Khmer Rouge survivor testifies

Van Nath is one of only three people still alive who experienced Tuol Sleng

One of the few survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime's notorious Tuol Sleng detention centre has testified at a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia.

Van Nath described how hunger had driven him to eat insects, and said he had also eaten the food beside corpses of starved fellow prisoners.

He was appearing at the trial of the man who ran the prison, Comrade Duch.

About 15,000 people were detained at Tuol Sleng in the late 1970s, but only seven are thought to have survived.

Unique perspective

Van Nath has been waiting for his day in court for 30 years.

The tribunal has already heard plenty from Comrade Duch himself - as well as a number of expert witnesses.

WHO WERE THE KHMER ROUGE? Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979 Founded and led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998 Abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopia Up to two million people thought to have died from starvation, overwork or execution

But according to the BBC's Guy DeLauney in Phnom Penh, Van Nath can provide a unique perspective, as one of only three men still alive who know what it is like to have been a prisoner at Tuol Sleng.

"The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little," Van Nath told the tribunal, as he broke down in tears. "I even thought eating human flesh would be a good meal."

He said he was fed twice a day, but each meal only consisted of three teaspoons of rice porridge.

"We were so hungry, we would eat insects that dropped from the ceiling," he said. "We ate our meals next to dead bodies, and we didn't care because we were like animals."

He described how prisoners were kept shackled - 20 or 30 of them together - and ordered not to speak or move.

Van Nath owed his survival to his skills as a painter. He was forced to produce portraits of Khmer Rouge leaders - on pain of death.

"I thought that if I could do good pictures and they were satisfied with what I painted, they would be happy and I would survive," said Van Nath before taking the stand.

Van Nath's portraits passed muster - and he has since become one of Cambodia's most famous artists, and his work often depicts scenes from Tuol Sleng.

Admission of guilt

Comrade Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, is accused of overseeing the torture and extermination of prisoners at the jail.

Earlier in his trial, the 66-year-old admitted responsibility for his role as governor of the jail, and begged forgiveness from his victims.

But he also insisted that he did not hold a senior role in the regime, and that he had had little choice but to work there.

Four other former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently in detention at the court, and are expected to face trial in 2010.

Ammunition explosion near Cambodian PM outskirt residence injures 2

Ammunition explosion on Sunday evening near Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's outskirt residence wounded two people, but Hun Sen is safe.

The explosion occurred when a truck loaded with ammunition was on fire and exploded, said a witness asked not to be named, adding that a dozen of fire trucks were rushed to the scene.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cabinet issued a statement late Sunday saying two military men were injured by a military truck accident during which a number of ammunitions were exploded.

The statement said the incident happened at 7:30 p.m. local time near Tuol Krasaing military camp, where Hun Sen's residence is encompassed. But Prime Minister Hun Sen is safe, a police officer on anonymity said.

According to the Cabinet statement, during the fire, a number of ammunitions loaded on the truck were exploded and that had caused a driver and his assistant injured, one of them was critical.

Tuol Kraisaing Military Camp is camped with Hun Sen's bodyguards unit, located about 13 kilometers south of Phnom Penh.

Source: Xinhua

New UN rapporteur concerned about land rights in Cambodia

June 29, 2009

The new UN special envoy for human rights to Cambodia says a corrupt judiciary, forced evictions and land grabs are the country's most pressing issues.

Nepali-born Surya Prasad Subedi (pictured) is Professor of International Law at Leeds University. Professor Subedi has just spent ten days in Cambodia.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Surya Prasad Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia

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SUBEDI: The impression I have formed after meeting so many people both within the government and outside of the government, NGO people, people who have been evicted from the land, other pressure groups, I have met a broad section of the population and have come to the conclusion there are serious human rights issues here that have to be tackled and I will be doing my best to help the government to tackle those problems.

LAM: Yours is a delicate job of course. You are the UN representative of UN Secretary-General, and at the same time you must work with the Cambodian Government, which in the past, hasn't taken criticism too well. Do you think that might pose a huge challenge to you?

SUBEDI: Indeed, I am aware on the rather unpleasant relationship between the government of Cambodia and my predecessor - that is always the risk for any special rapporteur, because your mission, your mandate is to promote human rights and be critical where there are shortcomings and failures. If people are willing to accept the shortcomings and engage in a constructive dialogue, then we can be effective. But I met the prime minister and a number of other senior ministers and I was pleased that they have acknowledged that there are shortcomings and they would like to engage in a constructive dialogue with me. I have noticed that there was a change in approach, a change in tone at least, during my first visit to Cambodia.

My meeting with the prime minister this time was a cordial one. It lasted for nearly two hours and I was able to raise a number of issues with him, especially relating to the rights of people evicted from land and their settlement problems and other issues relating to corruption and the independence of the judiciary, clearer separation of power between the three main branches of the government - mainly the legislative, judiciary and the executive. And he was listening to me attentively, and that gave me certain indication that perhaps they are willing to listen to me and work with me, but it remains to be seen how they will react when I go into the details.

LAM: The question of forced eviction and land grabs in Cambodia, for instance. Many of these developers have links to people in high office. Do you think that might pose a huge insurmountable challenge to getting some kind of justice for these people who were forcibly removed from the land?

SUBEDI: There are very many difficulties that lie ahead, but again my approach would be to give them concerted set of recommendations. If you were to do the following things, perhaps the situation would be better. For instance, those forcibly evicted from the land don't have a great deal of confidence in the judiciary. So if the judiciary were to strengthen, independence of the judiciary was enhanced, corruption was controlled, then people would go to court, and to get their legal remedies. For instance, those who have possession rights over the land, but not a proper title, they can go and prove their case before a court of law. That should be the way in a democracy, so that these are the areas that we can planning to pay particular attention during my work.

LAM: Well, you have just finished a ten-day tour of Cambodia. When do you intend to return to the country?

SUBEDI: Hopefully in the second half of November, and at that time I will have a special focus on certain areas, but have land rights and the resettlement issues would be on the top of my list and then make a series of recommendations to the government and to the United Nations.

LAM: What to your mind is the most pressing human rights issue in Cambodia today?

