Wednesday, 20 February 2008

Cambodia deports American national for allegedly making threat to US Embassy

2008-02-20

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Cambodia will deport an American man who was arrested after allegedly making a comment threatening the security of the U.S. Embassy, a senior police official said Wednesday.

The man told police he was a U.S. war veteran and was venting his anger over insufficient support he has received from the American government, said Lt. Gen. Sok Phal, a deputy chief of the national police.

He declined to reveal his name.Sok Phal added, however, that the man - arrested Tuesday night - appeared disoriented.

"We will deport him and ban him from entering Cambodia again," Sok Phal said.

The arrest occurred as part of an investigation into a purported threat that prompted the deployment of additional Cambodian security personnel around the embassy in the capital, Phnom Penh, Monday night.

Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle said more guards were brought to the embassy after it received information concerning security.

He declined to discuss the nature of the information or how it was obtained and would not comment on the arrest.

Daigle said the embassy did not feel the information amounted to a threat, but that the Cambodian police decided "to put a few extra officers around the embassy just for that evening."

Spain's Queen Sofia, visit to a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh

Spain's Queen Sofia claps during a visit to a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Queen Sofia listens during a visit to a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Queen Sofia of Spain claps during her tour of Tom Dy, Rehabilitation and Profession Center for Women and Children Victims of Traffic and Sexual Exploitation, one of AFESIP, the French acronym for Acting for Women in Distressing Situations, on the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is scheduled to tour the northwestern provinces of Cambodia during her four-days visit to the country which began Tuesday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Spain's Queen Sofia greets a child during a visit to a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Spain's Queen Sofia greets children at a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Spain's Queen Sofia greets a child at a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Spain's Queen Sofia greets children at a rehabilitation centre for women and children victims of sexual exploitation on the outskirts of Phnom Penh February 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is in Cambodia for a four-day state visit.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea (CAMBODIA)
Spain's Queen Sofia, center, walks during her tour of Tom Dy, Rehabilitation and Profession Center for Women and Children Victims of Traffic and Sexual Exploitation, one of AFESIP, the French acronym for Acting for Women in Distressing Situations, on the outskirt of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. Queen Sofia is scheduled to tour the northwestern provinces of Cambodia during her four-days visit to the country which began Tuesday.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

US embassy in Phnom Penh receives terrorist threat

The Nation

The US embassy in Cambodia was given a terrorist threat, prompting the Cambodian authority to send police and military police to protect the US embassy, said a government official.
Khieu Sopheak, the spokesman of the ministry of interior on Tuesday confirmed that there was an attack threat against the US embassy.

"The threat was made through a message sent to a media company which informed the US embassy on the threat. The US embassy told the authority and we sent our forces to protect the embassy," the spokesman said.

"In addition, we also made an investigation and now we knew the identity of the suspect", he added.

He refused to give more detail about the suspect who made the threat against the US embassy.

During his visit to Koh Kong, Joseph Mussomelli, the US ambassador said that there was a threat which was made through an email sent to a media company which then informed the US embassy.

"However, we should not pay too much too much attention to the threat as it doest not pose any security or safety threat to us", the US ambassador said. "We were not concerned about the threat", he added.

The ambassador said that In Cambodia, we feel confident about the security and safety to move around and for instance he came to Koh Kong without any bodyguard.

A police source said that after the authority was informed about the threat against the US embassy several hundreds of police and military police-both in uniform and civil clothes- were sent to protect the US embassy and the residence of the US ambassador. The armed forces were also deployed near the French and British embassies.

By Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper

Sacravatoons: " The Dead End Politik "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon : http://sacrava.blogspot.com/

Sacravatoons: " Candle Light for the Darkness Cambodia "

Courtesy of Sacravatoon : http://sacrava.blogspot.com

Hun Sen thanks ADB

Thailand can be a haven for those fleeing the United States

Los Angeles Police/ASSOCIATED PRESS, Morgan Michelle Hoke is accused of bank robberies.


THAI ROYAL POLICE
Authorities say Morgan Michelle Hoke participated in several bank robberies, including some in Austin. Hoke does paperwork before being extradited from Bangkok, Thailand, to the U.S.


Suspect in 'ponytail bandit' robberies is one of many Americans caught on the lam.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By Craig Simons
INTERNATIONAL BUREAU
Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas, USA)

BANGKOK, Thailand — Bank robbery suspect Morgan Michelle Hoke, accused of being the woman dubbed the "ponytail bandit," could have reinvented herself here.

In downtown Bangkok, street vendors offer forged American driver's licenses for about $35. Medical clinics provide plastic surgery for a fraction of U.S. prices. Hotel owners often look the other way if guests give false names.

The combination of lax law enforcement, easy hospitality and thousands of backwater towns has attracted a wide roster of fugitives to Thailand and other nations in Southeast Asia.

Hoke, 21, and her 26-year-old husband, Stuart Michael Romine, are accused of robbing banks in Texas, including one in Austin, and possibly in California and Washington. The couple arrived in Bangkok on Jan. 20, according to arrest warrants.

Hoke was detained Feb. 13 at a hotel popular with budget travelers and was extradited to the U.S. the next day. Romine flew from Thailand to India on Feb. 10 and is still being sought, Thai police said.

The day Hoke was detained, Thai police also arrested Earl Bonds, a 42-year-old American wanted in St. Louis on child molestation charges. He was turned over to U.S. officials Thursday for extradition.

The two are part of a long and growing list of American fugitives caught in Thailand.

One of the most prominent recent extraditions was of James Vincent Sullivan, a multimillionaire who once lived in Palm Beach, Fla., and in 2006 was sentenced to life in prison for arranging his wife's murder in Atlanta.

