Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ties with Phnom Penh tangled in political morass

October 29, 2009
By Kornchanok@nationgroup.com
The Nation

The Democrats have proven that relations between Thailand and Cambodia depend very much on local politics.
Apart from the ruling party's link to fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the Democrat's different roles - as the opposition last year and as the government now - is affecting its reactions to the problem.
Last June, the Democrats used Preah Vihear issue as a reason to impeach then-foreign minister Noppadon Pattama during the censure debate.
PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, then the opposition leader, attacked Noppadon for having signed a communiqué with Cambodia over a map of the Preah Vihear compound, which was used by Phnom Penh to register the temple as a World Heritage Site. Samak Sundaravej's Cabinet then endorsed the agreement.
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Our World: Cambodia's elite tip the scales of justice

October 29, 2009
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
Pacific Daily News (Guam)

I wrote in this space last week, on the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Accords on Cambodia, about how the stipulations in the Accords and the articles in Cambodia's Constitution it established promised the country and its people high hopes for the future. After 18 years, both the Accords and the constitution have failed to deliver a "liberal democracy" and "respect for and observance of" human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the idea of an "independent judiciary" has become only a dream.
The international non-governmental organization Global Witness calls Cambodia's ruling elite a "kleptocratic elite" that robs public assets and natural resources to enrich themselves.
Some forty percent of the people in Cambodia live below the poverty line and many have been forcibly evicted from their homes and their land.
American Physicist Albert Einstein said, "Don't listen to their words; fix your attention on their deeds," and America's 34th President Dwight David Eisenhower said: "Remember that it is not by a tyrant's words, but only by his deeds that we can know him."
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Cambodians waking up to climate change

October 28, 2009
By Chak Sopheap, Guest Commentary
UPI Asia Online

Niigata, Japan — Cambodia held its first National Forum on Climate Change in Phnom Penh on Oct. 19, to raise awareness of climate change issues and their effects on socioeconomic development. This is a positive development for Cambodia, where issues related to climate change are likely to be incorporated into its national development plans.
On the final day of the three-day forum, Cambodia issued its draft position ahead of December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. It said it would do "its utmost" to reduce greenhouse gases, but developed countries must help in its efforts.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen said that developed nations must do more for their poorer cousins as they have more resources. He said Cambodia was not responsible for climate change but is a victim. Although natural disasters ranging from typhoons, earthquakes and tsunamis have hard hit countries like the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia, among others, the impact on Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos has been fairly low. But apparently it is believed that they are signs of the impending impact of climate change.
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SRP pursues King's help to free editor

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

PARLIAMENTARIANS from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party met with King Norodom Sihamoni on Tuesday to request that he grant amnesty to jailed newspaper publisher and editor in chief Hang Chakra (picture).
Hang Chakra, who runs the opposition paper Khmer Ma chas Srok, was convicted in June of defamation and publishing false information in a series of articles that appeared in his newspaper accusing officials working for Deputy Prime Minister Sok An of cor ruption.
The publisher was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 9 million riels (US$2,187). The Court of Appeal rejected his case on August 11.
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Opposition Asks King To Enter National Affairs

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
28 October 2009

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and other parliamentarians requested the intervention of King Norodom Sihamoni to improve the lives of the people and resolve longstanding border disputes with Thailand and Vietnam.
Eighteen opposition members met with the king on Tuesday, who “has concerns and pays attention to these issues,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer.
Sam Rainsy pointed to job losses in the wake of the economic crisis, loss of property in land grabs, abuse of the courts and encroachment along the border as issues facing the country and requiring royal intervention.
Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep said Sam Rainsy had the right to raise the issues, but he should ensure the allegations are true. He rejected criticism of human rights abuses and said no border violations have occurred.
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Civil Parties Challenge Trial Chamber

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 October 2009

Two civil party groups in the Khmer Rouge tribunal have submitted motions to the Supreme Court Chamber, claiming they have the right to question prison chief Duch on his character and to weigh in on his punishment.
The Trial Chamber in August denied civil parties such access.
Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, faces atrocity crimes charges for his role as administrator of Tuol Sleng prison under the Khmer Rouge. He has been on trial since March.
“The prevention is against the spirit of the law,” said Hong Kim Suon, a lawyer for civil party Group 2. “There is no reasonable explanation for this decision.”
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Sex Trade Continues Despite Laws: Group

