Acid attack victims

Asiaone.com

RESIDENTS in Cambodia's only rehabilitation facility dedicated to reconstructing lives destroyed by acid attacks receive medical care, physiotherapy and counselling, and perhaps most important of all, the support of others suffering the same terrible fate.

The Cambodian government is looking into implementing stricter laws and punishment for those who use acid as their weapon of choice.

They are examining laws in other countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan where acid attacks are also common.

Video: » Acid attacks rise in Cambodia
Photos: AFP, Reuters and NSTP

Cambodia to host 6th general assembly of Asia Pacific political parties

Deputy PM Sok An.

Phnom Penh has been selected to host the 6th General Assembly of the International Conference on Asia Pacific Political Parties in December 2010, official news agency AKP reported on Tuesday.

The decision has been made during the 12th Standing Committee Meeting of the International Conference on Asia Pacific Political Parties, Sok An, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, told reporters on Monday upon his return from the meeting held in Katmandu, Nepal.

Around 100 political parties are expected to participate in the General Assembly, said Sok An, stressing that this will help increase Cambodia's prestige on the international arena.

During his stay in Nepal, Sok An met with Nepalese Prime Minister who invited Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to pay an official visit to his country in an appropriate time.

Source:Xinhua

Sam Rainsy to return to Cambodia soon

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News
A member of parliament from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) said that his party's president, Mr. Sam Rainsy (pictured), will make a return to Cambodia very soon, reports Deum Ampil.

Mr. Chea Poch, SRP MP from Prey Veng, told Deum Ampil on Tuesday morning that Mr. Sam Rainsy is his party's only prime ministerial candidate for the 2013 election, so he will have to return to Cambodia very soon. "I believe that President Sam Rainsy will return to the country very soon. No one is a prime ministerial candidate, President Sam Rainsy is the only candidate and he will return very soon", he said.

Mr. Chea Poch said Cambodia needs billions of dollars in foreign aid and in the absence of opposition parties foreign donors will cut their aid.

On 24th February, in a speech to students at a graduation ceremony at Royal University of Phnom Penh, Prime Minister called Mr. Sam Rainsy "a traitor" for creating instability on the eastern borders with Vietnam at the same time as when Cambodia is having conflicts with Thailand on the western borders. He said there will be the participation of opposition parties in the next elections, minus Mr. Sam Rainsy.

Mr. Sam Rainsy was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 2 years jail and fined 8.5 million riels ($2500) for uprooting six border markers from the Khmer-Vietnamese borders on 25th October 2009 he accused of illegally planted by the Vietnamese authority inside Cambodian territories.

SRP’s Mu Sochua to contest CPP in B’bang

Mu Sochua greeted supporters as she leaves court on July 24, 2009 after Prime Minister Hun Sen sued her for defamation.

Tuesday, 02 March 2010
By Meas Sokchea
Phnom Penh Post

SAM Rainsy Party Deputy Secretary General Mu Sochua says she has taken up a post in Battambang as part of an attempt to erode the influence of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

“We only have one competitor – the CPP. The SRP already knows this; therefore, we must prepare our forces from the grassroots up to the national level,” she said Monday.

“I am moving to Battambang, and I will dare to sacrifice my life for democracy.”

Mu Sochua said she will replace SRP lawmaker Eng Chhay Eang, who is being transferred to Kandal province. The party says it has not decided who will take the vacated seat in her native Kampot province.

Although SRP President Sam Rainsy was sentenced in January to two years’ prison for his role in the uprooting of border markers and faces new charges of disinformation and falsifying documents, Mu Sochua said the party is as strong as ever.

However, Chheang Von, a CPP parliamentarian for Battambang, said that Mu Sochua would fail to attract popular support.

“Mu Sochua is not stronger than the others. How many people in Battambang know Mu Sochua?” he said. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

At the July 2008 national election, the CPP clinched six of Battambang’s eight National Assembly seats. The SRP holds the remaining two.

New list aims to combat plunder of Cambodia's rich heritage

Prof. Damian Evans and Prof. Roland Fletcher from the University of Sydney conduct excavation works around Angkor Wat areas on 22nd Jan. 2008.

Earth Times

Phnom Penh (DPA)- Road workers uncovered a treasure trove of ancient artefacts 10 years ago at Phum Snay in western Cambodia. Among the finds were jewellery, ceramic pottery and even human bones. But shortly after news of the find got out, looters moved in. Within a year, Phum Snay had been stripped bare and its archaeological worth destroyed.

Cambodian authorities are struggling to stem the illegal trade in plundered artefacts. A new colour booklet published by archeologists called the Red List aims to teach police and border officials what to look for.

The looting of ancient sites and temples is a long and common problem in Cambodia, which has to balance widespread poverty and inefficient policing with a rich cultural heritage that gave the world the magnificent temple complex at Angkor Wat, the drawing card for 2 million foreign tourists each year.

Experts say numerous temples and sites around the country have been hacked at and dug up in recent years by those looking to make money from unscrupulous buyers of Khmer statues and jewellery.

Dougald O'Reilly is the founder and director of Heritage Watch, an award-winning non-governmental organization set up to preserve Cambodia's heritage in the face of its wholesale destruction.

"The level of looting is almost unprecedented with hectare after hectare being illegally excavated and the resulting artefacts flooding the market," O'Reilly says. "Soon there will be little left to document Cambodia's prehistoric past."

Cambodian authorities released the Red List to try to combat this trade. It is an eight-page glossy booklet listing the types of Khmer artefacts most at risk of being stolen and smuggled out of the country.

The list was produced in collaboration with the International Council of Museums and is the sixth of its kind in the council's efforts to combat the illicit trade in artefacts around the world.

The publication describes the categories of artefacts to look out for and includes their key characteristics as well as illustrated examples. It aims to be easier to use for non-specialists, such as border agents, than previous documents, which contained lengthy lists of specific missing items.

Hab Touch, the outgoing director of the National Museum in Phnom Penh, says the Red List is a useful tool to improve the capacities of front-line officials.

