Businesses and communities must come to a mutual understanding about future development if the country is to continue to grow, said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.Please Click To Read More
Friday, October 30, 2009
Govt hails land concessions
THE government has given away more than 20,000 hectares of state land since 2007 as social land concessions to the families of poor and disabled war veterans as a supplement to their national pensions, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday.Please Click Here Read More
H1N1 Claims Fourth Cambodian
Original report from Phnom Penh
29 October 2009
A 51-year-old woman succumbed to the H1N1 virus, officials said Thursday, bringing the death toll to four, with the total amount of confirmed cases in the country at 239.
The death comes as Phnom Penh is preparing for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of people to crowd the capital’s waterfront for three days.
Health officials worry the close proximity of revelers will lead to a rapid expansion of the disease. Following the festival last year, Cambodia reported a new case of bird flu.
The latest victim of the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, was a Phnom Penh resident who had suffered from liver disease and had been ill for “many years,” Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, said.
Symptoms of the pandemic virus are much the same as seasonal influenza, including a high fever, coughing, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and lethargy, health experts say. It can be transmitted at least one day before symptoms appear, after which it is contagious for at least a week.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng encouraged people to cover their mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing and to deposit the tissue in a bin. Hand-washing with soap and water can also contain the spread of the disease, he said.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 340,000 cases of the disease worldwide have led to 4,100 deaths as of late September.
Thais To Explain Thaksin Charges to Hun Sen
Original report from Phnom Penh 29 October 2009The Thai government said this week it will send an official document to Prime Minister Hun Sen regarding ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, following a war of words between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over Cambodia’s right to refuse extradition.
Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.
“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”
Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.
Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thaksin says he will visit: sources
Thursday, 29 October 2009 15:04 James O’toole and Joel QuenbyBy Phnom Penh Post
DEPOSED Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has told supporters he plans to travel to Cambodia, a Thai opposition source and media reports said Wednesday.
Speaking to members of the Puea Thai party – known as the Red Shirts – by video conference Tuesday, Thaksin announced plans to travel to Cambodia following an invitation from Prime Minister Hun Sen to serve as his economic adviser, said a woman identified as a Puea Thai member but who refused to give her name.
“Thaksin said he would fly to Cambodia soon to thank Hun Sen,” the Bangkok Post quoted another anonymous Puea Thai official as saying.
Bangkok says it would seek extradition if Thaksin – ousted in a 2006 coup and self-exiled to avoid jail on corruption charges – sought refuge in Cambodia.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the government has had no official communication with Thaksin recently, but that a visit to Cambodia was plausible. “I think it could be true, because so far, Prime Minister Hun Sen has given the green light to [Thaksin],” Koy Kuong said.
The source said, however, that Puea Thai was unsure such a visit would be prudent.
“We don’t agree with the idea of Thaksin going to Cambodia.… He’s caused so much trouble for the country recently that he needs to fix before he goes to Cambodia,” she said.
Speaking to members of the Puea Thai party – known as the Red Shirts – by video conference Tuesday, Thaksin announced plans to travel to Cambodia following an invitation from Prime Minister Hun Sen to serve as his economic adviser, said a woman identified as a Puea Thai member but who refused to give her name.
“Thaksin said he would fly to Cambodia soon to thank Hun Sen,” the Bangkok Post quoted another anonymous Puea Thai official as saying.
Bangkok says it would seek extradition if Thaksin – ousted in a 2006 coup and self-exiled to avoid jail on corruption charges – sought refuge in Cambodia.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the government has had no official communication with Thaksin recently, but that a visit to Cambodia was plausible. “I think it could be true, because so far, Prime Minister Hun Sen has given the green light to [Thaksin],” Koy Kuong said.
The source said, however, that Puea Thai was unsure such a visit would be prudent.
“We don’t agree with the idea of Thaksin going to Cambodia.… He’s caused so much trouble for the country recently that he needs to fix before he goes to Cambodia,” she said.
