Traveller's Guide: Cambodia

via CAAI

You can still feel like an explorer in a country where the wonders of Angkor Wat stand in contrast to the horrors of the Killing Fields, says Richard Waters

Saturday, 11 September 2010

Reuters
Water world: A woman carries water lilies from a pond near Angkor Wat

A tale of two cities?

In many ways, yes – and two eras as well. Angkor was the classical high point of Khmer civilisation from the ninth to the 15th century, and you can see what remains of the glories in the sublime setting of the temple complex of Angkor Wat.

It stands in sharp juxtaposition with the Khmer Rouge's forced evacuation of the capital, Phnom Penh, during the four tragic years of Pol Pot's regime from 1976-1979. His Maoist-driven Khmer Rouge consumed between 1.5 and 2 million of Cambodia's people through execution, starvation and forced labour. The capital was virtually depopulated: city-dwellers were forced out to rural labour camps, or marched to the "killing fields" close to the capital and executed.

You'll inevitably find yourself straddling these two eras. This tranquil corner of Indochina, bordering Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, is abundant with beautiful, jungle-infested temples. Yet the people who'll often guide you to them have themselves been damaged by the genocide; some remember it through the eyes of children and orphans, others as indentured slaves.

Evidence of the horrors perpetrated by Pol Pot can be found in the Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Penh, where 17,000 children, women and men were tortured and killed. The school-turned-jail, also known as S-21 ("Security Office 21"), is now on the tourist circuit, as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It houses a haunting photo gallery of thousands of terrified subjects awaiting their fate. It opens 8-11am and 2.30-5pm Tuesday to Sunday, admission US$2 (many prices in Cambodia are quoted in dollars, rather than the local currency, the riel, which trades at a rate of around 6,500 to the pound).

Won't I be trampling on tragedy?

No. Vietnam "liberated" the country in 1979 then stayed on for a further 10 years, yet in the past two decades or so Cambodia has redrawn its identity. Emerald rice fields flourish, garment factories line the roads outside Phnom Penh, and the tourism infrastructure has been transformed. Yet Cambodia is still a country where it is possible to feel like an explorer rather than a tourist. It is tapping into its rich seam of undisturbed jungles with a fledgling movement of "ecotourism"; wild elephants, leopards, tigers and black-crested gibbons are but a few of the exotica on offer here. However, unlike mountain-hemmed Laos, Cambodia can also lay claim to beaches and deserted islands.

Where do I start?

Begin your odyssey in the capital, Phnom Penh. With a population approaching 1.3 million it's a sprawling, diesel-laced city buzzing with tuk-tuks (three-wheeler taxis), street stalls, vibrant markets and dragon-topped temples. In the last few years the city has undergone a style renaissance, regaining some of its lustre as the "Pearl of Asia" with a selection of world-class boutique hotels, and equally memorable places to eat.

Probably the most romantic area is Sisowath Quay, at the confluence of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong rivers. There's a wealth of French restaurants here as well as dozens of local eateries. The Foreign Correspondent's Club (00 855 232 10142 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 232 10142 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; fcccambodia.com), a local institution, has sumptuous accommodation (doubles from $125/£83 for two nights, including breakfast), chocolate leather sofas and lemon walls peppered with black-and-white war photographs. Its al fresco sunset views and Asian fusion menu have attracted photo-journalists such as Tim Page and Al Rockoff (portrayed by John Malkovich in Roland Joffe's Oscar-winning film about the genocide, The Killing Fields.

Phnom Penh's cultural highlights are the Royal Palace (open 7.30-11am and 2.30-5pm, $3/£2) and the National Museum (8am-5pm, $3/£2), both bursting with Buddhist statuary.

Some French influence?

France put its stamp on Phnom Penh between the mid-19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, and many wilting, shuttered colonial-era villas are still standing. Nursing a café au lait and croissant in shady cafés such as Comme à la Maison (00 855 23 360 801 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 23 360 801 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; commeala maison-delicatessen.com), you feel as if you're back in the days of pastis-drinking colonists.

The French influence is also visible in the most impressive of Phnom Penh's many markets: the Art Deco Central Market, with its enormous dome. It resembles a Babylonian ziggurat and in terms of scale could give Hadrian's Pantheon in Rome a run for its money. More prosaically, the city's so-called "Russian market" abounds in fake labels, rip-off DVDs and a food section out the back where braziers crackle and sunlight slants atmospherically through the broken roof.

Many visitors to Phnom Penh also take a taxi (or ride pillion on a motor-bike) to the Memorial Site of Choeung Ek, some 15km north of the city. Its skull-packed memorial is a chilling but dignified reminder of the many who perished. It opens 8-11am and 2.30-5pm daily, admission $3 (£2).

Where next?

Set your compass north. Head by road or air for Siem Reap, the nearest town to the temple complex of Angkor Wat (see panel). Between threading your way through jungle-ridden temples you can relax your calf muscles in dozens of massage spas back in Siem Reap. Seeing Hands 4 Massage (00 855 12 78 6894 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 12 78 6894 end_of_the_skype_highlighting) is particularly sensuous, with blind masseuses seeking out your knots and pains. Boutique hotels have sprung up by the river and at every turn there are bespoke jewellers, slick bars and "doctor fish" tubs (inflated paddling pools containing thousands of surgeonfish which nibble away at the dead skin on your feet).

The most expensive and exclusive of all is the Amansara Hotel (00 855 63 760 333 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 63 760 333 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; amanresorts.com/amansara), where room rates begin at $750 (£500), excluding breakfast. A little more modestly, you could indulge in the Art Deco-influenced Hotel de la Paix (00 855 63 966 000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 63 966 000 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; hoteldelapaixangkor .com; doubles from $185/£123). This is a five-star palace with a soul: it sponsors a number of local projects including a weaving school for women and the Gecko Project – an orphanage for street children. The Arts Lounge Bar rotates local artists' installations, the dark wood and mint-white rooms are effortlessly chic, and the hotel's spa elevates pampering to a new level. Were it not for tuk-tuks whizzing by beyond the window, you might be forgiven for thinking you were in Manhattan.

