Saturday, January 31, 2009

Robbing the poor to give to the rich: Cambodia's upside down world under the rule of Samdach Robber Hood Hun Sen

Oknha Srey Sothea received honours from Mr. Hun Sen.

Dey Krohorm and the Robber Hood of Cambodia

31st January, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization
These less fortunate slum-dwellers are paying the price for the developments, the lifestyle and the prosperity of the privileged few urban elites. Mr. Hun Sen’s policies of condoning, and in certain cases, abetting, forced and inhuman evictions, is a case of the “Robber Hood of Cambodia” robbing from the poor to give to the rich.
It’s heartbreaking to see the hapless residents of the Dey Krohorm neighbourhood being evicted in an inhuman way by 7NG company in collusion with corrupt Phnom Penh officials.

More than 150 families were forcibly evicted at gunpoint in the early morning of last week, when residents, including the young, the sick and the old, are still sound asleep. Their houses were razed to the ground while their belongings are still full. They have barely the time to escape the pounding of the demolition bulldozers. They lost everything. The pictures and the images of the evictions that splashed around the world are disheartening and heartbreaking.

Now many of them are homeless - most sleep on the streets or camped in the parks. They lost their livelihood and now they are starving.

The land at Dey Krohorm is worth about $3,500 per square metre. A few day before the evictions, 7NG promised the residents of between $15,000-$20,000 in compensation but now that the evictions have been successfully carried out, the compensation promises have now been reneged. The company now say they will only provide a home a few kilometres outside of Phnom Penh - a worthless real estate.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has, in the past, promised that the government will strive hard to alleviate, and possibly eliminate, poverty in Cambodia. While Mr. Hun Sen had, to a certain degree, managed to raise the standards of living of some urban people, he has been seen as neglecting the less fortunate slum-dwellers and the people of rural Cambodia.

These less fortunate slum-dwellers are paying the price for the developments, the lifestyle and the prosperity of the privileged few urban elites. Mr. Hun Sen’s policies of condoning, and in certain cases, abetting, forced and inhuman evictions, is a case of the “Robber Hood of Cambodia” robbing from the poor to give to the rich.

Sombok Chap neighbourhood has been forcibly evicted a few years ago and most of the residents who had been resettled in the place provided by the company are still living in hardship. The evicted dwellers of Dey Krohorm will certainly face with the same fate or even worse, considering that all their belongings are demolished along with their houses. Next will be the “Building Neighbourhood” and the Bassac Theatre neighbourhood.

The forced evictions of Dey Krohorm dwellers have been carried out by 7NG ruthlessly and with impunity without any fears of any legal ramifications. And after the evictions, Oknha Srey Sothea, the owner of 7NG, has been quoted as arrogantly saying that, any monetary compensations are out of the question. As such, the evictions seemed to have the backing and the blessing of Mr. Hun Sen because the owner of 7NG is Oknha Srey Sothea who is very close to Mr. Hun Sen. In Cambodia, there is a saying that nothing can be done without the approval, or the blessing, of Mr. Hun Sen.

Mr. Hun Sen, and the court in particular, must condemn these forced evictions in the strongest term and force 7NG to make a reasonable compensation package to these rightful owners of Dey Krohorm neighbourhood. Anything less than the amount they are entitled to would be tantamount to a collusion of crimes punishable by Cambodian laws.

Starting a new chapter

29/01/2009
By PATSINEE KRANLERT
Bangkok Post


Sunshine and rainbows don't always follow a shower of rain, yet this man, laid low by a land mine almost two decades ago, has managed to piece together a new life for himself.

A soldier in the Cambodian army until he lost both hands during a mine-clearing operation in 1990, Tok Vanna spent the next 12 years living in dire poverty.

In 2002 he moved to Siem Reap with his family in search of a job, but his disability proved a major obstacle and he only managed to eke out an existence by begging on the streets. The following year his luck finally turned when he was spotted by a staff member from ILO, the United Nations agency.

After finishing a vocational training course, during which he also learned basic English, he received a small sum in seed capital from the ILO, sufficient to buy a pushcart and some books and set himself up in business.

Today his streetside stall boasts a large and interesting selection including an impressive number of non-fiction titles on Cambodia, mostly dealing with the devastation wreaked on that country by decades of conflict and the depredations of the Khmer Rouge.

As I stood there flipping through books with harrowing names like Welcome to Hell, Stay Alive My Son and First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, he drew my attention to a tome with a red cover which he was holding against his chest with a truncated limb: "This is the best I have," he said in a gentle voice, "I recommend it to everybody."

I left carrying a copy of Survival in the Killing Fields, an account of life under the Khmer Rouge by Dr Haing Ngor, who later won an Oscar for his role in 1984's The Killing Fields.

[Vietnamese] Films Submitted as Potential Duch Evidence

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
30 January 2009


Two films of Tuol Sleng prison provided to researchers by the Vietnamese government could become evidence in Khmer Rouge tribunal proceedings against the prison’s former chief.

Two deputy prosecutors for the Khmer Rouge tribunal made a motion to the Trial Chamber to allow two films to be entered as new evidence in the atrocity trial of prison chief Duch.

The Trial Chamber must decide by Feb. 17 whether to add the films, which include footage of Tuol Sleng prison shot by Vietnamese soldiers as they entered Phnom Penh in January 1979 as they pushed the Khmer Rouge from power.

The films depict the bodies of prisoners, some of them decapitated, as well as different types of cells, torture devices, shackles and other restraints. One film shows a Vietnamese soldier carrying a weak child out of the prison in his arms and two more child survivors.

The films are two among 20, totaling 480 minutes of footage, that have so far been submitted to the Documentation Center of Cambodia by the Vietnamese.

Duch, 66, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, will be tried in March on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and murder for his role as chief of the prison, known to the Khmer Rouge by it’s alphanumeric code S-21.

“The films provided by the Vietnamese government through DC-Cam are related to the indictment against Duch,” the deputy prosecutors, Yeth Chakrya and William Smith, said in their motion to the Trial Chamber. “Those documents are very interesting for finding out the truth about S-21.”

Judge Nil Nonn, head of the Trial Chamber, confirmed he had received the motion, which was filed Jan. 28 and published on the tribunal’s Web site Friday.

The motion will be decided on during the initial trial hearing on Feb. 17, Nil Nonn said.

Tea Banh: All's well in the not-so-well RCAF

Military Stable After Shake-Up: Minister

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
30 January 2009


Seeking to quell rumors of further shake-ups in the military after the sacking of its commander-in-chief last week, Defense Minsiter Tea Banh said Thursday the military is now stable.

Gen. Ke Kim Yan was removed from his post commander of the Royal Cambodia Armed Forces in a surprise order last week, with Prime Minister Hun Sen accusing him of conducting private business enterprises rather than running the military.

The shake-up, which put Gen. Pol Saroeun as military chief, led to worries amid the ranks of regional and division forces that further firings were possible.