SUBEDI: The most pressing right is the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of speech. These are the two overall key issues, but within that you have the third one will be people evicted from their land and the resettlement. I have identified already these three areas as the private areas of my work.

Cambodia Genocide Tribunal

In this handout photo released by Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Vann Nath, center behind glass, one of the only survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s main torture center testifies at the U.N.-backed court, Monday, June 29, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Vann Nath gave a long-awaited testimony Monday, weeping as he recounted the conditions at a facility where 16,000 others were tortured before execution.

Four Cases of Swine Flu in Cambodia

Cambodia has confirmed an additional three cases of swine flu after reporting its first case this week. All four flu patients are U.S. nationals.

Cambodia’s first confirmed case of the H1N1 virus was reported on Wednesday.

A 16-year-old American girl developed symptoms after arriving in Phnom Penh last Friday. She sought medical care at a private clinic on Monday and was immediately placed in isolation.

The girl was visiting Cambodia as part of a student group. Other members of the American group were put under voluntary observation.

Three more cases of the virus were confirmed yesterday among the student group but all four are said to be in a stable condition and recovering well.

The World Health Organization has declared the H1N1 virus spread a global pandemic and has been advising governments to prepare for a long-term battle.

There have been more than 50,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus and at least 237 people have died since it emerged.

Survivor of Khmer Rouge torture center testifies in tears

A foreign photographer, left, takes a photo of Vann Nath, 63, a survivor from the S-21 prison during the Khmer Rouge regime on a screen at a court press center during the U.N.-backed tribunal Monday, June 29, 2009, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The first suvivor from the Khmer Rouge's notorious prison told the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal Monday that life of the prisoners at the S-21 was worsen then in the hell. He was called by the tribunal to testify against Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, is being tried by the genocide tribunal for crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Starving prisoners secretively ate insects, he says at prison chief's trial in Cambodia. Only seven of 16,000 inmates are thought to have survived.

The Associated Press

June 29, 2009

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- One of the few survivors of the Khmer Rouge's deadliest torture center gave long-awaited testimony Monday, weeping as he recounted life at the facility where 16,000 others were tortured before execution.

Vann Nath, 63, escaped execution because he was an artist and took the job of painting and sculpting portraits of the Khmer Rouge's late leader, Pol Pot. His special status did not spare him misery.

"The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little," Vann Nath told the tribunal, tears streaming down his face. "I even thought eating human flesh would be a good meal."

Vann Nath said he was fed twice a day, each meal consisting of three teaspoons of rice porridge. Prisoners were kept shackled and ordered not to speak or move.

"We were so hungry, we would eat insects that dropped from the ceiling," Vann Nath said. "We would quickly grab and eat them so we could avoid being seen by the guards."

"We ate our meals next to dead bodies, and we didn't care because we were like animals," he added.

The testimony came at the trial of Kaing Guek Eav -- better known as Duch, who headed the S-21 prison in Phnom Penh from 1975-1979. Up to 16,000 men, women and children were tortured under his command and later taken away to be killed.

Vann Nath is thought to be one of only seven survivors of S-21, and one of three still alive today, said tribunal spokesman Reach Sambath. The other two are scheduled to testify later this week.

Duch is the first senior Khmer Rouge figure to face trial and the only one to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. Senior leaders Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Sary's wife, Ieng Thirith, are all detained and likely to face trial in the next year or two.

Duch, 66, sat silently and watched Vann Nath impassively as he spoke. Duch is charged with crimes against humanity and is the first of five defendants scheduled for long-delayed trials by the U.N.-assisted tribunal.

Duch has previously testified that being sent to S-21 was tantamount to a death sentence and that he was only following orders to save his own life.

Vann Nath said he was arrested Dec. 30, 1977, from his home in northwestern Battambang province where he worked as a rice farmer. He was accused of trying to overthrow the Khmer Rouge and of being an enemy of the regime -- a common accusation against prisoners. He arrived at S-21 on Jan 7, 1978, and was kept there until the regime collapsed about one year later.

Vann Nath said he was tortured at a different camp after his arrest but he was spared torture at S-21.

The court was shown a dozen paintings Vann Nath made after the fall of the regime that depicted events from S-21, some of which he says he witnessed and some related to him by others. The paintings showed executions, prison guards snatching a baby from a mother, and women being tortured by guards who set scorpions loose on their bodies.

The regime's radical policies caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people nationwide by execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition.

Most prisoners were tortured into giving fanciful confessions that suited the Khmer Rouge's political outlook, though they generally had been loyal members of the group.

"What I want is something that's intangible," Vann Nath said. "I want justice for those that died."

Cambodian tourism operators welcome new legislation

Monday, 29 June 2009

Tourism service providers in Cambodia have welcomed a new law which aims to develop the tourism sector in a sustainable way that contributes to poverty reduction and preservation of national culture.

An Kim Eang, the president of the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA), said the new law – 10 years in the making - would be of great benefit to service providers.

"I welcome this new law on behalf of the whole private sector, because it will generate competition, and service prices will not be set excessively high or freely," he said.

An Kim Eang added that the new law would help protect providers from violations by government officials, who he said previously accused some operators of illegal activities.

Lao Heng, general manager of VLK Royal Tourism concurred, saying that the new law prevented businesses from operating without a licence.

"Before this law we encountered a number of difficulties ... our company is large, and operates legally," he said.

"We have to pay our taxes, and that means we make a profit of just US$2 to $3 per ticket.

“But smaller companies were able to sell at a lower price because they don't pay taxes."

Ministry of Tourism Undersecretary of State So Mara said the entire process had taken 10 years involving in-depth discussions with the private sector.

"Both the private and the public sectors must fall under the umbrella of this law - and I believe it will ensure effective management, quality and sustainability in the tourism sector," So Mara said. "Without this law I am certain investors would not remain here."

So Mara said the ministry is in the process of informing tourism providers about the provisions of the new law.

Operators in Phnom Penh were informed last week, and the ministry's information effort is to roll out to other operators nationwide next.

One of the provisions of the new law is covered by Article 50, which requires all tourists to respect the country's traditions and customs.

