'No punishments' over deadly Cambodian stampede: PM Cambodians pray with offerings near the Diamond Gate bridge via CAAI PHNOM PENH — Cambodia's pr

'No punishments' over deadly Cambodian stampede: PM Cambodians pray with offerings near the Diamond Gate bridgevia CAAIPHNOM PENH — Cambodia's premier said Monday that nobody will be brought to justice over a festival stampede last week that left more than 350 people dead, but admitted the government was at fault."Nobody will be punished for the incident," Prime Minister Hun Sen said after the worst tragedy in Cambodia for decades."The incident that happened was the responsibility of the government," he said, describing it as "a historical lesson that we must remember".Cambodia's annual water festival ended in tragedy last Monday after...

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Kingdom defends its ballet

Photo by: Tracey SheltonA dancer performs Khmer Royal Ballet in 2008.via CAAIMonday, 29 November 2010 15:02 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea The Cambodian government last week condemned statements made by members of Thailand’s Yellow Shirts that the origins of Khmer Royal Ballet were derived from traditions in Thailand.The statements were reported on the website of Thai television network ASTV nearly two weeks ago and quoted Yellow Shirt members as saying that “both music and dance of [the Khmer Royal Ballet’s] modern forms are of Thai characteristics”.Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the statements were unreasonable...

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Memorial for the Victims of Koh Pich at Wat Khemara Raingsey, San Jose, California

VOA News regarding this memorial ...

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Finally the "Big" Chumteav and her squad show up

(All Photos: Cambodia Express News) Yeay Phu (right of Bun Rany) was accompanying the Big Chumteav while her husband, Lao Meng Khin, is ordering the sand pumping on resident's houses in Boeung Kak L...

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"Chamnuon Neak Slabb Hak Min Cheak" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

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"A-so Kruor-sa Khemara Rorng Kruos" a Poem in Khmer by Ung Thavary

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World Cinema: Cambodians take hard self-look

Suon, a Khmer Rouge militia commander, in "Enemies of the People," a documentary directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath. (Old Street Films) Two new movies in the nation's inaugural film fest deal with the Khmer Rouge horror.November 28, 2010By Dustin Roasa, Special to the Los Angeles TimesReporting from Phnom Pehn, CambodiaOn an unseasonably cool evening last month, nearly 700 people filed into the Chenla Theater for the final night of the inaugural Cambodia International Film Festival. The four-day event had drawn sizable audiences to films from more than 30 countries, but it was the premiere on this night of a Cambodian film ...

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7th day memorial ceremony for the victims in Koh Pich organized by the SRP

November 28, 2010: Sam Rainsy Party organized 7th day memorial ceremony for the victims of Koh Pich bridge's tragedy on 22 November. The Party invited 100 monks and hundreds of people to participate in the ceremony. ...

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Who’s responsible for the Koh Pich accident?

Who's responsible: Maybe you are looking at him right now? (Photo: AP) 28 Nov. 2010Radio Free AsiaTranslated from Khmer by SochGovernment officials indicated on 27 Nov that, up to now, the tally of the number of dead and injured people inside the hospitals shows that there are 347 deceased and 395 injured. This number is lower than a previous tally which put the total number of dead and injured to almost 1,000.While the mourning is taking place, the public, both from inside Cambodia and from overseas, demand that an investigation be conducted to find the reasons and those responsible for this accident that caused so many deaths.From...

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Secure online donations to the victims of Koh Pich tragedy accepted at The WAVE Project

This week's Water Festival tragedy in Cambodia has shocked and saddened us all.Our friends at Strey Khmer in Phnom Penh have been part of the relief effort - working without pause, caring for the injured, comforting and reuniting grief-stricken survivors, providing food and shelter.In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please consider helping those whose lives have been forever changed by this horrific event.Your generous donation is tax deductible as allowed by law, and much appreciated. Donation can be made at: http://www.thewaveproject.org/ (use the "Donate" link at the bottom right hand side of the page), or click here to go The Wave's donation...

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Monks bless dead after horror [-Koh Pich bridge: the "gate to hell"]

Nov 24, 2010ReutersDESPERATE SCREAMSScores of people leapt to their deaths from the pedestrian bridge, unable to swim and dragged under water amid frantic splashing as desperate and panicked people plunged down from above.While many victims drowned, most perished while trapped under the weight of hundreds of fleeing revellers.Hours after the tragedy, the scene was untouched. Shoes, flip-flops and ripped clothing piled up a foot high across some parts of the 80m bridge linking Phnom Penh to a gawdy man-made entertainment island packed with restaurants, fairground rides and exhibition centres.Hundreds of onlookers endured the stench of rotting garbage and tip-toed across the trampled grass to get a glimpse at the place where so many died.Many people sat in silence on the steep...

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Condolences from Khmer Youth Association

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Cambodia mourns festival tragedy

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Cambodia mourns stampede victims

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Aftermath of the stampede video

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Stampede Toll Increases in Cambodia

Questions Mount About Cause of the Deadly Accident, as Country Prepares for a Day of Mourning.NOVEMBER 24, 2010By PATRICK BARTAThe Wall Street JournalPHNOM PENH, Cambodia—Questions about what caused a deadly bridge stampede in Cambodia's capital late Monday mounted as the country prepared for a day of mourning later in the week.The death toll from the stampede, at the end of Cambodia's annual water festival, rose to 378 on Tuesday, with hundreds more injured. Many of the injured rested on mats in the hallways of Phnom Penh's main hospital, which didn't have enough rooms for the victims, while relatives identified bodies laid out at the back of property. Authorities trawled waters beneath the bridge where the disaster occurred for more bodies. It wasn't clear what triggered the...

