Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy’s verdict to be announced on 25 April

11 April 2011
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Soch

The verdict for opposition leader Sam Rainsy in the defamation and disinformation lawsuit case brought up by Hor 5 Hong which is planned to be handed down on 11 April by the Phnom Penh municipal court, has been delayed to 25 April instead. This delay was due to Judge Seng Neang’s busy schedule and he could not announce the verdict which was originally planned for 11 April.

War of words breaks out

26/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is apparently giving no credence to the claims to success of his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong in the wake of Tuesday's Asean foreign ministerial meeting in Jakarta.

The meeting was brokered by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to cool Thai-Cambodian diplomatic tensions, which have been brought to the boil by deadly clashes in the border area near Preah Vihear temple claimed by both countries.

Hor Namhong said the Cambodian government's demands were ''responded to'' at the Asean meeting.

These demands included a ceasefire, the presence of neutral observers in the disputed area and the participation of Indonesia, as the Asean chair, in efforts to reach a resolution.

Kasit: EU backs bilateral solution [-Kasit stretching the truth?]

22/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The European Union supported Thailand's plan of holding bilateral talks with Cambodia to settle the border dispute, according to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

Acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said on Tuesday morning Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva received a phone call from Foreign Minister Kasit, who was attending the Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Indonesia.

Mr Kasit told the premier that Thailand's stance remained unchanged. The country wanted to resolve the conflicts with Cambodia at the bilateral level within the framework of the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission.

Phnom Penh wants UNSC to 'remain engaged'

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Hor Namhong speaks to the media following his statement to the UN Security Council in New York on Monday.

16/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Published here are excerpts of the address Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong delivered to the United Nations Security Council on Feb 14, 2011.

In its artillery attacks against Cambodia, Thailand used sophisticated weapons including cluster bombs and many 105, 120, 130, 155 artillery shells, reaching as far as 20 kilometres inside Cambodian territory. Thailand's attacks since Feb 4 have caused much serious damage to Keo Sikha Kiri Savara Pagoda and Preah Vihear Temple, a World Heritage site, as well as six deaths and 71 injuries among Cambodian troops and people.

Even though there were two de facto agreements on a ceasefire, the current situation, however, remains extremely fragile. Fresh fighting may break out again at any time without forewarning, while heavily armed Thai soldiers, artillery and tanks have been positioned along the border, posing constant pressure on Cambodia.

The root cause leading to the present war of aggression by Thailand against Cambodia is as follows:

France and Siam signed the 1904 Convention and the 1907 Treaty to establish the Joint Commissions on the Delimitation of Frontiers between Indo-China and Siam. In the period between 1905 and 1908, the Franco-Siamese Commission, set up by the 1904 Convention, produced a set of 11 maps, all of which are of 1:200,000 scale, including the one called "Dangrek Map" that demarcates the area of Preah Vihear Temple.

Som Niyeay Phorng - Op-Ed by Angkor Borei News

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

Thailand, Cambodia Foreign Ministers to Face Off at UN

Daniel Schearf, Voice of America
Bangkok February 14, 2011

Thailand and Cambodia's are to make their case before the United Nations in New York over deadly border fighting that erupted a week ago. Cambodia wants U.N. peacekeepers sent to prevent further clashes. But Thailand rejects any U.N. involvement.

Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong will address the United Nations Security Council on Monday

Cambodia requested the emergency meeting after the worst fighting with Thailand in years broke out near a disputed border area.

At least eight people were killed when soldiers exchanged artillery and machine-gun fire. Thousands of villagers fled for safety. Both sides say the other fired first.

Cambodia to ask UN to help secure ceasefire

Tuesday, February 15, 2011
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia said it will ask the UN Security Council to help secure a "permanent ceasefire" with Thailand as both countries prepare to brief the world body on Monday about a deadly border dispute.

The Security Council is set to hold a closed-door meeting in New York with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand to discuss four days of fighting near an 11th-century temple that left at least 10 people dead earlier this month, according to a new toll.

Both sides blame each other for starting the violence around Preah Vihear temple that displaced thousands of families and that Cambodia's outspoken government has labelled a "war" but Thailand has played down as clashes.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong "will raise the issue of the invading war by Thailand against Cambodia," his spokesman Koy Kuong told AFP ahead of the meeting.

