Film screening blocked

Monday, 03 May 2010
By Meas Sokchea
Phnom Penh Post

Police stop Labour Day showing of documentary on slain unionist Chea Vichea

Photo by: Sovan Philong
Workers march along Sisowath Quay on Saturday as part of Labour Day demonstrations. More than 7,000 people marched in the capital, union leaders said.

POLICE and municipal officials stepped in to ban a screening of a documentary about slain labour leader Chea Vichea on Saturday, forcibly removing projector screens set up by organisers outside Wat Lanka in central Phnom Penh.

Several dozen police officers arrived at around 5pm at the Chamkarmon district site – just metres from where Chea Vichea was shot and killed in 2004 – to meet representatives of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and others who had gathered for the screening. On two occasions, organisers attempted to raise projector screens before police pulled them down and confiscated them after brief struggles.

Amid a crush of journalists and onlookers, Chamkarmon deputy governor Chor Kimsor told CCU president Rong Chhun that the event could not go forward without permission from municipal authorities.

“If you have permission to show the film, I would allow the film to be shown. If you are barehanded, I will not allow,” Chor Kimsor said. “If you respect law enforcement and democracy, you must consider the law above all else.”

Rong Chhun met with officials at City Hall on Thursday in an attempt to secure permission for the screening. The municipality’s deputy chief of cabinet, Koeut Chhe, told him he could not show the film without securing the approval of “relevant” government ministries.

The CCU president said following the meeting, however, that he did not have time to consult with officials at the ministerial level prior to the scheduled screening, organised to mark the Kingdom’s Labour Day holiday.

Rong Chhun told reporters on Saturday that with the murder of Chea Vichea still unresolved, it was the government – not the CCU – that had demonstrated a lack of respect for the rule of law.

“We have seen murders continuously, but we have not seen the real killers arrested and punished. That’s why we wanted to do this on May 1, at the spot where Chea Vichea was shot and killed,” Rong Chhun said. He condemned the decision to break up the event.

“We regret and condemn the authorities’ action. If the authorities acted like this, it means that some officials could have been involved in Chea Vichea’s murder.”

The film that was scheduled to be shown was Who Killed Chea Vichea?, a documentary directed by American Bradley Cox that investigates the union leader’s killing and the controversial prosecution of two men accused of the crime.

Those two men – Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun – were found guilty of Chea Vichea’s murder in 2005 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. They are widely believed to have been framed, however, and the Supreme Court ordered their release from prison last year pending a new trial.

Cox wrote in an email that given the film’s criticisms of Cambodian law enforcement, he was “not surprised” that its screening had not been approved.

“I would encourage Cambodian government officials to practice what they preach,” he said.

“They speak loftily about democracy and freedom of speech when courting foreign nations for millions in economic aid. But when that same government is criticized, they resort to edicts, proclamations and instant arbitrary rulings, the very stuff of dictatorships.”

The confrontation with police came after thousands of workers marched through the streets of the capital on Saturday morning to commemorate the Labour Day holiday. Organisers said around 7,000 people joined a march led by the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), while Rong Chhun and Chea Mony, who succeeded his brother as president of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, led a separate march of around 300 people.

CLC president Ath Thun said that although the marches were organised separately, “the aims are the same”. The CLC delivered a petition to the National Assembly on Saturday, asking parliamentarians to increase the minimum wage for workers in a number of sectors.

The CCU march was briefly obstructed by police before Chea Mony played a tape recording of a speech made last week by Prime Minister Hun Sen in which the premier said he had no objection to legal demonstrations.

Although the CCU’s efforts to screen the Chea Vichea documentary were ultimately thwarted, SRP parliamentarian Mu Sochua said her party planned to host a public screening of the film at its headquarters this week.

Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said that if the opposition and civil society organisations really want to help solve the Chea Vichea case, they should cooperate with the government and send a copy of the film to the Ministry of Interior.

“We must not violate the law and blame the government,” he said.

Red Shirts pitch in to protect border markers

Monday, 03 May 2010
By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post

AROUND 50 antigovernment Red Shirts helped the Thai military prevent a group of between 150 and 180 pro-government Yellow Shirts from uprooting a border marker near the Ta Moan Touch temple in Oddar Meanchey province over the weekend, Cambodian officials said Sunday.

Various Thai and Cambodian media outlets last week reported that a group of Yellow Shirts led by Thai lawmaker Veera Somkwamkid intended to uproot border markers in an area near Ta Moan Touch and Ta Moan Thom (pictured) temples.

Defense Ministry Spokesman Chhum Socheat said that the group was intercepted by Thai soldiers and Red Shirts in Thailand’s Surin province on Saturday.

“Cambodian and Thai military commanders at the front line met to discuss this and agreed to prevent them from uprooting the marker. We had good cooperation from the Thai side on this matter,” he said, adding that he believes the Red Shirts want to avoid conflict with Cambodia.

Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said the Cambodian government is ready to use military force to prevent cross-border incursions.

“This is just a small group of Thai extremists – they are not representative of Thai nationals entirely,” he said. “The Thai government itself has the obligation to prevent their people [from encroaching] in order to keep good relationship between the two neighbours.”

China steps in with lorries

Monday, 03 May 2010
By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Prime Minister Hun Sen shakes hands with officials upon his arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport on Sunday.

CHINA has pledged to donate 257 brand-new military lorries to Cambodia, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said Sunday, less than a month after US officials suspended a similar donation in retaliation for the government’s controversial deportation of 20 ethnic Uighurs to China in December.

Speaking to reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport after returning from a visit to Shanghai, Hor Namhong said China had pledged to provide 257 new military lorries as well as 50,000 military uniforms during a meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Hun Sen. The foreign minister said China made the offer on its own without a request from Cambodian officials.

“[Hun Sen] did not ask them, but they know our requirements, and [Hu Jintao] promised to provide further military assistance in the future,” Hor Namhong said.

Hun Sen praised China during the meeting, Hor Namhong said, highlighting the country’s investments in the Kingdom.

“China is the top country that is building bridges and infrastructure as well as hydroelectricity in Cambodia,” Hun Sen told Hu Jintao, according to Hor Namhong.

The foreign minister on Sunday did not reference the US cancellation of military trucks to Cambodia – a sanction that some observers praised as others called for harsher measures.

The suspension of the donation was a direct response to Phnom Penh’s deportation of 20 ethnic Uighurs to China last December. Rights groups bemoaned the deportation, saying the Uighurs would likely face ill-treatment in China.

“[Cambodia] failed to heed not only our call that they step up to their international obligations, but specific obligations they have as a country,” US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said at the time.

“We said there would be consequences, and this is a step in that direction.”

Crowley had earlier declared that the US government was “deeply disturbed” by Cambodia’s decision to deport the Uighurs. Almost immediately following the deportation, a Chinese delegation signed US$1.2 billion worth of economic aid agreements with the Kingdom.

On Sunday, US embassy spokesman John Johnson said US officials had no comment on the issue. Qian Hai, spokesman for the Chinese embassy, declined to comment at length on the donation. When asked if it was linked to the US cancellation, he said, “I don’t think so.”

Some observers, however, see the move as another example of a political power struggle in the region – one in which Cambodia appears willing to participate.

“I think Cambodia is playing a very dangerous game,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights.

“It’s pretty obvious the intention behind this. China is sending a message to the US that it’s planning on substituting its role in Southeast Asia.
“But I think for Cambodia, it’s a very dangerous game to be involved directly in this power struggle.”

Ou Virak, who last month praised the US decision to withhold its shipment as a sensible display of “tough love”, said Cambodia now risks becoming a “pawn” in a chess game between foreign interests.

“I think the smart thing is to stick with certain principles, particularly UN mechanisms for solutions, instead of showing that we’re taking sides,” he said.

Other observers had urged the US to opt for a much stronger rebuke of the Uighur deportation. Human Rights Watch called on the US to re-evaluate its military training support for Cambodia, arguing that military units with questionable rights records had previously made use of donated resources, including trucks.