Thai-Cambodian Tension Tests Claims of Regional Peace
BANGKOK — The relationship between Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Cambodia enters another uneasy stretch following a round of verbal salvoes fired before and during a just concluded regional summit, where much is made of strides in achieving unity.The Thai media had also stepped into the fray to take on the comments made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that appeared to get under the skin of the Thai government, host of the 15th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which ran from Oct. 23-25. Please Click Here
Court upholds Mu Sochua conviction
Thursday, 29 October 2009 15:04 Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
Photo by: Sovan Philong
THE Court of Appeal has upheld the defamation conviction of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, an outcome the Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian described as “politically motivated”.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Seng Sivutha affirmed the ruling handed down by the Municipal Court in August, which found Mu Sochua guilty of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen and ordered her to pay a total of 16.5 million riels (US$3,963) in fines and compensation.
During the hearing, Mu Sochua was defiant, appearing in court without a defence attorney and refusing to answer any questions because of her lack of counsel, she said.
“I don’t want other lawyers to become victims like Kong Sam Onn,” she said, referring to her former defence lawyer, who resigned and defected to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in July after he was also sued for defamation by the premier.
After the hearing, she rejected the court’s decision and pledged to take her appeal to the Supreme Court.
“I’m not going to pay the fine – I’ve said that before clearly,” she said. “I’m just giving the courts of Cambodia another chance to prove that they can do their job.”
In a statement released after the hearing, the SRP decried the outcome as a “mockery of justice” that merely mimicked the verdict handed down in August. “The Appeal Court, ignoring principles of fair trial, blindly affirmed the decision of the Municipal Court: The accused was denied her rights to be represented by a lawyer of her choice, and to be judged by an independent and impartial tribunal,” the party stated.
The prime minister sued Mu Sochua for defamation in April after she filed her own complaint, claiming he referred to her in a speech as a cheung klang – a Khmer term meaning “strong leg” but considered derogatory when used in relation to women. Her own lawsuit against Hun Sen was dismissed by the Appeal Court on October 14.
Hun Sen’s lawyer, Ky Tech, said during the hearing that Mu Sochua’s comments about her own lawyer were an attempt to politicise the issue, and that the wording of Mu Sochua’s lawsuit – in which she requested 500 riels in symbolic compensation – was clear evidence that she aimed to attack and insult the prime minister.
“She held a press conference to defame Samdech Hun Sen and said she would sue [him]. She demanded 500 riels, but this amount could not wash away the stain on her reputation if she had really been defamed by Hun Sen,” Ky Tech said.
“There was only one aim – to defame Samdech Hun Sen.”
Rights activists, however, said the verdict was a clear case of political manipulation.
“Poor people can’t make complaints against high-ranking people. This is the custom of Cambodia,” said Chan Soveth, a senior monitor at local rights group Adhoc.
The outcome of the appeal, he said, was a foregone conclusion from the moment the original verdict was delivered.
“The Phnom Penh court had made its decision already, [a] decision made not by the court but by high-ranking people. The Appeal Court could not make a new ruling,” he said.
Thida Keus, executive director of rights group Silaka and secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics, said she was disappointed the court did not conduct its own investigations into the case, adding that the verdict could discourage women from getting involved in politics.
“Since [Mu Sochua] is among the most proactive women activists and lawmakers in Cambodia, I am disappointed she wasn’t given more respect,” she said.
“I feel very sad that this has happened – not just for women, but also for the public and the international community who know the judicial system in Cambodia is not free.”
The ruling came a week after the Governing Council of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union adopted a resolution expressing “deep concern” at the sentencing of Mu Sochua for making statements that “clearly fall within the limits of her freedom of expression”.
The resolution, adopted in Geneva on October 21, also decried the removal of Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity in June to pave the way for the defamation case, and said she “did not enjoy her right to legal counsel of her choice” following Kong Sam Onn’s resignation in July.
Parliamentarian Mu Sochua appeared in court on Wednesday as the judges rejected her appeal of a defamation conviction.
THE Court of Appeal has upheld the defamation conviction of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, an outcome the Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian described as “politically motivated”.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Seng Sivutha affirmed the ruling handed down by the Municipal Court in August, which found Mu Sochua guilty of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen and ordered her to pay a total of 16.5 million riels (US$3,963) in fines and compensation.
During the hearing, Mu Sochua was defiant, appearing in court without a defence attorney and refusing to answer any questions because of her lack of counsel, she said.
“I don’t want other lawyers to become victims like Kong Sam Onn,” she said, referring to her former defence lawyer, who resigned and defected to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in July after he was also sued for defamation by the premier.
