A Change of Guard

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Thursday 30 September 2010

Video clips on grenade attack event in 1997

March 30, 1997 Grenade Attack event on an opposition rally for judicial system reform in Cambodia led by Mr. Sam Rainsy, President of the Khmer Nation Party in front of the National Assembly building.

Please watch video clip at samrainsyparty.org

SRP Cabinet




Rainsy clarifies litigation against Hun Sen in US


Thursday, 30 September 2010
By Sam Rainsy
Phnom Penh Post

Dear Editor,

I would like to bring a two-point clarification to your article titled “Rainsy files lawsuit in US court” published in The Phnom Penh Post on September 27, 2010.

First, I did not initiate a lawsuit but filed a criminal complaint with United States government prosecutors.

Second, attorney Morton Sklar who officially submitted the complaint with me and on my behalf, along with other victims of the 1997 grenade attack in Phnom Penh, was the founding executive director emeritus of World Organisation for Human Rights USA, but he has retired from that organisation. Mr Sklar acted as attorney of record in his personal capacity as indicated on the first and last pages of the September 23, 2010 Complaint and Petition.

Thank you for publishing this clarification.

Sam Rainsy
Member of Parliament

Cambodia's 'Freedom Park' worries rights groups

Cambodian military police carry out an eviction of slum-dwellers in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

By Suy Se

PHNOM PENH (AFP)— It has been billed as Cambodia's version of Speakers' Corner in London, but rights groups fear Phnom Penh's new Democracy Square is designed to keep protesters isolated and out of sight.

Workers are putting the final touches to a 60 by 200 metre (yard), tree-lined open space near the US embassy and the Cambodian capital's famed Wat Phnom temple, which historically marks the centre of the city.

Nicknamed Freedom Park and set to open shortly, it will serve as a designated area for people to air their grievances, not unlike Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park or its equivalent in Singapore.

But rights activists say the move is an attempt to keep protesters off the streets and away from government offices and legislative buildings, which are traditionally the focus of rallies and occasional scuffles with the police.

"Unfortunately, it is far away from the institutions where the decisions are made," said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, adding that he would have preferred a site near the National Assembly.

While would-be protesters can still apply for permission to stage a demonstration in other parts of the capital, critics expect the government will use Democracy Square as an excuse not to grant such permission.

"When the park opens, the protesters will lose the freedom to protest in front of key institutions," Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, told AFP.

"They will be threatened and forced to rally at Freedom Park."

Yim Sovann, an outspoken member of parliament from the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party, echoed those concerns.

"It will not be a Freedom Park, but a park to deprive the people of freedom and rights," he said.

He added that the square, an open, unshaded space in a city where temperatures regularly top 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), is too small to accommodate a sizeable crowd.

"We will not stand under the hot sun in such a small place. We will ask for a permit to march through the streets if necessary," he told AFP.

But Phnom Penh's police chief Touch Naruth warned that no more street protests would be allowed because they interrupt the flow of traffic.

He added that police would "crack down" on any unauthorised rallies outside government buildings or Prime Minister Hun Sen's home, another popular protest site.

Last month villagers from Battambang province protesting outside the premier's home about land grabbing were "quite aggressively dragged onto buses" and driven out of town, said Mathieu Pellerin of local rights group Licadho.

And in August 2009, again outside the premier's house, a number of opposition supporters were injured after clashing with police who were seen grabbing, punching and kicking protesters.

Cambodia's government has repeatedly been accused of trying to stifle free speech in the last year.

Last October, it passed a much-criticised law requiring protesters to seek official permission five days ahead of a planned rally and limiting the size of demonstrations in public spaces to 200 people.

Authorities also reserve the right to ban protests on safety grounds.

In a report released earlier this month, Licadho accused the government of continuing to "pursue repressive tactics, terrorising human rights defenders and undermining their ability to defend peacefully the rights of others."

"Now, we see that when rights defenders speak too much, they could end up in jail," the group's president Kek Galabru told AFP.

"Freedom of expression is facing challenges -- it's going down," she said.

But government officials insisted the human rights situation in the country was improving and the park was a good idea, modelled on foreign examples.

"Any country has this kind of place. People can protest and say whatever they want in this place," said government spokesman Khieu Kanharith.

Phnom Penh's Democracy Square will not be Cambodia's only version of Speakers' Corner, as the law calls for similar sites to open in provinces across the country, much to the dismay of activists.

[Thailand's] Floundering on Cambodian relations

Thu, Sep 30, 2010
The Nation/Asia News Network

The government seems to have run out of ideas for restoring ties with Cambodia, because once again the Foreign Ministry has rolled out old stuff re-packaged as a so-called "new plan".

The first meeting between Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen after months of diplomatic rows produced nothing useful either.

The latest plan announced a few days ago encourages local civilian and military authorities as well as central government agencies to come up with activities that will boost ties with Cambodia.

Click here to find out more!Click here to find out more!
The activities such as cultural events, sports competitions, media and academic exchanges and economic assistance is really old wine in new bottle and does not address the actual reason for the breakdown of relations.

Frankly speaking, the poor relations between Thailand and Cambodia over the past years mostly was caused by the government and its political supporters.

Ordinary citizens living on either side of the border, local authorities and even the military have had no problems over the past few months. Relations at this end are normal, even though the two governments are at loggerheads.

The only two issues making relations with Cambodia sour are former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the controversial Hindu temple of Preah Vihear.

Thaksin's relationship with the Cambodian government seems to be a problem for Abhisit's government, not the country. The government was angered when the former PM was made economic adviser to the Cambodian government and Hun Sen last year. Abhisit used all his means, including the downgrading of diplomatic ties, to force Thaksin to step down.

Thaksin eventually relented and resigned as adviser to Cambodia in August. Then Abhisit agreed to reinstate the Thai ambassador to Phnom Penh and Hun Sen reciprocated.

However, the problem with the Preah Vihear Temple is a bit more complicated because Abhisit's government has been addressing the issue in quite the wrong way. With pressure from nationalist groups, the government mixed up the World Heritage Site inscription of Preah Vihear with boundary disputes in the area adjacent to the temple.

The government has used resources and great effort in opposing the inscription of Preah Vihear on grounds that it feared losing sovereignty over the surrounding areas.

Although there is no real implication, Phnom Penh is clearly dissatisfied with Thailand's moves to delay the World Heritage Committee's consideration of the Preah Vihear management plan.

Abhisit wants the dispute over the 4.6 square kilometres surrounding the temple to be settled before accepting a management deal for the site.

One of most effective ways to settle the boundary dispute, at least for now, would be to allow the joint boundary committee (JBC) to do its job of demarcation. The committee is merely waiting for a Parliament approval of its minutes from three previous meetings.

The last meeting was in April 2009, but the minutes of this meeting were not proposed to the Parliament. There should be no problems in making the proposal, but the government does not dare put it forward for fear of pressure from nationalist groups.

The group under the umbrella of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which helped install this government, demanded that the authorities scrap the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2000 on the boundary demarcation with Cambodia.

The MoU, a basic legal instrument for the JBC, signed when Democrat Chuan Leekpai was in power, recognised the French-made map that showed the Hindu temple as situated on Cambodian territory.

What the government will possibly do now is use delaying tactics to keep JBC's minutes from being read in Parliament. It could hold a series of public hearings on the document after sitting on it for a year and a half.

Obviously, this tactic will do nothing for the bilateral relations, when the government should really let the JBC to resume its job quickly.

