KI Media |
- On again, off again, on again... WHO CARES about the dictator's toying?
- Police beat Boeung Kak protesters
- Thank you for the blessing!
- China's growth is changing Southeast Asia
- UNESCO Rep Meets Cambodian Officials over Preah Vihear Temple Dispute
- River survey finds 67 new fish species
- [PAD Thai] Patriots' push Veera, Ratree to appeal
- Fringe Dwellers: Life on the Edge in Cambodia
- Banana kingdoom weird news: Did she have enough of Hun Xen’s authority and she was showing it?
- Problem solved ... in the Banana People's Republic kingdoom
- CMAC to look for cluster bombs
- Prayuth Chan-ocha has a second thought on ASEAN observers?
- Cambodia returns to industrial evolution
- Thai nationalists seek PM’s pardon
- [Viet] Ladies and [Bavet] gambling tragedies
- De-listing of Preah Vihear Temple Impossible: UNESCO
- Imelda (Marcos) seeks court OK for Cambodia trip
- Brain Food
- My Rights, My Responsibility (ICCPR) Series
- Brain Food
- My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series
- Brain Food
- Brothel for the Grandmas?
- UNESCO to send experts to evaluate, repair damaged temple: special envoy
- ASEAN flexes mediating muscle
| On again, off again, on again... WHO CARES about the dictator's toying? Posted: 28 Feb 2011 06:10 PM PST
Blocked sites back up Monday, 28 February 2011 Thomas Miller The Phnom Penh Post Access to several anti-government websites, which had been blocked in recent weeks, has been inexplicably restored for users of two internet service providers, while at least two other ISPs continue blocking the sites, customers reported to The Post today. Internet users said they were able to access KI-Media through ISPs WiCam and Ezecom, but not through Online or Metfone. The Post has confirmed that MekongNet has not blocked access, contrary to local media reports. People using the internet through Metfone could not access the entire blogspot.com domain name, leaving them unable to view not only KI-Media and other anti-government sites, but also any blog maintained on the Google-provided service, such as those by the ruling Cambodian People's Party, local businesses or job-search sites. Paul Blanche-Horgan, CEO of Ezecom, had previously said the blockage was a technical issue, but declined to comment. "I have no idea, mate," he said. "I mean, you know, it's ridiculous. I have no comment. Bye-bye." A customer service representative for WiCam said he did not know about the issue. Kim Saroeun, operations manager at Online, said the issue was still a "technical problem" that they were trying to fix, two weeks after the sites' blockage came to public attention. "We have been investigating this technical problem and believe we will be able to solve the blocking of sites within the next couple of days," Kim Saroeun said by email. The Post revealed that Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun personally requested, as stated in official minutes from a February 10 meeting, that ISPs "cooperate" in blocking access to several unnamed sites, which were later specified in an email sent to 10 ISPs by Sieng Sithy, deputy director of the Directorate of Telecommunications Policy Regulation at MPTC. The eight targeted sites include several prominent anti-government blogs maintained by KI-Media, Khmerization and the political cartoonist known as Sacrava. Several human rights groups have condemned the blockage of the sites, while activists have started an online petition. The government has denied that it has any such policy. Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith, who has said MPTC should clarify the issue, could not be reached for comment today. He said previously he was "surprised that several ISPs accepted the email as an official letter". So Khun refused to speak to The Post.   | ||||||
| Police beat Boeung Kak protesters Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:55 PM PST
Khouth Sophakchakrya The Phnom Penh Post A violent crackdown by the Daun Penh district police on a protest by about 200 people today in Phnom Penh concerning the controversial Boeung Kak lake development project led to the arrest of three activists, while 10 others suffered injuries from beatings. The protesters descended upon Phnom Penh Municipal Hall to ask Governor Kep Chuktema to reconsider their alternative plan for the lake, which would set aside 15 hectares for families who would otherwise be displaced. Kep Chuktema recently dismissed the proposal and did not show up to discuss the issue. Ouch Leng, land programme officer for the rights group Adhoc, said no officials arrived to meet the protesters, who then attempted to block traffic along Monivong Boulevard in front of City Hall. About 100 district police dispersed the villagers and arrested Suong Sakmai, 52, Ros Sreyneang, 45, and Ouch Phana, 42, following a 15-minute fight. They were released from the Daun Penh district police station after signing contracts agreeing to stop causing public disorder. "In the crackdown, many villagers were beaten and wounded with electric batons, and some were dragged to police cars and sent to Daun Penh district hall," Ouch Leng said. Tep Vanny, a 28-year-old from Village 22 near the lake, said several district police grabbed her by the hand and neck and dragged her to a police car. "Those [district police] pressed my neck and hit me against the car like an animal," Tep Vanny said. She said she shook loose, however, with the help of other protesters. Another lakeside resident, Kong Chantha, had been beaten unconscious, Tep Vanny said. "Refusing to solve the problem and cracking down makes the villagers lose trust in the government more and more," Ouch Leng said. "They also suspect that the present government is the company government, not the government that serves the citizens' interests." Kim Heang, communications officer for the Housing Rights Task Force, said police briefly confiscated her camera, returning it only after deleting her photographs. "We do not know how much those authorities know about the law, but their action for me is a violation of rights and law," she said. In January, city police temporarily confiscated the camera of Post photographer Sovan Philong during an eviction at Boeung Kak lake and deleted his photographs. Sok Sambath, deputy governor of Daun Penh district, declined to comment at the scene.   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:47 PM PST "That middle finger from the Xxxxx is for AH JONRAI HENG SOY." - Anonymous reader Dear Anonymous Reader, Thank you for your blessing. I now feel much better after that electron shower cursing. Sincerely, Heng Soy PS: Please let us know which Heng Soy you were talking about so we may direct your message to proper recipient.
