KI Media: “International forces begin Libya strikes” plus 24 more |
- International forces begin Libya strikes
- U.S. warships launch airstrikes on Libya
- ABC News: President Obama's statement on beginning of Libya operations
- Dramatic video of [Libyan] warplane going down in flames, exploding on ground in Libya
- U.S., Coalition Attack Libya Air-Defense Systems With ‘Operation Odyssey’
- Neak Mean Roab Lean, Neak Kror Ot Bay Muoy Kroab - The rich are multi-millionaire, the poor have nothing to eat: praCh Ly
- Dicussion Forum on Preah Vihear temple - Op-Ed by Ta An Srok Khmer
- 05 March 2011 - Memorial Ceremony of the KPNLAF
- Souvenir Photos of the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forced (1981-1989)
- Ah Chor Ruoch Khluon, M'chas Choab Kuk - The thief gets away, the owner jailed: A Poem in Khmer by Khmer Sachak
- Khlang Toeus Khang Lech, Phlech Toeus Khang Koeut - Strong along the west, you forgot the east: Poem in Khmer by Khmer Sachak
- Khmer Voices Rising: praCh Ly's Performances
- Praise for Cambodia's 'old goats' policies
- "Khmer Trov Preung Krok" a Poem in Khmer by Niekkiri
- Hun Sen: Who ask you say that I [Hun Sen] slave of Vietnam who forced to move Khmer Krom office?
- Celebrating Rights, Dignity, Contribution of Women
- J'accuse... CHAOS
- Slam poet Sarah Kay - POWER TO THE WOMEN and CREATIVITY!!
- US Maintains Ban on Cambodian Adoptions
- Hun Sen Orders Investigation of Labor Recruiters
- [Thai ambassador to Cambodia] Prasas ready for quiet life
- Brain Food
- Cambodia Struggles to Stem Domestic Worker Abuse
- My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series
- Celebrating Rights, Dignity, Contribution of Women
| International forces begin Libya strikes Posted: 19 Mar 2011 03:22 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQTKFBG30Ag&feature=channel_video_title US briefs journalists on Libya operation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vll2SZ5iMWA&feature=channel_video_title  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. warships launch airstrikes on Libya Posted: 19 Mar 2011 03:08 PM PDT U.S. and British warships launch more than 110 Tomahawk missiles at defense facilities on the Libyan coast, a naval commander at the Pentagon says. The strikes are intended to help an international coalition establish a no-fly zone in Libya. March 19, 2011 By Brian Bennett, Tribune Washington Bureau Los Angeles Times Reporting from Washington— U.S. warships launched airstrikes at targets along Libya's coast on Saturday in an opening attack to degrade Moammar Kadafi's air defense systems and allow international allies to establish a no-fly zone aimed at protecting civilians. The U.S. and Britain launched more than 110 Tomahawk missiles at more than 20 targets. The strikes targeted specifically surface-to-air missile sites and radar detectors that are part of the Libyan military's air defense infrastructure, said Vice Admiral William E. Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The U.S. had identified sites along the coast of Libya, including around the capital of Tripoli and the city of Misratah, the Pentagon confirmed. While President Obama has emphasized that American forces would play a subordinate role in enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, the Pentagon said the U.S. had to lead the operation in its early days because it has the greatest capability to destroy Kadafi's air defenses, a key prerequisite to taking control of Libya's airspace. Once that portion of the mission is accomplished, international partners led by France, the United Kingdom and Arab partners will enforce the no-fly zone, U.S. officials said. The U.S. is on the "leading edge" of the coalition military action that is designed to prevent further attacks against Libyan citizens, especially around the city of Benghazi, the main stronghold of rebels seeking to overthrow Kadafi's regime. The U.S. strikes are intended to defeat the Libyan government's ability to resist the implementation of a no-fly zone, said a senior U.S. military official. The U.S. moved ahead Saturday with a three-pronged approach in what has been code named Operation Odyssey Dawn: launch targeted cruise missiles against Libyan air defenses, jam communications of Kadafi's forces and establish the central command and control for the operations. U.S. military assets are being joined by ships and aircraft from the U.K., France, Italy and Canada, as well as Arab partners. The Pentagon said those partners would announce their level of participation separately. The U.S. effort is being run by General Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command based in Stuttgart, Germany. Admiral Samuel Locklear, chief of U.S. Navy forces in Europe and Africa, has on-the-scene command and control from aboard the Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen was in the Pentagon on Saturday in preparation for the start of operations in Libya. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates postponed a planned trip to Russia in order to stay in Washington and monitor developments in Libya. A U.S. defense official declined to give an assessment of Libyan air defenses, but Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a hearing on Thursday that establishing a no-fly zone over Libya would take "upwards of a week." The Libyan air force has "multiple tens" of combat aircraft that are capable of flying, said Schwartz, and in recent weeks have been completing roughly 10 sorties per day, he said.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABC News: President Obama's statement on beginning of Libya operations Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:59 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRuog_B4JLU  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dramatic video of [Libyan] warplane going down in flames, exploding on ground in Libya Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:55 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNCTJ9EBAHc  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S., Coalition Attack Libya Air-Defense Systems With ‘Operation Odyssey’ Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:53 PM PDT Mar 19, 2011 By Nicholas Johnston and Tony Capaccio Bloomberg President Barack Obama said he's authorized U.S. armed forces to begin "limited" operations to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, as U.S. and coalition ships and aircraft hit the North African nation's air defenses. "Today we are part of a broad coalition, we are answering the calls of a threatened people and we are acting in the interests of the United States and the world," Obama said in Brasilia, Brazil, where he has started a scheduled five-day trip to Latin America. The nations taking part, including the U.K. and France, are acting to protect Libyan civilians from attack by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi, who hasn't met the demands of the United Nations to abide by a cease-fire, Obama said. By continuing his assault on anti-government strongholds, Qaddafi ignored an opportunity to avoid a military confrontation, he said. As many as 25 U.S., Canadian and Italian vessels, including the USS Mount Whitney command vessel, led an attack, dubbed "Odyssey Dawn," that included U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles and aerial jamming, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on the condition he not be identified. Aircraft from the U.K. and France were in the air over Libya. Targets included four Libyan airfields near Tripoli and air-defense sites in the east, the official said. The official declined to speculate on the duration of the air-defense suppression operation. Firing on Armor French fighter jets fired on Libyan armored vehicles today in two separate incidents, Colonel Thierry Burkhard, a French defense ministry spokesman, said. "This is not an outcome that the United States or any of our partners sought," Obama said. "Despite the hollow words of his government, he has ignored that opportunity," Obama said of Qaddafi. "His attacks on his own people have continued, his forces have been on the move. And the danger faced by the people of Libya has grown." The UN Security Council voted March 17 to ground Qaddafi's air force and to grant military authority to the U.S. and its allies to protect civilians and population centers threatened by his forces. Libya has about 30 sites with surface-to-air missiles, linked to 15 early-warning radar, that pose a "significant threat" to foreign warplanes over or near Libyan airspace, according to information provided by the Pentagon. Limited Opposition Libya has a limited air force, with about 80 percent of its aircraft "non-operational." Libyan pilot training levels and air combat tactics "have remained far inferior to those of U.S. pilots and well-trained Middle Eastern pilots," such as those from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, according to the Pentagon. American, European, Canadian, and Arab leaders met in Paris earlier today to discuss the details of their operation to protect civilians from attacks by Qaddafi's forces. Shortly after the meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. would use its "unique capabilities" and support "all necessary measures" to implement the no-fly zone authorized on March 17 ago by the UN Security Council. Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, though it accounts for less than 2 percent of global production, according to Bloomberg estimates. Crude oil for April delivery slipped 9 cents to $101.07 a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures are up about 23 percent from a year ago, partly on concern that the turmoil that has spread across the Middle East and North Africa will engulf major oil- producing states.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:36 PM PDT praCh 7 of 9 - praCh's Bopha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilj0lVEEASw&feature=channel_video_title
