Cambodian garment workers plan mass strike

(Photo: Reuters)

21 August 2010
World Socialist Web Site

Over 60,000 garment workers have put their thumbprints on a union petition calling for a mass week-long strike on September 13. The Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) called the strike after the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training and the Garment Manufacturers Association refused its demand to renegotiate the new minimum wage structure to be implemented on October 1.

In July, the Free Trade Union of Workers, a union representing over 130,000 garment employees, dropped previous demands for a 53 percent minimum wage rise. It accepted a $US5 monthly increase offered by the Labour Advisory Committee, a body made up of government officials and industry representatives. The rise means the minimum monthly wage will be $61, far below the $93 workers were demanding. The CLC and other smaller unions are demanding that the minimum wage be set at $95.

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Experts Explain Potential for Joint Criminal Enterprise

The four KR leaders in Case 002

Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Friday, 20 August 2010

“By linking the accused in this way, evidence against one of them my help prove the responsibility of another.”

In their final submission for the Khmer Rouge tribunal's next case, court prosecutors said four senior leaders of the regime should be tried under Joint Criminal Enterprise.

Joint Criminal Enterprise, better known as JCE, is a complex legal theory that groups suspects together in the planning and execution of crimes, and it could be at the heart of Case 002, which tribunal officials expect to take place early next year.

In the submission, prosecutors recommended that suspects Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith “committed these crimes through a joint criminal enterprise, the purpose of which was to enforce a political revolution in Cambodia and systematically destroy any opposition to the [Communist Party of Kampuchea's] rule.”

Tribunal legal affairs spokesman Lars Olsen explained it this way. JCE alleges that “these charged persons together decided a plan, a criminal plan, on how to run Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime.”

That plan led to atrocity crimes, for which the senior leaders can be tried together, according to prosecutors. Trial Chamber judges will have the final decision in the matter. But JCE will be complicated for a trial.

Anne Heindel, a legal adviser for the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said in an e-mail Friday that JCE is “a mode of individual criminal responsibility. That is, it shows how someone commits a crime.”

Similar “modes” include aiding a crime, planning it, ordering it, or having superior responsibility over it, she said.

And while JCE can take different forms, at its most basic it involves “a common plan among a number of individuals who all share the same intent to commit a crime,” Heindel wrote.

JCE was first applied at the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It was also applied in the tribunal for Rwanda and in a special court for crimes in Sierra Leone.

“JCE is generally used to prosecute international crimes, but variants of it can be used in domestic prosecutions,” Heindel said. “For example, in Cambodian law, there is a similar mode of liability called 'co-perpetration.'”

In Case 002, prosectors have alleged that all four defendants are tied together, she said. “By linking the accused in this way, evidence against one of them my help prove the responsibility of another.”

“The prosecution wants to show that they all share responsibility for crimes committed in furtherance of the common plan,” she said.

JCE is merely a way of thinking of the case. And that will be up to the Trial Chamber to decide, said You Bunleng, the Cambodian investigation judge for the tribunal. Separate from that, court judges will also determine whether the four are tried in one group by other means.

JCE is only being applied for Case 002. The tribunal has two other cases in its hands, nos. 003 and 004. There has been no determination on whether to indict more suspects in those cases.

But JCE will not be used to determine indictments, Heindel said.

Prosecutors did not include torture chief Duch in their submission. Duch was handed a commuted sentence of 19 years last month after a separate trial for crimes committed at Tuol Sleng prison, known to the Khmer Rouge as S-21.

Heindel said the inclusion of Duch in the second case was “unnecessary” and would have prolonged court procedures.

“The JCE alleged against the four charged persons in Case 002 encompasses many crimes in which Duch was not involved,” she said. “The alleged JCE also likely includes S-21, but it is not required that all participants in a JCE be tried in the same case. He can still be brought before the court as a witness.”

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Cambodian Artists To Share Peace-Building Efforts

Catherine Filloux has written four plays about Cambodia, in addition to “Where Elephants Weep,” which proved widely popular. (Photo: by Vandy Rattana)

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 20 August 2010

“We will discuss with the guidance of peace-building scholars and practitioners a range of questions about the relationship between the arts and conflict.”

An American playwright who focuses on Cambodia is set to take part in a symposium with other Cambodian artists that looks at the relationship between the arts and peace building.

Catherine Filloux, a French-Algerian American who wrote the popular musical “Where Elephants Weep,” told VOA Khmer recently that Cambodian theatre artists Chhon Sina and Ieng Sithul will also travel to New York for the Theatre and Peace Building in Cambodia Symposium at Fordham University.

The symposium will be held Sept. 20 and Sept. 21. Following that, the artists will take part in a conference held by Theater Without Borders, called Acting Together on the World Stage: A Conference on Theatre and Peace Building in Conflict Zones, from Sept. 23 to Sept. 26.

On Sept. 20, she said, “We are going to be having an open rehearsal of Chhon Sina’s new play...‘Phka Champei,’ about a sex worker and victim of domestic violence who lives in a slum in Phnom Penh.”

The following day, “there will be a panel in which will be discussed issues of theatre and peace building, and we will do an excerpt from Chhon Sina’s play, and we will also have Ieng Sithul perform,” she said.

Filloux has written four plays about Cambodia, in addition to “Where Elephants Weep,” which proved widely popular.

