Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at Who Will Defend the Children in Cambodian Drug Rehab Centres?
March 31, 2010
By Joe Amon
The Nation
By Joe Amon
The Nation
At the end of January, Human Rights Watch released a report on abuses throughout Cambodia's system of drug detention centres. Our report detailed terrible abuses and sadistic violence. The adults and children we interviewed told us of being beaten, whipped and punished with electric shocks.
Unicef provides direct funding for one of the centres, where drug-users and children - some reportedly as young as four - are brought in from the streets. When we briefed them four months before we released our report, they told us they were shocked. They promised to look into the abuses. Children who had been detained at the Unicef-funded centre told us of being tortured. They told us of being forced to do exhausting military exercises, work on construction projects and even dance naked for guards.
We expected Unicef to press for a thorough and independent investigation and to demand that those responsible for the abuses be held accountable. We hoped they would conduct a review of their funding, programming and activities. We expected them to press the Cambodian government more broadly about the detention of children alongside adults.
What actually happened? Not much. Unicef issued a statement when our report was released saying that past reviews conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs - the ministry running the centre - had found no evidence of "major violations". Over the next few weeks Unicef officials defended their support for the centre, saying that they monitor conditions in the centre "from time to time". Unicef's director in Cambodia, Richard Bridle, said that they "look for the positive". At the same time, Bridle conceded that he "wouldn't be surprised" if abuses were taking place, and that these kinds of abuses are "typical in centres [such] as this one".
To foster change, change yourself
March 31, 2010
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News
An inscription on the tomb of an Anglican bishop in Westminster Abbey describes a man on his deathbed reflecting on his life's voyage: When he was "young and free" with limitless imagination, he dreamed of changing the world, but the world would not change. He decided then to change the country; but the country was immovable. So, in his "last desperate attempt" he worked to change those closest to him, his family; but the family "would have none of it."
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News
An inscription on the tomb of an Anglican bishop in Westminster Abbey describes a man on his deathbed reflecting on his life's voyage: When he was "young and free" with limitless imagination, he dreamed of changing the world, but the world would not change. He decided then to change the country; but the country was immovable. So, in his "last desperate attempt" he worked to change those closest to him, his family; but the family "would have none of it."On his deathbed, the man realized: "If only I had changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I might have changed the world."
Indeed, change begins with each of us. Look into the mirror. Change begins with the one who stares back at you!
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean," writes Japanese author and poet Ryunosuke Satoro.
Cambodia opposition asks to halt Vietnam border demarcation
3/30/2010
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Cambodia's main opposition party on Tuesday asked the government to suspend demarcation of a contentious border with neighbouring Vietnam, according to a letter seen by AFP.
Lawmakers from the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), whose leader lives in exile in France, urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to allow a review of border markings to "properly and fully respect the territorial integrity of Cambodia".
The Cambodian premier maintains close relations with the Vietnamese regime and Sam Rainsy, whose party shares his name, has repeatedly accused the government of ceding land to Vietnam.
"We, the lawmakers... would like to request the government to suspend the process of planting markers along Cambodian-Vietnamese border," the letter said.
For whom the mighty Mekong flows
Over 200 villagers from Thailand and Laos organised a Buddhist ceremony to declare the first transboundary fish sanctuary on the Mekong River, and to voice their concern over the hydropower development and destruction of the river’s ecosystem.By Pianporn Deetes and Carl Middleton
Bangkok Post
Since the end of last year, Jeerasak Intayos, a 38-year-old villager from Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai, has seen the Mekong River's level drop dramatically. Mr Jeerasak works with the Chiang Khong Conservation Group that has monitored the Mekong and its development for over a decade, and he has never seen the river this low. He witnesses first-hand how riverside communities are now suffering from declining fish catch, scarcity of water for drinking, irrigation and livestock, and how river transportation has been grounded, affecting tourism and trade.
The current drought is now widely declared as a water crisis by government officials in Thailand, Laos and China's Yunnan province. And it is, but that's not the whole story.
China denies dams worsen drought in Mekong basin
2010-03-31
Source: Xinhua
Source: Xinhua
KUNMING - Water resources authorities in southwest China Tuesday denied reports that China's dams on the Lancang River have exacerbated the drought in the Mekong River basin.
Some conservationists in the lower-reach countries in Southeast Asia had accused China of failing to release enough water in the dams, worsening drought with low river water levels downstream.
The Lancang River flows through Yunnan province into southeast Asia where it is called the Mekong River. It is 4,880 km long and the whole basin covers an area of 811,000 square km.
Chen Hui, deputy chief engineer of the Lancang River Maritime Bureau, said the falling levels in the Mekong River in Southeast Asia were mainly the result of sharp declines in rainfall in the river's upper reaches.
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at Work begins on Cambodian hydropower project
March 30, 2010
By SOPHENG CHEANG
The Associated Press
By SOPHENG CHEANG
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A Chinese company has begun construction of one of several hydroelectric dam projects planned to reduce electricity shortages in Cambodia that environmentalists warn could do more harm than good, an official said Tuesday.
