Wednesday, August 31, 2011
ព្រះសង្ឃ លួន សាវ៉ាត នឹងបន្តការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងព្រៃឈើ - Ven. Loun Savath to continue defending human rights and forests
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| ព្រះភិក្ខុ លួន សាវ៉ាត ប្រោះព្រំដល់សកម្មជនការពារព្រៃឡង់។ រូបថត ជីវ័ន |
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
ម៉ៃ ទិត្យថារ៉ា
The Phnom Penh Post
To help or contribute to Ven. Loun Savath, please contact him at: sovath_loun
សៀមរាបៈ សកម្មជនការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សព្រះតេជគុណ លួន សាវ៉ាត បានអំពាវនាវរកជំនួយដើម្បីគាំទ្រសកម្មភាពព្រះអង្គក្នុងការ ការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងព្រៃឈើ បន្ទាប់ពីព្រះអង្គត្រូវរារាំងពីរលើកមិនឲ្យគង់នៅក្នុងវត្ត នានានៅភ្នំពេញ និងខេត្តសៀមរាប។
ព្រះសង្ឃ លួន សាវ៉ាត ដែលសកម្មការពារសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងការពារព្រៃឈើ ក្រោយសាច់ញាតិព្រះអង្គមានវិវាទដីធ្លីនៅក្នុងស្រុកជីក្រែង ខេត្តសៀមរាប ដែល បច្ចុប្បន្នពុំមានវត្តគង់នៅមានថេរដីកាថា បច្ចុប្បន្នព្រះអង្គអនុវត្តតាមឱវាទព្រះពុទ្ធជាម្ចាស់ ទីណាប្រជាជនជួបទុក្ខលំបាក ព្រះអង្គនឹងមានវត្តមាននៅទីនោះ។ បើទោះជាព្រះអង្គពុំមានវត្តសម្រាប់គង់នៅក្តី ប៉ុន្តែ វត្តអារ៉ាមស្ថិតក្នុងចិត្តរបស់ព្រះអង្គទៅហើយ។
ព្រះអង្គបានបន្តថា ព្រះអង្គបួសជាសង្ឃពុំមែនដើម្បីអំណាចទេ ព្រះអង្គចូលបួសដើម្បីជួយជាតិ អ្នកភូមិដែលរងគ្រោះ និងការពារព្រៃឈើ ហើយទ្រង់ក៏ពុំពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងនយោបាយដែរ។ ព្រះអង្គបន្តថា៖«ពីថ្ងៃនេះទៅអាត្មានឹងត្រាច់ចរនៅគ្រប់ទី កន្លែងដើម្បីជួយអ្នកភូមិដែលរងទុក្ខដោយសារក្រុមហ៊ុនឬអាជ្ញាធរ យក ដីធ្លីពួកគេ»។
ព្រះអង្គមានថេរដីកាថា ទង្វើរបស់សមត្ថកិច្ចគឺខុសនឹងច្បាប់កម្ពុជា ក្នុងនាមព្រះអង្គជាកូនខ្មែរព្រះអង្គមានសិទ្ធិសម្តែងមតិ និងនិមន្តទៅគ្រប់ទីកន្លែង និងមានសិទ្ធិគង់នៅគ្រប់វត្ត ដើម្បីផ្តល់ឱវាទល្អៗដល់ប្រជាជន ដូច្នេះការដែលគណៈសង្ឃចេញលិខិតហាមព្រះអង្គគឺជាការខុសច្បាប់។
ព្រះអង្គមានថេរដីកាថា៖«មូលហេតុពិត ដែលគេចេញលិខិតហាមប្រាមគ្រាន់តែគំរាមអាត្មាឲ្យបញ្ឈប់សកម្ម ភាពតាមឃ្លាំមើលប្រជាជនដែលធ្វើការតវ៉ាអាត្មាពុំខ្លាចឡើយ អាត្មាពុំបានប្រព្រឹត្តបទឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មឯណា»។
គណៈសង្ឃខេត្តសៀមរាបបានចេញលិខិតហាមមិនឲ្យសង្ឃអង្គនោះ គង់នៅតាម វត្តក្នុងខេត្តសៀមរាបទេ ពីថ្ងៃទី ១៩សីហា ហើយពីថ្ងៃទី២៦ មេសា សម្តេចសង្ឃនាយក នន្ទ ង៉ែត ក៏បានហាមគ្រប់វត្តអារ៉ាមនៅរាជធានីដូចគ្នាដែរ។ មន្ត្រីមន្ទីរធម្មការខេត្តសៀមរាបថ្លែងថា ជាសង្ឃព្រះអង្គមិនអាចទៅតវ៉ាឬបង្កអសន្តិសុខសង្គមទេ ដូច្នេះទើបមេគណខេត្តហាម។
លោក អំ សំអាត មន្ត្រីអង្គការសិទ្ធិមនុស្សលីកាដូថ្លែងថា ព្រះ អង្គលួន សាវ៉ាត ពុំបានធ្វើខុសទៅនឹងពុទ្ធឱវាទទេ ព្រះអង្គព្យាយាមជំរុញអ្នកភូមិកុំឲ្យប្រើហិង្សា និងបានជួយលើកតម្កើងសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនិងការពារព្រៃឈើ៕ CR
Wikileaks data leaked
Aug 31, 2011
The Voice of Russia
The Wikileaks website has come under hacker attack blocking access to all documents posted on the portal.
The website managers ask the users to create copies of the webpage located on other servers.
On Tuesday the US State Department lambasted the whistleblower website for posting a new batch of secret diplomatic cables, which this time contained the names of the State Department’s informants, among them a UN staffer posted in East Africa and human rights activists in Cambodia.
Warning from UN over new strain of bird flu
Aug 31 2011
By Brendan Hughes
Western Mail
By Brendan Hughes
Western Mail
FEARS of a new outbreak of bird flu were raised yesterday by the United Nations, following the emergence of a mutated strain of the disease that is able to sidestep vaccines.
The avian flu variant has appeared in Vietnam and China and its risk to humans cannot be predicted, say UN veterinary officials.
It could also threaten Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, where eight people have died after becoming infected this year, they warned.
The World Health Organisation says avian flu has killed 331 people since 2003.
And more than 400m domestic poultry worldwide have been killed or culled as a result of the virus, causing an estimated £12.2bn of economic damage.
Experts in Wales said yesterday the new strain of the virus is unlikely to have an impact on the health of humans in Britain.
And the Welsh Government reassured the public that the country had “strong contingency plans” in place to prevent and tackle any potential outbreak.
At its peak in 2006, there were 4,000 outbreaks of avian flu in 63 countries across the globe.
The H5N1 virus has since been eliminated in most territories, but it remains endemic in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation called on countries to adopt “heightened readiness and surveillance” against a resurgence of the virus.
Juan Lubroth, FAO chief veterinary officer, said: “Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people’s actions in poultry production and marketing spread it.”
In the past two years, avian flu has appeared in poultry or wild birds in countries that had been virus-free for some years.
