Cambodia FM reaffirms support for RI observers

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via CAAI

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Fri, 05/06/2011

Friday arrival: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, talks with Indonesian Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, right, upon arrival at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday. Hun Sen is in the country to attend the 18th ASEAN SUmmit that will be held on May 7-8. (AP/Irwin Fedriansyah)

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa held bilateral talks with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Friday, with the latter reaffirming his country’s support for the presence of the Indonesian observer team.

“What I want to mention is that Cambodia has formally accepted terms of reference for the Indonesian observer team,” Marty said after the meeting.

Marty said he also planned to meet with Thailand’s foreign minister later that afternoon.

The meetings with Cambodia’s and Thailand’s ministers were aimed at seeking a solution to the long-standing border dispute between the two countries.

The Bangkok Post reported that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiva had indicated he had no intention of holding talks regarding the border clashes with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Jakarta.

Condition conducive needed in Thailand-Cambodia clash reconciliation: Indonesian minister

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

via CAAI

May 06, 2011

A condition conducive is needed before deployment of observer team from Indonesia to the border of Thailand and Cambodia, as a part of the efforts to solve the strife between both countries, an Indonesian minister said on Friday.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters that he has met Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister of Cambodia Hor Namhong and Foreign Minister of Thailand Kasit Piromya to find solutions of the conflict. Natalegawa said that Thailand and Cambodia have agreed terms of reference (TOR) of the observation team. "One positive thing is that the TOR of the observer team is agreed by both countries. Cambodia has officially agreed by sending a diplomatic note while Thailand agreed on principle but has not yet sent any note," said Natalegawa. In other words, he said, as far as TOR concern, it is done deal.

What remains now, he said, is how we operate the assignment of the Indonesian observer team on the ground, and key word is to create condition conducive for the assign of the Indonesian observer team. "You are aware, of course, through previous communication that Thailand has its own view about what needs to happen before such observer team is sent. Cambodia has its own view as well. Thailand has submitted a kind of condition before the deployment, which is a withdrawal of Cambodian troops from certain area," he said.

He added that in the next one or two days, the foreign ministers will sit together, trying to define what kind of condition conducive before the deployment.

On top of that, he said, both Thailand and Cambodia recognize that political process, diplomatic negotiation must continue.

"I hope that general border commission (GBC) can reconvene sooner rather than later. Because it is important to have political process kept alive and continued. The risk of delay of is very rear. We have seen in the past two weeks what has been happening in the border area between the two countries. They have exchanged artillery. Delay is not neutral. Delay is not without impact. Delay means greater risk. This is what we wish to avoid," he said.

Source: Xinhua

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Clashes spark concern for de-mining groups

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Wednesday, 27 April 2011 14:35 Mary Kozlovski

Landmine experts yesterday expressed concern that ongoing border violence could hamper de-mining efforts, as statistics revealed that casualties resulting from mines and unexploded ordnance dropped slightly in the first quarter of this year.

A total of 61 people were killed or injured from January to March this year, compared with 62 over the same period last year, according to figures from the Cambodia Mine/ERW Victim Information System.

Leng Sochea, deputy-secretary general of the Cambodian Mines Action Authority which collects the data, said yesterday that overall figures were “stable” but ongoing border clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops in the border provinces could affect de-mining efforts.

“People are moving away from this area and maybe some de-miners are moving away,” he said. “If we have no proper measures to take the UXO out of the villages maybe it will ... cause the number of casualties to increase next month.”

According to CMVIS data, there was a 20 percent increase in casualties last month, with 24 people killed or injured compared with 20 reported casualties in March last year.

Heng Rattana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, said yesterday that he was not satisfied with the figures.“The high casualty districts are along the border and the fighting [between Cambodia and Thailand] occurs in those areas,” he said. “This creates a difficult environment for us to work and we decide to cease operations and move to areas further from the border.”He added that CMAC wanted “zero victims”.

