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Sep 27, 2010
Palestinians Weigh Peace Talks After Israeli Settlement Deadline Expires
The future of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is uncertain after Israel allowed a freeze on settlement construction to expire. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is delaying a decision on whether to pull out of peace negotiations.A bulldozer digs at the Revava Jewish settlement Monday in the northern West Bank. It is a scene that stokes anger among Palestinians and raises questions about whether the talks that started less than a month ago will continue.
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Sep 3, 2010
International Report Highlights More Abuses Over Land, Press
Cambodian Buddhist monks read local opposition newspapers at a ceremony in Phnom Penh.
The Cambodian government is facing more accusations it has cracked down on freedoms of expression and the media in the past several years.
In a new report by the Paris-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, researchers found “trade union leaders, land rights activists and journalists have faced among the worst human rights violations [and are] facing new legal restrictions and fierce retaliation for documenting and denouncing abuses.”
Dozens of land rights activists were detained on charges “designed to remove them from the role as community leaders,” the research group said in a statement.
The group cited the case of venerable monk Loun Sovath, who is embroiled in a land dispute in Siem Reap province, as an example.
Two of Loun Sovath's family members were shot during land protests in Anlong Samnor commune, Chi Kreng district, where villagers and the owner of a water reservoir were disputing ownership of nearly 100 hectares of rice fields.
Loun Sovath, who has led a number of awareness campaigns over the dispute, told VOA Khmer on Thursday the arrests of nine protesters and the wounding of others was “unjust for villagers who led a protest against a land grab.”
“I do not think the violence is calming down,” he said. “But I think that arrests are increasing.”
The international researchers also pointed to the jailing of opposition newspaper editor Hang Chakra as further evidence of the erosion of free expression.
Hang Chakra, the editor of the Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper, was jailed for nearly a year in 2009, after he published articles alleging corruption within the Council of Ministers.
“Since I was in jail, I think media expression has gone down,” he told VOA Khmer Thursday. “The Cambodian government should open their hearts to receive criticism and consider what the NGOs and media are doing. That's better than thinking about a dictatorship against criticism.”
Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the Cambodian People's Party, said freedoms of expression and media were not on the decline. “Right now the Cambodian government is reforming step by step on human rights issues,” he said.
News from VOANEWS
Sep 2, 2010
No more stealth tactics by city police
An officer stops a motorist as another peers around the corner on Russian Federation Boulevard yesterday.
PHNOM Penh’s top cop has ordered his officers to stop hiding behind trees during crackdowns on traffic violations.
Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth said yesterday that he had ordered traffic police to lead by example in teaching drivers respect.
“It is important that traffic police keep safety on the road. Make sure that people respect you and the law,” Touch Naruth said yesterday as he relayed a message given during his Tuesday meeting. “Don’t just stand under trees and jump out to crack down on drivers without helmets or mirrors. It’s dangerous for you and drivers on the roads.”
Touch Naruth said traffic police should man checkpoints stationed at main intersections. Instead, he said, many officers spend an inordinate amount of time behind trees hoping to spot potential violations.
But Touch Naruth also criticised motorists who try to evade traffic police by pulling abrupt U-turns and speeding off in the opposite direction – dangerous manoeuvres that he said are likely to cause accidents.
Traffic police have also been instructed not to chase drivers fleeing potential fines, since many drivers are not suspected of crimes but are merely visitors from outside the capital who do not know the laws.
“You can chase them if they are criminals. If they do not wear helmets and you cannot fine them because they escaped you, let them be. Later, they will respect the law,” he said.
However, it appears not everyone agrees with the police chief’s strategy. Him Yan, director of the public order department at the Interior Ministry, said hiding behind trees is “an unavoidable strategy”.
“This strategy is to make people cease their bad habits,” Him Yan said. He said other countries also employ such measures to enforce the law.
But Long Chy, a 34-year-old motorbike-taxi driver, said that he blamed police for causing traffic accidents when trying to surprise rule-breakers.
“Police activities are much more anarchic than regular people’s,” he said.h
News from PhnomPenhPost
PM says border still an issue
Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks at the National Institute of Education yesterday.
PRIME Minister Hun Sen chided the Thai government yesterday for its inaction in resolving an ongoing border dispute with Cambodia, taking up a familiar rhetorical pose in remarks before a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.
