Khmerization

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Cambodia's Awakening - MP Mu Sochua's Response to Dr. Narankiri Tith

Dear Dr. Naranhkiri,

Greetings from rainy Kampot, the place that gives me wisdom.

I did see your comments and suggestion to Ou Ritthy to invite Mr. Sam Rainsy for a talk. Many thanks and we also await his invitation. We accept almost all invitations and have been very busy with just that, working out the fine details for each working group and communicating with our grassroots base.

I refer to the article you recommended Cambodia's Long March Towards Democracy.

Please allow me to put some additional points, as a view of one of the many at the front line of the march:

Cambodia's Awakening vs. Arab Spring:

If you check my blog http://sochua.wordpress.com, you will see that I use the word Awakening and not Arab Spring. CNRP strategy is to get people out of the trauma syndrome, moving from being victims of the KR regime to being survivors and taking charge of their own destiny.

The Beginning of Cambodia's Awakening:

Unfair economic land concessions, widespread land grabs and the workers' minimum wage, corruption at all levels that Hun Sen continues to ignore and to ignite are the key issues for people to be fed up with CPP and to look for a viable alternative.

SRP and HRP learning from the 2012 commune election put national interests first and CNRP became the united opposition that the people choose to support in July 2013.

The Momentum of the Cambodia's Awakening

CNRP foot soldiers backed by mid-level leaders put up party signs in most remote villages all over Cambodia. Mid-level leaders with MP candidates and working groups covered the entire Cambodia with town hall meetings, village level fora and door-to-door knocking. Mr. Kem Sokha as the voice from inside and Mr. Sam Rainsy (still in exile) covering overseas Cambodian communities. Overseas Khmers strongly funded the capaign from the very beginning. CNRP democracy caravan took the show on the road with the magic word "Phdo! " . One simple word that covers the reality of 90% of Cambodia while CPP could not get their feet out of their own quagmire. CPP old machinery got outdated, overly loaded by communist style management could not catch up with the vibrant youth forces on social media. The entire country and not just one Tahir Square went out to get people off their feet.

CPP made huge miscalculations by undermining the popularity and trust that our people have in Mr. Sam Rainsy. On 19 July, 2013 his return said it all: Cambodia has totally embarked in Phdo! Change!.

CPP elites campaign with NO CHANGE! WHY CHANGE? IF YOU PITY HUN SEN, VOTE FOR CPP.

Game over.

Cambodia's Genie was out of the bottle.

Freedom Park

Up to 1 million people or more took to Freedom Park to unleash their pains and the stories of injustice.

CNRP unleashed a new culture of non-violence and call for national unity, took the the streets from August 2013 to 3 January 2014.

It has been an incredible journey to stand for Non-Violence principles for a nation that has known nothing but violence. We have had to stand firm against those who want to move towards a quick fix by using violence.

Freedom Park or Democracy Square becomes the symbol of Khmers united with one common goal: Justice.

The Agreement

Negotiations have lead to the 22 July Agreements. A Tsunamy of critics from inside and outside of Cambodia hit CNRP leadership by labeling them "traitors" for pocketing US$ 100 million.

The signed agreement covers CNRP benchmarks:

Hun Sen and the fake Budha

Hun Sen has just ordered the arrest of Thean Vuthy (in white robe), a man who claims to be a reincarnation of the Buddha, but Hun Sen is seen awarding a medal to Thean Vuthy.

Cambodia Urges China to Restrict Visas for Single Women to Combat Trafficking

Cambodia says it has asked China to restrict the number of visas it issues to single Cambodian women, to prevent the brokering of marriages to Chinese men.

Thida Win, VOA Khmer 04 August 2014

PHNOM PENH —Cambodia says it has asked China to restrict the number of visas it issues to single Cambodian women, to prevent the brokering of marriages to Chinese men.

The appeal comes as an increasing number of Cambodian women are finding their way into Chinese marriages and becoming victims of human trafficking.

Chu Bun Eng, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Interior and head of the National Authority Against Human Trafficking, said restrictive visas will help lower the number of trafficked women.

"We sent a letter to Chinese embassy telling them that nowadays many Cambodian women are tricked by fake marriage to Chinese men in China. They are now suffering. We request the embassy refer the issue to Chinese authorities in China," she said.

Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Cambodia has asked for China's cooperation, including at its embassies in Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, where Cambodian women might also request visas.

"Because this issues keep piling up, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested cooperation from the Chinese embassy to deal with the issue," he said. "That is why Chinese embassy has started to have tougher restrictions on visas for single Cambodian women traveling to China."

