 |
| Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at www.sacrava.blogspot.com) |
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Spat flares up over Koh Kut sovereignty
 |
| Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut points to the demarcation lines along the Thai-Cambodian border. |
6/09/2011
Manop Thip-Osod
Bangkok Post
Democrat Party spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut has countered a claim by former deputy premier Surakiart Sathirathai that the 2001 memorandum of understanding between Thailand and Cambodia was intended to claim Thai sovereignty over Koh Kut in Trat.
Mr Surakiart, a deputy prime minister in the Thaksin Shinawatra administration who oversaw foreign, education and cultural affairs, said the signing of the 2001 MoU was intended to assert Thai sovereignty over Koh Kut.
Mr Chavanond, a former secretary to the foreign minister during the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration, yesterday said several points mentioned by Mr Surakiart were inaccurate.
According to a statement issued by Mr Chavanond, the Thai-Cambodian negotiations over the two countries’ disputed areas did not begin during the Thaksin administration. The talks between the two governments had been ongoing for more than 25 years.
Mr Chavanond wondered why the Thaksin administration in 2001, which had been in power for only five months, agreed to sign the MoU so quickly.
Mr Chavanond denied the claim that the 2001 MoU compels Cambodia to accept that Koh Kut belongs to Thailand. He said that according to historical records, including the agreement between Thailand and France in 1906, Koh Kut clearly belongs to Thailand. Back in 1970, the Thai government also claimed a straight baseline near Koh Kut to make it clear that Koh Kut was in Thai maritime territory.
Mr Chavanond said he could see no reason why Thailand should have signed the 2001 MoU which does not have any legal foundations. More importantly, the MoU could cause serious damage to Thailand.
“As a Thai, should I question it and protect the country’s interests?” Mr Chavanond wrote.
He supported dialogue on border demarcation and the sharing of marine resources for the national interest and energy security. But dialogue must be based on fairness and legal process.
He did not want to see speedy negotiations cause Thailand to unnecessarily lose out on certain interests.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said his ministry is still waiting for the Foreign Ministry to finalise the framework for a new round of talks about Thai-Cambodian disputed areas.
After that, the Energy Ministry will work on the framework for the negotiations of petroleum exploration concessions in the 27,000-square-kilometre stretch of seabed in the Thai-Cambodian disputed maritime area, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas.
He insisted that the negotiations would be transparent and accountable.
សកម្មជនបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស២នាក់នៅកំពង់ចាមត្រូវចាប់ខ្លួន
ដោយ ឱ ភារិទ្ធ
2011-09-04
តុលាការខេត្តកំពង់ចាមបានសម្រេចឃុំខ្លួនសកម្មជនគណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស ២នាក់ រង់ចាំការកាត់ទោសនៅពេលខាងមុខ។
ប្រធានគណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស លោក កឹម សុខា
លោក កឹម សុខា ប្រធានគណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្សបានមានប្រសាសន៍នៅថ្ងៃទី៤ កញ្ញា ថា លោកកំពុងឲ្យគ្រួសារសកម្មជនរបស់លោកទាំងពីរនាក់ ដែលតុលាការបញ្ជូនទៅដាក់ពន្ធនាគារនោះ ផ្ដិតមេដៃស្នើសុំមេធាវីដើម្បីការពារក្ដីឲ្យពួកគេតាមផ្លូវ ច្បាប់ ដោយលោកយល់ឃើញថា ការចាប់មនុស្សនៅថ្ងៃឈប់សម្រាក ហើយបញ្ជូនទៅតុលាការភ្លាម គឺហាក់ដូចជាមិនចង់ឲ្យមានការអន្តរាគមន៍ពីថ្នាក់លើណាមួយសិន ៖ "មិន ទាន់ឆ្លើយស្អីផង ស្រាប់រុញទៅដាក់គុកភ្លាមឲ្យផុតពីដៃគេ ដើម្បីគេឆ្លើយដាក់តុលាការ ល្បិចរបស់គេតែប៉ុណ្ណឹងហើយ ថ្ងៃច័ន្ទនេះខ្ញុំស្នើមេធាវីដោយសារចំថ្ងៃអាទិត្យ មេធាវីយកពីអង្គការលោក សុខ សំអឿន ជាអង្គការមេធាវីការពារក្ដីមិត្តកម្ពុជា គេឃុំខ្លួនហ្នឹងគឺដោយសារខាងប៉ូលិសគេបញ្ជូនសំណុំរឿងទៅតុលាការ គេសម្រេចឃុំខ្លួនអ៊ីចឹងហើយ ប៉ុន្តែយើងគេអត់មានបង្ហាញដីកាអីទាំងអស់ ដោយសារតែយើងអត់មានមេធាវីឆ្លៀតពេលចំថ្ងៃសៅរ៍អាទិត្យតែម្ដង អ៊ីចឹងគេយកទៅឃុំអត់មានដីកាអីទាំងអស់"។
លោក កឹម សុខា បញ្ជាក់បន្ថែមថា លោកបានជួបជាមួយឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ស ខេង ដែរ ដើម្បីដោះស្រាយបញ្ហានេះ។ ប៉ុន្តែលោក ស ខេង ឆ្លើយតបថាចាំលោកពិនិត្យមើលលើករណីនេះសិន។
លោក សេង គិមលី តំណាងគណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្សខេត្តកំពង់ចាមបានឲ្យដឹងថា លោក ផាន ផា និងលោក ភូ យាន ជាសកម្មជនធម្មតារបស់គណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៅឃុំទន្លេបិទ ស្រុកត្បូងឃ្មុំ ត្រូវប៉ូលិសប៉ុស្តិ៍រដ្ឋបាលឃាត់ និងបញ្ជូនខ្លួនទៅស្នងការដ្ឋាននគរបាល កាលពីរសៀលថ្ងៃទី១ កញ្ញា នៅពេលដែលអ្នកទាំងពីរនោះបានចែកចាយខិត្តប័ណ្ណផ្សព្វផ្សាយស្ដីពី ការធ្វើឲ្យមានការបាត់បង់ដីដែលប៉ះពាល់ដល់ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ រដ្ឋាភិបាលបច្ចុប្បន្ន។ បញ្ហានេះ តុលាការខេត្តកំពង់ចាមបានសម្រេចឲ្យឃុំខ្លួនតាមសំណុំរឿងរបស់ ប៉ូលិសតែម្ដង។
លោក ជឹម សេងហុង ស្នងការរងនគរបាលខេត្តដែលជាអ្នកកាន់សំណុំរឿងនេះទៅតុលាការ បានបដិសេធមិនបំភ្លឺពីបញ្ហានេះទេ ៖ "មិនមែនផែនការណ៍របស់ខ្ញុំលោកទាក់ទងទៅតុលាការតែម្ដងទៅ ព្រោះតុលាការគេសម្រេចសួរស្ថាប័នតុលាការទៅ"។