Dr Roland Salmon, the director of Public Health Wales’ communicable disease surveillance centre, said the development of a mutant, vaccine-resistant strain of bird flu should not cause alarm.
“I don’t think this has a great deal of human health implications.
“Any problem that you’re likely to see in Britain is almost certainly going to kick off among British poultry, rather than among humans.
“You’re not going to suddenly get 50 people in Britain infected with bird flu, but you might get a flock of birds here infected,” he said.
Escape from genocide
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| Complex: Alice Pung talks about her latest book.Picture: Rodger Cummins/The Age |
31 Aug, 2011
Maribyrnong Weekly (Australia)
IT began with the knives. A long way from home, writing a short story about the way her father Kuan would make sure there were only blunt knives in the family home, Alice Pung realised this wasn’t an average tale.
It dawned on the Footscray-born writer and lawyer that there were reasons behind her father’s behaviour and a complex history that shaped their own relationship.
This realisation grew slowly into Pung’s new book, Her Father’s Daughter, launched on Sunday as a follow-up to her award-winning debut Unpolished Gem.
Set in Melbourne, China and the Killing Fields of Pol Pot-era Cambodia, the story traces the journey her father undertakes on his way to a quiet family life in the shadows of western Melbourne’s factories.
The story also gives insight into the influence Kuan has had on his four children.
“There is not much literature about the children of survivors of the Cambodian genocide, but if you look at what has been written about the children of those who escaped the Nazi genocide you see some very similar things,” Pung says.
At the time of her parent’s arrival in Australia just over 30 years ago, there was an expectation people would simply forget what they had seen and experienced.
But these suppressed memories and feelings bubble to the surface and even filter into the lives of their children in unexpected ways.
Pung said her father had been open and honest about his past, but it wasn’t until she left home that she could really understand its impact in shaping his protectiveness towards his children.
“If I hadn’t moved out I would still be coddled,” the author says.
“A few of my friends rebelled, while some stayed behind and got themselves caught within those expectations.”
The portion of the book tracing her father’s time under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime is an eye-opening account of the horrors inflicted by the “Black Bandits”.
Many of her father’s family perished and his own escape was hard-won.
“It was a very difficult story to write. I realised that this story is not going to have any easy epiphanies; a genocide does not have any easy epiphanies.”
Her Father’s Daughter is out now through Black Inc.
Thai defense minister to visit Cambodia in September
BANGKOK, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) — Thailand’s Defense Minister Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapha would visit Cambodia in late September at the invitation of his counterpart Gen. Tea Bahn, Thai defense ministry spokesman said Tuesday.
His visit will be an informal one in order to pave the way for the upcoming General Border Committee (GBC) meeting, according to the spokesman’s statement.
Gen. Yuthasak would also meet with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and His Majesty Narodom Sihamoni.
Army Spokesman Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng informed that the defense minister would held a meeting of the Office of National Security Council with relevant agencies and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra within two weeks in a bid to discuss GBC meeting.
GBC meeting is normally co-chaired by both countries’ defense ministers with the purpose of dealing with border problems and demarcation.
Regarding the outcome of the Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting during Aug. 23-24 in Thailand’s northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, Gen. Yuthasak said he was satisfied.
[Thai defense minister] Yutthasak to visit Cambodia
30/08/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post
Defence Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa said on Monday he will soon visit Cambodia at the invitation of Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh for informal talks to lay the groundwork for the long delayed General Border Committee (GBC) meeting.
Gen Yutthasak said both Thailand and Cambodia were satisfied with the results of the Regional Border Committee (RBC) meeting in Nakhon Ratchasima on Aug 25, but the two sides had not reached any agreement.
Decisions were pending approval from the cabinet.
The Defence Ministry would compile a list of matters discussed at the RBC meeting and submit proposals to the National Security Council for consideration.
The NSC, chaired by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, could then call a meeting of security agencies before forwarding recommendations to the cabinet for approval, he said.
“During this time I will make an unofficial visit to Cambodia at the invitation of Gen Tea Banh.
“We will discuss adjustments to the deployment of combat units and arrangments for (Indonesian) observers, in preparation for the GBC meeting.
“Approval of issues discussed would then be sought from the cabinet,” Gen Yutthasak said.
Defence spokesman Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said Gen Yutthasak would pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh and might also seek an audience with King Sihamoni.
He did not say when the visit would take place.
Col Thanathip said in about two weeks Gen Yutthasak would invite Ms Yingluck to attend an NSC meeting to lay down a framework for the GBC meeting.
Issues to be discussed at the GBC meeting would then be forwarded to the cabinet and then parliament for approval and to give the defence minister the authority to represent Thailand.
Gen Yutthasak would also hold a meetings in rotation with the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs ministries to discuss problems relating to illegal drugs, the southern border provinces and deployment of officials, troops and equipment to help flood-hit people, he said.
Cambodia: Jointly develop maritime zone
August 31, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Cambodia yesterday called for resumption of negotiations with the Thai government to settle the dispute in an overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand and jointly develop the maritime resource, while also rejecting the Thai opposition Democrat Party’s accusation of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra having a personal interest in the project.
The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority issued a statement calling on Thailand to honour the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the area of overlapping maritime claim signed by the two countries in 2001. The Mo aimed to jointly develop the area in the gulf, which is claimed by both sides and is believed to have abundant petroleum resources.
The Abhisit Vejjajiva government decided to scrap the MoU signed during the time of the Thaksin administration after Thaksin was appointed Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s adviser in November 2009. Abhisit accused Thaksin of having personal interest in the maritime deal and the likelihood of him disclosing information that would benefit Phnom Penh under the 2001 MoU.
However, the denunciation of the MoU did not come into effect as the Abhisit government did not officially inform Phnom Penh of the decision.
The Cambodian petroleum authority said in its statement that negotiations between the two countries during 2001-2007, before the Abhisit administration came to power, was fruitful. It said the negotiations resulted in many proposals for joint development of the area and profit sharing.
The statement alleged that the Abhisit government tried to make a secret deal, which Phnom Penh disagreed with, on the maritime area. Abhisit sent his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban for talks with Cambodian leaders many times, including two behind-the-scene meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in Hong Kong and Kunming in August 2009 and July 2010 respectively.
While asking for transparency from previous governments which had deals with Phnom Penh openly “why under the Abhisit government was there a need for secret meetings”, it said.
The opposition Democrats raised the question of Thaksin’s personal business deal on oil and gas concession in overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand in Parliament last week when the new government under Yingluck Shinawatra delivered its policy address. Thaksin, who is Yingluck’s brother, had reportedly planned to visit Phnom Penh from August 19-21 but later changed his mind.
The Cambodian petroleum authority accused Abhisit of attempting to derail negotiations between the governments of the two countries on the maritime deal. The Democrat allegations of Thaksin of having a personal interest is groundless, it said.
“So far, the new government [under Yingluck] has not held any meeting or raised any proposal with Cambodia to resolve the overlapping area, let alone any proposal to settle the dispute in exchange for any private individual’s gain,” the statement said.