  | ||||||
| China's growth is changing Southeast Asia Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:38 PM PST Tuesday, March 1, 2011 By Nirmal Ghosh The Straits Times/Asia News Network BANGKOK -- What has China got to do with recent bloody clashes over a 900-year-old temple in Southeast Asia? Beijing is not a party to the conflict, nor has it any stake in the territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. And yet China, with its growing presence and influence in Indochina, is changing the power dynamics in the region. One key result has been the weakening of Thailand's traditional economic domination in the neighborhood as China steps up trade and investment in countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which besides Thailand includes Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. With Cambodia less reliant on the Thai growth engine, its Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has become emboldened to put up a tough fight against Thailand in its border dispute, some analysts say. The border clashes early this month left at least three Thais and eight Cambodians dead. Given its proximity and long-standing ties, Thailand no doubt still plays a big role in Cambodia's economy. Two-way trade last year was valued at about 81 billion baht (US$2.63 billion), up 20 percent from the previous year. Thai businessmen have over 80 projects worth over US$363 million in the country. But the Chinese presence in Cambodia has grown rapidly in recent years. In a paper last December, Australian academic Geoff Wade, currently with Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), noted that there were 360 Chinese investment projects in Cambodia totaling US$80 billion by the middle of last year. China recently waived US$400 million worth of Cambodian debt. One of the largest Chinese-language schools in Southeast Asia is located in Phnom Penh. China also provides much of the Cambodian army's equipment, say observers who have seen Cambodia's military deployments at the disputed Preah Vihear temple site. In turn, Cambodia has cooperated with Beijing politically, sending 20 ethnic Uighur asylum seekers back to China in 2009, for instance. Thai historian Thongchai Winichakul, in a recent talk in Bangkok, noted China's neutrality on the Thai-Cambodia conflict, but acknowledged that "Cambodia is less dependent on Thailand than the Thais think." At one time during the booming 1980s, Bangkok was the "logical center" of the region, says Professor Michael Montesano of ISEAS. Now, "Cambodia certainly, and Laos to a degree, have other options. Cambodia is more sophisticated now; they can pick and choose. In addition to China, with its huge demand and ability to penetrate markets, Singapore also comes into play." Cambodia also has strong economic ties with Vietnam as well as other countries like South Korea and Japan as it forges ahead with its growing network of international linkages. China's rising profile in Indochina is not restricted to Cambodia. It is the same in Laos, where it has stepped up investments in agriculture and infrastructure. Its investment in infrastructure in Myanmar includes laying strategic gas and oil pipelines and port development. The Myanmar-language Weekly Eleven reported recently that China poured more than US$3 billion into the country from last November through January this year, bringing its cumulative investment since 1988 to US$9.6 billion, above Thailand's US$9.56 billion. As for Thailand, its officials have described their country's relationship with China as one between siblings. Bangkok is also positioning itself as a partner to China in the hopes of mutually benefiting from its growth. One example is the 45 billion baht China City trading complex on the outskirts of Bangkok. When completed in two years, thousands of Chinese traders will operate from there, re-exporting Chinese-made goods from Thailand to avoid costly tariffs. The trading center is expected to create an estimated 70,000 new jobs. "The economic might of China imposes a compelling calculation," said an Asian diplomat of its burgeoning ties in mainland Southeast Asia. "With all these countries, because of proximity and land links, it is very difficult to ignore China." But that is not to say there are no limits to China's influence. In Thailand, the Chinese community has for generations been seamlessly integrated into the rest of Thai society. But in Myanmar, distrust of China among the older intellectual and military elites remains, and Myanmar nationalism will be a brake on Chinese influence. And there is competition too. American officials have been open about the fact that the recent re-engagement of the United States, in the shape of a development initiative for lower Mekong countries, is an attempt to balance China's surging economic influence. Vietnam too has its own ambitions in the neighborhood, along with historical baggage, having fought a ferocious border war with China in 1979. "They can't ignore China. But because of their status as a new tiger and with a more self-confident and outward-oriented approach, Vietnamese officials often speak against China on issues," said the Asian diplomat.   | ||||||
| UNESCO Rep Meets Cambodian Officials over Preah Vihear Temple Dispute Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:36 PM PST http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/news_asia/2011-02-28/unesco-rep-meets-cambodian-officials-over-preah-vihear-temple-dispute.html   | ||||||
| River survey finds 67 new fish species Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:34 PM PST 1/03/2011 Apinya Wipatayotin Bangkok Post Sixty-seven new fish species have been discovered in the lower Mekong River in an inaugural survey conducted by a team of biologists over the past five years. Scientists from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam found over 500 species overall in the first phase of the Mekong freshwater fish survey, which started in 2006, to create an inventory of fish species found in the lower Mekong countries. The surveyed areas were the Moon River in Thailand, the Mekong River section passing through Laos, the Tonle Sap lake and river system in Cambodia and the Mekong estuary in Vietnam. The five-year Diversity of Fishes in the Mekong and Chao Phraya study is supported by Japan's Nagao Natural Environment Foundation. A Thai member of the research team, Wichian Magtoon, dean of science at Srinakharinwirot University, said the fish species database would help support a better understanding of the Mekong ecological system. The inventory would also help monitor the impact of development projects, especially dam construction, on the Mekong fish population. The researchers found 540 fish species, including 67 that were new to them and 21 that are pending identification. "We might find more fish species during the second-phase survey," Mr Wichian said. Bounthob Prazaysombath, a researcher at the National University of Laos, said his team found 237 species, 56 of which are indigenous to Laos. "The study lets us know what we have right now," Mr Bounthob said. "Moreover, our next generation can learn about the fertility of the Mekong."Kenzo Utsugi, a research scientist at the Nagao Natural Environment Foundation, said it was estimated that there were more than 1,000 fish species in the Mekong River. He urged governments to take more care of the Mekong. Each government has different methods of river management but they should share the same goal of protecting it from losing ecological biodiversity. Prachya Musikasinthorn of Kasetsart University, who was in charge of the fish species survey in the Chao Phraya River, said 216 fish species were estimated to live in the river and four species of these were pending verification.   | ||||||