The China National Heavy Machinery Corp. will build the 246-megawatt plant in Koh Kong province, with an investment of $540 million. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday, and the project is due for completion by 2014, said Pich Siyun, chief of the province's Industry Department.
"We have a shortage of electricity now, and I hope that the dam would help reduce people's poverty as the price of electricity would be cheaper," he said.
Drought Drops Mekong River to 50-Year Low, Affects Farmers and Trade
A farmer looks at cows in a dry rice field in Thailand's Yasothorn province, northeast of Bangkok (Photo: AP File)30 March 2010
By Daniel Schearf
Chiangrai province, Thailand
Voice of America
Southeast Asia Drought Triggers Debate Over Region's Water Resources
A severe drought in Southeast Asia and southern China has caused the Mekong River to drop to a 50-year low. In Thailand, trade on the river has dried up and farmers say they do not have enough water for their crops. Many blame China's dams upstream but experts say the dams may not be the problem.
A group of water experts from the Chiangsaen water monitoring station set out by boat on the Mekong River.
They lower a special pole off the side of the boat that bounces sonar off the riverbed, allowing them to accurately check the water level.
Did climatic conditions trigger Angkor's collapse?
2010-03-30
IANS
IANS
WASHINGTON: Decades of drought, alternating with intense monsoon rains, may have sounded the death knell for Cambodia's ancient Khmer civilization at Angkor nearly 600 years ago.
Columbia University researchers say this based on an analysis of tree rings, archaeological remains and other evidence.
Their findings may also shed light on what drives - and disrupts - the rainy season across much of Asia, which waters crops for nearly half the world's population.
'Angkor at that time faced a number of problems - social, political and cultural. Environmental change pushed the ancient Khmers to the limit and they weren't able to adapt,' said the study's lead author, Brendan Buckley.
Mam Sonando to form association after unsuccessful attempt to unite parties
Political Sacravatoons: "A Business Card" on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com
The association's logo?Source: Rasmei Kampuchea
Translated from Khmer by Socheata for KI-Media
Mam Sonando (picture, C), Director of the Beehive radio station, is forming an association for the democrats. The association bears a logo representing a crocodile with a pen blocking its open mouth. Mam Sonando’s action comes after he was unsuccessful in uniting democratic parties from the opposition.Mam Sonando said that the association’s goal is to gather people who love freedom and democracy, and it is also opened to cooperation from all political parties, as well as NGOs. He added that the respect of human rights and democracy in Cambodia is weakened that is why he is forming this association of democrats in order to strengthen democracy in Cambodia.
At this time, Mam Sonando is preparing the association’s bylaw to send to the ministry of Interior to seek the authorization to form the association in which he will preside along with 11 other permanent committee members.
State President affirms close ties with Cambodia
03/30/2010
VOV News
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Vietnam wants to strengthen the traditional friendship, fine neighbourliness and cooperation with Cambodia, State President Nguyen Minh Triet told co-prosecutor Chea Leang at a reception in Hanoi on March 30.
VOV News
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Vietnam wants to strengthen the traditional friendship, fine neighbourliness and cooperation with Cambodia, State President Nguyen Minh Triet told co-prosecutor Chea Leang at a reception in Hanoi on March 30.Mr Triet acknowledged the positive developments in cooperative relations between the two countries through regular exchange of high-level visits, especially a Cambodia visit by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh last December.
He noted that bilateral ties in economics, trade and investment have grown and flourished recently and that Vietnamese businesses have increased investment in telecommunications, energy, mining, rubber plantation and waterways transport in Cambodia.
He welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, laying a legal framework for increasing cooperation between the two agencies. He proposed that the two agencies implement the MoU effectively to help elevate bilateral relationship.
Please click here to read more...
Specialists review Japan’s assistance to Development Triangle
03/30/2010
VOV News
VOV News
The fourth specialists meeting between Japan and the development triangle of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CVL) took place in Hanoi on March 30 to review the implementation of Japan’s 20 million-dollar aid package to the region and discuss ways of further boosting bilateral cooperation.
The CVL initiative was put forward at a meeting between the premiers of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1999, with a view to strengthening unity and cooperation among these countries in socio-economic development and poverty reduction.
During the 10th ASEAN Summit in November 2004, the prime ministers from all three countries signed the Vientiane Declaration on building such a development triangle and approved a master plan, which covered areas such as transport, energy, trade, investment and training.
VN, US sign nuclear energy pact
30/03/2010AFP
Vietnam and the United States signed a pact on Tuesday described as a key foundation for development of peaceful atomic power in the communist country.
US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak (R) and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Dinh Tien (L) raise a toast after signing a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation in the nuclear energy field in Hanoi. Vietnam and the United States signed a pact on Tuesday described as a key foundation for development of peaceful atomic power in the communist country.
"This is an important moment in our bilateral relations," US ambassador Michael Michalak said before endorsing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on nuclear energy cooperation.
