FPT looks to expand to Cambodia with rollout of mobile network

Friday, 30 July 2010
Telegeography.com

Vietnamese telecoms operator the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology (FPT) is seeking approval from authorities in neighbouring Cambodia to construct a mobile network in the country, Vietnam Business News reports. According to FPT’s deputy general director, Truong Dinh Anh, the firm plans to invest between USD6 million and USD10 million in the infrastructure, which would initially be rolled out in Cambodia’s three largest cities: Phnom Penh, Siemriep and Sihanoukville. FPT is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Vietnamese military-owned domestic rival Viettel, which according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, established its Cambodian unit Metfone in June 2007 after securing a GSM licence from the local regulator in December 2006. Following investment of over USD100 million in the deployment of a 2G network, the cellco launched in February 2009. If FPT is granted permission to launch a mobile network in Cambodia, the company will join Metfone and nine other cellcos in the market.

Cambodia reports new death of Mekong River dolphin

July 30, 2010
Source: Xinhua

A Mekong river dolphin was found dead in Kratie province in Cambodian's north eastern part, a government official said Friday.

Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conversation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco- tourism Zone, said the river dolphin believed at age of 27 was found dead on Thursday as it was netted in a laying fishing net in the stream.

He said the dolphin, male, was already old and it had swum out of the protected zone looking for foods and accidently spotted in the fishing net.

He said it weighed 156 kilograms with 2.3 meters long.

Please click here to read more...

Another U.N. crock: Khmer Rouge coddling

Saturday, July 31, 2010
Pittsburgh Tribune (USA)
Opinion

The ridiculously short prison sentence that a United Nations-backed court handed to the man who was the commandant of the Khmer Rouge's central prison is one more example of the U.N. failing to deliver true justice for violators of human rights and their victims.

Convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity -- he oversaw the killing and torture of more than 14,000 people -- Kaing Guek Eav, 67, ostensibly was sentenced to 35 years in prison, a term far short of punishment in proper proportion to his perpetration of evil. But due to time served, including time in "illegal military detention," the court reduced his sentence to just 19 years.

Survivors of Khmer Rouge brutality rightly are outraged. He deserves the death penalty, which Cambodia lacks -- but he's just the sort of butcher for whom an exception is in order.

Please click here to read more...

Cocktails with Khmer Rouge killers

Jul 30, 2010
By Angus MacSwan
Reuters

The sentencing of Khmer Rouge torturer Kaing Guek Eav this week and the forthcoming trial of former leader Khieu Samphan by a United Nations-backed court has brought renewed attention to their murderous rule of Cambodia in the 1970s — and a certain amount of satisfaction in the “international community” for its role in seeing justice done.

But there was a time when you could meet Khmer Rouge officials at cocktail parties in Phnom Penh, with the drinks provided by the United Nations.

It was one consequence of a Faustian pact between the Khmer Rouge and the United States, Britain and other countries following the Pol Pot regime’s overthrow by Vietnamese troops in 1979.

Please click here to read more...

Cambodia claims win in UNESCO tussle over temple

Saturday, July 31, 2010
By SOPHENG CHEANG (AP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia declared victory Friday in a diplomatic standoff with Thailand after the U.N. cultural agency agreed to consider its plan for managing a temple that is on land claimed by both countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said that Cambodia had achieved its goal when UNESCO's World Heritage Commission agreed on Thursday to consider its plan for the Preah Vihear temple on the border with Thailand.

However, UNESCO's decision to defer the matter to its meeting next year takes pressure off both countries.

Thailand, which claims the plan jeopardizes its claim to disputed territory, had threatened to quit UNESCO if the plan was endorsed at Thursday's meeting in Brazil. Thai officials said they viewed the postponement of the plan's consideration as progress.

Please click here to read more...

Errors stall Cambodian temple bid [-Can Thailand be trusted with its report of success?]

Phnom Penh urged to review WHC listing

31/07/2010
Bangkok Post

Unesco's World Heritage Committee has postponed a decision on Cambodia's development plan for the Preah Vihear temple partly because it submitted a graphical illustration instead of a map, says a source in the Thai delegation.

