Trafficking a Global Threat: US

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
09 June 2008

Cambodia may have moved out of US "watch list" status for its efforts to combat human trafficking, but it still must improve its efforts, US officials said.

The US moved Cambodia onto its list of "tier 2" nations last week, saying it had improved its efforts but still fell short of US standards for combating trafficking.

“Globally, human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons report. "It deprives people of their human rights and dignity. It increases global health risks. It bankrolls the growth of organized crime and it undermines the rule of law. In recent years we’ve witnessed a hopeful global movement uniting civil society, governments, and international organizations-not just to confront this crime, but to abolish it.”

Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli, who is currently in the US, said Cambodia had shown a clear commitment over the last two years to fight trafficking, though the government does acknowledge it has a "serious problem."

Extremist Funds Reach Chams: Ambassador

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
06 June 2008

Click here to listen the program in Khmer

Although Cambodia's Cham Muslims are a "very peaceful and tolerant group," there is a growing concern they receive funds from outside extremists, the US ambassador to Cambodia said this week.

A lot of money was coming into Cambodia's Chams from groups spreading a violent, intolerant form of Islam, which have a lot of resources and are attracted to poor communities, Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said at a talk in Washington Monday.

Meanwhile, Cambodia and the US continue to work on counter-terrorism, Interior Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak said.

The ambassador was right to be concerned, because terrorism can grow if countries don't pay attention, he said.

Adhoc President Thun Saray said many countries face extremism, and not always from Muslims, but Cambodian authorities should pay attention to ensure terrorism is not a threat here in the future.

Cambodia: An improbable paradise or a vassal state?

Beach in Kep (Photo: Helen Kudrich for TIME)

Improbable Paradise

Thursday, May. 29, 2008
By Krista Mahr/Kep
Time Magazine

"This is their chance to be a real country. This is their chance to have a real economy. If they screw it up, they'll be a vassal state" - Joseph Mussomeli, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia

Whoever says money can't buy happiness hasn't shelled out for their own beach in Cambodia. Before the crew of the Sea Breeze can even drop her anchor, Alexis de Suremain is in the water, swimming straight for 90 yards of white sand: his 90 yards of white sand. A wall of tangled jungle rises to the east; to the west, the sun sinks into its own reflection over the Gulf of Thailand. "See that?" de Suremain asks, waving at the sun as it bisects the beach view. "Right down the middle."

If all goes according to plan, these 35 acres (14 hectares) of sand, rock and jungle will in a few years host a plush eco-resort of palm trees and solar-powered bungalows. De Suremain, a French expat who runs guesthouses in Phnom Penh, says he combed Cambodia's shores for three years before he settled on building his resort on the remote island of Koh Rong. "I wanted something where you couldn't hear karaoke, where the neighbor's dogs don't bark and where the cocks aren't crowing in the morning," he says. "I wanted something completely isolated."

He's got it — for now. The postcard-perfect beaches of Cambodia's scores of islands and 270 miles (435 km) of southern shore have gone largely unnoticed by developers for the past 40 years. But in 2007, a record 2 million tourists visited Cambodia, signaling that the country was beginning to shake its killing fields image as an impoverished backwater where wandering off the beaten path could mean finding yourself astride an unexploded land mine. Cambodia is starting to register as a must-see destination, and it's not all about Angkor Wat. Brackish mangrove swamps and remote beaches are being envisaged as golf courses and plots for five-star bungalows with private pools. Indeed, there are signs of vitality in other sectors of the impoverished country's once moribund economy. Cambodia's GDP grew 10.4% in 2006 — the highest rate in Southeast Asia that year — and foreign investment shot up some 400% to nearly $4 billion. Thirteen foreign companies, including Chevron, have licenses to explore Cambodia's offshore blocks for oil and natural gas; the government says domestic oil production could begin within three years. The rush for Cambodia's gold coast is on, raising hopes that the economic torpor of this aid-supported nation will finally end. "This part of the country has been a revelation for me," says Steve Smith, a Londoner who finances his endless summer as a dive instructor in southeast Asia. "I didn't even know there were beaches in Cambodia."

The Undiscovered Country
To witness this awakening up close, I recently borrowed a wreck of a bicycle for a slow ride through the sleepy Cambodian seaside town of Kep, near the Vietnamese border. After limping along the potholed coastal road past unkempt plots of oceanfront land with crumbling colonial-era manses, I stopped to look at a billboard — the only one in sight. On it was a picture of a home that would not have looked out of place in a Denver subdivision. A young man pulled up on a motorbike next to me. "You want to buy?" he asked. I told him I wasn't in the market, and so he handed me a flyer for his business, Sunny Tours, that bore a stern warning: NOW IS THE TIME TO ENJOY KEP!!

