Thai PM Visits Cambodia

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej (C) walks past the honour guards with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen (L) upon his arrival at Phnom Penh international airport March 3, 2008. Samak began a series of visits to introduce himself and his government's policies to ASEAN member countries with a trip to the neighbouring countries of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Cambodia from February 29 to March 4.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Thai PM arrives in Cambodia for visit

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej (R) arrives at the airport in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, March 3, 2008. Samak Sundaravej started his two-day official visit to Cambodia on Monday. (Xinhua Photo)

PHNOM PENH, March. 3 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej arrived here on Monday to pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia.
At the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Samak Sundaravej is leading a delegation to visit Cambodia from March 3 to 4, according to a press release from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
During his two-day visit, Samak Sundaravej will be received in royal audience by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, it said.
Besides, Samak Sundaravej will also meet with Hun Sen, Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin, it added.

Prickly Phnom Penh

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej (L) listens to the national anthems of both nations with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen (R) upon his arrival at Phnom Penh international airport March 3, 2008. Samak began a series of visits to introduce himself and his government's policies to ASEAN member countries with a trip to the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia from February 29 to March 4.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

Phnom Penh - Cambodia declared the Preah Vihear Khmer temple off the agenda as Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej arrived for an official visit that raised some old animosities in Cambodia.
Samak began an official visit that aimed to strengthening bilateral ties but the temple strengthened some Cambodians' suspicions.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Samak's visit was a tradition for new leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which both countries are members.
Hor Namhong said Samak and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will address issues including the Thai-funded repairs of a number of Cambodian border roads, but there would be no signing ceremony.
"But Hun Sen will not talk about the Preah Vihear Temple," he said.
Cambodia has sought to register the ancient temple on the far northern border as a Unesco World Heritage site, but Thailand has objected.
Instead, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An would visit Thailand and hold specific talks with the Thai side about the temple "in the near future," he said, without setting a date.
Some Cambodian groups have been angered by Thailand's obstruction of Cambodia's request to have the disputed temple listed. Some Thai groups are equally upset that Cambodia will not consult Thailand, which currently offers the only easy ingress to the long-disputed temple location.
Cambodia's nationalistic Student Movement for Democracy issued a statement demanding that Hun Sen refuse to speak with Samak on the issue, citing the 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice in the Hague that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia.
The movement's leader, Kein Sara, was briefly imprisoned in 2003 for his alleged role in the anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh. Angry mobs burned the Thai embassy and Thai businesses after false rumours spread that a Thai actress supposedly claimed that another cultural icon, the Angkor Wat temple complex, was Thai. Sara was quickly released.
Although allies, tensions between the neighbouring nations go back for centuries. In 2003, some Cambodian firefighters showed their tacit approval of the riots by reportedly taking water to put out the Thai embassy fires from the city's sewers instead of fire hydrants.
These tensions have not been helped by Thailand's refusal to agree on sea borders as Cambodia looks to exploit potentially rich offshore oil reserves within two years, another issue expected to be on Samak's agenda. (dpa)

Samak off to Cambodia, temple on agenda

Preah Vihear temple.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej left on Monday morning for an official two-day visit to Cambodia, which is expected to touch on a bilateral dispute over the famed Phra Viharn temple, known as Preah Vihear in Cambodia, on their common border.
"We will be discussing many issues, such as a Cambodia's request for a loan to build a road and perhaps Phra Viharn," said Thai Foreign Minister Noppodon Patama at the airport before the Thai delegation departed.
Ownership of Phra Viharn, an ancient Hindu-style temple that straddles the Thai-Cambodian border, has been a contentious issue between Thailand and Cambodia for decades.
The dispute was taken to the International Court of Justice, which ruled on June 15, 1962, that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
Although the temple, perched on a cliff overlooking Cambodia, is now under the management of the Cambodian government, the easiest access to the site for tourists is via Thailand.
Thailand reportedly blocked a Cambodian attempt to have the temple declared a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) last year, citing an ongoing dispute over the exact demarcation of the temple compound, which is still disputed.
It is hoped that the demarcation disagreement will be settled before the next World Heritage committee meeting from July 4 to 12 in Canada.

Letter to the Editor

Editor's Note: Khmerization had received a comment from an anonymous reader. It is a very fair comment so I decided to publish it. Here it is:

Dear Khmerization;

Just purely from a personal point of view - am not a political expert, not belonging to any political party.

Let look at the current political parties in Cambodia.

FUNCIPEC: internal conflict has driven to overthrow of its former leader Rannariddth. Did poorly in 2008 election comparing to 1998 [though then Rannariddth was the leader]. Another poor result for the party during the commune election 2007. Claimed that party will do better without the former leader but cloud of doubts remain - if the party can still hang on to those remain seats in NA.

NRP: Freshly established after the overthrown from party leader of FUNCIPEC. Nowaday, self imposed exile in Malaysia, is waiting and wishing for royal pardon so can return and enter political life again. Had no impact during the commune election 2007. Claimed to have plenty of grassroots level supporters. Doubtful if there will be any impact.

HRP: May be a new party but the founder are not new to people, claimed and aiming for leading in contestant with CPP [saying the recent defection by SR senior members would shake the foundation of SRP and giving his party a chance to win]. Another doubtful candidate to turn table around his way. Prediction: would be very lucky if HRP can secure 3 seats in NA for the first shot.

SRP: Aiming for land slide victory [may be possible if SR play his trump card right subject to his policy during this up coming campaign] But the current internal problems would not help much [too many senior members defected and former party tried hard to get Mrs. Mu, questions remain to be asked if Mrs. Mu and secretary general can really sort out their differences].Based on 1998, 2003 general election and 2007 commune election, can see that SRP will gain more seats [of course remaining seats of FUNCIPEC in NA will be inevitably splitting amongst CPP and SRP, may be 2/3 basis to either side] but doubtful for land slide victory.

CPP: Need 8 more seats to set up government by themselves without having to ask FUNCIPEC as junior partner. One concern is taking into consideration also was the low turn out during the commune election, and my personal opinion, will not help SRP or any minority party.

By Anonymous

Hun Sen Declared that He will Win the Upcoming Election

Hun Sen: "I will surely win the upcoming 2008 election."

29 Feb. 2008
By Kesor Ranniya
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

Prime Minister yesterday told a conference at the Phnom Penh Hotel that he will surely win the upcoming election in July. Mr. Hun Sen said: “I will wait and see because I haven’t gone anywhere yet and I hope that I will win the election…”
The speech was made in response to claims from many foreign diplomats who reminded him to spend the revenue from the natural resources wisely. But Mr. Hun Sen retorted that it is those diplomats who need to be cautious because they will still have to deal with him in the negotiations for oil explorations in the future.

Hun Sen Reminded About the Success of the Khmer People
Prime Minister Hun Sen has reminded people to learn about the history of works that have been successfully completed by his government. He also reminded about past achievements of the Khmer people that foreigners can not achieve and understand about his efforts, including his achievements during the UNTAC period.

The Prime Minister said: “Cambodia has the capacity since during the civil war. UNTAC has spent $2 billion dollars and left, leaving Cambodia with two separate administrative zones. Khieu Samphan and Son Sen went to negotiate with us in Pyongyang in 1995, 1994 and set the minimum conditions in lieu of the constitution. Please be informed! At that time, even His Majesty, especially the Cambodian patriarchs from various denominations such as Samdech Tep Vong, Samdech Bou Kry, Samdech Non Ngeth, Samdech Um Sum and Samdech Preah Maha Ghossananda proposed a ceasefire but Khieu Samphan and Son Sen rejected the proposal. They refused to stop fighting in 1994 and they are still bombastic about it.”