A new plan is unnecessary.

Cambodian recites traditional poetry

Stanford student sings in Cambodian dharma song tradition called "smot".

Ms. Srey Peou Phoeun sings in the ancient smot style

By Natalie Villacorta
Contributing Writer
Published: Thursday, September 30, 2010

The McCormack Family Theater transformed into a Buddhist temple Wednesday afternoon. Sreypov Phoeun, who recites traditional Cambodian poetry known as Khmer poetry or "smot," was invited to perform by Visiting Fellow in the Watson Institute for International Relations Tararith Kho.

Smot is an almost vanished art form, said Visiting Professor of Literary Arts Robert Coover, who introduced the performance. Kho is working to revive this dying art, but though he writes Khmer poetry, he does not recite it, he told The Herald. That's where Sreypov Phoeun comes in. She can recite the poetry, but does not write it.

Smot is usually performed at funerals and other Buddhist ceremonies, Phoeun explained before reciting her first poem. But this was no average poetry reading. Phoeun sang the poems, which were sorrowful tales of family, faith, beauty and hunger.

Her somber tone was relevant in light of the recent death of poet and former literary arts professor Michael Gizzi, whom Coover mentioned respectfully in his introduction.

This performance was an unusual opportunity, Coover told the audience, because the literary arts program would not have had the funding to host Phoeun if she were not already in the country on a one-month tour.

Phoeun told The Herald she was invited by several Cambodian Buddhist temples to perform during the recent religious festival of Pchum Ben, when Cambodians pay respect to their ancestors. She said she visited Stanford University and Las Vegas before coming to Brown.

The first poem was in English, but still written in the style of traditional Cambodian poetry. It was difficult to understand what Phoeun was saying, but this proved unimportant, as the meaning was conveyed through the way she sung. Her voice was entrancing and her range remarkable. Her voice gradually slipped lower and lower and then abruptly climbed to a high note, her mouth only slightly open, widening only to breathe. Phoeun sat perfectly still, her back straight, hands neatly clasped in her lap, eyes softly closed.

While singing, she appeared extremely calm, but became flustered when the audience called for an encore. She reluctantly consented, admitting, "I feel a little bit nervous." Before beginning her last piece, she said that though audience members could not understand her language, they could understand what the songs were about just by listening.

Phoeun said there are over 60 ways to sing each smot poem. She could not explain how she learned to translate poems into song or how she chooses which style to sing them in, but said she was taught by masters in her village in Kampong Speu Province.

She concluded her performance by urging audience members to visit Cambodia if they were interested in learning more.

Daughter who survived mother's fatal rampage recalls tragic day

West Seattle shooting survivor Thyda Luellen Phan, center, gets help walking Tuesday as she arrived at the Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist Temple from her sister Pary Sok, left, and her cousin Itaily Sun.

Enlarge this photo

KEN LAMBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES

West Seattle shooting survivor Thyda Luellen Phan, center, gets help walking Tuesday as she arrived at the Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist Temple from her sister Pary Sok, left, and her cousin Itaily Sun.


The Cambodian grandmother who killed three family members before turning the gun on herself a week ago wore the eerie expression of a "smiley face" as she stalked relatives through their West Seattle home, her daughter recalls.

Seattle Times staff reporter

The Cambodian grandmother who killed three family members before turning the gun on herself a week ago wore the eerie expression of a "smiley face" as she stalked relatives through their West Seattle home, her daughter recalls.

Thyda Luellen Phan, who was shot twice but survived, said that her 60-year-old mother could barely walk, but during the deadly rampage, "was running so quick nobody can stop her."

The only explanation the family could give for the killings was that Saroueun Sok was possessed.

"It wasn't her. I can tell from her face. It wasn't her," said Phan, 42.

Phan and about two dozen family members gathered at Khemarak Pothiram Buddhist Temple in Seattle's South Park neighborhood Tuesday evening for a prayer vigil. They have prayed daily since last Thursday's shootings and will continue until the funeral and cremation of the three victims and Sok on Saturday, family members said.

Three members of Phan's family — her husband Choeun Harm, 43, and two daughters, Jennifer Harm, 17, and Molina Phan, 14 — were killed. The three died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

Sok died from a single gunshot wound to the head, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

Two of Phan's other children managed to escape from the home after Phan's mother opened fire.

Tuesday outside the temple, Phan, still in pain from the two gunshot wounds, recalled her mother's struggle with mental illness, the family's history in Cambodia and the day of the shootings.

She said her mother rarely spoke of her experiences in her native Cambodia, but Phan said that two of Sok's children died there, likely of starvation under the deadly Khmer Rouge regime. Sok's parents were also killed and she fled with her husband and surviving daughter.

The family spent almost five years in a Thai refugee camp and another year in the Philippines before being relocated to Philadelphia, where Phan met her husband and had their first child.

Phan and Harm separated for four years and she said she had three sons with a new husband in Seattle. But that marriage failed and her second husband won custody of the boys. Phan said her mother's mental illness began after Phan lost custody of her children.

"When my ex took the kids, she lost her memory. She sit and cry," she said.

Phan and Harm reunited and had five children together, she said.

Phan said her mother enjoyed the children, often spending time with them before bed, watching television and laughing as they sang to a karaoke machine.

Sok never got mad at her, she said.

A year ago, Sok was hospitalized for a month with symptoms of schizophrenia and depression, her daughter said. In the previous weeks, Sok told family members she could not tolerate colors, that she only wanted to see white. She began wearing all white, Phan said.

In the Buddhist religion, white is associated with purity. It is also the color family members wear to a funeral, she said.

When she was released from the hospital Sok's health seemed restored. "She went back to color," Phan said. Her mother and father moved in with the extended family.

At the end of August, the extended family was forced to move from their home in White Center to the three-bedroom home in West Seattle. Eleven members of the family lived on three floors. Phan said that her mother became upset that some of her possessions had been lost in the move. She thought the television was talking directly to her thoughts. She said that nobody liked her, that someone would try to kill her.

On the afternoon of the shooting, Phan, who worked the night shift at a nearby bowling alley and casino, had just awoken and showered. Her husband, Choeun, and her son, Kevin, 16, returned home from mowing lawns and were planning to go fishing.

Sok, dressed completely in white, came downstairs with a check for her son-in-law to take to the bank. Choeun teased his mother-in-law, Phan said, saying she should give the money to him. Then he turned to tie his shoes.

Sok pulled a handgun from her jacket pocket and shot him in the head.

Phan said she thought some fireworks had gone off. But Kevin then began screaming that his father was shot.

Phan ran to her mother and tried to grab the gun. Sok shot her through the shoulder, then took aim at Kevin and two younger sisters on the living-room couch, but missed. She tried to load another clip. When the gun jammed, Sok ran upstairs to retrieve another handgun.

A cousin said that before she opened fire, Sok told her to stay in an upstairs bedroom. The grandmother, speaking as though talking about a stranger, said, "someone has come to kill my daughter and kill her kids."

Downstairs, Phan and her older daughter, Jennifer, crowded around Choeun. Phan was on the phone to 911 when her mother returned and shot her and Jennifer. Sok was smiling, as if "she was playing a game," Phan said.

"She not even care. She [was] not even there. It was not her face at all."

Sok stalked the children into the basement. Several escaped through a window, but Sok circled the house and shot through a window, hitting Molina where she stood over Jennifer, who had collapsed on the floor.

