November 23, 2006The Associated Press
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie toured a former Khmer Rouge death camp, now a genocide museum, during a surprise visit to Cambodia, an official said Thursday.
Jolie, who has an adopted son from Cambodia, was accompanied by her partner, Brad Pitt, and several other associates, as she visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison in the capital Phnom Penh late Wednesday, said museum director Chey Sopheara. He said the visit lasted about an hour.
"I saw her with my own eyes. She bought tickets and toured the museum just like everybody else. It was a private visit," Chey Sopheara said, adding that there were about seven people in her entourage.
Up to 16,000 people passed through the gates of what the Khmer Rouge called S-21 prison before they were taken for execution outside Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge 1975-79 rule. Only about a dozen prisoners are thought to have survived.
Jolie and her entourage left Cambodia on a small private jet Wednesday night, a Phnom Penh International Airport official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Early Wednesday, Jolie briefly visited Pailin, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in northwestern Cambodia.
Pailin officials said she met with Ieng Vuth, a municipality deputy governor and the son of former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, to discuss a forest conservation project in the area.
The 31-year-old actress — who has a child with Pitt as well as an adopted daughter from Ethiopia — has promised up to US$1.3 million (€1 million) over five years for a conservation program near the former Khmer Rouge stronghold that was approved by the Cambodian government in 2003.
She has named it the Maddox Jolie Project after her adopted Cambodian son.
Jolie has recently been locked in a dispute with her former Cambodian associate in the project, Mounh Sarath, the director of the group Cambodian Vision in Development.
Trevor Neilson, her philanthropic and political adviser, told The Associated Press in New York last month that Mounh Sarath has misappropriated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" Jolie had provided for the conservation effort.
Mounh Sarath has denied the allegation.
Scenes for Jolie's 2001 movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," were filmed at Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple.
Jolie, who has an adopted son from Cambodia, was accompanied by her partner, Brad Pitt, and several other associates, as she visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison in the capital Phnom Penh late Wednesday, said museum director Chey Sopheara. He said the visit lasted about an hour.
"I saw her with my own eyes. She bought tickets and toured the museum just like everybody else. It was a private visit," Chey Sopheara said, adding that there were about seven people in her entourage.
Up to 16,000 people passed through the gates of what the Khmer Rouge called S-21 prison before they were taken for execution outside Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge 1975-79 rule. Only about a dozen prisoners are thought to have survived.
Jolie and her entourage left Cambodia on a small private jet Wednesday night, a Phnom Penh International Airport official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Early Wednesday, Jolie briefly visited Pailin, a former Khmer Rouge stronghold in northwestern Cambodia.
Pailin officials said she met with Ieng Vuth, a municipality deputy governor and the son of former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, to discuss a forest conservation project in the area.
The 31-year-old actress — who has a child with Pitt as well as an adopted daughter from Ethiopia — has promised up to US$1.3 million (€1 million) over five years for a conservation program near the former Khmer Rouge stronghold that was approved by the Cambodian government in 2003.
She has named it the Maddox Jolie Project after her adopted Cambodian son.
Jolie has recently been locked in a dispute with her former Cambodian associate in the project, Mounh Sarath, the director of the group Cambodian Vision in Development.
Trevor Neilson, her philanthropic and political adviser, told The Associated Press in New York last month that Mounh Sarath has misappropriated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" Jolie had provided for the conservation effort.
Mounh Sarath has denied the allegation.
Scenes for Jolie's 2001 movie, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," were filmed at Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple.
5 comments:
All corrupted leaders must learn from this role model citizen Angela Jolie who has worked very hard and gave all her monies to protect Cambodia. What kind of people animal Rannarith, Hun sen, Sok An, Cham Prasit etc.. and etc.. who have stolen millions and millions of dollars from Cambodia and created a lot of sufferings among their own people but their stolen monies are siting in foreign Banks
Of course, she does not give all her monies to Cambodia as she also has other important projects in other poor countries. What is more important than money is her kind heart for Cambodia by adopting a Cambodian child and supporting conservation projects. She works hard for her money and allocates some of her honest earnings to help develop Cambodia.
We won't find the same kind heart in those corrupt Cambodian leaders. Those donations to the people before the elections are just an attempt to buy votes. They renovate public roads and schools with some of the corrupt money and put their names up as though they built those public properties from scratch. Some people would have mistakenly thought that Chea Sophara entirely funded the building of Yukonthor Secondary School, where in fact he only funded for the stone signboard bearing its name. They don't work hard for their monies, but their foreign bank accounts are getting fatter all the time while the poverty rate in Cambodia is getting worse.
Three cheers for Angelina Jolie!
Mr Chey Sopheara! If youdidn't see with your own eyes you see with what? your foot??? You should have said I saw her myself, that's all simple as that!
hello 11:52
"..I saw her myself..."
what would you say that in Khmer?
To 4:20am
I understand you better. Please don't mind 11:52pm.
Thank you for visiting us Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt.
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