Cambodia, Myanmar agree on direct flights

May 23, 2007
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from a three-day official visit to Myanmar Wednesday, with the country declaring it had successfully negotiated for direct flights between the two nations.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who accompanied Hun Sen, told a press conference that the two nations had agreed to the flights in an effort to boost tourism between the two culturally rich nations.

'There will be direct flights from Bagan and Mandalay ... to Siem Reap,' he told reporters without naming a date on which the first flights will be available.

Bagan and Mandalay are two cultural hubs of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Siem Reap is the gateway to the 800-year-old Angkor Wat temple and a world famous collection of surrounding temples which form the keystone of Cambodia's booming tourism industry.

Hor Namhong said the two nations shared a similar Buddhist culture and the direct flights were a natural extension to both country's tourism sectors.

He said direct flights between Myanmar and the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh were also planned in the near future.

Although opponents to Myanmar's harsh ruling military junta have tried to discourage tourism, saying it only supports a government notorious for human rights abuses, Cambodia has taken the traditional Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) line that Myanmar's politics are an internal issue for the Myanmar government.

Both Myanmar and Cambodia are members of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc and Cambodia has actively sought to increase inter-ASEAN tourism in recent years and has maintained cordial bilateral ties to Myanmar.

Hun Sen was also accompanied by Tourism Minister Thong Kong and Commerce Minister Cham Prasith on his visit, which Hor Namhong said had also further strengthened bilateral trade ties.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The return of the prodigal ... dictator

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (L) greets officials upon his arrival from Myanmar at Phnom Penh international airport on May 23, 2007. Hun Sen has returned to Cambodia after a two-day official visit to Myanmar. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Myanmar, Cambodia working for closer ties

May 23, 2007

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen wound up his three-day goodwill visit to Myanmar Wednesday, bringing the Myanmar-Cambodia ties closer.

The two countries have achieved considerable success in expanding the scope for bilateral cooperation in various fields, state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar said in its editorial on Wednesday.

At the invitation of Myanmar Acting Prime Minister Lieutenant- General Thein Sein, Hun Sen arrived in Myanmar's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Monday for an official visit.

This is Hun Sen's second formal visit to Myanmar as a Cambodian leader since 2000.

During the visit, Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) met with Hun Sen, who was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam Hong and ministers of Commerce and Tourism Cham Prasidh and Thong Khon.

Hun Sen also had talks with SPDC First Secretary Thein Sein over further strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation.

According to the editorial, tourism and air transport are among the spheres Myanmar and Cambodia are working in collaboration.

There has been close exchange at high level between Myanmar and Cambodia since more than a decade ago. In October 1996, Than Shwe visited Cambodia, during which three agreements were signed on tourism, air services and establishment of sister cities between Bagan (Myanmar) and Siemreap (Cambodia).

Then Cambodian First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh also came to Yangon the same year and an agreement on the establishment of a joint commission for bilateral cooperation was also inked.

During Hun Sen's 2000 Yangon visit, an agreement on mutual exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and official passports was signed.

Hun Sen attended a Mekong economic cooperation strategy summit of four countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held in Myanmar's Bagan in November 2003.

In April 2005, Myanmar Prime Minister Soe Win went to Phnom Penh as part of his tour to three member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Myanmar and Cambodia are not only cooperating in the 10-nation ASEAN as fellow members but also active in the five-country economic cooperation also known as the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya- Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

Moreover, Myanmar and Cambodia are joining in a four-country civil aviation cooperation which also involves Laos and Vietnam to seek development of air transport in the subregion.

Under a multilateral agreement reached in Phnom Penh in April 2005, the CLMV countries have sought promotion of air travel and cargo as well as tourism services among the four latest ASEAN members.

Myanmar signed bilateral air transport accord with Cambodia in 1995 among others with Laos and Vietnam.

According to a latest report, Myanmar's first national private airline, the Air Bagan, has planned to stretch its wing to six other Asian destinations in the next five months which include that to Cambodia's Siemreap in late October which stands as Bagan's sister city.

Prompted by the goodwill visit of Hun Sen to Myanmar, the Myanmar-Cambodia bilateral relations and cooperation would come closer and contribute more to the economic development in the region, observers here said.

Source: Xinhua

Sen-Sein & Co: Meeting of the same ... in-sen (insane) authoritarian ... minds?

