Hun Sen's sister, Hun Sinath, resigned from her position as Secretary of State after a confrontation with Deputy PM Men Sam An and Senator Tycoon Ly Yong Phat ប្អូនស្រីបង្កើតនាយករដ្ឋមន្ដ្រី លោកស្រី ហ៊ុន ស៊ីណាត ប្រកាសលាឈប់ពីការងារ

ប្អូនស្រីបង្កើតរបស់ លោកនាយករដ្ឋមន្ដ្រី ហ៊ុន សែន គឺលោកស្រី ហ៊ុន ស៊ីណាត។

(ចេញផ្សាយថ្ងៃទី 27-11-2014, 11:36 am) | នេនតូច

រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ៖ ប្អូនស្រីបង្កើតរបស់ លោកនាយករដ្ឋមន្ដ្រី ហ៊ុន សែន គឺលោកស្រី ហ៊ុន ស៊ីណាត បានប្រកាស លាឈប់ពីការងារ ជារដ្ឋលេខាធិការក្រសួងទំនាក់ទំនង ជាមួយរដ្ឋសភា ព្រឹទ្ធសភា និងអធិការកិច្ច របស់លោកស្រី ឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ដ្រី ម៉ែន សំអន បន្ចាប់ពីមានការប្រឈមមុខដាក់គ្នា និងទទួលរងការប្រមាថពីឧកញ៉ា លី យ៉ុងផាត់ ក្នុងទំនាស់ដីធ្លី ដ៏ស្រួចស្រាវមួយនាពេលកន្លង។

យោងតាម​លើទំព័រ Facebook របស់លោកស្រី ហ៊ុន ស៊ីណាត នៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃទី២៧ ខែវិច្ឆិកា ឆ្នាំ២០១៤ បាន​សរសេរ​ថា «អរុណសួស្ដីបងៗប្អូនៗ មីងពូ ទាំងអស់នៅ ក្នុងស្រុកថ្ពង ខេត្តកំពង់ស្ពឺ ជាទីនឹករលឹក! ខ្ញុំមិនអាចបញ្ចប់ នូវការដោះស្រាយ ដីធ្លីរបស់អ្នក ទាំងអស់គា្នបាន ដោយរដ្ឋាភិបាលផ្ទេរទៅ មន្ទីរៀប ចំដែនដី នគរូបនីយកម្ម ខេត្តវិញ ដូចនេះសូមអ្នកទាំងអស់គ្នា ចាំយកដីពីខេត្ត បែងចែកទៅ! ក្នុងមួយជីវិតខ្ញុំៗ ស្អប់បំផុតភាព អយុត្តិធម៌»។

ក្នុងសាររបស់លោកស្រី បានបញ្ជាក់ថា «រយៈពេលស្រាវជ្រាវ ដីនេះមានមនុស្សច្រើនណាស់ មកនិយាយកុំឱ្យ ខ្ញុំធ្វើត្រូវ ការប៉ុន្មាន តែខ្ញុំបានប្រាប់ថា ខ្ញុំត្រូវការតែដី ជូនប្រជាជន និងឱ្យក្រុមហ៊ុនវិញទេ លោកឧកញា លី យ៉ុងផាត់ គាត់ប្រមាថខ្ញុំសព្វបែបយ៉ាង ខ្ញុំសុំសួរមិត្តរួម Facebook ថារាល់អ្នកវិនិយោគ ទាំងអស់យើងត្រូវការពារ តែគាត់ថា ខ្ញុំកាន់ជើងតែចិនៗនោះ ខាងក្រុមហ៊ុនស៊ីធីម៉ាត ឈូសឆាយបំផ្លាញ ចំការចំប៉ី របស់កូនប្រុសអភិបាលរងលី យិនខេត្តសាទុង ប្រទេសចិន! លោកជំទាវជាទីគោរព ខ្ញុំសុំឈប់ពីការងារ ពីព្រោះខ្ញុំយល់ថា ក្រសួងនេះធ្វើ អធិការកិច្ច ទៅចំគ្នាឯងដូចឧកញ៉ា លី យ៉ុងផាត ទៀតមុខតែមិនហ៊ានធ្វើដូចនេះ នាងខ្ញុំមិនអាចរស់នៅ ក្នុងក្រសួង រកយុតិ្តធម៌ ជូនប្រជារាស្ត្រ តាមបណ្ដឹងមិនបានដដែល ខ្ញុំសុំលាឈប់ ពីពេលនេះទៅជាប្រជាជនចុះ។ សូមជូនពរលោកជំទាវ សូមជួបតែសំណាងល្អ»៕

Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha on Radio Free Asia សម​ រង្ស៊ី និង កឹម សុខា នៅក្នុងវិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី

Sam Rainsy, Sar Kheng talk about arrest of officials, monks, activist លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ស្វែង​រក​អន្តរាគមន៍​ជា​ថ្មី​ពី​លោក ស ខេង ករណី​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​សកម្មជនបក្សប្រឆាំង សកម្មជន​ដីធ្លី និង​ព្រះសង្ឃ​

 

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Opposition leader Sam Rainsy asked Interior Minister Sar Kheng to release Meach Sovannara, CNRP's senior official, and other people who were arrested this month. 

Sam Rainsy made the request during a meeting Thursday with Sar Kheng, one of the CPP's top leaders, at the National Assembly building. 

Speaking to reporters from inside his vehicle after the meeting, Rainsy said he also discussed draft law of creation of National Election Committee. 

17 people including Meach Sovannara, CNRP's senior official, have been arrested and detained since November 10 for their various roles in protests.

Seven Boeug Kok land rights activists were arrested on November 10 after they protested and blocked traffic in front of Phnom Penh City Hall to demand that government address floodwater issue in their community. The seven were sentenced the following day to one year each in prison for violation of traffic law by blocking road, and protesting against public civil servants.

On November 11, Meach Sovannara was arrested by Phnom Penh police while he was on the back seat of his vehicle. Police read a court warrant to him before he was arrested over his involvement in leading insurrection, following the violent clash on July 15near the Freedom Park.

Cambodian Opposition Gets Final Approval to Broadcast Throughout Nation

Sam Rainsy (L) and Kem Sokha (R) speak with RFA in Phnom Penh, Nov. 26, 2014.

RFA

The Cambodian government has given the final nod to the main opposition party to operate a radio station and broadcast throughout the country as part of a deal reached in July, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Wednesday.

The government agreed to grant television and radio station licenses to the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) as part of a July 22 pact that ended a standoff between the two parties following disputed 2013 elections.

“Today the government has given us the right to set up radio stations [in the provinces] to rebroadcast programs [originally aired by stations in the capital] Phnom Penh which are affiliated with the CNRP,” Sam Rainsy told RFA’s Khmer Service.

Sam Rainsy said that the party will begin working with 93.5 FM Moha Nokor Radio to set up substations in provinces, though he did not provide a timetable for the project’s launching.

As far as a television license is concerned, the opposition leader said that the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) informed him Wednesday that it is “still considering the deal.”

Sam Rainsy said the government wants the CNRP to wait until Cambodia's official National Television of Kampuchea (TVK) switches from analog to digital television broadcasting before setting up a station, but he expressed concern that the process would take too long.

Mu Sochua's three daughters could enter politics in the future កូន លោកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ នឹង​ប្រឡូក​ក្នុង​ឆាកនយោបាយ