| [PAD Thai] Patriots' push Veera, Ratree to appeal Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:31 PM PST 1/03/2011 Thanida Tansubhapol & Wassana Nanuam Bangkok Post The Thai Patriots Network is pushing for its two members jailed in Cambodia to continue their appeal against their sentencing despite the Foreign Ministry saying they have already put in a request for a royal pardon. The network's secretary-general, Sunthorn Rakrong, said he had heard reports from the Foreign Ministry that network coordinator Veera Somkwamkid and his secretary, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, had sought a royal pardon from Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni. But he said nobody had seen the requests and nobody had met them in prison to ask them to confirm their intentions. Mr Sunthorn said Mr Veera's family had contacted the network and agreed that he and Ms Ratree should appeal against their sentences in court. Permanent secretary for foreign affairs Theerakul Niyom confirmed yesterday that Mr Veera had signed a document asking for a royal pardon, according to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. "The decision was made by Mr Veera's mother. We have to ask Mr Veera whether he wants to reveal his document," Mr Theerakul said. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court ruled on Feb 1, sentencing Mr Veera and Ms Ratree to eight and six years in jail, respectively, for espionage and illegal entry into Cambodia on Dec 29 last year. In another development, army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday said the army will designate which area of the Thai-Cambodian border the delegation of Indonesian observers will be allowed to visit. "We have to impose a level of secrecy on [military operations]. We cannot allow them to see everything. They may be permitted to visit the outer areas, but the inner area will be made off-limits," Gen Prayuth said, adding that all details would be finalised at the Joint Boundary Commission meeting from March 7-8. An army source said the observers are expected to be allowed to visit the area a month after the JBC meeting.   | ||||||
| Fringe Dwellers: Life on the Edge in Cambodia Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:26 PM PST "The government talks about poverty reduction, but what they are really trying to do is to get rid of the poor. They destroy us by taking our forested land… It is a nation of wanderers. From rural villagers, evicted by government land grabs, to those migrating to the city in the fragile hopes for a better life, Cambodia is a poignant example of a global phenomenon of displacement, which has complex causes with a common theme: leaving and arriving, putting down tenuous roots, only to be uprooted again. Rural migrants becoming the urban poor, living in makeshift squatter communities, are an increasing part of the global population, now numbering over one billion, according to recent United Nations estimates. War, genocide and the current climate of government corruption have displaced much of Cambodia's people, a population of "fringe dwellers" perpetually on the move. While some of the photographs, (taken from 2005-10,) document a harsh and precarious life, many of the pictures also depict the pride in ownership and extraordinary enterprise which signify hope and the will to thrive, despite extraordinarily difficult circumstances.   | ||||||
| Banana kingdoom weird news: Did she have enough of Hun Xen’s authority and she was showing it? Posted: 28 Feb 2011 04:42 PM PST
Irate woman hit 3 cars then cursed the cops 28 Feb 2011 Kampuchea Thmei Translated from Khmer by Soy Phnom Penh – An irate drunk woman driving a new vehicle hit parked cars, as well as cars in the traffic, damaging 3 cars altogether. She refused to stop her vehicle to accept her responsibility, instead, when the cops arrived to arrest her, she proceeded to curse them, as well as the spectators. The incident took place in 1:10AM in the evening of 27 Feb in front of Soriya Mall, along Street No. 51, Phsar Thmei 3 commune, Daun Penh district. The irate woman who caused the accident appeared to be in her 20s and nobody knew who she was. She drove a Toyota Tundra truck bearing the license plate no. PP 2Q 3536. She hit 2 parked cars: a green Toyota Hilux bearing the license plate QI-7051 and a black Honda CRV bearing the license place 2H-4035. Witnesses said that prior to the accident, they saw a new car driven by the irate woman traveling from north to south along Street No. 51. When she arrived at the location of the accident, she steered to the right and hit the Toyota Hilux on its left hand side. The Hilux then lurched forward to hit a tree. She then continued on and rear-ended a Tico vehicle in the back causing it major damages. She then moved on to hit a parked Toyota CRV. She refused to accept responsibility for the accident when the cops intervened and stopped her vehicle. She rolled down her windshield, refused to get out of her car and proceeded to curse the cops as well as the spectators. Witnesses said that after her cursing, she used her phone to call her friends who were drinking at the Heart bar which was located nearby. Her friends came over to look, then the young woman went on to sit in her friends' car and took off. The cops had to tow her car as well as the damaged cars to wait for her to come back and resolve this issue legally.   | ||||||
| Problem solved ... in the Banana People's Republic kingdoom Posted: 28 Feb 2011 11:43 AM PST  Monday, February 28, 2011 By Anonymous One day Hun Sen's eldest son, Hun Manet brings home his girlfriend and tells his father he wants to marry her. After talking to her for while, he tells his son he can't do it because she's his half sister. The same problem happens again four more times! Hun Manet starts to get pissed off. He goes to his mom, Bun Rany and says, "Mom... What have you been doing all your life? Dad's been going around laying every maiden in the country and now I can't marry any of the five girls I like because they have turned out to be my half sisters!!!" His mom replies, "Don't worry son, you can marry any one of them you want, he isn't really your dad."   | ||||||
| CMAC to look for cluster bombs Posted: 28 Feb 2011 08:20 AM PST