The prime minister has further revealed about the weaknesses of the UNTAC operations in the early 1990s. The prime minister said: “Even up until 1997 we still signed an alliance with one other party to form a coalition government but the fighting broke out in Phnom Penh because someone who was still forming a coalition government with us in Phnom Penh but they also signed an agreement with the jungle rebels to form a front. No one understood it. UNTAC cannot do anything. Even Gen. Sanderson, Mr. Akashi cannot enter Pailin. UNTAC cannot enter Pailin and so only got tough with those who respected the agreements. Those who didn’t respect the agreements they didn’t dare to do anything. After spending all the money they left, leaving the Khmers to fight each other. But we Khmers know how to unite.”//

Isle lab gets remains found in Cambodia

ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. military personnel placed a U.S. flag over a coffin yesterday during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia to honor remains believed to be associated with an American military service member who went missing during the Vietnam War. The remains arrived at Hickam Air Force Base yesterday for forensic analysis.

Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia » The remains of a U.S. serviceman who died in Cambodia more than three decades ago arrived in Hawaii for forensic analysis.
The repatriation is the latest effort by the U.S. military to account for personnel who went missing in the Southeast Asian nation during the Vietnam War.
After a brief ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday, a U.S. military transport plane carrying the remains flew to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where the forensic identification process will begin, a U.S. Embassy statement said.
Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said the remains are believed to be those of a U.S. serviceman who died on Koh Tang, an island several miles off the coast of Cambodia's main port city of Sihanoukville. The embassy did not give further details about when the remains were found.
Eighteen U.S. Marines were killed fighting Khmer Rouge forces on Koh Tang in May 1975. Invading Marines fought for three hours trying to rescue the captured crew of the U.S. Merchant Marine vessel Mayaguez without knowing they had already been released by the Cambodian communists.
Mussomeli said cooperation with the Cambodian government has allowed the United States to send home and identify the remains of 29 missing American servicemen. Another 55 are still unaccounted for.

VietNam, Cambodia speed up land border demarcation

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam and Cambodia have affirmed their determination to speed up the land border demarcation and landmark planting to finish the work by 2012.

The two sides expressed their determination at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Land Border Demarcation and Landmark Planting which took place in Phnom Penh from February 29 to March 1.The two sides agreed to identify all remaining positions on the map and build border landmarks at all major positions, considering these to be their key tasks in 2008.The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Vu Dung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, head of the National Border Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Border Commission.T he Cambodian delegation was headed by Var Kim Hong, senior minister in charge of border affairs and Chairman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Joint Border Commission.On February 29, Deputy Minister Vu Dung and his entourage were received by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam Hong.
(Source: VNA)

Hun Sen Again Chastised Yash Ghai

Mr. Yash Ghai (L) and Mr. Hun Sen (R).

1st March 2008

By Kesor Ranniya

Radio Free Asia

Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

Prime Minister Hun Sen has again publicly chastised the UN human rights envoy to Cambodia, Mr. Yash Ghai, who in the past has strongly criticised the Cambodian government for its human rights records.
In a speech during a meeting on Thursday Mr. Hun Sen has reiterated that all the issues that the UN envoy had raised about Cambodia are all happening in his own country and that Mr. Yash Ghai should solve the problems of human right violations in his native country rather than giving advice to Cambodia.
The prime minister said: “Please look! In Mr. Yash Ghai’s country, it is full of problems but he still preach to us. There are all sorts of problems in his native Kenya but he still preach to us on human rights. Now the bad Karma had spread very quickly. We all pray that the crisis in Kenya would end but it does not matter how hard everybody pray, it still didn’t end. The killings still continue, including the burning of people alive. It is his problems and he compared Cambodia’s issues to those problems. I don’t pray that his country suffers Karmic misfortunes but it is best that he go to solve the crisis in Kenya instead.” //END//

Coming to America

Nine-year-old Davik Teng is full of wonder at American culture as she awaits life-altering heart surgery.
By Greg Mellen, Staff writer

Davik Teng, 9, and her mother Sin Chhon enjoy their first hamburger at a Long Beach McDonalds. The Cambodian pair, visiting the U.S. for the first time, has been amused and bemused by supermarkets, freeways and the Goodyear blimp.(Jeff Gritchen/Staff Photographer)

LONG BEACH - "Where are all the motorbikes and bicycles? And what is that?"
These were two of the first questions Davik Teng and her mother, Sin Chhon, had shortly after arriving in Los Angeles.
Freeway traffic in Southern California was something neither Davik nor Sin had ever seen and was vastly different from the pell-mell profusion of scooters and tuk-tuks that define much of the traffic in their homeland Cambodia.
Davik asked if there were any "ko youns," referring to an open-wheeled Cambodian tractor. Now she jokingly refers to cars as American "ko youns."
The odd object Davik spotted in the sky was the Goodyear blimp. That took some explaining.
Since then, the mother and daughter have been receiving a crash course in American culture 101 in their first trip out of their native country.
Davik is the 9-year-old girl from a remote village in Western Cambodia who was brought to the United States by a Long Beach nonprofit for open heart surgery.
Since arriving in Long Beach, the mother and daughter have been at the center of a whirlwind of activity. They have made several visits to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which is donating facilities and cardiac and dental teams for several surgeries.
They have also had encounters with things iconically American such as supermarkets, McDonalds, Jay Leno and Los Angeles traffic. The pair has been paraded around town to meet members and groups from Long Beach's Cambodian community, seen hours of cartoons on television and become minor celebrities at Sophy's Restaurant, 3720 Anaheim St., which has become an unofficial Davik and Sin central.
And this is just the first week.
Beginning Tuesday, the serious work begins. Although Davik was initially scheduled for the heart surgery last Thursday, the procedure was postponed after doctors found significant dental decay and disease that could complicate surgery.
Instead Davik will have oral surgery to remove infected teeth and minimize the chances of bacteria from the mouth getting into the blood system and affecting the heart. Doctors expect she should be ready for surgery in two to four weeks.
Davik suffers from a heart defect known as a ventricular septal defect, or what is commonly called a hole in the heart.
The defect pushes blood through the hole, which stresses the lungs, causes fatigue and shortness of breath and leads eventually to irreparable lung disease.
Luckily for Davik, a battery of tests showed the child had surprisingly little lung disease, making her a good candidate for the surgery.
Supermarket surprises
So far, much of the week has been about discovering America, although doctors have cautioned Davik and her mom to slow down and limit their exposure to locals and the risk of contracting disease.
Still the two have had some eye-opening experiences. Their first trip to a supermarket was one. Davik and Sin had never seen so much food in a single place.
Davik would later say that her favorite thing in America thus far is milk, which is virtually unknown and unavailable to the poor in Cambodia.
On a second trip to the market, Davik and her mom limited themselves to produce, picking oranges, grapes and apples, which are rare in Cambodia.
Then Davik's eyes alit on something she recognized. She ran over and pointed at the familiar fruit - mangoes.
McDonalds was another cultural experience for Davik and Sin. After spending about 10 minutes pointing at pictures and menu items, Davik and Sin settled on an Angus burger with French fries and Hi-C orange drink.
As she split a hamburger with her daughter, Sin said, through a translator, that the amount of meat in American cuisine was particularly surprising to her.
While munching on her hamburger, Davik would often fall into fits of giggles.
When asked what they thought of the food, Sin said it was wonderful and tasted like nothing they had ever had in Cambodia.
While Davik was munching on her portion of the hamburger, two women who recognized her from the newspaper came over. They patted Davik on the head.
"We just want you to know we're praying for you," one said. "And welcome to our country."
Davik and Sin smiled broadly when the message was translated.
Vast differences
Earlier in the day, the two had been at NBC Studios, the workplace of Peter Chhun, the executive director of Hearts Without Boundaries, the local nonprofit that brought Davik to the U.S. It was there they spotted Leno.
To Sin, the differences between Cambodia and the U.S. seem endless.
"Just name it," she said through translation. "It's much more clean. There are no dirty bumpy roads and the roads are clean and wide. There's no stink. The buildings are bigger and the lights are brighter."
Sin and Davik live in a compound with no electricity, no running water and no sewage. They share a 6-by-9-foot hut with Davik's sister and great aunt.
Gradually, though, the two are settling in.
When asked if she thought much about her village, Davik said through translation, "When I first got here, I think about my village and family a lot. Now I think about them a little bit."
Then she laughed.
Davik and her mom have been staying with a Cambodian family in Central Long Beach. When not going to the hospital, Davik watches cartoons on television and draws, while her mom helps their hosts with cooking.
At nights, they often visit Sophy's where "Uncle Bobby" works. That's Chantha Bob, a waiter who first brought Davik to the attention of Chhun and Hearts Without Boundaries.
When introduced to new people, Davik and her mom invariably steeple their fingers and bow in the traditional Cambodian greeting.
Occasionally, the child will add "Hello, my name is Davik."
On a recent visit, Davik and a Cambodian-American girl she befriended showed how easy it is for the child to blend in.
Wearing a sweatshirt decorated with snowmen and teddy bears, Davik ran around with her new friend shooting pictures with a digital camera.
The children would then look at the photos and dissolve in laughter.
"I like it because I see people in the camera," Davik said.
Summing up the experiences, Chhun said, "They seem to be handling it quite well. At some places they've had a big culture shock, like the supermarket. But after the first time, it just becomes normal to them."
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

