Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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Thailand bought 6 Swedish Gripens fighter jets ... is it to threaten Cambodia?

Posted: 22 Feb 2011 10:16 AM PST



[Thai] Pilots itching to fly latest Gripens, seen as a new force in the region

February 23, 2011
The Nation

After a long wait for the much-heralded Swedish-made Gripen jet fighters to be commissioned, Royal Thai Air Force pilots are now itching to fly the new aircraft that will replace vintage F-5 fighters.

The Gripen, with the designated code of JAS-39 C/D, has technological advantages 30 years ahead of even the US-made F-16 fighters, the newest aircraft in the RTAF, according to Wing Cmdr Natthawut Duangsoongnern.

One of six pilots who underwent the basic flight course on the Gripen, Natthawut said: "The RTAF's addition of Gripen is a significant addition to air power in the region."


With full use of its support systems, including weaponry and air defence, Gripen is regarded as a fighter of the future, said Natthawut, who with five other pilots was selected from more than 20 with F-5 and F-16 flying experience.

Wing Cmdr Jakkrit Thammawichai is commander of Wing 701 in Surat Thani where the first six Gripen will be stationed. He said another six Gripen jets and their support systems would be handed to Thailand later.

Four of the fighters are two-seaters for training, while the other eight, the C model, are one-seaters.The RTAF purchase of Gripens provides not only the fighter jets, but also an entire support system that includes technology transfer and scholarship and supplementary training in advanced technology.

With real-time data links through encryption among all jets, the Gripen is superior to other fighters that have equivalent technology, meaning that the Gripen can fight or defeat enemy fighters at a ratio of one to four, or even one to eight.

"This well explains why we don't need to employ them in large numbers," he said.

Unlike deployment of mainly US-made fighters, in which technology regarding electronics warfare has been classified, Gripen offers open training including electronic countermeasures.

"This means we can stand on our own in terms of mastering difficult and advanced technologies. This is a great leap forward for the RTAF," he said.

The six pilots will train another four after they fully complete entire courses.

More conflict at temple possible

Posted: 22 Feb 2011 10:04 AM PST

February 23, 2011
By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

Anyone knows, there are two sides to a coin, and at least two sides to any argument; so it takes two sides to make war or peace.

Last week I wrote about the Feb. 4-7 border gunfight between troops from Thailand and Cambodia, countries condemned by destiny to live side by side, sharing much history, similar culture and Buddhist beliefs, and both members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, yet generally unable to get along.

The shooting earlier this month between the two countries' heavily armed soldiers was not a surprise. It was not the first armed conflict on the border dispute around the Preah Vihear Temple, nor will it be the last. Each side blames the other for shooting first, as if one should be absolved of responsibility for the resulting death and destruction for shooting second.

Each knows it cannot win. Let no person dream of a Thai or a Cambodian "victory" through guns, only colossal losses. Cambodia called for a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting and a deployment of U.N. Peacekeepers. Thailand said no.

The 15-member Security Council didn't really care to entertain what the Bangkok Post's Voranai Vanijaka called the "tattletale little punks running to adults," but listened to both sides tell their stories on Feb. 14.


Security Council members expressed "grave concern" and told both sides to show "maximum restraint," to establish a permanent ceasefire and expressed support for "bilateral efforts and regional efforts" to negotiate an end to the conflict. ASEAN foreign ministers, guided by their charter principle of noninterference in domestic affairs of states, met in Jakarta yesterday.

Hardly a day after the New York meeting, border skirmishes flared up. Again, Bangkok and Phnom Penh traded blame.

Who owns temple?

The issue of ownership of the Temple of Preah Vihear in Khmer, Phra Viharn in Thai, has been settled since June 15, 1962, by the International Court of Justice's 9-to-3 ruling to give the temple to Cambodia.

But the World Court never ruled on the 4.6 square kilometres (1.8 square miles) of land around the temple, claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia.

A few events precipitated the recent gunfight. Never mind the Bangkok-Phnom Penh conflict over the United Nations' designation of the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site of universal value in 2008 or the arrest in December 2010 of seven Thai (yellow shirt) nationalists who deliberately crossed the border into the disputed area.