“US training and military support for such units raises serious questions about the quality of vetting done by the State and Defence Departments of RCAF units and individuals,” Brad Adams, HRW’s Asia director, wrote in a February letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY IRWIN LOY

Remains of Errol Flynn's Son Spark Feud in Cambodia

By Brendan Brady
Phnom Penh Sunday,
May. 02, 2010

Forty years have passed since Vietnam War correspondents Sean Flynn, left, and Dana Stone, right, rode bright red motorcycles into Communist-held territory in Cambodia on April 6, 1970 and were never seen again

Perry Deane Smith / MCT / Landov

Sean Flynn's towering stature and matinee-idol looks made him stand out during his years as a combat photographer in Indochina. The remains of his body, however, have proven more elusive. For years, official and unofficial efforts to recover the body of Hollywood swashbuckler icon Errol Flynn's son have come up empty-handed. Now, 40 years after his abduction, two men say that a gravesite they uncovered in the Cambodian countryside is likely to be his — and their claim has generated a flurry of excitement, skepticism and resentment.

In the late 1960s, American Sean Flynn abandoned a lukewarm film career to join a band of intrepid journalists documenting the civil wars in Vietnam and Cambodia. At first, Flynn drew international attention merely by virtue of being the even-more-handsome son of his movie-star father entering a combat zone. He and his colleagues' brazen lifestyle and daring work in the field became the stuff of legend and inspired a cast of colorful characters in war films and literature. More significantly, their photos, shot within the frenzied theater of combat, became pivotal in exposing Americans at home to the brutality and ambiguous profit of their military's involvement in the region. But the contribution was not without cost: At least 37 journalists were killed or went missing in Cambodia during its 1970-1975 war fought between the U.S.-backed military government and the North Vietnamese-supported Khmer Rouge.

Flynn was among them. In 1970 in Cambodia, Flynn, 28, was on assignment photographing for TIME with fellow American Dana Stone, who was shooting video for CBS. The pair left the capital Phnom Penh on motorbikes for the front line — pushing each other, the account goes, to get the ultimate story. They were never heard from again. Cambodia had already descended into full-blown civil war, but little was known yet about its unique breed of communist Khmer Rouge revolutionaries. The world would only find out later that the group had no appetite for compromise with their enemies or captured Western journalists.

Numerous reports about how and when Sean died have circulated over the years; the most widely repeated theory is that he was captured by Vietnamese communists, turned over to Khmer Rouge, and then held with other Western journalists before being crudely executed. The commercial value of the Sean Flynn story — a dashing, brash son flying headlong into war to stake out a reputation independent of his movie idol father — has not escaped Hollywood's eye. A film company has purchased the rights to Two of the Missing, an account of Flynn and Stone's saga. Heath Ledger was reportedly considering taking the role of Flynn before his own death in 2008.

Despite the fabled search for Flynn, the two men who believe they found his remains have not exactly been thanked for their work. Australian David MacMillan, 29, and Briton Keith Rotheram, 60, turned over a skull, teeth and bones to the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh, which sent them on to the military office in Hawaii in charge of finding missing Americans from past conflicts. This outfit's initial assessment was that the bones may be those of a Southeast Asian, but further testing is underway. They have emphasized that amateur digs are discouraged because they can damage evidence, noting that in this case, "The remains are badly fragmented due to the manner in which they were recovered." The office's spokesperson stopped short of saying MacMillan and Rotheram had broken any laws, but contrary to standard protocol for exhumations, the pair used a mechanical digger with a serrated scoop to remove a layer of topsoil covering what they believed to be Sean's gravesite. The military described the area as "disturbed" when a team was sent there for a follow-up excavation, and said they found additional bone fragments in the hole of the previous dig.

MacMillan and Rotheram have shot back at critics, saying they conducted their search at the behest of Sean's half-sister Rory, who lives in North Carolina, and with the full knowledge of the authorities in the district where they dug. They also say they wouldn't have conducted the search themselves if the U.S. military had agreed to previous requests to excavate the site. "We didn't do anything that was haphazard," says MacMillan. "I've been studying all of [the military's] internal manuals for bone recovery. What we did was a combination of modern forensics mixed with the variables [presented by] the Cambodian jungle. We were doing the best we could with what we had."

But former war correspondents who knew Flynn have lambasted MacMillan and Rotheram, describing them as reckless bone hunters in search of fame and financial gain — the latter criticism gaining steam after the pair said they would only discuss the finding in detail to the highest bidder. Most vociferous has been Tim Page, the storied photographer who is said to be the inspiration behind Dennis Hopper's gonzo character in Apocalypse Now. Over the past couple of decades, Page, too, has conducted several searches for his old friend Flynn, whom he describes as having been "like a brother." In 1990, Page returned to Cambodia to complete a documentary called Danger on the Edge of Town, in which he tracked what he believed to be Flynn and Stone's movements as POWs.

Page says MacMillan and Rotheram may have "contaminated" the gravesites of other executed journalists whose remains lie in the same area. "The way they went about it is astonishing," he says. "Here you're looking at a crime scene. How were these people killed? How many people died here? You put a machine like that across an archeological site and it's a no-brainer you're going to destroy the area. Usually this is done by digging and sifting." (The follow-up military excavation did not find any secondary graves.)

Flynn's half-sister Rory has come to MacMillan and Rotheram's defense, saying she sanctioned their search and believes their motives were altruistic. She says she has been approached over the years by a number of would-be detectives, keen to offer their search and recovery services for a fee, or simply wanting to insinuate themselves into Sean's remarkable life story. "[David MacMillan] came to me with some very good information and documents and I jumped on board," Flynn says. "It's been 40 years and I was not going to let this opportunity go by. If protocol was broken a bit, too bad."

Yet after an initial round of optimistic stories from exuberant international press, local media has assumed a skeptical tone. Indeed, the two men's credentials and point of departure for carrying out the search — as cult fans of the rugged and striking Flynn men — hasn't inspired confidence. Rotheram has been a bar owner in Vietnam and Cambodia, and MacMillan describes himself as an artist, private investigator and bodyguard. MacMillan says the excavation was filmed and will be turned into a documentary that will show they "did it the right way." Their motivation, MacMillan says, was to "recover the soul" of Flynn — or whoever it was they unearthed.

Freed publisher back in print

Monday, 03 May 2010
By Vong Sokheng
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Rick Valenzuela

Khmer Machas Srok is displayed for sale at a newsstand on Street 51.

THE opposition-aligned newspaper run by formerly imprisoned journalist Hang Chakra resumed publishing this weekend with fresh criticism of alleged government corruption. But as World Press Freedom Day approached, observers said financial concerns could pose a greater threat than censorship to the newspaper’s immediate future.

Saturday’s edition of Khmer Machas Srok was the first since backers temporarily closed shop early last month, citing lack of funds. It was also the first issue released since publisher Hang Chakra, who was convicted last year of spreading disinformation, was freed from prison after receiving a Royal pardon ahead of Khmer New Year.

The edition featured a pair of pieces dealing with corruption allegations and press freedom. A front-page story focused on criticism from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party over allegations of improper payments from global mining giant BHP. The story suggested “high-ranking officials” may have become “rich and arrogant” after allegedly receiving payments from the company.

At this point, BHP has acknowledged only that it is investigating “possible violations of applicable anti-corruption laws involving interactions with government officials”.

The paper also featured an opinion piece in which Hang Chakra accused government officials of being slow to prosecute those accused of killing journalists.

“Many journalists were shot to death in the street, causing children to lose their fathers or wives to become widows and living with painfulness,” Hang Chakra wrote. “Why are the government and authorities not searching for the murderers?”

Hang Chakra spent almost 10 months in prison as punishment for publishing a series of articles that suggested corruption in the cabinet of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.

One observer said it was unlikely the authorities would try to censor Khmer Machas Srok so soon after Hang Chakra’s release from prison.

“I think the government does not want to be seen as silencing Hang Chakra and his paper,” said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. “It’s a honeymoon period after the storm.”

He added, though, that the paper could have trouble securing advertising dollars after its brush with the law.

