New Year greeting message from SRP Norway

Trial and tribulations of a Cambodian refugee in Norway - Lim Piseth's fight for his rights

លោក ឡឹម ពិសិដ្ឋ

កិច្ច​សម្ភាសន៍ជាមួយលោក ឡឹម ពិសិដ្ឋ Interview with Lem Piseth for his recent sad story in Norway

ពុធ 16 វិច្ឆិការ 2011
The Free Press Magazine

Click here to download the audio program in MP3

សូមចុច​ស្តាប់កិច្ចសម្ភាសន៍​រវាងលោក យូ សារ៉ាវុឌ្ឍ និង​លោក ឡឹម ពិសិដ្ឋ ចាង​ហ្វាង​ទស្សនាវដ្តី​សារ​ព័ត៌មាន​សេរី ស្តីអំពី​បញ្ហា​របស់​លោកកាល​ពី​ពេល​ថ្មីៗនេះ។

Norway’s capital, Oslo, hit by deadly blast, shootings

Friday, July 22, 2011
By Michael Birnbaum
Washington Post

BERLIN — A massive explosion rocked a government district in Norway’s capital Friday, killing seven people and injuring many more, and a shooter at a political convention on an island north of Oslo appeared to have inflicted more casualties, in incidents police are treating as connected, a police spokesman said.

“Central Oslo looks more like a battlefield,” said Runar Kvernen, a spokesman for the police directorate who was reached by telephone. “The headquarters of the Norwegian government is almost destroyed. It damaged a lot of a of buildings.”

The downtown target appeared to have been the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, according to a police officer on the scene who spoke to the Dagbladet newspaper.

Smoke could be seen billowing from a high-rise government building on video images of central Oslo, though Kvernen said that the fires were under control. There were several injured people dripping with blood, and documents, broken glass and debris littered the ground. Reporters on the scene said that the area had not been crowded on a Friday afternoon when many people were on vacation.

SRP MP Mu Sochua's visit to Norway

អ្នកស្រី មួសុខហួ អ្នកតំណាងរាស្រ្ត គណបក្សសមរង្សី បាន នឹង កំពុង បំពេញ ទស្សនកិច្ច ជាច្រើនប្រទេស នៅអឺរ៉ុប ដើម្បីជួប ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ ប្រទេសទាំងនោះ និង សួរសុខទុក្ខ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ នៅទីនោះផងដែរ។

ដំណើរ ទស្សនកិច្ច នេះពិតជា ទទួលបាន ជោគជ័យ ទាំងជាមួយ ថ្នាក់ដឹកនាំ ប្រទេស សហគមន៏ អឺរ៉ុប និងប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរ។

MP MU Sochua is visiting some European countries and our Khmer communities there. During her visit, she successfully received support from our Khmer people, as well as from leaders of those European countries. In her meeting, she also explained thoroughly about the current political situation in Cambodia which is tightly controlled by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) dictatorship.

MP Mu Sochua took pictures with Khmer people in Norway following the meeting

Press Release on MP Mu Sokhua's visit to Norway on July 03, 2011

Dear colleagues and friends,

On Sunday evening, July 03, 2011, SRP Norway will organize a Welcome Party for MP Mu Sokhua during her planned visit Kristiansand City, South of Norway. She will also visit Latvia and SRP activists in Finland before arriving in Norway.

Please refer to the attached Press Release release dated June 19, 2011 (in Khmer)

Best,
SRP Norway

Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy's visit to Norway

Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy with the Khmer traditional dancer and some members of SRP Norway standing committee (All Photos: SRP Norway)

Sam Rainsy after his visit in the ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sam Rainsy with members of members of parliament after first meeting in the parliament

Sam Rainsy with Mr. Simon Rye, director of Oslo center for peace and human rights

Sam Rainsy with Ms. Trine Skei Grande, MP and leader of Liberal party, in the meeting hall of parliament.

Norway condemns [Thailand's] use of cluster munitions

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre and Soraj Ghulam Habib from Afghanistan at the Oslo signing conference in December 2008. Photo Credit: Federico Visi

2011-04-11
Cluster Munition Coalition

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign affairs condemned Thailand’s use of cluster munitions in a press release issued on 7 April 2011

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Press release

7 April 2011

Norway condemns use of cluster munitions

It has been reported that the Thai authorities have used cluster munitions in Cambodia. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented: “If these reports are true, this is a very serious matter.”

According to reports, Thailand used cluster munitions in February this year in connection with a border conflict with Cambodia. Norwegian People’s Aid, which works in both Thailand and Cambodia, recently visited the area around the disputed Preah Vihear temple. The NGO has now reported that cluster munitions of the type M42/M46 and M85 have been found. Several people are believed to have been killed or injured in the conflict, and many fled from the area. Now that people are returning to their villages, the unexploded ordnance puts them at serious risk.

