Intensity of fighting on border eases

[Thai] ARMY ENCOURAGED, BUT CLASHES CONTINUE

1/05/2011
Bangkok Post

The military believes the situation on the Thai-Cambodian border is improving despite fighting continuing on the border near Surin for a ninth day.

Second Army Region spokesman Prawit Hookaew said that although the clashes have not yet ended, encouragement can be taken from the fact that the exchanges of gunfire have lessened in intensity and heavy weapons have not been deployed in the past few days.

He said only small and mortar guns have been used since military delegations from both sides held talks on Thursday.

In the latest skirmishes, two Thai soldiers were injured yesterday afternoon near Ta Kwai temple in the border area of Surin.

Fighting on Friday night and yesterday left 11 Thai soldiers wounded, bringing the total injury toll for Thai soldiers to 97, while seven soldiers and one civilian have been killed.

According to the Second Army, two Cambodian BM21 multiple rocket launchers were destroyed and a number of their soldiers were killed during the clashes.

U.S. Chooses Abusive Cambodian Military Units to Host Joint Exercises

General Hun Sen at celebration honoring Brigade 70 (photo: DAP)

Saturday, July 10, 2010
Noel Brinkerhoff
AllGov.com

Despite its own reports documenting abusive behavior by Cambodian military units, the U.S. State Department agreed with the Department of Defense to allow Cambodia to host a military exercise for international peacekeepers.

The “Angkor Sentinel” exercise, part of the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative, will host 1,000 military personnel from 23 Asia-Pacific countries. It also will feature a two-week field training exercise hosted by Cambodia’s ACO Tank Command Headquarters in Kompong Speu province.

The problem with this, says Human Rights Watch (HRW), is that the ACO Tank Unit has been involved in illegal land seizures, which have been noted by the State Department and by Cambodian and international human rights organizations. In 2007, soldiers from the unit destroyed villagers’ fences and crops and confiscated land.

HRW officials point out that the Angkor Sentinel exercise is likely to include elite Cambodian military units, such as Prime Minister Hun Sen’s personal bodyguards and Brigade 70, “both of which have been linked to a deadly March 1997 grenade attack on the political opposition, and Airborne Brigade 911, which has been involved in arbitrary detentions, political violence, torture, and summary executions.”

“For the Pentagon and State Department to permit abusive Cambodian military units to host a high-profile regional peacekeeping exercise is outrageous,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The U.S. undermines its protests against the Cambodian government for rampant rights abuses like forced evictions when it showers international attention and funds on military units involved in grabbing land and other human rights violations.”

RCAF human rights violator: Deny! Deny! Deny!

Army commander rejects accusation of military human rights violations

23 September 2009
By Khim Sarang
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The commander of army Brigade 31 rejected the criticisms leveled by Human Rights Watch and US representatives, saying that his soldiers did not violate human rights as it was accused.

The Phnom Penh Post quoted Sun Saroeun, the commander of army Brigade 31, as saying on Monday that his soldiers never used violence against civilians. He said that the army never did anything bad to the population living in the communities.

Last Friday, 8 US representatives sent a letter to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to question him about US aid provided to Cambodian army units that are involved and accused of human rights violations.

This letter pointed out RCAF Brigade 911, Brigade 70 which is Hun Xen’s bodyguards unit, and Brigade 31, and it indicated that these RCAF brigades are suspected of perpetrating serious violations in land dispute cases.