(អត្ថបទចុះ​ផ្សាយ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ    24-11-2014  3:33 pm)   |  ដោយ ជា ធីរិទ្ធ  Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on pinterest_shareShare on linkedinShare on gmailShare on emailShare on google_plusone_shareMore Sharing Services6 ខណៈដែលកូនៗរបស់​អ្នកនយោបាយ​ខ្មែរ​មួយចំនួន កំពុង​ប្រឡូក​ក្នុង​ឆាកនយោបាយ​យ៉ាងសកម្ម​នោះ លោកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ អ្នកនយោបាយ​ល្បី​មួយរូប​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ក៏​មិន​ហាមឃាត់​កូន​របស់ខ្លួន​ឲ្យ​ឈានជើងដើរ​ចូល​វិថី​នយោបាយ​នោះដែរ។ អ្នកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ បាន​អះអាងថា ប្រសិនបើ​កាលៈទេសៈ​ផ្តល់​ឲ្យ កូនលោក​ស្រី​អាច​នឹង​ប្រឡូក​ក្នុង​ឆាកនយោបាយ​នាពេលខាងមុខ។ លោកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ មានកូន​ស្រី ៣ នាក់ ក្នុងនោះ ២ នាក់ កំពុង​រស់នៅ​ប្រទេស​អាមេរិក និង​កូរ៉េខាងត្បូង និង​ម្នាក់ទៀត​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ។ ជា​បន្ត​សូម​ស្តាប់​បទសម្ភាសន៍​វគ្គ​ទី ១ រវាង​លោក ជា ធី​រិ​ទ្ធ អ្នកកាសែត​នៃ​សារព័ត៌មានថ្មីៗ ជាមួយ​លោកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​មណ្ឌល​បាត់ដំបង​មកពី​គណបក្ស​សង្គ្រោះ​ជាតិ។ មានសំឡេង សូមបញ្ជាក់ថា កូនស្រី លោកស្រី មូ សុខ​ហួរ ទាំង ៣ រូបនោះ​ទី ១ ឈ្មោះ ទេវី លេ​វ​ភឺ (Devi Leiper) សិក្សា​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អង់គ្លេស ជំនាញ​ទំនាក់ទំនង​អន្តរជាតិ និង​បាន​រៀប​អាពាហ៍ពិពាហ៍​រួចហើយ ។ កូនស្រី​ទី ២ ឈ្មោះ កញ្ញា ធីតា លេ​វ​ភឺ ( ThidaLeiper) សិក្សា​នៅ​ប្រទេស​អង់គ្លេស ជំនាញ វប្បធម៌​អាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍ ។ កូនស្រី​ទី ៣ ឈ្មោះ ម​ល្លីកា លេ​វ​ភឺ (MalikaLeiper) កំពុង​សិក្សា​ចំណេះដឹង​ទូទៅ​នៅ​ទីក្រុង​ញូវយ៉ក សហរដ្ឋអាមេរិក ៕

Eng Chhay Eang speaks to land rights protesters about his talks with Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong land grabs in Phnom Penh អេង ឆៃអ៊ាង ស្តីពីដំណោះស្រាយបញ្ហាដីធ្លីក្នុងរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ

Post by Ma Chettra.

Ticketing at temple defended [Apsara Authority Rejects Claim Angkor Wat ‘Rented Out’]

A view of Angkor Wat earlier this year. Accusations that managerial control of the Angkor temple complex has been granted to Sokha Hotel was denied by the Apsara Authority. Hong Menea

Thu, 27 November 2014

May Kunmakara

The Apsara Authority has clarified the details of its controversial profit-sharing deal with Sokha Hotels, a company owned by hotel tycoon Sok Kong that has the ticket-selling rights to Siem Reap’s temple complex.

A letter released on Tuesday in response to questions over the temple complex’s management and ticket sales says that Sokha Hotels is contracted only to provide ticket revenue collection services.

It states that revenue from each ticket sold is divided into 20 per cent VAT, 15 per cent goes towards conservation and development of the temple complex, 15 per cent goes to Sokha Hotels and the remaining 50 per cent to the government.

“Apsara Authority does not hire out the temples to Sokha Hotel. In fact, the authority only hired the company to provide ticket revenue collection services on our behalf – a common action that public administrations or governments in other countries have also implemented,” the letter dated November 25 reads.

“The company [Sokha Hotels] pays the revenue from ticket sales directly to the National Treasury in the Ministry of Economy & Finance and does not go through the Apsara Authority,” the letter states.

The letter comes after opposition lawmakers questioned Tourism Minister Thong Khon last week over the lack of transparency surrounding ticket sales to the Angkor Archaeological Park and the amount shared with Cambodia’s national budget.

Bokor Mountain investigated [for illegal Vietnamese activities]

A general view from the top of Kampot province’s Bokor Mountain. The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is investigating claims that Vietnamese shrines may be encroaching on Cambodian cultural sites. Heng Chivoan

Thu, 27 November 2014

Pech Sotheary

The culture and fine arts minister said yesterday that she will assign a team to investigate the alleged religious activities and living arrangements of Vietnamese nationals on Bokor Mountain, close to the border in Kampot province.

After appearing in front of the National Assembly commission that deals with religious affairs, the minister, Phoeung Sakuna, said concerns had been raised in the media about the number of Vietnamese people visiting the mountain to worship.

“There is a belief that [Bokor Mountain] is a holy place and many people are visiting there,” she said. “I think this is freedom of religion, but we will check whether it is affecting our own culture.”

In recent months, the government has undertaken a nationwide census of foreigners that has resulted in hundreds of Vietnamese nationals without proper documents being deported.