Myanmar's Acting Prime Minister Lt-Gen Thein Sein (R) walks with Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen during a welcoming ceremony in Naypyidaw on 21 May 2007. The two nations are working to improve tourism links. (Photo: AFP)

Hun Sen's trip to Myanmar is part of a larger plan to raise Cambodia's profile as the "poorest" regional power in SE Asia

Tue May 22, 2007
Cambodia, Myanmar move to strengthen tourism ties

YANGON (AFP) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with junta head Senior General Than Shwe in military-ruled Myanmar on Tuesday, officials said, as the two nations moved to improve tourism links.

Hun Sen arrived in Myanmar on Monday morning, his first visit to this isolated state since 2000. During the three-day trip he will discuss the possibility of introducing direct flights between the two nations.

The visit comes as Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest is due to be reviewed and likely extended this weekend, but Cambodian officials have been tight-lipped about whether Hun Sen will urge the junta to free her.

Officials from both countries have said the focus would be trade and tourism.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP that Hun Sen would discuss ways of making travel easier between Myanmar and nearby Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, with possible direct flights and package tours.

"Buddhism will be the potential tourist link for these four countries -- like Cambodia, there are a lot of temples in Myanmar," Khieu Kanharith said.

These talks are hoped to spur action on a tourism agreement already signed between the two countries, but which has not been implemented yet.

Tourism is a key industry in impoverished Cambodia, and tourist arrivals in Myanmar are also creeping up, despite calls by supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi for tourists to boycott the country.

Information ministry sources said that Hun Sen met with Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, Hun Sen met with acting premier Thein Sein and a number of officials, including the transport and foreign ministers and the deputy minister for tourism, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

The government mouthpiece said that Hun Sen, who will spend his whole visit in the new administrative capital Naypyidaw before heading home on Wednesday morning, discussed a "further strengthening of bilateral ties."

Cambodia has close diplomatic ties with Myanmar, which has been under military rule since 1962 and is one of the most isolated nations in the world.

Diplomatic relations between the two nations date back to 1955, but were broken off in 1974 as the Khmer Rouge advanced on Phnom Penh.

Ties were restored in 1994 as Cambodia emerged from decades of civil war. A Myanmar embassy opened in Phnom Penh in 1999, and one Western diplomat in the Cambodian capital said Hun Sen was keen to cultivate regional relations.

He said Hun Sen "has a long-term view of where he wants Cambodia to be," and could see engaging Myanmar as part of a larger plan to raise the country's profile as a regional power.

Cambodia's Hun Sen meets with Myanmar's acting premier

Tuesday May 22, 2007

(Kyodo) - Visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with Myanmar's Acting Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein on Monday and discussed bilateral issues, Myanmar state-run television and radio reported.

During the meeting, held at Myanmar's administrative capital Naypyitaw, Hun Sen and Thein Sein discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation and strengthen the existing relationship between the two countries, the reports said.

Details of the talks were not reported.

Ministers of foreign affairs, commerce and tourism from both countries were present at the meeting.

Hun Sen arrived in Myanmar in the morning for a three-day visit at the invitation of Myanmar's acting premier and the secretary of the ruling military junta, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein.

The Cambodian prime minister also is set to meet with Myanmar top leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe on Tuesday before leaving Myanmar on Wednesday.

Cambodia and Burma have so much in common: Buddhism, cultural heritage, beautiful temples, and ... dictators

22/05/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen says military-ruled Burma is home to some of Southeast Asia's greatest cultural treasures which could become part of regional tourism packages.

"Burma has great tourist potential," senior Hun Sen aide Sri Thamrong told reporters at Phnom Penh airport on Monday, before the Prime Minister flew to Burma.

"Not only are they followers of Buddhism but they also have beautiful temples so we could offer joint package tours."

Cambodia's 800-year-old Angkor Wat temple complex is largely responsible for an explosion of tourists to the war-scarred nation, which attracted 1.7 million visitors last year.

Cultural aficionados say the similar-aged Buddhist temples in Bagan in central Burma are a close rival to Angkor, but a chronic lack of infrastructure means they attract only a fraction of the number of visitors.

Airlines in Thailand have tried to promote a similar 'cultural package' in the region, with flights linking Angkor to the ancient Thai and Lao capitals, Sukhothai and Luang Prabang, and Hoi An in central Vietnam.

Cambodian government spokesman, Khieu Kanharith, said Hun Sen's talks with the Burmese junta would not include the detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose latest 12-month period of house arrest is due to expire this weekend.