Other reasons for the committee's postponement include evidence that Cambodia had deployed heavy weapons in the temple, that the country had failed to submit relevant documents on time, and that a memorandum of understanding between Thailand and Cambodia over the disputed territory in the area had not been settled.

The WHC decided to delay its decision on the management plan until next year's meeting in Bahrain because Thailand and Cambodia were unable to find common ground.

Brazil, the host of the meeting, had mediated between the two countries for an hour before the decision to postpone was made.

Please click here to read more...

PM: Thailand must study Cambodian Preah Vihear plan to protect national rights

BANGKOK, July 30 (MCOT online news) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the country's agencies concerned must make use of the coming one year to thoroughly assess Cambodia's Preah Vihear management plan in order to protect Thailand's national rights regarding the disputed area near the ancient temple.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee (WHC) on Thursday postponed discussing the plan by one year until its meeting next year in Bahrain.

The issue had been expected to be on the agenda of the 21-member heritage committee meeting Wednesday, but the group dropped the issue Thursday because the UNESCO meeting secretariat had not distributed the document to committee members six weeks ahead of the meeting as required but handed it to members less than 24 hours beforehand.
Please click here to read more...

Thai civil network demands Cambodian pushback from contested Preah Vihear zone

BANGKOK, July 30 (MCOT online news) – The “Thais Love Nation” network called on the government to push back Cambodian troops and residents from the area around the Preah Vihear temple and not to support the listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage SIte until the border demarcation is clarified inline with the natural watershed.

Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Karun Sai-ngam led their civil society group to gather at Government House Friday and submitted a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva through Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The protesters called on the government to revoke all agreements that put Thailand at a disadvantage with Cambodia after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee (WHC) on Thursday postponed discussing Cambodia’s management plan for the Preah Vihear temple to its meeting next year in Bahrain.
Please click here to read more...‎

UNESCO finds compromise on Preah Vihear temple issue

Jul 30, 2010
By Luc Citrinot (etn)

It is a rather sad story for Preah Vihear temple, a 11° century jewel of Angkor architecture which unfortunately lies on a tip of a promontory just on the border line between Cambodia and Thailand. For decades, the temple has been the witness of a war of words, skirmishes and even sporadic fights between Cambodian and Thai troops due to territorial claims. Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia since 1907, a decision which was confirmed by an international judgment in 1962. Two years ago, Preah Vihear was finally listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This week, the meeting of the World Heritage Commission in Brasilia was supposed to endorse Cambodia’s management plans for the temple area. But Thailand voiced its strong concern, threatening to withdraw from the Heritage Committee as it complained not to have been consulted.

According to Sue Williams, UNESCO spokesperson, Preah Vihear Temple is listed as a Cambodian World Heritage Property and is therefore administered by Cambodia. But to complicate things, parts of the temple’s surrounding and access are on Thai territory. Both Cambodia and Thailand claim a 4.2 km² buffer zone under their sovereignty. Thailand discovered that Preah Vihear management as presented by Cambodia would have integrated one km² belonging to the contested buffer area…

UNESCO has been greatly embarrassed by this battle which seems to belong to another age. “The problem concerns a contested border between the two countries. This is not an issue that UNESCO or the World heritage Committee can do anything about. It must be solved by the two countries concerned”, indicates Mrs Williams. Thailand’s threat to leave would have a devastating impact for the credibility of the organisation. However, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva remained firm on the issue and indicated that Thailand would not back any management plan for the area as long as a demarcation line between both countries has not been acknowledged.

Please click here to read more...

Political Sacravatoons: "Samak Mith Yaem" -- "Comrade Yaem"

Click on the cartoon to zoom in

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

July 30, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

A new website is putting Cambodia's human rights online, where everyone can see them.

The portal, www.sithi.org maps rights violations across the country. The site is a intended as an advocacy tool that would make it much harder for the government to ignore abuses taking place.

Presenter: Matt Abud

Speakers: Chor Chanthyda, Project Coordinator, Documentation and Data-base Projects, Cambodian Centre for Human Rights; Chak Sopheap, Youth Network for Change; Daniel D'Esposito, Executive Director, HURIDOCS International

Listen: Windows Media

July 30, 2010
Source: Xinhua

A two-week multi-nations' military exercise that began in Cambodia in mid-July ended Friday.