The census has been praised as a way of helping undocumented foreigners become citizens and criticised for having the potential to target and unfairly deport certain groups.

After reports that many Vietnamese people were worshipping on Bokor Mountain – a tourist area that includes a giant casino – provincial authorities created their own commission in September to look for shrines or other buildings being constructed without permission, said Kampot provincial governor Khoy Khun Hour.

Anger on the home front [Soldiers angry with Hun Sen's god-brother, Try Pheap]

Thu, 27 November 2014

May Titthara

More than 100 soldiers in Pursat province have threatened to resign en masse after being ordered to bulldoze their own lands, which are claimed by tycoon Try Pheap’s MDS Import Export Company.

The threat of mass resignations came two days after a soldier, Seng Pov, took off his uniform and surrendered his gun in a rare act of resistance from within the ranks of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

“Now more than 100 colleagues have already decided to quit their jobs if no solution is reached. But our boss has already written a letter to His Excellency Try Pheap to seek a resolution for us and he told us if there is no result, we can quit,” Pov said.

The community in Pursat’s Veal Veng district has been locked in a land dispute with Pheap for years. MDS regularly employs RCAF troops to provide protection and labour to its projects under state-sanctioned military-commercial alliances.

“They haven’t handed in their official resignations yet, but if there is no solution, we will take off our soldiers’ uniforms and hand them over,” Pov said.

The soldiers’ land had already been bulldozed by the company by yesterday evening, according to villagers, so it is not clear how a resolution to the dispute could be reached that would satisfy the former Khmer Rouge fighters and their families.

Korean Police Say Cambodian Bride Killed for Insurance

BY ALEX WILLEMYNS | NOVEMBER 27, 2014

South Korean police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of murdering his pregnant Cambodian wife in order to collect about $8.5 million from 26 life-insurance policies he had taken out on her, according to a report in Thursday’s Korea JoongAng Daily.

The 45-year-old man, identified only by the common surname “Lee,” is alleged to have fed sleeping pills to his wife before deliberately driving his car into a parked truck while she was in the passenger seat, the article says.

“The police said Lee rammed his car into an eight-ton truck parked on an emergency parking strip around 3:40 a.m. on Aug. 23,” it says. “His wife, a migrant from Cambodia, was in the passenger seat and was killed instantly. She was seven months pregnant.”

The fatal crash occurred about 335 km from Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea after Seoul, the article says, noting that the woman’s South Korean husband sustained only minor injuries.

“The accident occurred after I dozed off at the wheel,” the man is quoted as saying by the South Korean police.

The article does not name the Cambodian woman or otherwise identify her, and says only that she got married in 2008. It says the crash was initially deemed an accident by police.

“The case was almost filed away as a tragic accident until the police learned that Lee had taken out 26 insurance policies for his wife which would pay out a total 9.6 billion won ($8,640,864),” it says.

The premiums paid across the 26 separate insurance policies totaled about $2,700 per month, according to police.

“CCTV analysis showed that Lee operated the car at the time of the accident in a way that a drowsy driver would not,” the article says. “Lee turned on his high beams 400 meters (1,312 feet) away from the truck and maneuvered toward it adeptly. Lee was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident while his wife wasn’t.”

CPP Speechless Amid Search for Spokesman [The CPP is a secretive communist party so it fears the media and the public]

BY ALEX WILLEMYNS AND KUCH NAREN | NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Speaking for six hours at the convening of the National Assembly in September 2013, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for a new era of responsiveness from the CPP government.

After his ruling party’s shock losses at last year’s national election, Mr. Hun Sen warned the leaders of the party to re-engage with an angered electorate or risk alienating itself completely.

“We have many mirrors to use if we want to use them and we learn to accept the reality, including a platform for public consultation with the people,” Mr. Hun Sen said.

A year on, the message seems to have skipped past the CPP’s upper echelons, with the governing party currently missing a mouthpiece.

The ruling party’s voluble senior lawmaker Cheam Yeap, a longtime de facto spokesman for the CPP, inexplicably went silent more than two months ago.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, a former CPP spokesman, said Tuesday that the ruling party has been actively searching for a new spokesman without luck.

“No decision yet,” Mr. Kanharith said in a Facebook message. “The problem is to find somebody joyfully accepting this post.”