CNRP swearing in set for tomorrow លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ដាក់លិខិតទៅប្រធានរដ្ឋសភា លោក ហេង សំរិន រៀបចំចូលធ្វើសច្ចាប្រណិធាន

King Norodom Sihamoni attends the opening day of the National Assembly surrounded by CPP representatives in Phnom Penh in September last year after the CNRP refused to take its seats. Vireak Mai

Mon, 4 August 2014 Phnom Penh Post

Kevin Ponniah

Politicians from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party will take their oaths as parliamentarians in front of King Norodom Sihamoni at the Royal Palace tomorrow, senior officials have said.

The swearing in will pave the way for the party’s 55 elected lawmakers to take their seats in the National Assembly in coming days, bringing an end to their more than 10-month boycott of parliament.

“It’s confirmed tomorrow at 4pm at the palace, but we will meet at the National Assembly at 3pm,” senior lawmaker and public affairs head Mu Sochua said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan, in a Facebook post, said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An had confirmed the ruling Cambodian People’s Party had reached full agreement with the CNRP on details of a deal they inked on July 22 to end the longstanding political deadlock.

He said the opposition would take their seats in parliament on Thursday, but Sochua and CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann would not confirm that date.

“It will be a few days after the swearing-in ceremony,” Sovann said.

BY ALEX WILLEMYNS | the cambodia daily, AUGUST 4, 2014

The CNRP’s 55 lawmakers-elect will be sworn into the National Assembly in a ceremony at the Royal Palace on Tuesday afternoon, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said on Monday, ending a boycott of parliament that began more than 10 months ago over claims last year’s election was rigged.

“Tomorrow 4 p.m. at the Royal Palace,” the opposition leader said by telephone of the swearing-in schedule.

Earlier Monday, National Assembly Secretary-General Leng Penglong wrote to Royal Palace Minister Kong Sam Ol requesting a date be set for the swearing in.

Spokespeople for the CPP could not be reached.

Once sworn in, the CNRP’s 55 lawmakers will be joined by their 68 colleagues from the CPP at a special session of the National Assembly to welcome the opposition representatives. The date for this special session has not yet been set.

The CPP’s 68 lawmakers-elect were sworn into office at a ceremony in September presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni and attended by the foreign diplomatic corps. The 68 lawmakers the next day voted the CPP government, headed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, into another five-year term.

Hun Sen calls for the arrests of Thean Vuthy, the man who claimed to be a reincarnation of the Buddha and scammed people out of millions of dollars] លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ចេញបញ្ជាឲ្យសមត្ថកិច្ចនាំខ្លួនលោក ធាន វុទ្ធី

However, in an undated video, Mr. Thean Vuthy and the MInister of Cults and Religion Mr. Min Khin, were seen standing next to each other to greet Mr. Hun Sen disembarking from his helicopter. If the over-superstitious Mr. Hun Sen didn't bless and support Thean Vuthy, then Thean Vuthy wouldn't have a chance to scam people since as long as from 2008.
The raid on Thean Vuthy's room at Tuol Reachea Pagoda found diamonds and jewelry.

Post by Poll Sarieng.

ផ្ទាំងរូបថត លោក ធាន វុទ្ធី ដែលដាក់លក់នៅវត្តទួលព្រះរាជា។

RFA/Oung Sereyvuth

ប្រមុខដឹកនាំរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា ចេញបញ្ជាឲ្យអាជ្ញាធរមានសមត្ថកិច្ចតាមចាប់បុគ្គលឈ្មោះ ធាន វុទ្ធី ដែលតាំងខ្លួនជាព្រះសិអារ្យមេត្រីយ៍ នៅក្នុងព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា យកមកផ្ដន្ទាទោសតាមច្បាប់ ព្រោះសកម្មភាពរបស់បុគ្គលរូបនេះបានបំពានដល់ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា ដែលជាសាសនារដ្ឋ និងមានចែងនៅក្នុងរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ។ សម្រាប់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋបានរិះគន់ចំណាត់ការរបស់ប្រមុខរដ្ឋាភិបាល ថាមានការយឺតពេល ហើយជនឆបោកក៏បានរត់គេចខ្លួនបាត់។

