Cambodia hosts large-scale peacekeeping drill

Indonesian soldiers parade during the multi-national exercise Angkor sentinel 2010 at Kampong Speu province, some 60 kilometers west of Phnom Penh on July 17, 2010. (Photo courtesy: AFP)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) and United Nations resident coordinator Douglas Broderick (L) look a photo exhibition during the multi-national exercise Angkor sentinel 2010 at Kampong Speu province, some 60 kilometers west of Phnom Penh on July 17, 2010. (Photo courtesy: AFP)
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) looks at demining equipments during the multi-national exercise Angkor sentinel 2010 at Kampong Speu province, some 60 kilometers west of Phnom Penh on July 17, 2010. (Photo courtesy: AFP)

KAMPONG SPEU, Saturday 17 July 2010 (AFP) - Cambodia opened its first ever large-scale international peacekeeping training exercise with a ceremony Saturday at a military base south of the capital.

Over 700 military personnel from 23 countries will participate in two weeks of field training during the "Angkor Sentinel" exercise, focusing on developing nations' contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.

"From a country that used to receive blue hat soldiers to help keep peace, Cambodia has become a country that sends blue hat soldiers to help keep peace in other nations," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, referring to UN troop uniforms.

Cambodia was the focus of a UN peacekeeping mission in the early 1990s to help end decades of civil war, but has recently deployed troops to work as UN peacekeepers in Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic.

But the exercise, co-sponsored by the US Army, has been criticised by New York-based Human Rights Watch for using the grounds of the Cambodian military's ACO Tank Unit, which has been accused of being involved in illegal landgrabs.

"For the Pentagon and State Department to permit abusive Cambodian military units to host a high-profile regional peacekeeping exercise is outrageous," said Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director, in a statement.

"The US undermines its protests against the Cambodian government for rampant rights abuses like forced evictions when it showers international attention and funds on military units involved in grabbing land and other human rights violations," he added.

The "Angkor Sentinel" is part of the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative, a US effort to help train peacekeepers around the world.

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"Doctor Ott Sala" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

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Monkey see, monkey do: Congratulations to Comrade Chia Xim for another PhD to adorn your blank slate intellect!

All photos: theC-P-Poop.org

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Cambodians Hold Anti-Thailand Protest in Phnom Penh

2010-07-15
New Tang Dynasty TV

"Firstly, we want Thailand to withdraw troops from the temple site before July 15, 2008. Secondly, we want the royal Thai government to respect the constitution, like the French-Thai treaty from 1904-1907, the verdict of the international court in 1962 and the Paris peace accord in 1991." - Rong Chhun, President of Cambodia Independent Teachers' Association (CITA)

A small group of anti-Thailand protesters gathered in Phnom Penh on Thursday urging Thai troops to complete their withdrawal from the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the border of the two countries.

Dozens of police blocked the planned rally site at the old National Assembly.

A similar protest last year turned violent and resulted in riot police moving in on the demonstrators with electric batons.

After police threatened to disperse the group, they moved to the headquarters of the Cambodia Independent Teachers' Union, where protesters held up anti-Thai placards.

[Kang Soksan, Independent Teachers Association]:
"We want the royal government of Cambodia to show their willingness and clear stand in solving the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand."

The ongoing land dispute between Cambodia and Thailand erupted in 2008 when Cambodia bid to list the Preah Vihear ruins as a World Heritage Site.

Bangkok's backing for the push triggered a political uproar in Thailand and resulted in a military face-off.

[Rong Chhun, Cambodian Independent Teachers]:
"Firstly, we want Thailand to withdraw troops from the temple site before July 15, 2008. Secondly, we want the royal Thai government to respect the constitution, like the French-Thai treaty from 1904-1907, the verdict of the international court in 1962 and the Paris peace accord in 1991."

Preah Vihear has been claimed by both sides for decades, but was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

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Cambodia Town Celebrates Triumphs, Challenges

TRADITION. Dancers from the Khmer Arts Cultural Center perform a “Wishing Dance” before ceremonies at Cambodia Town’s Third Anniversary party. —Gazette photo by Darcy Leigh Richardson

Thursday, July 15, 2010
By Darcy Leigh Richardson
Editor
Long Beach Gazette (California, USA)

They came to Long Beach as refugees, many of them penniless, grieving the death of family and friends, and in fear of streets that reminded them of the jungles of Cambodia.