Although Cambodia and Thailand restored full diplomatic ties last month following the resignation of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from his position as economics adviser to the Cambodian government, Hun Sen said yesterday that discord between the two countries will not be resolved until Thailand withdraws its troops from disputed territory near Preah Vihear temple.
“The solution to the problem is easy – just withdraw the troops from Cambodia and it will all be finished,” Hun Sen said, apparently addressing Thai officials.
Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Cambodia in protest at Thaksin’s appointment last year, and returned the envoy last month following news of Thaksin’s resignation, prompting Cambodia to follow suit. But although Thai officials have hailed Cambodia’s decision to cut ties with the fugitive billionaire, wanted in Thailand on graft charges, as a harbinger of improving relations, Hun Sen said yesterday that the move was unrelated to politics, and that Thaksin was “still my friend”.
“I will not be happy and smile at you while you are shaking my hand but stepping on my foot,” Hun Sen said. “Even though the ambassadors have been restored, I am still not happy because you have not withdrawn the troops from my land.”
Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva plan to meet on the sidelines of October’s Asia-Europe Meeting in Belgium at the suggestion of Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan. Hun Sen said yesterday that the meeting would touch on trade and economic issues in addition to concerns about the border.
Border negotiations under the bilateral Joint Border Commission are stalled pending the approval by the Thai parliament of the latest round of negotiations. A scheduled approval vote in Bangkok was postponed earlier this month, to the consternation of Cambodian officials.
Thai government officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
News from PhnomPenhPost
Aug 30, 2010
Labour agency investigated
POLICE in Phnom Penh raided a labour recruitment training centre yesterday after a man complained that its director had refused to release his wife.
Chamkarmon district police officers dropped in on the training centre run by the firm APMN in the morning, said deputy district police chief Heang Tharet.
“We talked with the company staff about the complaint,” he said. “We told them that we cannot allow the woman to stay in this centre any longer because a man asked us to help his wife get out.”
The complainant, Prom Nai, said his wife, Kin Ya, had started training with the firm in July in the hope of becoming a domestic worker in
Malaysia.
But he said she wanted to quit because she was not permitted to leave the facility. The company, however, refused.
“The centre asked for US$975 from me if I wanted my wife to leave, but I don’t have that much money,” Prom Nai said.
Company officials agreed to a compromise fee of $300 following negotiations yesterday, he said.
Ben Sokpich, the chief of administration at the centre, yesterday confirmed that the company had agreed to accept a fee from the man in exchange for allowing his wife to leave.
“We asked for $975, but we accepted only $300 because we don’t want to have more problems for our centre,” she said.
Ben Sokpich rejected Prom Nai’s claims that workers were barred from leaving the training centre; they are only required to ask permission to leave, she said.
Sunday’s complaint comes as Labour Ministry officials deliberate ways of regulating the rapidly expanding labour recruitment industry, which has seen multiple new firms pop up in the last year in a bid to supply other countries with Cambodian labour.
Authorities have promised stricter rules in response to reports that women have been detained and forced to live in cramped quarters during training programmes.
Meanwhile, the father of a woman who died after falling ill at a centre run by a separate firm said yesterday that he planned to demand $20,000 in compensation, even though he had already agreed to a lesser payment of 1.2 million riels ($235).
Yun Mab died in hospital after she fell ill at a centre run by the firm VC Manpower.
Her father, Ream Vy, said that his daughter had bruises on her neck and face when she died.
However, the company said she died from a previously undiagnosed case of leukemia.
Sen Ly, VC Manpower’s director, could not be reached for comment.
An employee who answered the phone at the training centre yesterday, who declined to provide a name, said the company believed the case had been settled.
News from PhnomPenhPost
Koh Kong villagers attempt to block road
Photo by: Photo Supplied
Villagers involved in a land dispute plead with police in Koh Kong province’s Sre Ambel district during a protest on Friday.VILLAGERS involved in a long-simmering land dispute in Koh Kong province say they will send a new petition to authorities, after four protesters suffered injuries this past weekend while attempting to block a national road.
Ouch Leng, a programme officer for rights group Adhoc, said villagers blocked National Road 48 in Sre Ambel district Friday as part of a demonstration aimed at drawing attention to a dispute that could see 34 families evicted.
But a motorist who was angry with the traffic jam caused by the protest clashed with villagers, resulting in injuries to four of them, Ouch Leng said.