“Norway condemns all use of cluster munitions. These weapons kill and maim civilians and have unacceptable humanitarian consequences long after they are used,” said Mr Støre. “South East Asia is a region that is already badly affected, and the incident on the border between Cambodia and Thailand demonstrates clearly why this weapon is now prohibited.

FACING GENOCIDE screening at Oslo International Film Festival "Human Rights, Human Wrongs"

Theary Seng to attend and speak at the "Human Rights, Human Wrongs" International Film Festival in Norway this February 3.  See Full Program here.

First Miss Landmine Cambodia Crowned

Miss Battambang
Dos Sopheap
Age: 18
Hometown : Damnak Lourng Village, Svay Por District
Mine accident : 1996
Marital status: Single
Kids: None
Occupation: Student
Future ambition: Accountant for an NGO
Favorite color: Red

Clothes: American Appareil, $ 32
Shoe and accessories: Myff Design, $ 17
Location: The Quay Hotel, Phnom Penh
www.thequayhotel.com

Mine : PMA-2 anti-personnel, $ 10
Release: Pressure (8 kg or more)
Explosive: 100 g TNT
Producer: Former Yugoslavia

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
19 November 2009

Cambodians in Norway have selected the winner of the Miss Landmine for Cambodia after it was not allowed inside the country.

Eighteen-year-old Dos Sopheap of Battambang was crowned in absentia in a ceremony attended by more than 200 participants on Saturday last week at the South Norway Museum of Modern Arts in Kristiansan.

None of the 20 candidates were able to attend the event. The selection was based on photographs taken earlier in Cambodia.

“I am happy to know that I have been selected. Being a disabled person, I only got discriminated against, now I am so thrilled,” Dos Sopheap told VOA Khmer by phone on Monday.

Dos Sopheap, now a senior at a high school in Battambang province, lost her left leg to a landmine while escaping from a gun fighting in 1996.

The first runner up goes to Miss Takeo, 30-year-old Thou Chorn, and second runner-up Miss Kompong Cham, So Yeu, 35.

Cambodia’s government has banned the contest, organized by Norwegian landmine survivor advocates, saying it is a “mockery” to Cambodia’s disabled.

“Even though the government does not recognize our project it is time that the international demining organizations working in Cambodia step up and take a stance for the freedom of expression in Cambodia and recognize Sopheap as an ambassador for landmine survivors in Cambodia and find a way to use her talent,” said Morten Traavik, program leader of Miss Landmine Cambodia.

In her first message upon learning of the crowning, Dos Sopheap calls for more efforts to clear landmines from Cambodia.

“I would like to appeal to CMAC [Cambodian Mines Action Centre] to clear all landmines so that no more Cambodian people will fall victims. I would also like CMAC to warn villagers not to go into a place where there is a landmine sign," she said.

There are some 43,926 landmine survivors in Cambodia. The Cambodian Mines Action Centre says almost 200 people suffered from landmines in the first nine months of 2009, a slight decline compared to the same period last year.

SRP Norway Statement on the lifting of opposition leader Sam Rainsy's immunity

Pageant proceeds in Norway

A photo of the winner of Miss Landmine Cambodia, Miss Battambang Dos Sopheap, is presented in Oslo on Saturday. The pageant was held in exile, as it previously was forbidden in Cambodia. (Photo by: GORM K GAARE/EUP-IMAGES)

Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

I'm getting used to having one leg and my feeling of discrimination is reduced.

A CONTROVERSIAL beauty pageant for Cambodian land mine victims found its winners on Saturday at a “final-in-exile” ceremony in Kristiansand, Norway, hosted by Norway’s Association of Cambodians and its Khmer Buddhist Council.

Miss Battambang, 18-year-old Dos Sopheap, was crowned Miss Landmine Cambodia 2009 in absentia, followed by first runner-up Miss Takeo, 30-year-old Thou Chorn, and second runner-up Miss Kompong Cham, So Yeu, 35.

The contest, organised by Norwegian land-mine survivor advocates, was banned from taking place in Cambodia by a July 31 government decree, which also forbade the 20 contestants to leave their hometowns to participate in the pageant elsewhere. The decree said that the pageants “made a mockery” of Cambodia’s disabled. The contestants were represented at the ceremony by photographs carried down the catwalk by Cambodian-Norwegian women.

Dos Sopheap, a high school senior, said Monday that she was thrilled to find out she would receive the pageant’s grand prize: a custom-made prosthesis. “I never thought I could win the award,” Dos Sopheap said. “I was very excited when I received the information. I was glad to participate in the contest because I want people to know that disabled women are not discouraged.”