More than 30 years later, the Cambodian community, its friends and supporters, and city and state dignitaries gathered to celebrate the third anniversary of Cambodia Town, Inc. on Friday, July 9.

On July 3, 2007, the City Council voted to officially designate the area of Anaheim Street bounded by Atlantic Boulevard and Junipero Avenue as Cambodia Town.

But for the nonprofit cultural organization’s directors and board members, their story began decades before the recognition. Sithea San, chairperson of Cambodia Town, arrived in Long Beach as a refugee of genocide in August 1981.

Twenty years later, San and her husband, Richer, were instrumental in establishing a vision for the run-down streets in their neighborhood and had a plan to unite the Cambodian community.

“It was very challenging and we had to prove to the City Council why we should have Cambodia Town,” San said. “We had to organize events to share our culture and to show that Cambodia Town could be a tourist attraction in Long Beach, which is known as the International City.”

San admits the journey has not been easy, and challenges still loom. For example, the organization has been attempting to organize a Business Improvement District (BID), which would require all businesses in the district to contribute money to a community fund for events and neighborhood improvements. San said she envisions having enough support from business owners on Anaheim Street to form a BID in 2011.

“We want to see this community more vibrant and for businesses to be open late,” San said. “We don’t want to see businesses closing their doors at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. We want a nice coffee shop, an upscale restaurant and a jewelry mart… Another goal is to try and improve the facades of the buildings so they resemble Cambodian architecture and include Khmer characters to make this area distinct.”

San said 54th District Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, who attended the celebration and presented the Champion of Cambodia Town Award, has been working with the committee to lobby in Sacramento to erect a Cambodia Town sign visible from the 405 Freeway.

In addition to signs, San said her dream is for Cambodians to socialize with neighbors at a community center in the area. In recent history, as more Cambodian immigrants have had children who were born and raised in Long Beach, a concerted effort has been made to share a culture spanning thousands of years.

Events such as the Cambodian New Year Parade and the Cambodian Art Exhibition have become annual mainstays.

“We came here as refugees and we embrace the future,” San said. “Speaking for myself, I’m not going to forget the past. But I will not sit and have the past haunt me. I must move forward. Obstacles and stress come to me, but it makes me stronger. I tell myself, ‘You could survive then (the genocide under Khmer Rouge), so surviving now, why not?’”

Susan Huoy Lor, a Cambodia Town, Inc. founding board member, said she and her husband, Samuel Huot Lor, arrived in the neighborhood on Aug. 17, 1979.

Huoy Lor recalled escaping from the Khmer Rouge regime by walking through minefields to the Thailand border in 1979.

“I didn’t have milk to feed my son, and he was lost,” Huoy Lor said.

“My husband was an electronics engineer who went to university and we were lucky because intellectuals were (in danger). I remember I came to (America) with two sets of clothes. I walked on the street in rubber shoes. We had no money. We came here empty with two hands and two feet. Anaheim (Street) was ugly and dirty, but it felt like heaven to me.”

Huoy Lor said starting over was very difficult, but she and her husband had two children, a boy and a girl who are both excellent students. Huoy Lor said Cambodia Town has improved substantially and is cleaner and safer than years ago.

“We wanted to come together as a community so Cambodia Town could be here for our children,” Huoy Lor said. “The Cambodian people have always worked hard, and we will continue to work hard to build this community.”

Edward Sana Tan, chairman of the Cambodian-American Chamber of Commerce, said he arrived in Long Beach in 1984. Sana Tan, a general contractor whose business is on Anaheim Street, said he looks forward to the formation of a BID.

“The (Chamber of Commerce’s) function is to facilitate getting people their business license,” Sana Tan said.

“The community has changed. There used to be nothing (on Anaheim Street), but now there are mostly small, family-owned businesses that Cambodians feel comfortable going to through word-of-mouth. For the BID, we have 60% of the businesses (supporting), and that is progress.”

Long Beach Chief of Police Jim McDonnell attended the event and said he also has plans for Cambodia Town — the city’s Police Department is working to create a Cambodian Citizens’ Police Academy, where people of Cambodian descent can be recruited for the LBPD.

“I think people (in Cambodia Town) are communicating more with police officers when there are problems and we’ve built some bridges,” McDonnell said. “We still face some challenges. The community is dealing with a history of police in Cambodia being brutal, corrupt or worse.”

