ប្រធានភូមិ​ធ្លក ប្រកាសប្រា​ប់ប្រជាពលរ​ដ្ឋឲ្យរួបរួ​មគ្នាប្រឆាំ​ងនឹងក្រុមហ៊ុ​នជាតិអភិវឌ្​ឍន៍ ខូ អិល ធី ឌី = Thlok village chief told villagers to unite to oppose the National Development Co. Ltd.

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋប្រមាណ ២០០​ ទៅ​ ៣០០​នាក់​ រួមមានកុមារនិងមនុស្សចាស់ជរា នៅវេលាម៉ោង ៩:០០ នាទីព្រឹកថ្ងៃស្អែកទី ១៧ ខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ២០១២នឹងប្រមូលផ្តុំគ្នានៅចំណុចប្រាសាទគោក វត្ត ក្នុងភូមិធ្លក ឃុំបន្ទាយឆ្មាស្រុកថ្មពួក ខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ដើម្បីធ្វើពិធីសែនព្រេនបន់ស្រន់ ដល់ម្ចាស់ទឹកម្ចាស់ដីនៅទីនោះជួយធ្វើឲ្យខូចគ្រឿងចក្ររបស់ក្រុមហ៊ុន ជាតិអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ ខូ អិល ធី ឌីដែលកំពុងឈូសឆាយរំលោភយកដីរបស់ពួកគាត់ ។ ប្រធានភូមិធ្លក លោក ឡិន ស៊ីណូកាលពី ព្រឹកមិញ ថ្ងៃទី ១៦ ខែកុម្ភៈ ឆ្នាំ២០១២ បានប្រកាស ប្រាប់ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ឲ្យរួបរួមគ្នា ឡើង ដើម្បី តវ៉ាប្រឆាំង ទល់នឹង សកម្មភាព ឈូសឆាយ រំលោភ យកដី របស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ពីសំណាក់ ក្រុមហ៊ុននោះ។

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋដែលនឹងប្រារពពិធីសែនព្រននៅថ្ងៃស្អែកនេះនឹងប្រមូលផ្តុំគ្នា មកពីភូមិចំនួន ប្រាំពីរ គឺភូមិធ្លក ភូមិក្បាលទន្សង ភូមិបន្ទាយឆ្មានិងភូមិគោកសំរោង ឃុំបន្ទាយឆ្មា ស្រុកថ្មពួក ខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ និងមកពីភូមិរំដួលចាស់ភូមិរំដួលថ្មី និងភូមិប្រាសាទរំដួល ឃុំអំពិល ស្រុកបន្ទាយអំពិល ខេត្តឧត្តរមានជ័យ ។​

រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលកាលពីឆ្នាំ ២០០៩ បានផ្តល់ដីចំនួន៦០០០ ហិកតា​ ដល់ក្រុមហ៊ុនជាតិអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ ខូ អិល ធី ឌី ដើម្បីធ្វើកសិ-ឧស្សាហកម្មនៅតំបន់នោះប៉ុន្តែប្រជាពលរដ្ឋបានអះអាងថា ក្រុមហ៊ុនជាតិអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ ខូ អិល ធី ឌី បានឈូសឆាយរំលោភយកដីរបស់ពួកគាត់ចំនួន ប្រមាណជាង ៤៦០០ ហិកតា ដែលប៉ះពាល់ដល់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋចំនួន ៧៩៩ គ្រួសារដែលបាន ធ្វើស្រែចំការនៅតំបន់នោះតាំងពីឆ្នាំ១៩៩៣ ។

ព័ត៌មានបន្ថែមសូមទាក់ទង៖
-លោកឡិន ស៊ីណូ មេភូមិធ្លក ឃុំបន្ទាយឆ្មា ស្រុកថ្មពួក ខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ទូរស័ព្ទ ០៩៧៤៥០ ២៥៣៩
-លោក ស្ងួន យស អនុប្រធានភូមិធ្លក ឃុំបន្ទាយឆ្មា ស្រុកថ្មពួកខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ទូរស័ព្ទ ០៩៧ ៣១៥ ១១៤៨
-អ្នកស្រី សាញ់ វណ្ណា សកម្មជនដីធ្លី ឃុំបន្ទាយឆ្មា ស្រុកថ្មពួកខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ទូរស័ព្ទ ០៩៧ ៥២១ ២៣៥១
-លោក រៀម សារិន អភិបាលរងខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ទូរស័ព្ទ ០១២​ ៤១៨ ៤១៨
-លោក ប្លែក វារី អភិបាលស្រុកថ្មពួក ខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ ទូរស័ព្ទ ០១២ ៩៣៩៥៨៧
-------
Unofficial translation from Khmer

At 9AM on 17 February 2012, about 200 to 300 villagers, including children and the elderly, will gather near Prasat Kauk Wat, Thlok village, Banteay Chhmar commune, Thmor Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province, to organize a prayer to the spirits protecting the land to ask them to break down the machinery used by the National Development Co. Ltd. to clear the villagers’ land. On 16 February 2012, Lin Sino, the Thlok village chief, told the villagers to unite to protest against the land clearing operation by the company on land belonging to the villagers.