Vietnamese loggers actively logging in Cambodian forests
Trucks transporting illegal timbers across the borders to Vietnam.Source: RFA
Groups of 7-10 Vietnamese loggers are actively and illegally logging in Cambodian forests in Andong Meas district of Rattanakiri province and transporting all timbers across the borders to Vietnam, reports Radio Free Asia.
Villagers from the Jarai minority ethnic group from Nhang commune, Andong Meas district reported on 29th March, said they have seen groups of Vietnamese loggers, equipped with machinery, crossed into Cambodia to log in the Cambodian forests.
Kalan Beng, a Jarai villager from Taing Malu village, said these illegal logging activities by the Vietnamese have taken place since February with the connivance of the military and border police. He said on Sunday 28th, 4 villagers from Taing Malu village went to investigate the illegal logging activities and saw Vietnamese loggers working in groups of 7-10 people actively cutting down trees about 7 kilometres from the village and 3 kilometres from the borders deep inside Cambodian territories. They said they saw groups of 4-5 Vietnamese pushing carts loaded with about 30 cubic metres in total across the borders to Vietnam, about 500 metres from the Cambodian border post/checkpoint. "The (Vietnamese) logging activities are done in the open and are protected by the (Cambodian) police and soldiers. The villagers dare not interfere", said one villager.
Police officials from Pha Tam border Post cannot be reached for comments and Mong Thaen, military commander of Ratanakiri province, said he had not received the reports about the Vietnamese logging activities in Cambodian territories. However, he said he will send officials to investigate the claims.
Mr. Su Vankhamvann, chief of Rattanakiri Border Post, said he will launch an investigation and promised that offence of this sort will not be allowed to go on. However, in early 2010, a group of commune councillors of Nhang commune, Andong Meas district intercepted and detained many trucks transporting timbers across the borders to Vietnam, committed by military and police officials based in the province. The councillors released the trucks after they were threatened by the military and police.
On 22nd March 2010, raids on illegal timber warehouses in Rattanakiri had found 400 cubic metres of illegal timbers, but no one has been arrested. In raids across Siem Reap province on 24th and 26 March, thousands of cubic metres of illegal timbers had been found stockpiled in warehouses belong to powerful businessmen such as Sok Kong, Lao Meng Khin, Ang Try and others. However, no one was arrested in those raids.
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at 13th anniversary of the grenade attack
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(Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)By I.N.
Source: Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French Alain de Veng for KI-Media
Click here to read the article in French
Sam Rainsy called in over the phone to talk to his followers who were gathered in front of the old National Assembly building to commemorate the attack on the 30 March 1997 demonstration led by Sam Rainsy.
In front of hundreds of people, including monks, who came to commemorate the event in front of a stupa erected at the Wat Botum park, the exiled opposition leader demanded that justice be provided to the victims of the 1997 grenade attack.
In a 10-minute-long speech from France, Sam Rainsy indicated that, “even if the authority was not impartial,” he hoped that one day, “justice will be delivered” and that the “main characters at the origin of this attack [would] be sent to face justice.”
Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA) which is close to the opposition, said that the Cambodian police had the mean to arrest the culprits, but, that “in this affair, if did not want to.”
On Attack Anniversary, a Repeated Plea
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 March 2010
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 March 2010
Families of victims in a gruesome 1997 grenade attack renewed calls for the government and the FBI to reopen a stalled investigation Tuesday, as they marked the 13th anniversary of the assault.
Thirteen years ago Tuesday, assailants threw four grenades in the midst of a political rally for the opposition, killing 16 people and leaving 150 more wounded. Each year, the families make a new plea, but no suspects have ever been arrested in the case, which was investigated briefly by the FBI when a US citizen was injured.
Addressing supporters by loudspeaker and a phone link from France Tuesday, opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who led the 1997 rally, said the dead and wounded must not be forgotten.
“Cambodian leaders were involved in the grenade attack,” he said. “It was not so long ago. The killers and the man behind the killers will be punished or condemned for the killing. The criminals cannot escape justice.”
Tribunal ‘Accelerating’ Work for Trials: Prosecutor
By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Siem Reap
30 March 2010
Original report from Siem Reap
30 March 2010
Prosecutors are speeding up their work in the second case of the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, a court official said Sunday.
The court was working quickly and efficiently, UN prosecutor Andrew Carley told a group of teachers in Siem Reap, where he spoke during training of a new history book for schools.
The prosecution is moving toward the 2011 trial of at least four detained leaders, Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, following the conclusion of the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch.
Disgusted with politicians' mansions
Hun Xen's mansion in Phnom Penh
Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network
PHILIPINES, MANILA: Disgusted by a public official's sprawling mansion or bulky SUV that you think is ill-gotten? Take a picture and send it to these guys.
Anti-corruption activists Tuesday (March 23) launched the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP) and its website, aiming to build from the grassroots "a constituency for change" to battle "endemic" graft and corruption.