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| Dicussion Forum on Preah Vihear temple - Op-Ed by Ta An Srok Khmer Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:27 PM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 05 March 2011 - Memorial Ceremony of the KPNLAF Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:19 PM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Souvenir Photos of the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forced (1981-1989) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 02:12 PM PDT All photos courtesy: Dr. A. Gaffar Peang-Meth Click on each photo to zoom in
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| Khmer Voices Rising: praCh Ly's Performances Posted: 19 Mar 2011 01:38 PM PDT Videos courtesy of rabidmonk3yzTV Khmer Voices Rising: An International Freedom-to-Write Literary Festival at Brown University hosted a live performance by Cambodian Rapper praCh Ly, accompanied by Dub PassenJah and the RagaMuffin Band. praCh 1 of 9 - The Great Escape http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4j2PJjGulw&feature=channel_video_title praCh 2 of 9 - War on the Streetz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fQSF-t_Nls&feature=channel_video_title praCh 3 of 9 - Silent Cry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbP4XX8_7kI&feature=channel_video_title praCh 4 of 9 - I Declare War http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OshwSg3NOZg&feature=relmfu praCh 5 of 9 - Acapella http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANrzwTb3uW0&feature=channel_video_title praCh 6 of 9 - Art of Facts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTcfBsaLuHQ&feature=relmfu praCh 7 of 9 - praCh's Bopha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilj0lVEEASw&feature=channel_video_title praCh 8 of 9 - Sah Knum Chi Khmer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zqZywv3dc&feature=channel_video_title praCh 9 of 9 - Project 401 (B-Boy Crew) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmBEMrLkWrg&feature=relmfu  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Praise for Cambodia's 'old goats' policies Posted: 19 Mar 2011 01:12 PM PDT March 20, 2011 Horace Beasley (Mr) Bangkok Opinion The Nation Re: "No country for old men and poor men," World, March 19. I applaud the Cambodian government's new laws to protect foreign men from predatory Cambodian women. One law prohibits foreign men aged 50 or older from marrying local women. I'm not familiar with conditions in Cambodia, but I'm told there's a large population of impoverished young women. One can easily imagine that some of them might get jobs in bars and seek out ancient foreign sugar daddies to marry in a desperate attempt to escape poverty. Should a young woman succeed in capturing such a foolish old goat, he will find to his sorrow that she will quickly develop spending habits designed to reduce him to penury, compounded by the incessant demands of her family, relatives, assorted leeches and hangers-on, possibly her entire village, and even the surrounding province. This new law will protect elderly foreign men from such depredations. Such men are usually lonely, hungry for love, and easy prey for calculating young vixens. I counsel such men to buy a dog. A young woman's love will be entirely simulated and dependent on continued affluence, whereas a dog will provide true and unconditional love and a loyalty that will never fail. A second law requires a foreigner under the age of 50 to have a monthly income of Bt75,000 before he can marry a Cambodian woman. Earlier it was only suspected that local ladies married foreigners for their money. This new law will guarantee it. But this law also has the effect of protecting foreign men, because I doubt that there are many expats in Cambodia who earn Bt75,000 a month, especially if they're English teachers. I warmly commend the Cambodian government for its altruistic and compassionate concern for the well-being of its population of foreign men.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Khmer Trov Preung Krok" a Poem in Khmer by Niekkiri Posted: 19 Mar 2011 11:29 AM PDT   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hun Sen: Who ask you say that I [Hun Sen] slave of Vietnam who forced to move Khmer Krom office? Posted: 19 Mar 2011 08:16 AM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Celebrating Rights, Dignity, Contribution of Women Posted: 19 Mar 2011 01:09 AM PDT CEDAW signed by Cambodia in 17 Oct. 1980, acceded to on 15 Oct. 1992 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. Article 9 1. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality. They shall ensure in particular that neither marriage to an alien nor change of nationality by the husband during marriage shall automatically change the nationality of the wife, render her stateless or force upon her the nationality of the husband. 2. States Parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:54 AM PDT By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh CPP = CHAOS Series  the CPP for %^&)*?<(*%+_<,^*+%>?@!SHIT+%$#^/,>}! for Cambodians  Photo: BBC Guy DeLauney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Slam poet Sarah Kay - POWER TO THE WOMEN and CREATIVITY!! Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:47 AM PDT By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh Expanding our Mind Series BLOWN AWAY by this INCREDIBLY GIFTED slam poet! Do not miss this performance! The audience was enthralled and gave her two standing ovations. "If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she's gonna call me Point B ... " began spoken word poet Sarah Kay, in a talk that inspired two standing ovations at TED2011. She tells the story of her metamorphosis -- from a wide-eyed teenager soaking in verse at New York's Bowery Poetry Club to a teacher connecting kids with the power of self-expression through Project V.O.I.C.E. -- and gives two breathtaking performances of "B" and "Hiroshima." Why you should listen to her:hands are not about politics / this is a poem about love / and fingers/ fingers interlock like a beautiful zipper of prayer --Sarah Kay Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan's East Village absorbing the talents of New York's most exciting poets. Sarah Kay also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off. Now 22, Kay is a successful spoken word poet and codirects Project V.O.I.C.E. (Vocal Outreach Into Creative Expression). Founded by Kay in 2004, Project V.O.I.C.E. encourages people, particularly teenagers, to use spoken word as a tool for understanding the world and self, and a medium for vital expression. "A day with Sarah Kay reminded me of poetry's power to help us make sense of our lives, to see the world in a new way." Deb Martin, Rowan University  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US Maintains Ban on Cambodian Adoptions Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:42 AM PDT
Phnom Penh Friday, 18 March 2011 "The United States has not set a date for resumption of inter-country adoption with Cambodia." A US envoy for children's issues declined to lift a ban on US adoptions from Cambodia Friday, despite the 2009 passage of an adoption law, officials said. The US banned adoptions from Cambodia in 2001, after allegations that mothers were being paid to give up their children to adoption agencies. Susan Jacobs, the US Ambassador for Children's Issues, told Cambodian officials the country had made improvements in children's protection. But after her two-day fact-finding mission, the US Embassy said in a statement, "The United States has not set a date for resumption of inter-country adoption with Cambodia." Cambodian officials say they expect to begin initiating a 2009 law in April this year to bring the country in line with international standards. The law includes age requirement for prospective parents, between 30 to 45, and an age limit on a child of 18 years. It also includes requirements the adoptive parent is not a criminal and can care for the adopted. "We aim to prevent human trafficking and child smuggling," said Koy Kuong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The law would ensure a child lives with its adopted family, he said, "with proper living, dignity and happiness."  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hun Sen Orders Investigation of Labor Recruiters Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:34 AM PDT Hun Sen ordered the Anti-Corruption Unit to look into the growing sector of recruitment, following death of Seung Sina earlier this month at the T&P company's center in Phnom Penh. Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh Friday, 18 March 2011 "Hun Sen had ordered the ACU, headed by Om Yentieng, to investigate the social labor offices of companies in Phnom Penh and the provinces "following different articles in the press and radio reporting." Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered a government investigation into the business practices of labor recruiters, after a worker died in the facility en route to work in Malaysia, a government spokesman said. Hun Sen ordered the Anti-Corruption Unit to look into the growing sector of recruitment, following death of Seung Sina earlier this month at the T&P company's center in Phnom Penh. T&P officials have denied wrongdoing in the past, but the death followed reports of another woman's reported escape from the center, during which she said she jumped a fence and broke bones in her legs. Those two incidents and another death at a separate company earlier this year have underscored the weak system of regulation surrounding the aggressive recruitment of exported labor, especially as more young Cambodian women have sought work as maids in Malaysia. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith posted on his Facebook page on Friday a note saying Hun Sen had ordered the ACU, headed by Om Yentieng, to investigate the social labor offices of companies in Phnom Penh and the provinces "following different articles in the press and radio reporting." ACU officials could not be reached for comment on Friday. Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that police have investigated the death at T&P and have filed with the court already. Meanwhile, at six rights groups and development organizations met in Phnom Penh this week to consider the practice of aggressive recruitment and plan report to the ministries of Labor and Interior. Recruitment firms have sprung up across the country in the past year, convincing young women to take jobs as domestic help in Malaysia and often offering families money and goods up front. This has made some companies loathe to release their new recruits, even if the women have changed their minds.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [Thai ambassador to Cambodia] Prasas ready for quiet life Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:24 AM PDT