លោក នាង សាវ៉ាត មន្ត្រីសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៃសមាគមអាដហុកបានបញ្ជាក់នៅថ្ងៃទី៤ កញ្ញា ថាជិតដល់ពេលបោះឆ្នោតតែងតែមានការប្រកាន់បក្សរៀងៗខ្លួន ហើយសុំឲ្យមានការបកស្រាយរកហេតុផលដែលនៅក្នុងលិខិតដែលចែកចាយ នោះ ៖ "ប្រធានគណបក្សគួរតែចេញមុខដើម្បីធ្វើការបកស្រាយអំពី ឯកសារដែលបានផ្ញើមកសកម្មជនហ្នឹងមក ព្រោះអីថាការបាត់បង់ទឹកដីហ្នឹង ពីត្រឹមណាអីត្រឹមណា ព្រោះអីកន្លងមកមេៗ គណបក្សទាំងអស់ហ្នឹងគាត់និយាយក៏អត់អីដល់សកម្មជនយើងយកទៅវាទៅ ជាមានការចាប់ខ្លួនវិញ"។
លោក សេង គឹមលី តំណាងគណបក្សសិទ្ធិមនុស្សខេត្តកំពង់ចាមបានឲ្យដឹងថា កន្លងមកធ្លាប់តែមានការគំរាមកំហែង និងបំភិតបំភ័យពីអាជ្ញាធរ ប៉ុន្តែមិនដែលមានការចាប់ខ្លួនដូចលើកនេះឡើយ៕
Cambodia makes 7th troop withdraw from border with Thailand
PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — Cambodia on Monday pulled out another 500 troops from the border area with Thailand, marking the seventh of such withdrawals since the two neighboring countries’ military tension began to ease in July.
The troops in the Battalion No. 408 stationed along Cambodian and Thai border, some 32 kilometers west of the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, moved back to their barracks in Siem Reap province.
The troop pullback ceremony was held on Monday with the participation of Gen. Kun Kim, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Force, and Gen. Chea Dara, deputy commander-in-chief of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces for Preah Vihear Direction.
Kun Kim reiterated that the pullout was made at the behest of Prime Minister Hun Sen, adding the withdrawals have been made only outside the provisional demilitarized zone (PDZ) defined by the International Court of Justice.
“The pullout from the PDZ of about 17 kilometers surrounding the Preah Vihear temple must be done simultaneously with Thai troops,” he said.
On July 18, the International Court of Justice ordered Cambodia and Thailand to immediately withdraw their military personnel from the provisional demilitarized zone on the disputed border near Preah Vihear temple and allow ASEAN observers access to the provisional demilitarized zone to monitor ceasefire.
The conflict between Cambodia and Thailand broke out just a week after the Preah Vihear temple was listed as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.
Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the temple.
However, the military tension has eased since former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party won a landslide victory in July’s general election.
US companies find Asean market increasingly important
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 5, 2011 – Bernama): American companies expect the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market to become increasingly important for their businesses, according to the findings of the Asean Business Outlook Survey 2011.
The majority of companies or some 73% of the survey respondents said they expect Asean’s importance to their business will increase over the next two years, with 85% of them planning to expand their business in Asean.
No company is planning on any cutback, it said.
The survey also revealed that the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement was vital for US businesses, with 80% of respondents saying that their companies used the tariff benefits of the FTAs Asean has completed with its trade partners.
“The Asean-China FTA was also highly rated with 49% of companies using its benefits,” the survey revealed.
The Asean Business Outlook survey, which is now in its 10th year, seeks to understand the outlook on business growth and perceptions of doing business in Asean.
It interviewed 327 senior executives from US companies in Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The survey was conducted by The American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham Singapore) in collaboration with many other related associations and chambers.
Meanwhile, on Malaysia, the survey said Malaysia improved in a number of local business factors, such as the availability of raw materials and low cost labour in 2011.
“However, new concerns have appeared, including the availability of trained personnel for some positions and problems with laws and regulations.
“Corruption, a long-standing issue, has greatly improved, with only 35% dissatisfaction this year compared to 63% in 2010,” the survey said, adding that overall, 80% of the respondents still predicted that their business will expand in Malaysia.
The survey also revealed that all respondents had predicted an increase in the housing cost as well as living cost and three quarters of the respondents expect an increase in the interest rate.
Vice President of AmCham Malaysia, Datuk Tim Garland said the American companies’ positive business forecast and expansion in Malaysia were great testaments to the effective implementation of Malaysia’s Government Transformation Program (GTP) and Economic Transformation Program (ETP).
“AmCham Malaysia is excited to be part of Malaysia corporate expansion in Asean and we will be working closely with all key stakeholders towards reducing regulatory barriers and improving the ease of doing business locally and in Asean, for existing and potential American investors as they share in Asean growth,” he said.
The majority of respondents, he said, are satisfied or neutral towards the government’s guidelines and the fairness of their applications, and with local government institutions.