“Trying to find ad revenue is going to be very, very difficult, because it will be seen as an opposition paper. But more importantly, it will be seen as a paper the government doesn’t like,” Ou Virak said. “[Advertisers] don’t want to be seen as supporting or helping to finance a pro-opposition newspaper.”

Khmer Machas Srok workers have previously complained that some advertisers have withdrawn ads after being pressured by the government.

The newspaper’s return this weekend came just before today’s World Press Freedom Day. Rights groups and press organisations warned on Sunday that journalists in Cambodia still face intimidation, harassment and violence.

“The gag on Cambodian journalists is stifling democracy and human rights in Cambodia,” Ou Virak said in a statement to mark the day.

However, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the government had no plans to restrict media criticism of the government.

Rather, he said the onus was on the media, including Hang Chakra’s newspaper, to adhere to high ethical standards.

“I have already advised them … that they need to have high standards of professionalism, and that critics must have evidence” when making allegations, Khieu Kanharith said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY IRWIN LOY

Torture at Prey Sar: Heng Pov

Monday, 03 May 2010
By Chhay Channyda
Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Former municipal police chief Heng Pov is led into the Appeal Court before a hearing on Friday.

DISGRACED former Phnom Penh municipal police chief Heng Pov has accused Prey Sar prison workers of overseeing the torture and beatings of inmates.

Speaking Friday while awaiting an Appeal Court hearing during which he sought to overturn a conviction on attempted murder charges, Heng Pov said he has seen prison guards at the prison “torture” inmates.

“They even ask outsiders to beat the prisoners,” Heng Pov told a Post reporter. “I would like the Ministry of Interior as well as Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng to know about this and look into the problem.”

Heng Pov said he also has evidence demonstrating that prison guards were responsible for the 2008 death of 24-year-old Heng Touch, whose family has long believed he was beaten to death while in custody.

“Heng Touch was beaten to death,” Heng Pov said. “But [authorities] pretended to save him by sending him to hospital and accusing him of committing suicide. I have enough evidence and witnesses.”

At the time, local rights groups and UN officials urged authorities to investigate the death, but prison officials called the claims “an exaggeration” and insisted Heng Touch died while trying to commit suicide.

Despite the allegations, Heng Pov said he believes most guards at Prey Sar are well-behaved; it is only “bad officials” who commit crimes, he said.

Prison officials and government authorities on Friday rejected Heng Pov’s claims.

“What he said is his right,” said Mong Kim Heng, the director of Prey Sar prison. “But the fact is, his accusations aren’t true. Prisoners receive healthcare like any other person, even though they have lost their freedom to go into the outside world.”

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak defended prison officials, calling Heng Pov’s claims unacceptable.

“Heng Pov is a prisoner, so prisoners will never say something good about prison officials,” Khieu Sopheak said.

However, rights groups say they believe questions linger over Heng Touch’s death.

“The court has not issued any charges for any suspect yet. It is quiet,” said Am Sam Ath, the senior monitoring supervisor for local rights group Licadho.

“Justice has not been given in this case for the family of the victim.”

And he said that although his monitors have not witnessed in-custody torture or beatings with their own eyes, they have heard many allegations from incarcerated inmates.

“What Heng Pov and the letters we received said about torture are similar,” he said. “So the torture may exist.”

In court on Friday, Heng Pov denied any involvement in a 2005 attack that left an Electricite du Cambodge employee, Kim Daravuth, paralysed, saying he had never even met the victim.

“I did not order, facilitate or execute the plan to kill him,” Heng Pov told the court. “I never knew Kim Daravuth.”

Appeal Court Judge Chuon Sunleng said a decision on the appeal would be handed down on May 20.

Heng Pov has proved to be a controversial figure in recent years. He was widely feared while he was the police chief of Phnom Penh’s municipal police force. Following his arrest in 2006, he was eventually convicted on a slew of charges including extortion, kidnapping and murder, and sentenced to more than 90 years in prison cumulatively.

Before his arrest, Heng Pov said he was the victim of government persecution for what he said were his efforts to speak out about human rights violations and rampant corruption.

But Heng Pov appears to have had a recent change of heart, and has authored a book, released in April, that praises Prime Minister Hun Sen as a skillful leader.

China promises trucks for Cambodian military after US rap

Cambodia wins Chinese military aid

PHOTO

Cambodian military vehicle in a parade last year. [AFP]

Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh

Cambodia's foreign minister says China will donate equipment to the country's military.

The announcement comes after the United States cancelled a shipment of military vehicles when Phnom Penh expelled Uighur asylum-seekers at China's request.

Twenty people were expelled last December.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has announced that China will donate more than 250 trucks and 50,000 uniforms to the Cambodian military.

At the time of the expulsions, Washington said Cambodia had failed in its international obligations by sending the Uighurs back to an uncertain fate in China, and it threatened punishment.

Pleased

But where Washington was annoyed, Beijing was clearly pleased.

Within days of the expulsions, China had awarded Cambodia more than $1 billion in economic aid, although both countries denied any link to the US stance.

China is a key investor in Cambodia, particularly in infrastructure.

Acceptance of China's latest donation is a less than subtle message that Cambodia is prepared to play off one big power against another.

Minister Hor Namhong says China's President Hu Jintao has promised more military assistance in the future.
-----------------------------------------
Phnom Penh (DPA)- China is to donate more than 250 trucks to Cambodia just weeks after the United States withheld a shipment of military vehicles in response to Phnom Penh's recent expulsion of 20 Uighur refugees, local media reported Monday.

The donation was announced by Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on his return from Shanghai, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper reported.

Hor Namhong said China would donate 257 military trucks and 50,000 military uniforms.

He said the gesture was made by Beijing of its own accord during a meeting in Shanghai between China's President Hu Jintao and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"[Hun Sen] did not ask them, but they know our requirements, and [Hu Jintao] promised to provide further military assistance in the future," he said.

The US embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment Monday.

China has growing business and strategic interests in Cambodia, and is Phnom Penh's most important investor.

In the past four years Cambodia has approved more than 6 billion dollars of Chinese investment. Much of that is in infrastructure, particularly hydropower dams.

The investment figure excludes 880 million dollars in Chinese grant and aid during that period.

It also excludes 1.2 billion dollars in economic assistance awarded by China immediately after Cambodia expelled the 20 Uighur asylum-seekers in December at Beijing's request.

Both countries denied any link between the two events, though that denial was not widely believed.

The expulsion of the Uighurs drew strong criticism from Washington, which promised penalties for Cambodia's failure to meet its international obligations. Cancelling the shipment of US trucks was the first of those punishments.

Human rights workers have expressed rising concern at growing ties between private business and the military in Cambodia after Hun Sen encouraged business leaders to "adopt" military units.

Cambodian military regularly guard huge private land concessions across the country, and have been used in the past to evict the rural poor.

Five Cambodians killed after anti-tank mine explodes under ox-cart

Phnom Penh (DPA)- Five Cambodian plantation workers were killed when their ox-cart detonated an anti-tank mine in western Cambodia, a senior demining official confirmed Monday.

Three workers were killed instantly and another 10 were injured in the blast which took place early Saturday, said Leng Sochea, the deputy secretary-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority.

"In the evening another two died, so up to now five have been killed," he said, adding that the eight survivors remain in a serious condition.

Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, the legacy of decades of civil war.

However, the number of people killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) has declined steadily over the past 20 years.

Last year 47 people died from landmines and UXO, while 243 were injured.

In 1994 almost 3,000 people were killed or injured, but extensive demining efforts and education have helped to reduce the number of casualties.

More than half of last year's deaths and injuries came from just three provinces in the country's west and north-west.

In 1999 Cambodia ratified the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

The treaty gave countries 10 years to clear mines from their territory, but Cambodia missed that goal. The country was recently granted a 10-year extension to the deadline.

Cambodia, Laos delegates arrive

HCM City — President Nguyen Minh Triet received delegates from Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam, who were attending a people-to-people friendship and co-operation meeting in HCM City on Friday.