The provinces with the most recorded casualties resulting from mines and UXO between January 2010 and March this year are Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pailin, Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces, all of which are located on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Earlier this month, United Kingdom-based group Cluster Munitions Coalition said it had evidence that Thailand used cluster munitions – which break up into bomblets that often lie dormant for years before exploding – during border clashes with Cambodia in February. Thailand has disputed that the weapons found are classified as clusters, an opinion anti-landmine groups reject.

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Displaced civilians facing uncertainty

Cambodian soldiers on the move through Oddar Meanchey province yesterday.

Displaced children seek refuge at Tham Mayuth pagoda in Samroang town yesterday.
A Cambodian soldier injured during the fighting recovers in Samroang town on Sunday.

Sovan Philong

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Tuesday, 26 April 2011 15:02Cheang Sokha and James O’Toole

Oddar Meanchey province

They came in a convoy down the dirt road that leads away from the Thai border in Oddar Meanchey’s Banteay Ampil district – Cambodian villagers, their belongings piled onto tractors, fleeing the fierce fighting that has left at least 12 troops dead since last week.

Evacuees have gathered thoughout Oddar Meanchey’s Samroang town, roughly 45 kilometres from the border – in pagodas, outside government offices and at the O’Russei primary school. Others have gathered in villages in nearby Banteay Ampil district, where the Cambodian Red Cross has set up relief services to go along with those in Samroang.

Uy Sam Ath, director of the disaster management department at the Cambodian Red Cross, said yesterday evening that a total of 22,384 people in Oddar Meanchey had been displaced by the fighting, with 11,558 taking refuge in Samroang town and another 10,826 in Banteay Ampil. At least nine homes in Banteay Ampil district have been destroyed by shells from Thailand, he added.

Luon An, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey, said significant numbers of villagers were still streaming into the relief sites yesterday after fighting first broke out on Friday.

“We expect that the numbers will continue to increase,” he said while overseeing relief operations in Samroang town’s Samroang pagoda.

At nearby Wat Tham Mayuth, also in Samroang, displaced villagers set up tents and hammocks on the pagoda grounds and left laundry out to dry on the railings of the temple. Vendors had arranged makeshift stands selling food and drinks as displaced residents queued up to receive medicine from a mobile clinic.

Chhun Samy, 67, said she and other residents of Banteay Ampil’s Por Thivong village had fled their homes on Friday immediately after the clashes broke out, leaving their belongings behind.

“We left and brought nothing with us,” she said, looking after three young children nearby. “I don’t know when we will be allowed to go back home.”

Oun Vy, chief of Banteay Ampil’s Kokmon commune, said Sunday that nearly all of his constituents had fled the fighting, but would not be able to stay away from their homes for long because they needed to cultivate their crops.

“99 percent of the villagers here are farmers, and this is the time they need to farm, but they are fleeing bombs instead,” he said.

Families of evacuees have received 20-kilogramme bags of rice along with cookware and blankets from the Cambodian Red Cross. Uy Sam Ath said his organisation had the situation under control, but could have difficulty providing for all those displaced in the face of prolonged fighting.

“We have the capacity to cope, but if the Thai soldiers continue [attacking], we have to appeal for help,” he said.

Along the road to the border in Kokmon commune, stores were shuttered and stray dogs scampered among abandoned homes. The commune’s Kork Svay village faced a barrage of shelling on Saturday, Oun Vy said, destroying one home and forcing out nearly all residents who had not yet fled.

With negotiations to end clashes at a standstill, the thousands displaced on both sides of the border now have little to do but wait.

“I don’t want to stay here much longer because I don’t want to be away from home,” said Banteay Ampil resident Keo Sokdana, taking refuge at Samroang’s Wat Tham Mayuth. “There is no fighting there, but we are afraid of the bombs.”

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Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Riot police provide security yesterday while homes are dismantled in Tuol Kork village, in Russei Keo district’s Tuol Sangke commune.