The PPTRP website-www.transparencyreporting.net, subtitled "Pera Natin 'To (This is our Money)!"-will feature pictures of alleged ill-gotten wealth. Plans are underway to make the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) of government officials available online.
The first target of this "shame" drive? Politicians who put their names and pictures on signs announcing public projects.
Child Dance Troupe Aims for Paid Theater
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington
30 March 2010
Washington
30 March 2010
Two groups, Cambodian Living Arts and the Editions du Mekong, hope to introduce national and international tourists to a traditional folk dance through performances by the Children of Bassac at the Phnom Penh National Museum, representatives of the groups said on “Hello VOA” Monday.
Children of Bassac performed for National Cultural Day March 25 and plan another performance for Khmer New Year April 1. Both shows are preludes to planned weekly performances in November and December.
Soeur Vuthy, assistant master of Children of Bassac, told “Hello VOA” the company has 24 dancers, all between the ages of 16 and 21, and was created in 2003 by master Ieng Sithul, a traditional theater singer.
Delegates to ASEAN’s rights body draw fire
Om Yen Tieng, Hun Xen's advisor and Cambodian human rights commissionerBy Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post
A COALITION of more than 70 regional NGOs has condemned eight ASEAN members, including Cambodia, for failing to respond to its demand for a consultative meeting about the newly created ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights (AICHR).
According to a statement issued Monday, the Solidarity for Asian Peoples Advocacy Taskforce on ASEAN Human Rights stated that only the AICHR delegates from Thailand and Indonesia had responded to its request to hold a civil society consultation on the AICHR’s rules of procedure as it met in Jakarta Monday.
“As representative[s] of a human rights institution, the refusal to meet with civil society is in itself a contradiction of the spirit and principles of human rights,” Yap Swee Seng, the co-convenor of the task force, said in the statement.
The AICHR was established on October 23 last year, during the 15th ASEAN summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Om Yen Tieng, the chairman of the government-run Cambodian Human Rights Committee, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Five Law Students in Mock International Court
By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
30 March 2010
Original report from Washington
30 March 2010
Five Cambodian law students were selected to participate in mock hearings in Washington this month that simulated cases at the International Court of Justice.
The five students were all selected from the Royal University of Law and Science Economics: Prom Savada, Theng Tith Maria, Tan Tepi Kanika, Pea Vanchhay, and Tan Keat Tech.
Magaret Ryan, a teacher at the Royal University of Law and Science Economics in Phnom Penh, was team advisor, coaching the team in basic principles of international law.
The team partook in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court competition at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, from March 21 to March 27.
Ex-SRP lawyer accepts CCHR post
Political Sacravatoons: "A Human Rights Activist" on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com/By Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post
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KONG Sam Onn (picture), a lawyer who was served with a bar complaint last year while representing Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua during her high-profile defamation dispute with Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been appointed director of programmes for the Cambodian Centre for Human rights, the organisation said Monday.“I think it is a good job to promote human rights, and I will work to help the nation and devote my love to the nation,” said Kong Sam Onn, who ceased representing Mu Sochua and defected to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party after the bar complaint was filed by government lawyer Ky Tech.
“I am a member of the CPP, but it doesn’t mean that a member of the CPP will work to oppose human rights in Cambodia,” he said.
Kong Sam Onn has also represented Sam Rainsy and Ho Vann, another SRP lawmaker.
He has worked as a legal consultant at the Khmer Rouge tribunal and as a senior manager at the Cambodian Defenders Project, a legal aid NGO.
Ancient Cambodian bronzes headed to Getty Center
Photo: a 12th century bronze from the Angkor period. Credit: National Museum of CambodiaBy David Ng
Los Angeles Times
For the first time, the J. Paul Getty Museum will be hosting an exhibition of artwork from Cambodia.
A collection of ancient bronze sculptures from the Southeast Asian country will go on display at the Getty Center in 2011. "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes From the National Museum of Cambodia" is set to run from Feb. 22 to Aug. 14, 2011.
The exhibition features work dating from the Angkor period, roughly from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The Getty said the show will also feature a small group of bronzes from the pre-Angkor period and some recently excavated works.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Climate Helped Bring Angkor to Its Knees
Studying tree rings has revealed a record of wet and dry times that helps make sense of the mysterious and gradual demise of Angkor, the capitol of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia from the 9th to 14th centuries. A very wet period with rich monsoons and plentiful crops from 1258 to 1300 was followed by many years of drought from 1350 to 1370. (Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation)Source: National Science Foundation
Tree ring record reveals abrupt end to empire
March 29, 2010
Throughout written history there have been many abrupt ends to empires and civilizations that have little explanation. Political climates deteriorate, passions rise, revolts happen and the next thing you know--the culture is a thing of the past relegated to a short chapter in a textbook.
The natural world leaves a record in the form of tree rings, which can be read like a very detailed book, covering a long period of human history. Now a team of researchers has correlated the demise of Angkor, the capitol of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia, with a decades-long drought interspersed with intense monsoons in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Brendan Buckley of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and his colleagues have put together a high-resolution record of periods of drought and moisture in Southeast Asia that is over three quarters of a millennium long from 1250 to 2008 AD.