In his speech in Kompong Speu province, about 50 kilometers west of Phnom Penh, Tea Banh, deputy prime minister and minister of national defense said the military exercise was successful and hoped that Cambodia, in the future, will again be a host and home for international military exercises in the form of the peacekeeping operations.

He, meanwhile, reiterated that the exercise was nothing related to threat or show of muscle to any country, but for a purpose of strengthening security and peace in the region.

The military exercise was conducted in two forms of "command post" and "field exercise".

Please click here to read more...

US and Cambodia in controversial lockstep

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Jul 31, 2010
By Clifford McCoy
Asia Times Online

BANGKOK - Cambodia's first-ever multinational military exercise is part and parcel of intensifying competition between the United States and China for regional influence.

The recently completed US-Cambodia military drills, known as "Angkor Sentinel 10", involved 1,200 soldiers from 23 countries and were ostensibly part of Washington's Global Peace Operations Initiative, a program run jointly by the US Department of Defense and State Department to help train global peacekeepers against insurgency, terrorism, crime and ethnic conflict.

The largest contingents of troops in the exercise were from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the US Army Pacific, even as it was billed as a multilateral peacekeeping operation.

Warming bilateral relations come as the Barack Obama administration puts new policy emphasis on Asia and moves to compete with, if not contain, China's growing influence in Southeast Asia. Cambodia, as well as Laos and Myanmar, are viewed by many observers as already firmly in China's orbit. China's influence in Cambodia has grown considerably in the past decade. While not the largest official donor to the country, its aid projects and investments are strongly publicized and come without demands for improved human rights, better governance or less corruption.
Please click here to read more...

Thais rally after UNESCO postpones ruling on disputed temple

Fri, 30 Jul 2010
DPA

Bangkok - Several hundred Thais demonstrated in Bangkok Friday in support of their country's territorial rights after the UN's World Heritage Committee postponed a decision on a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

The committee, part of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was scheduled to rule Thursday on a Cambodian management plan for an 11th century Hindu temple straddling the border that has been a bone of contention between the two neighbours for decades.

At a meeting in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, the 21-member committee decided to postpone the decision until next year's meeting in Bahrain, after accusations of procedural errors.

Please click here to read more...

Good Signs Over Postponement Of Temple Management Plan [... only for the Siamese!]

By Jamaluddin Muhammad

BANGKOK, July 30 (Bernama) -- The postponement of the Unesco World Heritage Committee's decision on the Preah Vihear Temple management plan to next year, will enable Thailand and Cambodia to seek a solution to the overlapping territorial claim adjacent to the temple.

Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Security Matters Suthep Thaugsauban said today it would be good for Thailand and Cambodia to go to the negotiation table and solve the problem during that time.

The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, last night was postponed to next year in Bahrain, following Thailand's opposition to the management plan.

Thailand threatened to resign from the World Heritage Committee if the meeting went ahead and approved the management plan for the 11th century Hindu temple submitted by Phnom Penh.

Please click here to read more...

Cambodia-Thai talks on Preah Vihear temple postponed

Fri, 30 Jul 2010
Radio Australia News

Talks on the future of the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the Cambodia-Thai border have been postponed for another year.

The United Nations committee mediating the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple have given Thailand and Cambodia more time to try to close the gap between their two management plans.

Despite being told to submit a proposal six months ahead of this week's talks in Brazil, Cambodia only handed over its plans with 24 hours notice.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reports the UN's World Heritage Committee will resume the talks in Bahrain next year.

Brazil's culture minister Juca Ferreira, says it was important to get the two sides together without the presence of any outsiders.

Please click here to read more...

PAD told to be careful on border rally

30/07/2010
Bangkok Post

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has a constitutional right to rally at the Thai-Cambodia border, as long as the gathering is in line with the law, PM’s Office Minister Ongard Klampaibul said on Friday.

The minister was responding to the declaration by PAD core leaders that they would to lead its supporters to rally against Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple in the border area.

“But the PAD must be careful as the planned rally site is a sensitive area. The mass gathering there could lead to a misunderstanding between the Thailand and Cambodia”, Mr Ongard warned.

He insisted that the government is not at ease on the listing of the ancient temple as a world heritage site case. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has closely followed the case’s development, he added.

Please click here to read more...

