KI Media: “Teur Chavay Krong Phnom Penh Chea Nona? - "Who's the Phnom Penh City governor?": Poem in Khmer by Khmer Sachak” plus 24 more

A meeting between four Southeast Asian countries this week could determine whether construction of the first of up to a dozen controversial dams on the Mekong River can proceed.

The dams are designed to generate electricity for the region, but environmentalists fear they will disrupt the Mekong's delicate freshwater ecology—which supports the endangered giant Mekong catfish and dozens of other critical species—and threaten local communities who rely on the river for food and jobs.

"We believe the Mekong River dams should not be built," said Ame Trandem, a campaigner for the environmental group International Rivers.

The Xayaburi Dam in northern Laos is the first of 11 proposed dams planned for construction on the lower Mekong River. Nine dams are planned for Laos, and two others are slated for Cambodia.

The approximately 3,000-mile (4,800-kilometer) Mekong River is traditionally separated into two parts on maps: The upper Mekong flows through China, where it is known as the Lancang River, while the lower Mekong runs alongside Myanmar and through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea.

The Xayaburi Dam will take eight years to complete and cost an estimated $3.5 billion. It will generate 1,260 megawatts of electricity, most of which will be sold to Thailand.

According to Trandem, the Laotian government has said it would use the revenues from the dams to further national economic growth and redevelop the country, where the average citizen makes $2,400 per year.

In terms of biodiversity, the Mekong River is second only to the Amazon among the world's great rivers. As a home to more than 1,000 fish species, the Mekong supports the world's largest freshwater fishery, and it provides food and income–through fishing, farming, ecotourism, and other jobs–for many of the 65 million people who live in the Lower Mekong basin.

The Mekong is unique among the world's large rivers because "the fish diversity is extremely high, the diversity of migratory species is extremely high, and human dependence upon these species for fisheries is extremely high," said Peter McIntyre, a freshwater conservation expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"You put all of that together, and putting a large dam in the Mekong is likely to cause major problems."

International Rivers estimates that about 2,100 people would be forced to resettle if the Xayaburi Dam were built and that the livelihoods of another 200,000 people could be impacted directly.

Laos has urged neighboring countries to not block the Xayaburi's construction and maintains that the dam will have minimal environmental impacts.

A February 14 note by the Laotian government to other Mekong River member countries said the Xayaburi "relies upon a technologically advanced design to produce the cleanest and renewable electricity with no pollution . . . and a minimum of effects upon the environment in the vicinity."

University of Wisconsin-Madison's McIntyre said he is skeptical of this claim. "There's never been a dam put in place on a large river that didn't have a substantial ecological impact," he said. "That's just a fact."

The Laos government has yet to make its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Xayaburi Dam publicly available, but the Mekong River Commission (MRC)—an intergovernmental group created in 1995 to coordinate water resource issues among Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam—has commissioned its own environmental review of a series of proposed dams on the Mekong mainstream, including the Xayaburi.

The MRC's 198-page Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) report, published in October 2010, recommended a 10-year building freeze on all Mekong dam construction projects to allow time for more studies on the dams' environmental and societal impacts to be conducted.

"My intuition is that if you really account for the full sweep of negative impacts to humans and fish species, it would be hard to justify a dam on the Mekong River," McIntyre said.

Laos recently indicated it would resist the SEA report's recommendations. "We have no reason to believe that the Project should be delayed any further," the Laotian government said in a statement.

Environmental groups and scientists say the risks posed by the dams far outweigh any of their potential benefits.

Biologists have warned the Xayaburi Dam would block the migratory routes of dozens of fish species and could place 41 fish species at risk of extinction, including the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish.

The builders of the Xayaburi Dam have promised to create "fish passages" that would allow fish to continue their migrations.

But International River's Trandem said no fishery technology currently exists that can guarantee safe passage for the Mekong's numerous fish species.

"Right now, all the evidence points to the fact that fish passages will not work on the Mekong River because you're dealing with such a high volume of fish and such a large number of fish species," Trandem said.

