A Riel Headache: Can Cambodia End the Dollar's Reign?

!----> By Sam CampbellEconomics Today The Great Recession has brought currency issues—especially the threat of a Euro crisis—to the fore. But for dollarized countries, currency headaches have long been part of the landscape. With an estimated 90 percent share of money in circulation in Cambodia denominated in dollars, the kingdom is heavily dollarized....

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"Toeu Khmer Kuor Or, Reu Kuor Kheung?" a Poem in Khmer by K.C.

Click to Read More... checkFull("post-2048879967870151880"); addthis_url='http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2010/08/toeu-khmer-kuor-or-reu-kuor-kheung-poem.html'; addthis_title='"Toeu Khmer Kuor Or, Reu Kuor Kheung?" a Poem in Khmer by K.C.'; addthis_pub='kiletters'; ...

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Thailand and Cambodia vie over temple [-Correction: Preah Vihear temple is Cambodia's property!]

Saturday, July 31, 2010Zoe DanielABC (Australia)Listen to this story (MP3)ELIZABETH JACKSON: A renewed stoush has broken out over the management of the disputed Preah Vihear temple on the border of Thailand and Cambodia.Two years ago the temple was given World Heritage Status and now Cambodia has submitted a management plan for the site.But this week protestors took to the streets of Bangkok opposing the plan.The Thai government threatened to pull out of UNESCO altogether, arguing the plan threatens Thai sovereignty and regional peace.South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports from Bangkok.ZOE DANIEL: There are few more divisive issues in South East Asia than the ownership of the majestic Preah Vihear temple that perches on the mountainous border between Thailand and...

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"L'gneach Chout Teuk Phnaek" a Poem in Khmer by Yim Guechsè

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Life in the Ansorm Chrouk kingdoom

Story inspired by the Iron CurtainAdapted by Lucky UnluckyWhat language do they speak in hell?The year is 2050, the kingdoom of Keapucham (aka Champa II) is now completely absorbed into the Indochinese Federation controlled by communist Vietnam. A Viet officer is walking in the park and he sees an old Khmer man reading a book.The Viet says "What are you reading old man?" The old man says "I am trying to teach myself Pali."The Viet says "Why are you trying to learn Pali? It takes years to get a visa to visit Bodhgaya. You would die before the paperwork got done.""I am learning Pali so that when I die and go to Nirvana I will be...

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[Thai] PM tells media to study UNESCO resolution as Cambodia claims victory on Preah Vihear issue

BANGKOK, July 31 (MCOT online news) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday told media to carefully read the World Heritage Commission (WHC) resolution after Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An claimed a 'victory' as the heritage agency agreed to review its Preah Vihear temple management plan, despite the action coming a year from now.Asked to comment on the report, Mr Abhisit told journalists succinctly to "Please find out and read the resolution [yourself]...."The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage commission on Thursday postponed discussing the issue until next year when it meets in Bahrain.The heritage commission dropped the issue because its meeting secretariat had not distributed the Cambodian-prepared document...

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RFA Forum to be held in Southern California, please attend to voice your concerns

Click on the flyers to zoom inLocation map:View Larger MapDear All,Congressman Ed Royce of 40th district which includes Fullerton , Anaheim , Buena Park will host a Radio Free Asia (RFA) Forum on Thursday Aug 12, 2010 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.It will broadcasted on RFA for people around the world to listen. It is important for the Cambodian community to join and voice their concerns.It would be greatly appreciated if you could come and join this important event.Thank you!S...

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Cambodian Hero With Texas A&M Ties CNN’s “Hero Of The Week”

July 30, 2010Texas A&M News & Information ServicesCNN’s “Hero of the Week” is Aki Ra, a Cambodian whose land mine museum has ties to Texas A&M University. Ra is being featured this weekend on the network’s various stations.Ra and his Self Help Demining organization have cleared about 50,000 mines and unexploded weapons since 1993. The Cambodian Land Mine Museum in Siem Reap, Cambodia, was Aggie-designed and partially funded by members of the Texas A&M student chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students, who held a fun run and a T-shirt sale to raise money for the project.Footage from a documentary about Ra titled “A Perfect Soldier” premiered Thursday on CNN, CNN International, CNN Breaking News and CNN Espanol. Footage will be shown as part of...

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Workers of PCCS Garments Ltd are on strike

Workers of PCCS Garments Ltd are seen with Cambodia's national flag during a strike in protest against the suspension of a local union official at their factory in Phnom Phenh July 30, 2010. At least nine female garment workers were injured on Tuesday in clashes with riot police who used shields and electric shock batons to try to end the week-long strike. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaWorkers of PCCS Garments Ltd are seen during a strike in protest against the suspension of a local union official at their factory in Phnom Phenh July 30, 2010. At least nine female garment workers were injured on Tuesday in clashes with riot police who...