In another high-profile case, Saner Wonggoun, then 59, a Thai-born American citizen, was extradited to the U.S. in 2006 on charges of murdering his wife in California. He had been living in Thailand for 12 years when police found him working in a market.

Although Thai immigration police do not release statistics on how many foreign fugitives have been caught in Thailand, the nation of 65 million people extradites many foreigners each year, said Suppachai Paladech, an inspector with the department.

"If you type 'fugitive' and 'Thailand' into Google, you get a lot of news," he said. "Some people think they can escape here." (The Google search produces about 171,000 hits.)

Fugitives are attracted to Southeast Asia partly because of lax enforcement of immigration laws, experts said.

Americans like Hoke can blend in easily in Thailand, where more than 7,000 U.S. expatriates legally reside and work. And last year, more than 700,000 American tourists visited Thailand.

Thousands of foreigners living in Thailand make frequent "visa runs," trips to neighboring countries to renew monthlong tourist visas, and many are able to work without legal documentation.

Because Thailand gets millions of foreign tourists each year, "it's easy for someone to hide themselves in some of the tourist places," Suppachai said.

The problem is clear in the Khao San district of Bangkok, where Hoke was detained last week. Residents and tourists said many hotels do not ask guests to register with their passport
numbers, as required by Thai law.

An open trade in fake documents also makes Thailand attractive to fugitives. Vendors sell fake identification cards and driver licenses, and Web sites offer second passports.

One Web site advertising to people "who are seriously considering moving to Thailand ... perhaps for the rest of their lives" included a link to buy a passport from the African nation of Burkina Faso.

Thailand's borders with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar — nations, experts said, that are less likely than Thailand to extradite criminals — also are poorly patrolled, said Punthip Kanchanachittra Saisoonthorn, a law professor at Bangkok's Thammasat University.

The Thai government has taken steps to catch fugitives.

After the deportation of American John Mark Karr, who falsely confessed in 2006 to murdering JonBenet Ramsey, the Colorado girl whose death made headlines in 1996, Thailand's immigration department limited the number of times foreigners could renew tourist visas, though locals say corrupt officials sometimes break the rules.

Karr, who was arrested in California in 2001 and charged with possession of child pornography, had lived in Thailand on and off for nearly two years and taught English to elementary school students in Bangkok.

Karr "was sort of a tripwire" for the Thai government to improve surveillance of foreigners, said Michael Turner, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

"Since then, it's become a little more difficult" for Americans to stay illegally, Turner said.

Thai immigration police used information Hoke had listed on customs forms to find her within hours of receiving her name and photograph from the FBI.

But some Thais complained that their government had not done enough to keep criminals out of Thailand.

Putich Santichaivoravei, a 23-year-old engineering student in Bangkok, said he was surprised that Hoke and her husband remained in Thailand for nearly a month after a source had contacted California police to say Hoke was the "ponytail bandit."

"It's not good that felons can come to Thailand," Putich said as he relaxed in a downtown park. "We don't know who is a criminal and how to protect ourselves from them."

Asian Development Bank Is Putting Meat into the Tiger’s Mouth As Railway Is Being Repaired

20 February 2008.

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 548

“The Asian Development Bank [ADB] publicly announced in the morning of last Monday that it will contribute to rehabilitate a portion of the Khmer railway of around 652 kilometers from Banteay Meanchey to Phnom Penh with a grant of US$73 million, including a loan of US$43 million from the ADB. Some observers warned that with this huge amount of money, if there is no close and proper monitoring, this money is just a piece of meat that is thrown into the tigers’ mouth without serving the interests of the Khmer country and people.

“According to Mr. Sun Chanthol, the Minister of Public Works and Transport, in the US$73 million package, the loan of the ADB is US$43 million, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties [OPEC] contributes US$13 million, the Malaysian government shares US$2.8 million, and the Cambodian government contributes US$15.2 million.

“Mr. Kuroda Haruhiko, the president of the ADB, is proud of this project.

“Referring to Mr. Sun Chanthol, a part of the railway from Svay Sisophon in Banteay Meanchey to Phnom Penh had been repaired one time in 1929. Based on the present project, the rehabilitated railway will be able to load from 15 to 20 tons, and the trains can run with a speed of 50 kilometers per hour.

“The announcement of yesterday on the rehabilitation of the Khmer railway infrastructure is part of an agreement which was already approved by the ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting last year. It is a project which will lead to have the railways of ASEAN nations connected with each other.

“According to Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol, who had joined the 13th ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore on 1-2 November 2007, with the grants of US$80 million from ADB and OPEC, Cambodia will begin the railway construction project of 48 kilometers, connecting Svay Sisophon with Poipet at the Siam-Khmer border, and from Siam [Thailand] the railway will continue to some other ASEAN countries, totaling around 5,000 kilometers, a project which was approved in 1995.

“Mr. Sun Chanthol continued that Cambodia will also connect 257 kilometers of railway with Yuon [Vietnam], which will cost around US$500 million. The big package of US$80 million that Cambodia will receive from the ADB will, according to Mr. Sun Chanthol, be used only for connecting 48 kilometers of local railway from Serei Saophoan to Poipet, including the repair of the very old railway, which is more than 40 years old.

“However, currently it is difficult to see any benefit from the railway supported by foreign loans. Quite to the contrary, the money flows to support family members’ lives of Mr. Sok An of the Council of Ministers.

“The Cambodian Royal Railway is managed by Sokhom Pheakakvoan Muny, known to be a nephew of Minister Sok An of the Council of Ministers; until now there is no report about income from railway services.