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Friday, 01 April 2011 15:03Meas Sokchea

Roughly 200 armed military police and police from Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district descended upon Tuol Sangke commune’s Tuol Kork village yesterday to enforce a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a former Funcinpec minister, demolishing the homes of forty-two families, who said they had lived on the land for years.

“I don’t know where I will live, I have only this spot,” Kun Sunlok, a local villager, said yesterday. She said she had bought the land legally, and claimed she spent more than US$100,000 to build the home she has lived in for seven years. “It is equal to my life,” she said.

The action, carried out in coordination with Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Hing Bun Chea and Russey Keo district governor Khlaing Huot, enforced a 2007 verdict in favour of Khun Haing, a former Funcincpec Minister of Religions and Cults who is now a member of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Residents said they had built their homes with permission from commune authorities, and pointed out that construction had taken place over a significant period of time.

“The village chief and commune chief allowed people to build, then people built homes with two or three floors,” resident Nget Thyda said. “If it is the land dispute of Excellency Khun Haing, why didn’t he oppose [construction] when people started?”

Hing Bun Chea said he was merely enforcing a court ruling.

“I don’t know if he bought the land from anyone, I am enforcing the verdict to take the land to give to Khun Haing,” he said.

Khlaing Huot informed reporters that the enforcement was rectifying a land-grab by a “powerful man”, who had then sold the land to locals.

“This area is very complicated. On behalf of the authorities, I am happy with this enforcement,” Khlaing Huot said.

He said none of the villagers had land titles, and offered $1 million to anyone who produced a legitimate one.

Ouch Leng, a land programme officer for the rights group Adhoc who observed the demolition, said local authorities were at fault for allowing people to buy up disputed land.

“It is a mistake of the authorities,” he said. “The authorities did not prevent the construction.”

Residents say they bought the land from former Preah Vihear provincial governor Meas Savoeun, whose wife won ownership over 6,000 square metres Tuol Kork in a 2004 ruling by Un Bunna, a judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

In 2007, however, a ruling by the Supreme Court reversed the verdict.

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Uneasy calm at border

Photo by: Pha Lina

A Thai soldier captured during fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border is released into the custody of Thai officials at the Ministry of Defence in Phnom Penh today.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 08 February 2011 20:43 Cheang Sokha

Preah Vihear province

Cambodian and Thai troops close to Preah Vihear temple remained on high alert today, following four days of clashes that left at least eight dead.

Soldiers on the Cambodian side of the border held fire but dug into positions, bracing for more fighting in the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area surrounding the 11th-century Khmer temple.

Dom Sophal, 55, a Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldier based behind Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara, a pagoda about 300 metres from Preah Vihear, said that the situation had calmed since Monday afternoon, though Cambodian troops remained in their positions and ready to defend their territory.

“We cannot say what is going on,” Dom Sophal said while sitting in a shelter close to the front lines.

“[Fighting] can happen any time but it depends on the Thai side.”

Starting on Friday morning, troops from both sides exchanged artillery, tank and rocket fire in a series of skirmishes which came to a close on Monday morning.

The two sides have each blamed the other for starting the fighting, the deadliest clashes that have occurred since tensions broke out on the border in July 2008, following UNESCO’s listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

“It was the largest fighting I have ever met before,” said another RCAF soldier, Sam Song.

“However, our soldiers controlled the situation during the clashes.”

The way up to the temple was blocked today to tourists and civilians, though military authorities allowed some journalists access to the area around the cliff-top temple.

Felled trees, small craters and blackened remnants of fires told a story of fierce fighting around the temple, which sustained damage from grenades fired from over the border.

“Things are calm, but it’s still very tense,” said RCAF Lieutenant Tek Saran.

“We don’t know when this situation will become normal again.”

A handful of young, saffron-robed monks walked around the moss-

covered stone temple today, where they sought refuge from artillery shells that rained down on either side of the disputed frontier over the previous four days.

“In the last few days I’ve been running for cover,” said Seng Ly, a 19-year-old monk.

“The Thais are Buddhists too – why did they attack our temple? I’m really afraid.”

