Boeung Kak Lake residents can avoid post-eviction by voting out the current government

Lake Residents Fear Post-Election Evictions

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 April 2008

[Editor's note: In the weeks leading into national polls, VOA Khmer will explore a wide number of election issues. The "Election Issues 2008" series will air stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a related "Hello VOA" guest on Thursday. This is the second in a two-part series examining the development of Phnom Penh's Boeung Kak lake.]

Residents living on and around Phnom Penh's largest lake are at loggerheads with the city over a proposed a development that is pressuring many to take a low government buy-out.

The residents, who mainly live in tiny wooden shanties on the banks of Boeung Kak lake, or on stilts over the water, are asking for market price for their homes, but city officials say the structures are occupying land that already belongs to the municipality.

For now, all is calm, but residents told VOA Khmer recently they worry they will be forcibly evicted after July's general elections.

"We will stand up in a struggle if the authorities use violent eviction against us," said Be Pharum, a 55-year-old resident, as she scrubbed clothes in front of her small, wooden home over the lake. "I think that before the national election, the authorities will not evict us. But after the election, the power will be concentrated in the hands of the current government."

After that, she said, "I believe an eviction will really happen."

"I know this because right now the government wants the vote from the people here," she continued. "So the authorities will do nothing wrong to the people, like in other places. All this history makes us very concerned."

About 8.12 million voters are expected to turn out nationwide in Cambodia's fourth general elections, slated for July 27.

Thearn Phos, 36, whose house juts over the river behind an Islamic mosque, said he was praying to god for help preventing a post-election eviction.

"I fret the authorities will evict and dismantle my house when the election is completed," he said. "I ask the government not to dismantle my house."

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheatvong and Lao Meng Khin, director of the Shukaku, Inc., which has leased the lake area in a $79 million deal, say they have no intention to evict the villagers.

But residents are worried by an established government track record of forced evictions, especially in the cities of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Poipet and the provinces of Mondolkiri and Ratanakkiri.

Protesters in the past have been shot dead or wounded in clashes with security forces. Some have been arrested. Some have fled their homes for fear of arrest.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers and rights workers have accused the government of delaying compensation to villagers on threatened land, such as Boeung Kak, until after the election, because, they say, it allows the ruling Cambodian People's Party to apply pressure to voters.

Pa Socheatvong denied accusations as "baseless," saying the delay in compensation is not political but technical.

"I believe that the people [really living in the area] don't have to worry, because they will get the government-regulated [land price]," he said. "The municipality does not cheat people. The ruling party cannot commit political suicide on this problem, because we need the votes from the people."

Developer Lao Meng Khin, who is also a CPP senator, told VOA Khmer that the villagers should not worry about compensation.

"We are making a fair business, and we have to pay compensation to the villagers," Lao Meng Khin said. "We won't get their property without paying."

The development of the lake area will likely start in late 2008, after the election, Pa Socheatvong said.

Even the former KR want to see the passage of the anti-corruption law

An unidentified former soldier looks on near the once Khmer Rouge-stronghold border town of Pailin.

Pailin Residents Despair Over Corruption

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13/07/2007

Pailin villagers who once supported the Khmer Rouge said this week they wanted to see the passage of an anti-corruption law.

The law has become a perennial promise unkept, stuck in the National Assembly for years and the lynchpin of donor disapproval.

The former Khmer Rouge villagers said at a public forum that they, like everyone else, want to see it passed.

The forum was held by the Cambodia Youth Council.

Battambang Cambodia Youth Council Director Kan Sichanto told VOA by telephone that nearly 150 former Khmer Rouge villagers had complained about corruption in their daily lives, whether from obtaining identity cards, family record books or favorable court decisions in land dispute cases.

"They want the National Assembly to speed up passage of the anti-corruption law in a hurry," he said. "They think the corruption that they deal with involves government officials every day. They believe that if the corruption continues, they will have difficulties in their living."

Yim Sovan, an opposition lawmaker in the National Assembly's Committee for Anti-Corruption, blamed the failure on the government's priorities. The law wasn't one of them, he said.

"It is still delayed up to now," he said. "I think that the government might lack political will in the decision to push anti-corruption legislation in the National Assembly."