A Biography of Sarin Chhak: Border expert's fate a mystery

By Julio A. Jeldres

The current debate over Cambodia's borders has involved references on several occasions to the name of Sarin Chhak, the eminent author of the only complete study (in four volumes) of the Kingdom's borders, whose whereabouts have been the source of much speculation following his disappearance immediately after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in January 1979.

Sarin Chhak was born Khin Kaing, in Krangsla village, Prey Kabass district, Takeo province on January 2, 1922. He was the child of Mr. Khin and Mrs. Chhay Lak, both farmers.

Because he had to help his parents on the farm, he was unable to attend primary school at an early age like other Cambodian children. During the French colonial period, a regulation forbade children of advanced age to enroll in primary school, so in order to attend, Kaing changed his name to Sarin Chhak becuase he did not want to disclose his real age.

He was a good student and was, therefore, encouraged to pursue studies at a higher level. He graduated from Phnom Penh University with a law degree and obtained his Ph.D. in Economic Law in France in 1966. The topic of his dissertation was "The Borders of Cambodia".

Paul Reuter, a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Paris and one of Cambodia's lawyers in the Preah Vihear case, writes in the introduction to the first volume of "Borders of Cambodia" that "[Sarin Chhak's] work, brilliantly presented in front of the Faculty Law and Economic Sciences of Paris, will permit the author to find an attentive audience, which shall not fail to appreciate the conscience, the tireless labor and the merits of the author." Adding that, "Sarin Chhak abstained from creating any polemic or of using words filled with bitterness and inviting us to believe that violence is not the only recourse to achieve an aim.

"Upon his return to Cambodia, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served in different posts within the ministry and also at the Cambodian Embassy in Paris. He was appointed Ambassador to the United Arab Republic (Egypt) in 1968, with residence in Cairo, while concurrently serving as Ambassador to Senegal.

Following the coup of March 18, 1970, Sarin Chhak denounced the coup, refused to recognize the Lon Nol government and declared his allegiance to Samdech Norodom Sihanouk as the legal Head of State of Cambodia. At the same time, he announced that the Cambodian Embassy in Cairo had become the "Embassy of Progressive Cambodia in the UAR".

He was made a member of the Political Bureau and Central Committee of the National United Front of Kampuchea (FUNK), following its establishment in Peking in March 1970, and he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Royal Government of National Union of Kampuchea (GRUNK) in May 1970. As such he traveled widely in Africa, where he had many friends and acquaintances urging the early recognition of GRUNK by several African countries.

However, upon the arrival in Peking of Ieng Sary, the so-called "Special Envoy from the FUNK-GRUNK within Cambodia," things began to work against the royalist elements of the Front - including Sarin Chhak, Chea San, Huot Sambath and others - and in favor of the Khmer Rouge, whose representative in the Chinese capital was Ieng Sary. Sary had been tasked with changing the composition of FUNK and GRUNK and making them more in tune with Khmer Rouge policies and strategies.

Until Sary's arrival in Peking, the Khmer Rouge had little influence on the Front's policies and activities, which were directed from the Chinese capital by Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, Chairman of FUNK and Head of State, and Samdech Penn Nouth, Chairman of the Political Bureau of FUNK and Prime Minister of GRUNK.According to former members of FUNK and GRUNK who escaped the Khmer Rouge's gulags by exiling themselves to France, or who survived them, Sarin Chhak was highly appreciated by Sihanouk and former Cambodian Prime Minister and GRUNK's then-Prime Minister (1970-75) Penn Nouth but detested by Ieng Sary. Penn Nouth managed to get Sarin Chhak appointed Deputy Prime Minister of GRUNK, concurrent with his maintenance of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, just before the fall of Phnom Penh and this enraged Ieng Sary even further.(1)

After a mission to the United Nations in October 1975, during which he met with US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Habib, Sarin Chhak disappeared from the scene and later reappeared in the notorious Beoung Trabek concentration camp for diplomats run by the Khmer Rouge. Several people have said that after Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1979, he was taken by Vietnamese soldiers to a Vietnamese military vehicle and driven to an unknown destination.(2)

Some of my sources, including the children of Sarin Chhak currently living in France, have suggested that the Vietnamese took Sarin Chhak and his wife to Hanoi, where they kept him under house arrest until his death in the early to mid-1990s.(3)

According to the same sources, during a visit to Hanoi by Sihanouk in July 1970, the Vietnamese hero General Vo Nguyen Giap asked one of his staff to point Sarin Chhak out to him. The same sources suggest that it was not in Vietnam's interests to leave Sarin Chhak free, particularly outside Cambodia, as his thesis had stated that portions of Cambodia's territories had been given to Vietnam, particularly in the south of the country. This had not been forgotten by the Vietnamese. In late 1979 former GRUNK Finance Minister Thiounn Mumm asked Ieng Sary to launch a campaign to find Sarin Chhak, but Mumm says Sary refused, arguing that once liberated he could turn against "Democratic Kampuchea".(4)

In 1989, during the first Paris International Conference on Cambodia, the surviving children and grandchildren of Sarin Chhak wrote to Sihanouk and asked him to intervene for the release of their parents. Samdech Sihanouk wrote immediately to Mr. Hun Sen, but to the best of my knowledge, there was no answer from the latter.(5)

Then in September 1991 the family again wrote to Sihanouk advising that they had received reliable information, according to which Sarin Chhak and his wife had been kept until April 1991 in Vung Tau (also known as Cap Saint Jacques), a seaside resort about two hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City, and then taken back to Hanoi.(6)

Samdech Sihanouk wrote to Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and to Hun Sen again. The Vietnamese leader replied that after a serious investigation, it had been found out that Ambassador Sarin Chhak and his wife were not in Vietnam.(7)

So, what happened to Sarin Chhak and his wife? It is a mystery. Was he taken to Vietnam and kept under house arrest until his death? Or was he killed by the Khmer Rouge?Let us hope that the forthcoming Extraordinary Chambers to judge the Khmer Rouge may bring to light some information on what happened to Sarin Chhak and his wife and allow their children and grandchildren to resume normal lives.