Her plays include “Eyes of the Heart, Photographs from S-21,” about a woman who suffers from psychosomatic blindness after the Khmer Rouge regime; “Silence of God,” about Pol Pot; and “The US Complicity in What Happened in Cambodia.”

The second conference will discuss how current Cambodian artists worked following the Khmer Rouge “and have used art as a way to express human rights and also as a way to heal,” Filloux said.

Other participants come from countries like Peru and Ireland, as well as Native Americans from the US. All will have a chance to discuss parallels in their rebuilding efforts.

Rithisal Kang, a Cambodian Fulbright scholar in the US, will also attend.

“We will discuss with the guidance of peace-building scholars and practitioners a range of questions about the relationship between the arts and conflict,” he told VOA Khmer. “I believe we will learn and gain understanding of the nature of conflict, causes of violence and the meaning of peace.”

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"Reastr M'chass Dei Trov Choab Kuk" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

Click to Read More...

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Heng Soy's cordial reply to an irate "most likely" Thai reader of KI-Media

Preah Noreay perching on top Garuda (Angkor Wat era bronze)

Khmer are stupid and dumb, be a maid whore in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia to soup cooks. Earn few bucks every day and send it back to their children in the refugee camp to talk shoot on the Internet. My dogs wanna fudge Khmer.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your interesting remarks. I take it that you are probably a fervent Thai nationalist, are you not? Well, first of all, please know that if Khmer are stupid and dumb, we seem to be able to capture your faithful attention on a daily basis, the proofs to the effect are all your posted comments peppered throughout KI-Media. Nevertheless, every time I chance encounter your comments, it makes me feel like watching the movie “Dumb and Dumber” or its sequel “Dumb and Dumber…er” all over again, I wonder why? Do you know why?

Furthermore, there is nothing dishonorable about working as an honestly paid maid and soup cook, or even as a sex worker in Singapore, Thailand or Malaysia. Did you already forget that prostitution is practiced openly in Thailand, even though it is illegal? I am sure that you are fully aware that many of those sex workers in Thailand are Thai men and women as well. In addition, these workers, be they maid, soup cooks or sex workers, earn their keeps honestly with their hard labor, unlike their pimps and bosses – the majority of them in Thailand are Thai citizens – who are profiteering – read stealing - from the hard labor of these honest men and women.

As for sending money back to their children in the refugee camp, I was wondering where have you been all this time? Did you NOT know that these Cambodian refugee camps were closed since 1999, i.e. more than a decade ago? Do wake up because you are left far behind in time, even though I am dismayed to hear that you even know what the Internet is. Furthermore, if you were to look closely in western countries, you will notice that there are many Thai workers who are laboring in Europe, the US, Canada, etc... in order to be able to feed their family at home.

As for your dogs, please do send them over, if they can take the heat, that is. You see, I had been wanting to try this new PAD Thai recipe I read about, the recipe called for an oodle of soft noodle, lots of “kapik” and some meat in it. I was not certain as to what meat to add to it until you offered your dogs. I promise that I will not make a fudge out of them. I do thank you and anxiously wait for your shipment.

Yours sincerely,

Heng Soy, your neighbor to the east

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Hun Sen ready to discuss Preah Vihear with Abhisit

August 21, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

The door to resolving the border conflict over the Preah Vihear Temple should be open on both sides as Hun Sen and Abhisit Vejjajiva look for opportunities to meet in October, while Bangkok continues telling Asean not to intervene.

Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Asean chief Surin Pitsuwan met Hun Sen on Monday and encouraged him to meet his Thai counterpart on the sidelines of the AsiaEurope Meeting in Brussels in October.

"Samdech [Hun Sen] stressed that he would agree to this meeting if Abhisit did, though so far there has been no confirmation that the meeting between the two will be held," Koy Kuong was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying yesterday.

Cambodia raised the Preah Vihear issue with the United Nations and even called on the Asean grouping to lend a hand if all bilateral means failed.

Thailand, however, told Asean that it was quite capable of resolving the Preah Vihear dispute through bilateral discussions, and did not need help from a third party.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya wrote to his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Gia Khiem, clarifying Thailand's position in response to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong's recent letter seeking assistance from Asean. Vietnam is currently the chairman of the regional grouping.

"It is our goal to resolve this issue peacefully and in good faith, through bilateral channels in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and international law," Kasit said in his letter.

Despite perceptions of tension, communications between Thailand and Cambodia continue unabated through various channels and mechanisms. Both countries are still cooperating on a wide range of issues at all levels, be they bilateral, subregional or regional and people on both sides of the border continue with their normal crossborder activities.

Kasit said bilateral mechanisms to settle the problem were still working as his government has already resubmitted the minutes of three meetings of the joint boundary committee (JBC) for parliamentary consideration.

The documents have not yet been added to the Parliament agenda due to protests staged by the yellowshirt nationalists on Tuesday. The group is calling on Abhisit's government to scrap the landboundary settlement deal signed with Cambodia in 2000 because it entails territory loss.

However, this should not be seen as an intention to delay the consideration of JBC's work, because the Thai constitution guarantees and protects the rights of individuals to have different opinions, Kasit said in his letter.

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Jewel in the jungle [... that belongs to Cambodia!]

KI-Media Note:
The correct name of the Khmer temples are: Prasat Ta Moan, Ta Moan Thom and Ta Moan Toch

Surin boasts an ancient Hindu Khmer shrine which attracts very few visitors

19/08/2010
Karnjana Karnjanatawe
Bangkok Post

While strained relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok have temporarily halted public access to Preah Vihear (aka Phra Viharn), another jewel of Khmer civilisation located close to the Thai-Cambodian border is still welcoming tourists from all nations.

