សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា និង​ថ្នាក់​ដឹកនាំ​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម ១០ រូបចុះចូល​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស

លោក​វ៉ាន់ ស៊ីវឿន (ឆ្វេង) សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ក្នុង​ពិធី​បង្ហាញខ្លួន ចូលក្នុង​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស​ នៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃ​ទី១១តុលា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ ©លី ម៉េងហួរ

ដោយ លី ម៉េងហួរ

នៅ​ព្រឹក​ថ្ងៃ​អង្គារ​នេះ សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា​ម្នាក់ និង​ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ​តាម​ស្រុក​នានា របស់​គណបក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ី ប្រចាំ​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម ចំនួន ៩ រូប ផ្សេងទៀត បានប្រកាស​ចូលរួម​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស របស់លោក កឹម សុខា។ អ្នកនយោបាយ ​ទាំង ១០ រូបនោះ ទើបតែ​ត្រូវបាន​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី សម្រេច​លុបឈ្មោះ ចេញ​ពី​បញ្ជី​គណបក្ស កាលពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៧​តុលា។ គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ចាត់ទុកថា នេះ​ជា​យុទ្ធសាស្ត្រ​ថ្មី ដែល​គណបក្ស​កាន់អំណាច ប្រើប្រាស់ ដើម្បី​បំបែក​សម្លេង​គណបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​នៅ​កម្ពុជា។

សមាជិក​គណបក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ី​ទាំង ១០ រូបនោះ ត្រូវបាន លោក ម៉ៅ មុនីវណ្ណ អនុប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស ទទួល​ស្វាគម។ ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​ទាំង​១០ រូប ដែល​បាន​បង្ហាញ​មុខ ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​អ្នកកាសែត នៅ​ព្រឹក​ថ្ងៃទី​១១​តុលា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ មិន​មាន​លោក តុ វ៉ាន់​ចាន់ សមាជិក​រដ្ឋសភា​គណ​បក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ដែល​ទើបតែ​លុបឈ្មោះ​ឡើយ។ ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ​ទាំង ១០ រូបនោះ រួមមាន លោក វ៉ាន់ ស៊ីវឿន សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា និង​ជា​អនុប្រធាន​ក្រុមប្រឹក្សា​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម របស់​គណបក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ី ព្រមទាំង​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ប្រចាំ​ស្រុក​ជាច្រើន នៅ​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម។

លោក ម៉ៅ មុនីវណ្ណ អនុប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស និង​ជា​អតីត​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ប្រចាំ​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម បាន​ហៅ​ការសម្រេចចិត្ត​ចូលមក​ក្នុង​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស​របស់​ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ​ គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​ពេលនេះ ថា​ធ្វើ​ឡើង តាម​ឆន្ទៈ​របស់​ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ដែល​បាន​ជំរុញ​ឲ្យ​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី និង​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស​រួមគ្នា ដើម្បី​ក្លាយជា​ចលនា​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​មួយ​ដ៏​ធំ ឲ្យមាន​ការផ្លាស់ប្តូរ​មេដឹកនាំ​ទៅ​អនាគត ឲ្យបាន​ជោគជ័យ។

ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​ទាំង ១០ រូប ដែល​បាន​ចូលរួម​ក្នុង​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស បានចេញ​សេចក្តីថ្លែងការណ៍​ រួមគ្នា ដោយ​រិះគន់​ចំពោះ​នយោបាយ​របស់​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ហើយ​ថា គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ដែល​តាំងខ្លួន​ជា​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​ពេលនេះ ក្លាយ​ជា​គណបក្ស​ផ្តាច់ការ និង​បម្រើ​តែ​ផលប្រយោជន៍​ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ ២-៣ គ្រួសារ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ។

ក៏​ប៉ុន្តែ​លោក គឹម​សួរ ភិរិទ្ធ អ្នកនាំពាក្យរង​របស់​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី មើល​មិនឃើញ ចលនា​បង្រួបបង្រួម​របស់​គណ​បក្ស​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស​ទេ តែ​លោក​ចាត់​ទុក​ការចាកចេញ​ពី​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ទៅ​ចូលរួម​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស​ពេលនេះ ថា​ជា​យុទ្ធសាស្ត្រ​របស់​គណបក្ស​កាន់អំណាច ដើម្បី​ជួយ​ឲ្យ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស ទាញ​យក​ប្រជាប្រិយភាព​ពី​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ។

កាលពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៧​តុលា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ គណៈកម្មាធិការ​អចិន្ត្រៃយ៍​គណបក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ី បាន​សម្រេច​លុបឈ្មោះ លោក វ៉ាន់ ស៊ី​វឿន សមាជិក​ព្រឹទ្ធសភា និង​លោក តុ វ៉ាន់​ចាន់ សមាជិក​រដ្ឋសភា ចេញ​ពី​បញ្ជី​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ព្រមទាំង​សមាជិក​គណបក្ស​សម​រង្ស៊ីជាច្រើននាក់​ផ្សេងទៀត នៅ​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម ដែល​បាន​មក​ចូលរួម​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស នៅថ្ងៃអង្គារនេះ។

ក្រោយ​ពី​ចាកចេញ​ពី​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ទៅ​ចូលរួម​នយោបាយ​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស កាលពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​២៣​មីនា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ លោក ម៉ៅ មុនី​វណ្ណ បាន​ដឹកនាំ​សកម្មជន​ថ្នាក់​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ចាម និង​ខេត្តពោធិ៍សាត់​របស់​គណ​បក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី សរុប​ប្រមាណ​ជាង ២០ នាក់ ចេញពី​គណបក្ស​សមរង្ស៊ី ទៅ​ចូលរួម​នយោបាយ​ជា​បន្តបន្ទាប់​ជាមួយ​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិមនុស្ស​របស់​លោក កឹម​សុខា៕

Threatening speech of Supreme Hochimonk Patriarch Tep Vong regarding Ven. Luon Sovath

Friday, October 7, 2011
Originally posted at www.ki-media.blogspot.com

==>Listen the threatening voice of Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong towards Preah Krou Saccamuni Loun Sovath in part of the Voice of Democracy (VOD) broadcasted on May 5, 2011.

