Sunday, April 24, 2011

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Thailand, Cambodia in war of words

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 05:14 PM PDT

SINGAPORE, April 25, 2011
P. S. Suryanarayana
The Hindu

The sound of gunfire along the Thai-Cambodia border on Sunday appeared to have fallen silent, at least for the moment, after an emphatic call by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for "immediate measures for an effective and verifiable ceasefire".

As on the preceding two days of intermittent fighting, Cambodia and Thailand blamed each other for starting Sunday's clash. However, even as their defence forces counted new casualties and as more civilians in the troubled areas were evacuated, the political focus shifted to the differences over ways to end the crisis.

In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand "will not fall into Cambodia's trap of inflating the issue" of title to a few temples along their border and arguing that the competing claims could not be resolved bilaterally. However, the real issue, in his view, was that Thai sovereignty was at stake and direct talks with Cambodia were needed to address this.

Also seeking to dispel the impression that the Thai military was orchestrating this crisis for domestic political reasons, Mr. Abhisit said he was in constant communication with the defence leaders.


In Phnom Penh, the Foreign Ministry rejected what it described as Thailand's "slanderous and false allegation" that Cambodia was to blame for the starting the current round of hostilities. The only way forward was to allow the deployment of Indonesian military observers along the border between Thailand and Cambodia.

However, Thailand had not yet accepted the draft terms for such a deployment, although the three countries had agreed, several weeks ago, that the Indonesian observers could help prevent clashes, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said.

Thai-Cambodian clashes rage into third day

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 05:09 PM PDT


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

King of Cambodia Replied to the Wedding Invitation

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 05:08 PM PDT

Apr 24, 2011
AllVoices.com

King of Cambodia at long last replied on Friday ti his wedding invitation.

He stated that he was too busy to come.

A spokesman at the Cambodian Embassy in London said: "He can't come as he has a very tight schedule. He has another important engagement."

However, the spokesman would not reveal any further information or details when asked.
King of Cambodia, Norodom Silhamond, 57, was the only royal who refused to attend the Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Canton woman dances with Cambodian dance troupe

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 05:05 PM PDT

Submitted photo. Chris Brown, at rear, danced April 18 with Cambodian dance group The Children of Bassac at The Watkinson School, in Hartford.

Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Canton News (Canton, Connecticut, USA)

HARTFORD — Watkinson School teacher Chris Brown, of Canton, danced with members of the Cambodian dance troupe The Children of Bassac in its premiere performance in Connecticut, April 17 and 18. The group, an emerging traditional Cambodian Dance group that has been supported by Cambodian Living Arts since 2003, gave a sold-out performance to the public April 17, and Brown danced with them in a performance just for the students and staff of Watkinson April 18. The tour featured ten highly-talented young Cambodian dancers who perform a combination of ancient, classical and lively folk dances.

While in Hartford, the dancers stayed with Watkinson families. All funds raised benefited Cambodian Living Arts and its important work of restoring Cambodia's folk arts following their decimation by the Khmer Rouge.


Watkinson School, in Hartford, has many ties to Cambodia and the Cambodian Living Arts. Charley Todd, former Head of School at Watkinson for 28 years, is now Chair of the Leadership Council for the Cambodian Living Arts and moved to Cambodia to help the cause. In each of the last six years, Watkinson students have traveled on three-week-long service learning trips to Cambodia, where they work with a village that is built around a living arts master teacher. Over the years, students have built strong relationships, and follow the villagers about what work is needed and doable by students each year. Watkinson students raise money by being hired to do odd jobs each spring, selling goods they import from Cambodia, and other activites. In past visits, they have built a community center and latrines, planted fruit trees, installed water filters, established a women's health committee and health/nutrition classes for them at a local hospital, bought instruments that are hand made in the village, and supplied them with medicines, bicycles, and sewing machines.

Members of the Global Studies program at Watkinson School will depart for their next trip to Cambodia in summer of 2011 and hope that the event will bring awareness to the greater Hartford community.

CNY doctor arrested in Cambodia for child sex abuse

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:59 PM PDT

APRIL 24, 2011

SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) – A doctor from Central New York has been arrested in Cambodia and is being held in a Phnom Penh prison on a charge of sexual abuse of an underage boy, according to the non-governmental organization Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE).

In a release on its website, APLE says James D'Agostino, 56, was arrested February 16 by the Phnom Penh anti human trafficking and juvenile protection police. He was charged two days later under article 34 "purchase of child prostitution."

APLE is an organization that provides assistance to vulnerable children in South and South-East Asia by monitoring and investigating child sexual exploitation and associated trafficking activities.


APLE says it had been investigating D'Agostino after it received information that he was abusing an underage boy, whom he took under his "care" at his Phnom Penh rental house.

According to D'Agostino's blog, he started volunteering in Cambodia and Vietnam in 2009. In it, he writes about working with children to build roads for use by villagers.

APLE says he lived in Cambodia for more than two years, where he acted as a doctor offering advice to staff at the National Pediatric Hospital.

The organization says D'Agostino supported the family of the victim by helping to construct road access in the village in Kandal province.

Upstate Medical University's website lists D'Agostino as an assistant professor of emergency medicine and certified in pediatric emergency medicine.

Calls to Upstate University for an update on his status and comment were not returned Sunday.

One more step toward Uncle Ho's Indochinese Federation: the combination of the two economies

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:55 PM PDT

Promoting Vietnam-Cambodia economic cooperation

(VOV) - More than 300 Vietnamese and Cambodian businesses attended the second Vietnam-Cambodia Investment Promotion Conference in Phnom Penh on April 24.

The conference, co-chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, is an important information channel for both governments and businesses to boost economic and investment cooperation.

It is a chance for the two countries' ministries and organizations to review the investment situation, and update economic development strategies and preferential policies for investment in Cambodia.

The conference also aims to lay a firm foundation for signing agreements on double taxation avoidance and on the combination of the two economies.


Addressing the event, the two PMs appreciated the potential for Vietnam-Cambodia cooperation, affirming that both governments will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in Cambodia, especially in telecommunications, aviation, energy, infrastructure development, tourism, trade, agriculture, forestry, rubber, and mining.

PM Dung proposed that the two governments maintain an effective dialogue mechanism to help businesses in the two countries iron out snags and promote business activities.

The Vietnamese government and related ministries and agencies have created incentives for Cambodian businesses to invest in Vietnam and encourage Vietnamese investors to expand business in Cambodia, Mr. Dung said.

He also asked Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia to comply with the country's laws, manners and customs, and pay attention to ensuring employment and social welfare as well as reducing poverty.

PM Hun Sen said the Cambodian government is making every effort to create a transparent investment environment for Vietnamese businesses by simplifying administrative procedures and combating corruption. He called on them to increase their investment in Cambodia.

Vietnam and Cambodia have taken the initiative to boost economic cooperation by signing more than 60 cooperation agreements and forming the necessary cooperation mechanisms.

This contributed greatly to increasing two-way trade from US$950 million in 2006 to US$1.8 billion in 2010. Vietnam is now one of the three biggest foreign investors in Cambodia with 90 projects worth over US$2 billion.

Also at the conference, the two government leaders witnessed the signing of memorandum of understanding on promoting investment and cut the ribbon to open the Vietnam-Cambodia Securities Company.