Reference:

1. Author's interviews with the former GRUNK Ambassador to Algeria, the late Mr. Chem Snguon; GRUNK Minister of Armaments, General Duong Sam Ol and GRUNK Finance Minister Mr. Thiounn Mumm in Paris 1989 and 1995 respectively.

2. Author's correspondence with the former GRUNK Ambassador to North Korea, the late Mr. Ang Kim Khoan, and interview with General Duong Sam Ol in Paris in 1995.

3. Author's correspondence, 1997-2000, with Sarin Chhak's eldest daughter Madame Chhary Khin.

4 .Mr. Thiounn Mumm's letter to the author dated January 23, 1997.

5. Letter from Samdech Norodom Sihanouk to Mr. Hun Sen, Paris, August 1, 1989, copy in my possession.

6. Letter from Madame Khin Chhary to Samdech Sihanouk, Paris, September 11, 1991, copy in my possession.

7. Letter of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, Paris, September 14, 1991, and response from Vietnamese PM dated October 9, 1991, copies in my possession.

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Phnom Penh Post, Issue 14/11, June 3 - 16, 2005

Selling the Largest Hindu Temple in the World

Angkor Wat temple.

Angkor Wat is celebrated, the world over, as a temple of steroid-induced proportions, buried for centuries in the forests of northern Cambodia before being rediscovered by modernity. Visitors such as I, expect to ‘stumble upon’ a giant temple rising about 700 feet in the air amidst the isolation of an intrusive forest. In today’s global tourism industry, Angkor Wat is portrayed as that rarity, the last chance to truly discover. There is some truth to this image. Before it was ‘discovered’ in 1840 by a French adventurer, it had not yet entered European imagination. During much of the late twentieth century, when global tourism really took off, Angkor Wat (means city temple) remained inaccessible due to a catastrophic civil war in Cambodia. Besides, Angkor Wat is probably the largest Hindu temple in the world. Built by King Surya Varman in the early 12th century, it is dedicated to lord Vishnu. Even the Creator of the Universe would have gasped at the scale of this creation—one square kilometer in size, and built on multiple levels. The artistry of each panel is intricate. I spot a horde of Hindu tourists, aggressively explaining to their befuddled Cambodian guide that this is actually ‘their’ culture. The truth is Hinduism in Cambodia dates back to the first century AD, brought by Indian traders from the kingdoms of Magadha (East Bihar) and Tamil Nadu. By the time of the Angkor era, this influence had flowered into a distinct culture of which Angkor Wat is the most enduring example. So much for the product. Now the packaging. Even at the time of its so called discovery, Angkor Wat was being administered by some one thousand Buddhist monks. Today, chattering groups of pliant tourists arrive in chartered planes to the nearby airport, Siem Reap. The scatter of shops around the temple sites—some mom and pop, some more enticing—sell every possible packaged memory. The entire area seems like a giant well run hotel. This gilt-edged wrapping paper, however, is torn at places, revealing contradictions. In sharp contrast to the booming Asian Tigers that surround it, the Cambodian countryside is stark, famished and numbingly poor. Entirely different is Siem Reap, an artificial city, meant to service the many rich western and Japanese tourists who come to visit the Angkor temples. There are super markets everywhere, and the architecture is Baroque-meets-Surya Varman. The obvious poverty of Cambodia seems to give way to a bubble of smooth highways and air-conditioned modernity. The economy seems as fissured: I could pay in Riel (the Cambodian currency), Baht or in US dollars. Even the culture that was peddled as Khmer (the majority ethnic group in Cambodia) seemed hybrid. Like in neighbouring Thailand, the Angkor massages on offer in Siem Reap reflected the specific tastes of our globalised times. Eastern European women offer their white skin for the post-colonial Asian, and Nigerians peddle their bodies, rumoured to be well endowed, to Japanese women. It may seem petulant to emphasise this lack of ‘authentic’ history here. After all every country packages its attractions in bubble wrap for outside tourists. But Angkor Wat’s history has been repackaged for its own people. For Cambodia has had to wrestle with notions of history like few others. From 1974 to 1979, a far left Maoist regime controlled Cambodia. Until it was overthrown, the Khmer Rouge had succeeded in killing a tenth of Cambodia, forced the entire urban population to the countryside, and sought to radically reshape Cambodian society. Worse (if at all possible) was to follow. During their fourteen years of exile and guerrilla warfare from the northern jungles, it laid ten million landmines across north Cambodia—one for each Cambodian. Today, Cambodia enjoys a tenuous peace, and seeks to put behind its immediate past. The Angkor temples are now packaged for Cambodians, as a symbol of national unification. Even the current Cambodian national flag carries an etching of Angkor Wat. But the phantoms of a grisly past cannot be wished away. Some temples in the Angkor area are still inaccessible due to landmines, and I saw many amputees hobbling across the temple stones. vinay.sitapati@googlemail.com

Multi-millionaire Kith Meng leases the largest island in Sihanoukville for 99-year [-More evictions to come on these leased islands]

Friday, February 29, 2008

Rasmei Kampuchea

Translated from Khmer by Socheata and Heng Soy

courtesy of http://khmerization.blogspot.com

The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) declared on Thursday that the government decided to lease the 7,800-hectare Koh Rong Island, the largest island in Sihanoukville, to Oknha Kith Meng’s Royal Group Company, for a duration of 99-year for eco-tourism development. On that same day, the government also declared the leasing of a portion of the Koh Russey Island in Sihanoukville to a French investment company.Kith Meng, the CEO of the Royal Group Company, signed the lease contract on Koh Rong Island on 28 February 2008 with Cham Prasidh, the minister of commerce and CDC vice-president.Suon Sithy, the secretary general of the committee for investment in Cambodia, declared that the development of Koh Rong Island is very large because the island extends over an area of 7,826-hectare altogether. He said that, even the Royal Group did not declare about the actual amount of investment funds now, but based on the negotiation results for the development of Koh Rong Island, the plan was to invest a huge fund amounting to several millions of dollars, because the investment was included in the contract and constitutes the government priority plan.Kith Meng did not make any declaration about the development plan of Koh Rong Island during the signing of the contract which was participated by several institutions involved. Suon Sothy added that, after the signing of the contract, the Royal Group has 18-month to cooperate with the planning committee to come with a study on the (development) master plan and submit it for review and final approval by the CDC.Suon Sothy also said that, (the CDC) places high hope on Kith Meng, who is a local investor and president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce with several successful businesses, will resolve the development issue with the people (living on the island) in a reasonable manner, and that he pushes the development plan of Koh Rong Island to fruition.At the same time, the CDC also declared that a 137-hectare portion of Koh Russey Island, in Sihanoukville, was also leased to the French Koh Russey Resort Company for a duration of 99-year for eco-tourism development.Suon Sothy said also that the plan for the development of Koh Russey Island is part of the government priority plan to serve the eco-tourism industry. The plan for the development of Koh Russey will requires a spending of $48 million. On this issue, CDC is confident that the French company which has sufficient experience in this field, will be successful in the implementation of its development plan.