The President welcomed the Cambodian and Lao delegations to the meeting, which took place as the Vietnamese people were celebrating the 35th anniversary of the South's liberation and the nation's reunification. This reflected the solidarity and sentiments that the Cambodian and Lao peoples had extended to their Vietnamese counterparts, he said.

Despite their different conditions and situations,the three countries shared a traditional history of struggling against foreign colonialists and imperialists, and had always supported each other in national liberation, Triet noted.

He told the guests that reciprocal visits by leaders of the three nations in recent years and booming economic relationships had demonstrated the continuous development of trust, solidarity, friendship and co-operation.

Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Cambodian delegation Men Sam An thanked Viet Nam for its valuable, timely and effective assistance to Cambodia's revolutionary cause and to its fight against the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime.

The President of the Cambodia-Viet Nam Friendship Association also conveyed her deep condolences and gratitude to the families of Vietnamese volunteer officials and soldiers who had laid down their lives for the national liberation and recovery of Cambodia.

Vilayvong Bouddakham, head of the Lao delegation and Vice President of the Laos-Viet Nam Friendship Association, said that the 1975 Great Spring Victory was important not only to the people of Viet Nam but also to those of Laos and Cambodia.

The Lao people were always grateful for the wholehearted assistance provided by the Party, State and people of Viet Nam over the past years, he said.

The meeting closed on May 1, having put forward many proposals on how to increase exchanges and co-operation among the three countries as well as sub-regional and regional co-operation.

It suggested the organisation of a "Green Summer", in which Vietnamese youths could take part in voluntary activities in Laos and Cambodia, and vice versa.

The three countries' delegates also proposed that their governments and ministries of education and training set up a common university to offer training in Vietnamese, Lao and Thai languages in culture, society, medical care and information technology, and to mobilise the three countries' businesses to get involved in these programmes. — VNS

Airing memories of Khmer Rouge atrocities helps some victims recover

About 170 Cambodian refugees in the U.S. told their stories to be used at trial against Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes against humanity. Many had never spoken of what they endured.

By My-Thuan Tran,
Los Angeles Times
May 1, 2010

Kieng Seng never wanted to relive her memories of the brutal Khmer Rouge era. She never said a word to her friends or children, having "buried the memories in the ground under 100 layers."

But last year, she recounted those nightmares openly for the first time, entering them as witness testimony in tribunals against former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of crimes against humanity.
Receive breaking news alerts on your mobile device. Register »

Seng was one of about 170 Cambodian refugees in the United States who submitted personal histories at the urging of activists who aimed to give expatriate Cambodians a voice in the Phnom Penh tribunal.

On Saturday, Seng and several dozen genocide survivors gathered at a Long Beach library for an update on the tribunal's progress and the status of their testimonies.

"We are here to honor you as survivors of the Khmer Rouge," said Leakhena Nou, an assistant professor of sociology at Cal State Long Beach who led the outreach efforts. "We are here to tell the perpetrators in the regime that they did not destroy your spirits. . . . You have one moment in history to right the wrong of what happened decades ago."

As she spoke, several women in the audience pulled tissues from their pockets and dabbed their tears.

Last year, the United Nations-backed tribunal tried the first of five Khmer Rouge leaders whose charges stem from the genocide that took at least 1.7 million lives between 1975 and 1979.

The testimonies gathered by Nou's group, the Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia, were submitted to the court in January and entered for the second tribunal, which will try the remaining four leaders and is expected to begin next year.

Persuading survivors who had buried their memories for decades to open up was difficult, Nou said. "They felt the world did not want to listen to their stories," she said.

Many feared retribution if they were to travel to Cambodia, she said. But when one survivor began to share stories, others followed.

The group collected about 170 oral and written testimonies in Long Beach, home to the U.S.'s largest population of Cambodian refugees, as well as in Lowell, Mass.; Portland, Ore.; and Philadelphia.

Throughout the year the rules of the court kept changing, complicating the process of collecting testimonies, Nou said. And there was no guarantee that the Victim Information Forms they submitted would ultimately be used in court.
Receive breaking news alerts on your mobile device. Register »

But despite the uncertainty and politics of the court, Nou and others said the process has helped survivors in deeper ways.

Sundaram Rama said the testimonies have allowed survivors like himself to heal.

"I think people are now ready to tell their stories," said Rama, director of the Cambodian Family, a social services nonprofit in Santa Ana. "Five or 10 years ago, people would share stories with me, but they would ask me not to share with anyone else. But now, more and more people are feeling comfortable."

Seng said she felt a sense of release in being able to let go of the horrific memories that had been bottled inside of her for 35 years when she gave her testimony in Santa Ana last September.

When the Khmer Rouge came to power, Seng was 13. Decades later, the memories remained vivid — being forced to wake up at 3 a.m. and dig to build a road, the fear of being separated from her sisters, brother and mother. In her sleep, she would see images of a man dressed in black pointing a gun at her or imagine she was drowning in water she was forced to dig through.

But after giving her testimony, she said, she felt lighter. The nightmares have lessened. "It's like it's passed already," she said. "I don't want this to go on until the next life. I want it to go away."

Still, the wounds run deep, and she said her pain may never entirely go away. She still has not told her two children everything.

"I don't want my kids to know all my suffering. I don't want them to think about what's going on with me," she said. "I want them to focus on studying here and to be happy. I don't want to remind myself."

my-thuan.tran@latimes.com

"The Kingdom of"

Dear Friends,
Thank you very much for the interest of my book and for the countless number of the letters I had received from you.
Also, please be advised that the full version of the book will be posted at: http://www.cambodiabusinessnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/the-kingdom-of-part-one-dr
as continued:

Gregory Shukhman

"The Kingdom of"

Part One: "Dr."

On June 27, 2007 Dr. Bunnaroeun An, a Personal Advisor to the Cambodian President of the Senate, Samdech Chea Sim, misappropriated $1.2 million from the Bon-Bon World, company business account.
In addition to being President of the Senate, Samdech Chea Sim, is the Chairman of the People's Party, Minister in charge of Political Affairs, information, International Relations and Investments. I knew that Dr. Bunnaroeun An, was very close to Chea Sim, who I met a few times personally, on a different occasions, and who is in my opinion the most honorable and respectful person.
When I attempted to correct Mr. Bunnaroeun An's of his obvious misdeeds, he threatened me, saying that this is his Country and he recommended that I should not discuss this matter any further if I care for my life.
His threats had a huge effect on me and on that same day of June 27th, I had to change my Hotel Cambodiana, where I was comfortably staying for the reasons of protection, and on June 29th I took a flight back to New York, where I reported to my attorneys.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bunnaroeun has no respect for the reputation of his country and its people. He chooses to destroy good image of The Kingdom of Cambodia in the international business community.
At that time I was working with several large private equity firms to study potential investments in Cambodia, but I was forced to stop my search for international investors when learned of such corruption in the Kingdom. The King of Cambodia Norodom SIHAMONI,Prime Minister - Hun Sen; and Chea Sim, President of Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia are surely not aware of the corrupt nature of predators like Dr. Bunnaroeun An.
The following story will be brought to your attention in chronological order of events, I will present an accurate account and present a real portrait of Dr. Bunnaroeun An and his dishonesty and crime. I have talk to many people who are living in The Kingdom of Cambodia, who have known or worked with Bunnaroeun. They were requested that I not use their names as sources of information in my book, It’s hard to understand living in United States, the fear of Government corruption, but I were there and I know that their life might be in danger as was mine even though I was holding an American Passport.
I know I am placing my life in danger and have been warned by prominent friends to be very careful.

　
On May 23, 2006 an Ukrainian Businessman self-made billionaire Vadim Z. Rabinovich, had arrived on his private jet at the Phnom Penh International Airport to The Kingdom of Cambodia, along with the delegation from Ukraine for the following reason which he had wrote on official letter to the the President of Senate Samdech Chea Sim prior of few days of his arrival :
please see an attachment:
Near the appointed place, where the plane of Mr. Rabinovich supposed to come on the landing to rest a twelve military guards had pull the red carpet to the ramp exit, and the delegation consisting of five four men and one woman, synchronously stepped at the center of the red carpet alternating wiping the sweat from the face, it was the usual hot day.
Finally, when the door of the jet had opened by the side of glowing sun, smiling and welcoming with his right hand slowly stepped down on the Land of the Kingdom where the Grand Delegation which was led by Vadim Zinovievich were met with cheers and showers of flowers.