At the hospital, Phan said she asked family members: "Where is Daddy? Where are Jennifer and Molina? Are they here at the hospital, too?" Until, finally, a social worker told her they had all been killed. She left the hospital after only a day, and family members have been dressing her wounds.

On Tuesday, at the temple, family members stroked Phan's arm and held her as she knelt at an altar on which incense and candles burned before photos of her mother, daughters and husband.

A family friend, Sean Phuong, said the family prayed and chanted for forgiveness for Sok, and for the release of the others' spirits from their bodies so they could be reborn into new lives. He said that in the Buddhist cycles of birth and death, someone who kills cannot be reborn as a human. But Phan said the others could return, perhaps even to their own family in the form of a new grandchild or nephew or niece.

"I hope they come back," she said.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com

12 are indicted in marriage-fraud case; total rises to 35

- lbutler@herald-leader.com
Kentucky's Lexington Herald-Leader

A federal grand jury indicted 12 more people from Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee in conjunction with a marriage fraud ring, according to a press release issued Wednesday from U.S. Attorney David J. Hale's office based in the Western District of Kentucky.

A total of 35 people have now been indicted in the case.

Kong Cheng Ty, 43, of Danville, and Sokbay Lim, 45, of Dover, were included in the new list of indictments. The suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, and many were also charged with marriage fraud and visa fraud.

Authorities on Wednesday arrested 18 people accused of possessing firearms, drug trafficking and arranging fake marriages to obtain green cards for immigrants.

According to federal authorities, members of the Red Door gang, based in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, arranged for foreigners to pay tens of thousands of dollars to marry American women to gain permanent U.S. resident status.

Gangs frequently try to get money through white-collar crimes, but it was unusual to see a sham marriage scheme, U.S. attorney spokesmen Thom Mrozek said.

23 indicted in Ky. marriage fraud plot

LOUISVILLE — A federal grand jury has indicted 23 people in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to set up sham marriages in exchange for cash, free vacations to Cambodia and sex, according to documents unsealed Tuesday.

The 10-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, alleges a series of efforts to marry U.S. citizens to Cambodians, with the goal of obtaining citizenship for the foreign nationals.

Those indicted include Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington and two Georgetown men: Justin Michael Martin, 25, and Donald McKinley Martin, 27.

Former Lexington police officer indicted in mortgage fraud case

A former Lexington police officer pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges that he took part in a conspiracy to defraud mortgage companies of more than $2 million.

Barry Buchignani, 51, of Lexington, was indicted last month on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to make false statements. He was arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Lexington.

The indictment charges that Buchignani, a retired police officer and son of former Fayette County Sheriff Harold Buchignani, gave lending institutions false information about the prices of six homes he planned to buy, getting loans larger than the prices of the houses.

Feds indict dealers of data for fake credit history reports

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City on Wednesday claimed a first-in-the-nation indictment against people who supply information used to build fake credit histories.

Credit history fraud is a growing criminal trend across the country, prosecutors said. In this case, it was unearthed "operating in the shadows" of a more traditional mortgage fraud scheme.

In the federal grand jury indictment returned Wednesday, two people were accused of conspiring in a large-scale scheme to help others buy expensive houses in Lee's Summit by using phony credit reports and stolen Social Security numbers.

Georgetown man pleads guilty in Cambodian marriage fraud scheme

A 25-year-old Georgetown man has pleaded guilty in a Cambodian marriage fraud scheme.

Justin Michael Martin was paid about $7,000 to marry a Cambodian woman to help her evade U.S. immigration laws and become a permanent resident, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Martin and Phearoun Peter Em, who was also involved in the scheme, went to Cambodia in June 2004, when Martin met and agreed to marry Yota Em. Participants in the conspiracy paid for Martin's expenses on the trip, including "sexual services from a Cambodian female," according to the release.

Investigators believe seven people are organizing the fraud, the release said.

The government says those indicted Wednesday are "engaged in a conspiracy to obtain lawful permanent residence in the United States for Cambodian nationals by way of fraudulent marriages and engagements."

The release said the American citizens were offered all-expenses-paid trips to Cambodia, and that the trips included airfare, lodging, food, drinks, entertainment and sexual acts from Cambodian prostitutes. The acts allegedly took place between Jan. 1, 1999 and April 7, 2010.

Sharon Lee Spalding, 44, of Lexington, Justin Michael Martin, 25, and Donald McKinley Martin, 27, both of Georgetown, and Chok Chan, 49, of Mount Sterling were among those indicted previously; they have since pleaded guilty.

More than 15 marriages and attempted marriages were recorded.

Should they be convicted, the accused could face up to 75 years in prison, a $2.75 million fine and supervised release for up to 33 years.

Dates and locations for arraignment have not yet been determined.

Hun Sen dares Sam Rainsy to lodge a complaint against him with NATO


By Khmerization
Source: Kampuchea Thmey

Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) dares opposition leader Sam Rainsy to lodge a complaint against him with NATO, calling him "stupid" after Mr. Sam Rainsy and an American citizen Ron Abney sued him in a U.S court in New York over grenade attacks in 1997 which killed 19 and wounded 190 peaceful protesters.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Puthisastra University on Wednesday, Mr. Hun Sen said he is not afraid of Mr. Sam Rainsy's criminal lawsuit against him while at the same time jibed and called him stupid and dared Mr. Sam Rainsy to sue him with NATO when he visits Brussels, the headquarter of NATO, in October.

He jibed Mr. Rainsy for begging him for a royal pardon in 2005 when he was once exiled and said he holds the key to Mr. Rainsy's return to Cambodia this time. "The key to his (Rainsy's) return to Cambodia is with Hun Sen. Now, you want Hun Sen to beg you? No way!", he declared, adding: "If a dog bites my leg, I will not bite his leg, but I will kick him with my leg."

He said a U.S court has no jurisdiction over him because he is a prime minister of Cambodia. He called Sam Rainsy a stupid for suing him in a U.S court. "I think Ah Niss (a derogatory term for "this one") is very stupid", he said referring to Mr. Sam Rainsy. He added that even the Sudanese president who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes cannot even be arrested.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's sons visit troops along the border

Hun Manet (blue shirt with hat) and Hun Manith (far right) visiting border troops.

By Khmerization
Source: CEN

Prime Minister Hun Sen's two sons, Hun Manet and Hun Manith, have visited border troops, when they paid a visit to the 52nd and 53rd battalions in Pailin and Battambang provinces on 25th September.

The trip of Mr. Hun Sen's two sons to to visit border troops had been accompanied by Mrs. Chhun Leang, representative of Vattanac Bank, where she donated 45 tons of rice, 4.5 tons of sugar, 1000 mosquito nets, 1000 kramas (thin towel), 20,000 riels ($5) to each soldier, $2000 to 53rd Battalion and $3000 to 52nd Battalion.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has recently been seen as trying to position himself for a political succession as his sons and son-in-law are seen performing public duties on a regular basis. And 3 days ago, his eldest son, Hun Manet, has been appointed Deputy Commander of Mr. Hun Sen's Bodyguard Unit on top of his many positions within the police and the army.

Prime Minister Hun Sen orders the purchase of more tanks

The 96 tanks and APCs being transported to military bases in Kampong Speu province.

