KI Media: “Please help sign this petition to ask US Congress to provide the proper funds to assist Khmer community” plus 22 more

Overview Letter Targeting: The President of the United States, The U.S. Senate, and The U.S. House of Representatives

Started by: Talaya Sin

"The soldiers dragged out a pregnant woman and slit open her belly. A witness who was personally tortured for his political activism in Congo is more haunted by that image than his own pain." It's not just a Cambodian issue, it's all victim of war trauma.

The 300,000 survivors of the Cambodian holocaust and their families living in the United States bear the physical and psychological scars of war, torture, and genocide. They also sustain the economic burdens of a community that has lost at least one-third of its people; inlcuding over 90% of its doctors, lawyers, teachers, civil servants and clergy. There is no prehistoric precedent for a community rebuilding after such a massive loss of its citizenry and resources.

The National Cambodian American Health Initiative (NCAHI) is a membership organization of Cambodian leaders founded in October, 2003. NCAHI's mission is to improve and preserve the health of survivors of the Cambodian holocaust and their families through research, health education, model programs and advocacy. Members come from 16 states and service area, representing more than 75% of Cambodians living in the United States.

For the past 7 years, the National Cambodian American Health Initiative has been gathering information about the health of survivors of the Cambodian holocaust and their children in 2005 declared a "health emergency" in the Cambodian community. Science tells us that extreme trauma causes long term chronic disease and early death in survivors and children of survivors. We know this is happening in the Cambodian community because we have statistic that show that:

In addition to having more chronic illness it is not surprising that Cambodians have a rate of disability of 30% for adults over 18 and 30% of our families are living in poverty. Resources for building a new home after genocide are few. More than 95% of educated Cambodians were exterminated leaving few human resources for leadership and health care. This is a reality that is not clearly understood by our community or by our government.

As new Americans, Cambodian want to work and contribute to our new home but we face the consequences of trauma and chronic disease in a real and practical manner. Based on 5 years of talking with the community across the country, NCAHI developed a strategic plan for health that calls for the following:

We want to take this information and plan to the Congress of the United States. We invite you to join us by signing the petition. If you would like more information please request a copy of Health Emergency in the Cambodian Community in the United States and Strategic Plan for Health for the Cambodian Community in the United States (2007-2012 by sending an email to MScully@Khmerhealthadvocates.org .

With your help, we can improve the health of Cambodian survivors while lowering the cost of essential health care through a community based approach to health.

Sincerely,

Executive Director

Khmer Health Advocates, Inc.

Chair of National Cambodian American Health Initiative

1125 New Britain Avenue, Suite 202

West Hartford, CT 06110

Tel: (860) 561-3345 Fax: (860) 561-3538

Dear All,

CEDAC is organizing the Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Launching ceremony on March 10, 2011 at 8:30 am.

The representatives from the Palm Sugar Association, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery and other stakeholders will attend this Launching ceremony.

For more details, please refer to attached file.

Thanks and Kind regards,

Preah Vihear temple was constructed by the Khmer kings Suryavarman I (1002 -1050) and Suryavarman II (1113 -1150) and was controlled by subsequent Khmer rulers until the late 18th century. It fell under Siam's (Thailand's) control around 1794 when Siamese rulers, taking advantage of a weak and fractured Cambodia, annexed Battambang, Sirisophorn, Tonle Ropov, M'lou Prey (parts of present day's Stung Treng province) provinces and Siem Reap province which administered Preah Vihear temple before Preah Vihear province was created in 1962 (1).

Due to internal feuding and prolonged and protracted internal strife, Cambodia has become so weak in the later part of 18th and 19th centuries that Cambodia's eastern part of the Mekong River was controlled by Annam (Vietnam) and the western part of the Mekong River was controlled by Siam (Thailand).

The French Protectorate and the War with Siam

Fearing that Cambodia might eventually be totally swallowed by Vietnam to the east and Thailand to the west, King Norodom (Sihanouk's great grandfather) had invited King Napoleon III of France to establish a protectorate over Cambodia in 1863.

In 1867, the Siamese rulers recognized France's protectorate over Cambodia, but Siam still maintained control over Battambang, Sirisophorn, Tonle Ropov, M'lou Prey provinces. In 1883, King Norodom had signed a treaty to put Cambodia under the French colony. Since then, France had always wanted to recover Cambodia's and Laos' lost provinces from Siam. In 1886, France fought a brief war with Siam when combined French, Cambodian and Laotian troops pushed Siamese troops beyond the left bank of the Mekong River in Laos in an attempt to liberate all Laotian and Cambodian provinces on the western side of the Mekong River, including Cambodia's Tonle Ropov and M'lu Prey provinces and Laotian Champassak province.