“There are two railway lines, one from Phnom Penh to Battambang, and another one from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, but there are no more crowds of people like before, when also goods were actively transported, but unfortunately, the benefits from the present services do not improve the railway staff’s living conditions, nor were they transparently shown. It was only seen that the general director of the Royal Railways quietly bought one more villa and changed to new cars.

“This makes some staff and workers think that their daily work seems not to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the society and of themselves. It seems they are just working as slaves for Sokhom Pheakakvoan Muny.

“The Royal Railway staff and workers’ past pain appeared visibly in strong protests. But because Sokhom Pheakakvoan Muny is a relative to Mr. Sok An, the Royal Railway staff’s protest is meaningless, and nobody can help them.

“At this time the preparation to connect the railway with other countries in ASEAN seems like trying to carry water in a leaking jar, if the leader of the Cambodian Royal Railway does not change.

“It is to be noted that today in Cambodia, there are many powerful men in the government who take advantage to use state properties to serve their own interests. Some leaders of the Public Works Department use state machinery, like trucks, to serve their own pockets, and Sokhom Pheakakvoan Muny takes advantage of the state’s train for his own benefit.

“Many materials of the state, equipment that was bought by using the national budget, are used in a way that really destroys the nation, and this brings no benefit to the country.”

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.2, #112, 19.2.2008

Spotlight Festival


Feb 20th, 2008
by Jinja

PRESS RELEASE

SPOTLIGHT – An Asian Festival of Inclusive Arts
23rd February - 1st March 2008
Phnom Penh – Siem Reap, CAMBODIA

For the first time ever, disabled and able-bodied artists from across Asia come together in Cambodia to present an exciting festival of performance, film, workshops, music and visual arts with a SPOTLIGHT on the abilities of all people.

This 8 day arts extravaganza, will celebrate the talent and diversity of not only Asian culture, but also the human spirit. “This isn’t about putting disabled people up on the stage. This is about changing the way people perceive disability” says Hannah Stevens speaking on behalf of Epic Arts.

Funded by The Nippon Foundation and produced by Epic Arts, SPOTLIGHT is a world standard, multi-arts program which will provide powerful role models for people with disabilities. By involving the international community, the aim is to build opportunities and networks for artists with disabilities within the region, through workshops, collaborations and shared experiences.

Festival events will take place in partnership with local disability and art organisations and venues including Chaktomuk Theatre, Chenla Theatre, Metahouse and with strong support from Centre Culturel Francais and Bophanana Audiovisual Centre. In Siem Reap SPOTLIGHT has partnered with Handicap International Belgium, The Art House, The Giant Puppet Project and Raffles Grand Hotel D’Angkor.

With an exciting array of art and artists from Cambodia and neighboring counties; Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and even as far afield as Japan and Nepal, at SPOTLIGHT there is something for everyone.All events are FREE!

“See Ability Not Disability” http://www.spotlight-inclusiveartsasia.org

Epic Arts was founded in 2001 in the UK and is a registered International NGO.
http://www.epicarts.org.uk

The Nippon Foundation is a private, non-profit, grant making organization based in Japan. http://nippon-foundation.or.jp/eng/

PM says he won't meet with Thaksin in Cambodia

(BangkokPost.com) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej denied speculation on Wednesday that he is to meet ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra during his official visit to Cambodia.

"I don't know anything about this," Mr Samak, who will make a one-day visit to the neighbouring country on March 3, told reporters.

"If there is a plan to meet, at least as prime minister I have to know it in advance. But there is no such appointment," he added.

His statement came amid reports that Mr Thaksin is to play golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh in March.

Mr Samak said army chief Anupong Paochinda will accompany him on the trip because Gen Anupong also has to make official visit to the neighbouring country.

"We will travel together," Mr Samak said.

Prior to the Cambodian trip, the new prime minister would also make a two-day official visit to Laos on February 29.

Spanish queen visits trafficked women in Cambodia

Wed, 20 Feb 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Queen Sophia of Spain spent her first full day of an official trip to Cambodia Wednesday visiting Spanish-funded projects, including a shelter for women and girls rescued from human trafficking. Queen Sophia spent the morning at a shelter run by local non-government organization Afesip, a French acronym which translates to assisting women and children in precarious circumstances.

She chatted easily with the residents, who are learning new skills such as sewing to help them become self-sufficient and remain free of the clutches of traffickers in the future.

The monarch, wife of King Juan Carlos, has taken a personal interest in the project, which receives substantial Spanish funding. She is close to the group's co-founder, Mam Somaly, a former sex worker who now works to assist other women and children caught up in Cambodia's rampant sex trade.

The queen is scheduled to attend a gala dinner at the Royal Palace Wednesday evening hosted by Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, at whose personal invitation she is making her Cambodian visit, scheduled to end Saturday.

Queen Sophia is expected to travel by air to the north-western city of Battambang Thursday, more than 300 kilometres from the capital, to inspect a Spanish-assisted project to clear land mines, before moving on to the northern tourist hub of Siem Reap to visit the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex.

ADB opens rail project in Cambodia

Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Agence France-Presse .

Phnom Penh, The Asian Development Bank Monday launched a multi-million dollars project to restore Cambodia's devastated railways in a key step towards the creation of a regional rail system.

Approximately 600 kilometres of track destroyed during Cambodia's protracted civil war will be rebuilt at a cost of 42 million dollars, the ADB said.

'This is one of the last steps in the creation of a regional railway that will stretch from Singapore to Beijing,' ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said in a statement. 'Soon, trains will be running from Singapore to Sihanoukville,' Cambodia's only deep-water port on the country's southern coast, added Kuroda, who was speaking at an inaugural ceremony near Cambodia's border with Thailand.