Thaksin’s legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said yesterday that the former prime minister, who is now in China after his high-profile visit to Japan, did not have any plan to visit Cambodia or any of Thailand’s neighbouring countries.
Cambodia calls for talks with Thailand on disputed oil and gas zone
Aug 30, 2011
DPA
DPA
Phnom Penh – Cambodia called Tuesday for the newly elected Thai government to resume talks on resolving claims to a 27,000-square-kilometre stretch of seabed considered rich in oil and gas.
The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, a government body, said it had ‘a firm commitment to finding an equitable and transparent resolution to the overlapping claims area.’
‘The [government] would welcome the resumption of open and official negotiation on this issue and will pursue such a course as soon as practicable,’ it said.
The statement marked the second time in little more than a month that Cambodia has sought to restart the talks.
The authority said discussions held from 2001 to 2007 had been ‘fruitful,’ adding that the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva, which took power in 2008 and had rocky relations with Phnom Penh, had sought to resolve the dispute prior to this year’s election.
To that end, it said, Bangkok and Phnom Penh had held secret talks to try to reach a deal.
A number of major oil companies have signed exploration deals with Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, including the US firm Chevron Corp and France’s Total SA.
In 2001, the two nations signed an agreement that outlined their joint management of resources in the disputed zone, but the details have yet to be worked out.
Cambodia hopes to reap a windfall from oil and gas revenues that could transform the impoverished nation.
Cambodia seeks to resume talks with Thailand about disputed oil and gas zone
30 August 2011
PHNOM PENH (BNO NEWS) — Cambodia is looking to resume talks with neighboring Thailand to resolve overlapping maritime claims in the Gulf of Thailand, the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Cambodian government body said it has “a firm commitment to finding an equitable and transparent resolution” to the overlapping claims area which consists of a 27,000 square kilometers (10,425 square miles) stretch of seabed which is considered rich in oil and gas.
“The [government] would welcome the resumption of open and official negotiation on this issue and will pursue such a course as soon as practicable,” the statement added.
The CNPA statement also noted that the newly elected Thai government, led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has not held any meetings or raised any proposal with Cambodian authorities to resolve the overlapping claims area.
It is the second time in just over a month that Cambodia is attempting to resume negotiations with Thailand about the disputed area.
In June 2001, Cambodia and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding, agreeing on the joint management and development of resources in the disputed zone. Subsequently, both countries put considerable efforts in implementing the agreement of a joint development area (JDA).
According to the CNPA, the discussions held from 2001 to 2007 had been ‘fruitful’, giving rise to two alternate proposals for the JDA: Cambodia’s break-through proposal and Thailand’s three-zone proposal.
However, the official talks on the issue froze during the administration of former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who took power in 2008 and had rocky relations with Cambodia. In 2009, Cambodia and Thailand withdrew their ambassadors in what was the peak of the deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Cambodia expects to resume the negotiation talks with the newly formed government of Thailand as it hopes to obtain oil and gas revenues which could transform the economic situation in the impoverished nation.
A number of major oil companies have already signed exploration deals with Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand, including the U.S. firm Chevron Corporation and French multinational oil company Total S.A.
Parties Want Representation in Election Committees
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
“Opposition candidates to the provincial and national election committees saw their applications rejected by the national committee.”
Members of Cambodia’s non-ruling parties on Tuesday demanded that at least some members be allowed onto the National Election Committee, which they accused of ruling-party bias ahead of local elections next year.
Hopefuls for council seats in 1,633 communes nationwide will vie for votes in an election environment that independent monitors say favors the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
As it does in national politics, the CPP has dominates the commune councils, holding nearly 8,000 of 11,500 seats.
Ho Vann, a lawmaker for the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party, was among those who met with NEC officials Tuesday. He said there are no opposition representatives on the National Election Committee, which is charged with ensuring fair elections and investigating complaints of unfair practices. This creates a “danger” for those parties, he said.
Opposition candidates to the provincial and national election committees saw their applications rejected by the national committee, he said, on the grounds they were not qualified.
However, he said that if each committee had a representative of each party, “our election would have “independence, transparency, effectiveness, confidence and acceptability.”
Pen Sangha, a representative of the royalist Norodom Ranariddh Party, said non-ruling parties were excluded from the committee unfairly.
However, NEC Secretary-General Tep Nitha said the law does not require representation of parties within the committee and that the committee has violated no procedural guidelines.
Still, having parties represented in local, provincial and national committees would help the parties accept the election results, said Hang Puthea, executive director for the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections.
Malaysian firm eyes Kampong Thom land
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Tom Brennan
The Phnom Penh Post
MALAYSIAN firm Lion Forest Industries Berhad plans to acquire 58,000 hectares of land in Kampong Thom province for US$26.1 million, the company announced yesterday.
The company has also announced its intention to purchase 9,995 hectares of land in Preah Vihear province for $3.9 million, according to a previous statement.
LFIB, which distributes building materials, petroleum and automotive products, will use the land to plant oil palm and rubber, a company statement said.
The move comes after LFIB over the past year has disposed of its tyre operations in Malaysia and China and seeks to identify a new core business, according to the statement.
“The proposal allows the LFIB Group the opportunity to tap into a new core business and also to diversify its earnings stream by investing in lands for the purposes of plantation of rubber and/or oil palm.”
LFIB will partner with domestic firm Seng Enterprise on the deal, with Seng Enterprise helping LFIB to attain the economic land concession from the Cambodian government.
Seng Enterprise will assist six wholly owned subsidiaries of Harta Impiana, which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of LFIB, to buy land rights at $450 per hectare for a period of no less than 70 years.
Each of the six subsidiaries will purchase 10,000 hectares or under, the filing said. Land concessions can be no larger than 10,000 hectares, according to Cambodian law. The deals are expected to be completed later in 2011, it said.
Svay Rieng dredging destroying farmland
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Sen David
The Phnom Penh Post
Sen David
The Phnom Penh Post
DREDGING operations are causing whole sections of farmland along Svay Rieng’s Toek Vel River to collapse, villagers said in a petition thumb printed by more than 300 affected families.
Ros Mov, a chief of Romeas Hek Samiky Land Community, said yesterday 389 families from four communes in Romeas Hek district – Koki, Doung, Ampil and Kampong Trach – were worried their farmland would be washed away.
“We are alarmed that our farmland on the river bank has been collapsing since Vietnamese boats began dredging on the Toek Vel River,” she said, adding that they had filed their complaint to the provincial hall.
“If the authorities do not intervene, the loss of our farmland will continue and it will affect other communes in the future.”
Kem Van, 25, said a strip of farmland 50 metres long and 20 metres deep on the river bank in Koki commune had collapsed since dredging began in the area in 2009.
“My family’s living is supported by this farmland. My cassava and rice crops have disappeared,” he said, adding that he had lived in the area his entire life.
Prak Saran, a Svay Rieng provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc said about three to five boats were dredging in the area everyday, but it remained unclear if the Vietnamese-crewed vessels were working for a private company or a government body.