Investors for Xayaburi and the other proposed Mekong dams need look no farther than the Mun River dam in Thailand to see all the things that could go wrong, the nonprofit conservation group WWF has said.

Built in the 1990s, the dam on the Mun River, the Mekong's largest tributary, was a "notable economic failure" that caused massive environmental and social disruptions, WWF said.

At $233 million, the Mun River dam cost investors twice the original estimate, according to WWF, and energy production fell to a third of expected capacity during the dry season. Return on investment dropped from a projected 12 percent to 5 percent. Other environmental groups estimate that more than 20,000 people have been affected by drastic reductions in fish populations upstream of the Mun River dam site and other changes to their livelihoods.

"The lessons of Thailand's Mun River dam are still fresh: Hasty environmental and social impact studies can lead to a bitter lose-lose situation for both fishermen and dam owners," Suphasuk Pradubsuk, National Policy Coordinator with WWF-Thailand, said in a statement.

Under the Mekong Agreement, the four MRC nations (China and Myanmar are "discussion partners," but not MRC members) are required to consult with one other on any large construction projects on the main stem of the Mekong River. Countries are supposed to reach an agreement about whether the projects should proceed, and if so, under what conditions.

In October 2010, Laos formally began the six-month MRC approval process for the Xayaburi Dam. A final decision is expected April 22, following a meeting between the four MRC member countries in late March.

However, because no MRC member nation has veto power, construction of the Xayaburi Dam's construction could move forward even if the other countries oppose the project.

"We're not a regulatory body and have no specific enforcement powers, but all countries fully support this prior consultation process and aim to reach a consensus," said MRC chief executive officer Jeremy Bird.

Mekong management is complicated by the fact that the river meanders through no fewer than six countries in Southeast Asia, many of which have had histories of bloody conflict with one another.

Citing a desire to avoid "regional conflict," U.S. Senator Jim Webb, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, recently said the U.S. should consider withdrawing funding to the MRC if construction of the dams proceeds. The MRC is funded by Australia, Sweden, the United States, the European Union, and other countries, as well as donors like the Asian Development Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed that sentiment last fall during a visit to Vietnam, when she recommended a "pause before major construction continues."

Brendan Buckley, a paleoclimatologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York City, whose team is using tree-ring data to model the climate of the Mekong basin during the last millennium, said he thinks construction of the Mekong dams is inevitable.

Laos and Cambodia "need the standard of living increases that would come from building these kinds of development projects, so they're going to happen," Buckley said.

But whether the dams are built "intelligently with some ecological balance remains to be seen."

Plans for hydropower dams on the lower Mekong River main stem date as far back as the 1950s, but war and political instability in the region, as well as concerns about earlier dam designs, prevented them from being built.

But interest in hydropower dams on the Mekong has seen a resurgence in recent years, said MRC's Bird.

This has been driven in part by concerns about climate change and a shift toward renewable energy sources that have low carbon footprints.

International River's Trandem said the success or failure of the Xayaburi Dam project could determine the fate of the other proposed Mekong dams.

"What happens to the Xayaburi will set the precedent for what happens in the future on the Mekong," Trandem said.

"If the four countries realize that the Xayaburi is not a good idea, it's unlikely that the other [main-stem Mekong] dams in Cambodia and Laos would ever go forward."

Locked in what appears to be an embrace, this ruby-eyed green pit viper (Cryptelytrops rubeus) is lunging for its next meal: a hapless tree frog.

Rarely observed, the snake is native to the forests of Cambodia and southern Vietnam. Despite its striking appearance - blood-red eyes with emerald coils - rubeus was not previously categorised as a distinct species because of the similarities to its yellow-eyed cousin, the large-eyed green pit viper (Cryptelytrops macrops).

Now, with the help of a genetic study, Anita Malhotra of Bangor University, UK and colleagues have identified rubeus as a unique species.

Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. This year Vesakh, the most important Buddhist festivity, is celebrated on 8 April in Japan, on 10 May in Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore, and on 17 May in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

In the message, which is entitled: 'Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists live in Peace', Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the pontifical council, note that "in the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. ... This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each".

