Thursday, December 31, 2009

China-Asean Trade Deal Takes Hold, Spares Popcorn, Toilet Paper

By Daniel Ten Kate

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- A free-trade agreement between China and Southeast Asia comes into force tomorrow, consolidating a sixfold surge in economic activity over the past decade between countries representing a quarter of the world’s population.
The agreement expands a limited 2005 trade area between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, scrapping tariffs on about 90 percent of goods. By 2015, duties must be cut to no more than 50 percent on “highly sensitive” items, including ambulances in Brunei, popcorn in Indonesia, snowboard boots in Thailand and toilet paper in China.
China’s economic clout in Southeast Asian countries has risen over the past decade as policy makers slashed tariffs on electronics, automobile parts and computer chips. Japan, India, Europe and the U.S. have followed China in courting Asean, home to investments from Intel Corp., the world’s largest maker of computer chips, and Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest carmaker.
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Cambodian 'jungle woman' starts speaking: father

Rochom P’nhieng, known as the jungle girl, is shown waiting for treatment at a hospital in Ratanakkiri last month. (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's "jungle woman", whose story gripped the country after she apparently spent 18 years living in a forest, has begun speaking normally instead of making animal-type noises, her father said.
Rochom P'ngieng, now 28, went missing as a little girl in 1989 while herding water buffalo in Ratanakkiri province around 600 kilometres (400 miles) northeast of the capital Phnom Penh.
In early 2007 the woman was brought from the jungle, naked and dirty, after being caught trying to steal food from a farmer. She was hunched over like a monkey, scavenging on the ground for pieces of dried rice.
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Poor Cambodians face eviction under new law: report

Thursday, December 31, 2009
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Hundreds of poor communities in the Cambodian capital face potential forced evictions after parliament this week passed a controversial law, rights groups warned Thursday.
Lawmakers on Tuesday voted through a law on expropriations which will give the authorities legal grounds to seize private property for public development projects in Cambodia.
The law still needs to be approved by the senate and promulgated by King Norodom Sihamoni, but it has raised concerns from rights groups about a surge in forced evictions.
Please click here to read more...
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Cambodia's dengue fever death toll sharply falls this year

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The number of reported cases of dengue fever rose in 2009, but fatalities significantly fell from 2008 due to improved public awareness, local media reported on Thursday, citing health officials.
Ngan Chantha, director of dengue control at the Health Ministry, was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying that there were 11,625 cases of dengue fever and 36 deaths from the disease this year, compared to 9,245 cases and 65 deaths last year.
"We intervened by disseminating information through the media, spraying mosquito insecticide and training doctors and nurses to help dengue victims properly."
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Arrest warrant issued for Cambodian opposition leader

Dec 31, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the main opposition party after he failed to appear in court earlier this week, a government spokesman confirmed Thursday.
The move follows an incident in October in which opposition leader Sam Rainsy was accused of removing border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam, an act that riled Hanoi.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the Svay Rieng provincial court issued the arrest warrant after Sam Rainsy missed the hearing to answer charges of racial incitement and destruction of property.
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2010 Crimes Against Humanity Watchlist

December 30, 2009
By Michelle
Change.org (blog)

In addition to the Top Three Areas of Concern for 2010 -- Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) -- the country's below present a substantial risk for identity-based conflict on the scale of crimes against humanity in the coming year:
China: The state's oppression of ethnic and religious minorities, as well as regional and other political dissidents -- most notably, the Uighurs, members of Falun Gong, and the people of Tibet -- is well documented, but the strength of the Chinese state and its stubborn "it's none of your business" attitude makes it difficult to engage the government on human rights issues, both domestically and internationally. China recently managed to pressure Cambodia to deport Uighur asylum seekers, and is threatening a deterioration of diplomatic relations with Argentina, whose courts recently issued an arrest warrant for former Chinese President Jiang Zemin for torture and genocide against Falun Gong practitioners.
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Thaksin to come as adviser to Lanka?

Thursday, December 31, 2009
Daily Mirror (blog)

The Sri Lankan govt. is preparing to appoint former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra its economic adviser, another former Prime Minister of Thailand Somchai Wongsawat was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.
Mr Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law had said that the Thai government should not worry about the appointment because Thaksin's role as adviser to Sri Lanka, as well as to Cambodia, would do no harm to Thailand.
The news report comes amidst claims that Thaksin is seeking asylum in Sri Lanka.
Political observers say that KP’s arrest soon after the news report of the former Prime Minister Thaksin seeking political asylum in Sri Lanka, may be two connected events.
Thailand Government adheres to stringent policies as regards countries, which are providing political asylum to Thaksin. Because of this, finding political asylum for Thaksin is a complicated issue, they say.
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Thaksin poised to become adviser for Sri Lanka: Somchai

Thu, Dec 31, 2009
The Nation/Asia News Network

The Sri Lankan government is expected to name ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as adviser, his brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Wednesday.
Somchai called on the government not to be overly concerned about the move, alluding to the retaliatory measures when Thaksin became the adviser to Cambodia last month.
He said Thaksin working for Cambodian and Sri Lanka should not be seen as harmful to the security of Thailand.
In the past couple of months, Thaksin revealed he made two trips to Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka not aware of plan to appoint Thaksin as adviser

