Please click on Khmer poem to zoom in. Khmer poem by Yim Guechsè (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com/)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Khmer political poem: "Samnaum Por Tuk Tvea Som Tos"
Please click on Khmer poem to zoom in. Khmer poem by Yim Guechsè (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com/)Human Rights Council to review Cambodia’s human rights record
PRESS RELEASEPhnom Penh, 30 November 2009
For immediate release
_________________________________________
Human Rights Council to review Cambodia’s human rights record
PHNOM PENH, 30 Nov – Tomorrow, 1 December 2009, the Kingdom of Cambodia will be subject to the first Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record. The Universal Periodic Review, a process created in 2006 to review the human rights record of UN-member states, takes place in Geneva under the auspices of the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) welcomes this opportunity to examine areas where the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) can adjust its policies and behaviour to ensure the protection of the human rights of those it was elected to serve.
The Universal Periodic Review, which takes place every four years, provides an opportunity for each State to outline the action taken in the preceding period to improve the human rights situation in the country and fulfil its human rights obligations. It also allows for civil society organizations to prepare submissions to the Human Rights Council on the state’s human rights record. On 13 April 2009, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), coordinated by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) and assisted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), made a Joint Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Joint Submission, which included contributions by CCHR, raised serious concerns about the decline of freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia in recent years. The submission, which concluded with a number of recommendations to help increase freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia, has been incorporated into the stakeholder report compiled by the OHCHR. The full submission is available at http://www.cchrcambodia.org/.
In the week leading up to the review, CCHR has been writing to Human Rights Council member states and other bodies with an interest in the review, including the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Information, to highlight recent developments and the recommendations included in the Joint Submission. It implores member states of the Human Rights Council to use the Universal Periodic Review as an opportunity to hold the RGC to account for its frequent violations of its international and constitutional human rights obligations. CCHR hopes that the UPR Outcome Report reflects the concerns outlined in the Joint Submission and that the UPR Working Group finds ways to ensure that human rights have a proper place in Cambodia and are duly respected.
The review process, beginning at 3pm Central European Time (9pm local time), will be available for viewing live via webcast at http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/.
The three reports that will be used as the basis for Cambodia’s review are available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/Documentation.aspx.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ou Virak, President, CCHR
Tel: +855 12 404051
Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org
PDF file avialable here
NGO representatives to attend the UN Geneva Human Rights meeting
28 Nov 2009By Sok Serey
Source: Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata for KI-Media
Click here to read the article in Khmer
Representatives for Human Rights NGOs plan to attend a yearly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, at the beginning of December. The meeting will also be focused on the current situation of human rights violation in Cambodia.
Major NGO activists who will attend the meeting include: Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, Licadho president, and Thun Saray, Adhoc president.Prior to her departure, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek said that she plans to raise a number of issues during the upcoming meeting.
“Land dispute problems in Cambodia, freedom of expression, freedom in the various lawsuits, and the freedom to receive information, even though these freedoms are the bases of the convention for the people’s rights and political rights, I want to see Cambodia clearly put into application this convention,” Dr. Pung Chiv Kek said.
Yim Sovann, SRP MP and SRP spokesman, said that he wants to see SRP MPs being invited to attend the meeting also. “To find a resolution, we must do all we can so that Cambodia does not lose face due to human rights violations because it strongly reflects on our economy, as well as on social and political development in the country,” Yim Sovann indicated.
The Khmer Rouge Tribunal: Trials and Tribulations
A memorial at the Choeund Ek mass grave site in Cambodia is composed of victims' skulls. A flag is reflected in the glass panel (Sarah Caron / Polaris)By CHRISTOPHER SHAY / HONG KONG
The TIME Magazine
When the Khmer Rouge emptied the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh of human inhabitants in 1975, one of Pol Pot's soldiers murdered 4-year-old Theary Seng's father. Later, Theary Seng, her mother and siblings ended up in a prison in southeast Cambodia. One day, Theary Seng awoke to an empty cell — the prison population had been massacred overnight. In a rare act of mercy, the Khmer Rouge soldiers allowed the handful of children to survive. Theary Seng eventually escaped to a Thai refugee camp and then to the U.S. Her story is by no means unique in Cambodia. In just this one prison in Svay Rieng province, between 20,000 and 30,000 people were executed, and during the Pol Pot era, about 1.7 million Cambodians died — more than 20% of the country's population.
Still traumatized by those years and subsequent decades of political instability, many Cambodians had hoped that the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, a hybrid Cambodian–international court, would help push the country toward reconciliation. In November 2007, Theary Seng, now a human-rights lawyer in Phnom Penh, applied to become the first civil party at the Khmer Rouge tribunal — whereby she and other Khmer Rouge victims are participating in the criminal proceedings with their own set of lawyers. On Friday, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) — the official name of the tribunal — finished hearing its first case. Prosecutors sought a 40-year jail sentence for Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, (pronounced doik) who ran the notorious S-21 prison, a Phnom Penh high school transformed into an interrogation center where Duch is accused of overseeing the grisly deaths of approximately 15,000 people. Over the last six months of hearings, the court heard accounts of interrogators who ripped off toenails, suffocated prisoners with plastic bags, forced people to eat feces, electrocuted prisoners and drained blood to extract confessions. During the trial, Duch, 67, said that Cambodians should hold him to the "highest level of punishment." But he also begged for forgiveness, saying he was only "a cog in a running machine." Duch's defense team painted the former math instructor as a mid-level bureaucrat who didn't personally torture anyone and was only following orders, and on Friday, Duch pleaded for the tribunal to release him.
