KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS TODAY

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
31 October 2010

Hillary Clinton receiving better treatment in Cambodia than Ban Ki-moon (2)

Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Cambodia yesterday, is receiving better treatment by the Cambodian government than United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier this week. While Prime Minister Hun Sen humiliated Ban Ki-moon with his two undiplomatic, untimely and unacceptable requests -- closure of the UN human rights office and abrupt termination of the UN-sponsored Khmer Rouge Tribunal after Trial # 2 -- he is being more respectful to the head of the US diplomacy for two main reasons:

1. Vietnam, which exerts a strong influence on Cambodia, is imploring the US to help counter China's aggressive policy in asserting Beijing's exclusive sovereignty on the South China Sea. The US has therefore, through Vietnam, a strong leverage on Cambodia.
2. The US State Department and Justice Department can order any time the FBI to release its still partly classified Report showing Hun Sen's involvement in the 1997 deadly grenade attack in Phnom Penh.

Forced closing of UN office would be a violation of the Paris Agreement on Cambodia (1)

Prime Minister Hun Sen told visiting United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 27 October that he wanted to close down the UN human rights office in Cambodia. However, Article 17 of the 1991 Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict, stipulates, "After the end of the transitional period, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights should continue to monitor closely the human rights situation in Cambodia, including, if necessary, by the appointment of a Special Rapporteur who would report his findings annually to the Commission and to the General Assembly." It is obvious that, in order to "monitor closely the human rights situation in Cambodia," the concerned UN body has to operate and maintain an office in this country. Read related opposition party statement at http://tinyurl.com/275kphp

Vietnam encroaching on Cambodia's territory in Kampong Cham province (1)

Some two hundreds Khmer farmers from Trapeang Damrey Thom village, Da commune in Kampong Cham province's Memot district, are protesting against the planting by Vietnamese authorities on 27 October 2010 of border post # 109 on their farm lands. This is the latest incident in a long series of border encroachments in the Eastern provinces of Cambodia. Listen to 30 October 2010 report in Khmer on Radio Free Asia at http://tinyurl.com/37eflzn

Hun Sen acknowledges government disinformation on border situation (2)

By accepting to violate the constitution by not responding to questions from National Assembly members on the border situation, Prime Minister Hun Sen implicitly acknowledges that he has actually not told the truth on the sensitive issue of Cambodian farmers losing their lands because of border encroachments by Vietnam. Moreover, he acknowledges that the CPP's top leadership has disseminated false information by recently telling King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, "Not a single Khmer farmer has lost his/her rice field in the ongoing border demarcation process with Vietnam." The questions from parliamentarians were officially asked on 15 October 2010, and the government had to respond within seven days according to article 96 of the constitution. See related news published in these columns on 24 October 2010, "Chea Sim, Hun Sen and Heng Samrin disseminating false information on border situation."

China not happy with King-Father Norodom Sihanouk's recent visit to Vietnam (2)

China had unsuccessfully tried to prevent King-Father Norodom Sihanouk and Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk from accompanying King Norodom Sihamoni in his last June's official visit to Vietnam. Beijing did not appreciate the whole three-member Cambodian royal family, traditionally close to China, going together to pay tribute as a vassal to Vietnam. Nevertheless, Vietnam wanted Norodom Sihanouk to symbolically endorse controversial border treaties imposed on Cambodia in the 1980s. Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened again to abolish the monarchy if Norodom Sihanouk did not go to Hanoi. During the visit, while state television in Hanoi was broadcasting scenes of the royal allegiance to Vietnam, some TV stations in China broadcast scenes of China's (Cambodia-related) Punitive War against Vietnam in 1979.

Opposition elected official to be released from jail (2)

After the release yesterday of journalist Ros Sokhet who was detained for more than a year for "disinformation" or "dissemination of false information" some other government critics or opposition activists are expected to be released soon from prison following increasing international pressure. One of them could be SRP elected commune chief Tuot Saran whom Amnesty International describes as a "prisoner of conscience." "Amnesty International believes that the accusations against [Tuot Saran] were baseless and politically motivated, in order to intimidate other opposition party activists," the organization said in a 15 September 2010 statement.

Airport operator asks government to open up competition for flights to Sihanoukville (1)

Because national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air, which is affiliated with Air Vietnam, is reluctant to schedule flights to Sihanoukville (see "Conflict of interests between Cambodia and Vietnam in airline joint venture," KI News, 24 October 2010), French airport operator SCA said on 27 October 2010 they were negotiating with several other airlines to start flights to the coastal destination. However, there is a lack of political will on the part of the Cambodian government to open up competition for the reason we have explained.

