Message to Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema and Phnom Penh police commissioner Touch Naroth from an anonymous reader

A Nation in Grief - A Nation Transformed

A Cambodian man carries the body of his son killed in a stampede, at Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. Thousands of people stampeded during a festival in the Cambodian capital late Monday, leaving over three hundred dead and scores injured in what Prime Minister Hun Sen called the country's biggest tragedy since the 1970s reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge. (Photo: AP)

A Nation in Grief - A Nation Transformed

Working Together as a Nation for the Safety and Security of Our People

November 25, 2010

The tragic deaths of our people leave our bodies numb. However, action must be taken for those who survived the tragedy and for the children who are now orphans. As a lawmaker, I will join my colleagues and many others in ensuring that an independent investigation will be conducted and the truth be told. Most important of all, that our people can depend on a safety and security system that is competent and trustworthy.

Thousands attended the annual three-day water festival on Koh Pich, located outside Phnom Penh. Most of the people were from the countryside, making their annual visit to the city of Phnom Penh to celebrate the festival, one of the most popular in Cambodia. Hundreds of people crossed a bridge over to the mainland when a stampede formed, crushing at least 385 people to death and causing severe injuries to hundreds of others. The majority of the victims were women from rural provinces outside the capital. Their souls are still will us and will be with us till the truth is told.

We will remember the terror of those who were trapped on the bridge, the horror of the survivors who had to let go of the hands of their children, sisters and brothers - as they were trying to grasp for air. We will remember the rows of bodies covered in white cloth, the cries of the families while searching for their loved ones. We will never forget.

Safety and Security - A System that can be trusted by the people

The Ministry of Interior should make public its policy on public safety and security in times of peace and in emergencies.

According to experts, there are clear standards and measures to control a crowd and to prevent panic and stampede. The question we need to ask the Ministry of Interior and the Phnom Penh Governor is: what are the full details of the plan for safety and security of the public? Was there a contengency plan for crises?. Furthermore, we need to know the experience and expertise of police officers on crowd dynamics. We also need to know, how information was passed on to the high ranking officials when the crowd surpassed the capacity limit on the bridge and on the premises of the entertainment facilities on the island. And where were these high ranking officials to guide the security police assigned to the Koh Pich? What are the details of the arrangements made between the governor of Phnom Penh and the owner of those facilities? What insurance plan covers liabilities on the island, a private facility used for public events?

Witnesses and survivors of the 22/11 stampede speak of police using water hoses against the crowd that caused further panic. When approach to crowd control is the use of force for crack-down - same measures taken in the past to crack-down demonstrators - the people then become the " enemies" and not human beings.

In order to have checks and balances in the search for the causes of the Koh Pich tragedy , there should be true independent and a by-partisan parliamentarian committee, a committee by civil society and concerned citizens, to investigate all causes that have now left Cambodia in a state of uncertainty and deep grief. High ranking officials of the Minsitry of Interior should not be part of the government investigation committee as they were the ones in charge of the water festival events and negligence occured. There should be a committee formed by the families of the victims and survivors, to conduct their own investigation and to formulate their request for fair and just compensation from the company that owns Koh Pich. All testimonies collected by any investigation committee should be public records and the protection and safety of all those who are coming forward with information that holds the key to the truth should be ensured.

Compensations to the families of the victims and to the survivors are not enough to let the souls of our sisters and brothers to move on in peace, there need to be courage from those in charge to face the responsibility and accountability which come with the position they each hold.

We pay respect to all police officers, medics, and civilians who showed true courage and heroism in saving lives.

We continue to be with the families of the vicitms whose sacred memories will be held forever.

Koh Pich stampede has transformed the nation - the people want a true share of governance and a democratic system that decentralize powers and engagement of ideas and opinions for a united Cambodia.

Mu Sochua, MP

Sam Rainsy Party

Cambodia: AHRC expresses sympathy, calls for investigation of stampede

Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza

The AHRC wishes to express the deepest sympathies to the people of Cambodia in the aftermath of the Bon Om Touk festival stampede that this Monday night left at least 375 dead and 755 injured according to Cambodia’s Bayon TV.

Prime Minister Hun Sen recognized Monday night as "the biggest tragedy we have experienced in the last 31 years, since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime." The majority of those who perished were from rural areas. An estimated two-thirds of those who died were women, less able to fight their way from the crowds, indicating the extreme vulnerability of Cambodian women to disaster.