Vann Nath, Witness to Atrocities, Succumbs in Hospital
 |
| In this photo taken on Aug. 9, 2010, a Cambodian survivors, Vann Nath, 66, is seen at Tuol Sleng genocide museum, formerly Khmer Rouge’s notorious S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Nath lapsed into a coma in late August, 2011, after developing breathing difficulties, and his daughter Vann Chan Simen says he passed away on Monday, Sept. 5. Monday, 05 September 2011 (Photo: AP) |
Monday, 05 September 2011
Reporters, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
“I very much regret losing Vann Nath.”
Vann Nath, a Khmer Rouge prisoner who survived by painting portraits of Pol Pot, died in Phnom Penh on Monday, following an 11-day coma brought on by a heart attack, family members and health officials said.
Vann Nath, who was born in 1946 into a poor family in Battambang province, survived the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Tuol Sleng prison and had been an ardent supporter of victims’ justice at the UN-backed tribunal.
He served as a witness in Case 001 at the tribunal, which put Kaing Kek Iev, the supervisor of Tuol Sleng prison better known as Duch, on trial for atrocity crimes.
More than 12,000 Cambodians were tortured and sent to their deaths at the prison, known to the Khmer Rouge as S-21. Vann Nath was among seven known Tuol Sleng survivors. He said later he had been spared in order to paint portraits of Pol Pot, and he went on to pen a memoir about his time at the prison.
When Duch was given a commuted sentence of 19 years—a decision that is still under consideration at the tribunal’s Supreme Court Chamber—Vann Nath said he could “accept” the court’s decision.
He died at a local private clinic at 12:45 pm, according to family members. His body was prepared at the clinic and transported to his home in Prampimakara district, Phnom Penh, where it was to be prepared for a seven-day Buddhist ceremony.
His wife, Kit Eng, 62, said she regretted the loss of a “good husband.”
“We always appeared together at the [tribunal] to find justice for victims,” said fellow prison survivor Chhum Mey. “I very much regret losing Vann Nath.”
In peacetime, Vann Nath created indelible images came to characterize the terror of the Khmer Rouge and its policies of torture and imprisonment. His death was deeply felt across the diplomatic and civic community.
In a joint statement, the embassies of France and Japan called him a “tireless freedom fighter” who had preserved the reality of the Khmer Rouge period through his painting and writing.
Huy Vannak, a spokesman for the tribunal, said he personally regretted the passing of Vann Nath before the court was able to reach a final verdict for his captor, Duch. That decision, which includes appeals for his release and for more jail time, is expected later this year.
Lath Ky, a tribunal monitor for the rights group Adhoc, said he felt “very sorry” for Vann Nath’s death, and he urged to court to take it as a message to speed its work, including finding a final verdict for Duch.
“I think Vann Nath’s family, as well as all of the other civil parties and other survivors, want to see a final resolution to the Duch [trial] as very soon as possible,” said Clair Duffy, a court observer for the Open Society Justice Initiative.
His death was also a reminder of the age and poor health of four detained regime leaders who have yet to be tried, said Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Monday Vann Nath’s death meant the loss of a “living witness” to Khmer Rouge atrocities who had made “important contributions to the dispensation of justice.”
Artist Vann Nath, Khmer Rouge Survivor, Dies at 66
 |
| Paintings by human rights icon and artists Vann Nath depicting how torture devices were used hang on the walls of Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 2011. (Photo: VOA – D. Schearf) |
September 05, 2011
VOA News
Cambodia’s Vann Nath, one of only seven survivors of a vast and notorious Khmer Rouge torture center, died Monday at age 66.
The human rights icon and artist was hospitalized late last month after heart problems and has been in a coma for days. His son-in-law called his death “a big loss for the history of Cambodia.”
Vann Nath was one of only a handful of people to emerge alive from Phnom Penh’s infamous Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 12,000 people died in the 1970s under Khmer Rouge rule. He later became a leading advocate for victims of Khmer Rouge atrocities.
His widow, Kith Eng, blamed his lengthy illnesses, which included chronic kidney disease, on the torture suffered at Tuol Sleng. She told the Associated Press last month she believes her husband would have lived a long and happy life, but for the year spent at the hands of his captors.
Vann Nath’s 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.
S-21 was later converted to a genocide museum, where many of Vann Nath’s paintings depicting torture adorn the walls.
News of Vann Nath’s death 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.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
The tribunal also is deliberating an appeal by convicted war criminal 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.
Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen, speaking Monday, described Vann Nath as the survivor “who gave voice to victims” both through his advocacy at the tribunal and through his lifelong work at the Tuol Sleng museum.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
‘Killing Fields’ Painter Dies
 |
| Vann Nath shows one of his paintings at an exhibition in Phnom Penh, July 12, 2007. (RFA) |
The death of a key witness to the Khmer Rouge’s brutal era will be a big loss to Cambodia’s history.
2011-09-05
RFA
“The trial has been delayed and the victims are dying one by one,” he said. “And by comparison, the accused persons have been receiving more support for health and security or safety than the victims.
Vann Nath, a noted Cambodian artist who survived the Khmer Rouge’s torture and execution centre by painting portraits of its brutal leaders, died on Monday aged 66, his family said.
Vann Nath, whose paintings later exposed to the world the horrific torture committed by the hardline communist movement between 1975 and 1979, had been battling kidney and lung ailments for several years.
He fell into a coma late last month after suffering a heart attack, his immediate family members said.
“He had been long suffering from kidney failure and lung disease,” his son, Vann Chanarong, said. “My father died around 12.45pm [Cambodian time].”
“His death is going to be a huge loss for Cambodia’s history,” his son-in-law, Lon Nara, said.
Vann Nath’s grieving widow, Kith Eng, said his chronic illnesses stemmed from the torture he suffered at Tuol Sleng or S-21 prison, where around 15,000 people were killed as the Khmer Rouge sought to eliminate perceived enemies of the revolution.
Vann Nath was the first of the survivors of the prison to testify before a U.N.-backed tribunal trying members of the Khmer Rouge regime on war crimes charges.
Eating beside corpses
He described at a hearing in 2009 how hunger drove him to eat insects, saying he and others at the prison also ate food beside corpses of starved fellow prisoners.
