Cambodia Keeps Taking, Gives Little

A Cambodian beggar with her sister walks in a market in search of alms in the capital city Phnom Penh. (Photo: Khem Sovannarak/AFP/Getty)

Friday, Jun. 22, 2007
By Hannah Beech/Bangkok
Time Magazine (USA)

Why do the rich nations keep funneling millions of dollars every year to a corrupt country like Cambodia? Each summer, at around this time, for more than a decade, international donors have pledged huge sums to prop up the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. The donors unveil a goody bag of financial aid contingent on the country tackling endemic problems like corruption, human-rights violations and environmental degradation. And each year, like ritual, longtime Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen dutifully pledges to clean up the government's act. Alas, also like ritual, little or nothing happens. Yet somehow the entire ceremony repeats itself year after year.

On Wednesday, June 20, foreign donors — a collection of foreign governments, multinational banks and various U.N. agencies — promised to funnel $689 million of aid to Cambodia, a 15% increase from last year and an amount roughly equivalent to half the nation's annual budget. This year, they did issue statements chastising the Hun Sen government for failing to adequately battle widespread graft. Cambodia ranks No. 151 out of 163 nations surveyed in Transparency International's 2006 government corruption index. Addressing donor representatives gathered in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh this month, Hun Sen promised that long-delayed anti-corruption legislation would be passed "as soon as possible." The statement was a virtual carbon copy of what he had pledged last year.

Foreign aid has long been employed as a political tool, with varying levels of success. Rich economies get to feel good about sharing their wealth with the less fortunate. At the same time, western nations dole out cash to poorer economies in hopes of encouraging budding democratization efforts. But if anything, Cambodia has continued to backslide. A Hun Sen-backed coup in 1997 removed Co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Opposition party members are regularly harassed. And a July 2006 deadline imposed by Hun Sen himself for introducing a draft of anti-corruption legislation passed with no evidence of any such document.

The country's economy has grown (more than 10% last year, due in part to tourism and the textile industry). But wealth appears to be concentrated in the hands of the few. Earlier this month, the international watchdog organization Global Witness released the findings of a three-year investigation that accuses a network of Hun Sen's relatives and friends of having made tens of millions of dollars from illegal logging. (Several of those implicated by Global Witness have denied the allegations, and the watchdog's report itself has been banned from domestic distribution by the Cambodian government.) In the report, Global Witness castigates the international donor community for facilitating what it labels a deeply corrupt Cambodian ruling class: "Donor support has failed to produce reforms that would make the government more accountable to its citizens. Instead, the government is successfully exploiting international aid as a source of political legitimacy."

The trouble is that Cambodia does not have to depend only on Western donors to help it patch together its economy and government. There is China. Unlike other foreign governments, China puts few strings on its aid, and its generosity in doling out funds for the Cambodian government now rivals Western munificence. Last year, Hun Sen publicly praised Cambodia's "most trustworthy friend" China for its pledge of $600 million in aid and loans; this month, the Cambodian Prime Minister went on to thank the Communist giant for giving money without "order[ing] us to do this or that" — presumably in contrast to pesky requests for reform from other international benefactors. "China has changed the game," says Sok Hach, director of the independent Economic Institute of Cambodia. "Their attitude toward aid has decreased the leverage of the rest of the world."

Further diluting international influence is the potential of oil and gas revenues to transform Cambodia's still largely agrarian economy. Two years ago, Chevron announced the discovery of offshore oil reserves in Cambodia. If natural-resources dollars do start flowing in 2010, as some expect, the country may for the first time enjoy a major revenue source that could help it stand on its own feet. Yet, in countries like Nigeria, oil money has only served to enrich a tiny minority while leaving the rest of the country impoverished. And the alternate source of income may only make it more difficult for Western efforts to tie aid to improved Cambodian governance.

Nevertheless, some human-rights groups blame the donor community for their consistent unwillingness to pull aid when their pleas for reform aren't met. "The donors' list of conditions hardly changes over time, and the government simply ignores them year after year," says Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Hun Sen continues to run circles around the donors, making the same empty promises every year and laughing all the way to the bank."

Promises, promises

Logged off (Photo: Global Witness)

Jun 21st 2007
BANGKOK AND PHNOM PENH
The Economist

Hun Sen runs rings round his donors

THIS week saw an annual ritual acted out between Cambodia's government and its ravening hordes of foreign donors. The donors tut-tut at the government's breaking of last year's promises to curb corruption and human-rights abuses. The government trots out the same promises all over again. The donors laud its modest achievements in other areas. Then they announce another big dollop of aid. This year the foreign governments, multilateral agencies and charities pledged $690m, 15% more than last year, thanks to China's decision to join the annual aid-pledging process, thus adding its donations to the total.

