Cambodian beaches become member of the World’s Most Beautiful Beach Club

Kep beach in Kep province.

By Khmerization
Source: CEN

Cambodian beaches have been admitted as a member of the World’s Most Beautiful Beach Club during a Tourism Forum in Ha Long city in Vietnam in 2010 after Mr. Jerome Bignon, Head of the Delegation of the World’s Most Beautiful Beach Club, conducted a study and evaluation tour of the beaches of Cambodia in 2010, said Cambodian Tourism Ministry.

An official from the Tourism Ministry said to be admitted as a member of the World’s Most Beautiful Beach Club, Cambodian beaches have to go through a vote which was organised in France.

Cambodia’s most beautiful beaches will be issued with a certificate and officially recognized as a member of the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches Club in mid-2011 through the evaluation of the World’s Most Beautiful Beach Club which will be held in Senegal in Africa. The tourism official attributed the success of the listing of Cambodian beaches in the club to the great efforts of Unesco as well.

Cambodian beaches was the 33nd member of the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches Club in the world. Cambodia has 440km of coastal areas stretching in four provinces of Koh Kong, Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.

Despite a listing, Cambodian beaches face many hurdles related to various issues in tourism developments and the preservation of the world heritages.

The official said that the listing of the Cambodian beaches would enable Cambodia to attract more tourists to the areas, which have a potential to develop the nation's economy.

Vox Populi: A wake up call in the wake of Thai bully

Anonymous said...

I would rather see our Cambodian governments buying more better weapons than these tanks and armored vehicles. I don't see any anti-air missile systems, we should consider buying Buk-M1-2, Tor-M1 or something very high-tech weapons...Cambodia must stand up and strengthening her power, yes!! There will be future invasion by these neighbors if we don't upgrade ourselves...These neighboring countries will invade us again in the near future, if we don't upgrade our military, Yes!!

30 January 2011 5:09 AM
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Anonymous said...

Modernization of Cambodia military is slowly taking shape. Given another 5,1 0,or 15 years, Cambodia miltary will not be like today, that's a promise. What Cambodia have now in her military inventory are not the greatest, but something to get by. Cambodia didn't expect to have war any time soon. Thank to Thailand's aggression, it makes Cambodia rethink. Cambodia now have reasons to build up the military. Currently, Cambodia only spent about $250 millions or so on defense, that is just about 3-5 percents of Cambodia GDP.
Reconstruction is the main focus for Cambodia. When Cambodia economy improve, more money will be available to upgrade those old weapons. Militarily, Cambodia now is at a disadvantage. So that could explain the level of Thailand's aggression. Thailand is trying to do away with a Cambodia now before Cambodia becomes strong. Nevertheless, Cambodia will not be deterred by an enemy who hadn't proven itself to defeat any nation with its show and tell war machines and battle-inexperienced troops.

30 January 2011 6:13 AM
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Anonymous said...

I agree with 6:13am! Cambodia didn't really expect to have war again or go to war again. That's why Cambodia didn't bother to have good weapons, but I think this is a wake up call for the Cambodian government, if they (Govts) don't do something about their military power in the future, there will be more insults from neighboring countries again and again...Don't just sit around and become too relaxed!!, too peaceful! Cambodia must stand up and strengthening her power, the world has changed...

30 January 2011 6:48 AM
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simon pech said...

Cambodia must stand up to the Thai bully

It's about time someone came up with this topic. I like it, and yes. It's time when the cornered dog bites back. I and my friend will be very glad to join to defend out country against any bullying countries. It's time to stand up and kiss ass or die fighting (for our country). Best Sam

29 January 2011 5:37 PM
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Anonymous said...

I live abroad and I will go and join my militarymen and women. We will fight and protect our homeland...with all cost! I had seen enough of Thai bullying, abusing our people during their escape to Thailand/Cambodian border in 1979. I still don't understand why they hated us so bad..? Thai soldier have beaten and kicked Khmer refugees. They treated us like animals and they even said 'we are not Khmers'! They are the ones who are Khmers! I heard this Thai soldier said very loud and clear...

30 January 2011 4:14 AM
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Anonymous said...

It's time to put different party aside and come together as one CAMBODIA! ready to defend our country, united all of our people inside and outside, we all must put the negative ideas aside at the moment, we don't care who, what party they are, we now need to come together as one Khmer Empier Nation! I agree, Cambodia has enough of Thai bullying! We want Thailand and other countries to know that CAAMBODIA is no longer weak as you alway thought about us, we are stronger and stronger every day, we had enough weapons to defend our homeland today!!

30 January 2011 4:23 AM
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Anonymous said...

It's about time we stand up to the Thai bully. A bully will always be a bully if we let IT be. Thailand has always bullied Cambodia because we allowed IT to bully us. Thailand had taken enough Khmer lands, like Surin, Sisaket, Korat...etc. Now they wanted to take more because our Khmer government is very weak and scared of Thailand. We must flex our military muscles a little bit so they will not try to push us around too much.

Military confrontation between Cambodia, Thai near temple continues

Cambodian tanks have been trucked out of their bases at Longvek town in Pursat province on and headed toward Preah Vihear temple. They are expected to arrived Saturday morning, the 29th January.

People's Daily Online
January 30, 2011

The military confrontation between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border area near Preah Vihear temple continues on Saturday and troops on both sides are still on high alert, said a close military source standby at the area.

"We're still on high alert to defend our territorial integrity, " a senior officer, who asked not to be named, said on Saturday.

Thai side has stepped up their troops on their border side; they attempted to bring their Thai flag to fly at Cambodia's Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, he said.

"We have warned Thai troops in advance already, if they dare to enter Cambodian territory, Cambodia will use self-defense rights to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Cambodian Ministry of Defense on Friday has dispatched dozens of tanks and fighting vehicles as well as missiles and ammunition to Preah Vihear temple area. He said that those armaments have arrived at Preah Vihear temple on Saturday morning.

The re-tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the border happened on Thursday after Thailand demanded Cambodia to remove a national flag over Wat Keo Sikha Kiri Svarak pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, claiming that the pagoda is on the disputed area, but Cambodian side rejected it.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a declaration on Friday to firmly reject the demand of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to remove the Cambodia's flag at the pagoda near Preah Vihear temple.

The ministry said that according to the map produced by the Franco-Siamese commissions between the period of 1905 and 1908, the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, built by the people of Cambodia in 1998, is clearly situated in the Cambodian territory. Therefore, the flag of Cambodia is legitimately flying over this pagoda.

The ministry called "the statement made by Thai Prime Minister in parallel with Thailand's military exercise at the border with Cambodia is clearly provocative and constitutes a casus belli for future acts of aggression against Cambodia."

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand have had border conflict due to Thai claim of the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

Source: Xinhua

The US agents tracking down sex tourists in Cambodia

US agents rely on locals to provide information about suspect Americans

This World: The Paedophile Hunters will be broadcast on BBC Two at 2200 GMT on Sunday 30 January, or catch up on BBC iPlayer.