“I already asked to nominate somebody who is working daily at the CPP headquarters,” he said earlier this month, when asked when the CPP would choose a spokesman.

Search widens in oknha killing

Hope the police won't arrest fake killers like Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun in the case of Chea Vichea's murder because the murder suspect is the personal bodyguard of Deputy Police Commissioner of Phnom Penh, Gen. Chuon Narin.

Wed, 26 November 2014

Below are images of the murder suspect captured by a CCTV camera carrying out the murder and the photos captured by nitizens after the murder. There are striking similarity between the two images of the murder suspect who wear similar pant, similar shirt with folded sleeves, a watch, a car key hanging out of his belt.



Taing Vida and Shane Worrell

Police yesterday said they were widening the search for the two men responsible for the fatal shooting of tycoon businessman Ung Meng Cheu on Saturday evening.

Kirt Chantharith, spokesman for the National Police, said police had divided the investigation into a number of parts so they could focus on all aspects of the Shimmex Group chairman’s personal and business affairs.

“We will focus on everything related to tycoon Meng Cheu, including where he has stayed, who he has contacted and any land disputes or business disputes he may have been involved in,” he said. “I cannot say exactly how far [our investigation] has come … but right now, we have a lot of relevant information.”

Kheng Tito, national military police spokesman, said he thinks [Meng Cheu’s] death “may be” the result of a business dispute.

“The suspect must be arrested … we [will] not let him [remain free],” he said by text message.

Meng Cheu was gunned down outside a fruit shop on Sihanouk Boulevard. Witnesses saw two men pull up on a motorbike as Meng Cheu got out of a Lexus. Surveillance footage shows one of the men shoot the businessman six times before fleeing.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia to expand triangle cooperation

Thanh Nien News

VIENTIANE - Wednesday, November 26, 2014 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (R) and his Cambodian and Lao counterparts Samdech Hun Sen (L) and Thongsing Thammavong at the 8th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on November 25,2014. Photo credit:VNA

The Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian premiers agreed to promote trade, investment and tourism among the three countries while attending the eighth Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Summit in Vientiane on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Lao and Cambodian counterparts Thongsing Thammavong and Samdech Hun Sen revised a master plan on socio-economic development in the CLV triangle through 2020.

They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on incentive policies for the bloc.

The leaders praised recent achievements in the implementation of the plan and the MoU, especially in terms of infrastructure development, trade, investment and tourism promotion.

Family in hiding names price [They are fighting against Hun Sen's in-laws so it's an uphill battle]

Ly Srea Kheng holds a bag containing snakes he claims were thrown into his home in Phnom Penh last year by people working for Khun Sear Import Export Company. Pha Lina

Wed, 26 November 2014

Chhay Channyda

A teenager whose father and sister were arrested last week over a land dispute with a politically connected company said yesterday that his family will vacate their home for $250,000.

Ly Bun Heang’s family has claimed it has had snakes thrown in their house and their property burned, among other abuses, in an attempt to have them leave their home of 30 years in the capital’s Tuol Kork district. The government signed over the land in Boeung Kak I commune to the Khun Sear Import Export Company in 2010.

Bun Heang, 18, said yesterday that his family has previously refused to talk money with the company but would now request $250,000 as compensation to leave.

“I have contacted NGOs to help negotiate. I say $250,000,” he said, adding that the price was less than market value. “If the company agrees with this price, we would like all cases to be withdrawn.”

It would then be expected that his father, Ly Srea Kheng and sister Ly Seav Minh, who were arrested November 18, would be freed from pre-trial detention at Prey Sar prison, he said. The pair has been charged over alleged violence against Khun Sear representatives. The family claims that company “gangsters” have repeatedly intimidated them to leave.

The EU-Cambodian partnership

Jean-François Cautain (centre), European Union ambassador to Cambodia, attends the signing of a European Union-funded forestry project in Ratanakkiri earlier this year.Heng Chivoan

Wed, 26 November 2014

Jean-François Cautain

Today and Thursday, we are promoting the European Development Days – the gathering of European development practitioners and their partners worldwide that fosters engagement and facilitates the implementation of the agenda for greater development effectiveness. On this occasion, we take an opportunity to communicate on the concrete results of European development cooperation efforts in Cambodia, to reflect on cooperation and partnership between the European Union and Cambodia and to consider our shared vision for the future.