The promised aid exceeds the Cambodian government's entire annual tax revenue. Fortunately, in light of how much public money is looted by corrupt officials, most will go directly to poverty-cutting projects without passing through government coffers. As ever, the prime minister, Hun Sen, promised that an anti-corruption law, stuck in parliament for years despite his big majority, would soon be passed. The donors know that the law might make little difference, given how erratically the country's existing laws are applied, especially to those in government circles. But it would at least look like progress.

Not all is bad in Mr Hun Sen's government. Its openness to trade, investment and tourism has boosted economic growth to almost 11%. Public finances are on a sounder footing, and education and health services are slowly improving. Deaths and disappearances of government opponents have almost ceased in recent years. But there is little progress on curbing graft and other abuses.

This was illustrated earlier this month when Global Witness, an environmentalist group, published a detailed dossier alleging involvement in illegal logging by people close to the government. The group spent months seeking responses from those it named. Rather than reply, they waited until the report was published and then reacted in their customary, hysterical manner. The prime minister's brother, Hun Neng, a provincial governor mentioned in it, said that if anyone from Global Witness returned to Cambodia he would “beat him on the head until it broke.”

There was a similarly aggressive reaction to a report this month by Yash Ghai, the United Nations' human-rights envoy to Cambodia, which said assassinations, land-grabbing and other abuses were going unpunished. As in previous years, Mr Hun Sen preferred not to respond to the allegations, but fired off a barrage of personal insults at the envoy.

It is only recently that Mr Hun Sen stopped treating the donor governments and agencies with similar contempt. At least he has stopped biting the hands that feed Cambodia. But, says Erik Illes of SIDA, Sweden's foreign-aid agency, there is “growing frustration” at the lack of progress on corruption and human rights. Mr Hun Sen reminds Western donors that if they get too demanding, he can always rely on China to provide soft loans without strings. The big oil revenues that Cambodia will start earning in the next few years will also reduce foreign donors' leverage, laments Mr Illes.

However, argues Mike Davis of Global Witness, the prime minister craves international respectability as well as cash, and China alone cannot give him this. So the donors, if they united to make tougher demands, could make it clearer that his behaviour is beyond civilised bounds. The trouble is that donor governments and multilateral organisations often assign inexperienced staff to Cambodia. That makes it easier for Mr Hun Sen to bully them into silence.

All Parties Agree: Cambodia Needs the Aid

Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21/06/2007

"Taking aid money was 'not begging'" - Heng Samrin National Assembly President

Ruling and opposition party officials who are usually at odds with one another agree on at least one thing: Cambodia needs the aid money it gets from donors each year.

Billions of dollars in aid have poured into Cambodia since UN-sponsored elections in 1993, and donors agreed Wednesday to give $690 million more. Rights groups said they were disappointed with donors, who continue to give aid to the government without holding it fast to policies of good governance.

While disagreements exist over how much oversight should go along with the aid, no one denies that Cambodia needs the money. Infrastructure, health, education and other institutions remain weak, wracked by war and neglect. Officials said after this week's meeting they intended to direct more money at those problems.

Critics said that without strong anti-corruption measures, aid money doesn't go where it is needed most, and instead finds the pockets of corrupt officials. Meanwhile, the problems of land-grabbing and rights abuse remain, and an anti-corruption law is stagnant.

With corruption siphoning off much needed funds for development, Cambodia risked becoming a permanent aid recipient, critics said, which threatened to turn the country into a beggar nation.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle Thursday said the money was necessary, but some took umbrage with the beggar analogy.

Taking aid money was "not begging," National Assembly President Heng Samrin said. "This is [getting] help from those countries."

National Assembly Finance Committee Chairman Chiem Yeap declined to forecast when Cambodia might stop relying on aid, in grants or loans from foreign governments or development banks.

"It is not different from women having babies. When they feel better, the midwives leave," he said. "We see that we should do things ourselves. But right after the war, our economic infrastructure was down, and we reconstructed our country. It is still not enough for our farmers' necessities, so we cannot pull ourselves away from foreign aid."

Groups unimpressed by Cambodian aid donors [- Chapey master Kong Nai will be evicted from his home also]

21/06/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Cambodia's international donors have pledged $US690 million in aid to the impoverished nation for the next year.