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said on Monday that five Cambodians had died and 45 others were injured in the skirmishes.

Thai officials said two on their side were killed and 34 injured as of Monday.

The Bangkok Post reported today, however, that another Thai soldier had died at a hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province from serious injuries sustained during the skirmish.

Sergeant Thanakorn Poonperm, 30, was admitted to the hospital after being wounded on Sunday night, the paper reported.

Nearly 3,000 Cambodian families living around the battle zone have also been evacuated to Kulen district after shelling resumed on Monday, and will return to their home village once hostilities have ceased, said Han Chheang, an officer of Caritas Cambodia who brought rice and other supplies to evacuees.

“They are in need right now,” he said.

In Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng town, about 15 kilometres from the Thai-Cambodia frontier, residents were braced for further clashes.

Shops and businesses were shuttered and truckloads of infantry soldiers rumbled towards the border, some stacked with boxes of instant noodles.

Many soldiers were permanently based at Preah Vihear, several accompanied by their children who stayed behind as thousands fled in a exodus of villagers carrying only a few personal belongings.

“My father is a soldier, so I stayed here,” said Oun Ya, 13. “I’m not scared.”

Oun Ya’s friend, Ol Pros, 15, said he had never been to school and had spent most of his life in Preah Vihear.

His future, he said, was already decided.

“When I grow up, I’m going be a soldier,” Ol Pros said as men in camouflage outfits, Kalashnikov rifles strung over their shoulders, piled up sandbags and dug trenches.

“I have to wait until I’m 18. Then I’ll join the army.”

On the Thai side of the border, villages such as Ban Sangam in Sisaket province, about seven kilometres from the border, were eerily quiet, aside from the occasional sound of military trucks.

Provincial governor Somsak Suvarnsujarit said 16,654 people had been evacuated.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty and we will only let people move back into villages when there is a clear sign from the army that situation has returned to normal,” he said.

Thai Interior Minister Chavarat Chanvirakul today instructed governors of provinces close to the Cambodian border to set up “war rooms” to monitor the situation and aid Thai villagers affected by the fighting, according to Thai state media.

Return home

Also today, a Thai soldier captured by the Cambodian military at Preah Vihear temple was handed over to Thai officials at the Ministry of Defence.

Nim Sowath, the chief of Defence Minister Tea Banh’s cabinet, said Songkran Tongchompoo, 22, was captured by Cambodian soldiers during the fighting over the weekend.

“We yesterday received an official letter from Thailand’s defence ministry signed by Minister Prawit Wongsuwan on Monday, requesting Cambodia release the captured Thai soldier. This reflects that they accept they invaded,” he told reporters. “Now we have decided to give him back to Thailand.”

Prasas Prasasvinitchai, Thailand’s ambassador to Cambodia, thanked the Cambodian government “for returning Songkran Tongchompoo to Thailand so quickly”.

The handover was also attended by a representative of the International Committee of Red Cross.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY THET SAMBATH AND REUTERS

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Hun Sen makes plea to UN

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh today.

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Monday, 07 February 2011 21:51 Sam Rith and Vong Sokheng

Prime Minister Hun Sen called today for the United Nations to send peacekeepers to the Thai-Cambodian border near Preah Vihear temple, where at least seven people have been killed in clashes over the past few days.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, the premier repeated his plea for third party mediation, saying the conflict was in danger of spiraling out of control.

“We have sent [peacekeepers] to Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic and Lebanon, but now we would like the UN to establish a buffer zone so that we can avoid fighting with each other,” Hun Sen said. “Even in a boxing arena, they need a referee.”

The prime minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong have both written to the UN within the past few days appealing for intervention in the escalating conflict.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country now holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday to meet with Hor Namhong, and was also set to meet with senior officials in Bangkok.

Hun Sen said Cambodia “welcomes the urgent intervention of ASEAN” in the conflict and urged Thailand to accept it.

“Please do not fear the third party, either ASEAN, the United Nations or others,” Hun Sen said. “Please do not fear the police, for the person who is not a thief does not fear the police.”