30 January 2011
By David Henshaw
Producer, The Paedophile Hunters

US agents rely on locals to provide information about suspect Americans

As part of an initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas, special US agents operating in South East Asia have brought more than 80 alleged child sex tourists back to America to face justice.

Sihanoukville looks like paradise, or at least a decent, low-rent version. Golden beaches, swaying palm trees, cheap alcohol and shimmering sea.

Retired American pharmacist Ronald Adams had come here for the good life - setting up a beachside cafe. But one morning last February Adams' personal vision of paradise was shattered, when officers from the Cambodian National Police raided his apartment.

They found a collection of sex aids, child pornography on DVDs and a variety of illegal drugs. Adams was accused of drugging and raping a 12-year-old girl.

Under the radar
For Westerners arrested on child sex charges in South East Asia, things do not always turn out too badly. Gary Glitter got a two-and-a-half-year sentence in Vietnam for obscene acts with girls aged 10 and 12.

These are poor countries, where $100 can buy your freedom. But Ronald Adams had more to reckon with than the local police. An agent from America's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) was part of the group carrying out the raid.

If a US citizen is caught abusing children abroad, American agents are now on hand with the specific aim of getting the suspect on a plane to stand trial back in the US.

ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, based in Washington, with a severe, Brooks Brothers-suited lawyer, John Morton, as its director.

"Don't think that simply by buying a plane ticket to leave the United States and going to a country with less robust investigative and prosecutorial capacities that you are going to be able to get away with it again," Morton said.

"Perfect example - the three gentlemen we brought back from Cambodia."

The "three gentlemen" were given the moniker Twisted Travellers by ICE in a heavily publicised and deliberately humiliating extradition from Cambodia 18 months ago.

All three had previous convictions for abusing small children in the US. The oldest, 75-year-old former marine Jack Sporich, now faces a sentence of 15 years for sexually abusing a number of young boys.

Cambodia's jails are full of foreign paedophiles, but for most of them a short sentence is all they have to worry about. But even that can be avoided if you have the money to pay off the police and the judge.

Agent Vansak Suos was once a conscripted boy soldier in Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army

America was the first country to be positively pro-active about arresting and returning their child abusers to face justice. It has been joined in the past 12 months by Australia and Canada.

For US special agent Chris Materelli, it is as much about moral responsibility as law enforcement.

"If Americans are coming here to do this against the Cambodians, it's our job to try to help the Cambodians clean it up," he says. "They're our citizens, it's our responsibility to bring that person to justice."

In the seven years since the Protect Act was passed, America has brought back 85 child sex tourists to face justice in the US.

But none of this would work without a ground-breaking change in the way US agents work - not just with local police, but NGOs run by ordinary citizens.

In the tourist hot-spots of Cambodia, Action Pour Les Enfants (Action For Children, APLE) acts as the eyes and the ears of ICE in keeping surveillance on suspect Americans.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

That's a common defence - that these kids are older than what they appear to be because they're Asian”

Gary Philips
ICE agent
Young men on motorbikes patrol the streets with video cameras supplied by the Americans. It was an APLE undercover team that came across Ronald Adams openly asking for sex with underage girls, "the younger the better".

This kind of co-operation with ordinary locals represents a massive change of attitude, almost unthinkable 30 years ago in the wake of America's bombing of Cambodia.

Cambodians are welcome within the ranks of ICE agents. Vansak Suos, once a conscripted boy soldier in Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army, now occupies an office in the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, with a photo of himself and Bill Clinton on his desk.

Vansak's story is bleak, his brother, two sisters, and grandfather were all killed in the time of Pol Pot. He, himself, barely survived, but having done so was determined to use his life to protect other children.

Big catch

Forty-five-year-old millionaire from Florida, Kent Frank, is probably ICE's biggest catch so far. He is a serial global child sex tourist, who was caught abusing four underage girls in his hotel room in Phnom Penh.

Vansak describes how Frank tried to bribe the local police chief.

Police interview a 10-year-old sex abuse victim in Phnom Penh
"Kent Frank just stood up and put his hand in his pocket. Then, shaking the hand with the boss. And the boss just found $100 in his hand," he says.

Frank admitted to having sex and taking photos of the girls he had been with, saying that he believed they were all over 18.

"That's a common defence, that these kids are older than what they appear to be because they're Asian," says ICE agent Gary Philips. "And if I had a nickel for every time I've heard that, I'd probably be a millionaire."

Frank tried to delete the incriminating photos on his digital camera, but at ICE's state-of-the-art cyber forensics lab back in the US, 1,600 deleted pictures were recovered. Frank is currently serving a 40-year sentence in a federal jail.

But it doesn't always end that way. After seven months on remand in a Cambodian prison, Ronald Adams was released without charge. The court decided that because his alleged victim says she was drugged, her evidence could not be relied on. He has since disappeared.

Vansak shrugs and moves on. He is, he says, proud of what he has done. Every sex offender convicted means that many more children are now safe.

Thai protesters urge government to solve border dispute with Cambodia




January 30, 2011

BANGKOK (BNO NEWS) — Activists on Saturday continued to urge Thailand’s government to resolve a dispute over an ancient temple which sits on the border with Cambodia, MCOT online news reported.

The ‘Yellow Shirt’ activists from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who have been rallying near Thailand’s Government House for the fifth day, are demanding the government to scrap the existing memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between both countries in 2000 to settle the disputed border areas.



The activists said they will not disperse unless Thailand withdraws from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, revoke three memorandums of understanding signed by the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), and eject Cambodian soldiers and villagers in border areas the group claims belong to Thailand.



Tensions between both countries increased after a Cambodian national flag was flying above the entrance of the Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple near Preah Vihear temple, which is located in the disputed border area.



PAD is also calling for the release of two out of seven Thais who were arrested by Cambodian soldiers on charges of violating Cambodian territory on December 29 and are due to appear for a court trial on Tuesday. Party spokesman Panthep Puapongphan said they all were apprehended in Thai territory.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (pictured), now attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said in a telephone interview that the border problem with Cambodia must be carried out by peaceful manner, especially as both countries are members of ASEAN – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – and his government must uphold the country’s benefits as most important. 


Cambodia and Thailand have been involved in the border dispute since Cambodia’s Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Thailand claims ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple. Periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Japan provides $11.7 million more for Khmer Rouge trials

Phnom Penh, Jan 29 (Kyodo) The Japanese government announced that it decided to provide a further USD 11.7million to the UN-assisted tribunal set up to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.

The Japanese Embassy yesterday said that USD 8.8 million is for the international component and USD 2.9 million is for the national component of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (pictured), as the tribunal is formally known.


"This contribution will cover 25 percent of the ECCC''s operational cost throughout the year 2011," it said in a statement.