“The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little,” Vann Nath told the tribunal, as he broke down in tears. “I even thought eating human flesh would be a good meal.”
Following his testimony, the tribunal sentenced the overseer of the Tuol Sleng prison, Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Comrade Duch, to 30 years in prison last July for crimes against humanity, torture, and premeditated murder.
Vann Nath survived Tuol Sleng prison due to his painting skills, as he was forced to produce portraits of Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge leaders, escaping what was known as the “Killing Fields.”
Van Nath’s death leaves only two surviving Tuol Sleng prison inmates.
“He should have waited to see if justice was done at the trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders,” said Chum Meng, 80, one of the two survivors. “He should not have passed away without knowing the truth yet.”
“Van Nath had painted and drawn many pictures about the S-21 prison for the younger generation,” Chum Meng said.
Timely reminder
Neth Paktra, spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), as the tribunal is formally known, said Vann Nath’s death was a “huge loss” to the tribunal as it forges ahead with its hearings.
“He was an important witness of the trial.”
Hong Kim Soun, civil party lawyer of the ECCC, said Vann Nath’s death is a timely reminder for the tribunal to speed up its hearings.
“The trial has been delayed and the victims are dying one by one,” he said. “And by comparison, the accused persons have been receiving more support for health and security or safety than the victims.
“Even though there are so many victims that make the court impossible to provide such security support, a prolonged waiting for justice, to see that justice is done, is almost useless for those who died before the court get its job done.”
Vann Nath, born in 1946, was trained as an artist but had to work at a cooperative farm after the Khmer Rouge seized power in April 1975.
He was accused of being an enemy of the regime in 1978 and imprisoned at Tuol Sleng, and kept there until January 1979 when the regime fled ahead of invading Vietnamese troops, who found only seven inmates alive at the prison.
He later painted images of torture and wrote a memoir of his year spent there.
The Khmer Rouge’s radical policies left up to two million people dead through overwork, disease, malnutrition and execution.
Reported by RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Political Rally in Cambodia (1998)
"Realizing that the preliminary results of the election announced by the National Election Commission was fraudulently fixed against their vote, the Cambodian mass took to the street their protest for fairness. The demonstration grew from ten thousand to seventy thousand people by the third week. They cheered, chanted and enthusiastically called for a true democracy. This unprecedented phenomenon threatened Hun Sen's regime. With his dictatorial behavior, Hun Sen ordered his troops to crackdown the peaceful demonstrators and demolish "The Democracy Square". He trucked in thousands of his well-trained soldiers from Kompong Speu to the city to face up to the democratic demonstrators. With the support of Hun Sen's police and military forces, this group waged violence against those peaceful demonstrators, causing countless deaths, injuries and disappearances."
Source: http://khmernationalist.uni.cc
Crackdown at pagoda [… by the Hochimonks against Ven. Loun Savath]
 |
| Loun Sovath blesses Prey Lang villagers last month. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan) |
 |
| Hochimonk Non Nget |
Thursday, 01 September 2011
May Titthara and Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post
“The monks and students have done no wrong,” he said, adding that he would remove his belongings from his room at the residence.
Ten university students and five monks at Phnom Penh’s Ounalom pagoda, the former residence of campaigning monk Venerable Loun Sovath, had been threatened with eviction if they had any contact with him, monks said yesterday.
The ultimatum was reportedly delivered by Supreme Patriarch Non Nget to senior monks on Sunday, during the monthly prayer session that coincides with the full moon, the group of monks said on condition they were not identified individually.
Earlier that day, Loun Sovath had visited the pagoda to greet other monks and students who had shared his accommodation, they said.
Those living in part of the complex in which he lived include monks from Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Takeo, Battambang and Kampuchea Krom, including some of the Kingdom’s most educated monks.
Monks at the pagoda said the Supreme Patriarch was under political pressure to rein in Loun Sovath, but that both he and they support Loun Sovath’s efforts to pursue peaceful advocacy on behalf of communities facing the loss of land to well-connected companies and individuals.
“We feel great pity for the people who are losing their land,” one senior monk at the pagoda explained.
Any attempt to defrock Loun Sovath would fan growing anger among monks at alleged political interference in Buddhism, the senior monk said.
“Before the Khmer Rouge, monks had freedom to speak and people listened. Now, we are still weak but we are getting stronger,” he said.
A student living at the pag-oda, who asked not to be named, said Loun Savath had just come to visit friends.
He said the ban on contact with Loun Sovath was a warning to other monks not to follow in his footsteps.
Supreme Patriarch Non Nget declined to comment yesterday, saying through an aide that he was deep in prayer.
Porn Davy, director of the municipal department of cults and religion, said the monks and students were banned from contact with Loun Savath because he had disobeyed an order to refrain from joining protests with villagers.
“I dare not comment more, because it is the Supreme Pat-riarch’s decision,” he said.
Loun Sovath was banned from staying at pagodas in the capital in April, after attending a rally of residents of Boeung Kak who were protesting against plans to evict them.
Last month, he was banned from pagodas in his home province of Siem Reap ahead of a celebration to mark the release of 12 men from his community who had been jailed following a land dispute in which two members of his family were shot in 2009.
The shootings of his relatives, and the land dispute, galvanised the rural monk, who had previously devoted his time to painting murals on the inner walls of temples and pursuing the meditation techniques he learned from Venerable Sam Bunthoeun, who was shot outside Wat Lanka in 2003.
Over the past two years, he has visited communities in every province, educating them about the 2001 Land Law, human rights and Buddhist precepts. He responded to news that the students and monks faced eviction by calling on the Supreme Patriarch to show mercy to them.
“The monks and students have done no wrong,” he said, adding that he would remove his belongings from his room at the residence.
Although Loun Savath has been banned from residing at the pagoda, he has a room on the ground floor of the residence. The door to it has remained locked, and he still carries its key.
