November 23 2006AFP
Phnom Penh - Hollywood star Angelina Jolie pledged to set up a new conservation project in Cambodia after making a surprise visit with her husband Brad Pitt, officials said on Thursday.
Jolie and Pitt, whose adopted son Maddox was born in Cambodia, flew to the impoverished Southeast Asian country during filming for "A Mighty Heart" in Mumbai.
After arriving in the northern town of Siem Reap on Wednesday, the couple travelled to the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin and met for about 40 minutes with deputy governor Ieng Vuth.
"She has been interested in this area for a long time and when she came, she said it was necessary to immediately help this place," said Ieng Vuth, son of the ultra-left regime's former foreign minister Ieng Sary.
"The most urgent thing is to preserve the environment about Phnom Khieu (Blue Mountain)," he added.
Jolie later travelled to the capital, Phnom Penh, where she visited Tuol Sleng - a former Khmer Rouge torture centre turned into a museum on the country's 1975-1979 genocide.
Airport staff who did not want to be named said she and her entourage left Cambodia on Wednesday evening.
Jolie came to know Cambodia while shooting "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" at the famed Angkor Wat temple near Siem Reap in 2001, and owns a home in the Samlot district of northwestern Battambang province.
She has campaigned for environmental reform in the impoverished country, which has rewarded her work with citizenship and last year gave her a Cambodian passport.
Jolie sponsors the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Project, named after her Cambodian-born son. She plans to give the charity 1,5-million dollars to build schools and health centres, provide training for health workers and construct public toilets and roads.
"She came to meet me to talk about the (new) project. There are big plans for the project," said Stephan Bognar, who managed Jolie's first conservation effort.
Jolie has been involved in a dispute with Cambodian Vision in Development, a local charity that had managed her original project.
Mounh Sarath, the group's director, has accused Jolie of breach of contract and has threatened to sue her in a row over missing funds.
Ieng Vuth said Thursday "she is trying to deal with the problem" of her dispute with Mounh Sarath.
Jolie and Pitt have been in Mumbai filming "A Mighty Heart", about US journalist Daniel Pearl's abduction and murder by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002. Jolie is starring in the movie and Pitt is a producer.
Jolie and Pitt, whose adopted son Maddox was born in Cambodia, flew to the impoverished Southeast Asian country during filming for "A Mighty Heart" in Mumbai.
After arriving in the northern town of Siem Reap on Wednesday, the couple travelled to the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Pailin and met for about 40 minutes with deputy governor Ieng Vuth.
"She has been interested in this area for a long time and when she came, she said it was necessary to immediately help this place," said Ieng Vuth, son of the ultra-left regime's former foreign minister Ieng Sary.
"The most urgent thing is to preserve the environment about Phnom Khieu (Blue Mountain)," he added.
Jolie later travelled to the capital, Phnom Penh, where she visited Tuol Sleng - a former Khmer Rouge torture centre turned into a museum on the country's 1975-1979 genocide.
Airport staff who did not want to be named said she and her entourage left Cambodia on Wednesday evening.
Jolie came to know Cambodia while shooting "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" at the famed Angkor Wat temple near Siem Reap in 2001, and owns a home in the Samlot district of northwestern Battambang province.
She has campaigned for environmental reform in the impoverished country, which has rewarded her work with citizenship and last year gave her a Cambodian passport.
Jolie sponsors the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Project, named after her Cambodian-born son. She plans to give the charity 1,5-million dollars to build schools and health centres, provide training for health workers and construct public toilets and roads.
"She came to meet me to talk about the (new) project. There are big plans for the project," said Stephan Bognar, who managed Jolie's first conservation effort.
Jolie has been involved in a dispute with Cambodian Vision in Development, a local charity that had managed her original project.
Mounh Sarath, the group's director, has accused Jolie of breach of contract and has threatened to sue her in a row over missing funds.
Ieng Vuth said Thursday "she is trying to deal with the problem" of her dispute with Mounh Sarath.
Jolie and Pitt have been in Mumbai filming "A Mighty Heart", about US journalist Daniel Pearl's abduction and murder by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002. Jolie is starring in the movie and Pitt is a producer.
2 comments:
I cannot believe that Mr. Mounh Sarath wants to sue donor because of not giving him more money and suspecious of her own fund to his project. Is this a Cambodian style of justice?
sound's stupid, why don't you defend yourself from accussation of corruptionby showing your responsibility and transparency of work? why don't you clarify your work management and budget spent to donor?
Please reconsider yourself.
Anonymous @1:34AM
They all learned from that ill-bred Viet-dog Hun Sen...Who else? That guy Mounh Sarath is just a bone head nuts case, that's all.
In all seriousness, Jolie, Matt and Mad, we all love you for caring about the plight of the Khmer people. How can we ever thank you enough for what you've done???
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