Click the control below to listen to the excerpt by Tep Vong:
http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf
Click here to listen to the excerpt in MP3

Courtesy of the 8th Conference of Vesak of the UNs Day

No. If you desire to behave like the ordinary people, behave like ordinary people, (so) it will not affect on the Viniya, the religion. If you (threat intoned) lead them to do so, disrobe first before you get involve with them, so it can be called you help them to seek justice. You (threat intoned) make religion damaged in among those people and you are called seeking justice?. The status of the monk are different from the status of the lay people. Go to live with those people, go (threat), no one prohibit that in accordance with the right of belief, but using the monk status is illegal, those supporters (threat intoned) are also illegal. (Unofficial translation by Pheak)

KRouge judge quits over Cambodia govt interference [-Siegfried Blunk admits Gov’t interference in the KRT]

Siegfried Blunk

Monday, October 10, 2011
AFP

PHNOM PENH — A German judge tasked with probing new Khmer Rouge cases at Cambodia’s UN-backed war crimes tribunal on Monday announced his resignation, blaming government interference.

Co-investigating judge Siegfried Blunk had recently attracted strong criticism from observers and victims who accused him of failing to fully probe two new cases strongly opposed by the Cambodian government.

In a surprise move, Blunk said he was stepping down over “repeated statements which will be perceived as attempted interference by government officials” objecting to further prosecutions linked to the 1975-79 regime.

Thai PM scraps foreign trips amid flood crisis

Monday, October 10, 2011
AFP

BANGKOK — Thailand’s worst floods in decades have prompted the country’s premier to postpone official visits to Singapore and Malaysia, a spokeswoman said on Sunday, as Bangkok braces for rising waters.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last week described the flooding, which has left more than 250 people dead and inundated huge swathes of the kingdom as a “serious crisis” and warned that the capital would not escape unscathed.

She was scheduled to fly to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively as part of an introductory tour of the region after coming to power in August.

“The trips are postponed due to the floods,” government spokeswoman Titima Chaisaeng told AFP.

More than two months of heavy rains have deluged provinces across northern and central Thailand and damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people, particularly farmers, according to the government.

Huge efforts are now under way to stop the waters from reaching low-lying Bangkok, home to 12 million people, prompting pleas from some residents north of the city for sluice gates to be raised to release floodwater.

Thailand’s ancient capital Ayutthaya, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast and upriver of the capital has seen increasingly serious flooding in recent days after being partially waterlogged for several weeks.

Historic temples have been swamped and a large industrial estate, home to a slew of Japanese electronics and auto parts makers including car giant Honda, has started to flood.

Authorities are evacuating some 200 patients from Ayutthaya’s hospital, according to Science and Technology minister Plodparsob Suraswadi, who signalled a new emphasis on moving people out of the path of flooding in provinces outside Bangkok.

“The plan will be focused on evacuation rather than fighting floods,” he said.

Large amounts of run-off water is expected to reach Bangkok in mid-October, while high tides will make it harder for the floods to flow out to sea. More storms are also expected.

EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2010

Source: http://www.box.net/shared/icvxz7trdzijmv5jujt6

Cambodia

The EU supported financially the national side of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) and welcomed the historic judgment sentencing Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, to 35 years imprisonment.

In 2010 the EU expressed appreciation for the endorsement of five key legal texts and stressed that three further fundamental laws need to be promptly adopted, namely: the Law on the Statute of Judges and Prosecutors, the Law on Organisation and Functioning of the Court and the Law on Amendment to the Law on Supreme Council of Magistracy, which are particularly important to promote the independence and transparency of judiciary. During the preparation of the draft law on Non Governmental Organisations and Associations, the EU recommended that the Government consult widely with stakeholders on the draft, and produce a law that fosters the development of civil society.

The EU welcomed the acceptance of all recommendations of the UN Universal Periodic review. The EU continued working with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support CHRC to implement the recommendations and supported the OHCHR and the Special Rapporteur in undertaking their work more broadly.

The EU tracked concerns with restrictions on freedom of expression affecting opposition politicians, civil society representatives and journalists. An often used tool was the new Penal Code’s provisions on defamation and incitement. The EU expressed its concern at several cases involving inter alia Mr Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition, opposition MP Ms Mu Sochua and NGOs such as LICADHO.

An EU-Cambodia Civil Society Seminar on Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society was organised in September 2010 in Phnom Penh with over 170 participants representing various stakeholders from across Cambodia.

Land evictions, lack of recognition of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic minorities, Economic Land Concession, Social Concessions and Natural Resources Management have raised strong concerns to the EU. The EU is more and more concerned about the negative effects of land evictions for both sustainable development and social cohesion. Several cases were raised with the Government at the last Joint Committee in October 2010 and at the Sub-Group on Institutional Reforms, Governance and Human Rights, in particular concerning sugar sector.

Other important challenges remain on the improvement of the prison conditions and the lack of independence of the judiciary.

Following the EU Election Observation Mission in 2008 and the recommendation in view of the next elections (communes in 2012 and General Elections in 2013, and prolonged TA to the National Election Committee, the EU stressed that future TA to Cambodia will be subject to real tangible outcomes including concrete follow-up to the recommendations made by the 2008 EU mission.

In 2010 there were 14 projects implemented in Cambodia under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, inter alia addressing issues affecting indigenous people, land rights, women‟s and children‟s enjoyment of their human rights, juvenile justice, civil society, and trafficking in human beings.

Floods Claim 207 Lives, Affect 1.2 Million in Cambodia

2011-10-10
Source: Xinhua

The Mekong River and flash floods had killed at least 207 people and affected about 1.2 million people in 19 inundated cities and provinces in Cambodia, Nhim Vanda, the first vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said on Monday in a press briefing.