December 31, 2009
The Nation

Sri Lanka on Thursday denied a report that the government planned to appoint fugitive ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.
Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat claimed on Wednesday that Colombo will name Thaksin as an adviser to the government.
Colombo-based Daily Mirror online quoted Sri Lanka's Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama as saying that he is not aware of any such move.
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Thaksin is linked to Colombo post

31/12/2009
By Aekarach Sattaburuth
Bangkok Post

The Sri Lankan government is planning to appoint ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as its economic adviser, Thaksin's brother-in-law says.
Somchai Wongsawat, also a former prime minister, said the appointment of Thaksin as economic adviser to the Cambodian and Sri Lankan governments would not pose a threat to or affect Thailand in any way.
Sri Lanka is one of the countries Thaksin reportedly visited after he fled the country to avoid a two-year jail term after he was convicted for abuse of authority.
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Kasit defends record in office

Minister denies he is weak link in govt

31/12/2009
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has defended his performance over the past 12 months - particularly in dealing with the Thai-Cambodia dispute - insisting he will not resign from his post.
Mr Kasit yesterday responded to public criticism and polls that show he is "a weak link in the government" and that his ministry has performed badly over the past year.
Mr Kasit said he had good relations with all countries around the world - except one country which created problems because "some Thais became spies to undermine him". He was referring to Cambodia.
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Cabinet resolution on Preah Vihear Temple cancelled by court order

December 31, 2009
The Nation

The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday ruled to nullify a Cabinet resolution under the Samak Sundaravej government related to the Cambodian registration of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site.
Last year the Samak government authorised its foreign minister Noppadon Patama to sign a memorandum of understanding related to the overlapping borders surrounding the temple.
The People's Alliance for Democracy cried foul on the ground that the MOU and its attached map would tantamount to conceding the Thai territory to Cambodia.
A group of 13 PAD complainants filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to nullify the authorisation for signing the MOU. They also sought and received the court injunction to put the Cabinet resolution and the MOU on hold pending the completion of judicial review.
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Preah Vihear resolution overturned

31/12/2009
Bangkok Post

The Administrative Court has ruled against a cabinet resolution approving a Thai-Cambodian memorandum of understanding on the listing of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.
The court yesterday quashed the June 17, 2008, resolution on the grounds that the government of the day, led by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, had failed to follow procedures required by Section 190 of the constitution.
The section requires all agreements involving issues of sovereignty to be approved by parliament.
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Genocide Charge Could Delay Trial: Observers

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
30 December 2009

New charges of genocide for four jailed Khmer Rouge leaders could create a delay in bringing them to trial, court observers say.
Genocide was added to the war crimes and crimes against humanity charges brought against Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith earlier this month, as the UN-backed court prepares for their trial.
But the new charges create an opportunity for opposition by defense attorneys or disagreement among civil party victims, which could turn the case back to the Pre-Trial Chamber.
If those parties disagree with the new charges, they will file for explanation from the investigating judges or complaints to the Pre-Trial Chamber, said Long Panhavuth, a tribunal monitor for the Cambodia Justice Initiative.
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Judge Orders Reinvestigation in Bomb Plot Case

Som Ek was taken to the court on 20 December 2009
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 December 2009

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Wednesday ordered a reinvestigation of five bombing suspects, citing incomplete evidence by investigating judges.
The five suspects—Som Ek, 49; Loek Bun Nhien, 48; Hy Savoeung, 49; Poa Vannara, 59; and Chea Kimyan, 45—have undergone three hearings since Nov. 25.
They were arrested in January, following the discovery of two explosive devices outside of government buildings and were later additionally charged for detonating a device at the Vietnamese Friendship Monument in 2007.
The men are charged with forming a militant wing of a political movement, called the Tiger Head, “to plant bombs in order to create unrest and to oppose the government,” Phnom Penh prosecutor Hoeung Bunchea told the court Tuesday.
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Many Forced Evictions on Horizon: Groups

Dey Kraham demolition (Photo: John Vink/Magnum)
Dey Kraham demolition (Photo: Phnom Penh Post)
By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 December 2009

Dozens of urban poor communities in the capital are facing the prospect of evictions with little compensation, a broad coalition of rights groups and housing advocates said Wednesday.
Phnom Penh has approximately 410 communities of poor families inside its eight districts, and of those, 74 are facing imminent eviction, the coalition told reporters.
The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, the Housing Rights Task Force and the NGO Forum jointly expressed deep concern that the communities, which have already received notification from the government, will not be properly paid for moving.
The coalition said it worried that notified families will not be able to find jobs, afford new homes or properly educate their children when they are removed from the city.
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Groups Continue Opposition of Seizure Law

Forced eviction in Dey Kraham (Photo: John Vink/Magnum)
Dey Kraham demolition (Photo: Licadho)
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 December 2009