Rail service in Cambodia remains unreliable, with trains running only intermittently. But for impoverished Cambodians, rail travel is one of the few affordable transportation options, and an unofficial train service flourishes along some portions of the country's battered track system.

These small trollies, built out of bamboo platforms and powered by motor-scooter engines, are known locally as 'bamboo horses' and ferry people and goods across large swathes of the countryside.

Giving peace a chance: Rotary announces new class of World Peace Fellows


openpr.com

(openPR) - EVANSTON, Ill. -- Amid daily headlines of war, suicide bombings, ethnic and religious violence and social unrest emerges some welcome positive news: The Rotary Foundation has named a new class of World Peace Fellows to study peacemaking and conflict resolution at the six Rotary Centers for International Studies located at leading universities in England, Japan, Australia, Argentina, and the United States.

Launched in 2002, this innovative approach to world peace is a master’s level program aimed at equipping the next generation of global and community leaders with skills needed to reduce the threat of war and violence. The Rotary World Peace Fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process that begins when they apply through their local Rotary clubs. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to peace and international understanding through their personal and community service activities or academic and professional achievements.

Like the members of the classes preceding them, the 60 students in the 2008-10 class are a diverse group, representing 33 countries and an array of professional and cultural backgrounds. Their interests and areas of expertise include public health, education, international law, economic development, psychology, journalism, and social justice. They include:

• Mahamoud Abdi Sheikh Ahmed of Borama, Somalia, a team leader with the Norwegian Refugee Council in Somaliland, which provides basic education to children of displaced families. Ahmed’s own childhood was interrupted by inter-clan violence, forcing his family to flee to Ethiopia. Ahmed eventually returned to Borama, finished college and became manager and newscaster of a local TV station. He will attend the Rotary Center at the University of Bradford, England.

• Rachel Davidson of Chicago, Ill., USA, a restorative justice specialist for Alternatives, Inc., a non-profit youth agency that provides technical assistance and training to peer jury and mediation programs in public high schools. She is also a senior editor for The Yalla Journal, a joint Jewish-Arab project that compiles the personal stories of young people affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Davidson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Hispanic studies, will attend the Rotary Center at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires.

• Saran Koy of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, who grew up in poverty and forced labor during the radical Khmer Rouge regime before joining World Vision International, where he helped implement community development programs and child-focused educational, healthcare and water projects. Koy earlier worked as an election officer and translator for the Unites Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. He will attend the Rotary Center at the International Christian University in Tokyo.

• Alejandra Rueda Zarate of Bogota, Columbia, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and worked for an agro-industrial company that promotes social development in conflict areas through the development of sustainable palm oil operations. In her current job as marketing director for the National Federation of Palm Oil Growers and Producers, she seeks new markets for bio-degradable palm oil products and oversees the national bio-diesel program. Zarate will attend the Rotary Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

• Mohammad Sharif Azami of Kandahar, Afghanistan, whose family fled to Pakistan when he was four years old. He has worked for the last six years with several humanitarian organizations, including Oxfam Great Britain, the United Nations World Food Program and the Canadian International Development Agency, to bring peace and stability to one of the most volatile areas of Afghanistan. Azami, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, will attend the Rotary Center jointly operated by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• Zuzana Petovska of Bratislava, Slovakia, who grew up in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and has worked for the United Nations Refugee Agency UNCR since 1997. As senior program assistant, she helps improve the care and assistance to children separated from their families in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya. She will attend the Rotary Center at the University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Rotary Foundation Chair Bob Scott notes that 225 Rotary Center alumni already are making a difference in key decision-making positions in governments and organizations around the world.

“It is this growing global network of participants, increasing by 60 every year, that makes us believe that peace is possible,” Scott says. “It’s not a dream -- it is reality.”

Rotary International, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201,Press contact: Sandra Prufer, + 1 847 866 3208, sandra.prufer@rotary.org

Rotary is the world's largest privately-funded source of international scholarships and has more than 30,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographic regions. For more information about the Rotary Centers for International Studies, please visit www.rotary.org

Interested in becoming a Rotary World Peace Fellow? Contact a Rotary Club in your area or send an email to rotarycenters@rotary.org

Cambodia: campaigners welcome new law to fight sex trafficking

indcatholicnews.com
PHNOM PENH - 20 February 2008

In a major breakthrough, the Cambodian parliament has finally presented and unanimously approved a new law to fight human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Until this week, the country had only limited legislation, dating back to 1966, which has made it one of the world's major destination for paedophiles and sex tourism.

The new law, which has been under preparation since December 2007, consists of 52 articles to be applied more rigorously in cases of kidnapping for trafficking or sexual exploitation of women and minors, with punishments of up to 20 years in prison and heavy fines.

"This law is a great step forward towards global reform in our country's judicial system," commented Ang Vong Vattana, Justice Minister of Cambodia. She noted that the entire legislative system in Cambodia was in urgent need of updating. The new law, the Minister promised, will be scrupulously observed.

According to groups like UNICEF and other international organisations, Cambodian minors and women are often taken to other countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, where they are made slaves, or become victims of sexual abuse or forced marriages, or organ trafficking.

The percentile of AIDS victims in the country is extremely high: over half of the children who have been exploited have been tested positive. 35% of Cambodian prostitutes are minors and 43% of these, are infected with the AIDS virus. The cause of the situation is almost always poverty. Often children are sold by their own families, in hopes of offering them a better future.

The newly approved law shows the nation's desire to turn things around and fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The small Catholic community of Cambodia has always had a strong presence in assisting minors and women who have been victims of exploitation and trafficking, through prevention centres, recuperation centres, and helping in their social reintegration.