“Among the dead, 52 percent is children,” he said.

More than 300,000 hectares of rice paddies have been affected and other 100,000 hectares of rice paddies were completely damaged.

Some 600 houses were swept away by floods and other 196,600 houses, 1,132 schools and 400 Buddhist pagodas are inundated, he said, adding that some 180 kilometers of national roads and around 1,800 kilometers of gravel roads have been affected.

“It’s estimated that the damaged cost from floods this year seems comparable to the damage in the floods in the year 2000 of 161 million U.S. dollars,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nhim Vanda said that the government of Cambodia has released 1,900 tons of milled rice to distribute to the victims.

So far, the government of Cambodia, Cambodian Red Cross, charitable countries and organizations has distributed emergency relief to more than 70,000 families with about 280,000 people out of the 100,000 families who have been evacuated to higher ground.

He said that China, Japan, World Food Program, and a number of local and international organizations have also provided emergency relief to the flood victims.

Also, the Asian Development Bank has pledged to provide a grant of 3 million U.S. dollars to Cambodia to rehabilitate gravel roads after the floods.

Nhim Vanda said that as of Monday, floods have been slowing receding, but only in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, the Mekong River’s water level still slightly rise to 10.86 meters.

German judge at Khmer Rouge court quits post

Oct 10, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh – The German investigating judge at the centre of a number of controversial rulings at the United Nations-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has quit his post, the court said Monday.

Siegfried Blunk, who took up his role in December, said in a statement that he had resigned after comments by senior government officials that ‘will be perceived as attempted interference.’

On October 4 Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong reportedly said the decision on whether to arrest more suspected former members of the Khmer Rouge ‘is a Cambodian issue (and) must be decided by Cambodia.’

Last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he would not permit any trials other than the first two cases, which involve the four surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge movement and the movement’s former head of security.

And in May the information minister said foreign nationals looking to investigate Cases 003 and 004 – as the court’s final two cases against five mid-level Khmer Rouge are known – should ‘pack their bags and leave.’

Blunk said he would not be influenced by such statements, but that his ability to withstand such government pressure ‘could always be called into doubt, and this would also call in doubt the integrity of the whole proceedings in Cases 003 and 004.’

The role of the two investigating judges is to examine the charges levied against suspects. However there are widespread fears inside and outside the court that they had buckled to political pressure and were moving to scupper Cases 003 and 004.

Last week, the US-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Blunk and his Cambodian counterpart You Bunleng to quit, saying the two had ‘egregiously violated their legal and judicial duties.’

In April, the judges’ decision to close Case 003 without interviewing the two suspects or inspecting alleged crime sites drew widespread criticism. The international prosecutor Andrew Cayley appealed that closure citing a litany of judicial failures.

HRW said Case 004, involving three mid-ranking Khmer Rouge members thought responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, also looked likely to be shelved without serious investigation.

In the tribunal’s first case, the Khmer Rouge’s head of security, Comrade Duch, was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the deaths of more than 12,000 people. He has appealed his 30-year sentence.

Case 002, which is against the four senior surviving leaders of the movement, will likely begin in 2012. More than 2 million people are thought to have died during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 rule.

Controversial KRT judge resigns

Co-investigating judge Siegfried Blunk is seen at the Khmer Rouge tribunal on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in August. Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN

Monday, 10 October 2011
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Khmer Rouge Tribunal’s international Co-Investigating Judge Siegfried Blunk has submitted his resignation to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

His resignation is in reaction to repeated statements of government officials that the tribunal’s cases 003 and 004 will not go ahead.

“The Co-Investigating Judge will not let himself by influenced by such statements, (but) his ability to withstand such pressure by government officials and to perform his duties independently could always be called into doubt,” a press release from the court said today.

The press release pointed to high-profile statements by Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Information Minister and the Foreign Affairs Minister as evidence of continued pressure from the government to close cases 003 and 004.

New York-based Human Rights Watch last week called for Blunk and Cambodian Co-Investigating Judge You Bunleng to resign over alleged judicial misconduct in their investigations into cases 003 and 004.

At the time, court spokesman Lars Olsen said on behalf of the Co-Investigating Judges that they would continue to perform their duties “independently”.

SRP expels MP and one senator

Monday, 10 October 2011
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

The Opposition Sam Rainsy Party expelled a National Assembly member and a senator from its party on Friday, and suspended at least four commune council members, accusing them of inactivity in their constituencies and party disloyalty.

SRP secretary-general Ke Sovannroth said yesterday that the party had removed Tok Vanchan, a parliamentarian representing Takeo province, and Senator Vann Sivoeurn from its party list, and suspended four SRP officials from Kampong Cham province.

“We found that those party members were not active in their constituencies, did not play their role to serve their supporters in accordance with the party’s policies and were not loyal to the party,” he said, refusing to disclose the names of the suspended commune council members.

“We have to replace them [with] new candidates to ensure that supporters will not cast their vote for other parties in the upcoming commune and national elections.”

However, Tok Vanchan claimed that his expulsion was the result of nepotism in the SRP leadership in pursuit of his seat.

“It was not fair to expel me from the parliamentary seat and expel me from the party,” he said. “I will discuss with my lawyer to find out a way to complain to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and the National Election Committee. I am not sure but expect that the complaint would be submitted to the court and NEC [today].”

Vanchan said SRP leaders had accused him of disloyalty by linking him with former SRP lawmaker Mao Monyvann, who held a seat in the National Assembly representing Kampong Cham province before announcing his resignation from parliament in March.

Later that month, he staged a press conference to criticise what he called the nepotistic leadership of the SRP, prompting SRP officials to vote for his ouster from the party.

Soon after, he joined rival Human Rights Party, and has since boasted that the majority of SRP district and commune officials in Kampong Cham would follow him.

The SRP now hold 26 of a total 123 seats in the National Assembly. Merger talks between the SRP and HRP to form a front against the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, which holds 90 seats, have broken down in recent months.