Rights and housing advocates on Wednesday continued to rail against a new law on imminent domain that they say will make it easier for people to lose their land.
The Law on Expropriations passed through the National Assembly on Tuesday, allowing for authorities to move people from their land in the name of national development, such as the construction of an airport or the widening of a road.
The bill had the support of 76 lawmakers from the Cambodian People’s Party and was opposed by members of the opposition Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties.
“When the law on expropriation is enforced, it will allow the government and the authorities, in the capital and in the provinces, the full ability to easily expropriate real estate of citizens, under a pretext for the sake of fundamental infrastructure,” Ny Chakrya, lead investigator for the rights group Adhoc, told reporters in Phnom Penh.
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Cambodia’s Lightning Deaths Up 50% This Year Over 2008

PHNOM PENH, Dec 30 (NNN-Xinhua) — Lightning has killed 140 people this year in Cambodia, a more than 50 percent increase over the number of people killed by lightning in 2008, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the figures from the National Commiltee for Disaster Management (NCDM).
According to Keo Vy, deputy director of the department of information for the NCDM, lightning killed 140 and injured 59. In 2008, 95 were killed and 22 iujured.
“This year the number of lighting deaths increased to 140 …. In some cases, two or three people died at once,” the Cambodia Daily quoted Keo Vy as saying.
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Court orders revocation of Preah Vihear joint communique

30/12/2009
Bangkok Post

The Central Administrative Court on Wednesday ordered the revocation of a resolution passed by the Samak Sundaravej cabinet approving the Thai-Cambodian joint communique supporting Phnom Penh's bid to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The joint communique was issued on May 22, 2008 and the cabinet under the late PM Samak passed the resolution approving it on June 17 of the same year.
The case was filed on June 24 last year by 13 people including senators, academics and human rights activists.
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Court nullifies Cabinet resolution on Thai-Cambodian joint communiqué

BANGKOK, Dec 30 (TNA) – A Thai court has ruled to revoke the Cabinet’s resolution endorsing the joint communiqué of Cambodia and Thailand to back Phnom Penh’s bid to list the ancient 11th century Preah Vihear Khmer temple complex as a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
The Central Administrative Court nullified the Cabinet’s resolution of June 17, 2008 during the administration of the late Samak Sundaravej approving Thailand endorsing the joint communiqué by then foreign minister Noppadon Pattama and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.
The joint declaration was signed on June 18, one day after the Samak administration gave it the green light.
The Thai court on Wednesday also ordered an injunction to temporarily put on hold all activities authorised by the then Cabinet’s resolution until the end of the case.
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Thaksin poised to become adviser for Sri Lanka: Somchai

December 30, 2009
The Nation

The Sri Lankan government is expected to name ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as adviser, his brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Wednesday.
Somchai called on the government not to be overly concerned about the move, alluding to the retaliatory measures when Thaksin became the adviser to Cambodia last month.
He said Thaksin working for Cambodian and Sri Lanka should not be seen as harmful to the security of Thailand.
In the past couple of months, Thaksin revealed he made two trips to Sri Lanka.
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FM Kasit urges PM Hun Sen to consider Thai-Cambodian relations as priority

BANGKOK, Dec 30 (TNA) - Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya on Wednesday urged Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to show concern for better long term relations between the two kingdoms by not getting involved with convicted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Kasit said as long as PM Hun Sen has cordial relations with the fugitive ex-premier and sets this amicable relationship as his standpoint in bilateral relations, Thailand cannot accept the condition.
"Neither I nor Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva have any personal conflict with Mr Hun Sen and Mr Thaksin," said the Thai foreign minister, "I have known Mr Hun Sen for over 20 years and know his style of working very well, so I don't want Mr Hun Sen to get involved with the convicted ex-premier for the sake of good bilateral relations."
Mr Kasit reiterated that Mr Thaksin is a fugitive, wanted by the Thai authorities, and that he has undermined Thai society and continues even now.
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[Former convicted spy] Sivarak to return to work in P.Penh

30/12/2009
Bangkok Post

Sivarak Chutipong, the Thai engineer convicted of spying in Cambodia and then pardoned, said on Wednesday that he plans to return to work at Cambodia Air Traffic Services in Phnom Penh.
He entered the monkhood after his ordeal and return to Thailand, and spent eight days at Satthatham forest temple in Muang district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, returning home on Monday.
Mr Sivarak and his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, yesterday went to Nakhon Phanom to pay homage to the Buddha’s relics at Phra That Phanom temple and to thank Puea Thai MPs ffrom the province for helping obtain his release.
Mrs Simarak also thanked former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra via his younger sister, Yingluck, for his assistance. She also plans to visit the Puea Thai Party to thank the opposition camp for helping her son.
Mrs Simarak said she was not worried about her son’s plan to return to work in Phnom Penh because Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had assured her that Mr Sivarak could stay happily in Cambodia.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Time will bring wanted changes