Anti-corruption measures eclipse human rights in Cambodia

28-Jun-2007
By Allister Hayman
Posted at EurekaStreet.com.au

Eight foreign protesters were arrested in Phnom Penh at the opening of the annual Cambodian Development Co-operation Forum (CDCF). International donors and the government discuss the development of the impoverished South East Asian Kingdom at the forum, set performance benchmarks, and pledged aid for the coming year.

Protesting against what many rights groups consider the wrongful conviction of two men for the 2004 murder of union leader Chea Vichea, the demonstration and subsequent detention spotlighted two major issues on the forum’s agenda: the notoriously corrupt political judiciary and an institutionalised practice of intimidation and at times lethal force.

Cambodia still ranks as one of the world’s poorest nations. Despite three years of double-digit economic growth, poverty reduction remains sluggish and the gulf between a wealthy urban elite and a destitute rural population is rising rapidly.

Since 1993 half the Cambodian government’s budget has been underwritten by foreign aid — now amounting to billions of dollars — and the CDCF is meant to be the arena where the government is held accountable and donor leverage is used to expedite reform.

In previous meetings the government has regularly failed to meet its agreed benchmarks and this year was no exception. Last year, donors pledged US$601 million — with Australia the third largest donor — and identified three essential areas for improvement: the passing of an anti-corruption law, the enactment of comprehensive judicial reform, and a commitment to natural resource management.

A year on and the anti-corruption law — which donors have demanded since 2002 — is languishing in the corridors of power; reform of the judiciary is proceeding at glacial pace, while the government’s management of natural resources has been lambasted from all sides.

As the protestors were detained by military police, Prime Minister Hun Sen boasted of his government’s achievements and furrowed his brow at the challenges the country still faced: rapidly rising inequality and the abject failure of development in the rural sector. These were obstacles that could be ameliorated, he said, by more donor money.

Hun Sen has been the autocratic rule of Cambodia for more than 20 years. And despite a decade-long string of broken promises, donors have continued to front up for his regime.

Although corruption is deeply institutionalised in Cambodia and widely regarded as accepted practice, the Prime Minister played down the failure to pass the anti-corruption law.

Illegal land evictions and increasing land concentration were also on the agenda and Hun Sen talked about his self-declared "war on land grabbing" that has involved little more than cancelling some large-scale land concessions which are then promptly handed over to other members of the wealthy elite.

The process of allocating land concessions is shrouded in secrecy and has led to massive land consolidation in the Kingdom, with 70 per cent of the country now owned by the richest 20 per cent.

A 2006 UN report described this "as a major shift towards inequality, and one seldom observed in peace time anywhere in the world."

The policy is supported by the argument that large-scale plantations are more productive than small family-sized farms — contrary to evidence in Vietnam and Thailand where vibrant rural economies are founded on small-to-medium farms — but to date only about 72,000 hectares of the 800,000 hectares given over to concessions are in production.

Most concessions are simply denuded of their forests then left idle as speculative investments — creating a peculiar paradox of large tracts of uncultivated land in the countryside that are inaccessible to an increasingly landless rural poor.

The government described the detailed investigative report as "unacceptable rubbish" and promptly banned it, while Hun Neng, a provincial governor and Hun Sen’s brother, said if Global Witness came to Cambodia he would "hit them until their heads are broken".

A similarly damming report by Yash Ghai, the UN’s Human Rights envoy, was also refuted as ill-informed and inaccurate. Ghai’s report stated that the abuse of human rights was a tool of governance in the Kingdom and little had changed over the past decade: namely, the judiciary is still used as an arm of political power; impunity is still exercised in favour of the elite; corruption remains widespread; there are continued restrictions on the freedom of speech, and nothing has been done to protect the collective rights of the indigenous peoples to land.

Hun Sen’s response was to shun the UN representative, describing the quietly spoken Kenyan lawyer as "lazy" and "deranged" and likening him to a "barking dog".

But despite the broken promises and the barrage of criticism leading up to the forum, the donors once again came to Hun Sen’s party, coughing up a grand total US$690 million — with Australia contributing AUS$54 million.

The message seems clear: the economic growth and the stability that Hun Sen’s rule has engendered are more valuable in the current international climate than transparency, the rule of law, and human rights.

Now with revenue from Cambodia’s off-shore oil reserves set to fill the government’s coffers — possibly as early as next year — the opportunity for real donor pressure and true reform may have passed.