After the hearing, she rejected the court’s decision and pledged to take her appeal to the Supreme Court.
“I’m not going to pay the fine – I’ve said that before clearly,” she said. “I’m just giving the courts of Cambodia another chance to prove that they can do their job.”
In a statement released after the hearing, the SRP decried the outcome as a “mockery of justice” that merely mimicked the verdict handed down in August. “The Appeal Court, ignoring principles of fair trial, blindly affirmed the decision of the Municipal Court: The accused was denied her rights to be represented by a lawyer of her choice, and to be judged by an independent and impartial tribunal,” the party stated.
The prime minister sued Mu Sochua for defamation in April after she filed her own complaint, claiming he referred to her in a speech as a cheung klang – a Khmer term meaning “strong leg” but considered derogatory when used in relation to women. Her own lawsuit against Hun Sen was dismissed by the Appeal Court on October 14.
Hun Sen’s lawyer, Ky Tech, said during the hearing that Mu Sochua’s comments about her own lawyer were an attempt to politicise the issue, and that the wording of Mu Sochua’s lawsuit – in which she requested 500 riels in symbolic compensation – was clear evidence that she aimed to attack and insult the prime minister.
“She held a press conference to defame Samdech Hun Sen and said she would sue [him]. She demanded 500 riels, but this amount could not wash away the stain on her reputation if she had really been defamed by Hun Sen,” Ky Tech said.
“There was only one aim – to defame Samdech Hun Sen.”
Rights activists, however, said the verdict was a clear case of political manipulation.
“Poor people can’t make complaints against high-ranking people. This is the custom of Cambodia,” said Chan Soveth, a senior monitor at local rights group Adhoc.
The outcome of the appeal, he said, was a foregone conclusion from the moment the original verdict was delivered.
“The Phnom Penh court had made its decision already, [a] decision made not by the court but by high-ranking people. The Appeal Court could not make a new ruling,” he said.
Thida Keus, executive director of rights group Silaka and secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics, said she was disappointed the court did not conduct its own investigations into the case, adding that the verdict could discourage women from getting involved in politics.
“Since [Mu Sochua] is among the most proactive women activists and lawmakers in Cambodia, I am disappointed she wasn’t given more respect,” she said.
“I feel very sad that this has happened – not just for women, but also for the public and the international community who know the judicial system in Cambodia is not free.”
The ruling came a week after the Governing Council of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union adopted a resolution expressing “deep concern” at the sentencing of Mu Sochua for making statements that “clearly fall within the limits of her freedom of expression”.
The resolution, adopted in Geneva on October 21, also decried the removal of Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity in June to pave the way for the defamation case, and said she “did not enjoy her right to legal counsel of her choice” following Kong Sam Onn’s resignation in July.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Does Hun Sen want to play in our [Thai] political sandbox?
Source: ki-media
26/10/2009
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post
26/10/2009
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post
Friends and supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's iconic democracy crusader, may have felt insulted by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen when he tried to compare her with his so-called "eternal friend", exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Many people are talking about Mrs Suu Kyi of Burma. Why can't I talk about the victim, Thaksin?" said Hun Sen during his face-off with the media on Friday when he arrived in Hua Hin for the Asean summit.
The Cambodian prime minister's attempt to liken Thaksin to Mrs Suu Kyi as both were victims of separate military coups in Thailand and Burma was simplistic and ignorant of the huge difference in characteristics and dedication to democracy between the two people, not to mention the political backgrounds leading to their overthrow.
"Without the coup d'etat in 2006, such a thing would not have happened," said Hun Sen.
But what would have happened without the coup then? No one then seemed to have the right answer although they agreed that the political stalemate would drag on until either side in the conflict - the Thaksin government on one side and the People's Alliance for Democracy on the other - lost their patience. Then what, bloodshed? But would Hun Sen care?
I don't think he would as the only thing he cares about is that he lost a powerful friend in Thailand who seemed to have done him and his family a lot of favours to the point that his wife had tears in her eyes when she learned about Thaksin's fate.
Hun Sen insisted his remarks about Thaksin did not constitute interference in Thailand's domestic affairs. He was quoted to have said: "This is just moral support from me. As one million Thai people of the red shirt group support Thaksin, why can't I, as a friend from afar, support Thaksin?"