First, there was a stone signboard in the disputed area: "Here is the place where Thai troops invaded Cambodian territory on 15 July 2008." Thai authorities protested. On Jan. 25, the Cambodian defense minister agreed to remove the sign.

Yet as the signboard was pulled down, a new stone tablet was erected and inscribed with the words, "Here is Cambodia."

A Thai military commander and 20 armed Thai soldiers met with Cambodian border troops to demand the removal of the stone tablet: "If you don't remove the tablet, I will erect a 'Here is Thailand' stone tablet."

The Cambodian stone tablet was removed.

But in the place of the signboard and the tablet was Cambodia's national flag flying over the Buddhist temple.

So tanks and armored personnel were involved on Feb. 4-7.

Both sides are digging in for the long haul.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 17, Europe's Angora Vox's article, "Vietnamese armored vehicles en route to Preah Vihear to help Cambodia," reported from its headquarters in Brussels that a company of Vietnamese armored vehicles crossed Cambodia, headed for Thailand's border.

Ploy and deception

Both Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Oxford-educated Thai prime minister, and Hun Sen, the pagoda boy made Cambodia's prime minister by Vietnam in 1985, have used nationalism as a ploy for personal political gain.

For Abhisit, the border dispute is a tool for political survival in his domestic political fight with the yellow-shirted "People's Alliance for Democracy" that seeks his government's demise. For Hun Sen, the border dispute with Cambodia's historical enemy in the West is a blessing to draw domestic attention away from discontent and concerns over Vietnam's encroachment in the East.

The use of nationalism as a ploy has worked wonders, more for Hun Sen.

For Abhisit, Thais are growing disillusioned because reason and logic tell them Abhisit is less than honest not to admit to the losing fight over Preah Vihear. The temple will not be recovered. He is seen as less than competent for embracing "bilateral negotiation" that has not worked, and for rejecting international intervention that may help solve a problem Bangkok cannot win.

For Hun Sen, nothing draws Cambodians together -- not only in the country but, ironically, many expatriates abroad, who should know better -- than Hun Sen's call to stop the "invasion of Cambodia" by the "swallowers of Khmer soil." Logically, if Thais in the disputed area are invaders, what would Cambodians be in the same disputed area?

Cambodians, in general, are left ignorant of what underlies the June 14, 2000, memorandum of understanding on the survey and demarcation of land boundary, or the June 18, 2000, joint communique that led to the making of Preah Vihear a World Heritage Site.

And so, here we are: In a crisis created by two. If both armies don't withdraw their trigger-happy troops, new rounds of armed conflict are waiting to happen.

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.

UNPO: A Unique Force for Peace After Twenty Years

Posted: 22 Feb 2011 08:30 AM PST

Sourse:The Prey Nokor News

Khmer Krom Budhist Monks chant Khmers Kampuchea - Krom Federation
Anniversary Celebrates Successes and Discusses New Challenges as Peace Palace Conference Examines Self-Determination in Twenty-First Century.

Click here to see the photo gallery.

_______________________________________________

20th Anniversary Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

"Tracing the Past to Look Forward"

The Peace Palace - Seat of the International Court of Justice

The Hague, 11th February 2011

Two decades after its foundation in the seat of international law, the International Court of Justice, politicians, academics, and civil society met at the Peace Palace, The Hague, on 11 February 2011 to celebrate a seminal anniversary amid personal expressions of support from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Seif Sharif Hamad, First Vice-President of Zanzibar, Sergei Bagapsh, President of the Republic of Abkhazia, and Harry van Bommel Dutch Member of Parliament from the Socialist Party

PROGRAMME

Session I: Reflections on 20 years of UNPO

Ngawang Choephel, UNPO President

H.E. Saif Sharif Hamad, First Vice President of Zanzibar, former UNPO President

Lodi. G. Gyari, Special Envoy of H. H. the Dalai Lama

Lana Agrba, UNPO Vice President

Marco Pannella, Italian Radical Party

Mustafa Jemilev, the Head of Mejils of Crimean Tartars

Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary

Session II: Autonomy and the Right to Self-Determination

Mohamaud Abdi Daar, Somaliland Representative in Brussels.