Five years ago, Sunny Tours' catch-it-while-you-can marketing wouldn't have been very effective. In the early 20th century, Kep-sur-Mer was established as a getaway for French civil servants running the colony, and it served as an enclave for rich Khmer after independence in 1953. (The former King, Norodom Sihanouk, built a royal residence there that, like most of the old estates in town, now stands empty.) The holidays ended in the 1970s after an American bombing campaign brought the first wave of more than two decades of war, including the Khmer Rouge-led genocide that killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979.

Stability has been slow to return to Kep and to the country as a whole. But today nearly every Asian nation has a stake in Cambodian industries, from hydroelectric dams to oil exploration to real estate development. In Kep, three Modernist homes have been restored into Knai Bang Chatt, a striking boutique hotel owned by two Belgians. At the other end of town, the early 20th century La Villa de Monsieur Thomas is being revamped into a five-star resort by a Khmer developer. And in February, Sokimex, a powerful Cambodian company that imports most of the nation's petroleum, began converting a colonial casino on Bokor Mountain into a flashy new resort. "All of a sudden there's interest," says Joseph Mussomeli, the U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, who last year hosted the first American business conference in Phnom Penh. The country is "lucky to be stuck between 85 million Vietnamese and 65 million Thai," he says. "It's hard to ignore this place now."

More projects are in the works. About an hour's motorbike ride down a red dirt road that trails off the coastal highway, residents of the fishing village of Angkoal have started selling their small holdings to real estate developers. One family, residents of a palm-fringed knob of land that slopes into the water, says their property is regularly visited by speculators. "They come every day," says Sry Mau — even though the place where the young woman's family has lived for 23 years has already been purchased by a Cambodian hotelier for $8,000. With the money, they bought a new, considerably smaller piece of land across the road and a new fishing boat.

In a country where 4.7 million people live on less than 50 cents a day, the surge of investment is changing lives and could help create jobs. The country desperately needs more employment opportunities. About a third of Cambodians are 15 years old or younger, and they'll be entering the workforce in droves over the next two decades. Hundreds of NGOs are already busy trying to fix Cambodia, and about 20% of the government's total budget still comes from foreign aid. The prospect of a tourism boom coupled with the start of domestic oil production offers the tantalizing possibility of a more independent way forward. With foreign aid, "you'll always be living according to somebody else's rules," says Rithivit Tep, director of the private-equity firm that owns Kep's Thomas villa and development rights to two islands. "We have wasted a lot of time."

Paradise or Vassal State?
A few hours drive down the coastal road, I was sitting inside the dusty office of Sokun Travel and Tours when the lights cut out. "No good," said the woman behind the desk, looking into the dark street. "Every day, two or three times." We conducted the rest of our transaction by candlelight. Mourn Sokun, who owns the travel agency, says Sihanoukville, the current hub of south-coast tourism, can't keep up with the rush of tourists. The number of foreign visitors to the city shot up by 50% between 2006 and 2007, and infrastructure, including electricity generation, is overtaxed. In 2007, the local airport reopened to shuttle tourists between Angkor Wat and the coast, only to close months later when a domestic flight went down, killing 22 people on board. It's still closed today. Som Chenda, Sihanoukville's minister of tourism, says the city needs more of everything — more hotel rooms, more restaurants, more hospitality training, more language teachers. "We need it all," says Som. Right now, Sihanoukville doesn't even have enough fresh produce coming in: "There are too many tourists and not enough food."

In a line of work that relies on clean beaches and clear water, Mourn, the travel agent, worries the authorities aren't working hard enough to protect the environment. As more guesthouses and bars pay their license fees to operate at the popular beaches, Mourn says raw sewage is being piped into the water and trash is being dumped onto the sand. "People pay their money, and the government closes their eyes," Mourn says. Government officials say they are aware of the growing problem. "The coast is not so good now because of the fast development," says Prak Visal, who heads the Sihanoukville branch of a regional coastal-management project. Solid-waste dumping, mangrove destruction, unsustainable fishing practices and illegal logging are a few of the challenges he says the area faces. But slowing things down? Not an option. "We protect, but we develop, too," Prak says.

Though some are happy with the money they've made, others living in valuable areas fear they'll lose their land, or lose it without being fairly compensated. Few families hold formal land titles, leaving many to rely on local authorities to vouch for them as landowners if a developer comes calling. Though efforts to provide documentation for landowners have been ramped up — almost 1 million land titles have been granted since 2004, according to the World Bank — there are millions more to go. Cambodians' scramble to secure their rights speaks to a fundamental anxiety: faith in the law is dismally low. For the past two years, the country has ranked near the bottom of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, and in a 2007 World Bank study, only 18% of respondents said they thought judges were honest. "Corruption is so pervasive it's part of the culture," says Theary Seng, executive director of the Center for Social Development, a Phnom Penh-based NGO. She worries that the billions coming in from private investment — particularly in oil — will not trickle down to the countryside where 80% of the nation lives. "If they want to do it right, they have lots of good models in the world," says Mussomeli, the U.S. ambassador, warning against Cambodia going the way of oil-cursed nations like Nigeria and Chad. "Or they could do it wrong and they could suffer the political consequences in 20 years. This is their chance to be a real country. This is their chance to have a real economy. If they screw it up, they'll be a vassal state."