Cambodia Keeps Taking, Gives Little

A Cambodian beggar with her sister walks in a market in search of alms in the capital city Phnom Penh. (Photo: Khem Sovannarak/AFP/Getty)

Friday, Jun. 22, 2007
By Hannah Beech/Bangkok
Time Magazine (USA)

Why do the rich nations keep funneling millions of dollars every year to a corrupt country like Cambodia? Each summer, at around this time, for more than a decade, international donors have pledged huge sums to prop up the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. The donors unveil a goody bag of financial aid contingent on the country tackling endemic problems like corruption, human-rights violations and environmental degradation. And each year, like ritual, longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen dutifully pledges to clean up the government's act. Alas, also like ritual, little or nothing happens. Yet somehow the entire ceremony repeats itself year after year.

On Wednesday, June 20, foreign donors — a collection of foreign governments, multinational banks and various U.N. agencies — promised to funnel $689 million of aid to Cambodia, a 15% increase from last year and an amount roughly equivalent to half the nation's annual budget. This year, they did issue statements chastising the Hun Sen government for failing to adequately battle widespread graft. Cambodia ranks No. 151 out of 163 nations surveyed in Transparency International's 2006 government corruption index. Addressing donor representatives gathered in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh this month, Hun Sen promised that long-delayed anti-corruption legislation would be passed "as soon as possible." The statement was a virtual carbon copy of what he had pledged last year.

Foreign aid has long been employed as a political tool, with varying levels of success. Rich economies get to feel good about sharing their wealth with the less fortunate. At the same time, western nations dole out cash to poorer economies in hopes of encouraging budding democratization efforts. But if anything, Cambodia has continued to backslide. A Hun Sen-backed coup in 1997 removed Co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Opposition party members are regularly harassed. And a July 2006 deadline imposed by Hun Sen himself for introducing a draft of anti-corruption legislation passed with no evidence of any such document.

The country's economy has grown (more than 10% last year, due in part to tourism and the textile industry). But wealth appears to be concentrated in the hands of the few. Earlier this month, the international watchdog organization Global Witness released the findings of a three-year investigation that accuses a network of Hun Sen's relatives and friends of having made tens of millions of dollars from illegal logging. (Several of those implicated by Global Witness have denied the allegations, and the watchdog's report itself has been banned from domestic distribution by the Cambodian government.) In the report, Global Witness castigates the international donor community for facilitating what it labels a deeply corrupt Cambodian ruling class: "Donor support has failed to produce reforms that would make the government more accountable to its citizens. Instead, the government is successfully exploiting international aid as a source of political legitimacy."

The trouble is that Cambodia does not have to depend only on Western donors to help it patch together its economy and government. There is China. Unlike other foreign governments, China puts few strings on its aid, and its generosity in doling out funds for the Cambodian government now rivals Western munificence. Last year, Hun Sen publicly praised Cambodia's "most trustworthy friend" China for its pledge of $600 million in aid and loans; this month, the Cambodian Prime Minister went on to thank the Communist giant for giving money without "order[ing] us to do this or that" — presumably in contrast to pesky requests for reform from other international benefactors. "China has changed the game," says Sok Hach, director of the independent Economic Institute of Cambodia. "Their attitude toward aid has decreased the leverage of the rest of the world."

Further diluting international influence is the potential of oil and gas revenues to transform Cambodia's still largely agrarian economy. Two years ago, Chevron announced the discovery of offshore oil reserves in Cambodia. If natural-resources dollars do start flowing in 2010, as some expect, the country may for the first time enjoy a major revenue source that could help it stand on its own feet. Yet, in countries like Nigeria, oil money has only served to enrich a tiny minority while leaving the rest of the country impoverished. And the alternate source of income may only make it more difficult for Western efforts to tie aid to improved Cambodian governance.

Nevertheless, some human-rights groups blame the donor community for their consistent unwillingness to pull aid when their pleas for reform aren't met. "The donors' list of conditions hardly changes over time, and the government simply ignores them year after year," says Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Hun Sen continues to run circles around the donors, making the same empty promises every year and laughing all the way to the bank."

Promises, promises

Logged off (Photo: Global Witness)

Jun 21st 2007
BANGKOK AND PHNOM PENH
The Economist

Hun Sen runs rings round his donors

THIS week saw an annual ritual acted out between Cambodia's government and its ravening hordes of foreign donors. The donors tut-tut at the government's breaking of last year's promises to curb corruption and human-rights abuses. The government trots out the same promises all over again. The donors laud its modest achievements in other areas. Then they announce another big dollop of aid. This year the foreign governments, multilateral agencies and charities pledged $690m, 15% more than last year, thanks to China's decision to join the annual aid-pledging process, thus adding its donations to the total.