“People who say that are just talking, but nothing has happened,” Tea Banh said Thursday.

NRP Reported Sacking Sparks Internal Conflict

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
30 January 2009


A senior Norodom Ranariddh Party official was reportedly removed from her position Friday, marking a potential rift within the party’s ranks, officials said.

Meas Sokun, the NRP chief in Banteay Meanchey province and a member of the steering committee, was fired by the party’s governing council, following statements insults and “impolite words” for Prince Norodom Ranariddh during a meeting on Saturday, according to a statement released to the media Friday.

But the party’s official spokesman, Suth Dina, who is also a deputy secretary-general, said the governing council had not consulted with the steering committee, and therefore Meas Sokun was retaining her position.

At least one top NRP official, who asked not to be named, said the firing was a legitimate decision by the governing council.

Suth Dina said the group opposed to the firing would now appeal to the Ministry of Interior to bar the Norodom Ranariddh Party from the country.

The differing accounts of the two top officials marked a potential split in the party among those close to Prince Ranariddh, who formed the party ahead of commune elections in 2007, and newcomers close to Suth Dina, who brought his own Khmer National Front party into NRP ranks at its formation.

Neither NRP President Chhim Seakleng nor Secretary-General You Hokry could not be reached for comment Friday.

Meas Sokun denied insulting the prince and said she was keeping her position. She said some members of the party had spoken ill of her to the prince, who now misunderstood her.

“They accuse of me of making trouble in the party, but I’m not troublesome,” she said. “I haven’t done anything troublesome.”

Prince Ranariddh retired from his party shortly after his return from exile in September 2008. He had been found guilty of breach of trust, and refused to return to Cambodia until he was granted a royal pardon.

He is now chief adviser to King Norodom Sihamoni, his brother, and he retains a number of loyal followers within his old party.

Student group stakes claim to Ranariddh's divided party

Prince Norodom Ranariddh shown here in a file photograph. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Friday, 30 January 2009
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post


NRP officials condemn students for ‘defaming' retired Prince Norodom Ranariddh as royalist party falls further into disarray.

A CAMBODIAN student group claimed ownership of the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) Thursday, urging current leaders to defect and arguing that they have no firm strategy for carrying the party forward.

Sun Sokun Mealea, a member of the Democratic Front of Khmer Students and Intellectuals and a central committee member of the NRP, emphasised the historical links between the royalist party and the Democratic Front, dismissing reports of her defection to the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

"We must remain in order to protect the party that we gave birth to and to preserve our ideals for the nation."

The NRP took its current shape in 2006 when the Khmer Front Party, formed from the Democratic Front, backed Ranariddh and adopted his name for the party.

Her comments follow accusations by the NRP that the student group had defamed former party leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who retired from politics in October and whose connection with the party has been a matter of ongoing contention.

Sun Sokun Mealea said Ranariddh's retirement effectively left ownership of the party in the hands of the Democratic Front.

Kim Sok, a spokesman for the Democratic Front and a member of the NRP, told the Post Wednesday that the student group had lost faith in Ranariddh and the NRP's current leadership.

NRP officials were unavailable for comment Thursday, but the party issued a statement Wednesday condemning the student group and accusing it of defaming Ranariddh.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Dey Kraham's UN Special Rapporteur

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Forced to fish: Cambodian sea slaves

A fisherman mends a net. Photograph: Brian Harris

Friday January 30th 2009

The Guardian (UK)

Promised better-paid jobs across the border in Thailand, Cambodian men are being kidnapped by gangs of traffickers and sold onto illegal fishing boats that trawl the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. For two years Chorn Theang Ly was kept at sea under armed guard. He describes how his quest for a better life turned into a nightmare

I live in the village of Anlong Khran in Cambodia. One day a man came to the village and said we should go to Thailand as we would have a much easier life there. Here, we work in rice fields, growing our own rice and vegetables. We make up to $200 a year. The man said we would make a lot more than that in Thailand.

He took a dozen of us over the border. We paid him 7,000 Thai baht for this – 3,000 for the transport plus a month’s worth of our pay. He said we would work on the riverbank, in factories, and have a much better life.

When we got to Thailand he took us to a house. Suddenly we were locked up inside it, all of us together in one room. It was only then that I realised that we had been sold. We tried different ways of escaping, all of us, but we had no money, passports or papers; there was nowhere for us to go.

We stayed there all night. Then, at about 4am, we got a wake-up call. Some men took us to a fishing boat, and that's when I realised what would happen to us. We had been trafficked. It was too late to do anything. We were powerless.

At sea, we all got seasick. I remember it got so bad for me that I was vomiting blood. As a group we decided we would stick at it for one month, earn our wages and then somehow get back to Cambodia.

The boat's owner told me we would have to work for him for at least three years. I found out that there is a whole system at work: a good employer lets you go ashore after eight or 10 months and pays you off, but a bad one will keep you at sea for three years and not pay you anything, or just a token amount.

Conditions on board were very hard for us. We worked all hours of the day, and there was little food or fresh water, just one small bucket. If we got a big catch we’d have to work day and night, slicing and gutting fish. If there was a torn net we would have to work for two or three nights without sleep to repair it. Another boat would sometimes meet us to take the catch and give us more food and water. We scarcely saw land.

I saw killings too, with my own eyes. There were three Thai crew on board and they were all armed. The captain would physically abuse us. In the early days he beat me nearly unconscious. He would beat us with the tentacle of a squid or sometimes a large shell. The man I saw killed was beaten and then thrown overboard. Another time, a man was shot and his body thrown into the sea.

We were constantly plotting to kill the captain and take the boat ashore. But the crew had guns and we knew we couldn't do it.

I was transferred to other boats after that first one. In the end I was at sea for two years. Finally, when a boat I was on put ashore in Thailand I persuaded them to let me go. They took me back to the border in a truck and left me there. With the help of one of the traffickers I got back across the border into Cambodia.

There are many people from my area who still want to go to Thailand. I tell them about the cruelty and the lies, but they are determined. The problem is there is so little to do here. We used to make money from charcoal, cutting and burning trees, but the government stopped that for environmental reasons. How else are we supposed to make a living?

Chorn Theang Ly was talking to Jonathan Gorvett in Cambodia.

Cambodian garment workers end strike

31 January 2009
World Socialist Web Site

Around 4,000 workers from the Yong Wa garment factory in Kandal province's Takhmao district, Cambodia returned to work on January 26 after the owners threatened to close the factory. Workers struck when management announced that this year's 13-month bonus would be cut from $50 to $20.

Several employees were injured when 100 local and district police tried to force them back to work. The garment factory owners have agreed to restore the full bonus but abolished overtime and deducted $5 from each striking worker's salary.

Out Of Luck?