“We helped them to prepare and file a complaint to provincial authorities,” Prak Saran said.
“Local authorities confirmed that in some places 10-metre sections collapsed and in other areas 30-metre sections collapsed.”
Dom Som Oun, the chief of Koki commune, said he was unsure if the dredging was illegal, but confirmed that sections of bank had collapsed into the river.
Provincial hall officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Acclaimed Khmer Rouge Prison Survivor Reported Near Death
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| In this photo taken July 12, 2007, Khmer Rouge death camp survivor Vann Nath describes his painting during an exhibition in Phnom Penh. (Photo: AP) |
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Voice of America
Family members say Cambodia’s Vann Nath, one of only seven survivors of a vast and notorious Khmer Rouge torture center, is in a coma and near death at a Cambodian hospital.
The 66-year-old human rights icon and artist survived the infamous Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 12,000 people died in the 1970s under Khmer Rouge rule. He was hospitalized Friday with an apparent heart attack, and a senior hospital official in Phnom Penh said Tuesday there is little hope for his survival.
News of Vann Nath’s illness comes as an international tribunal prepares to begin the long-awaited trial of the four most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders — all charged with atrocities during the group’s 1975-1979 rule. The defendants, including the nominal Khmer Rouge head of state, 79-year-old Khieu Samphan, face charges of religious persecution, torture and genocide in the deaths of as many as 2 million people.
Vann Nath’s health crisis also comes as the tribunal deliberates a verdict for war crimes suspect Duch, the one-time chief of Tuol Sleng prison. Duch was convicted of war crimes and imprisoned earlier this year for 30 years — a sentence later reduced to 19 years because of time served in detention. He has appealed his conviction.
Vann Nath is widely seen as a leading advocate for victims of Khmer Rouge atrocities. His 1998 memoir — A Cambodian Prison Portrait: One Year in the Khmer Rouge’s S-21 Prison – is the only written account by a survivor of the prison. The book has been translated from English into French and Swedish.
CAMBODIA: Rural poor at risk from climate change, says report
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| Much of Cambodia depends on its rural economy (Photo: Courtesy of UNDP/Arantxa Cedillo) |
PHNOM PENH, 30 August 2011 (IRIN) – Building local resilience will prove key to better addressing the effects of climate change in Cambodia, this year’s Cambodia Human Development Report (CHDR) states.
“Local action and local solutions are what is needed most,” Tin Ponlok, deputy director-general of climate change for the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, told IRIN. “This is where we can make the most difference.”
Released on 30 August, the report, Building Resilience: The Future for Rural Livelihoods in the Face of Climate Change, identifies climate change as a threat to human development gains and a source of increasing vulnerability for Cambodia’s poor.
About 80 percent of Cambodia’s 14 million people live in rural areas, where the vast majority depend on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood.
According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), shorter and more intense rainy seasons, combined with longer and drier seasons, are expected to significantly alter the country’s agricultural landscape. Predicted rises in temperature could have devastating effects on the rice crops on which many rural livelihoods rely.
Studies in the region suggest rice production, a staple part of the Cambodian diet, could decline significantly with a one degree Celsius rise in temperature, making rice farming unviable for many, the CHDR report says.
“Seasonal practices are now changing and the growing cycle for rice is changing more and more,” said Richard Friend, co-author of the report, noting the potential impact this could have on Cambodia’s overall rice output.
“Many farmers lose their seedlings when the rains are delayed,” he said. “The rains appear to be coming later than usual in line with climate change projections for Cambodia and the region.”
About 80 percent of Cambodia’s rice output is rain-fed.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said although climate change was already high on the government’s agenda, it must now be thoroughly incorporated into strategic policies and action plans across all sectors at the national and sub-national levels to build future resilience.
“This needs to be done particularly in the sectors that are the backbone of the national economy such as agriculture, water resources, fisheries, forestry, energy and physical infrastructure,” he said.
The report argues for a well coordinated effort to build climate resilience among the country’s rural population in four key areas: water resources, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
In 2010, delayed rains demonstrated the extreme dependence of rural people’s well-being on the regularity of seasons, controlled by the climate, and the availability of natural resources such as water.
The late onset of last year’s rainy season resulted in record-low water levels in the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers at a time when many poor farmers were still reeling from the loss of their crops to Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, the report explained.
H&M to Launch Probe After Workers Faint at Cambodian Factory
30 August 2011
ScandAsia.com
ScandAsia.com
Swedish fashion brand H&M has said it will launch an investigation into fainting incidents at a Cambodian clothes factory which provides some of its knitwear.
Nearly 300 employees at the M&V International Manufacturing Ltd. factory fell ill last week, according to the local newspaper, the Phnom Penh Post.
According to the local daily, 284 workers fainted over two days – 86 on Tuesday and 198 on Thursday. Another 40 workers fainted at a separate factory in the Dangkor district.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered Ministry of Labour officials to quickly investigate and resolve the problems leading to the mass faintings.
Meanwhile, H&M has said it is aware of the “discomforting incidents” and it is “preparing for a for a thorough in-depth analysis”. The popular retailer added that no “plausible causes” had been found yet.
According to the local media, some workers at the Kampong Chnnang factory claim they have had to work up to six hours overtime a day for the past two months.
Union representative Norn Leakhena told the Phnom Penh Post that bosses at the factory also forced workers to stay in the factory until 11pm from January to March.
According to the Union, people regularly faint while in the factory, particulary when they are working near the laundry room.
Management at M&V International Manufacturing have denied the allegations of forced overtime and a “toxic” working environment. One executive told the local reporters that the fainting was caused by “poor health” and a “strange psychological phenomenon”.
“In China, this kind of thing is unthinkable. We cannot understand how this happens so often in Cambodia,” the unnamed executive reportedly said.
UN warns on mutant bird flu in China, Vietnam
Mon, Aug 29, 2011
By Mike Clarke | AFP
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday warned about a new mutant strain of the deadly bird flu H5N1 virus in China and Vietnam, saying there could be a “major resurgence” of the disease.
The Rome-based organisation said it was concerned about “the appearance in China and Vietnam of a variant virus able to sidestep the defences provided by existing vaccines,” adding that the new strain was known as H5N1 – 2.3.2.1.
“Virus circulation in Vietnam poses a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as endangering the Korean peninsula and Japan,” it said, warning that the virus could be spread beyond Asia by wild bird migration.
It called for “heightened readiness and surveillance against a possible major resurgence” of the virus, which developed into a pandemic in 2009.
The UN’s World Health Organisation says 565 people have been infected since the deadly H5N1 strain first appeared and 331 of them have died as a result.
FAO said the latest death occurred earlier this month in Cambodia, which has registered eight cases of human infection this year — all of them fatal.
“This is no time for complacency. No one can let their guard down with H5N1,” Juan Lubroth, FAO’s chief veterinary officer, was quoted as saying.
“The general departure from the progressive decline observed in 2004-2008 could mean that there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their backyard,” he said.
FAO said that the areas recently affected by deadly bird flu also included Bulgaria, Israel, Mongolia, Nepal, the Palestinian Territories and Romania.