"It is designed especially for police, customs officers and also people who are responsible for protecting cultural heritage to help understand what kinds of Khmer artefacts are now at risk," he says.

Hab Touch says the list's importance is underscored by the fact that protecting every historical temple and site scattered around Cambodia is practically impossible, which makes educating those who man the borders essential.

Some experts say the problem of looting has worsened since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1990s, not least because its downfall allowed for development in areas that were previously off-limits.

Helen Jessup, a scholar and author of books about Cambodia's cultural heritage, says new roads and the clearance of heavily mined parts of the country, for instance, have opened up new areas to plunder. She adds that even some well-known Cambodian sites have suffered in recent years despite being policed.

She says, however, that she is optimistic about the impact of methods such as the Red List, provided the leaflets get to the right people. "They certainly help customs agents and border inspectors," she says.

The information should also reach tourists and other potential customers, she adds. "Then the honest guys would be forewarned," she says.

Hab Touch says an earlier watch list released in 1993, which focused on 100 specific looted items, resulted in the return of 10 of them.

Those pieces are now on display in the National Museum, and Hab Touch says plans are under way to publish a new book of all known missing items once sufficient documentation has been collated to prove national ownership.

But the recovery of stolen artefacts gives only a limited insight into the extent of the problem. Gauging its scale is an impossible task since the trade is by nature an underground activity.

The illicit trade in archeological artefacts is driven by the high prices commanded by items such as stone and bronze heads, particularly in the context of the country's endemic poverty.

One paper written by a Heritage Watch researcher four years ago analyzed more than 300 Khmer artefacts auctioned at Sotheby's in New York.

It found that the offer prices ranged from 7,500 dollars to almost 30,000 dollars each. Around 80 per cent of the pieces had no known provenance, raising suspicions that they were stolen.

Heritage Watch's O'Reilly says domestic and regional buyers account for most of the illicit demand for Khmer antiquities. It is because many items are small, easy to smuggle and hard to identify as ancient that the Red List may prove so useful, he says.

But the experts agree that a single document cannot counteract the demand for stolen Khmer artefacts. Given Cambodia's poverty, its inability to protect many of its ancient sites and its porous borders, the plunder of its cultural heritage is likely to continue.

Indian High Court orders arrest of Cambodian ship

CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Monday ordered the arrest of a foreign vessel, M V Lady Alla, flying the Cambodian flag and now lying at the outer anchorage of the Nagapattinam port in Tamil Nadu, after two of its senior crew members complained that the ship's owners had not paid wages to the crew.

Acting on an application from Ukrainian nationals Kozak Pavlo and Palagin Dmtro, who have filed a suit for recovery of dues worth $11,993 and for arrest and sale of the vessel, Justice G Rajasuria said a prima facie case had been made out for ordering the arrest of the ship. He ordered the court registry to take steps to issue a warrant. The case was posted to March 8.

In their application for the ship's arrest, Pavlo and Dmtro, said the vessel was owned by Shipping and Trucks Company Ltd, London. The owners were in arrears of payment towards wages for the plaintiffs for several months. Besides, others in the 16-member crew on board the vessel had also not been paid wages, they said.

The ship arrived at Nagapattinam port on February 11, 2010 carrying a cargo of China clay for discharge at the port. Despite being promised that they would be paid before the vessel reached Nagapattinam, the owners failed to pay wages to the plaintiffs. As a result, they were unable to send money to their families, they said. The vessel was not being maintained properly, and it was becoming unseaworthy day by day. The crew were also not provided with food and water, they said. According to their information, the ship's arrest has earlier been ordered by the Bombay high court in two different suits.

As allowing the vessel to sail away without the crew receiving their wages would cause irreparable loss and hardship to them, the applicants wanted the ship to be arrested.

Nagapattinam port authorities had said the vessel entered the port illegally.

After finding that the crew were suffering from want of food and water, the authorities arranged for water, meat and vegetables to be ferried to the vessel, with the crew bearing the cost.

Heart surgery for Cambodian toddler called off

By Greg Mellen,
Press-Telegram
Staff Writer

Posted: 03/01/2010

Phin Ken holds his daughter, Socheat Nha at Sophy's Restarant in Long Beach last month. Socheat's heart condition is worse than originally thought and doctors have said the cannot operate. (Jeff Gritchen/Press-Telegram)

Monday was supposed to be a happy day. Instead, the family of Socheat Nha, a 2-year-old Cambodian girl scheduled for life-altering heart surgery, was dealt a devastating blow.

During a preoperation examination, it was determined the girl's condition was worse that initially thought and a donated surgery scheduled for Thursday in Las Vegas was canceled.

"This unfortunately is not going to be a feel-good story," said Dr. William Evans, the cardiologist who tested Socheat. "The risk (for surgery) is too great."

Shortly after beginning testing on the child, Evans had a sinking feeling.

An expected narrowing of the pulmonary tract between the heart and lungs was missing. This led to high pressure in the lungs from oxygenated blood flowing back into the lungs rather than out to the body and has already caused a significant amount of irreversible lung damage.

After consulting with other doctors of the Children's Heart Center and Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, Evans had to tell the family that Socheat risked a better than 50 percent chance of dying on the operating table with the surgery.

That's a risk the doctors couldn't take.

"We have to do the right thing," Evans said.

Evans was part of the same team that in December 2008, performed open heart surgery on another Cambodian, 11-month-old Soksamnang Vy, but this time had to turn away a patient.

Vy's heart ailment was much less severe;
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the hole in his heart was smaller and he did not have the same lung damage as Socheat.

Evans said if Socheat were a U.S. citizen, she would likely be given oxygen and put on a list for a heart-lung transplant.

Evans said that option, even if available, would have its own set of drawbacks that might be worse than no treatment.

Among those are the long waiting list (about 16 percent die while waiting for a heart), the inability to receive care in Cambodia after the surgery, and the low prospects of long life expectancy after surgery.