Source: Fides

Khmer Rouge leader halts Cambodia genocide court cooperation: report

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The French lawyer defending Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan at Cambodia's genocide tribunal has said his client will no longer co-operate with the UN-backed court, a report said Wednesday.

Jacques Verges, nicknamed "the Devil's advocate" for his defence of some of the world's most notorious criminals, said Khieu Samphan would not speak to court officials until thousands of pages of evidence against him is translated into French.

"In a trial, there is a human being and this human being is fighting," Verges was quoted as telling the English-language Cambodia Daily.

He also told the paper that without a translation of the court documents, which are in English, he would not be able to adequately defend his client.
Verges, a fierce anti-colonialist, reportedly befriended Khieu Samphan and other future Khmer Rouge leaders while at university in Paris in the 1950s.

In a long career, he has acted for Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal.

Tribunal co-investigating judge Marcel Lemonde told AFP that other suspects detained by the UN-backed court have also invoked their right "to remain silent at every stage of the proceedings."

But he said this would not hamper the court's investigation into their alleged crimes.

"We have to organise the investigation differently, that's it," he said in an email.

So far five people have been detained by the tribunal, including former Khmer Rouge ideologue Nuon Chea, the most senior surviving leader of the 1975-79 regime which oversaw one of the worst chapters of the 20th century.

Up to two million people died of starvation and overwork, or were executed by the communist Khmer Rouge, which dismantled modern Cambodian society in its effort to forge a radical agrarian utopia.

Cities were emptied, their populations exiled to vast collective farms, while schools were closed, religion banned and the educated classes targeted for extermination.

Queen Sofia of Spain arrives in Cambodia for visit

2008/02/20
From: Mathaba

According to the schedule, Queen Sofia will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni and lay flowers at the Independent Monument during her visit from Feb. 19 to 22.

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Queen Sofia of Spain arrived here on Tuesday to start an official visit in Cambodia under the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.

According to the schedule, Queen Sofia will meet with King Norodom Sihamoni and lay flowers at the Independent Monument during her visit from Feb. 19 to 22.

The Queen's visit is for cooperation and friendship ties between the two kingdoms, Chea Sokhom, deputy secretary general for the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals, said.

The queen will also visit mines clearance fields of the Cambodian Mine Action Center and some rural areas in Battambang province, and then visit the Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap province, he added.

U.S. Officials Debate Cambodia Debt

By Sok Khemara,
VOA Khmer
Washington
19 February 2008

Sok Khemara reports in Khmer (1.10 MB) - Listen (MP3)

US officials met in Washington last week to consider the possibility of reducing $339 million of debt owed by Cambodia for more than 40 years.

Eni Faleomavaega, a Democratic congressman from American Somoa, held a hearing with representatives of the departments of State and Agriculture.

Faleomavaega, who is the chairman of US House of Representatives subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, said Thursday that Cambodia's poverty and war-torn past meant US leaders needed to work to help the country develop.

The US recently cancelled $500 million in debt from Jordan.

"I certainly hope that we will come to the better resolution on the problem of debt owed by Cambodia," Faleomavaega said.

Cambodia owes more than $2 billion to foreign countries, according to 2006 figures. The government has agreed to pay debts to France, Japan, Italy and Germany, but has made no such pledge to the US.

Scot Marciel, Assistant Secretary of State for the East Asian and Pacific, said during the hearing that Cambodia had not made a bilateral agreement with the US to pay debt incurred since the regime of Gen. Lon Nol.

"Partly Cambodia refused to accept responsibility for debt by the Lon Nol regime and partly [it] disagreed over amount of debt owed at that time," he said.

Cambodia's ambassador to the US, Ek Sereiwath, who witnessed the hearing, said he supported debt cancellation for the country.

It's great if the US cancels the debt like Jordan," he said. "The Cambodian government has already stated that we will pay, but we ask for new negotiations."

Cambodia was seeking an interest rate of 1 percent, instead of the 3 percent it currently must pay.

Officials said Thursday it would ultimately be up to the US Congress to decide on debt relief for Cambodia.

US Military Aid Tops $1 Million, Official Says

By Sok Khemara,
VOA Khmer
Washington
19 February 2008

Sok Khemara reports in Khmer (1.15 MB) - Listen (MP3)

The US Department of Defense has spent more than $1 million on military aid Cambodia over the last two years, a defense official said Friday.

Of that money, about 90 percent was budgeted to foreign military financing, with the remaining money spent on an international military education training program, said Maj. Stewart Upton, a Defense Department spokesman.

Four Cambodian students are training in English language for the Defense Language Institute, and a Cambodian cadet is attending the US military academy West Point, he said.

The US resumed aid to Cambodia last year, following a cessation in the wake of the July 1997 coup.

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said US assistance was not much yet, but that officials on each side were considering other areas for bilateral aid.

Villagers Rise Against Koh Kong Land Grabs

By Chiep Mony,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Chiep Mony reports in Khmer (1.12 MB) - Listen (MP3)

More than 200 workers attempted to block a rural road in Koh Kong province Monday, in protest of alleged ongoing land grabs by a local official and businessman.

Workers sought to block the road with makeshift barricades, claiming land disputes with local Cambodian People's Party senator Lee Yong Phat had gone unsolved.

Lee Yong Phat could not be reached for comment.

The strikers carried signs and placards appealing to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin to solve the disputes.

Chheng Sophoas, an investigator for the rights group Licadho, said more than 200 villagers stood in the middle of the public road, but police and military police took down their barricades and prevented them from demonstrating.

No violence took place during the strike, he said.