Union, firm fail to stitch agreement

Strike at the M&V factory (Photo: FTUWKC)

Monday, 10 October 2011
Tep Nimol
The Phnom Penh Post

The company abused the law by ending the workers’ contracts just because they formed a union and pushed for rights

More than 4,000 workers from M&V International Manufacturing’s factory in Kampong Chhnang province were set to continue striking outside the factory today, after negotiations between management and Free Trade Union representatives broke down again on Saturday.

Pov Sitha, director of Kampong Chhnang province’s Department of Labour and Vocational Training, said yesterday that the Free Trade Union declined to settle with the factory because it refused to reinstate 20 workers who had been allegedly fired in September for attempting to form a union.

Negotiations between management and union representatives initially broke down last Thursday. Workers began striking that afternoon in protest and continued through to Saturday.

Free Trade Union president Chea Mony said yesterday that the firing of the 20 workers in question was illegal because they had been employed for more than two years and as such, they were entitled to a fixed contract that could not be terminated.

“The company abused the law by ending the workers’ contracts just because they formed a union and pushed for rights,” he said.

M&V administration officer Im Mun said he did not know anything about the strike and referred questions to the factory owner, who could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Pov Sitha said that the workers’ strike was illegal because the Arbitration Council had not yet delivered its ruling.

“I sent a report to the Arbitration Council to resolve the dispute, but no order has been issued yet,” he said.

M&V factory, which supplies knitwear for popular global retailer H&M, has been embroiled in controversy over the past few months. In addition to last month’s disputed firings, there were two mass fainting incidents at the factory in August, spurring investigations by the labour ministry, the International Labour Organisation and H&M.

A spokesman for H&M said last week that the findings from its investigation were being finalised. He also said the company was in contact with both M&V and the FTU.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said that “only the court has the authority to declare on the legality of a strike”.

When questioned about the spate of issues occurring at the GMAC facility, Ken Loo said that GMAC was a monitoring agency, which does not necessarily “guarantee that things will be 100 per cent problem-free”.

“An auditing function does not help prevent problems, it just helps identify them,” he said.

“We advise our members the right way of doing things in accordance with the laws and regulations, but it’s up to factory management to take our advice and act on our recommendations.”

Police target T&P owner

Teens released from the T&P labor facility (All photos: DAP-news)

Monday, 10 October 2011
Mom Kunthear and David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

Anti-human trafficking police are seeking to arrest the fugitive director of the T&P Co Ltd labour recruiting firm and close his firm after 20 underage recruits destined to be domestic servants in Malaysia were rescued from one of its training centres over the weekend.

Chiv Phally, deputy director of the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department, said T&P director Sam Piseth had fled before a series of police raids on T&P facilities in Kampong Chhnang and Phnom Penh. “I will request labour ministry officials to completely close this company because it abused the Labour Law. We will cooperate with court officials to arrest the company owner, who has escaped,” he said.

T&P, and other recruiting firms had been repeatedly warned to clean up their act, he added. “We have enough evidence to close [T&P]. We found 20 underage girls detained in the company, fake documents and the illegal detention [of trainees].”

He suspected another 18 trainees had been provided fake travel documents and would seek to arrest their brokers. Girls aged 13 to 17 were found, some hiding under a bed in a locked room, during the raids on T&P’s Kampong Chhnang facility, said Keth Yong, chief of the province’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department.

“We rescued those girls and women and arrested an employee of the company who locked the girls in the room to detain them,” he said.

The suspect, 34-year-old Long Sina, would be sent to the court in coming days, Keth Yong said.

Kim Ly, the sister of 15-year-old Kim Chheng who was rescued during the raids, said T&P staff had secured forged documents changing her sibling’s age to 21 when she registered with the firm.

“My sister trained in the T&P recruitment company for two months and she already had been given a visa, but I don’t know when she was to fly to work in Malaysia,” she said.

Her sister still wanted to work in Malaysia in order to support her family, even though her mother opposed the idea, Kim Ly said.

T&P, which has been rocked by abuse scandals since a woman died in its Phnom Penh training centre in March, appears to have few friends left within the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Firms. ACRA president An Bunhak yesterday called for company staff to face prosecution.

An Bunhak said he had joined a raid on T&P’s Phnom Penh training centre on Saturday morning, after information surfaced that two underage girls from Kratie province were destined for one of the recruting company’s facilities.

“If T&P recruit underage [trainees] they go against Cambodian law.

“If you do [something] illegal or go against the law we won’t protect you,” he said.

The raid and arrest follows a similar rescue operation conducted at labour firm Century Manpower’s training facility in Phnom Penh last week, in which five underage workers were rescued.

Chea Chouk, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Military Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department, confirmed yesterday that two company staff had been charged with illegal detention, though the owner remained at large.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua, a vocal critic of Cambodia’s labour recruitment industry, welcomed the arrests, but said police and labour officials did not have the resources or the will to regulate what had become and industry of “slavery”.

“I’m not just saying suspend the companies, I’m saying suspend the whole industry of sending women to Malaysia until there is a demonstration of strong political will [to stop abuse],” she said.

No labour recruitment firm has ever been closed by the government in Cambodia, despite frequent reports of abuse and criminal behaviour from civil society groups, the media and victims of the firms.

Only the Ministry of Labour or the courts have the power to shut down labour firms.

Hou Vuthy, a deputy director at the Ministry of Labour, said if what he had heard was confirmed by reports he was due to receive on Monday, T&P would be shut.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

Cambodia’s activist monk remains defiant despite temple ban

Ven. Loun Sovath blessing Prey Lang protesters (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

October 3, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

A Cambodian monk, who has been targeted by the government for his social activism, says the country’s top leaders are responsible for the poverty and suffering of some of its citizens.

Venerable Luon Sovath came to prominence after a forced eviction from his village in 2009 turned violent, and police opened fire on land protesters, injuring four people.

The villagers called the monk in to help document the incident and advocate on their behalf.

This began his work travelling the country, helping to inform people of their rights and to protest against land grabs.