UNFORTUNATE: Cambodian workers leave after their shift at a garment factory in Phnom Penh. (Photo courtesy: TANG CHHIN SOTHY/ AFP)
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Foreign companies that were the main drivers of the Cambodia’s construction sector have been winding down their activities in response to developments in their home countries. (Photo courtesy: TANG CHHIN SOTHY/ AFP)
BONE OF CONTENTION: The Preah Vihear temple. (Photo courtesy: The Straits Times/ AsiaNews)

2009-01-31
By BRUCE GALE In Phnom Penh
The Straits Times (Singapore)
AsiaNews


Just as the stage seemed set for further growth, the four drivers of Cambodia’s economy—agriculture, garment exports, tourism and construction—were hit by changes in external conditions.

"Unlucky.” This was the assessment of the Cambodian economy by Vikram Nehru, the World Bank’s chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, late last year. It certainly seems appropriate.

While citizens in just about every country in the region can blame the current global economic storm for at least some of their problems, Cambodians probably have more reason than most to feel aggrieved.

Still one of the world’s poorest countries, Cambodia was nevertheless doing well before the global crisis hit. Recovering from a long period of political and social disruption dating back to the 1970s, the economy grew by an average of 11.1% a year between 2004 and 2007.

And the elections of July last year, which saw a landslide victory for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, suggested that the country would soon be able to add political stability to its list of attractions.

The garment sector, which began to expand rapidly in the mid-1990s, provided employment for about 350,000 people. The tourism industry was also booming, with the number of foreign visitors rising by more than 20% annually. Further evidence of the country’s success could be seen in the growing level of direct foreign investment, which reached a high of 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007.

There were problems, of course. They included rampant corruption, rising inflation, a dysfunctional public service, infrastructure bottlenecks and a developing property market bubble. But with the economy making great strides, and with leaders no longer preoccupied with political survival, there was hope that at least some of these issues would be addressed.

Indeed, soon after the elections, economic managers moved quickly to minimise financial sector risks arising from the enthusiasm with which local banks were rushing to profit from the economic boom. The central bank doubled reserve requirements in July, introduced a ceiling on loans to the real estate sector, then tripled capital requirements in September. Meanwhile, plans were well advanced for the establishment of a stock market.

But just as the stage seemed set for further growth, the four drivers of the Cambodian economy—agriculture, garment exports, tourism and construction—were hit by changes in external conditions.

The tourism industry got into trouble as early as July, when the decision by Unesco to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site resulted in a military stand-off between Cambodian and Thai forces. Cambodia also suffered from the effects of Thailand’s internal turmoil last month, when anti-government protesters forced the closure of Bangkok’s international airport. The result was a wave of cancellation of hotel reservations at Siem Reap during the height of the tourist season. The global financial crisis looks set to cut further into tourist arrivals.

The garment industry, meanwhile, has begun to suffer from lower demand in the United States, its main export market. Expectations that rice exports would boost economic growth have also been dashed by the fall in international prices since their mid-2008 peak.

The juxtaposition of these political and economic developments has already been reflected in a 25-per-cent drop in revenues from the kingdom’s trade-dependent railway network last year. Rail links with Thailand were cut completely during the tension with Thailand in October.

Finally, South Korean and other foreign companies that were the main drivers of the nation’s construction sector have been winding down their activities in response to developments in their home countries. Modern Cambodia’s first-ever property boom is no more.

Influenced, perhaps, by years of rapid growth, the government late last year rejected as too gloomy an International Monetary Fund report that suggested that GDP growth would fall to 4.8% this year. But officials have since responded to the global slowdown by announcing a budget that increased spending and offered incentives to the garment industry. They have also delayed the launch of the stock exchange.

Early last month, foreign donors demonstrated their continued faith in the country by pledging more than US$950 million in aid, an increase of almost $300 million over pledges made in 2007.

Even so, there is little doubt that the nation faces difficult times. Foreign direct investment fell last year and, according to the World Bank, will likely fall again this year.

With the garment and tourism sectors faltering, widespread unemployment is a distinct possibility. Fifty per cent of the population is under 20 years of age, suggesting that a large number of job seekers will begin to enter the workforce over the next few years.

Yet all is not lost. While international rice prices have fallen, they are still relatively high. Programmes designed to boost agriculture could help absorb some of the unemployed.

Meanwhile, continued strong supervision of the banking sector, an increase in government-funded infrastructure projects and further moves to upgrade the legal framework for investment could help prepare the country for the inevitable recovery. In times like these, Cambodia needs to make its own luck.

Cambodia: Internet censorship targets artists

Barack Obama, illustrated by Bun Heang Ung

Friday, January 30th, 2009
By Tharum Bun
Global Voices Online


As the number of Internet users has been growing rapidly in Southeast Asia in recent years, online censorship has proliferated, from China to Cambodia, as if it runs through the Mekong river.

Not only the “Great Firewall of China” that is known to many people, democratic country like Thailand also blocks a large number of Web sites; in Vietnam, its Ministry of Information and Communication has recently released a circular to regulate and enforce blogging rules in the country in late 2008. With rules and regulations in place, these governments have developed and deployed their own censorship machine to control how citizens publish and access online contents.

Although Cambodia has the lowest Internet penetration rate (70,000 users as of 2007), artists, however, are more recognized not through offline exhibitions, but their presence on the world wide web. This increasing use of blog to reach out larger audiences attracts more than attention and support.

A former freelance editorial cartoonist for Far Eastern Economic Review from 1997-1999, Bun Heang Ung presently lives in Australia. Observing his home country Cambodia from the other side, the 57-year-old cartoonist launched Sacrava Toons blog in 2004, nearly a decade after he published ‘The Murderous Revolution : Life and Death in Pol Pot's Kampuchea,' his first book of black and white line illustrations that tells his very own experiences of the Khmer Rouge regime. In voicing his opinions, the talented cartoonist publish his drawings of all things that matter to him on the Web. In one of his recent posts, he used ‘I have a dream' as a backdrop for his illustration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

Recently, according to Wikileaks, the political cartoonist's blog is being blocked in Thailand, where its Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is in charge of banning Internet sites that violates its Kingdom's lèse majesté.

Cambodian blogger Thom Vanak, at Blog By Khmer, made his point on the issue:
Regarding Lèse majesté, although I think it's archaic and outdated law in this day and age, but nevertheless, it's still Thai's law. If I ever set my foot on Thai soil I would respect their laws. The same if I'm to visit any other country, I would respect the local laws of that country.
While the prominent cartoonist's blog appears on censorship list (as of 20 Dec 2008) by Thailand, the Cambodian Ministry of Women's Affairs, in December last year, threatened to block a Web site that contains artistic illustrations of bare-breasted Apsara dancers and a Khmer Rouge soldier. The attempt to shut down reahu.net (or at least to filter it by Internet Service Providers in the Cambodian capital) was echoed by a human rights activist, who was quoted as saying that “the Web site should be shut down because it appealed too much to young Cambodians.”