The ornately carved north gate to Prasat Ta Muen Thom, the largest structure in the temple complex.

About an hour's drive south of Surin town, in Phanom Dong Rak district, is another sanctuary dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. Commissioned by King Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181 to circa 1220), the prolific temple builder whose credits include the elegant Angkor Thom, Ta Muen Thom is the largest structure by far in the Prasat Ta Muen complex.

The last leg of the journey from the provincial capital was along an unsealed road. Our small tour party arrived at this tranquil, practically deserted spot to be met by a volunteer guide, a student from nearby Ban Nong Kanna School. The temple faces south, overlooking the frontier, and from our vantage point we could clearly see two Cambodian soldiers behind a barbed-wire fence. They looked relaxed as they puffed on their cigarettes - one lollinh on a hammock, the other on a folding chair - but they were alert, their eyes following our every movement as we picked our way around the site.

Ta Muen Thom comprises five sandstone buildings. The central prang (stupa), which no longer has a roof, contains a badly damaged statue of Nandi, Shiva's mount, plus a phallic Shiva lingam and an interesting carved lintel. It is flanked by a pair of smaller pagodas. Two ancillary buildings called banalai (repositories for sacred scripture) lie to the southwest and northwest.

Prasat Ta Muen Tot seen through its gate.

This area sustained a great deal of damage from shells during the Cambodian Civil War and when Thai troops reclaimed it they had to clear landmines laid by the Khmer Rouge. A soldier on patrol, part of a small detachment based next to the entrance to Ta Meun Thom, warned us not to stray into the thick vegetation bordering the temple grounds in case we stepped on stray mines.

In 1991, the Fine Arts Department set aside a budget at 32.4 million baht to restore these ruins and a team of experts apparently spent three years working here. Although shattered artefacts and block of sandstone are still scattered here and there, the soldier we spoke to assured us that the renovation programme had been completed.

"We get visitors coming here practically every day," he said. "There's tension elsewhere along the frontier, but we haven't had any conflicts with the Cambodian along this stretch of the border."


About 200 metres north of Prasat Ta Muen Thom is another historic ruin called Prasat Ta Muen Tot. It is believed to have once been used as a hospital, but precious little of the original structure is still standing today.

Within easy walking distance - a two-minute drive in our vehicle - of the latter, on an island of cropped grass surrounded on all sides by dense jungle, is the final site in this complex. Prasat Ta Muen (aka Prasat Bai Kreme) is believed to have built as a dhamma sala, a rest house for pilgrims. It no longer has a roof and the only object of note here is the lintel over the main entrance.

While larger and better preserved shrines to Shiva can be found on both sides of the border, the Prasat Ta Muen complex is well worth a visit if you appreciate Khmer art from this period and enjoy wandering off the beaten track.

Almost completely hemmed in by the jungle, Prasat Ta Muen (aka Prasat Bai Kreme [KI-Media note: Thmor Bay Kriem]) is five metres wide and 12 metres high.

[KI-Media note: This map is WRONG, the Ta Moan temples are locate inside Cambodia. These temples belong to Cambodia]

----------------------
More INFO

To get to the Ta Muen ruins from Surin town, firstly take Highway 214 to Prasat. Then switch onto Highway 224. After entering Phanom Dong Rak, turn onto 2407, a local road which leads to the temple complex.

For more details, visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand website (www.tourismthailand.org) or call 1672.

Alternatively, you can phone the Surin Provincial Administration Organisation on 044-512-600 or the TAO (tambon administration organisation) responsible for Prasat Ta Muen on 044-508-240.

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Temple row calls for calm heads, says Kasit

21/08/2010
Thanida Tansubhapol

Thailand wants to solve its border conflict with Cambodia through bilateral agreements and international law, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya reaffirms.

He set out the government's position yesterday in a letter to Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem. Vietnam chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Mr Kasit has also sent the letter to other Asean foreign ministers to clarify the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

On Tuesday, Vietnam wrote to the government seeking Thailand's views after Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong called for Asean to intervene in the dispute, which concerns the overlapping boundary area near the Preah Vihear temple.

Cambodia has warned the disagreement could escalate into armed conflict.

Mr Kasit argued in the letter that there was room for the two countries to discuss the issue.

"With continued understanding from our Asean colleagues, Thailand and Cambodia will succeed in overcoming the bilateral challenge for the mutual benefits of the two countries and peoples in the spirit of good neighbourliness and Asean solidarity," he said.

The diplomatic tension did not affect other cooperation between the countries including border trade and regional cooperation schemes.

Thailand remained committed to exercising the utmost restraint, he said.

He confirmed to other Asean members that Thailand had no intention of delaying consideration of the three agreed minutes of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC).

The Foreign Ministry has resubmitted the agreed minutes of recent meetings of the JBC to parliament for approval in line with the constitution.

The matter is now with parliament and will proceed in accordance with the democratic process, Mr Kasit said.

"This should not be construed as an intention to delay consideration of these three agreed minutes," said the minister.

They were not included in the present joint parliamentary meeting as too many other issues had to be discussed.

The next round of the JBC will take place only after the agreed minutes of the last meetings are approved.

The main issues at the meetings were the decision by the two countries to survey border areas, including those near the Preah Vihear temple, and to start to make aerial maps of the border.

