Gordon Brown fails to make inroads in partisan debate

(Jeff Overs/BBC/PA)

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown during the final live leaders' election debate, hosted by the BBC in the Great Hall of Birmingham University

Gordon Brown failed to dent his rivals despite using a bruising final leaders’ debate to warn that neither David Cameron nor Nick Clegg could be trusted with the economic recovery.

A snap Populus poll for The Times gave Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg a shared victory on the night, each with 38 per cent. Mr Brown, despite a combative performance in which he faced up to his disastrous gaffe the previous day, trailed in third on 25 per cent from a sample of 1,929 respondents.

The verdict on a debate chiefly devoted to the economy — Mr Brown’s perceived strongest suit — leaves Labour’s campaign in trouble with six days to go before the general election.

Mr Brown went for broke, warning that an incoming Tory government would plunge the country into a prolonged Eighties-style recession.

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Raising the youth

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Students vie to answer a question at the Prey Srolep school in Prey Veng province in February. In response to a global report on education released on Monday, experts and officials said attempts to bolster primary enrolment may have detracted from progress in other areas.

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Students attend morning class at Prey Srolep school in Prey Veng province in February.

R

EGIONAL experts and government officials on Monday used the launch of a report on the Millennium Development Goal for education to highlight areas where Cambodia has not made much progress, notably adult literacy, which some said had been overshadowed by the effort to bolster enrolment at the primary level.

The 2010 Education For All Report highlights the need to improve access to education for Cambodia’s marginalised populations, especially in the remote northeast, which it identified as one of 20 regions worldwide facing “acute education deprivation”.

Those at the launch on Monday said that although it was important to improve access for people in the remote provinces of Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri, there are also large sections of society, such as adults, that are being overlooked nationwide.

Professor Heribert Hinzen, regional director of DVV International, a Germany-based adult education NGO, said it is unlikely that Cambodia will be able to meet the MDG target of cutting illiteracy levels in half by 2015.

“There is a feeling that we will definitely and dramatically fail,” he said, and added that adult literacy is often neglected as government and development partners focus on primary education.

According to the report, adult literacy, as measured between 2000 and 2007, was estimated at 76 percent, and it is projected to increase to 81 percent by 2015.

Abdul Hakeem, education adviser and coordinator for UNESCO in Bangkok, said equitable adult literacy progress had stalled in the last two decades.

“In primary education there is a gender gap, but it is narrowing; but the gender gap in literacy has not changed since 1990,” he said.

Nath Bunroeun, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, said informal education programmes had recently been implemented to tackle adult illiteracy in some of the places where it is most widespread.

“In terms of strategy, we provide a functional literacy programme, and we also have a community literacy programme,” he said, and added: “We have implemented this programme in our northern provinces.”

He said that donor assistance for such programmes had declined in the wake of the global financial crisis, and that more action is needed to meet the 2015 deadline.

“We have only five years left. If our partners continue talking for the sake of talking, we will not achieve these goals,” he said. “I think it is quite optimistic to say that Cambodia will achieve education for all by 2015.”

Sacravatoons no 1686 : " Hanoi's Dilemma "

(http://www.sacrava.blogspot.com)

Thai provincial chiefs allowed to use state of emergency to deal with "red shirts"

BANGKOK, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Provincial governors are authorized to impose a state of emergency in their provinces in order to deal with the "red-shirt" rally, Thailand's Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said Monday.

The governors can impose the emergency decree in their provinces prior to reporting it to the government's Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (CRES) since the permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry is a member of the CRES, the Bangkok Post's website reported.

Chavarat's announcement was made, while the "red-shirts" in the countryside were asked by "red-shirt" core leaders to block police forces from moving to reinforce police in capital Bangkok.

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The Thai prime minister has rejected an offer by the anti-government Red Shirt demonstrators to end their protests in return for an early election.

Abhisit Vejjajiva refused to give in to the demands, issued on Friday, to dissolve his parliament and call an election within 30 days.