The promised aid exceeds the Cambodian government's entire annual tax revenue. Fortunately, in light of how much public money is looted by corrupt officials, most will go directly to poverty-cutting projects without passing through government coffers. As ever, the prime minister, Hun Sen, promised that an anti-corruption law, stuck in parliament for years despite his big majority, would soon be passed. The donors know that the law might make little difference, given how erratically the country's existing laws are applied, especially to those in government circles. But it would at least look like progress.

Not all is bad in Mr Hun Sen's government. Its openness to trade, investment and tourism has boosted economic growth to almost 11%. Public finances are on a sounder footing, and education and health services are slowly improving. Deaths and disappearances of government opponents have almost ceased in recent years. But there is little progress on curbing graft and other abuses.

This was illustrated earlier this month when Global Witness, an environmentalist group, published a detailed dossier alleging involvement in illegal logging by people close to the government. The group spent months seeking responses from those it named. Rather than reply, they waited until the report was published and then reacted in their customary, hysterical manner. The prime minister's brother, Hun Neng, a provincial governor mentioned in it, said that if anyone from Global Witness returned to Cambodia he would “beat him on the head until it broke.”

There was a similarly aggressive reaction to a report this month by Yash Ghai, the United Nations' human-rights envoy to Cambodia, which said assassinations, land-grabbing and other abuses were going unpunished. As in previous years, Mr Hun Sen preferred not to respond to the allegations, but fired off a barrage of personal insults at the envoy.

It is only recently that Mr Hun Sen stopped treating the donor governments and agencies with similar contempt. At least he has stopped biting the hands that feed Cambodia. But, says Erik Illes of SIDA, Sweden's foreign-aid agency, there is “growing frustration” at the lack of progress on corruption and human rights. Mr Hun Sen reminds Western donors that if they get too demanding, he can always rely on China to provide soft loans without strings. The big oil revenues that Cambodia will start earning in the next few years will also reduce foreign donors' leverage, laments Mr Illes.

However, argues Mike Davis of Global Witness, the prime minister craves international respectability as well as cash, and China alone cannot give him this. So the donors, if they united to make tougher demands, could make it clearer that his behaviour is beyond civilised bounds. The trouble is that donor governments and multilateral organisations often assign inexperienced staff to Cambodia. That makes it easier for Mr Hun Sen to bully them into silence.

CAMBODIA: Donors told to attach conditions to aid

20/06/2007
Radio Australia
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

International donors to Cambodia are being told to get tougher on the government as they deliberate on their annual aid contributions. The Phnom Penh government has failed to follow through on its own anti-corruption rhetoric, and its critics say the general population has little to show for the billions of dollars received in international aid over the past 10 years. Cambodia was ranked among the worst countries for government corruption in a report last year.

Presenter - Karon Snowdon Speaker - Soun Seyla, planning advisor, UN Development Program in Cambodia; Dr Chek Sotha, head of research, Centre for Social Development

SNOWDON: A World Bank report on Cambodia released this month says the country has made some good progress on poverty reduction since the 1991 Paris peace accord. It could however, be much better, given its high rate of economic growth during the past decade. The report noted with alarm the growing inequality between the rural poor and the urban rich. Soun Seyla, is a planning advisor with the UN's Development Program in Cambodia, and he points out the country's economic weaknesses.

SEYLA: The city, the urban areas, yes there's a lot of rich people, but if you compare economic vision and the income of the rural people and the urban people it's quite different. Most of the poorest are living at the rural area, so yeah, there's a lot to be done at the rural area in order to raise the living condition of those people living in rural areas.

SNOWDON: Stepping carefully around the word "corruption" the World Bank report concluded Cambodia has a long way to go on land reform and in public sector financial management. The bank is only one of almost two dozen aid donor countries and organisations meeting in Phnom Penh. Together over the past 15 years, they've poured about $US15 billion into Cambodia, half the national budget. Money not well spent according to the New York-based group, Human Rights Watch. The group's statement released to coincide with the donors meeting, says the government has made almost no progress on the rule of law or judicial independence, and accuses it of rampant corruption and human rights abuses. It's demanding the donors make it clear they won't accept the government's annual empty promises in return for aid. That demand is repeated in Cambodia itself, despite the government's record of stifling critics. A report by the Centre for Social Development published last December, found corruption had pervaded almost every sector of society.