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
28 October 2009

The sex trade continues to thrive in Cambodia, despite an anti-trafficking law and crackdowns on brothels, an advocate for a leading foundation says.
“The brothels have closed, but the brothel owners won’t be defeated, said Vann Sina, a monitor for the anti-trafficking Mam Somaly Foundation. “It means that they’ve changed into something else, but are still in the sex trade. They’ve changed from brothels to guesthouses, small grocery stores, small karaoke parlors, cafes, massage clubs, restaurants, and sex businesses along the parks. As I said, it’s almost everywhere.”
The foundation was started by Mam Somaly, who herself escaped the sex trade and has become an award-winning advocate protecting young women and girls. Vann Sina gave a talk in Washington last week, in talks sponsored by Free the Slaves, a US non-profit group.
While some brothels have gone underground, Vann Sina said, others remain, with girls as young as five years old serving clients.
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US Export Import Bank Open to Cambodia

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
28 October 2009

The Export Import Bank of the United States is now open to provide financing for purchases of US exports by private-sector buyers in Cambodia.
The opening follows Cambodia’s removal from a US trade blacklist in June by President Barack Obama, “which has allowed the bank to do a study in order to determine, along with other US agencies, that we should be open to financing import into Cambodia from the United States on repayment terms up to seven years,” Phil Cogan, spokesman for the Ex-Im Bank, told VOA Khmer.
“So what that means is buyers in Cambodia who wish to purchase US high-quality goods and services can do so with potential financing from the United States Export Import Bank that will make their purchases available for financing,” he said.
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Telecoms Ordered to Allow Cross-Network Calls

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 October 2009

The prime minister has ordered telecom companies to reopen cross-network communication, in a bid to ensure fair competition in the communications industry.
In an Oct. 21 letter, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered all telecom companies to stop the practice of barring connections from one company to another or risk losing their licenses.
The denial of cross-network service was leading to chaos in the telecom market, he said.
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Appeals Court Upholds Fines for Mu Sochua

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 October 2009

The Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s decision to fine opposition lawmaker Mu Suchua in a defamation suit brought by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mu Sochua was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines and damages to the premier, who had countersued her after she accused him of derogatory remarks in a public speech in April.
Mu Sochua told reporters outside the court the verdict did not represent “Khmer justice.”
“Khmer people, as well as the international community, have acknowledged that the court system in Cambodia has plenty of political pressure,” she said.
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Cambodia court upholds lawmaker's conviction for defaming PM

PHNOM PENH, Oct 28 (AFP) - Cambodia's Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of an outspoken opposition party lawmaker for defaming the country's powerful Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party was convicted by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in August for defaming Hun Sen during an April press conference, in which she announced plans to sue the premier for allegedly insulting her.
The court also ordered her to pay more than 4,000 dollars in a fine and compensation to Hun Sen.
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Cambodian opposition MP loses defamation appeal

2009-10-28
Associated Press

A Cambodian court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a prominent opposition lawmaker for defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen in a case that critics charged was part of a pattern of intimidation against his opponents.
Judge Seng Sivutha of the Appeals Court let stand the ruling of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against Mu Sochua, a member of parliament from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party. He said her action had "incited to other Cambodian women to dislike" Hun Sen.
The original case against her was one of several recent legal actions taken by Hun Sen's government against its critics in the opposition and the press.
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Cambodian court upholds politician's sentence for defaming premier

Oct 28, 2009
DPA
Phnom Penh - Cambodia's Appeal Court on Wednesday upheld the fine levied by a lower court on opposition parliamentarian Mu Sochua in her legal wrangle with Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mu Sochua, a prominent member of the Sam Rainsy Party and a former minister of women's affairs, lost a defamation case brought by Hun Sun earlier this year.
She had originally sued Hun Sen for defamation after comments made by him in 2008 that she said referred to her. The courts threw out her case but allowed the prime minister to countersue on the basis that her lawsuit had defamed him.
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Foreign brides rejuvenate South Korea's aging society

Wed, 28 Oct 2009
DPA

Seoul - Foreign brides are replacing local women as a major source of vitality in South Korea's greying rural communities, helping to rebuild rural family bonds by providing babies and farm labour and participating in community activities. Lured by the prospect of a higher standard of living, brides recruited from other Asian countries are becoming commonplace in the South Korean countryside.
In rural communities, which once prided themselves on their homogeneity, four in every 10 women married in 2008 were foreign-born, according to data from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.
In small towns with average ages in the 50s or above, many old farm houses are abandoned or under-utilized by elderly residents after their adult children have left for jobs in the cities.
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Asia's intra-regional marriage migration on rise