The Road Ahead
Alongside road 4, the 143-mile (230 km) ribbon of asphalt connecting Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh, water buffalo graze in rice paddies that stretch from horizon to horizon. Kids in white school uniforms pedal their bikes in the dirt, moving alongside traffic like birds riding on air currents. It's places like these — in other words, most of Cambodia — where the five-star visions of the coast begin to get a bit blurry. Neither tourism nor oil alone can drive the national economy in a meaningful way. There must also be investment in agriculture and other sectors that employ most Cambodians, says Arjun Goswami, country director for the Asian Development Bank. "If one of these days I can go into Whole Foods and see a Cambodian export on the shelves, that's when I'll be a happy man," says Goswami.

In Phnom Penh, I stop by the offices of Rory and Melita Hunter, an Australian couple whose real estate company was recently granted a 99-year lease to build a luxury boutique hotel on Song Saa, a tiny pair of islands off the coast. They show me elaborate renderings of the future 40-room complex, replete with a wine cellar, air-conditioned library and 15 over-water bungalows designed to reflect the architecture of a nearby fishing village. The Hunters paid relocation costs for the 15 or so families living on the islands. They hauled away tons of trash that had been piling up for years, and started to revive the local coral reef that had been all but destroyed by overfishing. "Knowing that there had been all these other issues about how people had been relocated, we wanted to do it properly from the start," says Rory Hunter. "We're going to be doing business here for a long time." Maybe money will buy happiness for Cambodia; maybe it won't. But nobody said paradise was built in a day.

Political Cartoon: US AID

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

US Military Aid 'Important' ... to prop up the CPP sagging image before the election?

US Military Aid 'Important': Ambassador

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
04 June 2008

The resumption of military aid to Cambodia is part of an important relationship, and can help with counterterrorism, human trafficking and drug interdiction, the US ambassador to Cambodia said in Washington Monday.

The US donated 31 trucks, part of a larger contingent, to Cambodia's armed forces Tuesday, signaling another step in military cooperation that has steadily grown since 2006.

The aid was not meant to protect US oil interests and was not meant to compete with Chinese or Vietnamese interests, Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said.

The aid, from the most professional military in the world, was meant to improve relations between the two countries, he said.

Cambodian NGOs concerned judiciary being used against opposition

Friday May 09, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

A coalition of some 30 Cambodian nongovernmental organizations have expressed concern over what they say is the ruling party's use of the judiciary against opposition parties ahead of national elections in July.

The ''Action Committee'' coalition says the judiciary is being used to prevent politicians from participating in the poll.

Correspondents say court cases are currently pending against two prominent opposition figures, including a criminal lawsuit filed against main opposition leader Sam Rainsy by Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong.

Earlier this week, the US Ambassador to Cambodia said he was also concerned the suit filed against Sam Rainsy could have an affect on the general election.

Hor Namhong’s lawsuit against Sam Rainsy to continue its course

Hor Namhong (L) and Sam Rainsy (R) (Photo: RFA)

07 May 2008
By Chea Makara
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata and Heng Soy
Click here to read the original article in Khmer

On Wednesday, Hor Namhong, the vice-prime minister of Cambodia, said that he will not pull out his lawsuit against opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

Hor Namhong, who is also the minister of Foreign Affairs, said that he was also a prisoner under the Democratic Kampuchea regime or the KR regime, and that he also wants to find the truth, just like Sam Rainsy.

Hor Namhong said: “I don’t want to talk about this issue, let the court continue its course because I believe that this case in not only one of defamation, but it is a problem of repeating the publication over again and again. Therefore, this spreading of information was intentional. Now, there is a factual information from a top KR leader, who is currently charged, but that I don’t want to reveal his name, who confirmed that I was a prisoner also.”

In response to Hor Namhong’s refusal to pull out his lawsuit, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said on Wednesday also that this is a minor issue that will not affect his party during the upcoming election.

Sam Rainsy said that the KR Tribunal should decide the case of Hor Namhong, whom Sam Rainsy accused of being involved in the crimes committed by the KR.

Sam Rainsy said: “The main issue is that we want a judgment on the KR leaders, and the issue on the people involved in the killing of innocent people, those who ordered the killing of the prisoners, those who have been accused (during the KR regime), (in fact,) it was the KR who accused them for no reason, and they were taken to be killed very savagely. Those who are guilty are the ones who work with the KR. Therefore, the importance is for the crimes to be sentenced according to the law. The issue you raised and that you asked me, is only a minor issue.”
Embassy officials and civil society concerned that this lawsuit could affect the election

On Tuesday 06 May, US Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli said that Hor Namhong’s lawsuit could affect the upcoming July election.