The English-language text continues: "In today's world, marked by forms of secularism and fundamentalism that are often inimical to true freedom and spiritual values, inter-religious dialogue can be the alternative choice by which we find the 'golden way' to live in peace and work together for the good of all. ... Such dialogue is also a powerful stimulus to respect for the fundamental human rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of worship. Wherever religious freedom is effectively acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root; by the sincere search for what is true and good, moral conscience and civil institutions are strengthened; and justice and peace are firmly established".

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, March 31 (UPI) -- The prosecution in the case against a Khmer Rouge prison chief called for a life-in-prison sentence for atrocities committed in the 1970s.

The Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia is charged with trying surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime for alleged crimes against humanity committed during the 1970s.

Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as Comrade Duch, was director of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, or S-21, in Phnom Penh. He was convicted in July of crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge reign.

Andrew Cayley, one of the prosecutors at the tribunal, said a life-in-prison term was appropriate for Duch given the severity of the regime's actions in Cambodia.

"We call for the imposition of a life term, reduced to 45 years simply to take account of that period of illegal detention," he said in a statement to the tribunal. "But for the purposes of history, a life term must be imposed in this case."

Duch is challenging his sentence. He claims he wasn't a senior leader in the Khmer Rouge regime and faced death if he didn't carry out their wishes.

"I survived the regime, only because I respectfully and strictly followed the orders," he said.

During a commemorative ceremony yesterday the opposition Sam Rainsy Party urged the Government to seek justice for victims of a brutal grenade attack in 1997.

The attack left at least 16 people dead and more than 100 injured.

More than 50 monks said prayers for the dead, while SRP members said that justice would not be served unless the Government identified and arrested the perpetrators.

About 200 SRP members had gathered outside the old National Assembly building on March 30, 1997, to protest the impunity of Cambodia's judiciary.

Four grenades were lobbed into the crowd in a well-orchestrated attack that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded later to have involved Government officials.

"I would like to call on the Government to open an investigation into this criminal case and find out who the real killers were and bring them to justice," said Chan Virak, who lost his sister in the 1997 attack. He added that families of the dead have been waiting for 14 years to see justice.

During yesterday's event, which was attended by an estimated 200 party representatives and members of victims' families, SRP President Kong Kam said the "grenade attack had been planned".

Sam Rainsy addressed participants of yesterday's ceremony via video conference and said family members of the victims still suffer because they have not received justice.

"We still remember what happened unfairly to demonstrators at that time," he said.

"We continue our commitment to push the Government and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate and arrest the killers."

Teng Savong, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and once the head of the investigative team in charge of the case, said yesterday that police officials had not yet closed the file but that they were no closer to identifying any suspects.

"We have not yet apprehended any of the killers," Teng Savong said.

Kaing Guek Eav struck a defiant tone yesterday in his final appearance before the Khmer Rouge tribunal, denying responsibility for his leadership of S-21 prison and asking the court to release him "in order to seek justice and truth for the Cambodian people".

Speaking at the end of three days of appeal hearings before the tribunal's Supreme Court Chamber, the man better known as Duch offered only a token expression of apology over the course of a 25-minute address in which he asserted that he falls outside the court's mandate to try "senior leaders" and those "most responsible" for crimes committed under Democratic Kampuchea.

The argument represents a dramatic break from the approach taken by Duch and his defence over six months of trial hearings in 2009, during which he accepted qualified responsibility and essentially pleaded guilty. All this changed when he challenged the court's jurisdiction and asked for an acquittal during closing arguments in November of that year, a strategy the defence has carried forward in its appeal.

Donning reading glasses and reading from a legal pad on which he composed his remarks over the course of yesterday's hearing, Duch told the court that he had been forced to adhere to the line of a "criminal party".

"The senior leaders, the most responsible persons, were others, not me," he said. "According to the notion of senior leaders and most responsible persons, we refer to those who had the authority to design the [party] line and have it implemented. It wasn't me."

The remarks echoed claims made repeatedly this week by defence lawyers Kar Savuth and Kang Ritheary, who said Duch was no different from dozens of other KR-era prison chiefs throughout the country, all of the rest of whom have escaped prosecution. Duch said S-21 was "like the other torture centres where torture was employed", claiming he was not permitted to make decisions on the "smashing" of detainees.