In 1893, France fought another naval war with Siam on the Gulf of Thailand when French naval forces defeated Siamese naval forces and captured Siamese provinces of Trat and Chantaburi and French naval vessels had reached Bangkok through Menam on 8th July 1893 and gave King Chulalongkorn the ultimatum of France's wish to re-integrate provinces on the left bank of the Mekong River to France control (2). On 29th July 1893, Siamese King Chulalongkorn had accepted the term of France's ultimatum. On 3rd October 1893, France and Siam signed a treaty to return all Laotian provinces and the Cambodian provinces of Tonle Ropov and M'lou Prey to French control. France did not demand Siam to return Battambang and Siem Reap province, where Preah Vihear temple was situated, to Cambodia yet, but it had put a clause in the treaty to ban Siam from stationing any Thai troops in the provinces.

However, under the provision of article 3 of the 1893 treaty, France has the rights to recover all Laotian and Cambodian provinces annexed by Siam and provided unrestricted French powers to ensure the protection of all Laotian and Cambodian ethnic minority living in those provinces. The article stipulates "about the rights of France to provide protection to Khmers, Annamites (Vietnamese) and Laotians living inside Siam. France has the obligations to provide protection to these people by laws not to be oppressed by Siamese authority". This clause means that Siam had lost its sovereignty over all Laotian and Cambodian provinces annexed by Siam. Furthermore, it would mean the return of all of these provinces to Laos and Cambodia.

Realising that Siam had been hard-pressed by France, Siamese King Chulalongkorn embarked on a tour to Russia, Germany, England and then France to garnish support and to lobby them to press France to abandon its ambition to recover all annexed Laotian and Cambodian provinces. In France, he asked French President Félix François Faure to cancel the 1893 Treaty. The French president agreed to cancel the 1893 treaty if Siam agreed to return Battambang, Siem Reap and Chantaburi to French control.

The Return of Battambang and Preah Vihear

In 1902, France cancelled the 1893 treaty and renounced its rights to protect all Khmers, Laotians and Vietnamese living in Siam, by only accepting the return of M'lou Prey and Tonle Ropov provinces, which cover only 20,000 km2. This agreement outraged the French public and the French parliament refused to ratify it. In 1904, France had negotiated a treaty and forced Siam to return M'lou Prey and Tonle Ropov to Cambodia. Under a secret clause in this treaty, Siam is required to transfer all police powers to France in Battambang, Siem Reap and Sirisophorn provinces.

In 1906, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau ordered the French Protectorate Authority to enter into a negotiation with Siam for the return of many more Cambodian annexed provinces. The 1907 Franco-Siamese treaty was concluded on 23rd March which required Siam to return Battambang, Siem Reap (Preah Vihear province was still under Siem Reap) and Sirisophorn provinces to Cambodia. The French parliament ratified the treaty 20 days later. The Mixed Franco-Siamese Commission, which was established a few years earlier, began conduct border surveys to demarcate the Cambodian-Siamese borders and to plant border posts. After the demarcation works were completed, the Franco-Siamese Commission commissioned the topographic maps called the Dangrek Map. The Dangrek Maps (Annex 1) were produced and they put Preah Vihear temple under Cambodian sovereignty. Siam was given 11 copies of the maps and it had accepted the maps in their entirety (3).

The 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty

The 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty only allows the return to Cambodia of the provinces annexed by Siam after 1794. Under the treaty, Siam can retain all other 13 provinces it had annexed before 1794, including Kauk Khan (Sisaket), Surin, Nokor Reach Seima (Korat) , Buriram, Sakeo, Sankeac, Krat (Trat), Chantaburi, Neang Rong (Rayong) and so on, which had been annexed before 1794 (4). Under this treaty, Preah Vihear temple was put under Cambodia's sovereignty.

