Kamnap:”Kmean A-vei Plaek Te” by NhiekKiri

ឯណាទៅយុត្តិធម៌ (Where is the justice)? – By V. Seng Onn

Cambodians in bid to escape Thai boats

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

A desperate group of Cambodian men have made calls to their families from Indonesia asking for help to escape from forced labour aboard exploitative Thai fishing boats.

The families of 14 men from Trea commune in Kampong Thom province’s Stoung district filed a complaint to rights group Licadho yesterday pleading for help to repatriate their loved ones.

Gnan Van, 33, said yesterday that her husband Yean Phean called her while docking at an Indonesian island on Sunday pleading for help to escape a fishing boat owner who made him work “night and day” and paid no salary.

“I’ve missed my husband for two years. Since [late] 2009, I did not get any news from him,” she said. “I just got his phone call yesterday, he asked me to ask NGOs to help him and other people back to Cambodia.”

Her husband, along with 13 others, crossed into Thailand from Banteay Meanchey’s Malai district in December 2009 with a broker to work as pig farmers in Thailand despite her warnings about the risks of migrant work.

“I got some news about illegal border crossings to work in Thailand or Malaysia but my husband did not listen to me,” she said.

Oun Pheap, 59, said her son Sok Ly also ignored her when she warned him about the risks of travelling to Thailand with a broker.

“I told my son, ‘Don’t believe people who urge you to work in Thailand,’ but he did not listen to me, he just said to me that he can earn a lot of money working in Thailand,” she said.

Chhoung Run, Licadho’s Banteay Meanchey provincial coordinator, said yesterday’s complaint was the second he had received in relation to the case.

“[A court official] already sent this case to the head office for them to contact our embassy in Indonesia to help them,” he said.

Mao Naream, a consular affairs official at the Cambodian embassy in Indonesia, said he was unaware of the case but would look into it.

More than 100 Cambodian men have been rescued from Indonesia, Malaysia and Mauritius since December after they were trafficked onto fishing boats in Thailand.

SRP says vote-buying fine not nearly enough

SRP MP Tioulong Saumura following her senate vote (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

A Cambodian People’s Party member found guilty of attempted vote-buying in last Monday’s Senate election had been let off too lightly with a fine and should face legal action, an opposition Sam Rainsy Party councillor said yesterday.

At a hearing of the Battambang Provincial Election Commission last week, CPP member Cheam Pe A was fined US$1,230 after he was caught on tape offering SRP Tuol Ta Ek commune councillor Mok Ra $700 to cast his vote for the ruling party.

SRP Battambang provincial council member Chea Chiv said he would appeal against the decision, insisting the National Election Committee should pursue Cheam Pe A in the courts and temporarily remove his right to vote.

“We received the decision of the PEC, but we request that the NEC add punishments against Mr Cheam Pe A, deleting his name from the voter registry for five years,” he said.

CPP member Run Thel, who can also allegedly be heard speaking in the taped conversation with Mok Ra, should also face penalties, Chea Chiv said.

Cheam Pe A could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer, Ham Mony, said his client had accepted the PEC’s decision and would pay the fine.

“I have already discussed with my client about this case. So I have decided not to appeal any more. The PEC has already decided, and we will comply according to this decision,” Ham Mony said.

In the lead-up to Monday’s Senate election, the SRP repeatedly made allegations that CPP members were paying money to secure votes from opposition councillors or convince them to defect.

On Friday last week, three SRP commune councillors from Kandal province defected to the CPP, citing a lack of democratic structure and disregard of members as the factors that led to their decisions.

As expected, the CPP dominated the Senate election, with preliminary results from the NEC suggesting they had won 46 of 57 contested seats, although the SRP has hailed the result as victory for the party after increasing its standing from two seats to 11.

Lawyer chided over 004 references

Michiel Pestman (R) (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

A lawyer for former Khmer Rouge Brother No 2 Nuon Chea yesterday named two suspects in the court’s fourth case while cross-examining a witness in Case 002, prompting the Trial Chamber to order him to suspend his line of questioning.

Michiel Pestman, co-defence counsel for Nuon Chea, asked 67-year-old former district secretary Prak Yut about previous testimony in which she named fellow former members of the “Sector 35 committee” in Kampot province.

Prak Yut repeated some of the names, stating that one among them was still alive, before then testifying that all the members had died.

Pestman asked whether one of the suspects in the fourth case was a former committee member, to which Prak Yut testified that he was.

“Why do you always forget to include his name when people ask you about the committee members in Sector 35?” Pestman enquired.

Trial Chamber president Nil Nonn interjected when Pestman asked Prak Yut whether she was aware of Case 004 – which is still under investigation – stating that she was not required to answer the question.

When Pestman persisted, he was told by the Trial Chamber to confine his questioning to facts concerning the first “mini-trial” in Case 002. Senior assistant co-prosecutor Dale Lysak called Pestman’s questions “entirely inappropriate”.

Pestman told the Post yesterday the defence suspected that Prak Yut knew the government “does not want Case 004″, and they should be permitted to ask questions if it “goes to the credibility of the witness”.

Under questioning from Judge Silvia Cartwright, Prak Yut said that she had not been threatened or told to be careful about what she said in court.

In the past, government officials have publicly indicated opposition to prosecutions beyond Case 002.

Court observers said yesterday that although the suspects’ names had been reported, they remained technically confidential, and the suspects had still not been assigned legal counsel.

“Nobody is looking out for their rights in these proceedings,” Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said.

“The court is not following regular procedure in cases 003 and 004, and that’s creating these dilemmas.”

When asked whether Pestman could be subject to sanction under court rules, Clair Duffy, a tribunal monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, said this was a “matter for the chamber”.

“The rule is that any defence counsel should be able to raise any issue about a witness’s credibility,” Duffy said.

“The question is, should they ask to go into closed sessions before they do that?”

Meanwhile, under questioning from the prosecution yesterday, Nuon Chea testified that the party’s central committee “did not think about” how many residents were hospitalised at the time of the evacuation of Phnom Penh in 1975.

“Everyone was evacuated, so those people who were strong they needed to help the poor and those who have the cars or the pushcarts can assist those who did not,” Nuon Chea said.

Vallier took his own life

Laurent Vallier (above) and the bodies of his four children were found in a car submerged behind their house earlier this month. (Photo Supplied)

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Preliminary police investigations indicate that suicide was the cause of death for French national Laurent Vallier, whose remains were found alongside his four children’s in Kampong Speu province earlier this month, Cambodia’s national police spokesman said yesterday.

Police spokesman Kirt Chantarith said that police had found no signs of foul play, but believe Vallier deliberately drove himself and his children into the pond near his house where all five bodies were found.

“At his house, no property had been touched, everything was in order,” Kirt Chantarith said, adding that the only interference was the removal of an urn containing Vallier’s wife’s ashes, which was discovered inside the car after it was hauled out of the nearby pond.

“The car doors were locked and the car was found in third gear,” Kirt Chantarith said.

“Police cannot say if Laurent had drugs in his system, but they suspect the children were drugged before they were placed in the car.

“Police have concluded he likely drove the car into the pond himself, as there are no other footprints leading away from where the car was found.”

French Embassy first councillor Dominique Mas told the Post the French police team investigating the death has left Cambodia after drafting a preliminary joint report with a group of Cambodian experts.

“Since there is a legal investigation which is currently (being) carried out, the French embassy will not make any comment on it and about the various inputs of this investigation,” Mas said via email.

“The French embassy urges the national authorities to carry on with the important efforts they have been doing in order to clarify the causes of these deaths which plunge our two, Cambodian and French, communities into mourning.”