The ECCC, which has spent more than80 million since being set up in 2005 though it has so far convicted only oneKhmer Rouge figure, has a budget of USD 87.1 million for2010-2011.

Japan is its single largest donor, accounting for nearly half of the total pledges and contributions to date.

The embassy said this year is critical for the ECCC''s judicial proceedings with the hearings of appeal of the case of former chief jailer Kaing Guek Ieu, alias Duch, to commence at the Supreme Court Chamber and trials of five other Khmer Rouge leaders to commence at the Trial Chamber.

Calling the trials an important part of the Cambodian peace process, the embassy said they are intended to prevent the recurrence of the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime and deliver justice to the victims.

It said they are also needed to help strengthen the rule of law in Cambodia.

The trials of Nuon Chea, the Khmer Rouge regime''s chief ideologue, Ieng Sary, its foreign minister, Khieu Samphan, its nominal leader, and Ieng Sary''s spouse Ieng Thirith, who was minister of social affairs, are expected to start in the latter half of 2011.

The Khmer Rouge leadership is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million people during its rule in the late 1970s.

(Kyodo)

World’s longest red carpet to unroll at CamboFest, Cambodia Film Festival

The world’s longest red carpet, measuring 26.5 kilometers, will unroll at the upcoming CamboFest Cambodia Film Festival (March 1-9, www.cambofest.com), linking the French colonial venue town of Kampot with the seaside coastal town of Kep.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jan 29, 2011 – The world’s longest red carpet, measuring 26.5 kilometers, will unroll at the upcoming CamboFest Cambodia Film Festival (March 1-9, http://www.cambofest.com),linking the French colonial venue town of Kampot with the seaside coastal town of Kep while shattering existing records for a red carpet event.

The lengthy carpet, donated by the Zhejiang Da Guanyuan carpet company of Zhejiang Province, China, is currently on its way to the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, to then be transported by road in time for the festival.

“This long carpet is a symbol of regional friendship’ said Zhejiang Carpet Company owner Jiang Jiansheng at a recent Phnom Penh press conference. ‘It’s a grand scale and powerful enterprise which has possessed many high technical manpower who are specialized in the designs of all kind of hand-woven, weaving art and wall-to-wall carpets.’

CamboFest founder and co-organizer Jason Rosette welcomes the carpet, but has expressed concerns about the festival’s ability to handle the rug while housing and feeding the 35 person crew who will be involved in its installation.

‘The carpet is monumental, and we welcome any support for our grass roots, indie festival here in the developing world’ said Rosette. ‘And of course, at more than twenty six kilometers, it beats the world record hands-down.’

He added, ‘After the event, the rug can be cut into sections and donated to schools and homes and any other folks who can use it here in Cambodia’.

‘But what we really need is a decent large venue projector that our youth group can operate for this year’s event, running March first through the ninth’, Rosette conceded.

‘Funding has been extremely limited this year, with the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, the Arts Network Asia, UNESCO, the Jan Vrijman Fund, the Asia Foundation, and others turning us down for funding.

Rosette estimates that funders this year may still be nervous due to attacks on the CamboFest Film Festival at the 3rd edition in 2009 by Phnom Penh based foreign movie pirates. (*see http://cameradomoviesandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/01/cambo ...)

Such interference, though not the fault of the festival itself, may nonetheless leave donor and funding agencies reluctant to sustain any further perceived risk in the Cambodian environment, despite the value of the CamboFest mission.

Rosette added that this year the Deutsche Welle | DW-AKADEMIE has, however, invited CamboFest co-organizer Phun Sokunthearith to a film festival training workshop in Berlin, highlighting a proactive, courageous leadership role that development agencies might assume in atypical, and sometimes hazardous, developing world media environments.

Despite the lack of funding, hardware, venues, and skilled festival staff in Cambodia (with most of the country’s artists being killed off during the Khmer Rouge regime) other exciting developments –besides the red carpet – are unrolling at this year’s CamboFest Cambodian film event.

A Cambodian youth group, Youth Association for Human Resource Development (YAHRD) will be trained to operate many of the festival’s functions to ensure the event’s future sustainability, while CamboFest staff will again revive the once-majestic ‘Royal’ cinema house, which was destroyed during the civil war and subsequent Khmer Rouge regime, as a venue for this year’s festival event.

‘We hope that many guests and movie buffs will come to take a walk on the magnificent, world-record breaking red carpet supplied by our supporters at the Zhejiang Carpet Company’, said Rosette.

‘But, we sure could use additional financial support to feed our staff, to buy fuel for the generator, to pay for housing for any visiting filmmakers, and to upgrade our projector to a better large venue model’, he added.

And then, truly, the red carpet can be unrolled!

======================================================

The CamboFest, Cambodia Film Festival runs from March 1-9in the colonial coastal town of Kampot, Cambodia.

Visit the CamboFest website (http://www.cambofest.com) to download a sponsorship proposal or to send any inquiries.

# # #

CAMBOFEST, Cambodia Film Festival was established in 2007; find out more at http://www.cambofest.com

--- end ---

John Burgess lecture reflects on ancient and present Cambodia

By Yvette Villasenor
The State Hornet, Sacramento (California)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Students and faculty gathered Friday evening to listen to an art lecture presented by John Burgess, the journalist and author behind "Stories in Stone."

Burgess began his career as a journalist in Thailand in 1971 as a sub-editor for The Bangkok World, an English-based paper. Later, he found himself interested in the scripted stones that lay in the heart of Angkor, Cambodia, where he got the idea for his book "Stories in Stone."

As students and faculty filled the lecture room, Burgess began his lecture on his adventures and findings of the Sdok Kok Thom inscription and the enigma of Khmer history he found in Angkor. He also shared his experiences about Cambodia's architecture, scripture and overall culture.

"Angkor has remained largely off the map for the world's consciousness," Burgess said.

He believes the Sdok Kok Thom findings and the fall of Khmer hold significant historical importance and sharing his experience with different audiences will grow knowledge of this particular culture and how it relates to other cultures with an equally impressive historical importance as Ancient Rome or Egypt.

Many students stayed after the lecture to speak with Burgess and other students and faculty.

"The lecture was intriguing," said Minh Tran, an art studio major. She believes having lectures about personal experiences will open the eyes of more students and draw them to learn more about other cultures.

Pat Chirapravati, professor and director of Asian studies at Sacramento State hopes to grow the Asian studies department by providing students and faculty with informational, insightful lectures once a month to open eyes to different cultures of the world.

"Our campus is so diverse," Chirapravati said. "I want to stimulate students to learn about the world and look beyond."

As Chirapravati works to further grow the Asian studies department, she encourages students who are interested in her department to come to her office.

Yvette Villasenor can be reached at yvillasenor@statehornet.com

Chinese premier visits former Cambodian King ahead of Spring Festival

Sihanouk (2nd left) and his wife Monique were very close to Chinese leaders dating back to the days of Chairman Mao Tse-tung and Premier Zhou Enlai in the 1950s-1970s. Here, he and his wife were seen posing with Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan (L) during the latter's visit to Sihanouk at his Beijing residence a few years ago.

BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and his wife here on Saturday to extend new year greetings.

Wen also conveyed the greetings from President Hu Jintao to Sihanouk, and wished him good health in the coming year.

Sihanouk expressed his hope that the Chinese people would make greater achievements in the new year.
Editor: Wang Guanqun

Suthep urges caution amid 'troop boost'

BORN TO BE WILD: People’s Alliance for Democracy co-leader Chamlong Srimuang patrols on a scooter as the PAD rally enters its fifth day at Makkhawan Rangsan bridge on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue to protest the government’s approach to the Thai-Cambodian border dispute. PHOTO: JETJARAS NA RANONG

CAMBODIA SAYS THAI DEMANDS 'PROVOCATIVE'

Published: 30/01/2011
Bangkok Post

The government is appealing to yellow shirt protesters to show restraint amid reports that Cambodia is boosting troops at the border.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday called on People's Alliance for Democracy protesters to tone down their attacks on Cambodia and be mindful of what they say during their rally near Government House.

He was speaking amid unconfirmed news agency reports that the Cambodian Ministry of Defence on Friday sent dozens of tanks and fighting vehicles, missiles and ammunition to the Preah Vihear temple area at the disputed border.

On its website, the Cambodian newspaper Duem Ampil quoted Information Minister Khieu Kanharith as saying that the Cambodian army had ordered its forces to be on a full alert to prevent any Thai attempt to enter Cambodian territory, while the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a recent Thai military exercise at the border was provocative and could set off a war.

It also criticised Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's demand that Cambodia remove its flag from the Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple, saying such a call was "unacceptable and Cambodia firmly rejects such an insulting demand".

The Thai army held a military drill in Nakhon Ratchasima on Thursday seen as an attempt to show its muscle.

Border tensions intensified over the past week after Cambodia put up tablets in the disputed area opposite Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket criticising a Thai "invasion" of the area in 2008.

Phnom Penh later demolished the tablets, but any easing in border tensions looks to have been shortlived.

The Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that Cambodia has boosted troops at the border.

"We have warned Thai troops that if they dare to enter our territory, Cambodia will act in self-defence to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity," said a senior Cambodian officer, who asked not to be named.

In Bangkok the PAD has set up a protest site near Government House to demand the government take stronger action against Cambodia. Mr Suthep yesterday urged the protesters to exercise caution. "I want to tell [Cambodian] Prime Minister Hun Sen that what the protesters say has nothing to do with the government's stance," he said.

Meanwhile, the PAD has knocked back efforts by a Democrat MP jailed in Phnom Penh this month to broker talks with the government to end the Cambodia dispute.

Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth yesterday urged the PAD to enter talks with the government.

However, the protest group leaders said they had yet to hear from him formally and in any event doubted the talks would succeed.

PAD spokesman Panthep Phuapongpan insisted Mr Panich had not approached yellow shirt leaders.

Mr Panich, a former vice-minister for foreign affairs, was among seven Thais jailed in Cambodia this month on border trespass charges.

"As far as the key men in the PAD are concerned, he has not contacted us. We see no benefit to our group from any talks anyway," the spokesman said.

"We will agree to talk only if the government accepts our demands."

The PAD, which is camped out on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, is demanding the government abolish the memorandum of understanding signed between Bangkok and Phnom Penh in 2000 on land border demarcation, withdraw Thailand from the World Heritage Committee and clear Cambodian villagers and troops from a disputed area near Preah Vihear temple.

Mr Abhisit, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, said the protesters had the right to put up their demands but the government would do what is best for the country. "You know, they can make their demands. They have the right to do so. But as the government, we have to do what is the best for the country," he said.

Thailand: Yellows may join up with reds to topple the govt

The PAD yellow shirt demonstrators.

Sat, Jan 29, 2011
The Nation/Asia News Network

Members of the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) interviewed yesterday said they were willing to fight temporarily alongside the red shirts if that is what it takes to topple the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration and reclaim "lost territory" from Cambodia.

"I guess that can be done, because it's our country. We don't even use our [political] colour at this rally," said Boonthai Sirichoke, a PAD member from Samut Prakarn, adding that this government would definitely be removed if the red and yellow shirts joined forces. However, he said he believed the yellow shirts alone could topple the government.

Waen, a 47-year-old yellow-shirt from Chiang Mai, said she would not speculate but would follow instructions from PAD leaders, even if it meant joining forces with the red shirts. "We are just the mass, we don't have the right to question it."

Yupin Prasertsri, an elderly woman from Amnat Charoen province who came with her daughter to take part in the rally yesterday, said they were ready to join forces with the red shirts "because we want to topple the government".

"I can accept it because we have the same goal of getting rid of corruption and defending national integrity," she said. The PAD believes that the government is too soft on the border issue because of vested interests of politicians and generals who reap benefits from illegal cross-border trade.

Her daughter, who asked not to be named, said: "I can accept it because now it's about national interest and not colours."

The rally yesterday drew a moderate crowd of about 5,000 in the evening, with more arriving after dark. Half a dozen villagers who claimed they owned land along the Thai-Cambodian border that was allegedly taken over by Cambodians over the past three decades were invited to speak onstage.

A female villager burst into tears, telling PAD supporters that even though she had a title deed for the land occupied by Cambodians for 30 years, not a single government had helped get her land back.

"My father was so upset that he developed a mental problem," she said, adding that the family ended up having to work as hired help in Bangkok and elsewhere, and suffered immensely because they could not work on "their own land".

-- The Nation/Asia News Network

Sam Rainsy's interview with Radio France Internationale

Sam Rainsy Party

January 28, 2011, Sam Rainsy's interview with Radio France International (RFI).

Please listen at http://tinyurl.com/4qsb3fp
SRP Cabinet

Borders quiet as Cambodian troops and tanks arrived at the front line

Cambodian tanks and armoured personnel carriers headed toward the Khmer-Thai border front line.

By Khmerization
Source: CEN

The military situation near Preah Vihear temple is quiet as hundreds of Cambodian troops and military hardware had arrived in the area this Saturday morning. However, both sides remain on high alert.

Reports from Preah Vihear at 9 a.m this morning indicated that the military situations from Ta Moan and Ta Krabey temples in Oddar Meanchey province to Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province have not changed, but the Cambodian military is on high alert due to the threats by Thai troops that they will march to Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak to dismantle the pagoda gate, pull down the Cambodian flag and fly the Thai flag instead.

At the same time, hundreds of Cambodian troops, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and missile launchers had arrived in Siem Reap town in the early morning and are expected to arrive at the Preah Vihear front line later in the morning.