David Doung, the son of Kevin Kang, owner of Grand Paradise Restaurant where the event occurred, said he grew up in Cambodia Town and his parents opened the restaurant more than 20 years ago.

Doung said many people in the neighborhood were segregated 10 years ago and it was rare to see a familiar face on the street.

“The older generation has tried to teach (the younger generation) our culture and how easy it is for us,” Duong said. “The older generation came together to create Cambodia Town for our benefit so we can carry the torch. It’s up to us to make a difference.”

For more information, visit www.cambodiatown.org.

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CAMBODIA: Sand dredging prompts fishermen’s protests

Fishermen report a drop in the number of fish in the area (Photo: Brendan Brady/IRIN)
Dredgers remove 25,000 metric tonnes of Cambodian sand each day (Photo: Brendan Brady/IRIN)

KOH KONG, 15 July 2010 (IRIN) - Fish are the primary source of income for residents of this sleepy, rustic border town in southwestern Cambodia, but when the area’s sand dredging vessels prowl the waters to plough up the riverbed, the fish all but disappear.

“When they were dredging a lot, we stopped bothering to even go out since it was not possible to catch anything,” Dol Sareem, a 60-year-old fisherman, told IRIN. “In those months, we caught half as much fish.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen banned sand exports in May 2009, yet sand mining continues in Koh Kong Province - the epicentre of the country’s corrupt dredging industry - enriching local elites and leaving fishermen to suffer, said international watchdog Global Witness.

There has been a lull in the sand operations since April, but local fishermen including Dol Sareem, who lives in Koh Kong’s main fishing community of dilapidated wooden homes with corrugated tin roofs, became so distressed by the impact of sand dredging that they joined several hundred people to protest in front of the provincial government office last December.

“It has improved since they have not been dredging these last few months but it’s still not like before,” he said.

Fishermen operating along the nearby River Kampot were less restrained in expressing their frustration. In February, they destroyed dredging equipment which they believed was responsible for the collapse of a riverbank.

Law not enforced

Dredging extracts sand below the sea floor, disturbing marine life and, more significantly, the spawning grounds that replenish it.

Dredgers remove 25,000 tons of sand each day from the Cambodian seas to export primarily to Singapore, where it is used for land reclamation, according to a Global Witness report in May.

The group valued a year’s worth of Cambodian sand at US$250 million on the Singapore market.

The report, entitled Shifting Sands, said the industry lacks transparency and government regulation, and could severely damage marine ecosytems essential to the livelihoods of many fishing communities.

“Companies operating in the sand sector as well as Cambodia’s regulatory agencies are ignoring environmental and social safeguards, and international industry best practices,” the report said.

The Cambodian government rejects the report’s findings. Cambodia’s embassy in London released a statement calling Global Witness an “international troublemaker” and describing its report as “malicious and misleading”.

The response by government officials closer to the ground, however, has been contradictory.

Pech Siyon, Koh Kong’s director of the Department of Industry, Energy and Mines, told local media he expected the main dredging company, LYP - named after Ly Yong Phat, the senator with the ruling party who is identified by Global Witness as the leading figure in the industry - would resume export operations in the near future.

Cambodia targeted

Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have placed restrictions on sand exports because of the environmental destruction it causes.

As a result, Global Witness says, Singapore has turned to Cambodia, where laws are lax.

According to Chourn Bunnara, who is based on the Cambodian coast with the NGO Fisheries Action Coalition Team, fishing communities have been largely powerless to raise concerns with the government about dredging vessels violating the ban.

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Preah Vihear Listing Setback Played Down

Thai black-clad soldiers playing cards inside Cambodia's Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak Pagoda

12 July 2010
Thai-ASEAN News Network

The Region 2 Army has asserted that the registration of the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site will not affect the Thai- Cambodian border dispute and insisted that the situation in the area remains normal.

Region 2 Army Commander Lieutenant General Wewalit Jormsamrit said that the Thai-Cambodian border situation remains unchanged in light of the World Heritage Committee's consideration to name the Preah Vihear Temple as a Cambodia's World Heritage site on July 25.

He believes Cambodia will stand by its demand but must take into consideration the arguments that the Thai government submitted to the World Heritage Committee.

One of the demands made by Thailand is that no structure be allowed within the ten-kilometer radius of the temple grounds.