Southern provinces to launch tourism road show in Cambodia
30/11/2009
VietNamNet/SGT
VietNamNet/SGT
VietNamNet Bridge – Tourism authorities of southern cities and provinces as well as entrepreneurs will organize a road show in Cambodia next month to promote tourism as well as to make a chance for local investors to develop tourism properties there, a tourism official said.
Huynh Van Son, an official of the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the program would run from December 7 to 9 in Sihanouk Ville and Phnom Penh. HCMC will join forces with other southern localities including An Giang and Kien Giang to organize events in the neighboring country.
Local participants will include tourism officials, tourism transport operators, tour operators, investors as well as other relevant services providers. Such participants will go to the neighboring country via the Giang Thanh border gate in Kien Giang Province.
“It’s not only a tourism promotion trip but also the trip for Vietnam and Cambodia tourism participants to have further discussions on cooperation to develop tourist sites and tourism products of the two sides such as caravan tours, sea tourism, health tourism,” he said.
Son said that the exchange of visitors between the two countries has been on the increase. Therefore, stronger cooperation will help the tourism sector better serve such tourists and attract more travelers from the third country to Vietnam and Cambodia.
“The high-ranking officials of the two countries have pledged to cooperate in joint programs for tourism development so the above activity is one of programs that we will do to realize this purpose,” Son said.
He said that another important purpose of the road show is to offer a chance for local investors to have direct meetings with representatives of Cambodia’s Tourism Ministry as well as officials of other localities there to find new opportunities to develop tourism properties in Cambodia.
Abhisit is the most difficult Thai PM : Hun Sen
Mon, November 30, 2009
By Rasmei Kampuchea /Asia News Network
By Rasmei Kampuchea /Asia News Network
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday described Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva as the most difficult Thai premier he has worked with.
The mutual ties which has been sour for months would be normalised only if Thailand has a new government, Hun Sen told reporters in Phnom Penh.
He claimed that Abhisit phoned him during the weekend after Phnom Penh government sent a note to inform Bangkok last week that it decided to cancel its request to receive a loan of US$41 million for a road construction from a Thai border province.
Hun Sen blasts Thai leaders
Nov 30, 2009
Straits Times
Straits Times
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen criticised Thailand's leaders on Monday, saying they had insulted his country after Phnom Penh refused to extradite fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Hun Sen said that his country would 'have no happiness' while Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his foreign Minister Kasit Piromya were still in power.
'I'm not the enemy of the Thai people... But the prime minister and the foreign minister, these two people look down on Cambodia extremely,' Mr Hun Sen said in a speech at a provincial ceremony. 'Cambodia will have no happiness as long as this group is in power in Thailand,' he added.
Please click here to read more...
Govt cancels Thai road loan
Monday, 30 November 2009
By Cheang Sokha and James O'toole
The Phnom Penh Post
By Cheang Sokha and James O'toole
The Phnom Penh Post
CAMBODIA annulled a US$41 million loan from Thailand on Friday, as family members visited the jailed Thai engineer who has become embroiled in the diplomatic spat between the two countries.
The loan, which had been finalised in August, was to have funded renovations of National Road 68, connecting Siem Reap and Oddar Meanchey provinces with Thailand. “We have sent the diplomatic note for the cancellation of the loan agreement because Cambodia has its own ability to build this road,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said, adding that Prime Minister Hun Sen will preside over a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on December 5.
Please click here to read more...
The diplomatic crisis between Phnom Penh and Bangkok threatens the Trans-Asian Railway
11/30/2009
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The diplomatic crisis between Phnom Penh and Bangkok is seriously jeopardizing the completion of the Trans-Asian Railway in the area which will connect Kunming in southern China, to Singapore, along a path of 5300 km. The project of 15 billion dollars could vanish over just six kilometers: those needed to join Sisophon, Cambodia, to Aranyaprathet, Thailand.
Realization of the railway threatened - along six kilometres - which crosses the border between the two countries. The line should unite in Kunming in southern China to Singapore, along a path of 5300 km. End of work planned for 2015, for a total cost of 15 billion dollars.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The diplomatic crisis between Phnom Penh and Bangkok is seriously jeopardizing the completion of the Trans-Asian Railway in the area which will connect Kunming in southern China, to Singapore, along a path of 5300 km. The project of 15 billion dollars could vanish over just six kilometers: those needed to join Sisophon, Cambodia, to Aranyaprathet, Thailand.Cambodian government sources, on condition of anonymity, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) they understand the reasons why Thailand "does not to continue the project while there are ongoing hostilities." A manager of the Thai State Railways confirmed that "negotiations are ongoing," but the situation is deadlocked.
Mother seeks opposition's help for detained Thai engineer
November 30, 2009
The Nation
The Nation
Simarak Na Nakhon Phanom, the mother of detained Thai national Sivarak Chutipong Monday sought assistance from opposition Pheu Thai Party, blaming the Foreign Ministry for slow move to save her son from Cambodia prison.
She met former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama at the party headquarter to ask assistance to free Sivarak who was being detained for the charge of spying on former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's flight information.
"The Foreign Ministry is too slow. My son and I cannot wait. So I would do whatever to help him," Simarak told a press conference.
Noppadon said he helped the mother and son on humanitarian basis as used his connection in Phnom Penh to help Simarak to see her son again within a couple days from now.
