The Situation of making forum in Cambodia

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Public Forum of League for Democracy Party (LDP)

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President to Decide McChrystal's Future After Critical Comments

President Barack Obama, joined by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at left, said he thinks Gen. Stanley McChrystal used "poor judgement" in magazine article, 22 Jun 2010

President Barack Obama is deciding whether to fire his commander in Afghanistan after the officer, General Stanley McChrystal, and his staff made derogatory statements about the president and other senior administration officials. The comments were made to a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine.

President Obama took the unusual step of ordering General McChrystal home for an Oval Office meeting after he read the article, which White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said made the president "angry."

The president indicated he is considering firing the general. "Whatever decision that I make with respect to General McChrystal or any other aspect of Afghan policy is determined entirely on how I can make sure that we have a strategy that justifies the enormous courage and sacrifice those men and women are making over there and that ultimately makes this country safer," he said.

Countinue...

Cambodia's anticorruption chief apologizes for Hun Sen statue plan

Cambodia's anticorruption chief apologizes for Hun Sen statue plan

PHNOM PENH, Jun. 18, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- The chief of Cambodia's anticorruption commission has apologized for planning to unveil a massive statue of Prime Minister Hun Sen at his commission's headquarters, a letter seen Friday showed. Om Yin Tieng, one of Hun Sen's personal advisors as well as anticorruption chief, sought ''forgiveness'' in the letter dated Thursday for having a 5-meter statue of the prime minister made and planning to install it at the anticorruption headquarters. Hun Sen has reportedly banned making statues of himself and other living Cambodians and installing them on public property because it ''goes against Cambodian culture'' and, according to some, because it is attracting strong public criticism of those being ''honored'' for thinking far too highly of themselves. Read More...

Advisor to Cambodia's PM apologizes for making statue

An advisor to Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has apologized for making a statue without permission. In a letter made available to the media on Friday, Om Yintieng, advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had made a statue of the Prime Minister in a way to express his respect and gratitude, but without knowledge or consent from him. He thus made a public apology and asked for forgiveness from the premier.

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Cambodia may burn homes for Australian mine

The Cambodian government is threatening to burn homes to move people who are living around the site of a gold deposit discovered by an Australian company.

The threat affects around 95 families in Cambodia's Mondulkiri province.

They are living on or around a site that is being explored by the Melbourne based company Ozminerals.

In March, the company announced the discovery of gold in the area and it is now doing further sampling to assess the potential for a mine.

The Cambodian government has said it could be the country's most significant mining discovery so far.

Now local authorities are trying to force people living in the area to move.

Residents have been told their houses will be burnt or demolished if they do not go, but they want compensation first.

Ozminerals says they do not have to move yet but the government says they are illegal miners and they must go. Read More...

Lakeside corruption claim

Kep Chuktema accuses commune officials of fabricating ‘ghost families’

COMMUNE officials in Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake area are intentionally inflating the number of families affected by a massive development project in order to pocket compensation payments, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema alleged Thursday.

In a meeting with provincial governors addressing controversial guidelines on so-called temporary settlements, Kep Chuktema claimed corrupt commune officials are hindering efforts to relocate residents living on disputed land by adding non-existent “ghost families” to the actual number of those affected.


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Cambodia Behind in Investment Improvement

Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Photo: Courtesy of World Economic Forum

World Economic Forum annual meeting held in Switzerland, in 2010.

Cambodia has made less improvement in its trade environment than other countries that are competing for investors in the global marketplace, a new report has found.

The World Economic Forum’s 2010 trade index report found that Cambodia slipped to No. 102 of 126 countries, down nine places from the year before.

The index measures overseas ease of doing business, including market access, border administration, transport and telecommunications and the general business environment.

The World Economic Forum, based in Switzerland, did find that Cambodia had made improvements in market access, but it said the country faces major challenges in other aspects, including corruption in border administration—one of the highest rates in the world—and poor infrastructure and transportation.

These caused longer export times at higher costs, making Cambodia less desirable to investors.

Adding to the nation’s woes is a climate that is not friendly to trade. There are low levels of domestic competition, weak property rights and limited openness to multilateral trade rules, the report said.

Poor physical security is another problem, where police service is unreliable and levels of crime and violence are rising, the report said.