Tonlé Sap, a giant tidal lake connected to the Mekong river, is definitely worth a visit. It was instrumental to the prosperity V C of the great kingdom of Angkor: the inhabitants were smart enough to harness its water, storing it in vast barays (reservoirs), ensuring three rice harvests per year to feed their population.

These days the lake is home to the Prek Toal bird sanctuary, regarded as the most important breeding ground in South-east Asia for endangered water birds. You're likely to see the black-headed ibis, painted storks, spot-billed pelicans and grey-headed fish eagles. Plenty of local tour operators offer trips to the lake, including transport to and from Siem Reap, a boat tour and a visit to the Prek Toal Research Station, for about $75 (£50). Nearby are a number of floating villages where locals live year round on stilted houses in the floodplain – head for Kompong Phluk for the most authentic experience.

A temple off the tourist track?

The distant summit of Prasat Preah Vihear – a much-contested Khmer temple on the disputed and potentially dangerous Thai-Cambodian border – is unbeatable. With its Central sanctuary looking down over the Cambodian plains 1,720ft below, it's the most dramatically situated of the country's treasures. To get there you'll need a sturdy 4x4 and capable driver. The journey is more than compensated for by the sublime views. The temple complex (open 8am-4pm daily, admission free) begins at the foot of the mountain ascending through five gopuras (sanctuaries), embellished in asparas (dancing nymphs), nagas (sentinel water spirits) and garudas (winged monsters).

Where can I get lost?

For pristine forests and grassland, head east for remote Ratanakiri province. The demanding road journey takes you through rarely seen heartland. Here you can picnic on fried tarantulas at Skun, pass marble sculptors fashioning roadside buddhas in Kompong Thom, or overnight at Kratie – an evocative location for seeing the endangered irrawaddy dolphin in the Mekong river.

Finally you'll reach remote Ban Lung. Stay in the Treetop Eco Lodge (00 855 11 600 381 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 00 855 11 600 381 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; doubles from $10/£7) and swim in the cobalt-green of Yaek Lom crater lake. Then head off for Virachey National Park (00 855 77 965 196; adventure-cambodia.com/vnp). Visitors can penetrate deep into its 3,325sq km wilderness, which is home to gibbons, wild elephants and vultures.

Some beach life?

Cool off with a visit to some of the most remote islands in South-east Asia. The gateway is the unpleasant city of Sihanoukville, but Otres Beach is a $7 (£4.50) taxi ride away. It's a pearly stretch of beach with a laid-back vista of bobbing fishing boats. Otres Shack (00 855 97793 6230; otresshack.com; $30/£20 double excluding breakfast) offers swallow-you-up beds, terrazzo bathrooms and high-spec cabanas a few feet from the water's edge.

To escape, take a longtail boat for an hour to TEN103 (jontysjunglecamp.com), a treehouse encampment on the otherwise deserted island of Koh Ta Kiev. You will discover a teal-green bay fringed by jungle and the song of cicadas. You dine communally by hurricane lamp on barbecued fish caught daily in the nearby waters – and sleeping in hidden treehouses ($9/£6) or mosquito-proof hammocks ($6/£4) is unforgettable.

Additional research by Neha-Tamara Patel and Jamie Maxwell

Angkor Wat: 12th-century temple and architectural masterpiece

The city of Angkor was hewn out of the jungle 1,000 years ago, using the enormous wealth and sheer genius of the Khmer kingdom. At the time, Khmer culture and civilisation was ascendant in Asia, and its structures were commensurately grandiose.

In the end its ambition was self-defeating; the building programme depleted the kingdom's resources and weakened its defences. Thai invaders captured Angkor in 1431, and the magnificent capital was abandoned. The complex was rediscovered in 1860 by the French archaeologist Henri Mahout.

Most of the temples in the Angkor complex have been freed from the encroaching jungle, but one has been left as they found it: Ta Prohm, as seen in the film Tomb Raider. When this vast, ornate temple was abandoned, the jungle began to take its revenge. Towers and turrets have been shrugged aside, and creepers infiltrate every man-made nook.

The heart of the Khmer kingdom was Angkor Thom, a two-mile-square compound which has survived in rather better shape. In the 12th-century it was probably the world's most populous city, with around a million inhabitants. At the centre of Angkor Thom is the Bayon: a sandstone pyramid built in single-minded celebration of the face of the god Avalokitesvara. The builders' devotion is demonstrated in the countless smiling visages grinning from every surface of the tower.

Simon Calder

Admission to the complex costs $20 (£13) for one day, $40 (£26) for three days or $60 (£40) for one week.

Travel essentials: Cambodia

When to go

* Start planning now: the hot, wet season ends next month. The ideal months to travel are December and January, though February, March and November are also relatively cool and dry. Avoid April to October.

Getting there

* The easiest option is to fly to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and take a connecting flight to either Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat), or the capital, Phnom Penh.

Flights to Phnom Penh are available for around £700 return on Thai Airways from Heathrow via Bangkok. To reach Siem Reap, you could combine a fare of around £550 between London and Bangkok with a flight to Siem Reap with Bangkok Air (bangkokair.com) or Air Asia (airasia.com) for about £120 return.

Getting around

* Buses form the backbone of transport in Cambodia. There are also flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat) with Royal Khmer Airlines (royalkhmerairlines.com) for around $60 (£40) each way.

City transport is provided by taxis, tuk-tuks, motorbikes or bicycle rickshaws.

The Foreign Office warns "Cambodia has one of the highest rates of road traffic accidents in the region, resulting in high numbers of fatalities and injuries".

Red tape

* If you fly in, you can get a visa on arrival for $30 (£20); take two passport photographs. If you plan to arrive overland, check that the border crossing issues visas; otherwise you will need to get one in advance.

