Khmer Intelligence News - 07 February 2012

February 7, 2012

ROADMAP FOR DEFECTORS LOOKING FOR PERSONAL BENEFITS

• STARTING POINT: SRP
• TRANSIT POINT: HRP
• FINAL DESTINATION: CPP

Today, approximately ten former Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) members who loudly defected to the Human Rights Party (HRP) in 2011, announced their decision to finally join the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). There are commune and district councilors and a former senator among them: Vann Sivoeun, Morn Yeang, Prak Vandy, Om Phosda, Lon Sokthai, Chea Bun Ngak, Boeun Sokha, Horn Ravy.

Before them, two more prominent professional defectors looking for personal benefits had followed the same political itinerary (from SRP to HRP to CPP): Kem Sokhon (a brother of HRP president Kem Sokha) and Keo Remy (a former Funcinpec then SRP National Assembly member and now an adviser to CPP Prime minister Hun Sen).

Before the January 29 senatorial elections, many HRP representatives had reportedly tried to entice SRP commune councilors to vote for the CPP.

CPP BLACKMAILING KEM SOKHA CONCERNING HIS PRIVATE LIFE

On January 15, 2012 Prime Minister Hun Sen accused HRP President Kem Sokha of having a son with a mistress and he exposed many details about the extramarital affair http://tinyurl.com/7yx62sw

As they did a few years ago with Prince Norodom Ranariddh when he was having an extramarital affair before his divorce from Princess Eng Marie Ranariddh, the CPP plans to have somebody sue Kem Sokha on the basis of the 2006 law on monogamy. Referring to articles 7 and 10 of the law, a judge can send Kem Sokha to prison for a period from one month to one year and to make him pay a fine from 200,000 to 1,000,000 Riels.

Following various wrongdoings, General Nhiek Bun Chhay and other Funcinpec leaders are also being blackmailed by the CPP into openly or secretly serving Hun Sen’s party.

Khmer Intelligence News - 16 November 2010 - Vietnam's Prime Minister welcomed even by the opposition

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

16 November 2010

Vietnam’s Prime Minister welcomed even by the opposition (1)

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who is currently on an official three-day visit in Cambodia, has been welcomed by opposition leader Sam Rainsy in a 14 November 2010 open letter. A year ago, following a border incident, Mr. Dung publicly “proposed that the Cambodian government take due measures to deal with Sam Rainsy’s acts of sabotage and not permit similar cases to occur, as they negatively affect the fine relations between the two nations.” In light of the Cambodian government mea culpa on the circumstances surrounding this incident (see following news “Hun Sen admits mistake in localization of controversial border markers”), Sam Rainsy wrote, “I would be grateful if you would acknowledge that you actually overreacted to my pulling out a few wooden poles in Svay Rieng province and possibly encouraged some unnecessary fallout from that insignificant incident.” Read full text of Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://tinyurl.com/2a3ppln

Hun Sen admits mistake in localization of controversial border markers (1)

In a 8 November 2010 letter responding to opposition Members of Parliament, Prime Minister Hun Sen admits, at least by implication, that the government has made some mistake in the localization of some “tentative” or “temporary” border markers in provinces bordering Vietnam. « In the area of the tentative post # 185 [uprooted by Sam Rainsy on 25 October 2009], in particular posts # 184 to 187 along the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, the joint technical group from the two countries is continuing their study on the ground in order to search for material evidence/reference points necessary for the determination of the real location of those border posts. Because the joint technical group from the two countries has not planted any border post # 185 yet, the border demarcation work -- which is the work of the joint technical group to be conducted after the planting of those posts -- has not started yet either. » Therefore Sam Rainsy, who has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for “crimes” stemming from “destruction of public property,” could not cause any damage to anything that does not exist and could not create any problem to any work that “has not started yet.” Read Hun Sen’s letter in Khmer at http://tinyurl.com/25ulw7c

Reasons for the government to prohibit visits to eastern border areas (2)

The Hun Sen government is adamant that no Members of Parliament, no journalists, no diplomats, no NGO workers, no civil society representatives and no independent observers are allowed to visit areas near the border with Vietnam. There is a two-fold reason for this strict prohibition:

1- Nobody must be given the opportunity and possibility to do what Sam Rainsy did last year with the “tentative” border post # 185 in Svay Rieng province, i.e. collect the precise geographic coordinates of any border post with a GPS device, find out the location of that post on any official French-made or US-made map using appropriate computer programs, and see that the corresponding post is actually on Cambodian territory.

2- Nobody must meet with, and talk to, any Cambodian farmers living along the border who have been victims of land grabbing associated with border encroachment. Those farmers, whose number keeps increasing, are living evidence that is a denial to the government assertion that “not a single Cambodian farmer has lost his/her rice field in the ongoing border demarcation process.” Read Hun Sen, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin’s 16 November 2009 deceitful letter to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk at http://tinyurl.com/2uozunz

The strategy of the Vietnam-backed Hun Sen government is to prevent any form of border protest so that all currently “tentative” or “temporary” border posts will become, by 2012, permanent border posts, with the Cambodian people being placed before a fait accompli.

Sam Rainsy in Australia (1)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy will be visiting Australia from 18 to 30 November 2010. He will meet with Cambodian communities, the press, government officials and NGOs in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide.

A single “royalist” party under CPP control (2)

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party is pushing hard for the merger of the two small and discredited “royalist” parties: Funcinpec and the Nationalist Party (formally Norodom Ranariddh Party). The CPP is desperate to give more credibility to the crumbling democratic façade of a two-party coalition government between former communists and present “royalists” in what is in fact a one-party system where all decisions are made by the CPP.

French court dismisses Hor Namhong’s complaints (2)

The French court in Paris has recently dismissed legal complaints for defamation lodged by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong against three Web sites particularly critical of the Hun Sen government: KI-media, Khmerisation and Sacrava, which can be visited at http://ki-media.blogspot.com/ , http://khmerization.blogspot.com/ and http://sacrava.blogspot.com/ respectively.

[End]

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]

Khmer Intelligence News - 24 October 2010

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
24 October 2010

Cambodians worldwide commemorate Paris Peace Agreements signed exactly 19 years ago (1)

From 22 to 24 October 2010, Cambodian communities all over the world are celebrating the 19th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreements on Cambodia on 23 October 1991. They are asking for a full and effective implementation of the international peace treaty. Related events are reported at http://ki-media.blogspot.com/

Three additional signatories to the Paris Agreements on Cambodia (1)

Besides Cambodia, 18 countries signed the Paris Agreements on 23 October 1991. Subsequently, three more countries accepted to take up the obligations stipulated in the Agreements: Poland in 1992, The Netherlands in 1993 and Germany in 1994.