But I beg to differ. His first remark, which was first conveyed to the Thai people by former prime minister and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and then repeated upon his arrival here for the Asean summit, amounted to direct interference in Thailand's internal affairs. They also demonstrated his complete lack of any diplomatic decency and statesmanship.
Hun Sen's remarks should have pleased the Puea Thai Party and the red shirt people. In the meantime, they have incensed the yellow shirt people as well as many non-partisan Thais who despise a foreigner like a Cambodian interfering in our worst politically divisive issue.
It has been widely known that Hun Sen and Thaksin have had a close relationship through their business dealings and it was believed that the fugitive ex-premier had, on various occasions, slipped into Cambodia. But then why did the Cambodian premier choose to make public his sympathy and support for Thaksin now - at first through Gen Chavalit and then by himself at the Asean summit - despite the fact that the coup which toppled the Thaksin regime took place more than three years ago?
Was it intended to embarrass Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva? The answer was already loud and clear as Mr Abhisit appeared to be disturbed by Hun Sen's remarks and hit back at the latter. "What is the purpose of Prime Minster Hun Sen coming to Thailand?" said Mr Abhisit during a press conference on Friday. Was he coached by Gen Chavalit whose one-day visit to Phnom Penh, which came two days ahead of the Asean summit, seemed quite untimely if not suspicious?
As a shrewd politician who has survived in Cambodian politics for decades while many of his arch-rivals have all lost out or faded into oblivion, I don't think Hun Sen needs coaching. After having deliberately made unprovoked inflammatory remarks against Thailand on various occasions, including his order for Cambodian troops at the border to shoot any Thais who trespass on the disputed territories or his recent announcement to Cambodian students that he would tear up the Thai map pertaining to the Thai-Cambodian border if it does not correspond with the one held by Phnom Penh, Hun Sen, this time, may think that he wants to have a hand in Thai politics. And he has chosen to take Thaksin's side probably believing that the fugitive ex-premier will definitely be able to stage a political comeback in the not too distant future.
Even Thaksin himself is not certain whether or when he will be able to return in triumph.
Since Hun Sen has laid out his hand, it remains to be seen whether Thaksin and his Puea Thai Party will join hands with Cambodia to fulfil the fugitive ex-premier's wish for a political comeback.
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Post Publishing Co Ltd.
"Many people are talking about Mrs Suu Kyi of Burma. Why can't I talk about the victim, Thaksin?" said Hun Sen during his face-off with the media on Friday when he arrived in Hua Hin for the Asean summit.
The Cambodian prime minister's attempt to liken Thaksin to Mrs Suu Kyi as both were victims of separate military coups in Thailand and Burma was simplistic and ignorant of the huge difference in characteristics and dedication to democracy between the two people, not to mention the political backgrounds leading to their overthrow.
"Without the coup d'etat in 2006, such a thing would not have happened," said Hun Sen.
But what would have happened without the coup then? No one then seemed to have the right answer although they agreed that the political stalemate would drag on until either side in the conflict - the Thaksin government on one side and the People's Alliance for Democracy on the other - lost their patience. Then what, bloodshed? But would Hun Sen care?
I don't think he would as the only thing he cares about is that he lost a powerful friend in Thailand who seemed to have done him and his family a lot of favours to the point that his wife had tears in her eyes when she learned about Thaksin's fate.
Hun Sen insisted his remarks about Thaksin did not constitute interference in Thailand's domestic affairs. He was quoted to have said: "This is just moral support from me. As one million Thai people of the red shirt group support Thaksin, why can't I, as a friend from afar, support Thaksin?"
But I beg to differ. His first remark, which was first conveyed to the Thai people by former prime minister and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and then repeated upon his arrival here for the Asean summit, amounted to direct interference in Thailand's internal affairs. They also demonstrated his complete lack of any diplomatic decency and statesmanship.
Hun Sen's remarks should have pleased the Puea Thai Party and the red shirt people. In the meantime, they have incensed the yellow shirt people as well as many non-partisan Thais who despise a foreigner like a Cambodian interfering in our worst politically divisive issue.
