Toward the creation of a union of Khmer patriotic forces

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

06 January 2010

Toward the creation of a union of Khmer patriotic forces (1)

At a public meeting in Paris on 03 January, representatives from several political parties (Sam Rainsy Party, Human Rights Party) and civil society organizations (Cambodia's Border Committee, Cambodian League for Human and Citizen Rights, Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation) have agreed to explore ways to create a union of all Khmer patriotic forces in order to bring about a democratic change in Cambodia. This initiative is reminiscent of the creation in Paris in 1979 of the Nationalist Khmer Federation, which was the precursor of Funcinpec.

Border posts removed by the authorities in Svay Rieng province (2)

After opposition leader Sam Rainsy pulled out several wooden poles supposed to be temporary border markers in Svay Rieng province in October 2009, a number of similar poles have been surreptitiously removed by the authorities themselves. Cambodian and Vietnamese officials now recognise that the controversial poles were planted on rice fields owned by Cambodian farmers who hold legal land deeds. More information at http://tinyurl.com/y8j835e

Cambodia schools in the Guinness book of world records (2)

An unprecedented phenomenon is taking place in Cambodia's education system: Because of a worsening shortage of teachers and classrooms, the government is encouraging some teachers in some schools to teach students of two different grades -- for instance grade three and grade four -- at the same time in the same classroom with the same teacher. In such a "merged classroom", the blackboard is just divided into two parts -- one part for each grade -- and there can be as many as eighty students in the same classroom. Listen to teachers' complaints at http://tinyurl.com/ylrfxcu

Vietnamese companies target former Resistance zones (2)

Hanoi's current economic strategy in Cambodia is to obtain as many land concessions as possible from the Hun Sen government. The objective is to control large chunks of Cambodia's territory under the pretext of promoting economic development. Economic land concessions given to Vietnamese companies total already 100,000 hectares and tend to cover regions controlled in the 1980s by the anti-Vietnamese Resistance in Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey and Oddar Meanchey provinces. Vietnamese workers, who are actually soldiers in disguise, are being brought in to work on the concessions. There will be at least one worker per hectare, meaning at least 100,000 soldiers in total to control those potentially sensitive zones.

Thaksin appalled by Hun Sen's economic knowledge (3)

Thailand's former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who has recently been appointed as economic advisor to Cambodia's prime minister Hun Sen is reportedly appalled the latter's poor economic knowledge and stubbornness. When Thaksin asked Hun Sen what measures he has taken to counter the ongoing world economic and financial crisis, Hun Sen was unable to speak clearly. Hun Sen tried to say there was nothing he could do and he had to only wait for the United States and Europe to "resolve their problems." When Thaksin asked him about the size of the economic stimulus package the Cambodian government has adopted, Hun Sen just scratched his head. And when Thaksin asked him about the social safety net the Cambodian government has put in place to protect the population, Hun Sen just asked back, "What is this?"