Villagers from seven villagers – Thlok village, Kbal Tonsoang village, Banteay Chhmar village, Kauk Samrong village (from Banteay Chhmar commune in Thmor Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province), Rumduol Chas village, Rumduol Thmei village, Prasat Rumduol village (from Ampil commune, Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meanchey province) – will gather and organize an offering ceremony tomorrow.

In 2009, the government gave out 6,000 hectares of land to the National Development Co. Ltd. for agro-industrial development in that region, however, the villagers claimed that this company cleared and grabbed about 4,600 hectares of their lands. The land-grabbing affects 799 families who were farming there since 1993.

For additional information please contact:

• Lin Sino, Thlok village chief, Banteay Chhmar commune, Thmor Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province. Tel. 097 450 2539
• Sguon Yos, Thlok deputy village chief, Tel. 097 315 1148
• Mrs. Sanh Vanna, land activist, Banteay Chhmar commune, Thmor Puok district, Banteay Meanchey province, Tel. 097 521 2351
• Riem Sarin, deputy provincial governor for Banteay Meanchey, Tel. 012 418 418
• Phlek Veary, Thmor Puok district governor, Tel. 012 939 587

When the War Was Over (Elizabeth Becker)

When the War is Over

by Elizabeth Becker

also available in Khmer

(Lon Nol)

The new republic was headed by a triumvirate--Lon Nol, Sirik Matak, and Cheng Heng, the president of the national assembly...

At this stage Lon Nol moved ahead of the other coup architects and took control over the sources of power in Phnom Penh. Sirik Matak, who had been America's original hope in Cambodia, and who had Phnom Penh's bourgeoisie on his side, was incapable of stopping Lon Nol...

Unlike [Sirik] Matak, Lon Nol seemed to relish the idea of finally confronting the North Vietnamese, whom he blamed for all the indignities Cambodia had ever suffered at the hands of Vietnam over the centuries. He was the least modernist member of the triumvirate, the most obvious source of the crocodile rumors that preceded the coup, and an enigma in the world of Phnom Penh politics. He was a man with peasant sensibilities and not much apparent talent, a man who had climbed to power through the military as Sihanouk's loyal hatchet man...

In this regard, and many others, Lon Nol had much in common with the man who would become his nemesis--Saloth Sar. He was just as plodding in his youth and just as ambitious. Born in 1913, Lon Nol possessed the same exaggerated pride in being a "true Khmer"...

Sihanouk had promoted Lon Nol for his political loyalty rather than his military skills, a fact that became obvious after the coup...

Lon Nol made no secret of his dream of purifying the Khmer race, the Khmer culture, and Khmer Buddhism of the foreign pollutants he thought had sapped the country's energy and eaten away at its identity and territory. In the sophisticated circles of elite Phnom Penh, Lon Nol's ideas were treated as a curiosity, perhaps an embarrassment, but nothing serious. He was a religious reactionary, a firm devotee of the occult and a practicing mystic who carried around the battered talismans given him in his youth by his village wiseman. He surrounded himself with astrologers and holy men...

...[T]hree months before the coup, Lon Nol had opened the Khmer-Mon Institute to propagate his ideas...

In this and other respects, Lon Nol was mining the same vein of crippled national pride that his ideological rival Saloth Sar had mined. But whereas Sar looked forward to what he considered a modern solution--communist revolution--Lon Nol saw salvation in the past, in reasserting Cambodia's Buddhist heritage...

As the country began to weaken and shatter, these two men, who represented opposite and extreme ends of the political spectrum, were heading toward the same goal of turning Cambodia into a fascist state. Their goals were fascist in the strict definition of the phenomenon: a regime that exalts nation and race, stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, imposes severe economic and social regimentation, and forcibly suppresses the opposition...

The American allies of Lon Nol were embarrassed by his Buddhist "mumbo-jumbo" but failed to take it seriously. An exception was a U.S. political officer in Phnom Penh named William Harben... wrote a confidential cable to Washington entitled "The Anthropological Lon Nol" that described the deep chord Lon Nol struck in the Khmer people and accurately predicted the problems it would create:

"Lon Nol was an echo before he was a voice--the deep inferiority feelings of the Khmer toward their Vietnamese neighbors and the Chinese commercial caste calls for a myth of their descent from the imperial temple builders of the past. Divest of its sorcery [the call for the rebirth of Angkor glory] could add a sense of national pride to the already strong feeling of ethnic identity in the soul of this people..."

What Harben could not know was that the Cambodian on the other side of the developing civil war was Lon Nol without sorcery. Saloth Sar was as preoccupied with returning Cambodia to its rightful place as the descendant of the Angkor Empire, and purging the country of foreigners and foreign influence. They were both products of Cambodia's recent history.