One of the enduring principles of the European Union, both between its members and with other countries and regions, is solidarity. Our partnerships aim to bridge the divide between developing countries and Europe through development and economic cooperation, and the promotion of inclusive and sustainable development.

The countries of EU have been long-standing development partners of Cambodia, since the early 1990s. Those partners currently active in Cambodia include the European Union and its member states – the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

We are proud to note that the EU with its member states is the biggest donor of official development assistance worldwide, helping people in over 150 countries. In 2013, the EU countries disbursed €130 million ($161.5 million) in support of Cambodia’s development agenda. EU-funded initiatives over the years have benefited millions of Cambodians, from villagers in remote areas gaining access to clean water for the first time to government officials being trained in skills that will benefit the entire nation.

Montagnards viewed as test

Long Visalo (centre), secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks about the Australian refugee deal this year in Phnom Penh. Human Rights Watch says that if Montagnards in Cambodia are repatriated, it could violate Cambodia’s international obligations. Heng Chivoan

Wed, 26 November 2014

Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy

As Cambodia faces increasing scrutiny over its controversial refugee agreement with Australia, its response to a group of Montagnards seeking asylum from alleged persecution in Vietnam could prove to be a crucial test.

An ethnic Jarai villager, who asked not to be named, told the Post on Monday that 13 Montagnards are hiding in a forest in Ratanakkiri province. “A few of them were already jailed for between one and two months in Vietnam,” he said, explaining that the group had been persecuted over their Christian beliefs before fleeing to the Kingdom. “They are hiding in the forest in fear of arrest by the Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities.”

The villager added that more than 10 police officials and security guards have been searching the area since Thursday.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said that while Montagnards are discriminated against in Vietnam, Cambodia too has “an extremely poor record” of protecting them and “has repeatedly caved in to Hanoi’s demands to forcibly return” them.

Robertson said that if the authorities catch the group, it is likely that they would be repatriated. But, he said, following Cambodia’s widely criticised deal to resettle refugees processed in Australian detention centres on the island of Nauru, pressure should be on the two countries to ensure their protection.

Australian Ambassador Alison Burrows should “move quickly to stop any refoulement of the Montangards that will further damage Cambodia’s already shoddy record of protecting refugees”, Robertson said.

Anti-Corruption Unit and parliament seek closer cooperation

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Om Yintieng, President of Anti-Corruption Unit and opposition lawmaker Ho Vann, President of the National Assembly's commission on investigation and anti-corruption, will meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss cooperation. 

It is not a debate, but it a talk to seek collaboration with each others, and it is another new way as the Anti-Corruption Unit never meet with parliament, Ho Vann told CEN (Cambodia Express News), an affiliate of The Cambodia Herald, on Tuesday. 

He said the meeting is to seek closer cooperation, the commission also wants some information over the Anti-Corruption Unit's past implementation. 

Om Yintieng could not be reached for comment.

Three Cambodian women rescued in China to fly home Thursday

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- Three Cambodian women rescued recently in China will fly home on Thursday, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. 

The three were cheated to get married to Chinese men in Guangzhou before they were rescued by the Cambodian embassy there in collaboration with Chinese authority. 

They were identified as Samnang Sovanlina, Ieng Sophorn and Kaen Sreylen, and were from Tbong Kmom and Kampong Cham provinces and Phnom Penh city, respectively.

Seasoned Tycoon Reprimands New Land Concession Holders

BY AUN PHEAP | NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Mong Reththy, one of Cambodia’s most prominent tycoons, complained Tuesday that recent recipients of expansive land concessions from the government have less of a social conscience than entrepreneurs granted land in the 1990s.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference hosted by USAID and the NGO Forum titled “Working Together to Promote Effective Reform on Land and Natural Resources Governance in Cambodia,” Mr. Reththy told reporters that disputes between concession holders and displaced villagers were nothing new.

Agriculture and commodities tycoon Mong Reththy speaks during a conference about land reform in Phnom Penh on Tuesday. (Yu Phourn/NGO Forum)

“I have more than 20 years experience investing in economic land concessions [ELCs],” he said, going on to recount his past efforts to deal with disputes that arose.

“People complained that they did not have land for building houses, so I prepared land for them to build houses on…. Then the people didn’t have land for rice cultivation, so I cultivated it [for them], but then they could not harvest it because they were lazy.”