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24 October 2010

Chea Sim, Hun Sen and Heng Samrin disseminating false information on border situation (2)

In a tit-for-tat move, the SRP leadership is accusing CPP top three leaders Chea Sim, Hun Sen and Heng Samrin of disseminating false information, a charge that could logically send them to prison based on current laws in Cambodia. In a recent letter to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, the three CPP leaders claimed, "Not a single Khmer farmer has lost his/her rice field in the ongoing border demarcation process with Vietnam." The case of Prum Chea and Meas Srey, two Cambodian farmers from Svay Rieng province who were recently arrested and jailed for protesting the loss of their rice fields because of border encroachment, are living evidence to the contrary and an irrefutable denial of CPP's claim on the issue. Read related statement at http://tinyurl.com/3x6nrc2

Conflict of interests between Cambodia and Vietnam in airline joint venture (2)

National carrier Cambodia Angkor Air is unwilling to extend regular flights to Preah Sihanouk City (or Sihanoukville) which boasts a newly-extended airport, even though Cambodia's southwestern coastline and islands are considered a vital part of the country's tourism growth strategy. Vietnam Airlines, which operates Cambodia Angkor Air, actually doesn't want Preah Sihanouk City to seriously compete with nearby Vietnam's Phu Quoc island, which is also a newly-developed destination for international tourism with a brand new airport.

[End]

Meet opposition leader Sam Rainsy and Mr. Sean Pengse in the US West Coast

Sunday 30 May in San Jose, California (mid-morning and afternoon)
Sunday 30 May in San Jose, California

Click on each announcement to zoom in

Svay Rieng authority arrested SRP official … for collecting signatures and thumbprints to support Sam Rainsy

14 Dec 2009: Svay Rieng police try to block SRP MPs and villagers from visiting the location where Sam Rainsy uprroted border stakes in Samrong commune, Chantrea district (Photo: Uon Chhin, RFA)

18 Dec 2009
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

This Friday, Svay Rieng police arrested Meas Som, an advisor of the Sam Rainsy Party who works in Baty commune, Bavit city, Svay Rieng province.

Nget Nara, a facilitator for the Adhoc human rights group in Svay Rieng, told RFA that Meas Som was arrested because he was collecting signatures and thumbprints to support Sam Rainsy regarding the uprooting of border stakes along the Cambodian-Vietnamese border.

Svay Rieng police could not be reached yet about this arrest.

Cambodia, Vietnam re-affirm their vows

The three Vietnamese puppets: Heng Xamrin, Chea Xim, and Hun Xen (Photo: Reuters)

Apr 23, 2009
By Stephen Kurczy
Asia Times (Hong Kong)

"The Thais are stupid because they try to steal a stone [referring to the Preah Vihear temple.] We are smarter, we just steal the land." - Joke about Vietnam making the round in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH - In 1977, a low-level Khmer Rouge cadre entered Vietnam from Cambodia during a cross-border raid. He was captured, detained and interrogated by Vietnamese military intelligence. With information gleaned from the skinny, young communist, Vietnam began planning a major counterattack on Cambodia after a series of Khmer Rouge massacres on its territory.

His name was Hun Sen, and he was soon joined in Vietnam by other Khmer Rouge cadres fleeing the internal purges led by Pol Pot, then the radical Maoist group's leader. Heng Samrin, who headed the Khmer Rouge's Eastern Zone Fourth Division, defected and brought with him some 2,000 to 3,000 troops, while Chea Sim, an Eastern Zone district chief, is known to have escorted some 300 people across the Vietnamese border.

All three men assumed control of Cambodia on January 7, 1979, after Vietnamese forces sacked Phnom Penh, ousted the Khmer Rouge and installed them as the leaders of a puppet government. They ruled during a subsequent decade-long Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia that heightened the traditional animosity between the nations.

Thirty years later, Chea Sim is president of the Senate and number one in the ruling and dominant Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Hun Sen, the country's long-running prime minister, is the party's second highest-ranking member. Heng Samrin is president of the National Assembly and number three in the CPP.