Growing international support for an appeal for the reactivation of the 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia (1)

Over the last few weeks, 133 Members of Parliament from all continents have expressed their support for an appeal from their 28 parliamentarian colleagues from Cambodia’s opposition Sam Rainsy Party calling for the reactivation of the 1991 Paris Agreements on Cambodia. “In order to put the derailed democratization process back on track and to strengthen mechanisms designed to protect human rights in Cambodia as enshrined in the Agreements, the governments of signatory countries and donor institutions must immediately take adequate measures to ensure the effective respect for all relevant provisions of the Agreements.” Read full text of the Appeal in English and French at http://tinyurl.com/2w7fyxo.

Open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon from Khmer Rouge victims (1)

Before his arrival in Cambodia on 26 October 2010 for a three-day official visit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon received from plaintiffs at the UN-sponsored Khmer Rouge Tribunal an open letter for “complaint alleging obstruction of justice and improper and unlawful interference with the operations and independence of the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC) established to administer justice to the perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Read full text of the letter at http://tinyurl.com/26cwqqh

Evocation of “K5 Plan” in complaint to UN (1)

Also in relation to Ban Ki-moon’s upcoming visit to Cambodia, the same group of plaintiffs at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal lodged a 4-point complaint with the UN describing and documenting an ongoing policy and practice of the current Cambodian government that “amount to the perpetuation and condoning of the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed as part of the Khmer Rouge genocide.” The complaint specifies, “This is not the first time that the Government of Cambodia has taken actions that perpetuated and condoned the type of systemic abuses of the civilian population […]. Another example of how the Cambodian Government misused the legal and judicial process to carry out policies that violated core principles of human rights and humanitarian law can be seen in how what was referred to as "The K5 Plan" was developed and carried out by the new government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea after the Khmer Rouge regime was deposed, between 1982 and 1988. Many current government officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen, were high level officials at that time, and played a major role in the implementation of the K5 Plan.” Read full text of the Complaint at http://tinyurl.com/3427tko

Cambodian government to sue Google and US Army (2)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy has been recently sentenced to 10 years in prison partly because the government accuses him of forging a French-era Indochina map showing the border between Cambodia and Vietnam (read official accusation at http://tinyurl.com/2am5pk5). The “forged” map, which is posted on the SRP Website at http://tinyurl.com/yeaoxyf, has a “fraudulent Sam Rainsy-made grid” on it (the government used the French word “carreaux” to describe the grid). Actually, the map posted on the SRP Website is the very one posted on Google at http://sites.google.com/site/cambodiaborder/TrangBang.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1, and Google itself got it from the US Army (read official explanation by US Army about the “fraudulent” grid at http://tinyurl.com/3x6nrc2). Therefore, the Cambodian government will also sue Google and the US Army for “forgery of a public document.”

Inter-Parliamentary Union resolution condemns accusations against Sam Rainsy (1)

In its 6 October 2010 “Resolution on the case of Sam Rainsy – Cambodia," the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) “wonders, particularly in the light of the independent expert [Swiss University Professor Régis Caloz] analysis on the border issue in question, what kind of evidence the court adduced to prove the falsification of maps or divulgation of false information, all the more so as the Government reportedly itself conceded that the temporary border markers were not on the legal borderline and officially decided to dismantle them. Read full text of the IPU Resolution at http://tinyurl.com/26vfuky

European Parliament analyses Sam Rainsy’s case (1)

In its 21 October 2010 "Resolution on Cambodia, in particular the case of Sam Rainsy," the European Parliament unanimously condemns “all politically motivated sentences against representatives of the opposition and NGOs”, in particular those against opposition political leader Sam Rainsy, who has been sentenced to a 12-year prison term. Saying “the strategy of Cambodia's ruling party is to use a politically subservient judiciary to crack down on all government critics” and considering Sam Rainsy’s gesture “to be of a symbolic and clearly political nature” and his conviction as “based on an act of civil disobedience,” the European Parliament calls on the Cambodian authorities to guarantee free political expression and to engage in political and institutional reforms. The European Parliament also notes that “the uprooting of six wooden temporary border posts at the Vietnamese-Cambodian border, which is still disputed between the two countries [...] took place in support of villagers who claimed to be victims of land-grabbing, saying that the Vietnamese had illegally shifted the posts onto Cambodian soil, in their rice fields, and that their complaints to the local authorities had remained unanswered.” Read full text of the Resolution at http://tinyurl.com/34cq5pe

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

Hun Sen recently failed again in his bid to split Interior Ministry (2)

A few months ago, Hun Sen failed again in his persistent attempt to divide the Interior Ministry into two separate ministries, with the creation of a new ministry called Security Ministry in charge of the Police, the remaining Interior Ministry being only in charge of Provincial Administration. Hun Sen actually wants to weaken current Interior Minister Sar Kheng, a relative and ally to CPP Chairman Chea Sim, and to put all the armed forces -- Army and Police -- under his direct control. In January 2009, Hun Sen already “purged” the Army with the sacking of four-star General Ke Kim Yan, a relative and ally to Sar Kheng and an obstacle to his plan to seize absolute power to the detriment of other CPP leaders. Vietnam has been using her influence to restrain Hun Sen so as to preserve the CPP's unity.

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 which has 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 does not 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]

Khmer Intelligence News - 09 April 2010

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

09 April 2010

Cambodia recovers a strip of her territory in Svay Rieng province (2)

A recent border incident -- uprooting of “temporary border posts” by opposition parliamentarians and protesting villagers in Svay Rieng province in October 2009 -- and the subsequent investigation involving international independent experts into the controversial border demarcation process over the last few years, have resulted in Cambodia’s recovering a 10-kilometer-long, 500-meter-wide strip of her territory. However, for face-saving reasons, government border authorities are reluctant to recognize the new situation and are tentatively giving inconsistent explanations to the fact that “temporary border posts” # 184, 185, 186 and 187 have been moved back toward the East by 570 m, 516 m, 720 m and 510 m respectively. See related documents at http://tinyurl.com/yyoqa2n

China behind improvement in relations between Cambodia and Thailand (2)

Two reliable diplomatic sources have indicated that China recently put strong pressure on the Cambodian government to stop stirring up trouble in Thailand by openly interfering in the neighbouring country’s internal affairs. China wants to preserve peace and stability in South-East Asia and wants to prevent Vietnam from gaining more influence in the region. Vietnam is believed to be behind Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s aggressive behaviour aimed at weakening Thailand. This was already the case in the violent anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh in January 2003.

Hun Sen expects oil revenue from Chevron to help finance CPP election campaign in 2012 (2)

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said earlier this week he would terminate his country's contract with Chevron if the US energy giant does not begin oil production from offshore fields by late 2012. This warning is just a way to tell Chevron to be ready to help finance the ruling CPP campaign for the 2013 general elections in Cambodia.