China confronted India warship off Vietnam: report
Thursday, September 01, 2011
AFP
AFP
HANOI — An unidentified Chinese warship demanded that an Indian naval vessel identify itself and explain its presence in South China Sea waters off Vietnam in July, the Financial Times said on Thursday.
The London-based newspaper reported that five people familiar with the incident said it occurred in international waters shortly after India’s amphibious assault ship INS Airavat completed a scheduled port call in Vietnam.
It is the latest in a series of actions this year that have caused concern about Beijing’s maritime assertiveness among regional nations — particularly Vietnam and the Philippines.
China says it has sovereignty over essentially all of the South China Sea, a key global trading route, where its professed ownership of the potentially oil-rich Spratly archipelago overlaps with claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
Vietnam and China have a separate long-standing dispute over the more northerly Paracels archipelago.
The INS Airavat visited Nha Trang in south-central Vietnam and the northern port of Haiphong in the second half of July.
“Something did happen,” one source familiar with the incident told AFP, adding it was unclear exactly how far off Vietnam’s coast it occurred.
“This is a typical Chinese approach,” said the source, adding that Chinese enforcement vessels try to assert “that this is their territory and what are you doing in their territory?”.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry could not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Indian ambassador in Hanoi was out of the country.
In recent months, the Philippines and Vietnam have objected to what they said was Chinese harassment of oil exploration vessels and fishermen in the South China Sea.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July condemned acts of “intimidation” in the waters, where it says it has a national interest in free navigation.
A Pentagon report on Wednesday last week said China is increasingly focused on naval power, as it places a growing priority on securing strategic shipping lanes and mineral-rich areas in the South China Sea.
Chinese leaders have insisted their military modernisation programme is aimed solely at “self-defence”.
Chalerm to seek release of Veera and Ratree
September 1, 2011
The Nation
The Nation
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said Thursday he planned to visit Phnom Penh to seek the release of two Thai activists jailed there on spy charges.
He said his visit would come only after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s official visit to the country.
Two Thai activists; Veera Somkwamkid, leader of the Thailand Patriot Network and his assistant Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, were arrested and given up to eight years in jail in Cambodia on charges of spying.
The two were among seven Thais including a Democrat MP, charged with illegal entry after crossing into a disputed border area in December last year. The incident happened during the Abhisit government.
Five of them were freed after their jail terms were suspended. But Veera and Ratree remain in jail and their royal pardon requests have been denied.
Chalerm is in the government of Yingluck, whose brother, former PM Thaksin, has close ties with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen. Thaksin was a personal economic adviser to Hun Sen. The appointment led to downgrading of mutual ties between Thailand and Cambodia.
Chalerm told reporters that his son, Wan, is a friend of Cambodia’s deputy navy commander in chief, so he would probably use this connection to help seek the release of Veera and Ratree.
Thai-Cambodia Tensions Ease Ahead of Defense Ministers’ Meeting
 |
| Thailand General Yutthasak Sasiprapha (Reuters file photo). |
Thursday, 01 September 2011
Ron Corben, VOA | Bangkok
“I think both sides are trying to create a new impression that they are back at the negotiation table.”
Thailand and Cambodia hope a meeting of their defense ministers in September will help rebuild cross-border relations after two years of tensions and armed clashes. The improved diplomatic outlook follows the election in July of the Thai government under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Thai Defense Minister General Yutthasak Sasiprapha and Cambodia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, General Tea Banh, will co-chair a meeting of the general border committee in Phnom Penh on September 8.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and former government spokesman, says although there are several outstanding disputes, there is also a sense that both countries want to return to normal diplomatic relations.
“I think both sides are trying to create a new impression that they are back at the negotiation table. Of course hard issues are still the same, but they are trying to create an impression that things are back to normal and that’s not all bad because in the situation like this you need to create a better feeling,” he explained.
Media reports say General Yutthasak will also meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The talks mark a step toward rebuilding cross-border relations after a turbulent period during the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat Party leader.
Conflicts have focused the 11th century Preah Vihear Hindu temple, with both Thailand and Cambodia accusing the other of acts of aggression and shelling of smaller Hindu temple sites. Some 18 people were killed in the fighting and thousands of others fled their homes.
Both Cambodia and Thailand laid claims to the temple area. A 1962 World Court ruling awarded the temple to Cambodia but did not adjudicate on surrounding lands on the Thai side of the border.
In 2008 Cambodia had the temple declared a World Heritage site.
Before then, Thailand had insisted both countries make a joint application to the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Thai nationalists’ accuse Cambodia of seeking to control the four square kilometers of area on the Thai side of the border, through its proposed management plan.
Carl Thayer, a political scientist at Australia’s University of New South Wales, says since the election of the Yingluck Shinawatra-led government, the diplomatic climate has improved.
“Overall prospects are positive at the moment – cautiously positive,” Thayer said. “But [Yingluck] is facing tremendous internal problems and if anyone tries to make the border issue a domestic football then it’s going to complicate it.”
In the past, the border dispute with Cambodia has been a political wedge in Thailand where nationalist groups have accused allies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of not forcefully representing Thailand’s interests in the dispute.
Thaksin has long had close ties with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the two countries had much friendlier relations during Thaksin’s tenure as Thailand’s prime minister. His former telecom company, Shin Corp, played a key role in Cambodia’s mobile phone and cable TV sectors in the 1990s.
After Thaksin was ousted in a coup in Thailand in 2006, Hun Sen appointed him as an economics advisor in 2009 and he visited Cambodia later that year.
During 2009, tensions again rose over the border issue, leading to sporadic clashes that continued for the next two years.
This July, Cambodian asked the International Court of Justice to rule on the dispute. The court called for a demilitarized zone near the Preah Vihear temple and the posting of Indonesian army observers to enforce the agreement.
Cambodia is expected to press for Indonesian observers to act as a guarantee against a buildup of Thai troops.
Hang Chayya, director of the Phnom Penh-based Khmer Institute for Democracy, says, although Cambodia moves to control the temple site’s development, Phnom Penh is more cautious in its negotiations with Thailand.
