Thailand's Response to the Cambodian Genocide [excerpt]

by Dr. Puangthong Rungswasdisab, Research Fellow, Cambodian Genocide Program, Yale University.

lfslessonsasia.com

The Thai military still calls the shot in foreign policy, particularly, towards Thailand's neighbours - School of Vice.

ibtimes.com

Roses are Red . . . but the Thai generals are traditionally of Yellow persuasion - School of Vice.

" . . . nationalistic attitudes and ignorance became an obstacle for Thailand to develop a constructive policy towards neighboring countries both during and after the Cold War."

Amidst a stream of public calls for reform of the Thai political system, one aspect has hardly been challenged or questioned by the growing political forces in Thailand. That was the country’s foreign policy towards its neighbouring countries, in particular the Indochinese states. In this area, decision-making has remained heavily dominated by bureaucrats and military. In fact, it is the only aspect of Thai politics, where one can find a consensus among the foreign policy-makers (the foreign ministry, the National Security Council and the army), some academics and the media. We have hardly heard calls for a rethinking or change of the Thai foreign policy direction. Not to mention the Thai government policy of supporting the Khmer Rouge, which has been strongly criticized internationally. In fact, critics of the government’s policy comprised only a small group of academics, and their criticism received little attention from the Thai media. Some appear to have limited their comment to the role and implication of the military in the foreign policy-making process. Their disapproval of the policy on the Cambodian conflict often focused merely on different tactics in negotiations with Vietnam, or the degree to which Thailand should get involved in, and the implications of, this protracted conflict.

Thus, as Suchit Bunbongkorn and Sukhumbhand Paribatra have pointed out, the power of the military in Thai politics has been significantly challenged since 1973. But developments in foreign affairs in the 1980s, dominated by the Cambodia-Vietnam issue, still served to strengthen the Thai bureaucratic polity in general and the power of the military in particular. The Cambodian conflict allowed the Thai armed forces to monopolize all channels of information concerning border problems and to increase the defense budget as well as to expand its manpower. The Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, in early 1979, reinforced traditional suspicions and fears of Vietnamese imperialist ambition, and catalyzed security concerns. It effectively enhanced the role of bureaucrats, both civilian and military, in the decision-making process because they were considered "specialists". While foreign affairs has been an area in which extra-bureaucratic actors tend to take less interest, criticisms or suggestions from them were usually dismissed as motivated by ignorance or interference.

CCHR Media Comment: Failure to issue warrant for PM’s cousin indicative of culture of impunity in Cambodia

Mr. Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.

CCHR Media Comment, Phnom Penh, 1 December 2011

Failure to issue warrant for PM’s cousin indicative of culture of impunity in Cambodia

Yesterday, 30 November 2011, it was reported in The Cambodia Daily (“Warrant for Cousin of Hun Sen Not Likely Soon”) that a cousin of Prime Minister Hun Sen was found guilty of corruption. Dy Proem was sentenced in absentia to two and a half years’ imprisonment on 28 November 2011, however she is currently walking free in Phnom Penh, with the judges presiding over her case eschewing to issue the appropriate arrest warrant. According to The Cambodia Daily, Dy Proem was found guilty of paying a US$30,000 bribe to Sen Yean, the former Deputy Director-General of Inspection at the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations, in order to create a fake Council of Ministers statement on 18 March 2008. The statement falsely claimed that a group of families were the rightful owners of the disputed land in Dangkao District, so that they could later sell the land to Dy Proem.

Furthermore, Sen Yean was also convicted of corruption for accepting the bribe under Article 38 of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) Criminal Code and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. However, Sen Yean was also permitted to walk free without an arrest warrant being issued. Defending the judgment, Judge Seng Neang stated that both Dy Proem and Sen Yean had one month to appeal the decision and could remain free until that time.

This decision is another clear example of the divide between the rich and well-connected and the poor and marginalized in Cambodia: the courts do not hesitate to sentence average Cambodians to lengthy jail sentences for alleged violations of the law and to keep them in jail during appeal periods. It is clear that although Prime Minister Hun Sen has distanced himself from his cousin and has called for the law to be strictly followed, at the very least there appears to be a degree of uncertainty among judicial actors as to how to proceed in cases involving individuals with political connections.

This case illustrates the sphere of impunity in which these powerful individuals operate and the climate of fear that they create for ordinary Cambodians. In the present case, if an arrest warrant is not issued within five years, Dy Proem’s conviction will be expunged altogether.

Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, comments:

“It is clear from this case that efforts made by the RGC to stamp out corruption and impunity are only superficial in nature. Not enough is being done to rid Cambodia of these endemic scourges. The Anti-Corruption Law was passed in 2010 to finally bring an end to the culture of corruption that is so crippling to Cambodia’s social and economic development. While inroads have been made in convicting corrupt officials, the new legislation may effectively be rendered toothless if well-connected individuals are allowed to exist above the law, there is zero judicial enforcement, and convicted felons are permitted to walk free.”

For more information, please contact CCHR President Ou Virak via telephone at +855 (0) 12 40 40 51 or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org.

Cambodia remains one of the world's most corrupt countries: Transparency International

Thursday, 01 December 2011
Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Dec 1 (Cambodia Herald) : Cambodia remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to rankings released Thursday by Transparency International.

Among 182 countries, Cambodia was the 164th least corrupt in 2011. Among ASEAN countries, only Myanmar had a worse ranking (180).