[alleged Thai spy's] Mum turns to Thaksin's lawyer
30/11/2009
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama said on Monday that he had asked the Cambodian government to allow another visit by the mother of the jailed Thai engineer accused of spying.
Sivarak Chutipong, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of passing a state secret to Thai diplomatic officials - flight information about fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra when he visited Phnom Pehn.
Mr Sivarak is being held in Prey Sar prison. His mother Simarak Na Nakhon Phanom and younger brother were allowed to visit him on Friday.
Mr Noppadon, a lawyer and close associate of Thaksin, and Mrs Simarak held a press conference this afternoon.
"I have contacted the Cambodian authorities and asked they allow Mrs Simarak to meet her son again," Mr Noppan said. "I called a press briefing on this because I don't want it to turn into a political issue."
[Thai] Govt doing its best to help [alleged Thai spy] Sivarak
30/11/2009
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
The government is doing its best within the limits of the law to help the Thai engineer accused of spying in Cambodia, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Monday.
Sivarak Chutipong, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services (CATS), was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of passing a state secret to Thai diplomatic officials - flight information about fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra when he visited Phnom Pehn. Mr Sivarak is being held in Prey Sar prison.
The foreign minister said Mr Sivarak had been consulting his Cambodian lawyer, Kao Soupha.
"In addition, a lawyer from the Lawyers Council of Thailand is available to help Mr Sivarak, who insists he is innocent," Mr Kasit said.
NAA to target marginalised for assistance
Monday, 30 November 2009
By Chhay Channyda and Jacob Gold
The Phnom Penh Post
By Chhay Channyda and Jacob Gold
The Phnom Penh Post
Ahead of Tuesday’s marking of World AIDS Day, Cambodia today will commit to protecting the rights of high-risk marginal groups, the National AIDS Authority (NAA) said.
Rights groups say the health of high-risk groups – men who have sex with men, injection drug users and sex workers – often suffers because of punitive government policy.
“The discrimination they face makes them less likely to seek and receive treatment,” Teng Kunthy, secretary general of the NAA, said Sunday.
Oum Sopheap, executive director of the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, said the underground lifestyle of injection drug users made them harder to reach. “Drug users like to live in squatter homes, so people do not usually see them. They like to hide themselves,” he said.
U.S says to continue help Cambodia to fight HIV/AIDS
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Monday that it will continue to help Cambodia in fighting against HIV/AIDS.
"The United States looks forward to continuing our support of successes like these and we are committed to furthering efforts that curb the spread of HIV in Cambodia," it said in a statement released here on Monday by its Embassy.
The U.S is considered as the largest bilateral HIV/AIDS donor in Cambodia, committing 18 million U.S. dollars in 2009 as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The U.S helped Cambodia cut its HIV/AIDS prevalence rate by half among the general population and by two thirds among brothel-based sex workers, a remarkable success story in the global fight against the disease.
The U.S. assistance is also helping to provide life-saving antiretroviral medication to more than 31,000 Cambodians living with HIV/AIDS, reaching over 90 percent of those in need, the statement said.
Over the next five years, the United States will place a renewed emphasis on partnering with Cambodia to build the country's national HIV/AIDS response, it added.
Editor: Li Xianzhi
Cambodia-Vietnam joint commission meeting to be held later this week
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Vietnam are set to hold a joint commission meeting later this week in Cambodia's southwestern province of Sihanouk.
In a statement released on Monday, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said the 11th Meeting of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Commission for Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation will be held in Preah Sihanouk Province from Dec. 3-4, 2009.
It said that Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem will lead a delegation to attend the meeting.
During his stay in Cambodia, Pham Gia Khiem will pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen, and sign with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong on the agreed minutes of the meeting.
Editor: Xiong Tong
Motorcycle sales gain traction in Cambodia after slow year
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Motorcycle dealers in the capital Phnom Penh say sales have finally started to pick up following this year's downturn prompted by the global economic crisis, as buyers spend money generated in the provinces on upgrading to new models that have recently entered the market for 2010, local media reported on Monday.
Kim Chhay, one of the many dealers who operate on Phnom Penh's Sihanouk Boulevard, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying that sales had risen between 10 and 20 percent since October "due to demand for new models" of brands including Honda, which he said had recently launched its 2010 range.
Having seen sales plummet from around 100 units a month to between 30 to 40 during the first 10 months of 2009, he said sales have climbed. "Now we're selling around 60 motorbikes per month."
2001 MoU with Thailand regarding the overlapping maritme claims to the continetal shelf
Please click on image of MOU to zoom in
Thailand and Cambodia Maritime Disputes: Thai Navy's perspectives
Please click on the map to zoom inOriginally posted at http://www.navy.mi.th/judge/
Introduction
An acre of sea is worth much more than an acre of infertile land, if there is oil and gas. Thus a number of coastal states have excessive maritime claims in order to fully utilize the benefits potentially empowered by international law, including UNCLOS. In the case of Thailand and Cambodia they have claimed their maritime zones to benefit their national interest leading to a huge overlapped claimed area. However, both try to solve this problem by reaching the memorandum of understanding to negotiate the maritime delimitation and establish the joint development area (JDA).
These disputes were initiated by different interpretation of the Francois-Siamese boundary treaty 1907 . Background fact as a matter of disputes and some arguments of both sides and the principal of delimitation, including scholar's views are given. Activities and conflicts in this area are also presented, followed by the way ahead and conclusion.