CPP behind merger of “royalist” parties (2)

The ruling CPP is currently pushing Funcinpec and the Nationalist Party (formally Norodom Ranariddh Party) to merge at the latest in 2012. The CPP needs a better-looking coalition partner under the form of a single and united “royalist” party. But in fact, the partner will keep having no power whatsoever, its only role being a pure endorsement of the former communist party in a more credible manner. The so-called royalist movement has been going down the drain not because of its internal divisions based on personal interests as reflected in party names, but because of its general and mercantile subservience to the CPP.

A Cambodian fake witness before the French Court (2)

At a court hearing in Paris on 25 March 2010, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, who is engaged in a defamation lawsuit against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, surprisingly came with Prince Sisowath Chittara as a “witness”. Prince Sisowath Chittara told the French Judges that, during the Khmer Rouge era, he was incarcerated in a “death camp” in Cambodia. He “explained” to the Judges how such a camp functioned and how the Khmer Rouge chose a leader among the camp prisoners. The “witness” did all this with the aim of “proving the innocence” of Mr. Hor Nam Hong who, between 1977 and 1979, left his mark in the Boeng Trabek re-education camp. However, a 1986 book by Retired King Norodom Sihanouk titled “Prisoner of the Khmer Rouge,” proves that Prince Sisowath Chittara blatantly lied to the French Justice. See related evidence in French with translation in English at http://tinyurl.com/y9q6mnx

Hor Nam Hong might be the first top government official to appear before the ECCC (2)

Hoping to win the above-mentioned defamation lawsuit in France, Mr. Hor Nam Hong might finally accept to appear as a witness before the ECCC (the international tribunal in Cambodia) in order to show the French Judges in Paris his good will and consistency. He would then have to answer some questions such as:

- Why not help international justice – the only one that is independent and credible in Cambodia – to lift somewhat the cryptic assessment made by [most authoritative expert] Father François Ponchaud on you: “The role of Hor Nam Hong at Boeng Trabek is not clear”? (http://www.eurasie.net/webzine/spip.php?article824)

- Why not give the Tribunal convincing evidence to answer the question that [well-known French reporter] François Deron openly asked about your role at the Boeng Trabek prison camp when he talked about the need to “sort out between the Kapos and the real prisoners, between the cowards and the victims”? (The Khmer Rouge Trial – Thirty years of investigation into the Cambodian genocide, Gallimard, 2009).

- Why not discuss calmly with the judge the accusations made against you by your former co-prisoner Keo Bunthouk who said that, through your denunciations to the Khmer Rouge, you "sent children and adults [from the Boeng Trabek community] to the Tuol Sleng torture prison (...), and no one came back" ? (The Cambodia Daily, 13-14 January 2001, "Senate Continues Spirited Debate on KR Bill").

See list of possible questions to Mr. Hor Nam Hong in French and English at http://tinyurl.com/yk7wr2u

[End]

Khmer Intelligence News - 21 March 2010

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

21 March 2010

Secret oil deal between Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra (2)

In early 2006 Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra concluded a secret oil deal to personally share “under the table” a portion of royalties to be paid by oil exploitation companies. Those companies had been exploring very promising offshore oil and gas deposits in the Gulf of Thailand, including in the overlapping zones claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand.

For revenue stemming from these overlapping zones, a tentative agreement has been reached whereby:

• Revenue from zones closest to Cambodia’s shores will be shared as follows: 70 percent to Cambodia; 30 percent to Thailand.
• Revenue from zones closest to Thailand’s shores: 70 percent to Thailand; 30 percent to Cambodia.

However, the two prime ministers mutually agreed to mislead their respective public opinions by accepting to “recognize” that some of the zones closest to Cambodia be instead considered as closest to Thailand, and vice versa.

Therefore, in the case of Cambodia, instead of receiving 70 percent, the country would receive only 30 percent of the royalties paid by the concerned oil companies, the remaining 40 percent would be split fifty-fifty between Hun Sen and Thaksin, meaning twenty percent each for the two leaders on a personal base.

The same sharing scheme would apply to the overlapping zones closest to Thailand, with Thaksin and Hun Sen also secretly receiving 20 percent each of the royalties.

Interrelation between secret oil agreement and Preah Vihear Temple issue (2)

In order to ensure a smooth implementation of the above-exposed secret oil agreement, Thaksin promised Hun Sen to let the Cambodian government deal, as it pleases, with the Preah Vihear Temple, including registering the Temple as a World Heritage site with UNESCO.

However, Thailand’s new governments following Thaksin’s fall from power in late 2006, decided they were not bound by the secret and personal deal between Thaksin and Hun Sen. Border incidents started in 2008 when Hun Sen tried to exacerbate Khmer nationalistic fervor a few weeks before the July general elections in Cambodia, prompting Thailand’s authorities to react by also asserting their own nationalistic stance.

Cambodian citizenship to protect and reassure “ex-foreign” investors (2)

Because Cambodia’s law does not allow foreigners to own land in our country, the Hun Sen government has granted Cambodian citizenship to countless investors (from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan but also some European countries) who are willing to invest large amounts of money to buy land and engage in “development projects.” Among the most prominent “ex-foreign” investors is Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra from Thailand who was given Khmer citizenship in March 2009. Mr. Thaksin has reportedly bought large chunks of land in Cambodia’s maritime Koh Kong province bordering Thailand for economic, financial and possibly other reasons.

Army generals amass fortune from standoff with Thailand (2)

The ongoing military tension on the border between Cambodia and Thailand brings about a windfall for Army generals close to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Tens of millions of dollars have been collected every month by the corrupt military brass from systemic diversion of financial support officially intended for “soldiers fighting on the frontline to defend the Motherland.” The Generals are also collecting ghost soldiers’ salaries (about one third of the whole Army staff) while selling on the market food and equipment earmarked for the Army. Last but not least, illegal logging (deforestation) has resumed on a large scale since 2008 thanks to the security reasons invoked to justify the secrecy surrounding any military initiative and movement.

New evidence of border encroachment by Vietnam to be made public next week (2)

Cambodia is reportedly victim of border encroachment by her more powerful neighbours. Regarding recent incidents in the Eastern province of Svay Rieng bordering Vietnam, Sam Rainsy earlier this week announced a “good news” to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk who presided over the now-defunct Supreme National Council on Border Affairs. In his letter to the Retired King, the opposition leader said “top leading experts” he consulted in Europe, confirmed “the validity of what we all know and of what I recently denounced, namely the displacing of the border posts by Vietnam to the detriment of Cambodia.” Details of the technical reports by French and Swiss map experts are expected to be made public next week

Read Sam Rainsy’s original letter in French http://tinyurl.com/ydtv57l with translation in Khmer http://tinyurl.com/ybuvbym and in English http://tinyurl.com/yl6674u.