Another - Article 70 - bars minors from going to adults-only entertainment areas, and businesses that flout this could be fined up to 10 million riels ($2,500).

Under Article 65, owners or managers of unlicensed businesses are liable to a fine of up to 20 million riels ($5,000).

Tried in absentia, Cambodian journalist immediately arrested, sent to prison

South East Asian Press Alliance
28 June 2009

The editor-in-chief of the "The Khmer Machas Srok" newspaper, who had been fined and sentenced to a year's imprisonment, was arrested on the same day by the police and sent to the Prey Sar prison, near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, media reports said.

Hang Chakra (pictured) was arrested at a rented house in Chamcar Samrong commune in Battambang City and was immediately sent to jail, Radio Free Asia quoted Am Sam Ath, director of investigation for the Licadho human rights group, as saying.

Hang Chakra’s lawyer, Chuong Chou-ngy, said that the sentence handed down by the Phnom Penh municipal court is very unfair for his client because the decision was made in absentia, and neither he nor his client were present during the court decision. Only the judge, the prosecutors and the government lawyer who brought the lawsuit against Hang Chakra were present.

Radio Free Asia quoted
Chuon Chou-ngy: "[The court] hastened [the process] to hand out the sentence. Even without the presence of my client [Hang Chankra] and my request to delay the case, they didn’t agree to it."

"The Phnom Penh Post"
last week said Hang Chakra was meted out a one-year jail term and fined him 9 million riels ($2,250) on charges of publishing false information and defamation on Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister, Sok An. The charges were based on the UNTAC criminal code rather than the more recent Press Law. Cambodian journalists groups said the former carries harsher penalties, including imprisonment.

Am Sam Ath said: "We can see that [this case] can seriously affect the rights of journalists to express their opinion."

He added that, "The Appeal court must think about Mr. Hang Chakra’s case. The information law should be considered first before the criminal code is used."

The Phnom Penh municipal court and justice ministry officials could not be reached to explain about the legality of this court decision and sentence, Radio Free Asia said.

Thaksin's ally secured a landslide victory in a by-election in Sisaket

By The Nation
Published on June 29, 2009

Elated Thaksin (pictured) invites campaign teams to Dubai

The Phue Thai Party's landslide victory in the by-election in Si Sa Ket yesterday, following hot on the heels of its by-election conquest in Sakhon Nakhon, proves the solid allegiance that northeasterners still hold for ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Pheu Thai chairman Chalerm Yoobamrung said.

Thaksin's popularity has brought Surachart Charnpradit his polling triumph, Chalerm said in congratulating the Pheu Thai candidate during a press conference.

Thaksin called Pornsak Charoenprasert, an MP for Si Sa Ket, asking him about the results.

When Thaksin was told that the Pheu Thai candidate beat his rival handily, he responded with a cheer and told both the Si Sa Ket and Sakhon Nakhon campaign teams to visit him in Dubai, Pornsak said.

They are expected to see Thaksin in two weeks after the Election Commission endorses them.

As of 7.30pm, the count showed the Pheu Thai candidate with 106,915 votes against just 68,560 votes for Sakulthip Angsakulkiat of the Chart Thai Pattana Party.

Somsak Prissanananthakul, a core leader of the Chart Thai Pattana Party, conceded defeat.

Some polling stations in nine districts witnessed a higher turnout than others.

EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said the EC accepted five election complaints about political bias by government officials, solicitation of voters by trucking them to balloting stations and mudslinging against candidates.

He said he expects the voter turnout would reach 60 per cent, higher than Sakhon Nakhon's 58 per cent.

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit questioned the use of funds by the Internal Security Operations Command, which held a secret meeting at a Bangkok hotel.

He suspected that the agency was mapping out tactics to block the growth of the Pheu Thai Party.

He said 11 MPs from government coalition parties and former People Power Party MPs from northern and northeastern provinces expressed interest in joining Pheu Thai because they sensed that the party's popularity remained strong.

The son of a secretary to the Senate arrested for motorcycle robbery

Van Dararith (bald head) brought to court by the police.

Source: Deum Ampil newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization

Phnom Penh police had arrested the son of a secretary to the Senate and sent to Preysor Prison on charges of motorcycle robbery, reports Deum Ampil.

Twenty-two year-old Van Dararith, reported to be a son of the secretary of the Senate, has been arrested on 22nd June and on the afternnon Friday 26th the court decided to continue to detain him on suspicions of motorcycle robbery committed on 20th August 2006.

Two suspects, 16 year-old Tang Meng Hour and 17 year-old Chan Mino, were apprehended and were sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in 2006, but Van Dararith had escaped arrest and was sentenced in absentia to 7 years imprisonment.

According to Cambodian laws, people sentenced in absentia will have to be retried in order to give the accused the opportunity to lodge an appeal against the sentence.

During the court session on 26th, Van Dararith denied all charges of robbery and said that he had never met Tang Meng Hour and Chan Mino before.

Van Dararith said that he will lodge an appeal against his sentence with the Appeals Court.

Cambodia and Thailand will hold a meeting at an operational level in July

Thai troops are seen being trucked in to the Preah Vihear areas on Friday 26th.

Source: everyday.com
Reported in English by Khmerization

A senior Thai military officer said that Cambodia and Thailand will hold a meeting at an operational level in the northeastern Thai province of Nakorn Ratchasima in July, reports everyday.com.

Thai news agency, TNA, reported Gen. Wiboolsak Neparn, the Thai Second Region Commander, as saying that he had a fruitful meeting with Gen. Chea Morn, Cambodian Commander of the Fourth Military Region, on Thursday. Gen, Wiboolsak said that both sides had agreed to hold talks in Nakorn Ratchasima in July to try to resolve outstanding border issues and on the issues of troop redeployments in Preah Vihear in order to ease tensions to minimise the possibility of armed clashes.

Both the Cambodian and Thai commanders said that, even if there are heightened tensions at the disputed border areas, both sides were able to make cordial contacts with each other in order to avoid confrontations.

As late as Friday, there were reports that the borders were very tense with news that the Thai military had evacuated a Thai village opposite the Preah Vihear temple and used the village as an army base. There were also news that the military had also sent reinforcements of at least 5,000 troops, equipped with tanks and heavy artillery pieces to the disputed borders.