The Thai Occupation of Preah Vihear temple and the 1962 ICJ Verdict

In 1954, less than one year after Cambodia gained independence from France and taking advantage of a weak Cambodia, Thailand sent its troops to occupy Preah Vihear temple. After 5 years of unsuccessful negotiations, Cambodia filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in 1959. On 15th June 1962, the ICJ, with the majority votes of 9 to 3, awarded the ownership of Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia. The judgment was accepted by Thailand and the 4.6 sq. km2 so-called "disputed zone" had not been claimed by Thailand for 46 years. The maps commissioned by the Franco-Siamese Mixed Border Commission in 1907 and provided to Thailand in 1908, and were used by the ICJ to reach its verdict in 1962, put the so-called "4.6 sq.km2 disputed zone" squarely under Cambodian sovereignty. With the majority votes of 9 to 3, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has adjudged:

"Thailand is under an obligation to withdraw any military or police forces, or other guards or keepers, stationed by her at the Temple, or in its vicinity on Cambodian territory".

Thailand was obligated to withdraw all its troops and return all stolen artefacts to Cambodia. And in order to celebrate and to commemorate the ICJ victory over Thailand as well as to prevent future takeover of the temple by Thailand, the Cambodian government had created a new province in 1962 called Preah Vihear province, to honour the temple.

However, on 15th July 2008, one week after Unesco inscribed Preah Vihear temple on 7th July 2008, Thailand sent its troops to re-invade and re-occupy the Preah Vihear surroundings, the temple vicinity, and triggered a border conflict till today.

The so-called 4.6 sq.km2 disputed zone

The 1962 ICJ verdict (5) stated clearly that Thailand is under an obligation to withdraw troops from "the Temple, or its vicinity on Cambodian territory." Maps from the 1907 treaty put the temple and its areas, the so-called 4.6 sq. km2, or the temple's "vicinity", claimed by Thailand, inside Cambodia. So, the 4.6 sq. km2 did not exist and the 1962 ICJ verdict was clear: the so-called 4.6 sq. km2 areas or the temple's "vicinity" currently claimed by Thailand have been judged to belong to Cambodia.

Conclusion

By the 1962 verdict of the ICJ, the 1907 Franco-Siamese Treaty and the 1908 map, the 4.6 sq. km2 did not exist and therefore Thailand's current act of aggression against Cambodia by forcibly occupying the 4.6 sq. km2 zone constitutes an invasion of a sovereign state that could proceed to cause a regional instability. Cambodia, as a member of the international community, should seek international legal remedy one more time to settle the matter once and for all.

References

(1) Battambang during the Times of the Lord Governor, p. 211.
(2) http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2011/02/franco-siam-war-of-1893-over-cambodia.html
(3) https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12de40a91a9412a4&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D3be3c9113b%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12de40a91a9412a4%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_fvlot44f1%26zw&sig=AHIEtbSpj69vA-re7UkvtTZFy8esdWxqyg&pli=1
(4) http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/09/king-sisowaths-1906-protest-letter-to.html
(5) http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=3&code=ct&case=45&k=46&PHPSESSID=df1449206e4b8593a7f78076e318b471/2008/01/preah-vihear_1961bmp.jpg

New Delhi, March 09, 2011

With tension palpable along the Thai-Cambodia border, regional grouping ASEAN has proposed a meeting between the two countries on March 24-25 to resolve the vexed border issue that centers around the stunning 900-year-old stunning Preah Vihear temple complex dedicated to Shiva, one of the trinity of Hindu Gods. It is a temple that architect Divay Gupta helped restore.

Understandably Gupta is a worried man. "I was there in January last year and have been going there on and off for the last five years. I have heard there has been some damage on the temple. It is already very fragile and there is threat of the entire structure collapsing," he told HT.

As an international expert under a UNESCO project, Gupta had helped prepare the management plan for the temple complex. The effort led to the listing of the monument as a world heritage site on July 7, 2008, sparking off a decades-long dispute that led to Thai and Cambodian troops exchanging machine gun and artillery fire that has resulted in many deaths—both of soldiers and civilians—besides leading to the displacement of thousands.

Heavily landmined in the aftermath of the decades-long war in Cambodia, the border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated.

The present dispute has its roots in 2008 when anti-government protesters in Thailand vehemently criticised the Thai regime for backing Cambodia's bid to list the site as a world heritage site.

Contending claims to the Shiva temple and its surrounding area have stirred nationalist passion in the two countries for generations.