Excerpts from Chapter 4 "The White Crocodile"
When the War Was Over
Elizabeth Becker

In celebration of WISDOM

Book of Proverbs

Chapter 1

Purpose and Theme

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.
If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;
let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot”—
my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;
for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.
How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!
Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.
But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD.
Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Japan provides $16m demining equip to Cambodia

2012-02-16
Xinhua

PHNOM PENH - The government of Japan on Thursday provided Cambodia equipment and supplies for demining operations in equivalent to $16 million, marking the sixth phase of Japanese grant to the country's demining sector over the past decade.

The donation included heavy and light demining machines, vehicles, detectors, tents, tools, equipment and other apparatus, according to a press release from Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).

The handover ceremony was held at CMAC demining unit in Siem Reap province with the participation by Sok An, deputy prime minister and minister in charge of the Council of Ministers, and Joe Nakano, Japanese vice minister of foreign affairs, said the press release.

អ្នកភូមិ​បឹងកក់​ខឹងសម្បា​រឿង​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​ធ្វើឲ្យលិចផ្ទះ​ពួកគាត់

អ្នកភូមិ​បឹងកក់​ដើរលុយ​ទឹក​ស្អុយ​ដែលហូរ​ជន់លិច​ពេញក្នុងផ្ទះ​របស់​ពួកគាត់​កាលពី​ម្សិលមិញ។ (រូបថត ផា លីណា)

Thursday, 16 February 2012
ឃុត សុភចរិយា
The Phnom Penh Post

ភ្នំពេញ: អ្នកភូមិ​បឹងកក់ កាលពី​ម្សិលមិញ បានបង្ហាញ​នូវ​ការខឹងសម្បា​ជាខ្លាំង ដោយសារ​ទឹកស្អុយ កាកសំណល់ និង​ល្បាប់​ភក់​ពណ៌ខ្មៅ ហូរ​ជនលិច​ចូលពេញ​ក្នុង​លំនៅដ្ឋាន​របស់​ពួកគេ​ពីរថ្ងៃ​ជាប់គ្នា​នៅក្នុង​ភូមិ ២៤ និងភូមិ ២២។

អ្នកស្រី ឆេង លាភ អាយុ​៤៥ ឆ្នាំ អ្នកភូមិ ២២ បាននិយាយ​ទាំង​ទឹកភ្នែក​រលីងរលោង​ថា ពេល​ត្រឡប់មក​ពីលក់​ចេកចៀន​វិញទឹក និង​ភក់​ដែល​លាយឡំ​នឹង​កាកសំណល់​ផ្ទះបាយ បានលិច​ចូលពេញ​ក្នុងផ្ទះ​របស់គាត់ ហើយ​ការុង​អង្ករ​បាន​លិចក្នុង​ភក់អស់​គ្មានសល់។

អ្នកស្រី ថ្លែងថា៖​ «ខ្ញុំ​ក្រីក្រមែន តែខ្ញុំ​មិនដែល​ឲ្យរដ្ឋាភិបាល​ពិបាក​នោះទេ ដូច្នេះ​សូម​អាជ្ញាធរ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល ពិនិត្យមើល​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​កុំឲ្យ​បង្ក​ការលំបាក​ដល់​យើង​ខ្ញុំ»។

CLEC Press Release - Mass Fainting Continue

http://www.box.com/s/vov19lig96gk315b0knk

PRESS RELEASE

Mass Fainting Continues; Official United States Licensee of Reebok-Branded, NFL, NHL Apparel Implicated as the Largest Buyer

Joel Preston

15/02/2012

Even in the wake of the People’s Tribunal on Living Wages in the Garment Industry, yet another wave of mass fainting rippled through the Nanguo Garment Co. Ltd Factory last week.

The list of international buyers associated with reportedly problematic Cambodian factories grows longer by the day; the most recent addition is Streetwear Inc. whose website claims:

‘Streetwear is an official United States licensee of Reebok-branded, NFL, NHL, and Heisman Men’s Big and Tall apparel.’

(http://www.streetwearinc.com/default.aspx?matrix=4)

Located in the Preah Sihanouk Special Economic Zone in Prey Nop District, ‘Yov Khemara, director of the provincial labour department, said that some among the 162 [Nanguo] workers were sent to hospitals and clinics, while others sought treatment themselves.’

(http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012021454494/National-news/fainting-at-factory-probed.html)

‘Blueprint’ for forced labour

Thursday, 16 February 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

“The translation of this document has grave issues as to the reputation of the former king,” counsel Kong Sam Onn said, adding that a translated version of the document appeared to implicate now-King Father Norodom Sihanouk in ordering the executions of two prominent Khmer Rouge leaders, Hu Nim and Hou Yuon in 1977.

Former president of Democratic Kampuchea Khieu Samphan was obsessively determined to implement the radical economic policies of his doctoral thesis, civil party lawyers at the Khmer Rouge tribunal said yesterday.

Khieu Samphan’s 1959 thesis Cambodia’s Economy and Industrial Development provided a blueprint for the forced-labour projects of the Khmer Rouge regime that have been characterized as crimes against humanity and provided the political and economic reasoning to support enslaving the population, civil party lawyers attempted to demonstrate yesterday.