The situation at the front line was described as quiet as the Thai side has not repeated their threats to forcibly remove the Cambodian flag after Cambodia had initially rejected their demand to remove the flag. However, Cambodians have strongly warned that they will use the self-defence rights if Thai troops crossed the border to forcibly remove the flag.

At the same time, DAP News had reported that Thailand's INN News agency has reported that thousands of Thai yellow shirted protesters planned to force their way into the Cambodian embassy compound in Bangkok and burn down the embassy buildings. Heavily armed Thai security forces had been deployed around the embassy buildings and had set up metal fences and road blocks as well as access to the embassy.

The tensions reached boiling point on Thursday after 100 Thai troops had sneaked in at night to occupy Ta Krabey temple. They left at 2 p.m the next day after the Cambodian troops had confronted them. There are also reports that on Thursday night, about 8 to 9 truckloads of Thai troops had been trucked in to the front line at Sombok Khmum, 300 metres from Preah Vihear temple.

At the Thai side of the border opposite Oddar Meanchey's Tropeang Prasat district, there are reports that at 4 p.m on Friday the Thai Army, without informing the Cambodian side before hand, had sent in 400 troops from the 6th Division, fully equipped with battle gears. However, the Thai side later claimed that those troops were sent to the area to take part in the a military drill.

Cambodia must stand up to the Thai bully

Cambodian tanks at a military base near Preah Vihear temple.

By Anonymous

It was a good decision to purchase those battle tanks and APCs several months ago. This is the reasons why it's so. A very clever move by the Cambodian government. Cambodia can no longer allow ourselves to be pushed to the corner, kicked, punched, and spitted on, at anytime the enemy wishes. The game is over. This is a 21th century and Cambodia is entering a new era. The era of backing down, running and hiding is over. That was the old days. Today is a new day. A day of regaining honor and respect is upon us. Thailand has disrespected and insulted Cambodia's honor and dignity long enough. Very often, Cambodia just play friendly for centuries for the sake of peace and harmony amongst the neighbors. Thailand saw this as a sign of weakness. It's about time Cambodia is standing up against an aggressor. If Thailand want to fight Cambodia bad enough, then Cambodia must fulfill Thailand's wishes.

I urge and encourage all Khmer anywhere, whether in Cambodia or around the world to join force. You are needed to provide supports at any mean necessary. We are Khmer, we all have a duty and obligation to defend our homeland. Our homeland is being threatened by centuries old enemy who still have a wish and dream to wipe us out from the face of the earth. Our troops are sacrificing themselves for the honor of our nation. We must put aside our minor differences. Our nation is at risk. We cannot afford to fall. If we fell, it means the end of Khmer nation. Do Not fail our ancestors' wishes. UNITED WE STAND, SEPARATED WE FALL.

Tensions on the borders as Thailand and Cambodia reinforced troops

Hundreds of Cambodian tanks were seen being trucked out of their bases in Longvek town heading toward the Khmer-Thai borders.

By Khmerization

Sources: Koh Santepheap, everyday.com.kh and Kampuchea Thmey

Cambodian military sources said that tensions along the Khmer-Thai border in Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey provinces have heightened after Thailand reinforced troops and conducted military exercises in the areas.

The sources said that Thai troops had conducted military drills by firing live ammunition about 3 kilometres from the contentious Ta Krabey temple in Oddar Meanchey province on the morning of Friday, 28th January.

At the same time, there are reports that about 100 Thai troops have sneaked in to occupy the nearby Ta Moan Thom temple at around 7-8 p.m on Thursday night. They only withdrew from the temple at 2 p.m the next day when confronted by Cambodian troops.

In Preah Vihear province near Preah Vihear temple, there are also reports of tensions after the Thai Army reinforced their troops and conducted military drills in the areas when Cambodia refused a Thai demand to remove the Cambodian flag from the compound of Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda. Cambodian military sources said that on Thursday night, the Thai Army had trucked in about 8 to 9 truckloads of troops to the area and threatened to dismantle the pagoda gate and pulled down the Cambodian flag by force.

In response to the Thai threats, top Cambodian military commanders had been ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen to move their command bases to the Khmer-Thai border areas, including Deputy Commander-in-Chief Chea Dara, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Kun Kim, Gen. Srey Doek, Commander of Preah Vihear Intervention Forces, Gen. Kheng Somedh, Commander of Engineering Unit as well both Mr. Hun Sen's sons, Maj-Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Commander of Royal Cambodian Army and Hun Manith.

At the same time, Mr. Hun Sen had ordered the Defence Ministry to reinforce border defence and to send thousands of troops and tanks to the areas.

On the morning of Friday 28th January, hundreds of tanks and armoured personnel carriers had been seen trucked out of their bases at Longvek town in Pursat province, heading toward the Khmer-Thai borders. Gen. Chea Dara cannot be reached for comments regarding the troop mobilisations. Gen. Srey Doek, when reached by telephone, refused to comment by directing all questions to 4-star Gen. Kun Kim who then said that he is on a plane and could not comment.

However, Maj-Gen. Reth Sitha, Deputy General Staff of Mr. Hun Sen's Bodyguard Unit and Commander of the Tank Unit, said that Prime Minister Hun Sen and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Gen. Hing Bunheang had ordered the transportation of tanks to the border areas in Preah Vihear province. And Lt-Gen. Chao Phirun, Director of Technical Material and Logistics at the Ministry of Defence, said that Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian commander-in-chief (Pol Saroeun) had ordered him to mobilise tanks and armoured personnel carriers to defend the Preah Vihear areas against any Thai invasion. He added that the Cambodian Army was well equipped with armoured personnel carriers, tanks, anti-aircraft missiles and multiple rocket launchers, which he said some of them had already reached the border areas on Friday.

[University of] Battambang lecturers in graft claim

FRIDAY, 28 JANUARY 2011

By MOM KUNTHEAR
Phnom Penh Post

About 20 lecturers at Battambang University (pictured) have accused Dean Touch Visal Sok, of corruption and partisanship in the management of the school.

Chhim Kimly, 37, a lecturer at the university who says she has been suspended from her post, said yesterday that a majority of the lecturers don’t support the dean’s leadership and further accuse him of mismanaging school funds and showing favouritism in the assignment of teaching schedules.

“The dean suspended me from teaching for nearly two years because I disagreed with his leadership,” Chhim Kimly said. She added that the dean has refused to provide details of how university funds are used.

“When we ask how school funds are being administered, he just says that money is being spent for the development of the university, but we don’t see any development.”

Another teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity said that teachers filed a complaint with the Ministry of Education in October but have yet to receive an official response.

The teacher said that lecturers who support the dean get to teach 20 to 30 classes per term, while those who don’t are assigned only one or two, thereby affecting their income. He said teachers have also been warned not to speak to the media.

“I want the Ministry of Education to remove this dean from the university and the Anticorruption Unit to investigate the case,” he said, adding that teachers also plan to file a complaint to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet.