Towards a confrontation between Ieng Sary and Hor Namhong at the ECCC? (2)

Lawyers defending Ieng Sary at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) want Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, who was chairman of a prisoners’ committee at the Boeng Trabek re-education camp under the Pol Pot regime, to be confronted with their client Ieng Sary who was Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from April 1975 to January 1979.

Ieng Sary was Hor Nam Hong’s boss. The pair went together to Lima in August 1975 when Hor Nam Hong was ambassador to Cuba before he was recalled to Phnom Penh in December 1975 (see Justin Corfield and Laura Summers’ “Historical Dictionary of Cambodia” published in the USA in 2003). At Boeng Trabek, Foreign Minister Ieng Sary continued to frequently communicate with his protégé Hor Nam Hong whom he “rehabilitated” in 1978. According to the defence at the ECCC, Hor Nam Hong “was privy to the operation of Ieng Sary’s Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh and the treatment of intellectuals at the Boeng Trabek prison camp, where Mr Namhong was also a prisoner” (The Cambodia Daily, 17 March 2010).

The defence’s request follows Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde’s decision in October 2009 to summon Hor Nam Hong to testify before the ECCC. Hor Nam Hong refuses to appear before the Judge.

Hor Nam Hong will face opposition leader Sam Rainsy before a French court in Paris on 25 March 2010 following a defamation lawsuit filed by the former against the latter. Read Sam Rainsy’s open letter to Hor Nam Hong in French at http://tinyurl.com/yhcan48

[End]

Cambodia denies Thai ex-PM Thaksin made citizen

2010-02-05
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

Cambodia on Friday denied a report that Thailand's disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been granted citizenship, an allegation that had drawn threats in Bangkok that the billionaire ex-politician could lose his native Thai nationality.

Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the allegation, which surfaced earlier this week on "Khmer Intelligence News," a Cambodian anti-government Web site, was untrue.

"Cambodia never granted Cambodian citizenship to Thaksin," Khieu Kanharith told The Associated Press. "Even if Cambodia would give him citizenship, I think that Thaksin would not accept it."

Cambodia late last year named Thaksin, a fugitive from justice in Thailand, as its special economic adviser. The appointment and Thaksin's subsequent visit to Cambodia angered the government in Bangkok and resulted in a recall of ambassadors from both countries.

Thaksin has lived in self-imposed exile since 2006 military coup ousted him. He was convicted in absentia in 2008 of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced to two years in prison, and his Thai passport has been revoked, forcing him to travel on other countries' passports.

His representatives could not be reached for comment Friday.

Thai officials frequently claim he is trying to undermine the government.

"I don't know about this report yet, but according to Thai laws, we are allowed to have only one nationality," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit told reporters Friday. "If he wants to use Cambodian nationality, he must give up Thai nationality first."

Cambodian-Thai relations are also strained over competing claims to some territory along their border near the hilltop temple known as Preah Vihear. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is to visit the area Saturday. Troops from the two nations had at least two brief clashes there last month.

Cambodia on Friday sent a letter of protest to Google, complaining that maps on its Google Earth service inaccurately place the border line near the disputed territory to favor Thailand's claims.

It called on the company to withdraw the "already disseminated, very wrong and not internationally recognized" map.

Abhisit says Thaksin must forego Thai citizenship if he becomes Cambodian

February 5, 2010
The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Friday that former prime Thaksin Shinawatra will have to forego his Thai citizenship if he wants to become a Cambodian citizen.

Abhsiit was commenting on reports that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen would give Cambodian citizenship to Thaksin.

Abhsit said he has not been formally informed of Thaksin being naturalized Cambodian.

"But by the standard of Thai laws, a Thai citizen must hold a single citizenship. If he wants to become a Cambodian citizen, he must forego the Thai citizenship," Abhisit said.

Khmer Intelligence News - 23 December 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
23 December 2009

CPP rescuing Canadia Bank and Foreign Trade Bank (2)

The ruling CPP is spending an increasing amount of money to prevent Canadia Bank and its subsidiary Foreign Trade Bank from collapsing under a mountain of bad debts resulting from the property market crisis. Hun Sen’s wife and children are major shareholders of the two banks. Accounting tricks (window-dressing) have so far helped hide the banks’ real situation. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund said Cambodia must undertake "critical actions" to strengthen its battered banking system, including better supervision by the central bank and faster implementation of measures to boost banks' minimum capital requirements.

Business as usual for Thai fishermen in Cambodia (2)

In spite of the increasing tension between Cambodia and Thailand, Thai trawlers continue to fish in Cambodia’s territorial waters as usual after corrupt Cambodian local authorities in Koh Kong province resumed issuing licenses to fishing boats from the neighboring country earlier this month. The resilience of the fishing, smuggling and gambling (casinos along the border) businesses show that Cambodia’s feudalistic patronage-based political system cannot afford to sever multi-faceted trade relations with Thailand.

Sam Rainsy to go to Hanoi (2)

In a statement issued earlier this week, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said he would not show up at any Cambodian court to face “criminal” charges for uprooting tentative markers at the border with Vietnam because “it’s useless and meaningless to defend yourself before a servant. You’d better address the master.” However, he said he would accept to be tried before a Vietnamese court in Hanoi because “my trial is a political one first ordered by Vietnam’s government.” He would then “denounce the unfair 1985 border treaty signed by a puppet regime” and would “invoke the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia and its provisions on Cambodia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Read full statement in English at http://tinyurl.com/y99gv8w

80 percent of the population live below adjusted poverty line (2)

Statistics on poverty in Cambodia are misleading. Excerpt from World Bank report “Cambodia: Halving Poverty By 2015?” published in 2006 : “The latest survey shows that now 35 percent of Cambodians live below the national poverty line, down from an estimated 47 percent a decade earlier.” But the World Bank’s methodology in defining poverty line obviously clashes with realities of poverty in Cambodia. Costs of living have dramatically increased over the last few years and several public services have been recently privatized. Many farmers have lost their land. Today, virtually nobody can survive on only 50 US cents (2,090 Riels) a day, which is at best a starvation line. In the Philippines and most developing countries in Asia and Africa, poverty line is estimated at 2 US$ a day. With a similar yardstick, at least 80 percent of Cambodia’s population of 14 million would be rightly considered as poor or extremely poor.

Former Resident Representative fired from ADB (2)

Mr. Urooj Malik, a former Resident Representative in Cambodia, has been recently fired from the Asian Development Bank following allegations of corruption. Mr. Malik’s case is reminiscent of that of Mr. Bonaventure Mbida-Essama, a former Chief of World Bank Cambodia Resident Office, who has since left the World Bank. In a lawless country like Cambodia, the local authorities are very good at tempting and corrupting representatives from international financial institutions and other aid agencies.