The AHRC calls for the government of Cambodia to adequately care for survivors and the families of those killed. Further, the government must thoroughly investigate the causes of the stampede as well as responses by police, emergency personnel, and hospitals to ensure such a tragedy does not occur again.

While the exact cause of the stampede last night remains unclear, with contradictory reports indicating it may have been instigated by either crowd antics or poor construction of the bridge to Koh Pich island, the failure of the state to control the crowd and limit the damage from the stampede is clear. Eyewitness reports state that the military used water cannons on the crowd after the stampede began, with the effect of causing electric shocks when the water intersected with the electric wiring on the bridge. In addition to death by crushing, suffocation, and drowning, there were multiple deaths due to electricity. The instances of electrocution must have stemmed from either the electric wiring on the bridge or military intervention. In either case, the government must investigate and make restitution.

It is clear, too, that Phnom Penh was unprepared for any large-scale disaster. Responses by police and military were lacking and may even have contributed to the stampede while hospitals were overwhelmed. Emergency and medical personnel resorted to piling bodies together, covering them with mats or sheets. Families were forced to attempt to lift sheets over bodies placed in makeshift morgue tents outside of the hospital or wander through corridors looking for victims. The capital possessed only 60 coffins altogether, requiring that others be gathered from outlying areas in order to provide accommodation for the bodies as they were prepared for identification and transport from the four major hospitals in the area.

About the Author:

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza is a young American scholar presently engaged with the AHRC as an intern.

About AHRC:

The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

"I think the government and the owners of the Diamond Island have to be responsible for the tragedy": Sat Narith, student at the National University of Cambodia

Question raised on accountability for stampede on national mourning day

by Zhuli Ngoun Sovan

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- When Meas Neang bent down and plug joss sticks into the burner on the altar, the sorrow seemed so heavy that she could hardly stand up again.

"I am not blaming any small and big officials, I just wonder why 'happiness turned to anguish'," said the 57-year-old woman, who came from Kandal province to Phnom Penh to dedicate lotus buds and incense sticks to those killed in Monday's stampede.

She was worried that she might lose her younger brother forever in the tragedy, which, in the final day of the traditional Water Festival, claimed at least 347 lives and injured more than 300 others.

"My brother has gone missing since the stampede. He said he came to enjoy the Water Festival in Phnom Penh and asked me for 100,000 riel ($25) to enjoy the festival," she said, tears in eyes. And after that she had never heard anything about him. "I cannot find him, we asked our relatives, no one has seen him. And it has been three days."

The mourning rite site is right at the entrance of the bridge connecting Diamond Island and the mainland of the capital city. Monday night on that bridge, thousands of joyful people began to panicked on some rumor that the "bridge is collapsing," and the subsequent stampede killed hundreds of them.

As Thursday was announced the National Mourning Day for the dead, since early morning thousands of mourners have lined up and paid their homage to the dead, laying lotus, flowers, bananas, food and burning buddhist joss sticks to pray for the dead to rest in peace.

The official mourning rite begun at 7 a.m. as Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany Hun Sen showed up and offered incense sticks, followed by the top and lower-ranking government officials, senators, parliamentarians, monks, civil servants, private companies, ordinary people and students.

The entrance of the bridge has been piled with lotus, flowers, incense sticks and dozens of wreaths.

All schools, government agencies and private enterprises across the country fling flags at half-mast and all the places of amusement will keep closed till midnight.

As the initial shock, worry and sorrow faint, however, people began to raise questions why a tragedy like this happened.

"I just can't understand why so many people were killed; I wonder why the throngs were intertwined together and were hard to separate them; I also wonder now that the festival was very big and very crowded, why the security guards do not warn the people about the danger, " said Neang.

Sat Narith, 21, a student at the National University of Cambodia, said that she was very grieved with the unexpected accident in her country. "I would like to share my condolence with the families of the dead. I don't have any friend or relative suffered from the stampede, but I, as a Cambodian, came to mourn the dead," said she.

"I think the government and the owners of the Diamond Island have to be responsible for the tragedy," said she, adding that the government should strengthen its security forces to prevent such accident from happening again in the future. "They should warn people about the danger when it is too crowded," Narith said.

Om Yinteang, vice-chairman of the anti-terrorism unit and vice-chairman of the special committee for the accident investigation said Thursday that 395 injured are being hospitalized in various hospitals in the capital city and among them 20 to 25 percent are still in critical condition.