“[Khieu Samphan] was obsessively determined to put the contents of his thesis into practice,” civil party lawyer Olivier Bahougne told the court yesterday.

Judges at KRT fail to see eye to eye again [-How long will this charade last?]

Thursday, 16 February 2012
Bridget Di Certo
The Phnom Penh Post

International and Cambodian judges in the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber are again in deadlock over a government-opposed investigation into Khmer Rouge regime criminals.

Co-Investigating Judges last year rejected New Zealander Rob Hamill’s application for civil party status in Case 004 for crimes committed against his brother Kerry by the regime that eventually executed him.

Hamill’s lawyers appealed the rejection, saying the decision was unreasoned and premature, adding they had not been given access to any information in the Case 004 investigation.

‘General’ in court [- Peal Xen Si Peal Xim]

Chhoeun Chanthan, a former lieutenant-general and chief of Senate president Chea Sim’s bodyguard unit, appears before a military court in Phnom Penh yesterday. Mai Vireak/Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 16 February 2012
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Chhoeun Chanthan, the former chief of Senate president Chea Sim’s bodyguard unit, embezzled almost $1.5 million from government departments after using a dead man’s identity to become a high-ranking commander, a military tribunal heard yesterday.

The explosive allegations came on the first day of the sacked lieutenant-general’s hearing – and just a day after his lawyer, Put Theavy, told the Post he could not specifically recall the charges his client faced.

A civil court will deliver its verdict today on separate charges against the former deputy commander of the Mixed Chief of Staff at the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces that relate to forging documents and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.

Poak Porn, appointed leader of the case’s three judges, said Chhoeun Chanthan was charged with breaching trust; intentionally destroying and embezzling state property; illegally distributing weapons; destroying military materials; and lacking consciousness and responsibility when leading and managing a unit.

“Chhoeun Chanthan had no background in military work with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces,” Poak Porn said.

CITA letter to Hun Xen asking for intervention in the case of Boeung Trabel High School

Dear All,

CITA has one letter sending to Prime Minister of Cambodia for intervention requested for case of Boeung Trabek High School.

For more information please reading khmer letter with attach file.

Sopheak
Administrator of CITA


http://www.box.com/s/5pffasqxiht9iuafoivh

Shoe workers walk out

Some of the 500 workers from the Sun Well Shoes Co Ltd factory protest in Phnom Penh yesterday. (Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post)

Thursday, 16 February 2012
Kim Yuthana
The Phnom Penh Post

More than 500 employees at a shoe factory in the capital’s Dangkor district went on strike yesterday morning after managers failed to respond to a list of workers’ demands.

Ly Veng, president of the Workers Union Federation at the Sun Well Shoes factory said that the union had given factory administration officials a 21-point list of demands last Wednesday.

One of the critical points on the list was the firing of administrative manager Kha Kok Kheang, who the union accused of failing to provide overtime food and travel expenses, and of not allowing workers to take days off, Ly Veng said.

SRP councillor to play campaign ad no more

Thursday, 16 February 2012
May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

A commune councillor for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party in Banteay Meanchey province’s Mongkol Borei district has claimed commune officials yesterday attempted to confiscate a video CD of an SRP senate election campaign spot he had been watching in his home.

However, officials said they had received complaints from local residents that the councillor was playing the sound from the video on a loudspeaker in the village.

SRP commune councilor in Rahat Teuk commune, 50-year-old Chan Chhean, said that two commune police officials told him yesterday morning that the commune chief and district governor ordered them to confiscate the VCD.

“I did not agree to give it to them, but they forced me to put my thumbprint [on a document] to stop playing this VCD, otherwise, they will arrest me,” he said.

Chan Chhean said that he had watched the video with his family on January 26 and again yesterday, and did not believe it was illegal.

“It is political discrimination,” he said.

Not all buildings created equal [-Do as I say, not as I do: Hun Xen]

Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks on Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of National Road 6 in Phnom Penh. Pha Lina/Phnom Penh Post

Thursday, 16 February 2012
May Titthara with additional reporting by David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

When Prime Minister Hun Sen warned two government ministers that trading their ministry’s public buildings could cost them their jobs last week, he had already signed off on four such exchanges himself, the latest royal book shows.

Last Tuesday, the premier publicly berated information minister Khieu Kanaharith and Culture and Fine Arts Minister Him Chhem for attempting to trade the Agency Kampuchea Press and National Library buildings, respectively.

But on January 26, the premier signed off on reclassifications of the National Audit Authority, Ministry of Health, Central Medicine Warehouse and National Radio Station into state-private property.

Joke by HK

Mr.Barack Obama is on a state visit to Cambodia. While there the King gives him the full honorary title of  "Moha Samdech Akeak Moha Sena Thapdey Decho Barack Obama".

The title is higher than Hun Sen since there are 2 Moha’s.

Hun Sen, full, honorary title is just Samdech Akeak Moha Sena Thapdey Decho Hun Sen.