Angkor Wat doomed by drought, floods, suggests tree ring study
Tree Rings, Climate Change and the Rainy Season from Earth Institute on Vimeo.
Towers of Prasat Suor Prat at Angkor Wat ((b) north face of the N2 tower of Prasat Suor Prat)
Map showing location of Angkor Wat (c) and map of temple canals and reservoirs (By Elsevier, Department of Angkor Conservation)By Dan Vergano
USA Today
The ancient Cambodian capital of Angkor Wat suffered decades of drought interspersed with monsoon lashings that doomed the city six centuries ago, suggests a Monday tree-ring study.
A 979-year record of tree rings taken from Vietnam's highlands, released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal and led by Brendan Buckley of Columbia University, finds the, "Angkor droughts were of a duration and severity that would have impacted the sprawling city's water supply and agricultural productivity, while high-magnitude monsoon years damaged its water control infrastructure."
Alternating effects of El Nino and La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, as the northern hemisphere shifted a period of medieval warmth to the "Little Ice Age" of the 17th Century, may have whipsawed the region where Angkor Wat once stood. The "hydraulic city", center of the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th Century, was built of impressive temples standing amid nearly 400 square miles of canals and reservoirs called "baray", according to a 2009 Journal of Environmental Management study.
[Thai] Govt ensures safety of MRC leaders
March 30, 2010
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
The government will provide highlevel security for leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Burma and China who are scheduled to attend the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Hua Hin early next month.
More than 5,000 soldiers and police officers will be deployed to ensure the safety of all participants and leaders attending the meeting, which runs from April 2 to 5, director general of the Department of Water Resources Kasemsan Jinnawaso said at a press conference yesterday.
Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Lao PM Bouasone Bouphavanh, Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, China's Foreign Minister Song Tao, Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win and PM Abhisit Vejjajiva have all confirmed they will attend despite the political turmoil, Pimuk Simaroj, an assistant to the natural resources and the environment minister, said.
The leaders and participants will be put up at several different hotels.
Cambodia: No Justice for Grenade Victims
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, March 29, 2010) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should revive its investigation into the deadly 1997 grenade attack on an opposition party rally in Phnom Penh that left at least 16 dead and more than 150 wounded, Human Rights Watch said today.
US Should Revive Inquiry Into 1997 Attack and Reassess Aid to Units Linked to Abuse
Related Materials: Cambodia: 1997 Grenade Attack on Opposition Still Unpunished.
(New York, March 29, 2010) - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should revive its investigation into the deadly 1997 grenade attack on an opposition party rally in Phnom Penh that left at least 16 dead and more than 150 wounded, Human Rights Watch said today.The Cambodian government has failed to take any steps to investigate or hold perpetrators accountable, despite strong evidence of complicity by Prime Minister Hun Sen's bodyguard unit in the attack. The FBI undertook an investigation into the grenade attack because a US citizen, Ron Abney, was among those wounded.
"The United States claims that human rights and the rule of law are primary policy goals in Cambodia, yet it withdrew the FBI just when it was close to solving the case and has done nothing for over a decade to resolve it," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This attack has cast a shadow over Cambodia that will only be lifted when the perpetrators are brought to justice."
Land Protesters Released on Bail
The villagers came to protest in several trucks (Photo: DAP news).jpg)
The two protesters who were released on bail (Photo: DAP news)Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010
Kampong Speu court released two men on bail Monday, following a week of turbulent protests on their behalf.
Yu Tho and Khim Rithy were detained last week and charged with arson, after allegedly burning down the offices of a sugar plantation in the midst of a land dispute.
Around 500 villagers protested the decision, clashing with police and blocking traffic in the provincial town.
The court will require the men to appear twice a month to ensure they do not run.
Am Sam Ath, an investigator with the rights group Licadho, said the release of the men had not solved the underlying issue, as villagers claim they were pushed off their land by the sugar company, owned by a senator in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
Tribunal Process Remains Under Threat: OSJI
Senior CPP officials sought for questioning by the ECCCOriginal report from Washington
29 March 2010
The UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has been compromised by the court’s inability to try further leaders of the regime and by the refusal of senior officials to participate as witnesses, a monitoring group says in its latest monthly report.
Both scenarios are the result of political interference in the court and violate the UN-Cambodia agreement of cooperation, the Open Society Justice Initiative said in its March report on the tribunal.
“If government officials or court officers refuse to cooperate with such steps, the UN, the donors, and the key international officers of the court must make it clearly and publicly known that such interference or refusal of cooperation is a violation of the Agreement and the principles that govern fair trials consistent with international standards,” OSJI said.
China-Cambodia Ties Grow Tighter
By Robert Carmicheal, VOA
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010
In the past five years China and Cambodia have drawn ever closer, with Beijing investing billions of dollars in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. Cambodians see both benefits and potential risks in the relationship.