Mas said French authorities had conducted autopsy examinations and had taken DNA samples back to France for further examination.

A French investigating judge had been assigned to the case and Vallier’s family would participate in proceedings as civil parties, he said.

Provincial police deputy chief Sam Sa Moun said he could not comment on the causes of death. “We have to await results from the French authorities,” he said. A villager found Vallier, 42, with his two daughters and two sons, aged between two and 11, on January 14.

Old-school graft: Official says teachers paid while on leave

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Tep Nimol
The Phnom Penh Post

The Ministry of Education was ignoring a complaint that some school directors in Kampong Cham province were paying teachers who had taken unpaid leave, an education official said yesterday.

Try Sokleang, vice-director of the education office in Batheay district, said he had lodged a complaint with the ministry a year ago because he was aware of corruption involving 10 teachers.

Hun Sen Batheay, Hun Sen Sandaek, Hun Sen Cherng Chhnok and Hor Namhong Prey Ngea high schools in Batheay district were still paying the teachers, despite them having taken leave and set up businesses, he said.

“Their names remain on the payroll and, because they have conspired with their school directors, it is hidden from the education department,” he said.

Cher Sanghour, school director of Hun Sen Batheay high school, denied the allegations, while other school directors were unavailable for comment.

Soun Sokhom, vice-director of the education department in Kampong Cham, said the department would investigate the case.

Soy Sopheap will skip defamation hearing

Soy Sopheap (C)

TV pundit will skip defamation hearing

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Television personality and website owner Soy Sopheap will not attend a scheduled court hearing this morning to answer charges that he defamed another media personality early last year and breached his privacy by accessing private emails, his lawyer said yesterday.

The hearing against Soy Sopheap, a high-profile TV pundit and operator of popular news website Deum Ampil Media Centre, will begin at Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning, deputy prosecutor Hor Lina told the Post.

Soy Sopheap was sued by Touch Kongkea, managing editor of Nokorwat newspaper, on April 28 last year, Hor Lina said.

Chan Vicheth, Touch Kongkea’s lawyer, said that his client was seeking US$5,000 in compensation for defamation and breach of privacy. He accused Soy Sopheap of defaming his client by saying Touch Kongkea had threatened to have him arrested, and that the accused had also accessed his client’s private emails.

“My client has asked the court to punish Soy Sopheap by the law, and also ask for $5,000 in compensation from him,” Chan Vicheth said.

His client will not attend Soy Sopheap’s trial, he said.

Soy Sopheap declined to comment, referring questions to his lawyer, Kouy Thunna, who said his client was innocent and the charges against him baseless.

Soy Sopheap will not attend his hearing, Kouy Thunna added.

Soy Sopheap faced another defamation charge early last year. Former Constitutional Council member Son Soubert filed a complaint against him for allegedly defaming his father.

Soy Sopheap made a public apology and the complaint was withdrawn.

Khmer Rouge court unable to pay Cambodian salaries

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal has run out of money to pay the wages of hundreds of workers as contributions from donor countries have dried up, a court spokesman said on Tuesday.

None of the more than 300 Cambodians working at the tribunal, from judges to drivers, will be paid this month and may not receive their salaries in February and March either, said Neth Pheaktra.

“We have no money,” he told AFP, adding that some judges and prosecutors had not been paid since October.

The funding shortfall does not affect the more than 130 international employees at the war crimes court, whose wages are paid by the United Nations.

Cambodian salaries are paid through voluntary contributions from donor nations such as Japan, France and Australia.

“It affects morale at the court,” said Neth Pheaktra. “The people depend on their salaries to support their families and it’s not good to go without pay.”

The court, set up in 2006 to find justice for the deaths of up to two million people during the Khmer Rouge’s 1975-1979 rule, is perpetually cash-strapped but this is thought to be longest period of non-payment to date.

The financial woes come as the UN and Cambodia are locked in a very public standoff over the appointment of a new foreign judge who wants to probe two possible new cases that are strongly opposed by the government.

The tribunal has long been dogged by allegations of political meddling and has also been criticised for proceeding too slowly, adding to donor reluctance to stump up more cash, say observers.

Court officials will travel to New York in February to meet with donor countries to discuss the court’s budget for 2012-2013, according to Neth Pheaktra.

“We hope the donor countries can provide urgent funding for our staff,” he said, adding that the Cambodian side of the court would likely need around $10 million in foreign contributions in 2012, similar to last year.

The court, which has spent around $150 million since it was set up in 2006, has so far completed just one trial, sentencing a former prison chief to 30 years in jail. An appeal verdict in that case is expected on Friday.

A second trial involving the regime’s three most senior surviving leaders is ongoing.

Japanese firms undertake oil exploration study in northern Cambodia

January 31, 2012

PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) — Two Japanese oil firms began seismic acquisition studies in Cambodia on Tuesday to explore for oil and gas reserves in three northern provinces.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said the state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. and Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. started the seismic acquisition operation in Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear Province.

The operation will be conducted in a total area of 6,500 square kilometers in Preah Vihear, Siem Reap and Kompong Thom provinces, Phay Siphan said.

JOGMEC Executive Director Akira Suzuki told Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in a meeting Monday that the operation will roughly take four months to complete, according to a Cambodian official who attended the meeting.

JOGMEC has performed airborne magnetic and gravity surveys in Cambodia since 1996. Seismic acquisition interpretation is one of the first steps of oil and gas exploration.

Japan's firm launches onshore oil, gas exploration in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Japan's state-affiliated Japanese Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) on Tuesday started the seismic acquisition operation for oil and gas exploration in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, said a government official.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the JOGMEC would drill 6,000 holes, each has a 6-milimeter diameter and up to a depth of 20 meters for the four-month seismic survey in the province.

Preah Vihear province, situated some 500 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, is home to more than 200 ancient temples including Preah Vihear temple, one of the world heritage sites.

Ho Vichit, vice-chairman of Cambodian National Petroleum Authority, said the seismic acquisition operation is one of the first steps of oil and gas exploration study and the operation will not have any impact on the environment and natural cultural sites.

"The start of the seismic survey in block 17 reflects foreign trust on Cambodia's investment environment and it is a new success for Cambodia towards the development of oil and gas sector," he said in a speech during the launching of the seismic study in the province's Tbeng Meanchey district on Tuesday.

Oil production delayed

Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Tom Brennan
The Phnom Penh Post

The Kingdom’s much-hyped deadline of tapping its first oil reserves by December 12, 2012 – or 12-12-12 – will not be met, a government spokesman said yesterday.

Chevron Overseas Petroleum (Cambodia) Ltd, which is now exploring the Kingdom’s offshore Block A in the Gulf of Thailand, has notified the Cambodian government that no oil extraction would take place this year, the spokesman said.

“2012 is not possible,” Ek Tha, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said yesterday by phone.

A representative from Chevron early this month met with the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority to deliver the news, he said, though the reasons for the decision were not discussed.

Ek Tha would not disclose the name of the Chevron representative, although Chevron Overseas Petroleum (Cambodia)’s current president is Steve Glick, who arrived in Phnom Penh last April.

While a new tentative schedule was raised at the meeting, neither party was ready to announce a new deadline for oil production in the Kingdom, Ek Tha said.

The Cambodian government and Chevron plan to release a joint statement on the status of Block A and their partnership sometime in the first quarter, according to Ek Tha.

When asked if the Cambodian government was frustrated by the delay, as Prime Minister Hun Sen at one point had threatened to cancel Chevron’s contract if oil was not produced by 12-12-12, Ek Tha said both parties remained committed to extracting oil from Block A.

“We want to have oil produced as quickly as we can, but we have to work with Chevron as a partner,” he said.