Nonetheless, Cambodia has relocated its local community within the ten-kilometer radius with the exception of the community market.

Regarding Cambodia's campaign against Thailand's involvement in the Preah Vihear dispute, the Region 2 Army commander said Cambodia has the right to do so as long as it does not violate Thailand's territorial rights or bilateral relations between the two nations.

Wewalit added that no additional forces were required since local border officials from both countries are in good terms.

Meanwhile, about 50 Ubon Ratchathani University students marched around the university grounds in a campaign to protect 1.8 million rai of land in eight eastern and northeastern provinces that Cambodia is claiming to be its soil, using the French territorial map.

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Peacekeeping Exercises Open Amid Concerns

Multiple peacekeeping exercises that include troops from 26 countries began today and will carry through the end of the month. (Photo: AP)

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Monday, 12 July 2010

“This is the first time in the history of the Cambodian military that we have hosted multi-national exercise training.”

Cambodia opened a massive peacekeeping exercise Tuesday that is supported by the US. But Human Rights Watch says the choice of Cambodia for the operation, Angkor Sentinel, undermines US human rights diplomacy.

Multiple peacekeeping exercises that include troops from 26 countries began today and will carry through the end of the month as part of a global peacekeeping initiative supported by the US.

“For the Pentagon and State Department to permit abusive Cambodian military units to host a high-profile regional peacekeeping exercise is outrageous,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “The United States undermines its protests against the Cambodian government for rampant rights abuses like forced evictions when it showers international attention and funds on military units involved in grabbing land and other human rights violations.”

However, Cambodian military officials welcomed the exercises, which will include more than 1,000 troops from countries as diverse as China, India, the US, Tonga and Brunei and are aimed at improving the abilities of those countries to conduct UN operations together.

“This is the first time in the history of the Cambodian military that we have hosted multi-national exercise training,” said Nem Sowath, a three-star general and chairman of the exchange subcommittee.

The training will include command post exercises at a hotel in Phnom Penh followed by field training exercises in Kampong Speu province.

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Warmer Relations, But Cambodian Debt Remains

Cambodian Ambassador "comrade" Hem Heng shakes hand with US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. (Photo: by Im Sothearith)

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Monday, 12 July 2010

National anthems, traditional Khmer music and big smiles were all a part of a celebration dinner held by Cambodian diplomats Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of US-Cambodia relations. But Cambodia still wants debt forgiven and a chance to see more deductions in tariffs.

“I think we’re on an upswing...so we’re pleased with the relations,” US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters.

Cambodian Ambassador Hem Heng noted the improved relations but said he still wanted to see Cambodia forgiven more than $300 million in debt incurred prior to the Khmer Rouge. He said he was optimistic the US would consider the possibility.

About 200 guests from the US State Department, Cambodian diplomatic corps, US government agencies and Congress joined Friday’s dinner, which was held in a Chinese restaurant in a Virginia suburb of Washington.

The US and Cambodia are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations this month, which talks and performances planned in Cambodia throughout July.

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Govt denies abuses by troops [... "Stupid is as stupid does": A lesson from Forrest Gump to the US?]

These soldiers in Preah Vihear were photographed during a forced eviction in Preah Vihear, since Hun Xen's regime denies troop abuses, these soldiers must be there by coincidence???

Monday, 12 July 2010
Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

US embassy spokesman John Johnson said in a statement yesterday that in accordance with US law, all participants in the exercises were “thoroughly and rigorously vetted” by the embassy and the departments of state and defence. (sic!)

AS Cambodia gears up to hold large-scale military exercises this weekend, government officials have dismissed claims that the units hosting the event have been implicated in “serious” human rights abuses.

The Angkor Sentinel exercise, part of the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative, will involve 1,000 military personnel from 23 countries. It was to start with a military officer training course in Phnom Penh today.

The training course will be followed by a two-week field training exercise scheduled to kick off at the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ACO Tank Command Headquarters in Kampong Speu province on Saturday.

The exercises, jointly run by the US departments of defence and state, were designed to help train peacekeepers, Defence Ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said yesterday.

“The military field training will use only small arms, starting from AK-47 [rifles] and focus on the skill and the strategy of maintaining security and peacekeeping,” he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen was expected to preside over the opening of the exercises on Saturday, according to a military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Alleged abuses
The exercises have drawn criticism from Human Rights Watch, which has slammed the involvement of RCAF units that it says have been implicated in rights violations, including evictions, arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killings.