In contrast to his own generosity, Mr. Reththy said, recipients of concessions in recent years, when pressured to resolve disputes with displaced or threatened villagers, forget that the land comes with a responsibility to use it for the benefit of the country as a whole.

“There are many problems that we are required to sit down and talk about because some concessionaires do not understand their obligations,” he said.

“People trying to solve the problems should not think about their individual benefit,” he said. “They should think about the interests of the people and the nation…and the problems will be solved.”

UN Calls on Gov’t to Protect Group of Montagnards in Country

BY AUN PHEAP AND GEORGE WRIGHT | NOVEMBER 26, 2014

The U.N.’s refugee agency on Tuesday confirmed that 13 Montagnards have crossed into the country from Vietnam and urged the Cambodian government to refrain from deporting members of the group at the risk of endangering their lives.

“UNHCR is aware of 13 Montagnards from Viet Nam who recently arrived in Cambodia,” Vivian Tan, the regional press officer for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in an email.

“We advocate that they should not be sent back to a place where their lives or freedoms could be in danger, and we will cooperate closely with the Cambodian Government to ensure that those in need of international protection receive it,” she said.

The Montagnards, an ethnically homogenous but culturally varied group from Vietnam’s Central Highlands, have long faced persecution and often imprisonment in Vietnam for the form of Christianity many of them practice.

Hundreds of Montagnards fled to Cambodia from Vietnam in the 2000s, beginning with a mass exodus in 2001, when some 1,000 sought refuge in Phnom Penh.

Treatment of Christian Montagnards a crucial test for Cambodia

Lives 13 asylum seekers could be in danger if sent back to Vietnam, says rights monitor

• Phak Seangly and Alice Cuddy for the Phnom Penh Post
• Cambodia
• November 26, 2014

As Cambodia faces increasing scrutiny over its controversial refugee agreement with Australia, its response to a group of Montagnards seeking asylum from alleged persecution in Vietnam could prove to be a crucial test.

An ethnic Jarai villager, who asked not to be named, told the Post on Monday that 13 Montagnards are hiding in a forest in Ratanakkiri province.

“A few of them were already jailed for between one and two months in Vietnam,” he said, explaining that the group had been persecuted over their Christian beliefs before fleeing to the Kingdom. “They are hiding in the forest in fear of arrest by the Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities.”

The villager added that more than 10 police officials and security guards have been searching the area since Thursday.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said that while Montagnards are discriminated against in Vietnam, Cambodia too has “an extremely poor record” of protecting them and “has repeatedly caved in to Hanoi’s demands to forcibly return” them.

Cambodian FM presents ASEAN's latest development to foreign diplomats

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Wednesday presented the result of the 25th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar to foreign diplomats to Cambodia, aiming at disseminating the ASEAN's latest news to Cambodia's friendly countries, a spokesman said.

"His presentation aimed to inform both intra- and extra-ASEAN diplomats to understand the latest decisions made by the ASEAN leaders during the recent summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar," spokesman Koy Kuong told reporters after the meeting, which was attended by diplomats from 27 countries.

He said the presentation is part of Cambodia's efforts to promote ASEAN to the globe as the bloc will be transformed into a community from Dec. 31, 2015.

"We share information about ASEAN's latest news to our friendly countries for mutual benefits," he said.

During the summit, ASEAN leaders reviewed the process of ASEAN community building and committed to redoubling efforts towards the realization of the ASEAN community by 2015.

On the political side, ASEAN leaders stressed the importance to maintain and enhance peace and stability as the foundation for economic development and prosperity in the region.

On the economic front, the leaders stressed the importance to maintain ASEAN's resilient macroeconomic fundamentals and financial stability.

Malaysia will chair ASEAN in 2015 under the theme "Our People, Our vision."

Trafficked Cambodian rescued

Wed, 26 November 2014

Laignee Barron

A trafficked Cambodian woman was taken into Malaysian immigration police custody after a raid on karaoke bars on Sunday night, Cambodian embassy officials confirmed yesterday.

The Cambodian woman was found in Kota Bura along with 22 other foreign victims of human trafficking, who were removed from five different karaoke bars, according to Malaysian media reports.

The women all had valid travel documents and would be transferred to a shelter in Kuala Lampur, the reports said.

Cambodian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday that he was unaware of the case.

But Chhay Kosal, an official at the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia, said he had “already sent a report to that ministry”.