“The government still wants to follow up in this with international or Indonesian observers and it wants to move and make an impact in terms of this development plan that it wants to carry out in regard to Preah Vihear. But it’s taking a very cautious sort of approach. It doesn’t want to resurface these issues again with the new government – the Yingluck government,” Hang said.
Thailand and Cambodia now say restoration of relations is a priority. Hun Sen says he is looking to improve the border situation with the cross-border dispute no longer figuring in talks of the 10-member Association of Southeast Nations.
VOA Concerned about Warning to Journalists in Cambodia
(Media-Newswire.com) – Washington, D.C. — September 1, 2011 — The Voice of America is concerned about a legal warning issued in connection with VOA coverage of the U.N.-backed tribunal in Cambodia that has been investigating atrocities committed by the former Khmer Rouge regime.
On August 31, the Co-Investigating Judges at the U.N.-backed Cambodian tribunal announced they had instituted “contempt of court” proceedings related to the VOA Khmer Service reports. The unsigned statement from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, cited VOA’s use of confidential court documents in a report broadcast on August 10 that identified potential new defendants.
The statement said proceedings had been instituted for “Interference with the Administration of Justice” after VOA “quoted verbatim from a confidential document” and “even showed that document on a video.”
The statement went on to say, “Anyone intending further disclosure of confidential court documents is hereby warned that his case could be transferred to the National Prosecutor pursuant to Rule 35 ( 2 ) ( c ).”
Voice of America is concerned about the potential “chilling effect” this threat by the co-investigating judges could have on coverage of an important international story. Some rights groups have accused judges at the tribunal of failing to fully investigate cases brought by prosecutors.
Voice of America believes the warning issued by the co-investigating judges is unwarranted. The Voice of America has a journalistic and legal responsibility to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage of important issues. The careful use of confidential sources and documents that provide important insight into critical issues is a well-established practice by independent journalists the world over. Furthermore, the documents in question have been used by other news organizations.
Voice of America and its Khmer Service are committed to providing accurate, objective and comprehensive coverage of the ongoing investigation into Khmer Rouge atrocities and issues of importance to the people of the region and the world.
For media inquiries contact Kyle King in Washington at kking.
Tribunal Opens Contempt Proceedings Against VOA Khmer
 |
| Im Chaem, a former Khmer Rouge commander, holds her grandson at her home in Anlong Veng district, in Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province, where she is a first deputy commune chief. (Photo: by Sok Khemara) |
 |
| Meas Muth, 71, is a former member of the Khmer Rouge regime’s central committee. In an interview in July, he told VOA Khmer any accusations against him were not legal under the rules of the court. (Photo: Sok Khemara) |
 |
| Ta An, a former Khmer Rouge commander speaks during an exclusive interview with VOA Khmer on July 27, 2011 at his house in Kamrieng district of Cambodia’s northwestern Battambang province. (Photo: Sok Khemara) |
 |
| Bandit You Bunleng and Herr Doktor Siegfried Blunk: The Khmer Rouge Defenders? |
Thursday, 01 September 2011
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
“Anyone intending further disclosure of confidential court documents is hereby warned that his case could be transferred to the National Prosecutor.”
Investigating judges at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal have begun contempt of court proceedings against VOA Khmer, which they said in a statement Wednesday had interfered with the court’s work by making public the contents of confidential court documents.
In August, VOA Khmer ran a series of interviews with three suspects named by court prosecutors in confidential submissions that had earlier been made public by international media outlets, including the US-based Christian Science Monitor and a New Zealand website called Scoop. In the interviews, three suspects, Ta An, Im Chaem and Meas Muth denied responsibility for atrocity crimes.
The prosecution submissions named a total five suspects in two cases, 003 and 004, which Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials oppose, saying further indictments at the court could hurt national stability.
The investigating judges, Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng, have been under increased scrutiny since April, when they announced the conclusion of their work in Case 003, despite failing to interview the two suspects in the case or to visit key crime sites.
International prosecutor Andrew Cayley has since appealed to have the judges continue the investigation. That appeal is under review, and the investigating judges say they are continuing work on Case 004.
In their statement Wednesday, the judges said VOA Khmer had “quoted verbatim from a confidential document of the [tribunal] and even showed that document on a video,” and that they had “instituted proceedings for Interference with the Administration of Justice (Contempt of Court)” under court rules.
“Anyone intending further disclosure of confidential court documents is hereby warned that his case could be transferred to the National Prosecutor,” they said.
VOA Khmer chief Chris Decherd said Wednesday the service supports the work of the court.
“The role of VOA Khmer is to serve the 14 million citizens of Cambodia by reporting, producing and broadcasting news reports about the world, the US, Asia and Cambodia that are important and relevant to Cambodian citizens, who deserve and are well-served by objective and quality news reporting about issues and topics that impact and affect their daily lives,” Decherd said in a statement.
Wednesday’s statement opened broader questions over the court’s work and the role of journalists who cover it. The hybrid court was established to try former leaders of the Khmer Rouge, under which more than 1.7 million people died, and to bring victims of the regime into the judicial process for the sake of national reconciliation.
“Through my observations so far, I see that coverage of the Khmer Rouge tribunal is still limited,” said Mean Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodian Institute for Media. “This is because the level of knowledge among local journalists is still low. Therefore, if the court has too much restriction, it will lead to journalists shunning more coverage of the court. Their knowledge of international criminal courts like the [tribunal] is low. So they are afraid that they would end up in trouble. This is a loss for the tribunal, the international community and the Cambodian people.”
Mean Chhean Nariddh said that legal action taken against journalists could set a bad example for the domestic courts to follow.
Our Virak, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said the judges’ position was aimed at both journalists and its own staff.
“Cases 003 and 004 have attracted a lot of interest from the public, and I think that tens of thousands, up to millions, of victims have the right to know about the court’s processes,” he said. “We understand that the court seems to be failing. Therefore it seems there is a tendency to push for a proper investigation to move cases 003 and 004 forward.”