Hun Sen will not discuss Aung San Suu Kyi’s case [-The reason: It's another internal affair issue]

21 May 2007
By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The government spokesman informed that during his official visit in Myanmar, the Cambodian prime minister will not discuss the arrest of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratic leader of Burma.

Khieu Kanharith, the government spokesman, told RFA that the case of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi will not feature in Hun Sen’s discussion agenda, as this is an internal affair of Burma.

Khieu Kanharith said: “ASEAN has its protocol, they don’t work like western countries, for no reason, you start talking on your own, you start discussing their main problem as if nothing matters. There will be no discussion on this issue, this is an internal problem.”

Khieu Kanharith added that during Hun Sen’s 3-day visit, Hun Sen will hold working discussion session with the Burmese junta leader, general Than Shwe, on the strengthening of diplomatic relations, tourism, and economy between the two countries.

Khieu Kanharith added: “There will be discussion on the friendship ties, but the second item, we will take this opportunity to review all the agreements which have not been put into practice fully. We usually don’t create relationships and leave them unconsumed, therefore, this is like a reminder to them (Burmese).”

On Monday, Hun Sen and his delegation are staying in the city of Naypyidaw, which is the administrative capital of Burma.

Hun Sen and his delegation will return back to Cambodia this Wednesday.

The Burmese military junta has kept Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest in the past 11-year. The junta has constantly ignored calls made by the international community demanding the release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi.

SE Asia Tourists: How about visiting two dictatorships in a row? Airlink between Myanmar and Cambodia is in the work

Monday May 21, 2007
Cambodia wants tourist air links to Myanmar

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made an official visit to military-ruled Myanmar on Monday to promote direct flights between the two countries, home to some of Southeast Asia's greatest cultural treasures, his adviser said.

"Burma has great tourist potential," senior Hun Sen aide Sri Thamrong told reporters at Phnom Penh airport on Monday. "Not only are they followers of Buddhism but they also have beautiful temples so we could offer joint package tours."

Cambodia's 800-year-old Angkor Wat temple complex is largely responsible for an explosion of tourists to the war-scarred nation, which attracted 1.7 million visitors last year.

Cultural aficionados say the similar-aged Buddhist temples in Bagan in central Myanmar are a close rival to Angkor, but a chronic lack of infrastructure in the former Burma -- power cuts are a daily problem and foreign credit cards are rarely accepted -- means they attract only a fraction of the number of visitors.

Airlines in Thailand have tried to promote a similar "cultural package" in the region, with flights linking Angkor to the ancient Thai and Lao capitals, Sukhothai and Luang Prabang, and Hoi An in central Vietnam.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Hun Sen's talks with the Myanmar junta would not include the detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, whose latest 12-month period of house arrest is due to expire this weekend.

Prime Minister Arrives in Burma for Bilateral Talks

Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21/05/2007

Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in Burma for a three-day visit Monday, where he is expected to discuss trade and direct flights between the two countries with the junta's current leader, Thien Sein.

Regional issues and greater bilateral cooperation will also be discussed, Hun Sen adviser Sri Thamrung told reporters in Phnom Penh Monday.

"We have past agreements which we haven't implemented, namely civil aviation and tourism," Sri Thamrung said. "So I think that this time the direct flights might be realized because we have been discussing this for awhile."

Burma, also known as Myanmar, and Cambodia are both members of Asean. In April 2005, Burmese Prime Minister Soe Win paid an official visit to Cambodia, but he has recently falled ill, passing leadership responsibilities to Thien Sein.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh adviser Ok Socheat, a former ambassador to the Philippines, said Hun Sen should use the visit to the push to free Burmese democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"If the visit to Myanmar is important, it would have to be that Cambodia helps in solving democracy issue, freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest," he said.

Though Burma's human rights record is widely criticized, Asean nations have a general agreement not to interfere in the internal political affairs of other member nations.

Hun Sen visits Myanmar Junta

May 21, 2007
Cambodian PM visits Myanmar

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen arrived in Nay Pyi Taw Monday to begin a three-day goodwill visit to Myanmar.

It is Hun Sen's another official visit to the country as a Cambodian leader since 2000.

Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Nam Hong and Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh, Hun Sen is making the trip.

Hun Sen will have talks with Acting Prime Minister Lieutenant- General Thein Sein later after his arrival, official sources said.