Reahu.net is currently not accessible by Internet visitors in Cambodia, while there is no issue with access in the U.S. The error message appears:

Screenshot of reahu.net site being filtered by Cambodia's Internet Service Providers

Cambodia's most prominent anonymous blog author at ‘Cambodia: Details are Sketchy' wrote about the controversial issue:
“If anyone should understand the value of free speech, the deputy director of communication and advocacy at Licadho seems a likely candidate. It is disheartening that Vann Sophath supports censoring Reahu’s illustrations”
Artist Reahu posted a note on his site, recently becoming popular after gaining media attentions in the past few months, in response to his critics:
Judging from the complaints, I wonder how we as Khmer will be able to make it in the 21st Century. Please be open-minded, you must be able to see beyond the four walls surrounding your hut.

Border dispute 'now better understood' [... after the death of 3 Cambodian soldiers?]

Paskorn: Spreading the word
31/01/2009
Bangkok Post

Although the Preah Vihear issue seems to have cooled down, the Foreign Ministry's mission to build people's understanding about the issue continues through the Phra Viharn Centre headed by Paskorn Siriyaphan. The former diplomat based in Phnom Penh talks to THANIDA TANSUBHAPOL about this newly established office.

Why was the centre set up and when did it start operations?

The ministry set up the centre on Oct 8 last year and it started operations six days later. The centre is under the permanent secretary's office and is supervised by the Legal and Treaties Department chief.

Its mandate is to improve coordination among internal departments on the Preah Vihear issue. The International Organisation Department deals with Unesco, the Legal and Treaties Department deals with border issues, the East Asian Department deals with Cambodia on bilateral issues and the Information Department deals with public relations in general.

In addition, the centre will also take care of other issues which are not the particular responsibility of any department as well as acting as the secretariat for Preah Vihear issue meetings.

The centre was also set up under Article 190 (3) of the constitution which stipulates that prior to any binding agreements [about a border line change] being signed with the international community or an international organisation, cabinet must inform and provide the opinions of the public to parliament and be ready for any queries related to such an agreement.

The centre is responsible for providing information and listening to the public while border and demarcation talks with Cambodia are in progress.

What information has the centre given to the people?

We have four kinds of information. The first is the background of the border issue. The second describes the causes of the tension last year after Cambodia was trying to list the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site while some parts of the compound would have affected Thailand's rights as a claimant. The third explains what happened as the military forces of the two countries were still there. And the last explains what the ministry is doing to cut tension in the short term and negotiate under the framework of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) in the long run.

What is the aim of the centre? We would like people to understand more about the Preah Vihear issue and try not to use emotions or misunderstand things to launch accusations against each other.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya reaffirmed that the sharing of information with people must be done transparently and without conflict of interest.

He has also made this a priority of the centre.

The centre has also opened a webpage at the ministry's website to listen to public opinion. It will also develop booklets about the issue for public distribution soon.

What is your plan for sharing information with the public? We plan to reach out to people in each province every month. We held three public opinion sessions.

After parliament approved the short- and long-term negotiation frameworks with Cambodia on Oct 28 last year, we held the first session at Chulalongkorn University on Nov 6, the second on Dec 16 in Si Sa Ket and the latest on Jan 20 in Chanthaburi province.

The information will not be the same every time as we will update it to include the latest results of the minister's visits to Cambodia or the outcome of the latest JBC meeting.

We plan to repeat this in all seven provinces along the Thai-Cambodian border.

We will go back to Si Sa Ket again after there is progress in negotiations with Cambodia (because the temple is located opposite the Thai border in this province.)

Has public opinion changed after the three public meetings?

Yes. I think they understand the issue better. We will not try to argue with the public but will give them all the necessary facts. People in Si Sa Ket and Chanthaburi shared the same opinion that we must protect Thai sovereignty and must have a clear position over the Preah Vihear issue.

In the meantime, we must also keep a good relationship with Cambodia especially in trade between our two peoples. They would like to see trade come before politics and would like the situation to return to normal.

As long as there is a negotiation mechanism, the tension along the border will be toned down. Border demarcation will surely take a long time to complete but we should do everything to avoid further confrontation.

Gen. Kun Kim: No more removals of military leaders, but there will be some reshuffles


Kampuchea Thmey newspaper
29th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerizaton

Since the sacking of Gen. Ke Kimyan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the sacking of Gen. Chhin Chanpor as the Deputy Commander of the Military Police, there are rumours that there will be more sackings.

Ge. Kum Kim (pictured), Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the RCAF, said that there is no further removals of any military leaders from their current positions. He added that the rumours are intended to cause anxiety in the military.

Gen. Kun Kim told Reaksmei Kampuchea that the removals of Gen. Ke Kimyan and Gen. Chhin Chanpor is just the beginning of a military reform. There will be no more removals of any military leaders, but there will be some reshuffles in accordance with the military reforms carried out by the new government.

Gen. Kun Kim said that these sorts of rumours have caused nervousness in the military. He said that the rumour are not true.

According to sources, Gen. Chhoeun Chanthorn alias Mao, commander of a bodyguard unit, has been sacked. But Gen. Kun Kim said that there is no sacking yet, but he added that there will be further reforms in the bodyguard unit as well in order to reduce the numbers of bodyguards. But sources from the Interior Ministry said that all bloated bodyguard units will be cut down.

Sources said that, under the new government, all bodyguards will not be allowed to have dual roles. In the past, some bodyguards use their bodyguard roles to intimidate other people for personal interests.

In another development, sources from the Defence Ministry said that Gen. Huy Pisith, Deputy Chief of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cabinet, has been appointed as the Under-Secretary of State of Defence on top of his current role.

Forced evictions leave thousands homeless in Cambodia, says UN expert

Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

Source: UN News Center


30 January 2009 – The forced evictions of tens of thousands of Cambodia’s poor constitute a “grave breach” of human rights, a United Nations independent expert said today, calling for damages to be paid for lost homes and the provision of alternative housing.

In the middle of the night last week, over 130 families were forced to leave their homes without prior notice in the capital, Phnom Penh, so that a private company could redevelop the site. The shelters in the poor community were destroyed, and there have been reports that before the eviction, the community suffered intimidation and that the area’s representatives were subject to criminal charges.

It is regrettable that the ongoing negotiations with residents were abandoned, casting aside a valuable opportunity to reach a just and lawful solution to this longstanding dispute,” said Raquel Rolnik, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, in a statement. “It is now of utmost importance that the rights of the residents to fair compensation for their lost homes and property and the provision of adequate alternative housing are fully respected.”

She noted that last week’s evictions in Phnom Penh are not isolated, but are “[alarmingly]” on the rise, with tens of thousands of people losing their homes and becoming even more destitute.

In the South-East Asian nation, the expert said, there has been a “consistent pattern” of rights violations tied to forced evictions, including the systematic lack of due process, inadequate compensation, and the excessive use of force.

“Given the disastrous humanitarian situation faced by the victims of forced evictions, I urge Cambodian authorities to establish a national moratorium on evictions until their policies and actions in this regard have been brought into full conformity with international human rights obligations.”