“For the Pentagon and state department to permit abusive Cambodian military units to host a high-profile regional peacekeeping exercise is outrageous,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW, said in a statement Thursday.

HRW said the ACO Tank Unit has been involved in illegal land seizures in Banteay Meanchey and Kampong Speu provinces.

The statement says the exercises will likely involve troops from Brigade 70 and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personal bodyguard units, both of which HRW has linked to a March 1997 grenade attack on a political rally that left at least 16 dead and hundreds injured.

“The US undermines its protests against the Cambodian government for rampant rights abuses like forced evictions when it showers international attention and funds on military units involved in grabbing land and other human rights violations,” Robertson said in the statement.

When contacted yesterday, however, government officials dismissed the HRW allegations as politically motivated.

“It is a political campaign of an individual foreigner, and I don’t know when Cambodia will be freed from the bother of their foreign policy,” said Om Yentieng, head of the government-run Cambodian Human Rights Committee.

He said all military officers involved in illegal activities are punished by their superiors.

Tith Sothea, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the military exercise was consistent with the government’s policy of strengthening co-operation with the international community.

“The statements of Human Rights Watch have always shown a bad habit of interfering in the internal affairs of the government,” he said.

US embassy spokesman John Johnson said in a statement yesterday that in accordance with US law, all participants in the exercises were “thoroughly and rigorously vetted” by the embassy and the departments of state and defence.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEBASTIAN STRANGIO

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Hun Xen's double standards: he praises progress of women in politics ... while berating Mrs. Mu Sochua?

Hun Xen (Photo: Reuters)

PM praises progress of women in politics

Monday, 12 July 2010
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

PRIME Minister Hun Sen praised what he described as the significant gains made by female politicians in a statement marking World Population Day, which was observed yesterday.

“The expression of women has steadily increased through politics,” Hun Sen said in Friday’s statement.

The premier encouraged all women to get involved in politics and social issues, and noted that he had previously called for the inclusion of women at all levels of government.

“I made the first-ever decision to order all cities and provinces to appoint a woman as deputy governor for cities, provinces, districts, villages and all state ministries and institutions,” Hun Sen said.

Lim Mony, head of the women’s section at the rights group Adhoc, acknowledged that the number of women in politics appeared to have risen in recent years. But she said many lack real power. “If women are promoted to the positions but they don’t have the right to make decisions, there is still gender inequality,” she said.

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The Dy-NASTIES' saga continues: 81-yr-old patriarch needs 48-yr-old wife because he is lonely and too old at home

Khaou Chuly

Okhna to petition for wife’s release on bail

Monday, 12 July 2010
Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

A PROMINENT businessman whose wife stands accused of masterminding a murder plot plans to petition government officials for her release on bail, his lawyer said yesterday.

The court last week charged Seng Chanda with attempted premeditated murder in connection with an alleged plot that targeted Sun Chantha, the daughter of Seng Chanda’s husband, Okhna Khaou Chuly. Suv Chantha is also the wife of Sun Chanthol, vice chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia and a former minister of public works and transport.

A complaint filed June 16 by Sun Chantha accuses two men and two women of attempting to rape and murder her and her daughter. According to the complaint, they approached the family’s house in Sen Sok district in the early morning hours of June 13 after drugging the family’s guard dogs. The complaint asserts that the plot was foiled after Sun Chantha woke up.

Lim Vanna, Khaou Chuly’s lawyer, said the request being drafted by his client would be sent to senior government officials and the municipal court.

“I know that Okhna has been writing personal letters to senior officials and the Phnom Penh Municipal Court seeking the release of his wife, because he is lonely and too old at home,” Lim Vanna said.

Judge Te Sam Ang ordered that Seng Chanda be placed in pretrial detention on Thursday morning, one day after charging her. He said yesterday that he could not comment on the prospect of her being released on bail because he had not seen any letter from Khaou Chuly.

Lim Vanna said the decision would rest solely with the investigating judge, despite the fact that government officials were also being petitioned.

“It is the judge’s right to make this decision whether or not to release her on bail,” he said, and added that the court would be kept informed of Seng Chanda’s whereabouts in the run-up to any trial.

Pol Chandara, a government lawyer representing Sun Chantha, declined to comment on the pending bail request in light of the fact that the case was still being investigated.