“Cambodia is not progressing enough to compete with other countries,” the report said. “The most critical shortcoming is the infrastructure,” including poor port facilities, poor roads and poor customs.

“So when clearing customs, there is room for irregular payment, some sort of bribery, and it creates very low transparency and it creates huge delays and is very costly,” Thierry Geiger, an economist for the World Economic Forum, said in a phone interview.

Immediate, tough measures in combating corruption and improving infrastructure would improve the country’s trade environment in the next five or ten years, he added.

Cambodia is one of the world’s most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, and loses an estimated $500 million a year to graft. Meanwhile, trade facilitation could help export competitiveness, attract foreign direct investment and boost economic growth.

Good trade facilitation has helped Singapore’s economy rank among the highest for years. Its border administration is one of the least corrupt in the world, and public servants provide fast, effective service, according to the report.

Vietnam has significantly improved its trade facilitation, while Thailand has become the best country in the region in implementing a Asean “single window” initiative, which supports free trade within the bloc.

Ros Khemara, an economist for the Cambodia Economic Association, said Cambodia can hardly operate the single window initiative.

“Operation within the administration in Cambodia always consist of informal fees, which occur at every [trading] process, especially regarding export and import,” he said. “If we want to reform to be better and faster, we have to eliminate some of the processes that will also reduce the chance for people who are used to receiving the informal fee. So it is hard to reform on this.”

In recent years, Cambodia has put many policies in place to help reduce the complexities of trade here, including improved registration and border administration. But the implementation of those policies is lagging.

“The policy framework and the legal framework in Cambodia is very strong to help encourage the development of the private sector,” said Joshua Morris, an emerging markets consultant. “Typically, what you find is enforcement and the implementation of those policies sometimes are not as well maintained as you would like with respect to the judicial and legal environments for business, key of business registration, transparency, taxation across all organizations, to further improvement in the processes in timing for import and export.”

Mao Thura, secretary of state with the Ministry of Commerce, said weak enforcement comes from a lack of tough measures to control implementation. But he said his ministry and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are organizing a workshop to find measures to bring the policies into practice.

Meanwhile, the International Financial Corporation will organize a workshop to train a group of arbitrators for the National Center for Commercial Arbitration. The independent center will be the country’s first dispute resolution mechanism and could attract more investors.

Sacravatoons no 1751 : " Surya Prasad Subedi "

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Thai protesters seek U.N.-mediated talks

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Anti-government protesters in Thailand say they are ready to resume negotiations if Thai authorities withdraw troops waging deadly street battles with demonstrators in the center of Bangkok.

Natthawut Saikua, a leader in the opposition United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), said the protesters wanted U.N.-mediated talks aimed at resolving weeks of political unrest which has seen thousands of so-called "Red Shirts" occupy an area of central Bangkok.

But a government-backed clampdown on the protesters by security forces has resulted in at least 25 deaths and hundreds of injuries since Thursday.

"We ask the government to ... withdraw troops out of surrounding area," Natthawut said. "We are ready to enter talks immediately by having the U.N. as mediator for this negotiation."

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Malaysian PM arrives in Cambodia for official visit

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday (May 9) to begin his three-day official visit to Cambodia.

The Prime Minister and his wife Rosmah Mansor were greeted upon arrival at the Phnom Penh International Airport at 6.50pm (7.50pm Malaysian time) by Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith.

Malaysian foreign minister Anifah Aman and Malaysian Ambassador to Cambodia Mohd Hussein Mohd Tahir Nasruddin were also present at the airport to welcome them.

This is Najib’s first official visit to this country after assuming office in April last year, and the visit, among others, is aimed at enhancing bilateral ties and trade between the two countries. Read More...

Slow justice for acid victims

Photo by: Heng Chivoan Mean Sokreoun, 37, sitting at her home near Takhmao town on Wednesday, recounts a 1995 acid attack that left her with horrific scars. Her attacker was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to five years in prison, a punishment Mean Sokreoun has deemed woefully insufficient.

Advocates praise the push for an acid law, but say enforcement is crucial

TWO litres of a corrosive acid altered Mean Sokreoun’s life forever. Fifteen years ago, she was a vivacious 22-year-old living with the man she loved.