Thein Sein, who is also First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was named acting prime minister in the absence of Prime Minister General Soe Win, who, 58, reportedly went to Singapore on May 13 for the second time to receive medical treatment after the first which lasted for less than two months since mid-March. Soe Win was said to have been suffering from leukemia.

Hun Sen is expected to call on SPDC Chairman Senior General Than Shwe in the new capital on Tuesday, the sources added.

Hun Sen's Myanmar visit also came after that to the country by Hor Namhong last month.

In October 1996, SPDC Chairman Senior-General Than Shwe visited Cambodia, during which three agreements were signed on tourism cooperation, air services and establishment of sister cities between Bagan (Myanmar) and Siemreap (Cambodia).

Then Cambodian First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh also came to Yangon the same year and another agreement on the establishment of a joint commission for bilateral cooperation between the two countries was also inked.

During Hun Sen's 2000 Yangon visit, an agreement on mutual exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and official passports was further produced.

Representing Cambodia, Hun Sen attended a Mekong economic cooperation strategy summit of four countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand held in Myanmar's Bagan in November 2003.

In April 2005, Soe Win went to Phnom Penh as part of his three- nation tour to three member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Myanmar and Cambodia are not only cooperating in the 10-nation ASEAN as fellow members but also active in the five-country economic cooperation also known as the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya- Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

Source: Xinhua

Hun Sen leaves for Myanmar on official visit

Monday May 21, 2007

"I think that what Cambodia should do is to tell Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi and to make democratic reform. Such a meeting (with Myanmar's leader) could be useful if there is an increase of pressure on military-ruled Myanmar" - Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy

(Kyodo) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen left for Myanmar on Monday at the invitation of Gen. Thein Sein, Myanmar's acting prime minister.

Sry Thammarong, an advisor to the prime minister, said the purpose of the three-day visit is to strengthen relations and to push for actual implementation of already signed agreements and a memorandum of understanding.

Since 1996, Cambodia has signed with Myanmar agreements on tourism, flight services, and cultural cooperation and an MOU on agricultural and fishery cooperation.

During the visit, Hun Sen is due to hold talks with Thein Sein and call on Sr. Gen. Than Shwe, head of Myanmar's junta.

Senior government sources told Kyodo News that Hun Sen expressed an interest in meeting with detained democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, but the availability of a meeting will be confirmed only upon his arrival there.

Cambodian opposition party leader Sam Rainsy suggested Hun Sen should raise democratic reform with the junta and press for the release of Suu Kyi.

"I think that what Cambodia should do is to tell Myanmar to release Aung San Suu Kyi and to make democratic reform. Such a meeting (with Myanmar's leader) could be useful if there is an increase of pressure on military-ruled Myanmar," Sam Rainsy told reporters last week.

Meeting of the ... dictators

May 19, 2007
Cambodian PM to visit Myanmar next week

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will lead a delegation to visit Myanmar from May 21 to 23, according to a statement from Cambodia's foreign affairs ministry here on Saturday.

Hun Sen will pay the official visit at the invitation of Acting Prime Minister Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, who is also First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), said the statement from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The delegation includes Hor Nam Hong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, and other senior governmental officials, it added.

The two sides used to have cooperation on tourism, air services and visa exemption.

Myanmar and Cambodia are not only cooperating in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as fellow members but also active in a five-country economic cooperation known as the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy ( ACMECS).

Source: Xinhua

Cambodian dictator to visit the Myanmar dictatorship; Tight lip on the agenda of his visit

Cambodia's PM Hun Sen has been urged to use a visit to Burma to pressure the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi. [Reuters file photo]

18/05/2007
Australian Broadcasting Company

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will visit Burma next week, prompting a swift call from the opposition political party that he press its military regime to free opposition democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Prime Ministser Hun Sen refused to say what was on his agenda in a three-day visit to the former Burma due to start on May 21.

"I think it's unnecessary to tell media ahead of my negotiations with Burmese leaders," he told reporters.

"You should wait to hear about the result of the visit."

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Hun Sen should urge the Burmese junta to free Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 11 of the past 17 years under some form of detention, the latest period of which is due to end on May 27.

"I think what Cambodia should do is to tell Burma to free Aung San Suu Kyi and to make democratic reform," Sam Rainsy said.

"At least such a meeting could be useful if there is an increase of pressure on military ruled-Burma."

The military, which has ruled Burma since 1962, has ignored international calls for her release and on May 27 last year extended her detention for another 12 months.