“We want the oil and gas to come out to serve the social development of Cambodia, and the Cambodian people want to see that happen.”

Gareth Johnston, Chevron International Pte Ltd’s Asia Pacific media advisor based in Singapore, responded to questions yesterday by email, saying: “We are continuing to work with the Royal Government of Cambodia to move the Block A project towards a final investment decision.”

He did not answer questions about Chevron’s meeting with the Cambodian government, what prompted the delay or when the company expects to produce oil in Block A.

Chevron (Cambodia)’s Steve Glick told the Post in August that the company believed Block A was financially viable, though “relatively small”.

He also noted that Block A was technically changing to drill. The block’s oil is spread out among smaller pools, rather than one large reservoir, making it harder to reach, Glick said.

While he would not at the time provide details of any potential production of Block A, he did say that Chevron had drilled 18 wells and invested US$160 million exploring the area.

“Technically, Chevron’s ready to go … And we’re working through the remaining issues with CNPA with the target of getting a final investment decision this year,” Glick said at the time.

Mekong Unquiet Over Contain China Moves

Analysis by Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jan 31, 2012 (IPS) – Six countries that share the Mekong River are being drawn into a development turf war, exposing initiatives by the United States government and its Asian allies – Japan and South Korea – to contain China’s growing influence in the region.

Unquiet looms up as the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) celebrates the 20th anniversary of its flagship Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) development programme, which, since its launch in 1992 has attracted close to 14 billion dollars in investments.

The Manila-based international financial institution hopes that its new ‘Strategic Framework for 2012-2022′ will broaden the sub-regional benefits under the GMS for Burma (or Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China’s Yunnan province and the Guangxi autonomous region.

“The Chinese government values the GMS programme. It is another way for the central government to strengthen its multilateral engagement in the region,” Yushu Feng, senior economist for regional cooperation at the AsDB, said at a recent media workshop for journalists from the region. “China will be hosting the GMS ministerial meeting this year.”

It is a sentiment shared in a commentary in the English language ‘China Daily’ newspaper to mark the “golden development” during the first 20 years of the GMS, where over 220 projects in the areas of transport, energy, telecommunication, environment, agriculture and tourism were launched on terrain once divided by wars,

“These initiatives have brought real benefits to the people in the area and contributed significantly to local economic growth and poverty reduction, paving the way for a prosperous, integrated and harmonious sub-region,” the paper remarked as the AsDB readies a new ten-year development blueprint.

Regional affinity through the Mekong has been pivotal for China’s deepening ties with the larger, more politically and economically significant regional bloc – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, in addition to the GMS countries.

But, there are other international players on the block and they include the U.S. government’s Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), the Japan-Mekong Partnership Programme and the South Korea-Mekong development cooperation.

For development analysts monitoring progress in the Mekong region, these new initiatives do more than challenge the monopoly enjoyed by the AsDB through its GMS programme. They have geopolitical implications since China has been excluded from a seat at the table.

“Japan’s growing development role in the Mekong region since 2007 was an independent initiative of the Japanese foreign ministry,” says Toshiyuki Doi, senior advisor to Mekong Watch, a Japanese non-governmental organisation. “Their main focus was on China – to exclude China.”

“The foreign ministry was nervous about China becoming bigger and bigger in the region,” he explained to IPS. “They had to cook up something to get involved to check China’s increasing influence.”

While Japan pledged to put in close to 6.5 billion dollars in development assistance from 2009-2012 to strengthen trade and infrastructure from the eastern to the western end of the region, South Korea made an entry in October last year with a development blueprint aimed at reviving railway transport in the Mekong.

Warming ties with Washington have earned Burma entry into the U.S. government’s LMI. During her December visit to the Southeast Asian nation, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton invited Burma to join the LMI, which has set its sights on environment, health, education and infrastructure development through annual assistance worth over 220 million dollars.

Such competition has raised concerns about an inevitable clash of interests. “We are witnessing power play and there is a danger of overlapping agendas,” says Ruth Banmonyong, director at the Centre for Logistics Research at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. “The interest of the Mekong countries should be a priority in these efforts to counterbalance China.”

“It is okay to have all these various initiatives, but the problem is coordination,” the Mekong logistics specialist told IPS. “We don’t want to see duplication.”

Even senior government figures prefer cooperation than competition. “We think that partnerships between the Mekong sub-region and bigger countries would help,” Thai foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told IPS. “I don’t think there should be competition… the sub-region needs help.”

Standing to gain from cooperation are 60 million people living in the lower basin of the Mekong, which begins its 4,660 km- long journey from the Tibetan plateau, snakes through Yunnan province and Burma, before touching Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before emptying out into the South China Sea off southern Vietnam.

Economic cooperation under GMS has seen the gross domestic product in the sub-region hit an annual average of nearly eight percent, “while real per capita incomes more than tripled between 1993 and 2010,” states the regional bank.

But geopolitics is not the only reason that sets the new Mekong initiatives apart from the older venture of the AsDB. Even the projects approved by the new development partners reveal an aid culture different from the GMS.

“The AsDB is seen as an honest broker and its agenda is the agenda of the GMS countries,” remarks Yushu, the bank’s economist. “But when Japan comes in, it is with Japan’s agenda, and when the U.S. comes in, it is with the U.S. agenda.”

Police general accused of beating bank employee in Cambodia

Jan 30, 2012
DPA

Phnom Penh – An irate police general allegedly beat a bank employee with a mobile phone in Cambodia after the worker refused to cash a cheque, national media reported Monday.

Representatives from Canadia Bank in the western city of Poipet filed a complaint against Major General Sok Lihuoth, accusing him of intentional violence, the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported.

The officer allegedly became enraged after the bank employee had declined his wife’s request to cash a cheque worth more than 14,000 dollars on Thursday. The cheque had been made out to him.

Keang Keatly said the officer hit him on the head with a phone and yelled: ‘Do you know who I am?’

A bank official said there was video of the incident. A provincial military police commander said the major general had fled.

Cambodia to import oil from Iran

Mon Jan 30, 2012
PressTV

The government of Cambodia has announced that it is planning to import and refine oil from Iran in clear defiance of recent US sanctions on Iranian oil imports.

“Cambodia will not take into account the foreign policies of other countries toward Iran when considering investment in the Kingdom,” spokesman of Cambodia’s Council of Ministers Ek Tha said yesterday.

“We do not discriminate where our FDI [foreign direct investment] comes from,” he said, adding that the deepening of cooperation with Iran was strictly civilian, not military, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

According to Ek Tha, Cambodia is planning to refine crude oil that it imports from Iran at a local refinery whose construction will begin within a few months, and then sell refined products to China and South Korea starting in 2014.

Construction of Cambodia’s first oil refinery, located on 365 hectares in Sihanoukville and Kampot provinces, will begin in April and finish in 2014.

Tehran and Phnom Penh signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on oil and gas projects last year.

Reacting to the announcement, spokesman for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, Sean McIntosh, said members of the United Nations shouldn’t ignore US policy toward Iran.

“We expect all UN members to strictly enforce UN [Security Council] relations and to consider carefully the impact of new US regulations when considering engaging in economic activity with Iran,” he added.

The US President Barack Obama signed into law new sanctions against Iran which seek to penalize other countries for importing Iran’s oil or doing transactions with the country’s central bank. The European Union also approved new sanctions against Iran’s oil and financial sectors on January 23, which will cut off crude oil imports from Iran on July 1.

The United States, Israel and their European allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to impose four rounds of international and a series of unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has a right to use nuclear technology for peaceful use.

Kingdom considers oil imports from Iran

Monday, 30 January 2012
Sieam Bunthy and Don Weinland with additional reporting by Reuters
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia plans to import and refine oil from Iran, a spokesman from the Council of Ministers has said, just one among several proposed forms of strengthened co-operation between the two countries.