Health

* Protection against typhoid, hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, diphtheria, tuberculosis, Japanese B encephalitis and rabies may be necessary; take advice from your GP or a travel-health specialist.

Tour operators

* A wide range of UK adventure specialists, such as Exodus (0870 240 5550; exodus.co.uk) and Explore (0844 499 0901; explore.co.uk), include Cambodia on their Indochina itineraries.

* If you arrange your own flights but want help on the ground, local tour operators include Hanuman Tourism (hanumantourism.com) and All Concierge Services (00 855 63 636 3345; allconciergeservices.com).

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Cambodia plans to host the World Heritage Committee meeting

11 Sept 2010
By Yun Samien
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Komping Puoy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Cambodia plans to host the 36th World Heritage Committee meeting in 2012 in Siem Reap city, Siem Reap province.

On Saturday 11 Sept, Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, indicated that Xok An, the vice-PM and minister of the Council of Ministers, plans to host the 36th World Heritage Committee meeting in 2012. The meeting will be held to share Cambodia’s experiences in the successful listing of Cambodian temples.

Phay Siphan added that Cambodia sent the information to UNESCO to express its plan to host the World Heritage Committee, but Cambodia did not yet receive the green light from UNESCO.

He added that Siem Reap city has sufficient infrastructure to allow Cambodia to host the meeting. For the past 10 years, Siem Reap city hosted a number of world VIPs, 36 of whom were presidents, prime ministers or leaders.

Phay Siphan added that Cambodia has sufficient experience to share with the World Heritage committee members in the preservation of ancient temples.

Cambodia’s plan to host the World Heritage committee meeting took shape after UNESCO announced on 30 July that the war of words between Cambodia and Thailand came to an end after the two countries accepted the decision by the committee members on the management of the Preah Vihear temple, a World Heritage site.

This decision recognizes that UNESCO’s World Heritage Site committee accepted the documents provided by Cambodia for consideration at the 35th committee meeting to be held in Bahrain. The decision was send to Juca Ferreira, the committee chairman and Bazil’s minister of culture.

Cambodia sent in its plan to preserve and develop the Cambodian Preah Vihear temple’s zone to the World Heritage committee for adoption, however, it was met by Thailand’s objection because Thailand claimed that Cambodia’s plan could affect disputed zone near the Cambodian temple.

Phay Siphan also denied that Cambodia’s plan will affect Thailand’s affairs.

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Release the Joint Civil Society Report on the State of Freedom of Expression in Cambodia

Actions for Environments and Communities (AEC), Building Community Voices (BCV), Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodian Center for Protection of Children’s Rights (CCPCR), Cambodian Independent Teacher Association (CITA), Cambodian League for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodian Tourist Service Workers Federation (CTSWF), Center for Labour Rights of Cambodia (CLA-RI), Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL), Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), Community Peace Building Network (CPN), Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association (KKKHRDA), Legal Aid Cambodia (LAC)

MEDIA INVITATION
Phnom Penh, 10 September 2010

Press Conference to Release the Joint Civil Society Report on the State of Freedom of Expression in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, 10 Sept – On the eve of International Day of Democracy, the above-mentioned non-governmental organisations, community organisations and unions are pleased to announce a press conference to mark the official release of the joint civil society report on the state of freedom of expression in Cambodia, Cambodia Gagged: Democracy at Risk?

When: Tuesday 14 September 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Where: Cambodian Center for Human Rights, #798, Street. 99, Phnom Penh

For more information on the press conference, please contact:
Ms. CHOR Chanthyda
Project Coordinator, CCHR
Tel: +855 12 51 55 06 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +855 12 51 55 06 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email: thyda@cchrcambodia.org

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"Kh'nhom Chea Khmer!" a Poem in Khmer by Son Samrach

Click to Read More...

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Land protest leader in Kampuchea Krom concerned that he may face arrest

10 September 2010
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A Khmer Krom activist who led protests to demand the return of Khmer Krom farmlands back is currently facing arrest by the Viet cops.

A Khmer Krom farmer is currently in hiding after 4 uniformed Viet cops came looking to arrest him in the evening of 09 September because he led protests to demand back his ancestral farmlands that were confiscated by the Viet authority, and also because he always sent out information on protests and on human rights violations by the Viet authority to the outside world.

The Khmer Krom farmer from An Cu commune, Tinh Bien district, Motr Chrouk province (renamed An Giang in Vietnamese), who declined to provide his name, told RFA over the phone that he now has no safety at all: “They asked me why did I yell to let the International community know about their internal affairs? I will still continue to yell because I lost all my farmlands and the authority did not provide any resolution for me.”

RFA contacted the Viet embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to ask them to clarify whether the living condition for the Khmer Krom families is tense as claimed or not, however the person who answered the phone claimed that the Viet embassy spokesperson was not at his office.

Thach Setha, President of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community association in Cambodia, said: “I am very concerned because this is the habit of the commies, they place under surveillance those who stood up to protest, such action is an indicator for them to conduct their close surveillance, and it will conclude with an arrest. I am very concerned about his safety.”

The same Khmer Krom farmer indicated that he led numerous protests since 2007 to demand the return of the ancestral farmlands. The protests were held in Prey Nokor city (renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the occupying Viet regime) and in Hanoi. Furthermore, he always criticized the Viet authority for its freedom rights violations on Khmer Krom families

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When the Viet prime over Cambodia...

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"Vous les Americains Sont Pires que les Francais." -- you Americans are worse than the French

Chip Beck's sketch of General Khy Hak

General Khy Hak's final fate:

11th Brigade Commander, General Khy Hak was executed with his wife and five children in 1975

"Vous les Americains Sont Pires que les Francais."