Hang Puthea, NICFEC executive director, said: “During the election period, there are competitions, and if party leaders have social issues, whether they are private or political ones, they can influence (party) activists, and they can also influence the people’s decision as well.”

Hor Namhong sent his lawsuit to the Phnom Penh municipal court on 19 April, in which he accused Sam Rainsy of defamation and disinformation. The lawsuit came after Sam Rainsy said on 17 April that Pol Pot’s former advisor is the minister of economy and finance, and the Khmer Rouge Boeng Trabek jail chief is the minister of Foreign Affairs. However, Sam Rainsy did not name anybody in particular.

Hor Namhong won a lawsuit against former monarch Norodom Sihanouk when the king called Hor Namhong a KR leader.

Sam Rainsy is preparing his strategy to fight back

Regarding this lawsuit, Sam Rainsy told his supporters in the USA during his visit there last month, that whatever he said is not different from what the former monarch said.

Sam Rainsy said that the reason King-Ftaher lost the lawsuit against Hor Namhong was because he did not have sufficient witnesses. He said that he will make preparation to fight back if the lawsuit will come up: “I asked my lawyer to meet with Khieu Samphan and Ieng Sary, and in particular with Duch, the Tuol Sleng (S-21) jail chief. I want my lawyer to ask Duch about those who were killed in Tuol Sleng and who were sent over from Boeng Trabek, who were the first ones to be selected to be killed in Tuol Sleng? Who issued the report (for sending the prisoners from Boeng Trabek to Tuol Sleng) during that time? Surely what Samdech Sihanouk raised, what I am raising now will have a proper basis.”

US Amb. Mussomeli: “As a general principle, the United States strongly believes that defamation and disinformation should never be criminal cases”

Lawsuit Versus Sam Rainsy Worries Ambassador

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 May 2008

US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Tuesday he was concerned a suit filed against the opposition leader by the foreign minister could have an affect on the general elections in July.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong is suing Sam Rainsy for disparaging remarks the opposition leader allegedly made at an April 17 public rally.

“As a general principle, the United States strongly believes that defamation and disinformation should never be criminal cases,” the ambassador said after a vitamin distribution in Kampong Thom province.

Hor Namhong dismissed questions about the suit by reporters Wednesday, asking them to let the court do its work.

If found guilty Sam Rainsy could face a fine for defamation but imprisonment for disinformation.

Child Labor In Cambodia

Editorials (Reflecting the Views of the US Government)
VOA
25 April 2008

According to the latest estimates, fifty-two percent of children aged seven to fourteen-years, or more than one-million-four hundred thousand Cambodian children work. On average, they spend more than twenty hours a week working, mostly in agriculture.

“Excessive and inappropriate work not only stunts the normal development of individual children, it has significant consequences for society as a whole,” said U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli. “Children who have to work to support their families rather than attend school," he said, "don’t acquire the knowledge and skills they need to obtain quality employment in the future, contributing to a cycle of poverty in their own families, and holding back economic growth in the entire country,” he said.

Ambassador Mussomeli spoke at ceremonies inaugurating the launch of a new U.S.-funded effort to help Cambodia battle child labor, the Children’s Empowerment through Education Services project. Since 2001, the U.S. government has been working together with the Cambodian government to combat child labor through education. In that year, the U.S. Department of Labor funded the International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor to provide education and other services to children engaged in exploitive labor, or at-risk of doing so.

Since then, the U.S. has continued to support other committed organizations, such as World Education and Winrock International, with a total investment of nearly thirteen million dollars to stop child labor. More than thirty-five thousand Cambodian children have been saved from dangerous and exploitive labor.

The four-million dollar U.S.-funded Children’s Empowerment project will withdraw and prevent more than eight-thousand children in four Cambodian provinces from exploitive labor in agriculture. It will also support schooling for the children and provide income generating activities for their parents.

“The Cambodian government has taken many positive steps to reduce child labor since our partnership began, and we applaud these efforts,” said Ambassador Mussomeli. “We all understand," he said, "the importance of taking care of young people and investing in their development."

HRP unhappy that only SRP was able to hold demonstration

Sam Rainsy waving Cambodia and party flags during the SRP-led anti-inflation demonstration (Photo: Chauk Chey, Koh Santepheap)

Rights Party Decries Opposition Rally

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

The Human Rights Party rebuked authorities for allowing an opposition inflation demonstration Sunday, claiming the government had been unfair in denying permission to hold a gathering on fuel prices in February.

The Sam Rainsy Party, the only opposition party with seats in parliament, gathered several hundred demonstrators in Phnom Penh Sunday to protest high inflation rates.