December 30, 2009
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News

Tomorrow evening's sunset will end the old year, and the new year of 2010 will be upon us, with its 365 new days for us to do what we desire: Building a new future with our creative and productive thinking; or continuing the old past, repeating old thoughts and actions.
Welcome to the New Year's new opportunity!
As some busily perfect a new set of resolutions, some are more focused on figuring what went wrong in the year that's ending. Like most of you, I have spent some time reflecting on the highs and lows of 2009. Some memories are worth a replay; others I would just as soon forget.
University of Scranton psychology professor John C. Norcross reminds us that "Obsessive rumination about past events can trap patients in a self-defeating cycle from which they cannot extricate themselves. It can actually retard healing."
But I don't think most of us obsess. So I prefer a more energizing reminder from the Sanskrit: "Look to this day, for it is life, the very life of life ... today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. Such is the salutation to the dawn."
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Hun Xen warned his kin not to perform misdeeds

The Hun clan
29 Dec 2009
By Leang Delux
Source: Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Tola Ek for KI-Media
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Hun Xen took the opportunity of the Hun clan family reunion that was held in the evening of 27 December to give a lecture to his children, nephews and nieces, telling them not to perform misdeeds in order to avoid backlash when he quits power.
In a discussion during the Hun clan reunion on Sunday evening, Hun Xen used severe words to lecture his children, nephew and nieces and he told them not to perform misdeeds to the society by using their uncle’s power as PM.
Four generations of the Hun clan, including more than 100 members organized a reunion at the Intercontinental Hotel in the evening of 27 December. The huge gathering is the first of its kind for Hun Xen’s family and it was broadcasted on television networks throughout the country.
In a discussion with his kin, Hun Xen warned them, especially his nephews, that he will use the law against them should they take advantage of being the relative of a PM to act illegally. On the other hand, Hun Xen lectured them to help poor people according to their means.
Hun Xen indicated that the day he leaves power, his kin and his nephews and nieces will become attack targets. Hun Xen reminded his kin about the historical event that took place during the fall of the Lon Nol regime where sons and daughters of powerful officials of the Lon Nol regime were pointed out by the people to the Pol Pot soldiers. However, some children of government officials received help from the people and their identity was hidden because of the good deeds they performed.
Kem Sokha, President of the Human Rights Party, believed that it is the opposite of what Hun Xen claimed. Kem Sokha said that according to his personal experience, love or hate for relatives of a country leader by the people depends on the action of that leader when he was still in power.
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Hun Xen’s family out of touch with the Cambodian people?

The clan of the thieves of the Nation
Hun Sen gives a moral lesson to his relatives

28 Dec 2009
By Nhim Sophal
Source: Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek for KI-Media

Hun Xen offered a moral lesson to his kin and he urged them to be more involved with the Cambodian people.
“If I were to quit power, my dear children, nephews and nieces could become attack targets,” Hun Xen claimed in front of the TVK camera during a family reunion at the Phnom Penh Intercontinental Hotel on Monday 28 December.
Hun Xen publicly suggested to his kin, and his nephews in particular, to engage themselves in humanitarian works for the Cambodian people in order to gain their confidence. He proclaimed that he was against the culture of impunity in the cases where members of his family were to act against the law (sic!).
Hun Xen indicated that he was inspired by the bloody backlash against high-ranking officials and powerful VIPs by the Khmer Rouge following the fall of the Khmer Republic regime in 1975. Following the fall of General Lon Nol, members of his family were spared for their good deeds toward the people.
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[Thai] Judge calls for [Preah Vihear joint communique] case to be dismissed

30/12/2009
Bangkok Post

An Administrative Court judge has recommended that the case involving a joint communique supporting Cambodia's listing of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site be dismissed.
Prasak Siripanich made his recommendation yesterday before other judges during the case's first hearing.
The case has lost its validity, he said.
The court is scheduled to deliver its official verdict on the case today.
The case was filed on June 24 last year by 13 people including senators, academics and human rights activists.
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Cambodia - Restricting pork imports

30 Dec 2009
Source: 5mpublishing

Surging pig imports from Thailand have pushed down prices and led to the closure of hundreds of pig farms, sector representatives said Friday as they called for the government to slash import quotas, according to Phnom Penh Post.
Curtis Hundley, chief of party for USAID's Cambodia MSME Strengthening Project, told a forum last week that authorised imports had surged over the last two years as importers filled a daily import quota of 800 pigs.
He said: "This surge, from an estimated 2,000 Thai pigs in 2007 to 300,000 in 2008 and 2009 has caused the closure of hundreds of swine businesses in Cambodia.
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China shows no tolerance for dissidence

BEIJING, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- China may have deservedly earned all the international accolades for its dazzling economic achievements, but two recent developments show its Communist regime is nowhere near winning similar praise for tolerating political dissidence or challenge to its authority in any form.
In the first instance, China, going against pleas and urgings from around the world, handed an 11-year prison sentence to Liu Xiaobo, the country's widely respected ardent supporter of democracy and freedom of speech.
In an equally disturbing move, China convinced Cambodia to deport 20 Uighurs who had fled to that country for political asylum to escape the crackdown on their fellow Turkic-speaking minority members by Chinese authorities for the ethnic riots last July in the far northwest Xinjiang-Uighur region.
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China executes Briton despite UK, family pleas

