KI Media |
- Boeung Kak Lake outrage!
- French intelligence claim Ben Ali fled Tunisia with 1.5 tonnes gold
- Electronics giant Panasonic launches Cambodian office
- Vietnam Airlines: big ambitions [-VN Airlines own half of Cambodia Angkor Air]
- Desperately seeking a sense of balance
- Court hears bail plea today
- Cambodian inmate deported
- [Cambodian] Court hears bail bid today [for border trespassing Thais]
- DISSENT! A page from Tunisia
- Thai FM Calls For 'Politics Of Compromise' On Border Issues
- Cambodia anti-drug chief faces corruption charge
- Forests under threat
- Soul Food
- Screening of Enemies of the People in Seattle Jan 21-Jan 27
- Hor Namhong to meet Kasit
- Cambodia and its future in Asean
- Running on ambition
- Celebrating a monk
- My Rights, My Responsibility (ICCPR) Series
- My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series
- Reconciling Peace with Justice: Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia - Theary Seng's lecture at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, 13 Jan. 2011)
- Gifts for Viets in Cambodia, OPPRESSION for Khmer Krom in Vietnam
- Cambodian Court to consider bail request for five Thais on Tuesday
- P.Penh bail appeal decision Tuesday [18 Jan]
- Five Thais in border-crossing case to appeal denial of bail
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:47 PM PST
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Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:32 PM PST
Agence France-Presse Relatives of ousted Tunisian leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali are thought to have fled the country with 1.5 tonnes in gold, Le Monde reported on Monday, citing French intelligence sources. At Monday's prices, 1.5 tonnes in gold would fetch USD 65 million on the open market. According to Le Monde, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office has been briefed by French intelligence that Leila Trabelsi, Ben Ali's second wife, withdrew gold ingots from the Tunisian central bank last week. The governor initially resisted her request, but backed down under pressure from Ben Ali himself, the report said. Ben Ali and Leila have now fled Tunisia, under pressure from an unprecedented wave of street protests amid anger that their family is accused of looting the country's resources.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:28 PM PST Monday, 17 January 2011 Uong Ratana The Phnom Penh Post The Cambodian market has high potential. It is located in a very important geographical location. JAPANESE electronic giant Panasonic launched its first representative office in Cambodia on Saturday, identifying it as a market with "high potential".  Ikuo Miyamoto, managing executive officer of Panasonic Corporation, highlighted the Kingdom's "young and dynamic" workforce and praised the government's encouragement of foreign investment during a meeting at Phnom Penh's Intercontinental Hotel."I strongly feel the great potential of significant growth that Cambodia will perform in the near future," he said, according to a transcript of the speech. "The Cambodian market has high potential. It is located in a very important geographical location between Thailand and Vietnam ... That is why Panasonic has decided to open a representative office here ahead of its competitors," he said. "Today is the new first step for Panasonic in Cambodia. We will strive to maximize our efforts to carry out locally-oriented management, " he added. The company claims to have garnered a 68-percent market share of air conditioner unit sales in the Kingdom last year. Panasonic also aims to introduce new products and provide an "after care servcies" for its Cambodian customers in the near future. Keo San, director of San International Co Ltd, which has imported and distributed Panasonic air conditioning units since the early 1990s said that sales had grown since its launch. "At the beginning, sometimes we could not sell even one a month, but now, our sales are better," he said, refusing the give specific or assumed figures because of competition concerns. Hidehiko Kondo, who is a representative from Panasonic's new Cambodia office, emphasised to The Post the company's position for growth. He said that even though there had been some success in selling to Cambodia, the market was still small due to limited numbers of households with access to electricity. Panasonic aims to mainly target customers in Phnom Penh, he said. The new office is located on Street 120, in Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:21 PM PST January 17, 2011 By Ben Bland Financial Times (UK) State-owned Vietnam Airlines wants to turn Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City into "major gateways" for the wider Indochina region, challenging the dominance of Bangkok and Singapore. In an interview with the Financial Times, Pham Ngoc Minh, the flag carrier's chief executive, said he was looking to expand connections with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as adding new routes and more flights to Europe. Minh said: We have our strength in our domestic market but, at the same time, we hope that as we develop Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, they become major gateways for the sub region. Vietnam Airlines already has a 45 per cent market share at Cambodia's Siem Reap airport, which is the dropping-off point for the ancient temples around Angkor Wat. Minh is aiming to ensure that Vietnam Airlines becomes the network carrier of choice for the growing number of tourists visiting Cambodia and Laos. The launch of more direct flights to China, Japan, Europe and the United States is a necessary first step. Direct long-haul connections to Vietnam are still patchy, with no flights to London yet, for example. Minh said it was a "priority" to launch flights to London this year. Vietnam Airlines is looking at both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, but the "big question mark" over the more centrally located Heathrow airport is the availability of slots. We can't start up with two flights a week – if you start with this frequency in London, you can't survive. I think we will start with around four flights a week, at least, as it's convenient for both business and leisure travellers. Business links between Vietnam and the UK are growing, albeit from a comparatively low base. Apart from China, Vietnam regularly comes top of surveys of the most attractive investment destinations for British companies, such as this one by the UK's trade promotion body. A growing number of wealthy and well-connected Vietnamese are also sending their children to be educated in the UK, including many scions of the ruling Communist elite. Yet, in terms of trade relations, the UK is still behind the likes of Japan, which has been cultivating closer economic ties with Vietnam as part of a government drive to boost exports. One example of this approach is the Japanese government-backed Mitsubishi Regional Jet, which Minh said could potentially fill a gap in the market for 100-seat, high frequency, short-haul planes. Vietnam's president, Nguyen Minh Triet, has already stated that Vietnam is considering buying the new jet as part of a wider agreement that would see Mitsubishi shift some of its manufacturing and technology to Vietnam. No further details about a deal have been reported. Minh confirmed that Vietnam Airlines was looking at the Mitsubishi Regional jet but he stressed that there are "a lot of other manufacturers in this area", which include Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer. Although Vietnam Airlines enjoys a monopoly position, Minh is keen for the government to free up the market and relax the existing ceiling on domestic fares in order to promote the wider development of the air travel sector. Gradually a roadmap to free up control of fares in domestic market would attract more investors. I would hope the day comes when the Vietnamese community will see their chance to invest in the airline business. But monopoly state control over Vietnam's airports and airport services such as refueling will make life difficult for private operators, especially in an industry where profit margins are so tight. While visiting Vietnam, Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association, the main industry body, warned on Friday that Vietnam cannot take its bright future for granted. He said: Vietnamese aviation must be built and supported by sound policies that take into account that this is a dynamic industry where change is the only constant.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 03:13 PM PST
Bangkok Post The media has been a factor in Thai-Cambodian relations since they became strained in 2008 whenthe dispute over the Preah Vihear temple resurfaced. The coverage in Thailand and Cambodia of sensitive incidents, including the recent arrest of seven Thais oncharges of trespassing on Cambodianterritory, could improve or damage relations between the neighbouring countries. ANUCHA CHAROENPO spoke to Neth Pheaktra, managing editor of the Khmer-language edition of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper, on its reporting policy. What's your newspaper's policy on reporting the arrest of the seven Thais and other issues that could affect Thai-Cambodian relations? This is a crucial story for us because the Cambodian people are watching developments closely. We have run a lot of the stories relating to border disputes between the two countries since the [Preah Vihear] conflict flared up in 2008. The matter has also been reported by other local newspapers. Do you agree with critics saying the press is partly to blame for the escalation of Thai-Cambodian tensions? The stories that we publish are based on facts and are well-balanced. We have never exaggerated the news. Cambodian people pay a lot of attention to the Thai-Cambodian relations issue because we are neighbours. Nationalist sentiment always runs high when it comes to Thai-Cambodian relations. How do you view this trend? Both Thai and Cambodian people feel the same way - they love their country. Whenever our country has problems, the people will unite to protect our beloved nation. Neither the Cambodian people nor the government want to lose a square inch of our land, but we don't want even a square inch of Thai soil. The best way to improve relations between our two nations is to respect one another. There is an argument that the seven Thais were arrested on Thai soil. According to a video clip posted on YouTube, this group of people said themselves they were in Cambodia. They walked 500 to 600 metres into Cambodia. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been quoted as saying the seven Thais entered Cambodia by accident. However, the detainees' lawyers have the right to produce evidence and fight for them in court, which, I think, will complete the hearing by the end of this month. Once the Phnom Penh Municipal Court hands down its verdict, the seven Thais can appeal to a higher court if they disagree [with the verdict]. If the defendants have any evidence to back their claims that the area where they were arrested is in Thailand, they can submit it to the court. We should let the law take its course. Are there any political motivations surrounding this case? This case is related to politics. So, both governments need to hold urgent talks to solve the problem. Coordination is needed at all levels to reduce tensions between the two countries. The seven Thais should confess to the court [that they entered Cambodia illegally] and prove that they had no intention of trespassing. How can Thai-Cambodian relations return to normal? We have bilateral mechanisms. [Cambodian] Prime Minister Hun Sen and Mr Abhisit have emphasised that when problems emerge between the two countries, the two sides will hold talks. Negotiations, not military action, will help solve the problems.The two countries should also press ahead with collaboration to solve the border demarcation disputes.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:54 PM PST January 18, 2011 THE NATION The Cambodian Appeals Court will open today to hear a new request for bail by five Thais held for illegal entry, Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said yesterday. The ministry hoped the five people would be released once the court considered their case, he said. Seven Thais including Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth and yellow-shirt activist Veera Somkwamkid were arrested near Sa Kaew's Ban Nong Chan while inspecting a disputed border area on December 29. They were charged with illegal entry into the country and a military zone. They could face 18 months in jail if convicted. Veera, who was briefly held in the same area in August, and aide Ratree Pipatanapaiboon were later charged with espionage for collecting information that could undermine Cambodia's security. They could be sentenced to up 10 years jail. Panich and Narumol Chitwara-tana were granted bail last week on health grounds, according to the Cambodian Foreign Ministry. It also said the court was still working on the other five detainees' cases. Thani said the Cambodian court was expected to rule on the illegal entry charge this week, but he still had no idea when the decision on Veera and Ratree's additional charge would be made. A group of Thai lawyers led by Karun Sai-gnam, who has close connections with the yellow shirts, wants to participate in the case and has asked the Foreign Ministry to help them gain access to the Cambodian court. The Foreign Ministry could not facilitate such a request, as foreign lawyers could not do legal work for Thai defendants in a Cambodian court, the spokesman said. The Thai defendants had the right to change lawyers if they wanted, but had to use Cambodian lawyers, he said. If the Thai lawyers wanted to help the five, they should contact the Cambodian defence lawyers directly, as the ministry could not help, he said. The Thai Embassy has engaged two Cambodian lawyers to represent the seven Thais. The Cambodian issue has become a political headache for Abhisit Vejjajiva's government as Veera's group, calling themselves the Thai Patriots Network, has been staging a protest in front of Government House. They allege that Abhisit's government is weak and lacks the ability to free the Thais, who they believe were taken captive on Thai territory where a Cambodian community has been living for more than 30 years. The protesters have blocked the road to Government House and refused to reopen it. They have called for Abhisit, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and many officials at the Foreign Ministry step down for "failing" to help the seven Thais. The group would also lodge a petition today with the Royal Household Bureau, asking His Majesty the King to help get the seven Thais released from the Cambodian prison, leader Chaiwat Sinsuwong said.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:44 PM PST 18/01/2011 Achara Ashayagachat Bangkok Post A Cambodian inmate has been returned to his homeland under a prisoner transfer agreement between Bangkok and Phnom Penh. The prisoner, whose name and offences were withheld, had been serving a four-year sentence at Bang Khwang Central Prison. The inmate was the first Cambodian prisoner transferred from Thailand under the 2009 agreement. The prisoner transfer was witnessed yesterday by Cambodian ambassador You Aye and Thai senior foreign ministry officials. Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdee said the transfer had nothing to do with simmering tensions which resurfaced following the arrest of seven Thais on charges of illegal entry to Cambodian territory on Dec 29. Mr Thani said the process had been "worked on for some time".Cambodia transferred three Thai Muslim prisoners last September to Thailand. The three had been jailed in Cambodia since 2003 for terrorism offences. Three other Cambodian prisoners presently serving terms in Thailand would be sent home, Mr Thani said.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 02:38 PM PST
18/01/2011 Anucha Charoenpo Bangkok Post PHNOM PENH : Cambodia's Appeal Court is expected to decide today whether to grant bail to five Thais being held in Prey Sar prison on trespassing charges. The five are scheduled to arrive at the court at 7am and are expected to be taken to a chamber to await the court decision on their bail request, said Pon Savath, the chief clerk of the court. Mr Pon said the media would be allowed in the courtroom but would be barred from taking photographs. Three judges have been appointed to consider the bail request and they are expected to arrive at their decision within two to three hours. The submission to the Appeal Court follows a ruling by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday against granting bail to the five Thais. Mr Pon said the five could apply to the Supreme Court if the Appeal Court today upheld the lower court's decision. The five Thai nationals still in detention are Veera Somkhwamkid, a coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, a splinter group of the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy; Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, Mr Veera's secretary; Samdin Lertbutr and Tainae Mungmajon, members of the Santi Asoke cult; and Kitchaponthorn Chusanasevi, an aide to Democrat MP for Bangkok Panich Vikitsreth. The five are among seven Thai nationals held by Cambodian authorities after they allegedly crossed the border into Cambodia on Dec29 last year. Cambodia has accused the seven, who include Mr Panich and his secretary Narumol Chitvarattana, of trespassing on its territory and illegally entering a military area in Banteay Meanchey opposite Thailand's Sa Kaeo province. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court decided on Thursday to grant bail to Mr Panich and Ms Narumol for health reasons. The two have been given shelter at the Thai ambassador's residence inside the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. The seven could face up to 18 months in jail if they are found guilty of the charges. Mr Veera and Ms Ratree have also been charged with espionage and could face a maximum of 10 years in prison. Diplomatic sources close to the case in Phnom Penh said it was possible that three of the five Thais still in detention could be released on bail this week. Mr Veera and Ms Ratree are likely to be kept in prison because they have entered Cambodia illegally several times and are facing more serious charges, the sources said. Cambodian authorities want assurances from Mr Veera that he would not again become involved in provocative behaviour. The sources quoted Cambodian officials as saying Mr Veera had submitted written assurances in the past when he had been arrested saying he would not stray again into Cambodian territory. The sources said it was up to the Cambodian court whether those granted bail would be allowed to leave the country and return to Thailand. Mr Pon said: "In my opinion, this is not a big case. It is a common case. Every suspect, regardless of their nationality, has the right to seek bail if they are arrested in Cambodia." He said the two Cambodian lawyers representing the Thais were simply following the law in seeking bail for their clients. If the five were released on bail, they would have to put up money as surety. They would not be allowed to leave Cambodia until the Phnom Penh Municipal Court decided whether to convict them. Mr Pon said Cambodian law required that the trial of the seven Thais must be completed within six months. Ros Aun, one of the lawyers representing the Thais, went to the Appeal Court yesterday to follow up the request for bail. Mr Ros said he was still unsure whether the court would grant the bail request.