The announcement comes at a time when the United States and European Union have approved some of the toughest sanctions yet against the Islamic country.

Cambodian officials have maintained that the Kingdom will take foreign direct investment from all interested nations.

The US Embassy in Phnom Penh said yesterday that it expected all United Nations members to take into consideration US regulations when dealing with Iran.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Iranian Ambassador Seyed Javad Ghavam Shahidi agreed on Thursday to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, Council of Ministers spokesman Ek Tha said yesterday.

Among the proposed economic activity were oil imports from Iran, which would be refined in Cambodia and then sold to China starting in 2014, Ek Tha had said at a press conference on Thursday.

Construction on Cambodia’s first oil refinery, located on 365 hectares in Sihanoukville and Kampot provinces, will begin in April and finish in 2014, the Post reported last month.

Domestically owned Cambodian Petrochemical Company, China National Automation Control System Corporation and China’s Sino March Company will invest US$2 billion in the refinery.

Cambodia Petrochemical’s Han Kheang said yesterday that he has met with the Iranian ambassador twice to discuss the oil imports.

Other proposed economic cooperation between the two countries included agricultural exports to Iran, as well as Iranian investments in medicine and education in Cambodia, Ek Tha said.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on oil and gas projects last year, he said.

The United States and European Union imposed sanctions this month that would cut off crude oil exports from Iran on July 1. The move came on the longstanding concern that Iran’s nuclear programme is aimed at developing weapons.

Iranian lawmakers yesterday were set to vote on a ban on exports to the EU in retaliation to the sanctions. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tehran yesterday in the hopes of resolving questions surrounding the country’s nuclear programme.

Cambodia will not take into account the foreign policies of other countries toward Iran when considering investment in the Kingdom, Ek Tha said.

“We do not discriminate where our FDI comes from,” he said via phone, adding that the deepening of cooperation with Iran was strictly civilian, not military.

“Some Western countries put economic sanctions on [Cambodia] after we toppled the Pol Pot regime. We have learned some hard lessons about the damage of sanctions, so we will keep our economy open.”

Sean McIntosh, spokesman for the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, said members of the United Nations shouldn’t ignore US policy toward Iran.

“We expect all UN members to strictly enforce UN [Security Council] relations and to consider carefully the impact of new US regulations when considering engaging in economic activity with Iran,” he said in an email yesterday.

Iran has refused to address the international community’s concerns about its nuclear programme, McIntosh said, citing a recent statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Although an increase in economic activity between Cambodia and Iran could draw negative attention from the West, Cambodia has never appeared to violate UN sanctions, Carlyle Thayer, a political science professor at the University of New South Wales, said via email yesterday.

“Cambodia’s relations with North Korea and Iran would of course attract scrutiny from the US and other Western countries because of UN sanctions. But there is no hint that Cambodia is violating these sanctions in its relations with Iran or North Korean,” he said.

A North Korean delegation arrived in Phnom Penh in July to discuss strengthening economic and trade relations with Cambodia, the Post reported last year.

UN rights office and government sign pact

Former Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia. (Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post)

Monday, 30 January 2012
Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post

As expected, the government has extended by two years its agreement with the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for it to have a presence here, the rights body announced late on Friday.

The government and OHCHR signed “a memorandum of understanding extending the technical cooperation program for human rights in the country by both parties for another two years”, OHCHR said in a press release.

Early last year, there had been some speculation that the government would not renew its MoU with the rights body. This followed calls the previous year from Prime Minister Hun Sen that it be shut and its then country representative, Christophe Peschoux, be expelled for “acting as a spokesman for the opposition”.

Peschoux left Cambodia last May, saying his departure was voluntary.

The MoU expired on December 31. The new one took effect on January 1, the press release said.

It did not say whether there had been any changes in its terms, and UN staff have been tight lipped when asked about possible changes to them.

Ek Tha, spokesman for the Council of Ministers and deputy director of its press department, said the new MoU reaffirmed that the government “respects human rights” and “follows the path of democracy”.

“This extension of two years sends a very positive message to the international community, including the stakeholders and foreign investors that we are a democratic government,” he said.

Although there had been some “misunderstanding” with NGOs critical of the government in the past, Cambodia is “a haven, a paradise for NGOs”, he added. “We regard them as friends, not foes,” he stressed.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said negotiations over the MoU lasted more than six months. Although he had not seen the new one he was confident it had not been watered down. “I’m pretty sure [staff at the rights office] would not accept the MoU unless it allowed them to do their jobs,” he said.

SRP touts senate gains

Officials count votes for the national senate election yesterday at a polling station in a school in the capital’s Boeung Trabek commune. (Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post)

Monday, 30 January 2012
Meas Sokchea and David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

The Sam Rainsy Party was celebrating unofficial senate election results yesterday, claiming to have increased its number of seats in the upper house from two to 11 despite the incumbent government winning an overwhelming majority of the preliminary ballot results.

Early results showed the SRP had won 21.93 per cent of the vote. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party dominated as expected, with 77.81 per cent after initial polling by the National Election Committee ahead of official results to be announced on Saturday.

Fifty-seven of the 61 seats in the Cambodian senate are being contested in the election. Two of the remaining four will be appointed by the legislative house of parliament, the National Assembly, and the others by King Norodom Sihamoni.

In a vote derided by some analysts and observers as undemocratic because its participants are limited to commune-council members rather than the public, the SRP last night claimed a modicum of success.

From France, where he lives in self-imposed exile after a spate of criminal convictions in Cambodia, Sam Rainsy hailed the result as a brilliant success that was particularly meaningful because in this ballot, the SRP was pitted solely against the CPP.

“Even though the election system and the broadcast media remain very biased toward the CPP . . . if we are still there and we not only maintain our presence but increase it from two to 11 when the current is against us, we must be very strong to swim against the current,” he said.

“The CPP tried to buy us like hell. They have the power of money. In a poor country like Cambodia, another party would have disintegrated,” Sam Rainsy said, referring to several alleged and one confirmed attempt by their political rivals to buy SRP votes.

But in an election uncontested by all other opposition groups including Funcinpec, the Norodom Ranariddh Party and the Human Rights Party, others were less upbeat about the SRP’s gains.

Son Soubert, an outspoken government critic and high privy councillor to King Norodom Sihamoni, said the preliminary results suggested the party had not fully absorbed the void left by the absence of other opposition contenders.

“Well, it’s not a bad result, but it’s not enough, because the HRP did not register any candidates, but instead told their members to vote in favour of the SRP. [The SRP] should have gotten more,” he said.
“If they could have 20 seats or something like that, it would be an occasion to rejoice,” he said.

In Cambodia’s bicameral parliament, senators, who serve six-year terms, play a largely advisory role through committees. The senate has no power to veto or even add amendments to legislation from the National Assembly.

Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said he was not worried about SRP gains, pointing out that his party still held a two-thirds majority in the senate and the National Assembly.

“This result is normal, but CPP has still won a landslide number,” Cheam Yeap said.

“Don’t accuse the CPP or don’t say the election is not just any more, and don’t boycott any more.”

COMFREL executive director Koul Panha said his organisation had chosen not to appoint its officers to participate in the vote because about $US500,000 had been spent on a useless election that allowed only members of political parties to vote along party lines.

“Commune councillors vote for their party, what does it mean? Because they have no choice. They vote for their party, so it is meaningless.

“This election system is meaningless,” he said.

In total, 11,412 votes had been cast by 11,470 eligible commune officials, the NEC reported.