Drew McDowell, an American working in Phnom Penh, told reporters he was a Buddhist believer, after he offered the incense sticks to the altar.

"I am here to mourn the dead and one friend of mine was injured, "said the country manager of NGO-Village Earth in Cambodia.

His friend, a 14-year-old girl, used to be in the coma for two hours after surviving the stampede, and was still in the hospital. "now she can't walk properly yet, but she's recovering," he said.

He seemed still not able to accept what happened three days ago. "I work with young people in Cambodia for one and a half year and so many young Cambodia people just had died terribly. I still can't believe," said he.

Yes, a lot of motions had been taken by the government to look at in this accident, he said; and though not sure who should be blamed for this fault, he insisted "it's a lesson to be learnt for the government for the future -- they should not encourage so many people to converge at a small place like this bridge."

Koh Pich Bridge Stampede Tragedy: The Preventable Human Disaster that Should Have Been Prevented

Thursday, November 25, 2010
Opinion by Sopheada Phy,
Heinz Fellow, University Center for International Studies,
University of Pittsburgh

Koh Pich Bridge stampede was an unpredictably preventable tragedy that claimed the life of over 400 people and left about many hundreds more injured during the panic stampede on Koh Pich Bridge in the capital city Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Such a tragedy happened in the last day, November 22th, 2010, of Water Festival, one of the biggest traditional festivals in the country. This story shocked the world and was quickly and widely published and broadcasted on most of the media around the world, even just in local newspapers in many other countries besides Cambodia. The world was stunned and at the same time wondered why such a preventable catastrophe could easily happen.

Regarding the causes of the calamity, some raised by the eyewitnesses. Some claimed that the stampede happened due to a panic that the bridge might collapse since the bridge was packed by the crowd of thousands of people passing back and forth and people might not be aware that it is the suspension bridge that is easily to be swayed; some said it is due to the polices firing water cannon on the crowd just to make them move faster to avoid human traffic jam that this could get some people electrocuted etc.

Whatever reason is, strategically speaking, this happened due to the weak mechanism and inability of authorities in ensuring the safety of the people during the festival. The authorities should have ensured, since the bridge is too small and narrow (about 8 meters wide and 100 meters long) that there are some space left for passengers to walk comfortably, not letting them pack to each other even having no space to just stand. Some might say the public is not cooperative, but if there is any serious speech or statement made by the authorities in the public through loudspeakers, the public is very cooperative since to some extent, they respect or are afraid of the authorities. However, this means that even the authorities or those in charge of organizing the festival themselves would have never thought of such a disastrous calamity. This really shows the weakness and carelessness of those responsible. When this happened, no authorities around, only after about an hour or so were they just arrive; when they arrived, it is already late to rescue the victims, especially the already dead, since they were tightly packed to each other, but it was even too late when they did not know how to rescue the victims upon arrival at the scene; this is because they might have not been trained on emergent rescue.

Also, when the injured were brought to the hospitals, there were not enough rooms and space for the patients, not enough staff, not enough equipment, and even worse, most of the equipment are not technologically up-to-date. There are about four big public hospitals in Phnom Penh; all these hospitals could not accommodate about 1,000 patients; this means that the country does not have any mechanisms to prepare for such a huge disaster; the government was just so careless. Even without talking about such an unexpected catastrophe, those hospitals still could not accommodate the daily patients since hospital beds and rooms are inadequate, that make some patients stay on the sidewalk of the hospital buildings.

Death toll keeps rising; it was first just about 300 people dead, but now it rose up to over 400; this really shows the collapse of the public health care in Cambodia. Health care is one of the most prioritized sectors that the government should pay much attention on. Cambodia is already lucky that it has never ever been suffered from big natural disasters such as earthquake, volcano eruption etc., except some occasional floods caused by climate change due to the misuse of the environment of particularly those in power, without mentioning about the weak mechanism and poor risk management of the government in preventing those floods. Such a “HUMAN DISASTER” would have been easily prevented if risk management could have been well planned and implemented; this is just the thing happened due to human disaster, so what if it happened due to "natural disaster" like earthquake etc., as examples from other countries around the world, Cambodia might fall into even worse a preventable tragedy.

I have been shocked and heartbreaking when I first heard the news. In the news, some families lost all the children, some victims were just couple, and even sadly worse a disable single mother lost her two daughters; you could imagine how hard life is to live alone with trauma like the case of a disable single mother above. I could understand well about the feeling of the families of the victims since I was already heartbreakingly experienced of losing my parents; briefly noted, my mother passed away due to particularly inability, immorality, and even inhumanity of some doctors in Cambodia; it was really traumatized that no single word could describe how traumatized it is to lose family members.