Dr. Charlotte Hille, University of Amsterdam, Caucasus Specialist

Michael van Walt van Praag, First General Secretary of UNPO

Tsering Jampa, UNPO Honorary President


Mr. Mohamoud Daar, Somaliland Representative in Brussels Mr. Marino Busdachin, UNPO General Secretary Dr. Charlotte Hille Mr. Michael van Walt van Praag Mr. Ngawang Choephel, UNPO President Dr. Seif Hamad, Vice President of Zanzibar Mr. Egiz Abduraman poses next to Mustafa Jemilev Picture Mr. Egiz Abduraman, Crimean Tartars Ms. Lana Agrba, UNPO Vice President Ms. Tsering Jampa, UNPO Honorary President Mr. Marco Pannella during his speech Members Together Audience

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Sourse: UNPO
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    • My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 08:22 AM PST

    Constitution of Cambodia (Sept. 1993)

    CHAPTER VI: EDUCATION, CULTURE, SOCIAL AFFAIRS

    Article 65

    The State shall protect and upgrade citizens' rights to quality education at all levels and shall take necessary steps for quality education to reach all citizens.

    The State shall respect physical education and sports for the welfare of all Khmer citizens.

    My Rights, My Responsibility (ICCPR) Series

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 08:17 AM 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 IV
    Article 40

    1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights recognized herein and on the progress made in the enjoyment of those rights: (a) Within one year of the entry into force of the present Covenant for the States Parties concerned;

    (b) Thereafter whenever the [Human Rights] Committee so requests.

    2. All reports shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit them to the Committee for consideration. Reports shall indicate the factors and difficulties, if any, affecting the implementation of the present Covenant.

    3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations may, after consultation with the Committee, transmit to the specialized agencies concerned copies of such parts of the reports as may fall within their field of competence.

    4. The Committee shall study the reports submitted by the States Parties to the present Covenant. It shall transmit its reports, and such general comments as it may consider appropriate, to the States Parties. The Committee may also transmit to the Economic and Social Council these comments along with the copies of the reports it has received from States Parties to the present Covenant.

    5. The States Parties to the present Covenant may submit to the Committee observations on any comments that may be made in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.

    Gadaffi days might be numbered [-No dictator will rule until he is 90!!!]

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:35 AM PST

    Tuesday 22nd of February 2011
    By Martin Fellowes
    Carrentals.co.uk

    Muammar Gaddafi's regime is now under huge pressure, after an evening of protests in Libya's capital Tripoli.

    Several high-ranking officials – including the country's justice minister – quit their posts after military forces started firing on unarmed protesters. In an address to the nation, Gaddafi's ever-vocal son, Saif al-Islam, admitted that protesters have now taken over al-Bayda and Benghazi. However, he warned of a civil war and vowed that his father will fight right until the last bullet to keep control over the country.

    Reliable sources say that Colonel Gaddafi has now left his residence in Tripoli. Yesterday, state TV reported that an operation was mounted against protesters in the capital – direct retaliation to dens of terror that have been spurred by a hatred of Libya. Unconfirmed reports have suggested soldiers were again using live ammunition on Monday evening. On Sunday night, they fired live rounds, as well as tear gas, to try and disperse protests.


    The Justice Minister, Mr Mustapha Abdul Jalil, became one of the latest of many senior officials to resign, saying that he was quitting his post due to the excessive use of force that the authorities have demonstrated. Abdel Moneim al-Honi, the country's Arab League envoy, announced that he is joining the revolution. The ambassador to India in New Delhi, Ali al-Essawi, has told western media sources that he is also resigning.

    Mohamed Bayou, until a month ago a chief spokesman for Libya's government, said that the leadership was wrong in threatening violence against all its opponents.

    Bangkok Pleased With Asean Meeting Outcome

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:27 AM PST

    BANGKOK, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is pleased with the outcome of the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting which supported the Thai-Cambodian bilateral mechanisms in resolving their border dispute.

    The Asean meeting in Jakarta Tuesday, supported both countries using the existing available mechanisms, Abhisit told reporters after chairing his weekly Cabinet meeting here.

    The mechanisms are Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on Demarcation of Land Boundary (JBC), the General Border Committee (GBC) and Regional Border Committee (RBC).