Despite Cambodia's transition from a single-party Leninist state to multi-party constitutional monarchy, members of the CPP currently assume every ministerial position and control three-fourths of the National Assembly's seats. The CPP maintains close ties with Vietnam, bonds that have strengthened as Cambodia looks east for a political ally and trade partner while links to Thailand come under strain from a border conflict and political protests that have targeted Hun Sen's government.

"Politically speaking, it is a very unique, special relationship," said Cambodian political observer Chea Vannath. "Vietnam still plays big brother whenever the CPP needs it."

In recent months there has been a flurry of bilateral exchanges. Vietnam announced its intention to strengthen ties during a January visit by Heng Samrin to Hanoi, where he met with Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and President Nguyen Minh Triet. Both Vietnamese leaders said that they prioritized relations with their smaller neighbor.

"Vietnam and Cambodia were side-by-side with each other in the past struggle for national independence, therefore it is necessary for today's generation to continue this solidarity to ensure further development," Triet said, according to the government-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

In February, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung highlighted recent collaboration between the two countries across many disciplines, including politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, culture, arts, technology, security and defense. That same month, Vietnamese military-owned mobile phone company Viettel inaugurated its cell phone service in Cambodia after giving away some one million free SIM cards to Cambodia's students and armed forces.

According to VietNamNet, Viettel has already signed up 500,000 subscribers, making it Cambodia's third largest mobile phone provider. On February 21, Vietnam's defense minister paid a visit to Hun Sen and pledged to continue to provide training for Cambodian soldiers in Vietnam, including over 100 in residence at Vietnam's infantry academy.

Hun Sen on Sunday applauded 21 high-ranking officers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, including Commander-in-Chief Pol Saroeun and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Kun Kim, for earning degrees in military science from Vietnamese military institutes. According to VietNamNet, Hun Sen also thanked Vietnam for helping to protect Cambodia's national defense and economic development.

Hun Sen in February also met twice with a Thai military delegation, but their meetings focused on the heated border dispute and Thailand's supposedly accidental firing of artillery into Cambodia earlier that month, rather than collaborative opportunities.

In early March, Cambodia and Vietnam quietly planted the 281st border marker at the edge of Cambodia's Takeo province, reflecting Hun Sen's ongoing policy to quickly demarcate the two countries' contentious eastern border. That marks a difference from the political opposition, which has frequently criticized Hun Sen as being Hanoi's puppet. In 1996, bilateral tensions flared when then-first prime minister Norodom Ranariddh said a military solution "may be found" to Vietnam's alleged annexing of Cambodia's eastern lands.

Shifting borders

Hun Sen has insisted that border problems with Vietnam would be solved through peaceful means. Controversy erupted in 2005 when under a veil of secrecy the CPP-controlled National Assembly ratified a supplement to Cambodia's 1985 border treaty with Vietnam. At the time, Hun Sen threatened to sue anyone who accused him of ceding land to Vietnam. Criticism of the treaty earned several persons, including a prominent opposition radio host, jail time on charges of defamation and incitement.

Soon after the recent border agreement, Vietnam's parliamentary vice president met in mid-March with Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin to call for stronger economic ties. In that vein, on March 16, Hun Sen met with Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Commerce and Cambodia announced that its citizens no longer need visas to enter Vietnam and vice-versa. The next day, Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh and Cambodian Minister of Interior Sar Kheng signed a 2009 cooperation accord.

Anh also visited Hun Sen and laid a wreath at the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument, a prominent structure in the center of Phnom Penh that abuts Hun Sen Park. No similar Thai-Cambodia friendship monument exists in Phnom Penh. On March 30, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith visited Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi, where the two pledged to "promote the dissemination of information, helping to boost bilateral cooperation and refute hostile forces' slanderous allegations".

"We are trying to strengthen the bilateral cooperation that we've had since long ago," said Koy Kuong, an undersecretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Between Cambodia and Vietnam, we have a long [history of] friendship and cooperation." Koy Kuong dismisses suggestions that Cambodia's current border dispute with Thailand over land surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple has prompted Cambodia to replace declining trade and diplomatic relations to Thailand with more robust ties to Vietnam.

A skirmish between Thai and Cambodian troops last October at Preah Vihear temple left two Cambodian troops dead. Another flare-up in early April this year resulted in the death of one Thai soldier. Fanning those flames, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in March referred to Hun Sen as a "gangster" in the local media. When Hun Sen demanded an apology, Kasit re-phrased his insult by calling Hun Sen "a gentleman who has the heart of a gangster", but he later issued a written formal apology.