Ms. Rolnik, who reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, took up her post last May and serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, as do all Special Rapporteurs.

UN criticises forced evictions in Cambodia

"We did not use violence against them, but tear gas to disperse the people who resisted" - Touch Naroth, PPenh police commissioner
GENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Cambodian government is forcing tens of thousands of poor people from their homes in a grave breach of human rights, a U.N. investigator said on Friday.

Raquel Rolnik, United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing, called for a halt to the evictions in the Southeast Asian country.

"The increase in forced evictions throughout Cambodia is very alarming," Rolnik said in a statement.

Cambodian police fired teargas to move more than 130 families last weekend from a Phnom Penh slum facing the Mekong River, without giving them prior notice, she said. It was the latest of a series of land disputes in the country where garment factories and hotels are springing up fast.

Rolnik, a Brazilian architect and urban planner, said those evicted from the site that the Cambodian government had sold to a private company should be compensated for losing their homes.

Witnesses said an elderly woman and a boy were hit by a bulldozer during the nightime eviction, and other residents were injured by clubs and stones, some seriously.

Police denied using excessive force against the group who had waged a 3-year battle against their eviction.

"We did not use violence against them, but tear gas to disperse the people who resisted," Phnom Penh police chief G. Touch Naruth told Reuters.

In her statement, Rolnik said Cambodia sould stop the practice that results in increased homeless and destitution.

"Forced evictions constitute a grave breach of human rights. They can be carried out only in exceptional circumstances and with the full respect of international standards," she said.

(Reporting by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Damned Chinese dam may have caused earthquake killing 80,000 people in China ... and more Chinese dams are planned in Cambodia!

Cars are buried in the debris of collapsed buildings in Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, after an earthquake occurred May 12, 2008 in this picture distributed by China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Dam may have caused deadly China earthquake

January 29, 2009
By Dan Vergano
USA Today Science Fair

China's deadly 2008 earthquake was triggered by rapid damming of a river, suggests a Science magazine report. The May earthquake killed about 80,000 people and, "the first researchers have gone public with evidence that stresses from water piled behind the new Zipingpu Dam may have triggered the failure of the nearby fault," reports the magazine.

Similar to a 1967 dam-triggered earthquake in India, several hundred million tons of water dammed behind the Zipingpu Dam pinpointed stresses on the nearby Beichuan fault, according to geophysical hazards researcher Christian Klose of Columbia University, tipping a waiting-to-happen quake into existence.

Further, a paper in last month’s issue of the Chinese journal Geology and Seismology concludes the damming “clearly affected local seismicity.” Lead author Lei Xinglin of the China Earthquake Administration in Beijing told Science that a firm conclusion is "premature", but he sees a reservoir decline between December 2007 and May 2008 as “major factors associated with the nucleation of the great Sichuan earthquake.”

Friday, January 30, 2009

Mouy Tang: Nearly 20 searches and no lead

Mouy Tang was last seen Sept. 3.

Saturday, Jan 31 2009
David Allen
The Star (Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina, USA)


LAWNDALE - After 18 searches, Quyhn Tang now believes her missing sister-in-law isn't where family members originally thought.

"We believe that yes, she was picked up," Tang said Thursday. "She had to (have been)."

Mouy Tang, a 46-year-old native of Cambodia and former Unique Living resident, was last seen Sept. 3 near Burns High School in Lawndale. Subsequent searches haven't unearthed a single lead.

But the most recent effort did produce at least something.

"We had nurses that used to work at the Yelton facility (Unique Living) that came to talk to us," Quyhn said. "The two were very instrumental in giving information."

Quyhn was told that officials drove out to search for Mouy around 15 minutes after they realized she was gone.

Quyhn said that while Mouy couldn't walk well, she was supposedly long gone when employees began searching.

"Apparently they couldn't locate her," Quyhn said. "It might have taken her 30 minutes to get to that intersection (of Philadelphia Road and Stagecoach Trail where Mouy was last seen)."

The numbers just didn't add up.

"She was picked up instead of wandered off," Quyhn said.

Family members recently accepted what some professionals suggested after the last search, Quyhn said.

"We came to terms with it (that she was possibly picked up)," she said. "They did another 5-mile search. Thirty-two people from all over. Nothing."

Specifics for future searches have yet to be determined, Quyhn said. Satellite imaging will be used to scan the landscape for remains before anyone goes on the hunt again.

"If someone has any news, good or bad, we need it," Quyhn said.

"We want the election process to be free, fair and with justice": Dream on, Mr. Sar Kheng!

Cambodia to deploy 30,000 police for upcoming local election

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government plans to deploy 27,133 police forces to safeguard the commune councils election in all its towns, districts, cities and provinces in May, national media said on Friday.

The deployment aims to guarantee safety and order of the election, the state-run Television Kampuchea quoted Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, as saying.

"We want the election process to be free, fair and with justice," he added.

On May 17, Cambodia will hold its nationwide election for positions on district, provincial and municipal councils as part of the government's drive to transfer more decision-making powers to the local level.

UN Special rapporteur on adequate housing denounces forced evictions in Cambodia

30 January 09
Human Rights Tribune (Geneva, Switzerland)

UN, Geneva - The following statement on the latest in a series of forced evictions in Cambodia was issued today by the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik:

“More than 130 families were forcibly evicted during the night of 23 and 24 January 2009 from Dey Krahorm, in central Phnom Penh to make way for a private company to redevelop the site.

The forced eviction was carried out in the middle of the night, without prior notice and the shelters belonging to this poor community were torn down and destroyed. This situation has grave consequences for all the victims, but particularly the women and children. Reports also state that prior to the eviction, the community suffered intimidation and community representatives and members were also subjected to criminal charges.

It is regrettable that the ongoing negotiations with the residents were abandoned, casting aside a valuable opportunity to reach a just and lawful solution to this longstanding dispute. It is now of utmost importance that the rights of the residents to fair compensation for their lost homes and property and the provision of adequate alternative housing are fully respected.

Unfortunately this is by no means an isolated case, and the increase in forced evictions throughout Cambodia is very alarming. Reports indicate that tens of thousands of poor people have been forcibly evicted and displaced, pushing them into homelessness and further destitution.

In Cambodia, a consistent pattern of violation of rights has been observed in connection with forced evictions: systematic lack of due process and procedural protections; inadequate compensation; lack of effective remedies for communities facing eviction; excessive use of force; and harassment, intimidation and criminalization of NGOs and lawyers working on this issue.

Forced evictions constitute a grave breach of human rights. They can be carried out only in exceptional circumstances and with the full respect of international standards. Given the disastrous humanitarian situation faced by the victims of forced evictions, I urge the Cambodian authorities to establish a national moratorium on evictions until their policies and actions in this regard have been brought into full conformity with international human rights obligations.”

The former Special Rapporteur on adequate housing conducted a mission to Cambodia in 2005 and presented a mission report on his findings and recommendations (E/CN.4/2006/41/Add.3). Concerns on forced evictions in Cambodia have been shared through a large number of communications by the Special Rapporteur with the authorities. These communications remain unanswered to date.

