Hopefully the donated US military equipments will not be used to repress democracy in Cambodia...

Will the US donated camouflage uniforms be used by Hun Xen's monk-beating cops?

Will the US donated camouflage uniforms be used by Hun Sen's henchmen to repress democracy in Cambodia?

U.S. donates military equipment to Cambodian Armed Forces

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United States donated military equipment to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to help human resources and strengthen Cambodia's capacity, said a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy on Friday.

The U.S. formally transferred nearly twenty forty foot containers of excess military equipment to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. The original cost of the material was approximately 6.5 million U.S. dollars and included 16,000 Kevlar helmets, 4,000field packs, 6,000 camouflage uniforms among other items.

The equipment was donated through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. Since 2006, Cambodia has received approximately 4.5 million U.S. dollars worth of military equipment and technical assistance through this program.

The FMF program is also funding the grant of excess military transport equipment and technical assistance to the Ministry of National Defense and the High Command, English language training materials and technical assistance to the RCAF English Language Training Program and Maritime Security and Professional Development training to the Royal Cambodian Navy.

The equipment will be issued to priority units with the RCAF, many of whom are currently receiving training and capacity building assistance from the United States, it added.

The handover ceremony was conducted at the National Defense Ministry on Sept. 3 presided over by Brigadier General Skip Vincent and Lieutenant General Chau Phirun, General Director of Materiel and Techniques of the Ministry of National Defense.

US government gives grant for conservation of Angkor temple

An unidentified boy runs at the top of the 10-century Bakheng monument at Angkor archaeological park in Siem Reap province, about 230 kilometers (143 miles) northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on June 4, 2006. The United States will donate nearly US$1 million (Euro 641,310) for conservation work at the centuries-old Bakheng temple, a famous cultural icon in Cambodia's Angkor archaeological park, the embassy said in a statement Wednesday, June 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thursday, June 5
AP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - The United States will donate nearly US$1 million (euro 641,310) for conservation of the centuries-old Bakheng temple, a famous cultural icon in Cambodia's Angkor temple complex, the embassy said in a statement Wednesday.

It said the US$978,705 (euro 630,000) will be given to the nonprofit World Monuments Fund, a New York-based archaeological group that has been doing work at the temple since 2004.

Piper Campbell, the embassy's chargé d'Affaires, announced the grant at a meeting of government officials and representatives of donor countries in Siem Reap province Wednesday.

The officials gathered there for a two-day meeting to review restoration and development works for the Angkor archaeological park.

"Conserving its monuments, which are a crucial part of Cambodian history, is one way to promote peace and prosperity in the country," Campbell said in the statement.

The Angkor temples are Cambodia's main tourist attraction, earning hundreds of millions of dollars (euros) for the cash-strapped Southeast Asian country.

Angkor, the capital of several Hindu kings who ruled over large swaths of Southeast Asia, flourished from the 9th to the 14th centuries, leaving a legacy of architectural splendor in its myriad of temples, including the country's cultural icon, Angkor Wat.

Damaged by warfare and looting in the past, Angkor's temples now face the threats posed by deforestation, heavy rains and tourist influx.

Sitting on top of a hill, the 10th century Bakheng temple is a popular site for tourists climbing to catch a glimpse of the sunset.

About 3,000 tourists climb the hill in the space of just a few hours to see the sunset everyday.

US Donates Trucks to Military [-Hopefully they won't end up transporting illegal logs]

A Cambodian soldier tests the engine of a M35A2 GMC cargo truck during the handing over at Cambodia Army Military Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, June 2, 2008. The United States on Monday delivered 31 used trucks to Cambodia, its first direct supply of military hardware there since Washington lifted an embargo three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodia's soldiers stand in front of M35A2 GMC cargo trucks during the handing over at Cambodia Army Military Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, June 2, 2008. The United States on Monday delivered 31 used trucks to Cambodia, its first direct supply of military hardware there since Washington lifted an embargo three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 June 2008

The US government donated 31 trucks to Cambodia's armed forces Monday, in what officials called a sign of increasing cooperation.

The military relationship between US and Cambodia was on an improving track, said Piper Campbell, the US Embassy's charge d'affaires.

The donation of 31 GMC cargo trucks, part of a larger allocation, was part of the overall improvement between the two countries over the last two to three years, she said.

The trucks were not new, she said, but American trucks are built to last, and the GMCs still had a lot of value in them.

Gen. Meoung Samphan, secretary of state for the Ministry of Defense, said this was the first time the US had given such a gift of trucks to Cambodia, and he appealed to other countries to make such contributions.

"If we can get donations, our national budget for the military will spend less," he said.

U.S. donates bird flu equipment to Cambodia

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph Mussomeli (R) poses with a Cambodian performer dressed as a chicken in a warehouse in Phnom Penh during the handover ceremony of medical equipment May 17, 2007. The U.S. government donated a package of medical equipment to help control the spread of bird flu in Cambodia. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

May 17, 2007

The U.S. government donated 65,000 U.S. dollars worth of avian influenza equipment to the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Thursday.

The U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated 4,500 sets of personal protection equipment and 50 decontamination kits to the Cambodian side, a press release said, adding that the items will assist the Cambodian government in its efforts to fight avian influenza and other potential pandemic diseases.

The equipment includes protective suits, respirators, goggles and gloves, Joseph Mussomeli, the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, said while addressing the handover ceremony.

This equipment will be distributed to the front-line workers who come in direct contact with infected poultry, and will be used during the collection of samples and the culling of diseased flocks, he said, adding that the decontamination kits will limit the risk of animal-to-animal and animal-to-human infection during an outbreak response by reducing the presence of the virus in the affected community.

Since 2004, Cambodia has experienced 22 bird flu outbreaks that killed 7 people, according to official statistics.

Source: Xinhua

US Donates Bird Flu Equipment

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
16/05/2007

The US Embassy said Wednesday it planned to donate equipment to help fight bird flu and other infectious diseases in Cambodia.

The embassy, through USAID, planned to donate 4,500 sets of personal protection equipment and 50 decontamination kits to the Ministry of Agriculture. A handover ceremony was planned for Thursday.

Bird flu has killed at least seven Cambodians, one of them this year.