Monday, Dec. 28, 2009
By NG HAN GUAN
Associated Press

URUMQI, China — China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday and executed by lethal injection a British drug smuggler who relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into crime.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "appalled" at the execution of 53-year old Akmal Shaikh - China's first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years. His government summoned the Chinese ambassador in London to express its anger.
China defended its handling of the case, saying there had not been documentary proof Shaikh was mentally ill. Beijing also criticized Brown's comments, but said it hoped the case would not harm bilateral relations. The Foreign Ministry called on London not to create any "obstacles" to better ties.
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Tribunal Throws Out Civil Party Appeal

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 December 2009

The Supreme Court Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal has announced it will take no action in a motion by civil parties who wanted a greater role in the closing sessions of the trial of prison chief Kaing Kek Iev.
The tribunal allows participation by victims of the regime in certain aspects of trial proceedings, though civil party lawyers.
At the close of the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, in September, civil parties had appealed for the right to pose questions related to the defendant’s character and to have a say in his sentencing.
Duch’s trial ended in October, with a verdict and sentencing expected early in 2010, but as part of their appeal, civil parties had requested a Supreme Court Chamber review.
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South Korea Suspends Immigration Permits

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 December 2009

South Korea has temporarily suspended labor contracts for Cambodian workers, claiming they will have to wait until April 2010 before they can renew work there.
South Korea supplies a limited number of contracts for Cambodian workers each year, but the country has been hard hit by the global financial crisis and has sought to limit the number of foreign workers coming in.
More than 2,000 Cambodians will go on a waiting list until South Korea decides how it will approach migrant labor in 2010.
None of the fifteen countries with so-called migration quotas for South Korea will be able to send workers, “from this month until March,” said Heng Sour, head of the Ministry of Labor’s administration department.
Please click here to read more...
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Cambodia Draws Asian Investors: Analyst

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
29 December 2009

Cambodia has so far been unable to court long-term investors from the West and is instead looking toward Asia and neighboring countries, a leading economist said Monday.
“It seems we have not attracted big, developed countries, such as Japan, the US and the EU,” said Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association. “They may not have clear confidence in putting capital in for long-term investment.”
China, South Korea and Vietnam have shown more trust, he said. “In Vietnam, there is a imilar situation—climate, land, labor management—so they are confident that if they can do it in Vietnam, they can do it in our country,” he said.
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At Monk Congress, Chea Sim Urges Peace

Comrade Chea Xim (L) bowing to Hochimonk Tep Vong (M), Hochimong Nuon Nget (R)
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 December 2009

Chea Sim, the president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, appealed to all Cambodians on Tuesday to embrace Buddhism and let go of jealousy and violence in favor of peace, political stability, social order and development.
Chea Sim, who is also the president of the Senate, spoke at the opening of the 18th annual conference for Buddhist monks.
“Buddhism is virtuous and a leading power to make all of Cambodian society promote social morals and to abandon violence,” he said.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Court refuses to delay Sam Rainsy hearing

Tuesday, 29 December 2009
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Svay Rieng provincial court has denied a request to delay hearings against Sam Rainsy in a case that finds him accused of destruction of property and racial incitement in connection with a protest on the Vietnamese border, the opposition leader’s lawyer said Monday.
“I requested that the court postpone my client’s hearing because he is currently working abroad. I wrote a letter to the court president, but my request was dismissed,” Choung Chou Ngy, Sam Rainsy’s lawyer, said. “The court said that my request lacked a proper justification.”
The court has yet to schedule a hearing in the case, Choung Chou Ngy added. Sam Rainsy is in Europe, having met with the European Parliament in Belgium and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Switzerland last month.
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Newspaper publisher Hang Chakra was jailed earlier this year. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
By Chrann Chamroeun and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN media groups as well as opposition lawmakers have urged authorities to release two journalists who were jailed amid controversy earlier this year.
Representatives from 50 Cambodian news organisations issued a statement calling for the release of Hang Chakra, publisher of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, and freelance journalist Ros Sokhet, said Pen Samitthy, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ).
“We are calling on the Cambodian government, under the intelligent leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, to request the King to pardon the two jailed journalists,” said Pen Samitthy, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Rasmey Kampuchea newspaper.
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Cambodian parliament passes controversial land law

Tue Dec 29, 2009

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's parliament passed a controversial law on Tuesday allowing the government to expropriate land for development, raising concerns about a surge in forced evictions in the Southeast Asian country.
The National Assembly, which is dominated by the ruling Cambodian People's Party, voted to allow the authorities to seize land to develop infrastructure and pursue other projects deemed to be in the public interest.
Critics and opposition lawmakers said the legislation was vaguely worded and were concerned it would be abused to evict people from prime real estate.
"It will leave even more room and a legal framework to take away land," said opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua.
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PM to void 7NG bridge contract