Evans said it might be a blessing that Socheat is not an American where "we would be hard-pressed not to intervene."

Evans did his best to paint a positive picture and wouldn't give a life expectancy timeline. He said Socheat could live many years as have other patients of his with similar ailments.

Still the prognosis is grim.

There was some disagreement between Evans and Dr. Paul Grossfeld, who did the initial assessment in Cambodia about some aspects of Socheat's condition, but a variety of sources place her life expectancy to range between 20 and 40.

She will also suffer from cyanosis, or bluing of the skin from the lack of oxygenated red blood, shortness of breath and fatigue, that will increase as she gets older.

The daughter of a rice farmer from Southern Cambodia with family here in Long Beach, Socheat was the third patient brought to the United States for surgery by local nonprofit Hearts Without Boundaries.

Her condition, however, was by far the most severe. And this is its first failure.

Hearts Without Boundaries founder Peter Chhun could barely speak and blamed himself.

"We brought this family here with great hope," Chhun said in a halting voice.

The prognosis drove home the problem of trying to properly diagnose and treat patients from long distances, especially from a country that lacks proper facilities and technology.

"It's a humbling reminder of what we're dealing with," Grossfeld said. "When we did the original evaluation, obviously we had limited resources. At that time, the hope was that we could operate."

Kenha Heang, a cousin who accompanied Socheat and her dad, said he was stunned and deflated.

"We had so many plans and so much hope," Heang said.

Heang said Phin Ken, Socheat's father, held in his emotion when he heard the news, possibly because he had heard it before when Cambodian doctors couldn't begin to assess Socheat properly.

Still, for someone who had gone from despair and resignation to delirious hope, the setback had to be hard. He came to the U.S. where he believed "miracles" occur, only to face a sobering reality.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Cambodia rebuilds railway with Australian, ADB aid

PHNOM PENH, March 2 (Reuters) - Cambodia will rebuild its entire railway system by 2013 with the help of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Australian government and others, its finance minister said at a signing ceremony on Tuesday.

"The project began in 2007 and it will be completed in 2013," Keat Chhon (pictured) said as the Southeast Asian country received an additional $42 million loan from the ADB and a $21.5 million grant from the Australian government.

Keat Chhon said the ADB had already provided a total of $84 million in loans to help revive the 600 km (370 mile) network.

Another $13 million had come from the OPEC Fund for International Development and Malaysia had contributed 106 km (66 miles) of track worth $2.8 million.

"The railway has played a central role in Cambodia for more than 75 years and many Cambodians see it rightly as a symbol of development and a means of integration with Cambodia's neighbors in the Greater Mekong Sub region and the world beyond," said Kunio Senga, director general of the ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

He said the Cambodian railway would connect with the railway in Thailand, and through it with Malaysia and Singapore.

Australian Ambassador Margaret Adamson said railways would bring new investment.

"Good railways also help the environment and a community's safety by reducing carbon emissions and road accidents."

Toll Holdings of Australia signed a 30-year concession to operate the railway last June, she said.

"They will build Cambodia's human resources capability as well as deliver the railway services. Their presence, I am sure, will also encourage investment by other quality Australian and other foreign companies in Cambodia." (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Alan Raybould)

More military shows on TV5

Tuesday, 02 March 2010
By Sen David
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Uy Nousereimony

TV5 airs military programming Monday. Prime Minister Hun Sen blasted the station Saturday for its lack of such programming.

LOCAL television station TV5 has increased its military-related programming in response to criticism from Prime Minister Hun Sen over the weekend, said station director Neang Phat, who is also a secretary of state at the Defence Ministry.

In a speech to Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) soldiers in Battambang province on Saturday, Hun Sen said TV5 had not done enough to promote the military, and ordered the Ministry of Defence, which partly owns the station, to sever its partnership with Mica Media Co Ltd, the Thailand-based co-owner.

He also said that the station should not be allowed to continue running the RCAF logo or name.

Neang Phat, who was singled out for criticism in Hun Sen’s speech, said Monday that military-related programmes had been increased immediately, with three such programmes added into Monday’s schedule. He added that the RCAF logo and name would not change, and that the Defence Ministry would continue working with Mica Media Co Ltd.

“Today we have three [new] programmes in one day related to Cambodia’s military,” he said. “There is a morning show from 6 until 6:30, an afternoon show from 2 until 3, and at night we added one military news programme that will air from 7 until 7:30 every day,” he said.

“We did not change anything else, like the logo and channel name, but we increased some programmes following Samdech Hun Sen’s advice,” he said.

The newly scheduled military programmes replaced a music programme and two general news programmes, and military songs were added into prescheduled music programmes, he added.

A prescheduled military news programme showcasing Hun Sen’s involvement with the military as well as a speech delivered by the premier was broadcast on Monday at 1pm, and a prescheduled 10-minute programme featuring uniformed soldiers bare-knuckle boxing for exercise, followed by a speech from a military commander thanking the public for its support of the military, was broadcast at 3:05pm.

Neang Phat said new programmes depicting the daily lives of military personnel and their families are also set to be broadcast on the network soon.

Representatives from Mica Media Co Ltd could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Phnom Penh Fun Fair Recommended for Siem Reap Visitors

March 2nd, 2010
By: hotel_guru

The children's organisation Mith Samlanh is hosting a day of family entertainment in Phnom Penh.

(OPENPRESS) March 2, 2010 -- People booking accommodation in Siem Reap may decide to take a trip to Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.

Mith Samlanh, a non-governmental organisation that works to support disadvantaged street children, is hosting a special Fun Fair in the city on Saturday April 24th.

Running from 09:00 to 13:00 local time, the event will aim to provide family entertainment while raising awareness and funds for the charity.

With jugglers, clowns, stilt walkers and magicians all demonstrating their skills, the Fun Fair promises to be a memorable occasion for local people and visitors to the city.

Those attending the event can also look forward to various musical performances, including an appearance from the Mith Samlanh breakdancers and local Khmer hip hop artists.