I just want to share this idea to raise awareness of those responsible and accountable, the government, and also the public to rethink about such a tragic catastrophe, which left so much sorrow and trauma with victims, the relatives of the victims, and the public in general. Such a preventable human disaster should have not never ever happened at all, but happened in the country, which could be considered as the only special case in the world’s 21st Century although the different, but similar story was happened in Iraq in 2005 during the Baghdad Bridge stampede caused by the terror acts that claimed the life of about 1,000 people. This is really shamefull!

Stampede casts lingering shadow over Cambodia's Water Festival [-Xinhua calls for detailed, complete and transparent investigation to prevent future occurrences]

By Zhu Li, Zhang Ruiling

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- In the coming years, the Water Festival at Diamond Island will unlikely carry the traditional festive mood; instead it may become a time of mourning of this year's stampede, a tragedy that consumed at least 375 lives and injured more than 700 others.

The three-day festival, on the full moon days of the Buddhist month of Kadeuk (usually in November), celebrates a major natural occurrence: the reversing flow between the Tonle Sap and the Mekong River.

It is seen as the largest and most exuberant festival in Cambodia, as people from provinces and rural areas will come all the way to the capital city and take part in all kinds of celebrations from fluvial parades, dragon boat races, fireworks to general merriment. The turnout is usually large, and this year the officials had estimated 3 million people from all over the country would fill Phnom Penh up.

The Diamond Island, in the Bassac River neighboring the capital city, became a new eye-catching destination of them since it was the first time that the shiny, modern entertainment complex opened to the public during the festival.

Nobody thought about whether the 8-meter-wide, 100-meter-long bridge is capable of such a big pedestrian flow. So Monday night around 9:30 p.m., when some rumor triggered panic, the tightly packed crowd who tried to flee found themselves trapped on the bridge desperately. As more and more people struggled to rush toward the exit, hundreds were suffocated, trampled, or drowned to death after they jumped into the river.

While this is not the time to finger pointing, but a tragedy of this degree of seriousness and with a high toll in lost of lives, deserves a detailed, complete and transparent investigation to prevent future occurrences.

Lieutenant General Sok Phal, deputy chief of the National Police and vice-president of the special committee for the accident investigation, said on Wednesday the primary assessment was, after inspecting the site and talking with victims and eyewitnesses, that the swinging of the bridge is the cause of the accident.

"It's a kind of suspension bridge, but people were not aware of it and when it (the bridge) swung, some four or five people on it felt dizzy and fainted, which triggered a rumor that the bridge was collapsing," said he, adding that the bridge in fact was in good condition.

Sok Phal said that the deaths were from suffocation and stampede, ruling out the possibility of terrorism or electrocution.

A government official who requested not to be named, however, said Tuesday that it was a lesson learned for Phnom Penh authorities and police as well as medical staff to be well prepared for such important and large event.

"During such large and important event, the authorities must have evacuation plan, fire lane and standby medical team," he said, adding that few precautions were taken before and during the event.

The official estimated there were about 20 to 25 people were fully packed in a square meter on the bridge just before the accident happened.

The police teams seemed not to pay enough attention to human flow control. A Westerner who crossed the bridge in the first day of the festival wrote that "the closest security I could find were occupied making sure none of the crowds sat on the wall of the casino (Naga Casino near the bridge)," and the nearest police were busy with manning road blocks and collecting money from motorists entering designated pedestrian areas.

Accident is nothing new for Cambodia's water festival. The last time the festival saw a tragedy was in 2007, when five Singaporeans were killed after their dragon boat, carrying 22 men, capsized at the end of a race. Seventeen Singaporeans were also injured in the accident.

However, magnitude of the latest tragedy, which the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen described as the biggest disaster the country had experienced after the Pol Pot regime, should make people ponder what we can do to guarantee public safety.

Analysts said an Emergency Plan should be in place for an event with such a massive attendance; and when the amount of people is overwhelming, an already-there evacuation plan would help a lot.

On Monday on news of the stampede, the police and rescue teams were quick to respond but the police cars, fire trucks and ambulances could hardly move as the streets toward the bridge were all overcrowded.