Talks have now broken down between the two sides, heightening fears of further bloodshed in the country,

The Red Shirts, who support former ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are currently occupying Bangkok’s commercial district.

(Barbara Walton/EPA)

Thai anti-government Red Shirt protesters face off with Thai riot police at the entrance to Silom district (Picture).

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Anti-graft unit seen as unprepared

Friday, 23 April 2010Vong Sokheng and Brooke Lewis

THE government’s Anticorruption Unit needs more training before it will be in a position to effectively combat graft, officials said at a ceremony marking the completion of a nine-week training programme Thursday.

The Anticorruption Unit (ACU), which operates under the Council of Ministers and is expected to assume responsibility for the day-to-day investigation of corruption in the public and private sectors, was established in August 2006 but is still in its development phase, said member Sar Sambath.

The long-awaited Anticorruption Law, passed in March, includes provisions that would give the ACU the ability to punish, among other things,
“illicit enrichment”, an unexplained increase in an individual’s wealth. The law is set to come into effect in November.

However, Sar Sambath said Thursday that he did not know precisely how the ACU would operate under the new law.

“We don’t know when we can identify an area for investigation of corruption issues yet, because we need more training for the officials,” he said, and added: “Our priority now is to strengthen education for the officials.”

He said that the ACU would soon launch a campaign to raise awareness of corruption among the general public.

“An education campaign for the public is the worldwide basic to begin fighting corruption,” he said. “We would not be able to crack down on corruption while the public has not yet realised the corrupt activities.”

Kheang Seng, head of the ACU’s law enforcement section, said in a statement issued Thursday that the training programme, which was attended by senior officials and ACU members, was designed to spread information on procedures for conducting financial investigations, the management of complaints and cases, and asset-declaration requirements.

Flynn Fuller, mission director of USAID, which funded the training, said Thursday that he had received reports that it had gone “very well”, but suggested that the ACU was not yet ready to become fully operational.

“It is a good start and has addressed some of the basic needs of the ACU,” he said. “However, it is only a beginning, and there is more needed to develop the capacity of the ACU as an effective anticorruption enforcement agency.”

Sar Sambath said the ACU currently has 56 staff members, and that officials are considering whether it needs to be expanded in light of the passage of the Anticorruption Law.

Vietnam Authority Denies a Khmer Krom Buddhist Monk to Visit His Family in His Ancestral Land

According to Khmer Kampuchea -Krom Federation:

On April 1, 2010, a Khmer-Krom Buddhist monk, Venerable Thach Vesna flying from Bangkok to Prey Nokor (renamed Ho Chi Minh) city was denied entry into the country. A student monk studying in Thailand and the holder of a Cambodian passport, Venerable Thach Vesna was planning to celebrate the Cambodian New Year with his family in Preah Trapeang (renamed Tra Vinh) province.

At 9a.m, Venerable Thach Vesna arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and handed his Cambodian passport to a Vietnamese immigration officer. The Vietnamese immigration officer denied his entry stating that it was of “National Security Concern”.

When Venerable Thach Vesna asked them to explain what they meant by “National Security Concern”, the Vietnamese immigration officers could not give a legitimate answer. Instead, they tried to force him to fly back to Bangkok.

When the Vietnamese immigration officers realised that Venerable Thach Vesna refused to go back to Bangkok, they summoned thirty police officers to monitor him. Three of them closely followed Venerable Thach Vesna even when he went to use the Restroom. They denied his attempts to contact the Cambodian Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City.

With officers surrounding and monitoring his movements, Venerable Thach Vesna could not go and find food for his once a day meal. According to Theravada Buddhism, the Buddhist monks cannot eat food after 12p.m., thus he did not eat anything since the 12p.m. the previous day.

When the plan to convince Venerable Thach to go back Bangkok failed, the officers tried to recruit Venerable Thach Vesna as a secret agent to monitor the activities of the Khmer-Krom living abroad. Venerable Thach Vesna refused to cooperate with them.