Founded in August 1994 by three western expatriates, Mith Samlanh started life as a small drop-in centre with a school attached.

Over 200 people are now employed by the organisation, which takes the social reintegration of street children as its primary goal.

Although it is based in Phnom Penh, Mith Samlanh also works with children in the cities of Kampong Cham and Kampong Speu. Its name is taken from the word for "friends" in the Khmer language.

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Military steps into Kampong Speu land row

Tuesday, 02 March 2010
By May Titthara and Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post

MILITARY police on Monday gathered on land claimed by residents of Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district who fear they will be evicted to make way for a sugar plantation owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat (pictured), witnesses said, fuelling speculation that the land would be forcibly cleared.

Meanwhile, the senator, who owns sugar plantations in Koh Kong and Oddar Meanchey provinces that were developed following evictions, confirmed he would participate in a newly announced partnership between businesses and the Cambodian military that some observers say could see soldiers used to further the aims of the private sector.

Representatives of Phnom Penh Sugar, the Ly Yong Phat-owned company that was granted a 9,000-hectare concession that includes the disputed land in Thpong district, arrived in the disputed area on Monday in the company of 10 provincial military police officers, said Vong Yuon, one of the villagers who lives there. He added that the party left without incident.

Doc Ren, a representative of the villagers, said the presence of the military police was likely designed to threaten them.

“They took the military police to threaten us ... but we did not allow them to take over our farmland, because our farmland is our food pot,” Doc Ren said.

Villagers had earlier camped out with food and water on the rice fields, digging in to prevent company representatives from appropriating the land.
“We brought food and water to the fields because we were afraid that if we left to go home for lunch, they would seize our land,” Vong Yuon said.

After an initial protest by the villagers on Saturday, a Sunday meeting with company representatives did not yield a solution, Doc Ren added, as maps clearly demarcating the land concession were not available.

Kampong Speu provincial Governor Kang Heang on Monday again dismissed fears that the land concession would affect the villagers.

“The company gets the right to develop 9,000 hectares in this area, but I promise that the company’s development project will not affect the villagers’ farmland because we marked off the villagers’ land on our map,” he said.

Ly Yong Phat said his company did not want to harm the community and was working to resolve the situation.

“We have to hold discussions between villagers and the company to find a peaceful solution, and to see whether, if their land is affected, they want to sell the land or move to another place,” he said.

Partnerships stoke concerns
Last week, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a new programme in which businesses will partner with units of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to provide charitable support. Ly Yong Phat said Monday that his Ly Yong Phat Company would be involved in the partnership.

“For our support, we will address some of the soldiers’ recent needs,” Ly Yong Phat said. “Our soldiers lack rooms and offices, so we will construct those facilities for them.”

In October, more than 100 families were driven off their land in Oddar Meanchey’s Bos village, Kounkriel commune, to make way for a plantation operated by Ly Yong Phat’s Angkor Sugar Company. Officials from the Forestry Administration and troops from RCAF Battalion 42 abetted the destruction of homes at the site, according to local rights group Licadho.

Such examples of the military serving private interests, though prevalent in recent years, may be “officialised” by the new initiative, said Naly Pilorge, director of Licadho.

“It has always been done in the past decade, but this is a little bit different because it’s official,” she said. “It does set a very dangerous precedent.”

Nick Owen, a Cambodia specialist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, noted that even if the programme is ostensibly voluntary, companies may feel compelled to participate, fearing unfavourable treatment by the government if they do not. The companies, in turn, may feel entitled to enlist military forces to pursue their own projects.

“There may be a feeling on the part of those companies that if they’re donating to the military, they may expect services in return,” Owen said.

Tan Monivan, deputy director general of the Mong Reththy Group, rejected the notion that the partnerships could lead to improprieties on the part of either private firms or the military. The Mong Reththy Group has been paired with the RCAF’s Messenger Unit and Military Unit 827, and Tan Monivan said these organisations will operate within the Kingdom’s laws.

“There is no harm in helping the military – we will assist them according to our ability,” he said. Discussions between the RCAF and the Mong Reththy Group regarding areas of specific need have not yet been held, Tan Monivan added.

Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said that military units are always vigilant against corruption and illegal businesses, adding that this will not change with the new partnerships.

“The duty of the military is to defend the nation – they do not have any power to protect illegal businesses,” Chhum Socheat said. “We have the law, and if [businesses] do anything illegal, they will be punished by the law, and the military cannot help them.”

For his part, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said a “culture of sharing” has long been a part of Cambodian society, and that the initiative is simply a way of formalising charitable donations from the business community that have occurred for many years.

Though he was unsure when the partnerships would be inaugurated, Phay Siphan said the companies’ support would likely come in the form of food, shelter and support for military families.

“We call it generosity,” Phay Siphan said.

Owen noted, however, that the programme could pose a challenge to good governance in the Kingdom, obscuring sources of military financing that he said are already “pretty opaque”.

“When the military starts receiving revenues from sources that aren’t under the government’s complete control, you do get these issues of transparency,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JAMES O’TOOLE

SFoodie's 92: Prahok from Angkor Borei

By Andrew Simmons in SFoodie's 92

Mon., Mar. 1 2010

Jonas T./Yelp

Complex as carefully made ragu.

​As a daily windup to the Weekly's Best of S.F. 2010 on May 19, we've teased out 92 of our favorite local dishes that taste like here.

Number 56: Prahok from Angkor Borei

Prahok is a fermented fish paste used to season Cambodian dishes. It also sounds like it could be a lost Lord of the Rings character or a comic book character's cough. At local Cambodian standby Angkor Borei, however, prahok lends its name as well as its flavor to a stewed pork dish. Though rich and layered as a well-crafted ragu, this concoction is more dip than sauce, an unattractive grayish puddle that miraculously renders nearly anything else into which you might casually sink a chip insipid by comparison. On a plate, the bowl of prahok sits within a ring of fresh raw vegetables ― cucumber, cabbage, broccoli ― austere crunchy foils, the perfect counterpoint to all that salt, fat, and flavor. A chip would work too, though.