In the past five years, China has become Cambodia's most important source of foreign investment: Cambodia has approved $6 billion of Chinese investments since 2006, while China provided at least $2 billion more in grant aid and loans.
Those are big sums for Cambodia, which has a $10 billion economy.
The relationship between the two countries is nothing new. Chea Vannath, an independent analyst based in Phnom Penh, says China's influence goes back at least 1,000 years.
French Verdict Delayed in Sam Rainsy Lawsuit
By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
29 March 2010
Original report from Washington
29 March 2010
The French Court of Appeals has delayed until May 20 the verdict in a lawsuit brought against opposition leader Sam Rainsy by Cambodia’s foreign minister.
“There is no decision yet, because the court will need to take the case under further consideration,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer Friday.
Sam Rainsy was found guilty in a lower court of defamation, for alleging in a memoir the minister, Hor Namhong, had colluded with the Khmer Rouge while supervising a Phnom Penh work camp under the regime.
Hor Namhong has said he was a victim within the Boeung Trabek camp, where several inmates died.
Hor Namhong brought four witnesses to testify in his favor, including Khmer Rouge historian Raoul Jennar, sources who attended a March 25 hearing in Paris told VOA Khmer. Around 50 Cambodians attended the hearing. Sam Rainsy said those who would have come forward on his behalf were afraid for the safety of their families in Cambodia.
Southeast Asia Drought Triggers Debate Over Region's Water Resources
By Ron Corben, VOA
Original report from Bangkok
29 March 2010
Original report from Bangkok
29 March 2010
A drought across southern China and Southeast Asia has brought the Mekong River to its lowest level in 50 years. The drought has led to debate over the vital resource and the effects that economic development, especially dam construction, may have on the river flow.
In northern Thailand, the wide Mekong River is known as Mother River. It travels from headwaters in the Tibetan plains over 4,000 kilometers to the South China Sea.
But this year, the river has fallen to its lowest level in decades.
Julian Wright manages a guest house on the Mekong River's banks at Khon Kaen in northern Thailand. Wright says there are more sand banks visible in the river than in past years.
Government To Issue Demonstration Handbooks
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 March 2010
The government on Monday announced the launch of public handbooks outlining the rights of demonstrators under a new law passed late last year.
The handbook, which was sponsored by USAID, seeks to prevent legal conflict for protesters following the December 2009 passage of a controversial demonstration law.
Demonstrations in Cambodia sometimes lead to injuries among participants, who clash with armed security forces over issues such as land rights and labor conditions.
Some 200 officials, including provincial leaders, police and military police, as well as non-governmental organizations, took part in the announcement Monday.
Critics say the demonstration law, which restricts non-sanctioned gatherings to under 200 people, is too strict and reduces basic constitutional freedoms and that it does not clarify what issues relate to “national security, public order, health and public morality,” key provisions in the law.
Remains of Errol Flynn's son, Sean, 'discovered' in Cambodia
Forensic tests will be conducted on what two searchers believe are the remains of photographer Sean Flynn, son of Hollywood star Errol Flynn, who disappeared during the Cambodian War 40 years ago.
Sean Flynn, American freelance photojournalist covering the war in Southeast Asia for Time Magazine in 1968 Photo: APTelegraph.co.uk
A jaw and femur bone that could belong to Sean Flynn were unearthed from a suspected mass grave in Cambodia's central Kampong Cham province earlier this month and have been handed to the US embassy in Phnom Penh for testing.
The 28-year-old's fate has been a mystery since 1970 when he and fellow journalist Dana Stone were captured by communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas while on assignment in the province, and never heard from again.
John Johnson, a US embassy spokesman, said the "possible human remains" were being sent for forensic analysis in Hawaii.
Embassy: Remains could belong to Errol Flynn's son
Monday, March 29, 2010
By SOPHENG CHEANG
The Associated Press
By SOPHENG CHEANG
The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Forensic tests will be conducted on what two searchers believe are the remains of photographer Sean Flynn, son of Hollywood star Errol Flynn, who disappeared during the Cambodian War 40 years ago, the U.S. Embassy said Monday.
At least 37 journalists were killed or are listed as missing from the 1970-75 war, which pitted the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government against the North Vietnamese-supported Khmer Rouge.
A number of journalists were known to have been captured by the Khmer Rouge and probably executed.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Short skirts not welcomed here?
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Students and teachers from the Khmer Teacher Association protest in Phnom Penh March 28, 2010. Some 300 protesters demonstrated to discourage female students from wearing short skirts to school. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea.jpg)
Teachers and students from the Khmer Teacher Association protest in Phnom Penh March 28, 2010. Some 300 protesters demonstrated to discourage female students from wearing short skirts to school. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaRalliers riled at short skirts
Protesters rally in Phnom Penh Sunday during a demonstration aimed at urging women, particularly students, not to wear ‘sexy clothing’ and short skirts that fall above the knees. Rally organisers said they disapproved of what they see as a growing desire on the part of Khmer youth to copy foreign cultures, which they said ran the risk of compromising Khmer traditions. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)By Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post
MORE than 100 people rallied on Sunday in an effort to urge Khmer women not to wear short skirts, organisers said.