All other members of the regional grouping had better rankings than Cambodia led by Singapore (5), Brunei (44), Malaysia (60), Thailand (80), Indonesia (100), Vietnam (112), Philippines (129) and Laos (154).

“Cambodia has not had any significant changes. Judicial institutions remain the most corrupt followed by police and the public sector,” he said, adding that Cambodia scored 2.1 out of 10, the same as in 2010. Scores for neighboring countries were 3.4 for Thailand, 2.9 for Vietnam and 2.2 for Laos.

The report was released ahead of World Anti-Corruption Day on December 9. It showed that New Zealand was the world's least corrupt country followed by Denmark and Finland.

In an effort to combat corruption, Cambodia has set up an Anti-Corruption Unit which has already taken action against several high-ranking officials.

Opposition fails to replace MPs who quit

Ke Sovannaroth, flanked by Mrs. Thak Lany to her left and Mr. Nuth Rumduol to her right, at the press conference today announcing her resignation from parliament.

Thursday, 01 December 2011
Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Dec 1 (CEN) – The opposition Sam Rainsy Party has not yet assigned new members to replace the three MPs who resigned from the National Assembly last month.

Despite its reduced parliamentary presence, the party continues to urge the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to stop confiscating land and to overhaul the membership of the National Election Committee (NEC).

Ke Sovannaroth from Siem Reap province, Thak Lany from Kompong Cham province and Nuth Rumduol from Kompong Speu province resigned on November 21.

According to Ke Sovannaroth, the party has not yet decided whether to name new members of parliament, indicating that it still had options. “If the government does not find a suitable solution," she said, "I would not be able to say what would happen next.”

She did, however, confirm that the three MPs are standing for indirect elections for the Senate on January 29, in which senators will be elected by members of the National Assembly and the country's commune councils.

Ke Sovannaroth said the resignations were a wake-up call to the government to stop confiscating people's land and forcing people out of their homes, pointing to the Boeung Kok dispute over the redevelopment of a lake in Phnom Penh.

UN Special Rapporteur to visit Cambodia next week

Thursday, 01 December 2011

Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Dec 1 (Cambodia Herald) : The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya Subedi (pictured), will carry out an official visit to the country from 5 to 11 December 2011.

“While the focus of my mission will be an analysis of the electoral system and related institutions from a human rights perspective, I will also continue to follow-up on other aspects of the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Cambodia,” Mr. Subedi said in a UNHR's press release today, announcing his sixth visit to the country.

During his mission, the Special Rapporteur will also meet with Government authorities, civil society organizations, the National and Provincial Election Committees, and the Constitutional Council. He is also expected to hold discussions with the Cambodian National Police.

At the end of his six-day visit, Mr. Subedi will release a press statement highlighting the issues raised during his meetings. The information he gathers during his mission to Cambodia will be reflected in his report to the Human Rights Council in September 2012.

Hun Sen ridicules aid mismanagement charge [after the SRP accused government of mismanaging aid]

Thursday, 01 December 2011

Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Dec 1 (Cambodia Herald) - Prime Minister Hun Sen reacted strongly Thursday to opposition charges that the government mismanages development aid.

"Aid and loans are distributed not directly to the people but to development projects such as building roads and schools,” he said during a road construction ceremony in Pursat province.

"Some people ask that, if there's a lot of aid every year, why doesn’t the government deliver it to the people? I’d like to say that no country in the world gives cash directly to its citizens.

"Foreign aid and loans are not gifts, except when there is flooding like we’ve just had. We distributed foreign aid to people through the Cambodian Red Cross or the National Committee for Disaster Management and local authorities,” he added.

“You can now ask the ADB representative, who is here, whether the ADB ever give cash to people. Go and ask the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Australian, New Zealand, American, Russian and Indian prime ministers who will come to Cambodia next year or have your representatives meet them directly to ask if their aid to the Cambodian government can be redistributed in cash to the people."

The opposition Sam Rainsy Party recently accused the government of corruption in managing aid, saying that foreign aid was not reaching the Cambodian people.

Moody’s offers update on Kingdom’s credit outlook

By Don Weinland
Thursday, 01 December 2011

The Phnom Penh Post

Improved fiscal management and preparation for a decline in foreign aid would help increase Cambodia’s credit rating, according to a quarterly credit opinion from Moody’s Investor Service, which maintained a stable outlook for the country.

Reduced exposure to crisis and stagnation in Western economies, continued foreign direct investment and development in the oil and gas sector offered the chance to up the outlook, according to the report issued on Sunday.

However, it warned of a dearth of debt transparency.NGO Forum on Cambodia showed the country owed US$2.4 billion in concessional loans as of October.

The Moody’s update, however, said total government debt stood at $5.2 billion this year. Only concessional loan figures and interest rates are available to the public, Chea Kimsong, manager of the development issues program at the NGO Forum, said yesterday.

The government does not publish non-concessional and commercial loan data, he said, leaving more than $2.8 billion unaccounted for.

“It’s an issue affecting how we can predict the country’s future debt and national budget,” Chea Kimsong said, adding that the Ministry of Economy and Finance had recently pledged to issue a “debt bulletin”.

The regular publishing of debt stock as is done by other ASEAN countries such as Thailand and the Philippines could attract investment, Christian de Guzman, one of the Moody’s analysts who issued the update on Cambodia, said yesterday via email.