"Vous les Americains Sont Pires que les Francais" is the title of Chapter 27 of Never Fight Fair!, an oral history of the SEALS by Orr Kelly. Chapter 27 is a reminiscence of William G. "Chip" Beck, who served as an advisor with the Cambodian Army as it fought a desperate battle against the Khmer Rouge rebels from January 1974 until that fateful April 1975. Beck tells the story of the heroic resistance of the anti-communist Cambodians and especially of one man, Khy Hak who most exemplified and personified that resistance. An excerpt:



I was an advisor to the 11th Cambodian Brigade at the time. I was the only American in Kompong Thom, this little town in central Cambodia. There were two other foreigners there -- a Norwegian doctor and a French priest. He had been there twenty-eight years and spoke Cambodian like a native. We used to call his congregation "the Christian soldiers." After he said Mass, he would go out and show them how to put up a machine gun emplacement with effective cross fire.

I had responsibility for an area between Kompong Thom and Siem Reap, where Ankgor Wat is. I used to travel back and forth in that whole northern area.

I started out based in Siem Reap but I was so impressed by the quality of the officers and what they were doing with the men in Kompong Thom that I went back to the embassy and told them they needed a full timer down there with the 11th Cambodian Brigade. They agreed.

The provincial governor was also a general whose name was Teap Ben. He was the political provincial advisor and senior military person. The man in charge of most of the combat forces was Col. Khy Hak, probably one of the two military geniuses I have met in my life. The guy didn't go to school until he was eleven years old and ended up completing the national military academy at age eighteen at the top of his class.

Khy Hak had studied everything from Napoleon to Mao Tse Tung. In his library I found these huge books on the Napoleonic battles. There were maps where he had drawn in red and blue where the troops had gone and where they had made their mistakes. He could think in strategic terms. He could send massive troop units going out but also have his men infiltrate into the Khmer Rouge as guerrillas. He could fight as a guerrilla or a major tactician.

When the war started, these two guys were at Siem Reap, a little outpost. They were maybe a major and a captain at the time. That became one of the few places where, when the North Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge started running over Cambodia, they didn't get very far. They were not guys who sat in there offices and worried about their next corruption deal. They would go out and fight with the troops.

Khy Hak got wounded, for the first time in his life, during the battle for Ankgor Wat. Instead of being evacuated, he had his men put him on a door and carry him into battle while he was still bleeding. It was an incredible battle because Khy Hak has a sense of history. He didn't want to use heavy artillery to take out the North Vietnamese because he was afraid of destroying the historic ruins of Ankgor wat. So he had his men go in and fight hand to hand, tactical, down and dirty.

Kompong Thom had been overrun and almost taken by the Khmer Rouge in 1973, the year before I got there, and when they sent Teap Ben and Khy Hak, literally, the Khmer Rouge were in downtown Kompong Thom. The helicopter flew these two guys in, wouldn't even land, as the troops were fighting to get back into the city. Literally, they retook the city house by house.

By the time I got there, the Khmer Rouge were still surrounding the town and attacking it, if not every day, every week. I was just so impressed by what was going on I decided to make my own headquarters there. The longer I stayed and saw what they were doing, the more impressed I got.

At one point in the dry season, Khy Hak had had enough of being surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and said he was going to take back the territory beyond the town perimeter. . . Khy Hak decided he and his brigade, under cover of darkness, would walk out of Kompong Thom along Highway 5 and wreak havoc among the Khmer Rouge. And they did. In the course of three days they walked a hundred miles and they brought back 10,000 people from among the Cambodian population. By the time a month and a half was finished, they had brought back 45,000 people from the communist zone, brought them back into a little town that previously had only 15,000 people in it.

When Khy Hak went out there, he didn't force the people to come back at gunpoint. He would get up on a tree stump or a chair and talk to the villagers.

He told them, "Look, there's corruption in the government, there's corruption in the army. But if you come back I will try to protect you. The Khmer Rouge will try to stop you from going. I will help you get back. Once you reach safety in Kompong Thom, they will try to attack us and kill you. I will try to protect you. It's going to be hard to feed you. You will have to grow your own crops. We can't count on anybody but ourselves. But you know what it's like out here under the communists. Choose. Make your choice."

And they made their choice, by the thousands.

I flew out in a chopper after the operation got going and I couldn't believe my eyes. . . I stayed out there with troops for three days. I really wasn't supposed to but Khy Hak challenged me, "How do you know that I won't lie to you? Or someone will ask you if I'm lying. See for yourself. You can tell them the truth." so I stayed there . . . As Khy Hak had predicted, the more refugees we got into the town, the more of a political embarrassment it was for the Khmer Rouge. They intensified the pressure on Kompong Thom in March and April of 1974. . .

(Short of rice for the refugees and unable to get enough from USAID, Khy Hak staged a raid out into the countryside)

. . . in an area where the Khmer Rouge had been stockpiling rice they had taken from farmers. . . As we were pulling out, some mortar rounds started falling. Khy Hak got on the radio -- the Khmer Rouge had the same radios he had -- and issued a challenge: "This is Col. Khy Hak. Here is my precise position. I will wait here for one hour. There is no need for you to shoot at unarmed civilians who can't defend themselves. If you want to fight somebody, fight me. I will wait. If you are not here in an hour, I will figure you are too afraid to do it."

They didn't come. . .

(Beck tells the story of the bloody and heroic defense of Kompong Thom against overwhelming numbers of Khmer Rouge.)

The day the siege of Kompong Thom was broken, with three hundred Khmer Rouge left dead on the battlefield, the headlines in the world press, one major newspaper -- I can't remember which one -- said: "Rebel rockets hit Phnom Penh; Three Killed."

These defenders had killed three hundred to one thousand enemy soldiers in bloody combat but there was never a story told about this.

For the rest of the dry season, things were pretty calm there. Khy Hak was promoted to general the final year, in 1975, in the final months in Phnom Penh.

He and I had worked out a plan where I would take his wife and children and set them up on an escape route I had set up in northern Cambodia for the civilians.