    Online news reports from Jakarta said the Jakarta meeting, among others, proposed Thai-Cambodian JBC to be held in a third country.


    Asked whether Phnom Penh would be readied for the bilateral approaches since they were reluctant initially, Abhisit said: "They have to come for the meeting." There were several clashes reported between Thai and Cambodian troops at the dispute border area between Feb 4 and Feb 16, with the use of heavy weapons including bombs, rockets and tanks by both sides, resulting in the loss of 10 lives from both sides.

    The border dispute involved both nations claiming an area of 4.6 sq km surrounding the 1,000-year-old Preah Vihear Hindu Temple as the area has yet to be demarcated, including the access route to the temple.

    The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple was located in Cambodia, and it was listed as a world heritage site by Unesco in 2008.

    Originally, the Thailand-Cambodia JBC was scheduled to take place in Bangkok next Sunday.

    The JBC could not move its survey and demarcation task forward for areas adjacent to the temple since its last meeting in Phnom Penh in April 2009, because the Thai Parliament was still considering the minutes of the JBC meetings.

    Abhisit also welcomed the Jakarta meeting agreeing to Bangkok's proposal for observers from Indonesia, the current chair of Asean, to be embedded with Thai troops at the border area.

    Bangkok's intention is to show that they would not be the first to fire but act accordingly, when under attack.

    Abhisit described the situation at the border as better now with no exchanges of fire between troops of both nations.

    ASEAN brokers Preah Vihear deal

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:23 AM PST

    Tuesday, 22 February 2011
    Cheang Sokha
    The Phnom Penh Post

    Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to accept Indonesian military and civilian observers to monitor disputed border areas that were the scene of bloody clashes earlier this month, following a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta today.

    Speaking after the meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister and current ASEAN chairman Marty Natalegawa described the solution as a "unique arrangement".

    Though full details were not immediately available, Natalegawa, speaking for ASEAN, said each team would consist of 20 military and civilian members charged with observing a ceasefire agreed by both sides.

    "It's quite a unique regiment in the sense that Indonesian observers will be on both sides of the boundaries, on the Thai side as well as on the Cambodian side," Natalegawa told reporters.


    He added that the observers would report to both ASEAN and the United Nations Security Council.

    According to a statement released by the ASEAN Secretariat following the meeting, Natalegawa said Indonesia agreed "to assist and support the parties in respecting their commitment to avoid further armed clashes between them, by observing and reporting accurately, as well as impartially on complaints of violations and submitting its findings to each party through Indonesia".

    The dispatch of the Indonesian observers will be based on the experience of similar missions from ASEAN personnel to East Timor in 1999 and Aceh in 2003-05, as well as an Indonesian mission to the southern Philippines, the statement said, adding that Natalegawa will "promptly propose a model for the two countries' consideration".

    The agreement follows a series of bloody clashes along the border close to Preah Vihear temple earlier this month, which left at least 10 dead and dozens injured on both sides.

    Prior to today's meeting, Prime Minister Hun Sen backed down from his previous insistence that Thailand sign a permanent border ceasefire under ASEAN auspices, following Bangkok's initial proposal that Indonesian observers be dispatched to monitor the border situation.

    Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Premier said Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met Natalegawa in Jakarta on Monday and proposed that Indonesia send observers to the border as soon as possible.

    The request followed a similar suggestion from Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who proposed on Sunday that Indonesian officials "embed" themselves with Thai troops to monitor a ceasefire brokered by military officials on the weekend.

    "We have proposed for [Natalegawa] to send observers as soon as possible, so the positions of the two [governments] are the same," Hun Sen said.

    Hun Sen has also lashed out at Thailand's Yellow Shirt movement, which has slammed Bangkok's decision to broker a deal with Cambodia, saying the agreement signed on Saturday was not a comprehensive agreement to cease hostilities.

    "The Thai military commanders are not ignorant. I encouraged military and military commanders to meet and play sports or share candies rather than sharing bullets with each other," said Hun Sen.

    Hor Namhong and the Cambodian delegation are set to hold a press conference on their return to Phnom Penh today.

    ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY REUTERS

    ASEAN reiterates call for Cambodia,Thailand to find amicable solution

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:21 AM PST

    22 February 2011
    Channel News Asia

    SINGAPORE: ASEAN Foreign Ministers have received an update from Cambodia and Thailand on the situation at their disputed border around the ancient Preah Vihar temple.