Angkor Borei 3471 Mission (at Cortland), 550-8417

Promoting Collaboration Among Human Rights Groups in Cambodia

By David Sasaki

Global Voices

Cambodia has among the highest number of NGO's per capita anywhere in the world. There are dozens of organizations throughout the country publishing information about human rights and human rights abuses, but they tend to file these reports on their individual websites or, worse, in lengthy PDF reports that are sent via email to their funders. With the goal of promoting more collaboration among human rights, organizations the Cambodian Center for Human Rights has launched Sithi.org, a map-based visualization and archive of human rights violations and related news which can be filtered by category and sub-category. Preetam Rai, our research reviewer for Southeast Asia suggests that Sithi.org make contact with Cambodian bloggers to spread more awareness about the initiative outside of just the human rights activist community. By distributing their data via Facebook and Twitter - and by presenting the project at local tech meetups - they are more likely to attract the interest of Cambodia's enthusiastic 20-something generation of techies. Lastly, Preetam recommends giving more visible attribution to the organizations that contribute reports to the map so that there is more of an incentive to do so.

Hang Chakra could be released soon

Hang Chakra in his prison uniform during his court appearance on 11th August 2009.

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News

Hang Chakra, the editor-in-chief of Khmer Mchas Srok jailed for allegedly defaming Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, could be released soon after Mr. Sok An, the plaintiff, hinted that he will withdraw his lawsuit again him, reports Deum Ampil.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said he will discuss the issue of releasing Mr. Hang Chakra with the Ministry of Justice. He said he had met with the plaintiff Deputy PM Sok An and that he had agreed to withdraw his lawsuit on humanitarian ground.

Mrs. Sim Sourkea, Mr. Hang Chakra's wife, said she is very happy with the news of her husband's imminent release from prison.

Mr. Hang Chakra was convicted and sentenced to one year jail on 26th June 2009 for allegedly defaming Deputy PM Sok An when he published an article in the Khmer Mchas Srok saying that Mr. Sok An faced the sack by Prime Minister Hun Sen for allegedly involving in large scale corruption.

IPU on a study tour of the role of Cambodian parliament

The four members of IPU listen to Cambodian MPs.

By Khmerization

Source: RFI

A delegation of four members of Europe's Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has arrived in Cambodia for a study tour of the role of the Cambodian parliament in monitoring foreign aid to Cambodia, reports Radio France Internationale.

The four member-delegation from Geneva, Switzerland will have a series of meeting with Cambodian political and parliamentary leaders from 1st to 5th March. On Monday morning, the delegation met with senators and members of parliament from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, the opposotion Sam Rainsy Party, the Human Rights Party and the Nationalist Party (formerly Norodom Ranariddh Party) at the Nationall Assembly building.

Mr. Chheang Vun, chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Foreign affairs, said the Cambodian parliament has monitored the use of foreign aid very thoroughly, including expenditures on development plans and National Budget.

Members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party were allowed to speak during the meeting, but Mr. Chheang Vun has banned them from talking about issues other off the topic, except the role of parliament's monitoring of foreign aid expenditures.

Mr. Son Chhay, MP from the Sam Rainsy Party, had raised the issue of the lack of representation by opposition parties in the parliamentary commissions, the suppression of the freedom of expression and the lawsuits and the lifting of members of oppositions' parliamentary immunity, but his speech was cut short when Mr. Chheang Vun turned off the microphone immediately.

Sam Rainsy appeals the court's verdict

Mr. Rainsy talking to the press.

By Khmerization
Source: everyday.com

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has decided to appeal the Svay Rieng Court's verdict which sentenced him in absentia on 27th January to two years jail for uprooting border markers on 25th October 2009, reports everyday.com.

Mr. Choung Chou-Ngy, Mr. Sam Rainsy's defence lawyer, said he had just received a letter from Mr. Sam Rainsy on 24th February asking him to lodge an appeal against the verdict. Mr. Chou-Ngy said he decided to appeal because the court's decision was not just for his client.

Mr. Sam Rainsy, along with 100 villagers, uprooted 6 wooden border markers they said were planted by the Vietnamese authority illegally on Cambodian farmers' rice fields and encroached on Cambodian territorories. Two other villagers were arrested and were currently in jail.

On 26th February, the government lodged another lawsuit against Mr. Sam Rainsy for document forgery and spreading disinformation after he released a series of maps and documents showing Vietnam's encroachments which they government claimed as fake and not true.

Cambodia's Court at a Crossroads

A walk for justice toward the Khmer Rouge Tribunal building, seen here in the background.

Hun Sen will be responsible if the tribunal fails.

By JAMES A. GOLDSTON
Th Wall Street Journal
Phnom Penh

Thirty years after the end of Pol Pot's reign of terror, the Khmer Rouge tribunal is poised to release its first verdict and take on the regime's most senior surviving leaders. Yet political meddling by the Cambodian government and donor fatigue may prevent other perpetrators from ever facing trial.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia—a hybrid court composed of Cambodian and international judges—has been an important, if limited, exercise in justice. Cambodians have packed the courtroom each day to watch Kaing Guek Eav, a former prison chief and executioner, finally held to account. Thousands more followed the proceedings on radio and television. By presenting the case publicly, the trial helped bridge the gap between younger generations of Cambodians—who do not learn about the Khmer Rouge in school and often doubt stories of victimization—and their parents and grandparents, who suffered directly under the regime.

But the real test of whether the court can fulfill its promise is yet to come. International donors met in early February in New York to review the court's budget, and will make critical funding decisions in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Cambodian government officials—who apparently fear the prospect of judges deciding for themselves—are trying to block the potential trials of other guilty parties.

A second trial, of the four most senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, will start later this year or next. But last September, just as the court decided to allow investigations of five additional accused to proceed, the government stepped in. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen proclaimed, "If the court wants to charge more former senior Khmer Rouge cadres, [it] must show the reasons to Prime Minister Hun Sen," referring to himself in the third person. One month later, when the international investigating judge summoned six officials to testify, a government spokesperson said they would not comply. He warned foreign observers to "pack up their clothes and return home" if they were not satisfied.