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Read related story:http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/02/bringing-commerce-to-cambodia.html

Cambodia bans 'adulterous' songs from karaoke bars

By Andrew Buncombe,

Asia Correspondent

Saturday, 1 March 2008

The karaoke bars of Phnom Penh are well known for very often being nothing more than fronts for brothels. They are the places where men from Cambodia, Thailand and further afield pay for sex with women who are often just girls.
But in the latest peculiar edict from a government purportedly keen to crack down on such vice, Cambodia has outlawed the public playing of songs that encourage "infidelity".
The titles of the first three songs to be banned leave little to the imagination. "If I Can't be First Can I be Second", "Love Another's Husband" and "May I Have a Piece of Your Heart Too", were all written to be sung by women looking to entice men who may be married. Having banished the songs from the thousands of karaoke bars across the country, the authorities are now seeking other similar tunes that may be deemed unsuitable.
"We are searching for other songs which might affect people's honour, especially that of women," Kep Chuktema, the governor of Phnom Penh, told a local Khmer language newspaper. Cambodia is outwardly a conservative culture, but the country's karaoke bars are notorious and have often been the focus of efforts by campaigners to act against child trafficking and prostitution. The campaign group End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking in Cambodia (Ecpat Cambodia) estimates that a third of sex workers in the country are children. The group says that in recent years there has been a surge "in the number of commercial sex centres in Cambodia, and increasing exploitation and abuse of children in the sex trade".
Against this backdrop, in September 2006 the Cambodian government introduced the controversial "monogamy law" which carries a punishment of a 1m riels, (£125), fine and a year in jail for anyone found guilty of adultery. But many believe the introduction of the law may have been politically motivated. One of the first people the authorities tried to prosecute was the opposition politician Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who was trying to divorce his wife after having long lived with a classical dancer. The case against the prince, who now spends most of his timein Malaysia, eventually stalled. Indeed, since the introduction of the law there has only been one successful prosecution, that of Kek Ravy, a cousin of Prince Ranariddh, who was fined 1m riels after his wife brought a case against him under the new legislation. The court was apparently lenient and took into account the fact that Mr Ravy had applied for a divorce 18 months earlier, but it had not yet been granted because of wrangling over division of the couple's finances.
One official told the Koh Santepheap newspaper: "People can still play the songs in private. I don't think music has much to do with it, but it is an official request that has to be followed."

Catch Dengue Fever

Everyone has been worried about flu this winter. Now, Dengue Fever is about to arrive.
Don’t worry. It’s Dengue Fever, a band from Los Angeles that plays a hybrid of Cambodian pop music and American rock.
On Sunday night, the band makes its Delaware debut at the Arden Gild Hall in Arden. Fronted by Ch’hom Nimol, a Cambodian pop vocalist who sings in Khmer (the language spoken in Cambodia), the band also features Ethan Holtzman (organ), Zac Holtzman (guitar), David Ralicke (sax), Senon Williams (bass) and Paul Smith (drums). The band is touring in support of its new album, “Venus On Earth.”
“We recorded the album last year and finished it in September,” Williams said during a phone interview. “I have a studio at my house. We’d do the basic tracks at Jim Putnam’s Phase Four Studio – concentrating on drums and bass.

“After that, we’d take it back to my studio to do the guitars, horns, keyboards and vocals. A few of the new songs were jams that we’d edit down and then re-record. Others were recorded before we even got the vocal melody. Then Nimol would take it and turn it in to her style of singing.”
The band’s debut album was filled with covers of Cambodian pop classics. The second album was “Escape From Dragon House” in 2005, which integrated styles with lots of multi-tracking and a somewhat psychedelic vibe. The new album is more basic.
“Our other records were more layered,” Williams said. ‘This time, we stripped it down and let Nimol’s voice come forward more. There was a strong effort to make it more minimal – barebones, yet more melodic.”
What: Dengue Fever
When: March 2, 8 p.m.
Where: Arden Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Arden, Del.
Tickets: $25
Information: 302-475-3126

Cautious Cambodian

Chhouk tep is a rare find for Khmer cuisine, long overshadowed by its Asian neighbours. Service is enthusiastic, though we're hoping the heat gets turned up.

SARAH MUSGRAVE, Freelance
CHHOUK TEP
Fair bet

1414 Notre-Dame St W.
(at Versailles St.)
Phone: 514-931-6661
Hours: Weekdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tues. to Sun. 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., to 10 p.m. on weekends; closed Mon.
Licensed: No
Credit cards: MC, Visa
Wheelchair access: Several steps up
Vegetarian friendly: Limited
Price range: Appetizers $2.75 to $3.95; mains $6.95 to $14.95

Dining out midway through last week was almost guaranteed to be a bizarre experience. The lunar eclipse really set the ambiance, with the moon hanging over the streets like it had escaped from a maquette at the Planetarium.
The interior of Chhouk Tep seemed to reflect the strange atmosphere outside. With dim lighting giving the large double room a shadowy quality, and the dark walls barely illuminated by neon green bands around the windows, it felt like the kind of place where one might have an assignation to settle gambling debts.
Not that anything remotely villainous was going on - quite the opposite was true of its earnest restaurateurs, who are attempting to bring Cambodian cooking to Montreal. I've noticed Khmer cuisine in other Quebec towns - in fact, Chhouk Tep is a second location of a branch in Sorel - so I was pleased to see this spot open a couple of months ago, even in its somewhat desolate location.
With its better-known culinary cousins Thailand and Vietnam always stealing the spotlight, we asked our host to point out the real Cambodian preparations on the menu.
He enthusiastically noted about 10 offerings on a list that included a number of pan-Asian dishes (though I noticed that General Tao had changed ranks to Admiral Tao).
To tide us over, we needed something quick, and settled on deep-fried wontons. Dunked in a slightly sour sauce, these crunchy little kerchiefs stuffed with chicken and pork were just the ticket.
We followed up with a couple of soups. The first, chicken, rice and lemon, sounded just right for a winter's night. The colourless broth had a pleasantly sweet twinge, but a floating wedge of lemon was not enough or maybe not the kind of citrus I wanted, and I suspect it's usually made with less innocuous preserved lemon. A Thai noodle soup was jammed full of vermicelli and bits and bobs, and while certainly spicier, there was again a sugary effect that inspired a disappointed sigh.
Angorksak beef featured somewhat unusual sauté partners of thinly sliced tomatoes, onions and shredded lettuce for added freshness. Sopheap shrimp with cauliflower, zucchini and bell peppers also had a just-cooked quality, but it was hard to detect a distinctive flavour. Chicken with lemongrass was more pronounced, but if the sauce fell into a certain sameness; again the culprit was sweetness.
Chhouk Tep uses a rating system for its main courses, from no stars to three stars (only one Thai dish earned this hot status). At least two of our choices were two-star, but as there wasn't a hint of challenge in them, we should perhaps have requested chilies to add some kick. That's not the say the preparations weren't tasty, and there was no question about care for ingredients.

With this rare Cambodian resto still finding its feet, what concerns me is that the kitchen may be playing it safe for a perceived clientele. No offense to the fine community of Sorel, but what flies there won't necessarily captivate Montreal diners. I'm hoping Chhouk Tep steps it up, and well before the next lunar eclipse.
Sarah Musgrave is the author of 2007's Montreal Resto à Go-Go: 200 Cheap and Fun Places to Eat and Drink in Montreal.

