Thursday, 23 December 2010
By Thomas Miller and Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post
The United Nations World Food Programme has issued a letter of apology to Prime Minister Hun Sen over a recent news report citing a WFP assessment that Cambodia remained at risk of
food insecurity.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post on Thursday, was sent on December 18, just a day after the WFP warehouse logistics officer Seng Kunnaka was arrested on suspicion of incitement for sharing a printed web article with co-workers.
In the letter, WFP country director Jean-Pierre DeMargerie reassured Hun Sen that the country’s food situation was secure.
“First of all, I would like to apologise for any mistake that WFP has made about the government of Cambodia,” he wrote in the letter.
“WFP values its good relations with the government of Cambodia and expresses our regret for any act or statement that has influenced this good relationship. WFP does not consider the situation of food security in Cambodia to be at an alarming level.... WFP considers Cambodia as a country with a food surplus,” DeMargerie added.
But as recently as September, WFP Communications Officer Rosaleen Martin told The Post that the food security situation for millions in Cambodia was “precarious.”
“WFP remains concerned that there are close to 2 million Cambodians living in a situation of chronic food insecurity (which can easily rise to close to 3 million during the lean season) and are in [a] very precarious situation with limited capacity to cope with any new shocks such as floods, droughts, and price fluctuations,” she said.
Yesterday, Martin said WFP was “working hard in supporting efforts to improve the food security of the remaining 18 percent” of Cambodians who live below the food poverty line.
In a speech in Battambang province on December 9, Hun Sen lashed out a media report that allegedly cited the WFP as saying that Cambodia remained vulnerable to food insecurity. He then ordered the Minister of Economy and Finance, Keat Chhon, to ask WFP to clarify the issue.
“Please ask [WFP] if they said it like that, and just take back our rice and stop giving it to them,” Hun Sen said. Cambodia has about 8 million tonnes of rice, with 3.7 million tonnes of rice surplus for export, he said.
The letter from DeMargerie stated that the government had provided 2,000 tonnes of rice and US$467,000 to the WFP for distribution this year, and more than $5 million in rice and money since 2007. DeMargerie met Keat Chhon on December 13 to discuss the issue....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.
food insecurity.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post on Thursday, was sent on December 18, just a day after the WFP warehouse logistics officer Seng Kunnaka was arrested on suspicion of incitement for sharing a printed web article with co-workers.
In the letter, WFP country director Jean-Pierre DeMargerie reassured Hun Sen that the country’s food situation was secure.
“First of all, I would like to apologise for any mistake that WFP has made about the government of Cambodia,” he wrote in the letter.
“WFP values its good relations with the government of Cambodia and expresses our regret for any act or statement that has influenced this good relationship. WFP does not consider the situation of food security in Cambodia to be at an alarming level.... WFP considers Cambodia as a country with a food surplus,” DeMargerie added.
But as recently as September, WFP Communications Officer Rosaleen Martin told The Post that the food security situation for millions in Cambodia was “precarious.”
“WFP remains concerned that there are close to 2 million Cambodians living in a situation of chronic food insecurity (which can easily rise to close to 3 million during the lean season) and are in [a] very precarious situation with limited capacity to cope with any new shocks such as floods, droughts, and price fluctuations,” she said.
Yesterday, Martin said WFP was “working hard in supporting efforts to improve the food security of the remaining 18 percent” of Cambodians who live below the food poverty line.
In a speech in Battambang province on December 9, Hun Sen lashed out a media report that allegedly cited the WFP as saying that Cambodia remained vulnerable to food insecurity. He then ordered the Minister of Economy and Finance, Keat Chhon, to ask WFP to clarify the issue.
“Please ask [WFP] if they said it like that, and just take back our rice and stop giving it to them,” Hun Sen said. Cambodia has about 8 million tonnes of rice, with 3.7 million tonnes of rice surplus for export, he said.
The letter from DeMargerie stated that the government had provided 2,000 tonnes of rice and US$467,000 to the WFP for distribution this year, and more than $5 million in rice and money since 2007. DeMargerie met Keat Chhon on December 13 to discuss the issue....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.
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