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News

Prime Minister Hun Sen said more tanks and armoured personnel carriers will arrive in Cambodia soon after 96 tanks and APCs had arrived from an eastern country on 20th September.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Puthisastra University on Wednesday, Mr. Hun Sen said he had ordered more than 100 tanks and APCs from an eastern country, but because the ship transporting those tanks and APCs only has a capacity to transport 96 tanks and APCs, more tanks and APCs will have to be transported in another ship which will arrive in Cambodia soon.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had a face to face discussion with Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva on border conflict in New York on 24th September and planned to meet further in Brussels and Hanoi in October, but said the purchases of more tanks and APCs is not intended to flex Cambodia's military muscles and not to put pressures on the current negotiations with Thailand.

Saudis may hire maids from Mali, Cote d' Ivore and Cambodia

By MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN
ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 29, 2010

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia may start recruiting housemaids from Cambodia, Mali and Cote d' Ivore to reduce reliance on Southeast Asian countries, especially Indonesia and Sri Lanka, an official from the Saudi committee in charge of recruiting expatriate workers has told Arab News.

"Recruitment offices in Indonesia and Sri Lanka did not honor many of the agreements signed with them. Problems associated with housemaids from these countries are on the rise," Yahya Maqboul, a member of the Saudi National Committee to Recruit Foreign Manpower (SNCRFM), said on Wednesday.

Maqboul, who is also chairman of the recruitment committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a delegation from SNCRFM recently visited Mali as part of efforts to find manpower from other countries.

He, however, noted that while the recruitment of manpower from Mali and Cote d’Ivoire might not be cheaper than sourcing workers from Southeast Asian countries, it would not be difficult for citizens from these countries to adapt to Saudi habits and traditions.

He said this was because both African countries were predominantly Muslim and the traditions of their people were not completely different from those in the Kingdom.

The Malian minister in charge of citizens working abroad and African integration, Badra Alou Macalou, has invited members of the committee to visit Mali and discuss recruitment opportunities.

A press release from the Saudi Chamber of Commerce said an agreement to recruit workers from Mali might be concluded during the committee’s visit to the African country’s capital Bamako.

Members from the committee had earlier visited Cambodia and Cote d'Ivoire for the same purpose.

Human Rights Expert Voices Concerns Over Freedom Of Expression In Cambodia


By Peter Fowler
Newsroom America

Defamation laws are being used disproportionately in Cambodia against journalists, activists and politicians, an independent United Nations human rights expert said, warning against a narrowing of the political space in the South-East Asian country.

Surya P. Subedi (pictured), the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, also voiced concern about issues related to land and housing rights and the narrowing of political space for members of the opposition.

“There has been a disproportionate use of the law regarding defamation and disinformation against journalists, human rights activists and political leaders,” said Surya P. Subedi, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.

Presenting his report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, Mr Subedi acknowledged that Cambodia has made important advances in recent years in strengthening human rights, including the enactment of major new laws.

At the same time, he noted that “Cambodia remains a complex country in terms of the protection and promotion of human rights, as democratization has not yet fully taken root.”

The major areas of concern are those relating to access to land and housing rights, freedom of expression, and the challenges faced by the judiciary, he said, adding that they continue to dominate the legal and political landscape in Cambodia.

The expert recommended a series of measures to strengthen the independence and capacity of the judiciary and the overall human rights situation.

Mr. Subedi also voiced his concern about the narrowing of political space in Cambodia for those belonging to the opposition parties and other political activists, noting the conviction of the leader of the opposition, Sam Rainsy, since the submission of his report to the Council.

He hoped that the conviction will be subject to appeal and urged that this be conducted with the utmost attention to due process and principles of fair trial.

(C) NewsRoom America 2010

Pailin to Tribunal Prosecutors: No Further Indictments

Pailin people watch a video about the Khmer Rouge Trial.

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Pailin, Cambodia
Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Residents in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin told a delegation from the UN-backed tribunal last week they do not want to see the prosecution of further cases at the court after the second one is completed.

Andrew Cayley, the international prosecutor for the court and head of the delegation, told the residents that no more than 10 people would be further prosecuted in cases No. 3 and No. 4.

The Sept. 22 trip was part of a series of fact-finding missions Cayley has taken since his inception as prosecutor at the beginning of the year.

The tribunal has successfully tried one Khmer Rouge soldier, Tuol Sleng prison chief Duch, and it is preparing to try four senior leaders—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

But indictments beyond that have proved a contentious issue in the hybrid court, which includes international and national prosecutors and judges.

In Pailin, a Khmer Rouge stronghold until 1996, former cadre are not convinced the court will not expand its scope.

“I want the court to limit [indictments] to just five individuals, because it has not found the real murderers,” said Phong Pheoun, a 49-year-old former soldier in Pailin. “In fact, the Khmer Rouge were patriots. Some high-ranking Khmer Rouge did everything only to defend the nation and the people. They did not kill people.”

Horn Siha, deputy chief of '75 Village, in Sala Krao district, said tribunal investigations were a waste of time.

“If we go deeper, the story will be far from over,” he said. “It already took nine months just to try one person, so if they have to do it with 10 people, for example, how can the country move forward and develop?”

There are also sentiments here that the tribunal is already holding the wrong people.

“They are also victims of the regime,” said Mek Mak, the deputy governor of Pailin.

Khieu Samphan, the nominal head of the regime who will face trial next year for atrocity crimes, including genocide, “only performed administrative tasks, like making phone calls, during that time,” Mek Mak said. “So how can he be a murderer?”

He put the blame on Pol Pot, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who stood at the head of the Khmer Rouge and the heart of the regime known as Democratic Kampuchea.

But Cayley, the international prosecutor, said the tribunal could not try a man who was already dead.

“The investigating judges have found sufficient evidence to prove the accused committed the crimes,” he said.

Behind the scenes in Cambodia

Dubbing artists have the most iconic voices in the country, yet nobody knows their faces.
Terry McCoy
Models behind a curtain at fashion show
Famous people that go unseen. In Cambodia, one of the most famous voices in the whole country is a voice-over artist whose face nobody would recognize. Pictured here are models at a fashion show in Paris, Sept. 27, 2008. (Benoit Tessier/Reuters) Click to enlarge photo

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Touch Sohka has arguably the most famous voice in Cambodia, and yet nobody has seen his face. The 49-year-old is on every Khmer television station daily, but nobody has any clue what he looks like.

Confused? Well, so is he. Touch says he has trouble understanding his own profession. It’s that strange, he says. Just ask his kids. They think he’s nuts.

Touch is one of the only voice actors in a country that almost explicitly runs, and obsessively manages, foreign entertainment on television. He has dubbed them all: Wolverine, Jackie Chan, that whiny kid from Transformers — each role contorted by his grouchy baritone and signature gusto, “Ay-ya!”

Then, after hours of inescapable, serendipitous dubbing, the credits roll: Not a mention of Touch nor his dubbing cohorts. Why?

“My job isn’t acting,” Touch explained recently from a studio as anonymous and difficult to find as Touch. “My job is speaking. I’m not a film star. I’m not a singer. I stay in the studio. I hide my face.”

In Cambodia, dubbing is a serious and regulated business. Touch’s company, Sunday Video, holds a near monopoly over the industry and acts like a filter, government-endorsed and monitored. They translate, add seemingly random musical accompaniment, catch anything political or racy, and blur out unmentionables. In other words, Sarah Jessica Parker and the gang aren’t getting a lot of air time.

The final product usually falls somewhere between a dubbed-over Godzilla flick and an ill-synced, blurry Ashley Simpson concert. With an occasional “Ay-ya!” thrown in for good measure.