To be continued:

Norodom Naradipo: A missing prince who would be king

By Moeun Chhean Nariddh
Phnom Penh Post,
Issue 8/22, October 29 – November 11, 1999

Princess Botum Bopha and Prince Norodom Naradipo tried in court in 1971 after their father Prince Norodom Sihanouk was deposed in 1970 by Marshall Lon Nol who declared Cambodia a republic.

PREY CHHOR, Kampong Cham: for some time during the Khmer Rouge regime this district was busy with people who risked their lives travelling from near and far to see a prince who would be their next King.

To all friends and foes in his labor camps, he was known as Mith Suon or Comrade Suon.

But that was not his real name. People said he was His Royal Highness Prince Norodom Naradipo, one of King Sihanouk’s sons who disappeared mysteriously about 23 years ago.

In interviews on September 19 and 20 and October 2 in Prey Chhor, about 90km northeast of Phnom Penh, people in different villages where the prince was moved to in 1975 still had vivid memories about the dark days of his life.

They said open discrimination by the Khmer Rouge’s Angkar contrasted with locals who risked death to offer him their support and sympathy.

Chhong Nguon, a commune official in Kang Meas district, said Prince Naradipo was first shipped from Phnom Penh with about 20 other royal family members to Angkor Ban village in Kang Meas.

News of his arrival soon became widespread. People from different places flocked to see the prince and his relatives from the Royal Palace.

Meas Muong, an 87-year-old woman in Prey Chhor, said she made a 20-kilometer journey by foot from her village of Kveth Thom village to meet Prince Naradipo. She said the prince, then about 30 years old, was being kept in the house of a villager named Ta Mok.

Describing the situation as not being “too strict” yet, Muong said some people walked a long way carrying bananas, sugar and fruits to offer to the prince.

A few days later, Muong made another trip to Angkor Ban village.

However, she said, she was told the prince had already been taken to Tuk Chhar water reservoir in Prey Chhor district shortly after staying at Ta Mok’s house.

Muong said it was because the Khmer Rouge didn’t want too many people visiting the prince.

At Tuk Chhar, Prince Naradipo met an old man and woman who treated him like one of their own children. It was the family of Hang Vaing whom the prince called “Mae”, an ordinary Khmer word for Mum.

Sitting in a house partly walled by straw and coconut leaves, Vaing, at the age of 70, began to talk about her godson with tears in her eyes.

She said when he first came and met Vaing in Phum Thmei of Prey Chhor’s Kroch commune the prince had “shaved his head like a monk”.

As his hair grew long, nobody dared to cut it for him, because they were afraid of the Khmer Rouge’s Angkar.

However, Vaing took the risk. She said she invited the prince to sit inside her house so that nobody could see him. She removed two sets of straw from the roof to let in some light to allow her to see clearly.

“I saluted him three times so that I would not be defeated by his star [as a prince],” Vaing recalled, raising her clasped hands in the air.

According to Cambodian belief, the prince’s head is considered the most sacred part of the body that ordinary people cannot touch.

Like other people, villagers said the prince would get up at 4am or 5am upon hearing the team leader’s whistle calling people to the fields. According to the villagers, they usually worked almost 12 hours a day from 6am to 6pm with a brief rest at noon for lunch, which was usually just a drink.

Vaing’s daughter still remembered the prince transplanting rice clumsily with his shaking hands next to her. She said she would help him poke the rice sapling into the ground to finish the one hectare’s work ordered by the Angkar for 12 people per day.

Though he was never seriously ill, Vaing said the prince would often get dizzy from doing hard work in the wind and sun.

In addition to medicines, if there were any, he would ask Vaing or someone to help do the traditional coining on his body to cure the illness.

As time passed Vaing noticed the prince getting more worried about his plight with the increased discrimination and death threats from the Khmer Rouge.

“If they kill me, please, Mum, pick a flower and put it on my grave for me,” Vaing recalled the prince telling her in despair.

She added: “Any time I think of [his words], I am tearful.”

Vaing’s husband, who died last year at the age of 90, was moved by his words and tried to console the prince, pledging that he would die for him.

“If they take Your Royal Highness to kill, I’ll use my chest to protect you,” Vaing said her husband told the prince.

“No, No, Dad, you are too old,” Vaing said the prince replied.

“[No,] I don’t want to live,” she said her husband answered.

The prince was so moved by his godfather’s words, Vaing said, Prince Naradipo decided to use the alias “Suon” after her husband “so that he wouldn’t forget his name.”

Though he was selective when he talked to other people, Vaing said the prince fully trusted her family and would reveal all his sorrow and happiness to her and her husband.

Vaing remembered that one day Prince Naradipo recalled King Sihanouk’s words as he talked to him upon his return from school as a little prince.

“My father sent me to school and asked me when I came back ‘What have you learned, Son?’; I answered that I learned ‘Kaun oth mae, Oth mien ke thae dauch mae robas khluon (The story of the motherless son without anyone to take care of him like his mother),’” Vaing said the prince told her.

“I cried, [because] it was too sad,” she said.

The prince could not go to the King or the Royal Palace any more under the Democratic Kampuchea regime.

Vaing said the prince would frequently drop in at her house for lunch when he returned from the fields.

But Vaing and her husband were not the only persons who took pity on the prince.

Despite the pressure from the Khmer Rouge, Vaing said some people managed to secretly supply the prince with food and other things.

However, the prince also sought ways to help himself. When shortage struck, Vaing said, he secretly sold his watch in exchange for rice even though she told him not to do so.

One day, Vaing said, the prince was sent to Prey Toteung district about 20km away and kept there for three nights. This made her worried and suspicious of the secret tricks of the Angkar. She said the prince returned home in black trousers and shirt covered with earth and told her that he was taken to work in nearby villages.

Prince Naradipo continued his life doing hard work and eating rice porridge like other people without knowing what would happen one day to the next.

To Vaing’s surprise, some time later the prince was moved to Banteay Rem village in Prey Toteung’s Chrey Vien commune after three months’ stay at Tuk Chhar.

Before he left, the prince gave his godfather, Suon, a white, short-sleeved shirt as a token of his love.

Raising the shirt with the torn collar to show their visitors, Vaing and her daughter described Prince Naradipo as having “similar size to Prince Ranariddh”.

Since Suon died, Vaing’s daughter said she would wear the prince’s shirt to the pagoda “so that he can get some merit” from the monks.

Not long after he left, Vaing missed her godson. She said she carried a rope in her hand pretending to be looking for a missing cow and walked to Prey Toteung to see Prince Naradipo.

However, Vaing’s action could not get away from the sight of the “pineapple-eyed” Angkar.

Vaing said the Angkar considered her family an “enemy” of the regime for their relationship with the prince. She said her family was told to prepare clothes to “go to a new village,” the regime’s euphemism for execution.

“They said I was collaborating with the King’s son,” Vaing said.

However, the family survived with a stroke of luck.

Vaing’s son, Suon Sareoun, said the Angkar had sent seven trucks to move “new” people to the newly created village.

He said the name of his family was at the end of the list and the truck which was supposed to take Vaing’s family to the “new village” broke down.

The date to move Vaing’s family to the new village was therefore delayed till the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1979.

At Prey Toteung, Prince Naradipo began to live under close watch from the Khmer Rouge and was frequently moved around to different villages.

According to Samreth En, deputy chief of Banteay Rem village, the prince was later taken to Kraloang village of Prey Chhor’s Chrey Vien commune.

He said Prince Naradipo lived in a straw shelter next to his house under his “direct” supervision.