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Cambodian survivors tell of their festival stampede hell

November 24, 2010Martin Petty and Prak Chan ThulReuters PHNOM PENH: Buddhist monks chanted as onlookers gazed silently across a bridge piled with the shoes and torn clothing left by victims of a stampede in Cambodia's capital here. The body count stood at 375 yesterday and was expected to rise. About 755 people were injured and many people are missing. The stampede on the Diamond Gate bridge occurred late on Monday, the last day of the yearly three-day Water Festival marking the end of the rainy season. "Everyone is shocked that this can happen to us," said Chhun Sreypong, 45, clutching her baby and looking across Phnom Penh's river, the Tonle Sap, from which scores of bodies were dragged. "Most of those who died were youngsters." Survivors told of being buried beneath piles of...

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Anger and grief as Cambodia mourns stampede dead

November 24, 2010Kelly Macnamara AFPGrieving Cambodian families on Wednesday began paying their last respects to relatives among the nearly 380 victims killed in a festival stampede, as anger built over security at the event.Authorities were probing why the throngs of revellers had panicked at the annual water festival, crushing and trampling people underfoot on an overcrowded narrow bridge in Phnom Penh.The government admitted it had overlooked issues of crowd control at the three-day event, which attracted some three million revellers to the capital from all over Cambodia."We were concerned about the possibilities of boats capsizing and pick-pocketing. We did well, but we did not think about this kind of incident," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP.A committee...

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Eight Vietnamese killed in Cambodia water festival stampede

11/24/2010VOV News (Hanoi)At least 8 Vietnamese were killed, 8 other injured, and 5 are still missing after the Diamond Bridge stampede during a water festival in Phnom Penh, according to the Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia on November 23. Some travel agencies say those Vietnamese who attended the water festival as part of their package tour are safe.Tuyet Mai, a representative from Fiditour Company said the disaster occurred after they had already returned to Vietnam. Trinh Quoc Minh from the Lua Viet office in Cambodia said his visitors are also safe after the eve...

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Condolences from KEA Inc.

CONDOLENCES TO VICTIM’S FAMILIESKHMER ENTERTAINMENT OF AMERICA, INC.7863 Broadway, Lemon Grove, California 91945, United States of America (USA)Tel: (619) 840-6651- Fax: (619) 583-5813 - email: cheanglp@cox.netOn behalf of the KHMER ENTERTAINMENT OF AMERICA, Inc. and families of all officers, I am saddened for the loss of hundreds of lives at Koh Pich Bridge, during the last day of Water Festival, in Phnom Penh.We would like to extend our profound condolences and best wishes for quick recovery to the families and friends of those lost or injured in the unfortunate stampede in Koh Pich.Our thoughts and prayers are with the families...

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"Koss Pich Pruos Punleu, Khmer Chheu Kann Tuk " a Poem in Khmer by a Group of Poets

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A Tragedy Waiting to Happen

Wednesday, November 24, 2010Op-Ed by MPThis is not the time for recriminations or apportioning blame, but a public tragedy and grief of this magnitude demand or deserves at least a thorough, open post-mortem examination, if only to prevent similar events from ever taking place again. The term ‘tragedy’ is usually used to describe a misfortune or a calamitous incident mediated through the agency of human practice or malpractice. This practice could bear the imprint of deliberate intentions on the part of human agents themselves, or be a consequence of sheer negligence or incompetence on the part of those involved or entrusted with the responsibility towards maintaining public order and safety. On the other hand, we describe those events as ‘disasters’ where the forces of nature...

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Cambodians try to handle aftermath of deadly stampede

November 24 2010Source: Xinhua"I went to that island with my boyfriend last night to celebrate the Water Festival, but now I don't know his whereabout...I even don't know whether he is alive or not," said Na Song, a 22-year-old girl lying on a shabby mat along the corridor of the inpatient building of Calmette Hospital.Na's mother, Thean Veng, said she got the news from Na's friend this morning that her daughter was one of the victims of the deadly stampede on a bridge, connecting an entertainment complex at Diamond Island and the mainland Phnom Penh."My daughter had difficulties in breathing and was once in critical condition. Now she still suffers severe stomachache and can eat nothing," said Thean Veng, who was from the Kampong Chuang province.Monday, the final day of the...

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Our Sincere Condolences to the Family of the Victims of Koh Pich

Dear Compatriots,KI-Media team would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family of the victims from the stampede in Koh Pich. Please accept our deepest sympathy in your time of loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.Lo...

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Families to pay respects to Cambodia crush victims

Relatives mourn the loss of their younger brother among victims of the stampede placed inside a makeshift morgue inside the Calmette hospital in PhnomPenh on November 23, 2010. (AFP/Hoang Dinh Nam) Cambodian Buddhist monks gather to pray for victims of the stampede in front of the bridge in Phnom Penh on November 23, 2010. Grieving families in Cambodiawere due to pay their last respects Wednesday to relatives among the nearly 380 victims killed in a massive stampede at a water festival in the capital. (AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy) November 24, 2010Kelly Macnamara AFPGrieving families in Cambodia were due to pay their last respects...

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Condolences From Vars' Families, Everett, WA, USA

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