“I believe greater transparency would bolster investor confidence and would be credit positive,” he said.

Trial [of Moek Dara] asks the $60k question

May Titthara
Thursday, 01 December 2011
The Phnom Penh Post

The most serious so far of 38 charges brought in the high-profile trial against disgraced former anti-drug czar Moek Dara (pictured) for drug-related corruption was heard at Banteay Meanchey court yesterday where it was alleged he accepted a $US60,000 bribe in 2009.

In case 32 of the indictment against Moek Dara, the court heard allegations he took the bribe to release a drug trafficker after a March 2009 police raid on the Touk Meas restaurant in Poipet Town’s Poipet commune led to the confiscation of 3,688 pills and illegal property.

The court heard the raid was conducted by three former Banteay Meanchey police officials who have all since been convicted on related charges: former police chief Hun Hean, former deputy police chief Chheang Son and former anti-drug police officer Morn Doeun.

Nop Vireak, a monitor for the Cambodia Centre for Human Rights who is attending the trial, said deputy provincial prosecutor Phann Vanarath told Moek Dara that Morn Doeun had implicated him for taking the bribe in a written confession.

“In the hand letter, Morn Doeun said that Moek Dara ordered him to change the case and get a bribe for releasing suspect drug trafficker,” he said, adding that Moek Dara stuck to his usual defence of claiming to have committed no wrongdoing.

Phann Vanarath said yesterday that six charges brought against Moek Dara under the March 2010 anti-corruption law were dropped because the alleged crimes occurred in 2006 – before the legislation was adopted.

“I think that all 32 counts will be finished in December, and the verdict will be announced in January 2012,” he said.

The trial was proceeding hastily because the court had been in session from 8am to 6pm every working day since the trial began on November 17, he added.

Soum Chankea, Banteay Meanchey provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said the speed at which the case is being conducted is unprecedented.

He likened the court’s focus on Moek Dara – rather than the subordinates who were implicated – to the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s mandate of trying only the “most senior leaders” of the regime and “those most responsible” for its crimes.

“[In] this hearing, the court seems to know the result to sentence Moek Dara in advance already,” he said.

Keo Remy, deputy spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit, reiterated the government’s previously stated position that Moek Dara could face life imprisonment if found guilty of just one or two of the charges against him.

Drug-related corruption charges are also being heard against former Ministry of Interior anti-drug chief Chea Leng in the same trial.

Another Cambodian shot dead in Thailand

By Phak Seangly
Thursday, 01 December 2011

The Phnom Penh Post

Another Cambodian illegally logging in Thailand was shot dead on Tuesday, making him at least the fourth to be killed while felling trees in Cambodia’s western neighbour this month alone.

Chi Sophal, deputy chief of the Cambodian-Thai border communication team at O’Smach International Border Crossing in Oddar Meachey province, said 22-year-old Tun Kimsan was shot in the head at about 4pm on Tuesday.

“The deceased’s family is very poor. They do not even have land to do farming, so he took a risk to log, even though the authorities warned the villagers not to enter the forest to log,” he said.

Srey Naren, Oddar Meanchey provincial coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said Tun Kimsan was shot in the ear after he crossed the border with four boys aged between 10 and 14.
refused to return the bodies, instead agreeing to give the families of the deceased their ashes on Thursday.

Mach Saray, 28, who is four months pregnant, said she had lost her husband Tri Sambo, 37, and brother Mach Klo, 35, after Thai authorities opened fire on them.

“I ask Adhoc to intervene, getting my husband and brother’s corpses home and I call for any NGOs to feed my four children. I am too poor to feed them,” she said.

Interview: Cambodia sees positive progress in fighting AIDS despite budget shortage

by Nguon Sovan

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen significant progress in combating HIV/AIDS even though the country has subsequently faced budget shortage, said a senior government official in charge of HIV/AIDS.

With concerned efforts, the HIV/AIDS epidemic prevalence rate among people aged 15 to 49 has dropped to 0.8 percent in 2010 from 2.5 percent and 0.9 percent in 1998 and 2008 respectively, Teng Kunthy, secretary general of National Aids Authority (NAA), said in an interview with Xinhua.

He said the number of pregnant women having their blood tested for HIV/ AIDS has increased to over 80 percent by the end of 2010 from just 30 percent three years ago.

As a result, the infection rate from mother to child (among 100 mothers) currently stood at about 8 percent and was expected to decline to 5 percent by 2015 and completely eradicated by 2020, he said.

"This is thanks to our efforts and high commitments among government agencies and non-governmental organizations to fight the disease although we have faced budget shortage every year," he said.

"We have a 50 percent of budget shortage annually," he said. "Also, from 2011 to 2015, in our strategic plan, we need about 58 million U.S. dollars a year, but so far, only a half of the planned budget has been met."

He said more than 90 percent of the sources of fund are from external donors including the Global Fund, United Nations agencies, and some donor countries.

"With the shortage, we have to narrow our activities and just give the focus mainly on the most vulnerable groups," he said.

The groups who are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS are those working at entertainment establishments such as nightclubs, bars, karaoke parlors -- the rate of infection is as high as 14.7 percent, those using injection drugs -- the infection rate of 24 percent and those men having sex with men with the infection rate of 8.7 percent.

"These groups have many sexual partners and most of them sell sex on the sly," he said. "They do not face the issue and try to hide it, so we are difficult to access to them."