ថ្លែងនៅក្នុងពិធីចែកសញ្ញាប័ត្រដល់និស្សិតសាកលវិទ្យាល័យវេស្ទើន នាមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលកោះពេជ្រ នៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃចន្ទ ទី៤ ខែសីហា លោកនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន បានបញ្ជាឲ្យលោក មិន ឃិន រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីក្រសួងធម្មការ និងសាសនា និងផ្នែកពាក់ព័ន្ធ បន្តចាត់វិធានការទៅលើបុគ្គលឈ្មោះ ធាន វុទ្ធី ដែលតាំងខ្លួនជាព្រះសិអារ្យមេត្រីយ៍ ដើរបោកប្រាស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ និងបង្គាប់ឲ្យព្រះសង្ឃថ្វាយបង្គំខ្លួនកន្លងមក។ ប្រមុខដឹកនាំចាត់ទុកទង្វើ ឬសកម្មភាពរបស់បុគ្គលឆបោករូបនេះ ថានាំឲ្យអាប់ឱនដល់ព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនា ដែលជាសាសនារបស់រដ្ឋធ្ងន់ធ្ងរ។

«សំឡេង»

បញ្ហាស្រដៀងគ្នានេះ គឺមិនមែនកើតឡើងជាលើកទី១ទេ ដែលប្រទេសកម្ពុជា មានបុគ្គលតាំងខ្លួនជាព្រះ ឬជាអ្នកមានបុណ្យបារមី ដើរឆបោកប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ចាប់ពីពលរដ្ឋសាមញ្ញរហូតដល់មន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់នៃរាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា។

រឿងអាស្រូវរបស់បុគ្គល ធាន វុទ្ធី បានកើតឡើងនៅក្នុងវត្តទួលព្រះរាជា មានទីតាំងស្ថិតនៅភូមិកំពង់គរ ឃុំពោធិបាន ស្រុកកោះធំ ខេត្តកណ្ដាល។ បញ្ហានេះក្រសួងធម្មការ និងសាសនា ក៏បានបង្កើតឲ្យមានគណៈកម្មការចម្រុះមួយ ដើម្បីមានវិធានការនិងនាំខ្លួនជនឆបោករូបនេះទៅផ្ដន្ទាទោសតាមច្បាប់។

កាលពីថ្ងៃទី៣ ខែសីហា លោក មិន ឃិន រដ្ឋមន្ត្រីក្រសួងធម្មការ និងលោក ផៃ ប៊ុនឈឿន អភិបាលខេត្តកណ្ដាល បានដឹកនាំគណៈកម្មការចម្រុះ និងកងកម្លាំងប្រដាប់អាវុធ បានចុះត្រួតពិនិត្យមហាកុដិរបស់លោក ធាន វុទ្ធី ស្នាក់នៅនាបរិវេណវត្តទួលព្រះរាជា ដោយបានឃើញគ្រឿងអលង្ការ មានត្បូងគ្រប់ប្រភេទ ភ្លុកដំរី ឬចង្កូមខ្លា ជាដើម ដាក់តាំងនៅក្នុងទូរកញ្ចក់ជាច្រើនទូរ។ នៅក្នុងទូនីមួយៗក៏មានដាក់តាំងយ័ន្ត និងរូបព្រះបដិមាតូចធំច្រើនប្រភេទ ព្រមទាំងមានរូបគំនូរបុគ្គល ធាន វុទ្ធី គូរនៅលើជញ្ជាំងកុដិ តាំងខ្លួនជាព្រះ មានរូបទេវតា ព្រះព្រហ្ម និងព្រះសង្ឃសំពះហែហម គោរពជាព្រះសិរអារ្យមេត្រីយ៍ថែមទៀត។

Khmer Krom and youths announce the protests against Vietnam on 11th, 12th and 13th August for claiming that Kampuchea Krom territory belong to Vietnam since ancient times

Post by មេទ័ព ក្រមុំ.

នៅថ្ងៃទី 11-12-13 ខែ សីហា ឆ្នាំ 2014 ក្រុមយុវជន នឹងប្រជាពលរដ្ធគ្រប់ស្រទាប់ព្រៀមធ្វើមហាបាតុកម្ម ដង្ហែញត្តិគ្រប់ស្ថានទូតប្រទេសអាស៊ានប្រចាំកម្ពុជា ដើម្បីអោយជួយអរន្តរាគមន៏អោយអាស្រកីដូងគោរពគោលការណ៏អាស៊ាន ដែលវារឹងក្បាលមិនព្រមចេញមកសារភាពកំហុស អោយសុំទោសអ្នកជិតខាង ដែលវាបំភ្លៃប្រវត្តិសាស្ត្រគេ ! ហេតុដូចនេះ សូមបងប្អួនជនរួមជាតិជាទីគោរព ជាទីស្នេហាទាំងក្នុងប្រទេស ក្រៅប្រទេស ជួយគាំទ្រ នឹងចូលរួមអោយបានគ្រប់គ្នាៗ ដើម្បីកុំអោយយួនមើលងាយ យើងតទៀត ព្រោះសព្វថ្ងៃមានរូបភាពជាច្រើនដែលចោរយួនព្យាយាមមើលងាយ នឹង ចង់បានអង្គររបស់យើងផងដែរ ខ្មែរ!