Earlier, some senators and activists threatened to protest if the Foreign Ministry submitted the JBC documents to parliament for endorsement.

Critics said support for the memo could be interpreted as Thailand agreeing to cooperate with Cambodia to base border demarcation on a map drafted by colonial-era France which he said put Thailand at a disadvantage.

The Thai-Cambodian relationship turned sour after Thailand opposed Phnom Penh's management plan for Preah Vihear temple proposed to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil last month.

The WHC decided to postpone consideration of the matter until its next annual meeting in Bahrain.

Cambodia is seeking help from international organisations including the United Nations and Asean to intervene.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said he is ready to hold talks with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on the issue, the Phnom Penh Post quoted a spokesman for the Cambodian Foreign Ministry Koy Koung as saying.

Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has suggested the two leaders meet to discuss the countries' differences.

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UN chief offers to help Thailand and Cambodia resolve border dispute

UN News Centre

20 August 2010 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today offered to help Cambodia and Thailand resolve their differences over a disputed temple area along their common border.

Tensions escalated between the two neighbouring South-East Asian nations in July 2008 following the build-up of military forces near the Preah Vihear Temple in Cambodia.

The temple, which dates back to the 11th century, was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) earlier that month.

The row turned deadly in October of that year when two people reportedly died during an exchange of fire between Thai and Cambodian forces near the site.

“The Secretary-General hopes that Cambodia and Thailand will resolve the dispute along their border amicably through dialogue,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

“He stands ready to help the parties,” Mr. Haq added.

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Kasit lied to ASEAN when he claimed that the JBC minutes are now with the Thai Parliament?

Thai Foreign Minister sends clarification letters to ASEAN

August 20, 2010
Source: Thai ministry of foreign affairs

On 20 August 2010, Ms. Vimon Kidchob, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, was asked by the media regarding the letter which the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia sent to Vietnam in its capacity as ASEAN Chair, proposing that ASEAN assist in the current problem between Thailand and Cambodia. In response, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya had sent a letter to H.E. Mr. Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam, which had also been circulated to the foreign ministers of the other ASEAN member countries. In his letter, Foreign Minister Kasit made the following points:

1. Thailand remains committed as always to exercising utmost restraint. It is the Kingdom’s goal to resolve this bilateral issue peacefully and in good faith, and through bilateral channels in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and international law. The allegations contained in the Note from Cambodia are unfounded.

2. Despite perceptions of tension, bilateral communications between Thailand and Cambodia continue unabated through various channels and mechanisms. Both countries continue to cooperate on a wide range of issues at all levels, whether bilateral, sub-regional or regional. Normal cross-border activities between the peoples on both sides of the border remain business as usual.

3. The Thai Cabinet already re-submitted the Agreed Minutes of the recent meetings of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) to the Parliament for approval in line with the country’s Constitution. The matter is now with the Parliament and will proceed in accordance with Thailand’s democratic process. [KI-Media note: The Thai Parliament rejected any discussion on the JBC]

4. With continued understanding from ASEAN colleagues, Thailand and Cambodia will succeed in overcoming the current bilateral challenge for the mutual benefits of the two countries and peoples in the spirit of good neighbourliness and ASEAN solidarity. The bilateral process should continue to proceed, as was the general will of the ASEAN family when ASEAN discussed this issue two years ago.

Details of the afore-mentioned letter appear above.

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Genesis of the Siamese language ... by plagiarizing from Khmer

Click here to read the entire article (PDF)

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Cambodian villagers are asked to return back to live along the Thai

border

20 August 2010
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A provincial official told The Phnom Penh Post on Wednesday that the Banteay Ampil district authority, located in Oddar Meanchey province, announced to 120 families of villagers in Banteay Ampil commune who left their homes since 2008 after they were threatened by Thai troops to return back home now. Huot Heang, the Chub Koki village chief said that he started to make this announcement to all the villagers who live in Chub Koki commune to return back to their village so they can help defend Cambodia’s territories. He said: “They faced hardship when they left their homes and land empty with nobody living in there, therefore, we must order them to return back to live in their home just like before.” Huot Heang indicated that the villagers left their homes when Cambodia entered into a dispute with Thailand on 15 July 2008 because the villagers are afraid of the armed clashes.” He added: “I went to check the village, and I saw that about 20 families have returned back to their old village already, but a number of families did not return yet because they have a hard time earning a living.”

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More Than 30% of the Size of Ratanakiri Is Contracted to Foreign Companies for Mineral Exploration, Affecting the Environment and the Living Condition

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

via Khmer NZ

Posted on 20 August 2010

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 678

“The rich natural resources in Cambodia, especially gold, gems, and diamonds, attract the attention from foreign investors to invest in mining in Cambodia, and the leading companies are the OZ Company and Southern Gold company of Australia. Also, some Yuon [Vietnamese] companies that do not make their identity known, operating illegally on gold exploitation, siphoning national resources out from Cambodia.

“The Yuon press quoted the director of the Saigon Jewelry Company, the biggest gold company in Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long [Nguyễn Thành Long], as having said that the company had shown its plan to the Yuon government to ask for permission to invest in factories in Cambodia and Laos. If this company earns the approval from the Yuon government or from the governments where it plans to invest, this company will establish gold manufacturing factories abroad not later than in late 2010.