Tuesday, 29 December 2009
By May Kunmakara
The Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday he would cancel a major bridge contract and slammed senior officials for negligence in the awarding of build-operate-transfer, or BOT, contracts.
Speaking at the launch of a new road between Siem Reap and Poipet, Hun Sen singled out Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) Vice Chairman Sun Chanthol and other CDC officials for granting a contract to 7NG Group [LG-Media note: the 7NG Company was involved in the Dey Krahorm land-grabbing and forced eviction] to build a bridge from Phnom Penh’s Hun Sen Park to Chroy Changvar peninsula. “If the project goes ahead, it will be a great disaster for traffic in Phnom Penh,” he said. “Tell [7NG] that the prime minister announced today the bridge is finished.”
Srey Sothea, 7NG’s managing chairman, had his phone turned off Monday and could not be reached for comment.
Hun Sen also told officials not to award BOT contracts to companies that require government funds to complete the work. “Avoid BOTs that want to make cake without flour,” he said. “From now on, I will kick unsound BOTs away.”
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Partial vote on seizures stokes fears [-Protecting the rich and powerful: The CPP's law]

Tuesday, 29 December 2009
By Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

Law may increase evictions of poor communities, critics say.
THE National Assembly voted Monday to approve the first articles in the controversial draft Law on Expropriations, despite concerns voiced by opposition members and NGOs that the law could be used to dispossess people with legitimate land claims.
The draft, approved by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, sets out procedures for the expropriation of land from property owners for use in public infrastructure works or other projects deemed to be in the “public interest”.
During its session on Monday morning, the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated Assembly voted to approved the first five of the law’s 39 articles without amendments.
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Australian man murdered in Cambodia

December 29, 2009
AFP

An Australian man has been murdered in a popular Cambodian seaside resort, police say.
Officers identified the victim as John Edward Thompson, 47, who was killed early on Monday morning in the southern town of Sihanoukville, according to the local deputy police chief Kao Ratana.
"It is a case of murder. We are investigating the killing and we have not yet concluded what the motive was," he said by telephone on Tuesday.
Kao Ratana declined to say how the man was killed, but local reports said he was clubbed to death with wooden sticks in a robbery.
A spokesman for the Australian embassy in Phnom Penh said they had been informed of the death by police.
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Cambodian National Assembly approves expropriation law

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian National assembly approved on Tuesday the expropriation law which will allow authorities to expropriate the land and other immovable properties for public development purposes and building infrastructures to serve the national benefits.
"This law will have the purpose of guaranteeing to withdraw legal ownership of land and other immovable properties with providing appropriate price and justice for local people," the draft law says in Article 2.
"The appropriate price means that the government provides to the land ownership and its land price will consider accordance with the land market price, instead of the price from the government," Ouk Rabun, secretary of state for Ministry of Economy and Finance told the National Assembly.
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Puea Thai warns of another coup

29/12/2009
Bangkok Post

The public appearance in full military uniform by Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda at his Si Sao Theves residence yesterday could be a sign of another military coup in the making, Puea Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said on Tuesday.
“Gen Prem appeared in a military uniform shortly before the Sep 19, 2006 coup, and history could repeat itself again,” Mr Prompong said.
He also claimed to have received an in-depth report that there could be another coup.
Mr Prompong said a privy councilor cannot get involved in politics. Therefore appearing in a military uniform could be a political signal, a threaten against people who plan to political demonstrations.
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China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to be launched on Friday

Dec. 29, 2009 (China Knowledge) - The free trade area between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is scheduled to be officially launched on Jan. 1, 2010.
The FTA, the first of its kind, will allow more than 90% of China and ASEAN products to enjoy zero tariff, and the four new ASEAN members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, will join the FTA in 2015. Meanwhile, China will grant the three non-WTO ASEAN members, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the most-favored-nation status.
Covering a total population of 1.9 billion, the China-ASEAN FTA will certainly help promote the development of trade and economic ties of the region, and is expected to become a new engine to drive the growth of the world economy amid the global financial crisis.
The bilateral trade between China and ASEAN member countries has been growing rapidly in recent years, and China has become the ASEAN's third-largest trade partner in 2008, with a total trade value of US$230 billion.
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Metfone provides 2,000 free connections to Cambodia

12/29/2009
VOV News

The Vietnamese Metfone Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in Phnom Penh on December 29 to provide 2,000 free connections to Cambodian schools.
Metfone will offer free Internet connections and related equipment worth US$5 million to all State-owned schools, educational centres, universities, colleges and the ministry’s offices. In addition, it will present scholarships to hundreds of outstanding Cambodian students and pupils.
The project will be divided into three phases: in the first phase, Metfone will provide Internet connections to 300 schools and the ministry’s offices in 24 provinces and cities, and 334 computers and 10 virtual private networks to the ministry’s offices in Phnom Penh.
In the second phase from 2010-2012, Metfone will present Internet connections and computers to 500 more schools and 193 more district’s educational departments. In the third phase from 2013 to 2015, Metfone will complete the project.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, Im Sethy reaffirmed that the project will accelerate the application of information technology to his country’s educational system and the development of human resources.
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Border provinces exchange work experience