A traditional Khmer house was built in 1903

Ratanak Eng

20 hrs

“ផ្ទះខសង” ផ្ទះប្រវត្តិសាស្រ្តនេះមានអាយុកាលជាង ១០០ ឆ្នាំហើយ។ ម្ចាស់ផ្ទះគឺជាលេខាផ្ទាល់របស់លោកម្ចាស់ កថាថនឈុំ ជាស្តេចត្រាញ់គ្រប់គ្រងខេត្តបាត់ដំបង សៀមរាប និងកំពង់ធំ។ អ្នកបាត់ដំបងសាងសង់ផ្ទះ គឺគោរពក្បួនខ្នាតបុរាណណាស់ មិនច្របូកច្របល់ដូចសព្វថ្ងៃនេះទេ។ “ផ្ទះម៉ូតខសង” គេច្រើនតែធ្វើកុដិ ឬសាលាឆាន់។

ប្រភពរូបភាព៖ ពីលោកពូម្នាក់សុំមិនបញ្ចេញឈ្មោះ

This traditional Khmer house was built in 1903. The owner was a private secretary of Lord Governor Chum Aphaiwong, the lord governor of Battambang, Siem Reap and Kampong Thom before Battambang and Siem Reap were trnsferred back to Cambodia's control in 1907 after the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907.

The voice Cambodia.... 3 August 2014 Part12

Watch more "The Voice Cambodia" here.

Post by Khmer Videos TV Record.

Post by Poll Sarieng K-media.

Post by Khmer Videos TV Record.

Meet an ex-resistance fighter from 1979 who was based in Nong Chan with Gen. Lay Virak

Post by Snorb Border.

Khmer Krom people announce the protests against Vietnamese embassy on 11th, 12th and 13th August for claiming Kampuchea Krom territory belong to Vietnam since ancient times ខ្មែរក្រោមនឹងដឹកនាំធ្វើមហាបាតុកម្មប្រឆាំងមន្រ្តីអ្នកនាំពាក្យស្ថានទូតវៀតណាម នៅថ្ងៃទី ១១ -១២ និងថ្ងៃទី១៣ ខែសីហា

Post by Sam Rainsy.

Cambodia expected to greet 4.6 mln foreign tourists in 2014: minister

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is projected to receive 4.6 million international visitors this year, an expected rise of 10 percent from 4.2 million last year, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Saturday.

"In the first six months of this year, more than 2.2 million foreigners visited Cambodia, up 5.2 percent over the same period last year," he said during a tourism-related conference. "Based on this figure, we expect that the nation will welcome about 4.6 million foreign tourists in 2014."

The minister said the Southeast Asian nation is expected to draw up to 8 million foreign visitors in 2020 with an estimated revenue of 5 billion U.S. dollars.

He said China was a huge market for Cambodian tourism. Last year, the country received some 463,000 Chinese visitors, up 39 percent year-on-year.

"We project that around 800,000 Chinese will visit Cambodia in 2015 and nearly 2 million in 2020," he said.

Tourism is one of the four major pillars supporting the Cambodian economy, accounting for an estimated 16 percent of the GDP.

Cambodia is famous for its two world heritage sites. One is the 12th century Angkor Wat Temple and the other is the 11th century Preah Vihear Temple.

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy has showed his party position and strategy in order to bring about a demoncratic change for the country.

"Our principle position remains and objective unchanged: Loyalty to our motherland, respect for the people's desire and to bring about the demoncratic change in order to rescue the country," he posted Sunday in his Facebook page.

Rainy raised the country's issues and the solution to them.

"To acheive the desired democratic change to rescue our country means that we must solve major national issues such as Cambodia's territory integrity (border issues, illegal immigration, land grabbing, deforestration ... and social justice," he said.

"In order to solve the above problems we must first come to power by peaceful and democratic means. In order to come to power we must win the coming election. In order to win the coming elections we must ensure that the elections will be free and fair... in order to overhaul the NEC and make it a neutral and credible body we must negotiate with the ruling CPP before we join the National Assembly so as to be able to amend the Constitution and the Election Law defining the composition and the functioning of the NEC."

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- About 93,456 Cambodian high school students on Monday took the annual national high school graduation exams, which is a prerequisite for students to pursue their studies in a university level.

"A total of 93,456 high school students are taking the exams at 154 centers with 3,779 rooms throughout the country," said a statement from the Ministry of Education, adding that the exams will last for two days.