“Yuon officials said that this company will start its production with the trademark SJC in Laos this year, investing in Laos first, before seeking to create factories and branches in Cambodia. Some other Yuon companies investing in gold trade, such as the Sacom Bank, the Agri-Bank, and the Hun Huang [? - phonetic], and have opened representative offices in Cambodia and are strengthening and expanding their business operations.

“Yuon investors see huge benefits from investments in Cambodia and in gold exploration in the northeast of Cambodia; they have sent skilled workers to come to conduct illegal exploitation with the backing from military officials or civil authorities. Gold deposits in the northeast of Cambodia are being exploited illegally by traders, not leading to national income.

“Recently, Yuon traders had sent a barge on the Sekong river to Siem Pang district in Stung Treng, loaded with gold filtering machines, in an attempt to conduct illegal gold exploitation. The local authorities blocked the barge for some time to clarify questions about legal documents, but they will likely let it go after an intervention from the provincial level.

“Also, citizens in the Veun Sai district in Ratanakiri are worrying about the impact on water quality in the Sesan river, as Chinese gold miners are drilling to explore gold ore on Pang Island. They said that the Chinese company has been operating for two months, employing more than 10 Khmer workers, using two machines for drilling, and disposing waste water into the Sesan river, from which citizens consume water for their daily living.

“Citizens complained that at present, the water in the Sesan river was dirty and can no longer be used, but the local authorities do not intervene. Pang Island in the Sesan river has an area of 200 meter in length and 100 meter in width, and there live Krueng ethnic minority tribespeople, who have settled there since long. Now they are seriously affected by the gold exploitation by the Chinese company Indochine Resources [a holding company for the Indochine Group, 'the largest mineral concession holder in The Royal Kingdom of Cambodia' - including Indochine Mining].

“Officials of the Ministry of Industry. Ratanakiri Department, said that the Ministry of Industry provided a license to Indochine Resources in November 2009, to explore metal ore on an area of 200 square kilometers. So far, no companies have been registered also to exploit resources. All are just conducting explorations, and any exploitation in the past was illegal.

“The exploitation means that a company can gain benefits from the ore, whereas exploration means just to drill to find ore samples for experiments, but some companies colluded with expert officials and the authorities in charge to conduct exploitation while they only have exploration rights, so they gain benefits without paying tax to the state on their profits. Such anarchy occurs at the northeast of Cambodia, and some officials and members of the authorities are happy to collect personal benefits from it.

“According to expert officials, in Ratanakiri more than 3,000 square kilometers, or 30% of the size of the province, have been contracted to 19 companies to conduct explorations. Those companies deal with quarries, or they are construction companies, sand companies, gems companies, granite companies, and metal companies etc., and 10 companies have not received exploitation license. Citizens complained that some activities of those companies violate the land they own, and there is also deforestation.

“Civil society officials often voiced concern relating to the issues that some mineral exploration companies do not obey the laws, and that the requirements from relevant ministries and the exploitation by some companies affect the environment and the living condition of citizens. Expert officials never take restrictive actions against these companies doing exploitation, though citizens from the region had reported about improper activities of those companies.

“Since private companies started anarchic mine exploration in Cambodia without any interception by expert officials, they have extracted almost everywhere underground mineral deposits, but so far, no money has been paid into the national budget. Officials of civil and international organizations frequently warned that the improper management of mineral resources might seriously damage Cambodia. Therefore, the government must create laws to carefully control mineral resources and income.”

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.17, #3962, 19.8.2010

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Thursday, 19 August 2010

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Mekong river can be economic heart of region: Cambodia

Cambodian minister Cham Prasidh said nations around the Mekong have neglected the river itself

Cham Prasidh (right) said the Mekong should be developed for river transport to enable trade

via Khmer NZ

By Ian Timberlake (AFP)

HANOI — Nations around one of the world's great rivers, the Mekong, are tightening transport and other links but have neglected the region's very heart -- the river itself, a Cambodian minister said Friday.

At a meeting of the six countries surrounding the Mekong, Cham Prasidh said the potential of the 4,800-kilometre (2,976-mile) river has been neglected as the region develops road links and "economic corridors", which he likened to arteries.

"But we forget the heart and the Mekong River is the heart. We need to develop the heart first," he told AFP after making his suggestion to a conference of fellow ministers.

"I think this is a new concept but this is something that is going to strike them all, because we have overlooked the main thing, in the Mekong."

Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce, was speaking at the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) conference.

GMS is an Asian Development Bank-supported programme that began 18 years ago to promote development through closer economic links. Along with Cambodia it includes Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand, as well as China's Yunnan province and the Chinese Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Cham Prasidh said the Mekong should be developed for river transport to enable trade, while the livelihoods of people living along it should be enhanced.

He also proposed that agriculture around the river be developed in accordance with an ecosystem that is changing because of global warming.

The Mekong begins in the Tibetan Plateau, flows through China, along the northeastern border of Myanmar, and then marks the Thai-Lao frontier before pouring into the heart of Cambodia and ending at the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam.

More than 300 million people live in the area surrounding the Mekong.

Cham Prasidh said it was too soon to assess the cost of developing the Mekong River as an economic corridor but added that it would be "quite a huge project" which he hoped the Asian Development Bank and others would support.

"Actually... the transportation of all the goods through the Mekong River should be the cheapest way of transport" once it is cleared of rocks and obstacles, he said.

"By so doing we also open the door for Laos, from being a landlocked country to open it to the sea."