“Sometimes, the television is not all that beautiful to listen to,” Chea Chen Rachna, 27, said while waitressing at Java, a popular cafe in Phnom Penh. “But I would choose a dubbed movie over a movie that’s not dubbed every time. ... I know I love it.”

The amusingly poor dubbing seems to augment what most Khmer enjoy about watching television: chaotic action and physical comedy. Ironic joking and witty dialogue don’t elicit the laughs in Cambodia. But someone tripping or an obviously fake moustache? Now that’s comedy.

There’s unintentional comedy as well. With only five dubbers at Sunday Video, which handles 80 to 90 percent of the foreign television programs and movies aired here, the amount of work often exceeds staffing. The results are baffling. Films may have two or three voices for dozens of characters. Sometimes, the viewer is left wondering at a small boy with a man’s voice.

“We hate dubbing children,” veteran dubber Nong Pholly lamented, voice booming as usual. “Sore throats for days.”

As with most developing countries, Cambodia doesn’t boast much of an entertainment industry. Indeed, what incipient media exists has suffered setbacks recently. Since 2008, the number of Khmer companies that produce television programs has plunged 85 percent, from 75 production companies to 12, according to Cambodia’s Cinema and Cultural Diffusion Department.

By 2012, Cambodia’s film industry will be all but extinct, predicted Sin Chan Saya, the director of the department. “We don’t produce movies well, so it’s difficult for them to succeed,” Sin said. “A film industry is important because we can disseminate our culture, but the quality, the talent isn’t good.”

Yet remarkably, demand for more Khmer television stations remains fierce. A decade ago, only four Khmer television stations existed; today, there are 10.

So we’re left with an interesting situation. Less native entertainment available plus additional air space and available foreign programs equals dubbing, dubbing and confused viewers.

“It’s difficult to explain my work,” Nong half-shouted. “So difficult! Because the people always think our work is easy. They think all we do is talk and talk and talk, and do nothing.”

Such, they say, is the life and times of a Cambodia dubber: life, misunderstood. And ignored. Like the hand model or ghost writer, their talent gets shunted. Famous ... kinda.

This can be a good thing. Or bad.

Nong, a tad vain, hates when people recognize her or her famous voice. “I’m too old!” Nong, 56, bellowed. “I’m almost 60. Yes, I want fame, but I don’t want them to know my face. I’m not like a singer or like other famous people and I’m happy for this.”

Even for this article, no pictures of them were allowed; no one, they say, can know their identity.

If not fame, what then, is the allure of dubbing? Money, and lots of it. Each of the five voice actors makes about $6,000 per year — more than three times the national average of $1,900 per year, according to CIA records — and are content with wealthy anonymity.

So maybe what happened next at Sunday’s studios, though strange and slightly embarrassing, makes sense. Short on staff, the production company looks for actors in every situation — like, say, the middle of newspaper interviews.

As this reporter was preparing to depart the studio, management ventured a tempting offer: “Would you be interested in starring in a Khmer karaoke music video? You could be the foreigner.”

Ay-ya!

Hun Sen brands Rainsy lawsuit “stupid”


Written by James O'Toole
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Phnom Penh Post

Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) has branded opposition leader Sam Rainsy as “stupid” for filing a criminal complaint against him in New York, saying United States courts had no power over him.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen lambasted his longtime political foe, who is living in self-imposed exile.

“US courts do not have the right to do anything to the Cambodian prime minister,” he said. “The key for opening up [Sam Rainsy’s] return to the country is Hun Sen.”

Last week, Sam Rainsy filed a criminal complaint against Hun Sen, alleging his involvement in a 1997 grenade attack on an opposition rally that killed 16 people and wounded more than 100.

Hun Sen rebutted the claim that he was involved in the 1997 grenade attack, saying Sam Rainsy wrote to him in 2005 apologising and retracting the accusation.

He dared Sam Rainsy to file a complaint in Brussels while the premier is there for the ASEM 8 Summit next week.

“When the dog bites my leg, I don’t bite the dog’s leg – I use my leg to kick the dog,” he said. “I won’t implore you and there is no court that would dare to do anything with me.” ...read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.

Cambodian leader says meeting with Thai PM restored bilateral confidence

Abhisit (L) shakes hand with Hun Sen (R).

By Sopheng Cheang

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CP)— Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday his country's relationship with Thailand has improved after he met his counterpart last week.

Hun Sen said the 40-minute meeting in New York with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva restored confidence and co-operation between the two countries, which have been feuding over disputed border territory and other issues. The two leaders were attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting.

Relations took a turn for the worse last year, with both countries withdrawing their ambassadors, after Hun Sen made former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra an official adviser and hosted him like a VIP.

Thaksin, ousted by a 2006 military coup, is a fugitive from Thai justice, sentenced in absentia to two years in jail after being convicted of a conflict of interest charge in 2008. Hun Sen said Thaksin had been unfairly convicted for political reasons.

The envoys resumed their posts last month after Thaksin quit his appointment, citing time constraints.

Cambodia's relations with Thailand have been contentious for years, with the focus mostly on a border dispute. They have had a series of small but sometimes deadly skirmishes over the demarcation of their border near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple.

Relations worsened after Abhisit, a political opponent of Thaksin, became prime minister in December 2008.

Hun Sen described his meeting with Abhisit as "very vital" to ensuring confidence and increasing co-operation.

"I can say that the meeting was very fruitful for resolving differences," he said on the sidelines of a school graduation ceremony.

Hun Sen said he and Abhisit discussed a wide range of issues, including the border dispute, frontier security, trade and drug trafficking.

The two leaders also agreed to try to resolve all differences by peaceful means, he said.

Meeting in New York between Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva and Cambodian PM Hun Sen should help improve relations

Abhisit meeting with Hun Sen.

Baan Muang Editorial
Published: 30/09/2010
Bangkok Post

The recent meeting in New York between Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen should help improve relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Bilateral ties turned sour after Cambodia listed the historic Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site. This subsequently led to a confrontation between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in a disputed area near the Hindu temple.

At the height of the conflict, both countries recalled their ambassadors. In fact, problems between the two countries arose soon after Mr Abhisit took up the premiership in December 2008. Members of the opposition Puea Thai Party stoked the conflict by enhancing their friendship with the Cambodian leader.

Now that Mr Abhisit and Hun Sen have met at the US-Asean summit in New York, bilateral ties should improve significantly.

The spirit of friendship should be fostered, so that the two countries can solve longstanding issues which have caused tension and misunderstanding on both sides.

At their meeting, the two premiers reiterated that good relations were of the utmost importance.

From now on, Thailand and Cambodia will arrange more ministerial meetings and organise more activities to further improve relations between the two countries and their peoples.

Leonard Cohen live in Cambodia

  • Published: 30/09/2010
  • Bangkok Post

To celebrate and contribute to the restoration of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Canadian musician and songwriter Leonard Cohen will perform at the Olympic Stadium on November 27. To aid victims of Cambodia's recent tragic past, proceeds from this concert will benefit the Cambodian Red Cross and Cambodians with disabilities.

This major entertainment showcase will be held under the patronage of Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia, and wife Bun Rany, president of the Cambodian Red Cross. A highlight is also Phnom Penh's newly built Olympic Stadium, a rare example of the work of famous Khmer architect Vann Molyvan, whose modern mix of classical Khmer designs is a subject of international interest.


Tickets are available online at

www.themekongsessions.com.