Unlike in a natural disaster where element of act of god take cause towards devastating outcome, the stampede is not a case of beyond human control. It is preventable and the organizer should have anticipated and put in proper crowd control measures.

Pung Kheau Se, President of Canadia Bank and owner of Diamond Island as well as its bridge, expressed the same opinion as he came up at Calmette Hospital Tuesday to send condolences to the victims there.

"Nobody expected a tragedy like this would happen, and the control of pedestrian flow will be the main preventive measure we take in the future," he said, adding that it just did not occur to him there would be such an overwhelming number of people.

The government swiftly announced compensation: about 1,250 U.S. dollars to each household of the dead, and 250 dollars to each injured, Hun Sen had also ordered to establish a special committee to conduct investigation on the causes and accountability.

While it is difficult to find comfort for those who lost their loved ones in such a public tragic incident, the willingness by the government to conduct thorough post-event investigation and the resolution showed to prevent future tragedy like this would gradually reduce the pain of them and hopefully make the day of joyful water festival return sooner.

Cambodia's Bon Om Touk Stampede Preventable

November 24, 2010
Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza
Political consultant and writer
Asian Human Rights Commission
Posted at The Huffington Post

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Bon Om Touk festival stampede that this Monday night caused at least 378 deaths and left more than 700 injured also left open questions about Cambodia's government and its handling of the disaster.

Prime Minister Hun Sen recognized Monday night as "the biggest tragedy we have experienced in the last 31 years, since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime." The majority of those who perished were from rural areas. An estimated two-thirds of those who died were women, less able to fight their way from the crowds, indicating the extreme vulnerability of Cambodian women to disaster.

The government of Cambodia now faces the responsibility of attending to survivors and the families of those killed. Further, the government must thoroughly investigate the causes of the stampede as well as responses by police, emergency personnel, and hospitals to ensure such a tragedy does not occur again. While the exact cause of the stampede last night remains unclear, with contradictory reports indicating it may have been instigated by either crowd antics or poor construction of the bridge to Koh Pich island, the failure of the state to plan for and control the crowd then limit the damage from the stampede is clear.

Poor event planning and management contributed to the disaster. Organizers set up two bridges, 200 meters apart -- one to permit attendees to cross to Koh Pich and a second to permit them to cross back to the city -- but then did not enforce traffic directions. The bridge nearest to the festivities became overrun with people attempting to move in both directions. In the midst of a festival packed with millions of people, the result of conflict and crowding on the bridge was to create the perfect environment for widespread panic.

Military and police attempts to control the crowd may have exacerbated fear and confusion and caused further fatalities. Eyewitness reports state that the military used water cannons on the crowd after the stampede began, electrocuting and killing some of those trapped on the bridge when the water hit exposed electric wiring. The government is directly responsible for the stampede deaths and must make restitution, but restitution cannot be counted only in riel. The Cambodian government owes its people more than the 5 million riel ($1,230) promised to the families of those killed and the 1 million riel ($246) allotted to those who sustained injuries -- the government must make a substantive effort to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Phnom Penh was unprepared for any form of large-scale disaster. Responses by police and military were lacking and may even have contributed to the stampede while hospitals were overwhelmed. Emergency and medical personnel resorted to piling bodies together, covering them with mats or sheets. Families were forced to try to gain access to makeshift morgue tents outside of hospitals to lift the sheets draped over bodies or wander through corridors looking for victims. The capital had only 60 coffins available for victims, requiring that others be gathered from outlying areas to transport bodies as they were identified and claimed by families at the four major hospitals in the area. On Monday, Cambodia's government failed its people at all levels.

Cambodia receives $84.7 million grant from World Bank, aid donors

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 14 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Cambodia received $84.7 million in aid pledges Wednesday from the World Bank and other donors for three development projects aimed at reducing poverty and improving Cambodians' livelihood.

In a press statement, the World Bank said $52.1 million is earmarked for improving the health of underprivileged mothers and children, $20 million for projects aimed at improving the government's accountability and responsiveness to public needs, and $12.6 million for removing trade barriers and improving the standard of Cambodian exports.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon pledged the Cambodian government will "utilize these grants in an efficient, accountable and transparent manner."

World Bank Country Director Annette Dixon said she hopes the grants will give crucial support to the Cambodian government's efforts to reduce poverty and ensure Cambodians enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods.

Apart from the World Bank, other donors that contributed to the grants include Britain, Australia, Denmark, the European Commission and the U.N. Industrial Development Organization.