Wed, 28 Oct 2009
DPA

Bangkok/Phnom Penh - When it comes to attracting a potential spouse, South Korean soap operas seem to be the best way to a South-East Asian bride's heart. Over the last decade, thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodian women have left their homes to marry South Korean husbands, lured into dubious unions by dreams of financial security and glitzy, city lifestyles in a modern Asian nation.
Cambodia, alarmed by a report that 1,760 Cambodian women had left the country in 2007 for brokered marriages in South Korea, slapped a ban on all marriages to foreigners in April 2008, lifting it only in December after putting in place restrictions on the nuptials trade.
"Korean men have demographic problems in their own country, particularly in finding wives for rural men who are mainly from the lower-income groups," said John McGeoghan, a human-trafficking expert for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cambodia.
"In the marketing of this exercise, the Cambodian women are looking at Korean soap operas and thinking they are going to a glamorous life."
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Prey Nokor News Vol. 2 No. 95 is now available

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[Cambodian] Ancient temple nearly restored

Oct 28, 2009
AFP

SIEM REAP (Cambodia) - ON A muggy afternoon in Cambodia's ancient Angkor complex, workers in hardhats hunch over the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle, painstakingly assembling sandstone blocks.
Walled-off from camera-toting tourists, they are finally close to completing an astonishing reconstruction of the fabled 11th century Baphuon Temple.
'This is not easy to plan like a construction project is,' says architect Pascal Royere from the French School of Asian Studies, who is leading the rebuilding team.
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Vietnam's PV Oil expanding overseas, Cambodia first

27 Oct 2009
Alibaba News Channel

HANOI, Oct 28 - Petrovietnam's trading arm, PV Oil, has opened its first filling station in Cambodia as part of a project to expand its retail business overseas.
"This is the start of a chain of oil product distribution outlets overseas," PV Oil's subsidary, Petromekong, said in a statement seen on Wednesday.
Initially, the station will retail oil products imported by PV Oil from foreign refineries but eventually Petromekong would distribute products from Petrovietnam's refineries, an official from PV Oil in Ho Chi Minh City said.
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Dong Thap boosts trade cooperation with Cambodia

10/28/2009
VNA/VOVNews

Almost 30 Vietnamese businesses from southern Dong Thap province and Cambodian companies have discussed how to boost opportunities for trade and investment cooperation between the two sides.
At a workshop on trade and investment promotion held in Phnom Penh on October 27, participants introduced each other to areas of potential and opportunity for cooperation, and ask questions on legal issues, customs, finance and banking.
Sharing a common borderline with Cambodia, Dong Thap province is ideally suited to boost trade promotion, expand into the market and consume products in Cambodia, said the Chairman of the Dong Thap Provincial People’s Committee, Truong Ngoc Han, at the workshop, which was held by the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce and the Dong Thap Provincial Trade and Investment Promotion Centre.
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Elder Monk Beats 68-Year-old Nun to Death

10/28/2009
ShortNews.com

In Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia, Pov Ron,68, confessed to beating a 68-year-old nun to death with a piece of firewood. The nun allowed pigs to eat from Pov's rice bowl and this caused an "uncontrollable anger" in Pov which resulted in murder.
Two days earlier, two monks beat a fourth-year medical student to death because he had chastised the monks for drinking palm wine (a strong wine made from palm trees).
Chhith Sophay, the chief monk, expressed alarm at the most recent killing, as well as the potential damage such violence could cause to the Buddhist faith.
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The Frog in the Indochinese Federation's pot of hot water

October 27, 2009
Pralitsar

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Thailand's fugitive former premier to visit Cambodia "soon"

Oct 28, 2009
DPA

Bangkok - Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra plans to visit Cambodia soon after being offered refuge and a job as an economic adviser by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, media reports said Wednesday.
Thaksin said he would be paying a visit to Thailand's neighbour 'soon to thank Hun Sen,' the Bangkok Post reported, citing an unnamed source in the Puea Thai opposition party, which has the financial backing of the former prime minister.
Hun Sen last week threw a monkey wrench in Thai-Cambodian relations by claiming that Thaksin, who faces a two-year jail sentence in Thailand and is living in self-imposed exile, was his good friend and would be granted refuge and a job as an economic adviser should be come to Cambodia.
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Thais Protest Cambodia Asylum Offer to Thaksin

2009-10-27
New Tang Dynasty TV
After arriving in Thailand last week, the Cambodian prime minister said he was willing to grant asylum to former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The prime minister said he considers Thaksin a victim of a political ploy in Thailand, but Thai protesters disagreed.
[Chaiwat Sinsuwong, People’s Alliance for Democracy]:
"The former Prime Minister is charged with corruption, the charge is not political. So, we, as Thais, are upset that he (Hun Sen) was a guest in Thailand and he spoke with a bad manner. So, today we are gathering here to show our dissent and condemn Cambodia, Hun Sen only."
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Patronage Hurts Resource Revenue: Experts

By Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
27 October 2009

[Editor’s note: VOA Khmer recently spoke with specialists in the field of natural resource management in developing countries and learned that Cambodia is not alone in struggling to use natural resources to benefit its citizens. The resource curse, where natural riches fail to help the poor, is a worldwide scourge, the global experts told VOA Khmer in numerous interviews. Below is Part Eight of the original VOA Khmer weekly series, airing Sundays in Cambodia.]
In Cambodia, natural resource transactions and revenues remain hidden from the public, a product of nepotism and patronage systems that have been practiced for generations, experts told VOA Khmer in recent interviews. The public should be the benefactors of national resources like oil and timber, experts said.
Cambodia practices only a façade of democracy, but transparent management, an important part of true democracy, does not exist, Lao Monghay, a researcher at the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, said.
The government has a habit of keeping its work obscured to the public, with questionable deals serving the personal interests of officials, their associates and the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, he said.
“It’s a tradition,” he said. “It’s a heritage of the communist regime. The deals benefit their group, their party, and they don’t want the opposition party to know about them. Actually, through the National Assembly, members of parliament must know a lot, except on national security issues.”
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Once Optimistic, Equity Firms Now Struggling

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 October 2009

In 2008, Cambodia’s economy was one of the fastest growing in Asia. Back then, at least three major private equity firms opened for business, hoping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in capital for investment in agriculture, real estate, hydropower and others.
These days, however, these firms say they’ve had a hard time wooing investors made nervous by the global economic crisis.
“Now we have postponed our fundraising because of the general economic crisis,” said Brad Gordon, managing director of Cambodia Emerald, which had hoped to raise $100 million this year.
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Phnom Penh Prepares for Water Festival

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 October 2009

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday ordered Phnom Penh authorities to prepare for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of visitors to Phnom Penh every year.
The festival, which marks a change in direction of the Tonle Sap river and commemorates a naval victory of the Khmer empire over Cham adversaries, begins Nov. 1 and lasts three days.
Authorities expect five million people to attend this year’s festivities, which include a lighted nighttime flotilla and daytime boat races, with around 300 teams competing.
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Santa Ana youth leader wins $25,000 peace prize

Phalen Lim, the director of youth programs for Santa Ana's Cambodian Family organization, is being honored with a $25,000 Peace Prize from California Wellness. Lim escaped the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge with her family when she was very young and moved to Santa Ana. (JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By DOUG IRVING
The Orange County Register

She escaped the brutal Khmer Rouge and now works to inspire children.
SANTA ANA – A community leader who has made it her life's work to inspire young people in one of this city's most desperate neighborhoods has won a $25,000 California Peace Prize.
Phalen Lim speaks from experience when she tells the kids at The Cambodian Family that they can make a better future for themselves. She escaped with her family from the killing fields of Cambodia and came to Santa Ana as a refugee with almost nothing.
She's 36 years old now, with a master's degree in counseling, and on Wednesday she will become one of three Californians to be recognized with the peace prize this year. But she spent her childhood on a work commune in Cambodia, under the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge, and her earliest memory is of hunger.
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Cambodia's killing fields 30 years on: 'They will kill our parents tonight... we must escape'

Orphaned Cambodian children in refugee camp in 1979
Young Somaly Lun
Somaly as she is today
With her daughters (All pics: Harry Page, Getty)
27/10/2009
By Ros Wynne-Jones
Mirror.co.uk

It is 30 years since John Pilger revealed the existence of the Cambodian Killing Fields in the Daily Mirror. For Somaly Lun, the anniversary is bittersweet.
Today, customers at the Oxfordshire supermarket checkout where she works have no idea of her extraordinary story.
How she escaped US B-52 bombers as a child, a Khmer Rouge concentration camp as a teenager, and Vietnamese soldiers as a young woman. How she lost her father and six brothers to the Khmer Rouge.
Somaly owes her life in the UK to Oxfam's Marcus Thompson, then a young humanitarian worker who had become friends with Somaly and her husband Borithy.
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Thaksin is Cambodia-bound

Demonstrators, led by People’s Alliance for Democracy core member Chaiwat Sinsuwong, gather yesterday in front of the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok to protest against comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at last weekend’s Asean summit in support of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN

Ex-PM wants to thank Hun Sen for job offer

28/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra insists he will go to Cambodia to thank Prime Minister Hun Sen for laying out the welcome mat for him.
Thaksin confirmed his plan yesterday via a video link to a meeting of the Puea Thai Party amid a simmering conflict that has arisen between Thailand and Cambodia over his status.
Thaksin said he would fly to Cambodia soon to thank Hun Sen, a party source said.
Thaksin said he and Hun Sen had been friends for a long time.
Thaksin also thanked Puea Thai's new chairman, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, for "doing the right thing".
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Chavalit is only a messenger