The Human Rights Party said it had been denied a similar demonstration in February. The statement was a further separation of the two parties ahead of elections.

The Human Rights Party was formed by former rights advocate and politician Kem Sokha, following commune elections last year.

"HRP cannot accept the discrimination, bias and inequality of rights and freedoms made by the government for political parties," Keo Remy, vice president of the Human Rights Party, said Monday. "Because this opposes the principals of the law and democracy."

The party members "condemn the government for violating the law," he said. "The Human Rights Party asked the authorities for a public forum to find a way to reduce the price of fuel, but the government and authorities denied this. But why, if Sam Rainsy asks for a demonstration, does the government allow the Sam Rainsy Party to do it? We question what's behind the permission."

Cambodian law provides for the freedom of assembly, but the government is often criticized for preventing marches and demonstrations.

The city "had no secrecy behind the Sam Rainsy permission to hold a demonstration," Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Pa Socheatvong said Monday.

"The Sam Rainsy Party proposal for public expression was clear, but the HRP proposal for a public forum we didn't understand clearly their purpose," he said.

Ny Chakriya, an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said the government had violated the law by not allowing the HRP gathering in February.

Sam Rainsy said Monday his demonstration Sunday had been allowed thanks to pressure from US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli.

Armed forces prevented some from joining the rally, he added.

"The Sam Rainsy Party will hold the next demonstration without asking permission from the authorities, by walking into the public street," he said.

US Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle said Monday the ambassador had called on "all interested parties" to work together for the right of "peaceful assembly," but had not "pressured" the government.

The US has no plan to provide aid for the KR Tribunal

27 March 2008
By San Suwidh
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

The US has not plan to help the KR Tribunal yet. Meanwhile an ECCC delegation is now in New York City to try to find additional budget from the UN for completing the judgment of the former KR leaders still alive.

The ECCC delegation includes Sean Visoth, the ECCC administrative director, Dr. Helen Jarvis, the ECCC director of public affairs, and Thong Socheat, the ECCC national director of finance and budget.

Regarding the ECCC delegation mission in New York, Joseph Mussomeli, US Ambassador to Cambodia, said that this shows that the Cambodian government and the KR Tribunal are making big progress in its work. However, the US has no plan to provide aid for the KR Tribunal yet.

Mussomeli indicated that Cambodia is confident that it will receive aid from other friendly countries: “Based on our understanding, the Cambodian government is very confident that it will find sufficient funds from friendly countries. The US has no plan to seek budget to help the KR (Tribunal) work at this point in time.”

Torture still endemic in Cambodian legal system, US ambassador says

Thu, 20 Mar 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - More than a quarter of Cambodian court defendants surveyed reported being tortured or coerced into confession and ordinary people lacked faith in the justice system, US ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli said Thursday. Speaking at the launch of an annual judicial review by local anti- corruption organization the Centre for Social Development (CSD), the ambassador said that although the figures showed some improvement, the country's notoriously fraught system was still poor.

"The CSD annual report makes clear what goes on inside Cambodia's courtrooms still falls short of what can be considered procedural justice," he said.

"CSD reported that over 25 per cent of defendants appearing in court claimed to have been tortured or coerced into giving confessions. I note that this ... is the same as reported last year, indicating there has been no significant change."

The Court Watch Project by CSD has come to be viewed as the definitive annual survey of developments in the fledgling Cambodian judicial system since it was launched in 2003.

CSD, which receives funding from a number of donors including Germany and the US, interviewed a wide range of judicial officials, witnesses, lawyers and defendants between October 2006 and September 2007.

Judicial reform of the notoriously corrupt Cambodian system has been earmarked by donors to the aid-dependant nation as a key factor in the country's development after 30 years of civil war.

The report outlined a number of concerns, including poor training of the judiciary, bribery, torture, underfunding, a lack of independence and frequent pre-trial detention of prisoners for terms exceeding the legal limit of six months.

"Not all the news is bad," Mussomeli said, but "on balance ... there remains a good deal to be done before the people of the judicial system will earn the trust of the people of Cambodia."

Group Notes Continued Concern for Courts

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 March 2008

A worrying number of people report coerced confessions ahead of trial, and many are kept beyond reasonable limits awaiting trial, the Center for Social Development said Thursday.

In an annual report, the group found a high number of cases where defendants were allegedly beaten in order to extract confessions.

In six courts monitored by the group, including the Appeals and Supreme courts, 25 percent of defendants claimed they were coerced into confessions by judicial or police officials.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court had the most allegations against it, followed by Kandal provincial court, according to the report.

Courts continued to be under-funded, said Pen Reny, head of the CSD legal unit, noting the budget for the court remained 0.28 percent of the national budget in 2007.

"The lack of court officials impacts the hearings and leads to insufficient justice for defendants, and it also can delay hearings and leave defendants in detention beyond a reasonable time," she said.