Khmer Rouge tribunal takes message to the movement's heart

Pailin town.

ABC Radio Australia

September 29, 2010

Last week, the Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal in Cambodia, visited the border town of Pailin in the country's west.

The trip was to explain the court and its workings, to an audience of 250 people - most of whom are former members of the Khmer Rouge. The week before, the tribunal had indicted four former Khmer Rouge leaders - all of whom used to live in Pailin.

Presenter: Robert Carmichael
Speakers: Mey Mak, deputy governor of Pailin; Andrew Cayley, international co-proscutor; Lars Olsen, legal affairs spokesman, ECCC


CARMICHAEL: The town of Pailin in the hilly countryside of western Cambodia near the Thai border is well-known for its association with the Khmer Rouge.
The communist movement that brought Cambodia to its knees in the 1970s, and which fought on from bases along the Cambodian-Thai border after that, finally collapsed in the late 1990s. Pailin played a central role in precipitating that collapse when the regime's foreign minister, Ieng Sary, defected to the Cambodian government with several thousand fighters in 1996. In return Ieng Sary received a royal pardon and an amnesty. His timing was good. Within a few years the Khmer Rouge was finished. But over the next decade Ieng Sary's luck turned. In 2003 the government and the United Nations agreed to establish a tribunal to try those most deeply implicated in the regime's crimes. Amnesties were declared null and void.

In 2007 both Ieng Sary and his wife, the former social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, were arrested. Earlier this month the tribunal indicted both for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indicted along with them were former head of state Khieu Samphan, and the man known as Brother Number Two, Nuon Chea. In most of Cambodia, their indictments are seen as long overdue. But not here.

Almost everyone in Pailin has a Khmer Rouge heritage, including deputy governor Mey Mak, the guest of honour at last week's public meeting. Addressing the crowd - a mix of monks and nuns, police and military, and ordinary civilians - Mey Mak sounded less than enthusiastic about the indictments of the four former Pailin residents.

MAK: Mey Mak told those present that decisions in the Khmer Rouge were made by one person - the Khmer Rouge's former leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998 - and that meant the court had indicted the wrong people. The hands of these four, he said, were not stained with blood - Khieu Samphan was responsible for the economy. Ieng Sary's role as foreign minister meant he merely travelled in and out of Cambodia. And Ieng Thirith was just the social affairs minister. All were under the power of Pol Pot, said Mey Mak.

CARMICHAEL: It is hardly the strongest of legal arguments nor the most original, as the court's international prosecutor Andrew Cayley pointed out in his response.

CAYLEY: And I certainly anticipate in this trial as in many others I have done, that responsibility will be laid at the feet of the dead, and the living will claim innocence.

CARMICHAEL: Cayley was one of several senior court officials who made the 800-kilometre round trip to Pailin. One purpose was to address a key fear of ex-Khmer Rouge: How many people will the court try? The tribunal's first trial was of Comrade Duch, the former head of the Khmer Rouge's security prison known as S-21. In July the court convicted him of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentencing him to 30 years.

Cayley said the four indictments filed this month would take that total up to five people.

CAYLEY: And then finally there will be another five in cases three and four who are under investigation. Those five may or may not go to trial, depending on the work of the investigating judges and what they find. So with those ten, that is it.

CARMICHAEL: Court spokesman Lars Olsen says the day went well.

OLSEN: As we expected, they had quite a lot of questions. And their focus is a bit different than what we are used to in our outreach events, which usually deals mainly with victims' populations. Whereas here, being in a former Khmer Rouge stronghold, they are more concerned about to what extent the court will put a lot of people on trial and so forth, and the national reconciliation rather than reparations for victims.

CARMICHAEL: What was unsurprisingly apparent at the close of the meeting was that the prospect of further prosecutions sits uneasily here. But the residents of Pailin were no doubt comforted at the news that a maximum of 10 people will face trial for 2.2 million deaths. Whether that constitutes justice for the people of Cambodia is another question entirely.

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Cambodian PM says meeting with Thai leader in NY "fruitful"

Photo: By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Prime Minister Hun Sen (left) met with his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva (right) at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel's room for border talk at the sideline of US-ASEAN Summit.


People's Daily Online
September 29, 2010

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday the meeting with his Thai counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva in New York last weekend proved to be a "fruitful one".

Delivering speech to graduate students in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said the meeting had "built confidence and trust and cooperation" between the two countries.

He said that during the 40-minute talks in New York, there were many issues on common bilateral cooperation between the two countries, not only on border issue alone.

He said the relation between the two nations is important, adding that no any single country wishes to stage war, but to live in peace.

Hun Sen said that his country is now improving relations with the three neighboring countries of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand with an ultimate aim to establish special economic zones along the borders with these nations.

Soon after returning from New York on Sunday, Prak Sokhon, secretary of state of the Office of the Council of Ministers and the minister attached to the prime minister, told reporters that the 40-minute meeting between the two leaders had discussed four particular topics.

According to Prak Sokhon, one of the four topics was on the assurance to avoid military confrontation between the two countries.
The other three issues were on a joint monitor on press reports that may jeopardize or confuse the public on the relation between the countries; promotion of cooperation on exchange of arts and sports; and examination of the possibility of opening a new border point at Stung Bot for trade promotion between the two nations.

Hun Sen was in New York for the second ASEAN-U.S. Summit which was held on Sept. 24 at the invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama.

The meeting between Hun Sen and Abhisit Vejjajiva was held on the sidelines of the summit.

Cambodia and Thailand had border conflict just one week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple was registered as World Heritage Site on July 15, 2008.

Since then, military standoff has been on and off along the border between the two countries, and several military clashes have recorded small causalities from both sides. The Cambodian-Thai border has never been fully demarcated. Thailand continues to stake territorial claims of the 4.6 square kilometer area in the vicinity of the Temple of Preah Vihear, which the International Court of Justice on June 15, 1962 ruled in favor to Cambodia, saying Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia.

Source: Xinhua

Minister backs media for the Khmer Krom [so long as these efforts did not damage the Kingdom’s relationship with Vietnam]


Wednesday, 29 September 2010
By Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Phnom Penh Post

MINISTER of Information Khieu Kanharith (pictured) said yesterday that he would support local Khmer Krom activists in establishing media outlets to publicise their community’s interests, so long as these efforts did not damage the Kingdom’s relationship with Vietnam.

Khieu Kanharith met yesterday with Thach Sang, president of the Cambodia-based Khmer Kampuchea Krom Friendship Association.

The minister said he would support funding to allow the group to publish a magazine and receive one hour of free airtime per day on state radio stations in Takeo and Svay Rieng provinces. He added, however, that the government opposed activities that “draw objections from the Vietnamese government or argue for the liberation of Khmer Krom land from Vietnam”.

At a meeting in Phnom Penh last month, Vietnamese Vice Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang praised the cooperation of Cambodian authorities in halting anti-Vietnamese “plots”.

This cooperation, Tran said, had prevented Khmer Krom activists from “hiring state and private radio broadcasting with the aim of propagandising against the traditional relationship and the alliance of the two countries”.

Thai market blaze: Cambodian vendors displaced

Wednesday, 29 September 2010
By Phak Seangly and Thet Sambath
Phnom Penh Post

Thai market blaze

A fire at a market in Thailand’s Surin province destroyed 610 stalls predominantly owned by Cambodian migrant workers yesterday, with initial damage costs estimated at US$3 million.