Hor Namhong said yesterday that he planned to travel to New York in the near future to explain the situation at the United Nations.

Thai officials, however, have consistently rejected calls for outside mediation, claiming the dispute can be resolved between the two countries. Abhisit said yesterday that the Joint Border Committee, the bilateral body through which Thailand and Cambodia are now demarcating their shared border, should be sufficient to handle the issue, Thai state media reported.

Natelegawa noted that border conflicts were common within ASEAN, but added that it was unfortunate that regional countries had allowed the situation between Thailand and Cambodia “to degenerate in this way”.

“There is no more place for use of force and military means in resolving problems or challenges among ASEAN countries,” he said.

“This is an issue that will be resolved by the two countries concerned, but there is also room for other countries to help create a climate conducive for resolution of the problem through bilateral means.”

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who visited the Kingdom in October, has voiced concern over the recent clashes, calling for the two sides to “exercise restraint and resolve their dispute through dialogue”.

“The Secretary-General appeals to both sides to put in place an effective arrangement for cessation of hostilities and to exercise maximum restraint,” Ban’s office said in a statement on Sunday.

The two sides have blamed one another for touching off clashes that began on Friday and resumed for a fourth straight day yesterday.

Tensions in the area have been heightened since 2008, when Preah Vihear temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections. Thailand subsequently concentrated troops in the area, with Cambodia following suit, as the sides continued to disagree over the sovereignty of territory surrounding the temple.

UNESCO director general Irina Bokova expressed “distress” on Sunday regarding the battles near the 11th century site, calling in a statement for the two sides to “exercise restraint for the sake of the preservation of the Temple of Preah Vihear”.

Chan Chhorn, director of information for the Preah Vihear National Authority, said yesterday that a Thai rocket had crashed into a wing of the temple and had significantly damaged it.

Small arms fire and artillery also caused surface level damage to the temple staircase and other portions of the exterior, he added. Sun Saing, abbot of Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara, which sits adjacent to the temple, said the pagoda’s charity hall and monks’ quarters were also damaged.

“There has been huge damage to the temple,” Chan Chhorn said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA AND JAMES O’TOOL

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Security Council ready to meet

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

A Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldier sits at the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple yesterday following four days of fighting with Thai troops stationed along the contentious border.

via CAAI

Tuesday, 08 February 2011 21:02 Thomas Miller and Vong Sokheng

The United Nations Security Council says it is willing to hold a meeting on the recent round of hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia following Prime Minister Hun Sen’s call for UN peacekeepers to be deployed at the border.

Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, the Brazilian ambassador who is now serving president of the Security Council, told journalists in New York on Monday that members of the council had “expressed great concern at the aggravation of tension on the border”, the AFP news agency reported.

“They called for a ceasefire and urged the parties to resolve the situation peacefully,” she said.

“They expressed their willingness to hold a Security Council meeting.”

There was no indication of when such a meeting might be held.

Regional governments and world powers including the United States and China have appealed for restraint in a conflict that has left at least eight people dead, including five Cambodians, and has displaced thousands of people on both sides of the border.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country holds the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, visited Thai and Cambodian officials this week and said the regional bloc stands ready to “help create a climate conducive for resolution of the problem”.

Thai officials have consistently rejected third party mediation, saying the dispute can be resolved by the Joint Border Committee, the bilateral body through which the two countries are working to demarcate their shared border.

Tensions near Preah Vihear temple have been heightened since 2008, when it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site for Cambodia over Thai objections.

At least seven people had been killed in skirmishes between the two sides in the area in the past two and a half years prior to the most recent round of clashes.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An wrote on Monday to UNESCO director general Irina Bokova decrying “significant damages” to the temple as a result of Thai attacks and requesting that the body hold a meeting to address the issue.

“The objective [of the meeting] will be to organise the protection of the Temple of Preah Vihear which is in grave danger of total destruction by Thai armed forces,” Sok An wrote.

