Cambodia: End of first Khmer Rouge Tribunal deemed a relative success

Saturday, November 28th, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

Many in the international community are calling the first Khmer Rouge Tribunal trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch, a relative success as the trial closed. The Open Society Justice Initiative recently issued a report that the trial “generally satisfied international standards of fairness and due process.” However, according to the report, there have been indications that Cambodian government officials may not participate in future cases, making it difficult to conduct a fair trial for the four Khmer Rouge members awaiting trial: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith.

One marker of success is found in the fact that Cambodians finally had a forum through which they could share their stories. The Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia (ASRIC) collected survivors' testimonies in cities across the United States for use in the Khmer Rouge trials. Above is a video of ASRIC at work.

The Tribunal also increased worldwide awareness of the Khmer Rouge, including this article, which profiles several Cambodians. One of those profiled is Bou Meng, a survivor of the S-21 prison Duch headed, who sought closure in the trial:

For [Meng], having a former S-21 staffer tell him where his wife was killed and buried would also bring a good deal of closure. He cannot perform a traditional Cambodian cremation because it would be too difficult to identify her bones. But, Bou Meng told Duch at the tribunal, if he could find out where she spent her final moments, he would ‘go to that location to get the soil from there to pray for her soul.’

However, neither the staffer nor Duch could remember where Meng's wife spent her last moments.

Another survivor is Dr. Sophal Ear, who fled the Khmer Rouge as a child and is now a professor and TED fellow. Dr. Ear shares his reaction to Duch's trial with a memory of his mother:

I never entirely understood the saying ‘Justice delayed is justice denied.' With my mom's passing at age 73, before she ever saw a single defendant serve a prison sentence, I now understand.

Duch, who had offered his apology during the trial, has now asked for the charges against him to be dropped.

Cambodia: Miss Landmine Pageant Raises Questions

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

“Everybody has the right to be beautiful!” so starts the manifesto of the Miss Landmine pageant, started by Morten Traavik of Norway. According to the pageant site, the competition is intended to empower landmine victims and challenge traditional notions of beauty. The winner receives a high-tech prosthetic limb. Traavik has already organized a Miss Landmine pageant in Angola and was in the process of launching the event in Cambodia this month when the Cambodian government pulled its support and canceled the pageant.

The Mirror reports that other organizations, including the Cambodian Disabled People's Organization, declined to support the pageant after the Ministry of Social Affairs Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation expressed its displeasure with the pageant, citing the event could lead to misunderstandings about disabled people.

Not surprisingly, there have been varied reactions to the landmine pageant.

Jinja says:

I have mixed feelings about the cattle call of beauty pageants, but do agree with the general idea behind this one: that the participants have a right to feel proud about themselves and their appearance, regardless of circumstance. Without condoning [the pageant], I think the cancellation shows how Khmer society is often leaning towards modern and foreign concepts, only to snap back to what [it] feels [is] more traditional and ’safe’.

CAAI News Media posts a reader's reaction, originally printed in a letter to the Phnom Penh Post editor. The reader questions whether or not the beauty pageant format is empowering:

As for beauty, whose concept of beauty is being promoted? I visited the Web site and found the women from different villages in halter tops and short dresses, which may or may not be the clothing that they would usually wear, but it seemed out of place. Are the organisers, while completely well-meaning, pushing a Western interpretation of “empowerment” where beauty and liberation is equated with being sexy and showing skin? I would have rather liked to see the women wearing something they chose, Western or traditional Khmer, modern or conservative, which made them feel their most beautiful.

At Details are Sketchy, there is news that Traavik has left Cambodia, but that he plans on moving forward with the pageant, via an online vote. Above is a photo of pageant contestant Miss Siem Reap from the pageant website.

Cambodia, Thailand: Preah Vihear dispute continues

Monday, July 20th, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices

The ancient Temple of Preah Vihear rests on the Cambodian and Thai borders. Exactly which country can claim Preah Vihear has been a source of contention between the neighboring countries. Since the July 2008 inscription by UNESCO, there has been violence in the region between Cambodian and Thai soldiers.

The ancient Temple of Preah Vihear, which, according to UNESCO, dates back to the eleventh century and is dedicated to Shiva, rests on the Cambodian and Thai borders. Exactly which country can claim Preah Vihear has been a source of contention between the neighboring countries. In 1962, the International Court of Justice, acting on an application by the Cambodian government, ruled that the Temple is within Cambodian territory. In July 2008, UNESCO listed the Temple as a World Heritage Site, citing its “unique architectural complex.”

