Why would Phay Siphan, a government official, defends an accused drug trafficker who is not even part of the government?

លោកឧកញ៉ា កឹកអាភៀន ហ៊ុន តូ ក្មួយប្រុសសម្តាចម៏ហ៊ុនសែន ពេលវិលត្រឡប់មកពីប្រទេសអូស្ត្រាលី កាលពីព្រឹកថ្ងៃទី២២ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ២០១២ ( រូបថត៖ ស៊ីវ ចាន់ណា )

លោកឧកញ៉ា កឹកអាភៀន ហ៊ុន តូ ក្មួយប្រុសសម្តាចម៏ហ៊ុនសែន ពេលវិលត្រឡប់មកពីប្រទេសអូស្ត្រាលី កាលពីព្រឹកថ្ងៃទី២២ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ២០១២បឹតមាត់ធ្វើផ្នែកស្លឹងខំសម្លឹងឆ្កែព្រុស ( រូបថត៖ ស៊ីវ ចាន់ណា )

លោក ហ៊ុន តូ វិលត្រឡប់​មក​ពី​អូស្ត្រាលី និង​ពិចារណា​ដាក់ពាក្យ​ប្តឹង​កាសែត​អូស្ត្រាលី​

ថ្ងៃទី 22 មិថុនា 2012
ដោយ: រតនា
Cambodia Express News

មន្ត្រី​ជាន់ខ្ពស់រាជ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល ជា អ្នកព្រុសការពារ ឧកញ៉ោចោរ។ មកដល់ស្រុក ហ៊ុនតូ អួតថា ពិចារណា​ដាក់ពាក្យ​ប្តឹង​កាសែត​អូស្ត្រាលី​ តែនៅ​អូស្ត្រាលី ប្រាប់គេថាឈប់ ប្តឹងកាសែតហើយ។ ចំជាកំសាក មែនណ៎ មនុស្សនេះ!

ភ្នំពេញ: ​លោក​ឧកញ៉ា ហ៊ុន តូ ក្មួយប្រុស​សម្តេច​ហ៊ុន ​សែន បាន​វិលត្រឡប់មក​ពី​ប្រទេស​អូស្ត្រាលី ដល់​ព្រលានយន្តហោះ​អន្តរជាតិ​ភ្នំពេញ កាលពី​វេលា​ម៉ោង ៩ និង ៣៥ នាទី​ព្រឹក ថ្ងៃទី​២២ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ​២០១២​។ លោក​ឧកញ៉ា ហ៊ុន តូ ដែល​ទុក​ពុក​មាត់ គួរឲ្យខ្លាច អមដោយ​មន្ត្រី​ជាន់ខ្ពស់រាជ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​កម្ពុជា បាន​ប្រកាស​ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​កាសែត​ថា លោក​នឹង​ដាក់​ពាក្យ​ប្តឹង​កាសែត​អូស្ត្រាលី​មួយ ដែល​ផ្សព្វផ្សាយ​រឿង​លោកជាប់​ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​ការជួញដូរ​គ្រឿងញៀន​ដ៏​ធំក្នុង​ពេល​កន្លងមក​។​

Boeung Kak tale resonates in Washington

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iY6N0J8R28

Friday, 08 June 2012
David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

In Washington yesterday, Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua lobbied US government officials to withhold military funding to the Cambodian government if it does not meet two political demands ahead of her meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday.

Mu Sochua said she would strongly urge Clinton to push the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated Cambodian government to release the “Boeung Kak 15”, who were jailed for protesting against forced evictions, before the US secretary of state arrives in Phnom Penh next month.

“I am confident and I have high hopes that Hillary will find a solution, and I asked that the solution be found, and that is the release of the women and the man before she arrives in July,” she said.

Thirteen Boeung Kak women were sentenced to jail terms of up to two and a half years on May 24 for disputing authority and illegally occupying land granted to ruling party Senator Lao Meng Khin’s firm Shukaku in 2007.

Cambodia, Thailand veer closer to collision course

Long-standing dispute escalates dramatically as Phnom Penh hires fugitive former Thai PM as government adviser

Friday, Dec. 04, 2009
MacKINNON
Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan poured more kerosene on the fire, calling Thailand a failed state and comparing Mr. Abhisit to Benito Mussolini.

PHNOM PENH — The armies of Cambodia and Thailand declared last week that they have no intention of fighting a war with each other. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the escalating dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbours has become so dangerous that such a statement was required. The past 12 months have seen ambassadors expelled, trade disrupted, accusations of espionage and a series of deadly border clashes around an ancient temple in a contested frontier area.

Tensions have risen dramatically in the past two weeks after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen waded into Thailand's internal political battle by inviting Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's fugitive former prime minister, to visit Cambodia and gave him a job as a government adviser.

Mr. Hun Sen could scarcely have made a more provocative gesture. Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted from office in a 2006 military coup and is wanted on corruption charges, called his supporters into the streets earlier this year in an effort to topple the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The uprising was quelled by the military after street fighting between pro-Thaksin and pro-government groups left two people dead and more than 100 injured.

Though Mr. Thaksin has since left Cambodia to resume his exile in Dubai, Thailand responded to his appointment by recalling its ambassador to Phnom Penh, a move Cambodia quickly matched. Shortly afterwards, Cambodian police seized the offices of the Thai company that handles air-traffic control at Phnom Penh airport. The company's Thai employees were locked out and replaced with Cambodian staff, and one Thai national was charged with espionage for allegedly passing on the details of Mr. Thaksin's flights to the Thai embassy.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan poured more kerosene on the fire, calling Thailand a failed state and comparing Mr. Abhisit to Benito Mussolini.