He says this practice of what he calls “engaged Buddhism” has resulted in him being arrested and being threatened with beatings, death, and defrocking as a monk.

In April this year, the ruling body for Buddhist monks in Cambodia banned Venerable Luon Sovath from going to temples in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Venerable Luon Sovath, a Cambodian monk and social activist

Click here to listen to the interview (Windows Media)

Human rights monk condemns Cambodian leaders

Ven. Luon Sovath (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Human rights advocate and monk Luon Sovath says the country’s leaders are to blame for widespread poverty and suffering.

Monday, October 3, 2011
Radio Australia News

An outspoken Cambodian monk has accused government officials of human rights violations in the country and says he is willing to risk death for his activist campaign.

Luon Sovath, also known as the ‘Multimedia Monk’ for capturing human rights violations in Cambodia on film, says leaders have attempted to silence hism for advocacy of social injustice coupled with Buddhist teachings.

“The government brings Cambodia to suffering and doesn’t develop happiness for the people,” he said on Connect Asia.

He says he has been the subject of arrest, beating, death threats and defrocking as a monk for the teachings he calls “Engaged Buddhism”.

In April, the ruling body for Buddhist monks in Cambodia prevented the monk from attending or preaching outside temples in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.

“I am only following Buddhism rules,” he said. “It’s non-violent, just peace for peace sake, also for the human rights law and democracy. The government should be happy for my activity but they worry and are angry and dismiss me, accuse me and arrest me.”

The Multimedia Monk has become a spokesman for social injustices since his involvement in a 2009 land protest where police open fired on civilians, wounding four people.

Cambodia suffers worse from climate change

October 3, 2011
Source: Xinhua

Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly said Monday the country has been suffering more serious from global climate change in recent years, referring to the floods that has hit the country since August and killed at least 150 people so far.

“We are in poor country, we don’t have enough sophisticated equipment and techniques to respond to that irregular phenomenon, so we are easily vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” he said during opening the 2nd National Forum on Climate Change, which was attended by some 500 government officials, development partners, academia, private sector and civil society.

Climate change has been seriously impacted economic and social development and environmental protection, he said.

Yim Chhay Ly said the Mekong River and flash floods hitting Cambodia since August have cost Cambodia millions of U.S. dollars and needed years to rehabilitate.

“It cost human lives, destroy agricultural crops, infrastructure, homes, schools and so on,” he said. “It has been slowing down Cambodia’s efforts in developing the nation.”

Cambodia has been suffering the worst from the Mekong River and flash floods in the last decade. Since early August to date, the floods had killed at least 150 people, submerged 130,220 homes with affected 173,063 families, and affected over 270,000 hectares of rice paddies, according to the reports of the National Committee for Disaster Management.

The floods also affected more than 100 kilometers of national roads and up to 1,800 kilometers of gravel roads, it said.

Meanwhile, Yim Chhay Ly called on foreign donors and development partners to accelerate their supports to Cambodia during the flood period and post-flood rehabilitation period.

Fainting factory may see strike

Monday, 03 October 2011
Kim Yuthana
The Phnom Penh Post

The Free Trade Union informed M&V International Manufacturing on Saturday that a strike would be held at its garment factory in Kampong Chhnang province within one week if demands from workers were not met.

“If the company does not accept our demands we will go on strike,” FTU president Chea Mony said.

The eight demands include rehiring 20 FTU leaders and members allegedly fired last month after they tried to set up a branch at the factory to demand better working conditions.

In Mun, a human resources officer at the factory, expressed surprise about the planned strike, saying that staff at his factory did not belong to the FTU. “I am doubtful that he [Chea Mony] could lead a strike when his union is not listed in the factory’s unions.”

Chea Mony said last month that workers at the factory began joining the FTU after two mass fainting incidents at the factory in August. The faintings prompted investigations by the labour ministry, the International Labour Organisation and global brand H&M, which buys apparel from the factory. Anna Eriksson, a spokesperson for H&M, said that the workers were allegedly fired for joining the FTU were temporary staff.

“According to our report, the employees you refer to had temporary employment at the M&V factory,” she said last month.

Som Sinath, deputy director of the labour and vocational training department in Kampong Chhnang, said the strike would be illegal because workers were not FTU members. Chea Mony could face legal consequences if he was found to be behind a strike at the factory, Som Sinath said.

Kingdom suspected origin of cyber attack

Monday, 03 October 2011
Don Weinland
The Phnom Penh Post

Betfair, the world’s largest online betting company, has named Cambodia as the possible origin of a cyber attack in which payment information from 2.3 million users was stolen.

Cambodia was the only country that had been identified by Betfair, which is based in Britain, in connection with the security breach on March 14 last year, company spokesman Jonathan Lates said yesterday.

The attack was detected in May of last year, although users were not informed of the theft nor was the security breach mentioned in a pros-pectus before the company’s 1.39 billion pound (US$2.17 billion) initial public offering last October, according to English newspaper the Telegraph.

When reached by phone yesterday, officials at the National Information Communications Technology Development Authority were unaware the Kingdom had been named in the company’s report.

A proxy attack via a Cambodian server might have led Betfair to believe the attack had originated in the Kingdom, Cambodia-based information security consultant Bernard Alphonso said yesterday.

Computers in the Kingdom’s hundreds of internet cafes were highly infected with viruses and pirated software use was endemic, making it easy to launch attacks that originated in other countries but appeared to come from Cambodia, Alphonso said.

“Many computers here are infected and can be easily manipulated without the user knowing,” he said, adding that a general lack of internet security awareness among companies, the government and personal users made Cambodia a possible host, and target, of cyber crime.

Betfair’s claims come after the Post reported that 60 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals had been arrested in Cambodia last week over telephone scam allegations.

Human Rights Watch urges Khmer Rouge judges to quit over failings

Oct 3, 2011

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Judges investigating two new Khmer Rouge cases at Cambodia’s United Nations (UN)-backed war crimes tribunal have failed in their duties and should resign, a leading rights group said on Monday.