With the last flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok leaving at 6p.m. and Venerable Thach Vesna refusing to leave, the Vietnamese polices resorted to the use of physical force to remove him from the immigration area to the gate of the airplane.

Vietnam has been elected as the President of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2010. Vietnam should set an example by respecting the visa exemption agreement between Cambodia and Vietnam to allow their citizens to freely travel between their two countries.

Venerable Thach Vesna is merely a Khmer-Krom Buddhist monk, who practices the non-violence principles of Buddhism and carries a legitimate Cambodian passport. He has no criminal record; all he wanted to do was visit his family during the Cambodian New Year.

In this regards, we would like to urge the Vietnamese government to stop using tactics and excuses of “National Security Concern” to stop Khmer-Krom living abroad from visiting their families in their ancestral land of Kampuchea-Krom. Especially, if the Vietnamese authorities do not have a valid excuse to deny Venerable Thach Vesna’s right to visit his family.

Cambodia, Thai soldiers exchange gunfire at border

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Cambodian and Thai soldiers engaged in a brief gunbattle in a disputed border area Saturday, with Cambodia accusing its neighbor of instigating their latest clash. No injuries were immediately reported.

Troops fired rifles, machine guns and rockets in the 15-minute gunbattle near the Ou Smach checkpoint in northern Cambodia, said Pech Sokhin, governor of Oddar Meanchey province where the border is located.

The countries accuse each of encroaching on the other's territory.

Pech Sokhin said the Thai soldiers fired shots after Cambodian troops ignored a demand to shift their location deeper into Cambodia.

"Once the Thais got back to their side, Thai forces opened fighting and Cambodia had to respond," Pech Sokhin said, adding that no Cambodian soldiers were wounded.

Thai authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.

Gen. Chea Tara, Cambodia's deputy military commander, said commanders from both sides met and called a truce.

Relations between Cambodia and Thailand have been strained over the status of land at a historic temple at another spot along their border. The International Court of Justice in 1962 recognized the Preah Vihear temple as belonging to Cambodia, a decision only grudgingly accepted by Thailand and still challenged by Thai ultra-nationalists.

Deadly clashes have occurred near the temple.

Thailand also was angered last year when Cambodia named fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an adviser on economic affairs. Tensions worsened after a subsequent visit by Thaksin, and Cambodia's rejection of a formal request from Thailand to extradite him.

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1962 World Court Identified Thai Border: Official

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 February 2010

Thai officials should seek clarification from the International Court of Justice if they believe a 1962 judgment does not explain the boundaries between the two countries, Cambodia’s top border negotiator said.

Thai officials have been quoted in the media saying the 1962 judgment of the court awarded Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia, but did not address adjacent land.

However, Var Kimhong (pictured), head of the Cambodian Border Committee, said the court used a map that was agreed on by both sides at the time to reach its decision—that the 11-th Century Hindu temple belonged to Cambodia and thatThai forces would have to vacate it.

(More...)

Ta Mok house at Anlong Veng on Khmer new year

Candaransi Pagoda and Meak Bochea Celebration of Khmer Krom at Kampuchea Krom - 24th April 2010

ពិធីបុណ្យមាឃបូជា ព.ស.២៥៥៣ គ.ស.២០០៩

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Khmer Rouge and Its Evil Revolution

(Pleas Visit More Khmer Rouge Toons: www.khmerrouge-toons.blogspot.com)

A short Khmer-History

(Visit: http://khmerrouge-toons.blogspot.com/)

Cambodian New Year Festival

Khmer New Year (Tiger) B.C 2554
celebrate on 14th April 2010

What is Cambodian New Year ?