Seang Bunheang, director of the Khmer Teachers’ Association, hailed the weekend rally as a success, even though it attracted fewer than half the number of participants originally projected.
“We want to appeal to teachers, school directors, female students and their parents to take measures to stop female students from wearing short skirts,” Seang Bunheang said.
Sunday’s rally was an abridged version of what had been planned as a march through the streets of the capital. City Hall refused to allow the group to march, Seang Bunheang said.
Poll rates level of ‘wellbeing’
Political Sacravatoons:" Congratulations to Cambodia for Sale Inc." On the web at http://www.sacrava.blogspot.com/By James O'Toole
The Phnom Penh Post
CAMBODIA has placed last among 46 Asian countries surveyed in a new poll on “global wellbeing” conducted by the US-based Gallup polling organisation.
Released on Thursday in Washington, the survey used data collected since 2005 to analyse the welfare of people in 155 countries and areas. In 1,000 telephone and face-to-face interviews with Cambodians aged 15 and older, respondents were asked to rate their current well-being, as well as their life prospects for five years in the future, and were assigned to one of three categories based on their responses: “Thriving”, “Struggling” or “Suffering”.
Gallup concluded that just 3 percent of Cambodians are thriving, compared with 75 percent who are struggling and 22 percent who are suffering. A margin of error for the data was not given.
New posts at VN border
Monday, 29 March 2010
By Kim Yuthana
The Phnom Penh Post
By Kim Yuthana
The Phnom Penh Post
GROUND was broken for eight new posts on the border of Kampong Cham province’s Memot district and Tay Ninh province in Vietnam on Friday, officials said, as part of a plan to demarcate the area’s entire border by the end of the year.
Kampong Cham police Chief Noun Samin said Sunday that officials from both countries attended the groundbreaking ceremony at border post No 80, located in Memot district’s Choam Kravien commune. He said the borders had been demarcated “without difficulty” following discussions with the Border Committee of Cambodia and local villagers. Officials have said that Cambodia and Vietnam plan to finish demarcating their 1,270-kilometre shared border by 2012.
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, reiterated his party’s concerns that the border-demarcation process was resulting in the loss of land to Vietnam.
“The setting up of border posts in the past and recently has caused Cambodia to lose land,” he said.
Govt Secrecy: PM to limit attendance at meetings
Monday, 29 March 2010
By Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post
By Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post
Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that unnecessary government officials will be barred from joining the Council of Ministers’ weekly plenary sessions in order to prevent the leaking of confidential government information. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council, said the premier warned during Friday’s session that public leaks of sensitive government information could damage the effectiveness of policy implementation. Phay Siphan said that some government officials were speaking out “without understanding what is public information, private information or confidential information”. Nady Tann, the government secretary general who arranges the weekly council meetings, said officials’ names are usually listed and submitted to Hun Sen, who then decides who should be invited and what issues should be on the agenda. “There might be some internal information leaked out, which is why the premier ordered us to do so,” he said Sunday. “I will wait to see the decision from Samdech [Hun Sen] about who will be allowed to attend the next meeting.”
SRP lawmaker’s land in Siem Reap seized
Monday, 29 March 2010
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post
THE Apsara Authority announced Thursday that it will confiscate and sell more than 3 hectares of land in Siem Reap province owned by Son Chhay, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), to tycoon Sok Kong at the start of next month.
Son Chhay said Sunday that the courts, under pressure from Apsara’s chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, delivered a decision to confiscate more than 3 hectares of land he says he purchased in 1995. The land, which is being taken under a sub-decree to preserve “state land”, has been sold to Sok Kong’s Sokimex Group for a hotel development, he said.
“It is absolutely contrary to the law. Taking this land is for a hotel, not for public interests. If it was being used to build schools or roads, I have no problem giving it up. ... I would give it up without taking even one riel,” he said.
Kampong Speu villagers awaiting representatives’ release
Monday, 29 March 2010
By May Titthara and Will Baxter
The Phnom Penh Post
By May Titthara and Will Baxter
The Phnom Penh Post
ABOUT 200 villagers from Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district have vowed to greet two community representatives who are scheduled to be released Monday from Kampong Speu prison and escort them back to their homes, villagers said.
Meanwhile, a group of 400 villagers will be standing by to protest if the pair are not released by authorities as promised.
Suon Ly, a villager from Thpong district’s Omlaing commune, said, “About 400 villagers are prepared to come to protest in front of the provincial court again if the authorities do not uphold their promise.”
Another villager, Hi Hoeun, said he did not have much faith in the authorities, and that they have lied in the past about efforts to resolve their ongoing land dispute.
“We will walk together to protest on Tuesday as we did on March 24 if they break their promise and fail to release our representatives,” he said.