EDITORIAL

28/10/2009
Bangkok Post

The government is out of line in blaming Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh for carrying bad news from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The double-barrelled attack on the new Puea Thai Party convert by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is more a case of "shooting the messenger" than defending the Thai national interest. It is better to get the divisive and undiplomatic views of the Khmer leader out in the open, where they can be properly examined. The open and biased support for fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra is the responsibility of Mr Hun Sen, not Gen Chavalit.
That said, it also is clear that Gen Chavalit had his own motives for exposing the pro-Thaksin, anti-government stance of Mr Hun Sen. It is only difficult to accept that he acted against the country in publicising the stance of the Cambodian prime minister. Over the past year or more, Mr Hun Sen has become more aggressive in his statements against Thai authorities and Thailand in general. Last week's trip to Phnom Penh, when Gen Chavalit extracted the strong pro-Thaksin comments from Mr Hun Sen, finally made it clear why he has so frequently sought the chance to antagonise the Thai government and nation.
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Thai, Khmer join Unesco committee

28/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Representatives from Thailand and Cambodia have been selected to sit on the new Unesco World Heritage Committee in light of the dispute over the Preah Vihear temple.
The election of the World Heritage Committee took place at Unesco's 17th general assembly of states party to the World Heritage Convention being held this week in Paris.
The new committee sits until 2013.
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Second Thai candidate makes it to UN Heritage panel

October 28, 2009
The Nation

Somsuda Leeyavanich, deputy permanent secretary for Culture Ministry, has been chosen to represent Thailand at the 12member World Heritage Committee. She will be joining other new members from Switzerland, Cambodia, South Africa, France, Ethiopia, Mexico, Estonia, Iraq and Mali.
Twentynine countries had put forward names for the new panel, which will be replacing the current one later this year, and will be in office until 2013.
According to Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch, the UN World Heritage agency reportedly had problems deciding on the new panel because both Thailand and Cambodia - currently in a dispute over the Preah Vihear temple - had put forward candidates.
Eventually, though, the UN agency decided to select candidates from both countries as a way to help solve the conflicts. The son of Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong will represent Cambodia.
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Hun Sen applauds Cambodia's membership of UN's heritage committee

Oct 27, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday welcomed his country's appointment as a member of the World Heritage Committee (WHC), the decision-making body of the UN's cultural body UNESCO.
The committee decides what sites will be awarded World Heritage status, and asks member states to take action when listed properties are not properly managed.
'Cambodia was elected as a member of the WHC thanks to her richness in cultural properties and history including intangible cultural properties, several of which were inscribed on the World Heritage List, namely the Royal Ballet, the Shadow Theatre, Angkor [Wat] area and the temple of Preah Vihear,' Hun Sen said.
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Cambodia becomes permanent member of World Heritage Committee

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister on Tuesday expressed his warmly welcome as Cambodia becomes the permanent member of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO in 17th general assembly in France.
"It is a new pride for our country that became fully permanent member of the world heritage committee," Hun Sen told over 2,000 students in graduation ceremony of a university in Phnom Penh. "Itwill promote the image and prestige of the Kingdom of Cambodia on the world arena," he added.
On behalf of new permanent member of the WHC, Cambodia will implement its mission with high responsibility and will strengthen the cooperation with other countries, he said.
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Military beefs up defences

Tuesday, 27 October 2009
By Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

TROOPS in the northwest are stockpiling munitions following heightened tensions between Thailand and Cambodia in recent weeks, officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) confirmed Monday.
RCAF General Men Saroeun, in charge of air defence in Military Region 5 based in Battambang province, said his forces had recently received significant supplies of new small arms and artillery. “We now have modern weapons to defend our nation,” he said. “We have what the Thai soldiers have. This is our strategy to defend our border.”
Tanks were seen being transported along National Road 5 last week in Battambang province, and an RCAF general, speaking on condition of anonymity, said missiles with a range of up to 60 kilometres had also arrived. In addition to 16 new tanks delivered to Military Region 5, he said, more than 700 RCAF officers have been issued K-54 pistols, marking the first time since 2000 that low-level commanders have been issued sidearms.
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Military Police Kills a Girl Then Is Released Illegally

10/27/2009
ShortNews.com

Cambodia - Theng Socheata, 17, was killed when her skull was broken and her brains spilled because a military police officer ran over her head in his Lexus SUV.
The unnamed officer driving the Lexus was sent to the police station for a short time and then let go when his unit called and asked that he be released. According to the law, in a case like this, the driver must be detained until the court hearing.
According to court official, this traffic accident has not yet been reported to the court. Last week a Military Police Officer was driving his Lexus and hit and killed a girl. He fled the scene of the crime but was apprehended.
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Cambodians get tips to stay green