Currently, the country has an estimated 67,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. Some 6,000 of them are children, he said, adding that up to 96 percent of them have received antiretroviral drugs.

Kunthy said the country is expected to reduce the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDs infection to 0.5 percent in 2015 and would be totally eliminated by 2025.

"Also, the year 2025 can be the year of no new infection, no new death of HIV/AIDS," he added.

The discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS has diminished in Cambodian society.

"Most people are aware of the ways the disease transmits, so they have no discrimination against the patients; instead, they feel pity to the HIV/AIDS-contracted people as over 50 percent of the patients are housewives, they have been infected the disease from their husbands who enjoyed unsafe sex outside home," he said.

However, he said, there are individuals who still have discrimination against HIV/AIDS victims.

According to a study by the United Nations Development Program on "Socioeconomic Impact of HIV at the Household Level in Cambodia" released in late August, stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients still persist in the country.

The study found that 23 percent of women reported experiencing verbal abuse as a result of their HIV status (compared with 16 percent of men), while 7 percent reported experiencing physical threats or abuse as a result of their status (compared with 4 percent of men).

Kunthy said the NAA is committed to educating people to end their discrimination against HIV/AIDS contracted people by 2015.

One of the HIV/AIDS-contracted women Noun Chanthou, 39, living in Phnom Penh's Russey Keo district, agreed that the discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients has remarkably declined if compared to five or 10 years ago.

"It's just a handful of people still discriminate against us," said Chanthou, who contracted the virus from her husband in 2000. Also, her youngest son has infected the disease.

"Now, people feel pity for me and my family," she said. "It was unlike in the past, neighbors knew that I contracted HIV/AIDS, they called me 'AIDS-contracted woman', cursed me and not allowed me to walk passing their houses," she said.

Chanthou currently works with NGO-Cambodian Woman for Peace and Development and in the evening, she avails her time to work as a waitress in a restaurant.

She said that despite over a decade with the disease, her health is still good, so are her husband and son as they have regularly used the antiretroviral drugs.

Currently, there are about 170 non-governmental organizations ( NGOs) working with HIV/AIDS.

Tem Vra, the program manager of HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee (HACC), which is a coalition of 122 HIV/AIDS-related NGOs, said the main current challenge to fight HIV/AIDS is fund shortage.

"In recent years, the Global Fund and development partners have cut or stop funding, so some NGOs have reduced their activities or shut down," he said. "This could be a threat for Cambodia to achieve the goal of HIV/AIDS elimination."

Cambodia Marks 23rd World AIDS Day

Cambodian women attend a ceremony of Cambodia Red Cross donating foods to more then 300 families of HIV/AIDS patient in Kandal province, on Dec. 1, 2011. Cambodia on Thursday marked the World AIDS Day by vowing to achieve the UN principle to get to the three zero strategy: "zero new infections, zero discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths" by 2020. [Photo: Xinhua/Philong Sovan]

1st December, 2011
Xinhua Web Editor: liuranran

Cambodia on Thursday observed the World AIDS Day by vowing to achieve the UN principle to get to the three zero strategy: "zero new infections, zero discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths" by 2020.

President of Cambodian Red Cross Bun Rany, wife of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, said that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infections among adults aged 15 to 49 has dropped to 0.8 percent in 2010 from 2.5 percent in 1998; it is estimated that the rate would drop to around 0.5 percent by 2015.

"Cambodia has seen remarkable success in fighting the disease in over the last decade; however, much work still needs to be done in order to eliminate the tragedy from HIV/AIDS," she told the gathering of about 700 people.

She said that to achieve the three zero strategy adopted by the UN General Assembly in New York in June, Cambodia has to double its effort to combat the disease, especially among the high-risk groups: female entertainment workers, men who have sex with men and drug users.

Meanwhile, Tony Lisle, UNAIDS Country Coordinator for Cambodia, said that HIV/AIDS infections were still serious and stigma and discrimination against the patients still persist.

He added that the global financial crisis has forced HIV/AIDS donors such as the Global Fund to cancel or reduce their funding to fight HIV/AIDS to developing countries. "This is the most concern for developing countries in fighting against the disease."

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 34 million people living with HIV worldwide. During 2010, some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus, including an estimated 390, 000 children. It is estimated that some 1.8 million died from AIDS-related deaths in 2010.

Kim Sokuntheary, representative of all non-governmental organizations working with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia, said despite the success in fighting HIV/AIDS in Cambodia, people living with HIV/ AIDS still face stigma and discrimination from health service providers and communities. "Moreover, some HIV/AIDS patients have discriminated against themselves."

"On the occasion of the World AIDS Day, we'd like to appeal to the government of Cambodia, development partners and charitable organizations to increase their financial support to Cambodia in order to achieve the United Nations goal of getting to the 3 zero strategy by 2020," she said.

Currently, Cambodia has an estimated 67,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. Some 6,000 of them are children, according to the National AIDS Authority. The disease had killed some 2,780 Cambodians in 2010 and about 2,500 in 2011.