The pledge came after Prime Minister Hun Sen, told the meeting he would get 'in touch' with fight against corruption and land disputes.

But it hasn't impressed the human rights organisations that work with Cambodia's poorest populations who say donors should demand action and not rhetoric.

Bill Bainbridge reports for Radio Australia's Connect Asia programme that master musician Kong Nai lives on the land that once held the National Theatre of Performing Arts in Phnom Penh.

He is one of many artists who established a community on the site after they lost their homes during the devastation of the Pol Pot years.

But now Nai and the rest of his community face eviction. In 2005 their land and that of communities surrounding them, on prime Phnom Penh real estate, was illegally sold.

Now he says he has no idea where he will live.

Human rights organisation Licadho filmed Nai's story. Their Director Naly Pilorge says land grabbing in Cambodia has exploded in recent years.

"Its often done with very little notice, no participation from the communities, and often very violently with the use of weapons and machinary and often the people that are doing the evictions are company guards usually with the authorities, whether the village chief or riot police," Naly Pilorge said.

Aid: The making of a "beggar" Nation

Aid Without Reform Could Make Cambodia a 'Beggar' Nation, Activist Says

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
20/06/2007

Aid without reform and strict guidelines puts Cambodia at risk to become a beggar nation, solely reliant forever on foreign aid and incapable of one day functioning independently, Seng Theary, executive director of the Center for Social Development said Wednesday.

The consultative group of donors Wednesday pledged to give Cambodia $690 million in aid in 2007, raising questions about the number of years Cambodia will be reliant on aid, on how future generations will pay off foreign loans and whether the government was doing a good job with the money.

Governments must not forget that the aid is money from individual foreign taxpayers, so it should be 100 percent relevant to the Cambodian people, Seng Theary said in a VOA Khmer interview. This alone should make the annual aid pledges important to many people.

"There should be strong conditions," she said. Without them, reform won't take place. "That's why we need the donors to do more."

Continued aid without reform risked turning Cambodia into a "beggar," she said.

Projects undertaken by the government that don't succeed should be scrutinized by donors, and poor projects should not receive funding, she said.

Donors need to make sure the aid is being properly spent, and, if it isn't, they should be ready to cut it off, Seng Theary said.

Even as the aid comes in, the government ignored calls from rights groups for greater transparency on government expenditures and debt, she said.

Donors Pledge $690 Million in Aid Increase

VOA Khmer Stringers
Original report from Phnom Penh
20/06/2007

International donors pledged $689 million in aid Wednesday, a 15 percent increase from last year, despite pressure from rights groups that aid be tied to better governance.

Elated Cambodian officials said they had received more than they expected and would spend the money on health, education and infrastructure.

Donors called for the passage of a long-stalled anti-corruption law and said they expected reforms to move faster with the added money.

China, which in past years has not participated in the consultative group meeting, contributed $91 million this year. Japan, Cambodia's largest donor, pledged $112 million.

The aid was tied to conditions pushing the government to pass an anti-corruption law that has been stagnant for years.

Finance Minister Keat Chhon told a local newspaper the amount of aid reflected donors' trust in Cambodia's financial management improvements.

"Why is the amount so much? Because the government has made a lot of effort for strengthening financial management, and the development partners saw our efforts," he said.

The consultative group is made up of 18 donors including the US, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank.

World Bank Country Director Ian Porter called the anti-corruption law "very important" for Cambodia's good governance issues and said donors wanted "to ensure that Cambodia continues to have a good record in terms of growth and poverty reduction."

"The reforms will move ahead faster, particularly areas related actually to…good governance," German Ambassador Pius Fischer told reporters after the meeting.

Mu Sochua, Sam Rainsy Party secretary-general, said donor countries should take responsibility when giving aid, "so that it will go to the Cambodian people."

Her concerns were echoed by others in the rights community, who see continued aid without restrictions as potentially harmful.

"I hope that this time the donor countries take the problem that is a concern to the whole country to the government and ask the government to show results according to the government's promises," said Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho.

Mounted donations mirror donor country's consistent confidence in Cambodia [especially China]

2007-06-20
By Xia Lin & Long Heng

"Additionally, Hun Sen told the givers that his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is confident to win the next general election in 2008 and the national policy will then keep consistent."

PHNOM PENH, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Donor countries here on Wednesday pledged 15 percent more donations for Cambodia in 2007 over 2006, verifying their rising trust and confidence in the impoverished kingdom and its government.