Khmer Rouge 'first lady', may be unfit to stand trial for crimes against humanity, court told
30th August 2011
By Daily Mail Reporter
[Nuon Chea] said Professor Campbell had ‘failed to assess this issue concerning my concentration’ and asked to be examined by another specialist.
The only female Khmer Rouge leader on trial for genocide at Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes court is suffering from dementia and memory loss, a health expert has claimed.
It means the 79-year-old Ieng Thirith may be unfit to answer charges over the deaths of up to two million people during the regime’s rule between 1975 and 79.
A court-appointed geriatrics expert, Professor John Campbell, told judges at a public hearing that Ieng Thirith, the sister-in-law of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, had memory problems and needed further psychiatric assessment.
Ieng Thirith’s trial, alongside three other senior Khmer Rouge leaders on charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity, officially opened in June but has been held up by health issues surrounding the defendants.
Observers say the process to determine Ieng Thirith’s fitness could take months, likely delaying the trial until next year.
Questions have long been raised over the mental state of the regime’s ‘First Lady’, who famously lost her cool during a 2009 court appearance, telling her accusers they would be ‘cursed to the seventh circle of hell’.
In July, her lawyers said they were unable to take instructions from her, citing mental problems.
‘Brother Number Two’ Nuon Chea, seen as the brutal regime’s chief ideologue, is also contesting his ability to stand trial, although Professor Campbell said he found no major concerns.
In a brief address to the court, during which he removed his trademark sunglasses, the 85-year-old Nuon Chea accused said he had trouble concentrating and sitting for long periods.
He said Professor Campbell had ‘failed to assess this issue concerning my concentration’ and asked to be examined by another specialist.
Co-accused Ieng Sary, the regime’s foreign affairs minister, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan are not contesting their ability to stand trial.
In its historic first trial, the court sentenced former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav – also known as Duch – to 30 years in jail last year for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people. The case is now under appeal.
Led by ‘Brother Number One’ Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of the population through overwork, starvation or execution in a bid to create an agrarian utopia.
Cambodian govt defends NGO law – report
30 Aug 2011
By Thin Lei Win
By Thin Lei Win
BANGKOK (AlertNet) – A Cambodian government spokesperson has defended a controversial law aiming to regulate non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and has slammed critics who have urged foreign donors to consider a funding-freeze if the law passes in its current form, the Phnom Penh Post reported.
A coalition of 10 NGOs including Human Rights Watch, Global Witness and Freedom House has angered Cambodia – which relies on foreign aid to cover as much as 60 percent of its spending – by writing to 36 foreign ministers of major donor countries and the European Union last week.
The letters urged donors to press the Southeast Asian country to not pass the law, and to reassess assistance if it is passed. The law, in its third draft, is currently before the Cambodian Council of Ministers for consideration.
“What else do they want? We just want to have a proper law to regulate their operations to follow the rule of law in the country where they are operating,” Ek Tha, a spokesman and deputy director of the press unit at the Council of Ministers, told The Post by e-mail.
He also criticised the international community for not helping the country during the bloody Khmer Rouge years:
“I wish we had foreign NGOs and human rights activists voice their concerns in the 1970s when we were being treated badly under the Khmer Rouge regime,” he said.
Among concerns raised over the current draft, the UK’s Guardian newspaper has pointed to the law’s mandatory and complex NGO registration, a lack of safeguards to ensure objectivity in registration denials or involuntary dissolutions, the absence of a period for an appeal process when registration is denied, and many sections in the law being vague.
RISING TENSIONS
The letter said that, in its current form, the NGO law “will allow the Royal Government of Cambodia to intimidate and potentially shut down local, national and foreign NGOs, associations, and informal groups that criticise the government or government officials.”
“As written, the current draft law empowers the government to violate fundamental rights and does little to protect state or social interests,” it said.
The organisations said such a “grave threat should elicit a serious response from Cambodia’s development partners, who have poured billions of dollars into efforts to support just and sustainable development in Cambodia.”
The letters came at a time of rising tensions between NGOs and Cambodia’s government.
In recent weeks, the Foreign Ministry warned an umbrella organisation of 88 NGOs over a letter it wrote to two donors about the impact of a railway refurbishment project on people who were resettled, suspended an NGO that signed the letter for allegedly inciting villagers to protest against the railway project and summoned another to meet with officials.
Last week it also postponed indefinitely a top-level meeting with foreign donors. This followed an announcement that the World Bank has halted loans to the government over its failure to curb forced evictions.
REGULATION OR REVENGE?
Supporters of the draft law say, in a country of only 15 million people, it would help regulate a sector accommodating more than 3,000 NGOs and associations – according to some estimates – that work on issues ranging from health, education and infrastructure to environmental protection and governance.
The large number of NGOs in Cambodia has raised questions about their own levels of transparency and accountability as well as the hefty salaries earned by expatriate staff in the impoverished country.
Critics have said the law is an attempt to muzzle a burgeoning civil society that has become openly critical of Hun Sen – who has been prime minister for the past 25 years – and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
The NGOs behind the latest letter also said a new Civil Code, which will take effect in November this year, already has provisions on the registration and operation of non-profit entities in Cambodia.
The international community pledged $1.1 billion in aid for Cambodia last year, an increase from the previous year’s commitment of $990 million.
That figure is dwarfed by investment pledges by Chinese firms, which agreed to spend $8 billion in 360 projects in Cambodia in the first seven months of this year.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
Cambodia: New Regulation Short-Changes Domestic Workers
Revised Labor Migration Policy Weak on Recruitment Abuses
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, August 30, 2011) – Cambodia’s revised regulation on labor migration, approved by Prime Minister Hun Sen on August 17, 2011, falls far short of minimum protections needed to safeguard migrant domestic workers, Human Rights Watch said today. The regulation omits or only has vague protections for workers and does not adequately address such problems as debt bondage, illegal recruitment of underage workers, and forced confinement by recruitment agencies in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said.
The “Sub-Decree on the Management of the Sending of Cambodian Workers Abroad through Private Recruitment Agencies” was drafted without consulting civil society organizations or migrant workers.
“The Cambodian government didn’t even bother to talk with domestic or international organizations involved in these issues, let alone the workers themselves,” said Jyotsna Poudyal, children’s rights research fellow at Human Rights Watch. “The result is a regulation that doesn’t offer even minimum protections to Cambodians who face serious abuse when they agree to work abroad.”
Human Rights Watch urged the Cambodian government to revise the regulation or adopt a new policy on recruitment agencies that would address key concerns, such as recruitment fees and debts, freedom of movement in training centers, and child recruitment. Such protections should be created in consultation with domestic and international organizations working on migration and trafficking and include detailed methods for enforcement, Human Rights Watch said.
Cambodians travel abroad for work to escape unemployment at home and to send remittances back to their families. Most go to Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that the number of Cambodian migrants in Thailand alone was 248,000 in 2008. Many migrants, especially domestic workers en route to Malaysia, are subject to a range of deceptive and exploitative practices by poorly monitored recruitment agencies in Cambodia.