Then he was put to work in various labor sites throughout Prey Chhor, including building rice embankments, collecting beans, growing vegetables and sawing firewood at the cooperative’s dining hall.

Villagers who used to work with Prince Naradipo had plenty of stories of his goodness.

“When he went to build the rice embankment, he carried a lot of baskets on his shoulders for other people,” said Muong, who lives in Kveth Thom village.

She added: “He worked without rest; when people came back from picking beans, he rushed to get the mat to dry them without telling anyone to do it.”

At her second sighting, Muong said the prince had become a little bit thinner and brown from working in the sun and wind.

Though their policy was discriminative against the monarchy, people said some Khmer Rouge cadres maintained their soft stance towards the prince.

“Some [Khmer Rouge cadre] told him not to work hard, but he still kept working hard,” said Muong in a trembling voice.

According to Samreth En from Banteay Rem, a local Khmer Rouge cadre even told him to disguise the prince to prevent the news of his presence from spreading.

“The commune [chief] told me to change his clothes and moved him around to work,” he said. “He was afraid that the top [leaders] knew that.”

For additional safety, En said, the prince also tried to keep a low profile with his behavior and speech. He said the prince would go straight into his shelter when he came back from work.

Muong added that the prince would not use royal terms; instead he spoke in ordinary Khmer when he talked to other people.

Muong said Prince Naradipo was a strictly religious person and risked his life to worship Buddha in secret.

“He lit incense sticks and saluted the Buddha like old people,” she said.

Like Vaing, Muong was another person the prince trusted and would tell her about his mood and memories.

Muong remembered a day when the prince spoke of his sadness as having an unlucky life since his birth.

“[When] the Buddha was born, his mother died seven days later,” she said of the prince’s sorrow. “But, I was born only three days, my mother died.”

At Muong’s request, the prince got a bamboo stick and gave it to her to use as a walking cane. More than two decades have passed. Muong still keeps the bamboo stick with her as a memento of the prince she treated like a son.

However, Prince Naradipo also left behind something intangible for all the villagers he lived with.

“He warned both young and old people that ‘whatever they [the Khmer Rouge's Angkar] do, we must not oppose them; because it involves death,’” En recalled the prince’s advice to the villagers.

This goodness of the prince earned him secret love and sympathy from people in the villages where he lived.

“Old people tried to steal things from the cooperative to support him,” En said of the prince, who also ate at the cooperative dining hall with other people.

At the dining hall, Muong said Prince Naradipo would sit at a table one day and move to another the next day. She said the prince would share whatever he had with other people.

As she did before, Muong said some people traveled from remote villages and brought things to give to the prince.

A characteristic of Prince Naradipo, according to Muong, was his striking resemblance to King Sihanouk’s behavior and speech.

“When I met him, he said “Chumreap Suor (How do you do?) like his father,” she said. “He rarely talked to anyone except those he knew [well].”

Long after her separation from the prince, his godmother walked from Tuk Chhar to visit him again.
But Vaing found an empty house.

“I had three packages of cigarettes to give to him, but they told me that he had already been taken away,” she said. “Then my knees became weak and I collapsed; I could not walk further.”

She said a Khmer Rouge cadre told her that the prince was taken away on “the sixth day of the waning moon in the month of Meak (the third month of the lunar calendar corresponding to January-February).” But, she did not remember in what year exactly.

Since then, both Vaing and Muong have never seen the prince again.

At continual rumors about the prince’s appearance, Vaing would follow the information only to find that it was false. Now she must pin her hope on the assertion by “five fortune-tellers” who have claimed that the prince is “still alive but he can’t come now”.

Villagers didn’t agree on how he disappeared during his final days in Kampong Cham.

Sareoun, Vaing’s son at Tuk Chhar, said Prince Naradipo was finally moved to a house near Prey Toteung market under heavy guard. He said the prince was kept under the control of Mith Sreng, who was the deputy to Ke Pauk, the Northern Zone’s chief.

According to Sareoun, who was living with Mith Sreng as a teenager, the prince disappeared along with about a “battalion” of local Khmer Rouge soldiers escaping from Southwestern Khmer Rouge.

About one month later, Sareoun said Mith Sreng and about 30 other local Khmer Rouge cadres were executed for being “agents of the CIA”.

But people in Kraloang village remembered it differently.

A middle-aged man who worked near the prince said some time between late 1976 and early 1977 his brother, named Pich, was ordered to take Mith Suon on a bicycle to see Mith Sreng.

The villager said his brother was later killed by the incoming Southwestern Khmer Rouge soldiers along with other local Khmer Rouge cadres and families.

However, according to Samreth En, Mith Sreng managed to put the prince-turned Mith Suon on a jeep and drove away to “escape” before the other side of the Khmer Rouge arrived.

Whichever version may be true, Prince Naradipo disappeared, leaving behind only memories for those who once hoped to see him crowned their next King.

24 journalists arrested and 10 sued in one year in Cambodia

Journalist Khim Sambo killed in broad daylight on 11 June 2008.

By Khmerization
Source: Kampuchea Thmey

A new reports released by the Cambodian Journalists Club revealed that in one year from 3rd May 2009 to 3rd May 2010, 24 journalists across Cambodia had been arrested and 10 were sued by powerful people and by the government, reports Kampuchea Thmey.

This is a phenomenal increase compared to the same period in previous year which only seen two cases of lawsuits against journalists. The arrests of 24 journalists include two have been arrested and jailed for defamation and disinformation (Hang Chakra and Ros Sokhet), 8 had been physically threatened and a number of journalists had been fired by Radio Free Asia.

The report said that 9 journalists had been sued for defamation and disinformation relating to their professional misconduct. Two had been arrested on defamation and disinformation charges, 17 arrested on charges of extortion and 7 arrested on various charges.

The report said a number of journalists had been killed by murders and by suspicious traffic accidents. It said one journalist was shot dead inside his car, one died in a traffic accident and 5 have sustained injuries from traffic accidents.

The report also stressed that a number of journalists had been sacked in that period. It said 6 Radio Free Asia journalists were sacked in an organisational restructure, however, it said the reason for the sackings has been disputed by the sacked journalists.

The report also said that many journalists had lawsuits currently lodged against them in the Phnom Penh Court and still awaiting trial date, others had been sentenced but other (Hang Chakra) had been pardoned by the king. However, some journalists had been acquitted by the courts, said the report.

Since press freedom was championed by the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia in 1991 and since it was inscribed in the Cambodian constitution in 1993, Cambodian journalists have embarked on exercising their new found freedom to the point of being unprofessional. Many took a very extreme and confrontational stance against the government which were and are not used to being criticised. This led to many journalists being killed, wounded and jailed.

According to the statement of Cambodian Centre for Human Rights released on 1st of May, 11 journalists in Cambodia have been killed since 1993.

Thai ultra-nationalists attempted to uproot a border post a second time

Border post no. 23 near Ta Moan Toch temple: photo by Thai newspaper.

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News

After failing to uproot border post number 23 on Saturday, the 1st May, a group of about 700 Thai ultra-nationalists had travelled to the border area in an attmpt to uproot said border post number 23 a second time, but they were again prevented from doing so by Thai troops, reports Deum Ampil.

On Saturday, Deum Ampil reported that about 500-700 marched to uproot border post number 23 near Ta Moan Toch temple in Oddar Meanchey province, but Thai border guards only allowed them to gather 300 metres from the border area. However, Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Cambodian Defence Ministry, was quoted by Cambodian Express News to have put the number of Thai protesters at only about 180. Other sources put the number at 300.

On Sunday, the 2nd of May, there are reports that another group of 700 protesters, still led by the firebrand Veera Somkwamkid, returned to the area in another attempt to uproot border post number 23, but again, they were stopped by Thai troops personally commanded by Gen. Wiwalit Chornsamrit, commander of Thai Military Region Two and Gen. Chavalit, commander of Thai Division 6.

The report said that about 1,000 red shirt protesters and local villagers had tried to stop Mr. Veera's group at Ta Meang village in Langkat district in Surin province which led to small clashes between the two groups at 2pm. After the clashes, the yellow shirt protesters led by Mr. Veera dispersed and went their separate ways, said the report.