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 11:02 AM PST By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh Expanding our Mind Series Exciting stuff! Not only for Arab democracy but for us Asians as well, especially us Cambodians who are experiencing similar obnoxious, odious political leadership (minus Islam). Excerpts, with my emphasis: The Arab Gdansk By Roger Cohen International Herald Tribune, Globalist January 17, 2011 LONDON — Is Tunis the Arab Gdansk? Big things start small. In Poland, the firing in 1980 of Anna Walentynowicz, a shipyard worker, led to strikes and the formation of the grassroots Solidarity movement that set in motion the unraveling of the Soviet empire. Walentynowicz, who was killed in a plane crash last year, once told me all they sought at the outset was "better money, improved work safety, a free trade union and my job back." All Mohamed Bouazizi wanted was a job, some means to eke out a living. Like many of Tunisia's university graduates, he found himself unemployed while the coterie of the now-ousted president binged on the nation's riches and titillated themselves with large felines. […] His self-immolation a month ago ignited an Arab uprising. Now, the Tunisian dictator of 23 years, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, has fled to the mother lode of regional absolutism, Saudi Arabia, driven out by new social media and old-fashioned rage. Protesters communicating on Facebook and irked by what WikiLeaks had revealed of the Ben Ali family's Caligula-like indulgence were roused to shatter the security state of yet another Arab despot. The unseating through popular revolt of an Arab strongman is something new: It has already caused ripples from Amman to Cairo, from the Gulf to Tripoli — and it will cause more [like CAMBODIA]. Unseating through U.S. invasion — Iraq — did not work; it could never be a source of Arab pride. A homegrown uprising can. This signal event, of still uncertain outcome, is long overdue. Arab regimes, many of them U.S. allies, have lost touch with young populations. Their ossified, repressive, nepotistic, corrupt systems have proved blind to the awakening stirred by satellite TV networks, Facebook posts, tweets, Web videos and bloggers. They have proved skilled only at provoking guffaws at their regular "elections" and fostering the rise of extreme Islamism among populations left with no refuge but religion. Their "stability" has been sustained at the price of paralysis. It has depended on a readiness to terrorize and torture… The U.S. responsibility for this Arab failure has been significant: America has preferred the stable despot to the Islamist risk of democracy (despite the fact that the only likely remedy to the seductive illusion of political Islamism is the responsibility of government). It is now imperative that the Obama administration and the European Union stand behind Tunisia's democratic forces [as well as the CAMBODIAN democratic forces!] America and its allies, especially France, should do all they can to ensure this bravery does not end in some new iteration of despotism. Anything less than prompt free and fair elections organized by a national unity government should be rebuffed. What the Arab world needs above all is accountability, transparency and modernity in its governance, of the kind that encourages personal responsibility [sounds familiar, CAMBODIANS?] Last month, after a visit to Beirut, I wrote a column called "The captive Arab mind" about the psychological cost of repression in the region: the reflex of blaming others, the perception of conspiracies everywhere and the paralyzing fear of acting or thinking for oneself [similar to "The Captive CAMBODIAN Mind"]. Tunis can be Act One in the liberation of the Arab mind. That will also require the West to cast aside tired thinking. You can't be a little bit democratic any more than you can be a little bit pregnant. Holding free elections in Tunisia requires the lifting of the ban on Islamist parties. […] Western double-standards in the supposed interest of Arab stability have proved a recipe for radicalization. The West should honor Tunisian bravery with some of its own. Dynasties rusting on their thrones are not the answer to Arab disquiet [nor Cambodian's]. […]   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 10:26 AM PST LOMBOK (INDONESIA), Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya urged all parties concerned on Monday to pursue the "politics of compromise" policy when handling or moving on unsettled Thai-Cambodian border issues, according to Thai News Agency. Kasit, who was visiting Indonesia's Lombok Island to attend an informal meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers, said that he also called on Phnom Penh to pursue the policy during his talks earlier in the day with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong on the sidelines of the regional gathering. The Thai foreign minister revealed that he discussed the detention of seven Thai nationals by Phnom Penh as well, urging the Cambodian government to consider behaviours and movements of some activist groups in Thailand with rational understanding. The Thai foreign minister, on the other hand, called on the Thai activists to give priority to national interest, rather than sticking on a non-compromising stance based on one-sided ideals of their respective groups--which could result in a confrontation between Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia. Kasit affirmed that the present Thai government has no hidden agenda, but being open in forging sound relationship and a successful regional integration, not animosity, with neighbouring nations. Kasit is returning to Bangkok after the end of the regional meeting in time for the Thai Cabinet's weekly meeting Tuesday.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:21 AM PST 2011-01-17 Associated Press The head of Cambodia's anti-drug trafficking agency has been charged with drug-related corruption. The chief of the anti-corruption unit said Monday that police Lt. Gen. Moek Dara, secretary-general of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, has been formally charged in Banteay Meanchey provincial court. The charges Sunday came about a week after Moek Dara was first detained. On Friday, the Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief and his deputy were charged by the same court with corruption. Both were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to release drug trafficking suspects. Under Cambodia's anti-corruption law, passed last year, any official found guilty of taking bribes faces up to 15 years in prison.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:17 AM PST
Vong Sokheng and James O'Toole The Phnom Penh Post The Forestry Administration has warned that the government will not meet its goal of achieving 60 percent forest cover nationwide if it continues parcelling out the Kingdom's territory in economic land concessions. According to the Forestry Administration's 2010 annual report, released last week and obtained today, more than 1.3 million hectares worth of economic land concessions have been granted to date. This figure represents roughly 7 percent of Cambodia's total territory, an area larger than Kampong Speu and Kampot provinces combined. Citing data obtained via satellite imagery, the Forestry Administration said 56.94 percent of Cambodia is now forested, a decrease of 2.15 percent from 2006. "This result is a sign to warn the Forestry Administration as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that the government's Millennium Development Goal of 60 percent forest cover may not be met because of the trend of loss due to economic land concessions," the administration said, noting that a number of additional concessions are under consideration. "A review is much-needed in order to evaluate concession land, and land that has not been used according to the concession contract should be seized for conservation purposes." Rights groups have alleged that much of the territory granted in economic land concessions is cleared and left to lie fallow without a clear purpose. In a statement issued last May, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee called on the government to place a moratorium on economic land concessions until a proper monitoring system was put in place. The new figures on land concession area represent an increase of roughly 300,000 hectares from 2006. David Emmett, the regional director for Conservation International, said the legal framework surrounding economic concessions needed to be strengthened in order for Cambodia to preserve its forest cover and take advantage of conservation programmes. Under the most prominent of such schemes, the United Nations' Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation programme, or REDD, countries can "offset" their own carbon emissions by paying other countries to conserve their forests. "There's a lot of donors and governments wanting to invest in Cambodia … [but] they don't know if they can be sure that the area that is designated, for example, as a REDD-filed demonstration site, will not suddenly have a new, 10,000-hectare economic land concession," Emmett said. The Forestry Administration's forest cover figure of 56.94 percent "sounds about right", Emmett said, adding that Cambodia's forestry loss has not been occurring as quickly as in other countries in the region. He noted, however, that areas of degraded forest or partially cleared land are sometimes tallied as forested. "It doesn't necessarily fully represent the quality of the forest as well as the quantity of the forest," he said. "You can look at something and say it's still forest, but actually 30 percent of the trees are gone." The FA reported that at least 7,977 hectares worth of trees were cleared illegally last year, though it said forestry officials "paid attention and played an active role in combating forestry crimes". Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a crackdown on illegal logging last year, sacking former Forestry Administration head Ty Sokun in April for his alleged failure to stamp out the practice. Approximately 10,000 cubic metres of illegally wood were ultimately seized in 2010, and 82 Cambodians are now awaiting trial in connection with logging offences, the FA report said. Human Rights Party spokesman Yem Ponharith said, however, that high-level officials involved in the illegal logging trade were seldom prosecuted and continued to profit from it. "There have been a number of raids against illegal loggers, but the smuggling of luxury wood continues because of bribes paid to government officials," he said. The HRP, he added, has been consistently ignored in its calls to conserve forests and reduce land concessions. Last May, neighbouring Indonesia declared a moratorium on land concessions in forested areas in a bid to increase its forest cover and preserve territory for use in potential REDD projects, though this move was delayed earlier this month. Chan Sarun, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, could not be reached for comment today, while Forestry Administration director Chheng Kim Sun declined to comment.