Recruitment agencies, and the local brokers they pay by commission, often fail to provide full information to prospective migrants about their training, recruitment debts, and employment abroad. Others help falsify documents to get around Malaysia’s requirement that migrant domestic workers must be at least 21 years old. Many of those who migrate are under age 18.
Women and girls typically must turn over the first six to seven months of salary to repay exorbitant recruitment fees to their labor agents in Cambodia. Once they agree to migrate, the recruitment agents require them to live in training centers in Cambodia for months until they leave for Malaysia. The recruiters require workers to pay the recruitment fees even if they change their minds about migrating and return home. Many workers who come from poor households have little choice but to accept overcrowded living conditions in the training centers and the employment contracts that labor agents require them to sign to work as domestic workers in Malaysia.
“The Cambodian government is well aware that recruitment agencies subject prospective workers, including children, to months-long confinement in overcrowded training centers, charge exorbitant recruitment fees, and harass them about repaying loans,” Poudyal said. “It is appalling that the new regulation fails even to mention these practices, which contribute to even graver abuses, including forced labor and trafficking.”
The new regulation replaces a 1995 measure, “Sub-decree No. 57 on the Sending of Cambodian Workers Abroad,” and includes some positive changes, Human Rights Watch said. It assigns the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training the responsibility to inspect recruitment agencies. It requires the recruitment agencies to supply lawyers for migrants in legal proceedings abroad and contracts in the Khmer language between agencies and workers. It specifies “decent” living standards for the training centers though it does not specify the minimum requirements.
The new regulation includes penalties for violations by agencies. They begin with a written warning and can culminate in the revocation of an agency’s operating license. Agencies may also lose all or part of a US$100,000 surety deposited with the government upon registration. However, the regulation does not create accessible complaint mechanisms.
Human Rights Watch said the regulation failed to include many provisions outlined in the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, an international treaty adopted in June 2011. Article 15 on recruitment agencies stipulates accessible complaint mechanisms, substantial penalties for agencies that violate standards, and prohibitions on salary deductions for recruitment fees.
“The Cambodian government needs to get serious about protecting people who risk exploitation and abuse abroad to provide for their families,” Poudyal said. “To be effective, and to make a real difference in migrants’ safety, the government should set minimum standards, create rigorous monitoring, and enable prospective migrant workers to file complaints when mistreated.”
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on women’s rights, please visit:
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Cambodia, please visit:
For more information, please contact:
In New York, Jyotsna Poudyal (English): +1-212-377-9437; +1-917-576-6969 (mobile);
poudyaj
In New York, Nisha Varia (English, Spanish): +1-212-216-1858; +1-917-617-1041 (mobile); or
varian
In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai): +66-85-060-8406 (mobile); or
robertp
Eight Vietnamese activists ‘held for subversion’
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| Campaigners fear a tougher climate for dissidents in Vietnam (AFP, Ian Timberlake) |
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was re-appointed for a second term in late July (AFP/File, Hoang Dinh Nam) |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
AFP
HANOI — At least eight political activists have been arrested on subversion charges in Vietnam, their legal adviser said on Tuesday, in a crackdown that began after the prime minister was re-appointed.
The suspects, who have been involved in recent anti-China protests and other activities, were rounded up in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and the north-central province of Nghe An, Le Quoc Quan told AFP.
The eight, all of them belonging to the minority Catholic faith, have been formally arrested for “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”, he said. They include Paulus Le Van Son, a blogger.
Rights campaigners have expressed concern that the re-appointment of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for a second term in late July heralds a tougher climate for dissidents in the authoritarian one-party communist state.
The suspects are among at least 13 activists targeted in the crackdown who are still being held, Quan said, adding there were “many reasons” why the other five may have been detained.
There was no immediate comment from Vietnamese officials, but the country says it has achieved significant progress on human rights.
Under Vietnam’s legal system, people can be held for initial questioning before being formally arrested on a charge.
Quan said he was familiar with the suspects’ cases through his membership of the Vinh Diocese Committee for Peace and Justice, and his role as chief of the management board of a Catholic professionals’ association.
“I am worried for them,” he added.
He said the activists had participated in recent demonstrations against China’s actions in the South China Sea, where maritime tensions between Hanoi and Beijing escalated this year.
They had also studied “non-violent struggles”, signed a petition for the release of prominent dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu, and opposed a controversial bauxite mining project in the Central Highlands, Quan said.
The Paris-based press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in an earlier statement that it was “appalled by the brutality” used in the arrest of the blogger, Son, outside his Hanoi home.
The arrest “has all the hallmarks of a police kidnapping,” the group said.
Another blogger told AFP the detention of Son and the other Catholic activists could be linked to authorities’ fear of a Middle East-style uprising against authoritarianism.
“At this time I think they are so scared of such a revolution coming up, so they have to extinguish all fires,” said the blogger, asking for anonymity.
The anti-subversion charge has been used against other dissidents, including French-Vietnamese lecturer and blogger Pham Minh Hoang who was sentenced to three years in prison this month.
His sentencing was the latest Vietnamese judicial decision to raise concerns from Western governments, after a seven-year jail term was upheld in early August for the dissident Vu; and the re-incarceration in July of a Catholic priest, Nguyen Van Ly, who has a brain tumour.
On Monday officials said two democracy activists were among more than 10,000 prisoners granted amnesty to mark September 2 National Day.
Japan’s new leader Noda sparks wariness in China
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| New leader of the Democratic Party of Japan Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a press conference shortly after his election at a voting by the party lawmakers in Tokyo Monday, Aug. 29, 2011. Japan’s ruling party elected Noda its new chief Monday, paving the way for him to be the next prime minister and inherit the daunting task of recovering from the huge tsunami and nuclear crisis. Photo: Hiro Komae / AP |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Yoshihiko Noda was elected Tuesday as Japan’s sixth prime minister in five years, facing such a staggering array of domestic problems that the last thing he needs is a sour relationship with China, his country’s biggest trading partner.
Yet Noda is being viewed warily in China, whose media are playing up his comments supporting a controversial Tokyo shrine honoring World War II dead, including Class A war criminals such as Hideki Tojo, and that Beijing’s military buildup is creating regional unease.
“‘Hawk’ to become Japan’s new prime minister,” said the nationalistic Global Times.
Regarded at home as a smart but bland fiscal conservative from humble roots, Noda replaces the unpopular Naoto Kan, who quit amid widespread criticism over his administration’s handling of the tsunami and nuclear disasters. A former finance minister, Noda will likely focus on those immense challenges, as well as reviving the stagnant economy and reducing Japan’s massive national debt.
But in China, the media is portraying Noda as a right-wing nationalist and has predicted a rocky period for China-Japan relations. Even more liberal newspapers highlighted his comments, first made in 2005 and reiterated earlier this month, that convicted Japanese wartime leaders enshrined at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine should no longer be seen as criminals.