He said, though, that he believed it would be more appropriate to send a letter to the court than to government officials. “The government officials cannot interfere in the court’s affairs during the court’s investigation,” he said.

Okhna Khaou Phallaboth, the son of Khaou Chuly and younger brother of Sun Chantha, yesterday expressed regret that a “small internal dispute in the family” had ended up in court. He declined to describe the dispute’s origins.

“I firmly believe that my father’s wife would not do such a foolish thing as to order the rape and murder of my older sister,” he said.

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Loving our country

Thursday, 08 July 2010 16:18 Kim Samath and Tet Chann, LIFT of Phnom Penh Post

All Khmers please remember our roots and history
Which speak to the grandeur of our great race
Make up your mind and body and try hard to rebuild
In order to lift the value of our nation
To once again rise to the greatness that we once had

Photo by Julie Leafe

THAT these words, from the song “History of Khmer People” written by Nuon Kan in 1958, are still being sung by the most famous performers in the Kingdom is a testament to their power and the importance of national pride to the development of Cambodia.

Preap Sovatt and Aok Sokunkanha are two of the many pop stars and musicians who continue to spread Nuon Kan’s message to crowds throughout Cambodia.

Most of the pop fare being played today is about youthful pursuits such as loving your songsa.

But nationalist sentiments, like these lyrics in Nuon Kan’s piece, show that despite increasing foreign influences Cambodians, including the young, still have a profound love for their country.

Conflicts with Thailand over the border around Preah Vihear temple in the past year have not only given cause for Cambodia to ramp up its military presence along the frontier – they have also reignited nationalist feelings among Cambodians young and old.

But the temple ruins on the northern border may only be the most recent focal point of patriotism in the Kingdom. There is a rich history of Cambodians loving, serving and protecting their country.

“Working to find every way you can to help develop your country shows that you love your country,” said Pung Chhiv Kek, president of Licado, an organisation that works to protect human rights and promote respect for civil and political rights in Cambodia.

If millions of Cambodians were passionate about working together to improve their country, it could become a prosperous nation, she added.

“Nation. Religion. King,” is Cambodia’s national motto. While these are only words, many Cambodian’s have internalised their meaning and are living their lives with their country first.

“I want to help the country where my whole family lives,” said Sok Hak about his decision to become a soldier in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

“I want to show my hometown that I am conscientious and caring.”

Roeur Sokhom, who works to clear land mines as a supervisor at Mine Advisory Group, said that he decided to pursue his particular career due to a profound love for his countrymen.

“Clearing one mine can save one person who will be able to farm their land with confidence and improve their living standards,” he said.

Many other Cambodians who are not putting their lives on the line for their country are still doing what they can to contribute to the Kingdom.

“I love my country, as well as its people, and I often contribute whatever money I can to the Cambodian Red Cross or charities that are supporting soldiers along the border,” said 31-year-old Vann Kiry, an English teacher at New York International School.

Nationalism frequently takes centre stage in the political campaigns of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, as well as the opposition Sam
Rainsy Party, which employ various strategies to convince their constituents that they are the best caretakers of the Kingdom.

“Our party thinks about our homeland, protecting our frontiers to the east and the west, fighting against corruption, serving national interests rather than our own interests and trying to develop the economy of the country,” said Yim Sovann, a lawmaker and spokesman for the SRP.

“Nationalism is the basic foundation used to create legislation,” said senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap.

“It is the key to promoting microeconomics, national solidarity and unity.”

According to Ros Chantrabot, a preeminent Cambodian historian and vice president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, nationalist sentiment can encourage development in all sectors of Cambodian society.

“People should know their country’s history and culture and think critically about the true meaning of nationalism,” he said.

But Ros Chantrabot also warned that Cambodians should also understand how nationalism can be used in the wrong way.

Once people gain this knowledge and are able to implement their findings in their daily lives, “they will have true Khmer souls”, Ros Chantrabot said.

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Cambodia Lures Tourists: Catch And Eat A Tarantula

12.07.2010
Tourism-Review.com

Cambodia has a new attraction for tourists - a tarantula hunt. No tour operator has offered the strange activity yet, however locals do invite tourists for the hunt on their own.

Cambodians from around the city of Sukon offer a new attraction to tourists - an extraordinary hunt where the prey is a spider, a tarantula to be precise. Tourists who love extreme experience first hunt down the spider and then eat it. Some foreigners actually enjoy joining locals when looking for the spiders. They hunt tarantulas in their nests and then prepare them with soya sauce or fry them with salt and garlic.