12/29/2009
VOVNews/VNA

A delegation from the Cambodian province of Kratie on December 28 held talks with leaders of the Binh Phuoc Provincial People’s Council, highlighting developments and cooperation in the region.
During the meeting, leaders from the border provinces expressed delight at the growing friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia in general and between Kratie and the southern province of Binh Phuoc in particular.
They agreed that authorities of both provinces have incessantly strengthened bilateral relations by exchanging delegations on a regular basis, signing cooperation agreements and working together for the implementation of border landmark plantation as agreed by the governments of both countries.
They have also facilitated entry and exit procedures for people from Binh Phuoc and Kratie to travel across the shared border.
Kratie is a north-eastern province of Cambodia that borders Vietnam to the south.
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Pressure rises to stop antibiotics in agriculture

Monday, Dec. 28, 2009
By MARGIE MASON AND MARTHA MENDOZA
Associated Press Writers

FRANKENSTEIN, Mo. -- The mystery started the day farmer Russ Kremer got between a jealous boar and a sow in heat.
The boar gored Kremer in the knee with a razor-sharp tusk. The burly pig farmer shrugged it off, figuring: "You pour the blood out of your boot and go on."
But Kremer's red-hot leg ballooned to double its size. A strep infection spread, threatening his life and baffling doctors. Two months of multiple antibiotics did virtually nothing.
The answer was flowing in the veins of the boar. The animal had been fed low doses of penicillin, spawning a strain of strep that was resistant to other antibiotics. That drug-resistant germ passed to Kremer.
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No respite for Abhisit

If a day is a long time in politics, next year will be an eternity

29/12/2009
Bangkok Post

Conflicts within the coalition and its member parties, intensified red shirt protests, economic hardship and the increased need to deal with corruption are all shaping up as major issues to be confronted by the government in its second year in office.
This year presented myriad challenges for the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. But rather than sit back and enjoy the rewards of its efforts, the government could well be in for an even more testing 12 months next year.
The government came to power in December 2008 with a pledge to reunite the divided Thai society and prop up the sagging economy.
But it faced intense resistance from the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, including the storming in April of the Asean summit in Pattaya, which forced the embarrassing evacuation of regional leaders, street riots in Bangkok and attacks on vehicles carrying the prime minister.
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[Thai] PM plays down charter rifts

29/12/2009
Bangkok Post

Divisions within the government over planned charter amendments are not a "time bomb" threatening to tear apart the coalition, the prime minister says.
The Democrat Party's coalition partners are becoming increasingly unhappy with the ruling party for dragging its feet on the changes.
Paradorn Prissananunthakul, a Chart Thai Pattana Party MP and government whip, said the Democrats should make it clear whether they support the constitutional amendment.
"Please don't be two-faced," he said. "What we are seeing is the Democrats dragging their feet on the charter amendment."
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Thailand Eager To Improve Ties With Cambodia

BANGKOK, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- The Government of Thailand wants to improve diplomatic relations with Cambodia but needs to protect its prestige and sovereignty, according to the Vietnam news agency's (VNA) report on Monday.
The statement was made by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in his speech delivered on the country's radio and television on December 27.
Abhisit pointed out that he had not regarded the speeches made by Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen of a coup de-tat in Cambodia as a hurdle to the building of bilateral diplomatic ties.
Thailand will consider appointing an ambassador to Phnom Penh if the Cambodian government withdraws their remarks on the Thai judiciary system and adjust their stance, the Thai PM said.
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Thailand defies protests to deport asylum seekers

December 29 2009
By Tim Johnston in Bangkok
The Financial Times

Thailand began to deport more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong asylum seekers back to Laos yesterday, defying pressure from the UN, the US and human rights organisations that say the group could face persecution on their return.
About 5,000 troops and officials entered the Hmong camp in Thailand's central Petchabun province in the morning to load residents on to buses to take them over the border, a process that a military official said might take 24 hours.
The Thai government said the communist authorities in Laos had given assurances that the people would be well treated and given amnesty. But the migrants say they are at risk from discrimination because they backed the US during the Vietnam war.
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Thais force Hmong refugees to go home [-Thai cruelty knows no bound!]

A picture released by the Royal Thai Army shows Hmong refugees being removed from the Huay Nam Khao camp in northern Thailand yesterday. Photo: AFP
December 29, 2009
By SETH MYDANS, BANGKOK
NEW YORK TIMES, AP

THE Thai army has begun forcibly returning thousands of ethnic Hmong asylum seekers to communist Laos despite international protests.
''The operation started at 5.30am [yesterday],'' Colonel Thana Charuvat, who is co-ordinating the repatriation, told reporters at an army centre about 12 kilometres from the camp in Phetchabun province.
He said 5000 soldiers, officials and civilian volunteers had entered the camp in Huay Nam Khao village to begin rounding up the group of more than 4000 Hmong being held there.
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Thailand's Cruel Policy of Deportation of Hmong Refugees: The pictures speak for themselves

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New form of malaria threatens Thai-Cambodia border