SOTHA: If you are talking about the corruptions now, it cover up from the top until the bottom.

SNOWDON: Dr Check Sotha, is the Centre's head of research. She says Hun Sen's government must adopt the anti-corruption legislation it has before it as soon as possible. It's thought the clauses dealing with the disclosure of politicians assets and the independence of an anti-corruption agency are among the sticking points. Dr Check says those in power have little reason to change a system that has given them so much power and personal wealth and the donors group should exert some pressure.

SOTHA: I think the donor should put more pressure to the government and then follow up what the government is doing, to do monitoring, very careful what the government is do. Corruption and destroy the country you see and sometime the power people, they get a lot of money by the black market or some like that, so that is the problem and big issue for Cambodia, you know.

SNOWDON: Is it holding back Cambodia's economic development?

SOTHA: Yeah, I think so, because even investment, they cannot come to Cambodia for investment, because of corruption.

SNOWDON: Yet another report by Transparency International ranked Cambodia number 151 out of 163 nations in its corruption index last year. The UNDP's Soun Seyla, also says the donors group should be applying conditions to its aid package.

SEYLA: That is a must, that is a must condition, the bondings it must be tied up to some condition, via respect of human rights, via respect of free press or via anti-corruption law - must be drafted and approved as soon as possible. Yes, those are the condition that the donor must reconsider them and put on the table for discussion.

Cambodia hits up foreign donors for more aid

19.06.2007
AP

Cambodian leader Hun Sen expressed irritation at critics' doubt about his government's ability to manage prospective oil and gas revenues, as he opened a meeting with foreign donors Tuesday to ask for more aid. The two-day meeting followed a barrage of criticism that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government has repeatedly reneged on promises to control rampant corruption. In his opening speech, Hun Sen chided the donors for being "a bit over concerned" about the use of oil revenues when oil is still under the seabed and "we do not really know the exact quantity of oil and gas" yet. He said such concerns disregard his government's efforts to implement reform and "appear to prematurely cast doubt on the government's integrity and capacity in the management and leadership of the country." Recent offshore oil discovery by U.S. energy giant Chevron Corp. _ although it is not certain yet if that would lead to production _ has prompted concerns that corruption could worsen in Cambodia. Hun Sen told the donors his government is firmly committed to enacting an anti-corruption law, a promise he has made in the past but remains unmet.

Aid Not Monitored Enough, Advocate Tells 'Hello VOA'

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
18/06/2007

Too much aid has entered Cambodia unmonitored since 1991, Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, told "Hello VOA" Monday.

Speaking from Phnom Penh ahead of donor meetings Tuesday and Wednesday, Kek Galabru said 18 countries, including the US, Japan, the EU and Canada continually pledge money, while the government continually falls short of development promises.

Callers asked about conditions and promises tied to aid, and whether NGOs could propose ideas in order to keep the government on task.

Some countries, like the US, which just returned direct aid to Cambodia, monitor their aid closely, but other countries do not, Kek Galabru said. They should, she said.

Donors give aid because they see a need in Cambodia, she said, and NGOs have never asked them to stop.

However, what NGOs want to see is close monitoring of aid for the improvement of the country, in areas like human rights, land conflict, good governance, improved judiciary, education, health, illegal logging, among others, she said.

All that the Hun Sen regime can do is: Beg, beg, beg ... for more aid

Cambodia asks foreign donors for more aid

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Associated Press

"If their mission is to help Cambodia's long-suffering population, rather than just cozying up to its kleptocratic government, donors must start insisting on tangible actions to combat corruption and impunity" - Simon Taylor, Global Witness Director

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The Cambodian government opened a meeting with foreign donors Tuesday to ask for more aid, amid a barrage of criticism that it has reneged on promises to control rampant corruption.

Despite economic growth averaging 11.4 percent for the last three years, Cambodia remains one of the world's poorest countries and heavily reliant on foreign aid. Donors pledged US$601 million (€448 million) to the government last year.

It is not yet clear how much Cambodia will ask for during the two-day meeting that started Tuesday.

Human rights and environmental groups said the government keeps breaking its promises of reform, and that donors must get tougher with the government to ensure it meets its pledges.