27th October 2009
By Anne-Louise Brown
Noosa News

Cambodia's tourism minister Dr Thong Khon travelled to Noosa last Thursday to learn about how the Noosa Biosphere Reserve is managed.
Dr Khon was joined by a delegation from Cambodia's tourism department, with the focus of their visit sustainable tourism.
Cambodia has several biospheres of its own and Ben McMullen, project manager for environmental initiatives for the Sunshine Coast council, said the exchange of ideas was central to the visit.
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Thai Deputy PM clarifies Thaksin's case to Cambodia's Hun Sen

BANGKOK, Oct 27 (TNA) - Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Tuesday that he had clearly explained the correct information regarding the case of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a September 2006 coup, to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mr Suthep said he had met and discussed the matter with Mr Hun Sen, as assigned by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and the Cambodian premier now has a better understanding about Mr Thaksin’s case.
Ousted in a bloodless coup three years ago, Mr Thaksin was sentenced to a two-year prison term for abusing his power when he was prime minister to help his ex-wife purchase prime land in Bangkok’s Ratchadapisek Road. He now lives mainly in the United Arab Emirates. His Thai passport was cancelled but he obtained passports given by some foreign countries.
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Protest over Thaksin invite

Oct 27, 2009
AFP

BANGKOK - AROUND 100 Thai protesters rallied Tuesday outside the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok after the neighbouring country's premier offered refuge to fugitive former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
Outspoken Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week offered safe haven to Thaksin - who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid corruption charges - and suggested he take a job as his finance advisor.
Mr Hun Sen's comments cast a pall over a summit of Asian leaders hosted by Thailand at the weekend and have riled the Thai government, which says that Cambodia must extradite Thaksin if he steps foot on Cambodian soil.
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PAD protest in front of the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok

A demonstrator holds a banner with pictures of exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok October 27, 2009. The relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, which is already stressed from a border dispute near Preah Vihear temple, was further worsened after comments made by Hun Sen about Shinawatra. Hun Sen offered Shinawatra at the ASEAN summit last week, a job as economic adviser should he choose to seek asylum in Cambodia. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Policemen stand guard outside the Cambodian Embassy during a demonstration in Bangkok October 27, 2009. The relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, which is already stressed from a border dispute near Preah Vihear temple, was further worsened after comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen about exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Hun Sen offered Shinawatra at the ASEAN summit last week, a job as economic adviser should he choose to seek asylum in Cambodia. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Policemen stand guard outside the Cambodian Embassy during a demonstration in Bangkok October 27, 2009. The relationship between Thailand and Cambodia, which is already stressed from a border dispute near Preah Vihear temple, was further worsened after comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen about exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Hun Sen offered Shinawatra at the ASEAN summit last week, a job as economic adviser should he choose to seek asylum in Cambodia. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Thai police officers stand guards as the security is tightened outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 for ongoing rallies by Thai protestors. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen offered to make Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra his economic adviser last week, threatening to worsen already tense relations between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
Thai activists wave Thai flags and chant slogans during a rally against the act of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen toward Thailand outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. Hun Sen offered to make Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra his economic adviser last week, threatening to worsen already tense relations between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
Thai activists set fire a protest placard that represents the treaty between Siam (old name of Thailand) and France during a rally against the act of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen toward Thailand outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. Hun Sen offered to make Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra his economic adviser last week, threatening to worsen already tense relations between the two Southeast Asian neighbors. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
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Chavalit: All in the national interest

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh insisted on Tuesday his visit to Cambodia was all for the national interest and had nothing to do with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Gen Chavalit was widely criticised and accused of worsening the political situation and Thai-Cambodian relations following his one-day visit to Phnom Penh to meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last week.
"I respect those who criticised me, but I believe they do not understand my actions. I haven't had the chance to explain yet but there should be no problems," the Puea Thai Party chairman said.
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Thai politics taints relationship with neighbours

Tuesday, 27 October 2009
By Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Thailand’s internal political strife has tainted and complicated bilateral relationship with its neighbouring countries, particularly Cambodia and Burma.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Monday that former Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongjaiyuth, who has close ties with ousted Prime Minister Taksin Shinawatra plans to visit neighbouring countries including Burma. It would be good if it is for the sake of the country, he added.
“Gen Chavalit is within his rights to visit these countries but should not cause problems to the countries, like when he visits Cambodia. I insisted that the anti-government groups should not put pressure on the Thai government by asking neighboring countries to help them,” according to a report in the Thai News Agency website.
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[Thai] FM to issue official response [to Hun Xen]

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

The Foreign Affairs Ministry will issue an official response to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, because he may have obtained incorrect information about former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the foreign minister's secretary said on Tuesday.
Mr Hun Sen expressed sympathy for Thaksin during the Asean summit last week. The Cambodian leader said Thaksin was treated unjustly and was homeless as a result.
He also said Thailand had allowed Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy, his political rival, to attack him from Thai soil.
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Gen Chavalit: Mediator or divider?