19/03/2011 Bangkok Post Phnom Penh is Prasas Prasasvinitchai's first ambassadorial posting - and it has been a turbulent one. His hectic schedule was highlighted by strained bilateral relations caused by a series of diplomatic events such as Cambodia's appointment of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as the country's economic adviser, and rallies by the Santi Asoke and People's Alliance for Democracy over the border dispute around the Preah Vihear temple. Less than a month after arriving at the Cambodian capital in October 2009, Mr Prasas was recalled to Bangkok in a protest by the government against Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's appointment of Thaksin as economic adviser. He spent more than nine months away from Phnom Penh. Mr Prasas returned to the Cambodian capital again on Aug 24 last year, soon after Thaksin's resignation as an economic adviser. Since his return to his post in Phnom Penh, he has had to work day and night amid growing tension back home over the territorial dispute. The two nations have been at loggerheads over their rival claims to 4.6 square kilometres of land around the temple, which was unilaterally registered as a World Heritage site in 2008 by Phnom Penh. There were only few brief occasions that the Thai embassy under Mr Prasas's guidance could enjoy peaceful moments, such as celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries in October 2010. Just weeks later, the Department of Special Investigation claimed the red shirts had undergone weapons training in Cambodia. Phnom Penh angrily denied it. Mr Prasas had to calm what could have touched off another diplomatic row. Then, just three days before the New Year, seven Thais including Democrat Party MP Panich Vikitsreth were arrested for trespassing on Cambodian territory. Five of the seven have now returned home, leaving only Veera Somkwamkid, the coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, and Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, Veera's secretary, in jail. The two are behind bars and seeking a royal pardon. Clashes between Thai and Cambodia troops in February prompted the United Nations and Asean to intervene. Mr Prasas paid a courtesy call on Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong on the occasion of his departure from the ambassadorial post. He will return to Bangkok on March 31 while his successor-designate Sompong Sanguanbun, now ambassador attached to the ministry and former consul-general to Ho Chi Minh City, will travel to Phnom Penh on April 11. Mr Prasas might be summoned by the Foreign Ministry to observe the Jakarta-brokered General Border Committee and Joint Boundary Commission meetings between Thailand and Cambodia to be held in Bogor between April 7-8. The decision on whether he should observe the meeting is up to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. He is now preparing himself to assume the role of ambassador to the Philippines, as endorsed by the government last month.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:17 AM PDT  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia Struggles to Stem Domestic Worker Abuse Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:06 AM PDT By Irwin Loy PHNOM PENH, Mar 19, 2011 (IPS) - Cambodia's fledgling domestic worker export industry continues to come under scrutiny amid allegations that women have been forcibly detained in privately run training centres. Local media in this Southeast Asian country reported that one woman died this month at a labour recruitment firm in Phnom Penh, while another trainee broke her legs attempting to escape. The firm has denied any wrongdoing in the woman's death. But the controversy is a sign that the government's belated efforts to regulate the rapidly expanding industry have fallen short. "It's so sad that the problems are still happening," Moeun Tola, the head of the labour programme at the advocacy group Community Legal Education Centre, told IPS. The country's main opposition party is also weighing in on the issue. Parliamentarians with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party visited the training centre in question this month. Member of Parliament Son Chhay said he was alarmed by the tall gates and barbed wire at the facility, which he said gave "the impression of imprisonment". "Local authorities and police ignored the law that forbids detention against one's will," Chhay wrote in a letter to Malaysia's ambassador and provided to IPS and other media this week. "There was no sign that the local authorities even attempted to defend the rights of trainees who are detained against their will. There are