I didn't know when Operation Eagle Pull (the American evacuation) was going to go. When I found out, I was several hundred miles away from his family. I couldn't get to them directly. I had somebody else go over to the house to ask Mrs. Khy Hak to leave with them. She refused. She didn't know her husband wanted her to leave.

By the time he was able to get back to Phnom Penh, to the center of town as the perimeter was falling, there was no way to get her out. He put his wife and his five children -- beautiful little children, from four years old to eight -- in a jeep. The Khmer Rouge caught them approaching the airport and took them over to a pagoda.

One of my Cambodian soldiers who went back in and talked to witnesses said they killed the little kids. They executed the children, then they shot his wife. After making him witness that, they executed him. So they got their revenge on him.

Chip Beck's sketch of General Khy Hak.

We then started hearing of many atrocities being committed. (After Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge on 16 April 1975, as many as four million Cambodians were slain by the victors over the next two years.) The Khmer Rouge would get on the single sideband radios that had been part of the military network. After the Americans had made the evacuation in Eagle Pull, the Khmer Rouge would get on the radio and hold the key so you could hear the office people being tortured and murdered on the air. . .

Unlike Vietnam, the Cambodians could have held out. We, the advisors, were told we could supply the Cambodian army as long as they could fight. That's what we told them. After we evacuated the country, that order was rescinded.

The French died at Dien Bien Phu. They were soundly defeated but they fought and we just went out the back door.

We, the advisors who had lived with these people, sometimes for years, had to sit there and listen to them on the radio calling to us, saying, "Where are our supplies? We're still fighting. We're holding out."

Finally they ran out of ammunition. That's the only thing that made many of these people surrender and then they were executed by the Khmer Rouge.

One of the last transmissions -- the last transmission I ever heard out of Cambodia -- was a Cambodian colonel, just before they killed him. You could hear them breaking down the door. You could hear him say, "Vous les Americains Sont Pires que les Francais." -- you Americans are worse than the French.

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Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Yuon Mob

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

On 02 September 2010, a hacking incident of Khmer Krom men took place in a Vietnamese rubber plantation located in Raung Damrey (Tay Ninh in Vietnamese) province. The incident led to the following deaths and injuries sustained by the victims among the 22 Khmer Krom people who work as laborers in this plantation:

1. 22-year-old Chau Net was hacked to death by a Vietnamese mob in Rolaing village, Rolaing commune, Svay Tong disttict, Motr Chrouk province.
2. Chau Phat, a resident of Banteay Svay commune, Svay Tong district, Motr Chrouk province, was seriously injured and he succumbed to his wounds on 07 September 2010.
3. Chau Keo, a resident of Banteay Svay commune, Svay Tong district, Motr Chrouk province, was seriously injured and he is still hospitalized.
4. Another Khmer Krom youth saw his shoulder hacked by the same Vietnamese mob, and 5 others were slightly injured.

Website: http://www.khmerkrom.net

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Voter Registration Remains Complicated for Citizens: Expert

An election staff helps a Cambodian elderly woman to cast her ballot at a polling station in Kampong Cham province, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, July 27, 2008. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Sok Khemara, VOA khmer
Washington, D.C Friday, 10 September 2010

“Some countries apply this system, a system where people do not have the obligation to register.”

A Cambodia elections expert says voter registration remains complicated for everyday citizens and puts more burden on them than the state.

Cambodia also lacks a single database for the population, further complicating the process, said Koul Panha, director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, as a guest on “Hello VOA” Thursday.

“Some countries apply this system, a system where people do not have the obligation to register,” he said. “They organize a system to check the database and the age of people in order to place their names on a voting list” and inform them where they will vote, he said.

“But Cambodia still puts the obligation on people who have turned 18 to register,” he said.

The National Election Committee announced Thursday it hoped to register some 300,000 new voters between October and the end of the year, adding to the 8.3 million voters already registered, following an annual voter survey.

“Our registration is done every year,” Koul Panha said. “Those who are eligible to register and those who have no name on the register will have to register to vote.” That also includes people who have changed their address or have been taken off the register.

However, in other countries a database, birth certificate and other vital records clearly define voters, he said.

Cambodia’s system has led to problems in the past, he said.

In the 2008 national election, nearly 400,000 voters have problems, where they either did not see their names on the voter register or were incorrectly registered, leading to disillusionment and the loss of votes, he said.

Meanwhile, one agency’s list may differ from another.

“The NEC has their own database, and the Ministry of Interior, they have their own database, and we don’t define a clear identification of one individual,” he said. “That has caused voter lists of poor quality and made names wrong, or lost, and then people don’t get their right to vote.”

Cambodia is preparing for local-level commune council elections in 2012, with parliamentary elections the following year. Some election experts have called for the elimination of the old voter register and a creation a new, more credible list.

Koul Panha said people could also have their own identification number to avoid confusion or names dropped from the register.

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Hearing in the lawsuit against opposition leader Sam Rainsy

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IMF Team Completes the 2010 Article IV Consultation Discussions with Cambodia

Olaf Unteroberdoerster, a high ranking IMF economist for Asia-Pacific, during the press conference held in the afternoon of 10 Sept 2010 (Photo: Ly Meng Huor, RFI)

September 10, 2010
Press Release No. 10/334
Source: IMF

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission from Washington, D.C. visited Cambodia August 30 to September 10, 2010, to conduct the annual Article IV discussions.1 During the visit, the mission took stock of recent economic and financial developments and held policy discussions with ministers and senior officials of the Royal Government of Cambodia on their macroeconomic and financial policies. The mission also met a wide range of representatives from the business community and Cambodia’s development partners.

A broadening export-led recovery is taking hold since the beginning of the year. Real GDP growth is projected to reach 4½–5 percent in 2010, a significant turnaround from 2009. Garment exports and tourist arrivals, notably by air, are bouncing back, both growing between 10 to 20 percent (y/y) in the second quarter of 2010. Construction activity, however, appears to remain sluggish with growth of most related imports still negative, while a late start of the rainy season may dent agricultural output growth.