Mr. Barack Obama asks his advisor what his title means.

“Oh Mr. President your full title is 100% better than Hun Sen because he is only one time full of shit but yours is 2 times full of shit.”

His advisor replies.

FDI Inflow into Cambodia up 14 Pct in 2011

2012-02-16
Xinhua

The foreign direct investments (FDI) inflow into the country had amounted to 632 million U.S. dollars in the past year, a 14 percent rise from 553 million U.S. dollars in a year earlier, said a senior finance official on Thursday.

The foreign capital inflow has been injected mainly into the country's sectors of industries, agriculture, tourism and construction, Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state of Finance Ministry, said in a presentation to the Conference on 2012 Cambodia's Outlook.

Prominent investors here are China, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to the report of the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Cambodia could fall short on rice seeds

Farmers transplant rice seedlings in Kandal province in July last year. (Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post)

Thursday, 16 February 2012
Rann Reuy
The Phnom Penh Post

Cambodia may fall short on the domestic demand for purified rice seedlings, which could dampen rice exports, government officials have said.

Ouk Makara, director of the Cambodian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (CARDI), said that businesses have been increasingly eager to purchase purified seeds from the institute.

He said that although CARDI produced 21 tonnes of purified seedlings in 2010 and increased production to 36 tonnes in 2011, the yielded amounts were unable to meet the market's demand for the seeds.

Among the 10 types of government-introduced seedlings, about half were of the Phka Rumduol sort.

Talks Set Over Cash-Strapped Tribunal

The courtroom at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, June 27, 2011. (AFP PHOTO / HO / MARK PETERS / ECCC)

2012-02-15
Radio Free Asia

Donor countries and Khmer Rouge Tribunal officials to discuss urgent funding needs.

Officials from Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal, which has run out of money to pay salaries of workers, will meet with donor countries at the United Nations in New York next week on urgent funding needs, a spokesman for the U.N.-backed war crime court said Wednesday.

“We hope that after the meeting, there will be promises, with funding to the court from donors,” spokesman Neth Pheaktra told RFA. “They will have a meeting to request for the court’s funding for the national [Cambodian] and international side,” he said.

More than 300 Cambodians working at the tribunal have not received their salaries since October 2011, with a handful of staff having left temporarily in search for jobs, he said.

Omen for the year of the Dragon - ប្រផ្នូលឆ្នាំ រោង

Cambodian war crimes tribunal at risk of failure

Thursday, February 16, 2012
RAY MURPHY
The Irish Times

The legacy of the court is now at risk. The court has cost more than US$150 million and yet just one judgment has been handed down since 2005. This is certainly not an example of best practice. The current impasse risks bringing the whole enterprise into disrepute and undermining efforts to hold those most responsible for the atrocities accountable.

OPINION: Despite costs in excess of $150m, only one judgment has been reached since 2005

ONE OF the first impressions of Cambodia is the gentle and courteous nature of the Khmer people. It seems at odds with its recent history under the murderous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

More than a quarter of a century ago Brother Number One, as Pol Pot became known, imposed a tyrannical rule that was unsurpassed in its cruelty to the inhabitants of Cambodia. Estimates put the casualties at anywhere between one and three million. Yet the ordinary people remain remarkably compliant and accepting of the situation which had up to recently permitted the perpetrators of mass murder to remain unaccountable.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the so-called war crimes tribunal, handed down its only verdict to date in respect of Duch (69), the former chief interrogator at Phnom Penh’s infamous Tuol Sleng detention centre. Duch, whose full name is Kaing Guek Eav, admitted overseeing the torture and execution of men, women and children. Hundreds of photographs of victims remain on display in the former school and the rooms still contain the instruments of torture and blood stains of the thousands of victims.

Kamnap:"15 Komphak Pa-Aun Toeub P'nheak Kluon" by Salika

"Towards Economic Integration: Prospects and Challenges" - By Sok Siphana, Hun Xen's minion advisor

http://www.box.com/s/h8ibu6a1iuce49ahaaie

CATU's letter to Min. Vong Soth, asking him to send expert to control over the working conditions at the Kin Tay factory

Flooding in Village 22, BKL

Flooding in Village 22, BKL

A barrier of sand keeping water pumped by Shukaku Inc. from flooding households in the Boeung Kak area broke yesterday resulting in significant flooding of houses in Village 22. This is not the first time the poorly built barriers have collapsed, leading to flooding of households. It remains unclear if Shukaku Inc. will compensate the affected households. Click here to watch it: http://saveboeungkak.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/flooding-in-village-22-bkl/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9i3yegq5R0

Secretariat
--
Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
HRTF:#2A, St.271, Sangkat Beoung
Tompun, Khan Chamcar Morn
Phnom Penh.
Evictions Hotline: (855) 068 470 480
Tel/Fax: (855) 023 996 531
Email: sd@hrtfcambodia.org
Website: www.hrtfcambodia.org
--------------------------------------------------------
HRTF is the coalition of local and international organizations that working
to Prevent Force Eviction and Promote Housing Rights in Cambodia.