Touch Visal Sok said on Wednesday that the accusations against him were unfounded.

“[Teachers] say something bad in order to damage the reputation of this famous school, which is managed by me,” he said, adding that he has no fear of the accusations because he has done nothing wrong.

Nea Sophan, who identified himself as manager of the staff department at the Ministry of Education, said yesterday that he received the lecturers’ complaint and was working on it.

“The ministry is investigating these claims,” he said.

Anti-government leaflets distributed in Battambang

Border leaflets: Police seize anti-state documents

FRIDAY, 28 JANUARY 2011
ByPHAK SEANGLY
Phnom Penh Post

Border leaflets
Police patrolling in Battambang on Thursday morning found leaflets they described as containing an anti-government message related to Cambodian-Vietnam border issues.

Battambang town Police Chief Thuch Ra said the leaflets – which also referenced the arrest of Hun Hean, former Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief removed from office earlier this month on graft charges – were found by an officer at five locations near two local pagodas at about 5am.

“We have no clue yet about the case but we are working to find the distributor,” he said.

Battambang Provincial Police Chief Sar Thet said more than 60 anti-government leaflets were picked up by police.

“We gathered the leaflets and are searching for the distributors,” he said before declining to comment further.

Heng Say Hong, Licadho investigator in Battambang, said that as many as 80 anti-government leaflets were found by police referencing territory issues and describing Hun Hean as a “nationalist”.

Battambang police declined to describe the leaflets in detail other than to acknowledge that they carried an anti-government message.

An Ineffective NGO Law Is a Threat to Good Governance

Sam Rainsy Party

Phnom Penh, January 28, 2011

An Ineffective NGO Law Is a Threat to Good Governance

Members of Parliament of the Sam Rainsy Party are gravely concerned with the purpose and impact after adoption of the Draft Law on Associations and NGOs as it will put at risk the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens and could diminish the need for social accountability. If adopted, the NGO law will leave much room for political discrimination and allow much space for government control of the implementation of NGO programs and activities. Read more...

Gopetition: Sign a petition to reject Cambodian-Vietnamese maps

Dear All,

Please HELP to forward to your friends and sign the petition to MPs of Cambodia to ask the Constitutional Council of Cambodia to reject the newly-drawn map which Cambodia and Vietnam are publishing. Everyone can sign the petition by going to websites below.

http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2011/01/please-sign-online-petition-to-reject.html
Or
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42160.html

All the best,
Bopha

Thai PM: I'll do what's best regarding Cambodia

By Matt Moore
Associated Press
January 28, 2011

DAVOS, Switzerland—Thailand's prime minister told The Associated Press on Friday that protesters demanding it revoke its pact with Cambodia over a border dispute have a right to make they're demands, but he will do what is best for the country.

Speaking Friday at the World Economic Forum, Abhisit Vejjajiva (pictured) said that since both nations are part of ASEAN any resolution must be done in a peaceful manner yet protect Thai interests, too.

"You know, they can make their demands. They have the right to do so. We have to do what is the best for the country," he told AP. "We feel that the way we approach the border problems, and the problems -- as far as the relationship with Cambodia is concerned -- is best for the country, which is that we try to resolve whatever issues come up in a peaceful manner."

Earlier this week, a rally by the People's Alliance for Democracy -- also known as the Yellow Shirts -- and an associated fringe group, raised tensions in a country still recovering from political violence last year that turned parts of the capital into a war zone. Police on Monday arrested five men accused of plotting to bomb the protest.

The demonstrators set up a stage along a major street near the U.N.'s Asian headquarters and Government House, the prime minister's office that the Yellows occupied for three months in 2008.

The protesters want the government to revoke a pact with Cambodia on settling border disputes; withdraw from the U.N. Education Scientific and Culture Organization World Heritage Committee, which approved Cambodia's application for landmark status for a temple on the border; and force Cambodian residents off land the group claims should belong to Thailand.

"So that we preserve good relations -- we are both part of ASEAN -- and at the same time we make sure that we protect Thai interests," he said. "So all we can do is to explain to them (that) we feel that this is the best approach and I am confident that majority of Thai people support" it.

The Cambodian issue has its origins in a dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over land near a landmark temple on their border, but has evolved into a Thai domestic political issue.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia, but the decision rankled Thailand, which still claims land around the temple.

As for neighboring Myanmar, he said while its recent elections "may not be perfect," they were "an important first step and what we want to do now is to see the gradual opening up and making sure that political process becomes more inclusive, and we hope that the rest of the world will try to make sure that we can support Myanmar to do that."

He pointed to the release earlier this year of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in November after seven years under house arrest as a "positive step" in that process.

Afterward, she gave a recorded address to the Forum, urging investment in technology and infrastructure, and micro-lending programs in her country, but said investors "should pay close attention to the costs and collateral damage of our development, whether environmental or social."

Suu Kyi's party won the country's last election, in 1990, but the army would not let it take power and refused to convene parliament. The first parliamentary session since 1988 is to convene Monday, dominated by a military-sponsored party.

Suu Kyi spoke to the Davos participants hours after Myanmar's highest court declined Friday to hear a case she filed seeking to overturn the government's dissolution of her party.

------

Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Just do as we demand, PAD tells govt [and Cambodia refused to remove the flag]

The flags that have angered Thailand who demanded them to be removed. However, Cambodian has already rejected that demand.

Chamlong rejects offer of talks on Cambodia

Published: 29/01/2011
Bangkok Post

The People's Alliance for Democracy has rejected the government's proposal for negotiations to end its rally.

Flagging trouble: Thai troops are under pressure to remove a Cambodian national flag flying above the entrance toKaewSikha Khiri Sawara temple, located about 300 metres from the ancient Preah Vihear temple. Villagers have reportedly flown the flag alongside Buddhist flags for years.

It made its decision after the government proposed to send a delegation to hold talks to clear the air over the Thai-Cambodian border issues.

PAD core leader Chamlong Srimuang yesterday said any talks would be a waste of time.

He said government representatives had called and offered to hold a live debate.

``It is not time for talks. The government should comply with our demands,'' he said.

Maj Gen Chamlong also voiced disagreement with the plan of Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a core leader of the PAD-linked Thai Patriots Network (TPN), to bring in the red shirts to strengthen the anti-government rally.

Maj Gen Chamlong said the PAD would not get involved with the TPN's business.

The PAD has been protesting against the government by blocking Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue since Tuesday over its handling of Thai-Cambodian border disputes.

The group is demanding Thailand's withdrawal from the Unesco World Heritage Committee, the revocation of the 2000 MoU signed with Cambodia and ejecting Cambodians in border areas the group claims belong to Thailand back to their homeland.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said the government has put together a team to clarify the issues to PAD leaders with staff from the Foreign Ministry as core speakers.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has stressed the need to hold talks with the yellow shirts to clear up any confusion and get the facts straight, he said.

``The longer the protest the worse it becomes for all parties concerned.