This Aug. 27, 2009 photo shows stacks of expired malaria medication in an NGO's village office near Pailin, Cambodia. Malaria parasites in the Thai-Cambodia area of Pailin, Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies according to Non Governmental Agencies working in the region. If this drug stops working, there's no good replacement to combat a disease that kills 1 million annually. As a result, earlier this year international medical leaders declared resistant malaria here a health emergency. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
This Aug. 28, 2009 photo shows malaria researcher Sornsuda Setaphan preparing blood samples at the hospital in Pailin, Cambodia. Malaria parasites in the Thai-Cambodia area of Pailin, Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies according to Non Governmental Agencies working in the region. If this drug stops working, there's no good replacement to combat a disease that kills 1 million annually. As a result, earlier this year international medical leaders declared resistant malaria here a health emergency. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
This Aug. 29, 2009 photo shows Cambodian Hoeun Hong Da, 13, still recovering from an attack of malaria, smiling as he arrives home with a new mosquito resistant bed net as he arrives at O'treng village on the outskirts of Pailin, Cambodia. This spot on the Thai-Cambodian border is home to a form of malaria that keeps rendering one powerful drug after another useless. This time, scientists have confirmed the first signs of resistance to the only affordable treatment left in the global medicine cabinet for malaria: Artemisinin. If this drug stops working, there's no good replacement to combat a disease that kills 1 million annually. As a result, earlier this year international medical leaders declared resistant malaria here a health emergency. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
This Aug. 29, 2009 photo shows Chhay Meth, 9, suffering through an attack of malaria at the family's home in O'treng village on the outskirts of Pailin, Cambodia. This spot on the Thai-Cambodian border is home to a form of malaria that keeps rendering one powerful drug after another useless. This time, scientists have confirmed the first signs of resistance to the only affordable treatment left in the global medicine cabinet for malaria: Artemisinin. If this drug stops working, there's no good replacement to combat a disease that kills 1 million annually. As a result, earlier this year international medical leaders declared resistant malaria here a health emergency. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
2009-12-28
By MARGIE MASON and MARTHA MENDOZA,
Associated Press Writers
Associated Press

EDITOR'S NOTE: Once curable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria are rapidly mutating into aggressive strains that resist drugs. The reason: The misuse of the very drugs that were supposed to save us has built up drug resistance worldwide. Second in a five-part series.
PAILIN, Cambodia (AP) - O'treng village does not look like the epicenter of anything.
Just off a muddy, rutted-out road, it is nothing more than a handful of Khmer-style bamboo huts perched crookedly on stilts, tucked among a tangle of cornfields once littered with deadly land mines.
Yet this spot on the Thai-Cambodian border is home to a form of malaria that keeps rendering one powerful drug after another useless. This time, scientists have confirmed the first signs of resistance to the only affordable treatment left in the global medicine cabinet for malaria: Artemisinin.
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Political Sacravatoons:" Borderline's Painter "

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://www.sacrava.blogspot.com/)
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National Assembly Begins Expropriation Debate

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 December 2009

Parliamentarians on Monday began reviewing a controversial draft law that will allow the government to seize private land for development purposes, while opponents say the law will legitimize land-grabs.
The draft law, comprised of 8 chapters and 39 articles, allows state seizure of real estate for the public interest. Private land can be taken for the construction of an airport, bridge or energy grid extension, for example. The law also requires reasonable compensation.
“This law is a base for the government to continue to rebuild and develop infrastructure, waterways, land and air,” said Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People's Party. The law will also encourage investment, he said.
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Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Sam Rainsy

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 December 2009

Svay Rieng provincial court issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Monday, after he failed to appear at an arraignment in the provincial capital.
Sam Rainsy, who is facing charges of incitement and destruction of property related to a border incident in October, had requested a postponement of Monday’s hearing, claiming he was busy abroad.
Svay Rieng investigating judge Long Kespirum wrote that the request offered “no reason to postpone, so we cannot permit postponement.” The court issued the arrest warrant following the hearing Monday morning, Long Kespirum told VOA Khmer.
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King Promotes CPP Leaders to Generals

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
28 December 2009

The three top leaders of the Cambodian People’s Party were awarded military ranks as five-star generals last week, by order of the king.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin all received their stars on Dec. 21, in a royal decree signed by King Norodom Sihamoni.
The newly conferred rank was based on national leadership achievements, according to a copy of the decree obtained by VOA Khmer.
Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, said by phone Wednesday Cambodia needs a law and a supreme military council to deal with such matters, although he acknowledged the king’s right to make promotions.
Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights Party, said the promotions were unnecessary. “Promotion should be balanced to figures of the army,” he said.
Cheam Yiep, a CPP lawmaker, said there was no need for further legislation on military ranks, as the king has the constitutional right to decide.
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Cambodia at Fault in Uighur Expulsion: Expert

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
28 December 2009

A leading rights investigator squarely blamed the government for the forced deportation of 20 Uighurs to China last week, as officials failed to examine their asylum status in time.
“As we have not done this, that’s why we received criticism from countries and from UNHCR,” said Ny Chakrya, chief investigator for the rights group Adhoc, as a guest on “Hello VOA.”
The Uighurs were reportedly fleeing unrest in their home province of Xinjiang, where anti-Chinese rioting in May left nearly 200 people dead. Twenty-two arrived through November. Beijing called them criminals, and, on the eve of the arrival of China’s vice president, Cambodia deported them.
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