US Ambassador Jospeh Mussomeli, who attended a discussion coinciding with the report's release, noted that the percentage of coerced confessions was the same as last year, indicating no change in the way defendants are treated in the initial case process.

He said adults were frequently detained beyond reasonable limits while awaiting trial, and even more so with juveniles. This was something the courts could do something about, he said.

Keu Khem Lim, deputy director-general for the Ministry of Justice, said the ministry was trying its best to carry out the government policy.

In 2007, the ministry drafted new criminal and civil codes, which would provide a basis for proper court conduct, he said.

US Helps Strengthen Cambodian Legal System with Client Counseling Competition

02 Mar 08
By Seila
Sralanh Khmer Newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Anonymous

The United States has given Cambodia considerable aid because it wants to see this region's poorest country correctly uphold the law in accordance with the international definition, starting with enabling the law school students and legal community intellectuals to undergo professional training as lawyers, judges, and prosecutors, the ones who serve the law in Cambodia.

US Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli, through the US Agency for International Development [USAID] and the East West Management Institute [EWMI], yesterday morning funded a Cambodian Client Counseling Competition [CCCC] at Sunway Hotel, Phnom Penh, in order to select a national team to represent Cambodia in the International Client Counseling Competition [ICCC], which will take place in Bangalore, India from 2-6 April, 2008, in which over 20 countries are expected to participate.

Ky Tech, President of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, made a speech at the opening ceremony to say that he was happy and delighted to greet students from five Cambodian universities who took part in the CCCC organized by USAID and EWMI with the support of the US ambassador to Cambodia. He said that this program will give the young students who attend it many useful skills. This competition, he said, will promote a better understanding at this stage when the young students are still learning, and will give them useful legal knowledge for making professional judgment as lawyers, judges, and prosecutors who are servants of the law in Cambodia.

Ky Tech further stated that the United States has always urged Cambodia to correctly uphold the law, and has always pushed this country to become a Rule of Law state as soon as possible.

The US ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli addressed yesterday morning's ceremony, saying that client counseling skills are very difficult to master and it is even more impressive that the students have mastered them in English. This competition is an excellent example of the innovative and effective way in which important skills can be taught to law students.

The US ambassador went on to say that the students competing here have learned how to counsel a client, how to analyze a case and present legal and non-legal options in a useful and professional manner.

He said, these skills will enable you, the future lawyers, judges, and prosecutors of Cambodia, to more effectively serve your clients and ultimately serve justice. Your future clients are relying on you and it will be your sworn duty to take care of them and provide them your best advice.

The ambassador quoted from a Greek scholar that written laws are like the web of a spider, and will like a spider web only entangle and hold the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily break through it. It will be your job to make sure that is not true, he said. And that is why the U.S. government through USAID supports Rule of Law programs like this one.

Miss Khun Sonita representing the winning team told reporters, we win because we have made great efforts to learn and we have actually implemented what we have learned to get through to the core for this competition. Another member of the winning team also said, we have spent a lot of time making preparations but what is important is not just winning the cup today; we still will have to compete on the international stage and we will tell the world that Cambodia, too, has an excellent judicial system.

It should be pointed out that through this client counseling competition in English yesterday morning, the winning trophy went to the Royal University of Law and Economics [RULE], and this national champion has won a trip to India to represent Cambodia in the ICCC to be attended also by teams from the United States, the UK, Australia, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and some 20 other countries.

It should also be recalled that in September 2007 the US Embassy and USAID inaugurated an auditorium for law school students to use as a moot courtroom where mock trial competitions can be held.

The mock courtroom provides a modern facility for interactive legal education, and a proper forum for teaching trial advocacy to RULE law students and others in the legal community. It also provides innovative classroom space for law clinic practical instruction, which is another component of USAID's work in legal education.

USAID provided $90,000 for the renovation of the RULE building and auditorium. The renovations included the installation of a new roof, floors, doors, ceilings, a drainage system, and handicap access ramps inside and outside the building. The electrical system was rewired and new lights, fans, and audio sound system, including mixing components, microphones, projector, and motorized screen were provided. An entirely new mock courtroom stage including judge's bench, lawyer's tables, chairs, and other furniture was also donated by USAID.

Since 2005, USAID has provided approximately $4.8 million to support the "Program on Rights and Justice," which works to improve the quality, effectiveness, and transparency of the Cambodian judicial system. USAID partners in this effort are EWMI and the American Bar Association.

Isle lab gets remains found in Cambodia

Sunday, March 2, 2008
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - The remains of a U.S. serviceman who died in Cambodia more than three decades ago arrived in Hawaii for forensic analysis.

The repatriation is the latest effort by the U.S. military to account for personnel who went missing in the Southeast Asian nation during the Vietnam War.