More than a decade ago, the 11th century temple area was under the control of the remnants of Pol Pot's guerrilla army, the Khmer Rouge. It predates the famous Angkor Wat temple complex by more than 100 years.
In 1962, the International Court of Justice had awarded the 4.6 sq km area comprising the temple and its precincts to Cambodia, irking Thailand no end, whose military regime had organised a fund-raiser where every citizen donated 1 baht to pay for the Thai legal effort at The Hague.

Situated on a hillock, the temple is mainly accessible from the Thai side as it was land-mined from the Cambodian side by Khmer Rouge guerrillas besides being a very steep 600-metre climb.

The descent from the temple has a bloody history with thousands having been blown to bits in 1979 when Thai soldiers forced some 45,000 refugees to climb down the mined precipice to Cambodia.

Environmental groups want Australia's help to halt a $3.5 billion hydro-electricity power project on the Mekong River which has pitted our South-East Asian neighbours against each other.

Thailand and Laos want to press ahead with the Xayaburi Dam project, but Australia - through the Mekong River Commission (MRC) - has backed concerns by Vietnam and Cambodia over project.

The Xayaburi Dam in Laos is the first of 11 proposed hydropower developments on the lower Mekong River.

Concerns have been raised about the dam's impact on the biodiversity of the river and the 40 million people who depend on it for their livelihoods.

The United States has already called for development to be deferred for 10 years to allow further environmental impact studies to be carried out.

Environmental groups in Australia have also pressed Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to back calls for a stay on hydro-power development along the river.

Ame Trandem, a representative for environmental group International Rivers, says Australia needs to step up pressure on the commission given fears of the wider impact hydropower dams will have on the Mekong River.

"Australia should be applying more pressure on the Mekong River Commission to make sure that the four countries take a precautionary approach to the dams and that they are fully informed and aware of the impact the dams will cause," Ms Trandem said.

A decision on the project by the commission could come as early as March 22.

The Laos-based MRC is internationally donor sponsored, with Australia a key contributor.

The MRC advises the four countries - Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam - over the direction of development on the Mekong River.

Laos, in official statements, says it sees no reason for delaying the Xayaburi Dam, having met all legal, environmental and social measures.

In 2007, Laos signed a memorandum of understanding to sell 95 per cent of the electricity produced by the Xayaburi project to Thailand.

Financing and construction for the $3.5 billion development is also set to come from Thai banks and construction companies.

University of New South Wales political analyst, Carl Thayer, says Australia faces difficult diplomatic times given Thailand and Laos' ambition to press on with the Xayaburi hydro-power development.

"Vietnam's got Australia's ears," Mr Thayer said.

"Laos needs the money from selling electricity. All northeast Thailand and Vietnam are importers of electricity from Laos - it cuts the other way," he said.

"By Australia and environmentalists raising it, it is because the scientific evidence isn't clear enough. And be careful what you wish for because it could do irrevocable damage for downstream states," he told AAP.

"There's no win-win situation for Australia because each country (has its) own national interest in getting... the water and using its flow."

The 4900-kilometre Mekong River starts in the Tibetan Plateau, running through southern China, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia and onto the Vietnam's delta region to the South China Sea.

China has gone ahead with programs to dam the upper Mekong, while the Xayaburi Dam is the first planned construction on the lower Mekong's mainstream.

Climatologist Anond Snidvongs from Chulalongkorn University says dams will impact the region's agriculture.

"Dams are definitely going to affect the biodiversity, that's one thing. It's very clear and very well proven," he said.

Of key concern is the impact on fisheries on Cambodia's Ton Le Sap Lake and Vietnam's delta, both vital sources of food and income for millions of people on the Lower Mekong.

"Fish in the Mekong, they are both food and also economics. About one third of the economy of Cambodia at the moment relies on the exporting of fish (from the lake) to other countries, especially Thailand," Mr Anond said.

In Vietnam, a deputy minister of natural resources and environment warned the Xayaburi Dam would greatly affect Vietnam's agricultural production and aquaculture.

Reduced fresh water flows into the Mekong Delta in Vietnam would lead to greater saltwater intrusion into agricultural soils damaging rice output from the delta - the rice bowl of the country.

A Cambodian court on Thursday jailed a British computer engineer for seven years after paying to have sex with two underage girls.

Matthew Harland, 38, was arrested in the capital Phnom Penh last May for buying sex from an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old in 2006.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court also ordered Harland to pay each of the victims one million riel ($250) in compensation.

"The verdict offers justice to the victims," said Peng Maneth, a lawyer for the girls.