Horror prison lifts the bar on atrocities
Claims of torture haunt Prey Sar jail
30/11/2009
By Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
30/11/2009
By Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
The Prey Sar prison which is presently home to Thai spy suspect Sivarak Chutipong and thousands of other Cambodian and foreign inmates is under fresh fire for its "appalling conditions".
The complex - described as one of the most notorious jails in Southeast Asia and often compared with the infamous Tuol Sleng prison under Khmer Rouge rule - has been slammed for alleged human rights violations.
"I've often heard about brutal torture against the prisoners there," said a 25-year-old Cambodian woman.
"It's really scary. I think most Cambodian people know well about its conditions."
Cambodian Trial, Though Grim, Broke New Ground
.jpg)
Kaing Guek Eav, left, sat in the courtroom at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, during the closing statements in Phnom Penh on Friday. (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, via European Pressphoto Agency)By SETH MYDANS
The New York Times
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The first trial to showcase the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge three decades ago concluded with the regime’s chief torturer still seemingly unable to grasp the magnitude of his actions. Yet despite that surprising end, the trial may have helped Cambodia begin to move beyond the horrors of its past.
The defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, 67, known as Duch, was the first leading Khmer Rouge figure to be tried in connection with the deaths of 1.7 million people when the brutal Communist regime ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Throughout the trial, he described in detail his role as the commandant of Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S-21, where at least 14,000 people were tortured and sent to their deaths.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
In South Korea, babies inspire mixed feelings
Haksrei Mom, 23, from Cambodia, greets her son at Yeonggwang General Hospital in South Korea. Women from poorer parts of Asia have fueled a South Korean baby boom, but caused concerns about assimilating the offspring of mixed unions.NEW YORK TIMES / WOOHAE CHOBy MARTIN FACKLER
The New York Times
YEONGGWANG, South Korea -- Just a few years ago, the number of pregnant women in this city had declined so much that the sparsely equipped two-room maternity ward at Yeonggwang General Hospital was close to shutting down. But these days it is busy again.
More surprising than the fact of this miniature baby boom is its composition: children of mixed ethnic backgrounds, the offspring of Korean fathers and mothers from China, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. These families have suddenly become so numerous that the nurses say they have had to learn how to say "push" in four languages.
It is a similar story across South Korea, where hundreds of thousands of foreign women have been immigrating in recent years, often in marriages arranged by brokers. They have been making up for a shortage of eligible Korean women, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas like this one in the nation's southwest.
Where she belongs
Luckily for kids at Stockton's Aspire Port City Academy, teacher Sokheap Heng always knew her place was at the head of the class
November 29, 2009
By Roger Phillips, Record Staff Writer
Stockton Record (recordnet.com)
STOCKTON - A whistle and keys hang from a lanyard around the neck of Sokheap Heng. She wears a cream-colored pants suit, a blue blouse and a pair of white Air Jordans. Her black high heels sit under her desk.
She chirps. She squeals. She whispers. Her lower lip quivers. She bounces on her toes. She shimmies. She jumps.
Her fourth- and fifth-graders at Aspire Port City Academy, a 260-student K-5 charter school near downtown Stockton, are enraptured. They never take their eyes off her. They hang on each word. Sometimes, she even makes them giggle.
Thaksin willing to help jailed engineer
29/11/2009
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is willing to help the detained Thai engineer in Cambodia if the Thai government could not help him, Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said on Sunday.
Sivarak Chutipong, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of leaking information concerning the flight plan of Thaksin Shinawatra as he visited Phnom Pehn.
"Thaksin is willing to ask the Cambodian court for mercy for Sivarak if he is found guilty," former foreign minister Noppadon said.
He said Thaksin is still in Dubai.
Thaksin's activities had affected the government's stability and the image of Thailand to the eyes of foreign countries was less positive, he said.
"On the idea of having a mediator for the negotiation between Thaksin and the government, Thaksin is not sure about the government's sincerity," he said.
Thai expat: Singapore corruption ranking is a joke
November 29, 2009
Written by Our Correspondent
The Temasek Review (blog)
Written by Our Correspondent
The Temasek Review (blog)
A Thai expatriate living in Bangkok by the name of John Symons has written an article to Thailand English Daily – “The Nation” expressing his doubts at Singapore’s recent ranking of 3rd by Transparency International.
The Singapore media labels Singapore as the “3rd least corrupt nation” in the world based on the rankings which was described by Mr Symons as “somewhat surreal.”
Mr Symons questioned the accuracy of the rankings on the basis that Singapore lacks a free and independent media – a crucial component of an open and incorrupt society:
ASIA: Artists Join Forces to Make a Difference in Mekong
By Chris Mony - Newsmekong
PHNOM PENH, Nov 29 (IPS) - Nouv Srey Leab, 24, could not quite contain her excitement about the chance to participate in the just concluded regional arts and media festival held in this capital, believing it was one welcome occasion meet fellow artists from other countries in the Mekong sub-region.
"I felt very excited," she said of the opportunity "to meet (other) young artists from the region" as one of the Cambodian artists who took part in the Mekong Arts and Media Festival 2009, which was held on Nov. 23-27.
The festival was co-organised by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) under the PETA-Mekong Partnership Program, which was launched in 2004 to showcase alternative forms of creative expression as tools for advocacy and development work within the region. Other organisers were Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS), Save the Children in Britain and the Center for Community Health Research and Development.