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 07:15 AM PST Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 01:13 AM PST  Enemies of the People Jan 21 - Jan 27 (Rob Lemkin & Thet Sambath, 2010, UK/Cambodia, 35mm, 94 min.) Seattle Premiere! Sponsored by KBCS 91.3FM Friday, Jan 21 at 07:00PM Friday, Jan 21 at 09:00PM Saturday, Jan 22 at 07:00PM Saturday, Jan 22 at 09:00PM Sunday, Jan 23 at 07:00PM Sunday, Jan 23 at 09:00PM Monday, Jan 24 at 07:00PM Monday, Jan 24 at 09:00PM Tuesday, Jan 25 at 07:00PM Tuesday, Jan 25 at 09:00PM Wednesday, Jan 26 at 07:00PM Wednesday, Jan 26 at 09:00PM Thursday, Jan 27 at 07:00PM Thursday, Jan 27 at 09:00PM One of the most harrowing and compelling personal documentaries of our time, Enemies of The People exposes for the first time the truth about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge who were behind Cambodia's genocide. But more than simply an inquiry into Cambodia's experience, Enemies of The People is a profound meditation on the nature of good and evil, shedding light on the capacity of some people to do terrible things, and for others to forgive them. Winner of a dozen top documentary festival awards, including a Special Jury Prize at Sundance and the Grand Jury Award at the Full Frame Documentary Festival, this is investigative journalism of the highest order. "Stunning. Inspiring. A testament to one man's persistent search for the truth." —Stephen Holden, New York Times   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 12:31 AM PST Monday, 17 January 2011 Cheang Sokha The Phnom Penh Post FOREIGN Minister Hor Namhong is set to meet today with his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, as tensions over the arrest of a Thai parliamentarian in Cambodia last month continue to loom over the two countries' relations. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said the two were set to meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Lombok, Indonesia. Kasit and Hor Namhong last met in December following the arrest of Panich Vikitsreth, a lawmaker from Thailand's ruling Democrat Party. Panish and six other Thais were arrested in Banteay Meanchey province during an expedition to "investigate" the border demarcation project and were later charged with illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base. Koy Kuong characterised today's meeting as a normal talk, declining to comment on the subject of the discussion. "There is nothing strange about this meeting. We are neighbouring countries and members of ASEAN," Koy Kuong said. Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva dispatched Kasit to Phnom Penh following the arrest of Panich and the other six Thais in a bid to secure their release that ultimately proved unsuccessful. Kasit said following his meeting with Hor Namhong that Thai officials "respect" the Cambodian judiciary and "have proposed to the [Cambodian] government that they complete this case as soon as possible". Panich and another member of the group, Naruemol Chitwaratana, were granted bail last week on health grounds, but must remain in Cambodia in the run-up to their trial. The other five remain at Prey Sar prison, awaiting a trial for which a date has yet to be set. Two in that group have also been charged with collecting information that may damage national defence, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In a statement issued on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the court is "proceeding on this case in accordance with Cambodia's immigration law, taking consideration of the current good relations between Cambodia and Thailand without any animosity towards the Thai people". Officials in Thailand could not be reached for comment yesterday.   | ||||
Posted: 17 Jan 2011 12:25 AM PST 17/01/2011 Dr K. Kesavapany Bangkok Post Dr K. Kesavapany, director of Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, which focuses on social, political, and economic developments in Southeast Asia, spoke recently with reporter May Kunmakara of the Phnom Penh Post about the benefits and challenges of Cambodia's membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Q: As a researcher who has been studying Asean-related matters for many years, what do you think are the benefits Cambodia faces as a member of Asean? A: Cambodia is a small country and on its own it does not have a voice with other bigger countries. But when we join Asean, our voice is magnified ten times because when we speak we speak with another nine countries - that's the first benefit. Secondly, Cambodia has suffered many setbacks from the civil war, which created terrible problems in terms of manpower, economic damage, and social relocation. So the second benefit is Cambodia is able to recover more quickly, as there is likely to be more investments, technical assistance and knowledge-sharing. And what about the challenges? Cambodia's challenges are not so much in being part of Asean. It is situated between six powers - including China on one hand, US on the other and India is becoming stronger. So the big challenge right now is how to maintain independence in the middle of that? We can see [Cambodia has] many challenges in the political field. Another challenge is competing in the economic field because investment can go anywhere - why should it come to Southeast Asia or to Cambodia? In Asean, we can show we are a nation with the purchasing power of 500 million people, so the standard of living improves. But for this to happen, we must increase our cooperation within Asean, and that's the big challenge. There is a GDP per capita gap in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Burma compared to the other six Asean member states. What efforts are being made to close the gap? We see the way to help people is to offer education and technical skills. For example, I can give you a lot of bread, but you will eat up the bread and put your hand out for more bread. Rather, I should teach you how to grow rice, teach you a better way to do it and how to teach your children. In all of this you need technical skills. So we have to educate to go forward, but the going may be slow. Just as Singapore, in 1965 was very poor but now it is very rich, mainly because we invested a lot in education. So, you must educate your people. And, university education alone is not enough. You must educate them from the beginning and then also develop technical education because not everybody can go to university. If everybody went to university, who will do the technical work? The other difficult thing is language because Cambodia was French speaking, but, nowadays the major language is English, so to connect to people outside, you have to learn English. That's why we've spent a lot of time on English - it's not that we love it but let's say there are advantages to knowing English. Asean has three main pillars member states have to comply with [Asean Political-Security Community, Economic Community and Socio-Cultural Community]. However, the member states sometimes have some problems with them, for example the border issues between Cambodia and Thailand. What initiatives or policies are there to solve issues where member states don't cooperate? Well, you see, we are still very young countries - most of us just got our independence. And, we still have our national pride - we don't like interference in our internal affairs. So right from the beginning Asean has said it will not interfere in the internal affairs of each country - like Burma. So, regarding the problem between Cambodia and Thailand, the two countries must try to work it out. Maybe, it will need time. Early this year, Asean signed a free trade agreement with many other big economic countries - China, Japan and Korea. What will Cambodia gain from that and what might the challenges be in the coming years? The free trade area is reducing tariffs which make goods cheaper. The benefit is people generally enjoy more trade, and then more investment comes, also creating more jobs. But one challenge might be that China will produce goods more cheaply than Cambodia and then export to Cambodia. So the challenge lies in educating your people in order to offer them more skills to move up the production and value chain to compete. Asean is considering issuing a single regional currency as EU did? Do you think we can we reach that goal? No, I don't think we can because we have such different [economic] levels. We can see now what is happening in Europe with the single currency. They were almost bankrupted - mainly Ireland and Greece - but they were all affected. So why do we need to introduce something that now is not much of a success? But let's see how it goes. For the moment, we don't need it and I don't see the possibility of it happening. What has Asean learned from the European financial crisis to prevent something similar happening here? Well, we already learned from the crisis in 1997. You know, we make sure that we have enough capital and foreign reserves. And, we tightened our spending habits. In 1997 when the crisis happened in Asia, that was actually good for us because we learned a lot of things. In the 2008 crisis, the European powers could not come to teach us because we were not in trouble - they were. And they were learning what we learned in 1997. So, all the countries in Asia are in more stable positions now because we have more foreign reserves, we are better capitalised and we have more transparency in economic decision-making. What do you think is Cambodia's future as a member of Asean? I think Cambodia will have a very bright future. It has political stability - that's number one that you can concentrate on. Number two is the population is very young, so if you train them well, if you invest in the education, there will be a real strengthening in the knowledge. Also because of the political stability, you have a lot of capital coming in, both in tourism and the garment industry as well as improvements in the of agricultural sector. There is also some potential in extractive industries. That's also good for your country. Cambodia is expecting to gain revenue from the extractive industries in 2012. Does the government need to make special preparations for that? Well, this industry is good but what is the value-add for the country? If companies just extract and sell the raw material to other countries, that's not good enough for the country. You need to educate your own people, giving them the technical skills to be able to have your own downstream [oil and gas].   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:52 PM PST