Generally, days prior to the exams, some students seek cheat sheets, while others go to Buddhist pagodas in order to get an anointment from monks in hope to pass the exams.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said the ministry has taken strict measures to prevent cheating during the exams in order to restore confidence in the education system.

"The ministry has taken measures to ensure that there is no cheating during the exams," he said. "We want to change students' habits from cheating to writing with their own knowledge on the answer sheets."

In addition to proctors, the Anti-Corruption Unit has deployed more than 3,000 volunteers to oversee the two-day exams.

There was no leakage of any one of the test's seven subjects, the minister said, adding calculators, cell phones and other electronic devices were banned from the exam rooms.

The exam results will be announced on Aug. 29 and 30.

In Cambodia, high school graduates who obtained satisfactory scores in high school graduate exams are eligible to apply for the colleges or universities they prefer, either private or national.

Deposit for Brides in China Called Into Question

BY HUL REAKSMEY | the cambodia daily, AUGUST 4, 2014

Human rights groups on Sunday criticized as inadequate a government proposal, announced on Friday, to require single women to deposit $10,000 into a Chinese bank before they are allowed to visit China as tourists, a move meant to curb the trafficking of Cambodian woman to marry Chinese men.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote in a statement that the measure would “prevent the trafficking of Khmer woman” who believe they are moving to China for good jobs or marriage to wealthy men, but end up being caught in abusive relationships or sometimes sold into brothels.

“The Chinese Embassy has restricted the issuing of visas to single Khmer women by having received proper initiation letters first, and they have to deposit $10,000 in the Bank of China first if they want to go to China as a tourist,” it says.

Lim Mony, deputy director of the women and children department for rights group Adhoc, said the measure would not scare off the people profiting from the trade in Cambodian brides.

“What we must do immediately is create a memorandum of understanding [between Cambodia and China] stating what conditions are necessary for a Cambodian woman to marry a Chinese man.”

The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced last month that it is working on an agreement with China on the issue, but has yet to release a draft for public consultation.

Cambodian war volunteers at Wat Phnom, 1916

Sat, 2 August 2014 Phnom Penh Post

Kevin Ponniah and Charles Rollet

At the height of World War I, 2,000 Cambodian volunteers were sent to the fields of France to support their colonial rulers. Many did not return.

March 1916. As artillery shells pounded the battlefields of eastern France, Sen Sak, a Cambodian widow, pleaded with the head of the French administration in Phnom Penh to allow her only child, Sen Sam, to leave the army before he was sent to fight in Europe’s distant war.

Without teenage Sam, her only close relative after the successive deaths of her husband and daughter, Sak wrote to Resident Superior François Baudoin that she would be “abandoned and miserable”.

“I pray and beg you, M. Resident Superior, to accord me this grace,” she wrote. “I can already feel my heart breaking.”

After travelling to the capital from her Kampong Chhnang village to beg her son not to go, he had reversed his decision, she claimed.

Scribbled on the same letter – buried in Cambodia’s National Archives – is Baudoin’s reply. Faded to the point of illegibility, it is unclear if he accepted her request. It is also unknown if Sam deserted anyway or dutifully donned his uniform and boarded a steamer to the port of Marseille like approximately 2,000 other Cambodians eventually did by war’s end in 1918.

One hundred years ago this month, at the outbreak of the First World War, and nearly two years before the heartbroken mother put pen to paper, the French authorities in Indochina offered battalions of “native soldiers” for the war effort in Europe.

They were rejected. The war, they were told, would be over by Christmas.

But as historian John Tully notes in Cambodia Under The Tricolour, “By 1916, the euphoria had evaporated and the enormous casualties suffered in the trenches (equal to the population of Poitiers every week) could not long be replaced from [France’s] metropolitan population of 40 million.”

France, like Britain, turned to its empire.

It was initially thought that hundreds of thousands could be raised in Indochina, but the figure was later limited to 50,000, according to Tully. Of that, the overwhelming majority were Vietnamese, but Cambodia was asked to provide 2,500 tirailleurs (light infantry) and workers to serve in the trenches, garrisons and factories of France.

The call was strongly backed by the Royal Palace, with then-King Sisowath serving as president of a committee in charge of organising recruitment.

“The members of the royal family, ministers, government officials of all ranks, all the Cambodian people and myself, have for France a love and a devotion without bounds,” he proclaimed.

An intense propaganda campaign began. Notices were posted in every village; high-ranking French officials and royalty went out on recruiting drives.

“The monks were put to work contributing to the ordinary recruitment drives, while the King himself would go to the districts promising honourific distinctions and jobs in the administration and at the Royal Palace to those who joined,” French historian Alain Forest writes.