U.S. Military MIAs Return

U.S. military personnel carry what is believed to be the remains of a member of the U.S. military service, who went missing in Cambodia decades ago, to an aircraft during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport March 1, 2008. The remains will be flown to the U.S. for identification analysis .REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

U.S. Military Remains Returns

U.S. military personnel carry what is believed to be the remains of a member of the U.S. military service, who went missing in Cambodia decades ago, to an aircraft during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport March 1, 2008. The remains will be flown to the U.S. for identification analysis .
REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

U.S. Military Remains Sent Homes

U.S. military personnel salute by a flag-draped coffin containing what is believed to be the remains of a member of the U.S. military service, who went missing in Cambodia decades ago, during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport March 1, 2008. The remains will be flown to the U.S. for identification analysis .REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

U.S. Military Remains

U.S. military personnel carry what is believed to be the remains of a member of the U.S. military service, who went missing in Cambodia decades ago, to an aircraft during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport March 1, 2008. The remains will be flown to the U.S. for identification analysis .REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

U.S. Military M.I.A's

U.S. military personnel carry what is believed to be the remains of a member of the U.S. military service, who went missing in Cambodia decades ago, to an aircraft during a repatriation ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport March 1, 2008. The remains will be flown to the U.S. for identification analysis .REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)

U.S. soldier's remains flown to USA for ID

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli, right, gives a speech as a U.S. military major Craig Tippins, left, stands at attention during a repatriation ceremony to honor remains believed to be associated with a missing American military service member at Phnom Penh International Airport, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Saturday, March. 1, 2008. Remains of an American military service man who died in Cambodia more than decades ago were flown Saturday to the United States for identification analysis.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The remains of a U.S. serviceman who died in Cambodia more than three decades ago were flown Saturday to the United States for forensic analysis.
The repatriation is the latest effort by the U.S. military to account for personnel who went missing in the Southeast Asian nation during the Vietnam War.
After a brief ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport, a U.S. military transport plane carrying the remains left for Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where the forensic identification process will begin, a U.S. Embassy statement said.
Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said the remains are believed to be those of a U.S. serviceman who died on Koh Tang, an island several miles off the coast of Cambodia's main port city of Sihanoukville. The embassy did not give further details about when the remains were found.
Eighteen U.S. Marines were killed fighting Khmer Rouge forces on Koh Tang in May 1975. Invading Marines fought for three hours trying to rescue the captured crew of the U.S. merchant marine vessel Mayaguez without knowing they had already been released by the Cambodian communists.

Mussomeli said cooperation with the Cambodian government has allowed the U.S. to send home and identify the remains of 29 missing American servicemen. Another 55 are still unaccounted for. (AP)

Hun Sen: Free Coffins For Anyone Who Dare To Protect Cambodia’s Borders

Hun Sen: Betrayer of the Cambodian Nation.

"Those who are not protecting one’s own lands and are allowing neighbouring countries to encroach on one’s own borders are called traitors, including the prime minister of a country. I am not calling Mr. Hun Sen a traitor here. I just call him a betrayer of the Cambodian nation."

Editorial by Khmerization:- I have been called “a retarded gorilla bastard” by Mr. Hun Sen’s supporters for writing critical editorials criticising him. With what I am going to say in the following editorial, I am bracing for more lynchings. But I am fortunate enough to have lived in a free country and, with the advance of internet technology, I am able to speak my mind freely without fears and without having to suffer the same fate as many Khmer journalists working inside Cambodia who have been murdered and physically harmed every year. It is with conviction that, when it comes to Cambodia’s national interests, I will not be silenced.
Coming back to the topic, I read with dismay about Prime Minister Hun Sen’s reactions to claims of border violations by our neighbours. It is sad to hear a prime minister of my country dismissing claims of border encroachments as “stupid lies”. It is also irresponsible and insulting of the prime minister of a country to declare that he will provide “free coffins” to those who wanted to protect and defend Cambodia’s own borders (read the article below).
Border problems and border encroachments by our neighbours is not a myth but are real. A responsible prime minister would have ordered an investigation on the grounds every time there is a claim of border encroachments. Most of the encroachments are not reported by armchair analysts writing from their office in New York or Sydney. Most encroachments were reported by villagers living in the encroached areas who have been robbed of their ancestral lands everyday by the Vietnamese and the Thai authorities.
Claims of encroachments in Phum Dong and Bavet in Svay Rieng have been in the public domain for years as well as in Takeo, Kandal, at O’Yadao in Rattanakiri and Kampong Cham. On the Thai side, encroachments occurred at Anlong Veng, O’Smach, O’Bei Choan and in the Dangrek Ranges region and probably at Preah Vihear temple too. These are encroachments which have been reported by the villagers living in the areas of the encroachments.
There are suggestions that Vietnam and the Vietnamese villagers have claimed that they have lost their lands as well- meaning that Cambodia or the Cambodian villagers had encroached on Vietnam’s borders, stolen their lands to be exact. These suggestions are baseless and absurd. Cambodia cannot even protect its current borders let alone trying to encroach on the borders of a powerful neighbours, especially Vietnam.
Those who are not protecting one’s own lands and are allowing neighbouring countries to encroach on one’s own borders are called traitors, including the prime minister of a country. I am not calling Mr. Hun Sen a traitor here. I just call him a betrayer of the Cambodian nation.
Supporters of Mr. Hun Sen, who refused to believe that border encroachments had occurred, believed that Mr. Hun Sen is a Khmer patriot who will do anything to protect Cambodia’s borders. The fact that Mr. Hun Sen is in denial and did not utter a word of protest means that there is no encroachments. Those who are in this category are trying to whitewash Mr. Hun Sen’s irresponsibility. And a responsible Prime Minister would not have dismissed claims of border encroachments as “stupid lies”. A responsible prime minister would not have tried to intimidate those who want to protect their borders by offering to provide them with “free coffins” if they dare to do so. Such irresponsible behaviours would only have come from “a betrayer of the Cambodian nation”. //END// For more details please read the article below.....

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Prime Minister Hun Sen Reacted to the Accusations About Land Sales to Foreigners
Hun Sen: Accusations about land sales to foreigners are "stupid lies".
28th Feb. 2008
By San Sovit

Radio Free Asia

Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

In relations to the loss of Cambodia’s lands there were accusations which were levelled against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen of selling lands to foreigners or to foreign companies under the guise of land concessions for economic developments and for investments in the developments of rubber and teak plantations.The Prime minister dismissed those accusations as “stupid lies”.But leader of the opposition party has said in the past that many foreigners have taken up Khmer citizenship and therefore they can still buy lands in Cambodia.In relation to the sale of lands to foreigners, Prime Minister Hun Sen has said on Wednesday, in a ceremony to inaugurate the foundation of a Buddhist temple at Wat Tuol Preah Reachea, Po Ban Sub-District, Koh Thom District, Kandal Province, that the accusations is a sad saga.Prime Minister Hun Sen said: “I think that the topic of land sales to foreigners is a sad topic and it is a topic which is insulting to our own race. What can we do because our ancestors have only left that much lands to us? What we need to protect is what was inscribed in the constitution. That is enough! Some people want to reclaim Kampuchea Krom. Please go! At one occasion I have told them that: if you want to take back Kampuchea Krom, you can go. I don’t have the capacity to take it back but I will provide the coffins for your burial.” //END//
Posted by khmerization at 3:23 PM 2 comments
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Prime Minister (Hun Sen) Rejected Criticisms on Borders


Son Chhay (far left), Kem Sokha (letf) and PM Hun Sen (bottom).
27th Feb. 2007

By Keo Nimol

Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer to English by Khmerization