    The ministers have also re-iterated ASEAN's call for both countries to search for an amicable solution and welcomed their invitation to Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, to assign observers.

    A Singapore Foreign Ministry spokesman said the informal ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting took place in Jakarta on Tuesday and Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo was also present.

    The meeting discussed a range of regional and international issues.

    The ministers welcomed Thailand and Cambodia's commitment to avoid further armed clashes and acknowledged that ASEAN could play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.

    Indonesia appointed as observer in Thailand-Cambodia row

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:18 AM PST

    February 22, 2011
    Xinhua

    Indonesia, as the ASEAN Chair, was appointed to become observer, ensuring the avoidance of further arm clash in the border of Cambodia and Thailand following cease fire agreement pledged by high level staffs of the two disputing countries in the region on Feb. 19, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday.

    Speaking on the sidelines of an informal meeting attended by foreign ministers of ASEAN member of states, discussing solution to end clashes in Cambodia-Thailand border, Marty said that the appointment on Indonesia as the observer team was under the requirement of both disputing parties.

    "We will place our team members in both sides, in Cambodia and in Thailand. They would cooperate with authorities of the respective countries, ensuring both parties restrain from arm clashes," Marty told a press conference, flanked by all of ASEAN countries' foreign affairs ministers plus ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan in Indonesian Foreign Affairs premises here.


    Marty added that his office would send memo to the related ministries in the country to prepare the modalities for that noble task, saying that deployment of the observer team in both countries would be conducted as soon as possible.

    "Among the institutions we told to prepare their officials in carrying out the task was the Indonesia armed force. Together with officials from other institutions, they would monitor, observe and do the reporting about the ongoing situation on the ground to Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN," Marty said.

    According to Marty, the appointment on Indonesia as the observer team was unique since it was requested by both feuding countries and would be placed in both countries respectively, not in a particular enclave.

    The cease fire on the arm clashes in Thailand-Cambodian border area, commenced in Feb. 4, was resulted from Indonesia-brokered peace talks held in Phnom Penh and Bangkok on Feb. 7-8 and endorsement from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in its meeting attended by Marty on Feb. 14.

    ASEAN Mediates in Cambodia, Thailand Conflict

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:15 AM PST

    Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa (C), accompanied by Cambodia Foreign Minister Hor Namhong (L) and Thailand Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (R) speaks in a news conference after a meeting in Jakarta February 22, 2011 (Photo: Reuters)
    Brian Padden, Voice of America
    Jakarta February 22, 2011

    Thailand and Cambodia agreed Tuesday to accept Indonesian observers and avoid further clashes over a border dispute. The agreement is a victory for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its current head the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa who took on a high profile role in mediating the dispute.

    After hosting a meeting in Jakarta between the Cambodian foreign minister and his Thai counterpart, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa announced that a unique arrangement had been reached to end the violent clashes between the two countries. Both sides have been fighting over a territory near a historical Hindu Khmer temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

    The foreign ministers, he says, have agreed to what he called an unofficial ceasefire, to allow in unarmed Indonesian military and civilian observers to enforce the ceasefire, and to hold further bilateral talks with Indonesian participation in the near future.


    Natalegawa says he is not concerned that the ceasefire is unofficial as long as both sides adhere to it.

    "The statement speaks of avoidance of armed conflict and which is what our understanding of a ceasefire is. And so there will be further meeting between the two sides to try to really solidify the present situation. So I am not going to be trapped into legality of is there a ceasefire or not a ceasefire. As long as the guns are silent and the artillery is not making nosies," Natalegawa said. "I will be quite happy then."

    Southeast Asia political analyst Carl Thayer is with the University of New South Wales. He credits Natalegawa, who as chairman of ASEAN took the diplomatic initiative to visit both countries in the past month, and got involved in meetings at the United Nations Security Council in New York. He says the successful mediation efforts gives ASEAN new credibility on issues that affect peace and stability in the region.