‘The Cambodian people have no hope of seeing justice for mass murder as long as these judges are involved,’ Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia director Brad Adams said, blaming political interference for an insufficient investigation.

New York-based HRW said the two judges, Cambodia’s You Bunleng and Germany’s Siegfried Blunk ‘have failed to conduct genuine, impartial, and effective investigations’ into alleged crimes by five ex-Khmer Rouge members.

‘It appears likely that both cases will be dropped without a serious investigation having taken place,’ it added.

Rights group: 2 Khmer Rouge judges should quit

2011-10-03
The Associated Press

A rights group demanded the resignation Monday of the two judges responsible for indictments at Cambodia’s tribunal on Khmer Rouge war crimes, alleging that they improperly halted investigations into further suspects.

The major New York-based group Human Rights Watch said in a statement that the two-judge indictment panel, comprising You Bunleng of Cambodia and Siegfried Blunk of Germany, had violated its duties by failing “to conduct genuine, impartial, and effective investigations” into suspects beyond the one convicted last year and four set for trial.

The group said justice could not be obtained as long as the two judges held their jobs.

Critics allege that the judges ended investigations prematurely in response to political pressure from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has openly opposed expanding the trials with additional indictments of former Khmer Rouge figures, some of whom have become his political allies.

Blunk has restrictions on what he can say publicly, but has insisted that he and You Bunleng “have worked independently from outside interference.”

The U.N.-backed tribunal is seeking justice for 1.7 million people who died of starvation, exhaustion, lack of medical care or torture during the communist Khmer Rouge’s time in power in the 1970s.

Tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen responded Monday to the Human Rights Watch statement by saying that You Bunleng and Blunk “will continue to perform their duties independently,” and that their decisions are subject to checks and balances that are part of the tribunal’s structure.

He added that no final decisions had yet been made on further indictments.

Controversy over the judge’s actions began in April, when they issued a “closing order” halting further investigation into suspects cited in documents known as Case 003. Human Rights Watch said a closing order was expected soon in Case 004.

3rd World Ecotourism Conference held in Cambodia

PREAH SIHANOUK, Cambodia, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) — Cambodia on Monday hosted the 3rd World Ecotourism Conference, aimed at developing Asia Pacific region as a leading ecotourism destination.

The three-day conference, under the theme “Charting the Future of Ecotourism in Asia: Asia will dominate global tourism in future, ” attracts some 300 governmental officials, tourism ministers, deputy ministers, ecotourism specialists, businessmen, representatives from national and international ecotourism associations and communities from 23 countries, mostly in Asia Pacific region.

“The conference will be a good opportunity to establish and boost relationship and cooperation on the development of ecotourism in the region in a sustainable and responsible manner,” said Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon at the opening ceremony.

“Also, it’s time to exchange the best experience and practice related to the ecotourism development in order to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of natural and environmental conservation.”

“In the future, we want to make the Asia Pacific become a leading attraction for the development and investment in ecotourism,” he added.

The minister said that at the end of the conference, there would be “Sihanoukville Declaration on Multilateral Cooperation for Ecotourism Development.”

The declaration would be submitted to the United Nations World Tourism Organization for the final approval.

“The declaration would be a roadmap for the ecotourism development in a sustainable and responsible manner in the whole Asia, particularly in Cambodia,” he said.

During the conference, there was also ecotourism exhibition with the participation of ecotourism communities and private investors in ecotourism with 23 booths.

Preah Sihanouk is a coastal province in southwestern Cambodia. It’s the country’s third most popular tourism destination after Siem Reap’s Angkor Wat temples and Phnom Penh.

54 Cambodian children die of dengue fever in 9 months

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) — Cambodia reported on Monday that some 54 Cambodian children had been killed by dengue fever in the first nine months of this year, compared to 37 kids dying of the disease in the whole year of 2010.

From January to September this year, some 12,392 cases of dengue fever had been reported with 54 children killed by the disease. The whole year 2010 reported only 5,497 cases, Ngan Chantha, director of dengue control at the Ministry of Health, said on Monday.

“This year’s rainy season has been plagued by floods, leading to more cases of the disease,” he said. “I would like to appeal to parents to let their children sleep under mosquito nets and if their kids have any symptom that is suspicious of the disease, they should urgently send them for medical attention.”

Dengue is caused by mosquitoes. The disease causes an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands and rash.

In Cambodia, the outbreak of dengue fever usually begins at the onset of the rainy season from May to October.

Landmines in Cambodia kill 27 and injure 92 this year

03 Oct 2011
Thin Lei Win

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – Landmines killed 27 people and injured 92 others in Cambodia in the first seven months of this year, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, citing government figures.

Two-thirds of the casualties were men. The overall number of victims decreased by a third compared to last year when 186 people were killed or wounded in the same period, it added.

Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, due to three decades of war and internal conflict which did not end until the late 1990s.

Xinhua said between 1979 and July 2011, landmines had killed more than 19,000 Cambodians and injured over 44,000.

Political Sacravatoons: "Paris Peace Agreement"

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

Ministers react to UN criticism of NGO Law

Friday, 30 September 2011
By Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

Government officials yesterday said criticisms of the draft NGO law made by United Nations Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi on Wednesday were out of date as significant modifications are being discussed for the “fourth generation” of the legislation. During a session at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, UN Special Rapporteur Surya Subedi flatly informed the Human Rights Council that the Cambodian Government should scrap the current version of the controversial draft law.

“The government should not to proceed with the draft NGO law in its present form,” he said.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday the criticisms were ill-directed as there was a fourth generation of the law that heeded advice from international organisations.

“International organisations have given a lot of advice, consultation with ministers has given a lot of modifications and the draft is now in the fourth generation,” he said.

The draft law has drawn strong criticism from NGOs in Cambodia and abroad that have slammed the legislation’s burdensome registration requirements and provisions they say allow the government to arbitrarily shut down organisations that fall foul of it.

They have also attacked the process of drafting the law, claiming the government has effectively shut them out from have any meaningful input on the legislation.