"Whatever you were ordered to do, you had to do it, otherwise you would end up being smashed," he said. "I survived the regime because I respectfully and strictly followed the orders."

Duch's address came at the end of a day devoted to appeals of decisions on reparations and civil party admissibility in the original judgment, handed down last July. In that judgment, Duch was found guilty of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors have accused Duch of lacking remorse for his crimes and have called in their own appeal for him to have his sentence increased to 45 years, commuted from a life sentence only because of his excessive pre-trial detention.

Co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley said yesterday that Duch's cold address had "underscore[d] all of the arguments that we made about sentencing". Prominent civil party Bou Meng, one of the few living survivors of S-21, said he too was unmoved by Duch's plea for acquittal.

"Whether he received orders from his superiors or he did it by himself, he has to be punished," Bou Meng said.

Civil party lawyers argued yesterday that the reparations awards in the July judgment, which called for statements of apology made by Duch at trial to be collected and published and for the names of admitted civil parties to be printed in the verdict, were insufficient.

"The victims feel that such apologies are not genuine, and that when the apologies or names are published on the website, it's not acceptable for the victims or the civil parties, who by no means have access to such materials," civil party lawyer Kim Mengkhy said. "It is meaningless."

Civil party lawyers have proposed ideas including the construction of a memorial stupa at S-21 and the recommendation that the government name a national commemoration day for victims, though the Trial Chamber found last year that these proposals were outside the scope of reparation options available to the court. In the aftermath of the judgment last year, the tribunal adopted rule changes that will allow judges to grant more expansive reparation awards in future cases.

An additional point of contention yesterday was the Trial Chamber's decision to declare inadmissible the claims of 24 civil parties among the 90 who had been involved in court proceedings throughout the case. Civil party lawyer Hong Kim Suon said the tribunal had "outright misled" these people by not informing them that their claims could be rejected until the day of the verdict.

Kang Ritheary argued, however, that civil parties needed to present evidence to substantiate their claims.

"You cannot just make a plain statement and then it becomes evidence," he said.

Duch himself mentioned the victims only briefly yesterday, allowing that he did maintain responsibility for "suffering at S-21 and for psychological damage for the victims throughout the country". In closing his remarks, however, he returned to the issue of jurisdiction and his own limited culpability.

"I would urge your honours to decide and consider, on the issue of personal jurisdiction, that I do not fall within the jurisdiction [of the tribunal]", he said. "This is the principle you should abide by in order to seek justice and truth for the Cambodian people, as well as for the former Khmer Rouge soldiers and cadres, especially the middle level, who do not fall within the jurisdiction of this tribunal."

From Ethiopia's lowlands to the hilltops of Madagascar, hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in the developing world are being gobbled up by investors creating super-sized farms.

This high-stakes global land rush, which has the potential to transform, for good or ill, developing nations, is essentially a third wave of outsourcing.

The first wave, in the 70s and 80s, sent manufacturers scrambling to lower-wage countries; the second involved white-collar service jobs primarily to India and other English-speaking, low-wage countries.

This third wave has sent investors, eager to capitalise on rising food and energy prices or shore-up their own country's food security, to lease or buy huge tracts of cheap land in the developing world.

Already, about 2.6 million hectares in soon-to-be-independent southern Sudan has been leased or acquired by international investors. An additional 2.5m hectares has been acquired in Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and Sudan. Some nations, including Madagascar and Mozambique, have received requests from investors for more than half of their cultivable land area.

As recent Guardian coverage illustrates, host countries appear eager to accommodate investors who bring promises of modernisation of agricultural production, infrastructure, technology and employment. However, the risks and unintended negative consequences are potentially severe: loss of smallholder farmers, food scarcity, increased landlessness, marginalisation of the poor, social unrest, unsustainable resource use, and environmental degradation.

Emerging economies must proceed with caution. In this global "land rush", governments in much of the developing world confront a crucially important choice: will they proceed with a sustainable agricultural development strategy that benefits all of their people? Or will they settle for narrower, more immediate gains that actually cause harm to local communities?