Cambodia is expected to receive over 689 million U.S. dollars in aid from its donor countries in 2007 and the amount will almost stay the same in 2008 and 2009, said Cambodian Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon at a press conference held upon the conclusion of the two-day First Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF).

"The finance will be spent on strengthening the country's overall development" and especially implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in the sectors of good governance, clean water and sanitation, he added.

Meanwhile, according to the government's statement issued on Wednesday at CDCF, or the donor countries' annual meeting, in 2007Japan alone will provide Cambodia with over 112 million U.S. dollars, remaining the largest donor country for Cambodia, while the European Union (EU) will give more than 170 million U.S. dollars.

Earlier this month during his 15th visit to Japan, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed an investment protection agreement with the Japanese government in order to promote its investment status in Cambodia.

This year's rise of donations comes along with the kingdom's achievements of consistent economic boom in the past decade.

According to the government's report, the average annual economic growth rate of Cambodia was 9.8 percent between 1994 and 2006. The macro economic stability peaked in 2005 as the economic growth rate then reached 13.4 percent and later in 2006 slightly down to 10.4 percent.

In addition, said the government's statistics, the income per capita doubled from 249 U.S. dollars in 1994 to 500 U.S. dollars in 2005, and the foreign currency reserves increased from 100 million U.S. dollars in 1994 to one billion U.S. dollars in 2006.

However, on the other side of the coin, with the donations turning out to be much higher than last year's 601 million U.S. dollars, the Cambodian government again scored a victory over the opposition force, NGOs and some foreign countries and organizations, who repeatedly criticized it as too corrupt to deserve the donor countries' trust.

On Tuesday while inaugurating CDCF, Hun Sen assured the participants in this regard with high-profile vows to iron out corruption within his government.

"We have always fight corruption with concrete measures and the government is determined to adopt anti-corruption law as soon as possible," he told the representatives, adding that corruption is "cancer of the society" and must be fought with real actions.

"Even we don't have anti-corruption law yet, we take strict actions to fight corrupt officials," he said.

Recently, he added, seven government officials were punished over illegal logging, two arrested and put into jail for seizing private properties, one accused of conspiracy in state land grabbing and destroying forestry, one another accused of destroying natural resources and ruining environment, and 11 others jailed over cutting forestry illegally in Ratanakiri province.

Additionally, Hun Sen told the givers that his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is confident to win the next general election in 2008 and the national policy will then keep consistent.

"Now Cambodia has about 60 political parties. If CPP wins the next general election, I will continue to lead the country as premier," he said.

The next donor countries' meeting, namely the Second CDCF, is expected to be held in December 2008, two or three months after the general election is wrapped up, he added.

Hun Sen has been country leader since 1985 and transformed Cambodia from a war-torn land into a kingdom with its poverty rate decreasing from 47 percent in 1993 to 35 percent in 2004.

Keat Chhon is all smiles after successfully fooling Aid Donors one more time

Cambodian Finance Minister Keat Chhon, smiles at the end of foreign donors meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, June 20, 2007. Foreign donors pledged US$689 million (euro 514 million) in aid for Cambodia on Wednesday, but also castigated Prime Minister Hun Sen's government for failing to tackle chronic corruption in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Political Cartoon: A Clown & the Aid Donors [- A synopsis of the 2007 CG meeting in one Sacrava cartoon]

Please click on the cartoon above to zoom in
Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

CSD's appeal to help stop Cambodia's corruption will most likely be ignored by donor countries enthralled with Hun Sen's empty promises

Aid providers urged to help stop Cambodia's corruption

20/06/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

International donors are being urged to pressure the Cambodian government to address its corruption problems.

In a report released last December by Cambodia's Centre for Social Development, it is ranked among the worst countries for government corruption.

The Centre's Head of Research, Doctor Chek Sotha has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific program, the Hun Sen government must adopt the anti-corruption legislation it has before it as soon as possible.

She says corruption is hampering economic development in Cambodia.

Doctor Chek says international aid donors must make it clear to Cambodia that they won't provide aid, if corruption is not addressed.

"I think that the donors should put more pressure to the government," she said.

"What the government is doing, corruption can destroy the country and sometimes people in power may get a lot of money from the black market, so that is a problem."

Hun Sen blames politicians and 'bad people' for inciting land disputes

Hun Sen promises to resolve land problems

19 June 2007
By Pov Ponlok
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

At a speech given at the meeting to discuss about aid to be given to Cambodia, on 19 June 2007, besides promising to fight against corruption, Prime Minister Hun Sen also promised to give out state lands to people who need them.