Government yet to deny authenticity of railway letter

Friday, 30 September 2011
By Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post

Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon has failed to respond to requests made almost two months ago about the authenticity of a letter in which he allegedly urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to ban foreign NGOs from doing advocacy work in Cambodia.

The ADB told the Post that it had written to Keat Chhon on August 9 raising concerns about the content of the controversial June 17 letter recommending that two NGOs critical of the US$144 million railway rehabilitation project it and AusAID are funding be shut down.

The letter also called for foreign nationals to be banned from involvement in Cambodian NGOs that do advocacy here and urged the Council of Ministers to speed up its review and implementation of the draft law on associations and NGOs.
Please click here to read more...

Charge for Chea Sim official

Friday, 30 September 2011y
By Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Senate President Chea Sim’s protocol chief was formally charged on Wednesday evening with fraud and producing fake public documents, an official said yesterday.

National Military Police chief Kheng Tito said that Kunthea Borey – one of five officials with links to Chea Sim who have been arrested recently – was charged based on information provided by the Senate president’s former bodyguard unit chief, Chhoeun Chanthan. He was arrested in August in connection with the same case.

“She [Kunthea Borey] was sent by police to detention at Prey Sar Prison awaiting further investigations and trial in the future,” he said.

Chea Sim’s former advisers Chan Kosal and Ponlork Ho together with former cabinet member Khieu Bora were arrested by officials on Friday and Sunday last week. They have also all been charged in connection with an alleged scam based on information from Chhoeun Chanthan.
Please click here to read more...

Young men face the brunt of land dispute

A woman holds a child in front of her house in Lor Peang village, in Kampong Chhnang province. Photo by: Derek Stout

A boy (right) who is almost at the age when he could be trafficked to Thailand for work, with his family in Lor Peang village. Photo by: Derek Stout

Keo Vannak, 49, participates in a protest outside the Kampong Chhnang provincial court earlier this month. Photo by: Derek Stout

Friday, 30 September 2011 12:01
May Titthara and Derek Stout
The Phnom Penh Post

I worry about them [my sons] all the time because I don’t know if they will survive or die

Kampong Chhnang province – In the once-thriving village of Lor Peang, in Kampong Tralach district, work is scarce and men of working age are even scarcer.

Villagers, locked in a bitter, high-profile land dispute for almost 10 years and unable to farm local fields, estimate 90 per cent of their sons have been trafficked to Thailand – where many work on fishing boats notorious for the ill-treatment of workers.

“I worry about them [my sons] all the time, because I don’t know if they will survive or die,” 56-year-old villager Khiev Boeun told the Post.

He faces a problem common to almost every parent in the Ta Ches commune village. Even boys as young as 13 are said to have been smuggled abroad.

“We don’t know who we can depend on any more,” Khiev Boeun said from outside the provincial court house, where the community was trying to file a complaint on September 15 in an attempt to regain the land.

“Our farmland was lost, and I haven’t received any news from my two sons since they went to work in Thailand in 2009.”

Please click here to read more...

Flooding death toll hits 105

A man poles his boat through floodwaters on the outskirts of Phnom Penh yesterday morning. (Photo by: Hong Menea)

Friday, 30 September 2011y
By Mom Kunthear and Thik Kaliyann
The Phnom Penh Post

We are worried about our temple...we did not see the Apsara Authority officials paying attention

The death toll from nationwide floods yesterday rose to 105 people, new government statistics revealed. The near month-long catastrophe has also threatened some 200,000 hectares of rice paddies.

Chief of Cabinet at the National Committee for Disaster Management Keo Vy confirmed yesterday that eight more people had died since the latest official count.

“There were 39 people who died [so far] in Prey Veng province and 32 people who died in Kampong Cham province,” he said.

Water levels on all of Cambodia’s major rivers have begun to recede but an estimated 200,000 hectares of paddies remain flooded, he added.
Please click here to read more...

Long Hours, Low Wages Hurt Working Voters: Unionist

Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union in Cambodia. (Photo: Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer)

Friday, 30 September 2011
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, D.C

“If all citizens or workers do not fulfill their duty, that means their exercise of rights is not acceptable.”

Sok Khemara hosts Hello VOA on 29 September, 2011
http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf
Download: MP3

A leading union representative says Cambodian workers need help organizing ahead of polls as the country gears up for local elections next year.

Election processes are difficult for factory laborers because of the amount of days and hours they work and the low wages they earn, Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, told “Hello VOA” Thursday.

“We have all obviously seen that workers’ wages are very low…so they need to work overtime to fulfill all the tasks in feeding their lives each month,” he said. Their low earnings plus the high costs of transportation make it hard for them to register and to vote, he said.

“For that reason, the [National Election Committee] should expand and ease mechanisms, set up places for workers to check their names and register to vote at stations near their work, to make it easier for them to exercise their rights as citizens and help them save money,” he said.

The garment industry, one of Cambodia’s key earners, employs more than 300,000 workers, most of them young women from poor, rural communities. The long hours and weeks they work make it hard for them to undertake bureaucratic tasks, such as obtaining official identification cards and many come from villages far distant from the capital or other cities where the jobs are.

Chea Mony said they must be helped if they are to vote “and show their will for which political party they like.”

“If all citizens or workers do not fulfill their duty, that means their exercise of rights is not acceptable,” he said.

It will be up to the National Election Committee or outside organizations to help workers check voter registries and to vote near their workplaces, he said.

“I want [the election committee] to improve the understanding of the workers, and I especially want workers to be able to vote at places near them,” he said, adding that the UN-sponsored elections in 1993 allowed people to vote from wherever they were at the time. Currently, Cambodians must vote near their homes, where they are registered.

Meanwhile, severe flooding across the country during this year’s registration period will likely mean less workers will register or correct their names on registries, Chea Mony said. Many of those who are allowed three days off to register cannot do so, since travel times are slow, requiring up to five days round trip, he said.

Voter registration, which began Sept. 1, will end Oct. 15, with commune elections slated for March 3, 2012. Those will be followed by national elections next year.