Khmer New Year is the greatest traditional festival and national holiday. Khmer New Year begins on April 13th or 14th, depending on the ancient horoscope, “MohaSangkran”. The majority of the Khmer populations are farmers. Farmers reap and harvest their crops from the rice fields all year long, except during April. In April, there is no rain and it is very hot. Therefore, the farmers rest from working in the rice fields and celebrate the New Year.

The first day of New Year is called “Moha Sangkran,” meaning “welcoming their new angels.” This year is the year of the Rooster (Mon), and Moha Sangkran of the New Year will begin on April 13th. The leader of Angels is named KimiteaTevi. Khmer people clean and decorate their homes and prepare fruits and drinks to welcome their New Angels. Elderly people like to meditate or pray the Dharma because they believe that any angel who comes to their homes will stay with them and take care of their family for that whole year. In the morning, Khmer people go to the temple to offer food to the monks and to receive blessing.

The second day of New Year is called “Wanabot,” meaning “to offer gifts to the parents, grandparents and elders.” In the evening, people go to the temple to build a mountain of sand to remember those ancestors who have passed and have the monks give them a blessing of happiness and peace.

The third day is called “Leung Sakk;” that means “the year starts to be counted up from this day.” In the morning, Khmer people go to the temple to perform the ceremony of the mountain of sand to get blessed. The last ceremony is called “Pithi Srang Preah”, meaning to give a special cleansing to Buddha statues, the monks, elders, parents or grandparents to apologize for any mistake they have done and to gratify them. Khmer New Year is not just a great traditional festival. It is also a generation passing on traditions.

(From The Khmer Post): Click Here..

កម្ពុជាមិនលូកដៃចូលកិច្ចការផ្ទៃក្នុងរបស់ថៃទេ ចំណែកថាក់ស៊ីនគឺជាមិត្តភាព

រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ: លោកឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្រី ហោ ណាំហុង ​បានបញ្ជាក់ថា​.... កម្ពុជា មិនលូកដៃចូលកិច្ចការផ្ទៃក្នុងរបស់ថៃទេ ហើយថ្មីៗនេះលោក​ថាក់ស៊ីនបានសុំ សម្តេចមកកម្ពុជា ប៉ុន្តែសម្តេចតេជោបានហាមឃាត់ថា កុំទាន់អាលមកដោយសារ នៅទីក្រុងបាងកកមានបាតុកម្មធំធេង បើកាលណាថាក់ស៊ីនមក នាំតែគេចោទ ប្រកាន់ពីទំនាក់ទំនងរឿងនយោបាយរបស់ថៃ.....។ អានបន្ត.....

លោកហង្សចក្រាចាងហ្វាងការសែតប្រឆាំងនឹងត្រូវដោះលែងនៅថ្ងៃចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី

ចាងហ្វាងការសែតប្រឆាំងខ្មែរម្ចាស់ស្រុកលោកហង្សចក្រានឹងត្រូវដោះលែងចេញពី​ពន្ធនា​គា​រ​នៅថ្ងៃទី១៤​ ខែមេសា​ ចំថ្ងៃចូលឆ្នាំ។ ​នេះបើតាមការអះអាងចុងក្រោយ​របស់មន្រី​ជាន់ខ្ពស់រាជរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា។ អានបន្តរ.....

Takeo villagers forced to sign land over to NGO: witnesses

Takeo province villagers involved in a land fight with an NGO protest in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

POLICE in Takeo province’s Kirivong district surrounded the homes of 50 villagers on Thursday, ordering them to go to the district police office, where they were told to sign an agreement turning over their land to a local conservation NGO, villagers said. Read More(...)

World Bank Forecasts More Growth in 2010

Wednesday, 07 April 2010

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Original report from Phnom Penh

The World Bank said Wednesday that Cambodia’s economy is expected to grow around 4.4 percent this year, signaling a recovery from the economic crisis and a recession in 2009.

A World Bank economist told VOA Khmer Wednesday that growth could climb as high as 6 percent in 2011, a rate that would be close to the galloping growth the country experienced in the years preceding the global downturn.