[End]

Khmer Intelligence News - 14 November 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
14 November 2009

4.6 square kilometers with Thailand versus thousands of square kilometers with Vietnam (2)

The escalating border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand is related to a portion of Khmer territory surrounding Preah Vihear temple of 4.6 square kilometers whose status is being challenged by Thailand . But such a portion of disputed territory is relatively small in size compared to the thousands of square kilometers that Vietnam has already seized from Cambodia since 1979.

Over the last thirty years the Vietnamese authorities have openly moved border markers inside Khmer territory all along the approximately 1,200 kilometer-long borderline. The depth of the Vietnamese penetration varies from a few hundreds meters in very densely populated areas to tens of kilometers in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces, the average infringement being between two to three kilometer-deep.

Vietnam 's expansionist policies are facilitated by a continuous flow of Vietnamese settlers and a subservient regime installed in Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese army in 1979.

The ongoing and escalating tension with Thailand is designed to divert the public attention from Vietnam 's more subtle and more harmful maneuvers on the Eastern part of our country. See Sam Rainsy's letter published in today's Cambodia Daily, "Cambodia Should Look East In Defense of Territorial Integrity" at http://tinyurl.com/yd69z8l

Tragedy of an American family in Cambodia (2)

An American family who have come to help Cambodia and made big sacrifices to run a medical clinic providing basic health care to the poor, are victims of corruption and violence, which characterize the prevailing political system.. The e-mail we publish here has been circulating among their countless known and unknown friends who are deeply moved by their tragedy and revolted by the Kafkaesque situation they are facing. You can read their story by clicking at http://tinyurl.com/y8duql9

A Cambodian student member of an American secret society (1)

On November 13, 2009, CNN broadcast a report titled "SECRET SOCIETIES - Skull and Bones: Revealed." It is a special investigation by Campbell Brown into Yale University 's secret society whose members include several former US presidents and other prominent people who have made history since the founding of "Skull and Bones" 177 years ago. A Cambodian female citizen currently studying at Yale, Rachel Sam, 21, is reportedly a member of "Skull and Bones." Watch the report at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2HFw9l1WeY

Hun Sen among possible Nobel Prize nominees (4)

There are rumors about three possible but odd Nobel Prize nominees who would be proposed for their very singular achievements or visions.

• Thabo Mbeki, former president of South Africa, nominee for the Nobel Price in Medicine (and Public Health), for his denial of the scientific consensus that Aids was caused by a viral infection and for his belief that the epidemic was attributable instead to a collapse of the immune system due simply to poverty and malnutrition. The Aids policies of the Thabo Mbeki government in the early and mid 2000's were directly responsible for the avoidable deaths of more than a third of a million people in South Africa , according to research by Harvard university.
• Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe , nominee for the Nobel Prize in Physics (and Mathematics) for his denial of the conceptual value of the zero number as shown by the recent inflation rate in Zimbabwe . As a matter of fact, Mugabe couldn't care less about inflation rate whether it be one thousand percent, one million percent, one billion percent or one trillion percent. He therefore implicitly denies any value to the zero number. Whereas the whole scientific community recognizes the importance of the creation of the zero mark, "No single mathematical creation has been more potent for the general on-go of intelligence and power" (George B. Halsted), Mugabe brilliantly revives the Middle Ages view of zero as "a meaningless nothing."
• Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia, nominee for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, for his straightforward denial of the utility of economic and financial statistics. Because all international financial institutions (World Bank, ADB, IMF) have been continuously revising downwards estimates for Cambodia's GDP growth for 2009, from a positive 4 percent to a negative 3 percent, Hun Sen said in a recent speech broadcast nationwide, "Those figures are meaningless and useless; we need not pay any attention to them as long as we have enough to eat every day." Hun Sen's "zero" conception of economics and the systemic corruption of his regime have maintained millions of Cambodians in dire poverty even before Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe .

Fake French "Evian" in Cambodia (2)

Many stores and restaurants in Cambodia are selling and serving fake "Evian", the famous mineral water supposedly imported from France . The "Evian" bottles in question are actually filled in Cambodia with a locally- produced water whose composition is not the same as the French natural mineral water from the Alps mountains. While a large number of poor Cambodians are starving and most children in the countryside are underfed, it's very fashionable for the privileged few in this country to drink costly bottled mineral water imported from as far as Europe .

[End]

Khmer Intelligence News - 29 October 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

29 October 2009

Government reduces soldiers and policemen’ bonuses (1)

Because of a fall in state revenue due to the economic recession the government is reducing bonuses usually paid to some 200,000 soldiers and policemen. The government normally pays the armed forces “basic salaries” and “bonuses for function fulfillment” on a monthly basis. Bonuses, which had been markedly increased in 2008, can be much higher than salaries. They are now being reduced by 30 percent to 50 percent.

Government withholds councilors’ salaries (1)

Over 3,000 district, provincial and municipal councilors elected last May have yet to receive their salaries. The government has been withholding their salaries for five months allegedly because of “administrative problems” and “budget constraints”. But in fact, the government also wants to slow down the decentralization process whereby the ruling CPP would have to share some power at the local level with the opposition SRP which controls approximately 20 percent of the commune, district, provincial and municipal councilors.

Canadia Bank now controlled by Hun Sen’s family (2)

Partly as a result of bad loans linked to the collapsing property sector, Canadia Bank, Cambodia’s largest commercial bank, has recently come under the control of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family (wife and children). The information is not made public because of concerns about corruption probe and Canadia Bank is involved in several cases of land grabbing.

The Hun Sen family has also taken control of several large development projects abandoned by South Korean firms, such as the 42-storey Gold Tower.

Hun Sen’s brother Hun Neng to be appointed Phnom Penh governor (2)

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s elder brother Hun Neng, currently Kampong Cham province governor, will soon be appointed Phnom Penh governor, replacing Mr. Kep Chuptema.

Foreclosures expected by the end of the year (2)

The government finds it more and more difficult to prevent several nearly bankrupt commercial banks ridden with property-linked bad loans (Canadia Bank, Foreign Trade Bank) from conducting foreclosures. A large number of properties will be seized by the end of the year from the banks’ defaulting clients and sold at auction. Observers expect a further drop in property prices in the next few months.