Amid ample liquidity in the banking system, credit growth has turned the corner and, on current trends, could run well above 20 percent in the second half of the year. Headline CPI inflation is projected to average 4 percent this year.

Significant risks continue to cloud growth prospects. The fragility of the global recovery exposes Cambodia’s narrow export base with its heavy reliance on the U.S. and European markets to significant downside risks. Over the medium term, efforts to strengthen the business environment and enhance public sector revenues and service delivery are important to overcome major downside risks to growth. On the other hand, a better-than-expected return to medium-term investments in the power sector and rural infrastructure could offer significant upside potential.

Against this background, discussions focused on the dual policy challenge to safeguard hard-won gains in macroeconomic stability and policy credibility, and lay the foundations for broader-based and inclusive growth.

With regard to fiscal policies, the mission was encouraged by the fiscal outturn through July suggesting that the budget target of a gradual fiscal consolidation is on track. The rebound in tax revenue is broadening, with both direct and indirect cumulative tax collection through the first seven months rising by 8 and 18 percent (y/y), respectively. However, the mission advised that further fiscal adjustment is needed for 2011 and the medium term. As the economic recovery gains traction, the recourse to domestic financing, and thus the injection of significant additional riel liquidity, should be eliminated to avoid undue external and inflation pressures. Moreover, further consolidation would enable Cambodia to retain its favorable debt sustainability outlook and rebuild its capacity to absorb potential future shocks.

The mission strongly supports the government’s emphasis on further improving revenue administration. Gains in tax collection offer the best hope for Cambodia to meet the dual objective of securing fiscal sustainability and mobilizing resources for its development needs. In addition, further progress along the government’s public financial management reform program will be critical to secure gains from enhanced revenue administration and improve the effectiveness of social priority spending

On monetary policies, the mission discussed ways to enhance Cambodia’s monetary independence, including elements of a strategy to address the high degree of dollarization. To a large extent dollarization reflects Cambodia’s unbalanced and narrow growth over recent decades that was driven by the dollarized urban export and tourism centers. Therefore, a more diversified development with greater emphasis on agriculture and rural areas, where the riel is commonly accepted, could over time produce a significant decline of dollarization. In addition, based on international experience of countries with a successful de-dollarization strategy, the incentives for greater use of riel could be increased.

The mission commended the National Bank of Cambodia for taking actions to safeguard the health of the banking system. Considering the findings of the IMF/World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program mission in March 2010, the mission and the authorities agreed that robust supervision of banks and strict enforcement of prudential regulations remain key to sustained stability. Moreover, the supervisory framework and resources will also need to keep pace with the development of a broader financial system.

Global economic rebalancing and greater reliance in Asia on domestic sources of growth offer significant opportunities that Cambodia should seize. The government’s recent initiatives to improve the business environment and address infrastructure bottlenecks are timely. The mission looks forward to the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Law which could significantly reduce the cost of doing business, and thereby improve Cambodia’s international competitiveness. Promoting agricultural development and rural infrastructure investment, including by the recently adopted Rice Policy, will broaden Cambodia’s sources of growth and make future development more inclusive and sustainable. Improving the quality and dissemination of key economic statistics will serve to further enhance policy credibility and result in better informed business decisions.
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(1) Under the Article IV consultation, IMF staff undertake annual surveillance and analysis of economic developments and policies of member countries for discussion by the Executive Board. The last Article IV consultation with Cambodia was concluded in November 2009.

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New Solar Trees Light Up Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Initial sketch rendering by Nothing Design.
Residents help install a solar streetlight in Angkor Wat. Photo courtesy of Nothing Design.

10 Sep 10
Amanda Reed
WorldChanging.com

New solar powered street lights installed in Angkor Wat, Cambodia add much needed public lighting to the area, in a fun, low-energy design that increases night-time safety and facilitates greater earnings for local businesses. Nothing Design Group conceived of the tree-like design, and developed the lights in partnership with Asiana Airlines and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The project team wished to create lights that would both increase night-time safety and help elevate Cambodia's image.

As a UNESCO World Heritage site, Angkor Wat attracts many tourists, but before the lights were installed, many did not venture out at night. Now, the added lighting encourages both tourists and residents to be out at night, which creates benefits for both: tourists can integrate more with the local community and locals can generate more income by keeping markets and other businesses open later.

So far, 16 solar streetlights have been installed, and the team plans to install 5 to 10 more a year until 2015.

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Regal reception for Thai diplomat

Thai ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai: On a mission of amelioration

11/09/2010
Bangkok Post

The Thai ambassador to Cambodia Prasas Prasasvinitchai has presented his credentials to the country's King Sihamoni, a vital procedure that formalises his diplomatic posting.

Mr Prasas was initially scheduled to meet the Cambodian king on Oct 18 but Prime Minister Hun Sen brought the date forward to yesterday.

Phnom Penh is Mr Prasas' first ambassadorial post and hopefully not his last because he still has nearly a decade to go before he is due to retire.

In the past, Mr Prasas was mistaken by many of his bureaucratic peers and members of the media for a palad amphoe (assistant district chief) or phuwa (governor) due to his appearance.

He was often seen wearing Thai-style shirts usually worn by local administrators and kept a low profile.

Because he had to travel upcountry often and held many meetings with military and provincial officials, it is perhaps understandable that he left his suits and neckties at home.

A law graduate of Thammasat University, he has been working at the Foreign Ministry's Department of the Treaty and Legal Affairs since 1977, dealing with lots of nitty gritty matters, mostly concerning border issues.

His straightforward and outspoken manner sometimes has not gone down well with certain politicians, diplomat colleagues and state officials. Yet, his sincerity and sound logic have also enabled him to beat some tough diplomatic challenges with neighbouring countries and helped him overcome problems with other ministries.

It took him a long time before he was appointed head of the division of border affairs in 2000. It has been observed that officials with a background in law tend to be left behind when promotions are handed out at the Foreign Ministry.