No other ministers mentioned the Mekong in their opening remarks, except for Thailand's lead delegate who mentioned a need for "better management" of the river.

Delegates were expected later Friday to endorse a plan for connecting regional rail lines, which Cham Prasidh said would be another cheap way of transporting goods to the Mekong nations and beyond, to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The plan cites four possible ways of connecting the railways but it says the most viable route would stretch from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, then Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and finally up to Nanning and Kunming, largely using existing lines or those already under construction.

The only missing link on that route would be between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, it says, estimating a cost of 1.09 billion dollars for completion.

This does not include roughly seven billion dollars in additional funding needed to upgrade the existing lines.

By 2025, an estimated 3.2 million passengers and 23 million tonnes of freight are forecast for the completed route, the document says.

Although they are growing fast, the Mekong nations -- except for Thailand -- have the lowest per capita gross domestic product among the 10 ASEAN members.

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Border dispute with Cambodia to bring social unification or division in Thailand?

via Khmer NZ

English.news.cn 2010-08-20

By Nutthathirataa Withitwinyuchon

BANGKOK, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The current border issue between Thailand and Cambodia has been more complicated by the emergence of patriotism in Thailand and the internal political game played by local politicians.

The recently frequent demonstrations against Cambodia's management plan of Preah Vihear Temple and government's resolution on the issue by Thai Patriot Network allied with People Alliance for Democracy (PAD) reflects the nationalism mood which has been lately spurred in this nation. The question posed concerns whether the rising nationalistic sentiment will further divide Thai society or finally restore unity to this divided country.

"The patriotism is now complicating the issue and intensify division in Thai society..It is more difficult to find the truth ( amidst all the information from various groups) and people choose to agree with what they believe," said Dr. Kitti Prasirtsuk, a lecturer at Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University.

Surveys shows among Thai people there are hardliners who want the government to take decisive action swiftly and moderates who want to see the border dispute being solved peacefully.

An opinion poll on the Preah Vihear Temple issue conducted across the country earlier this month by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) revealed that 69.55 percent of 1, 133 respondents agreed that the government should, through diplomatic means and military forces, push Cambodians out of the overlapping area near the temple as it is Thai territory. And 77. 93 percent of them, who saw the issue is crucial, said the government should make it part of the national agenda.

On the other hand, the Dusit Poll conducted in August in Bangkok and its vicinity showed that 49.77 percent of 1,059 respondents did not agree with the demonstrators for fearing the rally will create conflict among Thai people. And 37.10 percent of respondents are afraid that the demonstration will increase tension over the issue.

The temple and its surrounding area has been an age-old territorial dispute between the two countries for more than half a century. And the problem root dates back to 1904 when Thailand and French, colonial authority ruling Cambodia, set up a joint commission for the purpose of border demarcation. Even after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided to award the temple to Cambodia in 1962, the row over a land plot of 4.6 square kilometers around the temple has never been resolved.

For Dr. Kitti, another factor that put additional pressure on the Thai government when dealing with this border issue is the domestic politics game. "The internal politics game going on in the country has also further complicated the issue," he said.

As the government held live discussion with representatives from Thai Patriot Network and the Yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on Aug. 8, in an effort to explain its position over the controversial issue, it received hard criticism from the opposition Puea Thai Party.

"The prime minister's explanation on Preah Vihear and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Thailand and Cambodia in 2000 was still unclear but the PAD supporters hailed at him to make people believe that the government is working rightfully," a Puea Thai core member was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.

"The New Politics Party (a political party founded by PAD in 2009) is trying to stir patriotism because it wants to win the Bangkok City Councilor elections on Aug. 29. If not, the party may not be able to emerge in the next general election," the same member was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.

PAD allied with Thai Patriot Network to demand the government to revoke the MoU signed with Cambodia in 2000 pertaining border demarcation as they believe the MoU puts Thailand at disadvantage. The group also asked the government to force Cambodians out of disputed area along Thai-Cambodian border, to nullify 1907 French- made map of 1:200,000 scales, and to ask the ICJ to review its 1962 ruling on the ownership of Preah Vihear Temple.

Thai government is currently facing tough challenge of bringing Cambodia back to the table of bilateral talks as Campodia 's Prime Minister Hun Sen set a precondition of resuming the meeting of Joint Boundary Committee (JBC). This means Thai government has to get the results of former three meetings of Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) approved by the Parliament as soon as possible so that the schedule of next JBC meeting could be set for discussion of border demarcation with Cambodia.

"Joint Boundary Committee is an important mechanism to achieve solution but the government should move faster," said Dr. Kitti.

Division in Thai society has become widely acknowledged since the prolonged protest of Red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in Bangkok from March 14 to May 19, which left 89 people died and nearly 2,000 injured. The government has since been tasked to bridge the disparity in society. The nationalistic sentiment over the disputed border issue, however, is hardly helpful to ease the crisis faced by the government.

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3 Thais arrested by Cambodian police not spies: Army

http://www.mcot.net/

via Khmer NZ

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Aug 20 - The three Thai hunters arrested by Cambodian police on charge of spying while gathering forest products along the Thai-Cambodian border are not spies and their arrest has nothing to do with the two countries ongoing border dispute, a senior Thai army official said on Friday.

Second Army Region commander Lt-Gen Veevalit Chornsamrit made the assertation after three Thai men from Thailand’s northeastern border province of Surin were arrested by Cambodian border patrol police in Kanna village of Sangkha district six days ago during the heated border spat between the neighbouring countries.