According to news.com.au, the hunting is easy. You go to the jungle or to cashew nut plantations and poke in tarantula's nests. The terrified venomous spiders run out right into your hands. Because tarantula is a night animal, the hunting usually takes place during daylight. You are likely to catch more spiders then.

No tour operator has offered the experience yet. However, the Cambodians from the cities of Sukon and Kampong Cham who eat the spiders most often offer tourists to participate in the hunts.

As lidovky.cz reported, tarantulas are considered a delicacy in Cambodia. They were first eaten and sold for food in the 70s when people flee into the jungle to escape the murderous regime of the Khmer Rouge. In order to survive, they ate spiders and other insects. However, people grew fond of eating tarantulas so they started with culinary experiments.

Many Cambodians even believe that tarantulas can help with certain health problems. They are said to cure backache or respiratory diseases. The spiders can heal the best when soused in rice wine.

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High Level Democracy Meeting in Krakow hosted by the Community of Democracies

Originally posted by CCHR on Facebook

On 5 July 2010, CCHR President Ou Virak was a member of the "Activists for Democracy" Discussion Panel at the Community of Democracies High Level Meeting in Krakow. The High Level Meeting is hosted by Mr. Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and has been attended by Foreign Ministers from all over the world, including Hillary Clinton of the United States of America. Virak is pictured here (second from left) taking part in the Discussion Panel with Tadeusz Mazoweicki (far right), the former Prime Minister of Poland and the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe after World War II.

Ou Virak discussing the state of democracy in Cambodia at the High Level Meeting in Krakow hosted by the Community of Democracies.

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A king-size cake to fit a queen's taste?

All photos originally posted at http://norodomsihanouk.info
NB: KI-Media is not responsible for the posting of these photos, if you have comments on this cake or anybody shown on these photos, please email them directly to: cabinet@norodomsihanouk.info

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Analysis: Good relations on the horizon

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Soldier Noun Sarun, 21, rests at the top of the stairs to Preah Vihear temple yesterday. Two years ago, UNESCO approved Cambodia’s World Heritage site application for the temple.

Timeline: two fraught years in Thai-Cambodian links

June 7, 2008
UNESCO inscribes Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site during its annual meeting in Quebec City, Canada. Thai Foreign Minister Nappadon Pattama resigns three days later.

July 15, 2008
Cambodian authorities arrest three Thais attempting to cross the border in order to plant their country’s flag at the temple, triggering a military buildup on both sides.

October 15, 2008
After a brief firefight on October 3, Cambodian and Thai forces open fire on each other along the border, leaving three Cambodians dead and two Cambodians and seven Thais wounded.

April 3, 2009
Further fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops leaves at least three Thai soldiers and two Cambodian soldiers dead. About five

November 4, 2009
Cambodia makes public the appointment of former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra as a government adviser. The following day, both countries recall their ambassadors in connection with the issue.

November 10, 2009
Thaksin arrives in Cambodia to a warm welcome from Prime Minister Hun Sen and government officials. It is the first of three visits he has made to Cambodia since his appointment.

November 12, 2009
Thai Sivarak Chutipong is arrested on charges of passing Thaksin’s flight information to Thai officials. He is jailed in Cambodia but returns to Thailand in December after receiving a Royal pardon.

January 24, 2010
Thai and Cambodian troops begin a week of sporadic firefights, trading small-arms and rocket fire in the border area. Cambodian officials say one Thai soldier is killed in the exchange.

July 5, 2010
Cambodia arrests
two Red Shirt activists suspected of links to an attempted bombing in Bangkok on June 22. The couple are deported to Thailand on July 5.

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 15:03 Sebastian Strangio, The Phnom Penh Post

Analysis
THOUSANDS are expected to turn out for a celebration at Preah Vihear temple today marking the two-year anniversary of its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The July 2008 listing of the 11th-century Angkorian temple, the ownership of which has long been a point of contention between Cambodia and Thailand, sent bilateral relations into a tailspin from which they have barely recovered.

In Thailand, Foreign Minister Nappadon Pattama was forced to resign after the Thai constitutional court ruled he had acted illegally in supporting Cambodia’s bid.