``The government has a team ready to talk with the PAD. They are people in charge of border issues,'' Mr Panitan said.

He said authorities cannot allow the rally and must enforce the law to keep protesters away _ a step the government hopes it will not have to take.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday the prime minister is expected to lead the talks after his return from Switzerland where he is attending the World Economic Forum _ if the PAD agrees.

Mr Chaiwat said he had asked key members of the red shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship to joint the TPN in its fight against the government. He said that while he was in jail he had discussed with the detained red shirt leaders ways to protest against the government.

``I told them that the TPN will continue rallying at the No.4 entrance gate of Government House and the yellow shirts will protest on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.

``I asked the red shirts to gather at Orathai bridge near the prime minister's office building compound,'' Mr Chaiwat said.

The red shirt key figures said they would have to discuss the matter with other leaders before making any decision, he added.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Army is seeking the removal of a Cambodian national flag at the entrance of Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple next to the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

A border source said that 2nd Army commander Thawatchai Samutsakhon has been talking to local Cambodian military leaders about removing the flag. The move comes after the prime minister's order and public pressure.

Just days ago, Thailand persuaded Cambodia to demolish a stone tablet reading ``Here! is Cambodia''.

According to the source, the Cambodian military denied putting up the flag at the temple's entrance.

It was placed there by local villagers.

Lt Gen Thawatchai, the source said, feels uncomfortable about this as it is almost a non-issue.

``First the tablet. Now the flag decoration. They should think about the troops working with their Cambodian counterparts in the area,'' said the source.

The flag is neither a sign nor a claim that it is Cambodian territory, the source said.

It was there before Thai troops were deployed at the temple in July 2008 when border tensions escalated.

Lawyers gather data to defend Veera, Ratri

By The Nation

Published on January 29, 2011

A team of lawyers for the Thai Patriots Network went to the border area in Sa Kaew province yesterday to collect information for the defence of two Thai nationals facing trespassing and spying charges in Cambodia.

The eight-member group, led by Thammasat University researcher and TPN leader Walwipha Charoonroj, inspected the area in Ban Nong Chan of Sa Kaew's Khok Sung district where seven Thais were arrested by Cambodian authorities in December.

The legal team was guided by members of the Burapha Force's special taskforce in an operation led by deputy commander Lt-Colonel Apiram Ramanat.

Walwipha said the team had submitted a written request with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and had sought permission from Cambodian authorities to inspect the area. She said the information and facts obtained would be used to defend TPN leader Veera Somkwamkid (pictured) and Ratri Pipattanapaiboon in court, which has scheduled the first hearing for Tuesday. The two face the additional charge of espionage.

The five other Thais who were arrested for trespassing, including Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth, recently returned home after being sentenced to a suspended jail term in Cambodia.

The TPN is part of the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy, which is rallying outside Government House to demand decisive action about the border conflict with Cambodia.

Before Walwipha's group arrived, Ban Nong Chan residents expressed dissatisfaction for fear the yellow shirts would stage a protest, which would further complicate the situation in the border area. However, they did not show much opposition after being told by the taskforce that the lawyers' group would be small and that they were only visiting to collect information.

In a related development, Cambodian forces stationed at the border area near the Preah Vihear temple are in two minds about bringing down the Cambodian flag raised at another temple in the disputed area, a security source said yesterday.

Cambodian military commanders General Chea Dara and Maj-General Srey Doek agree with Thailand's demand that the flag raised at Wat Keo Sekha Kirisvara be taken down, while other commanders disagreed, the source said.

Hundreds of Cambodian troops - stationed since the controversy over a stone tablet in which Thai troops were called "intruders" and the disputed area marked as "Here is Cambodia" - are still in place along with heavy weaponry and some 30 tanks.

The source described the border situation as being tense, though no serious incidents have taken place.

Cambodian Ministry of Defense sends tanks to the border again

(Photo: Reuters)

28 January 2011
By Serey
Cambodia Express News
Translated from Khmer by Soch for Ki-Media

Phnom Penh – The Cambodian Ministry of Defense (MoD) had dispatched tanks to the border in what seems due to threat from Thailand.

A high-ranking official of the MoD claimed on 28 Jan morning that a number of tanks and weapons will be sent to the northern border this morning. This official added that this is not a dispatch of military forces, but only a preparation for the defense of territorial integrity in response to the irregular situation taking place due to Thailand.

Other source claimed that Cambodian troops along the border in Preah Vihear are on alert as it is learned that there are suspicious Thai troop movements.

The changing situation comes at a time when the Thai Yellow Shirts demand that Cambodia remove its flag from Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak, and also when Thai troops are being reinforced in a number of areas.

About 100 Thai troops entered Ta Moan temple in the middle of the night; Border situation tense again

Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak flying a Cambodian flag (Photo: CEN)

Sitting from left to right: Gen. Hun Many, Gen. Hun Manet, Gen. Chea Dara, Gen. Kheng Someth and Gen. Srei Doek reviewing a map on 28 Jan 2011 (Photo: CEN)

28 January 2011
By Serey
Cambodia Express News
Translated from Khmer by Soch for Ki-Media

Preah Vihear – A report from the border claimed that about 100 armed Thai troops entered Ta Moan temple last night. Also, the border situation in Preah Vihear is becoming tense again after Thailand sent reinforcement troops to the border area and demanded that Cambodia removes its flag from Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak Pagoda.

A source indicated at 10AM on 28 Jan that Cambodian troops are on alert at Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples in Oddar Meanchey province after Thailand sent additional troops to this region. The source added that during the evening of 27 Jan, at around 7-8 PM, about 100 armed Thai soldiers entered the perimeter of Ta Moan temple. These soldiers remained there for about 2 hours before they left after Cambodia insisted that they leave since their action is contrary to prior agreements.

Meanwhile, the situation in Preah Vihear temple is becoming tense again after Thai troops demanded that Cambodia removes its flag from Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak Pagoda which belongs to Cambodia. However, Cambodia refused. The source claimed that up to now, there is no armed clash yet, but that both troops are on alert and are facing each other. Thailand also sent troops and large amount of weapons to the region which had problems in the past.

Sam Rainsy's letter to Kem Sokha on unification of democrats

On January 24, 2011, Sam Rainsy, President of the Sam Rainsy Party sent a letter to Kem Sokha, President of the Human Rights Party, on unification of democrats.

Please read full text in Khmer at link:http://tinyurl.com/4cyl68s
SRP Cabinet

Arrested Thai MP claims video editing misleading

ABC Radio Australia

The Thai MP arrested for illegally entering Cambodia last month says video footage appearing to show he was aware he'd illegally crossed the border was edited to be misleading.

AUDIO from Connect Asia

Panich Vikitsreth maintains innocence over border crossing

Panich Vikitsreth is a member of a joint Thai-Cambodian border committee.

He says he was investigating claims Cambodians had encroached onto Thai territory when he was detained.