Unfortunately, that may be just what the international community will do. Some diplomats are reportedly floating the idea of winding up operations after the second trial. Since 2006, when the court was born, the undertaking has cost $40-50 million a year. This is less than most other international war crimes courts but enough to prompt some, including major donors like Japan, to ask how much justice is enough.

While this might please Cambodia's leaders, it would be a disservice to its people.

The court is admittedly an imperfect vehicle—the product of a decade of tortuous negotiations that gave the Cambodian government more influence than most international observers wanted. But it is the last chance to hold accountable those most responsible for the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge while they are still alive. And in a country where rule of law is little more than a phrase, it offers a rare opportunity to demonstrate what justice can and should look like.

To do so, the Khmer Rouge tribunal must be—and be seen to be—independent. Despite the government protests the pre-trial chamber in August authorized an investigation into two new cases, and now the judicial process must be allowed to run its proper course. In early February, a Cambodian judge serving on the court told me bluntly what is at stake: "How can we say that the court is a model of independent justice if the government does not let us do our job?"

The United Nations, Cambodia's partner in the court, has a major role to play. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should appoint a senior-level advisor with the title of assistant secretary-general to take on three tasks. First, make clear to Cambodia's leadership that continued threats of interference deprive the tribunal of legitimacy and undermine whatever international goodwill Phnom Penh has earned. Second, reinvigorate the court's anticorruption mechanism which, though presently moribund, remains essential to preserving public credibility. Third, marshal donor support to allow all four active cases to proceed to judicial conclusion.

To give heft to U.N. efforts, the United States could also step up its engagement. To date, Washington has taken a back seat, contributing just $1.8 million to the court. That's inconsistent with America's historic responsibility as a former backer of the Khmer Rouge and its global interest in fostering respect for law. If a suitable U.N. advisor is designated, then the U.S. should go ahead and approve the $5 million appropriation currently in the pipeline for fiscal year 2010. And Washington could consider giving more, conditioned on a commitment from the government of Cambodia to preserve judicial independence, end staff appointment delays and curb corruption.

If Hun Sen fails to deliver on these reforms, it is he who will bear responsibility for pulling the plug on the tribunal—not the international community. In the meantime, greater international commitment is needed if this fragile experiment is to succeed.

Mr. Goldston is executive director of the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, which monitors the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

Cambodia gets tough on acid attackers

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ITN.co.uk

Mon Mar 1 2010

Cambodia's government is drafting new laws to punish those who carry out devastating acid attacks.

According to official figures from the Cambodian police, 40 acid attacks were reported in 2008 and that number is rising. There have been six cases already this year.

Many of the attacks are carried out as punishment or revenge for acts of adultery.

Police are drawing inspiration from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan where acid attackers can face life in prison or even the death penalty.

Officials believe many criminals are using acid nowadays because tighter gun and knife laws in Cambodia have made it the easiest weapon to get hold of. They are also planing to impose stricter regulations on acid sellers.

Some of the victims are now being cared for at the Cambodian Acid Survivor's Charity where they receive medical care, physiotherapy and counseling to help heal both the physical and psychological wounds.

South Korea to fund new road circling Angkor temples in Cambodia

The aerial view of Angkor Wat.

By: The Associated Press
1st March 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodian officials say South Korea has provided US$9.2 million to build a new road that will circle the famed Angkor temple complex and reduce traffic in the area.

Soeung Kong, a Cambodian official who oversees the temples, says construction will start this year and take three years to complete.

The official said Monday the 13-mile (21-kilometer) road will be open only to tourists visiting the ancient temples.

Villagers who live in the area will be diverted to pre-existing roads in an effort to reduce vibrations caused by trucks that could be damaging the ancient ruins.

Sam Rainsy charges draw criticism

Hun Sen (R) talks to Sam Rainsy (L) in front of the parliament on 28th February 2006.

Monday, 01 March 2010
By Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
Phnom Penh Post

A COALITION of civil society groups has criticised the filing of new criminal charges against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, calling for a “political solution” to the current row with the government.

On Friday, government lawyers filed two more charges against the embattled Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) president, accusing him of falsifying public documents in order to prove Vietnamese encroachment into Svay Rieng province.

“In Phnom Penh we have charged him with two offences. The first is involved with falsifying public documents, and the other is for spreading disinformation,” Ky Tech, a government lawyer, said on Sunday. If found guilty on both counts, he said, Sam Rainsy could face up to 18 years in prison.

On Friday, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 local NGOs, said the new lawsuits had shined a light on the shrinking of the country’s democratic space, calling for all parties to come together in a spirit of “national reconciliation”.

“CHRAC … urges our political leaders to mutually respect each other and negotiate with political maturity in order to address national issues,” the statement read.

The new charges come after Svay Rieng provincial court sentenced Sam Rainsy to two years in prison in absentia on January 27 in relation to an October incident in which he joined villagers in uprooting six temporary border markers in Chantrea district. Villagers alleged that Vietnamese authorities planted the posts in their rice fields.

In January, the SRP released what it described as “unprecedented evidence” that four Vietnamese border markers in Svay Rieng sit well inside Cambodia’s legal territory as defined by French and American maps.

CHRAC’s chairman, Hang Chhaya, said that using the court for an endless procession of lawsuits was useless and added that a political resolution would allow people to “live in peace”. “This is intimidation – it affects the democratic process,” he said.

“We must guarantee safety for people so that they can live in peace. Resorting to the courts for lawsuits like this is useless.”

When contacted on Sunday, SRP spokesman Kimsour Phirith said that, despite what he described as intimidation on the part of the ruling party, the opposition was not scared and would continue voicing concerns about the Vietnamese border.

“Their aim is to remove Sam Rainsy from the country so that he does not disturb their affairs which were done already. This is a political issue, not a criminal issue as they are saying,” he said.