Monday, 17 January 2011 Ou Mom and Heidi Yeung The Phnom Penh Post Landmine survivor Choun Anny plans to be back running her training circuit of Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh this month, preparing for a third international competition in Indonesia later this year. Just returned from Guangzhou in southern China, the 28-year-old amateur athlete is proud to have represented Cambodia in the first Asian Para Games, along with four other runners and a swimmer. She was the only woman on the team and won a 200-metre race against a Burmese runner. However, she noted that her win didn't gain her a medal – only athletes from China were awarded those. "It seemed unfair that other competitors got medals but I didn't," she said, leaning back in a wicker chair outside the Rehab Craft store on Street 278 where she lives and works. Being an international landmine athlete, Choun Anny can also look forward to a better livelihood for herself. "If I can join in an international competition every year and earn at least one medal, I will earn at least four million riel (about US$10,000) a year from the government," she said proudly. "I want other Cambodian disabled people to live in hope and try to develop themselves because now there are more opportunities for them in various sectors such as music, arts, design and even sports," she said. And as disabled people have empowered themselves here, she said she has faced less discrimination in the past decade. As we reported in 7Days last November 7, Choun Anny lost her right leg at the age of 11 to a landmine when she was helping with farming chores at her home in Kampong Cham province. Her sewing skills led her to start work at the Rehab Craft store, a non-profit, fair trade NGO that creates handicrafts from silk, silver, wood and recycled items. Later, a man working for the Cambodian Disabled Athletics Federation (CDAF) encouraged her to start running for her health. CDAF fitted a new prosthetic leg for her to run on in Guangzhou, but athletes from other countries had better equipment, Choun Anny noted. But the cold weather, ranging from 10 to 20˚C – and being on Chinese TV – put her at a disadvantage, she felt. Nevertheless, Guangzhou was a "wonderful experience" and she has four albums full of photos to prove it. "It was beautiful there," she said, "and the people, food and accommodation were all so good." But for now, Choun Anny is happy to be home and to be in a climate that she's used to. She is also happy to resume training for future competitions, including the one in Indonesia, which she said she's more comfortable with as it's on a smaller scale than the games in China. "There will only be 11 countries competing in that one," she said. "It's not as intimidating." Hopes for future wins aside, her goals also include having a shop of her own one day. "I want to have a shop like this in the future. I think I can design, produce and sell things like these," Choun Anny said with her perpetually optimistic smile.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:38 PM PST
01/16/2011 Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA) LONG BEACH - The Rev. Kong Chhean was surrounded by a sea of orange, white and yellow flowers as hundreds paid their respects to the late Buddhist monk on Sunday. They remembered him as a man who was devoted, compassionate and spiritual - a man who worked to help heal the Cambodian community. Chhean, the well-known and beloved head monk at the Khemara Buddhikarama Temple, died at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on Jan. 7 after battling a series of ailments. He was 66. Chhean's life was commemorated Sunday in a memorial service at All Souls Mortuary followed by a final Buddhist ritual service at Khemara Buddhikarama Temple, 2100 W. Willow St., which is popularly called Wat Willow. Mourners dressed in white - the traditional color worn for Cambodian funerals - and monks swathed in vibrant orange robes filled the pews as Chhean was eulogized in both Khmer and English. Among the crowd was Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, who knew Chhean for two decades and helped him tackle issues in the Cambodian community during her time on the Long Beach City Council. "For me personally, Rev. Chhean was a friend," said Lowenthal, one of more than a dozen who shared their memories of the monk. Lowenthal recalled Chhean's efforts to help young Cambodian gang members. "He took them into the temple. He helped them with community service. He turned their lives around," she said. Born in Cambodia in 1945, Chhean was ordained as a novice monk at 12 years old. He studied Buddhism and philosophy at Banaras Hindu University in India and received his doctorate in 1975. Unable to return to his native country because of the Khmer Rouge, Chhean came to the United States in 1979 and set up his first temple in an apartment on Clarkdale Avenue in Hawaiian Gardens and his second in a home in Lakewood. As more Cambodian refugees arrived in the U.S., Chhean began holding religious services at El Dorado Park. In addition to leading his congregation, Chhean had a strong interest in mental health and worked with the Los Angeles County Mental Health Department to treat Cambodian refugees suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He earned a master's degree in psychology at Pepperdine University in 1986 and a doctorate in clinical psychology in 1989. Each year, Chhean raised funds and used his own salary so he could return to Cambodia and purchase hundreds of bags of rice for the needy. "He frequently reminded us that when he is no longer here on earth, his one and only wish was for all of us to stay united and take care of the beloved temple that he dedicated himself to building," according to a biography read by community member Mala Soy in the memorial service. "He wanted it to remain a Khmer Buddhist Temple, where we can preserve and conserve our Khmer culture for the next generation in America." kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1305   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:36 PM PST International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Ratified, acceded by UN General Assembly in December 1966, entry into force March 1976. Cambodia ratified the ICCPR (thus, a part of Cambodia's body of laws) and is obligated to submit regular reports to the United Nations. Part III Article 15 1 . No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offense on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offense, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the criminal offense was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of the offense, provision is made by law for the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby. 2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by the community of nations.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:25 PM PST Constitution of Cambodia (Sept. 1993) Chapter III Rights and Responsibilities of Khmer Citizens Article 39 Khmer citizens shall have the right to denounce, make complaints or file claims against any breach of the law by state and social organs or by members of such organs committed during the course of their duties. The settlement of complaints and claims shall be the competence of the courts.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 11:22 PM PST Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the 3rd Monday of January each yearn (today, Jan. 17), which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000. =========== Reconciling Peace with Justice: Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia Theary C. Seng Helmut Stern Auditorium, University of Michigan Museum of Art (Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) 7–9 P.M. Thursday, 13 January 2011 Filmed for Michigan public television. ---------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION  University of Michigan Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium (13 Jan. 2011) I am deeply humbled and honored to be with you this evening in this beautiful Helmut Stern Auditorium of the University of Michigan Museum of Art as part of the celebration of the life of the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in this 25th Annual Symposium entitled "We the People… Realizing the Dream?"  There are several reasons for my excitement to be here with you: First, 30 years ago, I was catapulted as a child refugee from the squalid camp in Thailand into the heart of Michigan and the heart of its winter. (There's not enough time tonight to talk about the SHOCKS at every imaginable level!)  Theary Seng (middle, behind brother Daravuth with wavy permed hair) and her family greeted by the Grand Rapids community at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (Michigan, Christmas Eve, 24 Dec. 1980) Second, I am absolutely delighted to be back here in Ann Arbor where I hold fond memories of my 3 years at the University of Michigan Law School.  University of Michigan Law Quad with the ornate Reading Room and underground library in building pictured in the background (Ann Arbor, 14 Jan. 2011) covered with running ivies in the summer months.  Theary Seng going to her interviews (for a promotional video of the Law School as well as for the Alumni Magazine), here in the Quad of the University of Michigan Law School facing the Reading Room (Ann Arbor, 14 Jan. 2011). Lastly, I am deeply humbled to be given this opportunity to honor the extraordinary life of a man whose work, faith and passion loomed large in my childhood imagination and whose legacy continues to inspire me in my work for peace and justice in Cambodia. Thus, I would like to thank Professor Nick Rine, Kate Wright and Charles Sullivan for this wonderful invitation to be here at the University of Michigan, and the sponsors for their support: the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, my alma mater – the University of Michigan Law School, the Cambodia Law Project, the President's Advisory Board on Labor Standards and Human Rights, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.  =========== RECONCILING PEACE WITH JUSTICE – MLK's LEGACY My topic this evening is Reconciling Peace with Justice: the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Cambodia. Is there a dichotomy between peace and justice? Is it peace OR justice? Or is it, peace AND justice? Within the next hour, I will give you a tour of the current human rights landscape of Cambodia with a brief glance to the country's tragic past, and hone in on our efforts to redress this past in the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. And in doing so, I am arguing that justice is an intrinsic element of peace. There can be no genuine peace without justice. The dichotomy of 'peace' or 'justice' is a false one. There will be no surprises, I am certain, to hear of the strong resonances and echoes of principles and expressions as eloquently articulated by the reverend Dr. King in how we Cambodians are trying to understand and frame our past and our present for our future, even though I speaking about the happenings of a country on the other side of the world and of seemingly foreign events several decades removed from the American civil rights movement. In particular, it is this "peace with justice" at the heart of Dr. King's message and life that is the most resonating and compelling for us. Why? Because I believe it is a message that transcends time, race, ethnicity, creed. It is a human message, a human value of universal yearning. Dr. King only happens to give poignancy and eloquence to it for all of us – us as Americans, us as Sudanese, us as Chinese, us as Iraqis, us as Cambodians. Hence, if I may edit the symposium title instead to "We the peoples… Realizing the Dream." AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH I come from a country mired in disproportions, contradictions and human rights abuses: when a boy steals a piece of bread, he is sent to jail; when a man kills 2 million of his countrymen, he is invited to Paris for a peace conference. I come from a country where to be an orphan is to be common; where post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cripples the population, currently at 14 million people. Thirty-five years ago this past April, Cambodia plunged into the abyss of human suffering when the Cambodian communists or "Khmer Rouge" took over and within a matter of 3 and ½ years took the lives of 1/3 of the country's population or almost 2 million people, including my parents and other relatives. No Cambodian is untouched. At the age of four, the Khmer Rouge killed my father; three years later in a prison, the Khmer Rouge killed my mother. The Documentation Center of Cambodia estimated 30,000 were believed to have been sadistic murdered at this Boeung Rai Security Center, one of 200 prisons. More than double the lives taken at S-21 (Tuol Sleng).  Boeung Rai (or, Bung Rei) Security Center where Theary Seng was detained as a child and where her mom was killed. Not expressly mentioned in the ECCC scope of investigation even though DC-Cam estimated 30,000 (thirty thousand !) to be killed here. But now, after Civil Party Theary Seng's request, it is mentioned briefly in the Closing Order as a link to Wat Tlork Security Center (Photo: DC-Cam). On that last day, the prison guards separated my 3 older brothers to another village; unusual. That last night, three prison guards came back to our cabin; strange, they had already chained and secured the shackles on the ankles of the adult prisoners (save my youngest brother Daravuth and me; our ankles—skin and bone—could slip in and out; what's the use? My job at night was to bring toilet bucket to the other immobile prisoner. We had a mentally insane woman who had cried out "I'm thirsty! I'm thirsty!" and drank from the toilet bucket before I could pull it away from her. Later they killed her by crushing her head with a coconut cruncher.)  The skulls at Wat Beoung Rai in one of 2 unprotected "cheddai". Among the 30,000 skulls (possibly including that of Theary's mother), these are the only ones remaining: over the years, the villagers have been taking the skulls at liberty to grind them into traditional medicine. The bones are still in the mass graves in and around the pagoda and the nearby prison (photo below). On this visit with a great friend of Cambodia at the European Union in Brussels and painter Danielle Dal Molin, an "Excellency" has spent @ US$3,000 to reconstruct this gaudy shiny "cheddai" with his name boldly, decidedly inscribed into this very public cheddai. This is the problem when memorializing is left into private hands with no community involvement and no national leadership at preservation, and the more reason for us to establish PROVINCIAL LEARNING CENTERS furnished with the PHYSICAL ASSETS / INVENTORY of the ECCC once it closed operations. (Photo: Theary Seng, 4 Sept. 2010). The prison guards caught my eyes as I was not yet asleep and immediately left. I turned to my mom and asked her, "Mom, why were those guards carrying wet ropes?" The wetness is to make it malleable for tying. Knowing full well what was to unfold, she quietly answered, her last words to me, "My daughter, go back to sleep." I did. The next morning, Daravuth and I woke up to an empty cell and immediately, convulsively cried and cried and cried; we had awaken to an empty cell before but that morning, it was a different sensation. I felt like a floating frame, as if I had been gutted. As a seven year old, I could make a distinction between the material body and the eternal soul.  Theary Seng (pointing at a mass grave, possibly where her mom was killed in 1978 after the Khmer Rouge transferred them from another Security Center of Wat Tlork) speaking with man who was there at Boeung Rai Security Center (the heart of the Eastern Zone) when she was a prisoner there. Here, with Mrs. Andrea Mann (the German Ambassador's real boss!), brother Daravuth, Helen (and godfather Wally) Boelkins, German filmmaker Marc Eberle (Svay Rieng, 18 Jan. 2010. Photo: Jennifer Bombasaro-Brady). As the first ECCC-recognized civil party in international law who started the civil party movement and only one of 3 accepted civil parties for Wat Tlork Security Center (and who requested the inclusion of Boeung Rai Security Center into the scope of investigation for Case 002), Theary makes the perfect, natural WITNESS for the prosecution (and civil party co-lawyers). Then as now, we, Cambodians, yearn for peace. Peace that is more than just the absence of war (or in the words of Dr. King, absence of "tension"). We want peace with the presence of justice. We want peace to subside the internal turmoil and purge the demons from within. In reading Dr. King's speech: Beyond Vietnam – a Time to Break Silence, I cannot help but mourn that we no longer had his prophetic voice by the time the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh. A time did come for us Cambodians when silence was betrayal. Some thirty years on, there is now the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (or, formally known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia or ECCC) to start us on this journey of 'peace with justice'. OVERVIEW OF KRT (EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS) 1. KRT hammered out of 10 years of POLITICAL COMPROMISE between Cambodia and UN; deeply flawed from beginning; the result of lowest common denominator. 2. KRT came into operation in July 2006 3. KRT is a HYBRID court of Cambodian and UN personnel "in the Courts of Cambodia" · Cambodian civil law procedural rules · Co-prosecutors: Mdm. Chea Leang (Cambodian), Robert Petit now Andrew Cayley (UN) · Co-Investigating Judges: You Bunleng (Cambodian), Marcel Lemonde (UN), now German Dr. Siegfried Blunk. · Co-Lawyers (Cambodian and UN), e.g. Jacques Verges, Kar Savuth. · Complex "super-majority" to always include a foreign judge (an attempt to counter balance the fact that each level is presided by a Cambodian president and there's always one more Cambodian, e.g. Trial Chamber: 3 Cambodian, 2 UN judges presided by Cambodian judge) 4. KRT is fully financed by the international community at US$40-50 million / year · Incomprehensible to a Cambodian teacher earning US$50/mo, even though very cheap by international standard, in comparison to other mixed/hybrid courts, e.g. Special Court for Sierre Leone, ICTY, ICTR each costing the international community many BILLIONS. 5. KRT located in remote outskirts of Phnom Penh on MILITARY compound; had to re-draw map of Phnom Penh to satisfy language of ECCC Agreement. 