“The car owner tried to crash into the bed that villagers used to block the road,” said Ouch Leng, who described the injuries as “not serious”.
The villagers say they could be on the verge of eviction after a company owned by Koh Kong businessman Heng Huy set today as a deadline for the clearance of roughly 100 hectares of disputed land. The Supreme Court last year ruled that the land belonged to Heng Huy and another businessman.
Pher Nherng, a representative of the villagers, called the protest a “last choice” after Heng Huy began clearing parts of the disputed farmland last week. He said villagers yesterday began preparing a complaint to send to provincial, district and commune officials urging them to stop allowing military police to support Heng Huy. Last week, military police stood by as workers hired by Heng Huy cleared parts of the farmland. Pher Nherng said villagers also want authorities to issue land titles.
Heng Huy yesterday questioned how villagers could be issued land titles.
“How can they issue another land title to villagers if the land is already owned?”
Sre Ambel district governor Tuon Seila said that he would forward the complaint to provincial officials.
News from PhnomPenhPost
Ties Renewed, But Doubt Remains Over Border Issue
With renewed diplomatic ties between Cambodia and Thailand, officials from opposite sides offered different views on whether the ongoing border issue can be resolved.
Cambodian officials say mutual renewal of ambassadors this week are not necessarily a positive step toward solving the issue bilaterally.
A Thai spokesman, however, said renewed ties would mean better communication over the border and could lead toward steps within the Thai government for more Joint Border Committee talks.
“I think with our ambassadors in place, it would facilitate more efficient and closer coordination and communication between both countries,” the spokesman, Thani Thongphakdi, told VOA Khmer Thursday.
Both sides replaced their ambassadors this week following withdrawals in late 2009, when Cambodia made Thailand's fugitive ex-premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, an economic adviser.
Cambodian officials are less optimistic that the ongoing border row, over a disputed piece of land west of Preah Vihear temple, will now be settled.
Thai parliament has yet to approve border measures already discussed between the Joint Border Committee, said Var Kimhong, a senior government adviser and head of Cambodia's border committee.
“I am not optimistic while [the report] has not been approved in nearly three years,” he said.
Officials said border demarcation can only begin after Thai parliament approves three agreements reached between the border committees since 2008.
“Even now that diplomatic relations are normalized, non negation can get started until Thai parliament approves these agreements,” Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.
Thai spokesman Thani said he hoped the parliamentary endorsement would come in the near future. In the meantime, he said, discussions are now underway between the two sides for a meeting between prime ministers Hun Sen and Abhisit Vejjajiva.
News from VOANEWS
Aug 25, 2010
New Book Examines China's Policy Toward Cambodia
China's foreign policy follows five principles in dealing with other countries, including Cambodia, with which it has had ties since the 1950s. But changes in China's policy have at times had direct political effects on Cambodia.
In a new book "China, Cambodia, and the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence," author Sophie Richardson examines how China's foreign policy has influenced Cambodia.
“I think the Chinese government deals very conscientiously with all different kinds of countries and governments in pretty much the same way,” Richardson said a recent launch for her new title, in Washington. “It is not nicer to communist governments than it is to non-communist ones. It is not tougher on democracy than it is on dictatorship.”
Richardson, who is also advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said her research was based mostly on archives, including China's, and on hundreds of interviews with diplomats.
The five principles espoused by China are mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. These were created by the founding members of the Chinese Communist Party in 1940 and furthered by Mao Zedong.
When Cambodia gained independence from France in 1954, China's policy towards it was based on the principles rather than security, wealth or ideology, Richardson said.
Cambodia was at first seen as a part of Indochina, but that changed with a meeting between Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and then-prince Norodom Sihanouk. China began to recognize Cambodia and Cambodia was a help to China.
“If Sihanouk got nothing else, in terms of his relationship with the Chinese government, his very early support and very public support for the one-China policy and for the PRC regaining the Chinese seat at the UN made an enormous difference,” Richardson said. “To this day, you'll hear people in Beijing talk about that particular decision on Sihanouk's part.”
China was also concerned about its own security and growing US involvement in Southeast Asia, while newly independent Cambodia wanted major powers to see it as neutral. That helped tie the two together.
Delegations followed, including one led by then secretary of state for education Pung Peng Cheng in late 1950. His daughter, Pung Chhiv Kek, who went on to found the rights group Licadho, remembers the trip.