Sinatoons No. 17: UN

Cartoon by V. Sina

Abhisit insists on bilateral solution

Govt prepares to put case to UNSC today

14/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The government will tell the United Nations Security Council today that it it is persevering with its plan to solve the border dispute with Cambodia through bilateral talks.

Cambodia has decided to boycott a meeting of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) later this month, but Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday the reaction was to be expected.

Thailand still saw the importance of the JBC meeting for handling the conflict and hoped Cambodia would change its mind, he told his weekly television and radio broadcast.

Prime Minister Abhisit said he knew about Phnom Penh's intention to boycott the JBC but had yet to receive official word from the Cambodian government.

"Cambodia is playing the game," Mr Abhisit said, adding that Phnom Penh hoped to derail the JBC to shut the door on bilateral channels for solving the dispute.

Som Niyeay Phorng - Op-Ed by Angkor Borei News

Click on the article in Khmer to zoom in

Cambodia did not yet reply to Kasit's suggestion to hold talk in a third country

Hor Namhong to meet Kasit

Monday, 17 January 2011
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

FOREIGN Minister Hor Namhong is set to meet today with his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, as tensions over the arrest of a Thai parliamentarian in Cambodia last month continue to loom over the two countries’ relations.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said the two were set to meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Lombok, Indonesia. Kasit and Hor Namhong last met in December following the arrest of Panich Vikitsreth, a lawmaker from Thailand’s ruling Democrat Party.

Panish and six other Thais were arrested in Banteay Meanchey province during an expedition to “investigate” the border demarcation project and were later charged with illegal entry and unlawfully entering a military base.

Koy Kuong characterised today’s meeting as a normal talk, declining to comment on the subject of the discussion.

Khmer Intelligence News - 16 November 2010 - Vietnam's Prime Minister welcomed even by the opposition

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

16 November 2010

Vietnam’s Prime Minister welcomed even by the opposition (1)

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who is currently on an official three-day visit in Cambodia, has been welcomed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy in a 14 November 2010 open letter. A year ago, following a border incident, Mr. Dung publicly “proposed that the Cambodian government take due measures to deal with Sam Rainsy’s acts of sabotage and not permit similar cases to occur, as they negatively affect the fine relations between the two nations.” In light of the Cambodian government mea culpa on the circumstances surrounding this incident (see following news “Hun Sen admits mistake in localization of controversial border markers”), Sam Rainsy wrote, “I would be grateful if you would acknowledge that you actually overreacted to my pulling out a few wooden poles in Svay Rieng province and possibly encouraged some unnecessary fallout from that insignificant incident.” Read full text of Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://tinyurl.com/2a3ppln

Hun Sen admits mistake in localization of controversial border markers (1)

In a 8 November 2010 letter responding to opposition Members of Parliament, Prime Minister Hun Sen admits, at least by implication, that the government has made some mistake in the localization of some “tentative” or “temporary” border markers in provinces bordering Vietnam. « In the area of the tentative post # 185 [uprooted by Sam Rainsy on 25 October 2009], in particular posts # 184 to 187 along the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, the joint technical group from the two countries is continuing their study on the ground in order to search for material evidence/reference points necessary for the determination of the real location of those border posts. Because the joint technical group from the two countries has not planted any border post # 185 yet, the border demarcation work -- which is the work of the joint technical group to be conducted after the planting of those posts -- has not started yet either. » Therefore Sam Rainsy, who has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for “crimes” stemming from “destruction of public property,” could not cause any damage to anything that does not exist and could not create any problem to any work that “has not started yet.” Read Hun Sen’s letter in Khmer at http://tinyurl.com/25ulw7c

Reasons for the government to prohibit visits to eastern border areas (2)

The Hun Sen government is adamant that no Members of Parliament, no journalists, no diplomats, no NGO workers, no civil society representatives and no independent observers are allowed to visit areas near the border with Vietnam. There is a two-fold reason for this strict prohibition:

1- Nobody must be given the opportunity and possibility to do what Sam Rainsy did last year with the “tentative” border post # 185 in Svay Rieng province, i.e. collect the precise geographic coordinates of any border post with a GPS device, find out the location of that post on any official French-made or US-made map using appropriate computer programs, and see that the corresponding post is actually on Cambodian territory.