On the afternoon of the same day, PM Dung and his entourage left Cambodia for Vietnam, successfully concluding their visit to the country.

Cambodia, Vietnam sign investment contracts of nearly 1 bln USD [... It's a one-way trade to the benefit of Vietnam]

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:50 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, Apr. 24, 2011 (Xinhua) -- Some 500 Cambodian and Vietnamese businessman met here on Sunday in the 2nd Cambodia-Vietnam conference and some investment projects worth nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars were signed.

The annual conference was chaired by the two countries' prime ministers.

Speaking in the conference, the visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that to date, excluding the investment costs, which would be signed in the conference, Vietnamese investments in Cambodia have mounted to more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in the fields of telecommunication, aviation, banking and finance, mineral resources, and rubber plantations.

Cambodian investments in Vietnam have mounted to 51 million U.S. dollars.

Nguyen Tan Dung encouraged more Vietnamese investors to consider their ventures in Cambodia, and urged existing Vietnamese investors to strengthen and expand the investment to build closer economic cooperation.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Cambodia is implementing favorable investment policies for overseas investors.


"There are good opportunity for investors in growing rice, corn, cassava, bean, rubber industries," he said.

He also stressed the government has made its efforts to develop new industries such as car assembly plants, electronic manufacturing.

[Hun Xen's] Cambodian market welcomes [his] Vietnamese [masters'] businesses [-More Viet land-grabbing on the way!]

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:44 PM PDT

24/04/2011

(VOV) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia is expected to open up more opportunities for Vietnamese investment in the country as well as bilateral economic cooperation.

Many major Cambodian newspapers run articles about it and reviewed positive achievements in bilateral trade.

In 2010, trade revenues between Vietnam and Cambodia hit more than US$1.8 billion, up more than 35 percent from the previous year. Vietnam also invested over US$2 billion in nearly 90 projects in Cambodia. Nearly 470,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Cambodia in 2010, ranking first and accounting for one fourth of the country's total foreign tourists.

A Cambodian entrepreneur of Vietnamese descent, Xieng Minh, told VOV that he hoped PM Dung's visit will help Vietnamese enterprises boost the presence of their goods in Cambodia. He added that Vietnam's agricultural products have secured a firm foothold in the market and he expects more opportunities in other fields.


DPM (PetroVietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals Company) is an example of a successful Vietnamese business that brings practical benefits to the local people.

In 2010, DPM transferred techniques to some Cambodian farmers and helped them double their rice output to nearly nine tonnes per hectare. This year, the company has set a target to expand this technical transference to three provinces – Kampang Cham, Kampang Thum, and Kandal.

Kieng Kieng, a farmer from Kandal province, praised Vietnamese experts for giving farmers like him expertise in rice cultivation and helping them create a better model for growing rice. "Before this we farmers only cultivated according to our experience," he said.

With assistance from Vietnamese agriculturists, Cambodia is expected to achieve its target of exporting one million tonnes annually by 2015.

Sacrava's Political Carton: Strengthening Relationships

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:39 PM PDT

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Echoes of the Killing Fields

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:33 PM PDT

How far can Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal go? 

Thursday, 21 April 2011
Written by Simon Roughneen
Asia Sentinel

It has been over three decades since the nightly convoys of trucks that carried the emaciated, the half-dead and the terrified from S-21 jail in Phnom Penh to Choeung Ek, 17 kilometers away, came to a halt.

Whether or not the blindfolded and shackled men, women and children knew in advance of their fate is unclear. Some surely did, but all were murdered in this flood-prone former orchard, mostly by a blow to the back of the neck with an iron bar, followed by a knife across the throat.

The dead and dying were piled in the freshly dug pits, as a generator ran in the background to drown out any screams.

Now, a Buddhist stupa dominates the Killing Fields, stacked with thousands of human skulls dug up from the ground around it, where some 17000 people were murdered. Most of the skulls are behind glass, but some, lower-down, can be touched. Visitors light incense and candles and wait their turn to photograph this gruesome memento of Cambodia's greatest tragedy.

While this grim memorial keeps the horrible memory of the Khmer Rouge alive and gathers a steady stream of several hundred visitors a day, the effort to find justice for the victims of Pol Pot and his ultra-left movement remains slow. So far, only one man, the commander of S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, has been convicted in the UN-backed tribunal that is underway.

While Japan largely pays for the proceedings, both the government in Phnom Penh and its allies in Beijing are wary of going too far. The wounds in the society remain deep and the potential for political embarrassment is great.


Out here in the killing fields, diplomacy is the last thing on the mind of Cham, a bedraggled man with one-leg. "I have children, they go school," he implored as he begged one day recently. He said that he lost his right leg in 1988 when he was a soldier, but he declined to say which side he fought for in those closing years of Cambodia's long civil war that ended in the 1990s.

Youk Chhang, head of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DCCAM), said in an interview that many of the 5 million Khmer Rouge survivors live in penury in the countryside, some without family or any support. Despite recent economic growth, 80 percent of Cambodia's people live in the countryside, where the average income for the rural poor is much lower than the official $2,000 per capita for the country as a whole.

In a small way, the inequity is symbolized by a controversial deal signed in 2005, when the Cambodian Government sold the rights to run Choeung Ek to a Japanese company, JC Royal, which pays US$15,000 per year to the Phnom Penh city government in return. The ticket on the gate says US$3, but the actual fee I paid to get in was a dollar less. Does any of this go to help survivors or the relatives of those who were killed here? It seems not.

On the ticket is the following reassurance: "Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, in collaboration with Sun Fund [affiliated with Prime Minister Hun Sen], sponsors the poor and talented students. Your admission fee, a kind charity will ultimately contribute to development, conservation of the centre and sponsorship for education of the poor students."

When I asked, staff at the center could not give any further details about the poor and talented students or how much of the $600-800 the center makes a day on gate fees from 300-400 daily visitors goes to help them.

At the end of March, Duch, the man who ran Tuol Sleng and the sole person to be convicted for crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge, appealed the effective 18-19 year sentence handed down to him last year by the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Despite previously expressing remorse for his crimes, he now says that he cannot be held fully responsible as he was directed to kill by the Khmer Rouge leaders.

At the latest hearings, held March 28-30, at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the tribunal's official title, Duch's defense team told the court that their client "tried to isolate himself from the crimes at S-21." 

"What would you or anyone have done in his shoes? It would be like trying to disobey orders from the SS," the lawyers said.

Duch, who on occasion accompanied his subordinates out to Choeung Ek from S-21 to oversee a night's murder, is to be the key witness in the tribunal's upcoming Case 002, in which the four main surviving Khmer Rouge leaders, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Nuon Chea, are to stand trial in a proceeding that has been delayed by claims that the elderly defendants are to frail to face justice.

Some say Duch's credibility as a witness has been hurt by his u-turns and that the case against the four could be damaged as a result. There are now rumors that Case 002 is being deliberately undermined, and that Pol Pot's surviving lieutenants could escape justice.