Incompetent, irresponsible leadership has been the cause of Khmer people's suffering

Opinion by Anonymous

mohrorles.blogspot.com

The grandeur and brilliance of Angkor recall an age of national harmony and efflorescence in civic sphere and in creative culture that embody the national soul and dignity despite Cambodia's recent nightmares and turmoils. Tourists and travelers - accustomed to ghastly images of genocide portrayed in the media -  struggle to comprehend the country's current abysmal status in light of its more civilised and distinguished past - School of Vice.

kh-spy.blogspot.com

Ordinary Khmer 'citizens' have no rights as humans to speak of some three decades after having been freed from the clutches of genocide in 1979. The ruling party has generally sought to bind citizens' allegiance to itself by offering membership based privileges as 'carrots' in token measure, and by threatening them with the 'stick' of disenfranchisement should their loyalty or allegiance falter. However, in recent years even steadfast loyalty to the ruling CPP has not been enough to exempt many from being tossed off their lands and properties as real estate speculation gathers momentum among tycoons and members of the political elite - School of Vice.

Listening to In Yeng's songs brings back a lot of good souvenirs of places, friends and friendship in our old Cambodia before the civil wars.

Cambodia has suffered and continues to suffer because of her incompetent, irresponsible and power-hungry leaders!

Looking back into the past 50 years or so and looking at the current political situations, drama and abuses of power and justice plus the arrogance on the part of the current administration in Cambodia, I feel certainly sad and quite disappointed with so many Cambodian political leaders of the past and present who had and have continuously abused the trust of the people and treat them more or less like disposable objects in their business deals with local tycoons and foreigners, either next door or far away, with the sole purpose of maintaining their grips on power and handing it down later to their own flesh in the same way or manner North Korea is doing.

Cambodia is not a property of one Khmer or a group of Khmer people. Let us not forget that Cambodia belongs to all Cambodians who died in the past, live in the present and shall be born in the future. Gaining access to power under the banner of leadership either through the ballot box or force gives one no right to treat her as a personal belonging.

Unity and certainly the willingness to express the desire for changes are rare commodities in Cambodia among her children, especially the middle class who is usually unwilling or indifferent to the concerns of their much poorer brothers and sisters who certainly need the assistance in fighting the injustice of being removed from their homes and land by the government of PM Hun Sen .

What will the future of Cambodia look like, shall we say 30 years from now? Who would dare to guess?

Hopefully the younger generation of Cambodians shall aspire after knowledge and education to the point that they will become informed and willingly participating citizens and thus are willing to hold their usually stupid, arrogant and selfish leaders accountable for their wrong actions and do not put up any more with such irresponsibility and arrogance on the part of those who call themselves Samdach and leaders.

Pissed off

Sin Sisamouth- Bopha Angkor (The beautiful girl of Angkor)

Another song: Sin Sisamouth- Cham Muoy Reatrey (waiting for you for the whole night)

Top political leaders from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam meet in Phnom Penh ahead of Snoul gathering

A delegation of Vietnamese Motherland Front headed by H.E. Mr. Huynh Dam (Left), Member of Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Chairman of the Front, pays a courtesy call on Cambodian National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin in Phnom Penh on November 29.
Photo: Hun Yuth Kun

Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Posted by Serath

PHNOM PENH, Nov 30 (Cambodia Herald) - Top political leaders from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam will gather in Snuol in Kratie province on Friday to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the United Front for the National Salvation of Kampuchea in 1978, the United Front for the Development of the Cambodian Motherland announced.

The announcement said that Heng Samrin, honorary president of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) who is also chairman of the national council of the United Front, were meeting in Phnom Penh Wednesday with Vietnam Fatherland Front chairman Huynh Dam and Lao Front for National Construction chairman Phanhdoungchet Vongsa.

Dam is also a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Phanhdoungchet is a member of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

The announcement said the meeting in Phnom Penh Wednesday, chaired by Heng Samrin, also president of the National Assembly, was to promote peace, friendship, and cooperation along the borders of the three countries. A memorandum of understanding was scheduled to signed by the three leaders.

During separate meetings with the Lao and Vietnamese leaders Wednesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is CPP vice president, called for focussing on the development of the triangle area between the three countries.

Heng Samrin founded the United Front for the National Reconstruction and Defense of Kampuchea in Snuol on December 2, 1978, five weeks before Phnom Penh was liberated from the genocidal Pol Pot regime on January 7, 1979. He served as founding chairman of the front's central committee while
Chea Sim, the current CPP president, was its deputy chairman and Ros Samay was secretary general.

Other members of the front's 14-member central committee were Mat Ly, Bun Mi, Hun Sen, Mean Soman, Meas Samang, Neou Samon, Ven. Long Sim, Hem Samin, Chey Kanha, Chan Ven and Prach Sun.

At the Fourth Congress of the Khmer People’s Revolutionary Party in May, 1981, the front changed its name to the United Front for the National Reconstruction and Defense of Kampuchea. In December the same year, Heng Samrin became secretary general of the party and honorary chairman of the renamed front.

In April 2006, the United Front once again changed its name, this time to the United Front for the Development of the Cambodian Motherland. Heng Samrin was subsequently named president of the front’s national council.

2nd Chinese bank officially launches operations in Cambodia

ICBC Business Center in Beijing.

Updated: 30th November, 2011

PHNOM PENH,Cambodia (Xinhua)- China's Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), on Wednesday officially opened its branch in Phnom Penh, aimed at cementing Sino-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation.

The ICBC Phnom Penh Branch is the second Chinese bank operating in Cambodia after the first one--Bank of China-- launched here in May. The bank is the kingdom's 30th commercial banks.