[Thai] 'Red-shirts' group lodges complaint to ASEAN members

BANGKOK, Jan 30 (TNA) - Anti-government 'Red Shirt' protesters on Friday presented letters to the ambassadors of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok, urging the neighbouring countries to review the legitimacy of Thailand's Democrat-led coalition government.

Veera Musikapong, Nattawut Saikua and Jakrapob Penkair, key leaders of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), together with supporters, went to the embassies of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in Bangkok to hand over letters to the three countries' ambassadors to Thailand, amid tight police security from the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

According to the UDD, the letters said the current government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva does not genuinely represent the people and does not have legitimacy to administer the country.

Also, the Abhisit administration appointed Kasit Piromya, who once supported the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in its two main airports siege late November, as foreign minister.

The UDD leaders urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN) to review their stance towards the Democrat-led coalition government and the appropriateness of Mr. Kasit's appointment.

The 'Red Shirts' had earlier submitted letters to six other regional grouping members, so that now all nine ASEAN members other than Thailand,are aware of the UDD position.

Meanwhile, 'Red Shirt' protesters in the northern province of Lampang gathered at the provincial railway station for free rail transport on the Chiang Mai-Bangkok line to join the UDD's mass anti-government rally on Saturday.

Key UDD leaders earlier announced that the group will demonstrate at Sanam Luang Saturday evening before marching to blockade Government House, to press the government to take legal action against the PAD and to remove Mr. Kasit from the post.

As for the comments by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban that police would strictly monitor the UDD's mass rally and would arrest those who commit illegal actions, UDD leader Nattawut Saikua said Friday that the deputy premier himself has no authority to act against the UDD's movement, as he and his Democrat Party had already sided with the PAD.

"The Democrat Party is not impartial, as they have already sided with the PAD," Mr. Nattawut said.

"So the Democrat-led government cannot be considered as the government of all Thais," according to Mr. Nattawut, a former Government spokesman.

The UDD key leader enphasised that what the Red Shirts will do on Saturday is to exercise their freedom
and rights under the democratic system.

Mr. Nattawut said he was informed that the government has been attempting to block the UDD supporters in many upcountry provinces to join the mass protest in Bangkok, but he insisted that the government could not stop the UDD.

"Saturday's demonstration will prove it," he said.

He added that if the UDD demonstration and their march to Government House was not blocked or interrupted, the rally would be ended on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Pol. Lt-Gen Suchart Mueankaew, Bangkok metropolitan police chief, said the UDD rally must be law-abiding and that the protesters cannot enter Government House grounds or block the entrances of the complex. He warned that violators will be arrested promptly.

Gen. Suchart said the police would not use tear gas or commit any violence against protesters but will carry shields to protect themselves and will remain unarmed.

Meanwhile, government officials boosted security and packed up valuable belongings and documents to avoid losses and damage as when their offices were vandalised during the PAD occupation last year.

Reactions on the Web to the Dey Krohom eviction range from emotion to rallying

Several websites have published articles, videos, pictures and songs to mobilise Internet users about the fate of the families evicted on Saturday 24th January from Dey Krohom, a neighbourhood in the capital of Cambodia.

30-01-2009
By Laurent Le Gouanvic
Ka-set in English


Cambodian police firing tear gas, an army of young workers demolishing frail houses with sledge hammers and axes, bulldozers crushing everything on their way at the risk of injuring tearful residents fleeing with the few possessions they have managed to save in the chaos... These images of the violent operation to evict the last residents of Dey Krohom, in Phnom Penh on Saturday 24th January, were not broadcast on CNN or any major international television network. Yet, for the last few days, they have been going round the world through the Internet and its new “social networking” tools, like Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Blogspot or Wordpress. Gradually, after the initial emotional reactions, outraged Internet users are trying – and somewhat struggling – to raise awareness about what happened with the widest possible audience, in Cambodia and abroad. One of their first actions is to launch an international appeal to draw mass protest against the Cambodian authorities and the 7NG company.

A message addressed directly to the authorities

“Dear Prime Minister Hun Sen, I am writing to express my shock at the violent eviction of the Dey Krahorm on January 24th, 2009 and to request that the evicted families receive adequate compensation for their losses.” So begins one of the two “sample letters” published on the website of the organisation "Bridges Across Borders" who invites Internet users throughout the world to copy and send these letters by email or fax to the head of the Cambodian government as well as the Minister of the Council of Ministers Sok An, the Chairman of the National Assembly Heng Samrin, the Governor of Phnom Penh Kep Chuktema, and the Chairman of the 7NG company Srey Sothea. The appeal is also relayed through emails and on a group page dedicated to land conflicts in Cambodia on the social networking website Facebook .

The page was created at the initiative of John Weeks, aka Jinja (or The Gecko in Khmer), an expat blogger in Cambodia who is very active in the Cambodian web circles and responsible for an important compilation of the different sources of information available on the Dey Krohom case . To this day, some 400 members have joined the Facebook group and publish statements, press articles, photos and videos on evictions in Cambodia. The messages posted on the Facebook page originate from Phnom Penh of course, but also from remote Colorado (United States), Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand, Hongkong, Philippines, India, or China... Some send a simple message to express their indignation, while others call for concrete actions, including donations of food or basic necessities.

Videos shot in the heart of the action

The group set up on this networking site also – and essentially – serves as a hub for all the written, photographic and audiovisual documents, which represent as much evidence on the eviction. It includes links to the multimedia slideshow and trilingual articles of... Ka-set , videos shot in the middle of the eviction, like the one co-produced by Platapus and Licadho Canada which was initially made available on-line on BlipTV and other “footage rushes” made public on the YouTube video broadcasting site or the human rights multimedia platform The Hub .

Also available on these websites, many archive documents, whether on the daily lives of the Dey Krohom residents , before their eviction, or on other cases of past or ongoing evictions, like at Boeung Kak lake.
“One eviction can hide another”

In parallel to the videos, photos taken during the eviction – but also before and afterwards – are also circulating on a large scale on the Web, whether on the sites of professional photographers (Peter Harris , John Vink ...), amateur ones (Chea Phal , a young Cambodian working for a Japanese NGO whose spends his free time taking pictures) or on photo-sharing sites like Flickr. A moderator on the Khmer Network forum invites people to hang these pictures on their walls to replace “useless” ones and comments “One eviction (forced displacement) can hide another... Watch this space.”

Also, voices are heard on blogs and echoed on the website Global Voices which offers a panorama and excerpts of bloggers' reactions.