"But it is regrettable that the court did not order him to be deported after serving the sentence. He is still young and has job opportunities in Cambodia and he could cause more harm to other children."

A British police report said Harland jumped bail from Britain in 2005 after being arrested on child pornography charges, according to Cambodian police.

Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in 2003 to try to shake off its reputation as a sex predators' haven. Dozens of foreigners have since been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries.

Thailand wants to discuss plans for Indonesian observation of the border conflict with Cambodia during boundary committee meetings in Indonesia later this month, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

As Asean chair, Indonesia has proposed hosting the Thailand-Cambodia Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) on demarcation and the General Border Committee (GBC) in Bogor from March 24-25.

Cambodia has said it agrees to the proposal and will attend the meetings of the two bodies.

Phnom Penh insisted the meetings could not be bilateral discussions between the two parties, asking for Indonesia to act as a "referee" over the matter.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said Thailand regarded the meetings as bilateral although Indonesia would observe proceedings.

Thailand wants discussions on the terms of reference (TOR) for Indonesian observers on the border between the two countries at the disputed area adjacent to the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, he said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand was ready to discuss the border matter with Cambodia and hoped the border meetings in Indonesia could ease border tension.

"But we have to look at the form of the meetings since there will be a third country to engage with the issue," he said.

"The JBC and GBC have their own mechanisms but it would be no problem if anybody sat in as a witness," he said. "Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, will acknowledge the meetings but it will not intervene in the content of the meetings."

Thailand and Cambodia have long been at loggerheads over the boundary issue. The latest clashes took place from February 4-7 and claimed around 10 lives including three civilians on both sides.

Cambodia brought up the issue with the United Nations Security Council and Asean last month.

The UN urged Asean to enforce a "permanent ceasefire" at the border areas. Indonesia came up with a plan to dispatch observers to the disputed border. The TOR has been sent to the two for consideration. Phnom Penh has agreed to the terms, though Thailand is still studying them.

The Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh is waiting for permission from Cambodia to send a doctor inside the prison to check health of a convicted Thai nationalist or bring him out to see the doctor, Thai Foreign Ministry's spokesman Thani Thongpakdi said Wednesday.

Veera Somkwamkit, jailed on spying charges, is reportedly very ill. His mother had sought help from the Thai government to help Veera, a leader of Thai Patriots Network.

Veera and another TPN member, Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, were jailed on spying charges after being arrested in December along with five others, including Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth, during an inspection in Sa Kaew province.

The five were freed after being sentenced to the suspended jail terms.

Veera's mother, Wilaiwan met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on Tuesday to seek ways to help the high profile nationalist plus his aide Ratree.

Wilaiwan told reporters that her son was very sick. She quoted him as telling her during a visit in Prey Sor Prison last week that he was so sick that he fainted in the prison.

"Mother, don't you know that I am very sick. I am so ill that I fainted. Prison wardens had to assist me to the doctor's room," Wilaiwan quoted Veera as saying.

Earlier Mong Kimheng, the chief warden of Prey Sar Prison, however had said Veera was in a good shape and in good care.

"He just caught a cold these days due to the change in climate, but he is in good health," Mong Kimheng was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Cambodia has agreed to a two-day General Border Committee meeting with Thailand in Bogor on March 24-25 but the Thai army is not happy about the presence of Indonesia as a third party mediator.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi yesterday said Phnom Penh had confirmed it agreed to Indonesia's proposal to organise the GBC meeting in Indonesia and that Thailand welcomes Cambodia's readiness to attend.

The GBC is co-chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries.

Mr Thani said that on this occasion Thailand could discuss with Cambodia the terms for Indonesia to send observers to the Thai-Cambodian border to monitor the situation.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Tuesday replied by letter to Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa over the proposed meeting. He said Thailand was ready to attend but he wanted to have further discussions about the details, including the format, venue and date.

An army source said its Border Affairs Department had sent a letter notifying Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon about the meeting, which will be held in Bogor in West Java.

If both sides agree to attend the meeting proposed by Indonesia it would be the first time the GBC has met in a third country, the source said.

Gen Prawit last week called his Cambodian counterpart Tea Banh on the telephone asking him to bring forward from April to March the 8th GBC meeting, which was originally to be hosted by Cambodia in Siem Reap.

"But Gen Tea Banh has not yet replied. This is believed to be because Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen does not want the meeting to be bilateral," the source said.