Mr Prasas is one of only a very few working diplomats who have been able to read neighbouring countries' political manoeuvrings over border affairs. He remembers all the significant chapters of past border treaties with France and Britain and is well acquainted with military and interior officials based at the border.

Before moving to Rangoon and assuming the second most important post at the embassy there, he was made deputy head of the Department of East Asian Affairs for a few years.

During his posting to Burma, Mr Prasas was also called to provide support for negotiators at the Christchurch talks of the World Heritage Committee in 2007, which discussed Cambodia's solo attempt to seek the heritage listing of the Preah Vihear temple.

The whole of last year was truly a rough one for Thai-Cambodian relations and the Thai ambassador's seat in Phnom Penh was vacant for nearly 10 months.

Soon after being appointed ambassador to Cambodia, Mr Prasas left Bangkok but in less than a month he was recalled. That was nine days after ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed a personal adviser to Hun Sen and economic adviser to the Cambodian government.

Now that the Thai and Cambodian ambassadors have got back to work, and with signs of eased tensions between the two sides, observers are keeping their fingers crossed as to how long the improved relations will last.

After all, the public hearing on the memorandum of understanding for the reconvening of the Joint Boundary Committee should be ready for Thai parliamentary scrutiny late next month.

If there are no further incidents to dampen bilateral ties, full normalisation of the troubled bilateral relations can then be expected.

If not, Mr Prasas will have to stand ready for yet another diplomatic storm.

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Hellish life before the KR Apocalypse - Do you still remember?

31 Mar 1975, Prek Phnov, Cambodia --- 3/31/1975- Prek Phnou, Cambodia- Young Cambodian girls take up defensive positions in home at Prek Phnou, some 6 miles north of Phnom Penh's Higway 5. Meanwhile, government sources said 3/31 that President Lon Nol will leave Cambodia sometime this week, probably for good. Heavy shelling attacks were reported at the Mekong River enclave of Neak Luong and nearby outpost at Banam, 130 miles south of Phnom Penh. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
31 Mar 1975, Prek Phnov, Cambodia --- Prek Phnau, Cambodia: Homeless Cambodian orphans sit idle while waiting for their turn to receive a bowl of cooked-rice at a refugee camp here 6 miles north of the Cambodian capital March 31. The American airlift of good and other supplies continue to operate despite pre-dawn rocket attacks by the communists at the airport. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
29 Mar 1975, Phnom Penh, Cambodia --- Cambodian Refugee. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: President Ford sent White House photographer David Hume Kennerly to Vietnam and Cambodia to assess the situation and take pictures of what he saw. The White House released pictures of Cambodian refugees, April 6. Taken March 29, 1975, a Cambodian girl waits in a refugee center, wearing a dog-tag as a trinket. March 29, 1975. --- Image by David Kennerly/CORBIS
29 Mar 1975, Phnom Penh, Cambodia --- Phnom Penh, Cambodia: President Ford sent his personal photographer, David Hume Kennerly, to Vietnam and Cambodia to assess the situation. The White House released pictures, April 6, of what he saw. Here is a Cambodian child suffering from malnutrition in a Phnom Penh hospital, March 29. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
3/26/1975-Phnom Penh, Cambodia- A badly wounded mother, hurt in rebel rocket attack, continues to nurse her baby while being evacuated aboard Navy boat from Vhang War Island in Mekong River. Communist-led rebels captured a strategic stretch of riverfront two miles north of Phnom Penh 3/26, advancing the closest ever to the Cambodian capital. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
08 Apr 1975, Prek Phnov, Cambodia --- Much Needed Food. Prek Phnau, Cambodia: Children in this war-torn country reach out for their portion of rice from Red Cross worker here some 3.6 miles from the capital. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
4/2/75-Phnom Penh, Cambodia: A woman holds her child, who was wounded during a rocket attack on Phnom Penh by communist-led insurgents March 24. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
April 1975, Phnom Penh, Cambodia --- Cambodian Child in Wheelbarrow --- Image by Francoise de Mulder/CORBIS

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Touring the crocodiles pond - 1970 vintage

25 May 1970, Hanoi, North Vietnam --- Hanoi, North Vietnam: A fifteen member delegation of the National United Government of royal Kampuchea arrived in Hanoi. From left: North Vietnamese premier Pham Van Dong; royal Kampuchea's Premier Penn Nouth; North Vietnamese president Ton Duc Thang; and Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Kampuchea inspect the honor guard upon arrival. --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
25 May 1970, Hanoi, North Vietnam --- Hanoi, North Vietnam: Prince Norodom Sihanouk waves his hand during his arrival in Hanoi. At his right is North Vietnamese premier Pham Van Dong. Also seen is Premier Penn Nouth and North Vietnamese defense minister Vo Nguyen Giap (wearing helmet). --- Image by Bettmann/CORBIS

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Kom Tha Ei-choeung - "Don't say that - The minor details that are easy to forget" - Op-Ed by Oum Hak

Did you know?

According to the Op-Ed author, following the 1962 decision by The Hague International Court of Justice to award the ownership of Preah Vihear to Cambodia, Thai troops did not immediately pull out of the temple and the surrounding area. A Cambodian colonel by the name of Teab Ben, who later became the Funcinpec army chief of staff during the resistance to the Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia, and his troops had put tremendous effort to climb up the mountain and fought with the Thai army before they were able to chase them out of the area. Colonel Teab Ben’s victory paved the way for the pilgrimage by Prince Sihanouk and his entourage to the Preah Vihear temple (see photos above). Unfortunately, nowadays, nobody even remember the name of Colonel Teab Ben and his heroic soldiers. Similarly, a Cambodian lawyer and native son of Kampuchea Krom, Mr. Truong Cang, was one of the major contributors to Cambodia’s successful lawsuit case against Thailand at The Hague International Court of Justice. Immediately after Cambodia won the lawsuit, Mr. Truong Cang was proclaimed the Cambodian Hero for Preah Vihear, but less than 50 years later, nobody even remember his contributions. Isn’t it a shame?