China pledges more military aid to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, May 2 (AP) - (Kyodo)—China has pledged military aid to Cambodia worth 100 million yuan ($14 million), a senior government official said Sunday.

Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, told reporters upon return from China on Sunday that Chinese President Hu Jintao offered 256 military trucks and 50,000 military uniforms to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, worth 100 million yuan.

He said the pledge was made at a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday while Hun Sen was on a three-day visit to China to attend the opening of the Shanghai World Expo.

Another senior government official who accompanied the premier told Kyodo News the new Chinese aid was "a kind of" complement or replacement for military aid the United States had pledged but later suspended.

The United States had offered about 200 military vehicles and trailers to Cambodia under its Excess Defense Articles program.

But in early April, the U.S. government suspended military aid to Cambodia to protest the Cambodian government's deportation of 20 Uighur refugees to China.

The United States had tried to prevent the deportation but failed.

The refugees arrived in Cambodia via Vietnam and were placed under the protection of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

But Cambodia deported them anyway on the eve of the arrival of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on an official visit in December last year.

Critics say the Cambodian act underlined its growing ties with China, which has provided more aid and, unlike many Western donors, voices no complaints about corruption, democracy or human rights in Cambodia.

Cambodia has stated the deportation was "just implementing its policy and laws as a sovereign state."

Vietnam's press gang at war over Flynn `find'

Sean Flynn in the Cambodian rice fields.

• By Sian Powell
• From: The Australian
• May 03, 2010

WILDLY handsome and extravagantly glamorous, Sean Flynn rode into the ranks of the missing astride a motorbike. It was Cambodia, 1970, and he was on the hunt for news. With his companion Dana Stone, Flynn was probably captured and killed by the Khmer Rouge, but their remains have never been found, despite intensive searches over the years.

The son of Errol Flynn was a noted combat photographer, and his thirst was for real adventure, rather than the Hollywood variety.

In the weeks just before an Old Hacks' reunion of Vietnam war correspondents in Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City, news emerged that Flynn's remains might have been found by a young Australian, Dave MacMillan, and his associates, including a Briton, Keith Rotheram, the owner of a guesthouse in Sihanoukville, southern Cambodia.

According to rumours seeping through the internet in recent weeks, and partly according to MacMillan himself, the bones thought to be Flynn's had been dug up with a mechanical digger and kept for some time before being handed to the US authorities. The dig had been filmed, and it seems that a lucrative documentary was in the offing.

Rotheram has reportedly talked about the story going to "the highest bidder".

MacMillan said he had permission from Flynn's half-sister, Rory Flynn, to look for the remains, but members of the Old Hacks were upset by what they saw as the hasty and unscientific handling of their old friend's bones. Flynn was one of their own. He had been best man at Carl Robinson's wedding and Robinson, who covered the Vietnam War for Associated Press, had organised the Old Hacks reunion.

Flynn had shared a house with combat photographer Tim Page and the Australian Vietnam War correspondent Martin Stuart-Fox. Both were in Phnom Penh for the Old Hacks reunion, which last week moved to Ho Chi Minh City. And there, at one of the Old Hacks events, MacMillan arrived to "pay his respects", pointedly ignoring the cool reception he had received at an Old Hacks event in Phnom Penh the week before. Several people in Ho Chi Minh City told him he was not welcome, but he did not leave immediately.

Page says he was blunt with MacMillan: "I said, `Mate, you've got no respect for the dead'."

Page had worked with MacMillan for a while in the past, in a search for Flynn's remains, largely because he thought the young Australian had good connections in Vietnam.

Page is positive the answer to Flynn's disappearance lies somewhere in dusty archives in Hanoi. The North Vietnamese had a lot of influence in Cambodia in the early 1970s; most Khmer Rouge cadres had a Vietnamese adviser.

At the Old Hacks reunion in Ho Chi Minh City last week, Page was still upset. "The mystery becomes more of a Tantric, 3000-piece jigsaw puzzle," he says, adding that he had been in communication with MacMillan after the so-called discovery.

He ordered him to hand the remains over to the US military body specifically set up to locate the war dead: the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). It seems that MacMillan did finally hand some remains over and, after the publicity following the find, JPAC instituted its own search at the site, finding a few more small pieces of bone.

MacMillan declined to comment for this article, other than to say: "I can't comment, sorry. Thanking you so kindly for your time . . . all questions should be forwarded to Rory Flynn, who I have copied on this email."

Employed by Dogma, which has an urban guerilla fashion outlet in Ho Chi Minh City, the Queenslander apparently lives in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, JPAC's testing seems to have largely ruled out the possibility the remains, which apparently consist of a skull and some small bones, are Flynn's. "The remains are badly fragmented due to the manner in which they were recovered," a spokesman for the US embassy in Phnom Penh says. "Limited analysis suggests that they may be indigenous." Further testing, he adds, is under way.

MacMillan, whose Facebook site has in the past featured a photo of him with a Cambodian scarf wrapped around his head, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and sporting a Flynn-like moustache, has objected in a letter to a US newspaper to some of the coverage of his find. He says no payment was asked for the remains; he says Page is annoyed because his own documentary about his search for Flynn's remains was jeopardised; he says the excavator was carefully used and he and his associates had the consent of various Cambodian authorities and JPAC knew of their work. He denies they were "amateur bone hunters".

Page says MacMillan's efforts have at least stirred up interest in the journalists who were lost in Cambodia. Thirty-seven foreign and Cambodian journalists, photographers and cameramen were killed or declared missing in Cambodia between April 1970 and April 1975. One was an Australian, photographer Alan Hirons, 24. He had been in Cambodia a week or so when he was taken by the Khmer Rouge. His remains have not been found.

China provides more military aid to Cambodia

Prime Minister Hun Sen shakes hands with government officials after he returned from China on 2nd May.

By Khmerization
Source: RFA

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said China has promised to provide military aid to Cambodia after learning that the United States has cancelled a delivery of 200 military trucks to Cambodia in protest against Cambodia's repatriating 20 ethnic Uighurs asylum-seekers back to China, reports Radio Free Asia.

Mr. Hor Namhong said China agreed to give Cambodia 100 million yuans ($16 million) in cash, 257 military trucks and 50,000 military uniforms.

The promise was made by President Hu Jintao during his meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen after the latter attended the opening of the World Expo in Shanghai from 29th April to 2nd May.

Speaking upon arriving at Pochentong International Airport from China, Mr. Hor Namhong said both leaders promised to strengthen bilateral cooperation and added that President Hu has accepted Mr. Hun Sen's invitation to visit Cambodia. "(China) will continue to provide more aid, especially military aid, in particular the training of our troops. They will continue to help Cambodia to develop our national economy. His Excellency (Hu Jintao) has also accepted the invitation from Samdech Decho (Hun Sen) to come and visit Cambodia in the not too distant future", he said.

Mr. Hor Namhong added that China and Cambodia will also strengthen cooperation on combat against terrorism within the framework of regional and international as well as the UN efforts.

The Cambodian opposition parties cautiously welcome the Chinese aid. "It all depends on how the governement uses these aids, to effectively uses these aids with no conditions attached which will not be detrimental to our political and economic interests. This is what we will welcome. But if these aids push our country to fall into another genocidal regime like in the last few decades, then we have to be cautious", said Mr. Yim Sovan, spokesman of the Sam Rainsy Party.

Two way trades between China and Cambodia reached $900 million in 2009 and Chinese investors had invested more than $1 million, especially in the hydro-electric dam-building. Other than these, China had paid for the constructions of many roads and highways in Cambodia, said Mr. Hor Namhong.

The Chinese military aid comes at a time when the U.S government cut its aid to Cambodia in protest against the reptriataion of the Uighurs from Cambodia to China at the end of 2009.