Some observers said the new lawsuits were aimed at preventing the SRP leader from participating in the 2013 elections. “I think it’s a kind of threat, to give an example for other people who dare to do the same thing,” said Son Soubert, a member of the Constitution Council and an independent political analyst, comparing the attacks on Sam Rainsy to the treatment of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The government, for the interests of all Cambodian people, should seriously dialogue with the opposition. Instead of listening to that foreign country, they should listen to their own compatriots.” He added: “There should be a serious investigation of all the maps by a neutral party.”

The Vietnamese border issue last prompted a government crackdown in 2005, when critics came out in opposition to the government’s border-demarcation treaty with Vietnam – the basis, along with a 1985 treaty, for the current demarcation efforts.

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said the government’s offensive against Sam Rainsy was an indication that the situation on the eastern border was still a sore issue for Prime Minister Hun Sen even after the 2005-06 crackdown.

He also said it had distracted attention from Hun Sen’s own border stand-off with Thailand observing that the filing of the charges was bookended by two visits by Hun Sen to address soldiers at the Thai border and rally support for the military. “I’m sure the government is not happy that the issue is back again,” Ou Virak said.

Hun Sen blasts TV5’s lineup

Monday, 01 March 2010
By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post

PM says station fails to air his speeches or serve RCAF interests

PRIME Minister Hun Sen (pictured) criticised the TV5 television station on Saturday, saying it broadcasts little about the military despite being partially owned by the Ministry of Defence.

Speaking to soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) in Battambang province, the premier impugned the network for neglecting to broadcast his speeches at Preah Vihear and Tamone Thom temples last month, and ordered the Ministry of Defence to cancel its partnership with a private Thai company in operating TV5.

TV5 “has been bearing the name of the RCAF, but it does not broadcast the work of the army,” Hun Sen said. “I will not allow it to use the name of the RCAF anymore – just call it TV5.”

Hun Sen singled out General Neang Phat, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Defence and director of TV5, for criticism, saying that he had failed to serve the military’s interest despite his decorations.

“He has a lot of stars, but those stars are useless. They did not work and did not affect TV5’s programming, so please sell all your shares to me,” Hun Sen said. TV5 “has never broadcasted my speeches at all, even when I am visiting the army.”

The prime minister called on Minister of Defence Tea Banh to investigate the process of severing the association between the RCAF and TV5, or else shutting down TV5 completely.

Neang Phat said the joint venture between the Thai company and the RCAF had been established in 1994, adding that he hopes it will continue once TV5 makes changes in its lineup.

“We will try to have a meeting with the company to initiate reforms in our programming to produce more programmes related to the army,” Neang Phat said Sunday.

Ministry of Defence spokesman Chhum Socheat said Sunday that he was not sure what percentage of TV5 shares is owned by the government.

Premier threatens to shut military-owned TV for lack of enthusiasm

Phnom Penh (DPA)- Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has threatened to close down a television station part-owned by the country's military, saying it had failed to broadcast sufficient army-related material, national media reported Monday. Hun Sen told troops in the country's north-western province of Battambang that the TV5 channel ought to broadcast more "military encouragement songs."

He also chastised TV5 for failing to televise his speeches to the troops during last month's high-profile visit to units based along the Cambodian-Thai border.

"It uses the military logo, but this TV channel does not disseminate the military work often," the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported Hun Sen as saying.

Relations between Cambodia and Thailand have worsened in recent months, increasing tensions along areas of their disputed border.

Hun Sen said TV5, which is part-owned by Thai firm Mica Media Limited, should either remove the armed forces logo and go private, or close down.

And he had harsh words for station director Lieutenant-General Neang Phat, a senior figure in the defence ministry, saying the director did not watch television.

"I let you wear the stars (representing the rank of a general), but the stars are not working - you don't know how to do it," he said.

Neang Phat told the newspaper that the station would immediately ensure the premier's advice was followed.

"We will follow his ideal advice, we'll insert more programmes concerning military tasks," he said. "Starting from Monday we'll play the songs and the talk concerning the military."

A review of the country's media last year by local human rights group Licadho noted that each of Cambodia's eight TV stations is aligned with the ruling party "and all news bulletins are politically biased."

A survey conducted in 2003 found that 90 per cent of Cambodians get their news via TV and radio broadcasts.

Gambling on recovery [as Titan King Casino opened]

Monday, 01 March 2010
By Heng Chivoan
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Locals in Bavet,on the border with Vietnam, watch performances at the launch of the US$100 million Titan King Resort and Casino complex owned by Royal Group Vice President Kith Thieng. Employing 500 people, the casino will increase competition in the gaming sector after a year in which revenues slumped on the back of the global economic crisis.

Forgotten form of theatre comes out of the shadows

Monday, 01 March 2010
By Roth Meas
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Pha Lina
Actors rehearse a sbek por performace of the traditional Cambodian tale Preah Tinavong and Neang Pov.

KHAM Sokneang grasps two wooden sticks attached to a cow hide that has been cut into the shape of a young man and painted in bright colours. He holds the hide against a black screen and shakes it while he rehearses his lines for his role as Preah Tinavong, a character in the traditional Cambodian tale Preah Tinavong and Neang Pov.

The rehearsal was for a performance at Chaktomuk Theatre as part of the National Drama and Arts Festival, held from February18 to March 1 to mark the lead-up to National Culture Day, which falls on March 3.

Although Kham Sokneang, 31, has practiced many classical art forms as a professional in the past 17 years, he said he had to dig deep and use all of his talents for the Preah Tinavong and Neang Pov performance, rendered in a type of Cambodian shadow theatre called sbek por (colourful skin).

“While we are speaking, we have to shake the hide to show that the hide is also talking,” Kham Sokneang says, explaining the difficulty. “When we bow down, we have to make the hide bow down, but we still keep talking.”

He said sbek por got its name because the cow hides, after they are cut into the forms of the characters, are painted with bright colours. In other forms of shadow theatre – sbek thom (big hide) and sbek touch (small hides) – the hides are unpainted.