Bokova issued a statement on Sunday expressing “distress” at the clashes and calling for both sides to agree to a ceasefire for the sake of the temple’s preservation. UNESCO officials in Phnom Penh did not respond to requests for comment today.

Thai Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd rejected the Cambodian government’s reports of damage to the temple as “propaganda”, the Bangkok Post said today.

Any damage sustained by the site, he added, had resulted from Cambodian troops using it as “a heavy arms base to fire at Thai soldiers stationed in areas in Thai territory that were at lower elevation”.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs angrily rejected these comments in a statement today, labelling them “slanderous” and denying that Cambodian troops had operated from within the temple walls.

“There has never been and there will never be Cambodian soldiers at the TEMPLE OF PREAH VIHEAR,” the statement read.

Armed Cambodian troops could be seen milling about the temple today, however.

The temple’s staircases and exterior appeared to have been damaged by bullet and artillery fire, while vegetation in the surrounding area had been charred by explosions.

Following a series of skirmishes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers along the border in October 2008, UNESCO said in a 2009 report that the damage to the temple “appears relatively minor”.

“However, the continuous presence of troops around the property entails a risk of possible further incidents and hampers the implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee for the strengthening of the protection and management of the World Heritage property,” UNESCO said in the report.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA

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Troops reinforced at tense border

Sunday, 30 January 2011
Cheang Sokha and Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia officials have sent military reinforcements to the border area near Preah Vihear temple in the midst of a public spat with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva over the removal of Cambodian flags at a nearby pagoda.On Friday, Abhisit requested that the flags be removed from Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara, adjacent to the temple, a plea that came amid reports of a Thai plan to hold military exercises close to Preah Vihear.

Srey Doek, commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Military Division 3 at the border, said additional personnel, tanks and heavy artillery had been dispatched to the border on Friday in response to the exercises.

“They [Thai troops] are doing maneuvers and we are also doing them – that is why we need to send tanks and other weapons to the border,” Srey Doek said. “Our armed forces are on alert.”

Information minister Khieu Kanharith said today that the situation could erupt “this afternoon or tomorrow” if the Thais threatened Cambodia’s construction of a road leading up to Preah Vihear.

“Our stance is that [Thai troops] should not cross the border without Cambodian agreement,” he said.

Tensions in the area first broke out in 2008 following the inscription of Preah Vihear as a UNESCO World Heritage site for Cambodia.

The confrontation over the flags follows Thai demands that Cambodia remove a stone tablet placed last month at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara which read: “Here! is the place where Thai troops invaded Cambodian territory on July 15, 2008, and withdrew at 10:30am on December 1, 2010.”

On Tuesday last week, the sign was removed and replaced with another proclaiming, “Here! Is Cambodia”, a sign that was itself later destroyed at Thailand’s request.

Abhisit’s call for the removal of Cambodian flags from Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara, however, has been rejected outright.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Abhisit’s request, saying the pagoda was on Cambodian territory.

The ministry claimed the demand was made “in parallel with Thailand’s military exercises at the border”, which were “clearly provocative and [constitute] a casus belli for future acts of aggression against Cambodia”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wishes to emphasise that this statement made by the prime minister of Thailand is unacceptable and that the Kingdom of Cambodia firmly rejects such an insulting demand,” the statement read.

“Cambodia reserves its legitimate rights to [defend] its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

In his weekly television programme today, Abhisit reportedly pledged to work with Cambodia to have the flags near Preah Vihear removed.

“The temple is located on the disputed border area, and if the claim by the Yellow Shirt people is true, the government will coordinate with Cambodian authorities to remove the flag,” Abhisit said in Davos, Switzerland, according to The Bangkok Post.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia intensified last month following the arrest of Thai parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth and six other Thai nationals for trespassing on Cambodian territory.

Panich and four of the other Thais were found guilty but released earlier this month on suspended sentences.

However, two others including Yellow Shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid are being held on espionage charges and are set to be tried on Tuesday.