The source said the Thai side actually wants the GBC to be a forum for military leaders of the two countries to meet and talk and is disgruntled about the presence of the Indonesian third party.

Meanwhile, the Thai government sees no problems if the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting with Cambodia is held in Indonesia on March27-28, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

With or without a third-party observer, as long as Cambodia was willing to attend the meeting it would be a positive indication that relations between the two nations could move forward, Mr Abhisit said.

BANGKOK, March 10 (Bernama) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has affirmed that Thailand is ready for the next Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Commission (JBC) meeting, which is to be held in Indonesia from March 27-28, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The meeting comes following months of fluctuating border tensions which reached their peak, with outbursts of violence, last month.

In response to Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong's recent announcement that Phnom Penh is ready to attend, the Thai Prime Minister said that he is hopeful that it will be the first step towards resolving bilateral problems, and that he has no problem with any third party bearing witness.

Abhisit dismissed the proposal of his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen to hold multilateral talks on the issues, and insisted that the talks between Thailand and Cambodia are to be held bilaterally to comply with the principles of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Meanwhile, acting Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs is meticulously working on the agenda for the meeting and backed up the Prime Minister's sentiments that the negotiations regarding Thailand-Cambodia border issues should be undertaken bilaterally.

The People's Alliance for Democracy's (PAD) opposition to any involvement of Indonesia in settling the Thai-Cambodian border dispute is wrong, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.

Mr Suthep commented after PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongpan said he will send a letter to the Indonesian embassy opposing any intervention by Indonesia in issues between Thailand and Cambodia.

"What Mr Panthep is doing is wrong because Indonesia is following Asean's resolution.

"We should work with all sides to bring about peace," Mr Suthep said.

He said Indonesia would act as an observer, not as a negotiator.

"Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, as the current Asean chair, understands the Thai-Cambodian situation and always has positive feelings toward Thailand," the deputy premier added.

She was raped at 12 and forced into marriage at 14. Or at least Somaly Mam thinks that was her age—abandoned as a baby, she's not sure what year she was born. At 16 she was sold to a brothel, where she endured years of torture and was forced to watch a pimp shoot her best friend in the head. In 1991 she met and married a French human-rights worker and fled to Paris. But four years later she returned to Cambodia—and to the scene of her horrific abuse. Pretending to be a nurse for Doctors Without Borders, she infiltrated Cambodia's brothels and handed out condoms. Later she founded an NGO that operates safe havens for victims of the sex trade in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. To date, the group has saved 4,000 women and girls. But Mam's work is nowhere near done—there are some 50,000 sex slaves and prostitutes in Cambodia alone; worldwide at least 2 million are sold into sex slavery every year, a quarter of them young children. Despite these daunting numbers, nothing can deter Mam, petite and softspoken, from her crusade. In 2006, in a truly macabre warning to stop her crusade, her own 14-year-old daughter was kidnapped, raped, and nearly sold into slavery. Once reunited, Mam took her daughter's face in her hands and said: "You've suffered what you've suffered. Now you take that pain and you help others."

The city dump in Phnom Penh was the foulest 100 acres in Cambodia. The smell was nauseating, the smoke was choking, and the garbage itself was dangerous. Sokha Chen's legs still bear the scars of countless cuts, stabs, and burns from the four years she spent scavenging for bits of metal and plastic. But today those scars are covered by the bright yellow socks that are part of her uniform at Zaman Academy, one of Cambodia's best private schools. At 16, Sokha is a top student, as well as an accomplished classical dancer. Her life now would have seemed an impossible dream just a few years ago.

Sokha Chen (Photo: Agnes Dherbeys / VII for Newsweek) Orphaned at age 9, Sokha left her village for Phnom Penh, where one of the few ways a child can earn money is to pick through the dump. That's where Chicagoan Bill Smith found her three years ago. Smith had come to Cambodia a few years earlier to adopt. But instead of just returning home with one child, he wound up founding a center that is home to 100 children from the dump and surrounding slums. Called A New Day Cambodia, it gave Sokha her first real chance to show what she could achieve, not simply what she could endure. She has been moved to successively better schools as she outstrips the other students, demonstrating a remarkable talent for languages. What is most remarkable, though, is her resilience and her optimism. She doesn't mind talking about her painful past, but she prefers to describe the school she will open for poor kids, and the house she wants to buy for her sister. "I have a bright future," she says with a grin. "I want all Cambodian kids to have a bright future too."

as well as through Amazon.