The initial indications are not promising. Many of the deals approved by developing country governments are not the product of a fair or transparent process. Some threaten to undermine the food security of the host country. Many threaten to undermine the land rights and livelihoods of local communities. Few offer adequate compensation – in the form of equivalent land or cash – or suitable alternative employment for the displaced local farmers.

The stakes are high because more than 75% of the world's poorest families subsist in rural settings. More than 1 billion of these people have little or no legal control over the land they till. If meaningful gains on global poverty, hunger and food security are to be made, governments must to do more to accelerate legal land rights for their citizens.

Most governments recognise this, at least on paper. But untitled land is easily confused with "empty" land, which makes way for an attractive investment for corporate interests. In reality, land – particularly productive land – is rarely empty or unused. Poor and marginalised people typically have legitimate, long-standing traditional claims to such land, although these are often not reflected in public records.

As a result, these land deals often require the involuntary displacement of huge numbers of small farmers. The displacement common in these arrangements leads to increased poverty and potentially to social unrest, which can spoil the investment and even destabilise the government.

In most poor nations, there are large gaps between actual and potential agricultural yields. But the best route to closing this gap usually is not super-sized farms. In most labour-intensive agricultural settings, small farms are more productive than large farms. They could become even more productive – and as a result likely minimise unrest – if developing country governments provide these family farms with secure land rights that allow farmers to invest in their own land and improve their harvests.

Understanding and respecting the plight and rights of smallholder farmers is essential if investments are to be socially legitimate, legally secure and economically viable.

Indeed, the key to successful long-term, sustainable agricultural investments is to align incentives so that, if one party succeeds, all parties succeed. To achieve this "win-win-win" outcome, governments should insist that investors invest in the local farmers, not just the farmers' land. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the local farmers and their communities must be partners in the process – not simply moved off their ancestral land, with or without compensation. Local farmers, if not a part of a project's success, are likely to find a way to be a part of its failure.

Phnom Penh - Air France's first commercial flight to Phnom Penh in nearly four decades landed in the Cambodian capital on Thursday.

The arrival of flight AF274 marked the resumption of a service that the company terminated in 1974 as the Khmer Rouge was on the cusp of taking control of Cambodia.

The chief executive of Air France KLM, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, said the reopening of the service to Phnom Penh after 37 years was 'really emotional.'

'(Cambodia) is a country that developed (bonds) in the past very strongly with France,' he said. 'We feel we are in a French-speaking area. We understand the culture.'

Air France ended its service in mid-1974 because 'instability was worryingly high,' he said.

Within a year Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist movement had captured the capital. The Khmer Rouge held power for nearly four years during which as many as 2.2 million Cambodians died.

Gourgeon said Air France would run three flights a week between the two countries, and confirmed a future schedule could include Siem Reap, the country's tourism centre and home to the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

'Siem Reap is very important, but as far as I understand it, it was easier from a commercial and diplomatic point of view to start in Phnom Penh,' he said.

The new service will add 40 tons of cargo capacity weekly between the two nations, which Gourgeon said should help to boost bilateral trade.

Air France said it would operate Boeing 777 aircraft on the route, with a one-hour stopover in Bangkok.

The new Paris-Phnom Penh route is part of Air France KLM's strategy to boost growth by adding 11 destinations this year.

Tourism is a rapidly growing industry in Cambodia, and one of the four pillars of the economy along with agriculture, construction and garment manufacturing. Around 2.5 million people visited the country last year.

Cambodia has strong ties to France, its former colonial power. It gained its independence in 1953 after 90 years of foreign rule as part of French Indochina, which also included Vietnam and Laos.

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- After a 37 years absence, Air France is once again offering scheduled flights between Paris and Cambodia. It makes Air France the only European airline to operate flights directly to Cambodia.

The inaugural flight, flight 274, landed in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Thursday. "We are proud to be the first European airline to once again operate scheduled services between Europe and Cambodia, as part of our growth strategy on routes to Asia where we are increasing capacity," said Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France KLM.