tremendous pressures on the young women to comply with the rules of the company." Abuse claims made by domestic workers began to make waves last July, when stories of women who said they fled training centres hit the local newspapers. In multiple cases, the women reported they had signed up to be trained as domestic workers, but were not permitted to leave the training centres unless they paid large sums of money. Others claimed they escaped from cramped or squalid living conditions. The headlines shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the industry. The Cambodian Labour Ministry warned recruitment firms to clean up their act and announced new guidelines in August. The guidelines, released ahead of a promise to update the law governing the industry, advised firms not to allow their trainees to fall into debt. The guidelines also contained general statements prohibiting "detention" and "child labour". The problem, Tola explains, is enforcing the rules. Multiple agencies have been found to be training girls younger than 18 - the minimum age for such work is 21. But inspections of the training centres are rare and there are few consequences for operators found to be flouting the rules, Tola says. "I think the authorities know these things are happening, but they just close their eyes," he added. Roughly 30 firms are licensed by the country's Ministry of Labour to train and send domestic workers abroad. The majority of the women are bound for Malaysia, which is struggling to meet voracious demand for live-in maids after Indonesia put a moratorium on its citizens taking such jobs in Malaysia following publicised cases of abuse. Malaysia has set its sights on countries like Cambodia to fill demand. Malaysia last year issued almost 25,000 work visas to Cambodian domestic workers, according to the Malaysian Embassy here. That's well above the roughly 5,300 visas granted across all sectors in 2008. Cambodia has been just as eager to send its citizens abroad. Job options for many low-income women here are in the country's chief economic driver - its garment-manufacturing sector. But the minimum wage in garment factories is 61 dollars per month, much less than the 200 to 300 dollars per month women are often promised as domestic workers. As a result, recruitment firms operating in Cambodia have jumped to take advantage of the market. Several agencies have been known to recruit women in poor rural areas. They offer cash lump-sum payments and bags of rice to families in order to convince them to sign up their daughters - but the money must be repaid. Tensions between the trainees and their employers surface when women ask to leave their gated facilities - often the companies will refuse or demand money to allow women to leave, afraid they will run away without paying their debts, according to rights advocates and industry representatives. The government is expected to issue a new law governing recruitment firms this year - replacing the vague existing regulations, which are more than 15 years old. An Bunhak, director of the Association of Cambodian Recruitment Agencies, said he has advised the government to prohibit companies from offering large loans to its trainees. Bunhak says stricter rules will help smooth out problems in the industry. "We think everyone must follow the regulations. Once everybody understands, it will be okay," Bunhak told IPS. "We want the rules to protect our migrant workers." While authorities implement the new regulations, however, this month's case shows that potential domestic workers continue to face problems even before they leave the country. Heang Sophara signed up to be trained as a domestic worker last year. "I wasn't earning much money farming. I hoped that I could make more money in Malaysia to support my family, even if I had to be away from them for two years," she told IPS. But when she started hearing stories of mistreatment, she decided to withdraw her application. She claims the agency demanded that she pay 900 dollars to get out of her contract, even though she never received any loans or underwent training. The case remains unresolved. "I get more scared when I hear about the problems," Sophara said. "Now I just want to stay home."  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Rights, My Responsibility (Constitution) Series Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:05 AM PDT Constitution of Cambodia (Sept. 1993)
Article 82 The National Assembly shall hold its first session no later than sixty days after the election upon notice by the King. Before taking office, the National Assembly shall decide on the validity of each member's mandate and vote separately to choose a Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and members of each Commission by a 2/3-majority vote. All National Assembly members must take oath before taking office according to the text contained in Annex 5.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Celebrating Rights, Dignity, Contribution of Women Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:57 PM PDT  |
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