The trio were identified as Sanong Wongchareon, Ling Pongphet and Lan Sapsri. All were charged by the Cambodian authorities with spying.

Gen Veevalit reaffirmed that the three mens are not spies as accused by Cambodia, but just ordinary local citizens who were armed only with homemade hunting guns with them.

He said the detainees are all safe and have been sent to Cambodia's Siem Riep province Friday morning for legal prosecution.

"The Cambodian authorities informed us that the trio can not yet be sent back to Thailand as they must face legal procedures in Siam Riep first and the process will take a while," the commander said.

Gen Veevalit reasserted that the arrest of the three has nothing to do with politics nor the border dispute and Cambodia has not set any conditions in exchange for the release of the Thai detainees.

"The villagers simply strayed while hunting for game," the Thai commander said. "Recently some Cambodians were discovered crossing into Thailand, which deported them back to their homeland, according to the Thai commander."

Gen Veevalit expressed confidence that Thai officials at operational level are now coordinating with their Cambodian counterparts to bring the trio back, while concerned authorities have also been instructed to warn residents along the border not to illegally enter the border areas to hunt or seek forest products to avoid a repeat of the incident.

Following concerns that border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia may affect the case of the three arrested men, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday that good cooperation at the operational level between the two countries could help ease the problem.

Thani Thangpakdee, deputy director-general of the Thai Foreign Ministry’s Department of Information, said on Friday the ministry has already instructed the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh to provide assistance to the three arrested Thai nationals.

Tension at the Thai-Cambodian border flared up after UNESCO accorded the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied for the status, while the border dispute over the contested 4.6 sq km area of land near the temple claimed by both countries remains unresolved, leading to clashes between the militaries of the two kingdoms. (MCOT online news)

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Cambodia eyes nuclear power to meet energy demands

via Khmer NZ

Fri Aug 20, 2010

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia is looking into nuclear power as a future energy source to meet rising domestic demand, although construction of a plant is still years away, a top government official said on Friday.

Cambodian scientists have begun to study nuclear technology in a bid to keep apace with Southeast Asian neighbours planning to build plants in the next few years, said Ith Praing, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy.

"(Nuclear power) is a possibility because our neighbours are doing it, so we have to study it and see how dangerous it is," Ith Praing told Reuters.

"It's still a long way to go, even by 2030, we will not have used all of our resources," he added.

Ith Praing said an assessment of the potential costs on a nuclear energy programme had yet to be made and the government was still focussed on hydropower as an electricity source.

Cambodia last year said it wanted to attract about $3 billion (1 billion pounds) in foreign investment to build six hydropower plants by 2018.

Vietnam, which is currently chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), last month called on members to consider using nuclear power for peaceful purposes as Asia faces rising energy needs to fuel economic growth.

Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation has offered to help ASEAN countries to build nuclear power plants and develop its safe use in a region where energy agencies estimates primary power demands will climb 2.5 percent annually until 2030.

Cambodia's neighbour, Vietnam, plans to start building its first nuclear power plant in 2014 using Russian technology, a state-run newspaper reported in June.

Thailand is looking to develop nuclear power to reduce its dependence on natural gas and is planning to build four 1,000-MW nuclear power plants at a total cost of about $8 billion (5 billion pounds).

Two of these plants are expected to feed power into the grid in 2020 and the remaining two in 2021.

(Editing by Martin Petty and Jason Szep)

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Man kills five relatives in Cambodia

via Khmer NZ

2010-08-20

A Cambodian man killed five family members and injured three others after they prevented him from raping his 16-year-old sister-in-law, local media reported Friday.

The man, identified only as Nang, then hanged himself.

Police said the crime, which took place Thursday in south-eastern Svay Rieng province near the border with Vietnam, was among the worst the country had seen in years.

Provincial police chief Prach Rim told the Phnom Penh Post newspaper the victims were related to Nang.

'The attacker had raped his sister-in-law twice before, and he tried to rape her again, but was apparently stopped by his family,' he said.

'They then fought together, and the attacker locked the doors of the house and stabbed his family members to death before hanging himself,' Prach Rim said.

Police said Nang murdered his wife, his 2-year-old son, his mother-in-law and two of his sisters-in-law. His daughter and nephew were injured, as was the sister-in-law he tried to rape.

Last month a drunken soldier murdered three people and injured four during a rampage in nearby Kampong Cham province after arguing with his wife.

The head of one prominent local human rights organisation said he was worried the issue of domestic violence is not being taken seriously in parts of Cambodia.

'It seems everyone sees this kind of violence as normal,' said Thun Saray, the head of Adhoc.

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Convention of wonder

Photo by: Sovan Philong

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 20 August 2010 15:04 Sovan Philong

Students take a photo in front of a composite image of Cambodian tourist sites on display at a trade fair at the Koh Pich Centre yesterday.

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Talks with Thai PM floated

Photo by: AFP
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva speaks during a debate at parliament in Bangkok on Wednesday.

via Khmer NZ

Friday, 20 August 2010 15:04 Cheang Sokha

PRIME Minister Hun Sen is ready to hold bilateral talks with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during a conference the two will attend in October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan raised the prospect of talks between the two leaders to address the countries’ ongoing border dispute during a visit to the Kingdom earlier this week. Both Hun Sen and Abhisit are scheduled to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting in Belgium this October.