But according to Forest, after three months, only 2,295 people had volunteered to serve as soldiers, of which 508 were sent home after it became apparent they had been coerced to join by local authorities. Of those remaining, 1,008 were deemed appropriate for military service. Of that number, 20 died during training and 340 more deserted.

As he reported a batch of just 28 new recruits from Kampong Cham and Kratie provinces in May 1916, War Minister Chakrey Ponn attributed slow recruitment “not to a hostile sentiment towards the protectorate, but to the fact that Cambodians are very attached to their homes and do not like to go abroad.

“Having a far from belligerent character, they content themselves with their farms.”

Despite Ponn’s assurances, the recruitment drive, in fact, coincided with peasant protests against French taxation now known as the “1916 Affair”. In this atmosphere, anti-recruitment propaganda also flourished, contributing to desertions and slowing enlistment.

Nevertheless, on May 1, 1916, the first battalion of Cambodian soldiers – the 20th Indochinese – proudly set sail for France, waved off by large crowds.

Arriving in Marseille, they boarded trains to barracks further east, in Fréjus, for basic training.

While the largely uneducated volunteers may have had trouble adjusting, small concessions had been made to ease the transition. The men arriving dined on dried fish, vermicelli and even prahok, according to Tully.

They were also welcomed by locals bearing gifts of flowers and wine, some soldiers later said, and “amused themselves by sending ‘obscene’ postcards to friends and relatives” and apparently even charming pretty French girls.

But early contact with working locals, particularly in the factories, was already worrying the colonial administration.

On May 27, 1916, Nguyen Van Vinh, a high-ranking Vietnamese colonial administrator posted with the Indochinese volunteers, noted that such contact could see them “lose their native quality of docility” when they return home.

“Outside of the workshops and barracks, the men have gotten used to a certain liberty which they may retain as they come back to Indochina,” he wrote.

Although Vinh’s fears may have been overblown, at least two veterans – Pach Chhoeun and Kim Tith – later became prominent nationalists and figures in the independence movement.

While Baudoin and other French colonial officials initially lamented the lack of military prowess they perceived in Cambodians, the volunteers were ultimately praised for their bravery on the battlefield.

Many served as garrison troops in France and Macedonia. But others saw action in Vietnamese-Cambodian frontline units on the Western Front – at the ferocious Battle of Verdun, in the Vosges mountains of Alsace and the Chemins des Dames in Aisne. Cambodians also fought on the Balkans front.

Indochinese troops were said to be especially brave during patrols towards enemy trenches, Tully writes, although given that tirailleurs were often used in this manner, “the unavoidable conclusion is that they were seen as being more expendable than Europeans.”

An October 1918 letter from Baudoin to the family of a volunteer tirailleur named Nuon, from Prey Veng province, killed on July 28 on the Alsace front and awarded the Croix de Guerre, cites his courage.

“A brave tirailleur, who stayed brave under a violent bombardment. Killed in the accomplishment of his duty.”

Svay Rieng authority sacked the abbot of Chey Mony Pagoda by accusing him of supporting the opposition party អាជ្ញាធរខេត្តស្វាយរៀងដកចៅអធិការវត្តដោយចោទថាចូលបក្សប្រឆាំង

The abbot of Chey Mony Pagoda was sacked after the Svay Rieng authority accused him of being an opposition supporter.

Post by Vibol Mao.

RFA - អាជ្ញាធរស្រុករំដួល ខេត្តស្វាយរៀង បានដកចៅអធិការវត្តជ័យមុនី ព្រះនាម អ៊ិន ទុទ្ទី នៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃទី៣ សីហា ដោយចោទថា រំលោភបទបញ្ជាផ្ទៃក្នុងក្រសួងធម្មការ និងធ្វើនយោបាយគាំទ្របក្សសង្គ្រោះជាតិ។

ចៅអធិការវត្ត អ៊ិន ទុទ្ទី មានថេរដីកាថា ការដកតំណែងរបស់ព្រះអង្គគឺជារឿងមួលបង្កាច់ ដោយបដិសេធថា ព្រះអង្គមិនបានប្រព្រឹត្តដូចការចោទប្រកាន់នោះទេ។

ទោះយ៉ាងណា ចៅអធិការវត្ត អ៊ិន ទុទ្ទី ឲ្យដឹងថា អាជ្ញាធរស្រុកនិងមន្ត្រីសង្ឃគឺអនុគណស្រុក រួមទាំងមន្ត្រីធម្មការស្រុករំដួល បានតែងតាំងព្រះសង្ឃមួយអង្គទៀត ព្រះនាម គឹម ហ៊ឹង ជំនួសតំណែងនេះភ្លាមៗ បន្ទាប់ពីប្រកាសដកតំណែងនេះនៅព្រឹកថ្ងៃដដែល។

សូមរង់ចាំអាននិងស្ដាប់ព័ត៌មាននេះពិស្ដារ...