Attacked robber to face charges
Villagers attack three alleged robbers in Dangkor district on Thursday. Two died in the attack, while the survivor is now set to face a robbery charge. Photo by: AFPBy Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post
THE sole survivor of a brutal mob attack on three suspected robbers that took place late last week in Dangkor district is expected to be transferred from police custody to Prey Sar prison early this week, and police have filed a complaint against him at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the district’s deputy police chief said Sunday.
“We have filed the records to Municipal Court prosecutor Plang Sophal against the living robber. The primary charge is robbery,” Choup Sokheng said. Plang Sophal could not be reached Sunday.
A group of 400 villagers on Thursday evening attacked three men with sticks, knives, stones and poles after they allegedly stole a motorbike from two young women in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district, Dangkor district police chief Born Sam Ath said.
Books outline indigenous conflict resolution
Monday, 29 March 2010
By Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
By Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
OFFICIALS from the Interior and Justice ministries have distributed the first set of handbooks outlining conflict-resolution mechanisms commonly employed by indigenous groups, as part of an effort to assess how these mechanisms can fit in with the formal judicial system.
Yin Sopheap, a regional legal specialist for the UN Development Programme who was involved in researching and drafting the handbooks, said one purpose of the project was to identify instances – such as cases of rape and murder – in which traditional mechanisms such as compensation payments and traditional ceremonies should be abandoned in favour of the courts.
“Any customs that are contrary to the existing laws of the government should not be practiced by the indigenous groups,” he said. “Any that is acceptable, you can keep.”
Danish woman extradited
Johanne Vinther Axelsen, 55, appears at Phnom Penh Municipal Court last year. Axelsen, who received a 15-year sentence for trafficking illegal medicines , was extradited to her native Denmark this month. Photo by: AFPBy May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post
A DANISH woman sentenced to 15 years in prison for mailing thousands of codeine and Valium tablets out of Cambodia last year has been extradited to her native country, a prison official confirmed Sunday.
Johanne Vinther Axelsen was extradited to Denmark March 17, according to Heng Hak, director of the prisons department at the Ministry of Interior.
The move comes 14 months after Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Axelsen, 55, to a lengthy prison term on charges of drug trafficking.
In an interview with the Post last year, Axelsen said she would be allowed to return to Denmark if she paid US$20,000 – a sum she refused, she said, because she did not want “to pay any money to the corrupt court officials, who will use the money to buy a luxury house and car”.
Retiree paid to get Danish woman out of Cambodian jail
Monday, 29 March 2010
RC News
RC News
Man who paid Cambodian authorities to release Danish woman from jail has done the same before
When Johanne Vinther Axelsen was released from a jail in Phomn Penh last week, no one knew why the Cambodian authorities suddenly allowed the move.
What appeared to be the prospect of 15 years in prison instead turned into a sudden trip home for the Danish woman on Thursday, who had been charged with illegally sending pills to the US.
In early 2008, Axelsen sent 53 packets of more than 10,000 headache pills containing codeine and valium to her son in the US. The son, Niels Eikeland, had evidently told her that the shipment was perfectly legal.
CIMB applies for licences in Vietnam, Cambodia
2010/03/29
BERNAMA
BERNAMA
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has applied for new banking licences in Vietnam and Cambodia, group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said today.
"We have applied for licences in Vietnam and Cambodia, that's all for the moment. But CIMB does have strategies for all other Asean markets," he said.
However, he did not reveal the details of the application or when the outcome is expected. CIMB Group's regional arms are CIMB Bank, CIMB Niaga in Indonesia and CIMB Thai.
He was speaking to reporters after a signing ceremony between CIMB Group and Japan Bank for International Cooperation for a US$300 million fund facility for businesses across Asean.
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Cambodia's smallest of treasures
March 27, 2010
By Lucy Chabot Reed
The Triton
By Lucy Chabot Reed
The Triton
We just spent three days in Cambodia, visiting ancient temples, relaxing by the pool, laughing and smiling with tourists and locals alike. It's been the best three days of our travels thus far.
It's the end of the dry season, so the fields are brown here, too. It's coolest in November/December (makes sense); hottest in April just before the rains begin. So much for spring.
Still, our days in Cambodia were wonderful. The people, especially, were kind and always smiling. I never felt we were being taken advantage of, never felt that a place was created just for us tourists.
Queensland adventurers claim to find remains of Sean Flynn in Cambodia
ADVENTROUS SPIRIT: Sean Flynn in Vietnam in the late 1960s. (Picture: Tim Page, The Courier-Mail)By Sophie Elsworth
The Courier-Mail
TWO Queensland adventurers think they have found the remains of Sean Flynn, the dashing son of screen legend Errol Flynn.
Flynn's disappearance during the Vietnam War in 1970 prompted an international mystery spanning 40 years.
David MacMillan, 29, and Keith Rotheram, 60, went to Cambodia on a search partly funded by the Flynn family.
They have spent four months digging in a remote north-eastern pocket of Cambodia after a local – who has since died – informed them of nearby wartime executions.
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