Please click here to read more...
Shock Khmer Rouge plea highlights political battle
Sunday, November 29, 2009
By Didier Lauras
AFP
By Didier Lauras
AFP
PHNOM PENH — A last-minute bid for release by Khmer Rouge jail chief Duch has underscored deep rifts between foreign and Cambodian staff that threaten the UN-backed court, officials and diplomats said.
Duch's defence strategy imploded on the final day of his trial Friday, when he suddenly demanded his release after months of admitting responsibility. Then his international and local lawyers put forward opposing arguments.
French counsel Francois Roux asked judges to consider Duch's remorse in a bid to reduce a possible 40-year sentence. But his Cambodian colleague Kar Savuth said the court was not competent to hold the trial.
"There are, in Cambodia, a number of people who do not want this court," Roux told AFP, hinting that the strategy of his colleague, the lawyer of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, was motivated by political objectives.
'Telepathic' car symbolises Cambodian car industry hopes
.jpg)
Cambodian mechanic Nhean Phaloek sits in his self-designed home-made Angkor 333-2010 car at his house in Phnom Penh.jpg)
.jpg)
Sunday, November 29, 2009By Chan Sovannara
AFP
PHNOM PENH — The gold-coloured convertible turns heads on impoverished Cambodia's roads -- not least because of creator Nhean Phaloek's outlandish claim that it can be operated telepathically.
"I just snap my fingers and the car's door will open. Or I just think of opening the car's door, and the door opens immediately," says the 51-year-old as he proudly shows off the homemade car, named the Angkor 333-2010.
Onlookers gasp as he demonstrates the trick, and with the fibre-glass vehicle having cost him 5,000 dollars and 19 months of labour he is in no mood to reveal the remote control system behind it.
Border between Cambodia and Vietnam: The Trial
Please click on the statement in Khmer to zoom in
Unofficial translation from French by Tola Ek for KI-MediaCFC/CBC 23112009F
Border between Cambodia and Vietnam: The Trial
What is the cost for uprooting wooden stakes planted in the mud of a rice field? The author of this act is currently being charged of “crimes for destruction of public properties and threat against national security.” Yes, you read it right: this is not out of a bad fiction story, this is the reality that reflects the current Hun Sen’s regime in Cambodia.
It turns out that these wooden posts represent temporary stakes for a border post between Vietnam and Cambodia, and they happen to be located in the Cambodian district of Chantrea, Svay Rieng province. The marking operation was conducted by technicians working for the joint Vietnamese-Cambodian government committee, following the official recognition of territorial treaties – which, by the way, are illegal – concluded in 1985 and 2005 by the two governments. The main author of this uprooting act is no other than Sam Rainsy, an opposition MP, and the charge was leveled by a prosecutor for the Svay Rieng provincial court. This charge was later repeated by the minister of Justice who, in light of the “dangerous” offense, immediately requested the lifting of Sam Rainsy’s parliamentary immunity so that he can be brought to face trial. The entire immunity lifting process took only 10 minutes during a closed door session of the National Assembly controlled by MPs from Hun Sen’s own CPP party.
Hang tough if Hun Sen gets rough
.jpg)
LEGAL-EYED: Kao SouphaBy Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
Kao Soupha is a lawyer who is well used to government pressure.
The 37-year-old Cambodian believes that if a lawyer is afraid of the state, then many innocent people will have no chance to defend themselves.
For this reason he decided to represent jailed Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong.
Mr Sivarak, 31, an employee of Thai-owned Cambodia Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 on charges of leaking information concerning the flight plan of Thaksin Shinawatra as he travelled to Cambodia.
PM thanks red shirts for postponement of rally
November 29, 2009
The Nation
The Nation
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday thanked the red-shirt leaders for postponing the rally, and thus easing the situation before the celebrations of His Majesty the King's birthday.
"I would like to thank all sides for making the situation better. Earlier, the people were worried about the political rally," Abhisit said during his weekly TV programme.
Cambodia B1.4bn loan still on[- Will Hun Xen still accept Thai charity?]
29/11/2009Bangkok Post
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday Cambodia's decision to scrap a 1.4 billion baht loan from Thailand to subsidise a road improvement project was the result of a misunderstanding.
He was responding to a news report which quoted Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong as saying Phnom Penh decided to cancel the loan.
Mr Abhisit said Cambodia thought Thailand terminated the loan so it sent a letter to inform the government that it would cancel the loan.
He said talks were under way to correct the mix-up. "Cambodia thought we had cancelled [the loan], so they sent a letter to cancel it," Mr Abhisit said.
"In fact, the cabinet hasn't made a decision on the loan scheme."
Cartoon by SacravaKhmer political poem: "Ah Nov Pi Loeu Kbaal!"
Please click on Khmer poem to zoom in. Khmer poem by Vichea Sam (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com/)Loan cancellation a misunderstanding: Abhisit
November 29, 2009
The Nation on Sunday
The Nation on Sunday
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said Cambodia's move to cancel a Bt1.4-billion loan from Thailand had been caused by a misunderstanding.
He said it appeared the Cambodian government had come to the conclusion that Thailand would not extend the loan, and therefore decided to pre-emptively cancel the deal.
"There was some confusion. On one hand, they wanted us to confirm we would lend them the money and on the other hand, they were afraid we would not extend the loan to them. So they opted to cancel the loan first," Abhisit said.
"If there had been proper coordination, there would have been no problem. I think the problem will be sorted out in the end," he added.