WHC postpones decision on temple plan to next year [... as the Thai sore losers hoped for]

30/07/2010
Bangkok Post

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s World Heritage Committee (WHC) on Thursday postponed the discussion on Cambodia’s management plan for the Preah Vihear temple to its meeting next year in Bahrain.

The issue was expected to be on the agenda of the 21-member WHC meeting Wednesday, but the group decided to drop the issue as the plan was not submitted in accordance with its standard procedures.

Cambodia should have handed its plan six months ahead of the meeting, but it made its submission less than 24 hours before the meeting began.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who leads the Thai delegation, said from Brazil where the meeting is taking place that the postponement is a satisfactory result.

Please click here to read more...

Suthep: No tension along the border

30/07/2010
Bangkok Post

The Thai-Cambodia border area remains quiet even though the World Heritage Committee has postponed its consideration of Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple to next year’s meeting in Bahrain, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said.

“There is nothing to worry about. Thai people should not panic as the government has a clear-cut guideline to settle the border dispute with our neighbour by peaceful means,” Mr Suthep said on Friday morning.

Mr Suthep, who is in charge of security affairs, said the postponement gives an opportunity for Thailand and Cambodia to hold talks on the demarcation of the disputed border area.

Please click here to read more...

Thailand wins 1st round of temple war

30/07/2010
Bangkok Post

The World Heritage Committee has postponed the consideration of Cambodia’s management plan for Preah Vihear temple to next year’s meeting in Bahrain, “Ruang Lao Chao Nee”, a television programme on Channel 3, reported on Friday morning.

The WHC, now meeting in Brazil, said that the documents supporting the management plan of Cambodia were sent to the World Heritage Centre instead of the heritage committee and therefore it had not enough time to consider details of the plan.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister and head of Thai team Suwit Khunkitti who is now in Brazil said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had phoned him to congratulate the Thai team on its victory.

“The prime minister thanked all members of the team for working hard to protect the country’s sovereignty,” Mr Suwit said.

Thai sore losers' empty threats work: Unesco delays decision on management to Bahrain meeting next year

July 30, 2010
The Nation

Unesco committee on World Heritage decided to delay decision on Preah Vihear management plan for another year after Thailand and Cambodia stood firm on their positions concerning the plan.

The committee meeting in Brasilia of Brazil will reconsider the plan again when they meet in Bahrain next year.

Earlier Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts yesterday to block Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.

Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.

Please click here to read more...

The solution to Preah Vihear is simple: Get out of Khmer land, Siamese thieves!!!

Heavy hearts, ancient stones

30/07/2010
Bangkok Post
Editorial

What is the point of having stone ruins recognised and developed as a World Heritage site when these ancient stones may yet have to stand as sad and solitary witness to a war? Had circumstances been simpler, there would never have been any dispute over what the answer should be.

First, the 9th century stone temple of Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn in Thai, deserves to be protected for its architectural integrity and cultural value. Any status or recognition given to the site so that it can earn the attention and financial assistance it needs and deserves, should always be welcome. There is no question that this Hindu temple should be preserved and promoted as a destination for travellers from around the world. Second, war is a needless, destructive affair for any country, let alone neighbouring nations.

But of course, the circumstances surrounding the cliff-top, hundreds-of-years-old stone temple are anything but simple. For decades Thailand and Cambodia wrangled over where one country's border began and where the other's ended and in whose territory the temple stood, until the matter was brought before the International Court of Justice, which ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia.

Please click here to read more...

Thai [-Siem Ach Kree?] army to reinforce Cambodian border if needed

2010-07-28
By KINAN SUCHAOVANICH
The Associated Press

Thailand's army is prepared to defend its border with Cambodia if a territorial dispute heats up, the prime minister said Wednesday, as the two nations were set to tussle on the diplomatic front at a U.N. meeting in Brazil.

Deadly clashes have flared in the past over the Preah Vihear temple, which the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization named a World Heritage site in 2008, over Thailand's objections.

Two Thai soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in April 2009 after troops exchanged fire with assault rifles and rocket launchers along Cambodia's northern border near the temple, one of several clashes in recent years.

Cambodia will present a management plan in Brazil on the disputed territory at a UNESCO meeting this week.