Vong Sokheng The Phnom Penh Post The Cambodian Mine Action Centre is preparing to dispatch a team to search for cluster munitions allegedly used by Thai forces during military clashes along the border last month, CMAC director general Heng Ratana said today. Thousands of families were displaced last month during clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops near Preah Vihear temple that left at least 10 people dead. As these families return to their homes, Heng Ratana said they are still at grave risk of being injured by cluster munitions. "We are very concerned about the upcoming rainy season," Heng Ratana said. "Villagers will need to go out and do farming, but now the area is full of cluster bombs." Thai officials have denied using cluster munitions in the fighting, alleging that Cambodian troops had in fact deployed the weapons. Cambodian forces have rejected this claim. Cluster bombs are designed to split open before impact to scatter multiple bomblets over a wide area. Such bomblets often lie dormant for many years before exploding and maiming or killing the civilians who happen upon them. Much of eastern Cambodia has been affected by the weapons as a result of American bombing in the 1970s. Neither Cambodia nor Thailand are among the 51 countries to have ratified the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which seeks to outlaw the weapons, however. Heng Ratana said today that two Cambodians had been killed and eight injured as a result of cluster bombs deployed near Preah Vihear. Following the four days of clashes last month, CMAC announced that it had dispatched an "emergency response" team to the border area to instruct local residents on how to identify and avoid the weapons. CMAC also plans to send weapons experts to the area to find and clear cluster munitions before they harm unsuspecting villagers, Heng Ratana said. "We are waiting until the situation returns to normal and then we will deploy a large search team, because the cluster bombs may remain on the ground or in the forest," he said. Chum Puy, governor of Kulen district in Preah Vihear province, said posters had been put up throughout the border area to remind the 2,678 families displaced in the fighting about the dangers of cluster munitions as they return to their homes. Huot Senheang, 22, of Kulen's Thamacheat village, said residents understand the risks of cluster munitions but may find them difficult to avoid as they return to their daily lives. "Villagers are afraid of cluster bombs, but they have no choice because they need to return home for farming," he said.   | ||||||
| Prayuth Chan-ocha has a second thought on ASEAN observers? Posted: 28 Feb 2011 08:12 AM PST [Thai] Army to limit border observers 28/02/2011 Bangkok Post The army plans to restrict access of neutral observers invited by Thai and Cambodian government to monitor the border to certain areas and information, citing national security reasons. "We will have to restrict their access to classified information at some level . We are not going to let them see everything,'' army commander-in-chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday. Thailand and Cambodia agreed to invite Indonesia to deploy observers on both sides of the disputed border area at the Asean foreign ministerial meeting in Jakarta last week. He said a detailed schedule of the observers' visit is expected to be released after the Thai-Cambodia Joint Border Committee (JBC) meeting next month. The Suranaree Task Force and the 2nd Army will then be commissioned to look into the details and take care of the matter. "I want it [the Thai-Cambodian border conflict] to remain a bilateral issue and do not want any third country to step in, therefore imposing limits on access is needed,'' Gen Prayuth said. The commander-in-chief said the army must follow government policy and will heed the United Nation Security Council's calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. A group of military and civilian observers from Indonesia, the current Asean chairman, will visit affected areas of the border to observe the commitment of both Thailand and its neighbour to avoid further hostilities. The observers' mandate is to assist and support the parties in respecting their commitment to avoid further fighting, by observing and reporting accurately and impartially complaints of violations and submitting findings to each party through Indonesia.   | ||||||
| Cambodia returns to industrial evolution Posted: 28 Feb 2011 08:08 AM PST Monday, 28 February 2011 Seng Sovan The Phnom Penh Post ONE effect of the global economic crisis seldom discussed amid reports of a liquidity crisis and garment sector meltdown was the impact on Cambodia's manufacturing progress. In 2008, Cambodia was on the brink of attracting large multinational companies looking for new sources of cheap labour and the latest frontiers of market growth. But these firms subsequently "stayed at home", in the words of Sok Chenda, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, as CEOs looked to damage limitation rather than expansion overseas. In Cambodia's case, the economic crisis looks to have only stalled – rather than aborted – the start of a long-awaited transition from labour-intensive industry towards more complex manufacturing. And increasingly, it is Japan that is driving this industrial evolution. Confirmation at the weekend that Sumitomo Electric Industries, a Fortune-500 company, plans to become the latest Japanese firm to build a plant here provides the most recent evidence Cambodia is finally expanding manufacturing beyond the confines of the garment industry. Sumitomo follows Minebea, Ajinomoto and Yamaha – all Japanese firms that have in recent months either opened or committed to manufacturing plants in the Kingdom. Chinese firms have long had a manufacturing presence here, but most have limited themselves to the garment industry. Instead, China's industrial base has had a more indirect impact on the stuttering manufacturing progress starting to take shape in Cambodia. If China's entry into Cambodian garments was partly due to the United States initiating quotas on Chinese clothing and apparel in 2005, according to some analysts, then the recent entry of more international complex industry into Cambodia can also be traced back to the mainland to an extent. Masayoshi Matsumoto, president of Sumitomo Electric, told Kyodo News the firm's decision to expand manufacturing to Cambodia and the Philippines later this year was due to a labour shortage and wage rises in China. Minebea's announcement at the end of last year that it would set up a production facility in Cambodia represents the first time the company would have opened a large-scale manufacturing plant in a new country since it did so in Shanghai 17 years ago. The firm begins its first production in Cambodia in April at a leased factory before relocating to a US$61 million facility in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone next year, a plant that will rank second only in volume to Minebea's China operation. This represents a significant moment for Cambodia. While cynics will note these companies are coming here for the cheap labour, tax breaks and access to a new, untapped market, the benefits for the country will likely be substantial. Minebea alone plans to hire 5,000 people in the longer term, workers that would otherwise have been hired at minimum-wage garment factories, or worse. These are employees that will be trained to assemble small electric motors for office and household electronic equipment, goods that have never been manufactured in the Kingdom previously. Similarly, Sumitomo plans to make automotive wire harnesses, the latest sign the vehicle industry is starting to look at Cambodia as a production base following recent interest by Hyundai and Yamaha. Within the long, arduous cycle of industrial evolution this marks solid progress for the country, not least because Japanese firms have over the past half a century represented the pinnacle of manufacturing. For Cambodia, learning from companies like Sumitomo and Minebea is perhaps the most significant benefit that can be drawn from these new relationships. Cambodia's manufacturing progress is as much about keeping multinationals here to gain increased expertise as it is about the revenues that can be generated from them. Just ask China. If Japan is the master of developing technology then China is surely the more recent master of co-opting innovation for maximum gain. Now the economic crisis is over, Cambodia can get back to following their example.   | ||||||