Relations have been strained due to Hun Sen's perceived close friendship with deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-imposed exile and was instrumental in stirring the recent street chaos caused by his anti-government supporters. Asia Times Online broke the news last week that pro-Thaksin groups had for the past two years funneled arms through Cambodia to Thaksin-aligned supporters in Thailand's northeastern provinces.

Meanwhile, there are widespread rumors circulated by some Thai media outlets that Thaksin's on-the-run protest leaders have taken refuge across the border at Cambodia's Koh Kong island and that the exiled former premier earlier this week paid them a clandestine visit. Cambodian authorities have consistently denied that Thaksin has entered the country, including earlier this week.

The ongoing turmoil has made Thailand a less attractive business partner, prompting Cambodia to seek alternative diplomatic ties, some analysts say. "Since the ousting of Thaksin, Thailand has been quite unstable, resulting in a slowdown in its economic growth," Kheang Un, a visiting fellow at the Center for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, said recently by e-mail. As a result, he added, Cambodian businessmen are reluctant to invest in and trade with Thailand.

Trade between Vietnam and Cambodia jumped 31% compared to the previous year in 2008, to nearly $1.7 billion. Bilateral trade with Thailand is still larger, but only increased 17% to $2 billion in 2008. Vietnamese goods dominate Cambodian markets, and in 2007 and 2008 Cambodians bought more Vietnamese consumer goods than they did products from any other country, VNA reported in early April. Sales of Vietnamese products to Cambodian consumers totaled $988 million in 2008, compared to $674 million of Thai goods.

"All the local investors here want to do business with Vietnam, and all the Vietnamese businesses want to do business here," said Cambodia Chamber of Commerce President Nguon Meng-Tech. "If relations are good from one government to another, that's better than with another government with problems at the border ... I don't think [Cambodian] businesses will do much business with Thailand."

Opportunistic diplomacy

Vietnam is bidding to take competitive advantage of Thailand's internal political upheaval and simmering border conflict to replace it as Cambodia's primary trade partner, said parliamentarian Sam Rainsy, the leader of Cambodia's largest opposition party and a frequent critic of Hun Sen's ties to Hanoi.

"This is part of a larger geopolitical play in this region - the current tension with Thailand benefits Vietnam, as Vietnam can increase its influence over Cambodia," said Rainsy, who likens the situation to 2003 when Hun Sen's comments alleging that a Thai actress had claimed the Angkor Wat temple belonged to Thailand prompted anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh.

Cambodians burned the Thai Embassy and vandalized Thai businesses, causing millions of dollars in damage. "Trade from Thailand declined [in 2003] and Vietnam got a stronger political influence over Cambodia ... The armed conflict at the border is having the same effect, but more prolonged," said Rainsy. He believes pro-Vietnam elements within the CPP inflamed anti-Thai sentiment to "weaken relations with Thailand, including commercial relations, and boost relations with Vietnam".

Cambodian government officials aligned with the CPP downplay those criticisms. The recent flurry of diplomatic and commercial agreements is "nothing special", said Cambodia's Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan. Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith also disputes this is an unusual trend. "If there was increased cooperation with Vietnam, it would bring suspicion from China and the United States," Kanharith said.

Scholar Kheang Un counters that neither the US nor China, nor even Thailand, are particularly concerned by stronger Cambodia-Vietnam relations. "None of these three countries see Vietnam as a threat to their national security as they did during the Cold War era, during which they viewed Vietnam as Moscow's agent in Southeast Asia," he said. "[A]s soon as Thai politicians put their house in order, Thai-Khmer relations will normalize."

Some human rights groups remain apprehensive about Cambodia's shift east, as the country's alleged mistreatment of ethnic Montagnard and Khmer Krom minorities has shown that Cambodia is willing to take instruction from its larger, wealthier neighbor. The Montagnards, ethnic hilltribe people living in the highlands of central Vietnam, have for years entered Cambodia seeking asylum with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees only to be forced back into Vietnam by Cambodian authorities.

In addition, the six million ethnic Cambodians living in Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta area, known as the Khmer Krom, have been targeted and in some cases imprisoned by Vietnamese authorities for practicing Buddhism. They have also faced oppression from the Cambodian government for protesting their treatment in Vietnam. Human Rights Watch, a US-based rights advocacy group, said Hanoi has an active agenda to monitor, infiltrate, and silence Khmer Krom activists.