Dos Sopheap said she initially faced discrimination for her injury, but that her struggle to live and study earned her the admiration of neighbours and classmates. “I’m now getting used to having one leg, and my feeling of discrimination is reduced,” she said.

Her mother, 38-year-old Kong Navy, said Dos Sopheap, the second of five children, lost her leg in 1996 when she was 6 years old. She was visiting her father, a soldier, who took her on a fishing trip with his friends. When one of the men stepped on a land mine, the explosion injured six people, including Dos Sopheap and her father, who lost his left hand.

“I felt very shocked when they were injured,” Kong Navy said. “Sopheap was mistreated for having one leg. She cried and cried, but I consoled her, saying not to be angry with villagers and to tell herself, ‘They will stop discriminating against you one day.’ I felt pity for my daughter, but now I am proud of her.” Her daughter hopes one day to become an accountant or open a wedding dress shop, she said.

Morten Traavik, programme leader of Miss Landmine Cambodia, said by email on Monday that the winner will receive a Norwegian-built prosthetic leg worth approximately $20,000 and $500 in cash to support her education. The runners-up will receive $300 each as seed money for their own businesses.

“We would naturally have liked to have given them more,” Traavik wrote, “but the money will all come from the Miss Landmine project’s own limited funds, as the [Cambodian] government’s ban on the project naturally prevents any sponsors from coming on, as was the original plan.”

Traavik was hesitant to discuss how prizes would be disbursed without an “explicit guarantee from the government that ... our candidates will not be subject to any negative consequences for accepting these prizes.”

Leng Sochea, deputy permanent secretary general at the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, rebutted his concerns. “The winners will not face any problems receiving their awards. The government is not as cruel as they think,” he said.

Cambodia: Inexperienced prostitutes most at risk of sexual infections

11-Dec-2008
BMC Infectious Diseases

Less experienced prostitutes are more likely to have sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A study of more than a thousand female sex workers in Cambodia, reported in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases, has shown that girls who were new to the sex industry were twice as likely to have gonorrhoea or chlamydia.

Heng Sopheab from the University of Bergen, Norway, and the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs, Cambodia, led a team of researchers who investigated the prevalence of STIs and the health behaviour of female sex workers in the popular tourist destination of Cambodia. He said, "Of the women we studied, 60% were new workers, having been selling sex for less than a year. Prevalence of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, or any STI was higher among these new workers; overall they were 2.1 times more likely to be infected than more experienced women".

The overall STI prevalence in the Cambodian workers was 2.3% for syphillis, 13.0% for gonorrhoea and 14.4% for chlamydia. This is the first time that the association between STI prevalence and recent entry into the sex trade has been studied in Cambodia. The obvious explanation is that newer workers are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviour because they lack prevention information, are unaware of STI services and are less skilled and experienced in negotiating safer sex with clients. However, according to Sopheab, "Our analysis did not reveal any significant differences between new and longer-working women in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and risk behaviours that might explain the significant difference in prevalence of STIs. Therefore, a biological difference between new and more experienced sex workers is one possible explanation".

In 2001, a nationwide government programme was implemented to encourage 100% condom usage within the Cambodian sex industry. The authors found that despite the implementation this programme, STI prevalence remains comparable to the 2001 estimates. As well as a large proportion of women who reported having unprotected sex with non-commercial partners, there was limited coverage and weaknesses in implementation of the policy. The authors conclude, "This is likely to have contributed to the sustained high prevalence of STIs among sex workers in Cambodia. The 100% condom-use policy should be carefully evaluated, particularly in terms of human resource capacity, sustainable intensity, quality, and coverage".

1. "Sustained high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Cambodia: high turnover seriously challenges the 100% condom use programme", Heng Sopheab, Guy Morineau, Joyce J Neal, Vonthanak Saphonn and Knut Fylkesnes, BMC Infectious Diseases (in press)

Norwegian People's Aid Helps Clear Landmines in Cambodia

2007-05-16
By Kittisak Siripornpitak
ScandAsia.Norway

With around 840 landmine victims annually, Cambodia has the third highest number of casualties worldwide and projects have been carried out by the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) which are supported by the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) to reduce this problem.

NPA has been supporting CMAC's development projects since 1993 to help with the development and implementation of technical survey project and is currently providing two technical advisors to the CMAC Mine Detection Dog Program.

With aims to clear mines and ensuring fair distribution of land, the NPA gives funding and is monitoring the CMAC Demining Unit 1 in the Beantey Meanchey province.

Landmine Monitor Report for Cambodia: www.icbl.org/lm/country/cambodia