“We see that investigating judges seem to have completely failed,” he said. “That’s why there is the intention of some officials to bring this information to the public. In general, this kind of approach is pitiful, but it is necessary for a court that is failing and dragging on.”
Cambodia: Phnom Penh: Activist monk could be arrested for his fight against land grabs
 |
| Ven. Loun Sovath (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post) |
 |
| Hochimonks cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at ) |
Both religious and civil authorities are after Loun Sovath, 30. Nicknamed the ‘multimedia monk’, he could be jailed for defending the poor and farmers. His response has been to intensify his work to defend their rights. Other monks and university students have been banned from meeting him.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Asia News
Phnom Penh – Human rights activist and media savvy monk Loun Sovath will continue his fights against forced land grabs, despite the real possibility that he might end up in jail on the order of Cambodian authorities. Nicknamed the ‘multimedia monk’, he has already been banned from the country’s monasteries because of his fight on behalf of the poor and ordinary people. [Hochimonks] Non Nget, supreme patriarch at the Ounalom Pagoda in Phnom Penh, has threatened to expel five monks and ten university students if they contacted Loun Sovath if he should visit the monastery, where he lived for a long time in the recent past.
The media savvy 30-year-old is perhaps Cambodia’s most famous activist Buddhist monk. He has repeatedly denounced abuses, land grabs and forced relocations. He has been banned from temples because monks are not allowed to take part in politics or street protests. On several occasions, he has come to being arrested, but he has never wavered in his fight for the rights of the weak. “The more they threaten me, the more I stand up for our rights,” the Venerable said.
He got his nickname because he videotapes land grabs and gives copies to the media. He has earned the public’s respect and remains one of a kind, because few venerable and masters fight on other people’s behalf.
His peaceful activism has brought him to the attention of humanitarian groups and associations as well as earned him the support of the population, but it also caused the displeasure of the authorities, who do not tolerate protests, especially if economic interests are at stake.
Loun Sovath entered monkhood at the age of 13. He became an activist when he witnessed a land grab in his native village in 2009. On that occasion, police fired at unarmed villagers protesting against the confiscation of their fields.
He captured much of the confrontation on camera and successfully resisted police attempts to confiscate his material.
His work on behalf of human rights has made him a “high-profile target”, according to Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director with Human Rights Watch (HRW)
[Hochimonks] Non Nget, supreme patriarch at Ounalom Pagoda, has threatened to evict five monks who, along with ten university students, who might want to contact the ‘multimedia monk’.
The venerable has given them an ultimatum to prevent other monks from following Loun Sovath’s example.
However, sources inside the pagoda that asked for anonymity said that the supreme patriarch is the victim of political pressures from high up to get him to put a stop to his former disciple’s activism.
Fainting factory told to act
 |
| Yang Sophang, an employee of Heart Enterprise (Cambodia), recovers after fainting yesterday at the factory. About 50 women fainted while working at the factory yesterday. (Photo by: Pha Lina) |
Thursday, 01 September 2011
Tep Nimol and Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post
Another garment factory within the International Lab-our Organisation’s Better Factories program was hit by a mass fainting incident yesterday.
More than 50 employees of Heart Enterprise (Cambodia) Co Ltd began collapsing soon after starting their shift at the facility, in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district.
“Some women got weak in the knees and fell, some started choking, and for others their hands and legs began trembling and shaking before they fell,” Un Dara, president of the Independent Union Federation, said.
The women were taken to the Bek Chan Health Centre and Kossamak Hospital, with the most serious cases sent to the latter.
Nhoem Srey Touch, 22, who was treated at Bek Chan Health Centre, said she began choking and her limbs went numb. She said she also panicked when women around her began collapsing.
“I was so terrified I lost consciousness,” she said.
Chhorn Sokha, an investigator with the Community Legal Education Center’s labour program, said some workers at Heart Enterprise had blamed poor air circulation in the factory for the faintings.
An inspection by officials from the ministries of labour, social affairs and health had found that ventilating fans were blocked, air circulation was poor and workers were fatigued from working too much overtime, Yi Kithana, deputy director-general of the Labour Ministry’s occupational health department, said yesterday.
He said the factory was required to make several changes, including removing all materials blocking ventilating fans and windows and ensuring that workers were not forced to work overtime, before it could open again.
The mass fainting incident follows several others last month, including two incid-ents last week at a factory in Kampong Chnnang that supplies global brand H&M.
The Swedish-based comp-any has been quick to respond to the incident. Yesterday, it told the Post it had hired an external expert to conduct an investigation that would begin within a week.
“The investigation . . . will seek to include all relevant stakeholders in the data coll-ection and following analysis,” a spokesman for the company said.
The ILO’s Better Factories program has been conducting investigations.
Tuomo Poutiainen, its chief technical adviser, said yesterday he was not sure there was “a single common denominator” in the wave of faintings, but added: “The garment industry is unfortunately known for long working hours, generally 10 hours a day.
“In the cases we have investigated, long working hours and [poor] nutrition are present. The trigger factors may differ from case to case, and we are looking deeply into this to find the causes and a solution.”
Poutiainen also said Cambodia’s garment industry was experiencing swift growth.
“Orders rose by 30 to 35 per cent in the first five months of this year. This could impact the issue of working hours.”
Poutiainen declined to identify which brands Heart Enterprise supplies. “The ILO does not release the name of the brands the factories supply. Our concern is the welfare of workers,” he said.
But he added: “The brands are very concerned. We are in contact with many of them about these incidents.”
Cambodian Tribunal Challenges VOA News Report
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Voice of America
Voice of America
Cambodia’s U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal says it has begun contempt proceedings against VOA’s Khmer service for disclosing confidential documents about the prosecution of Khmer Rouge defendants with suspected links to genocide in the 1970s.
The tribunal’s move drew an immediate statement of concern Thursday from VOA administrators, who said the probe is unwarranted and could have a chilling effect on coverage of an important international news story. It also said VOA and its Khmer service are committed to providing objective, comprehensive coverage of proceedings before the tribunal.