| Thai nationalists seek PM’s pardon Posted: 28 Feb 2011 08:06 AM PST
Vong Sokheng The Phnom Penh Post A pair of Thai nationalists convicted of espionage earlier this month in a highly charged case are preparing to appeal to Prime Minister Hun Sen for their release, a defence lawyer said yesterday. Veera Somkwamkid, a high-profile member of Thailand's nationalist Yellow Shirt movement, was convicted of espionage, illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base along with an associate, Ratree Pipatanapaiboon. Veera, 53, was sentenced to eight years in jail and ordered to pay 1.8 million riel (about US$444) in fines, while Ratree received a six-year prison term. "I am preparing all the documents to request a pardon and we will submit the letter to the Premier soon," said Pich Vicheka, Veera's Cambodian lawyer. "I am not sure what the result will be, but I have to fulfil my professional obligation to help my client." Veera and Ratree were arrested in December in Banteay Meanchey province along with five other Thais, including parliamentarian Panich Vikitsreth, who were on an expedition to "investigate" the border demarcation process with Cambodia. Panich and the other four Thais were found guilty of illegal entry last month but were released on suspended sentences. In a speech earlier this month, Hun Sen rejected the possibility of pardons for Veera and Ratree. "Don't come to persuade me to ask for a royal pardon, I will not do that and [the case] will be enforced under the law this time," he said. Under Cambodian law, prisoners are eligible for pardon after serving two-thirds of their jail sentences. In 2009, however, the government released a Thai national sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage charges just days after his conviction. The suspect, an airport engineer named Sivarak Chutipong, was arrested for allegedly passing the flight details of Thaksin Shinawatra to the Thai Embassy during one of the fugitive former Thai prime minister's controversial visits to the Kingdom. Thai officials could not be reached for comment yesterday, though Thai state media reported that the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was working on the pardon request and that the Thai embassy in Cambodia had "negotiated a compromise with concerned authorities" in relation to the case. Ros Aun, a defence lawyer for Ratree, said he was unaware of the pardon request but confirmed that his client had elected not to appeal her conviction.   | ||||||
| [Viet] Ladies and [Bavet] gambling tragedies Posted: 28 Feb 2011 08:01 AM PST     VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of Vietnamese women have become familiar clients of casinos along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. There are 14 casinos in Cambodia, which are located very near from the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Up to half of them (Winn, Le Macao, Chateau, Las Vegas Sun or Titan King) are built in Bavet in Svay Rieng province to mainly serve Vietnamese gamblers. Vietnamese gamblers, including thousands of women, often pass the Moc Bai border gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh to Bavet. VietNamNet's reporters visited casino Winn at 10 am on a Saturday. This casino is known recently for ruthless assaults against indebted gamblers. According to the casino's rules, visitors are not allowed to bring cell phones, cameras, sound recorders, etc. into the casino. These items must be locked in the casino's safety boxes. Casino staffs in black trousers and white shirts always smile with customers. The casino was chock-a-block with gamblers, especially at baccarat, roulette and black jack tables. Casino Winn, a popular destination in the tours of a transnational tourism company, is decorated luxuriously. The rooms are lit with hundreds of lamps, which make gamblers forget the time. Around one hour after we entered the casino, the number of players at black jack tables increased sharply. Around 70 percent of them were women. A middle-aged woman approached us, introducing herself as Hien, a Vietnamese, a creditor at the casino. Hien said she was able to lend us as much as we need. After we refused to borrow money from her, M, a guide said that if a gambler borrows $100, he will have to pay $10 for each winning game. In the case that the gambler loses all his money, the creditor will send his/her employees to escort the debtor to his/her home to take money or call the debtor's family to come to the casino to pay the debt to ransom the debtor. There are a lot of tragedies related to Vietnamese women at this casino. Hoang, a former staff member at casino Winn, who currently works for a car repair shop in Bavet, said, "Many Vietnamese women often give guards VND50,000-70,000 to remind them to call their husbands at a certain time to trick their husbands into thinking that they are at home". Hoang said some women lost tens of thousands of USD a day at gambling. Recently HCM City People's Court sentenced four women who swindled assets to gamble in Cambodia. One was sentenced to 13 years in jail and three others to 3-5 years in jail. These women leased at least six cars at the price of $1300/month and then mortgaged the cars for $15,000 in Tay Ninh to gamble in Cambodian casinos. In the latest case, the wife of a journalist in the southern province of Long An has just confessed to burning her husband to death after he didn't agree to sell their house to pay her debts at casinos in Cambodia. This case is now the center of public attention and is fresh evidence of the tragedies caused by women who are gambling addicts. In recent years "gambling ladies" have become familiar words in the local media. In HCM City alone, police investigated hundreds of gambling cases each year and over half of the gamblers are women. According to police, women who gamble at home belong to various social classes but there are a few really rich women. However, most of women who gamble in Cambodia are wealthy women or state employees. In 2008, the cashier of the Post Office of Bac Lieu province was sentenced to death for appropriating over VND15.3 billion ($765,000) to gamble. In October 2009, Vu Thi Ba, 32, an employee of a state agency in Ha Dong district, Hanoi, was prosecuted for appropriating a car for money to gamble. In HCM City, a woman named Trang is very "famous" among casino ladies. The young girl gambled in Hanoi, Hai Phong, HCM City, Tay Ninh and Cambodia. She lost up to $40,000 a night at a casino in Cambodia. She used fake documents to withdraw over VND400 million ($20,000) of a joint stock company in Hanoi. In May 2010, police arrested Nguyen Thi Hanh, 32, in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai for swindling. Earlier Hanh was a famous coffee trader in Gia Lai. From July to November 2009, this women received cash from partners to purchase coffee and borrowed money from four companies and eleven individuals totaling over VND17 billion (around $900,000). However, she only paid over VND5 billion for coffee and gambled away the remaining cash. Other tragedies Dozens of gamblers in Binh Duong and Tay Ninh province fell into the trap of usurers at casinos in Cambodia. According to victims who were cleaned out in gambling and ransomed by their families, intermediates introduced