27/10/2009
Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post

Opinion

Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's first effort to bring about national reconciliation as Puea Thai party chairman by visiting Cambodia and meeting Prime Minister Hun Sen was a miserable flop. Not only did he fail to mend fences, he managed to fuel tensions between the two countries and raised suspicions locally about his real motives.
If national reconciliation is really one of a few objectives that Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh aspires to, to justify his decision to join the opposition Puea Thai party, then his first attempt to realise that objective was a complete fiasco.
Two days before the start of the 15th Asean Summit in Hua Hin and Cha-am beach resort townships, the retired general flew to Phnom Penh for a one-day visit during which he met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Cambodia ranks next to last in Asia-Pacific on the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index

Source: http://www.prosperity.com/

The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world's only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing; unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity – those factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term.
Economic Fundamentals - Ranked 65th
Cambodia is strong on trade, but low value exports and a weak domestic market are a dead weight on the economy
Unemployment is low at 4%, putting Cambodia in the top 15 countries on this variable of economic performance. The difference between banks’ borrowing and lending rates is low at 4.2 percentage points, indicating a moderately efficient banking sector. Cambodia receives a great deal of foreign direct investment, falling just outside the top 10. Cambodia has the least severe export dependency on raw materials of all countries and, with a strong ratio of export revenues to imports, its terms of trade remain within the top 15 countries. While the inflation rate is moderate at 6%, the domestic savings rate is just 13% of GDP, and capital stock per worker is particularly low, putting Cambodia in the bottom 20 on both variables. Household expenditure as a percentage of GDP is also low at 22%, suggesting a weak domestic market for Cambodian businesses.
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Vietnam seeks larger garment market share in Cambodia

10/27/2009
VOV News

The Viet Tien Garment Joint Stock Corporation on October 26 opened an office for a sole sales outlet for Viettien-branded products in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The corporation’s first overseas outlet is a 120 s.q.m showroom built in partnership with Cambodia’s Caja Top company to display a wide variety of garments including shirts, trousers, shorts, jeans, and coats made of various materials such as khaki, elastic, and cotton.
Vietnamese goods are on the right track to gain a foothold in the Cambodian market, especially after series of trade fairs which promoted high-quality Vietnamese products to Cambodian consumers.
Observers said Vietnamese goods, which have been greatly improved in terms of quality, now stand a chance to successfully compete with products from Thailand and China which have long flooded the market.
Viet Tien Corporation plans to partner with Caja Top to open more showrooms and sales outlets across Cambodia.
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Cambodian Journalist Wins International Award

PHNOM PENH, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- A Cambodian journalist has won an international media award for article touching on poverty impact that caused by global economic crisis, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting a press release issued Tuesday by Economics Today magazine.
An Sithav, 25, a reporter for Economic Today Magazine, won a 2009 Developing Asia Journalism Award, on Oct 23 held in Tokyo, Japan.He was awarded with the first prize in the poverty impact of the global financial crisis category.
Sithav said he was surprised to hear his story, "Not Working", the lead story of the June Issue 40 of Economics Today, was worthy of a place among the finalists.
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Sam Rainsy uproots VN border markers

Sam Rainsy and the villagers are pulling out the border markes planted on their rice fields
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy uprooted six demarcation poles on the Cambodia-Vietnam border Sunday after leading his party's Kathen festival procession to the Ang Rumdenh pagoda in SvayRieng province’s Sam Raung commune, Chantrea district, saying that the poles were placed illegally by Vietnamese authorities.
Sam Rainsy said Monday that the poles he removed were not border markers accepted by both countries but had been erected only recently by Vietnam.
"As I was putting a money offering in a monk's bowl, people approached me and asked me for help. I asked them, 'With what do you need my help?' And they told me, '[The Vietnamese] took Khmers' land'",' Sam Rainsy said, adding that the residents' rice fields and the pagoda were located about 100 metres from the border.
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Thai-Cambodian military ties 'intact'

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Military ties between Cambodia and Thailand remain tight, army chief Anupong Paojinda said on Tuesday.
His statement came as political relations between the two countries soured after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced he would welcome ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra to Cambodia and that the Cambodian government would not allow his extradition to Thailand.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva responded by asking Mr Hun Sen to decide between personal relations and bilateral benefits with Thailand.
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Cambodian embassy [in Bangkok] braces for protest