Sbek por hides are medium in size: smaller than sbek thom but bigger than sbek touch.

Sok Mom, a professor of art at the Department of Art and Culture, said that although he has often seen the painted cow hides hanging on walls as decoration, until recently he had never seen them used in a performance.

“Older people always talked about how they used to perform using the coloured hides, and now younger people have started using them again,” he said.

Sok Mom said sbek por performances differ from sbek touch and sbek thom because the actor plays a bigger role.

“The actor can be a performer or a hide holder,” he said. “While the hide is being held, it plays the role of the character. But often the hide is set aside and the actor appears on the stage to play the role.

“The actor has to wear the same clothes as the character depicted on the hide, because sometimes they come out on stage and play the character.”

Kham Sokneang originally performed in Preah Tinavong and Neang Pov last year when the Kok Thlok Association of Artists reintroduced sbek por to Cambodian audiences.

“Our difficulty in performing sbek por is that we have to look at the hide and shake it while we are narrating,” he said.

Moreover, actors must learn how to synchronise with the rhythm of traditional Khmer music, moving fast when the music plays fast, and slowing when the tempo slows.

The president of the Kok Thlok Association of Artists, Eang Hoeun, 44, chose Preah Tinavong and Neang Pov for the sbek por performance in the hope that the story can illustrate the reality of Cambodian society in the present.

“In our society nowadays, many problems arise between a man’s first wife and his mistress, so this story can be educational,” he said.

Eang Hoeu said that when he performs classical art forms throughout the country, especially shadow theatre, he finds that audiences of all ages are always very interested.

“They want to watch this kind of art form. But the problem is that we don’t show it to them very often, so people pick up the modern arts instead,” he said.

SRP not alarmed about new charges against its president

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

The opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) said it is not surprised, not alarmed and not concerned about new charges being laid against its party president for faking public documents and disinformation, reports Radio France Internationale.

Mr. Sam Rainsy (pictured), president of the SRP, was convicted and sentenced in absentia to 2 years jail for "sabotage and destruction of public property" and "racial incitement" when he uprooted 6 wooden border stakes on 25th October 2009. After his sentence, he released a series of maps and documents showing Vietnam's encroachments on Cambodian territories. The Cambodian government said all his documents are fake designed to mislead and confuse the people regarding Cambodia's borders with Vietnam.

The new charges against Mr. Sam Rainsy, filed under article 49 of the UNTAC's Criminal Code on Friday 26th February, carry between 5 to 15 years imprisonment if found guilty. An SRP official said he is not concerned. "We have nothing to be alarmed of", he said.

In recent months, many journalists, members of the civil society, government critics and opposition politicians have been sued by the government, forced into exile or jailed.

6,000 Cambodians apply to work in South Korea

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

About 6,000 Cambodians from all provinces in the kingdom have come to Phnom Penh to sit for the test to work in South Korea, reports Radio Free Asia.

The examination session was held on 26th February at the National Institute of Polytechnics in which all the test papers are written in Korean. The test is free but the application lodgement will cost $17.

Miss Peung Sinath, from Siem Reap, said she is very hopeful that shell pass the test and the selection criteria because she said she can speak Korean and English quite well.

Prof. Bun Phearin, supervisor of the exmination at the National Institute of Plytechnics, said among the 6,000 candidates, only 700 will be selected to work in South Korea.

Many Cambodians have sought works overseas due to limited opportunities at home. Many have gone to work in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East and South Korea.

Funcinpec Party commemorates 18th anniversary

The Funcinpec Trio: Vice-President Lu Laysreng (L), President Keo Put Rasmy (middle) and Vice-President Prince Sisowath Sirirath (R) during one of the party's congress.

By Khmerization
Source: everyday.com

The royalist Funcinpec Party, founded by ex-King Sihanouk, has quietly commemorated its 18th anniversary on 27-28 February in its former base along the Khmer-Thai borders in Oddar Meanchey province, reports everyday.com.

Mr. Thieng Vandarong, former Under-Secretary of State of Ministry of Information, said the party has commemorated its anniversary at the resistance former base in Trom village, Ampil commune in Banteay Ampil district of Oddar Meanchey province.

The commemoration ceremony was presided over by Mr. Lu Laysreng, the doyen of Funcinpec Party, in place of its current predient, Mr. Keo Put Rasmy.

Funcinpec was a French acronym for a resistance movement founded by the then Prince Sihanouk in 1981. In 1992, one year before Cambodia's general elections, it changed its status from a resistance front to a political party. In 1993, it won the election but lost control of the country when Mr. Hun Sen, the co-prime minister, launched a coup d'etat against the First Prime Minister Prince Ranariddh in 1997.

KJE: I'm not Hun Sen's supporter, but gave credit where credit is due

In a recent lede to a post you characterize me as an ardent supporter of Hun Sen's leadership and policies. Although it is true that I posted a few articles that gave credit where credit is due, as all is not bad in Cambodia, my main thrust of my political comments was directed at the dismal failure of the leader of the SRP in formulating clear alternatives and programs, thus failing to contribute to a more rational approach of bringing about more rapid change in the development of Cambodia. That I am not alone with this opinion is demonstrated through comments by Ou Virak of the CCHR, among others. SR;s policies and tactics are counterproductive and will not improve the lives of those he purports to fight for. What has been missing, especially on your website, is a more realistic assessment of his role in Cambodian politics and more balanced reporting. If that view makes me an ardent supporter, so be it, but it would also be obvious that most of your radical, nationalist contributors, such as Khmerization, don't quite understand where I am coming from and don't comprehend the concepts of realpolitik.

Additionally, I replied to Alberto Rodas' comment as follows: "I do agree with your comment 100%. This post was not meant to romanticize life in rural Cambodia. As I said above it is limited in scope and not representative. It is a glimpse, nothing more, nothing less. That should be clear from the article itself."

In the spirit of objectivity I would be grateful if this email were posted on your site.

KJE