Land dispute is a hot topic in Cambodia, it was also a topic of discussion at the recent UN human rights council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Hun Sen said that the government paid great attention to the land issues which constitute a major problem currently. Hun Sen said that recently, the authority confiscated back some economic concession lands given to a number of private companies.

Hun Sen said that the government plans to turn the confiscated land to people who actually need lands. “Recently, the government decided to cancel the agreement and confiscatec back the concession lands from 5 companies that are not properly following the agreements with the government and not following the letter of the norms in place. And in this issue, I am telling you that I told H.E. Chan Sarun (the minister of agriculture) to continue canceling (the agreements) with a number of companies that are not properly following the rules, and there will be more land confiscated back and they will be put into proper use,” Hun Sen declared.

Hun Sen told the donor countries and aid institutions that he recognized that various land disputes took place in Cambodia, but he said that in some land dispute cases, there are “bad” people and politicians behind them.

Hun Sen added: “In the past, some politicians walk around inciting a number of people to illegally violate and grab state lands or private properties lands by using the slogan: ‘success will get land, failure will get money’. On this issue, I am telling you also that (the government is) working hard to resolve the case of people who really need land because in the past, there were several movements involved in this activity with the backing of politicians or ‘bad people’ who pushed people to grab state lands or lands belonging to others. They used the slogan ‘success will get land, failure will get money’ (to incite people to grab lands), and in some areas, they even use my pictures to present them as Samdech Hun Sen’s development zones, but in reality the bad people and their groups are actually stirring up these issues.”

China adds icing on the "aid" cake rewarded to Hun Sen

Cambodia donors pledge $690 mln in 2007 aid

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, June 20 (Reuters) - Cambodia's international donors pledged $690 million in aid for 2007 on Wednesday, a 15 percent increase on the previous year that reflected recognition of government and economic reforms, a Cambodian official said.

"We received more than we expected. This is a reward for Cambodia's good performance over the last year," senior Finance Ministry official Hang Choun Naron said after a donor conference in Phnom Penh.

A breakdown revealed that much of the increase was accounted for by $91 million from China, which has shunned the collective donor process in previous years, preferring to offer bilateral assistance instead.

Japan remained the biggest contributor, with $112 million.

Twenty percent of the aid was in the form of loans and the rest in grants. Historically, Phnom Penh has relied on foreign aid for more than 60 percent of government spending.

The assistance should provide another boost to the war-scarred southeast Asian nation's economy, which is enjoying near double-digit growth due to relative political stability and booms in the tourism, clothing and construction sectors.

"We are going to spend this money on education, health care, improving infrastructure, rural development and agriculture," Hang Choun Naron said.

The economy grew 10.4 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which expects growth of 9 percent in 2007 and 7.5-8 percent in 2008, making it one of the world's fastest-growing economies, albeit worth only $7 billion.

In a big push to banish the legacy of Pol Pot's "Year Zero" revolution and its estimated 1.7 million victims, Phnom Penh has obtained a B+ credit rating from Standard and Poor's and a B2 from Moodys this year.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than 20 years, announced plans for a stock market in 2009, another sign of the accelerating recovery from the horrors of the "Killing Fields".

Despite this, donors also called for greater commitment to reform of a notoriously corrupt and political judiciary, and swift enactment of draft anti-graft laws that have been gathering dust on the shelves of parliament for years.

Hun Sen's critics accuse him of being an autocrat who has brought stability at the expense of human rights and openness.

Eight Westerners were arrested outside the meeting on Tuesday for campaigning for the release of two men whom rights groups say were framed for the 2004 murder of a prominent union leader.

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth said the group -- three Americans, two Canadians, one New Zealander, one Briton and one Dane -- had been arrested for "protesting illegally".

They were released after signing an agreement not to do so again, police said.

Hun Sen gets $90 million bonus from Donors for broken promises, human rights repression, illegal logging, land grabbing etc... etc...

Cambodia donors pledge $690 mln in 2007 aid

PHNOM PENH, June 20 (Reuters) - Cambodia's international donors pledged $690 million in aid for 2007 on Wednesday, a 15 percent increase on the previous year that reflected recognition of government and economic reforms, a Cambodian official said.

"We received more than we expected. This is a reward for Cambodia's good performance over the last year," Hang Choun Naron, a senior finance ministry official, said after a donor conference in the capital, Phnom Penh.

Political Cartoon: Man of the month, June [June Hun?]