Gourgeon said the airline will operate three weekly return flights between Paris and Cambodia, promoting economic and cultural ties with the region.

The flights are being operated by Airbus A340-300 aircraft until May 9, after which a Boeing 777-200 aircraft will take over. The route is also expected to help boost the opportunities for transporting goods such as fresh produce and textiles between France and Cambodia. Air France will offer hold space with a weekly cargo capacity of up to 40 tonnes.

The launch of the Paris - Phnom Penh route is part of the Air France KLM group's growth strategy with a 5.7 percent increase in capacity, with the launch of 11 new destinations in 2011 to Phnom Penh, Bata, Billund, Freetown, Lima, Monrovia, Orlando and Cancun for Air France, and Xiamen, Miami and Aalborg for KLM.

30th March, 2011

The turn of event in the Sam Rainsy Party's (SRP) internal wrangling surrounding the dramatic resignation and spectacular expulsion of MP Mao Monivan has moved in phenomenal pace that even the most keen and over-zealous observers had trouble keeping up with the chain of event. His expulsion has sent shiver down the spines of other would-be vocal and outspoken critics of the party leadership. It has sent shockwave across the political spectrum in Cambodia. His only crime was to make open criticism of the party's kingmakers: party's spokesman Yim Sovan and the party strongman Eng Chhay Eang.

The SRP's expulsion of Mr. Mao Monivan for publicly speaking out against the party's kingmakers and against the politics of patronage, nepotism and cronyism goes against the principle of democracy, the spirit of openness and pluralism. It shows the SRP's hypocrisy and its intolerance of divergent views. After attacking Hun Sen's dictatorship and autocratic style of rule for the last 15 years, the SRP should look at itself in the mirror and ask: are we any different from Mr. Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party?

The SRP has preached and campaigned for democracy and free speech for the last 15 years, since its inception and foundation. To show its principles and democratic values and that it is a genuine democratic party, the SRP must practice what it had preached for the last 15 years. To expel someone from the party for their outspokenness against the party's nepotism, cronyism and autocratic style of rule has shown the true colours of the SRP that it is dictatorial, intolerant and has never practiced what it had preached all along. Mao Monivan's expulsion has also shown that the SRP is suppressing internal and self-criticism. Mao Monivan's outspokenness and his criticism of the party's nepotism, cronyism and autocratic style of rule is part of his democratic rights under the SRP's statute which aimed at bringing and holding the party leadership to account for their actions and shortcomings. The SRP's action in expelling Mao Monivan will undoubtedly be seen as dictatorial in nature and puts its credibility and status as a democratic party and champion of democracy on the line. The SRP's ongoing squabbling and internal wrangling shows that the party is not working to advance democracy in Cambodia, not working for the interests of the Khmer nation or its people, but indulging in personal interests over national interests and the interests of democracy in Cambodia.

It is basic rights to be vocal in a democratic and open society, and Mao Monivan has used his basic rights to right the wrongs of the party leadership. If politicians, who are public figures, and to a certain extent, public property, can't handle the truth and that basic rights, then they do not deserve to politicians and public figures.

In a true democratic party, Mao Monivan's action in speaking out against the two kingmakers, Yim Sovan and Eng Chhay Eang, do not warrant his sacking and expulsion. The first actions would be to try to address his concerns and the first measures against him are warnings followed by disciplinary actions if he continues with his outspokenness. A swift expulsion that has been seen taken against him can only be described as draconian in nature and dictatorial in style.

The Chain of Event

Mao Monivan's dramatic resignation as an MP and his spectacular expulsion stemmed from a disagreement over his reshuffling as the SRP president of the populous Kampong Cham provincial branch to a smaller province of Kampot. But it is largely from the disagreement over the MP mid-term rotation and the replacement of current MPs with candidates next on the 2008 candidate list that trigger a war of attrition. This formula of MP mid-term rotation has been agreed and approved by the party's Steering Committee before the 2008 election. According to Mao Monivan, he resigned as an MP on his own volition because he wanted to keep his promise and to honour the agreement as well as to set an example in order to make way for the MPs in waiting to be sworn in. According to him, other MPs had broken their promises and dishonoured the agreements and refused to vacate the seats for the MPs in waiting. This disagreement had led him to launch a scathing public attack on the two kingmakers, who in turn took a swift action by expelling him in dramatic fashion.