Militaries could heal battered bilateral ties
EDITORIAL
November 29, 2009
The Nation
November 29, 2009
The Nation
The positive tone of the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers hold hopes for normalisation
The General Border Committee meeting ended on Friday on a positive note as the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers agreed to work for peace. Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Banh, said they would use their good offices and the armed forces to create the political space needed to bring about the comfort level for the two sides to move on.
The two governments are currently engaged in one of their bitterest diplomatic disputes in decades after Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as his economic adviser. The move was nothing less than a slap on Bangkok's face. Hun Sen, naturally, said it was his and his country's business as to who he should appoint. He went on to cut Thailand's judicial system to pieces for charging his good friend with corruption, and taunted the Abhisit Vejjajiva government of being immature and lacking credibility and suggested that it seek legitimacy.
Hun Sen - Thaksin Shinawatra: A Political Game?
© Cambodian Perspectives Review - November 2009
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Hun Sen - Thaksin Shinawatra: A Political Game?
Maya Mary Kong
The press covers these last few days Hun Sen's stunning declarations of support for Thaksin. He appeared as a defender of the latter, even offering him a post of economic advisor. At his arrival at the airport in Thailand for the summit of ASEAN, he continues by saying that Thaksin is a « political victim » and compares him with Aung San Suu Kyi, the key figure of democracy and Burmese opposition. He adds that his « concerns » are also humanitarian . While Cambodia risks of being in one big humanitarian misery due to the growing poverty of the Cambodian population.
Hun Sen's attitude irritated not only Bangkok but also caused questions to many observers, why a Prime Minister - whose political party has ruled the country for thirty years without sharing real power within the National Assembly - worries about the democracy and the humanitarian issues in the neighbouring country, Thailand. While his CPP party - installed to power in Phnom Penh in January 1979 and supported by Viet-Nam until this day - did not cease, since its landslide victory in July 2008 with the legislative elections, Hun Sen strengthened his clamp to suffocate all opposition voice while keeping the vast majority of the Khmer population in an extreme poverty in order to control it for political purpose.
Obviously, these declarations - emanating from such a high ranking official of Phnom Penh regime where nothing can be decided without Hanoi agreement - are not certainly unplanned. These declarations are found to be a double political game of Hanoi which fits clearly in a renewed geopolitical context in order to push the Vietnamese expansionism even farther.
This is the thesis that we want to defend in this short present article. Its goal is to bring some of elements to reduce information asymmetry, which is systematically perpetrated to the Cambodian people. The consequences of such an asymmetry were dramtic as well as devastating for Cambodia.
Khmer Rouge torturer asked to confess his crimes in full
.jpg)
Rob Hamill lost his brother to the Khmer Rouge death camps. Photo / Rhys PalmerBy Jane Phare
New Zealand Herald
The trial of Pol Pot's most notorious lieutenant ended this week, but Olympic rower Rob Hamill will not rest till he gets answers from the man responsible for the torture and death of his brother.
If Rob Hamill gets his way, he will shut himself in a room with a 67-year-old man responsible for unspeakable atrocities and ask him the details of what happened to his oldest brother Kerry.
The trial of Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, ended this week, but for the Hamill family the pain of wondering what their brother went through during two months of torture at S-21, the Khmer Rouge's torture centre, Tuol Sleng, will never end.
Rob, who in August sat for an hour in a Phnom Penh courtroom, slowly and deliberately spelling out the tragic effect Kerry's death had on his family, plans to go back when Duch is sentenced next year.
He has asked his lawyer to arrange a meeting so he can eyeball the S-21's commander and ask him a series of questions - with answers which he dreads hearing.
Cambodia: End of first Khmer Rouge Tribunal deemed a relative success
Saturday, November 28th, 2009By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online
Many in the international community are calling the first Khmer Rouge Tribunal trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, a relative success as the trial closed. The Open Society Justice Initiative recently issued a report that the trial “generally satisfied international standards of fairness and due process.” However, according to the report, there have been indications that Cambodian government officials may not participate in future cases, making it difficult to conduct a fair trial for the four Khmer Rouge members awaiting trial: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.
One marker of success is found in the fact that Cambodians finally had a forum through which they could share their stories. The Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia (ASRIC) collected survivors' testimonies in cities across the United States for use in the Khmer Rouge trials. Above is a video of ASRIC at work.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Pharmacies warned to stop selling single-dose malaria drug by Dec 31
November 28, 2009
By Stabroek staff
Stabroek News
By Stabroek staff
Stabroek News
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy has thrown down the gauntlet to pharmacies to desist from selling the single dose artemisinin malaria drug by the end of this year or he would instruct officers from the Food & Drugs Department to size the drug from their shelves.
Saying his patience is running out, Ramsammy stated that he would be forced to take such an extreme measure as the single dose drug poses a risk to the malaria fight since there is a resistance to the combination that has been developed.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had earlier this year warned against the single dose being used as resistance has been detected.
Ramsammy, speaking to reporters during a press briefing earlier this week, said he would be forced to go to Parliament and gazette the removal of the drug from the shelves. He pointed out that because the drug is easy to obtain the pharmacies are importing it in bulk and he hinted that he may also have to seek to restrict the importation of the drug.
“The risk is very high and the private sector is not adhering to the rule,” the minister said. He said artemisinin has to be used along with other drugs.