Please click here to read more...

Kasit lays down the law: 'Demarcation must precede temple talks'

30/07/2010
By Lamphai Intathep, Thanida Tansubhapol and Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has submitted a strongly worded letter to World Heritage Committee members outlining Thailand's fierce objections to Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple.

The Foreign Ministry also began furious lobbying yesterday for the WHC to postpone consideration of the plan.

Deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs Chittriya Pinthong met with diplomats from 10 countries who sit on the 21-member committee: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, China, France, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. France, Sweden, Switzerland and Brazil sent their ambassadors to the ministry.

"As long as the demarcation has not been finished, Thailand cannot cooperate with any decision by the WHC," Mr Kasit said in his letter.

Please click here to read more...

Political Sacravatoons: "Baby Abishit"

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Abhisit outmanoeuvred by Hun Sen on disputed temple [-War threat against Cambodia?]

July 30, 2010
By Thanong Khanthong
The Nation

"If Cambodia insists on managing Preah Vihear, Thailand should respond in kind by closing the borders and stopping all trade with its neighbour. This would be the first warning. Thai soldiers on the border are on high alert. If the first warning goes unheeded, we should reserve the right, under our sovereignty, to drive out any nationals infringing upon our land."

THE DISPUTE between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple complex has once again flared up to rattle the national psyche. However, this time the Abhisit government appears to be inept in its diplomatic manoeuvring, and completelyunprepared for the campaign by Cambodian Prime minister Hun Sen.

After securing World Heritage status for Preah Vihear, Cambodia is now launching a follow-up drive to manage the ancient site, which lies on a mountainside in what is currently Cambodian territory, but which can be accessed only from the Thai side of the border demarcation.

A 21-member Unesco committee has been meeting in Brazil this week and, it will be voting on whether to approve the Cambodian management plan for Preah Vihear. If the approval is effected, Thailand could technically lose sovereignty over 4.6 square kilometres of disputed land near the 11th-century Khmer temple, as well as the area around the temple.

Thailand appears to be totally isolated on the issue. Most of the major powers are backing Cambodia on the management plan for the temple. This will allow interested parties a window of opportunity to take part in the development project for Preah Vihear, plus other business deals with Cambodia afterward.
Please click here to read more...

[Thai] PM in a bind on Preah Vihear

July 30, 2010
By Tulsathit Taptim
The Nation

Many people have observed that it was very "un-Abhisit" for the prime minister to threaten to burn the bridges with Unesco without eloquently explaining what on earth was going on in Brazil.

Abhisit Vejjajiva's scathing attacks on the Samak Sundaravej government two years ago over its support for Cambodia's attempts to register Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site have limited the prime minister's options. In the 2008 showdown, Abhisit and other Democrats deplored the Samak administration's move as something that might undermine the future Thai stand when it comes to the controversial temple and surrounding areas.

Defending its decision to support Cambodia's registration efforts, the Samak government pointed to two basic legal points. The first was the World Court ruling in 1962 declaring that the temple was on Cambodian territory. The second was Article 61 of the World Court ruling, which states: "No application for revision may be made after a lapse of 10 years from the date of the judgement." Article 61 featured prominently in Cambodia's application document to Unesco, with "LAPSE OF TEN YEARS" written in capital letters.)

Please click here to read more...

[Thai PAD] Lobbying on to stall PPenh's temple plan

July 30, 2010
The Nation

Suwit proposes Unesco committee delay decision on Preah Vihear for another year; Cambodian team won't budge, says 'we have already given Thailand too much'

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts yesterday to block Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.

Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.

At press time last night, the World Heritage Committee had not yet considered the plan and Suwit hoped the committee would delay considering it for another year.

Please click here to read more...

Thailand Threatens to Pull Out of UN World Heritage Committee Over Border Dispute

Preah Vihear temple is seen near Cambodian-Thai border in Preah Vihear province, about 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia (AP File photo)

Ron Corben, VOA
Bangkok 29 July 2010

Thailand is threatening to withdraw support from the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization if the U.N. World Heritage Committee backs a Cambodian plan to manage a 900-year-old Hindu temple site bordering the two countries.

The Thai government's threat to withdraw from the 21-nation UNESCO World Heritage Committee was made as the panel prepared to vote on a new Cambodian proposed management plan for the 900-year-old Khmer temple.