It has been widely known that Hun Sen and Thaksin have had a close relationship through their business dealings and it was believed that the fugitive ex-premier had, on various occasions, slipped into Cambodia. But then why did the Cambodian premier choose to make public his sympathy and support for Thaksin now - at first through Gen Chavalit and then by himself at the Asean summit - despite the fact that the coup which toppled the Thaksin regime took place more than three years ago?
Was it intended to embarrass Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva? The answer was already loud and clear as Mr Abhisit appeared to be disturbed by Hun Sen's remarks and hit back at the latter. "What is the purpose of Prime Minster Hun Sen coming to Thailand?" said Mr Abhisit during a press conference on Friday. Was he coached by Gen Chavalit whose one-day visit to Phnom Penh, which came two days ahead of the Asean summit, seemed quite untimely if not suspicious?
As a shrewd politician who has survived in Cambodian politics for decades while many of his arch-rivals have all lost out or faded into oblivion, I don't think Hun Sen needs coaching. After having deliberately made unprovoked inflammatory remarks against Thailand on various occasions, including his order for Cambodian troops at the border to shoot any Thais who trespass on the disputed territories or his recent announcement to Cambodian students that he would tear up the Thai map pertaining to the Thai-Cambodian border if it does not correspond with the one held by Phnom Penh, Hun Sen, this time, may think that he wants to have a hand in Thai politics. And he has chosen to take Thaksin's side probably believing that the fugitive ex-premier will definitely be able to stage a political comeback in the not too distant future.
Even Thaksin himself is not certain whether or when he will be able to return in triumph.
Since Hun Sen has laid out his hand, it remains to be seen whether Thaksin and his Puea Thai Party will join hands with Cambodia to fulfil the fugitive ex-premier's wish for a political comeback.
Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Post Publishing Co Ltd.
PAD protests Cambodia at the Asean summit
Source: everyday
Thai protester led by People's Alliance for Democracy made a brief protest at Puk Tien Beach in Cha-Am district Saturday, demanding Cambodia to withdraw troops from disputed area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple.
Some 30 people gathered at the beach, about ten kilometers from meeting venue of Asean Summit, in responding to harsh remark by Cambodia that it would not extradite former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand.
Thai protester led by People's Alliance for Democracy made a brief protest at Puk Tien Beach in Cha-Am district Saturday, demanding Cambodia to withdraw troops from disputed area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple.
Some 30 people gathered at the beach, about ten kilometers from meeting venue of Asean Summit, in responding to harsh remark by Cambodia that it would not extradite former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand.
Thailand and Cambodia have been at the loggerhead over the disputed area near the Hindu temple for long time but the issue was heated a year ago as it was listed as a world heritage site.
The issue of Thaksin emerged into the conflict as Hun Sen said on Friday he would make him as his economic advisor.
Thaksin Most Welcome: Government Official
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 October 2009
Were ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to come to Cambodia, the country would not extradite him, a government statement said Friday.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said earlier this week he would welcome the former premier to Cambodia, which prompted a rebuke from Bangkok.
“Cambodia will not extradite in following of any eventual request by Thai government, in case the former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra decides to stay in Cambodia,” according to a government statement.
Thaksin, who was ousted in 2006 by a military coup, lives in exile in Dubai. He faces a two-year jail term for corruption in Thailand.
The extradition treaty between Cambodia and Thailand allows either party to deny extradition in cases of “political offenses,” among others, the Cambodian statement said.
“The Cambodian government has the right to interpret these two points [on whether] the case of Thaksin Shinawatra is a political case or not,” it said.
Hun Sen told reporters Wednesday after a meeting with Thaksin supporter Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, a member of the opposition Puea Thai Party, Thaksin was “a political victim.”
“I respect and like him more now than when he was a prime minister,” Hun Sen said. “I have prepared a house where Thaksin can stay at any time.”
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva responded, saying if Thaksin entered Cambodia, “the extradition process will begin.”
“If Cambodia failed to comply with the treaty on the extradition, that would be another story,” he said.
The Cambodian statement said Hun Sen’s invitation was one of long friendship and should not be interpreted as “interference of Thailand’s internal affairs.”
Hun Sen left Friday for Hua Hin, Thailand, where Asean leaders are holding a summit. He is expected to hold talks with Abhisit there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)