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

Foreigners Questioned Over Protest as Donor Meetings Begin

VOA Khmer Stringers
Original report from Phnom Penh
19/06/2007

Two days of donor meetings beginning in Phnom Penh Tuesday were preceded by the detention of eight foreigners near the meeting site at Wat Phnom for alleged unauthorized protest.

The eight, including three Americans, were questioned Tuesday at police headquarters in Phnom Penh, after calling for the release of Born Samnang and Sok Samoeun, two men serving long prison sentences for a murder rights workers believe they are innocent of.

The detained foreigners—described as NGO and church workers and tourists—were seen driving two trucks with signs calling for justice for the two detained men.

Police said the hanging of such signs amounted to protest, for which the eight had not been given permission.

Meanwhile, talks got underway Tuesday by donor countries to determine the amount of aid the country will receive in the upcoming year.

Last year, donor countries gave more than $600 million in aid, and the government said ahead of the meetings it expected about the same this year. But the meetings come as Cambodia faces a rash of criticisms, especially for stopping increasing land snatches by corrupt officials or unscrupulous speculators.

The government has also come under fire for illegal logging and continued corruption.

Ahead of the meetings, donor representatives said they were concerned with the slow pace of corruption reform, particularly the stalled passage of a proposed anti-corruption law.

"The problem remains mostly in the larger issue of the rule of law, whatever the corruption or judicial reforms, things like that continue to be a problem," US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said.

World Bank Country Director Ian Porter said at the start of the meetings the formation of an anti-corruption law should be a high priority for the government and donors.

In response to these concerns, Prime Minister Hun Sen said the law was an "important issue" and now was an "opportune time" to address it.

However, the prime minister has promised quick passage of the law in the past, without results. He avoided giving a time frame for the law's passage.

Cambodia pleases donor countries with anti-corruption oaths

June 19, 2007

Cambodia here on Tuesday opened its annual donor countries' meeting, with its prime minister Hun Sen repeatedly vowing to fight corruption at any cost to safeguard these donors' confidence in his government.

"We have always fight corruption with concrete measures and the government is determined to adopt anti-corruption laws as soon as possible," he told more than 100 representatives of donor countries and NGOs and top governmental officials at the two-day First Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF).

In addition, Hun Sen even promised to hand over his personal properties to the new government, if his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) fails to win the next general election, apparently in effort to counter the wide-spread allegations that the current CPP government is too corrupt to stay in power in 2008.

"CPP has already appointed me as premier candidate for the general election in 2008, and if CPP fails, I will sign to hand over the properties (of mine) and all the official documents to the new government," he said.

Hun Sen made these remarks at the forum for the Cambodian government, its development cooperation partners and the civil society to dialogue on public policy issues and the associated financing framework on medium term, namely the annual meeting for the donor countries to help the government offset its budget.

While official figures showed that the donors pledged 601 million U.S. dollars in aid for Cambodia in 2006, almost half of its government budget, the kingdom still cherished much higher expectation this year due to its confirmation of rich reserves of oil and natural gas.

However, in recent days, NGOs have verbally attacked the government for corruption, in order to provide tools for the deputies of 18 donor countries and five NGOs at CDCF to press for anti-corruption efforts and contain donations.

At Tuesday's forum, to appease the donors, Hun Sen described corruption as "cancer of the society" and vowed to fight it with real actions.

"Even we don't have anti-corruption law yet, we take strict actions to fight corrupt officials," he said, adding that the government has already established its committee to handle the work.

Recently, he said, seven government officials were punished over illegal logging, two arrested and put into jail for seizing private properties, one accused of conspiracy in state land grabbing and destroying forestry, one another accused of destroying natural resources and ruining the environment, and 11 others jailed over cutting forestry illegally in Ratanakiri province.

Meanwhile, the premier told the representatives that his party is set to win the next election, obviously trying to fuel their confidence in CPP and its continued governance.

According to the law, any political party who wins 50 percent of the votes at the National Assembly plus one more vote can establish the government, he said.

"Now Cambodia has about 60 political parties. If CPP wins the next general election, I will continue to lead the country as premier," he said.

The 50 percent plus one rule can guarantee that no more political deadlock will occur in Cambodia, he added.

Hun Sen has been country leader since 1985 and transformed Cambodia from a war-torn land into a kingdom with macro economic stability for over 10 years.

According to the government's report, between 1994 and 2006, the average annual economic growth rate of Cambodia was 9.8 percent. In 2005 and 2006, the rates respectively stood at 13.4 percent and 10.4 percent.

Source: Xinhua

Cambodia detains eight foreigners

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodian police said Tuesday they had detained at least five foreigners for distributing leaflets urging the release of two men convicted of the murder of a trade union leader during an annual donor meeting.