They have also been charged with illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base, facing up to 11 and a half years in prison.

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Courts seen as avenue to flout justice

(Photo: Adhoc)

Wednesday, 01 September 2010
Will Baxter and Sun Narin
The Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIA’S courts and security forces are increasingly being used by government officials and private companies to intimidate land-dispute victims, trade unionists and journalists, according to a report to be released today by the rights group Licadho.

“Despite Cambodia being a signatory to numerous international treaties, and the passage of national laws guaranteeing the protection of human rights defenders, the situation has worsened for many [such activists],” Pung Chhiv Kek, Licadho’s founder and president, is quoted as saying in the report.

Those agitating for their rights have “faced an increasingly hostile environment over the past two years, enduring physical violence, illegal arrests, trumped-up criminal charges, obstructions to gatherings and movement, intimidation and forced evictions”, states the report, much of which is devoted to summaries of prominent cases.

Naly Pilorge, director of Licadho, says in the report that bail is frequently used as a mechanism to limit activism, and that people arrested and then released on bail are often ordered by authorities to resign their leadership roles and cease organising protests.

Am Sam Ath, a technical supervisor for Licadho, said such tactics were employed to convince villagers that community representatives had “betrayed the people” and were colluding with companies attempting to grab their land.

“Even if the charges are completely fabricated, the arrest allows authorities to place an individual under surveillance,” Pilorge said, and pointed out that charges and surveillance “can linger for up to 15 years” for a felony and five years for a misdemeanor.

“But in many cases the authorities don’t even have to bother with a trial,” she said. “Intimidation is enough.”

“A typical example of this tactic occurred in May 2009, when four village representatives were detained by the Preah Sihanouk provincial court and accused of inciting and committing violence in connection with a land dispute,” the report says.

After two weeks of detention the men were released on bail, but the charges have never been dropped. Thus, the men are effectively barred from participating in any actions to protect their community’s land.

There are currently 62 human rights defenders unjustly imprisoned in Cambodia, according to Am Sam Ath.

The report also claimed that restrictions on freedom of assembly have increased following the passage of the Law on Peaceful Demonstrations in December 2009.

But Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said that police always follow legal procedures when cracking down on “illegal
activities”.

Prum Sithra, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, said yesterday that police did not make unnecessary arrests. “We have to look deeply at each situation to determine why police have used violence on people,” he said.

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Peal Si Peal case: Suy Sopheap of Phanimex vs Hun Xen's daughter-in-law Yim Chhay Lin

Suy Sophan, owner of the Phanimex development company, appears at an event last month for evicted families receiving new homes in Dangkor district’s Tuol Sambo village. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Phanimex owner summoned

Friday, 27 August 2010
May Titthara and Veng Rachana
The Phnom Penh Post

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court has summoned the owner of a controversial local development company to appear next week over a land dispute pitting two of Cambodia’s elite against each other.

Court deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun said Suy Sophan, owner of the Phanimex company, had been directed to appear in court on Monday over a land dispute in Meanchey district, after a complaint was filed against her by Yim Chhay Lin. Yim Chhay Lin is the daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the daughter of Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly.

Suy Sophan said yesterday that she hadn’t received the summons.

“I will not go to the court,” Suy Sophan said. “I will have my lawyer clarify on my behalf.”

Phanimex was also involved in the eviction of several dozen families from Prampi Makara district’s Borei Keila community last year. The case drew international attention in part because of the eviction of roughly 40 families with HIV-positive members who were forced to move to Tuol Sambo village in Dangkor district, prompting critics to accuse the government of creating an “AIDS colony”.

The evictees were initially required to live in 3.5-by-4.5-metre metal sheds smaller than those required by the UN for emergency refugee camps, though many have since received permanent housing with the support of the NGO Caritas Cambodia.

Chub Sitha, chief of Meanchey district’s Prek Pra commune, said he did not know the details of the dispute between Suy Sophan and Yim Chhay Lin.

“We always see poor people lose in court against powerful people,” said Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for local rights group Licadho.