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

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Would you patronize Yuon supermarkey when VN encroach on Cambodia, oppress and kill Khmer Krom?

Workers are busy at the US$3 million Vietnamese supermarket due to open on Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh, next month. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)

New Vietnamese Supermarket

Thursday, 09 September 2010
Catherine James
The Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIA’S first Vietnamese supermarket will open its doors to customers next month, its administration manager said yesterday.

The US$3 million two-storey complex has been built on Phnom Penh’s Monivong Boulevard, in Boeung Keng Kang 3, near the Vietnamese embassy, and is owned by an investor from a firm called Z38 Co.

“It is the first Vietnamese supermarket to open in Cambodia. We will provide good service to the clients,” Keo Rithy Thy, administration manager for the store said.

Despite its roots, the store, which will house around 100 booths for rent in 3,264 square metres of space, will not confine itself to selling Vietnamese products.

“We’re selling mix products come from abroad,” said the manager.

Chinese and Thai products will also be for sale at the complex, which is named simply Vietnamese Supermarket.

According to publicity for the store, it intends to sell bags, clothes, shoes, jewellery, toys, furniture, food and beverages.
Competitors are taking stock of the development.

“I’m not worrying anything because we have different products imported from abroad,” Chheang Meng, General Manager of Bayon Supermarket in Phnom Penh, said yesterday.

“We always give the best services to our clients and make clients feel confident with high quality standard goods,” he said.

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Cambodia Mulls Affirmative Action for Women

By Irwin Loy

"Former Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs Mu Sochua says quotas alone will not address long-standing problems in women's representation."

PHNOM PENH, Sep 10, 2010 (IPS) - Cambodian authorities must take sweeping measures to boost the number of women who sit in parliament if the country is to meet a key part of its global commitment to gender equality, advocates say.

Cambodia has pledged to ensure that at least 30 percent of legislators in its National Assembly are women by 2015. It represents part of Cambodia’s promises under the global Millennium Development Goals – targets aimed at eradicating poverty – to which United Nations member states have committed.

But with only one National Assembly election remaining before the deadline – voters in this South-east Asian nation are scheduled to head to the polls in 2013 – advocates say Cambodia risks missing this crucial target if the government fails to enact extraordinary measures to boost the number of women in politics.

Opposition members and civil society groups are calling on the government to legislate strict quotas that would ensure enough women are elected. But the government here is vehemently opposed to use of the term "quotas," leaving advocates to walk a delicate line.

Drude Dahlerup, a political science professor at Stockholm University who has researched gender equality in political systems around the world, including Cambodia, said quotas are the most effective way for countries to show dramatic results in a short period of time.

In her native Sweden, for example, women represent 47 percent of legislators – one of the highest figures in the world. "But it took a long time to achieve; it took 100 years," Dahlerup said. "Many countries are saying, ‘We aren’t going to wait that long.’"

Female lawmakers currently occupy 27 of 123 seats – or just under 22 percent – in the National Assembly following the most recent election in 2008. The figure represents a jump over Cambodia’s first post-war national elections in 1993, when women occupied only five percent of seats. But reaching the 30 percent target by 2015 remains a challenge.

Dahlerup, who said she was asked by the Cambodian government to devise options to reach the goal, is recommending that authorities consider legislating some kind of quota system – though she, like other advocates, uses the more subtle term "temporary special measures" in place of "quotas."

"Everywhere quotas are controversial, but I think that’s because there’s a misunderstanding that quotas are used to give women special favours," Dahlerup said. "I try to turn this around and say, ‘Why are men so over- represented?’"

Cambodia’s National Assembly is elected using a proportional representation system, whereby the electorate votes for a preferred party rather than individual candidates. The seats in multi-member districts are then filled from the parties’ candidate lists.

Dahlerup is recommending that the government legislate rules that require political parties to set gender quotas for its candidates – women must make up no less than 30 percent and no more than 70 percent of a party’s candidates. Additionally, the lists must be organised into a rank order system. Under one suggested option, the top two candidates cannot be of the same sex; under another, candidate rankings would alternate between male and female.

"I think you should have legislation that forces all political parties to do this," Dahlerup said. "This is trying to make equality (happen) and jump over the barriers that women face." The recommendation for the "temporary special measure" may comply with the government aversion to strict quotas.

Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi said the government will not consider quotas, but she said some steps must be taken before the next election to boost the proportion of female parliamentarians.

"In Cambodia, we won’t talk about a quota system," she said during a gender workshop held this week to debate options for achieving the country’s gender goals. "It means you have to have 30 percent, or 40 percent. We cannot say we must do this."

The minister acknowledged that "temporary special measures," which do not directly set aside seats in the National Assembly based on sex, are on the table.

"I agree we may have to have temporary measures so that we can achieve [the MDG]. There is only one election to go before 2015," she said.

Thida Khus, secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics, said such affirmative action measures are necessary to ensuring more women can break into the "old boys’ club" of national politics.

"It threatens some of the men, who are the gatekeepers of the political parties right now," she said. "Are you asking them to let go of their power to make way for women?" The government’s current education and training efforts to encourage female politicians may simply be inadequate, she said.

"They do capacity building. They do awareness. But we will not meet the 30 percent goal in 2013 if we do not have special measures and more affirmative action," she added.

Mu Sochua, a former Minister of Women’s Affairs who has become one of the government’s most outspoken critics in opposition, said she believes quotas are necessary, but such measures alone will not address long-standing problems involving women’s representation.

"I don’t think quotas alone are enough," she said. "Female politicians have to make themselves accountable to women." Though there may be 27 female lawmakers in parliament now, few of them are publicly vocal on crucial issues like violence against women, she said.

"They are lawmakers but they rarely speak," Mu said. "Look at land issues. Look at migration. Poverty has the face of a woman. You cannot just close your eyes to it."

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