Sen Chao Sok, an investigator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, criticized the local authorities for prohibiting the strike, saying that authorities should respond to the demands of villagers instead.

Koh Kong Governor Yuth Phouthorng said his staff had sent a complaint from the villagers to the Ministry of Interior seeking a resolution.

There is no law that allows villagers to hold such a strike, he added.

Land disputes in Koh Kong have been common since 2006, and repeated requests from villagers to solve the problem have gone unanswered.

Like swords into plowshares

Thanks to Lutheran support for clearing land mines in Thmey, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia, Khan Trang (right) and her husband, Yoy Yon (left), safely grow vegetables to sell at market and feed their five children.

Story by Chham Rivann and Margaret F. Sadler
The Lutheran (USA)
February 2008 issue

In Cambodia, Lutherans help replace land mines with vegetables, fruits

Morm Saveurn, 46, his wife, Mou Ly Viseth, and their six children live in Kam Prong, a remote village in northwest Cambodia’s Battambang Province. Saveurn and Viseth (both former soldiers) left the capital, Phnom Penh, and returned home a little more than 10 years ago. Saveurn still works part time as a soldier (10 days a month) but also depends on farming for the family’s income.

Home is the site of a former battlefield, where Khmer Rouge troops fought those of the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments. Battambang is the most heavily mined province in Cambodia. From January 2004 to August 2005 alone, Battambang recorded 458 casualties from undetected land mines. Current estimates place 4 million to 6 million land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattered across Cambodia—threats to lives, limbs and economic recovery.
Since hostilities ceased in 1997, some 40,000 people have lost limbs to mines in Cambodia.

A Lutheran World Federation partner, the U.K.-based Mines Advisory Group, is one of the country’s main
de-mining operators. The group has spent the last five years clearing nearly 4 million square yards of land in Battambang. In the first half of 2007, the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System reported 232 victims—a 28 percent decrease from the same period in 2006.

Since 1979 the LWF Department for World Service has worked in Cambodia, taking an approach to sustainable development that empowers vulnerable groups such as poor farmers, female-headed households, landless families, returnees, internally displaced people, rural youth and people affected by HIV/AIDS in remote and isolated areas.

Farmers risk death, maiming

Like Saveurn, 85 percent of Cambodia’s 13.9 million people depend on subsistence farming. Undetected land mines threaten their survival. “All of us in this village do not feel safe,” he said. “When I came here for the first time I found mines. As a soldier, I knew what they were.”

So far Saveurn’s family has been lucky. “Over the last few years eight people in the village have had land mine accidents, with seven of them becoming amputees because of their injuries,” he said.

De-mining is a consultative process between villagers and mine-clearance partners. After village proposals for land clearance have been accepted, the Department for World Service selects and trains community members to help clear the mines, said Mey Sarun, the agency’s project manager in Battambang. The work can involve clearing brush, using various detection devices and detonating smaller explosives.

During the work, LWF staff help build the confidence and capacity of mine-affected households and communities, empowering people to exercise their civil rights. Staff also help residents plan and carry out projects that address issues such as food security, education and 
HIV/AIDS.

In Kam Prong alone, Mines Advisory Group, with funding from FinnChurchAid through the LWF, cleared 70,272 square yards of land from April to June 2007, freeing it for resettlement and making it safe for 29 families comprising 142 people. From January 2003 to mid-2007, the mine clearance work of the LWF and MAG in
 Battambang had benefited 8,380 families consisting of around 41,900 men, women and children.

Fruits and vegetables

Saveurn hopes workers will soon be able to clear additional mines from his land. “My plan is to grow some fruits,” he said. “I plant soya beans from July to October and other beans from January to April. I also grow cabbages, cucumbers, chilies and eggplants. But I still really worry about mines on the rest of the land, which [has yet] to be cleared.”

To the community-based work of groups like LWF and Mines Advisory Group, he would like “to say thank you. After the [land] has been cleared it is safe to cultivate. Then we can plant some fruits and vegetables without the fear of land mines that could kill or injure us.”

Saveurn’s wife, Viseth, said clearing the mines makes a world of difference for the children too. “They are so happy now—they know that some of our land is safe for them to play on. ... It makes me happy to see that they are happier.”

Cabodian childrens fund



Well I landed back in India last week after a very quick visit to cambodia, I last visited cambodia 7 years ago and wow what a change the place is amazing.Its hard to believe a country can change so much!

When I first visited in 2001 Cambodia touched us like no other country has done to this day, I have a personal love for Cambodia and its people. In 2001 my self and my wife visited a childrens hospital and along with the tourist routes we done as much as we could at the time for the children we met buying them pencils and pads etc..

We promised that if we were ever in the postion to do charity work for the kids in cambodia then we would, so six years later we started sponsering two girls from the CCF last weekend I flew to Phenom penn to meet Chenda and Sophea, Chenda is my sponser child, so we arranged to travel from CCF1 (phnom penn) to meet her family in Barong village Kenndal province around 3 hours from the city, we also took all of the other kids from Barong home for the day to see there familys.

CCF COMUNITY CENTER

So we set off from Phenom penn at 7am 1st we took a pick up truck loaded with kids in the back from Phenom penn to a ferry crossing on the Tonle sap river we crossed that and had a 1 hour drive 4x4 to the edge of the lake that surrounds a number of islands, one of which was home to barong village.

PICK UP TRUCK LOADED ON THE TONLE SAP FERRY.

We took a long boat for around one hour, which may I add was very painfull but worth every minute! once we arrived at Barong despite being nervous beyond beleife about meeting Chendas family I was in ore of what I was doing its not every day you get to travel to the hart of cambodian country side to have lunch with a family.The language barrier was no problem we had a translator but spent most of the day looking around the island or at the family house smileing alot.