The contempt case stems from a series of interviews last month in which VOA Khmer mentioned three mid-level Khmer Rouge suspects who had been named by court prosecutors in confidential court papers. The suspects had already been identified by name by the Christian Science Monitor (newspaper) and a New Zealand Web site in June. VOA video reports during August included images of the original court documents.
The move against U.S.-funded broadcaster marks the first time the tribunal has followed through on warnings to launch contempt proceedings. No timetable for legal action has been announced.
In its landmark first trial, the tribunal last year sentenced former Khmer Rouge lieutenant Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, to 30 years in prison for his role as chief of the notorious Tuol Sleng torture prison during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-1979 reign.
The tribunal later reduced the sentence to 19 years, granting Duch credit for time served. Duch has appealed the guilty verdict, and the tribunal said Thursday it hopes to rule by the end of this year whether the conviction should be overturned.
The four most senior surviving members of the former Khmer Rouge, including nominal head of state 79-year-old Khieu Samphan, are set to face trial in the coming months. They face charges of religious persecution, torture and genocide in the deaths of as many as 2 million people.
Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died in 1998.
Cambodia actively seeks supports from friendly countries for UNSC seat
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) — Cambodia has been actively seeking supports from friendly countries to secure a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2013 and 2014 mandate.
During a meeting with the British Ambassador to Cambodia Andrew Stephen Mace on Wednesday, Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong asked the United Kingdom to support Cambodia for the seat.
“In response, the ambassador said Cambodia should be voted for the seat,” Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry told reporters after the meeting.
He added that so far more than 100 countries have expressed their supports for Cambodia’s candidacy for the seat.
The vote for the non-permanent members of the UNSC will be held in 2012.
Cambodia became the member of the United Nations in December, 1955; since then, it has never had any post at the world body.
Terrible tales from Cambodia
01 Sep, 2011
Collie Mail
Collie Mail
COLLIE Rotary Club is lending a helping hand to local woman Halina Hebb who is consumed by the need to ease the poverty in Cambodia. Club members will run a huge garage sale in the Scout Hall on September 10 from 8am to 2pm. People who have items for sale are asked to phone John Vlasich on 0428 341 470 or 9734 1470 or Harry Wiggers on 9734 2704 to arrange delivery or collection.
Halina spoke to the club last week about her awakening to the need.
FOUR years ago Halina Hebb was staying in a five-star Cambodian hotel while her husband Des played golf in a pro-am event on a manicured tourist golf course.
The word “manicured” was appropriate, the grass was trimmed with nail scissors, Halina said.
Before arriving she knew nothing about the country except there were famous temples at Angkor Wat and that “Angelina Jolie had made a movie there with rocks falling all over the place”, she said.
“At the hotel two girls asked me if I wanted to visit an orphanage so I grabbed some soap and fruit (as gifts) and went with them.”
What she saw en route shattered her. “Absolute despair — many kids on the way to the orphanage were naked — the conditions were dire.
“I vowed I would never go back with so little again and that’s how my fund-raising began.”
Cambodia was once known as “the Land of Paradise” but is now one of the world’s most poverty-stricken countries.
Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge seized control in April 1975 and more than two million people were killed in the next four years.
All of the country’s intellectuals and educated people were targets. When the starvation, torture and blood-letting began, Cambodia (which the Khmer Rouge renamed Kampuchea) had 4000 trained doctors. Only 40 survived.
Overseas Khmers plan a protest against Hun Sen at the UN in New York
Mr. Hun Sen with his top brass.
By Khmerization
Source: SRP email
Many Khmers overseas have circulated emails urging the Cambodian Diaspora to attend a protest against Prime Minister Hun Sen when he attends the UN Security Council Meeting in New York in the middle of this month.
Members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) in Europe and America are sending emails urging Khmers throughout the world to protest against Mr. Hun Sen who has been accused of being a dictator who ruled with an iron fist for 32 years. “Please be informed that PM Hun Sen will join the meeting with the UN Security Council in new York on 13 September 2011. Please welcome him there on the date and place”, a member of the SRP in Norway wrote in an email to party members around the world.
Mr. Sam Rainsy, the exiled SRP leader, and many Cambodian Diaspora have been predicting some sort of a people power revolution in Cambodia, similar to what had happened in some Arab countries, notably Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Some people, like Mr. Ou Chal, a graduate of the Sorbonne University in Paris with a doctorate degree, have been very active in urging the Khmer people inside the country to rise up in a Lotus Revolution to topple Mr. Hun Sen from power.
At least 1,500 Cambodian troops leave disputed border with Thailand
31 August 2011
PHNOM PENH (BNO NEWS) — Cambodia withdrew approximately 1,500 troops from the disputed border area with Thailand on Wednesday as the two neighboring countries’ military tension have eased since July, one official said.
Maj. Gen. Seak Socheat, deputy commander of the front-battle region 3, told the Xinhua news agency by telephone that the troops were pulled back from the Thmar Doun area between the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple, 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the Preah Vihear Temple.
“The pullback was made at the order of Prime Minister Hun Sen,” Socheat told Xinhua. “It’s the sixth time Cambodian troops have pulled back from the disputed border with Thailand.”
Dozens of people from both countries, including troops and civilians, were killed during armed clashes at the two temples which took place from April 22 until May 3. The violence forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee for safer areas.
Both Cambodia and Thailand claim the 4.6 square kilometer (1.7 square miles) area near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on their shared border, which has never been formally established. However, the military tension has eased since the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party won a landslide victory in July’s general election.
Tensions first escalated between the two countries in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. The United Nations Security Council urged both sides to establish a permanent ceasefire after at least 10 people were killed.
Clashes resumed earlier this year as both nations claim the lands surrounding the ancient Hindu Temple, which has been damaged due to the conflict. The Preah Vihear temple dates back to the 11th century and is located on the Cambodian side of the border.
In 2008, the temple was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding universal value. It is considered an outstanding example of Khmer architecture and consists of a complex of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases on an 800-meter (2624 feet)-long axis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)