6. TEMPORAL JURISDICTION: crimes committed between 17 April 1975 – 7 Jan. 1979 7. SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION: · 1956 Penal Code – extending the statute of limitations to an additional 30 yrs. · GENOCIDE Convention, 1948 o Has no statute of limitations o any acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group o COMMON usage (gives gravitas) vs. LEGAL usage (Vietnamese, Cham Muslim) – both apply here. · CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY o no statute of limitations o against "humanity", not just against "Cambodians", thus the involvement and right of international community in the ECCC because in the words of Dr. King who is cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." o And moreover, what happened was an assault against the DIGNITY OF US ALL, not just Cambodians. · grave breaches of GENEVA CONVENTION 8. PERSONAL JURISDICTION: (i) "those most responsible", and (ii) "senior KR leaders" · Case File 001: Kaing Guek Eav ("DUCH"), director of Tuol Sleng (S-21) Detention Center o Has confessed, may be the sole scapegoat o Closing argument highlights problem with hybrid "co-" nature o Verdict, with controversial light sentencing of effective 11 hours for each life taken, this 26 July 2010 · Case File 002: "Senior KR Leaders" o Nuon Chea (Brother No. 2, chief of Security apparatus) o Khieu Samphan (KR Head of State) o Ieng Sary (KR Minister of Foreign Affairs) o Ieng Thirith (KR Minister of Social Affairs) o OCTOGENARIAN, AILING – time is of the essence! * Duch is also included in this case but asked to be drop by Co-Prosecutors, reasonable and wise, as he has been tried and open space for greater attention on the 4 senior KR leaders. Duch will be the "star witness" in Case 002, thus the possible motivation by political interests to make him flip-flop at the end in order to discredit him as a star witness in Case 002. · Case File 003, Case File 004 o Before he left the ECCC, UN (Canadian) Co-Prosecutor Robert Petit forwarded 5 additional names for prosecution. But politics at the highest level, i.e. Prime Minister Hun Sen, consistently, expressly, publicly blocked, most recently and directly to UNSG Ban Ki Moon during his visit to Cambodia this November 2010. Investigation by the UN without Cambodian involvement. KRT AS A COURT OF LAW 1. KRT as "court of law" offers LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY. · LEGAL JUSTICE o "Search for truth" / truth-telling intrinsic element of justice: prosecution offers a very powerful mechanism in the search for "truth". · SYMBOLIC JUSTICE o Proximate, not perfect justice o Selective, not comprehensive justice · VERTICAL JUSTICE: State vs. Perpetrator (also, DIVINE JUSTICE is vertical justice, but that's not our concern). · COLLECTIVE, PUBLI REPUDIATION of mass crimes, to express our collective disgust, our attempt to RESTORE MORAL ORDER. · "justice must be seen to be done" -- "court of law" is the most visible form of justice · Chips at IMPUNITY · Acts as a DETERRENCE (puts potential perpetrators on notice) BUT… 2. KRT as court of law, legal mechanism – greatly LIMITED. · ANY court of law—even in developed US, Germany, France—is limited because based solely on EVIDENCE - Availability of evidence - Clever lawyering in the use of evidence - Fair trial rights: evidential rules, procedural rules, court room decorum - Arcane, archaic language; legalese understandable to an elite few · SPECIFIC CHALLENGES to KRT in addition to above general limitations: - "Justice too long delayed is justice denied." – Dr. King quoting a Supreme Court Justice - Evidence is 30 years old § Documentary: Compromised or lost § Witnesses: dead or fearful to come forward or blurry memory - CORRUPTION / kickbacks charges: still no effective, functioning anti-corruption mechanism in place - OVERT POLITICAL INTERFERENCE / interests: § CPP former Khmer Rouge cadres who defected to Vietnam not out of a change in ideology but fear of being the next purged. § China and geopolitical considerations - Lack of judicial independence/competence to try mass crimes on the part of Cambodian officials. - Budgetary constraints / annual fundraising – unlike a court sanctioned by the Security Council with established, allocated budget. - 3 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Khmer, French, English - Delays (natural, ill-will) – Jacques Verges' "rupture defense" - MAGNITUDE OF CRIMES, scope of crime scene strewn across all the fields of Cambodia: 200 detention centers, thousands of "killing fields", every Cambodian a victim - Experimentation of victims as CIVIL PARTY § Competition of victims; hierarchy of victims; "super-victim" status § Process ruined by people who should know better § Never accepted/taken seriously by the judges: idea conceived / drafted by people not implementers (e.g. judges); internal rules in Feb. 2010 greatly reduced rights of civil party to that of effectively "witnesses". § No preparation by the court, by the lawyers; it took a long time for civil society to understand the concept, with still limited understanding of what it could mean. § Equality of arms - HYBRID nature posing coordination challenges – UN and Cambodian officials theoretically should be speaking with one voice, but they have different motives, political constraints/will § UN agenda (no matter how dismal a situation, everything has to be a "success" or else how else will the UN justify the expenditures of hundreds of millions) vs. Cambodian government agenda - NO monetary reparations; only moral/collective reparations - Transitional nature of UN personnel: many turnovers, lacking continuity KRT AS COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION 1. KRT is NECESSARY as 'court of law' but NOT SUFFICIENT; moreover, DEFICIENT. 2. No formal truth and reconciliation commission to complement/supplement. 3. If we only view KRT as a legal mechanism, a court of law – it should close shop and go home. Only as a court of law, very limited benefits, not worth the cost-benefit analysis. As only a "court of law", it's a waste of everyone's time, money and energy. HOWEVER… 4. KRT is BOTH a court of law and a court of public opinion. In realizing this, we can be creative to look for ways to expand and multiply the benefits in the court of public opinion, not only during the limited life of the court of law, but the legacy in the continuing life of the court of public opinion, long after the court of law closes operation. 5. Powerful catalyst for SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY: the constructive engagement of citizens. BROADENS and embraces more comprehensive definition of justice than just legal justice to include SOCIAL JUSTICE: · POETIC JUSTICE – one way to counter-balance "Victor's justice" and revisionist history by having diverse, multiply voices and narratives (e.g. artists, filmmakers). · RESTORATIVE JUSTICE – unlike prosecution, it has other values in addition to punishment. · HORIZONTAL JUSTICE: Victim vs. Perpetrator – room for forgiveness. · Transitional justice mechanisms other than prosecution. 6. KRT is the "SPECTACULAR EVENT" to break the silence; to transition us out of "period of communicative silence" to building a "culture of memory" · A vivid illustration to jumpstart conversations long overdue on topics of: o History o Accountability (personal, collective, legal, moral, social) o Peace, truth, reconciliation, healing, trauma o Demystifying the legal system for Cambodians 7. Transforming us from SUBJECTS-SURVIVORS into empowered CITIZENS with rights and responsibilities. We have always been "subjects" (living under a monarchy) and the Khmer Rouge made us "survivors". It is only since 1993 that we have been learning how to be "citizens", but still very theoretical. We are transitioning to from theoretical understanding to owning this identity of "citizen". · Discovering our VOICE having been voiceless for so long · Dialogue replacing monologue – "national dialogue" – away from society of directives · Changing mentality of always awaiting for "permission to speak" · People are the judges · Not limited by arcane language, decorum – greater comfort in getting involved. · More difficult for political manipulation · Rare, unique window of opportunity to multiply impact of constructive engagement by shaping this broken legal mechanism. o DONOR funding o "STICKINESS FACTOR" – vested interest of Cambodians as a "civil party" rather than just an audience at a public forum or conference. 8. CORPUS OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: court documents, testimonies (memoirs, civil party applications), media (written, TV, radio), expanding genre of KR FILMS · Enemies of the People · Facing Genocide · New Year Baby etc. 9. PROVINCIAL LEARNING CENTERS furnished with ECCC PHYSICAL ASSETS / INVENTORY: Legacy of learning, legacy of dialogue – VIRTUAL TRIBUNAL, Shoah Foundation-like continuing recording of testimonies · Building a culture of memory – memorials: know what and what not to memorialize, to honor. It is not FORGET AND FORGIVE, but REMEMBER (selective, honorable, positive, educational memorializing) AND FORGIVE. 10. The most special impact for me is the standardizing of trauma language and conversations in Cambodian society. What was taboo 3 years ago are now talked about with less shame and reluctance. Three years ago, my staff accused me of thinking every Cambodian "crazy" by broaching these topics of trauma. Now, they are counseling others using the Trauma Handbook and posters taken from this Trauma Handbook. In this regard, my own very deeply personal journey, emotional turmoil of years ago now acts to/ serves as an advantage in my work in allowing me to empathize, to draw from personal experience. 11. PROCESS…JOURNEY of 1,000 steps… now at step 35 LEGACY FOR CAMBODIANS The worst legacy for Cambodia is a mentality of irreversible cynicism. This is a real possibility if we do not engage this ECCC process to HELP SHAPE IT. It is uncertain / questionable whether ECCC will have positive impact on the national court. If anything, it has created a greater appetite of the Cambodian judges once they return to the national courts. Positive Legacies are found in the "court of public opinion" as delineated above. LEGACY FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 1. VICTIMS' PARTICIPATION · ECCC is the first mixed/international court to allow "victims" to become a party – CIVIL NPARTY – to the case in the criminal proceeding. o The involvement of CIVIL PARTY should be retained and can be built upon, despite its potential for administrative messiness. THE PEOPLE'S COURT. 2. International justice is moving toward this structure of a Court "within" national court system with UN / international personnel / presence. · Despite its problems and challenges, this is a welcome trend, to have the court be at the "scene of the crime", inside the country and not in another country, e.g. ICTR in Tanzania. Gives meaning to THE PEOPLE'S COURT. · For the benefits of the population (as mentioned above, court of public opinion) in providing for a MORE MEANINGFUL, MORE COMPREHENSIVE JUSTICE: o Legal justice which is limited and narrow by its nature, in particular in trying mass crimes: selective justice, vertical justice. o Social justice o Poetic justice o Moves our human approximation / proximate of justice closer toward the unattainable goal of perfect justice, but nonetheless a destination. · Involvement of local judicial actors, LESS EXPENSIVE. 