Police report ammo blast near Cambodian PM's home

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press
28th June 2009

An accidental explosion at an ammunition dump Sunday wounded at least two people in a Cambodian suburb near the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

Security officials gave slightly different accounts of the blast Sunday evening near the capital, Phnom Penh. Fifteen fire trucks were sent to the scene, said police, but the road was blocked to other traffic 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the site.

A police officer said the explosion occurred at an ammunition dump belonging to the prime minister's elite bodyguard unit and wounded at least five people. However, a military officer said it occurred a slight distance from the unit's camp on a truck that was being loaded with ammunition, injuring two people.

Both officials insisted on anonymity because they are not authorized to release information to the press, and the security of the prime minister is an especially sensitive issue.

The bodyguard unit is based about 100 yards (meters) from the perimeter of Hun Sen's well-guarded residence in Takmau, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the capital.

It was not known if Hun Sen was at home at the time of the blast.

Rocket blast injures soldiers near Cambodian PM's home

Statement by the state-owned TV network.

PHNOM PEHN (Reuters) - Rockets exploded on Sunday at a Cambodian military base near the prime minister's residence, state-run television said, and military officials said the incident was an accident.

Military and police officials said the explosion was caused by a fire started accidentally by a mechanic working on a truck at the base on the southern outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh.

"A truck driver and his assistant were wounded, one of them seriously," TVK television said in a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

At least nine trucks were damaged in the fire.

"A number of rockets were accidentally fired from the truck," a military security guard told Reuters.

It was not known if the prime minister was at home when the explosions occurred.

Fire ignites rockets at Cambodian army base

Australian Network News

There've been several explosions among ammunition at a Cambodian military base near the prime minister's residence in the capital Phnom Penh.

Military officials say a fire was caused by a mechanic working on a truck at the base on the southern outskirts of the city.

At least nine trucks were damaged in the blaze and a truck driver and his assistant were wounded.

The military says the fire caused a number of rockets on one of the trucks to explode.

Killeen couple cares for Cambodian children

Courtesy Photo

Kathy Tucker holds a 7-year-old girl at the New Hope for Cambodian Children village for abandoned HIV-positive children.

By Jade Ortego
Killeen Daily Herald

The Tuckers say they feel happy. They're lucky. They're blessed. They have more than 1,000 Cambodian children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus who rely on them for medication, food and sometimes shelter, schooling and companionship.

John and Kathy Tucker of Killeen went to Cambodia in the January 2000 as Catholic lay missionaries. They became involved with a hospice program for Cambodians infected with HIV, Seedlings of Hope. Cambodia has one of highest rates of HIV in Asia.

It soon became clear that there were no programs to help children in Cambodia infected with HIV. Because of widespread ignorance about the nature of the virus, those children were frequently cast off, left to die in the street. None of the 200 orphanages in Cambodia at the time would accept any HIV-positive child.

"Assume your sister died of AIDS and you take her children, and find out one of the kids has AIDS. You're afraid that child may infect your biological children … even though it's almost impossible to transmit from child to child," John said. "People don't know that and they want to protect their own children so out of ignorance they abandon these other children," he said.

Their own clinic

In 2006, the Tuckers began New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, which includes an outreach program, a transitional home for intensive care for infants and the very ill, a day care, and most recently, a village for abandoned children infected with the virus.

Neither John nor Kathy has any medical background.

"There was no (antiretroviral) medicine. The choice was to learn about the medicine or let the kids die," John said.

The Tuckers got a manual about HIV and learned about the medicine and found out it was available in Thailand. They bought it, imported it and hired local doctors to help them start their own clinic.

The NHCC outreach program now covers five provinces and attends to the medical needs of 850 children still living with family members. NHCC provides antiretroviral medication, medical transportation expenses and food for these children.

Antiretroviral medication suppresses the virus enough so that the immune system can reconstitute itself. After taking the medication, some children can be tested and come back with a negative result. The children will become sick again if they miss dosages, however, and can develop resistance to the drugs.

The Clinton Foundation donates money for the medicine for all of these children involved with NHCC, and has gotten the cost down to $12 a month for one child. The same medicine is about $1,000 a month in the United States.

NHCC now includes a village, an almost-sustainable commune of abandoned children on 20 acres about 45 minutes from capital city Phnom Penh.

Building a community

New children arrive every week, kicked out of orphanages or abandoned at hospitals, but the current number is 180.

The kids, age 2 to 19, live in a family and community. NHCC pays a married man and woman $50 a month each to live with and raise eight children in the village. These households are in groups of three, and they eat together; these groups of homes are part of a close-knit larger community.

The Tuckers are working to make the village sustainable. They use only three and half hours of electricity a day, and make their own bio-diesel out of waste vegetable oil from local restaurants. They make methane gas from pig waste, and use solar panels to power water pumps. The village has 250 pigs and 2,200 chickens.

Many orphanages in Cambodia have children make postcards or other crafts to pay for the cost of running it. The NHCC village is funded entirely by private donations, many from the Killeen area, especially St. Paul Chong Hasang Catholic Church in Harker Heights.

"These are children and they're going to be children and they're going to go to school, they're not going to work in the afternoon," John said.

No splitting families

The orphans all attend the local provincial school. Their studies are supplemented by tutoring in every class, largely to make up for a lack of education before their entrance into the program. The village also has art, music and dance classes, and a computer class and basketball court that non-infected children from the provincial schools are allowed to sometimes use.

This year, a 19-year-old is graduating out of the village and will move to Phnom Penh to go attend a university there. The boy isn't infected with the virus; he is one of the 27 non-infected siblings of a child with HIV who lives on the village. "We don't split up families," Kathy said.

Next year, the first HIV-positive child will graduate, and the year after, 12 will. The Tuckers want to rent a house in Phnom Penh for graduates to live in while they attend college or vocational school, where they can still receive care and medication, and remain a part of their family.

NHCC is a secular organization, and doesn't proselytize to the children. "Our kids are Buddhist and they stay Buddhist," John said. "But they do all wear rosaries because they glow in the dark," Kathy said.