The strongest result for the CPP – 81.45 percent – was recorded in region 7, which comprises Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk provinces, while the SRP fared best in region 1 – Phnom Penh – with 34.76 per cent of the ballot.

Twitter key in judge’s rejection

Khmer Rouge tribunal reserve co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet (left) has been rejected from assuming his official judiciary duties with co-investigating judge You Bunleng (right). (Photos Supplied)

Monday, 30 January 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

The Supreme Council of the Magistracy is of the view that UN-nominated reserve international co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet is “compromising the confidentiality and integrity of investigations” and has violated judicial ethics with his use of Twitter (sic!), the council said in a summary report issued on Saturday.

The report, issued by the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, states that the council met on January 13 to “vote and count the ballots concerning the proposed appointment of the International Co-Investigating Judge”.

“According to the results […] the members of the Supreme Council of the Magistracy decided not to appoint Mr Laurent Kasper-Ansermet,” the report, dated January 13, stated.

“Following discussion, the meeting reached the view that Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet’s posting of a considerable number of documents on his Twitter account concerning the ECCC, and specifically concerning cases 003 and 004 since his appointment as Reserve International Co-Investigating Judge, would appear to violate the Code of Judicial Ethics, the Internal Rules and legal principles” of the tribunal, the council said in the report.

According to the report, Kasper-Ansermet’s distribution of information in the form of posting links to various news articles was in violation of several principles of the tribunal (sic!).

The council said that Kasper-Ansermet’s posting of articles relating to the tribunal constituted “criticising both of his own colleagues, Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Siegfried Blunk”.

Bunleng and Blunk came under fire after they closed investigations into the government-opposed Case 003 in April, without having conducted key elements of investigation such as interviewing the suspects.

A mass staff walkout over the investigations ensued and Blunk abruptly resigned in October, citing perceptions of government interference in cases 003 and 004 as his motivation.

“Furthermore, this distribution could have an adverse impact and cause confusion or doubts regarding [his/her] impartiality,” the council said, adding in bold font that it could also “undermine the standing and integrity of the ECCC”.

Court monitor Open Society Justice Initiative’s Clair Duffy said the real concerns about independence were with the Supreme Council of the Magistracy itself.

“The ECCC’s national co-prosecutor, Chea Leang, and national co-investigating judge, You Bunleng, both sit on the SCM and were part of that decision-making process,” Duffy said.

“So not only did the SCM act outside its authority on this issue, there are also obvious concerns around its independence.”

The Supreme Council of the Magistracy is not a proper forum to challenge the impartiality of any ECCC judge, Duffy said, adding that proper procedure was for a party to the proceedings to bring a motion for disqualification of a judge.

UN-appointed Special Expert at the tribunal, David Scheffer, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the decision to appoint the judge was strictly up to the discretion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, not the Supreme Council of the Magistracy.

KRT pay freeze will linger -ដាំចេកទៅ!!!

Monday, 30 January 2012
Bridget Di Certo with additional reporting by David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

Under the Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, expenses and salaries of Cambodian staff “shall be borne by the Cambodian national budget”; however, Huy Vannack said this has not been the practice of the court.

Cambodian staff at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal will not be paid any salary until April at the earliest, administration directors told staff in a “town hall” meeting on Friday.

Nearly all of the roughly 300 Cambodian staff employed by the tribunal gathered in the public gallery of the courtroom yesterday and were told that in addition to not receiving their January salaries, they will not be paid for another three months, tribunal public affairs officer Huy Vannak told the Post yesterday.

“The Cambodian side of the court continues to face a financial crisis, and staff will not be paid starting this month,” Huy Vannack said, adding that Cambodian judges have not been paid since October 2011.

“The acting director of the ECCC said that what he wants to see in the future is that when funds are received by the United Nations, these funds should be split between the Cambodian and International side of the court,” Huy Vannack said.

The tribunal employees 480 staff, 180 of which are international staff whose salaries are paid by funds collected by the UN from international donors.

Under the Law on the Establishment of the ECCC, expenses and salaries of Cambodian staff “shall be borne by the Cambodian national budget”; however, Huy Vannack said this has not been the practice of the court.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia contributes funds for water, electricity, security, transportation of staff and outreach activities and they have been giving this funding on time,” Huy Vannack said.

“The Cambodian salaries have been funded by international voluntary contributions; the government is not obliged to pay these salaries.”

Anne Heindel, legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said it has been common practice for Cambodian salaries to be paid from voluntary international contributions to the Cambodian government.

“Donors either give money to the UN side or the Cambodian side,” Heindel said.

But Huy Vannack said these international donations had “completely dried up”.

“We usually receive funds annually, and normally, the director and deputy director of administration fly to New York in November to apply for donations, but right now they are still here,” he said, adding there was a tentative plan for the directors to fly to New York next month.

Despite the requirement under the tribunal law for Cambodian salaries to be paid out from the national budget, an unofficial translation of the 2012 Budget Law reveals there is no provision for any funding.

Chairman of the National Assembly Finance and Banking Commission Cheam Yeap said last week the government had a separate budget for the tribunal outside the national budget, but he had not received any proposals for 2012 funding.

UN-appointed Special Expert David Scheffer said during a press conference last week that it was his “job” to ensure there was adequate financial support for the tribunal.

“We need to ensure that there’s that infusion of funding from relevant sources into the tribunal on a regular basis,” he said.

Khmer Rouge tribunal too broke to pay Cambodian staff

Courts set up to punish horrific war crimes won’t pay staff until April

January 30, 2012
Patrick Winn
Global Post

It’s bad enough that the trial against Cambodia’s former Khmer Rouge cabal has been delayed so long that many of its aggressors — and victims — are now senile.

Now it appears that the special courts aren’t paying Cambodian staff. According to the Phnom Penh Post, some employees won’t be paid until April.

The courts, set up to prosecute the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, are scraping by with unpaid help.

According to the AP, this doesn’t apply to international staff paid by the United Nations. But about 300 employees paid by Cambodia — some of which haven’t been paid since October

Nearly 50,000 Families Hurt in Recent Land Disputes: Report

More than 47,000 families have been embroiled in 223 land disputes, the center reported. (Photo: by Heng Reaksmey)

Monday, 30 January 2012
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“The private companies and the government don’t offer appropriate compensation [to villagers] and don’t take care of their livelihoods.”

Tens of thousands of families have been affected by dozens of land disputes over the last four years, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights reported Monday.

More than 47,000 families have been embroiled in 223 land disputes, the center reported. Nearly 80 land cases involved government land concessions that affected more than 30,000 families.

Often, the rule of law was not applied in the cases, leaving many families poorer, the report said.

Land disputes have become an increasingly thorny issue for Cambodian authorities, leading to violent demonstrations that have blocked national roads, are held outside courts or municipal buildings and have led to the detention of many civic representatives.

Chor Chanthyda, a project coordinator for the center, said economic concessions have been granted nationwide, but the problems are concentrated in resource-rich provinces like Kampong Speu, Kratie, Mondolkir and Ratanakkiri.

Under the concessions, families face the loss of their land and the threat of violence or court action if they protest, she said.

“They face poverty because they have no farmland for crops,” she said.

The government has granted concessions to 222 private companies, mostly from China, South Korea and Vietnam, since 2005, said Uch Leng, a project officer for the rights group Adhoc.

“The private companies and the government don’t offer appropriate compensation [to villagers] and don’t take care of their livelihoods,” he said. “On the contrary, people who are affected fall into poverty, and the private companies that come to develop do not improve people’s lives.”

Government spokesman Ek Tha said there is no government policy to “ill treat people.”

“We have a policy to help people improve their lives,” he said. “We think of people’s well being and suffering.”