WHO officials first noticed evidence of artemisinin resistance in Cambodia and Thailand after receiving reports about increases in clearance times in patients with malaria treated with artemisinin. The combination is designed to kill the parasites within 24 to 48 hours but it was found that it sometimes takes four or five days to kill them. Some studies indicated that half of the parasites are not killed within 72 hours after the beginning of treatment, which points to a growing resistance problem.”
Banteay Chhmar: The potential Community Based Tourism Site in Cambodia
2009-11-28
PR-inside.com
PR-inside.com
Banteay Chhmar is identified as the potential for community based tourism (CBT) in sustainable way that can help enhance local livelihood to a better condition while the three dimensions of social, economical and environmental aspects are taken into account
Located in the northwestern of Cambodia and in Banteay Meanchey Province, Banteay Chhmar consists a XII century Angkorean Temple Complex. It is now renovated by the Global Heritage Fund. It is also contains the both Baray- rectangular water reservoirs- from the ancient times and from the Pol Pot era.
Indeed, supporting tourism means supporting economic. As tourism is considered to be a significant tool for poverty mitigation, the site is developed under the theme of Community Based Tourism.
POLITICS-CAMBODIA: Duch Defence Pushes Self-Destruct Button
Acting international co-prosecutor William Smith (left) and national co-prosecutor Chea Leang (right) address a press conference at the end of the Duch trial on Friday. Credit:Robert Carmichael/IPSPHNOM PENH, Nov 28 (IPS) - "I would ask the chamber to release me. Thank you."
Those were the final words spoken by 67-year-old war crimes defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as ‘Comrade Duch’, on Friday at the end of his 77-day trial in front of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
To anyone following the trial, his request was staggering—it represented a complete change of defence direction at the last minute. Additionally, the legal reasoning behind the request was fatally flawed.
It stunned the court, the audience and trial observers: Here was a man, whose defence strategy had been built on contrition and accepting responsibility for his role in the deaths of thousands, telling the court in its final hour that international law does not apply and that he should not be on trial in the first place.
World briefs 11/28/09: Ex-Khmer-Rouge warden
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Testimony in the nine-month trial of a former prison chief for the communist Khmer Rouge ended yesterday when the defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, 67, known as Duch, unexpectedly asked to be set free despite his repeated admissions of guilt.
The judges took no immediate action. They are expected to render their verdict early next year.
The Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of 1.7 million people when it ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, and Duch is the first of five members of the regime to face trial.
In abrupt reversal, Khmer Rouge prison chief asks tribunal to release him
The trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief Kang Kek Ieu, better known as Duch, draws a crowd at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the U.N.-Cambodian war crimes tribunal is officially known. (Mak Remissa / European Pressphoto Agency / November 27, 2009)By Brendan Brady
Los Angeles Times
After months of admitting guilt and expressing remorse, Kang Kek Ieu, better known as Duch, challenges the legitimacy of the U.N.-Cambodian war crimes tribunal.
Reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia - A former Khmer Rouge prison chief who presided over the torture of about 15,000 prisoners who were later executed astonished observers of Cambodia's first genocide trial Friday by asking judges to release him because he had already served enough prison time and arguing that he shouldn't have been prosecuted in the first place.
After months of professed remorse, Kang Kek Ieu, known in tribunal filings as Kaing Guek Eav but best known by his revolutionary name, Comrade Duch, challenged the legitimacy of the 9-month-old U.N.-assisted war crimes tribunal as it ended its hearings in his case.
Mekong Ministers meet in Hua Hin to discuss water issues
Date: 28 Nov 2009
Source: Mekong River Commission For Sustainable Development (MRC)
Vientiane, Lao PDR/Hua Hin, Thailand
Source: Mekong River Commission For Sustainable Development (MRC)
Vientiane, Lao PDR/Hua Hin, Thailand
Hydropower, climate change, fisheries and flood management loom large for the Mekong Basin, with ministers from four countries meeting in Hua Hin this week to discuss strategies for trans-boundary river management.
The annual meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Council was an opportunity for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam to share views and discuss the future direction of the river basin, as well as how Member Countries can assist each other in addressing the challenges posed by increasing pressures on water resources.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, H.E. Mr. Suwit Khunkitti, addressing the meeting stressed the need for concerted action on a range of environmental issues.
Cambodia cancels road loan; PM Abhisit calls it a misunderstanding
BANGKOK, Nov 28 (TNA) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Saturday that the Cambodian government misunderstood the Thai government might not extend a Bt1.4 billion loan to finance upgrading a road between the Thai border province of Surin and the Cambodian border province of Siem Reap and had decided to preemptively cancel the loan.Mr Abhisit told journalists that the decision by the Cambodian government to cancel the loan, approved by his government in August to be used to upgrade the road from Surin to Siem Reap, resulted from a misunderstanding as Cambodia thought that Thailand would terminate the project and informed Bangkok that it had decided to cancel the loan.
There wouldn’t be a problem if both sides have a chance to talk with each other, he said. So far the Thai cabinet has not decided to alter the plan to extend the loan and if talks are held, the problem could be solved.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said in Phnom Penh Friday that his country did not need the loan and could afford to build the road on its own.
Thai-Cambodian border meeting
An important meeting took place on the morning of the 27th November at the Dusit Thani Pattaya resort between ministers of defence from both Thailand and Cambodia. The Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) was held to discuss the security situation along the border since the recent unrest that has occurred between the two countries. The meeting was attended by Cambodian General Tea Banh and military leaders from both Thailand and Cambodia.News stories placed on this website are short versions. If you would like the full story, please read the Pattaya People Weekly newspaper. Click here...