"If their mission is to help Cambodia's long-suffering population, rather than just cozying up to its kleptocratic government, donors must start insisting on tangible actions to combat corruption and impunity," Simon Taylor, director of the Britain-based environmental group Global Witness, said in a statement Monday.

Early this month, his group issued a stinging report alleging tycoons, some senior officials and relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen were running illegal logging businesses. The government denied the allegations.

Yash Ghai, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia, in a report this month, also blasted the government's land concessions.

He said many rural Cambodians were losing out on land which was being given to those with government connections, including for logging purposes.

U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli has praised the government for realizing strong economic growth and "solid progress" in some health and legal areas.

But progress in other important areas, such as land-grabbing, the environment and good governance "is hampered by the systemic corruption we see in Cambodia today," he said Saturday.

Yet, the donors "are being taken for a ride" by the government, Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's Asia director, said Saturday.

"Hun Sen continues to run circles around the donors, making the same empty promises every year and laughing all the way to the bank," he said.

As the number of Hun Sen's pledges to fight corruption grows, so does the length of his nose

Cambodia's Hun Sen tells Japanese he will fight graft

By Hiroshi Hiyama

TOKYO (AFP) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pledged Thursday to fight corruption to lure more investors from top donor Japan as he tries to wean his government away from foreign aid.

Hun Sen, visiting Japan for his 15th time, met with business leaders and was set to sign a bilateral agreement on encouraging investment.

"By strengthening good governance, we will continue to thoroughly manage public agencies and to eradicate corruption and reduce costs for investors," Hun Sen said at the luncheon with business leaders.

"I firmly believe that Japanese investment is essential for further development of Cambodia," Hun Sen said. "We are aiming to stabilise the political, economic and security environment so that investments can be made with confidence."

He said the investment agreement, to be signed later Thursday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, should also improve opportunities for Japanese businesses eyeing to invest in Cambodia.

Japan is the top donor to Phnom Penh, but the world's second largest economy accounts for a mere two percent of Cambodia's overall trade, according to Japanese official data.

Donors are meeting in Cambodia next week, but many have expressed deep frustration over the lack of reform in the country including corruption.

Hun Sen earlier this month praised China, which has a growing rivalry for influence with Japan, for handing over aid without any conditions.

At the luncheon, Hun Sen said Cambodia was on a steady growth track, overcoming the regional economic crisis in the 1990s and occassional natural disasters.

Recently discovered natural resources, such as oil and natural gas, should also boost Cambodia's international standing, Hun Sen said.

"Private sector participation is essential. I am convinced that the Cambodian economy will grow further with participation from Japanese companies and investors as we continue to improve Cambodia's investment environment," he said.

"Cambodia historically had had difficulties and struggles. But we have overcome the difficulties with our strong will to develop the nation under democracy," he said.

Hun Sen voiced optimism that growth, which has surged ahead at around 9.0 percent a year since 2000, would help eliminate widespread poverty in Cambodia.

"It is my sincere hope that well thought-out social and economic development will further reduce poverty in our nation," he said.

He thanked Japan's consistant financial and other aid for his nation, adding that more assistance is needed to improve infrastructure, human resources, and business and technological know-how.

Japan pledged more than 100 million dollars at last year's donor meeting, which netted Cambodia some 600 million dollars in aid.

Hun Sen, who arrived late Wednesday and leaves Saturday, also had an audience with Emperor Akihito.

He will travel to the southern region of Fukuoka to observe a project in farm development, a top priority for Cambodia.

Another Hun Sen's broken promise: Hun Sen personally signed order for gov't offices move, paving the way for another land swapping in Siem Reap

Friday, May 04, 2007
Gov’t offices to move to outskirt

Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A large number of government offices in the province of Siem Reap currently located in downtown, will be moved to the city outskirt. A sub-decree dated 05 April signed by Hun Sen, orders the moving of the government offices from its current location to a new government office built on a 40-hectare plot which will be built in the near future. The Cambodia Daily reported that a copy of the sub-decree it received on Thursday, listed almost all government departments, and ordered them to move to the new building located 4 to 5 kilometers from downtown Siem Reap. Sou Phirin, the Siem Reap governor, said that this move will help facilitate the expansion of the city which now lacks space. He said that if the government does not move its offices, then people will have to be moved out to the city outskirt instead.

KI-Media Note: The Cambodia Daily reported also that the new government office building will be constructed by the G&R Construction Co. Ltd. In exchange, G&R will take possession of the current government buildings in the booming Siem Reap downtown.