After a brief ceremony at Phnom Penh International Airport yesterday, a U.S. military transport plane carrying the remains flew to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, where the forensic identification process will begin, a U.S. Embassy statement said.

Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said the remains are believed to be those of a U.S. serviceman who died on Koh Tang, an island several miles off the coast of Cambodia's main port city of Sihanoukville. The embassy did not give further details about when the remains were found.

Eighteen U.S. Marines were killed fighting Khmer Rouge forces on Koh Tang in May 1975. Invading Marines fought for three hours trying to rescue the captured crew of the U.S. Merchant Marine vessel Mayaguez without knowing they had already been released by the Cambodian communists.

Mussomeli said cooperation with the Cambodian government has allowed the United States to send home and identify the remains of 29 missing American servicemen. Another 55 are still unaccounted for.

Threat of terrorist attack on US embassy in Phnom Penh?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

In the evening of 18 February, the US embassy in Cambodia was threatened by a terrorist attack, forcing the Cambodian authority to take immediate measure by sending several hundreds police force to protect the safety of the embassy, as well as investigating for the suspect of the threat.

On 19 February, Khieu Sopheak, Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman, claimed that there was indeed an attack threat on the US embassy. He said that the threat was done by an email sent to a newspaper which relayed the message to the embassy, and in turn, the embassy alerted the authority. Khieu Sopheak added: “Our tactical force sent in protection force, and we simultaneously investigated to find the identity of the suspect. As a result, we now know the identity of the suspect.”

Nevertheless, Khieu Sopheak refused to provide additional information on the suspect who threatened to attack the embassy, as of yet.

During his trip to Koh Kong to visit the New Life Center, on 19 February, US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters that there was indeed an email threat. Nevertheless, he said that this threat is a minor issue and that he is not concerned about his safety or security. He said: “We shouldn’t consider it as being important. We are not concerned about it.” He added: “However, we welcome the cooperation provided by the MoI which sent its force to work with us.”

Mussomeli said that the US is confident that Cambodia has a good safety and security record when it comes to traveling. He said that, for example, he is traveling to Koh Kong without a single bodyguard escorting him.

In addition to his confidence on security and safety in Cambodia, Mussomeli said that all US embassies in the world usually receive such unreliable information, however, he is not concerned about his safety.

A police source indicated that soon after receiving the threat information, several hundreds of both plain clothe and uniform military police officers were sent to protect the US embassy located near Wat Phnom. The residence of the US ambassador was likewise protected. In the evening of 18 February, the French and UK embassies also received protection. However, the plain clothe cops were charged with the protection, whereas the uniform cops were patrolling in their motorcycles.

Another source indicated that the protection force were sent in after the US embassy received an email threatening to bomb the embassy, and it was also observed that somebody was flying remote controlled planes near the embassy between 5:40 PM and 6:00 PM on 18 February.

The cops who were sent to protect the embassy consisted mainly of military police force, with the addition of police force from the MoI, and local cops.

The same source indicated that a large number of cops came to protect the embassy in the evening of 18 February, but there was no incident, and the evening was quiet as usual.

In the morning of 19 February 2008, no police force was seen protecting the US embassy anymore, but there was still a lot of local force standing near the Wat Phnom park.

Police Mobilize Over Embassy Warning

US Embassy in Cambodia

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Cambodian special police and elite military units were deployed in the streets of the capital near the US Embassy Monday night, following a warning over the security of the embassy, the ambassador and a government spokesman said Tuesday.

US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters in Koh Kong province the embassy had received a security warning, but the information was not considered a threat.

"The information itself is not information we consider credible," he said.

He praised the cooperation provided by the government's security forces, but said the embassy was not concerned.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed Tuesday that police were deployed after an individual sent a concerning fax to an unnamed newspaper, which transmitted the fax to the embassy.

The suspect has been identified, and the authorities will take the appropriate measures, Khieu Sopheak said.

Concrete Jungle

02.11.08
Ron Gluckman
Forbes

Not so long ago Chinese visitors jokingly referred to Cambodia as "Qian Bu Zai." This not only sounded like the Chinese name for the country--Jian Bu Zhai--it summed up their assessment: "There is no money."

Now investors are arriving from Beijing, Boston and everywhere in between. In December a $30 million canning plant opened in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, providing capacity for not only domestic consumption but also exports. The country's largest cement factory went online last month, ending Cambodia's dependence on imports and keeping its massive construction boom on track. Also last month CB Richard Ellis announced plans for a Cambodia office, which will make it the first big realty firm lured to a market where property prices have doubled in two years.

Commodities are another bright area. Australian mining giant BHP Billiton (nyse: BBL - news - people ), with partner Mitsubishi (other-otc: MSBHY.PK - news - people ), has a large bauxite exploration project under way, while Australia's Oxiana is prospecting for gold in the northern jungle. Oil has been discovered off the southern coast. America's Chevron (nyse: CVX - news - people ) is a major player in fields that some estimate could yield up to $1 billion in annual revenue for the government.