“Recorded agri-business exports more than doubled, especially in milled rice and rubber exports, year-on-year air tourist arrivals stopped declining, imports of consumer goods stabilized, and both domestic credit and inflows of foreign direct investment began rebounding,” the World Bank said in a statement Wednesday.

Cambodia’s economy contracted 2 percent in 2009, driven by poor exports of garments, less tourism and a 35 percent drop in foreign direct investment, the World Bank said.

Chea Hout, a Cambodian economist for World Bank, said Cambodia still had a high amount of its exports—60 percent—destined for the US, while a full two-third of its imports came from China, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

“Cambodia’s economy is still very narrow,” he said. “So it can be highly vulnerable to the external environment.”

A diversified economy and structural and institutional reform would improve the investment climate, he said, which would in turn help Cambodia compete with other countries to reach the international market.

The World Bank suggested the region’s middle-income countries, including Vietnam and Thailand, invest in physical and human capital to move up the value chain, while low-income countries like Cambodia should focus on manufacturing and on becoming a part of global and regional production networks.

Sang Sinavith, a customs official, told reporters Wednesday Cambodia had exported $3.9 billion in goods in 2009, but he expected exports totaling more than $4.1 billion this year.

However, the country is still running a trade deficit, having imported $5.45 billion in goods in 2009 and potentially $6.38 billion in 2010, he said.

Tribunal Asked To Call Hun Sen: Letter

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer Original

report from Washington

02 March 2010

Khmer Rouge tribunal investigators were requested to call Prime Minister Hun Sen to testify with other key government figures, but declined, according to a confidential court order obtained by VOA Khmer.

In the days before they concluded their investigation of the tribunal’s second case, judges Marcel Lemonde and You Bunleang decided Hun Sen “was not likely to provide additional evidence” and that he should not be interviewed.

The decision was a response to a request from the defense teams of Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, who wanted Hun Sen interviewed along with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, Finance Minister Keat Chhon, and other senior government leaders.

“They are not likely to provide any additional evidence in relation to that already obtained from a large number of documents or from interviews of other witnesses, 725 in total,” You Bunleang wrote.

In January, judges closed the investigation of Case No. 002, which will try Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Kaing Kek Iev for atrocity crimes.

Defense for Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan have reportedly filed a complaint to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the UN-backed court over the decision.

The decision raises more questions about the independence of the court, which had sought to question senior Cambodian People’s Party members last year but was refused.

“A critical test for the success of the [tribunal]—as for all courts trying international crimes—is that the judicial process be allowed to run its course without political interference,” James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, in New York, told VOA Khmer.

The group remains concerned over government objections to trials of lower-tiered Khmer Rouge and of the senior officials’ refusal to testify, he said.

“It is important for the rule of law in Cambodia that decisions about whom to charge, what to charge and who should testify be made by judges, not politicians,” he said.

Cambodian officials have denied political influence at the court, and tribunal officials say the court works independently, according to agreements between the UN and Cambodia.

Meanwhile, the tribunal retains the right to issue arrest warrants along with subpoenas but has no real way to enforce them.

Abhisit counters Hun Sen's claim

(Photo: Reuters)

7/02/2010
Bangkok Post

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insisted Thai military officers have not trespassed to Cambodia, as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen claimed.

"The Thai government will use Prime Minister Hun Sen's comment to explain to the World Heritage Committee that the area around Preah Vihear temple clearly belongs to Thailand," Mr Abhisit said on Sunday.

The Cambodian premier visited the ancient Preah Vihear and Ta Muan Thom temples on Saturday without incident. More than 100 Thai troops were sent to the area.

Thai soldiers will not be withdrawn from the disputed border area yet and more personnel will be deployed to oversee the area around Ta Muan Thom, Mr Abhisit said.

"I don't have to give details whether former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was behind Mr Hun Sen's visit, but the government will continue keeping a close watch on the red-shirts' activities in different areas," he added.