2- Nobody must meet with, and talk to, any Cambodian farmers living along the border who have been victims of land grabbing associated with border encroachment. Those farmers, whose number keeps increasing, are living evidence that is a denial to the government assertion that “not a single Cambodian farmer has lost his/her rice field in the ongoing border demarcation process.” Read Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin’s 16 November 2009 deceitful letter to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk at http://tinyurl.com/2uozunz

The strategy of the Vietnam-backed Hun Sen government is to prevent any form of border protest so that all currently “tentative” or “temporary” border posts will become, by 2012, permanent border posts, with the Cambodian people being placed before a fait accompli.

Sam Rainsy in Australia (1)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy will be visiting Australia from 18 to 30 November 2010. He will meet with Cambodian communities, the press, government officials and NGOs in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide.

A single “royalist” party under CPP control (2)

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party is pushing hard for the merger of the two small and discredited “royalist” parties: Funcinpec and the Nationalist Party (formally Norodom Ranariddh Party). The CPP is desperate to give more credibility to the crumbling democratic façade of a two-party coalition government between former communists and present “royalists” in what is in fact a one-party system where all decisions are made by the CPP.

French court dismisses Hor Namhong’s complaints (2)

The French court in Paris has recently dismissed legal complaints for defamation lodged by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong against three Web sites particularly critical of the Hun Sen government: KI-media, Khmerisation and Sacrava, which can be visited at http://ki-media.blogspot.com/ , http://khmerization.blogspot.com/ and http://sacrava.blogspot.com/ respectively.

[End]

Cambodian PM says no third Khmer Rouge trial [-Hun Xen's blatant interference in the KR Tribunal]

Who's next? Is Hun Xen afraid to be indicted next?

PHNOM PENH, Wednesday 27 October 2010 (AFP) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday that a second Khmer Rouge war crimes trial due to start early next year would be the last.

Hun Sen "clearly affirmed that case three is not allowed", Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters after Ban met with the premier.

"We have to think about peace in Cambodia," he said.

In its first trial the UN-backed court in July sentenced former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, to 30 years in jail for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people in the late 1970s.

Last month the court indicted four top regime leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork and execution between 1975 and 1979.

The accused in the second trial are "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, his wife and ex-social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, and former head of state Khieu Samphan.

The court is also investigating whether to open a third case against other former Khmer Rouge cadres, but has faced political interference.

Cambodian and international prosecutors have openly disagreed on whether the court should pursue more suspects.

Hor Namhong said Hun Sen told Ban during the meeting that the court would achieve a "successful prosecution" by the end of its second trial, but would suffer a "failure" if it prosecuted more cadres from the brutal regime.

Hun Sen was once a mid-level Khmer Rouge member himself before turning against the movement.

He has repeatedly warned that further prosecutions at the court could destabilise Cambodia, saying that he would prefer to see the court fail than indict more suspects.

Cambodia still supports Cuba? How retro...

Foreign Minister of Cambodia Hor Namhong at United Nations General Assembly at U.N. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Foreign Minister Touts Achievements at UN

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, D.C Wednesday, 29 September 2010

[Hor 5 Hong] also lent Cambodian support to a UN resolution to end the embargo of Cuba

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong addressed the UN General Assembly Tuesday, saying the global financial crisis had not stopped Cambodia from reaching some of its development goals.

Cambodia's “Millennium Development Goals” included targets for child mortality, HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases, he said. “According to the recent study made by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the UN Millennium Campaigns, Cambodia was listed among 20 countries making the most absolute progress on MDGs.”

The UN development goals aim at halving the world's poverty rate, promoting education and health and protecting the environment, all by 2015.

The UN in Cambodia says child mortality has dropped from 95 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 60 in 2005, the latest figure available. But the rate is still high compared to regional countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hor Namhong said that while a lack of attention on agriculture, coupled with rising fuel costs, threatened food security in some parts of the world, Cambodia had managed well.

“Food production is the top agenda of our government policy, and agriculture and irrigation are being aggressively considered as a springboard for broader economic development with the ambition to turn Cambodia into a more important rice-exporting country,” he told the Assembly.

In his 13-minute speech, Hor Namhong pushed for developed countries to pay more attention to climate change and environmental issues.

“Cambodia urges developed countries to honor their commitment to provide financial and technological aid to developing nations in the fight against climate change, and take the lead to cut their respective carbon dioxide emission,” he said.

Hor Namhong called for peaceful resolution to issues on the Korean peninsula and between Israel and Palestine. He also lent Cambodian support to a UN resolution to end the embargo of Cuba.