Prime Minister Hun Sen has rejected criticisms that during his rule Cambodia’s neighbours had encroached on Cambodian borders everyday.Speaking during a religious ceremony in Koh Thom district in Kandal Province on 27th February the Prime Minister said: “They said that each day Vietnam has encroached one metre, ten metres or one hundred metres and Thailand had encroached one metre, ten metres or one hundred metres. I think that according to what they have claimed, to this present day, Cambodia would have lost all our lands. I think that these sorts of propaganda, sometimes were made with the intention of insulting our own race. I think that the accusations about land sale to foreigners is a sad topic and is a topic which is insulting to our own race.”Kem Sokha, the President of the Human Right Party, who has recently criticised about the drafting of an amendment to the laws which will allow foreigners to own properties and lands, said in reference to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s remarks that: “According to the people, there were border movements. These claims didn’t come from one person only. There were many places of border encroachments. For example, in Takeo, many villagers told me that there were encroachments. In Kampong Cham they said the same. And in Rattanakiri I have received the same information from the people there.” Son Chhay, a member of the Parliamentary Permanent Committee and a member of the Sam Rainsy Party, said in reference to the border issues that: “If we talk about border encroachments, in some areas there were encroachments of 5 kilometres, 10 kilometres, 8 kilometres. According to border experts they have pointed to the maps that have been kept at the United Nations which shown that in 1994 we have declared “white areas” (overlapping areas) along the borders with our neighbours. And the declaration of such “white areas” has made Cambodia lost some parts of our lands along the borders. There must be an investigation using technical methodology so that our people will be satisfied.”In the past a border committer known as Cambodian Borders Committee, based in France and led by Mr. Sean Pengse, has often reported about border encroachments by Cambodia’s neighbours. The Committee had also appealed to the government to annul all border agreements with our neighbours signed between 1980 to 1993. //END//

Group: National TV Coverage Skewed to CPP

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

29 February 2008

Chiep Mony reports in Khmer (0.99 MB) - Download (MP3)

Chiep Mony reports in Khmer (0.99 MB) - Listen (MP3)

The independent monitoring group Comfrel said Friday that national television had spent an excessive amount of time covering the activities of ruling party politicians and not enough on the business of government.
TVK, which is owned by the government, spent 90 percent of its political coverage showing beneficial activities run by members of the Cambodian People's Party, Comfrel said, following observation of TKV from October 2007 to January 2008.
The national station spent only 10 percent of that coverage on the business of the National Assembly and Senate.
Koy Chandarith, media coordinator for Comfrel, called the coverage "biased."
"I ask TVK to give a chance to other parties so that they can be known and their activities shown," Koy Chandarith said.
Kim Kunawath, director-general of TVK, told VOA Khmer Friday that Comfrel's observations were not accurate.
He said if Comfrel approaches TVK, the work of the independent monitoring body would improve.
Muth Chantha, spokesman for the Norodom Ranariddh Party, said in recent months he has not heard of the NRP on TVK, "not even one second."
"TVK should broadcast news on education for the people, to encourage people to go to vote, to let them know the voting station sites and know all the political parties. These are important factors," Muth Chantha said.

Morality Key for Children, Guest Says

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer

Washington

29 February 2008

Nuch Sarita reports in Khmer (6.64 MB) - Download (MP3)

Nuch Sarita reports in Khmer (6.64 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Muoy You runs an orphanage, and through it she seeks to encourage education and morality.
A guest on "Hello VOA" Thursday, Muoy You appealed to parents to respect the rights of children, who as important to society.
Society is just like a sheet of blank paper, she said, and the ink to be put on it is up to parents.
She appealed to all families in Cambodia to teach their children morality, and to help them understand the value of education.

Hun Sen Says Line Is Open to Thaksin

Why did Hun Sen talk so openly and publicly about being a good friend of Thaksin now that he has returned home to Thailand? Why was he so silent when Thaksin remained in exile? Is it because he wanted to let Thaksin know that: "I am your good friend and please come to my aid if and when I am in trouble?" Please remember that Hun Sen and his government praised the coup leaders and recognised the coup immediately. Don't be fooled by Hun Sen's deceitful praises.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

29 February 2008

Sok Khemara reports in Khmer (879 KB) - Download (MP3)

Sok Khemara reports in Khmer (879 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Hun Sen has maintained communication with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to his native country Thursday after 18 months in exile.
"Since the coup toppled him, phones calls were exchanged," Hun Sen said Thursday. "It's very normal."
He called Thaksin an old friend, and deflected reports Thaksin had come to visit him before his return to Thailand.
If he were to come, Hun Sen said, "I would receive him without keeping it silent."

Gem Trade Vanishing From Pailin

Stripping of a Nation: Heavy machines mined gems and rubies in Pailin, destroying it at the same time.

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer

Original report from Pailin

29 February 2008

From her shop on the busy road through downtown Pailin, Sami Chanry watched the cars pass and kick up dust.
"I've done this business since 1970," she said. "I'd sift and sell and shape the stones, and then we would have a lot of gems. But during the past seven or eight years, the gems have become rare. [Those who seek them] must go far from town to find the gems, like into the Trop Mountains, the Bor Tang Su River and O'tang Mountain."
Pailin was known as "the city of gems," and its precious stones once funded, in part, the Khmer Rouge resistance to government forces. After the collapse of the regime in 1996, large Thai companies came from across the border, with huge shaker machines and excavators. And now the gem mining industry in Pailin is nearly finished.
A gem cutter not far from Sami Chanry's shop said he now received only the smallest gems to shape. One of the reasons that the precious stones have become rare is that the giant machines came in after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, he said.
Pailin Governor Y Chien said that the government doesn't want to give the license to gem mining companies, or allow them to mine state land, but they are still in Pailin, so the gems must be also.
More than 50,000 people live around the former Khmer Rouge stronghold, and many of them, in the 1960s and 1970s, supported themselves through the search for precious stones.
Today, the active businesses in town center around agriculture, hotels, and the border casinos that employ 3,000 people.
Em Reuy is not one of them. She sifts for gems in a river near town.
"Now, I can find less and less," she said recently, just finishing her work for the afternoon. "Sometimes I find nothing all day, or I have to take four or five days and I find two or three gems, and I can sell for 400 or 500 baht (about $10 to $12). Two years ago, gems became rare."
In Pailin, this means the poor families who once sought gems for direct sale in town have sought other work.
Em Reuy said some of the miners have turned to work on plantations. Instead of combing the rivers and mountains for stones, they now cut sugarcane, or harvest corn, or grow rice.
The poorest of villagers cannot change their business, Em Reuy said. They are forced to continue their search for gems.

Hun Sen’s dirty jobs - [Heng Pov reveals more on Chea Vichea and Om Radsady's killers]

Heng Pov tells all on the dirty secret of the Hun Sen regime (Photo: RFA)

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Exclusive

Comments recorded by Sylvaine Pasquier

L’Express (France)

Translated from French by M. Preuk

Retrieved from http://ki-media.blogspot.com

Heng Pov was one of the police chiefs [of the city] of Phnom Penh, he was a key witness but also played an active role in the exactions made by the Prime Minister and his regime. Today Heng Pov is on the run, he provides [here] his exclusive testimony.

Yesterday, he was secretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Interior and advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Heng Pov was relieved of all his duties at the end of July. Accused of various crimes, he is in hiding overseas, and he is also under a red notice alert broadcasted by Interpol at the demand of [the] Phnom Penh [regime]. The Cambodian authorities never deployed such aggressiveness towards the backers of political assassinations nor the killers on their payroll. Having occupied key positions, such as Phnom Penh police chief, Heng Pov knows the inside of the regime, and most of all, the secrets hidden behind closed doors. In this exclusive interview, he allows us a small peek behind the curtain hiding a universe of violence and mafia-like complicity in which he was one the player. Can he accuse his former peers without incriminating himself? Heng Pov is a time bomb for the Hun Sen regime. Can the regime avoid the shockwave?

Did you run away from Cambodia knowing that you would be charged?