Kathy also started a daycare program for HIV positive children that provides their widowed mothers with local, living-wage jobs making quilts, which got media coverage by the BBC and the New York Times. Those quilts, which look like baby blankets decorated with elephants and other animals, can be purchased at St. Paul's.

People can volunteer to work at the village or donate to NHCC online at newhopeforcambodianchildren.com.

"We get to take care of sick kids and get them healthy. We found something at the end of our lives that gives us real meaning. We love what we're doing," John said. "We sleep very well," Kathy said.

Contact Jade Ortego at jortego@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7553.

When the Good acts together then the Evil is going to lose

Disclaimer: Khmerization is unable to verify the information published below, therefore Khmerization absolves all responsibility for the veracity and accuracy of this information. The veracity and the accuracy of this information is the sole responsibility of the author of this article.

Dear all Friends & Associates,

To day we (CACJE) received the appreciated notice from the Board of Directors of Radio Free Asia (RFA) to inform us that RFA had accepted CACJE's proposal and agreed to restructure the management and leadership of RFA in its Washington DC office.

P.S: Since Kem Sos came to power at RFA, the original status of RFA was changed. The Evils (the corrupt staff) who work in office RFA in Washington DC get the check salary from US-Tax payers but they get cash salary (LOUY SOTH) from the corrupt government in Phnom Penh.

CACJE has never been silent since we since we were aware of this issue since one of our activist (Mr. Lem Piseth aka Lem Pichpesey) was discouraged from professional field works by Mr. Kem Sos. We observed and found that those evils have two faces, they were very proud and arrogant when they get monetary support from the Phnom Penh government.

But the USA is the father of democracy. The US senators and US congressmen have not and have never ignored our complaints. They listen to the public, especially they listen to the target group (beneficiary), so they accept all of letters and information from CACJE and CACJE's activists from around the world, even from Cambodia.

Now the management & leadership of RFA in Washington DC office has been restructured.

1. Sam Borin, a former Vice-Director of Khmer Service of RFA has been demoted to be just a normal reporter.

2. Pov Pon Lok, an educated person and a former reporter was promoted to Vice-Director of Khmer Service of RFA.

3. Kem Sos still hold the same position as the Director of Khmer Service of RFA but had been withdrawn from having the rights and power control of program broadcasting. He remain duty to manage administration only and still investigate (possible termination if found guilty of corruption).

4. Other editors who have committed corruption and had joined communist regime in Phnom Penh will be terminated soon and new candidates will be recruited to replace them.

This information is a sign that "WHEN THE GOOD ACTS TOGETHER THEN THE EVIL IS GOING TO LOSE".

I courage all Khmers living overseas and Khmers living inside Cambodia have to act together to fight Evils who are trying to destroy our homeland.

Together we stand, together we strong and together we defeat Evils.

Regards,

--
SOURN SEREY RATHA
Chief Mission of CACJE
Website: www.cacje.net Webblog: http://cacje-news.blogspot.com

Prawit: Border situation normal

By: BangkokPost.com

Published: 28/06/2009

The situation around the Thai-Cambodian border near Preah Vihear temple was still normal, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon (pictured) said on Sunday.

He said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met on Saturday and both of them agreed to ease the tension around the disputed border.

The Thai and Cambodian army officials would have to negotiate on the withdrawal of troops along the border, Gen Prawit said.

Meanwhile, trading activities at Rong Kluea Market in Sa Kaeo province had returned to normal after the meeting between officials from both sides went well.

PM Abhisit optimistic tensions at Thai-Cambodian border will ease

NONTHABURI, June 28 (TNA) - Tension along the Thai-Cambodian border should ease following Saturday’s talks between Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who spoke on Sunday. Mr. Abhisit said Mr. Suthep had already briefed him on discussions made with Mr. Hun Sen in the Cambodian capital. The discussions had helped both sides gain better understanding of the problem, Mr. Abhisit said, noting that it is expected that tensions at the Thai-Cambodian border should ease. “We will wait to see whether troops deployed at the border should be reduced,” the prime minister noted. “Now, it is hoped that both countries will resolve the border problem through peaceful means as agreed earlier.” Mr. Suthep told journalists upon his return from a one-day visit and talks with Mr. Hun Sen that Cambodia pledged to try to ease tensions along the border to create a good atmosphere to foster the bilateral economic cooperation and good relations. It was agreed that the previous border incidents, particularly near Preah Vihear temple, would be considered as “past and like a nightmare, and that now the two nations should look ahead without looking back.” (TNA)

Cambodian ruling party CPP marks 58th anniversary

The three leaders of the CPP: L-R, Heng Samrin, Chea Sim and Hun Sen.

PHNOM PENH, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of members of Cambodian People's Party (CPP) on Sunday gathered to celebrate the58th anniversary of the founding of the party (1951-2009) in the central headquarters in Phnom Penh.

"We celebrate this event in order to express profound gratitude to our beloved compatriots, soldiers, and people in all generations for their resolute struggles and sacrifices for the cause of nation and fatherland," Chea Sim, president of the CPP told the ceremony.

"In its name as the political force that is leading the country, the party must double efforts to achieve its supreme objective that is guaranteeing sustainable peace, stability and national security, maintaining independence, sovereignty and territory integrity, accelerating socio-economic development to catch up with other countries in the region," he said.

"At the same time, people's poverty, good governance, fight against corruption, extension of public services with quality and confidence, are some of the priority areas that require more efforts," he said.

"We have a firm belief that Cambodia will continue to achieve positive growth this year despite currently being affected by the global financial crisis and economic downturn," Chea Sim said.

"I would like to express my respect for army and police and soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and national police who have been heroically fulfilling their duties defending our fatherland and along the border," he said.

Cambodian People's Party was initially called the Khmer People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP), which originated in the longstanding people's struggle movement for national independence. CPP won 90 of 123 seats in general election in July 27, 2008.