"Thailand has initiated everything. We have just responded to their decisions," Mr. Phay said, speaking shortly after the Thai and Cambodian defence ministers emerged from a meeting to pledge that they wouldn't allow the political battle between the two governments to degenerate into a shooting war.

In a sign the dispute may nonetheless continue to worsen, an aide handed Mr. Phay a memo during the interview informing him Thailand had withdrawn from an aid project to upgrade a highway used by tourists travelling between the two countries. "We don't care. We can find other money to finance this project. We don't need money from Thailand," Mr. Phay steamed after reading it.

The root of much of the trouble is a long-standing argument over ownership of the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, a popular tourist destination near the border that the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 to be on Cambodian soil but which Thailand still claims. The dispute was resurrected last year when Cambodia succeeded, at a meeting held in Quebec City, in getting Preah Vihear named to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. Since then, the Thai army has regularly moved its soldiers into the area to assert its claim, drawing occasional Cambodian fire.

In April, at least two Thai soldiers were killed in a prolonged exchange of fire in the area that saw the two sides use machine guns and rocket launchers.

The economic impacts of the dispute have been far-reaching. Trade between the two neighbours has declined sharply and construction has been delayed on a rail line that was to link the two countries as part of a planned regional rail network running from Singapore to southern China via Malaysia, Laos and Vietnam.

But analysts say the dispute may be helping both Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Hun Sen politically. Mr. Abhisit's popularity ratings have received a boost since taking a hard line toward Cambodia, while Mr. Hun Sen is seen as benefiting from having the Preah Vihear dispute on the front pages of newspapers instead of the global recession and the layoffs and factory closings that have hit this already poor country's garment industry.

The future of Thai-Cambodian relations may now depend on how the political struggle in Bangkok plays out. In effect, Mr. Hun Sen is betting that Mr. Thaksin, who is still widely popular among the country's rural poor, or one of his allies will return to office after elections that are expected some time next year.

"As long as [Mr. Abhisit's] Democrat Party remains in power, bilateral relations will be tense and bumpy. If Thaksin's supporters regain power, relations are likely to be more workable," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Thai political analyst. "Hun Sen has placed his bet and played his Thaksin card. Whether it pays off will depend on how Thai politics pans out."

Thailand's ex-PM Thaksin offered role as adviser to Hun Sen

Nov 5, 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodia has formally offered Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra a position as an adviser to the government and to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The annoucement, which was made late Wednesday on national television, is likely to annoy Bangkok following weeks of verbal spats between the two nations over Thaksin.

Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan told the German Press Agency dpa Thursday that the reason for the offer was that the country needed skilled people like Thaksin.

'Mr Thaksin is well-known and very successful in business,' Phay Siphan said. 'We consider him as a good quality human resource for Cambodia, and we need people from every corner of the globe to build this country.'

Phay Siphan said it was 'premature' to say whether Thaksin had accepted the roles or whether the positions would be salaried.

The relationship between the two countries has been tense for more than a year, and relations cooled further at last month's Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Thailand when Hun Sen said Thaksin would be welcome in Cambodia.

This remarks drew a frosty response from Thailand, which said it would apply for his extradition should he turn up in neighbouring Cambodia.

Phnom Penh then said that Thaksin's two-year sentence by a Thai court for abuse of power was politically motivated, and it would not extradite him should he take up the offer.

Thaksin, who was overthrown in a bloodless coup in September 2006 and is disliked by Thailand's political elite, has been living in self-imposed exile. He remains popular with the rural poor due to his populist economic policies.

Phay Siphan: The Preah Vihear issued with Thailand is merely a technical issue ... it is not a dispute between nations -sic!-

Phay Siphan: International resolution of the Preah Vihear dispute is the destruction of Hun Xen’s concluded 2000 MOU

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said that the resolution of the Preah Vihear temple dispute with Thailand through an international court is tantamount to the destruction of the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) [KI-Media note: the 2000 MOU was concluded between Hun Sen’s government and Thailand]. Phay Siphan told The Phnom Penh Post regarding the opposition wanting the government to bring this dispute issue to be resolved by an international court, that: “This is the freedom of the opposition. Up to now, we do not consider the Preah Vihear temple dispute as a dispute between nations. We consider the Preah Vihear temple dispute as a separate issue because we have prepared 70% of the map from Anlong Veng down to the Cham Yeam point already.” He added: “Therefore, if we take this dispute to resolve outside [of the bilateral discussion with Thailand], this means that we are destroying the 2000 achievement. Therefore, the opposition party should revisit what was the gain from the 2000 MOU to the good cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand, in the sense of preserving peace, in the sense of the application of what we have agreed on since 1904 and 1907 and the map preparation in 1908. Do we want to sue each other to come up with a new map? In summary, the Preah Vihear issue is merely a technical issue, i.e. it is not a political affair.”
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KI-Media note: Phay Siphan seems to forget that the 2000 MOU did not stop Thailand from invading part of Cambodia. How many more Cambodian soldiers need to be killed for Phay Siphan to acknowledge this fact? As is, Thailand is also questioning the validity of all the treaties it concluded in 1904 and 1907.