I left the country legally last July 23, with an authorization for the Ministry of Interior, for medical care of my amputated leg. Five days later, some friends called me from Cambodia, warning me not to go back: Prime Minister Hun Sen and Hok Lundy, the national police chief, learnt about my contacts with the opposition and reprisals are expected [to be forthcoming]. They have fabricated entirely an accusation file against me – a process which was routinely used to throw the opponents [of the regime] behind bars. Currently, members of my family are detained at home, and they are kept in the dark. They are even prevented from going out to get food. The Prime Minister wants to catch me at all cost because I know too much about the crimes and corruption of the regime. If I am arrested and sent back to Cambodia, my life will be in danger. Once my security is assured, I will be ready to testify in order to clarify the international community on the practices of the Cambodian regime.What are you referring to?In 1995, Hun Sen wanted to put to an end all demonstrations demanding for democracy. To do that, he organized a meeting at his home in Tuol Krasaing, where Hok Lundy participated. The latter asked me to participate also. I know he was present and I have proof of what was said there. Grenades were thrown at the Son Sann [a former Prime Minister] party. I can tell you where these grenades came from and who threw them: they were men under Mok Chito who is nowadays at the head of the criminal police at the Ministry of Interior. In March of 1997, the same method was used against the partisans of Sam Rainsy, the opposition leader, who were gathering in front of the National Assembly. I just arrived at the spot for a few minutes when the explosions started. Suddenly, I saw 4 people running toward the residence of the Prime Minister.

Who were they?

I followed them, and I recognized two officers from Hun Sen’s guard [unit]. Shortly after, I informed General Hoy Piseth of my discovery, he was the commander of this [guard] unit. “Stay still and don’t talk about it to anybody,” he told me. But, I was angry and I told these facts to Hok Lundy who had the same reaction as Hoy Piseth. In 2003, one of those whom I identified during the grenade attack confessed to me that he was indeed one of the grenade launcher. “I obeyed the orders from Hun Sen,” the man added. There is still a recording of this conversation.

Were you informed beforehand of the July 1997 coup d’état?

Before this event, in April, about 7 tons of cannabis [marijuana] were ceased at the Sihanoukville port. The anti-drug trafficking office which I directed, discovered this illegal cargo in two containers shipped to Norway, and belonging to the Mong Reththy group – a businessman close to the Prime Minister. Ho Sok, the state secretary of the [Ministry of] Interior belonging to the royalist [Funcinpec] party, immediately asked for the arrest of Mong Reththy. Hun Sen was furious. Knowing that I was invited shortly thereafter to a seminar in Canada on anti-narcotic fight, the Prime Minister summoned me. “Do you know who is implicated in this [cannabis] traffic?” I replied: “Mong Reththy and some people in your entourage.” Hok Lundy, General Sao Sokha, then the deputy chief of the national police, or General Dom Hak, the leader of the land military army.

How did Hun Sen reacted?

He told me that I cannot go to Canada. Instead, he wanted me to organize a press conference to exonerate Mong Reththy. His orders were to falsify the documents in such a way as to implicate the royalist [Funcinpec] Chao Sokhon as being the culprit. Chao Sokhon was a police officer who was arrested and sent to jail. Freed two years later, he received some financial compensation. Thus Hun Sen put the blame on the royalist [Funcinpec] camp. However, Ho Sok knew that Mong Reththy was the culprit.

Was it why he (Ho Sok) was killed?

Exactly. Taking advantage of the coup d’état which Hun Sen perpetrated with the help of Hok Lundy, and Generals Hoy Piseth and Sao Sokha, as well as Neth Savoeun, his nephew through alliance, who was leading the Phnom Penh municipal police [force]. During the operation, the Prime Minister arranged to leave for Vietnam, but, he was in contact in permanence through satellite telephone with Hok Lundy whom Hun Sen entrusted the leadership. Turned away from the Singapore embassy where he went to look for protection, Ho Sok was arrested and brought to an office at the Ministry of Interior where Hok Lundy asked me to go to. On the spot, I saw six bodyguards belonging to the chief of the police who arrived there before me. They shot Ho Sok in front of my eyes. One of them whom I know well, emptied a whole magazine of AK-47 bullets on Ho Sok. I took him aside: “Why did you kill him? – I don’t know anything, Hok Lundy gave the order to do so, ask him yourself.” That was what I did. “It was necessary, Hok Lundy said, if not Ho Sok would have created problems.” The main worry of the police chief was for me to recover a car from a royalist official on the run: he wanted the car to give as a gift to the most zealous of the killers.

Is this the way the system [regime] operates?

When Hun Sen demanded that I falsified the documents regarding the seized cannabis, he warned me that Mong Reththy would give me a car, a Toyota Land Cruiser. My [official] duty landed me [only] a used Hillux pickup. Whoever executes the crime is a full partner of the system. To buy his silence, he is offered money or a car.

What do you know about the murder of actress Piseth Pilika in 1999?

I was in charge of the investigation as the deputy criminal police chief. I thus discovered that she first had an affair with Hok Lundy who later on presented her to Hun Sen. But Bun Rany, the wife of the Prime Minister, discovered her husband’s affair with the star. She accused Hok Lundy of acting as the go-between. The latter went to see her to make peace, to tell her that it was just a fling … However, I learnt through my investigation that he promised [Bun Rany] to separate Piseth Pilika from Hun Sen. Those who shot the actress were the same killers of Ho Sok. I questioned them and I recorded their testimonies.

You were the Phnom Penh police chief in 2004 when the unionist Chea Vichea was shot. Are the real culprits behind bars?

It was necessary to have a rigorous and transparent investigation, it was what I asked for, whereas the human rights organizations and the international community emphasized their pressure on the authorities. A few days after the murder, I was summoned to go to Hok Lundy’s home. Two generals were present there: Sok Phall and Chay Sinarith. Immediately, he (Hok Lundy) announced to me that the killers were identified and arrested! Based on a simple denunciation made by the Tuol Kork district police … It did not take me long to understand that the two suspects, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, had nothing to do with the murder. During the questioning, Hok Lundy called me, demanding that I went to his home to pick up a gun which he affirmed to be the crime weapon. He claimed that a police officer under the order of General Chay Synarith brought it over to him, and that it belonged to one of the suspect. I then thought of the royalist [Funcinpec] MP Om Radsady who was shot in 2003 in the middle of the street, just like Chea Vichea. I was convinced that the two crimes were organized by the same people. The methods used [in the killing] and the gun – which came from Hok Lundy – are identical.

Did you personally receive the order for murder?

In 2005, Hok Lundy asked me to kill Nuth Saan, secretary of state at the [Ministry of] Interior, with whom he had a conflict regarding a state-owned land and used by the Siem Reap police. Nuth Saan decided to sell it to hotel investors. Hok Lundy was furious about it, it was because the secretary of state took the decision without asking for his approval, and not because Nuth Saan was squandering public properties for his own benefit. Hok Lundy wanted to let everyone know that it is him who is in charge and nobody else. To tell Hok Lundy that I declined to act against the law would expose myself to the same fate as Nuth Saan. I dreamed up an excuse. Several times, I skirted his orders. In December 2005, at a meeting of police officers and commune leaders at the municipality of Phnom Penh, Hok Lundy took it out openly against me. He then ordered the arrest of several of my collaborators.

Can one remain upright in this system?

On several occasions, I gave information to human rights organizations and to the opposition – I was looking for somebody who can publicly divulge them. There is no doubt that I turned a blind eye on the corruption which Hun Sen claims to fight against, but that in fact, he is one of the main beneficiary. The sale of public properties such as the Phnom Penh police headquarter brought in for him, for example, 2 million dollars, Hok Lundy raked in $800,000 … The Prime Minister plays a dangerous game for the country. I am convinced that there will not be democracy in Cambodia as long as the opposition parties cannot succeed in uniting themselves against the current regime. As for the accusations leveled against me, I am ready to answer them in front of a tribunal, under the condition that it is not done either in Cambodia or Vietnam. In these places, there is no justice.//