However, on a muggy evening in May 1995, all of that changed as she lay in front of the television. She felt a sudden burning sensation over her body. A woman had walked in and poured a container full of acid over her. Mean Sokreoun leapt to her feet and felt, to her horror, the corrosive liquid eating through her skin. Parts of her face – including her nose and one ear – melted away and fell to the floor. She struggled helplessly to catch them. But the damage was already done.

‘I feel like a dead person’
Today, Mean Sokreoun lives in poverty, squatting on a small plot of land near Takhmao town. She had to sell her home and her land to pay for years of treatment on the scars that left much of her body disfigured.

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Sacravatoons no 1698 : " Long live our Beloved King ! "

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

Argument between police and workers during May Day Report by Sek Bandith, RFA Video by Uon Chhin Click to Read More... AddThis Posted by Socheata

Report by Sek Bandith, RFA
Video by Uon Chhin

Publisher calls for arrests to stop

Photo by: Sovan Philong Information MInister Khieu Kanharith speaks to reporters during an event marking World Press Freedom Day on Monday.

AN opposition-aligned publisher who was recently released from prison after being convicted of disinformation was among those who marked World Press Freedom Day on Monday by calling for a moratorium on journalist arrests and condemning the government for a spike in such arrests over the last 12 months.

“Hopefully after the World Press Freedom Day, no journalist will be arrested or imprisoned due to reporting the critical inaction of government and law enforcement,” Hang Chakra, publisher of Khmer Machas Srok, said during a ceremony marking the inauguration of a new office for the Press Council of Cambodia. Read More...

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.

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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

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A short Khmer-History

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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.

Sdech Kan

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Rainsy sentenced to two years' jail

SVAY RIENG PROVINCE & PHNOM PENH—SVAY RIENG provincial court has found opposition leader Sam Rainsy guilty of racial incitement and destroying demarcation posts on the border with Vietnam, lawyers said. In a closed-door session on Wednesday, Judge Koam Chhean sentenced the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) president to two years prison in absentia and fined him 8 million (around US$1,927), said Sam Sokong, the defense attorney of two villagers accused on similar charges.

“I cannot accept the trial today, because it did not take evidence and proof into consideration to find justice,” Sam Sokong said. “The court did not base its decision on the evidence.” He added that his clients – local villagers Meas Srey, 39, and Prom Chea, 41 – were also sentenced to one year in prison each on the charge of destroying public property. Rights activists also reported that the three were ordered to pay 55 million riels ($13,253) in compensation for the removal of the border markers.

The charges stemmed from an October 25 incident in which Sam Rainsy joined villagers in uprooting six temporary border markers in Svay Rieng’s Chantrea district. Locals claimed they were placed in their ricefields by Vietnamese authorities. Sam Rainsy is currently in France.

Long Ry, an SRP lawmaker who attended the trial, also rejected the verdict, saying the proceedings were a farce. “The decision was prepared beforehand and everything was decided in advance. The court ‘acted’ very well,” he said.

But one government official said the criticisms were misplaced, since all Cambodian judges followed due process and adhered to the law. “Everyone has different ideas, but we have one law,” said Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers. “We have to accept the judge’s decision.”

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Cambodia Battling Diseases on Two Fronts

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh 04 January 2010

Cambodia is facing threats from both the H1N1 virus and the avian influenza, health officials warned Monday, announcing that another man fell ill with bird flu in December.

December’s infection brings the total bird flu cases in humans to nine, with seven killed from the disease since in first appeared in 2004.

The most recent case, in Kampong Cham province, was accompanied by the deaths of 143 chickens. (Testing on two of two samples showed positive results for avian influenza.)

Meanwhile, H1N1, sometimes called swine flu, has killed six people and infected more than 500, officials said.

“We have found, every week, two, three or five new cases for H1N1,” said Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department. “On Dec. 16, we found a new [bird flu] case in Kampong Cham province, but he has not died.”

“Even though there are a small number of cases of human contamination, we are still worried about these diseases,” he said.

World Health Organization health specialist Nima Asgary confirmed the new case of bird flu, saying Cambodia was now facing infections of both viruses.

However, the H1N1 virus was considered less dangerous than bird flu, he said.

Ly Sovann recommended that Cambodians maintain good hygienic practices, including washing of hands and covering of mouth and nose while coughing, to prevent the spread of H1N1.

He also warned against selling or eating already-dead poultry, to prevent the spread of bird flu.