Post by En Puthy.

Post by Sovath Loun.

Sunday, 3 August 2014

CNRP condemns arrest of three activists

Neang Sokhun was being arrested by police.

PHNOM PENEH (The Cambodia Herald) -- The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) strongly condemned the arrest of its leading activists in connection with violent protest near Naga Bridge on July 15, according to its statement Saturday evening.

Three activists including Khin Chumroeun, head of CNRP's Youth Movement in Phnom Penh, San Kimheng, head of CNRP's Youth Movement in Toul Kork, and Neang Sokhon, financier [treasurer] of CNRP's Youth Movement in Chbar Ampov, were arrested Saturday on charges of involving in the recent violent clash.

The statement said CNRP's seven lawmakers-elect and another activist were also summoned to reappear in the court over the clash.

"The arrest of activists and issue of subpoena to summon CNRP's lawmakers this time is a new threat against CNRP to fulfill CPP’s power ambition," CNRP said in the statement.

It also appealed for immediate and unconditional release of its activists.

"CPP has to halt threat in all kind of means against CNRP, especially stop using court to fulfill its ambition and political goal."

Meanwhile, the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of Council of Ministers also issued a statement the same day in respond to the CNRP's accusation.

In the statement, the unit said that the arrest of those three people was lawful and based on the complaints by the victims.

"The arrest of those three activists as well as the issue of subpoena to summon CNRP's seven lawmakers-elect and one activist is an ongoing procedure of the court," it said in the statement, denying the CNRP's accusation.

Sam Rainsy phones Sar Kheng to discuss remaining issues

PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) -- The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Sam Rainsy said Saturday that he ranged Interior Minister Sar Kheng to discuss issues which haven't been agreed by the two parties' working groups, and autonomy of National Election's affairs.

"We have further discussion between the two parties' top leaders," he said. "We have already talked, but I can not reveal it because we are in discussion process."

We have to do it stage by stage, he said, adding that when the task of Constitution amendment is done, the CNRP will tell what to do next.

Rainsy refused to answer when asked about the date of swearing-in ceremony for the CNRP's 55 lawmakers.

The CPP and CNRP agreed Friday afternoon that the members of reformed NEC don't need immunity, but they have autonomous budget after a four-house meeting between the two parties' working groups.

The Cambodian Brides Of China

A market of matchmaking has sprung up to wed poor Cambodian women and middle-class Chinese men, spurred by both China's newfound wealth and one-child policy. It's not all roses.

By Lan Fang

Courtesy of World Crunch.

(2014-08-02)

More articles on abuses of Cambodian women in China.

Love and Marriage in China?

HUANGGANG — It is a hot and sticky midsummer day in a small village along the Chang River in the northeast Jiangxi Province. The most popular spot is the pergola in front of the local grocery where a few women are playing mahjong as children chase each other around.

In the corner, sitting separately, are two young women, whispering. With darker complexions, deeper eye sockets and thicker lips, they look distinctly different from the locals. One of them wears a pair of high-heeled shoes, a short T-shirt and tight jeans, out of place with the more traditional local environment. The other woman is pregnant and is playing with her big-screen smartphone.

"They are our Cambodian brides," says one local woman. "Every village along the Chang river area has at least three or four of them."

It was about seven or eight years ago that the first Cambodian bride appeared in Huanggang, a rural township with two dozen or so local villages scattered along each side of the river. Some villager had gone to work in Yunnan, a province bordering Cambodia, and his client introduced him to a girl from his family. Thanks to her satisfaction with her new life in China, she spread the word to other women that they should come to Jiangxi.

Finally this riverside township, which used to be famous only for having floods every year, has turned into China's most famous "collection and distribution center" for Cambodian wives.

Huanggang now features more than a dozen "brokers" specialized in bringing together Cambodian women and Chinese men. In the past three years, thanks to Cambodia's convenient new regulations for marrying foreigners, Jiangxi's official marriage registration department has counted more than 2,000 cases involving Cambodian women; this far exceeds the number of Vietnamese brides. Massive numbers of Cambodian women are also flocking into other coastal provinces such as Fujian and Zhejiang.

Marrying far from home

"I was willing to marry this far away," said Xiaoyan, 30, who already has a strong local Jiangxi accent and has a one-year-old Jiangxi son. She got married two years ago, and not long after their wedding her husband was obliged to go to the coastal region of Zhejiang to work so as to repay the debt to the matchmaker and furnish their brand new three-storey house. Xiaoyan sees him only once a year.