The CCHR report recommends collaborative, participatory approaches in conjunction with rights groups and villagers, as well as improved local communication, to mitigate problems.

Defense Attempts to Raise Controversial Suspects at Tribunal

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. He is among those being investigated by the Khmer Rouge tribunal for the controversial case 004 but has denied overseeing atrocities of the former regime. (Photo: Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer)

Monday, 30 January 2012
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

The political objection to cases 003 and 004 have been an ongoing issue for the court.

Judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal cut short questioning by a defense attorney of a witness at the court who sought to mention confidential suspects in another case.

Michiel Pestman, defense for jailed leader Nuon Chea, began a line of questioning about former leaders Ta An and Im Chaem, two suspects the court has kept confidential despite repeated press mentions in Case 004.

Nil Nonn, head judge of the Trial Chamber, stopped him and reminded him to keep his questions limited to the case at hand—No. 002.

Pestman and other defense attorneys have repeatedly tried to prove their clients are not getting a fair trial due to political interference at the court. The political objection to cases 003 and 004 have been an ongoing issue for the court.

Pestman was questioning former cadre Prak Yut, who confessed to working with Ta An but provided no further information. The international prosecutor has accused Ta An of mass killings in Kampong Cham province and other atrocity crimes, charges he has denied.

In other testimony Monday, Nuon Chea told the court the decision to evacuate the cities had been made to avoid retaliation from the US after the ouster of the Lon Nol regime.

The evacuation of the cities was the beginning of Year Zero for the regime, which sought to remake Cambodia as an agrarian utopia in policies that proved disastrous.

Nuon Chea said Monday Vietnamese forces were an ever present threat in Cambodia and that people had been moved to work camps to “save forces” to work in the agricultural sector.

Shooting in Kratie – Calling for Accountabi​lity

Friday, January 27, 2012
By Mu Sochua

Sec. Clinton is our real champion when it comes to putting women’s rights on the table at each high level meeting.

Sec. Clinton and President Obama are expected to at the ASEAN Summit hosted by Cambodia this November.

The USA invests close to US$5 million as military aid to Cambodia.

On Australia – Day 26 January, The Phnom Pehn Post ran a special section on Australia’s support to Cambodia. Among the key areas of support,

• Australian Federal Police builds capacity in Cambodia
• Australian Federal Commissioner visits Cambodia to promote ongoing cooperation
• Australia continues defence cooperation with Cambodia

The latest shooting of villagers over a land dispute in Kratie involves police and military hired as security guards by a company, whose owner is an adviser to the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

The Kratie shooting must not be jut another crime that can be swept under the carpet.

The pictures and video are enough evidence for legal action.

The video by Licadho can be found at Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jy7YfeLc4Mo

At each demonstration, the well trained police are used to crush demonstrators, majority of whom are women.

State violence against women must be stopped and the government taken to task in showing its true defense of women’s human rights.

Land Is Life.

Two Uighurs deported from Cambodia to China get life

Fri Jan 27, 2012

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has jailed two Muslim Uighurs deported from Cambodia for life, Radio Free Asia reported on Friday, showing no sign of loosening its grip on far-western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region which holds rich deposits of oil and gas.

The sentences — and deadly clashes this week between police in Sichuan and ethnic Tibetans — come at a sensitive time for China for whom ensuring stability ahead of a leadership transition later this year is a top priority.

They also precede a visit to the United States by Vice President Xi Jinping, who is seen as China’s leader-in-waiting and who could come under criticism for the government’s handling of the unrest.

Cambodia, the recipient of increasingly large amounts of Chinese investment and trade, was sharply rebuked by human rights groups for deporting the asylum seekers.

Two days after Cambodia deported the Muslim Uighurs in December 2009, Chinese Vice President Xi visited Phnom Penh and signed 14 trade deals worth $850 million.

The U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia broadcast and online news service cited family sources and local authorities in Xinjiang who in turn quoted jail notices they had seen.

It was unclear when the sentences were handed down or what the men had been charged with.

A spokeswoman for the Xinjiang government told Reuters she was not aware of the sentences.

The two Uighurs were among a group of about 20 who had sought asylum in Cambodia following ethic riots between Uighurs and majority Han Chinese in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi in July 2009. Another of the group was jailed for 17 years, Radio Free Asia said, adding that the jail terms of the others were not known because court proceedings were held in secret.

“The imprisonment of these men, who were forcefully deported from a place of refuge, should serve as a wake-up call to the world about the brutal treatment awaiting Uighur asylum seekers who are sent back to China,” Uighur American Association president Alim Seytoff said in a statement posted on the advocacy group’s website.

“The Uighurs in Cambodia were sent back to the very repression they were attempting to flee. We cannot allow the long arm of Chinese pressure to govern the treatment of Uighur asylum seekers in other countries.”

Radio Free Asia, citing rights groups, said the asylum-seekers had fled persecution because they had witnessed Chinese security forces arresting and using lethal force against Uighur demonstrators during the riots that killed nearly 200 people, many of them Han Chinese.

Many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to Xinjiang, resent Chinese rule and controls on their religion, culture and language.

In September, China said it had sentenced four people to death for violence in two Xinjiang cities last summer in another flare-up that left 32 people dead.

(Writing by Ken Wills and Judy Hua; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Exile group presses China on Uighur deportees

Friday, January 27, 2012
AFP

…the UN special rapporteur on torture called the expulsion from Cambodia of the Uighurs “a blatant violation” of anti-torture rules…

BEIJING — An exile group has urged Beijing to explain the fate of 20 ethnic Uighurs who escaped to Cambodia but were deported back to China, amid reports some were sentenced to death or life in jail.

The deportees, members of the mainly Muslim minority Uighur group who have long complained of oppression in Xinjiang, fled China after ethnic rioting in the remote, northwestern region in 2009.

They applied for UN refugee status in Cambodia, but were forcibly repatriated back to China in December 2009, in a move that triggered strong international condemnation.

Cambodia’s decision to deport the Uighurs was quickly followed by a 1.2-billion-dollar aid and loan package from Beijing. China has rejected accusations of a link between the two.

According to the World Uyghur Congress, China has refused to confirm the whereabouts of members of the group despite media reports that four were sentenced to death after their return, while another 14 were jailed for life.

“Uighurs forcibly returned to China are in extreme risk of torture, detention and enforced disappearance,” Rebiya Kadeer, president of the Munich-based exile group, said in a statement emailed to AFP.

“We call once again on international governments to pressure the Chinese authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of all the extradited Uighurs and to provide the charges, if any, that have been made against them.”

In the latest unconfirmed sentencing, a deportee named Musa Muhamad was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a court in Xinjiang’s Kashgar city on October 20, according to Radio Free Asia.

The report said it was unclear what charges the 25-year-old faced because it was a closed trial.

Calls to the court went unanswered on Friday, as did calls to Xinjiang’s regional judicial department.

China has said the Uighurs were wanted in connection with rioting that erupted in July 2009 in the regional capital of Urumqi between Uighurs and China’s majority Han ethnic group which left nearly 200 people dead.

The Uighurs had expressed fears of persecution and torture if they were sent home to China, which implemented a massive security crackdown in Xinjiang following the 2009 violence.

At the time, the UN special rapporteur on torture called the expulsion from Cambodia of the Uighurs “a blatant violation” of anti-torture rules and urged an independent probe as well as access to the group should they be detained.

Kratie shooters identified

A security guard hired by TTY points an assault rifle at villagers during a protest in Kratie province earlier this month when four villagers were shot. Photo Supplied

Friday, 27 January 2012
Chhay Chanyda with additional reporting by David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

Police have identified suspects involved in the shooting of four villagers during a protest last week in which security guards from the TTY company opened fire into a crowd of hundreds of people in Kratie province, provincial police chief Chuong Seanghak said yesterday.