Certainly there is little eagerness among Cambodia's rulers to see the tribunal go very far. The government has already demanded that no second-tier Khmer Rouge, other than Duch, face trial. Hun Sen — himself a low-level Khmer Rouge before turning against the group — says that additional trials could spark another civil war. Late in 2010, Hun Sen told visiting United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that new cases would not be permitted.

Since Duch's appeal, Theary Seng, an outspoken US-schooled lawyer whose parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge, has lodged a civil suit naming the former commanders of the Khmer Rouge navy and air force as among the defendants in cases 003 and 004, which are not yet scheduled to go before the ECCC. Lars Olsen, a spokesman for the tribunal, described her lawsuit as reckless.

Behind the scenes, there are also echoes of big-power politics at play.

Thus far, the Japanese Government has been the largest single donor to the tribunal, providing $67 million, according to the ECCC website, nearly half of all pledges and contributions.

If there are difficulties with the ECCC going forward, however, China, and to a lesser extent the United States, could emerge as the beneficiaries. The US bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War seems to have facilitated the rise of the Khmer Rouge as the group fought its way across the Cambodian countryside to Phnom Penh. Case 002 could see the US embarrassed by whatever the aged former leaders say about the impact of the bombings and later US diplomatic support for the Khmer Rouge after the Vietnamese invasion in 1979 ripped them from power.

These days China has become a key ally of the Hun Sen government, offering loans and grants that do not come with the conditions required by the Western donors with whom Hun Sen has had a testy relationship. Chinese investment in Cambodia exceeds that of any other country, with $8 billion in projects lined up so far this year.

Japan's backing for the court can also be seen in the context of the always-touchy history between China and Japan, as well as China's growing economic and strategic weight in southeast Asia. For its part, China says that it wants nothing to do with the tribunal, describing it as a "domestic matter."

However, Beijing supported the Khmer Rouge, financially, diplomatically and militarily, before, during and after the group's 1975-79 rule. Duch is said to have taken sanctuary in China after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, and the four senior surviving Khmer Rouge leaders may have more to say about the nature of Chinese backing for their regime, if and when they face trial.

At the Killing Fields, periodic rainstorms still strip away the topsoil to reveal human bones that rise up from the ground. Just as those bodies have not been fully buried, the full truth about the Khmer Rouge and the tragic history of Cambodia seems destined to remain partially uncovered at best.

Letter to the Editor of Asia Sentinel by Theary C. Seng

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:24 PM PDT

Dear Editor of Asia Sentinel:

I write to clarify on the issues of "personal jurisdiction" of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Simon Roughneen's excellent article (21 April 2011).

The issue touches on a sensitive topic: whether the Tribunal should be limited to those deemed most responsible, or whether second tier figures should be tried as well. Duch, overlord of S-21 and Choeung Ek, has used a similar argument, saying he is being made a scapegoat while hundreds or more of similar-level Khmer Rouge killers get off scot-free. 

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal has the legal authority ("personal jurisdiction") to try only two groups of people:

(i) "senior Khmer Rouge leaders", that is to say, those who held senior positions covering all of Democratic Kampuchea during the Khmer Rouge reign, e.g., Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith (collectively in Case 002); and

(ii) "those most responsible"

that is to say, those not in senior positions who are responsible for countless deaths, e.g. Duch who was only the director of one S-21 (or Tuol Sleng)—out of 200 prisons—but there, at least 14,000 lives were lost (Case 001).

I lodged a civil party application in Cases 003 and 004 involving 5 additional charged persons, two of whom—Meas Muth and Sou Meth—could fall under the personal jurisdiction of either (i) "senior Khmer Rouge leader" for their role as commanders of the Khmer Rouge Navy and Air Force, respectively, contributing to the "joint criminal enterprise"/common design, or (ii) "most responsible" for their role as commanders of military divisions responsible for countless deaths.

There is no question that Meas Muth and Sou Met fall under the personal jurisdiction of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in both groups. It will be a complete political farce if the Co-Investigating Judges rule otherwise by dismissing Case 003.

- Theary C. Seng, civil party applicant to Cases 003/004

RFA call-in show on Cases 003 and 004 - guests Theary Seng and Reach Sambath

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:20 PM PDT


Click the control below to listen to the Call-in Show audio program in Khmer

"Yuon Neung Thai Chong-rai Dauch Knea" a Poem in Khmer by NhiekKiri

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:21 PM PDT

Chong Sa-ngam border crossing closed [by Thailand] after Thai-Cambodian clashes

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 12:25 PM PDT


SI SA KET, April 24 (MCOT online news) --- Si Sa Ket's Chong Sa-ngam border crossing has been closed since Sunday's noon for safety reasons after fresh Thai-Cambodian fighting reerupted in neighbouring Surin province in the morning, a local customs officer said, while border trade at Rong Kluea Market in Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district continued.

Trade and tourism along Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province have been suspended, following the Sunday's closure of Chong Sa-ngam border crossing after it had been opened for four hours in the morning.

Orawan Boonsang, a head of the customs officers at Chong Sa-ngam border crossing, explained that the closure was for safety reasons for Thai and Cambodian people after the sounds of gunfire was heard along the border in Surin.


Earlier, Chong Sa-ngam border crossing was temporarily closed on Friday (April 22), following the skirmish along Thai-Cambodian border in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district. Later, officers reopened the crossing for trade and tourism, depending on the situation.

Initially, it was projected that the closure of the Chong Sa-ngam border crossing will cause Bt10 million (over US$333,000) in losses.

Meanwhile, the Aranyaprathet border crossing in Sa Kaeo province remains opened on Sunday with ten thousand of Cambodian people flocking to Rong Kluea Market to buy commodity products back to their country.

Army Captain Chan Vongvaimathee, commander of ranger company 1206, under Burapha Task Force, said there is no reinforcement of Thai troops at the Thai-Cambodian border in Aranyaprathet district, but he has been instructed to closely monitor the situation and for troops to be on standby at their base.

10,000 Cambodians reportedly crossed into Rong Kluea Market for work and trading since the border crossing opened at 7am after the crossings in Surin and Buri Ram provinces were temporarily closed.

Tourists, both Thai and foreigners, also continued travelling to Cambodia's Poi Pet town in Banteay Meanchey province as usual, but about ten tour groups have already cancelled trips to Angkor Wat in Siem Riap.

"Teuk Chett Yuth-chun Khmer" a Poem in Khmer by Heng Thal Savuth

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 11:33 AM PDT

Thai clashes spark coup fears [-Clashes sparked by Thai army to prevent election?]

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:28 AM PDT

Thai refugees gather in a holding camp after being evacuated from the scene of deadly fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces in Surin province near the border. Source: AFP

April 25, 2011
Sian Powell in Bangkok
The Australian

TENSIONS rose in Thailand yesterday as a fiery border clash with Cambodia entered its third day and coup rumours swept Bangkok.

The fresh outbreak of fighting took place ahead of an expected announcement that the nation would go to the polls in July.

Thousands of people have been forced to flee the disputed jungle frontier after fighting broke out on Friday, shattering a tense two-month ceasefire.

Each side has accused the other of restarting the armed conflict, in which at least 11 people have been killed. Public accusations of invasion, artillery bombardment and poison gas bombing have been aired in increasingly inflamed rhetoric on both sides.


UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on both nations to declare a ceasefire and begin "serious dialogue" to resolve the lethal dispute.