Speaking at the launching, the ICBC Board Chairman Jiang Jianqing said the establishment of the branch in Cambodia was not only an embodiment of ICBC's confidence in the future economic development of Cambodia, but also showed the bank's commitment to bridge Sino-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation.

"China and Cambodia have long benefited from a friendly, sincere, trustworthy and win-win partnership," he said. "The closer economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has provided wide space for ICBC's development in Cambodia."

He said the bank will reinforce its cooperation with Chinese enterprises in Cambodia and support the infrastructure development in fields like communication, transportation and electricity.

It will also extend its financial service to traditionally advantageous local industries such as grain and tourism and provide quality and convenient comprehensive financial service to indigenous enterprises and individual customers, he said.

At the meantime, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, minister of economy and finance, said the presence of the bank would build more public confidence in Cambodia's banking industry.

"It's great honor for Cambodia that the World No 1 class bank launches here," he said at the bank's launching.

He asked the bank to focus its loans on agricultural sector, especially rice sector, in order to help the government of Cambodia to achieve the target of exporting 1 million tons of milled rice in 2015.

Chea Chanto, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said the bank's presence would help attract more Chinese investors to Cambodia.

"The bank is vital to contribute to the development of Cambodia's economy," he said. "I believe that the bank would bring new technology and innovative banking products to develop Cambodian banking industry."

By the end of September this year, the customers' deposits in the banking sector grew by 17 percent to $4.72 billion, while the customer credits increased by 23 percent to $4.04 billion, according to the NBC's reports.

So far, some 1.43 million people have their money deposited at Cambodia's banks, while about 1.3 million people have borrowed money from the banks, Chea Chanto added.

During the launch, Pan Guangxue, the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, also expressed congratulation to the ICBC for opening the first branch in Cambodia.

"The bank will contribute to the development of economic and trade ties between China and Cambodia," he said.

He added that the bilateral trade volume between China and Cambodia had reached $1.6 billion in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 57.5 percent.

On the investment side, from 1994 to September this year, there have been nearly 400 Chinese investment projects in Cambodia with the accumulative investment of nearly $9 billion, making China the largest investor in Cambodia.

ICBC is the largest bank of China's big four state-owned commercial banks. It is ranked top among all listed banks in the world in terms of its market value, profitability, customers' deposit and brand value, according to the bank's press release.

By the end of this September, it has established 234 institutions in 31 foreign countries and regions, forming a global service platform covering the major international financial centers and China's economic and trade partners.

Cambodia invites Thailand for 8th GBC meeting

November 30, 2011

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 30 — Cambodia's Ministry of Defense has sent a letter to Thailand's Defense Minister Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapa to propose the 8th Cambodia-Thailand General Border Commission (GBC) on Dec. 20-25 in Phnom Penh, Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman for Cambodian Ministry of Defense, confirmed on Wednesday.

The letter, signed by Cambodia's Minister of Defense Gen. Tea Banh (pictured), was sent to the Embassy of Thailand to Cambodia on Nov. 29, the spokesman said.

"Now we're waiting for the reply from the Thai side for the proposed schedule of the meeting," he said.

The upcoming meeting will focus on strengthening security along the border by cracking down on cross border crimes and other offensive activities, he said.

Also, the two ministers will discuss troop withdrawals from the provisional demilitarized zone (PDZ) of about 17 kilometers near Preah Vihear temple to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice.

Cambodia and Thailand have had sporadic border conflict over territorial dispute near Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple since the UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

On July 18, the International Court of Justice ordered Cambodia and Thailand to immediately withdraw their military personnel from the provisional demilitarized zone on the disputed border near Preah Vihear temple and to allow ASEAN observers access to the provisional demilitarized zone to monitor ceasefire.

The border tension has eased since the opposition Pheu Thai Party won a victory in Thailand's lower house election on July 3. (PNA/Xinhua) scs/utb

Cambodia, still scarred by landmines, now faced with decreased mine-action funding

CMAC deminer, Cambodia: © K. Baetens / Handicap International

30 Nov 2011
Source: member // Handicap International - UK

Cambodia, still scarred by landmines, now faced with decreased mine-action funding
29th November 2011, Landmines

The Conference of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty began this week with 100 States Parties to the treaty present in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Although Cambodia remains one of the most landmine-polluted countries in the world, the amount mine action funding it received from the international community declined significantly in 2010 .

The conference will provide an opportunity to remind the States present about the continued plight of Cambodia and the many other mine-affected countries, to challenge the obligations of States Parties to the treaty and to push universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty.

At least three States not party to the treaty used anti-personnel landmines in 2011, tripling the number of user countries for the first time in seven years. Handicap International condemns the use of these weapons, which continue to injure and kill civilians in countries around the world.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen officially announced the start of the 11th Conference of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, which will be held from November 28 to December 2 in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia remains one of the most mine-polluted countries in the world: According to the Landmine Monitor 2011, more than 700 square miles of land – approximately twice the area of New York City -- were still contaminated.

In 2010, mine action funding provided by the international community decreased by 27 percent compared with 2009, falling from $33.3 to $24.3 million. In addition, less than 0.5 percent of these funds were dedicated to raising awareness about mines and explosive remnants of war.