Photo below by paniek at Flickr.

Two boys sit in the Temple. Photo by paniek at Flickr.

Since the July 2008 inscription by UNESCO, there has been violence in the region between Cambodian and Thai soldiers. However, as The Mirror reports, various Cambodian government officials have denied that the UNESCO listing is the reason behind the violence. Thailand has urged that UNESCO re-list the Temple so that it would be jointly managed by Thailand and Cambodia. The Mirror notes:

Based on the relevant UNESCO documents, and referenced here point by point, we bring additional information related to the procedures of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the listing of the Sacred Site of the Temple of Preah Vihear, which led to military confrontations, the loss of human life on both sides, and a sharp decline of tourism – all this has been reflected in different degrees in the Mirror during the last year.

Unfortunately, and to our surprise – in spite of the wide emotional concerns related to the Preah Vihear listing – the press in Cambodia has not reported much about the delicate and detailed legal and contractual arguments at the basis of the listing as a World Heritage Site, and the future obligations entered into by the Cambodian government.

But if the Cambodian press is failing to report on the implications of the listing, the Cambodian government is very much aware of the UNESCO designation. The Cambodian government recently recognized the one-year anniversary of UNESCO's listing with singing, dancing and speeches. Photos of the event are available on Monkgol's blog and at Khmerization.

Video of the festivities is available as well.

TVK Khmer News- 7 July 2009-2 Preah Vihear (UNESCO)
Uploaded by KampongSpeu. - Explore more music videos.

TVK Khmer News- 7 July 2009-2 Preah Vihear (UNESCO)
Uploaded by KampongSpeu.

The animosity between the two countries has manifested online as well, as Kounila Keo points out in her post entitled “I Love Khmer vs. I Love Thailand” about competing websites ilovethailand.org
and ilovekhmer.org.

Details are Sketchy, with comments from ThaRum, reports that the ilovethailand.org site is blocked in Cambodia, but it is unclear which side is censoring the site.

As hostilities continue, Sopheap Chak charges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (”ASEAN”) for not fulfilling its duty to “promote regional peace and stability.” In an editorial published in UPI Asia, Chak writes that ASEAN's passivity in the Preah Vihear matter is unacceptable. Chak writes that “[i]t seems that ASEAN is simply irrelevant when it comes to member states’ security…[and that continued lack of action will mean] ASEAN cannot continue to be considered a crucial regional body.”

Cambodia: Report outlines Khmer Rouge Tribunal's latest troubles

Tribunal support sticker (Photo by Arwens Abendstern on Flickr and licensed through Creative Commons.)

Monday, June 22nd, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

A report by the Open Society Justice Initiative details the latest issues to plague the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The report, released in late May 2009, states the Tribunal's legitimacy is threatened by charges of corruption and political interference. The report states:

The government of Cambodia and the United Nations have failed as yet to agree on a credible process for addressing complaints of corruption. This leaves staff who may be victims of corrupt practices bereft of a viable remedy or complaint mechanism that they can pursue without fear of putting their jobs or safety at risk.

In addition to discussing the charges of corruption and political interference, the report provides an update of events at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia. The full text of the report is available here.

But the Tribunal could also fail on a technicality. KI Media posted a story from VOA Khmer revealing that the jailed senior leaders may be released from detention before their trials start because the Tribunal has proceeded at such a slow pace.

Four of the senior-most leaders of the failed regime—Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith—have reached the midway points of their provisional detentions, and yet none has seen trial. Some observers worry about a release of those four in early 2010, but others argue that authorities will have to find ways to keep them detained.

The corruption charges were discussed in a prior GV post. The Cambodian government has denied interfering with the Tribunal, including preventing judges of the court from interviewing witnesses who are current government employees.

Cambodia: Doubts over the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Saturday, April 25th, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is now weeks into its first trial with the prosecution of Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. But as the trial continues, many wonder how effective the Tribunal will be in achieving national reconciliation, one of the goals of the project. Two major problems are allegations of corruption related to Tribunal funds and the limited number of indictments.

The corruption charges against the Cambodian government concern misuse of Tribunal funds, which were mostly donated by other countries. News reports are available here and here as well as an interview with the lawyer defending Nuon Chea, one of the defendants awaiting trial, posted at CAAI News Media.

