made of formaldehyde and water, were found in a range of products including sausage, dry fish, seafood, noodles and meat balls produced from beef and pork.

You Kea, a household noodle maker from Battambang province, said he supported the ministry’s program and had been educated about safety.

“The [new] method is good,” said You Kea.

Singapore firm backs cassava

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:00Chun Sophal

Khov Choly Group has partnered with a Singaporean company on a US$22 million joint venture to grow cassava in the Kingdom and build a processing factory to allow for exports to Japan and China.

Khov Phallabut, director for Khov Choly Group, would not reveal the name of the Singaporean partner, or the name of the new company, but he did offer a time frame for the company’s launch. He said that preparations for growing would start midyear and he expected the processing factory to be completed by 2012.

The business would operate in Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Oddar Meancheay and Mondulkiri provinces, he said.

Khov Choly Group will control 60 percent of the new company, or a $13.2 million stake, while the Singaporean investor would own a 40-percent share worth $8.8 million, said Khov Phallabut. He also said he plans to export dry cassava to China and the processed powder to Japan.

New start for Sofitel

Photo by: Pha Lina

Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh lights a candle during the ceremony for the grand opening of the five-star Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeetra hotel yesterday.

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 15:00Soeun Say

Phnom Penh’s US$50 million five-star Sofitel hotel held its grand opening ceremony yesterday.

Attended by 1,000 people, the event was presided over by Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh, Tourism Minister Thong Khon and Sofitel’s Vice President for South East Asia, Christophe Caron.

“We’re confident to invest in the hotel industry here because Cambodia has a lot of potential for tourism. We call it Sovann Phoum [Golden Land],” said Supachai Virapuchong, Managing Director of Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeetra Hotel, in the capital's Chamkarmorn District.

“A new Sofitel hotel is a help for cooperation and development in the tourism sector in Cambodia, in order to attract international tourists come to visit the Kingdom of Wonder,” Thong Khon said at the grand opening ceremony Sofitel yesterday.

The development is backed by a mixed consortium of Cambodian, Thai and French investors.

Government and embassy offiicals along with members of the tourism industry, private sector, and non-governmental sector were present at the opening.

101 East - Cambodia's orphan tourism

The Tack Fat's Factory Workers Protest

Pictures by RFA/Leng Maly