Can't get enough of that weird Xmer accent, H.E. Hong 5 Hong

Cambodia, General Debate, 65th Session
28 September 2010

Address by H.E. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia, at the General Debate of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 23-25 and 27-30 September 2010)

Iranian Nuke for Cambodia?

Cambodia Denies Media's Report on Nuclear Power Plant

2010-08-30
Xinhua

Cambodia Monday denied media's report that suggested the country might have deal with Iran to build a nuclear power plant.

Koy Kuong, spokesman of Foreign Ministry said Monday that Cambodia has not made any deal with Iran on anything related to nuclear power plant.

Koy Kuong made the statement following media's report that suggested during the recent visit to Iran. Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs might have discussed any issue on nuclear power plant.

Koy Kuong said, during the visit, there were only three documents were signed: cooperation in petroleum, economic cooperation and visa exemption.

Hor Namhong made an official visit to Iran early this month.

Cambodia has earlier expressed its interest, for the future, to access a nuclear power plant in order to secure sufficient power supply, but stressed it would not be any time soon.

Since June, Iran has been imposed with new sanctions by the United States, European Union and the United Nations in a way to stop its sensitive uranium-enrichment program which they fear of nuclear weapons production.

But the Irani government had denied the charge, saying the program was only for a peaceful purpose.

Cambodia, the new friend of the axis of evil "Iran"

Iran sanctions: Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong speaks during a news conference in Phnom Penh August 6. 'To impose sanctions against Iran is not a solution,' Hor told reporters Aug. 16 in Phnom Penh, days after his meeting in Tehran with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chor Sokunthea/Reuters

As Iran sanctions threaten, Iran sees new friend in Cambodia

Leaders from Iran and Cambodia met this month in their most senior exchange to date. Some say it is a sign that Iran sanctions are pushing Tehran to develop new trade partners.

August 26, 2010
By Stephen Kurczy, Staff writer
The Christian Science Monitor

Iran seems to have found a new friend in the unlikeliest of places: Cambodia. Tehran hosted a high-level delegation from the Southeast Asian nation earlier this month to discuss bilateral trade and mutual dislike of American "interference."

It's the latest sign that the Islamic republic is seeking out new partners – no matter how small – in the face of increased sanctions.

"There is no doubt that Iran’s growing isolation, resulting from the force of UN sanctions, is behind Iran’s push to improve relations with Cambodia and other willing states," says Alon Ben-Meir of the Center for Global Affairs at New York University. "The sanctions against Iran are having a serious effect. For this reason, Iran at this juncture will trade with any country it may find. Cambodia happened to be an easy target because of its energy vulnerability."

In June, the United Nations, European Union, and United States all passed sanctions in an effort to target Iran's uranium-enrichment program.

"To impose sanctions against Iran is not a solution," Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters Aug. 16 in Phnom Penh, days after his meeting in Tehran with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Hor advised "negotiations and engagement" instead.

Iran offers trade, technology

The two countries established formal relations in 1992 as Cambodia emerged from civil war, but Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith says this is the most senior bilateral exchange to date.

"Iran requested to have a diplomatic relation with Cambodia. We don't see any objection to that," says Mr. Khieu, who is also the minister of Information. "Our policy toward Middle Eastern countries is to sell more of our products, mainly agricultural, and try to get more knowledge on oil management."

The summit touched on trade, investment, tourism, and oil, which is notable in light of Cambodia's hopes to tap recently discovered offshore oil reserves. After years of exploration and speculation – from international firms such as Total and Chevron – oil production is projected to begin in 2012. Then, in mid-August, a top Cambodian official told Nikkei news agency that Cambodia is looking into nuclear technology and hopes to build its first nuclear power plant as early as 2020.

President Ahmadinejad "voiced readiness to share Iran's experiences with Cambodia in various fields of agriculture, science, technology, and research," according to Fars News Agency. The two sides agreed to establish a joint economic commission to explore opportunities, according to The Tehran Times.

Shared dislike of American 'interference'

They also found common ground in rejecting pressure from the US. “My country has always been opposed to the interference of the United States in other countries’ internal affairs," Hor said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Economic ties remain minimal between Iran and Cambodia. The two countries’ trade value during the past Iranian calendar year (ending March 20, 2010) stood at $539,000, according to The Tehran Times. In the three months prior to June 21, Iran exported $120,000 and imported $66,000 to and from Cambodia.