Other lures include the ease of getting business licenses, low taxes and business-friendly investment rules. Bretton Sciaroni, an American lawyer in Cambodia since 1993 and chair of the International Business Club, notes that licenses often take only a week to obtain, and ventures can be 100% foreign owned. Foreign companies are often limited to minority stakes in ventures elsewhere in the region.

A big spur for the economy, business people say, was the constitutional change in 2006 that ended the fractious power-sharing agreement that the United Nations had negotiated in the 1990s. This deal brought peace after decades of war but resulted in regular stalemates over policy and endless red tape. "Having a strong, stable government is the key thing to investors," notes tycoon Kith Meng.

Not that all is glowing in Cambodia. Perhaps a third of the population of 14 million live below the poverty line. The economy is dependent on textiles, with 200 factories employing more than 300,000 people. "Trade diversification remains the big problem for Cambodia," conceded Prime Minister Hun Sen at a December trade conference. "We are too vulnerable."

Corruption is also a huge drawback, prompting widespread worries that future oil revenue will be squandered. U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussemeli has been among the staunchest advocates of ensuring that commodities generate revenue to boost the entire economy and not to line the pockets of the wealthy elite.

Cambodia's prime minister--who is expected to win by another landslide in elections July 27--has repeatedly brushed aside such concerns, yet he has noted that good governance would be the main challenge over the coming decade.

Can Cambodia meet the challenge? "I think the will is there," says Mussomeli. "But the difference between will and action is profound. It's like you look at a mirror and want to lose weight. But then you sit at the table and eat."

Mussomeli: Mia Farrow's Dream for Darfur ceremony was "politicized" -sic!-

Main Reason US Ambassador Boycotted Ceremony At Tuol Sleng

25-01-2008
By Rithy
Kampuchea Thmey
Unofficial Translation from Khmer by KRtrial.info

Phnom Penh: Joseph A. Mussomeli, U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, told journalists in Kratie province on January 22 that the reason he had not attended the ceremony with the Hollywood actress at Tuol Sleng prison was that the ceremony was politicized.

The ambassador said that at first he thought the purposes of the ceremony were only to find peace and commemorate the atrocities of the genocidal regime. That was the reason why he had registered to attend it. Later he, however, realized that the ceremony had been politicized to criticize another country, so he decided to withdraw himself from it.

Civil society organizations from Cambodia and Sudan’s Darfur had asked the government for the rally on the 20th of February at Tuol Sleng prison and Cheung Aek Genocide Center. However, it was blocked by the government’s authorities since the ceremony was seen as a “paddle” to criticize China.

If the ceremony had been made in accordance with its proposal, it would not have been halted.

“We do not support any acts using unfair images to criticize another country,” said Joseph A. Mussomeli. If the march had been for humanitarian acts, he would not have refused to attend. “At first, they told me that a group of supporter of “Dream for Darfur” led by Hollywood actress Mia Farrow would light a torch at Tuol Sleng prison to stand out against genocidal regimes around the world. But, on the day it was started, the march became politicized and it criticized another country,” said Joseph A. Mussomeli. The ambassador has expressed his disappointment to what they had done differently from their proposed plan.

However, the ambassador has also appreciated the government’s authorities who banned the march with no one injured.

Besides Darfur-related issue, the ambassador also talked about the draft law on anti-corruption in Cambodia which must be accelerated in favor of law enforcement in Cambodia in order to contribute to alleviation of corruption in society and country development. Meanwhile, the government has been committed to speeding up the adoption of the draft anti-corruption law.

Joseph said that approximately $320 million have been lost annually due to corruption. Therefore, if the corruption could be prevented, the huge sums of money could be used for building schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures.

In a report of the U.S. Embassy, more than 500,000 people have put their fingerprints in a petition to urge the National Assembly to adopt the law as soon as possible. Only in Kratie, 20,000 fingerprints have been taken in support of the law.

Mussomeli: Cambodia lost $320 million to corruption each year

US pushes for a speed up in the adoption of the anti-corruption law

Friday, January 25, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Joseph Mussomeli, the US Ambassador to Cambodia, is pushing the Cambodian government to speed up the adoption of the anti-corruption law, so that it can be put to use to curb down corruption in the Cambodian society, and to develop the country furthermore. Mussomeli told reporters in Kratie province on 22 January that the Cambodian government already promised to speed up the adoption of this anti-corruption law, without backing down. Mussomeli said that about $320 million flow into corruption each year. Therefore, if the flow of this gigantic sum of money can be stopped then it can be used to build a large number of schools, hospitals, and infrastructures. Mussomeli reported that more than 500,000 people provided their thumbprints to support the speedy adoption of this law by the National Assembly.