them to a young man named Khoa at Winn casino in Bavet, Cambodia. When they arrived at the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh, Khoa's subordinates took them to the casino and they were treated like special guests. Nguyen Huu Ba, 20, from Ben Cat district, Binh Duong province, recalled: "After we met with Khoa at Winn casino, he hired a hotel room for us. After taking a bath, Khoa took us to a restaurant. He told us that we would not get rich if we quit after 1-2 losing games". When Ba and his friends were nearly drunken Khoa paid the meal and gave $4000 to Ba and his three friends to gamble at Winn casino. After several hours at the casino, the group lost all $4000. They borrowed $2000 from Khoa to continue the game and also lost the money. They asked Khoa to lend them some more but Khoa told them to temporarily stop because they had bad luck. He took the group to a restaurant for lunch and after that forced them to an inn to sign a debit note. Khoa said that if their families didn't pay the debts, he would cut out some of their internal organs. Of dozens Vietnamese gamblers confided at Winn casino for losing at gambling, many are very poor and wanted to change their lives with the money won. Nguyen Thi Dung, 41, from Ben Cat District, Binh Duong province said that her family has three times paid $10,000 of ransom to rescue her son from casinos . Nguyen Minh, also from Ben Cat district, had to pay the ransom for his son twice. "The first time he was confided, we had to mortgage our motorbikes, fridge, television set and borrow from usurers to get $5000 to pay the ransom". "They called me and said that they made cuts on his face and that if I didn't save him, they would cut out his kidney," Minh said. Minh and his wife had to see an usurer and kneel down to borrow $3000 to pay the ransom. Quoc Quang – Minh Dung   | ||||||
| De-listing of Preah Vihear Temple Impossible: UNESCO Posted: 28 Feb 2011 07:51 AM PST 2011-02-28 Xinhua Koichiro Matsuura, special envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Monday that it is impossible to de-list Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage List. Matsuura made the remarks during a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. "Thailand has intention to ask UNESCO to de-list the temple, but I had informed Abhisit Vejjajiva (Thai prime minister) and Kasit Piromya (Thai foreign minister) that de-listing of Preah Vihear temple from the World Heritage List is impossible by all means because Preah Vihear temple is the outstanding universal value," the Prime Minister's spokesman Eang Sophalleth quoted Matsuura as saying. "Preah Vihear temple, the World Heritage site, is under the responsibility of UNESCO, so UNESCO experts will come to evaluate and restore Preah Vihear temple in the future,"Matsuura told the premier. Meanwhile, Hun Sen informed Matsuura that Thai troops had fired more than 400 shells of mortars and artillery at the temple which caused serious damages to the World Heritage site. The premier also asked the World Heritage Committee (WHC) not to halt the temple's management plan during its annual meeting in Bahrain in June. "The management plan of the temple by UNESCO on the World Heritage site should not be abandoned due to the threat of Thailand,"Hun Sen said, adding "if we don't do urgent repair, Preah Vihear temple will be in danger. Moreover, it will set a bad precedent that big country's threat made UNESCO unable to manage and preserve the world heritage site." The Bangkok Post, on Feb. 26, quoted Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as saying that Matsuura supported Thai stance to put off Cambodia's management plan of Preah Vihear temple. Matsuura told reporters after the meeting that"UNESCO is not sided with any country, it is neutral." Matsuura, a former director-general of UNESCO (1999-2009) and a former Chair of the World Heritage Committee, was named by Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, on Feb. 11 as the special envoy to mediate the issue of Preah Vihear temple following a deadly clash from Feb. 4 to 7 between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border disputed area next to the temple. He arrived here on Sunday to pay a three-day visit. The clash unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, killed and wounded some soldiers and people of both sides, as well as caused serious damages to Preah Vihear temple. Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. The conflict has occurred just a week after the inscription due to Thai claim of the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, since then periodic clashes have happened between the two countries' troops resulted in the deaths of troops on both sides.   | ||||||
| Imelda (Marcos) seeks court OK for Cambodia trip Posted: 28 Feb 2011 07:44 AM PST 02/28/2011 abs-cbnNEWS.com MANILA, Philippines - Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos on Monday asked the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division to allow her to go on an official 5-day trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia next month. Defense lawyer Robert Sison said the 81-year-old widow of former President Ferdinand Marcos is part of the country's three-member delegation to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Seminar on "Accelerating the Achievement of MDG-5, through the Role of Women Parliamentarians" to be held on March 9 to 12, 2011 at the Inter-continental Hotel in Phnom Penh. The former First Lady is required to secure a travel permit each time she has to leave the country because of her 10 remaining active graft cases before the Sandiganbayan. The cases involve allegations that she held financial interests in secret foundations and private enterprises while she was a member of the Interim Batasang Pambansa from 1978 to 1984. Marcos has complained that years of litigation have drained her resources so that she now has to withdraw from her husband's pension at Veterans Bank to be able to put up the P750,00 travel bond required by the graft court. For this trip however, it is the House of Representatives that will pay for the airfare and daily allowances of the country's delegation. The host country, on the other hand, will cover their hotel accommodations. Mrs. Marcos is serving a new three-year term as a member of the Lower House having previously served a single-term as congresswoman of her native province Leyte in 1995.   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:20 AM PST Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. - Potter Stewart   | ||||||