THE CHILDREN OF BARONG VILLAGE.

We spent along time playing catch football and learning how to count with children. Lunch was fantastic we had fish chicken and rice traditional Khmer food 100%.It was a truley amazing trip but way to short I'm planning on returning to Phenom penn in July this time all my family will travel. AND WE CANT WAIT.

New Green Revolution May Solve Rice Shortage in Asia


A Cambodian girl cleans mud from the rice near their ox-cart at a rice field in Kandal province, some 20 kilometers (13 miles) north Phnom Penh, Cambodia (July 6, 2007 file photo)

By Claudia Blume
Hong Kong
19 February 2008

Asia has built much of its success on cheap, plentiful rice. But the supply of the region's most important food crop is declining steadily, and prices are going up - putting a strain on the region's poor. However, rice researchers say the situation is not hopeless, as Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

Improved seeds and farm technology, better irrigation, and fertilizers led to the so-called green revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, rice yields went up dramatically in Asia, and prices dropped. Economists say lower prices for rice, the staple food of most Asians, was one of the drivers of the continent's economic growth in the past decades.

But experts warn the era of cheap, plentiful rice is coming to an end. Robert Zeigler is a plant pathologist at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.

"If you look at prices, if you look at global stocks, if you look at yield trends, if you look at what important rice producing and consuming countries are doing, such as India, which basically blocked its exports, I would say the indications are that we are entering an era of much tighter rice supplies. There is no doubt about it, and if supplies are tight, then prices will go up," Zeigler said.

Zeigler says there are several reasons for the worsening rice shortage in Asia. Consumption has gone up while crops have been destroyed by more frequent typhoons, flooding and droughts.
Farming areas are shrinking, as they are being used to build industrial or recreational areas.

Zeigler says if the region does not address the problem, poverty will increase.

But he is optimistic that another green revolution is possible.

"We have experienced revolutions in molecular biology, in genetics, in computational power and communications that will allow us to make what would have been ten years ago unimaginable advances in plant improvement and crop improvement. So, I am convinced that if we invest our resources wisely, if we have the proper policy environment, we can create a next green revolution," Zeigler said.

The Rice Research Institute, where Zeigler works, has already developed a new variety of rice that can survive in flooded paddy fields.

Zeigler says there are scientific solutions to solve challenges such as the impact of climate change on rice production. But, he adds that governments and private donors in Asia should invest more in research. He says the rice institute is mainly funded by Western donors, rather than Asian. In January, for example, U.S. billionaire Bill Gates donated almost $20 million to support research on stress-tolerant rice crops for poor farmers.

Children and the illiterate learning to read the Bible in Cambodian

02/19/2008
VIETNAM

Catholic volunteers in Loc Quang, on the border with Cambodia, work among Cambodian families living in Vietnam. Thanks to the volunteers, initially viewed with suspicion by the local police, the migrants now live in better conditions.

Loc Quang (AsiaNews) – Viewed initially with suspicion by the police, Catholic volunteers have been working in Loc Quang parish, Loc Ninh district (Binh Phuoc province), for a few years. The small town of 12,700 people lies some 17 kilometres from the Cambodian border and is home to many Cambodian migrants, mostly very poor peasants, whose situation has slightly improved thanks to the actions of the volunteers.

About 25 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, eking out a living on a dollar a day. For Cambodians matters are even worse since they don’t have land of their own and must hire themselves out to locals. In the rainy season, when farming is not possible, they go into the forest to look for rubber trees’ seeds. By and large their lives are truly poor and miserable.

In 2000 some volunteers arrived to live and work among the local population, pursuing their mission. Since 2002 when spreading the Good News began having good results, people’s lives also began improving. Many gave up superstitions and started living underdevelopment behind.

“I can read the Bible in Cambodian,” a boy told AsiaNews. “Now I can also study in my native language. Brother Hai teaches us every day. During the day I drive cows into rice fields and get 5,000 dongs (about 3 pennies) and the owner also gives me food.”

A girl said that Father Paul and Brother H. showed them how to boil water and cook. “I love both of them. They have been here since 2000 working with us. They brought us the love of Jesus and the Good News,” she added. “I go to Mass every Sunday. We have a church and pray together.”

Ms Hue, a volunteer social worker, remembers that “the previous year police would routinely ask Brother Hai questions about his work and activities in the community. The Communist government looked on Catholics with suspicion and did not understand what we are doing.”

“Brother Hai organised a class to eliminate illiteracy among children and the poor,” she explained. “Last year local authorities and the police ‘invited’ Brother Hai to the police station only once, not like the previous year, 2006, when he had to go many times.”

Ms Hue noted that during his interviews with the police Brother Hai explained that he and his colleagues had come to town to teach Cambodian to the children and help people overcome the difficulties they face. This way they can contribute to the country’s progress. “Now people take part in parish activities and Brother Hai has trained two young volunteers who can teach children in Cambodian and Vietnamese.”

Spanish queen arrives in Cambodia


Tue, 19 Feb 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - Queen Sophia of Spain arrived in Cambodia Tuesday for a five-day visit at the invitation of Cambodian monarch, King Norodom Sihamoni. The wife of King Juan Carlos will visit a number of Spanish-funding humanitarian projects during her stay, including an anti-human trafficking organization, and a demining project, according to a schedule obtained from a palace source.

She is also scheduled to attend a gala dinner with King Sihamoni on Wednesday as well as visiting the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex in the northern province of Siem Reap before flying out Saturday.