"This is a grossly inadequate amount when we know that more victims of these weapons are recorded every day in Cambodia," said Marion Libertucci, head of weapons advocacy for Handicap International. "This conference reminds States of the dramatic situation of the country so they do not forget the devastation caused by these weapons, even 40 years after their use," Libertucci added.

A Handicap International delegation will be present at the conference to remind States Parties of their responsibilities, notably to ensure the promotion of this treaty to non-parties. The number of States not party to the treaty to have used landmines increased from one in 2010 (Burma) to three confirmed in 2011: Israel, Libya and Burma. There are also strong suspicions that Syria may have used these weapons in 2011.

"This new use of mines is unacceptable and of particular concern," Libertucci said, adding "We call upon States Parties to the treaty to strongly condemn any new use of landmines and to undertake all possible steps to stop the use of these weapons."

The conference opened on a positive note from Finland, which announced on Friday that the Finnish parliament approved a government proposal to join the Mine Ban Treaty in 2012. "Finland has set an example by passing the accession to the treaty on November 25, which marks a new openness encouraged by the Conference," Libertucci said, making Poland the last country in the European Union not to have ratified the Ottawa Treaty. "The commitment of Finland should be imitated by all States not party, so that the tragedy caused by landmines is finally stopped," asserted Libertucci.

The United States, not yet a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, will attend the conference as an observer. The U.S. has not used landmines since 1991 and has not produced any new landmines since 1997. The Obama administration launched a review of U.S. landmine policy in December 2009; this review – which the international community hopes will culminate in U.S. accession to the Mine Ban Treaty, has not yet concluded.

Press contact:
Tom Shelton, Handicap International UK
Tel: +44 (0)870 774 3737 | media@hi-uk.org
www.handicap-international.org.uk

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an international aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, we take action and raise awareness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Handicap International is a co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition.

Somaly Mam, Sex Trafficking Survivor, Fights Slavery And HIV/AIDS In Cambodia

The Huffington Post

Posted: 11/30/11
Read original article and see slideshow here.

This story is part of a series celebrating HIV/AIDS activists in honor of Thursday's World AIDS Day.

Her house has been burned down. She's had her car jacked. Her daughter was kidnapped, drugged and raped. But still, sex trafficking survivor Somaly Mam says she would rather risk death than give up her work saving slaves in Cambodia.

Sold into prostitution at 12 by her grandfather, Mam was brutalized and raped -- sometimes up to 10 times a day -- throughout her teenage years. While Mam made an unlikely escape to France from the brothel in Cambodia, she couldn't tolerate the cushy life there knowing that thousands of girls were being tortured at home.

So in 1996, Mam returned to the slums of Cambodia and has been fighting forced prostitution and the rampant transmission of HIV/AIDS ever since.here.

Habitat for Humanity Supports Families Living with HIV in Cambodia

Nov. 30, 2011,

Singapore, Dec 01, 2011 (ACN Newswire via COMTEX) -- Today, on World Aids Day, Habitat for Humanity recognizes the harsh realities of day-to-day existence for people living with HIV, intensified for those without a decent place to live.

Since starting its program to assist people living with HIV in May 2010, Habitat for Humanity Cambodia has supported 183 families to secure safe and decent homes in Prey Veng, Kandal and Phnom Penh provinces.

Som Chenda, 41, found out she was HIV positive in 2000. She is a mother to five children, and one of the people that Habitat for Humanity has been working with in Cambodia: "Where I lived previously, my family and I were subjected to unkind discrimination. We could never eat outside our home as people were uncomfortable to eat near us. Parents used to tell their children not to play with mine at school."

Cambodian garment workers strike at big brand supplier

Workers strike yesterday outside the Cambo Handsome garment factory in Phnom Penh. (Photo by: Mai Vireak)

PHNOM PENH | Wed Nov 30, 2011

(Reuters) - Cambodian garment workers went on strike on Monday at a factory producing clothing for global brands Gap, J.C. Penney (JCP.N) and Old Navy, demanding that the plant reinstates suspended trade union representatives.

Garment-making has been Cambodia's main manufacturing industry as it recovers from decades of conflict. Last year, the sector grew 28 percent and contributed more than $3 billion towards the country's $11 billion economy.

It employs 300,000 people, many of them women, at scores of factories, owned mostly by Chinese and Taiwanese companies but it has seen its share of industrial action over pay and conditions.

The president of the Workers Friendship Union Federation said the strike would go on until the South Korean-owned factory, Cambo Handsome Ltd, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, took back three union representatives suspended after one of them was accused of stealing two T-shirts.

The company should also withdraw what he called the trumped up charges against them.

"This is a plan by the company to remove union leaders who had advocated for better conditions," union president Sieng Sambath told Reuters.

He said about 1,000 workers were on strike but a representative of Cambo Handsome's parent company, Hansoll Textile, said only about 300 workers were out in front of the factory.

Van Rin, 31, one of the three suspended unionists, said the factory had singled him out because he was promoting workers' rights.

"Even when I went to the toilet, they followed me and took pictures, they warned workers not to talk to me and said they would not get a raise," Van Rin said.

The representative of Hansoll Textile denied that.

A representative of Cambo Handsome denied fabricating charges and said one of the unionists had been caught stealing T-shirts.

"The strike is illegal because they didn't inform the authorities," said the representative, who declined to be identified.

The representative confirmed that the plant produces garments for the Gap, JC Penny and Old Navy brands.