Yasukuni visits by postwar politicians have often enraged Japan’s neighbors, who bore the brunt of Japan’s colonial aggression and see the shrine as a glorification of militarism and a symbol of Tokyo’s failure to fully atone for its past imperialism. When former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi used to visit the shrine it triggered rage and a five-year chill in relations with China and South Korea.
Japan, long used to being the region’s dominant power, has been unsettled by China’s fast-accelerating power over the past decade, even as the countries — now the world’s second- and third-largest economies — built thriving commercial relations. In this rivalry, Beijing has often appeared to test Tokyo’s mettle, at times taking advantage of political transitions in Japan.
On Monday, after Noda was elected head of the ruling Democratic party, setting up Tuesday’s parliamentary vote, China’s official news agency warned him not to ignore Beijing’s “core interests.” In a harshly worded editorial, Xinhua demanded Noda not visit Yasukuni and said Tokyo must recognize China’s claim over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku, or Diaoyutai in Chinese.
Ties between the countries deteriorated sharply last year when a Chinese fishing boat captain was arrested — and later released — by Japan after his boat collided with a Japanese patrol boat in disputed waters near the islands.
The territorial dispute could flare again. Last week, two Chinese fisheries patrol boats sailed into contested waters near the islands, drawing a rebuke from Tokyo.
Noda made a veiled reference to China in comments Saturday during a joint news conference by the five candidates for the prime minister’s job: “Among our neighboring countries, there is a nation that is mixing up economic growth and nationalism.”
He added that Japan “has instilled a weak image when it comes to territorial issues. We do not need to make advances, but we should be prepared in case something happens.”
Noda, 54, and the rest of Kan’s Cabinet chose not to visit Yasukuni this year, and analysts in Japan believe Noda is unlikely to do so as prime minister, or make any strident statements about war criminals or Japan’s wartime past.
“There’s no way he is going to take some action on this,” said Naoto Nonaka, a political science professor at Gakushuin University in Tokyo. “There’s too much else to do.”
Koichi Nakano, political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo, said Noda is likely to play down his past comments.
“A lot of people learned a lesson from the Koizumi ‘ice age,’” Nakano said. “He has no interest in complicating his situation by creating an acrimonious atmosphere when he needs to cooperate with Asian nations to get out of Japan’s economic quagmire.”
China has overtaken the U.S. as Japan’s biggest trading partner, doing $176 billion worth of trade for the first half of the year. As China’s middle class grows, the country’s burgeoning market holds vast potential for Japanese exporters. Japan also is striving to draw more Chinese tourists.
Liang Yunxiang, a Japan expert at Peking University, said historical and territorial issues have been perennial sore spots, and so personalities and attitudes of leaders matter in whether these problems affect the broader relationship.
“Yoshihiko Noda has not been friendly to China, so it’s not a good start,” he said.
As is standard practice, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sent a formal telegram congratulating Noda and urging that both sides work together to promote cooperation.
The mass circulation Asahi newspaper in Japan noted Tuesday that his past comments “that the A-class war criminals are not legally guilty of war crimes is causing some waves as he is taking the helm.”
As prime minister, “Noda has to be more careful in how he addresses Japan shared history with Asia,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University’s Tokyo campus.
“I don’t think that this is a huge blunder that’s going to undermine ties but I think that he needs to be very careful from now on,” he said. “Clearly Japan’s economic future is closely tied to China’s rise and it’s not helpful for the positive economic relationship to be held hostage to history.”
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Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge in Tokyo and Charles Hutzler in Beijing contributed to this report.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
មេត្តា អញ្ជើញ ចុះឈ្មោះបោះឆ្នោត និង ពិនិត្យ បញ្ជីឈ្មោះ - Register to vote
សូម អញ្ជើញ បងប្អូន ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ទាំងអស់ ជាពិសេស យុវជន មេត្តា អញ្ជើញ ចុះឈ្មោះបោះឆ្នោត និង ពិនិត្យ បញ្ជីឈ្មោះ នៅ ថ្ងៃទី០១ ខែកញ្ញា រហូតដល់ថ្ងៃទី១៥ ខែតុលា ឆ្នាំ២០១១ ខាងមុខនេះ។ ខ្ញុំសូម ថ្លែងអំណរ គុណ ដ៏ជ្រាលជ្រៅ បំផុតចំពោះ បងប្អូន ដែលនឹងអញ្ជើញ ចុះឈ្មោះបោះឆ្នោត ចុះឈ្មោះដើម្បីទទួលបានសិទ្ធឹ ចុះឈ្មោះ ដើម្បីសម្រេចជោគវាសនា ប្រទេសជាតិ ចុះឈ្មោះដើម្បី បោះឆ្នោត ជ្រើសរើសមេដឹកនំា ដែលខ្លួនពេញចិត្ត ៕
Mystery surrounds mass fainting at two different Cambodian garment factories
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| Mass fainting at King Fashion garment factory (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post) |
August 30, 2011
Patrick Winn
Global Post
Poor ventiliation? Malnutrition? Or a bizarre “psychological phenomnenon” that only affects Cambodian factory workers?
All have been blamed for a rash of mass faintings in two different garment factories that supply H&M stores with cheap and chic clothing.
Last week, 200 garment workers keeled over inside a provincial Cambodian factory, according to Radio Free Asia. Days before, nearly 100 passed out. At an entirely different factory in the capital, Phnom Penh, another 40 fainted, reports the Phnom Penh Post.
All factories are operated by M&V International Manufacturing, which stitches clothing for H&M. Asked by the Phnom Penh Post to explain the faintings, an executive reportedly said the fainting is a “strange psychological phenomenon… In China, this kind of thing is unthinkable.”
Others have a more direct explanation: malnutrition paired with stuffy conditions inside the factories.
Several laborers complained to Radio Free Asia of “hot and smelly” factory conditions. And a labor leader speaking to the Phnom Post said the wage of 30 cents per day, insufficient meals and expectations of overtime conspire to leave workers feeling faint.
“They don’t get enough sleep and they don’t get enough to eat so they are susceptible to fainting,” he said.
H&M and the International Labor Organization, along with the Cambodian government, are still investigating.
Cambodia’s activist monk fights on despite threats
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| Cambodian Buddhist monk Loun Sovath (L) prays before he blesses water for villagers during a protest in Phnom Penh (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy) |
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| Cambodian Buddhist monk Loun Sovath films a protest in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy) |
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| Cambodian Buddhist monk Loun Sovath stands next to his painting at the LICADHO office in Phnom Penh (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy) |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
By Michelle Fitzpatrick (AFP)
“The people need us to help them. This is what makes me go on.” – Ven. Loun Savath
PHNOM PENH — His saffron robe a rare beacon among protesters, Cambodia’s most outspoken monk has been banned from temples and risked arrest for challenging rights abuses — but he vows not to be silenced.
“The more they threaten me, the more I stand up for our rights,” said the Venerable Loun Sovath, also known as the “multimedia monk” for filming forced evictions and distributing the footage.
In a country where Buddhist monks are hugely respected but rarely seen standing shoulder to shoulder with those fighting abuses, his peaceful activism has attracted praise from rights groups — and condemnation from authorities.