As one of the world's most under-developed nations, 20.5% of Cambodia's population live in poverty, according to the most recent figures in 2011. That means some 8 million people live on less than $2.30 a day.

As Xiaoyan pointed out, in her village the poorer you are, the earlier a girl gets married. She didn't get married until she was 28-years-old. She married a Chinese man because "the Cambodian men are too poor."

20.5% of Cambodia's population live in poverty — Photo: shankar s.

Before 2010, Chinese men were not Cambodian girls' first choice. Massive numbers of Cambodian women married via intermediaries with South Koreans. In 2008 South Korea accounted for over 25,000 newly wedded Cambodian brides.

Today, China is overtaking South Korea to become Cambodian women's main destination for marrying a foreign man. Xiaoyan said she had not a clue what it was like in China except that "it's a lot richer and bigger."

Meanwhile, whereas marital violence is commonplace in Cambodia, she heard that "Chinese men don't beat their wives."

Hun Sen during the inauguration of Stung Meanchey Overpass.

Sat, 2 August 2014

Chhay Channyda

A coalition of housing rights groups that represent evicted communities has accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of “looking down” on victims of land grabbing after comments he made on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Stung Meanchey overpass, Hun Sen asked the city’s poor not to squat under the bridge, an area the Phnom Penh Municipality plans to make a recreational space.

“Please, have mercy. Don’t stay under the bridge and make it your home,” the premier said. He then seemed to refer to how unspecified land activists had settled in areas and then made claims of land grabbing “using a theory that the winner gets the land, the loser gets money and you file a complaint to the European Union.”

Hun Sen later called on EU Ambassador Jean-François Cautain, who was present, to officially witness that “no one” lives under the bridge.

“But later people will claim they have lived here since 1979…If in three years, you leave and a new ambassador comes, they will go to petition him, so he accepts it and then comes to ask for government intervention. Cambodia has these kinds [of people].”

In a statement yesterday, the Housing Rights Task Force said the speech “looked down on the poor residents of Cambodia, affected by land grabbing in the past, currently and in the coming future”.

“As His Excellency was himself living among monks in a pagoda in his youth, he should know compassion and how painful it feels to see people looking down on others because of someone’s status,” the groups said.

Chhay Kimhorn, a representative of the Borei Keila community, accused the premier of unfairly generalising.

“Our cases are different to what Hun Sen said, but his speech intended to attack our community because Boeung Kak and Borei Keila people have protested.”

By William E. Todd, U.S ambassador to Cambodia

Over the past year, Cambodia has come a long way. The 2013 national elections saw more Cambodians take part in the electoral process than ever before, and since then Cambodians’ interest in the political process has only increased. Last week brought the encouraging news that the two major parties came to a political agreement to end the year-long impasse. Since then, the parties have begun finalizing the details of that agreement and working toward strengthening Cambodia’s democracy. The nomination by both parties of Dr. Pung Kek to serve as the ninth member of the National Election Committee and her requests for ensuring the independence and transparency in the work of the election body were all very encouraging steps. At the end of the week, however, there were reports of frustration on both sides and the possibility of CNRP members being called back into court. It is important that these worrisome developments not stymie progress. As we go forward into the next week, I am hopeful that an open, transparent, and inclusive dialogue will lead to a resolution that benefits all Cambodians. This hope and optimism is reflected by a question sent to me from a reader this week. She wrote, “The CPP and the CNRP seem to be working hard to fix our election system. Do you think they are doing enough to improve transparency and inclusivity?”

The agreement reached by the party leaders last week provided a framework for political resolution and a way forward so that political leaders can begin reforms to improve both the election process and the parliamentary functions of the National Assembly. Having outlined the framework for reforms, the next step is to reach consensus on the details and establish the process for implementing the changes in a timely manner. Over the past week, it has been encouraging to see the two parties ironing out key aspects of reform, such as specific constitutional provisions to enshrine a new autonomous, independent, and transparent election management body, and the assignment of responsibility for voter registration to the new body.

The decisions made in the ongoing deliberations will impact the lives of all Cambodians, so the public has a compelling interest in observing and understanding the decision-making process. A process that takes place behind closed doors – particularly if accompanied by threats of arrest – without public access or oversight leads to rumors, uncertainty, and misinformation, all of which jeopardize the progress that has been made and the prospect for key reforms.As the Dalai Lama once said, “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.”It is a cause for optimism that in their discussions of internal National Assembly rules both parties have reportedly agreed to public disclosure of parliamentary sessions, and I hope that the spirit of openness will prevail and help to accelerate resolution.

A Change of Guard