Heated reactions

On her personal website, Jivy , a young Filipino living in Phnom Penh, breaks with her usual light messages on shopping and eating out. Still under the shock, she describes what she saw on the morning of Saturday 24th January. “Loud pounding noises woke me up this morning. (…) I looked out of my window and saw hundreds of men wearing green shirt, hammering the small houses in front of the building where my whole family live. It’s my first time to encounter scenes like this and it sent goosebumps all over me. There were lots of police men guarding the site and hundreds of spectators from their homes watched how their fellow Cambodians ruined other people’s houses in a small span of time. (…) I don’t know the whole story behind this horrifying scene, I don’t know if the land is under the government or under a private individual. All I know is that there are people out in the street this morning asking for some more time to discuss this matter before proceeding with the demolition. But people with no hearts didn’t listen.”

Other bloggers also share what they saw, comment on articles or, like Steve, Wendy, Isaac and Niam , the four members of an evangelist family working in Cambodia, express their anger and call to pray for the evicted residents of Dey Krohom.

Weak reaction among Khmer bloggers

However, one cannot but notice that only a few Cambodian bloggers (or Cloggers) express themselves on the eviction. Most of them, including those used to starting heated debates, are strangely silent on the Chinese New Year eve. Similarly, the issue hardly inflames discussion forums of Cambodians living in France. On Khmer Network, while a message on “paedophiles in Cambodia” has generated over a hundred responses and been read more than 3,000 times since 18 January, the one about Dey Krohom has only been commented on seven times and read by about a hundred visitors... Hence the reaction of BAC, one of the few people who reacted, “It [Dey Krohom] is a cause for concern. Why? Well, because it is not a topic for discussion or blathering. It is such a cause for worry that the government is not saying anything. And even people on this forum remain silent. When something is too troubling, people have little of interest to say. It is more fun to blabber.”
--------------
"Do Not Agree"

Discover on the website SendSpace "Do Not Agree ", a song written a few days before their eviction by one of the Dey Krohom community representatives, Chan Vichet, and performed among and with other residents. An English translation of the Khmer lyrics is also available on the same website in a PDF file.

Also see the Bassac project of Khmer-American rapper PraCh, which part of his blog Mujestic.com is devoted to.

Kh-nhom Min Prom Leuy - "Do Not Agree": A protest song by Dey Krahorm Residents



Written by community leader, Chan Vichet, in response to the Municipality’s final offer of $20,000. Recorded by John Vink (www.johnvink.com) 5 days before violent eviction of Dey Krahorm.

Do Not Agree

Chorus: We do not agree….
  1. They have told us to dismantle our houses to move away. They would evict us on the 30th [last month]. They came to force us to dismantle our house. If we do not follow them, we will meet bad luck.
  2. The valuable land, Oknha [rich man] has a lot of money in his hand. He walks around and cheats people to make villagers worry. They let us stay for 3 days. We could not decide to do anything. We only wish the Buddha would help us stop worrying.
  3. Everyday we absolutely worry and feel confused in our minds. They have given us one price, which we weren’t allowed to consider in advance. They said $20,000, so we do not agree.
  4. They want to take our land and force us to sell to them for $20,000. How can we?! Please Buddha help us. Do not come to attack us for $20,000. Do not compel us to sell you our houses, we will not agree.
  5. Pity us, please do not bond us tightly. Do not use your power to violate the poor. We are poor, we do not have money and property. Please have mercy, have pity on us.
No, no, no I don’t agree, no, no, no
No, no, no I don’t agree, no, no, no
No, no, no I don’t agree, no, no, no
No, no, no, I don’t agree, no, no no

Chorus: It is too cheap…

SRP gears up for May elections

SRP congress in 2007 (Photo: SRP)

Friday, 30 January 2009

Written by Brett Worthington
The Phnom Penh Post


Weekend national congress to stress opposition unity

THE Sam Rainsy Party will hold a national congress this weekend in an attempt to unite the party ahead of the Kingdom's first provincial, district and municipal council elections, scheduled for May.

SRP Deputy Secretary General Mu Sochua said that Saturday's meeting would see party members come together to exchange views with the hope of improving the party's unity and resolve at the local level.

"Our main objective is to bring together the electorates, the people who will be electing the councillors, to ensure we can keep the seats we hope to win," she said.

Elections for the new council positions are scheduled for May 17, but only individuals currently holding seats on commune councils will be eligible to vote.
The system has already been criticised by election monitor Comfrel, which says it facilitates vote-buying.

"Some political parties try to buy councillors to support their party," said Koul Panha, executive director of Comfrel. He said the organisation was boycotting the May elections as a result of the flawed electoral system being used.

"The process [encourages] the buying of councillors and a lack of transparency. Only those with seats can vote, and this is not fair and does not truly reflect the [feeling of a] community."

Having suffered a string of high-profile defections in the run-up to the national election in July, the SRP is especially wary of its supporters breaking ranks before the May poll.

"We understand the CPP are trying to take people. We are valuable. We can compete with CPP. We are the only party that can," said Mu Sochua, adding, however, that the party was confident it could hold together.

"We are not concerned about more people defecting. We are concerned, in a sense, that the CPP has all sorts of tricks, but we are not concerned about being broken within because we have the support and conviction for change. We are solid."

Ke Kim Yan uncertain of future plans [-Another case of "Peal Si Peal - Dogs Eat Dogs"?]

Friday, 30 January 2009
Written by Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post


GENERAL Ke Kim Yan, former commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, is uncertain of the future following his unceremonious removal from the post last week.

"I have no idea of what work I will do in future," Ke Kim Yan told the Post Thursday. "The whole country knows I have stopped being commander-in-chief, [so] let everything be quiet from now on."

The general previously said he resigned his post for "health" reasons, but Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay said Tuesday that the CPP stalwart was removed by Prime Minister Hun Sen because his business activities were distracting him from his role as head of the armed forces.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen told a Cabinet meeting that Ke Kim Yan has a lot of land. He is a military officer, and he is also involved in business," he said. "While he is in the military and does business, he should give up his work."

But a senior official in the Council of Ministers, who declined to be named, said the prime minister was more specific, saying the former RCAF chief was removed for illegal land deals and failing to fulfill the duties of his office.

"Ke Kim Yan was withdrawn from the post of commander-in-chief because he has much illegal land and is not active along the border with the soldiers," the official quoted Hun Sen as saying during the Friday meeting.

"He has a lot of illegal land in the provinces ... and he is not as active as other commanders like Kun Kim and Hing Bun Heang."

"There are bigger problems than this, but we can't release them to the public. They are internal issues," the official added.

"Even though Sam Rainsy has lost for now, that accusation [against Hor Nam Hong] is still going around": Chea Vannath

Hor Nam Hong (L) and Sam Rainsy (R)

In Cambodia, Sam Rainsy no worse for wear: legal officials

Friday, 30 January 2009
Written by Brendan Brady and Neth Pheaktra
The Phnom Penh Post


PPenh legal minds say defamation ruling against Sam Rainsy will not reverberate locally; Hor Namhong waits for Cambodian case to progress.

ALTHOUGH the local fallout of a French court ruling Tuesday against opposition leader Sam Rainsy for disinformation and defamation has yet to materialise, Phnom Penh legal officials doubt the verdict will hold sway in a Cambodian court.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who sought to sue Sam Rainsy for defamation in both French and Cambodian courts, has yet to deliver any resounding words calling for further punishment of the opposition leader, but Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said his boss was waiting for local officials to "further their investigation".
"Even though Sam Rainsy has lost for now, that accusation is still going around. "
In his autobiography, Rooted in Stone, published in May last year, Sam Rainsy accused Hor Namhong of heading the Boeung Trabek "re-education" camp, where former diplomats and government officials from the Lon Nol and Sihanouk regimes were detained.

Hor Namhong had previously filed a lawsuit in Phnom Penh in April after the opposition leader alluded to the minister's involvement in the leadership of the Khmer Rouge in a speech at the Choeung Ek "killing fields". Hor Namhong shelved the case, however, awaiting the French verdict addressing the more explicit comment Sam Rainsy made in his book.

According to Phnom Penh Municipal Court President Chiv Keng, while the local case was ongoing, it would not be impacted by Tuesday's ruling, since that case "depended on facts from a different place".

For Sok Sam Ouen, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, more charges against the opposition leader would, in his opinion, effectively amount to double jeopardy, as the claim Hor Namhong objects to is the same.

Sam Rainsy's lawyer, Kong Sam Onn, said any local legal action would require his client first be stripped of political immunity by order of the National Assembly.

He also denied tremors from the French verdict would register in Phnom Penh since, he said, "there is no law allowing a Cambodian court to use an international decision to rule on a case".

Sam Rainsy, for his part, remains unrepentant, telling the Post he "has no regrets and would not change a word."

Accusation not debunked
While legal minds may see the opposition leader's local legal standing as no worse off, Chea Vannath, a commentator on domestic social and political affairs, described the verdict as a political victory for the ruling Cambodian People's Party, whose membership has been publicly linked to leadership roles in the Khmer Rouge.

She said, however, the charge against Hor Namhong had not been laid to rest.

"Even though Sam Rainsy has lost for now, that accusation is still going around," she said.

She said she expected the ruling party would continue to address public remarks linking it to the brutality of the ultra-Maoist regime when expedient.

More fat rats jump off Funcinpec ship to join the CPP

Sun Chanthol received his B.S in Business Administration from The American University, the Advanced Management Program from the Wharton School, and Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, but apparently he failed to take "Political Integrity 101" while attending school in the US.

29 Jan 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

According to a CPP official, 6 high ranking Funcinpec officials defected to the CPP. The 6 Funcinpec officials include: Sun Chanthol, the former minister of Public Works; Neav Sithong, a former MP from Kampong Cham; Manuk Sophana, the under-secretary of state for the ministry of Water Resources and Parliament candidate for Banteay Meanchey province; Prak Sihara, the former deputy-governor of Sihanoukville; Suong Heng, the former secretary of state from the ministry of Public Works; and Chea Chhay, the former secretary of state from the ministry of Health. Besides these 6 defectors, several other important Funcinpec officials are preparing their paperwork to submit their defection to serve the CPP also. An anonymous defector indicated that the Funcinpec defectors decided to join the CPP because they believe that the CPP led by Chea Sim, Heng Samrin and Hun Sen, has led the country with intelligence, and brought in fast development to the country. Therefore, these defectors want to help build the country, and hence they decided to abandon Funcinpec to join the CPP instead.

Chea Sim lighter by 507 bodyguards – How many bodyguards does each CPP VIP need anyway?

30 Jan 2009
KI-Media

Shortly after the sacking of Ke Kim Yan from the army, The Cambodia Daily reported in today’s edition that 507 soldiers serving as bodyguards to Chea Sim, the CPP president and Senate president, were sent back to their barracks.

All of these 507 soldiers belong to Brigade 70 which also provides bodyguards to Hun Sen. Pol Saroeun, the new RCAF chief of staff, said that the transfer of these soldiers was not part of a reshuffle, and the men were not reassigned, but they were merely brought back to their barracks for more training. However, an anonymous senior official from Chea Sim’s cabinet indicated that the redeployment of the 507 soldiers is permanent. Major Hem Savy, an officer in Chea Sim’s bodyguards, was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying that “there will be more removals.” The 507 soldiers redeployed include two brigadier generals and several army officers. Currently, Chea Sim is still being protected by a unit of about 100 bodyguards. When reached over the phone by a reporter, Tea Banh promptly hung up his phone. With such large contingent of soldiers acting as bodyguards to CPP VIPs, it’s no wonder that Cambodia has no soldiers left defending our borders from the Vietnamese and Thai encroachments. As King-Father would have concluded: Bravo?!?!

Dey Krahorm residents protest in front of Hun Sen’s house

29 Jan 2009
By Mondul Keo
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the original article in Khmer


About 60 former residents of Dey Krahorm, representing 116 families who saw their houses demolished by the 7NG company and were evicted by force, held a new demonstration in front of Hun Sen’s house in the afternoon of 29 January.

Sam Ny, a representative of the residents who joined the demonstration, said that his group is determined to protest in front of Hun Sen’s house because they believe that only Hun Sen can find justice for them. Sam Ny said: “We have only one goal today, we came to Samdach [Hun Sen’s] house directly to ask him to find justice for us. I am confident that justice will be provided to all of us from Dey Krahorm because Samdach will help push for it.”

Chan Pho, another representative of the residents, said: “They shot fumes [fire extinguisher] on my children and grandchildren, their faces are now turning blue and black, they cough up blood. I am asking Samdach Dek Cho PM to help me, I cannot rely on anybody, but Samdach alone.”

It should be noted that 2:45 PM, an official from the PM office invited two representatives of the residents to go inside his office, and he accepted a petition handed over by the demonstrators, saying that he will directly hand over the petition to Hun Sen as soon as possible.

The content of the petition asks Hun Sen to intervene with the 7NG company so that it would pay a compensation of $20,000 for each evicted family.

Horn Sor, another representative of the residents who went in to hand over the petition, talked to RFA about the result of the meeting: “Samdach’s party just received our [petition] document, he said that when he receives words from Samdach’s intervention, he will forward the information to us. He told both of us, the representatives, to wait and he will intervene into this case as soon as possible.”

Srey Sothea, chairman of the 7NG company, and Mann Chhoeun, the Phnom Penh city deputy governor, said that the 7NG company’s intention is not to provide any monetary compensation, but it will only provide a plot of land and a house in Borey Santepheap II, located in Dangkao district, they also set a deadline for the acceptance of this land offer to the end of January.

Mann Chhoeun said: “This is an unconditional goal, as you (RFA reporter) just asked me, what happens to $20,000 (compensation offer)? That $20,000 was only valid during the negotiation for a middle road only, but there is no middle road, we cannot find one.”

It is not known yet what Hun Sen’s decision will do regarding the demands made by the residents.

Nevertheless, to Ou Virak, President of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), a compensation solution that is forced upon the residents is a right violation and a very serious violation of human rights.