Daun Penh district police chief Phorn Pheng said at least five people he believed to hold foreign passports had been "invited" to the Phnom Penh municipal police foreigner office but said he could not give details.

"We did invite five people go to the foreigner police office ... They were distributing leaflets outside a meeting while (Cambodian Prime Minister) Hun Sen spoke inside," Pheng said.

He said he could not confirm local media reports which said that as many as eight foreigners were detained, including Americans, Canadians, a New Zealander, a Briton and a Scandinavian, but added that they were not expected to face serious charges.

"I don't know any more information, because they have been transferred from my department now, but I hope and would expect they will be free to go soon," he said.

The two-day annual meeting of most of the aid dependent country's key donors is scheduled to conclude Wednesday, with donors tipped to meet or surpass the 601 million dollars pledged to Cambodia last year.

The foreigners were allegedly distributing leaflets demanding the release of two men convicted of the January 2004 murder of union leader Chea Vichea.

Under criticism by a number of donors, the 2005 convictions for the murder of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have been blasted by human rights groups including Amnesty International as a cover-up. There have been widespread demands for the men's case to be reopened.

The annual donor meeting comes in the wake of the government's recent banning of a negative logging report by London-based environmental group Global Witness and a highly critical report in Geneva last week by Yash Ghai, UN human rights envoy to the Cambodia.

On Saturday, New York-based Human Rights Watch demanded donors make Cambodia more accountable for how it uses aid, claiming human rights abuses and endemic corruption were still rampant despite billions in aid being poured into the country in the past decade.

The meeting comprises key bilateral donors to Cambodia including the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea, and the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.

A yearly ritual: the Comedian Group (CG) meeting in Cambodia - the same begging song, the same broken promises, the same gullible donors

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, left, sits as he attends a donors meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, June 19, 2007. The Cambodian government opened a meeting with foreign donors Tuesday to ask for more aid, amid a barrage of criticism that it has reneged on promises to control rampant corruption. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph Mussomeli, second right, listens during a donors meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, June 19, 2007. The Cambodian government opened a meeting with foreign donors Tuesday to ask for more aid, amid a barrage of criticism that it has reneged on promises to control rampant corruption. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Khieu Kanharith's confidence: "We think that we will get the amount of aid that we have asked for"

Gov't Optimistic on This Year's Aid Disbursement

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18/06/2007

Government officials said Monday ahead of this week's donor meeting they were optimistic aid would continue to flow, despite recent criticism from human rights and advocacy groups.

The Cambodian government will be looking for $600 million from countries including the US and Japan, to support its national budget in two days of meetings that begin Tuesday.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told VOA Khmer that donor countries will give the amount that the government has asked.

"We think that we will get the amount of aid that we have asked for," he said.

The government's confidence comes in the wake of serious accusations of abuse and corruption, including a forestry report by Global Witness that links illegal logging to Prime Minsiter Hun Sen, his cabinet and a powerful "kleptocratic elite." The report, whose findings the government denies, also reprimanded donors for failing to use aid as proper leverage for governmental responsibility.

Other critics say the aid given Cambodia each year does not reach its intended agencies, but instead slips into the coffers of corrupt officials.

Opposition legislator Yim Sovan said donor countries should push harder to abolish corruption and reduce poverty, while pressuring the government to solve a land-grab problem that has grown worse as Cambodia develops. Meanwhile, the government has continually failed to pass an anti-corruption law.

"Up to now, all the promises have no meaning, because up to now, the anti-corruption law has not been in place, so the international community should be aware of this issue," he said. "It should do something to help the government make an anti-corruption law."

Since 1993, the annual donors meeting has elicited promises from Cambodia's leaders that are rarely kept, said Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Adhoc.

"So I think that this year, I still think there is no change from last year," she said.

SRP: Consequences of Government's Unmet Promises on Poverty Reduction Strategies

STATEMENT
to
The First Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum

CONSEQUENCES OF GOVERNMENT'S UNMET PROMISES ON POVERTY
REDUCTION STRATEGIES

Members of Parliaments of the Sam Rainsy Party take careful notice of the detailed report of progress on Joint Monitoring Indicators to be delivered at the first Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum to be held from 19-20 lune, 2007.