    "I am very optimistic. It is a very big step for ASEAN," Thayer stated. "The issue was taken before the UN Security Council and it threw the hot potato to ASEAN to follow through on. And Indonesia as chair, its foreign minister has taken a proactive role and has got the agreement of Thailand and Cambodia to show up when Thailand was saying it could only be settled bilaterally."

    ASEAN has a strict policy of non-interference in member states' internal affairs and has been criticized for doing too little to resolve conflicts and preserve regional security. But Natalegawa say when the conflict began in early February, he saw a role for ASEAN to play.

    "This is a seminal development in ASEAN's capacity to deal with conflict situation. When the conflict broke out last fourth of February, as head of ASEAN we were sure, certain that sooner or later this issue will come on ASEAN's lap. So it is best that we start early and have the advantage of time and have the advantage of setting the tone," Natalegawa said.

    While the ceasefire is a significant breakthrough, Natalegawa says the mediation process is just beginning and finding a permanent solution to the border dispute will take more time and negotiation.

    CCHR releases Legal Analysis of the criminal conviction​s of Sam Rainsy (in Khmer)

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 07:11 AM PST

    Dear all

    The Cambodian Center for Human Rights today releases a legal analysis titled "Analysis of the Legal Grounds for Conviction and the Fairness of the Judicial Proceedings in the Criminal Cases Against Sam Rainsy".

    Please find attached a press release in Khmer outlining the findings of the Legal Analysis.

    Thank you and kind regards

    Thailand, Cambodia agree to Indonesian observers at border - ASEAN

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 02:52 AM PST

    JAKARTA Feb 22 (Reuters) - Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to allow Indonesian military and civilian observers to monitor a disputed border area that has been the scene of bloody clashes since 2008, a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers said on Tuesday.

    Marty Natalegawa, foreign minister of Indonesia which is the current chair of the regional bloc, told a news conference that the observer plan would be prepared for final agreement within hours.

    An international court awarded the temple to Cambodia 49 years ago but Thailand also lays claim to a 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mile) patch of land near it.

    (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by David Fox)

    Cleric issues fatwa permitting Qadhafi assassination [-Another warning for the dictator in Phnom Penh!]

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 02:23 AM PST

    Photographed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab
    Tue, 22/02/2011
    Al Masri Al Youm

    Youssef al-Qaradawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has issued a fatwa permitting the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi. He urged Libyan military forces not to obey the Libyan leader's orders to fire at Libyan protesters.

    In a live interview on Al Jazeera satellite channel on Monday, al-Qaradwai said whoever can fire a bullet at Qadhafi should do so.

    He further called on the Libyan people to unite in the face of oppression.


    Libyan security authorities have cracked down severely on protesters calling for ousting the Libyan regime. The protests, which erupted on 17 February in the east of the country, have now extended to the capital Tripoli.

    Libyan opposition leaders and eyewitnesses have said that hundreds of protesters were killed in aircraft raids in several places in Libya.

    Southeast Asian ministers discuss ways to end conflict between Thailand and Cambodia

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 02:02 AM PST

    Tuesday, February 22, 2011
    By Niniek Karmini (AP)

    JAKARTA, Indonesia — Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia held emergency talks Tuesday on how to end a deadly standoff between Cambodia and Thailand near a disputed 11th century temple.

    Each country has accused the other of starting the conflict — which has left at least eight people dead and displaced thousands — and disagree on how it should be settled.

    Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier demanded a cease-fire — an idea Thailand flatly rejected — but appeared to back off Tuesday saying he'd settle for the deployment of military observers to the remote, mountainous area.


    While heading into talks with the two countries and the eight other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the only thing off the table was more fighting.

    "We are meant to resolve our problems through negotiations," he told reporters. "We are waging peace. That's what we are doing, not waging war .... so that no more guns and artilleries make a sound in our region."

    The conflict that erupted earlier this month — resulting in exchanges of small arms, mortars and artillery fire — is rooted in a decades-old border dispute near the Preah Vihear temple that has fueled nationalist passions on both sides.

    The monument, which was built between the 9th and 11th centuries and sits atop a 1,722-foot (525-meter) cliff, was awarded to Cambodia by the World Court in 1962, but sovereignty over adjacent areas has never been clearly resolved.