Representatives from CPP's coalition partner FUNCINPEC and other small political parties as well as some foreign diplomats, including Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng, also attended the celebration.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

Lightning kills 5 in a day

		Around 50 Cambodians were killed by lightning in the first four months of 2009, while the official toll for last year was 95 deaths. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

PHNOM PENH - LIGHTNING strikes killed five people in Cambodia in a single day, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

Two people were killed in Kampot province, in Cambodia's south, while three were killed in the central provinces of Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Speu, according to the newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea Daily.

It said four of the victims, all killed on Friday, were farmers working in the fields - a group especially at risk when they continue to work during rainstorms.

Around 50 Cambodians were killed by lightning in the first four months of 2009, while the official toll for last year was 95 deaths.

Experts say the tropical South-east Asian country, with its many rivers and lakes, is particularly prone to cloud formations which generate intense lightning storms.

These formations can lie just 50 metres (164 feet) above the earth, and anyone underneath is vulnerable to lightning strikes.

Cambodia's government is trying to raise awareness in the provinces of measures to protect against such natural disasters, according to Long Saravuth, weather expert at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology.

'We hope there will be fewer deaths as more and more people become well-informed about safety during lightning storms,' he said on Sunday. -- AFP

'I saw a great need'

'Cambodian Treasures' brings attention, support for itinerant actors

Actor Helena de Crespo hold one of the pieces, a shadow puppet depicting Kenorra, a demon from Cambodian mythology, that she will offer at fundraiser in Ashland. Mail Tribune / Jim CravenJim Craven

June 27, 2009

By Bill Varble

Mail Tribune

Actress Helena de Crespo was traveling near the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia in 2006 when she came across an impoverished group of itinerant actors. The Reasmey Angkor Bassac Theatre Troupe had been touring rural Cambodia on foot, setting up a crude stage where they could, presenting classic Cambodian drama and contemporary "teaching works" designed to educate people in the countryside.

"There was a stage in a grassy area, and they were having lunch," says de Crespo, a native Englishwoman who is starring in "Shirley Valentine" at Oregon Stage Works in Ashland through July 13. "I was fascinated."

Through an interpreter, she found that a leading actress in the troupe had escaped a massacre of actors by Pol Pot's forces in the late 1970s and survived by hiding in the jungle for four years. Others had their stories, too, and when they learned that de Crespo was a professional actor in the United States, it opened the floodgates. She listened and was touched.

"As I was leaving, the man who led them asked if I could help," de Crespo says. "I saw a great need. I felt I had to do something."

The actor has since been raising money to help the company. Her latest effort is a program called "Cambodian Treasures," which will be presented at 6 p.m. Sunday at Peace House, 543 S. Mountain Ave., Ashland. Admission is free. De Crespo says she hopes to raise money through an auction of various items, including filigree leather work, imported silks, traditional Cambodian shadow puppets. Some of the items can be seen at www.cambodiantreasures.com.

"The puppets are extraordinary," de Crespo says. "They've been made by the puppet master to the king of Cambodia."

Five Cambodian immigrants now living in Portland and not connected with the theater company will perform traditional Cambodian dance.

"It's a very tiny community in Portland," says de Crespo, who lives there. "I didn't even know it existed when I started this work. They're very aware of the lost cultural heritage of their country. It was almost wiped out."

Under the Communist dictator Pol Pot, who took control in the wake of the Vietnam War determined to turn the country into an agrarian collective, Cambodia became a vast killing field. Artists and intellectuals, in particular, were targeted. By some estimates, 90 percent of the nation's artists and writers perished.

Other items up for sale or bids include a Cambodian cookbook, photos of the Cambodian temples and memorial bricks with a $10 price tag.

De Crespo has lived and acted and taught in England, Los Angeles, Virginia, Colombia, Costa Rica and Portland.

"She's really a world citizen," says Ashland playwright Molly Tinsley, who met de Crespo three years ago when de Crespo directed one of her short plays in Portland. "She's always talking about going someplace. The last time she was in Cambodia she bought them a truck. It's traditional there to have the theater travel."

De Crespo has worked with actors' groups to win grants for the troupe. Any money she raises goes directly to the troupe, since she doesn't trust the authorities. She says she's raised about $16,000 through various efforts, enabling the company to buy a piece of land on which to set up the scaffolding that makes their stage.

"They're in the north of Cambodia," she says. "If you went now you could see them perform."

Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail bvarble@mailtribune.com.

Reds rally in show of strength

By THAWEEPORN KUMMETHA,

PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK
THE NATION ON SUNDAY
Published on June 28, 2009

About 30,000 protesters brave rains to gather at Sanam Luang

Some 30,000 red shirts occupied half of Sanam Luang yesterday evening in a rally to remind Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that they remained a threat to the coalition government.

The Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) protesters, who called for dissolution of the House and vowed to oust the government, were sent scampering by heavy rains at 5pm and again at 7.30pm. But even before the half-hour heavy downpour at 7.30, which was accompanied by lightning, the protesters had already

Some 30,000 red shirts occupied half of Sanam Luang yesterday evening in a rally to remind Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that they remained a threat to the coalition government.

The Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) protesters, who called for dissolution of the House and vowed to oust the government, were sent scampering by heavy rains at 5pm and again at 7.30pm. But even before the half-hour heavy downpour at 7.30, which was accompanied by lightning, the protesters had already made their point that the reds would not simply go away.

"I came here to call for justice so there will be no more double standards [in politics] and real democracy," said 45-year-old Kanokrak Decharachata, a farmer from Phetchabun, who represented her family at the rally.

"I am ashamed to be a Thai when we have military coups and then this kind of a government," she said, adding that her farming income was very low under the Abhisit administration.

She said she had faith in ousted and convicted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was scheduled to phone in to the crowd later in the evening. "No other prime minister has ever done as many good deeds as this one [Thaksin]."

Toi, a 61-year-old merchant from Bangkok, believes the government will not last beyond year-end because the administration has not produced any concrete beneficial results and only borrows money.

Toi said he was not sure how long the struggle would go on but he would continue until "justice is served".

Other protesters refused to give interviews to The Nation, claiming the paper is biased.

Jaranrak Visutphan, a 59-year-old computer-programmer from Bangkok, said the mainstream media distorted things, especially state-controlled Channel 11. "The red shirts won't win even if we oust Abhisit but fail to remove the military [from politics]."