Source of tension

The Preah Vihear temple site lies immediately inside the Cambodian border on the top of a 525-meter-high cliff in the Dangrek Mountain range. But access to the temple complex is only readily available from the Thai side.
Please click here to read more...‎

In Brazil, Thailand Objects Again to Preah Vihear Plans

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 29 July 2010

“Protecting and enhancing our natural and cultural heritage means building the peace, respect and solidarity which lies at the heart of Unesco's mission.”

Thailand has re-raised objections to the World Heritage status of Preah Vihear temple on the northern border.

At a meeting of Unesco in Brazil, Thai officials said they do not agree with a Cambodian management plan for the 11th-Century temple, which is now at the heart of an ongoing military standoff on the border.

Both Thailand and Cambodia have had troops amassed along the border since the July 2008 inception of the temple as a Heritage site under Cambodian control.

Unesco spokeswoman Sue Williams told VOA Khmer from Brazil that Cambodia had presented a plan for consideration. However, she said the border dispute between the two countries was “strictly bilateral” and declined to comment further on the Thai objections.
Please click here to read more...

Fishermen Say They Are Forced Into Illegal Catches

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 29 July 2010

“If we didn’t do it, we would have nothing to eat,” he said, looking at fishing nets hanging on a nearby wall. “Fishing is our farming here.”

Local fishermen on the Tonle Sap lake in the province of Battambang say they continue to fish illegally during the off-season.

In interviews with VOA Khmer, the fishermen said they have no choice but to continue fishing, sometimes with banned equipment, in order to feed their families, despite a three-month ban instituted by the government that begins each July.

“The ban is like breaking our rice pot,” said 53-year-old fisherman Chhun Leang.

He sat in a wooden house on the great lake, in the floating village of Anlung Ta Our, in Ek Phnom district, and when boats passed their wakes shook his home.
Please click here to read more...

Duch Sentence Brings Tears, Relief Among US-Cambodians

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 29 July 2010

“I think this is an injustice, to reduce his sentence to 19 years.”

Among US-Cambodians, this week's sentencing of Kaing Kek Iev, the Khmer Rouge torture chief better known as Duch, brought with it mixed emotions.

Tears, sobs and disappointment combined with endeavors toward calm among the immigrant community, after Duch was handed a commuted sentence of 19 years for the torture and execution of more than 12,000 people at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison.

“I think this is an injustice, to reduce his sentence to 19 years,” said Kuch Chanly, a Cambodian resident of Maryland.

Judges at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal issued a 35-year sentence that was reduced for time served on Monday in a landmark case for the court. But that sentence did little to allay Kuch Chanly's mistrust of the tribunal.
Please click here to read more...

Killing Fields verdict fuels Christian's forgiveness

Jul 29, 2010
By Tess Rivers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Baptist Press)--Former Khmer Rouge operative Kaing Guev Eav's sentence is not severe enough, in the minds of many Cambodians; forgiveness is far from their thoughts.

Silas* is not one of them.

Kaing Guev Eav, known as "Duch," was sentenced to 35 years in prison July 26 by a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal -- the first of five surviving senior leaders of the notorious Khmer Rouge to be brought to trial. The communist regime's nearly four-year reign of terror in the 1970s resulted in the death of 1.7 million men, women and children in what has become known as Cambodia's Killing Fields.

Duch, who now professes to be a Christian, will appeal his sentence. At his trial he pleaded guilty but asked forgiveness for his role in the genocide. He claimed he was only following orders.

Duch was convicted of crimes against humanity, murder and torture for his role as head of the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh. At least 14,000 people died there under his command. Reduction in sentence for time served means Duch, 67, will spend the next 19 years in prison.

Silas was 8 years old in 1975 when communist leader Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge overturned the government of Cambodia. Silas was separated from his family and sent to a re-education camp where the Khmer Rouge trained him as a child soldier.

Please click here to read more...

Cambodia mass killings: Victims' relative tells her story

Comrade Duch has said he will appeal against the conviction

28 July, 2010
BBC News

The first man to be sentenced over his part in Cambodia's Khmer Rouge mass killings, Comrade Duch, was convicted on Monday of war crimes and crimes against humanity for running a prison centre where thousands were tortured and killed in the 1970s.