Some analysts see the clash as a continuation of the four-day battle that erupted in February near the 11th-century Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, which left 10 dead.

The latest fighting broke out 150km west of Preah Vihear at the site of two other temples claimed by both nations, called Ta Krabei by the Cambodians and Ta Kwai by the Thais.

Cambodia has accused Thailand of firing shells filled with poison gas, a claim rejected by Bangkok, and sending Thai military aircraft deep into Cambodian airspace. "The Ministry of National Defence condemns in the strongest possible terms these repeated deliberate acts of aggression by Thailand against Cambodia," the ministry said. Thailand accused Cambodia of "repeated armed attacks" and of shelling a district containing civilians and a hospital.

In his weekly television address yesterday, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government backed the army in defending Thai territory. "We must not fall into Cambodia's trap," he said. "Cambodia tried to internationalise the dispute, but the dispute can be settled at the bilateral level without a third country."

The border tensions have inflamed domestic politics in Thailand, where an expected election has fired a rush of political speculation and coup rumours.

The Thai military is known to be unhappy with the Thai-Cambodian border talks that have sputtered along since fighting began in February. The army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, originally flatly refused to countenance the idea of independent observers in the Preah Vihear district.

Thailand's militant People's Alliance of Democracy yellow-shirt protesters staged demonstrations to denounce the alleged Cambodian encroachment.

Military dissatisfaction is one factor leading many rattled Thais to believe the restive security forces will soon mount a coup, perhaps before the election expected in early July.

One Thai news website has counted 11 coup denials so far this year, and on the weekend General Prayuth again said a coup was not in the offing. "The only thing we want to ask is for all parties not to violate the monarchy or bring the monarchy into their conflicts or get us involved in political conflict," he said in The Nation newspaper.

Thailand has endured 18 coup attempts, 11 successful, since the end of absolute monarchical rule in 1932. Some cynics point out that the Thai military roundly rejected the notion of a coup in 2006, just weeks before troops ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

But Thailand's red-shirt leaders, from the rebel United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, have accused General Prayuth of meddling in politics and trying to divide the nation rather than promoting unity as a military leader should.

Thailand is still bitterly divided after security forces last year forcibly routed thousands of red-shirt protesters, who had joined the weeks-long sit-in in central Bangkok. As many as 91 people were killed in the clashes.

Meanwhile, Mr Thaksin, in exile after he jumped bail on corruption charges in 2008, has again entered the thick of Thai politics, using a video link on the weekend to address thousands of members of the Puea Thai party with promises of a new capital city site and plans for new infrastructure.

He urged the military to stay out of politics, and pledged allegiance to the throne.

"The military must not intervene to set up a government like last time, when it formed a government in the barracks," he said.

Cambodia and Thailand Clash, Killing at Least 10

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:21 AM PDT

April 24, 2011
By SETH MYDANS
The New York Times

BANGKOK — Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a third day on Sunday in the first major territorial encounter since an informal cease-fire that followed four days of fighting in February. At least 10 people were killed and thousands of residents were evacuated from border areas, according to reports from both sides.

The United Nations called on both nations to settle the conflict peacefully with an effective and verifiable cease-fire. The cause of the latest clash, which began early Friday, was unclear, with the two sides accusing each other of making the first move in what was mostly a long-range artillery duel.

The fighting was reported at border areas 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, to the west of Preah Vihear, an 11th-century temple that has been the focus of armed tensions since it was listed in 2008 by the United Nations as a World Heritage site under Cambodian administration.

In his weekly television address, the prime minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, accused Cambodia of starting the fighting. "When there is firing into Thailand, we must fire back," he said.

He added: "We must not fall into Cambodia's trap in trying to spread a picture of conflict, or say the conflict is unsolvable through bilateral talks."

A sticking point in attempts at negotiations is Thailand's resistance to Cambodia's demand for mediation by international bodies. In the past, outside judgments have favored Cambodia. In 1962, the World Court ruled that the temple, which stands on a border bluff overlooking the Cambodian countryside, belonged to Cambodia.


The disputes involve border demarcations between the two countries made by former French colonial administrators and include references to competing maps and interpretations of maps.

The conflicting claims are a rallying cry for nationalists on both sides. In Thailand, they have become a focus of the anti-government "yellow shirt" protests in recent months.

Both nations claim ownership of a strategic area that is 4.6 square kilometers, or 1.8 square miles, near Preah Vihear. Two other ancient Hindu temples in the border area are the focus of the latest eruption of fighting.

In February the United Nations forwarded a Cambodian request for mediation to the Association of Southeast Nations, in which both sides agreed to allow unarmed military observers to be posted along the border.

But the Thai military resisted that plan, and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya of Thailand said that his government was trying to secure the cooperation of the armed forces to find a peaceful settlement.

Since a coup in 2006, the military has played a prominent role in Thai politics, sometimes acting as a political broker, and its role is drawing attention in advance of a Thai parliamentary election expected soon.

Cambodia accused Thailand over the weekend of firing artillery shells "loaded with poisonous gas" and of flying jet fighter sorties over Cambodian territory. Thailand rejected the accusations as groundless.

17,200 Cambodians evacuated during Cambodian, Thai border clashes

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:17 AM PDT

April 24, 2011

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- So far, 4,285 Cambodian families of 17,200 people have been evacuated in the three days of armed clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops over the disputed border area, a senior government official said today.

The people have been evacuated to safe shelters in Oddar Meanchey province's Samrong district, some 30 kilometers from the fighting zone, Nhim Vanda, the first vice-president of the Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management, said today.

The clashes broke out at the Ta Moan and Ta Krabei temples in Oddar Meanchey province since Friday, causing casualties on both sides and damage to the temples and villagers' properties.

During the armed clashes, six Cambodian soldiers were killed and 16 others injured.


While on the Thai side, four soldiers were dead and 17 others injured, according to a report from Bangkok.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. But Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 sq km of scrub next to the temple. Just a week after the enlistment, Cambodia and Thailand had a border conflict, triggering a military build-up along the border, and periodic clashes between Cambodian and Thai soldiers have resulted in deaths on both sides.

Is the [Thai] army using the Cambodian border issue to preserve its hegemony in Thai politics?

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:11 AM PDT

The Thai Military's Latest Sortie

Saturday, 23 April 2011
Written by Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Asia Sentinel
From this perspective, the military has gone on the political offensive. The royalist army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has assumed his full-time political role and now administers Thailand from his comfortable barracks. He has become the darling of the pro-elite media, appearing on television more frequently than the handsome Oxford-educated prime minister. One of his political activities is to file a complaint against some core leaders of the red-shirt movement for committing lèse-majesté.
The generals danced at dawn
At sunrise in Thailand's Surin province, the tranquil Good Friday morning of April 22 was disrupted by exchanges of gunfire between Thai and Cambodian troops. The real causes of the latest armed clashes were unknown. But what is known is that both sides have accused each other for initiating the skirmish and prolonging a deep sense of hostility.

"Cambodian soldiers fired with assault rifles at Thailand first and... started to shell us with artillery," Thai Defense Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon said. He also added, "I think Cambodia wanted to take over temples on the border." 

Meanwhile, Cambodia accused Thai troops of entering its territory. "Thai troops crossed the border and attacked our military bases," said Cambodian defense ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat.

This was followed by an urgent note sent by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong to the United Nations Security Council, complaining about what he claimed was a "deliberate act of aggression." Thai artillery shells had landed 21 km inside Cambodian territory, he said in the note, which was released to media in Phnom Penh.

The current tit-for-tat accusation has exhausted analysts who are monitoring the tense situation along the Thai-Cambodian border. One the surface, it is just another violent breakout between the two estranged neighbors. At a deeper level however, it indicates an increasingly agonizing state of Thai domestic politics.

First, the Good Friday clashes have provided another much-needed opportunity for the Thai military to take full control of foreign policy vis-à-vis what is perceived to be the country's number-one enemy. Over the past months, the Thai army has been wrestling hard with the Foreign Ministry for the overall domination of foreign policy toward Cambodia. For the army, taking over foreign policy is crucial, as this guarantees its political role as well as authority in the decision-making process.


The clashes also took place at the right time. Instability, and even war, along the border would justify the military's request to UNESCO for the postponement of the discussion of Cambodia's management plan in the surrounding Preah Vihear area. The 35th World Heritage Committee (WHC) will be meeting from June 19-29, in Paris. Thailand has insisted that the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area must be demarcated before talks on management can begin. A new round of armed conflict with Cambodia is possibly a deliberate act to derail the WHC agenda.

Above all, the armed confrontation has highlighted the essential notion of national security. According to the Thai traditional view, in time of crisis the country needs a strong army to ward off external threats. Taking this view, the military could have criticized the Abhisit Vejjajiva government for insisting to exercise diplomatic means to achieve peace. 

Indeed, there are valid reasons to believe that the military has never wanted Abhisit's soft approach to prevail. It is evident that the military was silent when its political ally, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), sent its members to cross into Cambodia illegally in December last year to stir up already fragile Thai-Cambodian relations. The PAD earlier urged the government to adopt a harsher line against Cambodia—a suggestion supported by the army.

Second, the violent clashes erupted just less than two months before the much anticipated election, due in late June. After Abhisit made known of his intention to hold an election a few months ago, he received a cold response from the army. The army fears that proxies of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to power, thus jeopardizing the military's power position.

From this perspective, the military has gone on the political offensive. The royalist army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has assumed his full-time political role and now administers Thailand from his comfortable barracks. He has become the darling of the pro-elite media, appearing on television more frequently than the handsome Oxford-educated prime minister. One of his political activities is to file a complaint against some core leaders of the red-shirt movement for committing lèse-majesté.

On top of this, a coup is also a possible choice. On April 21, the nationwide television blackout, caused by a satellite technical glitch, sparked intense coup rumours. The military presence in Thai politics is at an all-time high.

How are the armed clashes along the border connected to the upcoming election?

The military has sent out a strong message that war on the Thai East is serious, and continues to threaten Thai sovereignty. Under this precarious circumstance, the military may ask: Should Thailand go ahead with an election, especially if the election will bring more "uncertainties" in the political domain?

The election is likely to go ahead, and the military is trying hard to help install an anti-Cambodian regime. Throughout the Thai crisis, Thaksin and his supporters in the red-shirt faction have been perceived as pro-Cambodian, anti-Thai interest elements. It would be unimaginable to see the next "red" government handling the Cambodian issue at the expense of the military's diminishing interest in domestic and foreign affairs.

Lastly, the fuss about Indonesia's intervention in the Thai-Cambodian conflict, about the mediating role of Asean and about the preferred approaches to the solution (with Thailand being firm on its bilateral modality), is nothing more than the military's stubborn behavior and its desperation to hold on to its power position even as Thailand's political landscape has begun to shift in recent times.

Perhaps the Thai military may want to learn some new facts. Bilaterally, Cambodia has no longer played a passive part; it has refused to be bullied by the supposedly more advanced, more modern and more superior Thai neighbor. Domestically, the anti-military sentiment in Thailand is rapidly being heightened. The rejection of election and the coup will no longer be responded lightly by many pro-democracy Thais.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is a fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Opinions expressed here are his own.

Thai-Cambodia Border Dispute Adds to [Thai] Election

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 10:01 AM PDT

APRIL 24, 2011
By JAMES HOOKWAY
The Wall Street Journal
Thai military leaders have repeatedly denied any plans to launch a coup or otherwise influence the democratic process, while government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the latest clashes with Cambodia were triggered by unexpected troop movements on the Cambodian side of the border.
BANGKOK—A simmering border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has killed at least 10 soldiers over the past three days and also threatens to complicate a heated political environment in Bangkok, where rumors are swirling about military coups or other ways to block planned elections.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a cease-fire late Saturday and urged both sides to find a diplomatic solution to the long-running border dispute. But clashes continued into Sunday morning and Cambodian officials said shooting again erupted in the afternoon. Thai officials have reported four of their troops killed, with Cambodia acknowledging six fatalities so far in a duel fought mostly with long-range artillery shells.

Analysts say there is a strong political dimension to the border conflict, which reignited in 2008 when Cambodia secured U.N. World Heritage status for an ancient temple within the disputed area. Nationalist movements in both Thailand and Cambodia have stressed the importance of claiming the Preah Vihear temple for their own countries, and eight people were killed in clashes near the temple site in February before this latest conflict, about 160 kilometers away.


The conflict also might complicate Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's plans to dissolve Thailand's parliament next month and pave the way for elections to be held as soon as June. The 46-year-old, Oxford-educated economist is counting on the vote to end five years of instability and violence and enable Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy after Indonesia, to build on its rapid recovery from the global economic slump.

But some analysts say there is still a risk the vote might not take place at all. In recent weeks, army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has filed criminal complaints against several top opposition activists for allegedly insulting the monarchy—a serious crime here—and a move which helped trigger murmurings that a coup is being planned. People familiar with the situation say some military leaders fear that a national vote could allow supporters of ex-Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and is now living in exile, an avenue back into power.

Thai military leaders have repeatedly denied any plans to launch a coup or otherwise influence the democratic process, while government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says the latest clashes with Cambodia were triggered by unexpected troop movements on the Cambodian side of the border.

Royalist activists who blockaded Thailand's main airport in 2008 are meanwhile urging Mr. Abhisit to call off his election plan and allow an appointed government to take over instead. Prominent newspaper columnists are adding their weight to the campaign, saying Thailand won't be ready to have a peaceful election for four or five more years.

The pre-election anxiety got the better of many Thais on Thursday when a satellite glitch knocked out television signals across the country and set off rumors that a coup was already underway.

The latest skirmishes with Cambodia—as well as the previous flare-up in February—are prompting some residents and analysts to speculate the army is now increasingly willing to assert itself.

Some opposition leaders are skeptical the vote will happen, even if Mr. Abhisit dissolves Parliament. Nattawut Saikua, one of the leaders of the opposition "Red Shirt" movement, worries that new election laws could be challenged in court and ruled unconstitutional, delaying indefinitely any election.

"I think there might only be a 50% chance of an election taking place," says Mr. Nattawut, who plans to run as a member of the opposition For Thais Party.

Many Thais are worried about the potential for instability. Red Shirt protesters, including many of Mr. Thaksin's supporters, last year cordoned off large areas of central Bangkok and put a serious dent in the country's tourism industry. As the protests grew increasingly violent, the army stepped in to stop the spreading conflict. A total of 91 people—the majority of them protesters—were killed in clashes.

Mr. Thaksin, a 61-year-old former telecommunications mogul who now lives abroad to avoid imprisonment on a corruption conviction, recently emerged from his self-imposed exile to talk with the international media and reiterate his claim that the charges against him are politically motivated. He is also urging on his followers in a series of phone-ins and messages on twitter.

Now, with neither Mr. Abhisit's Democrat Party nor the pro-Thaksin For Thais Party—which are neck-and-neck in opinion polls—likely to gain an absolute majority in the planned election, analysts fear further violence could come as the two sides try to assume control of the government.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group this month warned of a potential bloody conflict if the Thailand's powerful armed forces and royalist bureaucrats pressure smaller parties to stay away from forming a coalition government with the For Thais Party if it wins the largest number of seats.

"Arm-bending by the royalist establishment is an obvious recipe for renewed street protests and violence," says Jim Della-Giacoma, the ICG's Southeast Asia director.

In the meantime, international efforts to end the border conflict continue. In addition to the UN, Indonesia, which is the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also tried to mediate a solution to the conflict. Thailand, though, has refused to allow Indonesian military observers into the disputed area and says the conflict can be settled in direct talks with Cambodia. Cambodia says it prefers third-parties to help broker a settlement.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Saturday denied Cambodian allegations that Thailand had fired shells loaded with "poisonous gas" into Cambodia, while army officials have also denied using cluster bombs.

Thailand earlier admitted using cluster bombs in previous border spats with Cambodia, but said they weren't the kind banned by 108 countries under an international treaty. Cluster bombs spread small bomblets across a broad area and can lay dormant for years. They pose a similar hazard as land mines to civilian populations.

No Alternative to Genuine Border Talks: Surin

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 09:49 AM PDT

Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Nation

The secretary-general of Asean called on Thailand and Cambodia to return to the negotiating table to settle border dispute.

"The world and Asean have been alarmed by the new outbreak of violent and fatal clashes along the Cambodian-Thai border. The appeal for restraint and a quick return to the negotiating table will become louder from the Asean and dialogue partners. I can only add my voice to that call for a peaceful solution to a long simmering tension between our two Asean Member States. There is really no other alternative to a genuine dialogue between the two sides, " said Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of Asean.


Dr. Surin Pitsuwan has worked hard behind the scene to support Indonesia, the current Chiar of Asean, to convene the unprecedented February 22 meeting in Jakarta of the Asean foreign ministers devoted specifically to the bilateral border conflicts between the two Asean neighbors, Cambodia and Thailand. We thought we had responded effectively to the call of the UN Security Council's of February 14 with our own Asean's approach to the problem of our two member states," said Dr. Surin, who is a former Foreign Minister of Thailand.

"The renewed fighting not only disappointed the other Asean Member States, we have also failed the world in its expectation of all of us."

"Not only tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border having to suffer the consequences of displacement and evacuation away from the on-going violence, we also risk the judgment of the global community that its faith and confidence in us have been misplaced. That will, unfortunately, have a very negative impact on our region as a whole, " Dr. Surin lamented.

POLITICAL FARCE ! LEGAL FARCE !

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 04:16 AM PDT

By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh
ECCC Cases 003 and 004 Series

Excerpts from the ECCC website, Office of Co-Investigating Judges

On the other hand, the Co-Investigating Judges shall issue an Indictment if there is sufficient evidence against the Charged Person, relating to acts which constitute a crime falling within the jurisdiction of the ECCC. The Indictment sets out the identity of the Accused, a description of the material facts and their legal characterisation, as well as the nature of the criminal responsibility.

The Co-Prosecutors, the Accused and Civil Parties must be notified upon issue of a Closing Order. The Indictment is subject to appeal only by the Co-Prosecutors, while the Dismissal Order is subject to appeal by the Co-Prosecutors and Civil Parties, where the Co-Prosecutors have appealed. Where no appeal is filed against a Closing Order, the Greffier of the Co-Investigating Judges shall forward the case file to the Greffier of the Trial Chamber to allow a date for trial to be set, or to the Office of Administration for archiving, in case a Dismissal Order is issued. From this moment, the Co-Investigating Judges don't play any further role in the case. On the other hand, when new evidence becomes available after a Dismissal Order comes into force, the judicial investigation may be re-opened by the Co-Investigating Judges at the initiative of the Co-Prosecutors. The Co-Prosecutors participate in the following proceedings as parties and they present their oral submissions as they consider necessary for justice to be done.

Who are Meas Muth and Sou Met?

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:59 AM PDT

By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh
ECCC Cases 003 and 004 Series

Is civil party applicant Ms. Theary C. Seng correct in saying that Meas Muth and Sou Met are in Case 003 and Im Chaem and two other district chiefs are in Case 004? See ECCC Timeline by Theary C. Seng. Are Cambodian scholar Steve Heder and international lawyer Brian Tittemore correct in naming Meas Muth and Sou Met as senior leaders to be prosecuted? See http://www.wcl.american.edu/warcrimes/khmerrouge.pdf?rd=1. This series will provide in full the section on Meas Muth and Sou Met from the report Seven Candidates for Prosecution: Accountability for the Crimes of the Khmer Rouge.


Sou Met and Meah Mut

a) Evidentiary Analysis

ii. Minutes of General Staff Meetings

According to DC-Cam's holdings of the minutes of meetings of Central Committee military units as well as various messages between Son Sen and those units, in 1976 and 1977 Sou Met regularly and Meah Mut occasionally attended General Staff meetings, where they spoke, listened to reports by colleagues, and witnessed pronouncements by Son Sen.

These minutes implicate Sou Met and Meah Mut's knowledge of arrests of civilians and CPK cadre as revealed to them by Son Sen and by division and regimental cadre who attended these gatherings (almost all of whom are now dead), as well as their knowledge of various "smashings" and "sweepings," including of purge victims to whom the especially damning label of "super-traitors" was applied.

The following detailed accounts of several of those meetings reveal Sou Met and Meah Mut's close involvement in and knowledge of the Party's arrest, interrogation and execution policies, and also reveal pertinent details of those polices as articulated by Chairman of the General Staff Son Sen.

On May 16, 1976, Sou Met attended a meeting of leading cadre of Central Committee divisions at which other secretaries reported on arrests their units had carried out -- arrests which, as indicated in Part III, were widely understood within the Communist Party to inevitably result in interrogation and death. Pin, the Secretary of Division 703 (later purged), informed those present of the arrest of "two skinny, long-haired persons...at the Central Market" in Phnom Penh, while Sâm Huoy alias Meah Tal (later purged), the Secretary of Division 180 (290), reported that it had arrested "four enemies" -- "two CIAs" and "two soldiers." On August 30, 1976, Sou Met attended another General Staff meeting, which had as its first agenda item an "examination of enemy situations and measures." Opening the meeting, Son Sen reported that, four days earlier, there had been "enemy unrest at Ang Prouch, on the border between Kandal Steung district" of Sector 25 and the neighboring Sector 33, both in the Southwest Zone. Those involved in the unrest had "raised a white banner with the slogan 'Long Live Buddhism' [and] 'Long Live the White Khmer Front of Liberation from Rice by the Can'." This pro-Buddhist, anti-Communist, anti-communal movement had been "getting ready for major unrest," but it had "already been sorted out by the grassroots" political administration through the arrest of more than 160 people. Moreover, Son Sen explained, the "responses" of these individuals during interrogation revealed that there was "a nexus between this situation and our army," because the detainees had implicated Chan Charkei alias Nôv Mean, the former Secretary of Central Committee Division 170, which was based on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, as "their leader." Charkei had been removed as Division 170 Secretary and made a Vice Chairman of the General Staff on March 15, 1976 and was subsequently arrested on May 19, 1976.

As purported evidence that an "enemy ... leadership apparatus" was behind rural unrest and problems in the army, Son Sen pointed to the fact some Division 170 combatants had recently "deserted" and fled to East Zone Sector 20, and that there had also been "agitation to steal" in certain military units. Son Sen advised Sou Met and other senior military cadre present that they should "examine and keep track of no-good elements" in their divisions, and "organize for them to be administered separately," that is, cull them out of existing units and concentrate them some place apart. At the meeting, Sou Met reported that one of his men had deserted, while another had recently "hung himself to death." Other leading cadre recounted their units' recent arrests. Son Sen concluded at this meeting that it was "apparent that the enemy has commenced activities, and these are activities endowed with a leadership network because the news is the same and the slogans are the same." He warned:

The enemy would like to take the opportunity to gather up no-good elements, the statusand rank-conscious, those whose families we have swept out, those whom we have removed from their positions, and those who have not internalized the revolutionary movement and can't keep up with the rest, and, at the same time, the new people who don't yet understand things, whom we are putting in difficulty and temporarily lack food: the CIA enemy is finding opportunities to gather them all up to attack us.

Sou Met attended another meeting of division leading cadre on September 16, 1976, where he listened to more reports of arrests and received more advice from Son Sen, and thereby gained further knowledge of the Party's policies targeting suspected "enemies." At this meeting, Son Sen expounded on what he referred to as "the enemy activities in the American imperialism and their lackeys department." In an apparent reference to the results of the interrogation at S-21 of Cambodians who had been allowed to come back to Cambodia from the United States and other places since April 1975, he declared that "according to the responses of those returning from abroad who we sent to do production and who fled, they say they fled in order to report to the CIA in South Viet Nam." Their "responses" had supposedly also revealed a French and United States imperialist plan to attack Cambodian islands in the Gulf of Siam.

Referring to "the infiltration links" of the previously arrested former Secretary of Division 170, Chan Chakrei alias Nôv Mean, Son Sen declared that "the Chakrei links are a major infiltration network that is in contact both with American imperialism and the revisionists" of the Soviet Union and Viet Nam, and that Chakrei's links had been "making contacts" within the Revolutionary Army "to win over those having contradictions over status and rank and those dissatisfied with our revolutionary regime." Son Sen indicated that this was because "Soviet, Vietnamese and CIA links were all connected to Chakrei," and claimed that "current agitation actions" within the armed forces demonstrated the existence of links to the CIA among "those with an incorrect revolutionary stance." All of this information proved that the army had been lax in allowing deserters and other undesirable elements who had been purged from the army during the 1970-1975 war to re-enter it after 1975, along with "newcomers who had never fought at all" and "even evacuees from Phnom Penh." Son Sen therefore called on leading cadre "to follow up troop biographies clearly and conscientiously, especially of those we have enrolled recently," apparently in order to weed out such elements by means that were not specified. Again, such directions appear to have exposed Division Secretaries like Sou Met and Meah Mut to the Party's "purge" policies and the methods by which they were carried out.

Both Sou Met and Meah Mut also attended a General Staff meeting convened on September 19, 1976, at which S-21 was represented by its number three cadre, Huy. They and other participants in this meeting heard another exposition on the situation from Son Sen, who called for continuing concern "about the activities of the enemies inside the country and inside our ranks," all of which were "CIA activities." He emphasized that, although attacks by enemy networks "burrowing from within the grassroots and our army" had "been basically defeated" because the most important of these networks had now been "attacked and smashed," it remained

imperative to have the perspective that the enemies are not all gone; they are continuing further with their activities of attacking us. Therefore, do not be optimistic in a nonrevolutionary way.

In particular, Son Sen told leading military cadre that they must "have an absolute standpoint about purging counter-revolutionary elements; don't be half-baked." Meah Mut and Sou Met also listened to reports of arrests from other leading division cadre. This included Division 310 Secretary Sbauv Him alias Euan (later purged), who reported that "a number of traitors" had been "discovered" in the division through what Euan described as "the concrete situation" and as a result of "responses from the outside," possibly a reference to "confessions" extracted at S-21.

In his own report at this meeting, Meah Mut echoed elements of CPK purge policies, lamenting that there had been "powerful changes" for the worse with regard to "enemy situations" in September.

First, he said, "thefts of everything have emerged."

Second, somebody was "whipping up the word that there are tigers" about in Division 164's areas of operation.

Third, "seven combatants from the motor pool set up a liberal unit of organization with their own commissar, commander and person in charge of logistics."

Fourth, "combatants and cadre who have been hospitalized walk around freely."

Finally, "some cadre" were misleading "their subordinates by saying the Organization has summoned them to a meeting, and then go motorcycle riding for fun." At the same meeting, Sou Met reported an "enemy situation" involving the discovery by Division 502 of a carbine in a place where a political study session was to be convened. This discovery had led him to "surmise ... that the enemy intended to kill our cadre while they were studying." He also reported that "no-good elements" in the Northwest Zone army who had been guarding an airfield near Batdambang town had been purged by the "grassroots" there.

Furthermore, he lamented that, while most of his own cadre and combatants were "good and active in building socialism," some individuals were "still kicking back and insubordinate." In particular, one company cadre who had been assigned "to guard enemy women" had been accused of "being mixed up in problems of morality," that is sexual impropriety. Arrests by Sou Met's Division 502 were reported at a September 30, 1976 meeting of the General Staff presided over by one of its members, Siet Chhæ alias Tum (later purged).

Under the agenda item "enemy situations," the minutes record that Sou Met's unit had been "able to arrest 15" combatants who had "deserted in September" and were now confined as "elements with tendencies and who are liberal." On October 9, 1976, Sou Met's deputy, Nhem San (later executed), sent a report to the General Staff on a new enemy situation that had resulted in Division 502's arrest two days previously of one Ov Pring,4who had "responded" during interrogation that he "had conducted activities in Boeng Thom subdistrict, District 52, Sector 33, with the intention of conducting a demonstration on 12 October 1976 to oppose the listed in the report.

Meah Mut and Sou Met then attended an October 9, 1976 meeting of division cadre convened by Son Sen. They heard Division 450 Secretary Suong (later purged) speak of problems with "cadre whose parents have been swept out" before listening to reports by their deputies Deum (later purged) and San. Deum reported four recent arrests by Mut's Division 164, and San similarly referred to "some arrests on the 502 front." He also reported that Division 502 suffered from "desertion to the grassroots," contacts with bandits and complaints by cadre.

Finally, he reported that "more than 80 elements with political tendencies" had "already been removed" from the Division. Also notable during this meeting was Son Sen's presentation on how the "duty of defending the country" had been carried out with regard to a "certain number of traitors in the Party whom we have been able to arrest." He promised to inform those present of the "measures" taken in this connection "and a number of experiences we have deduced with
regard to the task of defending the country."

Son Sen also declared that "we have basically smashed the leadership links" of this suspected traitorous network. Using an established code word to describe those who were condemned to death, he said these leadership links "were big historical super-traitors to the nation and Party." Those who had been "basically smashed" included such "CIAs on the inside," along with "the major traitorous forces belonging to them." He warned, however, that "their henchmen still exist." Thus, he instructed:

In terms of our perspective and standpoint, we must further heighten our spirit of revolutionary vigilance. ... It is therefore imperative to have lofty revolutionary vigilance and ensure defence of the Party and the army.

Concretely operationalizing revolutionary vigilance means having a firm grip on our units of organization, ensuring that the enemy is unable to burrow from within, and doing whatever needs to be done to make our army clean. Both the American imperialist-CIA side and the Yuon-Soviet-revision side have their plans for burrowing from within to create a new Party to oppose us.

Son Sen therefore urged those present to indoctrinate subordinate cadre and combatants in their units "so that they understand the state of contradictions arising from the enemies burrowing from within and from the enemies' tricks."

Division 164's Deum was the first to declare that he "would like to be in unity with the Organization's presentation," adding: "before, I had suspected some and not suspected some because all these individuals held important leadership posts. I have now therefore heightened vigilance even more."

After listening to more such statements by leading cadre from other units, Meah Mut spoke up to applaud the measures Son Sen said had been taken and to vow that he would clean up Division. Mut declared:

I would like to say about concern with the activities of the traitors within the Party, that this has been a great victory for our Party. This lesson has strengthened to another degree the standpoint of revolutionary vigilance.

We have been indoctrinated with the Party's standpoint that a correct standpoint analyzes these enemies as being American imperialists and revisionists with plans to ttack our revolution.

As for the problem of the grasp on the unit of organization, cadre and combatants, it is not yet firm. No-good elements or enemies are still camouflaged and infiltrated in the rank-and-file. The most important factor is the grasp of the everyday ideology of the Core Organizations.

It is imperative to make arrangements to take measures so as to seize the initiative in advance. On this I would like to be in total agreement and unity with the Party. Do whatever needs to be done not to allow the situation to get out of hand .... and not to let them strengthen or expand themselves in the least.

Division 502 Secretary Met spoke out in similar terms, declaring:

After the Party revealed the upper traitorous links belonging to American imperialism and the revisionists, I was happy and had more faith in the Party. This experience proves that our Party has a solid grip on things and a stance of constant vigilance. If there are contradictions, it grasps them clearly, and this is a victory for our Party.

With regard to this problem, it can be stipulated that the enemies have been basically eliminated, but it is imperative to take further measures to prevent this from happening a second, a third and a fourth and so on again time.

The enemy will not be able to do anything to us so long as our military is politically hard and clean. It is imperative to strengthen the Party politically, ideologically and organizationally. It is imperative to dare absolutely to conduct purges.

Son Sen then asserted in his summing up that it was "imperative to purge no-good elements absolutely in the sense of an absolute class struggle."

Thus, after hearing in unambiguous terms Son Sen's account of the CPK's policy of exterminating suspected traitors within the Party, Sou Met and Meah Mut expressed their wholehearted support for these initiatives and pledged to continue to carry them into effect.

Significantly, Sou Met was also at a meeting of division cadre convened by Son Sen on March 1, 1977, the agenda of which included not only "internal enemy situations" but also "purging elements in units of organization to make them clean." Met declared that it was now "obvious that number of elements" from Division 502 who had been "previously arrested really are enemy elements," and revealed that "more than 50 no-goods" from the unit had "been sent to S-21." Although throughout these meetings Son Sen never explicitly said that those arrested for treason had been or would be executed, his constant use of the term "smashed" and his reference to at least the purported ringleaders as "super-traitors" seemed to leave no doubt. His delineation of a category of "absolute purge" for dangerous elements, to be dealt with by means more than repeated re-education, also pointed toward execution, albeit less clearly.

As in other meetings, Sou Met heard reports of arrests and purges in other Divisions, as well as another summing up from Son Sen, who stressed that things were worse than the Party had thought in late 1976. In particular, Son Sen indicated that, although in late 1976 the Party had "eliminated" the "treasonous networks" of East Zone Sector 24 Secretary Chhouk and Northwest Zone Secretary Ya, it had since "discovered another treasonous network," which had now also been "basically eliminated" - another "enormously great victory."

Son Sen also claimed that all of this information yet again showed that both "the CIA and the revisionists are one and are similarly opposed to a correct revolution." Continuing threats to the Revolution meant that, while it was "imperative to continue with further political and ideological education, ... mere education is not enough: it is imperative to continue further with absolute purges." Thus, "the imperative measure vis-à-vis the troops is to purge absolutely the no-good elements."

The minutes of General Staff meetings attended by Sou Met and Meah Mut therefore illustrate their close involvement in and knowledge of the Party's arrest, interrogation and execution policies. The minutes also reveal pertinent details of those polices as articulated by Son Sen, including in particular regular and persistent directions by Son Sen to leaders in the Party hierarchy, including Sou Met and Meah Mut, to identify, arrest and ultimately execute suspected traitors.

ECCC Law (Diplomats)

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:57 AM PDT

Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed During the Period of Democratic Kampuchea

("ECCC Law")

with inclusion of amendments as promulgated on 27 October 2004

CHAPTER II
COMPETENCE

Article 8

The Extraordinary Chambers shall have the power to bring to trial all Suspects most responsible for crimes against internationally protected persons pursuant to the Vienna Convention of 1961 on Diplomatic Relations, and which were committed during the period from 17 April 1975 to 6 January 1979.

Kasit: Thailand ready for talks

Posted: 24 Apr 2011 01:56 AM PDT

24/04/2011
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Sunday he expected to hold talks with Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in four to five days over the ongoing border conflict.

Mr Kasit said this during a video conference on Sunday afternoon when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke to PM's Office Minister Ong-art Klampaiboon, governors or Surin and Buri Ram, 2nd Army commander Lt-Gen Thawatchai Sudsakhon and other officials in Surin province to follow the situation along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Present with Mr Abhisit in Bangkok at the conference included Mr Kasit, Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, and national police chief Wichean Potephosree.


Mr Kasit said he had talked to Hor Namhong on the telephone and they agreed to meet for talks in four to five days to discuss the problem.

The foreign minister also talked on the telephone to the Indonesian foreign minister, who is currently chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), who expressed concern over the situation.

Mr Kasit said he has expressed Thailand's willingness to negotiate with Cambodia and informed all concerned that the Thai military action had been limited to self-defence.

He has also informed the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and its member countries to understand the situation and to ensure them that Thailand wants to solve the problem through negotiations.

Mr Kasit called for the Cambodian leader to take the matter to the negotiation table.

 

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