“Surin asked Samdech [Hun Sen] if he would agree to meet Abhisit and discuss [the dispute] at the meeting in Brussels,” Koy Kuong said.

“Samdech stressed that he would agree to this meeting if Abhisit did, though so far there has been no confirmation that the meeting between the two will be held.”

During a layover in Bangkok on his way back to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Surin told the Bangkok Post he was confident that the talks over the border dispute would go forward.

“I expect the two leaders to meet and discuss the issue,” Surin said.

Koy Kuong said that if the talks in Brussels did take place, they would occur without a third party. Thailand has said it opposes talks in any forum other than a bilateral one.

A report in Thai state media yesterday said Abhisit had “reiterate[d] the stance of Thailand again to solve the row in bilateral manner if asked”.

The Oxford-educated prime minister also “stressed the intention of the Thai Government once again to have the controversial Preah Vihear dispute solved with Cambodia in [a] bilateral manner without any intervention of ASEAN”, the report stated.

ASEAN chair Vietnam said this week that it was considering mediating in the dispute, pending consultations with other members of the 10-nation bloc. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong wrote to the Vietnamese last week in a bid to secure ASEAN intervention in the border dispute, warning that it could lead to “large-scale armed conflict”.

On Wednesday, the Thai government announced that it had delayed a parliamentary vote to approve the latest round of border negotiations with Cambodia, leading officials to charge that Thailand was uninterested in resolving the dispute in any forum.

Chea Morn, commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Military Region 4, said yesterday that the tension between the two countries had not manifested itself along the border.

Shots heard along the border near Oddar Meanchey province on Wednesday were fired by Thai soldiers who were attempting to scare away loggers from their territory, he said.

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Triet to visit the Yuon colonies of Laos and Cambodia

The royals of the colony of Cambodia with Nguyen Minh Triet and his wife

Visit to Laos, Cambodia planned

August, 20 2010
VNS (Hanoi)

HA NOI — President Nguyen Minh Triet and his wife will pay an official visit to the Lao People's Democratic Republic from August 24 to 26 at the invitation of President Chummaly Sayasone.

They will also pay a state visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia from August 26 to 28 at the invitation of Cambodian King Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni.

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2-headed piglet

A strange piglet was recently born in Kampong Cham with 2-head and 4-eye. Currently the piglet is still in good health (All Photos: Cambodia Express News)

Click to Read More...

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Experts Suggest Tribunal Complete an Exit Strategy [... The KRT may not consider more than the 5 current KR leaders]

A tribunal spokesman said the completion strategy is currently underway as a joint project between the Cambodian and UN-appointed sides of the hybrid court. (Photo: AP)

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Thursday, 19 August 2010

“It should be defined from today how long the tribunal should have to wind up and what should remain for the assistance for judicial reform in Cambodia.”

With little indication from the Khmer Rouge tribunal that it will try more leaders beyond its initial indictments, observers say the UN-backed court should consider designing its completion strategy.

Issues remain unresolved on how the court might wrap up, how convicted suspects should be handed back to the national judiciary—or untried suspects to local courts—and how the tribunal might begin legacy and capacity building.

“It would be feasible and appropriate for the court to begin to plan how it will wind up its activities when those cases are​​​ fully dealt with in the judicial process,” Heathery Ryun, a tribunal monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, wrote in an e-mail.

Any completion plan should take into account “the need to complete outstanding cases in accordance with international​​​ standards; the goals of the court to support rule-of-law​​​​ development in Cambodia and a sense of meaningful justice for Cambodians; and residual issues which may arise after the court disbands, such as use of​ investigatory material, archives, and legal issues that may arise in cases following a final judgment.”

The tribunal has so far tried one suspect, the torture chief Duch, and it is preparing for the potential joint trial of four more senior leaders. But tribunal jurists have been at odds over whether to indict still more suspects.

Lat Ky, a court monitor for the rights group Adhoc, told VOA Khmer the court can begin considering what it can contribute to the national judiciary.

“It should be defined from today how long the tribunal should have to wind up and what should remain for the assistance for judicial reform in Cambodia,” he said.

He cited as an example the slow reconciliation process in Rwanda, which had war crimes courts that went on for years at great cost in time and money. Donors may learn from that, he said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a key diplomat for one of the tribunal’s donor countries said this week that some donors will be looking for a completion strategy before they discuss more funding for the court.

“We do not want to see it dragging on forever,” the diplomat said.

A tribunal spokesman said the completion strategy is currently underway as a joint project between the Cambodian and UN-appointed sides of the hybrid court.

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Strike at KC Gecin still on

Workers from a local construction firm, KC Gecin Enterprises, light incense to pray for luck during a strike in Phnom Penh August 19, 2010. Around 20 workers protested for the fourth day against the management's dismissal of 60 co-workers over plans to form a union, according to Moeun Tola, the head of the labour unit at a local NGO. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Workers from a local construction firm, KC Gecin Enterprises, shout slogans behind incense and prayer offerings during a strike in Phnom Penh August 19, 2010. Around 20 workers protested for the fourth day against the management's dismissal of 60 co-workers over plans to form a union, according to Moeun Tola, the head of the labour unit at a local NGO. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Workers from a local construction firm, KC Gecin Enterprises, shout slogans during a strike in front of the company in Phnom Penh August 19, 2010. Around 20 workers protested for the fourth day against the management's dismissal of 60 co-workers over plans to form a union, according to Moeun Tola, the head of the labour unit at a local NGO. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

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