Need your monitoring NOW at Chak Angre Leur

Urgent Announcement

At this moment the resident who living in Chak Angre Leu had confronting with the local authority who trying to measuring on their land without consultation and inform to the residents. More information please contacting them directly at: 016 470149

Thanks for your supporting and monitoring by your value eyes
Secretariat
--
Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
HRTF:#2A, St.271, Sangkat Beoung
Tompun, Khan Chamcar Morn
Phnom Penh.
Evictions Hotline: (855) 068 470 480
Tel/Fax: (855) 023 996 531
Email: sd@hrtfcambodia.org
Website: www.hrtfcambodia.org
--------------------------------------------------------
HRTF is the coalition of local and international organizations that working
to Prevent Force Eviction and Promote Housing Rights in Cambodia.

Closing Order of Case 002 against Senior KR Leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith

In light of the HISTORIC (!) start of MOST COMPLEX (sic!) trial hearings beginning on 27 June 2011 and again ANOTHER HISTORIC (!) START of this same MOST COMPLEX (sic!) on 21 Nov. 2011 of Case 002 against the surviving Khmer Rouge senior leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith, KI Media is posting installations of the public document of the Closing Order of Case 002 (Indictment).  The Closing Order of the Co-Investigating Judges forms the basic document from which all the parties (Co-Prosecutors, Co-Lead Lawyers for all civil parties, Defense Lawyers) will be making their arguments before the Trial Chamber judges (one Cambodian President, 2 Cambodian Judges, 2 UN judges).  Up until now, the hearings involving these four surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders have been in the Pre-Trial Chamber over issues of pre-trial detention and jurisdictional issues.  Beginning in June November 2011, the Trial Chamber will hear the substantive (sic!) arguments over the criminal charges (genocide, crimes against humanity, penal code of 1956, etc., only the Phase I Movement in April 1975).  Available in Khmer, English and French. Contact the ECCC for a free copy. 

 

CLOSING ORDER

of Co-Investigating Judges You Bunleng and Marcel Lemonde

15 September 2010

IX. ROLES OF THE CHARGED PERSONS

A. NUON CHEA

 Participation in the Common Purpose

Role in the Arrest of Centre Party and Centre Offices Cadres (Political Office 870 and Office S-71)

943.            Duch explains that the decision to arrest members of the Central Committee or high-level CPK cadres had to be made collectively by the Standing Committee.³⁹⁴⁸ As a member of the Standing Committee and supervisor of S-21, Nuon Chea knew of and participated in the arrest and subsequent execution (or for some of them the suicide) of: Zone Secretaries Sao Phim (June 1978) (suicide),³⁹⁴⁹ Ruos Nheum (June 197 8),³⁹⁵⁰ Chou Chet alias Sy (March 1978),³⁹⁵¹ Man San alias Ya (September 1976), Um Neng alias Vy (June 1978) (suicide), and Klang Chap alias Se (August 1978); Standing Committee members Vorn Vet (November 1978), and Kung Sophal alias Keu alias Kan (November 1978); autonomous sector secretaries Bou Phat alias Hang (June 1978), Born Nan alias Yi (June 1978), and Pa Phal alias Sot (February 1977); and former Minister of Propaganda Hu Nim alias Phoas (April 1977).³⁹⁵²

944.            Nuon Chea was involved in the arrest of cadres from the Party Centre 870 Offices. A witness working at Centre Office K-1 explains that in the office those accused of treason were mainly those who held major positions, such as Sem (Chairman of K-1), Chheum Sam-Aok alias Pang (Chairman of Office S-71) and one of his friends Yan, and that these people were taken away and disappeared. He adds, "I feel that the Uncles, especially Pol Pot and Nuon Chea, were well aware of the arrests of these traitors".³⁹⁵³ Nuon Chea received, annotated and transmitted to Pol Pot, S-21 confessions of former secretary of Political Office 870 and note taker of the minutes of the Standing Committee Phok Chhay alias Touch.³⁹⁵⁴ With respect to the arrest of Chheum Sam-Aok alias Pang, Duch explains that Vorn Vet came to S-21 with a letter from Nuon Chea giving him special authorization to work with Duch on a security matter, and announced to him the Party decision to arrest Pang. He discussed with Vorn Vet the conditions of the arrest, and it was decided that the next time Pang came to S-21 to pick up confessions he would be arrested immediately. Duch believes the order to arrest came from Nuon Chea.³⁹⁵⁵ Between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979, 209 people were arrested from Political Office 870 and S-71 and their sub-units and sent to S-21, as set out in the section of the Closing Order regarding the Factual Findings of Crimes for S-21.