Chuong Seanghak said his officials had prepared relevant documents and sent them to the provincial court.

“It’s a criminal case. We have identified the suspects and sent the case to court already. But I could not say more, fearing that it could affect the investigation or [cause] its failure.”

On January 18, a TTY security guard fired an AK-47 assault rifle into a crowd of about 400 that had attempted to block the company’s bulldozers from clearing their cassava plantations in Veal Bei village, Phi Thnou commune, Snuol district.

One man was left in serious condition with multiple gunshot wounds and three others were also hit by bullets.

Snuol district governor Eav Sophum said yesterday that officials will also question a representative of TTY in connection with the shooting.

Eav Sophum could not confirm exactly which TTY official had been summonsed to court, but said it was a sign officials were acting on a promise made on behalf of Prime Minster Hun Sen by Environment Minister Mok Mareth when he visited the area on Monday.

“Yesterday, the prosecutor summonsed a representative of the company to be questioned about the shooting. This means we will find solution for people to give them their land and follow Hun Sen’s order, which means to arrest the perpetrators,” he said.

He could not say how many more employees of the company would be summonsed for questioning.

Local media reports that TTY security guards had been summonsed to court could not be confirmed by the Post yesterday.

In 2008, TTY, which is owned by tycoon Na Marady, an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen, was granted a more than 9,000 hectare economic land concession in Snuol district that included farms and homes in Veal Bei village. But on Monday, during a visit to Veal Bei village in response to the shooting, Environment Minister Mok Mareth promised to return the villagers’ land.

Reached yesterday, TTY deputy director general Heng Sarath said he could not hear properly over the phone, refused to comment and hung up.

On Monday, he said he was still looking for the security guards responsible for firing the shots, which were not intended to hit villagers.

A low-quality video of the incident released on the internet by rights group Licadho on Wed­nesday shows an armed security guard on top of a bulldozer fire directly at the crowd of villagers before jumping down to ground level and offloading more rounds.

Photos provided by Licadho also appear to show military police standing at the scene shortly before the shooting.

Mathieu Pellerin, a consultant for the rights group Licadho, said that video and photographic evidence taken during the incident showed the perpetrators were basically allowed to escape.

“If they wanted to arrest the suspects, they easily could have done so, and we have photos of the military at the scene before the shooting, so the police and military police have a duty to arrest people when they see a crime,” he said.

In a statement released yesterday, Licadho said a series of recent land disputes in which firearms had been used were a symptom of an accelerating breakdown in Cambodian society.

The statement said that more than 400,000 people had been affected by land grabbing and evictions since 2003, including some 11,000 families in 2011 alone.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAVID BOYLE

Farmland fight :Villagers make plea to company

Friday, 27 January 2012
Tep Nimol
The Phnom Penh Post

Farmland fight

More than 200 villagers from four villages in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district gathered yesterday to ask Samrong Rubber Industries to stop bulldozing their farmland.

Meach Leav, 44, the villagers’ representative, said that more than 200 villagers from as many families in Lum Tong commune gathered to negotiate with the company, under the watch of commune and district authorities. The company had been using seven excavators to bulldoze the villagers’ peanut and cassava farmland since Monday, which they had reacted to with violence, he said.

Commune and district authorities had since asked the villagers to negotiate with the company to find a resolution to the dispute.

Samrong Rubber was granted a 70-year lease on the land in 2006. Nhem En, deputy governor of Anlong Veng district, said the company had promised to give 400,000 riels [US$100] to each family, but the villagers had refused the offer.

Ouk Savuth, a Samrong Rubber representative, could not be reached for comment.

Free mother, protesters urge

Nhem Khim (centre), 52, from Phnom Sruoch district in Kampong Speu province, speaks to reporters yesterday outside the provincial court, where about 300 villagers gathered to protest. (Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post)

Friday, 27 January 2012
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

More than 300 villagers from two districts in Kampong Speu province joined forces yesterday to protest in front of the provincial court over two land disputes, vowing to continue until authorities resolved them and released a mother of seven jailed last month after she had been summonsed to the court over one of the disputes.

Protesters said the imprisonment of Chum Srey Noun, 49, on December 15 had convinced them to accompany community representatives summonsed to the provincial court yesterday and today to ensure the summonses were not used as a pretext for jailing them. The questioning was, however, postponed after more than 300 villagers showed up.

Many expressed anger that they had not been informed in advance about the postponement, and said they would protest until the disputes were resolved and Chum Srey Noun was freed.

“We came because of a court order, but they postponed without even informing us,” said 52-year-old Nhem Khim. She was among about 150 villagers from Phnom Sruoch district’s Treng Trayoeng commune who had accompanied five representatives summonsed to answer questions yesterday.

“If we did not come they would have issued arrest warrants,” she said.

Their dispute originated in 2006 when 160 hectares of land was granted to a then little- known NGO called the Farmers’ Association. Villagers said it tried to take land in a different location from the area it had been granted the land.

Duong Sibunthol said farmers in the commune were afraid their crops could be destroyed at any time. About 200 villagers from Thpong district’s Omlaing commune accompanied one representative summonsed to answer questions yesterday over a dispute with a private company, and to demand the release of Chum Srey Noun. They said no arrest warrant had been issued for her, just a summons to answer a complaint filed by the owner of the company claiming land villagers say is theirs.

Omlaing commune resident Phal Vannak said they would continue to protest until Chum Srey Noun was freed. “We brought rice pots and rice to cook,” he said. Provincial prosecutor Keo Sophea, who signed the court summons, said he could not question the village representatives yesterday because he had ordered them to appear at the court last week. He said he would ask the investigative judge about the request to free Chum Srey Noun.

Klot Pich, director of provincial court, said he was unaware that villagers had requested her release. Deputy provincial governor Pen Sambo declined to comment.

Ouch Leng, head of the land program at Adhoc, said people had lost hope in the government to resolve land disputes.

Alleged vote-rigger files suit over taping

Friday, 27 January 2012
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the lawsuit demonstrated that the National Election Committee was simply a political tool of the ruling party.

“It is a laughable story – the thief acquitted, the owner jailed. If you do not do anything bad, there would not be anyone recording you,” he said, adding that recording Cheam Pe A was the only way the SRP could provide evidence of vote-rigging to the NEC.

AN opposition Sam Rainsy Party councillor who taped a ruling Cambodian People’s Party member attempting to buy his senate vote has been summoned to court to answer charges that he illegally recorded the man’s voice.

On Monday, the SRP circulated a recording in which CPP member Cheam Pe A offered Mok Ra, Tuol Ta Ek commune councillor in Battambang town, US$700 to vote for his party’s candidate in senate elections on Sunday.

The SRP subsequently filed a complaint with the Battambang Provincial Commission against Cheam Pe A, who has now filed a lawsuit against Mok Ra.

Battambang provincial prosecutor Nuon San said yesterday that he had summoned Mok Ra to answer accusations he had breached article 301 of the penal code – which forbids recording another person without their consent.

“We summoned him to appear in court after the senate election. It may be on [February] 2. We just summoned him for questioning first,” Nuon San said.

Mok Ra said he had done nothing wrong but would appear for questioning, fearing he would be accused of evading the law otherwise.

“I recorded his voice, I wanted to know his about his bad activity,” Mok Ra said.

Cheam Pe A directed questions to his lawyer, Ham Mony, who said he filed a complaint against Mok Ra because he had not obtained the consent of his client before recording their conversation.

“He does not have any authorisation to record someone’s voice if there was no agreement,” Ham Mony said.

SRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the lawsuit demonstrated that the National Election Committee was simply a political tool of the ruling party.

“It is a laughable story – the thief acquitted, the owner jailed. If you do not do anything bad, there would not be anyone recording you,” he said, adding that recording Cheam Pe A was the only way the SRP could provide evidence of vote-rigging to the NEC.

If found guilty, Mok Ra faces a jail sentence of up to one year.

Battambang Provincial Election Committee president Vorn Porn said the two sides had been summonsed to a hearing today after an attempted conciliation between them failed yesterday.

Fears judge row could slow KRT

Friday, 27 January 2012
Cheang Sokha with additional reporting by Mary Kozlovski
The Phnom Penh Post

A day after the United Nations held firm on its appointment of the reserve co-investigating judge rejected last week by Cambodian authorities, a lawyer expressed concern about the potential impact of the controversy on civil party applicants in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s cases 003 and 004.

Civil party lawyer Hong Kim Suon, who is representing applicants in both cases, said that controversy in the office of the co-investigating judges might delay progress in the cases.

“Of course it will affect the victims who filed complaints as civil parties,” he said.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, David Scheffer, the special expert advising on the UN Assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials, said that reserve international Co-Investigating Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet had “clear authority to fulfill” his role as international co-investigating judge at the tribunal.

In the past, Cambodian officials have publicly indicated their opposition to prosecutions beyond Case 002. International co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley said yesterday that with a couple of exceptions, “the international co-investigating judge can move both of these investigations [into cases 003 and 004] forward”.

But Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said that it could be difficult for Judge Kasper-Ansermet to conduct effective investigations.

“There’s legal limitations on what he can do alone, and there’s practical limitations on what he can do without the support of the Cambodian side of the office,” she said.

Court spokesman Neth Pheaktra said that 318 people have applied to be civil parties in cases 003 and 004, some of whom have been accepted as civil parties in case 002.

Government spokesman Ek Tha said this week that should Kasper-Ansermet proceed with investigations unlawfully, the ECCC would decide what action to take.

UN and Cambodia Glare At Each Other Over Tribunal Judge Issue

27 January 2012
iNEWP.com

The United Nations and the Cambodian government are glaring at each other over the “issue” of the UN appointing Swiss national Laurent Kasper-Ansermet to become a war crimes tribunal judge over the Khmer Rouge trials that have put former Khmer Rouge leaders and officials on trial for the Cambodian genocide that killed over 2 million innocents and produced the so called Killing Fields of Cambodia during Pol Pot’s regime.

It all started after the resignation of a former tribunal judge and German national Siegfried Blunt who said he was quitting due to “political interference” from the Cambodian government during the tribunal.

Now, the United Nations has appointed Kasper-Ansermet to become Blunt’s replacement much to the Cambodian government’s chagrin.

Top officials of the Cambodian government reportedly dislike and oppose the appointment of Kasper-Ansermett due to his Twitter tweets that called attention to controversial Cases 003 and 004 which the Cambodian government does not want to have opened up due to political sensitivity.

Cases 003 and 004 involve two unidentified suspects who have widely been speculated to be former Khmer Rouge military officials heavily involved in the genocide.

The Cambodian government, headed by Prime Minister Hun Sen who himself was a former Khmer Rouge soldier, is very much against opening up these two cases.

However, according to treaty signed between the UN and Cambodia regarding the war crimes tribunal, Cambodia does not have the authority to block Kasper-Ansermet’s appointment.

However, without Cambodia’s cooperation in the tribunal, the UN-Cambodia tribunal has virtually no steam to run on and will have to halt.

Currently, the tribunal is on Case 002 which has indicted three former high-ranking Khmer Rouge officials of war crimes, genocide and so on.

The tribunal has only handed out one sentence since its inception in 2005. Kaing Guek Eav who was accused of having a major role in the Cambodian genocide and having a hand in torturing tens of thousands of people received a 19 year sentence in prison.

UN holds firm on judge

David Scheffer, the United Nations Special Expert to the Khmer Rouge tribunal, speaks about disagreements between the UN and the Cambodian government over the appointment of reserve co-investigating judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet during a press conference in Phnom Penh yesterday. (Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post)

Thursday, 26 January 2012
David Boyle with additional reporting by Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

Judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet “has clear authority to fulfill” his role as a co-investigating judge at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, regardless of the refusal by Cambodia’s Supreme Council of Magistracy to appoint him, a United Nations expert said yesterday.

UN Special Expert to the Khmer Rouge tribunal David Scheffer told a press conference that under the 2003 treaty establishing the court, the decision to appoint the judge was strictly up to the discretion of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, not Cambodia’s SCM.

Scheffer said he had made this position very clear during talks with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An on Tuesday night – which followed strong condemnation from Ban’s office of last week’s revelation that the SCM had refused to appoint Kasper-Ansermet.

“So I made that very clear, that our view is that this particular individual, Judge Kasper-Ansermet, has clear authority to fulfill his duties in this country and we look forward to him doing so,” he told reporters, adding their position had not changed on the SCM’s refusal to appoint.

“We object very strongly with that rejection, and we state that regardless of it, he had the authority under the treaty,” he said.

During talks, the deputy prime minister did not object to his position but “was not affirmatively accepting my point of view”, Scheffer said.

Scheffer also said that Kasper-Ansermet, who has had a rocky relationship with national Co-Investigating Judge You Bunleng “does not need You Bunleng with him to undertake these investigations”.

The SCM’s refusal to appoint Kasper-Ansermet was reportedly based on ethical concerns about the Swiss judge’s use of the social-media site Twitter, on which he has indicated his determination to investigate the court’s controversial cases 003 and 004.

Scheffer said his expectation was that Kasper-Ansermet’s duty to investigate the court’s cases 003 and 004 – which are opposed by the Cambodian government – would be respected.

Judge Kasper-Ansermet, who could not be reached for comment, told the Post last week he had made several important decisions on cases 003 and 004, but had been effectively “walking in shackles”.

Since arriving as the UN-selected replacement for former co-investigating judge Siegfried Blunk, who resigned in October citing perceptions of political interference in cases 003 and 004, Kasper-Ansermet has publicly sparred with You Bunleng.

You Bunleng has refused to allow his reserve counterpart to publicly release information related to cases 003 and 004 and has claimed that procedural actions taken by Kasper-Ansermet are legally invalid until he is appointed by the SCM.

You Bunleng could not be reached for comment yesterday, but Ek Tha, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the name of the tribunal – the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia – made it clear the SCM’s authority to appoint judges had to be respected.

“If someone wants to work as international co-investigating judge at the ECCC without legal appointment by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, that does not make sense in terms of the legal authority of the Supreme Council of Magistracy,” he said.

Should Kasper-Ansermet proceed with investigations unlawfully, it would be up to the ECCC to decide what action to take, Ek Tha said.

ECCC spokesman Neth Pheaktra referred questions to his counterpart Lars Olsen, who could not be reached for comment.

Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said the 2003 treaty made it clear the function of reserve judges was to immediately fill the shoes of their predecessors, without the need for reappointment.

“If, under Cambodian national law, it’s required that the SCM re-appoints [the judge] . . . that’s fine, but the UN made sure the agreement with Cambodia would be a binding treaty and they can’t use provisions of national law to subvert a treaty,” she said.

More importantly, without Cambodian co-operation, Kasper-Ansermet’s investigations would be incapacitated by a lack of local expertise and support, as well as the necessity for both judges to sign off on certain actions, including the making of arrests or the issuing of indictments, Heindel said.

“Whether he has You Bunleng’s approval or not, there is nothing he can do in that position until he has the support of the Cambodian side, and this is why the issue goes much deeper than his mere appointment,” she said.