Cambodia Holds First Royal Plowing Ceremony Near Angkor Wat Temple in 4 Decades

Cambodia's king Norodom Sihamoni, rear right under the gold parasol, walks during the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province,about 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. Sihamoni on Sunday presided over the annual royal plowing ceremony in the famed Angkor complex. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Sisowath Weacharavuth, the grandson of Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk, second from left, uses the royal oxen to plow land during the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province, about 320 kilometers (199 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Sisowath Weacharavuth, the grandson of Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk is carried by royal palace officers to mark the annual royal plowing ceremony near Bayon temple in Siem Reap province, about 320 kilometers (199 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, May 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

2nd May 2010
Xinhua Web Editor: Chu Daye

Cambodia on Sunday held the first Royal Plowing Ceremony at Lean Chul Damrei near Angkor Wat Temple in more than four decades.

Chea Kean, deputy secretary general of Committee for National and International Festivals said that such Royal Plowing Ceremony was held for the first time in 1967 under then King Norodom Sihanouk, and the ceremony held here on Sunday was the second.

The Royal Plowing Ceremony is held annually at Veal Meru near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, but Chea Kean said this year the government decided to hold it in Siem Reap's province as a link to the first Buddhistic tourism event during Visakh Bochea Day that was held on April 27-29 in this Bayon Temple area.

Presiding over the ceremony was King Norodom Sihamoni, son of retired King Norodom Sihanouk, and participated by many government officials including Heng Samrin, president of the National Assembly, other senior officials and diplomats and at least 100, 000 holiday goers from various parts of the country including foreign tourists.

Prince Sisowath Vochiravuth, and Princess Norodom Rasmei Pornita were acting as the main plowers at the ceremony on Sunday and accompanied by Sou Phirin, governor of Siem Reap province.

The ceremony is to mark the start of rainy season that begins in May and to end in October.

As the procession of the ceremony began Sunday morning, seven trays with rice, sesame, water, corn, beans, grass, and rice wine are put ready for two royal oxen and an astrologer makes predictions based on what and how much amount of the foods and drink taken by the two oxen.

As two oxen ate only corn and bean, Korng Keng, chief of royal astrologers predicted for the year 2010 that Cambodian farmers will enjoy good harvests with corn and bean and as well with other crops.

Each of the seven foods and drink has different meaning and most of them have good sign as long as those two oxen had eaten or drunken, except rice wine and grass that signify bad prediction.

Rice wine means theft, and robbery and grass means insects will disrupt crops.

Cambodia is an agrarian country with rice and other crops as the main exporters to other countries.
----------------------------------------------

SIEM REAP, May 2, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- A Cambodian royal astrologer predicted Sunday at one of the ancient temples in the Angkor Wat complex that Cambodia will have ''good'' agricultural crops this year.

Astrologer Korng Keng told a crowd of tens of thousands at Lean Chul Damrei Temple in Siem Reap Province that the country's crops, especially corn and beans, will be ''good.''

He made the prediction at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the rainy season in Cambodia, drawing his conclusions from the results of the Royal Plowing Ceremony.

The ceremony in Siem Reap is the first since 1967 when then Crown Prince, later King, Norodom Sihanouk presided over the plowing.

This year, Sihanouk's son King Norodom Sihamoni watched over the traditional welcome to the growing season along with thousands of government officials, diplomats, foreign visitors and Cambodians.

The ceremony is usually held annually near the royal palace in Phnom Penh at the start of the planting season.

But Thong Khon, minister of tourism, said the ceremony was in Siem Reap this year because the timing coincides with the first great Buddhist tourism event ''The Trail of Civilization and Art Performance'' at Angkor Wat in which more than 100,000 participants, including those from nine other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, South Korea and India.

It is also being used to attract more tourists to Angkor Wat.

Tourism is Cambodia's second-largest income earner after the garment sector and Angkor Wat is the main target for foreign tourists in Cambodia.

According to government statistics, despite a decline in tourism worldwide because of the global economic crisis, Cambodia achieved an increase of 1.7 percent in foreign arrivals last year to 2,161,577.

And in the first three months of 2010, 683,692 international tourists visited Cambodia, an increase of 9.87 percent from the same three months last year.

In the Royal Plowing Ceremony, seven golden trays -- holding rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water or rice wine -- are laid out for a pair of royal oxen and predictions for the coming growing season are made from the choices made by the oxen when they reach the trays.

This year, the oxen ate most of the corn and beans, indicating Cambodian farmers will have ''good'' crops at least for these two products in 2010.

According to the royal astrologer, if the oxen eat the grass it means bad luck for farmers because insects may attack the crops.

If they drink the rice wine it means turmoil, fighting or robbery in the country.

But this year, the oxen ate no grass, rice or sesame and drank no water or rice wine.

Drinking water indicates lots of water for cropping, while eating sesame indicates a big harvest.

Last year, when the oxen ate all the corn and beans, Korng Keng predicted ''quite good crops'' for Cambodian farmers.

And Cambodia produced about 7.3 million tons of rice in 2009, leaving a surplus of nearly 3 million tons for export.

Chan Sarun, minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, recently said Cambodia is expected to become one of the world's major rice exporters when a long-term plan to increase land under rice cultivation to 3.5 million hectares from the current 2.6 million hectares is complete.

Rice production then is estimated to reach 12.25 million tons annually.
(Source: iStockAnalyst )

Remove the Gag on Cambodian Journalists: CCHR

Cambodian Center for Human Rights

PRESS RELEASE
Phnom Penh, 2 May 2010
For immediate release

World Press Freedom Day:
Remove the Gag on Cambodian Journalists

Last week saw the surviving correspondents, cameramen and photographers who covered the Cambodia Civil War and the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, meet in Cambodia to reflect on their role and commemorate their fallen colleagues. On the occasion of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (“UNESCO”) World Press Freedom Day, to be marked on Monday 3 May 2010, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (the “CCHR”) expresses its deep concern that journalists in Cambodia still face intimidation, harassment, violent attacks and even death, and calls on the Royal Government of Cambodia (the “RGC”) to ensure that journalists are able to exercise their fundamental right of freedom of expression, free from threats and intimidation.

The CCHR marks World Press Freedom Day under the shadow of the steady deterioration of media freedom in Cambodia. Since Cambodia’s transition to democracy in 1992, there have been at least 11 reported killings of journalists and media workers who expressed criticism of the RGC. Today, journalists and other media workers continue to face harassment, whilst politically-motivated legal charges are levied against members of the press to stifle political debate and silence criticism. Such actions violate the fundamental right of freedom of expression as guaranteed in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and enshrined in Article 31 of the Constitution of Cambodia. The excessive use of repressive legislation and the climate of fear – made real by criminal sanctions and prosecution, intimidation and harassment – prevent openjournalism in Cambodia, forcing media professionals to use self-censorship to avoid offending the rich and powerful.

CCHR President Ou Virak stated: “A free, independent and pluralistic press is a vital pillar of democracy, and freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. Democracy cannot be achieved without freedom of expression and an independent media that is able to raise questions, criticize, and open the space for debate and dialogue. Democratic participation depends on people who are well informed. A free press that is able to distribute a range of information represents an important instrument with which the public can hold the government and other actors accountable.” Ou Virak added: “The gag on Cambodian journalists is stifling democracy and human rights in Cambodia.”

The CCHR calls on the RGC to promote and protect freedom of expression and press freedom in Cambodia. The CCHR expresses its support for journalists in Cambodia who regularly face intimidation, violence and the threat of legal action in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability; and pays tribute to those members of the press whose fight to uphold the fundamental principles of freedom of expression and democracy has cost them their lives:

Name: Killed
• Thou Char Mongkol: 11th June 1994
• Non Chan: 7th September 1994
• Chan Dara: 8th December 1994
• Thun Bunly: 18th May 1996
• Chet Duong Daravuth: 30th March 1997
• Pich Em: 4th May 1997
• Michael Sokhan/Senior: 7th July 1997
• Ou Saroeun: 14th October 1997
• Chour Chetharith: 18th October 2003
• Pov Sam Ath: 26th April 2007
• Khim Sambo: 11th July 2008

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ou Virak, President, CCHR
Tel: +855 12 404051
Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org