This most important gathering of high level stakeholders is a significant occasion to deliberate and to seek improved solutions for matters of major importance to the nation. Among these issues are: deforestation, draft law to combat corruption, public health, education and judiciary reforms. We reiterate our regrets over the government's unfulfilled promises to both the attendees of former Consultative Group (CG) meetings and the Cambodian people, as well as the unacceptable and slow pace of reforms during the past decade. The failure to meet its promises on time is an indicator of the government's noticeable lack of political commitment to necessary reforms for a successful implementation of the National Strategies on Poverty Reduction.

Recommendations on the Occasion of the First Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum

(1) Deforestation: The government of Cambodia needs to adequately address points raised in the report of Global Witness. The failure to provide a reliable report is not a solution to the Cambodian people as existing facts indicate that significant areas of Cambodian's forests have been illegally destroyed by powerful families and a number of high ranking officials who have accumulated questionable fortune which is incomparable to their monthly salaries or justifiable incomes.

An acceptable response of the government to the report issued by Global Witness would be a governmental report that can demonstrate that Cambodia's forests have been preserved and maintained. The government must have the courage to organize visits to the devastated areas mentioned in the report of Global Witness, for parliamentarians, the people, the members of the civil society, donors and the media in order to challenge accusations made by Global Witness.

(2) Land Issues and Evictions: The government must take immediate and efficient measures to stop all forms of land abuse and land grabbing committed by powerful individuals and companies and to render justice to the people who lack land and who have wrongly and forcefully been deprived of their land, their sole source of livelihood.

The government has the duty to efficiently manage and t o provide full guarantees for the protection of state public and private properties.

Transparent and legal bidding procedures must be applied when state private properties are exchanged or sold for any purpose.

The government must take immediate measures to stop evictions of communities without clear plans or acceptable compensations, as staled in the Land Law. The development of a community should be conducted with the full participation and approval of the people, and community evictions are to be avoided al all costs. In case of removal of people from their communities, plans for full infrastructure to include schools, hospital, electricity and water must be put in place and made known to the people affected.

Numerous innocent families have been victims of inhumane actions taken by authorities without any consideration for their right to live in dignity or their right for proper shelter and housing. Adult members of these families were further victimized by these illegal evictions as they lost the right to vote during the April 1, 2007 commune elections.

(3) Corruption: The government must show true will to curb corruption. For over a decade, the government has made the same promise to the donor community to produce a draft law on anti-corruption with international standards. Such a draft law has yet to reach the National Assembly.

An acceptable law on anti-corruption must contain the most fundamental elements:

• A National Authority on Anti-Corruption with full power and independence and its own budget;
• An independent Advisory Board composed of independent members;
• A separate and independent General-Secretariat with full executive power;
• Declaration of assets by high ranking officials;
• Protection of key witnesses.

(4) Judiciary Reforms: The government must demonstrate its full commitment to undertake additional reforms to guarantee full justice and to restore confidence of the people through an independent and neutral judicial system.

It is most apparent that the current judicial system is a tool to be used by people with power and means.

(5) The National Election Committee (NEC): The NEC must be an independent, neutral
and impartial national institution that does not serve any political party.

We urge the donor community to put conditions on the NEC to produce a voter list that is acceptable to all concerned parties. Such a list must reflect the true number of eligible voters.

We urge the Ministry of Interior to issue national identification cards to all adult citizens which can be used on election-day. The MOI must install a system of monitoring to ensure that all ID, cards are distributed without pressure from local police to demand fees from citizens requiring an identification card.

It should be noted that the MOI has made promises to issue identification cards to all eligible citizens for over a decade. We are concerned by the level of corruption that exists in the issuance of identification cards and by the hidden political agenda of the government in the slow pace of such a promise.

(6) Law to Manage Oil Revenue: we are most concerned by the lack of legislation to manage oil revenue and calls on the government to make transparent all contracts signed for the extraction of oil in Cambodia-Conclusion

Conclusion

The Council for the Development of Cambodia has issued a detailed report of progress on Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMI), a set of measurable goals to be achieved in national development. We believe that the targets laid out in the JMIs are sound, reasonable, and forward-looking. We fully support the Actions Needed under each category.

However, the government has been unreasonably slow in acting on the various measures laid out in these plans. The lack of progress in adopting anti-corruption legislation has led to the belief that the government's official support of this objective was made in bad faith. Similarly, nontransparent land reforms and the creeping pace of judicial reforms lead us to believe that what is lacking is not a plan, but rather political will.

In advance of the 2008 elections, we encourage all citizens to consider the slow pace of national development, and to evaluate whether the current leadership has made legitimate use of its position of power to reduce poverty across the country.

Sam Rainsy Members of Parliament

Phnom Penh
17 June, 2007