Sam Rainsy in Cairo (1)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is currently in Cairo to attend the 56th Congress of Liberal International (LI). The SRP is a member of the center-oriented LI, the world’s third largest international political grouping behind those formed by the Conservative and the Socialist. Sam Rainsy who had received the prestigious LI Freedom Award in 2006 in Marrakech (Morocco), will be the main speaker in a ceremony to present a book covering 25 consecutive LI Prizes for Freedom whose recipients included Corazon Aquino (Philippines, 1987), Vaclav Havel (Czekoslovakia, 1990), Mary Robinson (Ireland, 1993), Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma, 1995) and Martin Lee (Hong Kong, 1996).

CPP rejected by Socialist International (2)

The CPP candidacy to be a member of Socialist International (SI) has been continuously rejected in spite of Mr. Hun Sen’s repeated demand to join the powerful left-wing international political grouping. The reason for the rejection is related to the CPP’s poor human rights records including the Cambodian government’s repressive policy against trade unions. Both the CPP and its partner Funcinpec are currently members of the right-wing Christian/Centrist Democrat International (CDI).

King informed about seriousness and complexity of land issues (1)

Since his accession to the throne in 2004, King Norodom Sihamoni has been officially informed about the country’s situation only by Prime Minister Hun Sen. For the first time, a group of opposition National Assembly members on October 27 shared with the Monarch the people’s concerns as perceived at the grassroots level. The most serious concerns are related to land issues with citizens increasingly and unfairly losing their lands all over the country because of rampant corruption undermining the whole government including the judicial system. The King was also informed about Cambodian farmers continuously losing their rice fields along the border with Vietnam. In a recent past, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk had expressed very strong reservations about the way the Hun Sen government “works” on border delineation with neighboring countries.

[End]

Khmer Intelligence News - 20 August 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

20 August 2009

Hor Nam Hong’s defamation lawsuit at French Appeal Court on 8 October (1)

The defamation lawsuit that Hor Nam Hong has filed before the French tribunal against Sam Rainsy and his publisher Calmann-Lévy will reach the Paris Appeal Court on 8 October 2009.

There are new developments that French judges in Paris would want to examine. Those developments are related to the works done since the beginning of the year by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh. Prosecutors, judges and lawyers at the ECCC who are currently dealing with the case of Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the director of the Tuol Sleng center (S-21), have gained a better understanding of the prison system and the death chain under the Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979. Under that regime, there was no police and no tribunal, but only torturers and executioners who wanted to please political leaders who were paranoid. In such a system, anyone could be arrested after being denounced by anyone else, then sent to S-21 to be tortured until he/she “confessed” his/her “crimes” before being finally and inevitably executed. Those who denounced other people could be detainees who, under duress, came out with names of innocent people they were forced to implicate in imaginary crimes. Denunciations could also come from Khmer Rouge elements or from ordinary people working under the Khmer Rouge at all levels and in all spheres of activities. Those denunciations, with terrible consequences, were often motivated by the fear of being suspected and killed by the Khmer Rouge if one did not take initiative to denounce at least a few acquaintances. But denunciations could also be motivated by the zeal manifested by some people who wanted to be appreciated by their Khmer Rouge bosses. Many former prisoners at the Boeng Trabek reeducation camp (B-32) described Hor Nam Hong as a zealous president who denounced a number of prisoners, who eventually and tragically ended up at S-21. Testimonies can be read at http://tinyurl.com/56czqh

Cambodia’s corrupt justice system: a repellent for legitimate foreign investors (1)

The Cambodian justice system is known to be corruption-ridden, which frightens much needed legitimate foreign investors. Judges usually make their decisions based on bribes they receive. A recent example of this money-based justice is embodied by a judge named Kim Eng at the Sihanoukville provincial court. After he had received a hefty kickback from a CPP parliamentarian named Long Sakhorn (see KI News, 28 July 2009: “CPP parliamentarian involved in criminal acts”), Judge Kim Eng made on 27 November 2008 a decision that should lead to a severe punishment by the Supreme Council of Magistracy. He committed four blatant offences by grossly twisting a provision of the 2001 Land Law in favour of Long Sakhorn, by ignoring rules and regulations legally implemented by the Land Titling Office, by issuing inconsistent instructions to government and court officials, and by endorsing a document forged by Long Sakhorn to avoid paying taxes to the state.

Evidence related to the case is presented at http://tinyurl.com/llokd2

Sokimex and Tela make huge profits following gasoline price hikes (2)

Gasoline price in Cambodia has sharply increased since the beginning of the year. The increase is not fully justified by the evolution of crude oil price on the international markets. See comparative charts at http://tinyurl.com/m59t5t

Cambodian gasoline distribution companies immediately increase their selling prices following any increase in crude oil price on the international markets, but when crude oil price declines they only partially, and with a time lag, pass on the decline to consumers.

Gasoline price has now reached 4200 riels (US$1) per liter, significantly higher than in neighboring Viet Nam and Thailand where taxes are lower than in Cambodia.

In the USA, gasoline price is currently around $3 per gallon or $0.77 per liter, meaning 23 percent cheaper than in Cambodia. The minimum wage in the USA is at least 20 times as much as in Cambodia (around $50 per month).

The reason why the Cambodian government keeps relatively high taxes on imported petroleum products is related to corruption. Less than half the volume of petroleum products used annually in the country is legally imported, the rest is smuggled in by powerful people associated with Sokimex and Tela. These two Cambodian-owned companies are making huge profits while they still afford to sell their products about 5 percent cheaper than their foreign-owned competitors Caltex (Chevron) and Total. The latter have to pay the full amount of import taxes collected by the state while Sokimex and Tela collect for themselves fraudulent private taxes included in their selling prices.

“Tack Fat” is dead, long live “Tack Foc” (2)

We have already exposed the bankruptcy of Tack Fat, which used to be Cambodia’s number one garment producer (see KI News, 13 October 2008: “Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt”). We have also revealed that the company's main leaders had fled Hong Kong to escape prosecution (KI News, 16 December 2008: “Top managers of Hong Kong-based Tack Fat company are in hiding in Cambodia”). Shareholders in Hong Kong have been swindled and the unscrupulous managers have fled to Cambodia with the company's cash. The fugitive businessmen have renamed their company “Tack Foc” and they have secured from the Cambodian government a 100,000-hectare land concession to make their company’s balance sheet look better (window dressing operation). Tack Fat used to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Tack Foc hopes to be listed on the to-be-launched Phnom Penh Stock Exchange.
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KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS - 13 October 2008

Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt (1)

The Hong Kong-based daily newspaper South China Morning Post, October 8, 2008, confirmed that Tack Fat Group International, a well-known firm listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the parent company of Tack Fat Garment (Cambodia) Ltd, a major garment manufacturer in this country, has gone bankrupt. The news reads as follows, "Last month [September 2008], banks applied to wind up (…) swimwear maker Tack Fat International Group after [it] defaulted on loans." Tack Fat becomes the second "collapse of a Hong Kong-listed retailer amid the financial meltdown."