Six of the seven arrested Thais have been released on bail, but one's still in a Cambodian jail facing espionage charges.

Video footage posted online appeared to show Mr Panich telling the Thai Prime Minister's office he was crossing into Cambodia, but he says the video is misleading.

"But what surprised me most is that the whole footage of 23 minutes, they mix the sequence too. The sequence were wrong. They start off half way, then it came back to the beginning and then it went to the later part of our trip."
--------------------------------
Arrested Thai MP maintains innocence over border dispute

Ron Corben, Bangkok
ABC Radio Australia

A Thai parliamentarian charged with illegal entry into Cambodia, believes he is innocent and was in Thai territory at the time.

Panich Vikitsreth was one of seven Thais detained by Cambodian border guards on December 29, when they say they were investigating claims of Cambodian land encroachment.

The arrest, jail and court hearings have tested Thai-Cambodian relations, already strained by a dispute over claims surrounding the 900 year old Preah Vihear temple.

Panich, who spent 16 days in jail, has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program he remains convinced he is innocent and had not crossed beyond the disputed area into Cambodian territory.

"I always believed that I'm somewhere in Thailand, actually somewhere close to the border area, and where there is a disputed area, but I didn't expect that I was in another country," he said.

"I still believe today that I'm not in another country. But it's an area where of course there are disputes."

Critical local media comment followed the group's initial arrest, and this was exacerbated when You Tube footage purported to show the group crossing into Cambodia.

In footage based on the group's cameras Panich is seen walking towards Cambodia talking on a mobile phone for his secretary to inform Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of their whereabouts.

Panich claims the footage has been doctored and re-edited.

"What surprised me most is that the whole footage of 23 minutes they mix the sequence," he said.

"The sequence was wrong. I don't know how you want to put it but the sequence was wrong. It started off half way and then it came back to the beginning and then it went to the later part of our trip."

A joint boundary commission or JBC between Thailand and Cambodia works under a 2000 memorandum of understanding to establish the location of the border between the two countries.

But the Thai Patriot Network protesting in Bangkok wants the government to annul the MOU and reclaim the land, even by use of force.

Thailand and Cambodia exchanged fire in 2008 and 2009 over cross border claims that resulted in casualties.

Panich says he wants to see greater diplomatic efforts to clarify the Thai - Cambodian border.

"Definitely what we want to see is no use of force - no use of military confrontation," he said.

"The best is to settle it on the table and to get this boundary across nearly 800 kilometres sorted out. So this is now in the process of this JBC which is going on right now."

Cambodia rejects Thai PM's demand to remove flag at pagoda

A statement from the Cambodian Foreign Ministry. Please click on text to zoom in.

People's Daily Online
January 28, 2011

Cambodia Friday afternoon rejected Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's demand to remove Cambodia's flag at the pagoda near Preah Vihear temple, according to the declaration of Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The rejection was made following the demand by Abhisit on Thursday that Cambodia must remove its flag from the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda of Cambodia.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wishes to emphasize that this statement made by the prime minister of Thailand is unacceptable and that Cambodia firmly rejects such an insulting demand," said the declaration.

It added that "such a statement made by Thai prime minister in parallel with Thailand's military exercise at the border with Cambodia is clearly provocative and constitutes a casus belli for future acts of aggression against Cambodia."

"Cambodia reserves its legitimate rights to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.

According to the map produced by the Franco-Siamese commissions between the period of 1905 and 1908, the Keo Sikha Kiri Svara pagoda, built by the people of Cambodia in 1998, is clearly situated in the Cambodian territory. "Therefore, the flag of Cambodia is legitimately flying over this pagoda."

The tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the border happened on Thursday after there was a report that Cambodia had raised a national flag over Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak pagoda at Preah Vihear temple and Thai side requested to remove it, but Cambodian side rejected it.

The flag had reportedly been flown at the temple instead after the contentious stone tablet with a message 'Here is Cambodia' was removed on Wednesday.

Reth Sitha, deputy chief of general staff at the Prime Minister Hun Sen's Bodyguard Unit and commander of Tank Unit, said on Friday that Cambodia has begun to enhance its military capacity at border area.

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand have had border conflict due to Thai claim of the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.

Source: Xinhua

A Korean ‘War’ in Cambodia?

North Korean waitresses in Pyongyang Restaurant in Phnom Penh (Photo: Slate)

By Mong Palatino

mongpalatino.com

It seems like a mini Korean War is brewing in Cambodia. But unlike the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, which could end up involving a military clash, the ‘war’ in Cambodia is a kind of culinary conflict.

In 2002, the North Korean government opened a restaurant in Siem Reap near the world famous Angkor Wat Temple. It became a popular destination for tourists who wanted to sample North Korean delicacies, including dishes like Pyongyang-style cold noodles. Aside from the food, the restaurant offers another attraction: musical and dance performances put on by North Korea-born waitresses.

The restaurant proved to be a financially successful venture and led to the establishment of two more restaurants in Cambodia—one in Phnom Penh and another in Siem Reap. It’s estimated that the restaurants are contributing about $100,000 to $300,000 a year to North Korea’s national coffers.

Encouraged by the success of their Cambodian eateries, the North Korea regime expanded their business to other friendly countries like China, Laos, Vietnam and Russia. And despite the global financial crisis in 2008, which forced many tourists to trim down their spending habits, the North Korea-operated restaurants in Cambodia managed to survive, probably because tourists couldn’t resist the cultural appeal of exotic North Korea, a country pretty much isolated from the rest of the world.

So the more serious problem is a reported boycott spearheaded by South Korean tourist operators of the North Korean restaurants in Cambodia. About 120,000 South Koreans visit the restaurants every year, so imagine the lost earnings for Pyongyang if the boycott lasts.

What triggered it? Is it driven by a loyalty to the many South Korean-owned restaurants in Cambodia that have sprouted up in recent years?

According to news reports, the boycott was signaled by the South Korean embassy as a sign of protest against the North Korean provocation over the Cheonan warship sinking last year. The boycott was initially ignored as tourists continued to flock to the North Korean restaurants. But it seems that North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyong Island in November angered many South Korean residents in Cambodia, and as a gesture of retaliation they called for a boycott of the Pyongyang restaurants.

And the shunning seems to be working. The Phnom Penh Post for instance has reported that some of the dance shows of the North Korean waitresses have been cancelled. However, it remains to be seen whether the boycott will permanently hurt the financial viability of the restaurants.

As the boycott continues, it seems inevitable that the situation is bound to turn ugly. South Korean residents who supported the boycott drive have complained that they were attacked by unidentified goons inside their homes.

Will violence escalate in this peculiar war? The tensions could end up driving away tourists who don’t want to be involved in any nasty confrontations. If this happens, the only winners will be the other Asian restaurants who’d probably be happy to accommodate more customers by offering kimchi and other Korean delicacies on their own menus.