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UNESCO finds compromise on Preah Vihear temple issue

via Khmer NZBy Luc Citrinot, etn | Jul 30, 2010 It is a rather sad story for Preah Vihear temple, a 11° century jewel of Angkor architecture which unfortunately lies on a tip of a promontory just on the border line between Cambodia and Thailand. For decades, the temple has been the witness of a war of words, skirmishes and even sporadic fights between Cambodian and Thai troops due to territorial claims. Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia since 1907, a decision which was confirmed by an international judgment in 1962. Two years ago, Preah Vihear was finally listed as a World Heritage Site. Photo by Michael Sam, TerkEarthThis week,...

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Thais rally after UNESCO postpones ruling on disputed temple

via Khmer NZPosted : Fri, 30 Jul 2010By : dpa Bangkok - Several hundred Thais demonstrated in Bangkok Friday in support of their country's territorial rights after the UN's World Heritage Committee postponed a decision on a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.The committee, part of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was scheduled to rule Thursday on a Cambodian management plan for an 11th century Hindu temple straddling the border that has been a bone of contention between the two neighbours for decades.At a meeting in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, the 21-member committee decided to postpone...

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Good Signs Over Postponement Of Temple Management Plan

via khmer NZBy Jamaluddin MuhammadBANGKOK, July 30 (Bernama) -- The postponement of the Unesco World Heritage Committee's decision on the Preah Vihear Temple management plan to next year, will enable Thailand and Cambodia to seek a solution to the overlapping territorial claim adjacent to the temple.Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Security Matters Suthep Thaugsauban said today it would be good for Thailand and Cambodia to go to the negotiation table and solve the problem during that time.The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, last night was postponed to next year in Bahrain, following Thailand's opposition...

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Thai civil network demands Cambodian pushback from contested Preah Vihear zone

http://www.mcot.net/ via Khmer NZBANGKOK, July 30 – The “Thais Love Nation” network called on the government to push back Cambodian troops and residents from the area around the Preah Vihear temple and not to support the listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage SIte until the border demarcation is clarified inline with the natural watershed.Chaiwat Sinsuwong and Karun Sai-ngam led their civil society group to gather at Government House Friday and submitted a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva through Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.The protesters called on the government to...

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"Teuk Tracheak Trei Ngo-ab" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

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Errors stall Cambodian temple bid [-Can Thailand be trusted with its report of success?]

Phnom Penh urged to review WHC listing 31/07/2010Bangkok PostUnesco's World Heritage Committee has postponed a decision on Cambodia's development plan for the Preah Vihear temple partly because it submitted a graphical illustration instead of a map, says a source in the Thai delegation.Other reasons for the committee's postponement include evidence that Cambodia had deployed heavy weapons in the temple, that the country had failed to submit relevant documents on time, and that a memorandum of understanding between Thailand and Cambodia over the disputed territory in the area had not been settled. [KI-Media note: these are the excuses that Thailand pushed forward, but now it turns around and claims that they came from WHC instead!!!]The WHC decided to delay its decision on...

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Cambodia claims win in UNESCO tussle over temple

Saturday, July 31, 2010By SOPHENG CHEANG (AP)PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia declared victory Friday in a diplomatic standoff with Thailand after the U.N. cultural agency agreed to consider its plan for managing a temple that is on land claimed by both countries.Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said that Cambodia had achieved its goal when UNESCO's World Heritage Commission agreed on Thursday to consider its plan for the Preah Vihear temple on the border with Thailand.However, UNESCO's decision to defer the matter to its meeting next year takes pressure off both countries.Thailand, which claims the plan jeopardizes its claim to disputed territory, had threatened to quit UNESCO if the plan was endorsed at Thursday's meeting in Brazil. Thai officials said they viewed the postponement...

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Hun Xen’s office denies granting authorization for a casino in Siem Reap: The price of the tea money was not right?

Bellus Angkor posted the above photos taken on 08 Aug 2008 where its stated: "Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, H.E. Sok An had a press interview with a reporter from Korean Maeil Business Newspaper. ICG also attended this event. DPM Sok An expressed strong support for ICG's project during the interview"A plan view of the development touted by Bellus Angkor which clearly shows a "gaming center", ie "casino"Click on the statement in Khmer to zoom inTranslated from Khmer by Heng SoyOffice of Hun Xen, Prime ministerTo Mr. Kevin Doyle,Editor-in-chief of The Cambodia DailySubject: Correction to The Cambodia Daily’s article titled: “Casino...