"Our government would like so much to please the Vietnamese government," said Kek Galabru, the founder of local human rights advocacy group LICADHO. She first met Hun Sen in 1983 in Angola, where her late husband was serving as the French ambassador. She invited Hun Sen to her home, and the then young foreign minister convinced her he "was not a Vietnamese puppet", she told journalist Elizabeth Becker in the book When the War was Over.

"Now, my opinion is different," Galabru recently told Asia Times Online. "Since I came to Cambodia in 1992, I can see that things are run differently."

Rights groups point to the case of Tim Sakhorn, a Khmer Krom monk who distributed bulletins and organized protests demanding Vietnamese authorities compensate Khmer Krom for allegedly stealing their farmland. He was defrocked by Cambodian authorities in 2007 and deported to Vietnam, where he was jailed on charges of "undermining solidarity" between the two countries. He has since sought asylum in Buddhist-majority Thailand.

"Who gave the order to disrobe Tim Sakhorn? What wrong did he do but to shout when there were violations of the Khmer Krom?" said Son Soubert, a member of Cambodia's Constitutional Council and the son of former Cambodian premier Son Sann. The gag on public demonstrations against Vietnam, he said, is one clear marker of Hanoi's 30-year supervision of the CPP. "You don't see [Vietnam's] presence, but they're present ... You can accuse me of being biased or paranoid, but in the eyes of Cambodians, that's the reality."

While the Cambodian army defends against Thai soldiers crossing into territory near Preah Vihear temple, Son Soubert said in comparison that 89,000 square kilometers of Mekong Delta land is occupied by Vietnam that arguably belonged to Cambodia until 1949, when the colonial French National Assembly formally ceded it to Vietnam. He said the current border skirmish with Thailand distracts from Vietnam's more serious border infringements, which as a matter of policy are overlooked by Hun Sen's allegedly Vietnam-aligned government.

Real or imagined, Soubert contends that sentiment is spreading, evident in a joke now making the rounds in Phnom Penh. Spoken in the voice of a Vietnamese, the nationalistic jab goes: "The Thais are stupid because they try to steal a stone," referring to the Preah Vihear temple. "We are smarter, we just steal the land."

Stephen Kurczy is an Asia Times Online contributor based in Cambodia. He may be reached at kurczy@gmail.com.

Border Agreements or Border Encroachments? Cambodia Beware!

Sunday, February 24, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

"In the past, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party cohorts have always asked for evidence whenever there are claims of border encroachments by our neighbours ... To ask for evidence every time someone reported about the border encroachments is like the police blaming someone for not catching the criminals when they reported about crimes. Ridiculous and irresponsible!"

Every time I read about border agreements with Vietnam, a question has always popped up in my mind: will Cambodia lose any lands in those agreements? (Click here to read the article).

The recurring problems of border issues with our neighbours, particularly the two powerful neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam, have scared many Cambodians. Cambodia seemed to have no border problems with our less powerful neighbour, Laos. This shows that Laos has never encroached on Cambodian lands because it is less powerful than Cambodia- scared of Cambodia, if I can use this term. Likewise, Laos has never complained about Cambodia encroaching into her borders.

On the contrary, Cambodia’s recurring and persistent border problems with her two powerful neighbours indicated that Cambodia had always been encroached by these neighbours. And any border talks or agreements had always seen Cambodia conceded or even seceded parts of her lands to these neighbours.

Before the present government took power in 1979, Cambodia have never had any border issues with her neighbours. Cambodia has never had any “overlapping areas”, the so-called “white areas” or “dombon Sor” in Khmer. Presently, there are many “overlapping areas” along the borders with Vietnam and Thailand, including on our maritime borders. In many cases, the “overlapping areas” are in fact Cambodian lands. And as a result Cambodia has to share her natural gas and oil resources with Vietnam and Thailand.

Cambodia’s borders with her neighbours should have been settled once and for all since the period of the French Protectorate in Cambodia. Cambodia’s borders with Thailand have been delimited and demarcated in the 1907 border agreements between the royal government of Thailand and the French Protectorate in Cambodia. And Cambodia’s borders with Vietnam and Laos have been settled by the French Protectorate Authority before they left Indochina in 1953-1954. So, the border issues should never have been a problem at all between Cambodia and her neighbours.

The fact that the problems have occurred and recurred continually meant that Cambodia’s borders have been encroached and encroached on a larger scale by our two powerful neighbours.