The ensuing spat – kept constantly tense by a series of small-scale border clashes – hit a new low in November last year, when Cambodia announced it had appointed Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a government adviser.

Thailand immediately withdrew its ambassador in protest, prompting Cambodia to return the favour.

Relations have remained at a stalemate so far this year. Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that any decision to improve diplomatic relations would have to come from Thailand.

“It is up to the Thai side. If the Thais want to upgrade [the relationship], they have to declare first that they are sending back their ambassador,” he said.

He pledged that if Thailand were to dispatch its envoy, Cambodia would reciprocate within 15 minutes “at most”.

Cambodia’s handover on Monday of two Red Shirt activists suspected of involvement in an attempted bombing in Bangkok has prompted some observers to speculate that ties might be on the mend.

On Monday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva thanked Cambodia for the handover, and said he hoped the move would pave the way for closer collaboration between the two governments.

Springtime for Abhisit
Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said the deportation was the most recent demonstration of a thaw in relations that began at a Mekong River Commission summit in April.

The change had been marked, he said, by a moderation in Prime Minister Hun Sen’s provocative stance towards the Abhisit government, as well as a recognition that Abhisit had consolidated his position since antigovernment Red Shirt protests were violently dispersed in May.

“It doesn’t seem that the Bangkok elite in the Democratic Party will give up power easily,” Pavin said. “Hun Sen must have realised that it’s no good for his long-term interests if he does not change his stance on the current government.”

According to one line of thinking, Bangkok took Hun Sen’s pro-Thaksin stance a little too seriously: Their political relationship, which led relations to a new low last year, was purely pragmatic – and therefore subject to change.

“It was partly a domestic political game, and partly just a way of having fun at Thailand’s expense,” said Duncan McCargo, a Southeast Asia expert based at the University of Leeds.

“The history of relations between Thaksin and the CPP elite suggests that this is a very pragmatic relationship, rather than the robust and threatening alliance imagined by the Democrat Party.”

Set in stone
But Preah Vihear temple – known to the Thais as Phra Viharn – continues to cast a long shadow over the countries’ relationship. Although a World Court ruling handed the temple to Cambodia in 1962, it continues to rankle nationalists in Thailand.

Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, described enthusiasm about Preah Vihear as “a celebration of Cambodian identity”, but that the populist use of the issue in Cambodia had put pressure on Thailand to respond.

Indeed, the temple’s symbolism is only magnified by the domestic turmoil that has gripped Thailand since the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin.

Michael Montesano, a professor at the National University of Singapore, said the domestic political situation in Thailand – where the Abhisit government remained constrained by the need to appease “extreme Yellow Shirt elements” – could keep Preah Vihear firmly on the agenda.

McCargo agreed, saying the temple was not a constant source of concern in itself, but “is dusted off when there is a rise in political temperature” in Thailand.

The long-term health of Thai-Cambodian relations could hinge on the outcome of Thai elections expected later this year.

“Bilateral relations depend totally on Thai domestic politics,” Chheang Vannarith said. If the election failed to produce a government with a popular mandate, or triggered more violent street protests, he said, the two countries’ relations could suffer.

An electoral win by antigovernment Red Shirts and their allies would certainly improve relations with Phnom Penh in the short term, but Pavin said that Thai-Cambodian tensions would never fully fade.

“Relations sit on historical bitterness, territorial issues that have never been resolved,” he said. “The problem will always be there.”

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Sondhi and what the Thais say about Preah Vihear temple

Documents and maps posted at http://www.manager.co.th

Dear Readers,

One of our readers sent us the link to the following ASTV talk show featuring Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the Yellow Shirt leaders. According to our reader, the second part of the talk is centered on Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple. Because none of our team members speak Siem, we are unable to provide a summary of this talk. A transcript of the talk in Siem is available at the following link:

http://www.manager.co.th/Home/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9530000094857

If you understand Siem, would you please post a summary of the talk in the comment section to share with our readers?

Thank you!

KI-Media team

PS: Thank you to Lok Wanna for sending the link!

Click to Read More...

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Cambodian Festival at Park Jean Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 10 July 2010

Traditional Khmer dance (All Photos: Samnang Chuop - Thank you! Merci!)

Traditional Khmer dance performance
Traditional Khmer dance performance
Crowd watching the performances
The organizing committee
Laura Mam on stage
Laura Mam and her band
Laura Mam performing on stage
The audience

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