According to a business analysis, "Tack Fat Group's principal activities are designing and manufacturing of jeans, pants, shorts, swimming apparel and sportswear for men, women and children. Other activity includes investment holding. The Group has three production facilities, one of which is located in Luoding City, Guandong Province, the People's Republic of China and the other two of which are located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The majority of the Group's products are exported to the North American, European markets and other regions." http://tinyurl.com/3mpvvl

A September 16, 2008 statement by the Group's "Provisional Liquidators Appointed" specifies, "The place of incorporation of the Company is in Cayman Islands and the shares [were] suspended for trading since 9:30am, 30 July 2008." http://tinyurl.com/3lgb8a

Information about Tack Fat Garment (Cambodia) Ltd can be obtained at http://tinyurl.com/437q8l

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS – 16 December 2008

Top managers of Hong Kong-based Tack Fat company are in hiding in Cambodia (2)

In addition to "Garment manufacturer Tack Fat has gone bankrupt" as published by Khmer Intelligence News on 13 October 2008, we have learned that the company's top managers are now in hiding in Cambodia to escape prosecution in Hong Kong. Shareholders have been swindled and the unscrupulous managers have fled to Cambodia with the company's cash. Criminals who can pay bribes, or are financial cronies, to Cambodia's political leaders enjoy impunity in this country. The wife of a powerful man here holds a significant stake in Tack Fat's Cambodian subsidiary, which used to provide the mother company in Hong Kong with fake certificates of origin, with the complicity of the Ministry of Commerce, allowing fraudulent garment exports from China to the USA using the label "Made in Cambodia."

[End]

Khmer Intelliugence News - 28 July 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
28 July 2009

Foreign Trade Bank falls victim of economic crisis and property glut (2)

Cambodia’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), which is 50 percent owned by the state, is in serious trouble because of the worsening economic crisis and the resulting property glut. A heavy portfolio of bad loans in the property sector may require an overhaul of the bank in the next few months. Canadia Bank, which is Cambodia’s largest bank followed by FTB, is in the same alarming situation. The two financial institutions have been able so far to avoid bankruptcy thanks to a massive fund injection from the National Bank of Cambodia. The other FTB shareholders include Canadia Bank (originally 30 percent) and businessman Ung Bun Heuv (originally 20 percent). Canadia Bank itself is now actually controlled by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family (originally 35 percent) even though its president and (still?) major shareholder is a shady businessman from Canada, Mr. Pung Kheav Se (originally 65 percent). The fall of Cambodia’s two leading and intertwined commercial banks would lead to the collapse of the whole banking system.

Market operators expect a continuous fall in the Cambodian currency (2)

The Riel has been falling against the US Dollar and major regional currencies over the last few weeks. This represents an acceleration of a trend that has been noticeable over the last 18 months. In January 2008, the US Dollar was worth 4000 Riels. The exchange rate went up to 4125 Riels for $1 by January 2009. Today, one needs 4250 Riels to buy $1. The Riel has therefore dropped by 6.25% since January 2008, whereas the Thai Baht has remained stable against the Dollar during the same period of time (around 34 Bath for $1). Market operators expect the Riel to fall more sharply in August and September, with the exchange rate possibly reaching 4500 Riels for $1. The reasons for this evolution are related to the worsening economic crisis, the severe drop in State revenue and the growing budget deficit. To cover the deficit the National Bank of Cambodia is increasingly printing bank notes (paper money), thus fueling inflation, which may get out of control by the end of the year.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited to visit Cambodia in September (2)

While on his official visit to France on July 13 and 14, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen invited French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Cambodia in September. A big event then will be the inauguration of the Sihanoukville airport which has just been modernized and expanded and will be managed, like the Phnom Penh and Siemreap-Angkor airports, by a local subsidiary (Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports or SCA) of the French construction group Vinci. The French authorities have yet to positively respond to Hun Sen’s invitation because they are taking into consideration the deterioration in the social and political climate in Cambodia with the increasing number of land evictions and human rights violations and the recent spate of defamation lawsuits against government critics here. President Sarkozy had also received a letter from opposition leader Sam Rainsy prior to Hun Sen’s visit pointing to the way France could really help Cambodia. Read Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://tinyurl.com/lh39sn

CPP parliamentarian involved in criminal acts (1)

A CPP National Assembly member, Long Sakhorn is well known for her involvement in public scandals and a long series of criminal acts, which may lead her to jail since the ruling party is more and more embarrassed by her openly conducting reprehensible activities and her stubbornness. A widow of Sin Song, a former coup leader in 1994, she is continuously involved in land grabbing, environment destruction (deforestation and river filling), deception and forgery of documents and thumbprints. She is expert in cheating people and misleading the courts where she is known for her securing the support of judges through bribery. Concrete examples with photos of Long Sakhorn’s criminal offenses are presented at http://tinyurl.com/llokd2

[End]

Khmer Intelligence News - 25 April 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
25 April 2009

Japan suspends financing of major bridge (1)

The $70-million Neak Loeung Bridge on the Mekong River will not be completed in 2010 as originally scheduled. No works has started yet for the construction of this major bridge on National Road # 1 from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Japan, which has accepted to finance the project, now refuses to make any disbursement as long as the Cambodian government is unable to reach an agreement with local residents who must be evicted. The agreement is related to financial compensation to be given to those villagers whose homes must be removed because located on the construction site. Corrupt government officials are used to evicting villagers without proper compensation, the former stealing allowances earmarked for the latter.

Former Khmer Rouge soldiers defending border with Thailand (2)

The ongoing Khmer Rouge Tribunal influences Cambodia's defense policy. The bulk of the Cambodian armed forces recently sent to defend the border with Thailand is made up of former Khmer Rouge soldiers. Because the current Phnom Penh government thinks that prosecuting former Khmer Rouge leaders could jeopardize national unity and political stability, it has second thoughts when dispatching former Khmer Rouge military units, now incorporated within the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, to face Thai troops along the border. The government wants to ensure that former Khmer Rouge soldiers would not be able to defend their former leaders facing prosecution if there were any appeal to do so. Government strategists remember that the Khmer Rouge had vigorously fought against the Hun Sen regime from 1979 to 1998.

China unhappy with Hun Sen for discarding Beijing-financed building (2)

Council of Ministers building (Photo: http://tumnei.worldpress.com)

China is not happy with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen following the latter's refusal to use a brand new building which has just been completed with Chinese technical and financial assistance. The impressive building was destined and designed to be the seat of the Council of Ministers. But a few days before its scheduled inauguration Hun Sen surprisingly said he did not like the building layout. But why didn't he let the Chinese know when they first showed him the blueprints? The fact is that some influential fortune tellers very lately asserted that the building had shapes and features that make it look like a mausoleum, which is a bad harbinger for Hun Sen's political fortune.