Cambodian factories also produce clothes for the likes of Nike Inc, Marks and Spencer Group PLC, Tesco PLC, H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Puma, Next Plc and Inditex.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Corrects to show that only one of the suspended workers was accused of theft and adds comment from company on number of strikers.

Golden memories . . .

"The burden of Man falls heaviest on he who loves the most"

Pka kyom som snaeh - by Ros Serey Sothea & In Yeng 

Snae Oun Tang Pbee Kmaeng - by In Yeng

Following the Ghost(s) of “Uncle Ho”

Vietnamese commuters pass a billboard with the portrait of former communist leader Ho Chi Minh, in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon - Richard Vogel / AP

“Uncle Ho said people were the masters and, the government only a servant of the people. We are following his definition that the government is for the people, by the people, of the people,”

"Treasured is the image of a humble, simple-living father figure. The purges and other ruthless deeds of his regime are ignored, not known or unacknowledged". 

Vietnam may be striding toward a capitalist future but it still clings to the memory of a communist leader born 115 years ago in a thatched, dirt-floor hut ringed by rice fields.

Among communism’s giants, Mao Zedong is played down in China, Stalin is reviled and Lenin has lost his luster in Russia, but the red star of Ho Chi Minh still shines brightly in Vietnam.

His portrait — gaunt and goateed — hangs in millions of homes and offices, including those of foreign companies. Children and senior officials get big doses of “Uncle Ho’s” teachings.

And his birthplace in this central Vietnam village is probably the country’s prime pilgrimage site. Each year, some 1.5 million people reverentially view the simple rustic dwellings where he was born and spent his boyhood. Visitors also flock to the museum where the likeness of this man who espoused an atheistic doctrine is enshrined over a Buddhist altar clouded by incense.

Visitors swell during special times. In the days leading up to Saturday’s celebrations on the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end, hundreds of veterans, their chests ablaze with red and gold medals, have been arriving from across the country.

But the influence Ho wields goes beyond that of the historical figure who led the Vietnamese to victory over France and then the United States — making possible the unification of North and South Vietnam six years after his death in 1969.

'Main ideology'

Capitalism, Liberty and Morality

I have taken the liberty of reproducing this speech in its entirety here and, hopefully, readers will find the time to digest it in full at some stage! The universal relevance and implications of Mario's message are particularly pertinent within the social context of a nation like Cambodia which is still deeply mired in political authoritarianism, and crippled by increasing socio-economic inequities [School of Vice].

by Mario VARGAS LLOSA 

Mario VARGAS LLOSA

“. . . Liberty is not divisible, in other words, that there is no economic liberty without political freedom, and that material progress obtained through freedom restricted to the economic sphere and excluded from the political and social arena is imperilled progress, progress with lead feet”. 

The thirtieth anniversary of this great champion of freedom, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, coincides this year –give or take a few days– with an anniversary of key historical importance: the fall of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the collapse of the Soviet Empire, the most serious threat the culture of freedom has had to confront in its few centuries of life. It is worth recalling, now that the financial and economic crisis shaking the Western world is sowing pessimism and dire forecasts about the future of free society are on the rise, that less than 25 years ago, communism seemed permanently rooted in almost half of the world and that, today, with the disappearance of the Soviet Union and the transformation of China into a capitalist, totalitarian regime, it is no longer a strong competitor of democracy. It survives, like an ancient archeological relic, in only two enclaves, Cuba and North Korea, where collectivism, statism and despotism seem locked in the past and in extreme poverty.

It is also worth noting that communism did not disappear as a result of a war or a decisive ideological conflict with the free world. On the contrary, the free world seemed resigned to coexist with communism and none other than Henry Kissinger believed that it was here to stay. Fortunately, this did not occur. The communist collapse did not result from a struggle with its adversary but from an internal combustion, an implosion that annihilated it because of its inability to satisfy the most basic demands for well-being, economic development and liberty of the people it subjugated.

Nevertheless, this victory over its most dangerous ideological enemy has not sufficed for the free world to continue its economic and social triumphs by developing free and competitive markets and by strengthening democracy through citizen participation in political life and the cleansing of its institutions. On the contrary, for over three years democratic societies of the West have been plagued by an economic and financial crisis that has triggered unemployment, driven thousands of businesses into bankruptcy and revealed shocking cases of corruption and unlawful practices at its core. All of this has generated a sense of alarm and distrust among the public toward banks and international financial institutions. It is not surprising, then, that the major cities of the Western world are the site of the recent Occupy Wall Street protests, where one hears, yet again, the old diatribes against capitalist exploitation and markets that foster selfishness and inequality, and drive wedges between rich and poor.  Amazingly, within the “Indignant Ones” and Occupy Wall Street movement, one can hear voices that call for old populist and socialist formulas to remedy the economic ills of the free world: nationalizations, state-controlled economies and, in general, the growth of the public sector and the reduction of the private one.

“. . . a country cannot spend more than what it is capable of producing, that is, of living beyond its means, without running the risk of acquiring debts that could eventually destroy it;”

I have had to travel a good deal this year and I have met these angry young members of the “Indignant Ones” movement in Madrid, Paris, London, Berlin and recently, even on Wall Street. If one never left this developed-country circuit –in other words, Europe and the United States– one might be tempted to think that the Mecca of capitalism is in irreversible decline and that it runs the risk of becoming a victim, due to its internal contradictions, of a fatal implosion similar to the one that ended communism.