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A Temple Too Far?

Cambodian soldiers at Preah Vihear templeFriday, July 30, 2010Op-Ed by MP"The Khmer people have been no strangers to such things as grief and suffering, but if come under attack they will likely summon all their resolve and strain their every sinew to defend their sacred ancestral grounds. As for the Thais, should they decide to make good their threat, my hunch is, Preah Vihear could prove ‘a bridge too far’ for them."NATIONALISM at its heart is an emotive force and can be a dangerous aberration as the tone of some of the reports we have coming from the Thai press and media would seem to indicate.Most Thais have learned through...

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Cambodia reports new death of Mekong River dolphin

July 30, 2010XinhuaA Mekong river dolphin was found dead in Kratie province in Cambodian's north eastern part, a government official said Friday.Touch Seang Tana, chairman of Cambodia's Commission for Conversation and Development of the Mekong River Dolphins Eco- tourism Zone, said the river dolphin believed at age of 27 was found dead on Thursday as it was netted in a laying fishing net in the stream.He said the dolphin, male, was already old and it had swum out of the protected zone looking for foods and accidently spotted in the fishing net.He said it weighed 156 kilograms with 2.3 meters long.Touch Seang Tana estimated dolphins numbered at about 150 to 170 today are living in Cambodia's two provinces of Stung Treng and Kratie, while there were only about 120 in 2000.Last...

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Theary Seng's Clarification on the France 24 Phone Interview Friday, July 30, 2010By Theary C. SengRegarding the telephone interview I gave yesterday (July 28) with France 24, I would like to make the following clarifications:1. I am the founder of the Center for Justice & Reconciliation and founding president of CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education, no longer of the Center for Social Development since the politically-motivated injunction order removing me in July 2009.2. There is real fear that Duch, not a "senior" Khmer Rouge leader, will be made the sole scapegoat of the murderous, genocidal KR regime; we know...

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Thai sore losers' empty threats work: Unesco delays decision on management to Bahrain meeting next year

July 30, 2010The NationUnesco committee on World Heritage decided to delay decision on Preah Vihear management plan for another year after Thailand and Cambodia stood firm on their positions concerning the plan.The committee meeting in Brasilia of Brazil will reconsider the plan again when they meet in Bahrain next year.Earlier Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti made several attempts yesterday to block Cambodia's management plan for the Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage Committee's consideration while the delegation from Phnom Penh stood firm.Cambodia insisted on pushing forward with the plan, saying it had already given Thailand too much.The committee's consideration on the plan was delayed twice from July 28 to at about 10pm yesterday and...

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Thailand's military, government in sync

Thai soldiers hold anti-government protesters in their encampment in Bangkok on May 19, ending a nine-month showdown that caused up to 90 deaths. (ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS)Prime minister needs to keep army on his sideThursday, July 29, 2010By Richard S. Ehrlich The Washington TimesBANGKOK - Since the quelling of the Red Shirt pro-democracy protests in May, Thailand has witnessed a show of unity between Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose legitimacy in office has been questioned, and the military, a key player in the government's stability.Local media - especially those controlled by the military - have spotlighted the ...

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Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Baby Abishit

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.c...

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In Brazil, Thailand Objects Again to Preah Vihear Plans

Sok Khemara, VOA KhmerWashington, DC Thursday, 29 July 2010 “Protecting and enhancing our natural and cultural heritage means building the peace, respect and solidarity which lies at the heart of Unesco's mission.”Thailand has re-raised objections to the World Heritage status of Preah Vihear temple on the northern border.At a meeting of Unesco in Brazil, Thai officials said they do not agree with a Cambodian management plan for the 11th-Century temple, which is now at the heart of an ongoing military standoff on the border.Both Thailand and Cambodia have had troops amassed along the border since the July 2008 inception of the temple as a Heritage site under Cambodian control.Unesco spokeswoman Sue Williams told VOA Khmer from Brazil that Cambodia had presented a plan for consideration....

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Abhisit outmanoeuvred by Hun Sen on disputed temple [-War threat against Cambodia?]

July 30, 2010By Thanong KhanthongThe Nation"If Cambodia insists on managing Preah Vihear, Thailand should respond in kind by closing the borders and stopping all trade with its neighbour. This would be the first warning. Thai soldiers on the border are on high alert. If the first warning goes unheeded, we should reserve the right, under our sovereignty, to drive out any nationals infringing upon our land."THE DISPUTE between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple complex has once again flared up to rattle the national psyche. However, this time the Abhisit government appears to be inept in its diplomatic manoeuvring,...

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