Some protesters held placards identifying their province of origin, and they came from all regions of the country. A group of red shirts distributed survey papers trying to find out the income levels of the protesters, which DAAD leaders they preferred and other details.

Free papaya salad was distributed to hungry protesters while many of the food vendors wore red themselves. Prior to the rally, a DAAD leader expected some 30,000 people to show up, and the rally seemed to have achieved that objective.

The morale of the protesters was high despite the bloody April riots, which failed to dislodge the government, and a leader on stage reminded them that victory was "imminent".

"That victory will be ours is 100 per cent certain!"

Cambodian PM agrees to ease border tension, promote economic cooperation

BANGKOK, July 27 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban (pictured) ended his one-day visit to Cambodia on a mission to clarify Thailand's objection to the listing of the Preah Vihear temple ruins as a World Heritage Site to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Mr. Suthep told reporters on his arrival in Bangkok that he had met with the Cambodian prime minister and Mr. Hun Sen asked him to convey the message to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Thai people that Cambodia will try to ease tensions along the border to create the good atmosphere to foster the bilateral economic cooperation and good relations. The deputy prime minister said both sides agreed that the previous incidents at the border, particularly near Preah Vihear temple, would be considered the past and like a nightmare ,and now the two nations should look ahead without looking back. "I do not want to go in to the details but both sides affirm to jointly ease the border tension," the deputy prime minister said. In 1962 the International Court of Justice ruled that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance begins at the foot of a mountain in Thailand, and both sides claim overlapping portions of the surrounding territory. Armed clashes between the two countries’ military forces have occurred periodically since then, near the temple, especially in a 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area. Thai prime minister Abhisit said earlier that the government would ask UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to review their last year's decision to register Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site when the meet in Spain, during the week just ended. During the one day visit, Mr. Hun Sen welcomed Mr. Suthep and Thai Defence Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan at his home and the prime minister’s wife cooked lunch for the Thai guests. Mr. Suthep said the talks were conducted in a friendly atmosphere as the two nations shared the same target -- to build a constructive bilateral relationship and strengthen economic cooperation. Thailand and Cambodia agreed to move ahead with plans to build Stung Nam dam in Cambodia's Koh Kong province to supply electricity to Thailand's Trat and Chantaburi provinces, particularly to the Map Ta Put Industrial Estate, he said, adding that the project had been discussed by many governments but had not materialised. The government, therefore, will re-launch the project, Mr. Suthep said. Both sides will jointly develop the overlapping area in the Gulf of Thailand in order to share benefits from the undersea natural gas field, he said. (TNA)

Cambodia PM meets Thai minister on border dispute

Mr. Hun Sen (L) and Mr. Suthep (bottom).

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen hosted one of Thailand's deputy premiers at his home on Saturday in an attempt to diffuse a long-standing border row with friendly chat.

Hun Sen's wife cooked lunch for Suthep Thaugsuban and Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon at his residence in southern Kandal province, Suthep said, after tensions recently escalated over the UNESCO listing of an ancient temple.

Troops from both sides have built up on the Thai-Cambodia frontier in recent days near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, where seven soldiers have died in clashes since tensions flared last year.

Thailand's decision to ask world heritage body UNESCO to reconsider listing the temple has angered Hun Sen, but despite claiming the issue would not be discussed Saturday, Suthep said they had agreed to reduce tensions at the site.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen asked me to convey the message to our Prime Minister Abhisit (Vejjajiva) and the Thai people that Cambodia will try to reduce tensions (along the border) to assist economic cooperation between the two countries," Suthep told reporters after returning to Thailand.

"We should let bygones be bygones, forget the nightmare of the past and look forward to a positive future for both countries," he said.

Suthep also announced that a dam would be constructed in Cambodia to channel water to Thailand's eastern seaboard.

Foreign ministry spokesman Kuoy Kong said the pair had simply had a "friendly talk".

Hun Sen vowed on Thursday to take a hard stance on the dispute over the temple, the ownership of which was awarded to Cambodia by the World Court in 1962, sparking decades of tensions.

Unrest flared in July 2008 after UNESCO granted world heritage status to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings.

Q+A-Preah Vihar temple and Thai-Cambodian tensions

Fri Jun 26, 2009

The Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province on the border between Cambodia and Thailand seen in April. Thailand's deputy prime minister said he would steer clear of a dispute over an ancient temple on the Cambodian border when he meets the neighbouring country's leader this weekend.

(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)

BANGKOK, June 27 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met behind closed doors on Saturday with Thailand's deputy premier, Suthep Thaugsuban, as tensions simmered over the disputed Preah Vihear temple.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva sent his right-hand man, Suthep Thaugsuban, to meet Hun Sen to explain why Thailand was challenging a U.N. decision to make the 900-year-old temple a world heritage site under the sole jurisdiction of Cambodia. [ID:nBKK469181]

WHAT'S THE HISTORY OF PREAH VIHEAR?

Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as the Thais call it, was completed in the 11th century and pre-dates Cambodia's more famous Angkor Wat temple complex by 100 years.

Many say its stunning setting atop a jungle-clad escarpment overlooking northern Cambodia also eclipses its celebrated cousin as the finest of all the ruins left by the mighty Khmer civilisation.

The temple has in recent years been accessible mainly from Thailand. Landmines and Khmer Rouge guerrillas kept it off-limits from the Cambodian side for decades.

WHY THE DISPUTE?

Both sides have historically laid claim to the temple but a 1962 World Court ruling awarded it to Cambodia, by a vote of 9-3.

Thailand and Cambodia have since squabbled over the demarcation of the border and jurisdiction over the 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of land around Preah Vihear has never been settled.

For generations, the temple stirred nationalist passions on both sides. Before the court in the Hague made its ruling, Thailand's government organised a fundraiser in which every citizen donated 1 baht to pay for the legal team.

COULD THE ISSUE TURN VIOLENT?

Cambodia's bid last October to list the ruins as a World Heritage Site sparked a flare-up in which one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers died in a gunfight.

In the most recent flare-up in April, two Thai soldiers died in an exchange of rocket and rifle fire with Cambodian troops.