Worsening corruption at Customs Department (1)

Corruption is expected to worsen at the Customs Department in the next few months with the end of the contract on Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) between the Finance Ministry and BIVAC. French-based BIVAC replaced Swiss-based SGS in 2006 as Cambodia's mandated PSI agency. PSI is inspection of goods being exported prior to the shipment by a mandated agency. PSI services cover:

• verifying the quality and quantity of imports;
• verifying the accuracy of tariff codes classification;
• assisting Customs with collecting the correct amount of duties & taxes;
• providing Customs with an independent opinion of the dutiable value for customs purposes;
• computing the correct duties and taxes payable; and
• providing Customs with an up-to-date price database.

Without proper PSI services, first introduced in Cambodia by then Finance Minister Sam Rainsy in the early 1990's, Cambodia will lose larger and larger amounts of customs revenue because of corruption.

Cambodia's Central Bank to massively print money (3)

Several factors will lead the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) to massively print money (bank notes) in the next few months:

• The government is facing a steep fall in revenue because of the economic recession compounded by increasing corruption. See news above "Worsening corruption at Customs Department" and "Sharp drop in customs revenue" (KI News, 11 March 2009).
• The national budget cannot be implemented for lack of resources. See "State budget for 2009 in jeopardy" (KI News, 11 March 2009).
• State bankruptcy is looming. See "Foreign currency reserves evaporating" (KI News, 25 March 2009).
• The government refuses to recognize the seriousness of the situation and to conceive any economic stimulus package to counter the ongoing crisis.
• Without a formal request for financial assistance to counter the crisis and a credible economic stimulus package, international financial institutions such as the IMF cannot adequately help.

Knowing that its piecemeal and ineffective approach to the worsening crisis could lead to social unrest and political instability as predicted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the government can only ask the very docile and secretive NBC to massively print money as a short-term solution to the country's woes. But this easy monetary policy will lead to an acceleration of inflation and other problems.
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25 March 2009

Foreign currency reserves evaporating (2)

The National Bank of Cambodia has seen its foreign currency reserves evaporate. NBC Governor Chea Chanto indicated at a recent Council of Ministers meeting that the country is seriously suffering from a rapidly deteriorating current account balance (sharp drop in exports and revenue from tourism) and capital outflows (reversal of foreign investment inflows). Taking also into account fiscal revenue shortfalls and subsequent budgetary problems, the government will be unable to meet its obligations in the next few months. See "Sharp drop in customs revenue" and "State budget for 2009 in jeopardy" (KI News, 11 March 2009).

11 March 2009

Sharp drop in customs revenue (2)

In the 2008 state budget, the Customs Department accounted for over 60 percent of all tax revenue, which is a relatively high figure in the region. For 2009, it should collect US$585 million, a figure that now looks impossible to achieve given the ongoing economic slowdown.

For the first two months of 2009, customs revenue reached only US$64 million compared to US$86 million for the same period last year, which represents a 25 percent drop [adjusted for the collection of a US$7 million duty pertaining to 2008].

State budget for 2009 in jeopardy (2)

The government will soon be obliged to revise downward the state budget for 2009 that was adopted last December because it is unable to collect the projected revenue. See above news "Sharp drop in customs revenue" while noting that the fall in revenue also holds for other sources of income. The projected 2009 budget amounts to US$1.75 billion compared to US$1.37 billion for the 2008 budget, representing a 28 percent increase. This 28 percent increase will likely evaporate and be replaced by a decrease instead. Cambodia is facing the world economic crisis with a collapsing budget, let alone a strong budget with an appropriate economic stimulus package.>

Khmer Intelligence News - 25 March 2009

25 March 2009

King Sihamoni discreetly left Cambodia (2)

King Norodom Sihamoni very discreetly left Cambodia earlier this week for China and/or France.

Retired King Sihanouk not to testify before Khmer Rouge Tribunal (2)

A compelling reason for Retired King Norodom Sihanouk not to return from China to Cambodia is related to the fact that the Cambodian government doesn't want him to testify before the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh. Many people want to see this embarrassing tribunal disbanded as soon as possible by creating as many (political, procedural, judicial, administrative, financial) problems as possible.

Reasons for looming instability (2)

Among the reasons for the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit to include Cambodia among the world's most politically risky countries in the face of the global economic crisis are: systemic land grabbing possibly leading to a land revolution in this predominantly agricultural country, unparalleled social injustices as reflected by the increasing gap between the privileged few and the vast majority of the population who live in dire poverty, unprecedented corruption destroying the nation's social fabric (Cambodia is also ranked among the world's most corrupt countries), government's unwillingness or inability to tackle the economic and financial crisis without undermining the very foundations of the regime.

Ke Kim Yan was rehabilitated thanks to Vietnam (2)

Leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party have recently intervened in favor of disgraced former army chief Ke Kim Yan, who finally avoided prosecution for alleged involvement in illegal land deals and was appointed as Hun Sen's 10th deputy prime minister. Vietnam wants to secure political stability in Cambodia by preventing dangerous power struggle within the CPP leadership.

Foreign currency reserves evaporating (2)

The National Bank of Cambodia has seen its foreign currency reserves evaporate. NBC Governor Chea Chanto indicated at a recent Council of Ministers meeting that the country is seriously suffering from a rapidly deteriorating current account balance (sharp drop in exports and tourism) and capital outflows (reversal of foreign investment inflows). Taking also into account fiscal revenue shortfalls and subsequent budgetary problems, the government will be unable to meet its obligations in the next few months. See “Sharp drop in customs revenue” and “State budget for 2009 in jeopardy” (KI News, 11 March 2009).
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11 March 2009

Sharp drop in customs revenue (2)

In the 2008 state budget, the Customs Department accounted for over 60 percent of all tax revenue, which is a relatively high figure in the region. For 2009, it should collect US$585 million, a figure that now looks impossible to achieve given the ongoing economic slowdown.

For the first two months of 2009, customs revenue reached only US$64 million compared to US$86 million for the same period last year, which represents a 25 percent drop [adjusted for the collection of a US$7 million duty pertaining to 2008].

State budget for 2009 in jeopardy (2)

The government will soon be obliged to revise downward the state budget for 2009 that was adopted last December because it is unable to collect the projected revenue. See above news “Sharp drop in customs revenue” while knowing that the fall in revenue also holds for other sources of income. The projected 2009 budget amounts to US$1.75 billion compared to US$1.37 billion for the 2008 budget, representing a 28 percent increase. This 28 percent increase will likely evaporate and be replaced by a decrease instead. Cambodia is facing the world economic crisis with a collapsing budget, let alone a strong budget with an appropriate economic stimulus package.