Role in the Arrests in the Ministry of Social Affairs and in the Ministry of Propaganda and Education

945. As mentioned above, in October 1975, the Standing Committee gave Nuon Chea responsibility for social action, propaganda and education. In these roles, Duch understands that Nuon Chea oversaw the activities of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Propaganda and Education, because the ministers of these ministries "did not have the decision making power to eliminate people ".³⁹⁵⁶

946. Duch explains that for those who were arrested at the Ministry of Social Affairs, or under its authority, and taken to S-21, the system was the same as previously described. He says, that he would send confessions implicating personnel from a particular ministry to Son Sen, and after 15 August 1977 to Nuon Chea. Subsequently, "the superior (i.e. Son Sen and then Nuon Chea) noticed that people were implicated in the confessions, he would then summon the head of the unit - in that case leng Thirith - to make the decision".³⁹⁵⁷ Nuon Chea received, annotated and transmitted particular S-21 confessions to the Ministry of Social Affairs, and to Ieng Thirith.³⁹⁵⁸ Duch believes that the documents he sent to Nuon Chea were used by him to conduct arrests in the Ministry of Social Affairs.³⁹⁵⁹ Between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979, 116 people were arrested from the Ministry of Social Affairs and sub-units and sent to S-21, as set out in the section of the Closing Order regarding the Factual Findings of Crimes for S-21.

947. With respect to the Ministry of Propanagda and Education, it seems that until Nuon Chea became acting Minister of Propaganda and Education in late 1978, the system of arrest described above also applied. Some people working in the Ministry were considered as traitors and disappeared,³⁹⁶⁰ and the Minister and leading cadres from the ministry would attend regular meetings with the upper echelon.³⁹⁶¹ A witness explains that when Nuon Chea was acting as Minister "disappearances still continued. As far as I could understand, the Southwest Zone people were considered as good revolutionaries and when the people from the East and the West were purged, mostly the Southwest people were sent to replace them".³⁹⁶² Between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979, 84 people were arrested from the Ministries of Education and Propaganda and sub-units and sent to S-21, as set out in the section of the Closing Order regarding the Factual Findings of Crimes for S-21.

948. In addition to the facts set out above, Nuon Chea was involved in the arrest of CPK cadres and RAK members throughout Cambodia, including in: the North East Zone;³⁹⁶³ the North West Zone;³⁹⁶⁴ the Southwest Zone;³⁹⁶⁵ the New North Zone (in particular sector 103);³⁹⁶⁶ and in Autonomous Sector 105.³⁹⁶⁷ As described in the Ieng Sary section and following the system of arrest described above in this section, Nuon Chea also played a role in the arrest of cadres in other ministries especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the recall of overseas based Cambodians to Cambodia.³⁹⁶⁸ 

In China, an Instant Star and an Emerging Symbol

In China, an Instant Star and an Emerging Symbol

Keith Bradsher
New York Times
February 14, 2012

Jeremy Lin, whose parents grew up in Taiwan, was front-page news in the Taipei newspapers. But China is highlighting its ties to him also.

HANGZHOU, China — The clearest sign that Jeremy Lin’s appeal has spanned the Pacific to mainland China may lie not in the 1.4 million Chinese microblog messages mentioning him in recent days, but in a rare failure to meet demand here in the heart of one of the world’s largest centers of pirated garment manufacturing. 

“His jerseys have sold out, even including the counterfeit ones,” said Zheng Xiaojun, a 24-year-old clerk here in the capital of Zhejiang province, near Shanghai. 

Lin’s stunning success with the Knicks over the last week and a half has captured the imagination of the Chinese, from Communist Party bosses to the often-persecuted Christian minority. He has been particularly popular here in northern Zhejiang province, from which his maternal grandmother fled to Taiwan in the last days of China’s civil war in the late 1940s. 

Lin is commonly described in the United States as Taiwanese-American because his parents grew up in Taiwan before moving to the United States, where Lin was born. But mainland China is already starting to claim him as its own, part of an incessant rivalry across the Taiwan Strait. 

Cai Qi, the organization chief for the Communist Party in Zhejiang, posted a message on his Twitter-like microblog over the weekend claiming that Lin’s ancestral home is Jiaxing, a city on the northeastern outskirts of Hangzhou where Lin’s maternal grandmother grew up. 

Since 1991, she and other family members have been giving several thousand dollars a year to Jiaxing High School, according to the school’s Web site. Her nephew Yu Guohua is Lin’s closest relative still living in northern Zhejiang. 

Yu, a 56-year-old former plastics factory worker who retired early on disability after sustaining injuries in a car crash, said in a telephone interview Tuesday night that Lin had come to play basketball with the Jiaxing High School team last May and been mobbed by admirers. 

Yu said he did not have a chance to meet Lin in the throng, but spoke with his family. “His father was very supportive of Lin’s playing basketball, but his grandmother was not, for fear he would be injured,” Yu said. 

Lin may owe his height, 6 feet 3 inches, to his maternal grandmother’s family, Yu said. Chen Weiji, the father of Lin’s grandmother, was well over 6 feet and all of Chen’s children were tall as well, he said. 

Chen was a senior municipal civil servant in Jiaxing in the early 1900s. American Protestant missionaries converted him to Christianity, and he imparted his strong spiritual interests to his children, who liked to discuss religious subjects in depth and read books on religion, Yu said. 