Queen Sophia had scheduled a visit to Cambodia last year but returned home minutes after landing at the airport due to a family bereavement.

Cambodian newspaper editor seriously hurt in hit-and-run

19 February 2008
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned to learn that an editor of a weekly newspaper in the capital Phnom Penh was seriously injured in an apparent attack over his work.

On 15 February 2008, at around 8:30 p.m. (local time), "Sakal" editor Khuon Phlay Vy, who writes under the penname Sar Keo Virak, was chased on his motorcycle by a white car that crashed into his vehicle and sped off after that, reports the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), a SEAPA partner.

Khuon sustained serious bodily injuries and has been admitted to a nearby hospital.

Khuon said earlier in the morning, he received a phone call from an unidentified man who threatened him over a story he had published the same day involving an illegal gambling den in Phnom Penh’s Boeng Keng Kang II commune.

SEAPA said the case merits serious attention in the light of the verbal threat to the editor right before the hit-and-run.

SEAPA joins CAPJ in calling on the authorities to investigate the case.

"The perpetrator of this crime must not escape justice," CAPJ said in an 18 February release.

Cambodian journalists who expose wrongdoing write and publish under risk of reprisal from those implicated. CAPJ said 15 journalists received threats in 2007 for daring to bring up stories that affect the interests of the powerful and the rich. In this climate of fear and impunity, most newspapers practice self-censorship.

Police Mobilize Over Embassy Warning

By Mean Veasna,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Mean Veasna reports in Khmer (729 KB) - Listen (MP3)

Cambodian special police and elite military units were deployed in the streets of the capital near the US Embassy Monday night, following a warning over the security of the embassy, the ambassador and a government spokesman said Tuesday.

US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters in Koh Kong province the embassy had received a security warning, but the information was not considered a threat.

"The information itself is not information we consider credible," he said.

He praised the cooperation provided by the government's security forces, but said the embassy was not concerned.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed Tuesday that police were deployed after an individual sent a concerning fax to an unnamed newspaper, which transmitted the fax to the embassy.

The suspect has been identified, and the authorities will take the appropriate measures, Khieu Sopheak said.

Groups Call on Donors to Ease Evictions

By Chiep Mony,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Chiep Mony reports in Khmer(1.12 MB) - Listen (MP3)

A leading federation of rights groups called on international donors Tuesday to alleviate Cambodia's growing land seizure problem.

The International Federation for Human Rights said the ongoing land grabs across the country were leading to a crisis that international donors should consider before they pledge aid to the Cambodian government later this year.

"We would like to ask donors to intervene," said Souhayr Belhasen, a human rights leader in the Federation.

Local and international rights workers warn that land thefts and displacement are a threat to the country's stability.

"It's time for the Cambodian authorities to make a radical shift in their approach to land disputes," said Naly Pilorge, director of the rights group Licadho.

Government officials were not available Tuesday for comment.

NRP Calls for Investigation of 2003 Murder

By Heng Reaksmey,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Heng Reaksmey reports in Khmer (1 MB) - Listen (MP3)

Norodom Ranariddh Party leaders issued a statement Monday calling for further investigation into the 2003 murder of a royalist parliamentarian.

Om Rasady, a former Funcinpec member, was shot dead on Feb. 18, 2003, outside a Phnom Penh restaurant. Police blamed it on a cell phone mugging, but the NRP said again Monday the killing was political.

The appeal came as the NRP held a five-year anniversary at Wat Chambok in Takeo province, were Om Rasady had sponsored a restoration project.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh said in a statement the killing was political, similar to other deaths, such as the 1997 grenade attack on Sam Rainsy Party followers and extrajudicial killings during the July 1997 coup.

None of the suspects have been arrested in those crimes, he said.

NRP spokesman Muth Chantha said the government had no interest in arresting or prosecuting the true killers.

"If Cambodian authorities carried out the law and were not involved in politics, they should be investigating such crimes," he said.

Deputy National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Sok Phal said Monday the police had already arrested two suspects in the murder of Om Rasady.

"The spokesmen of the Norodom Ranariddh Party maybe change too much, and the leader also changes too. So that's why they don't keep up with the crimes in Cambodia, such as Om Rasady's case," Sok Phal said.

Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho, said Monday that police explanations of the murder as a cell phone robbery did not make sense.

"Why did the killer only want his mobile phone? Why didn't the killer point the gun to some persons around him?" she said.

Villagers Rise Against Koh Kong Land Grabs

By Chiep Mony,
VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
19 February 2008

Chiep Mony reports in Khmer (1.12 MB) - Listen (MP3)

More than 200 workers attempted to block a rural road in Koh Kong province Monday, in protest of alleged ongoing land grabs by a local official and businessman.

Workers sought to block the road with makeshift barricades, claiming land disputes with local Cambodian People's Party senator Lee Yong Phat had gone unsolved.

Lee Yong Phat could not be reached for comment.

The strikers carried signs and placards appealing to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Senate President Chea Sim and National Assembly President Heng Samrin to solve the disputes.

Chheng Sophoas, an investigator for the rights group Licadho, said more than 200 villagers stood in the middle of the public road, but police and military police took down their barricades and prevented them from demonstrating.

No violence took place during the strike, he said.

Sen Chao Sok, an investigator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, criticized the local authorities for prohibiting the strike, saying that authorities should respond to the demands of villagers instead.

Koh Kong Governor Yuth Phouthorng said his staff had sent a complaint from the villagers to the Ministry of Interior seeking a resolution.

There is no law that allows villagers to hold such a strike, he added.

Land disputes in Koh Kong have been common since 2006, and repeated requests from villagers to solve the problem have gone unanswered.