Both countries have sent more troops to the border and security analysts say minor skirmishes are always a possibility.

A military standoff would further strain ties between the two historic foes and only exacerbate a long-running dispute that is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

HOW IS IT BEING RESOLVED?

The two countries routinely pledge cooperation over the temple issue, give guarantees their border troops will not engage in hostilities and agree to delineate the border once and for all, but the quarrelling never seems to stop. Thailand wants joint development and supervision of the Hindu temple which could one day be a lucrative tourist site. However, the temple debate is often used as a tool to gain popular support or to distract the public from other issues at home.

"This challenge by Thailand has more to do with the political situation in Bangkok," said Chanthana Banprasirichote, a political science professor at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University.

"They know this is a good way to boost their credibility and get support from the public." (Compiled by Martin Petty; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Thai military evacuated Thai villagers from Kantaralak opposite Preah Vihear temple while reinforcing troops and artillery at Choam Sra-Ngam

Thai troops were seen being trucked to the disputed borders with Cambodia.(Reuters)

Source: Khmer Sthapana newspaper
Reported in English by Khmerization

More than 12 truckloads of Thai troops (30 soldiers in each truck) and 10 artillery pieces have been deployed at Choam Sra-Ngam in Ouddor Meanchey province. More Thai troops have also been deployed along the disputed borders, especially at Veal Entry and Phnom Trop, reports Khmer Sthapana.

Thai troops were seen being trucked to the disputed borders with Cambodia.(Reuters)

An anonymous military spy said that the Thai military had also evacuated Thai villagers from Kantaralak village opposite Preah Vihear temple on the night of 26th and replaced them with troops and artillery pieces on the 27th.

The same source said that at Choam Sra-Ngam, at night time Thai soldiers had turned off all their lights. This is the time that they were secretly trucking in their troop reinforcements.

The same source said that, in the last few days a lot of Thai soldiers were patrolling the area, while Cambodian troops were watchful and remain on high alert.

At the same time, Gen. Srey Doek, commander of the Preah Vihear area, said that the military situations in Preah Vihear remain calm.

Border tense ahead of Suthep visit

By The Nation
Published on June 27, 2009

Thai Second Army Region commander Lt-General Wiboonsak Neeparn (pictured) said the situation along the border was very tense, with the two sides faced off against each other.

"Policy-makers in the two countries should quickly find a solution to the problem," he said.

If the situation escalates further, that could mean more violence, the commander said.

Wiboonsak said Thai troops in the area would not initiate a clash but would be prepared to retaliate if Cambodia opened fire first.

However, Thai Army chief General Anupong Paochinda said the situation was unlikely to result in a skirmish as long as commanders on both sides maintained contact with each other.

Tensions have been mounting along the border near the Hindu temple since last week, when the Thai government decided to maintain its objection to Preah Vihear's World Heritage inscription.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ordered Natural Resource and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti to submit a complaint to the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Spain this week and asked Deputy PM Suthep to clear the stance with Cambodia.

Abhisit yesterday said in Beijing, where he was on an official visit, that Thailand's objection to the Preah Vihear inscription had nothing to do with Cambodia, but rather with the World Heritage Committee.

Pongpol Adireksarn, a former chairman of Thailand's own World Heritage Committee, said Thai complaints were useless, because they had come too late and would not be placed on the agenda.

The latest tensions stem from the government tying the inscription to the boundary issue, even though the two matters have no connection and linking them upsets Cambodia, he said.

Suthep yesterday insisted he would visit Cambodia today as planned to mend the rift, despite Hun Sen saying Preah Vihear would be off the table.

He said Hun Sen had to make such a statement to protect Cambodia's interests and that it was an internal affair.

"No problem. I won't intervene in Cambodia's internal affairs, but rather will go to make friends and reduce border tensions," Suthep told reporters.

The two neighbours can cooperate constructively for mutual benefit, he said.

"I won't discuss any issue that could lead to further disputes," Suthep added.

Hun Sen on Thursday said he would not discuss a Thai idea for joint nomination of the Hindu temple, but rather only a withdrawal of Thai troops from Cambodian territory.

Suthep said the Army could handle the situation on the ground at the border.

The ongoing dispute at the border near Preah Vihear has sparked two border skirmishes - one last October and the other in April - leaving seven soldiers on both sides dead.

Hun Sen: Cambodia will only use force as a self-defence

Source: Radio Free Asia
Reported by Khmerization

Prime Minister Hun Sen (pictured) accused Thailand of harbouring an ambition for a long term occupation of Khmer territories, reports Radio Free Asia.

Speaking to students at a graduation ceremony on 25th, Mr. Hun Sen said that Cambodia is prepared to use its self-defence rights to protect Cambodia's territories near Preah Vihear temple which was occupied by Thai troops.

Mr. Hun Sen said: "In relations to the incident (border conflict) that was caused by Thailand and the Thai leadership, Cambodia, in my capacity as the head of an executive branch, has full rights to defend Cambodia's independence and sovereignty. I also have the obligation to explain to the people and to order our army to defend our territories. I have said again and again that Cambodia will not use military force to resolve our bilateral issues. Cambodia will only use force as a last resort in the case of self-defence and the defence of Cambodian sovereignty."

Mr. Hun Sen said he will meet with Mr. Suthep Taugsuban, the visiting Thai Deputy PM who is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, but said that the talks should centre on the military situations on the borders rather than on the joint management of the temple.

He said: "I will still welcome my friends, Deputy PM Suthep and Defence Minister Prawit, when they arrived. And if they think they cannot get what they wanted, whether they will come or not to come is up to them. But I wish to send a message to them now: don't talk about the Preah Vihear issue. But if they want to raise the Preah Vihear issue, they must talk about the withdrawal of Thai troops. That's the only thing we can talk about."

Reports from the borders indicated that the military situations are very tense with reports that both sides have reinforced their troop numbers.

Cambodian military sources reported that Thai planes have dropped two bombs near the disputed borders in a military drill. Thai military had also evacuated Thai villagers near Preah Vihear temple as well as beefing up troop numbers and heavy artillery at various border areas in Surin, Sisaket and Sakeo provinces.