Phem Somath, chief of O’Smach commune, in Oddar Meanchey’s in Samrong district, said yesterday that the fire was caused after a gas refiller lit a stove at a house near the market while he was changing the gas tank, which caused an explosion.

He said the Thai market, located just 3 kilometres from the O’Smach border gate in Surin province’s Kat Cheung district, immediately caught fire.

“The market is in Thailand, but some 90 percent of the vendors there are Cambodian,” he said, and added that 10 fire trucks from both sides of the border were needed to extinguish the blaze. Vath Paranin, chief of the O’Smach border gate, said yesterday that Thai officials were providing food to people who lost property during the fire, and would continue to do so until the market was reconstructed.

US pledges support for economic growth


Flynn Fuller (L) and Long Visalo (R) signed an agreement as Ambassador Carol Rodley (middle) looked on.(Photo: Cambodia Express News)

Written by Ellie Dyer and May Kunmakara
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Phnom Penh Post

THE United States has pledged a further US$17 million to support Cambodia’s economic growth, including aid for small and medium-sized businesses.

Cambodia and American representatives will today sign an amendment to an existing agreement, with the US Agency for International Development agreeing to provide extra funding for economic growth, food security and climate change initiatives.

The Cambodian Government will provide $425,000 of support in-kind.

Some of the funds will be used to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in a capacity-building programme that has already helped 3,800 business owners, according to a US embassy press release yesterday. The programme – implemented by aid organisation Development Alternatives Inc – has helped teach businesses about quality-control, established dialogue between the public and private sectors and linked small communities with suppliers, according to its website.

It has helped increase sales by 100 to 340 percent for MSMEs, the release said.

Meng Saktheara, director general of industry at the Secretariat of Small and Medium Enterprise sub-committtee at the Industry Ministry, welcomed the funding yesterday.

“I hope that the funding will be one more step to help build better MSME capacity,” he said.

“Our policy and strategy is to try to find more funding to support and improve competency to compete with neighbours and promote exports.”

The funding will also go towards enhancing agricultural production, post-harvest management and climate change.

The US ambassador to Cambodia, Carol Rodley, is set to attend today’s ceremony at the Council of Ministers’ building, along with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and USAID mission director Flynn Fuller.

Cambodian clothes workers fight to stitch a living

AFP, Times Colonist
September 27, 2010
Garment workers ride the Remork on the way back home after work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 5. Cambodian garment exports rose 12 per cent in the first half of 2010 compared with the same period last year, hitting $1.25 billion, thanks to a recovery in the U.S. market, an independent think tank said.
Garment workers ride the Remork on the way back home after work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 5. Cambodian garment exports rose 12 per cent in the first half of 2010 compared with the same period last year, hitting $1.25 billion, thanks to a recovery in the U.S. market, an independent think tank said.
Photograph by: Chor Sokunthea, Reuters

PHNOM PENH - It's mid-morning in the Cambodian capital and Pat La is one of dozens of workers breaking for lunch at the Pine Great Garments plant, which makes clothes for US retailers like Gap and Walmart.

The 30-year-old mother was among the tens of thousands of textile workers who took part in a four-day mass strike earlier this month to demand higher wages -- the latest bout of worker unrest in Asia.

She says she joined the stoppage because she cannot get by on the 50 dollars a month she earns making T-shirts.

"I am working to survive," the softly-spoken woman, who left her home province of Prey Veng east of Phnom Penh to eke out a living in the capital, tells AFP as she scans nearby stalls for a bite to eat after the early shift.

Half her wages are spent on rent, she explains, and after paying for food, bills and baby formula for her four-month-old daughter, "there is nothing left".

By putting in overtime beyond the basic eight-hour day and working six days a week, Pat La can push her monthly income up to 60 or 70 dollars.

It is more than many people earn in Cambodia, where gross national income per capita stood at 640 dollars in 2008, or roughly 53 dollars a month, according to the World Bank.

The country has a big rich-poor gap, with about 30 percent of the population living below the poverty line in 2007, according to the Bank's data.

Pat La's colleague Chhom Saroth, 22, who also took part in the walkout, says working at the plant "is a good job".

"But if we don't do overtime, we cannot survive on our basic salary," she adds.

The mass strike from September 13 to September 16 came after the government and industry set the minimum wage for garment and footwear staff at 61 dollars a month.

That is more that a textile worker would take home in Bangladesh, where thousands of garment workers also took to the streets of the capital in August to demand higher wages.

But Cambodia's unions say it is not enough to cover living expenses and want a base salary of 93 dollars.

The industrial action only ended when the government stepped in and arranged talks between the two sides that started on Monday.

Pat La has low expectations for the negotiations and says she is willing to settle for less than unions are demanding.

"Maybe from 80 dollars a month -- that would do," she says.

Union leaders say that at the height of the strike, some 200,000 garment workers across the country failed to show up for work.

But secretary general Ken Loo of the Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia (GMAC) estimates that 45,000 people missed work during the stoppages, of which about 20,000 picketed outside factories.

Ahead of Monday's talks, manufacturers warned that increasing the minimum wage was out of the question, "but there is always room for negotiation with respect to other allowances or bonuses", says Ken Loo.

Union leader Ath Thun, head of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, accepts that the employers are unlikely to budge on the wage issue, and says the unions will instead seek other concessions, such as daily food allowances.

Cambodia's garment industry -- which also produces items for brands such as Benetton, Adidas and Puma -- is a key source of foreign income for the country and employs about 345,000 workers, mainly women.

"I believe working conditions are generally good for the garment workers," says Tun Sophorn, a national coordinator at the International Labour Organisation, who has visited dozens of Cambodian factories.

"Labour inspections have intensified" and there are "strong unions" in the workplace, he explains.

The industry was hit hard last year when the global economic crisis saw exports drop to 2.7 billion dollars, from 3.1 billion dollars in 2008.

However, during the first seven months of this year, exports increased 13.4 percent to 1.6 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

GMAC says the strike cost the sector 15 million dollars and harmed its reputation abroad.

"We know that a few factories have had their orders cancelled" as buyers worry about possible damage to their brand image, Ken Loo says, declining to name the plants or customers involved.

But Pat La, who doesn't know the retailers she is sewing for, has more pressing concerns on her mind.

Taking part in the walkout cost her four days' pay so she expects to take home just 40 dollars this month -- not enough to make ends meet -- and going on strike again would be a luxury she cannot afford.

"I am broke now," she says with a shy smile.

Local monk mourned [the death of a Khmer Krom human rights fighter]

100929_6
Photo by: Pha Lina
Phnom Penh Post

Mourners gather around the body of Yoeun Sin, formerly the head of the Khmer Krom Monks’ Association and abbot of the Samaky Rainsey pagoda in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune. A long-time Khmer Krom advocate, Yoeun Sin died of an asthma attack yesterday at the age of 75. His body is scheduled to be cremated at the pagoda in a ceremony on October 29.

Disabled monk cycles around world for peace

100929_17
Photo by: Rick Valenzuela
Nepali monk and polio survivor Chitra Poudel, left, is cycling around the world in several stages to promote world peace, travelling with his companion Krishna Prasad Bhaharai.
Phnom Penh Post

DISABLED Nepalese monk Chitra Poudel is on a mission to become the first monk to cycle around the world, spreading a message of peace and love.