Official: Cambodian waters still open
CHONBURI, Thailand, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Cambodian coastal waters remain open to Thai fishing vessels, Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said Friday.
Banh appeared at a news conference with Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, his Thai counterpart, as the two-day General Border Committee meeting between the two countries ended, the Thai News Agency reported. The committee met in Chonburi in coastal Thailand.
"I reaffirm that we will try to avoid doing things which affect the daily life and the living of peoples to prevent any dispute," Banh said. "There has been some adjustment of concession regulations recently, and if the license has expired, fishermen can ask for renewal of their license without any problem."
Officials said the committee meeting was amicable despite recent tension between the two countries, the Bangkok Post reported. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently named ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.
Thai-Cambodia tension eased
28/11/2009
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
The diplomatic dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has been eased after the latter allowed the mum of jailed “Thai spy” to meet her son at Prey Sar prison, Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samutrak said on Saturday.
Mr Buranat said the political movements by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra received no responded from the armed forces of the two countries.
He said Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh had on Friday clearly said that the legal trial case against the arrested Thai engineer, Sivarak Chutipong, had nothing to do with politics.
Thai and Cambodian defence ministers vow to keep peace. They agree that a recent diplomatic row between two countries will not lead to conflict on border.
The Thai-Cambodia general border committee meeting in Pattaya concluded on Friday that only peaceful means should be used in settling border disputes between the two countries.
Neighbours uneasy with cheaper dong
But measures seen as only temporary relief
28/11/2009
By Umesh Pandey
Bangkok Post
28/11/2009
By Umesh Pandey
Bangkok Post
Vietnam's decision to devalue its currency by 5% this week is likely to have a major impact on neighbouring countries, an expert on the country said.
"It is very attractive destination for investments and now it has just made itself more attractive," noted Wittaya Supatanakul, a retired general manager of Bangkok Bank's Vietnam office and now adviser to the Board of Investment's CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) projects.
Vietnam, one of the main competitors of Thailand, on Wednesday announced that it was devaluing its currency and raising interest rates.
Please click here to read more...
Mum of jailed 'Thai spy' pleads for him to be freed
.jpg)
I hope the Cambodian government will give justice and mercy to my son. I want him to have freedom as quickly as possible. - SIMARAK NA NAKHONPHANOM MOTHEROF DETAINED THAI ENGINEER.jpg)
Simarak na Nakhon Phanom (above left) holds back tears as she appealed yesterday for the release of her son, Sivarak Chutipong, who is being detained on spying charges at Prey Sar prison (above) in Phnom Penh. PHOTOS BY TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERDBy Anucha Charoenpo
Bangkok Post
PHNOM PENH : The mother of a jailed Thai engineer facing a spying charge has made an emotional appeal to the Cambodian government to free her son from prison.
"I hope the Cambodian government will give justice and mercy to my son. I want him to have freedom as quickly as possible," Simarak na Nakhon Phanom said yesterday, holding back tears.
She made the appeal after a one-hour meeting with her son Sivarak Chutipong at Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. It was the first time they had met since the Cambodian Air Traffic Services official was arrested by Cambodian authorities on Nov 12.
Khmer polical poem: "Puork Sva Kung Mean T'ngai!"
Please click on Khmer poem to zoom in. Khmer poem by Sék Serei (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com/)One man stands to pay for Cambodia's crimes
November 28, 2009
By BEN DOHERTY, PHNOM PENH
The Age
By BEN DOHERTY, PHNOM PENH
The Age
There is anxiety that delays and interference will spell the end of the Khmer Rouge trials.
IN COURT, the high school maths teacher Kaing Guek Eav is a meticulous note-taker. Bespectacled and neatly dressed, he records impassively each of the horrific accusations made against him.
He is unemotional, inscrutable. When he speaks, he is deferential and polite.
The torturer, the mass-murderer he was to become is not apparent.
But they are the same man. Under his revolutionary name, Duch, Eav ran the Khmer Rouge's notorious Tuol Sleng jail. Enemies of the party were brought there to be tortured - shocked, beaten, mutilated - before being bludgeoned to death at the nearby killing fields.
Thai-Khmer armed forces plan major role in resolving dispute
November 28, 2009
The Nation
The Nation
Pattaya - The Thai and Cambodian militaries yesterday cemented their roles as pacifying forces amid the Bangkok-Phnom Penh diplomatic showdown, declaring readiness to use their good offices to help patch things up.
Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and his Cambodian counterpart, Tea Banh, spent yesterday mapping out guidelines for future cooperation and identified specific programmes to serve as a platform for such cooperation.
The meeting, carried out in the context of the General Border Committee, a long-standing forum between military top brass from the two countries, sought to safeguard the current comfort level and not let political fallout affect existing cooperation.
Mother relieved after meeting her son Phnom Penh prison
November 28, 2009
The Nation
The Nation
The mother of a Thai engineered detained a prison on in Phnom Penh on spy charges said she felt relieved now that she had met her son and found that he is still healthy.
Simarak na Nakhon Phanom talked to reporters at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport Friday night after visiting her son, Siwarak Chutipong, in Phnom Penh.
She said she would travel to Phnom Penh again to here the court's ruling in her son's case.
She would leave Thailand on December 7 as the court would read the verdict at 7 am on December 8.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)