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Security in front of the Embassy of Cambodia in Bangkok has been tightened on Tuesday after members of the People's Assembly of Thailand led by Chaiwat Sinsuwong announced they would protest there to oppose Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who said last week he welcomed ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra to Cambodia.
A company of police have been deployed to guard around the embassy. Iron barriers have also been placed around the entrance.
Mr Chaiwat said in a radio interview in the morning that he would led protesters to gather in front of the Embassy of Cambodia to read a statement condemning Hun Sen and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who went to meet Hun Sen last week in Phnom Penh.
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Chavalit draws govt ire

PM slams Puea Thai chairman's 'tactics'

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has sparked a furious backlash from the government by insisting he will embark on trips to Burma and Malaysia in the wake of his remarks about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being welcome "any time" in Cambodia.
The government, which insists Gen Chavalit discredited the Thai administration by his visit with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has made it clear the opposition party politician should not meddle in diplomatic affairs.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday asked Gen Chavalit to put the national interest before personal benefits ahead of his plans to visit other countries.
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A big bully next door and traitors in the house

The Wimp (Abhisit), The Bully (Hun Sen) and The Traitor (Chavalit): Characters for a new Thai-Cambodian soap opera? (Photo: Posted at KI-Media)
October 27, 2009
By Sopon Onkgara
The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva tried hard not to be perceived as a wimp after his Cambodian counterpart, big bully Hun Sen, stole the thunder before the Asean Summit over the weekend, with an affirmation that he would provide refuge to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The first slap in the face was felt. Then came another blow to the other cheek. Hun Sen insolently declared that he would not abide by the extradition treaty agreement with Thailand. Interpretation of the pact would be based on his own opinion.
Such a hostile gesture is so unbecoming of a guest invited to participate in a significant meeting, attended by Asian national leaders, including from major powers such as China and Japan. Hun Sen himself might not find it easy to rub shoulders with people from the civilised world after spending half his life in jungles and around the Khmer Rouge killing fields. That's why, when the opportunity came, he tried to make the most of it, making his presence felt, if not shocking fellow Asean members and especially dialogue partners.
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What is Hun Sen fishing for?

October 27, 2009
By Avudh Panananda
The Nation

Hot on the heels of the balloon boy incident in Colorado about 10 days ago, the public display of affection by the threesome - Thaksin-Chavalit-Hun Sen -may also go down in the annals of trivia as a hoax.
The Heenes family grabbed worldwide attention by floating an odd-looking balloon and making the spectacle of a six-year-old boy trapped inside it.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen used Pheu Thai Party adviser Chavalit Yongchaiyudh as a conduit to talk about his buddy-buddy ties with fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The balloon boy incident was exposed as a sham as soon as the balloon ran out of hot air. The brouhaha about the political threesome will not outlast the hot air coming out of Hun Sen's mouth.
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Cambodian PM 'was misinformed'

October 27, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The Foreign Ministry will send Cambodian Premier Hun Sen a note detailing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's political status here to defuse tensions generated by Hun Sen's comments last week.
"I understand that Prime Minister Hun Sen made such remarks because he was misinformed about Thaksin and the whole situation in Thailand, so we have to give him the facts," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Hun Sen said upon his arrival at the Asean Summit that he would offer Thaksin refuge in Cambodia and appoint him as an adviser. He said Thaksin was a victim of political changes in the wake of the 2006 coup.
"We will tell him what happened in Thailand over the past three years and that his many trials have nothing to do with the coup," Kasit said.
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Suthep sets out case for ending spat

27/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has used his personal connections with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to defuse a potential diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Mr Suthep yesterday said he met the Cambodian leader for two hours on Saturday after a gala dinner hosted by Thailand for leaders attending the Asean summit.
The meeting was made necessary by Hun Sen's reiteration soon after arriving in Thailand last Friday, that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was welcome to stay in Cambodia without fear of repatriation.
Mr Suthep's mission was to make the Cambodian leader understand the real situation in Thailand, particularly concerning the legal cases against Thaksin.
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Ball is in Cambodia's court, PM says

October 27, 2009
The Nation

Good relations with Cambodia are up on Phnom Penh, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who said yesterday that the "ball is now in Cambodia's court".
His remark suggests it's up to Prime Minister Hun Sen to strengthen bilateral ties or allow them to suffer after the verbal spat between him and Abhiisit over the weekend.
Speaking to Nation Multimedia Group's editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon on the World Pulse TV show - being aired nationwide this evening, Abhisit said there would be no diplomatic protest or recalling of Thai ambassadors at this point in time.
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