| My Rights, My Responsibility (ICCPR) Series Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:12 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 42 1. (a) If a matter referred to the [Human Rights] Committee in accordance with article 41 is not resolved to the satisfaction of the States Parties concerned, the Committee may, with the prior consent of the States Parties concerned, appoint an ad hoc Conciliation Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission). The good offices of the Commission shall be made available to the States Parties concerned with a view to an amicable solution of the matter on the basis of respect for the present Covenant; (b) The Commission shall consist of five persons acceptable to the States Parties concerned. If the States Parties concerned fail to reach agreement within three months on all or part of the composition of the Commission, the members of the Commission concerning whom no agreement has been reached shall be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee from among its members. 2. The members of the Commission shall serve in their personal capacity. They shall not be nationals of the States Parties concerned, or of a State not Party to the present Covenant, or of a State Party which has not made a declaration under article 41. 3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own rules of procedure. 4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at the Headquarters of the United Nations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva. However, they may be held at such other convenient places as the Commission may determine in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the States Parties concerned. 5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 36 shall also service the commissions appointed under this article. 6. The information received and collated by the Committee shall be made available to the Commission and the Commission may call upon the States Parties concerned to supply any other relevant information. 7. When the Commission has fully considered the matter, but in any event not later than twelve months after having been seized of the matter, it shall submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report for communication to the States Parties concerned: (a) If the Commission is unable to complete its consideration of the matter within twelve months, it shall confine its report to a brief statement of the status of its consideration of the matter; (b) If an amicable solution to the matter on tie basis of respect for human rights as recognized in the present Covenant is reached, the Commission shall confine its report to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached; (c) If a solution within the terms of subparagraph (b) is not reached, the Commission's report shall embody its findings on all questions of fact relevant to the issues between the States Parties concerned, and its views on the possibilities of an amicable solution of the matter. This report shall also contain the written submissions and a record of the oral submissions made by the States Parties concerned; (d) If the Commission's report is submitted under subparagraph (c), the States Parties concerned shall, within three months of the receipt of the report, notify the Chairman of the Committee whether or not they accept the contents of the report of the Commission. 8. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the responsibilities of the Committee under article 41. 9. The States Parties concerned shall share equally all the expenses of the members of the Commission in accordance with estimates to be provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 10. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be empowered to pay the expenses of the members of the Commission, if necessary, before reimbursement by the States Parties concerned, in accordance with paragraph 9 of this article.   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:11 AM PST You can cage the singer but not the song. - Harry Belafonte, in International Herald Tribune, 3 October 1988   | ||||||
| My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:09 AM PST Constitution of Cambodia (Sept. 1993) CHAPTER VI: EDUCATION, CULTURE, SOCIAL AFFAIRS Article 67 The State shall adopt an educational program according to the principle of modern pedagogy including technology and foreign languages. The State shall control public and private schools and classrooms at all levels.   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 04:58 AM PST Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail. In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have always lost. The only weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. - Alfred Whitney Griswold, New York Times, 24 February 1959   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 04:27 AM PST Raid closes specialty brothel Sunday, 27 February 2011 Buth Reaksmey Kongkea The Phnom Penh Post KI-Media Note: DAP-news reported that the "specialty brothel" is specializing in massage for "aging" women (Yeay, yeay) and gay men, unlike other brothels which are specializing their service for the "perverted old men" (Ta, Ta). Anti-human trafficking officials last week cracked down on a guesthouse in Phnom Penh's Prampi Makara district that offered sexual services for a select clientele. Keo Thea, director of the municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office at the Ministry of Interior, said a raid of the guesthouse-turned-brothel in Veal Vong commune netted a total of 14 arrests, including the guesthouse owner, two accomplices and 11 sex workers, on Saturday. "We have been investigating this house for about a month before we took superb action in cracking down on it," he said. Keo Thea added that the guesthouse offered specific sexual services. "This place is hidden and illegal and provides sexual services for [gay] men, lesbians, old ladies and foreign people in Phnom Penh." He said police research had uncovered that the guesthouse had been a popular destination for people seeking its specific services for many years. The detained were being held at the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Department for questioning prior to being sent to provincial court today to face charges, Keo Thea said, though he expressed doubts about the fate of some of the people arrested during Saturday's raid. "We are now waiting for the order from our superiors about what we should do with these 11 people, who are sexual service providers and those who had come for sex," he said. "But for the house owner and the two accomplices, we will send them to court for charges."   | ||||||
| UNESCO to send experts to evaluate, repair damaged temple: special envoy Posted: 28 Feb 2011 04:06 AM PST February 28, 2011 Xinhua Koichiro Matsuura, the special envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said Monday Cambodia' s Preah Vihear temple needs to be restored urgently following the damages by the military clashes between Cambodia and Thailand over the border disputed area on Feb. 4-7. During a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, Chairman of the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, on Monday, Matsuura said that as soon as Indonesian observers arrive at the border disputed area, UNESCO will send its experts to evaluate the damages. "Urgent restoration on the temple will be conducted after the evaluation of the damages and UNESCO will send repair-experts to restore the temple," Matsuura said, adding that "UNESCO will not involve in the border issue, but the temple." Meanwhile, Sok An, also the minister of the Council of Ministers, presented Matsuura with internationally recognized maps about Cambodian border with Thailand, and also showed him about the maps used unilaterally by Thailand, not international recognition. Sok An also informed him about the serious damages of Preah Vihear temple caused by about 414 mortar and artillery shells falling on the temple. "So, Cambodia has to publicize this information to the international communities." Matsuura, a former director-general of UNESCO (1999-2009) and a former Chair of the World Heritage Committee, was named by Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, on Feb. 11 as the special envoy to mediate the issue of Preah Vihear temple following a deadly clash from Feb. 4-7 between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border disputed area next to the temple. He arrived here on Sunday for a three-day visit. The clash unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, killed and wounded some soldiers and people of both sides, as well as caused serious damages to Preah Vihear temple. Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. The conflict has occurred just a week after the inscription due to Thai claim of the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the temple, since then periodic clashes have happened between the two nations'troops.   | ||||||