“We had a royal ballet troupe that included Princess Bopha Devy and Prince [Norodom] Chakrapong,” Pung Chhiv Kek told VOA Khmer. “There didn't seem to be a political or economic discussion. I think it was mainly to strengthen friendship.”
That friendship did grow, and China kept close to its five principles for the most part. But when it did stray, developments in China were to have a sweeping impact on Cambodia.
Under the Cultural Revolution, radical Marxists began spreading their ideology and support. They developed close ties with the Khmer Rouge. Chinese officials also supported Norodom Sihanouk's exiled government, following his overthrow in 1970.
Those relationships made current diplomatic ties hard at first.
Richardson writes that the ruling Cambodian People's Party looked to China as “the best source of aid and diplomatic resources” without conditions, but that “Beijing's history with Sihanouk, the [Khmer Rouge], and [Democratic Kampuchea] made forging this relationship difficult.”
Hun Sen at first was wary of China, Richardson writes, quoting a Chinese article. But Hun Sen was “also aware that China is big and strong, peaceful and cooperative, does not interfere, and can help Cambodia out of its poverty, so the past must be forgotten to win China's support.”
In the end, mistrust on both sides was put aside.
“Beijing may have had its hesitation about Hun Sen, but the reverse was not true...One Chinese official was even willing to overlook the CPP's past connection to Hanoi in praising the stalwart CPP members who had not left the country in the 1980s.”
Today, China has become a major donor to Cambodia, and diplomatic ties are as strong as ever.
News from VOANEWS
Thaksin Resignation Leads to Renewed Diplomatic Ties
to Prime Minister Hun Sen, in November 2009.
Thailand's ambassador to Cambodia was expected to arrive in Phnom Penh Tuesday night, marking renewed diplomatic relations between two countries that have been at odds with each other for months.
The return of Ambassador Prasart Prasartwinitchay will be followed by his counterpart's arrival in Bangkok Wednesday, in steps made possible by the resignation of exiled Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser to Cambodia.
Thaksin's resignation, announced late Monday, removed a major sticking point for Bangkok, and Thai government spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said Tuesday the arrival of their ambassador meant “good mutual cooperation and relationship between both sides.”
Cambodian Ambassador You Ay will arrive in Bangkok in “a sign of...normalization of the diplomatic relationship,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Tuesday.
Both sides withdrew their ambassadors in late 2009, following the appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The diplomatic crisis came amid a prolonged military standoff over a disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple.
News from VOANEWS
Aug 24, 2010
Police clash with lakeside villagers
A protester stares down riot police near the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen in
Phnom Penh yesterday.The row was over Boeung Kak lake floodwaters.
.
Boeung Kak resident Soung Sophoan said the villagers were forced into an impromptu demonstration after Srak Chak commune authorities prevented a scheduled meeting at the nearby National Institute of Education. Police and villagers were involved in minor clashes as the protest moved towards the premier’s house near the Independence Monument.
“We planned to have a peaceful consultation at the National Institute of Education, but Srah Chak commune chief Chay Thirith banned it and told us to do it at the Red Cross Hospital,” he said. “But the hospital was closed, so we did the protest here.”
He said people were not protesting against anyone in particular, but highlighting the fact that they “need a solution from the government because people’s houses are being flooded higher and higher”.
Villagers have linked the rising waters to the filling of the lake for a controversial 133-hectare real estate development. Rights groups estimate more than 4,000 families will eventually make way for the project.
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Residents from the Boeung Kak lakeside area protect a village representative from the grasp of local authorities during protests on Suramarit Boulevard yesterday.In a statement yesterday, the Housing Rights Task Force slammed the disruption of the meeting, which it said had been intended as a forum to discuss residents’ demands that they not be forced out of their homes and receive adequate housing in return for relocation.
“HRTF calls for the authorities to investigate the incident as a violation of people’s rights to assembly, as well to respect people’s rights as enshrined in the Cambodian constitution,” the statement said.
Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the HRTF, said yesterday that the disruption of the meeting “was entirely unjustified”.
“The authorities need to respect human rights including the freedom to assembly,” he said.
When contacted yesterday, Chhay Thirith denied allegations that he had stopped the proposed meeting from being held. “I did not know about the problem because this morning I was at a drug conference,” he said.
Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth denied that police were deployed to forcibly remove lakeside residents from the park in front of Hun Sen’s home.
“Police were deployed to protect public order,” he said. “Before we resorted to violence, we requested that they move their protest to Wat Botum.”
He said that human rights groups should not make their accusations about the police action based on testimony from “bad people”.
News from PhnompenhPost
Aug 23, 2010
Hun Sen, Abhisit talks on the agenda
THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that he was ready to discuss border issues with Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels in October.
The comments came after Thursday’s announcement by the Foreign Ministry that Hun Sen was willing to raise the border dispute in accordance with the suggestion of ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan.
“I’m ready to talk with Prime Minister Hun Sen concerning the Thai-Cambodian conflict together with the Preah Vihear temple issue at the ASEM,” Abhisit said. “It is not necessary to bring other organisations to deal with the Thai-Cambodian row since the two countries are well aware that they are neighbouring countries, and I believe both of us don’t want the problem to escalate.”
Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong reiterated yesterday that if Abhisit requested a meeting with Hun Sen during the October 4-5 summit, then it could proceed, but he said a meeting had not yet been confirmed.
On Thursday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya wrote to ASEAN chair Vietnam, saying that the lingering border dispute – which dates back to July 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – could be solved by bilateral talks.
“I wish to assure you that Thailand remains committed as always to exercising utmost restraint,” Kasit said in the letter, which came after a similar letter from Hor Namhong calling for ASEAN mediation to prevent “large-scale armed conflict” over the border dispute.
He went on to “categorically reject” Hor Namhong’s allegations that Thailand had taken an aggressive stance over the border issue.
But Koy Kuong said that despite its stated commitment to bilateral negotiations, Bangkok had always found a way to delay talks.
“Cambodia is still wondering why Thailand is afraid to put the border issue on the table multilaterally,” he said. “Thailand repeatedly says [it wants] bilateral talks with Cambodia, but its willingness is nothing.”
News from PhnompenhPost
The comments came after Thursday’s announcement by the Foreign Ministry that Hun Sen was willing to raise the border dispute in accordance with the suggestion of ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan.
“I’m ready to talk with Prime Minister Hun Sen concerning the Thai-Cambodian conflict together with the Preah Vihear temple issue at the ASEM,” Abhisit said. “It is not necessary to bring other organisations to deal with the Thai-Cambodian row since the two countries are well aware that they are neighbouring countries, and I believe both of us don’t want the problem to escalate.”
Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong reiterated yesterday that if Abhisit requested a meeting with Hun Sen during the October 4-5 summit, then it could proceed, but he said a meeting had not yet been confirmed.
Cambodia is still wondering why Thailand is afraid to put the border issue on the table multilaterally.
On Thursday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya wrote to ASEAN chair Vietnam, saying that the lingering border dispute – which dates back to July 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – could be solved by bilateral talks.
“I wish to assure you that Thailand remains committed as always to exercising utmost restraint,” Kasit said in the letter, which came after a similar letter from Hor Namhong calling for ASEAN mediation to prevent “large-scale armed conflict” over the border dispute.
He went on to “categorically reject” Hor Namhong’s allegations that Thailand had taken an aggressive stance over the border issue.
But Koy Kuong said that despite its stated commitment to bilateral negotiations, Bangkok had always found a way to delay talks.
“Cambodia is still wondering why Thailand is afraid to put the border issue on the table multilaterally,” he said. “Thailand repeatedly says [it wants] bilateral talks with Cambodia, but its willingness is nothing.”
News from PhnompenhPost
Anti-Corruption Unit Seeks To Reassure Investors
The ministry works both domestically and internationally, and within the context of ASEAN, to create opportunities and
a good workingenvironment for producers and exporters.
The government's Anti-Corruption Unit is preparing a plan to help ensure businesses and investors are protected from corruption, a senior official said Monday.
The new plan will help businesses register with the Ministry of Commerce and receive business certificates and licenses, said Om Yienteng, head of the Anti-Corruption Unit, during the Cambodia-Korea Transparency International Symposium in Phnom Penh.
“For example,” he said, “The Ministry of Commerce lists a company. What documents does it need? How much does it cost? How long is the wait?”
The new plan will also include birth certificates for Cambodians and efforts to prevent officials from asking more money than is legally required, he said.
The Anti-Corruption Unit is also developing internal oversight for its own investigating officials to ensure they are maintaining proper relationships.
Om Yientang also said it was important that people accused of corruption are sent to court as a deterrent. “If someone dares to make corruption, that man cannot make corruption,” he said.
“I am convinced that Cambodia can achieve greater successes for fighting against corruption by reforming the system in the government ministries and institutions in the future,” Shin-Bom Lee, a former member of South Korea's National Assembly and now a member of the Blue Korea Foundation, said.
Savuth Bora, the head of DNL Global Services Co., Ltd, said that the Anti-Corruption Unit's plan would help investment in Cambodia by preventing the bribes many companies complain of making to government officials.
“The Anti-Corruption Unit can make a clear plan by limiting that all businessmen must pay $100 or $120 for their company license or company listing,” he said.
Van Luy, head of Eurotech Import Export Co., Ltd., said the plan will also help government revenue that is lost to bribes and illegal operations.
“If we issue a strong and clear law, it is very good for Cambodia,” she said. “All walks of people will not dare to violate the law.”
News from VOANEWS
Aug 18, 2010
THE Thai government has delayed a parliamentary session to approve the latest round of border demarcation agreements with Cambodia, a move Cambodian officials said was part of a long-running strategy of putting off negotiations.
A report from Thai state media yesterday said a parliamentary vote to approve the three most recent sessions of Thailand and Cambodia’s Joint Border Committee, established under a 2000 Memorandum of Understanding, had been postponed because the legislature’s agenda was already full. Border demarcation talks through the JBC have been stalled since April of last year pending Thai parliament approval of the latest negotiations.
“This is not a surprise to me,” said senior minister Var Kimhong, Cambodia’s chief border negotiator. “I don’t really care about this matter anymore because I’ve learned that this is the habit of the Thai party.”
Cambodia called for assistance from the UN and ASEAN last week in reviving the stalled border negotiations with Thailand, with Prime Minister Hun Sen warning that the current stalemate could lead to “bloodshed”. Thai officials have said they are opposed to negotiations in a multilateral forum and prefer the bilateral JBC.
Tension has been high between the two countries since the conclusion earlier this month of a UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting at which Cambodian representatives submitted a management plan for Preah Vihear temple, inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2008. The management plan will be discussed at a meeting of the committee in Bahrain next year.
Thai officials who have supported further border negotiations have received criticism from the members of the ultranationalist People’s Alliance for Democracy, also known as the Yellow Shirts, which charges that the JBC meetings could lead to the “loss” of Thai territories along the border.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that if Thai officials were truly committed to bilateral talks, they would move more quickly to secure parliamentary approval of the JBC negotiations.
“Our patience with bilateral talks has ended, so we are seeking a multilateral way,” Koy Kuong said.
“Thailand insists on bilateral talks, but the documents have yet to be processed,” he said.
“They cannot use the JBC to play with Cambodia in this way.”
News from PhnomPenhPost
Aug 11, 2010
Cambodia Preps for Oil Agreement With Iran
Cambodia is preparing a high-level delegation to visit Iran next week, where they expect to sign an agreement on petroleum cooperation, among others.
Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told VOA Khmer Friday the petroleum agreement would allow Iranian oil experts to provide technical assitance to Cambodia.
The delegation will be led by Foreign Minisgter Hor Namhong and will include Ho Vichit, vice chairman of the National Petroleum Authority, a ministry statement said.
Cambodia expects to see oil flowing from offshore blocs in 2012, Koy Kuong said, and Iran is one of the largest producers of oil in the world.
The visit will improve diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as promoting trade, tourism and investment, he said.
The trip, scheduled for Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, could also mean positive developments for Cambodia's Muslim community, said Sman Teath, a Muslim and deputy director of the National Assembly's finance committee.
Cambodia has a population of nearly half a million Muslims, many of whom remain in poverty after devastating treatment at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
Sos Mos Sin, head of the Cambodian-Muslim Student Association, said the community needs trade and investment opportunities as well as humanitarian assistance from Iran.
“We want Iranian companies to invest in Cambodia, boosting economic growth and development for poverty reduction,” he said.
There are so far no plans for Iranian businesses to come here, Koy Kuong said.
Cambodia has had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1992, but it communicates with the country through its embassy in Hanoi.
Mohsen Kohkan, head of the Iran-Cambodia Parliamentary Friendship Group, who visited Cambodia in June, asked Cambodia to establish an Embassy in Iran. The Iranian Assembly has been encouraging its government to appoint an ambassador to Cambodia.
News from VOA-NEWS
Torture Center Marks First Year as ‘Memory of the World’
title of the National Museum of Tuol Sleng.
Tuol Sleng museum, the former Khmer Rouge torture center, marked its first anniversary as a Memory of the World Monday, as officials set a giant stone on the southern side of Building A.
More than 12,000 people were sent to their deaths at Tuol Sleng under Kaing Kek Iev, the Khmer Rouge prison chief who was sentenced to a commuted 19 years by a UN-backed tribunal last month.
Known as S-21 to the Khmer Rouge, the former high school now goes by the official title of the National Museum of Tuol Sleng, following its Unesco Memory of the World listing on July 31, 2009.
The museum holds an archive of 4,186 prisoner confessions, 6,226 prisoner biographies and 6,147 photographs.
“Its significant and outstanding value were a part of the Memory of the World, stemming from its testament to man’s inhumanity to man, women and children, and from the documentation of one of the most extreme examples of crimes against humanity of the 20th Century,” Unesco’s representative to Cambodia, Teruo Jinnal, said during a ceremony Monday morning.
The anniversary comes just two weeks after the sentencing of Kaing Kek Iev, better known as Duch.
Chuch Phoeun, a secretary of stat the the Ministry of Culture, said the archives will be protected but that will require some technical assisance.
Van Nath, who survived the torture center under Duch, said he was satisfied that his former prison was now a Memory of the World.
News from VOA-NEWS
Court denies bail request for tycoon’s wife
Seng Chanda, the wife of businessman Khaou Chuly, leaves Phnom Penh
Municipal Court with her lawyer after questioning in June.
THE Appeal Court yesterday upheld the Municipal Court’s decision to deny bail to the wife of a prominent Phnom Penh businessman accused of plotting to kill her stepdaughter.
Last month, Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged Seng Chenda, the wife of construction and engineering tycoon Khaou Chuly, with attempted premeditated murder under Article 3 of the Law on Aggravating Circumstances of Felonies.
The charges came after she was fingered as the mastermind of a plot targeting Suv Chantha, the wife of Sun Chanthol. Sun Chanthol is vice chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia and a former minister of public works and transport.
On June 16, Suv Chantha, Khaou Chuly’s daughter, filed a complaint accusing two men and two women of attempting to rape and murder her and her daughter in the family’s Sen Sok district villa.
The lawyer for the foursome, Dun Vibol, said after their subsequent arrest that three of his clients had told police that Seng Chanda hired them to carry out the crime.
Seng Chanda’s lawyer, Lim Vanna, said yesterday’s Appeal Court ruling had left him “disappointed”.
“We tried our best to present reasons to judges for their consideration, for my client has a blood disease, and she has vowed not to escape while on bail,” Lim Vanna said.
He said that he had not yet consulted with his client on whether to take the bail matter to the Supreme Court, but that the decision would rest with his client. No trial date has been set for the case.
News from PhnomPenhPost
Dengue Outbreak Prompts Government Campaign
in what health officials say is a sharp increase from last year.
Officials from the Ministry of Health met with provincial health authorities on Tuesday to begin a campaign to curb an outbreak of dengue fever.
At least 10 people have died from the disease since June, with another 3,700 infected in what health officials say is a sharp increase from last year.
“We are very concerned about the outbreak of dengue fever over the last few months,” Huy Rekol, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's dengue control department, told the meeting. “So we must have a strong response to this outbreak.”
The outbreak began at the onset of the rainy season, in June, and has spread across provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampot, and Kandal, as well as Kep and Phnom Penh.
The virus has become more potent in recent years, Kuy Rekol said.
“We must increase health education in communes and schools, so the people can understand how to prevent dengue fever,” Huy Rekol said.
Dengue is carried by mosquito, so people should kill their larvae by using the chemical known by its brand name Abate in water pots and other still water sources and fill in puddles around their houses, he said.
People should also sleep under mosquito nets at night to prevent the early morning bites of the Aedes mosquito, which carries the dengue virus, he said. The mosquitoes are most active between 5:30 am and 5:30 pm.
Beginning next week, the Ministry of Health will send around 5 tons of Abate to the worst hit provinces so that it can be distributed by local authorities.
People are also encouraged to by “seven-colored” fish from markets to put in water pots, which keep down mosquito larvae. Children should wear long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites that can carry the disease, Huy Rekol said.
News from VOA-NEWS
Khmer Rouge Play Raises Questions on Reconciliation
“Breaking The Silence” is a play designed to encourage people to talk among each other about their experiences under the Khmer Rouge.
In much of Cambodia today, families still live among those who were members of the regime. They may never talk to each other or acknowledge their experiences.
“Breaking the Silence,” which was performed at Chaktomuk theater in Phnom Penh on Sunday, is a series of short skits designed to show people how they can begin a process of reconciliation.
The idea of reconciliation was highlighted by the verdict of former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, who received a commuted sentence of 19 years from the UN-backed tribunal last month for overseeing the torture and execution of more than 12,000 people at Tuol Sleng prison.
But following Sunday's performance, the audience was split on whether the ideas in “Breaking the Silence” can help.
“I thought this story, 'Breaking the Silence,' was an encouragement to push the people who used to make mistakes to dare to confess those mistakes,” Sok Lang, an employee of the Center for Justice and Reconciliation, told VOA Khmer after the show. “Because the story also explained that sometimes those people had committed cruel things just because of following orders.”
In his tribunal defense, Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, said he had been following orders. He took responsibility for the crimes committed under his watch, and he asked for forgiveness from those who lost family at the prison.
Sok Lang said he wanted other Khmer Rouge cadre to publicly apologize. “And we also want those who suffered to accept the apologies, because it is the only way to reconcile our nation.”
Not everyone was convinced that reconciliation will work.
Sok Chea, another audience member, said he had lost his father, all her father's relatives, and all her mother's relatives to the Khmer Rouge.
“Therefore, what they want for reconciliation for me, by showing this play, was just on the surface of my pain,” she said. “But for my real heart, it cannot. The Khmer Rouge regime is unforgettable for me. What they want for reconciliation for us cannot make us do away with our pain.”
News from VOA-NEWS
Aug 7, 2010
UNESCO to Mark 1st Anniversary of Tuol Sleng Genocide Inscription
Toul Sleng Genocidle museum in PhnomPenh, Cambodia.
CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, AUGUST 6, 2010- The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the UNESCO Office in Cambodia will jointly organize the 1st anniversary ceremony of the inscription of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives in the Memory of the World International Register on 9 August, 2010, according to UNESCO office in Phnom Penh. UNESCO Office in
“The Memory of the World is the documented, collective memory of the peoples of the world. It is the legacy of the past to the world community of the present and the future.” The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme recognizes documentary heritage of international, regional and national significance, maintains registers of it, and facilitates preservation and access without discrimination. It campaigns to raise awareness of the documentary heritage and to alert governments, the general public, and businesses to preservation needs.
“This ceremony will foster reflections on collective memory and raise awareness and bring attention to the importance of preserving and protecting our documentary heritage that memorializes our past.” The ceremony will gather participants from the MoCFA and other concerned ministries, development partners and NGOs, and will be held in the morning of Monday, 9 August, 2010 at the
During the three day meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, which was held on July 31, 2009 in
News from DAP-NEWS
WB Gives $23 million for Strengthening Higher Education in Cambodia
CAMBODIA, PHNOM PENH, AUGUST 6, 2010-The World Bank Group on August 6 approved US$23 million in grant and credit to help strengthen higher education institutions in Cambodia. The Higher Education Quality and Capacity Improvement Project aims to improve the quality of teaching, management and research capacity, and provide scholarships to disadvantaged students.
“Investing in human capital for Cambodia’s sustainable development and poverty reduction is a key component of our Country Assistance Strategy,” said World Bank Country Manager, Qimiao Fan. “I hope that this new project will help the country, particularly the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, to strengthen its quality standards for education, as well as build the skills needed for the public and private sectors.” Fan said in the statement from World Bank.
The International Development Association – the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries – is providing a grant and interest-free loan for the project, each valued at US$11.5 million.
This five-year project will focus on four main components such as strengthening the capacity of Cambodia’s higher education system by improving the overall development, management and governance of the higher education institutions. This involves strengthening the capacity of the Department of Higher Education, Department of Scientific Research, the Accreditation Committee and Higher Education Institutes.
"Providing Competitive Development and Innovation Grants that could help improve teaching and management, as well as provide practical solutions for existing development problems in the country. providing Scholarships to Disadvantaged Students based on pro-poor targeting and educational criteria. Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation," the statement added.
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