The judges jailed him for 35 years, but because of time served, he will spend only another 19 in prison.

Survivors have expressed outrage and prosecutors are considering an appeal.

A former pupil of Comrade Duch, Channary, was taught maths by him when attending Skuon high school in Cambodia's Kompong Cham province in the 1960's.

She lost many members of her family under the Khmer Rouge and now lives in the United States where she's the leader of the Cambodian Women's Organisation in San Jose.
Please click here to read more...

Former KR cadres react to verdict

Thursday, 29 July 2010
Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

Why do they want him to spend his whole life in prison? There is no need for this kind of vengeance.

FORMER Khmer Rouge cadres in the regime’s onetime stronghold of Northwestern Cambodia said yesterday that they were uninterested in Monday’s verdict against Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav at the Kingdom’s war crimes tribunal, and untroubled by the prospect of further prosecutions.

Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 8 commander Yim Phim, a former Khmer Rouge military commander whose RCAF troops are now stationed at Preah Vihear temple, said he was aware of Monday’s proceedings but had not followed them closely.

“I am not interested in this verdict, and neither are my soldiers,” Yim Phim said. “I don’t see it as necessary.”

Although the court had begun preliminary investigations in its third and fourth cases, and prosecutors had submitted a list of five unnamed potential suspects in September, Yim Phim said he and other former cadres were unconcerned.

“If Samdech Hun Sen is in power, I believe it will be no problem and there will be no more arrests,” Yim Phim said. The prime minister has publicly expressed his opposition to prosecutions beyond the court’s second case.
Please click here to read more...‎

Huge Cambodian casino complex planned to lure Chinese

Thu Jul 29, 2010
By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A South Korean real-estate developer is to build a $400 million integrated resort and casino in Cambodia to target the growing number of Chinese visitors to Southeast Asia and its burgeoning gambling sector.

The resort will be in Siem Reap province, 314 km (195 miles) northwest of the capital Phnom Penh, which attracts over a million tourists a year to its famed Angkor temples, James Cho, vice-president of Intercity Group, told Reuters in an interview.

Construction of the Water Park complex, with hotels, a gaming centre, shopping and convention centres and an 18-hole golf course, will start in October and it should open in early 2012.

Cho said it aimed in particular to draw visitors from other Asian countries, including Thais, Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Please click here to read more...

Cambodia Garment Strike Spotlights on Labor Rights

7/29/2010
By Jose Roy
Toboc.com

The wraith of global meltdown is still resonating in some form or the other in most outsourcing dependent countries. The recent Cambodia garment workers’ strike turns out to be a perfect case in point to the premise.

On Tuesday, the Cambodian police with riot gears thwarted a week-long strike sparked off by the suspension of a union official at a Malaysian-owned garment factory, which produced goods for international brands including Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma. It has been reported that the clashes between more than 100 armed police force and 3,000 garment workers in Phnom Penh had resulted in nine women being hurt, though authorities maintain the operations did not hurt anyone.

The BBC's Guy De Launey in Phnom Penh says the unrest could be a symptom of a wider social malaise owing to dwindling orders in Cambodia's crucial garment industry which resulted in tens of thousands of job losses. Early this month, government increased the minimum wage from about $50 to $60, but the double-digit inflation and the trade unions demands of above $80 seemed to be bogging down the effect.

Please click here to read more...

Border situation remains normal: Thai diplomat

July 29, 2010
Source: Xinhua

The situation along the Thai- Cambodian border has remained normal, Chalotorn Phaovibul, charge d'affaires of Thailand's Embassy in Cambodia, said on Thursday, the website by the Bangkok Post reported.

His remark was made amid Thailand's opposition to Cambodia's management plan for the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Chalotorn said he has believed Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen would not react until the World Heritage Committee (WHC) decides whether to go ahead and approve Cambodia's management plan for the ancient temple.

Please click here to read more...

[Thai] PM: Conflict's solution is demarcation [...but Thailand always stall the border demarcation talks...]

29/07/2010
Bangkok Post

The conflict over Preah Vihear should be brought back into the framework of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Thailand and Cambodia in 2000, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

The MoU was about demarcating the boundary of Preah Vihear temple. The work was carried out by the Thai-Cambodia Joint Commission on the Demarcation of the Land Boundary (JBC).