    Skirmishes have erupted several times since 2008, when Preah Vihear was awarded U.N. World Heritage status, but soldiers and locals say none has been as violent as the latest clash.

    The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Monday and gave strong backing to the efforts of ASEAN — which usually refrains from interfering in the internal affairs of member states — to help end the dispute.

    Natalegawa indicated the regional grouping was ready to step in and stand firm.

    "I would like to make it absolutely clear that ... the option of conflict, the option of use of force, is not meant to be on the table," he said.

    In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, Hun Sen told university graduates he was ready to back off calls for a cease-fire, which would require a perhaps lengthy approval by the Thai parliament, if Bangkok agreed to the deployment of military observers.

    "Signing a cease-fire is not necessary, but the arrival of observers ... is what's most important," he said, adding monitors would be welcome to all areas inside the Cambodian border, from the front lines to military camps and ammunition warehouses.

    "They can inspect wherever and whenever they want."

    While Hun Sen's has sought to shift the debate to an international stage, his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has pressed hard for a bilateral solution so it was not immediately clear what sway the Southeast Asian ministers might have.
    ___
    Associated Press reporter Sopheng Cheang contributed to this report from Phnom Penh.

    Asean: Border talks in third country

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

    Foreign Ministers from Asean member countries pose to journalists during the Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta on Feb 22, 2011. (Photo by EPA)
    22/02/2011
    Bangkok Post

    The Asean foreign ministers meeting has ended and resolved that Thailand and Cambodia should hold a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Commission in a third country to settle their continuing border dispute, reports said.

    The meeting, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, was attended by both Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong.

    Reports said the two ministers avoided each other at the meeting.

    Mr. Rong Chhun's Speech for the Kennedy Center Seminar on "Human Rights Education"

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 01:53 AM PST

    CCHR releases Legal Analysis of the criminal conviction​s of Sam Rainsy

    Posted: 22 Feb 2011 01:48 AM PST

    Dear all

    The Cambodian Center for Human Rights today releases a legal analysis titled "Analysis of the Legal Grounds for Conviction and the Fairness of the Judicial Proceedings in the Criminal Cases Against Sam Rainsy".

    Please find attached in English a copy of this legal analysis and a press release outlining its findings. A Khmer version of the press release will follow later.

    Thank you and kind regards

    Yemen's Abdullah Saleh sounds just like Hun Xen

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 11:36 PM PST



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIousTzqkeY&feature=player_embedded

    Great King and Little King pay tribute to North Korea Dear Leader

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 11:27 PM PST

    Great King and Great Leader (top)
    Great Leader and Dear Leader (bottom)

    Floral Baskets to DPRK Embassy in Cambodia

    Pyongyang, February 21 (KCNA) -- King Norodom Sihamoni and Great King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia sent big floral baskets to the DPRK embassy in Phnom Penh to celebrate the birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

    A delegation of the Cambodian Ministry of Royal Palace headed by Kong Sam Ol, deputy prime minister in charge of the Royal Palace, visited the embassy on Feb. 15 to lay the floral baskets before the portraits of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

    Aunty Bun Rany's speech

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 11:16 PM PST



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhXo7Eofyio

    Young Singer [Bosba Panh] Is Happy To See Her Fans Happy

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 11:12 PM PST



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRbeDQYo53g

    ASEAN seeks peaceful end to Thai-Cambodian conflict

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 10:59 PM PST

    Tue Feb 22, 2011

    JAKARTA (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia's regional grouping met in Indonesia on Tuesday to try to settle a bloody border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia that has raised doubts about the group's aim for economic integration.

    The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) prides itself on non-interference in members' internal affairs and has long been considered a talking-shop unable to sanction members while trying to resolve disputes by consensus.

    "I'd like to make it absolutely clear that for fellow ASEAN member states, the option of conflict, the option of use of force is not meant to be on the table," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ahead of the meeting.


    Fighting erupted between Thai and Cambodian forces early this month on a disputed stretch of border at the 900-year old Preah Vihear temple.

    At least three Thais and eight Cambodians were killed and dozens of people wounded in the February 4-7 exchanges. Sporadic clashes have broken out since then.

    An international court awarded the temple to Cambodia 49 years ago but both countries lay claim to a 4.6 sq km patch of land near it.

    They have been locked in a standoff since July 2008, when Preah Vihear was granted UNESCO World Heritage status, which Thailand opposed on grounds that the land around the temple had never been demarcated.

    Last week, the United Nations Security Council called for an end to the standoff but both sides maintain a heavy military presence on the border and tension is high.

    The crisis is an important test for ASEAN, which is aiming to build an EU-style community by 2015 but is riven by a host of territorial and other disputes.

    ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
    Cambodia initially asked the U.N. Security Council to deploy peacekeepers at the border and it has also asked for ASEAN observers. Thailand has called for a bilateral solution but welcomes ASEAN's "support.

    Thailand's foreign minister signalled that it would agree to invite representatives of ASEAN chairman Indonesia as an observer, according to the Nation newspaper on Monday.

    Natalegawa warned against undue optimism over the outcome of the talks.

    "Don't expect that it will all be resolved in one event, because the journey is still long," he told reporters, "I'd like to hope that at the end of today we're further down the road in terms of diplomacy."

    The Preah Vihear temple, known as Khao Phra Viharn in Thailand, sits on a wedge of land on an escarpment, that forms a natural border overlooking northern Cambodia.

    The International Court of Justice in 1962 awarded the temple to Cambodia, which uses a century-old French map as the basis for its territorial claims, but the ruling failed to determine ownership of the scrub next to it.

    (Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Robert Birsel)

    Tribunal Meets in Full Session as Case 2 Approaches

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 10:57 PM PST

    Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
    Phnom Penh Monday, 21 February 2011
    "A court can be regarded as a success only if it meets certain criteria, including that it conducts fair, transparent and expeditious trials."
    International judges for the Khmer Rouge tribunal on Monday urged independence and impartiality for the UN-backed court, as a full meeting of judges opened.

    The 9th plenary session, in which all the international and national judges and prosecutors meet to guide the tribunal, opened with the court facing a daunting trial ahead for four Khmer Rouge leaders.

    "A court can be regarded as a success only if it meets certain criteria, including that it conducts fair, transparent and expeditious trials," judge Sylvia Cartwright said ahead of Monday's session. "And in keeping with legal principles, and that its judges are independent and impartial."


    Court officials are expected to discuss internal rules for the tribunal over the next three days that will help it bring Case 002—of Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith—to trial for atrocity crimes, including genocide.

    Cartwright said the conduct of trials at the court can serve as an aid to develop both international criminal law and assist domestic courts.

    The tribunal has borne criticism over government involvement, with Prime Minister Hun Sen claiming there will be no further trials despite a list of indictable suspects for at least two more cases.

    And defense lawyers have made motions to disqualify the head of the Trial Chamber, judge Nil Nonn, accusing him of corruption when he was a judge at Battambang provincial court, and four other judges for bias.

    Part of the plenary session will be a substitute panel of judges to consider that motion, said judge Kong Srim, who is heading this week's meeting.

    Kong Srim also said Monday the tribunal expects to publicly announce a final decision in June for the court's first case, against torture chief Duch, after the Supreme Court decides in March.

    Seaweed could yield malaria drug

    Posted: 21 Feb 2011 10:05 PM PST

    ATLANTA, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Researchers battling malaria say they have found a new, if unlikely, ally -- a seaweed in Fiji that produces a compound shown to kill the malaria parasite.

    The seaweed, a form of red algae, produces an anti-fungal compound that has been shown to be effective against the parasite, which has evolved resistance to many existing malaria drugs, AAAS ScienceMag reported Monday.

    The most recent anti-malaria drug, artemisin, is already coming up against a resistant strain of the disease in Cambodia, scientists say.

    In Fiji, chemical ecologist Julia Kubanek of the Georgia Institute of Technology collected seaweeds and other marine species to look for natural antibiotics, screening compounds isolated from those organisms not just for antibiotic potential but also for anti-cancer, anti-HIV and other biomedical properties.


    Kubanek discovered that the red algae, Callophycus serratus, produced a family of unusual ring-shaped compounds called bromophycolides that in biological screening were found to have strong anti-malarial properties.

    If the seaweed compound is found to be effective in animal and human studies, scientists say, it could be the next weapon against a disease that claims a million lives a year.

     

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