Cambodia: Mekong Floods Kill 150

September 30, 2011
REUTERS

At least 150 people have died in Cambodia and southern Vietnam in the worst flooding along the Mekong River in 11 years, after heavy rain swamped homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Most of the deaths have been in Cambodia, where 141 people have died since Aug. 13.

Flood death toll rises to 141 in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — At least 141 people were reported dead in the Mekong River and flash floods hitting Cambodia since last month, according to the report of the National Committee for Disaster Management on Friday.

The interim report recorded that from August 13 to September 29, the flash and Mekong River floods have inundated 15 cities and provinces and had killed 141 people. Of the figure, Prey Veng province has the highest death toll of 39 people, Kampong Cham has 32 deaths, Kampong Thom, 22, and Kratie, 19.

Besides human life claims, the floods have affected 173,063 people and forced another 17,273 people evacuated for higher grounds. Also, 130,220 homes have been inundated.

The report said that about 269,953 hectares of rice paddies have been affected and another 61,473 hectares were completely damaged.

About 817 schools and 358 Buddhist pagodas have been submerged and some 100 kilometers of national roads were affected, it said.

Landmines kill 27 Cambodians in 7 months

September 30, 2011

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) — Cambodia on Friday reported 119 landmine casualties in the first seven months of this year.

Of the casualties, 27 people were killed and other 92 were injured, according to the report from the Cambodian Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Victim Information System.

The report showed that the casualties represented the decrease of 36 percent compared with the same period last year of 186 casualties reported.

It recorded that 74 percent of the victims were men, 19 percent were boys, and 7 percent were women and girls.

Since 1979 to July 2011, landmines had killed 19,603 people and injured 44,322 others.

Cambodia is one of the worst countries suffered from mines in the world as the results of nearly three decades of war and internal conflict from the mid 1960s until the end of 1998.

Cambodia’s five most mine-laid provinces are Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin and Preah Vihear.

Cambodia expected to commute two Thai activists’ prison sentences: Thai gov’t spokesperson

BANGKOK, Sept 30 (MCOT online news) – The Cambodian government is expected to commute the prison sentences of two Thai activists detained in Phnom Penh for espionage, a Thai government spokesperson said on Friday.

A Cambodian court on Feb 1 ruled that Veera Somkwamkid, a coordinator of Thailand’s Patriots Network, and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, were guilty of espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone.

Mr Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term. Their petitions seeking a royal pardon were rejected as the Cambodian government asserted the two must serve two-thirds of their jail terms first.

The Phnom Penh Post earlier reported a possible prisoner exchange between Thailand and Cambodia.

Thai government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng confirmed that Thai Defence Minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa had raised the idea of a prisoner transfer with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during his recent visit to the neighbouring country.

The transfer however was understood as being not possible given that the pair must serve one-third of their assigned jail terms. Moreover, the case was a serious crime concerning security threat which makes prisoner transfers impossible, Ms Thitima said.

“It was expected that the Cambodian government might consider commuting jail terms for the two Thai activists on the upcoming special occasion to mark the birthday anniversary of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, father of King Norodom Sihamoni, which falls on Oct 31,” the government spokesperson said.

“The government wants to secure the release of Mr Veera and Ms Ratree as soon as possible,” Ms Thitima stated.

Thailand mulls asking Cambodia to transfer two detained Thai activists

BANGKOK, Sept 30 (MCOT online news) – Thailand is considering asking Cambodia to transfer two Thai activists detained in the neighbouring country for espionage to serve out their jail terms in their own homeland, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

Thai government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng made the statement following a report in Phnom Penh Post about possible prisoner swap between Thailand and Cambodia.

Ms Thitima said the government is now mulling over asking Cambodia to transfer Veera Somkwamkid, coordinator of Thailand’s Patriots Network, and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, now in a Cambodian jail on spying charges and illegal entry.

She said the idea was floated during the recent visit of Thai Defence Minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa to the neighbouring country and that the law on the transfer of prisoners has been enforced since 2009 but on condition that the prisoners must serve out one-third of their jail terms.

For royal pardon, the prisoners must serve two-thirds of their assigned jail term, so it depends on the Cambodian government as to how it will proceed with the Thai request, the spokesperson said.

Ms Thitima added there is also a possibility that the prisoners’ jail term will be reduced on Cambodian special occasions to one-third before being transferred to Thailand.

“The government wants to secure the release of Mr Veera and Ms Ratree as soon as possible,” she stated.

The Phnom Penh Post earlier quoted Ms Thitima as saying prisoner exchanges between Phnom Penh and Bangkok could take place “very soon” and that the Thai Ministry of Justice had begun examining in detail how to circumvent existing legal impediments.

A Cambodian court on Feb 1 ruled that the pair were guilty of espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone. Mr Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term. Their petitions seeking a royal pardon were rejected as the Cambodian government asserted the two must serve two-thirds of their jail terms first.

Prisoner swap ‘likely’ for Veera, Ratree

30/09/2011
Bangkok Post

Thai Patriots Network activist Veera Somkwankid and his secretary Ratree Pipattanapaiboon may be released through a prisoner exchange programme, Defence Minster Yutthasak Sasiprapa said on Friday.

Gen Yutthasak said the matter was raised when he went to Cambodia for a visit and met Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen said during the meeting that when Somsak Kiatsuranond called on him on Sept 20 the House speaker told him that there were also 37 other Thais imprisoned in Cambodia.

Gen Yutthasak said the Cambodian prime minister said that that from Mr Somsak’s comment he believed a prisoner exchange programme was possible in the case of Veera and Ratree and asked him to convey his suggestion to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, he said.

PM Yingluck made an official visit to Cambodia on Sept 15.

Hun Sen suggested that Ms Yingluck instruct the Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs ministries to coordinate with their Cambodian counterparts for further consultations, Gen Yutthasak said.

The defence minister said he did not know if Veera and Ratree would still have to serve their remaining jail terms after being transferred to Thailand.

He said he would meet Hun Sen again at the General Border Meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.