Mr Abhisit said the sidelines meeting between Thai and Cambodian diplomats during the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil had not been fruitful.

"Thailand has made it clear that we will accept Cambodia's management plan for the temple only if the temple is jointly listed between the two countries," he said.

Please click here to read more...

[Thai sore losers] Govt issues temple ultimatum

Thais will quit heritage body if plans are passed

29/07/2010
Bangkok Post

Thailand is threatening to resign its membership of the World Heritage Committee if it goes ahead and approves Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear temple.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday sent a strong message to the committee, meeting in Brazil, that approval of the plan proposed by Phnom Penh could mean the end of Thai membership of the body.

Thailand's main concern is that the plan could include part or all of a disputed 4.6 square kilometre area buffer zone claimed by the two countries.

Thai PBS television quoted Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti as saying in Brazil that the plan to manage the Hindu Khmer temple and surrounding areas included a square kilometre of the disputed land.

Please click here to read more...

Preah Vihear's borders 'must come first'[: Sore Thai losers]

Mr Suwit told me that it is likely that Thailand will lose [and Cambodia’s plan will be accepted]. - ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA

29/07/2010
Pradit Ruangdit
Bangkok Post

Concern that the World Heritage committee will back Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear temple overshadowed the cabinet meeting yesterday.

Ministers spent 40 minutes discussing countermeasures after being told by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti in Brasilia that Cambodia had gained the upper hand over the temple.

"Mr Suwit told me that it is likely that Thailand will lose [and Cambodia's plan will be accepted]," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was quoted as saying by a source to the other ministers.

The plan submitted by Cambodia includes a map involving the disputed 4.6 square kilometre area.
Please click here to read more...

Thai army to reinforce Cambodian border if needed

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
By KINAN SUCHAOVANICH (AP)

BANGKOK — Thailand's army is prepared to defend its border with Cambodia if a territorial dispute heats up, the prime minister said Wednesday, as the two nations were set to tussle on the diplomatic front at a U.N. meeting in Brazil.

Deadly clashes have flared in the past over the Preah Vihear temple, which the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization named a World Heritage site in 2008, over Thailand's objections.

Two Thai soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in April 2009 after troops exchanged fire with assault rifles and rocket launchers along Cambodia's northern border near the temple, one of several clashes in recent years.

Please click here to read more...

[Thai] Cabinet firm on Thailand's stance on Preah Vihear

28/07/2010
Bangkok Post

Cabinet has instructed Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti to walk out of the meeting if the World Heritage Committee (WHC) discusses Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple without taking Thailand's protest into consideration, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

Mr Suwit is in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, to attend the WHC meeting, which is due to discuss Cambodia's management plan for the 1,000-year-old Hindu temple.

Mr Abhisit said the cabinet on Wednesday agreed that if the WHC went ahead with consideration of Cambodia's proposal, Mr Suwit should walk out and boycott the vote.

Mr Suwit should also review Thailand's WHC membership if it looked likely to endorse the management plan.
Please click here to read more...

Thailand ready to go to war with Cambodia over Preah Vihear temple?

OUTRAGE: Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) hold Thai national flags and placards during a rally to oppose the Cambodian plan on administering Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage Site, at Unesco's local office in Bangkok on Tuesday 27 July 2010. Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in nationalist tensions and a troop standoff at their disputed border since July 2008, when Unesco approved Cambodia's request to grant the 11th century Preah Vihear temple the World Heritage status. -- AFP

Thailand to defend rights over land dispute with Cambodia

Bangkok, Wednesday 28 July 2010
By WATTANA KHAMCHU and PIYANART SRIVALO
The Nation

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed on 27 July 2010 to protect Thailand's rights and interests, as Cambodia makes moves to submit its management plan for Preah Vihear Temple and its adjacent areas at the Unesco World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil.

The Thai delegation, led by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, is at the forum to lobby against the plan. The meeting runs until August 3.

"We think the World Heritage Committee should not consider this plan until Thailand and Cambodia have agreed upon the demarcation line," Abhisit said, after discussing the issue on Tuesday with some leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).
Plealse click here to read more...