“It’s rare to see powerful people file complaints against other powerful people.”

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Beauty is only skin-deep

Cambodia cosmetic surgery undergoes uplifting period

Thursday, 26 August 2010
Kong Sokun
The Phnom Penh Post

PHORN Lisa isn’t just prepared to go under the knife for the sake of beauty – she’s willing to risk her health.

For Lisa it is her nose.

“I’m very afraid, but ready for it,” said the 25-year-old at a prominent cosmetic surgery clinic in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh.

“I want to have a beautiful sharp nose because I’m not satisfied with my Cambodian big nose.”

Despite the global economic downturn, health experts say the business of cosmetic surgery in Cambodia has doubled, or even tripled, in recent years.

Davy Ariya, the owner of a clinic in the capital, says clients include wealthy Cambodians as well as “medical tourists” from the United States, France and Australia.

“They mostly come for nose jobs, silicon implants, breast enlargements and scar revisions,” Ariya said.

A nose job usually takes less than half an hour at Ariya’s clinic and costs US$280 to US$600 depending on the quality of materials used in the operation.

Breast enlargements cost US$1,500 to US$1,700, a bargain compared to many countries even if it’s nearly three times the average annual Cambodian income.

“Although it is seen as frivolous, the upsurge in the number of customers who come to me shows cosmetic surgery has become acceptable to Cambodian society,” Ariya said.

Amid this surgical enhancement boom, many women are aiming for what they perceive as the more delicate looks of popular Korean and Chinese film stars.

But even as operations become popular among the emerging middle class, Cambodia remains a country where laws are loosely enforced and many people calling themselves doctors have little training.

“Some people have gone to learn (surgery) in neighbouring countries for just several months. They come back and boast that they are skilled,” said Sann Sary, head of the Ministry of Health’s department of hospitals.

He said cosmetic surgeons were required to register at Cambodia’s health ministry and have proper qualifications, but most of them operated freely and illegally.

“Some (illegal clinics) even go to great lengths to broadcast their clinics on television,” Sann Sary said.

Veasna, 40, profoundly regrets the face lift she had at a cheap clinic – and it is easy to see why. Her face is swollen and red, especially around the eyes.

“I’ve been in terrible pain,” she said, visibly upset and awaiting corrective surgery. “But I want to look young and beautiful. Otherwise, my husband will run away with other girls.”

Chhim Vattey, director of Phnom Penh’s Samangkar Luxe Salon, employs a doctor trained in Japan who often corrects the mess left behind by poorly qualified surgeons.

After more than two decades, Chhim Vattey said she is surprised that so many Cambodians visit surgeons who are not properly licensed.

“Look out on the streets and you’ll see scores of clinics mushrooming but without real qualification and skills. That’s why I still have many patients who are victims of cosmetic surgery.”

Dr Thoeung Chanseiha, a surgeon trained in France and Italy and currently working for Sok Hok Clinic, told the Post that the plastic surgery here is safe if the doctor is professionally trained and has proper modern equipment.

“Some clinics use cheap equipment imported from countries such as China, leading to the unsafe results,” he said.

Dr Thoeung also advises Cambodian people who seek plastic surgery to make sure that their surgeon has the proper licence authorised from the ministry, a degree, professional training in this type of surgery, and safe equipment.

Reid Sheftall, an American plastic surgeon based in Phnom Penh, said he often fixes breasts or noses that have been put out of position, or tissue which has been damaged under too much tension.

“Some patients have had free silicone injected into their noses, faces, breasts and hands,” Sheftall said.

“This is very dangerous because the silicone can migrate to other parts of the body and will form hard rubbery masses of scar tissue wherever it resides.”

Despite those horror stories, the health ministry’s Sann Sary said dubious surgical practices have continued in Cambodia’s quest for beauty.

“We have advised (people) that to open cosmetic clinics legally they must have an expert with qualification and years of experience because plastic surgery is a dangerous thing to do.”

Additional Reporting by AFP

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