Another issue for the Tribunal is that so few of the Khmer Rouge members will be put on trial. The scope of indictments is limited to the senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

KI Media posted a piece by retired professor A. Gaffar Peang-Meth from the University of Guam, in which he writes:

The trouble is, the trial of a mere five Khmer Rouge leaders for the death of about two million people in 1975-1979 is far from adequate to bring justice and national reconciliation to Cambodians, to begin healing and promote peacebuilding in the country.

Sopheap Chak does not believe the Khmer Rouge Tribunal will bring justice, in part, because:

The foreign countries that supported the Khmer Rouge, or acted as the main catalyst for the emergence of this cruel regime, will not be brought to court. The tribunal’s regulations indicate clearly that only individuals who committed crimes will be tried.

Chak also does not believe the Tribunal will be able to reconcile the country:

For Cambodian society, real reconciliation will be found only when trust returns between individuals; when they can smile at and trust each other again. Thus, a national dialogue or truth commission should be set up so that people, especially the victims, can fully participate to address their suffering and their needs.

Cambodia: Rice politics

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet. It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations. Some Cambodians are frustrated over land leases to neighboring Vietnam. They are concerned the leases will evolve into ownership changes, resulting in a reduction of Cambodian territory.

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet. It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations.

A post on The Mirror reveals the frustration of Cambodians, including Cheam Yeap, a Cambodian People's Party official, over land leases to neighboring Vietnam. From the Mirror, citing Cheat Khmer, Vol.1, #40, 18.3.2009:

Thousands of hectares of citizen’s land lying along the Yuon [Vietnamese] border of An Giang Province, bordering Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, are being leased to Yuon companies by Khmer authorities along the Yuon border to grow agro-industry crops. The Phnom Penh Post published an article on 26 February 2009, quoting the Svay Rieng governor, Mr. Cheang Am, that 10,000 hectares of land in Svay Rieng are prepared to be leased to Yuon companies along the border and also, the Prey Veng governor, Mr. Ung Samy, told the Phnom Penh Post that he will discuss with Yuon officials in Yuon [Vietnam] about the leasing of rice fields along the border to Yuon companies to come to do rice cultivation in Khmer territory.

Yeap is concerned the leases will evolve into ownership changes, resulting in a reduction of Cambodian territory. Others, like Prum Soanara, an engineer, thinks the land is best utilized if given to the country's own citizens to cultivate rice.

KI Media highlights the problem of illegally imported rice with an article from the Nation:

The Thai Rice Exporters' Association and the Board of Trade of Thailand (BoT) will soon propose that the Commerce Ministry set up a Public Warehouse Organisation as an “import agency” to oversee rice imports once the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) eliminates all import tariffs.

The agency would institute measures to protect Thai farmers, such as requiring imported rice only be used for raw purposes in manufacturing. However, exporters are worried such protections encourage those seeking to manipulate the system, thereby increasing the amount of illegally traded rice, including rice grown in Cambodia.

In addition to its practical roles, rice is symbolic of Cambodian culture, as this video shows. This piece from Khmer Civilization involves images of rice from farm to market:

Cambodia: Report accuses elite of theft

Saturday, February 7th, 2009





By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices

Global Witness, a non-governmental organization based in London released Country for Sale on February 5, 2009. The report warns that Cambodia risks descending into a kleptocracy, alleging that large sums of monies paid to the government are benefiting the ruling elite instead of the people of Cambodia.

Vuthasurf reiterates the report's charges while highlighting the role of private companies:

"Private sector companies also have a role to play in improving the governance of Cambodia’s extractive industries. So far over 75 companies are working in Cambodia’s extractive sectors, including some internationally known operators such as Chevron and BHP Billiton. Country for Sale documents how many of these companies have already paid significant upfront sums to the government."

At KI Media, Heng Soy posted an article from Voice of America. Comments to the KI Media post reveal resignation and anger. One anonymous commenter, like Vuthasurf, emphasized actions of private companies:

"[I]f this is true at all, perhaps, the companies who bought the rights to invest or bought the monopoly are the ones to blame for encouraging and tolerated corruption."

Al Jazeera coverage includes an interview with Gavin Hayman of Global Witness:

Global Witness also published a report on illegal logging in 2007, Cambodia's Family Tree. The Cambodian government banned that report.