3. If possible in the political negotiation, DO AWAY with CO-POSITIONS, e.g. co-prosecutors, co-investigating judges, co-lawyers, etc. The problem was highlighted by the very dramatic public disagreement, contrary positions of Duch's co-lawyers – French lawyer Francois Roux and Cambodian lawyer Kar Savuth at the Closing Arguments. 4. All these courts have NATIONAL RECONCILIATION as a stated goal but not given serious consideration. Thus, this goal must be better thought through and given much greater significance in the MANIFESTATION of it. · Outreach for victims/survivors will need to be reassessed and be better prepared with READY AVAILABLE FUNDING from the get-go. CONCLUSION In sum, only hindsight and a bit of distance will allow us to really assess the legacy / implications of this ECCC for Cambodia and for international law. However, we know enough of where we need to shape or re-direct the process in order to bring about POSITIVE legacies/impacts from this very flawed construct that is the ECCC. One area we can impact the greatest change and bring about positive legacies is in the "court of public opinion", where the people are the "judges" and are not inhibited by rules of procedure, evidentiary rules or the archaic, arcane legal language, preserved for the understanding of a few. I've been emphasizing the importance of the ECCC in the court of public opinion. These benefits come from the fact there is a court of law. As such, there are several novel and challenging issues of legal nature which are being grappled by this Court. As the legal legacy is still being written, we should all weigh in from our respective fields and from whatever part of the world we find ourselves. For the last 30 years since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, we have had a fragile peace of the absence of war or tension. Some have argued that we need to preserve this peace by doing away with justice, for legal prosecution will break this peace. However, we know that there are times when "creative tension" is necessary to bring about positive change. In Cambodia, we have this "creative tension" in the form of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in helping us to reconcile our past with our present, to reconcile peace with justice – a peace that is more just the absence of war but embraces "creative tension" and a justice that goes beyond legal accountability to embrace social justice, poetic justice, horizontal/vertical justice and other transitional justice mechanisms and values such as healing, reconciliation and forgiveness. Simply put: 'Peace' or 'justice' is a false choice. It is peace with justice. The legacy of the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in all of this is not only his giving eloquence to these values but it is a living legacy that reverberates in the lives of generations since the Civil Rights movement and not limited to America but all over the world, even as far away as the killing fields of Cambodia. There is hope in the despair and the challenges. Thus, I conclude with this encouragement, in the words of Dr. King: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Thank you.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:41 PM PST New Year gifts to Vietnamese expatriates in Cambodia 01/17/2011 VOV News (Hanoi) A delegation of the Vietnam Fund for Community Development has arrived in Cambodia to visit and present gifts to overseas Vietnamese (OVs) living in the country on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. The delegation, led by the Fund's chairwoman Truong My Hoa, had working sessions with the Cambodian authorities in the provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong and Siem Reap in order to establish friendly relations between the authorities and the Vietnamese community there. During the visit, the delegation also met OVs to inquire into advantages and difficulties in their daily life. On the occasion, the delegation gave nearly 600 presents worth US$12,000 to Vietnamese and Khmer poor families in the three provinces and presented 15 gifts to Vietnamese children, who had good results in the 2010-2011 academic year in the province of Preah Sihanouk. The presents were donated by enterprises, organizations and sponsors in Vietnam.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:30 PM PST BANGKOK, Jan 17 (MCOT online news) – Cambodia's Appeals Court is scheduled to consider bail requests Tuesday for five Thais charged with trespassing into Cambodian territory, Thani Thongpakdi, director-general of the foreign ministry's information department said. Lawyers representing the Thai defendants submitted bail requests on Jan 14 and Mr Thani said it is likely to be clear within this week when the Cambodian court will schedule to hand down its verdict. There has been no progress reported so far since the court heard the case of Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who are charged with gathering information that could pose a threat to Cambodian security, the director-general said. The Cambodian court on Friday rejected bail bids for five Thais detained in Phnom Penh after granting bail for Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth and Naruemol Chitwaratana of the People's Network Against Corruption and Santi Asoke networks on Thursday. They are staying at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh as the court barred them from leaving Cambodia. The seven were arrested Dec 29 by the Cambodian authorities for illegal entry into Banteay Meanchey province. The detainees face two initial charges -- illegal entry into the Cambodian kingdom, with possible punishment of three to six months jail and deportation, and also trespass on a Cambodian military zone, punishable by three to six months jail and Bt7,500-15,000 in fines, while the spying charges could result in five to 10 year imprisonment.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:23 PM PST 17/01/2011 Bangkok Post The Appeals Court of Cambodia is expected to decide on Tuesday whether to grant bail to five Thais denied bail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week. Pon Savath, chief clerk of the Appeal Court, said the five would be taken from Prey Sar prison to the court tomorrow when the appeal would be examined. The court is expected to decide immediately after the examination whether to allow their release on bail. If they were again denied bail, the five could appeal to the Supreme Court in 15 days. The five are Veera Somkwamkid, a coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, Mr Veera's secretary, Samdin Lertbutr and Tainae Mungmajon of the Santi Asoke sect, and Kitchaponthorn Chusanasevi. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court last Thursday granted bail to the other two Thais - Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth and Narumol Chitvarattana - for health reasons. The seven Thais were arrested by Cambodian soldiers on Dec 29 on charges of illegal entry and intruding on a military zone. Mr Veera and Ms Ratree were later additionally charged with spying. Thani Thongphakdi, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Information Department, said Mr Veera had asked the Thai embassy to provide him with a new interpreter. He said the embassy was willing to comply with Mr Veera's request, but the final decision rests with the Lawyers Association of Cambodia. A case of this type was normally concluded within six months, Mr Thani said. Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, insisted that the Thai government had tried to help all seven Thais in trouble. Mr Kasit, who is attending the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia, would discuss the matter with his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong, he said. Nathaporn Toprayoon, a legal adviser of the Thai Patriots Network, said Prey Sar prison had allowed friends and relatives of the five Thais still in detention to visit them on Wednesday. A proposal would be submitted to appoint a new lawyer to represent Mr Veera and Ms Ratree. New evidence and a translation of Mr Veera's statement in three languages - Cambodian, Thai, and English - would also be submitted to the court, he said.   | ||||
Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:18 PM PST Jan 16, 2011 DPA Phnom Penh - A lawyer representing five Thai citizens in pre-trial detention in Phnom Penh said they would again apply for bail, national media reported Monday. Lawyer Pech Vicheka told the Cambodia Daily newspaper that a bail hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday at the Appeal Court. Late last week the lower court granted bail to two of the seven Thais who were arrested on December 29 on suspicion of illegally crossing into Cambodia. A statement from Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two had been released on health grounds. One of those freed on bail on Thursday was parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth of Thailand's ruling Democrat Party. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said at the time that Bangkok was 'hopeful' the five would also get bail. Earlier this month the seven Thais told the court they had crossed the border accidentally. They face charges of illegally entering Cambodia and unlawfully entering a military area. They could be given up to 18 months in prison if convicted. Last week, the court also concluded its investigation into spying charges against two of the five Thais still in detention, one of whom is a prominent political figure. Veera Somkwamkit, a former leader of the nationalist People's Alliance for Democracy movement, also known as the yellow shirts, was questioned along with his secretary Ratree Taiputana. Veera and Ratree could be jailed for 10 years if convicted of the more serious charge of spying. The Cambodian government has said the case would not affect relations between the two nations, and insisted the judicial process needed to take its natural course. Relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been tense for more than two years with sporadic clashes between troops over disputed territory surrounding the 11th-century Hindu temple of Preah Vihear on Cambodia's northern border. Feed source by Ki-media |
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