Passing through Phnom Penh this week on the latest leg of his 32-country tour, he had to leave his bicycle behind in Thailand, because of strict Buddhist laws preventing monks from riding it in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

However, he’s been getting around Phnom Penh by tuk- tuk, while staying at pagodas.

“I want to give a message to the whole world, of peace and love for the whole world,” said the 27-year-old monk. He was struck by polio as a five-year-old, leaving him with a withered leg that’s prone to seizing up in cold weather.

“But I want to show that disabled people have courage, so I’m cycling during the summer months when it’s easier for me to move,” Chitra Pudel said. “In winter it’s hard because my leg gets very stiff in the cold.”

So far in Cambodia, where he arrived on Saturday, monks have welcomed him warmly, he said. Today he’s due to return to Thailand to pick up his bike and continue his journey through Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

From there he plans to fly to Kuwait in the Middle East and continue his arduous journey, helped only by his Nepalese companion Krishna Prasad Bhaharai.

“I’m also raising money to build a monastery and a home for older people in Nepal,” Chitra Poudel said. “At the end of my trip, I hope to hold an exhibition to show some photographs of the journey.”

This could take him until 2025, because in three years’ time he plans to train for an ascent of Mount Everest.

“I was the first disabled cyclist in Nepal in 2004, so I think I can climb Mount Everest if I do the proper training,” he said. He also hopes on his journey to promote next year’s Nepal Tourism Year.

US deports two more Cambodians

Wednesday, 29 September 2010
By Brooke Lewis
Phnom Penh Post

TWO Cambodians who had been legally living in the United States have arrived in the Kingdom after being deported, an official has said, bringing to seven the number of Cambodians sent back this month.

The new arrivals bring to 236 the number of Cambodians who have been deported from the US as the result of an agreement signed by the two countries in 2002. Only four of those are women.

All the deportees are former legal permanent US residents – but not full citizens – who have served prison sentences for aggravated felonies, a group of crimes that was expanded in 1996 to include some like minor drug offences that were previously misdemeanors.

Kloeung Aun, executive director of the Returnee Integration Support Centre, an NGO based in the capital, said that both deportees – a 28-year-old woman and a man believed to be about 36 years-old – were from Philadelphia, but declined to give further details.

He added that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials had told him recently to expect an unspecified number of new arrivals each month for the foreseeable future.

Pin Piseth, director of the Immigration Department at the Interior Ministry, referred questions to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, who could not be reached for comment....read the full story in tomorrow’s Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.

U.S government deported more Cambodians


Prosecution for an old crime puts Cambodian refugee at risk

JULIETTE LYNCH / Staff Photographer
Members of the city's Cambodian community surround Kong Iv, whose son faces deportation over an assault in 1998. Mout Iv's lawyer calls it "unfair" to let people develop ties to the community while on supervised release, "and then to rip them away".

By Michael Matza
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer

After he was convicted of assaulting a Philadelphia man in 1998, Cambodian refugee Mout Iv knew he was in the United States on borrowed time.

As it turned out, quite a lot of borrowed time.

He was freed from a Pennsylvania prison after four years, but paperwork snafus prevented his immediate return to Cambodia, as required by law. So immigration agents put Iv on "supervised release," allowing him to open a barber shop in Olney.

The government kept tabs on him with scheduled interviews, random phone calls, and unannounced visits.

Last week, at an ostensibly routine appointment, Iv, 33, was fingerprinted, photographed, and arrested. He's now in prison being readied for deportation.

It "was always in the back of my mind," said his fiancée, CJ Vonglaha, 26. "But I didn't think in my wildest dreams it would be like this."

Nor did many of the thousands of other noncitizen refugees being rounded up nationwide because of crimes largely committed years ago. In Philadelphia this month, the heat has been on the Cambodian community, which has protested deportation proceedings against at least six of its members.

Behind the rash of detentions and expulsions is the Obama administration, which is attempting to win public and congressional support for immigration reform.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is on track to deport 400,000 people this year - a 10 percent increase over expulsions in 2008, the last year of the George W. Bush administration, and more than double the number in 2005.

In the last five years, the increases in deportations have largely been the result of federal campaigns to catch illegal border crossers and visa violators, according to a February report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, an independent research center at Syracuse University.

Another TRAC study released this month, however, documented a "shift in targeting."

"Focusing just on aliens who have committed crimes in this country, the number . . . removed by ICE has already broken all previous records," the authors wrote. They wrote that the number of undocumented immigrants removed for overstaying visas or entering illegally had dropped for the first time in five years.

In a June 30 memo to staff, ICE assistant secretary John Morton told agents to focus on felons and repeat offenders, but reminded them not to neglect other categories of illegal immigrants.

"Politically, [the administration has] focused on the low-hanging fruit," said Steve Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington group that advocates strict immigration control.

Those who support targeting noncitizens convicted of felonies or multiple misdemeanors say it's only logical to pursue them as a matter of public safety.

Defenders of refugees with criminal records generally do acknowledge the seriousness of their crimes.

Iv was 21 when he and two or three other men took part in a May 1998 mugging on the 4900 block of Old York Road in which the victim was stabbed in the side. Convicted of aggravated assault, he was sentenced to 31/2 to seven years in prison and paroled after serving the minimum.

As a noncitizen, he went immediately into immigration detention in prison. For reasons not specified in his criminal record, Cambodia did not issue travel documents so he could be returned. After a year, he was released under supervision.

In 1996, Congress enacted two laws expanding the categories of deportation and largely eliminated judges' discretion in deciding who stays and who goes.

Immigrant advocates such as Mia-lia Kiernan, of the group Deported Diaspora, say the system fails to credit the importance of rehabilitation and community ties.

Both figure in her defense of Iv, who survived the genocide of Pol Pot's Cambodia in the 1970s, lived with his mother and a sister in a Thai refugee camp, came to Philadelphia at 7, "did a crime, did his time," and turned his life around.

Now he sits in ICE detention at a jail in York, where he and the other Cambodian detainees were interviewed last week by a Cambodian consular official handling their return to the country they fled as children.

Iv's lawyer, Steven Morley, is trying to win a stay of his deportation with a last-ditch motion to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

It is "unfair" to allow people to develop ties to the community while on supervised release, "and then to rip them away," said Morley, of Philadelphia, who advocates for more discretion by immigration judges and ICE officials.

"The solution is to examine people's backgrounds on a case-by-case basis," he said.

Responding to an e-mail blast after Iv's arrest, about 350 demonstrators swarmed the intersection of Front and Champlost Streets near his three-chair shop.

His fiancée, a nurse's aide, held their 3-month-old daughter, Sarai. Deportation will shatter their family, she said, leaving her unable to pay the $1,400 monthly mortgage on their rowhouse. Her job pays $700 every two weeks.

"He has changed for the better," said demonstrator Shappine Servano, 27, a real estate agent. "He has his own home, his own business. He is paying taxes."

Except for a 2009 guilty plea and suspended sentence for impaired driving, Iv appears not to have had other troubles with the law.

"I have known him since 2001," said Rorng Sorn, executive director of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, a service agency for the region's approximately 20,000 Cambodians. "He is a responsible, respectful, positive influence on the children who come to his shop."

Iv's childhood friend Will McClinton, 32, a union laborer, said he loved him like a brother.

"He's been cutting my hair since we were 12. He ran into a little bit of trouble. . . . He started his life over," McClinton said. "If they could put up a poster of someone who reformed himself, his face should be on it."

Contact staff writer Michael Matza

at 215-854-2541 or mmatza@phillynews.com.