“Seeing a monk amongst the crowd lifts the spirits of people defending their human rights,” the bespectacled holy man told AFP during a recent interview in the capital, where he joined a rally against deforestation.
“Only one of me can make one hundred, 200, 300 people feel strong.”
But his tireless campaigning has made the Buddhist hierarchy and the authorities nervous, say observers, who fear for his safety.
Police have interrupted his meetings, followed him and cursed at him. He has also been warned that he faces arrest for inciting people to protest.
Religious officials have repeatedly ordered him to stop activities or risk being disrobed for disobeying Buddhist discipline, while senior monks have tried to make him sign a pledge promising to cease his activism, Sovath said.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director with the international campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW), said the monk’s championing of villagers who have lost land to “rich and well-connected persons” makes him a high-profile target.
HRW is “extremely concerned” that Sovath, 30, could “face reprisals, and perhaps violence, because what he’s doing is really a challenge to the core of Cambodia’s lawless, might-makes-right political culture”, he said.
Sovath, who entered the monkhood at the age of 13, became an activist after witnessing a land grab in his own village in March 2009, when police fired at unarmed villagers protesting against the confiscation of their fields.
He captured much of the confrontation — during which his brother and nephew were injured — on camera and successfully resisted police attempts to confiscate his material.
Since then, he has broadened his work to speak up for all victims of social injustice, becoming one of the impoverished nation’s leading human rights defenders — and the only one in orange robes.
Pressure on Sovath has increased in recent months amid what rights groups say is a growing crackdown on freedom of expression in Cambodia.
Seven international rights groups, including Amnesty International, Witness and HRW, recently asked key donor nations to urge the government to stop the threats and intimidation against the monk.
“The ongoing government harassment of Venerable Sovath constitutes a veiled attempt by the Cambodian authorities to silence those who speak out on issues that they deem controversial,” they wrote in a letter leaked to AFP.
But Phnom Penh’s powerful chief monk Non Ngeth, one of the country’s highest-ranking clerics, told AFP that Sovath’s actions were “not correct”.
“A monk should not get involved in politics” or “participate in rallies and riot actions,” he said.
In April, Non Ngeth banned monasteries in the capital from hosting Sovath, who lives in northwestern Cambodia — a move that goes against the custom of temples offering shelter to visiting clergymen.
A similar order, signed by Siem Reap’s senior monk Pich San, was issued to all pagodas in Sovath’s own province in late August, effectively evicting him from the temple that has been his home since he was a teenager.
The under-fire monk admitted his current situation was “very difficult”.
“Although I have no pagoda to stay in right now, the pagoda is inside my heart,” he said, before adding laughingly: “The Buddha had no pagoda also.”
Both directives, seen by AFP, claim Sovath is sullying the image of the religion with his activities.
Sovath believes criticism against him is the result of political pressure on his religious elders.
“I’m not doing anything wrong against Buddhism or national law,” he said, adding that he had a right “to educate people and to do good things”.
He said Cambodian monks have been scared off taking a stand on controversial issues after a bloody crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in 1998 left at least two monks dead and scores more injured.
“Many, many monks support me,” Sovath insisted. “They know about human rights in Cambodia, injustice and social problems. But if we want them to show their faces… they are afraid.”
He is determined not to give in to those fears because monks “should be representatives for justice, happiness and peace”.
“The people need us to help them,” he said. “This is what makes me go on.”
In Samlot, Former Rebels Want Limited Tribunal Process
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| During a forum at the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Samlot district, Battambang province, said they were happy to see four senior leaders stand trial. (Photo: Kong Sothanarith) |
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| A former Khmer Rouge, injured, soldier reads a handout book on the history of the Khmer Rouge regime. (Photo: Kong Sothanarith) |
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| An unidentified man looks on as he holds a pamphlet on the four former Khmer Rouge top leaders—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith. (Photo: Kong Sothanarith) |
Monday, 29 August 2011
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Samlot, Battambang
The court is currently preparing for the trial of the four senior leaders, already in detention.
Former Khmer Rouge cadre in the far north of the country met with officials from the UN-backed tribunal on Friday, saying they did not want more cases at the court to go forward.
During a forum at the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Samlot district, Battambang province, said they were happy to see four senior leaders—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith—stand trial, they did not want two more cases of their subordinates to continue.
Those two cases, 003 and 004, which would require the indictment of five more leaders, have become a decisive issue for the court. Prime Minister Hun Sen has said the cases will not be allowed to go forward, because they could destabilize the country. And the investigating judges have said they have doubts the suspects were most responsible for atrocity crimes of the regime.
A tribunal official told the former soldiers in Samlot that the two cases were still under consideration at the tribunal, but he did not say whether or when hearings would be held.
The court is currently preparing for the trial of the four senior leaders, already in detention.
In Phnom Penh on Monday, the regime’s top ideologue, Nuon Chea, told the court he would not be able to stand for long periods in an upcoming trial because of his age. He made his statements on the first day of a three-day hearing set to determine the health of the defendants and how that might impact the work of the court.
The court will also assess the fitness of Ieng Sary, the former foreign minister, and his wife, Ieng Thirith, the former social affairs minister. Defense has aruged the Ieng Thirith is not mentally competent to stand trial.
Khmer Rouge Prison Survivor and Activist in a Coma
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| In this photo taken July 12, 2007, Khmer Rouge death camp survivor Vann Nath describes his painting during an exhibition in Phnom Penh. (Photo: AP) |
Monday, 29 August 2011
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
Vann Nath a “key person” helping victims at the court.
Vann Nath, a painter who survived imprisonment at a notorious Khmer Rouge torture center and was a dogged activist for the rights of victims at the UN-backed tribunal, fell into a coma Friday night, family members and health officials said.
Vann Nath, who is 66, remains at La Sante Hemodialysis Center in Phnom Penh, where family members are watching over his him. He suffered an apparent heart attack Friday night.
His illness comes as the court is preparing for its most complicated trial to date, of four senior Khmer Rouge leaders currently in detention, and it underscores the concerns of many who fear that the leaders—and their victims—have grown old as the court procedures slowly progress.
Tan Sokhun, a doctor and head of the technical section of La Sante said there was little hope of recovery.
On Vann Nath’s website, Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Pann said Vann Nath was “fighting and his family [is] with him but the doctors have little hope regarding his chance to come to back to us.”
Vann Nath’s condition also comes as the tribunal’s Supreme Court Chamber is considering the verdict for Duch, the head of Tuol Sleng prison, where Vann Nath was kept a prisoner and where more than 12,000 people were tortured and sent to their deaths.
Van Nath had been a leading activist seeking greater participation at court for victims, many of whom were upset with the initial sentencing of Duch, who was given a commuted sentence of 19 years for his role as chief of Tuol Sleng.
Tribunal spokesman Huy Vannak said he had given $500 to Vann Nath’s family to help with expenses. He said he hoped Vann Nath would recover, because he was a “key person” helping victims at the court.
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