Even more than a new economic partner, Iran is apparently looking to Cambodia as a conduit to reach greater Southeast Asia through the 10-country Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). "Cambodia can play a key role in connecting Iran and the association," Iran's Accredited Ambassador to Cambodia Seyed Javad Qavam Shahidi told the FARS news agency after Hor's visit.

Web of geopolitics

In the complex web of geopolitics, it makes sense that Iran would warm relations with Cambodia, says British historian Philip Short. China woos Cambodia and Burma as counterweights to regional power India, while also wooing Iran and Pakistan as counterweights to longtime rival Russia, he says.

"So, for Cambodia and Iran – both Beijing’s good friends – to get cozy isn't a surprise at all. In fact, one wonders why it didn’t happen earlier," says Mr. Short, author of the Khmer Rouge history "Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare" and the biography "Mao: A life."

"For Cambodia there’s an obvious economic interest," continues Short. "And for Iran, which is still pretty isolated, the more diplomatic support it can garner the better."

China has invested millions in infrastructure projects in Cambodia. In December 2009, Beijing pledged $1.2 billion in aid and soft loans. That made China a bigger benefactor to Cambodia than all other countries combined. In July, international donors pledged $1.1 billion in annual aid to Cambodia, which was still the most ever from them. "China is Cambodia’s best buddy," says Short.

But Cambodia has also been courted avidly by Washington in recent years. In July, US soldiers participated in a peacekeeping exercise with troops from 23 Asia Pacific nations as part of the US-run 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative. Washington and Beijing have long competed for influence in the region, with China supporting the Khmer Rouge insurgency against a US-backed government of the 1970s.

No warning from Washington?

Cambodia's business community appears unfazed by the country's newfound friendship with Iran.

"If Iran wishes to offer any material support to Cambodia, why shouldn’t they accept it? Cambodia is a neutral country with a lot of needs, and welcomes all the help it can get," says Douglas Clayton, CEO of the private equity fund Leopard Capital, which has attracted international investors to a $34 million multisector equity fund in Cambodian businesses.

A spokesperson from the US Embassy in Phnom Penh says that Washington urges "all UN Member States, including Cambodia, to fulfill the objectives of UNSCR 1929 (United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929) by meeting not only their mandatory minimum obligations but also by applying accompanying measures." UNSCR 1929 was passed in June to target Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

While Cambodia's government spokesman says that Phnom Penh has not been warned against developing ties with Iran, Professor Ben-Meir of New York University suspects the US may have dropped a hint to Cambodia against getting too close.

"Soon Cambodia itself will begin to feel the pressure from the international community to stop trading with Iran," he says. "Cambodia therefore will continue to play a balancing act, swaying from which side it is getting the greater benefit. For this reason, the United States and the EU will have to come up with some aid to Cambodia if they wish to distance Cambodia from Iran."

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: An ASEAN

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Cambodia Refuses Bilateral Talk with Thailand on Border Dispute

17 August 2010
Thai-ASEAN News Network

The Cambodian government has insisted it will not participate in a bilateral talk with Thailand on the border dispute issue.

According to Deum Ampil, a Cambodian news agency, and Xinhua, the official press agency of the Chinese government, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Cambodia, Hor Namhong, made a statement before meeting with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, indicating that the Cambodian government will only hold a bilateral talk with Thailand once the border management plan agreed on earlier at the Joint Border Committee is approved and implemented.

The news agencies have also reported that the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has criticized Thailand as being insincere in its efforts to solve the border dispute.

After nearly an hour-long talk with Hor Namhong, Surin said he would like to see the border dispute around Preah Vihear Temple peacefully resolved, and that he is waiting for a reply from the ASEAN foreign ministers on Hun Sen's request for assistance on the border quarrel as it could escalate into an armed conflict.

Hor Namhong also made a remark after the talk that Cambodia also wants to settle the dispute peacefully, but it will defend its sovereignty from any foreign invasion.

Sry Thamarong, the Cambodian deputy prime minister's close aid, has disclosed that the two have discussed how to solve the dispute peacefully and with patience, and how to avoid the use of strong rhetoric or force.

Surin arrived in Cambodia last Sunday to promote international relationships and to attend the AEAN Natural Disasters Conference before returning to Thailand tomorrow.