Original report from Phnom Penh
22 August 2008
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Cambodian military and defense officials completed a weeklong regional counterterrorism workshop Friday, joining US military officials as well as regional authorities to strengthen cooperation in anticipation of future oil exploration.
"We are ready to cooperate with the international community, as in 2011, Cambodia expects to begin oil production with Chevron," Brig. Gen. Nguon Sam, deputy chief of the legal department of the Ministry of Defense, said. "We are responsible of the security of the transportation of oil from Cambodia to other countries."
Cambodia's naval capacity remains limited, he said. "So we have asked for international cooperation to fight terrorism."
Government representatives from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka joined in the talks, which were held at the Sunway Hotel near the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.
"What we tried to do is help them understand what the legal challenges are, how they can assist in collecting evidence and how they can assist in covering terrorism and fighting terrorists and bringing them to justice," said Lt. Col. Jon Shelburne, a US Marine Corps reservist who lectured at the seminar.
Cambodia has emerged as a willing partner in the US's regional war on terror, following reports in 2003 that the mastermind of the Bali bombings had stayed in Phnom Penh prior to his arrest in Thailand.
"We are ready to cooperate with the international community, as in 2011, Cambodia expects to begin oil production with Chevron," Brig. Gen. Nguon Sam, deputy chief of the legal department of the Ministry of Defense, said. "We are responsible of the security of the transportation of oil from Cambodia to other countries."
Cambodia's naval capacity remains limited, he said. "So we have asked for international cooperation to fight terrorism."
Government representatives from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka joined in the talks, which were held at the Sunway Hotel near the US Embassy in Phnom Penh.
"What we tried to do is help them understand what the legal challenges are, how they can assist in collecting evidence and how they can assist in covering terrorism and fighting terrorists and bringing them to justice," said Lt. Col. Jon Shelburne, a US Marine Corps reservist who lectured at the seminar.
Cambodia has emerged as a willing partner in the US's regional war on terror, following reports in 2003 that the mastermind of the Bali bombings had stayed in Phnom Penh prior to his arrest in Thailand.
Are they included prime minister Hun Sen that terrorize his own citizen for Viet black teeth ??????
ReplyDeleteTemple tourism must go beyond Angkor, expert says
ReplyDeleteWritten by Kay Kimsong
Friday, 22 August 2008
Phnom Penh Post
"To become the 'Italy of Asia', Cambodia should preserve and promote all of its temples, not only its most famous ruin"
CAMBODIA today is a politically small country, but in terms of culture Cambodia is the country with the richest resources in the region.
Cambodia could become the Italy of Europe. How? Well, the whole of Europe, but particularly Italy, has benefited - owes much of its development - to the income it makes from tourism. And how the tourism industry works in Italy is that even a small village is perceived to be, has been projected, as a tourist attraction.
Cambodia has renovated and targeted as a tourist attraction the great Angkor Thom, and there are maybe 50 temples inside the complex. But if you go into villages across Cambodia there are temples. UNESCO may not know, I may not know the name, but the villagers do, so now what is needed?
Cambodia could earn so much in the future if it is able to make all of Cambodia's temples into tourist destinations.
Even suppose you just want to go from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, there is Sambor Prey Kob in Kampong Thom and many other temples on the way, each with a unique and interesting history. Even within Siem Reap province itself, there are so many ruined temples, damaged, but still standing.
French scholars have catalogued 909 temples, but the whole of Cambodia has at least 2,000 temples, and each temple has a history.
Imagine somebody, a historian, travelling from Phnom Penh to Preah Vihear, stopping at temples all the way. They will need breakfast, dinner and accommodation.
The last four years I have only been interested in Angkor Thom, but now I am studying temples all over Cambodia. The idea is to try and learn the history of each of these small temples.
We know where some of the temples are, but we are traveling all over the country to find them, find the inscriptions, read them, write the temple history. Even sometimes when the inscriptions are broken, it is easy to read the story.
And I believe that it is this information, these stories, which could help Cambodia develop its temple tourism industry more.
Angkor is the dollar earner not only for Cambodia but for the whole of Southeast Asia. Cambodian policymakers need to understand this - I hope Cambodian policymakers can project Angkor in this light - Angkor needs to be linked to other tourist centers. In 10 years' time it will happen.
We have had a road rally from New Delhi to Angkor Wat in previous years. So we are moving fast to link India to Angkor.
But the most important thing is that we get villagers involved with the telling of the history of the temples, that they are able to read the inscriptions written by their ancestors.
We need to tell tourists the stories of the temples. But villagers I speak to often don't understand how the research I do could be applied, could be relevant to the tourism industry. I will explain.
Establish a small foundation to save all isolated temples that are decaying, which have interesting stories written on their walls.
This is not only to preserve their stories and the history of this country, but to preserve the future. Tourists will want to visit these temples.
With the small temples the idea is to protect the lives of the temples. You also create hundreds of small but beautiful sites of historical value which tourists will want to visit.
And preserving and opening up all these small temples would make Cambodia as a whole a more attractive tourism destination.
Cambodia is not only Siem Reap, temples are all over the nation, they are historically and economically valuable. They could be good sources of income. The only thing we must be careful about is the impact of the crowds.
Hun Sen should consider Professor Sachchidanand Sahai idea, this will help developed and create jobs in the other provinces.
ReplyDeletei think it's always the right thing to do to court the USA into a lasting bilateral and gov't to gov't with my beloved USA. the USA is the best in the world. god bless the USA and cambodia.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the act of the Thaicong invasion of Cambodia is a form of terrorism?
ReplyDeleteIt is time to take stand and deal with the Thaicong terrorist mother fucker now!
Eric Campbell of Foreign Correspondent quoted :
ReplyDeleteSok Kong is the King of Angkor
my quoted : Khmer-People ,who were the builder of Angkor, are Yuon-Hanoi's slave forever.
Eric Campbell can suck my Khmer dick. He is just still upset about Vietnam and wants to slam Vietnam. What a better way of doing so without getting his hands dirty? Saying that Khmer are youn slaves so some stupid Khmer would get all angry and go do shit to Vietnam. See the dirty trick this douchebag Eric "cock sucking" Campbell is?
ReplyDeleteWe have two upset Vietminh here, you are losing grip on Cambodia Vietminh, you two can always suck each other cock to to ease your frustration.
ReplyDeleteLOL.
Yes the youn in Cambodia are all potential terrorists so I urge the Cambodian governement consider deportation for these trouble makers.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
E. Cambell.
More blame, more pain : Cambodian
ReplyDeleteMore calm, more intellectual : Thai
More diligent, more well living : Vietnamese
To 8:42AM
ReplyDeleteSo you think! It is time for Cambodia leaders think that they can no longer behave as a helpless hooker! The fucken Vietcong government racist policy will have to deal with million and million Khmer Krom and AH HUN XEN Vietcong puppet government down fall in the near future! And the fucken Thaicong government has to send their military occupation into Cambodia against international law!
It is about time that the fucken Thaicong and the fucken Vietcong learn how to pick somebody their own size than to keep on picking Cambodia over again and over again! The fucken Thaicong and the fucken Vietcong are nothing but a fucken bully and to deal with any fucken bully to copy their belligerence behavior and choose arm confrontation!
Fuck them all!