Lin’s combination of success in the N.B.A. and strong Christian faith — he has spoken in the past of becoming a pastor someday — has fired the imagination of many Asian-American Christians. There are some early signs that he may also be catching the attention of Christians in China, who continue to face varying levels of persecution. 

Only 1,500 of the initial 1.4 million microblogging messages on mainland Chinese Web sites that mentioned Lin also mentioned Christianity. 

But those messages tended to be fervently enthusiastic. 

“Your physical agility has shown me the glory and omnipotence of God,” one Internet user wrote.

“How should young Christians live the life of the Lord?” another blogger wrote. “We have a good example in Lin Shuhao’s miraculous performance and we should cheer him on.” 

At the Zhejiang Theological Seminary here in Hangzhou, Professor Yan Ronghui said she was planning to use Lin’s religious faith and basketball successes as a model for students in her course in “theological English” this semester. 

Hu Shubang, a 25-year-old student at the seminary, said Lin would become a natural symbol for Christians in China to use in seeking converts. 

“Just by his being a Christian, it is a fantastic way to broadcast the ways of Christ,” he said. 

But awareness of Lin’s faith is only starting to spread in China. State news media have covered Lin’s basketball exploits heavily but avoided mentioning his faith, part of a broader pattern of omitting or censoring religious subjects. 

Hu guessed that maybe one in five of the men at the 180-student seminary knew about Lin’s faith, and almost none of the women. 

Chinese authorities allow one Protestant seminary per province, as a way to limit the number of pastors and slow the spread of Christianity, which by some estimates may have more than 100 million adherents among China’s 1.3 billion people. 

Mao ordered the merger of Protestant denominations in China in 1958; while different strands of Protestantism have informally re-emerged since Mao’s death in 1976, they must share a small supply of seminary graduates and other pastors trained at Bible schools operating informally. 

The N.B.A. has estimated that 300 million people in China play basketball. The retirement last year of Yao Ming, a basketball star from mainland China, deprived the N.B.A. of its main Asian draw. But Lin’s emergence has at least temporarily strengthened the league as a centerpiece of Chinese online chatter. 

The highest-level fan may be Vice President Xi Jinping, the heir apparent to become China’s top leader for the next decade. He flew to Washington on Monday to meet President Obama on Tuesday, and told The Washington Post in a written response to questions, “I do watch N.B.A. games on television when I have time.” 

Hilda Wang contributed reporting.

LINSANITY! Watch these moves!

 

Highlights of Knicks' first 5 wins

Tied at 87-87, watch his calm as he swishes a 3-pointer with half of a second left on the clock

In celebration of LOVE

King Solomon's

Song of Songs

Chapter 4

He

How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from the hills of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.
Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
built with courses of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
like twin fawns of a gazelle
that browse among the lilies.
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.
You are altogether beautiful, my darling;
there is no flaw in you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions’ dens
and the mountain haunts of leopards.
You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume
more than any spice!
Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;
you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,
nard and saffron,
calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.
You are a garden fountain,
a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.

She

Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
that its fragrance may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.

CAMBODIA: "O Khmer euy Khmer, chous ach knong srae" - ឱខ្មែរអើយខ្មែរ! ជុះអាចម៏ក្នុងស្រែ

An article by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth published by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Something is changing within the Khmer nation.

Those storied Khmer characteristics – the broad smile; the gentle, peaceful compassionate nature – and the centuries-old traditions of "korup, bamreur, karpier, smoh trang" -- "respect, serve, defend, be loyal (to leaders)" -- passed down through generations seem to be taking a new course.

Protesters spell the word "Aphivath" or "Development" with their shoes (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

A photo floating on the Internet shows Khmer villagers--from youth to middle age--standing barefoot under the hot sun as their colorful sandals are arranged in an empty lot nearby to make up the Khmer word "Aphivath," or "Development." Their symbolic protest is directed at Khmer leaders and at those around the world who are sympathetic to the disenfranchisement of the poor in contemporary Cambodia.

Photos and videos of government abuse of citizens' rights and of citizens' responses have inundated the Internet. Some postings inform and educate. I recommend recent postings on the Website of Radio Free Asia (February 1, "More Arrests Follow Land Clash").

The beatings of women and children by riot police are routine -- and are routinely condemned by international and national rights groups. The too common sight of Khmer women with clothes torn or ripped off by police during peaceful protests is now replaced by the sight of women protesters taking off their clothes to highlight their protests as they face the police.

Cops ripping off shirt from a Boeung Kak Lake protester

A protester removes her clothing during a protest in Phnom Penh, Feb. 1, 2012. (RFA)

Going one step further, RFA posted on its website a photograph of a half-naked Khmer woman protester facing police in full riot gear. Her action was intended to highlight the plight of Cambodian villagers from the Borei Keila community, who were evicted by armed police from their homes, which were dismantled and the co-opted land given to Phan Imex Company for commercial development.

Khmer women taking off their clothes in public to protest against authority is a new phenomenon. But, it shows something else too: Submission to injustice has a limit, and "fear," a conditioned behavior, is being overcome.