| Posted: 28 Feb 2011 03:32 AM PST Mar 1, 2011 By Clifford McCoy Asia Times Online Indonesian observers have arrived on the Thai-Cambodian border in a multilateral bid to monitor the implementation of a tentative ceasefire between the two sides. The fight has called into question the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) core "no-war" policy and caused the regional grouping to rethink its long held policy of non-interference in member states' internal affairs. Armed hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia in February resulted in the deaths of at least 11 and displacement of thousands of villagers in the area. Preah Vihear, the 11th century temple at the center of the territorial dispute, as well as another nearby temple, suffered significant damage from shellfire and small arms. The fighting was the heaviest since border tensions escalated in 2008, and this time threatened to spread beyond the contested 4.6 kilometer area around the temple into a full-scale border war. Thai and Cambodian military and government officials claimed they acted only in self-defense and accused each other of starting the shooting, which involved small arms, rocket propelled grenades and exchanges of artillery fire. A 1962 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the temple to Cambodia, but did not stipulate who owns the land adjacent to the temple. The issue largely remained dormant until 2008 when Phnom Penh applied to the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for World Heritage status for the temple, a move that stoked nationalist sentiment in Thailand. ASEAN aims to settle disputes before they spiral and maintains a no war policy among its members. True to that credo, there here have been no open wars between ASEAN members since its founding in 1967 and all member countries are signatories to the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which has been adopted as the region's code of conduct. The grouping has in the past helped to diffuse a series of border disputes and other bilateral issues. Some analysts believe ASEAN's mediation of the current dispute between Thailand and Cambodia could set a precedent for future conflict resolution in the region. The grouping is not known for taking proactive measures on security and political issues and has often swept nettlesome issues under the carpet in the interest of group harmony. Although this stance has helped the grouping to mature, become more cohesive and a relatively respected international player, it has failed to establish structures to deal with issues when they go beyond bilateral arrangements. If allowed to spiral into open war, the dispute between Bangkok and Phnom Penh not only threatened to destabilize the region but could also have lead to a breakdown in ASEAN as a security community. Rather than work through ASEAN's perceived as ineffectual security mechanisms, member nations could decide to resort to force to settle issues or seek solutions outside the ASEAN framework. On the other hand, a successful mediation of the dispute would provide ASEAN with enhanced credibility on issues that affect the peace and stability of the region. It would also further cement ASEAN as the key linchpin in several security structures, including the ASEAN Regional Forum, East Asia Summit, Asia-Europe Meeting, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and the ASEAN Defense Ministers Forum (ADMM) and the ADMM Plus Eight. The United Nations gave ASEAN its implicit support following a February 14 meeting on the dispute at the UN Security Council (UNSC). While the council was willing to hear both countries' versions of the dispute and urged a bilateral ceasefire, it made no binding statements. Instead it gave its backing to the efforts of Indonesian foreign minister and current ASEAN chairman Marty Natalegawa. Closed door discussions between Thailand's and Cambodia's foreign ministers, Natalegawa and UNSC president Maria Luiza Ribiero Viotti of Brazil were held on the sidelines of the UNSC meeting. Natalegawa had already earned praise for his quick initiative in travelling to Bangkok and Phnom Penh to push for talks between the two countries to end the conflict and his participation at the UNSC. Throughout his negotiations, Natalegawa has made clear that the issue should be settled bilaterally, but "at the same time, there is always space for ASEAN and members of ASEAN to support the bilateral effort". Natalegawa followed up by calling a meeting of foreign ministers from all 10 ASEAN nations in Jakarta on February 22. An agreement was reached that built on a ceasefire agreed between military commanders on February 20 and acted on Thailand's suggestion the next day of embedding Indonesian observers with units on both sides to monitor the ceasefire. While no permanent ceasefire has been signed, ASEAN observers are seen as a first step and a sign of commitment to the ceasefire. It was also agreed that further bilateral talks with Indonesian participation will be held in the near future. Up to 40 Indonesian military and civilian observers are scheduled to "embed" with Thai and Cambodian military forces stationed at the border. The arrangement does not create a buffer zone, but provides for monitors to report back to the ASEAN chairman as well as to Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Natalegawa has made it clear that the observers are "not a peace-keeping or a peace enforcement team". At the same time, he has characterized the intervention as a "seminal development in ASEAN's capacity to deal with a conflict situation." Significantly, ASEAN's maneuvers have received the backing of both the United States and China. Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular press briefing, "China appreciates and supports Indonesia's active mediation efforts to tackle the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict under the ASEAN framework." US State Department spokesman P J Crowley said during a regular press briefing on February 23 that the US welcomed "ASEAN's efforts under the leadership of Indonesia" and supported the call of ASEAN foreign ministers for Cambodia and Thailand to resume bilateral negotiations "at the earliest opportunity". That said, there is still the potential for Thai and Cambodian domestic politics - widely viewed as the driving force behind the ramped up dispute - to undermine ASEAN's mediation efforts towards a permanent solution. But with ASEAN observers present and the recognition that peaceful resolution of the issue is not only in the best interest of Thailand and Cambodia, but also ASEAN as a whole, there is powerful multilateral incentive to avoid further armed conflict. Clifford McCoy is a freelance journalist.   |
| You are subscribed to email updates from KI Media To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment