Hun Xen's cronies: Mong Reththy (L) and Ly Yong Phat (R)Tuesday, May 11, 2010
AFP
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia is engaged in destructive sand exports to fuel Singapore's rapid expansion despite a supposed government ban on the practice, an environmental watchdog said Tuesday.
London-based Global Witness said Cambodia was making a "mockery of the government's supposed May 2009 ban on sand-dredging", risking devastation to its coasts, endangered species, fish stocks and local livelihoods.
"There is no evidence that basic environmental safeguards have been applied, with boats reportedly turning up and dredging sand, often in protected areas, with no local consultation," said its new report, entitled "Shifting Sands".
The group, which has made many allegations of Cambodian cronyism in recent years, said Mong Reththy and Ly Yong Phat -- senators known to have close ties to premier Hun Sen -- have been covertly awarded licences to dredge sand.
"This situation highlights the continued failure of Cambodia's international donors to use their leverage to hold the small elite surrounding the prime minister to account," said George Boden, campaigner at Global Witness.
The report said investigators tracked sand-filled boats from Cambodia to Singapore, estimating concessions from southwestern Koh Kong province alone netted 20 million dollars per month for some 796,000 tonnes of sand.
Global Witness added that figures from other concessions along Cambodia's coast were not known, and there was no way to track whether revenues from sand exports reached the national treasury.
"In addition, Global Witness has seen Cambodian sand dredging and export licences which bear the stamp and signature of a representative of the Singapore Embassy in Cambodia," the report said.
Singapore has expanded its surface area by 22 percent since the 1960s, said the report, requiring vast quantities of imported sand from neighbours in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have halted sand exports to the city-state over concerns the practice depleted fish stocks and caused erosion.
The Cambodian government has banned past reports by Global Witness, which also accused donors of ignoring graft among elites who have allegedly been involved in illegal logging as well as shady oil and mining deals.
London-based Global Witness said Cambodia was making a "mockery of the government's supposed May 2009 ban on sand-dredging", risking devastation to its coasts, endangered species, fish stocks and local livelihoods.
"There is no evidence that basic environmental safeguards have been applied, with boats reportedly turning up and dredging sand, often in protected areas, with no local consultation," said its new report, entitled "Shifting Sands".
The group, which has made many allegations of Cambodian cronyism in recent years, said Mong Reththy and Ly Yong Phat -- senators known to have close ties to premier Hun Sen -- have been covertly awarded licences to dredge sand.
"This situation highlights the continued failure of Cambodia's international donors to use their leverage to hold the small elite surrounding the prime minister to account," said George Boden, campaigner at Global Witness.
The report said investigators tracked sand-filled boats from Cambodia to Singapore, estimating concessions from southwestern Koh Kong province alone netted 20 million dollars per month for some 796,000 tonnes of sand.
Global Witness added that figures from other concessions along Cambodia's coast were not known, and there was no way to track whether revenues from sand exports reached the national treasury.
"In addition, Global Witness has seen Cambodian sand dredging and export licences which bear the stamp and signature of a representative of the Singapore Embassy in Cambodia," the report said.
Singapore has expanded its surface area by 22 percent since the 1960s, said the report, requiring vast quantities of imported sand from neighbours in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have halted sand exports to the city-state over concerns the practice depleted fish stocks and caused erosion.
The Cambodian government has banned past reports by Global Witness, which also accused donors of ignoring graft among elites who have allegedly been involved in illegal logging as well as shady oil and mining deals.
11 comments:
this for once, i agreed with global witness. i think because global witness changed their bias strategy to say that these individuals chose to ignore gov't policy in place on sand dredging. i think people who sell state property, whether sand, trees, or what have you, should get stiff penalty for doing so by gov't and the law of cambodia, regardless who they are, really! they are cheating the people and citizens of cambodia and only think about personal gain for themselves, not the country and khmer people in general. i think these perpetrators should be penalized to the fullest extent of cambodia law of the land, you know. no excuses are goo excuses for them to do this to the country. competitive authority should step up to curb this kind of practice. and for singapore, give it up, you are a tiny city-state, so, stop coming to cambodia to buy up our sands, ok! it is illegal by khmer law now! so, please be educated! singapore should know better!
don't be so greedy, please. greed can blind you, really! if you are rich, it is time to give back to cambodia for given you the opportunity to become rich, ok! thank you.
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Pol Pot
Nuon Chea
Ieng Sary
Ta Mok
Khieu Samphan
Son Sen
Ieng Thearith
Kaing Kek Iev
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Tortures
Brutality
Executions
Massacres
Mass Murder
Genocide
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Slavery
Force Labour
Overwork to Death
Human Abuses
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime
Members:
Hun Sen
Chea Sim
Heng Samrin
Hor Namhong
Keat Chhon
Ouk Bunchhoeun
Sim Ka...
Committed:
Attempted Murders
Attempted Murder on Chea Vichea
Attempted Assassinations
Attempted Assassination on Sam Rainsy
Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Assassinated over 80 members of Sam Rainsy Party.
"But as of today, over eighty members of my party have been assassinated. Countless others have been injured, arrested, jailed, or forced to go into hiding or into exile."
Sam Rainsy LIC 31 October 2009 - Cairo, Egypt
Executions
Executed over 100 members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders
Murdered 3 Leaders of the Free Trade Union
Murdered Chea Vichea
Murdered Ros Sovannareth
Murdered Hy Vuthy
Murdered Journalists
Murdered Khim Sambo
Murdered Khim Sambo's son
Murdered members of Sam Rainsy Party.
Murdered activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Murdered Innocent Men
Murdered Innocent Women
Murdered Innocent Children
Killed Innocent Khmer Peoples.
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Brutalities
Police Brutality Against Monks
Police Brutality Against Evictees
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Abuses
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Embezzlement
Treason
Border Encroachment, allow Vietnam to encroaching into Cambodia.
Signed away our territories to Vietnam; Koh Tral, almost half of our ocean territory oil field and others.
Illegal Arrest
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation bomb on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and other military officials were on board.
Lightning strike many airplanes, but did not fall from the sky. Lightning strike out side of airplane and discharge electricity to ground.
Source: Lightning, Discovery Channel
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Removed Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country.
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Use Dead people's names to vote for Cambodian People's Party.
Disqualified potential Sam Rainsy Party's voters.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Persecution
Unlawful Detention
Death in custody.
Under the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed crimes against journalists, political opponents, leaders of the Free Trade Union, innocent men, women and children have ever been brought to justice.
Mong Rithy is a fool Khmer and he should know better, but ah Yuon kantorb Ly Yong Phat that shipped from Hanoi to Thailand now Cambodia needs to be gone.
The government of the dictator Hun Sen works for the drug dealers, human traffickers, the land thieves, the polluters, natural resources thieves, nation sellers.
When all these thieves are killing Khmer people, dictator Hun Sen is nowhere to be found. Dictator Hun Sen is the Master of all thieves in Cambodia.
KHMER Angkor
Ly Yong Plat, I think him look like Chinese not Khmer. Now I understand our sand problem.
Khmers come to my house and beg me to buy their sand, their men, and then they claim on me. What a dirty scum on Earth.
Go fuck your idiot salesmen and government, we did not put the gun on your head to sell, stop fucking around, okey??
It is in the Singaporean national interest to buy sand even if it is at the expense of another country.
After all, it is only a little tiny piece of land, and overcrowed. Despite its developed economy and high earnings, the quality of living isn't that great. It is like living in a pond with plenty of food, but can't swim very far. The size of that pond shrinking all the time, perhaps through natural erosion. Is it any wonder the Singaporean will do anything to get out of their delima?
The Cambodian gov't have no effective means to control these money hungry official from destroying national resources.
Thank you Global Witness for exposing it problem.
Shouldn't these two men be treated as criminals? Why not?
You can't get out of it that easy Singapore.
If you deal with crooks you are a crook, guilty by association. And there are plenty of crooks in Cambodia as everyone know.
We know you try hard to expand your tiny island, which, other than big malls, man-made amusement parks, and factories there's isn't much on that island.
You are known for your ingenuity and creativity. Perhaps you should put that talent into building a floating city, just in case there is a tsunami.
POUK AH KBOTT CHHETT!.AH PRETT!.AH NOROUK! LOUK AVEY AVEY TEANG OSS NOUV KNONG SROK!.look at their fucking faces,they are not KHMERES hundreds percent!.If not CHINESE,mightbe the VIETCONG,especially ah LY YONGPHAT!.You guys will be hang oneday by ordinary KHMER peoples.Burning in hell all of you ah KBOTT CHHETT!.
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