People do not have to ask for evidence. In the past, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party cohorts have always asked for evidence whenever there are claims of border encroachments by our neighbours. To find out exactly the evidence, the prime minister and his cohorts must travel to the border areas that have been encroached and physically examined them, using the maps that Cambodia had kept at the United Nations and by asking the villagers on the grounds. To ask for evidence every time someone reported about the border encroachments is like the police blaming someone for not catching the criminals when they reported about crimes. Ridiculous and irresponsible!

Opposition MP Claims Vietnamese Road Building Trespasses On Cambodian Territory

15 Nov 07
By Sovannarith
Samleng Yuveakchon Khmer (Voice of Khmer Youth)
Translated from Khmer and posted online

A reliable source of information contended that Vietnam recently built a road that intruded more than 10 kilometers deep into Cambodian territory of Mondulkiri province. Cambodia's Border Affairs Commission [CBAC] headed by Var Kim Hong that plans to soon go to the border to inspect the situation of the border markers installing process has had no reaction to this report. Moreover, the provincial authorities seemed to be trying to cover up this news, an act that has generated varied opinions because this is not the first time that Vietnam has bulldozed land and cut roads into Cambodian territory.

[Opposition MP] Son Chhay said that the Vietnamese authorities frequently built roads along the border, some of them straying deep into Cambodian territory. The construction work has been going on day and night, said the MP who personally witnessed these activities of the Vietnamese authorities. Son Chhay went on to say that the road building activities that encroached into Cambodian territory were in full swing in the provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri. MP Son Chhay said that he used to seek intervention from the government, especially from Var Kim Hong's CBAC but has received no positive responses as nothing has been done to stop these encroaching activities of the Vietnamese authorities.

It is claimed that the provincial authorities, especially Deputy Provincial Governor Keo Han--who reportedly crosses back and forth between Cambodia and Vietnam two-three times a week--have been trying to cover up these road bulldozing activities in Mondulkiri province at this time. This has elicited more suspicion because the local authorities who are aware of such incident should have reported to the specialized department so that the latter would also be aware of what was taking place at the border. However, Kev Han instead has pretended not to know anything while it is reported that he has been making frequent trips to Vietnam but has feigned ignorance of what was going on.

The CBAC chairman said that Cambodia had plans to install the border markers with the Vietnamese side along the borderline in the country's northeast encompassing the provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri and this operation at points already agreed upon would be completed by the next dry season.

CBAC Chairman Var Kim Hong affirmed that two teams of CBAC technical experts will be dispatched to Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces in December this year.

"Two teams will go to Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri. We have set goals for them to achieve. If one team encounters any problem in one place we will change its objectives.. . and let the other team take over. Besides, what we have already agreed upon we will complete it in the coming dry season," said Var Kim Hong.

In September 2007 the Cambodian and Vietnamese border commissions reached agreement with each other and succeeded in planting five border markers along the border of Ratanakiri opposite the Vietnamese province of Kontum.

Li Sovannara, commander of the border defense battalion of the Ratanakiri provincial forces, confirmed: "We have managed to plant only five markers, No. 17 to 21. On our side these markers are in Andong Meas district and on the Vietnamese side they are in the adjacent province of Kantum."

The CBAC chairman, however, did not specify how many markers are remaining to be planted or when they are going to be planted between now and the next dry season. However, he affirmed that there were some disagreements that have stalled the process, especially regarding the locations of the border markers at the international border gate in O Ya Dav district, Ratanakiri province, and at Dak Dam in Mondulkiri province.

Son Chhay, president of the National Assembly's Committee No. 5 from the Sam Rainsy Party quota, also affirmed: "We observed that Vietnam was building a road along the border around the clock when we went there in January earlier this year and that this road trespassed upon Cambodia. Because of this we are very worried that the marker planting in these two provinces would be problematic because the planting was made without the participation of the National Assembly's commission and some national media. There is suspicion that the operation might not be correctly carried out."

Cambodia started planting historic border markers with the Vietnamese side for the first time in September 2006 at the international border gate of Bavet in Svay Rieng province as part of a project to install more than 300 markers along the 1,270-kilometer borderline with Vietnam. So far, according to Son Chhay, only 20 percent of this operation has been done.

Nuon Chea's Arrest Said Overshadowing Cambodia-Vietnam Border Marker Planting

22 Sep 07 - 23 Sep 07
By Kaeut Samrech
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

In the past few days news about the arrest of chief murderer Nuon Chea, former chairman of the Khmer Rouge regime's National Assembly, has overshadowed many other important events in Cambodia, such as the planting of the Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers and the drafting of the anti-corruption law. As a matter of fact, the media have exclusively concentrated their coverage on the arrest of Nuon Chea and his detention at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal [KRT] while hushing up other incidents or paying them scant attention. Even the international observers and diplomats, as well as the nongovernmental organization officials have focused their attention only on the news about Nuon Chea being escorted from Pailin City to the KRT.

Border activists and independent observers recalled that a few months ago the map-confused man, Va Kimhong, publicly claimed that the Cambodian and Vietnamese sides had plans to install more than 100 land border markers before the end of 2007. However, since Va Kimhong made this public declaration the process of planting the border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam has remained secretive. No activities to this effect have been detected. Since 27 September 2006 only four border markers have been planted by the Cambodian-Vietnamese sides at the main border gates where they were officially inaugurated. Besides these four markers, no changes have been noted.

The border activists and independent observers said that at the current rate the planting of 370 markers along the 1,270-km border will never be completed before the end of 2008 as claimed by Va Kimhong, because the planting of the Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers must face many obstacles, especially the difficult terrain such as in Mondul Kiri and Rotanakiri provinces. Therefore, even if the treaty supplemental to the 1985 state border demarcation treaty is implemented, there is no chance the border markers planting will be completed before 2008 as planned.

At the ceremony planting the initial Cambodian-Vietnamese border marker at the Bavet-Moc Bai pass in the morning of 27 September 2006 both the power-addicted man, Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung publicly announced that the two sides would complete the planting of six other main border markers before the end of 2006. Now, at the approach of the end of 2007 the two sides have been able to plant only four markers. Therefore, it is impossible that the 370 markers along the 1,270-km stretch of the common frontier will be planted in time by the end of 2008, only with the exception that the two sides secretly plant the land border markers without letting the national and international circles know about it.

A number of civic organization officials are worried that the Cambodian-Vietnamese sides would surreptitiously plant the land border markers first before they announce the result because the map-confused man, Va Kimhong, used to assert that the Cambodian-Vietnamese border is a bilateral matter. If this incident did happen, criticisms would fly in from all directions even if the Cambodian-Vietnamese sides claimed that they were implementing the treaty supplemental to the 1985 state border demarcation treaty. This is because if the planting of the border markers was done secretly Cambodia would stand to lose much territory.

As for the Cambodian people living along the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, such as those in Dong commune, Romeas Hek district, Svay Rieng province, and in Trapeang Phlong commune, P'nhea Krek district, Kampong Cham province, they want the planting of the Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers to be completed as soon as possible to prevent the Vietnamese from continuing to commit aggression against and encroach on Cambodian territory as they please. Such is the will of the Cambodian people living along the Cambodian-Vietnamese border because they have heard the megalomaniac Hun Sen bragging that the treaty supplemental to the 1985 treaty would be beneficial to Cambodia. For this reason, they want the process of planting the border markers along the Cambodian-Vietnamese land border be completed as soon as possible so that they would know how many square kilometers of territory Cambodia gains from Vietnam, and where.

So far, some of the people who live in Dong commune, Romeas Hek district, have lost their rice fields and crop orchards to the land-grab actions of the Vietnamese. Others cannot enter their ancestral land to grow crops there, because this land is considered part of the White Zone. Therefore, the sooner the planting of the land border markers between Cambodia and Vietnam is completed the better, and if consequently Cambodia gains tens of thousands of square kilometers from Vietnam it will be even better.

Nevertheless, former King Norodom Sihanouk does not recognize the treaty supplemental to the 1985 state border demarcation treaty as he has called it an illegal treaty contrary to the 23 October 1991 Paris peace agreement. As for Sean Pengse, president of the Paris-based Cambodian Border Committee, he has already declared that this supplemental treaty cannot stop Vietnamese aggression, for Cambodia itself has already violated the Paris peace agreement.

The border activists and independent observers are continuing to monitor the process of planting the Cambodian-Vietnamese land border markers very closely, for after the planting of the four main border markers at the border gates it is not yet seen that Cambodia has gained a square inch of territory from Vietnam. On the contrary, it is the Vietnamese authorities who have continued to violate Cambodia's sovereignty with arrogance, such as the cases that took place in the border regions of Rotanakiri and Kampong Cham provinces.