Reshuffling is democratic and a good idea provided that it is done fairly and democratically. According to leaked reports, it was not done democratically and fairly at all. Not all MPs will be replaced with new candidates, only some MPs will. Party spokesman Yim Sovan, his wife Ke Sovannaroth who is the party secretary general, Eng Chhay Eang and his brother-in-law Kuoy Bunroeun, do not have to vacate their seats for the new candidates. To add insults to injury, Mao Monivan was kicked out as president of the party's Kampong Cham branch to make way for Eng Chhay Eang's brother-in-law, Kuoy Bunroeun, to take over. This is clear nepotism and cronyism.

However, MP rotation is a bad idea from the start. It is a recipe for internal division and internal power struggle. Mao Monivan's expulsion from the SRP and his subsequent defection to the Human Rights Party (HRP) will not be the last. The MPs in waiting, who had petitioned the party and its president Sam Rainsy in 2010 to ask them to honour the agreement and who had been snubbed by the current MPs' backflip, will surely rise up in revolt to show their discontent of the postponement of the MP rotation agreement. More internal wrangling and bickering are forthcoming and more defections to other parties, either to the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) or the HRP, are highly anticipated.

Mao Monivan: A traitor or a man of principle?

There have been smear campaigns to demonise him as the SRP traitor and a spy for the ruling CPP during and after his expulsion from the SRP. In one of his so-called attacks on the SRP leadership, Mao Monivan had called for a stoppage and cessation of a culture of labelling, smearing and vilification of the party members who dare to speak out as being traitors and spies.

I personally have some suspicions and reservations about Mao Monivan's democratic principles when he bitterly complained about the SRP's dictatorial style of rule right after the 2008 election. I have anticipated that he is on the brink of defecting to the ruling CPP, but true to his principles he has maintained his loyalty to the SRP and vowed not to defect to any parties unless he is expelled from the SRP. And true to his words of not betraying his democratic principles, he did not defect to the ruling CPP where he would be given a plum job, but chose to defect to a poor HRP where he would only give but not get any personal interests whatsoever.

The Conduct of the HRP

The conduct of the HRP in effecting Mao Monivan's defection and on the process of orchestrating other defections from the SRP have not and will not help the ongoing SRP-HRP merger and the unification talks. It will, to a lager or lesser extent, cause further mistrusts to the already mistrustful and too factionalised dealings during the unification talks. Under no circumstances should the HRP effect or orchestrate the defections from the SRP to the HRP or vice versa as both parties are working with the same goals to dislodge Mr. Hun Sen and his CPP from power. To orchestrate defections from each other is a political suicide because they are killing each other off before they do it to their nemesis, the CPP. If they are to have any chances of defeating the CPP in the elections at all, they must work as one and cannot afford to fight among themselves. The HRP's conduct in effecting and orchestrating defections from the SRP will cause a chain reaction from the SRP who would seek to retaliate by effecting and orchestrating defections from the HRP. A tit for tat will follow and this will lead to a tuck of war between these two so-called democratic parties that can only lead to the complete destruction and annihilation of both. If this scenario is to have occurred and fathomed, and if the defection of Mao Moinvan is a premonition of that scenario, it will cause irreparable electoral damages in the eyes of the Cambodian voters and, to a certain extent, also in the eyes of their financial backers.

In conclusion, the resignation of Mao Monivan as an MP and his spectacular expulsion from the SRP is a premonition of the forthcoming self-destruction of the SRP. More internal discontent and wrangling are anticipated as the MPs in waiting will show their anger and dissatisfaction over the indefinite postponement of the MP mid-term rotation. And with the absence of the party president, Mr. Sam Rainsy, the wranglers cannot look to someone for mediation and conciliation. A protracted internal wrangling and bickering will cause the SRP to weakness or even to self-destruction. And if the SRP is to earn the trust and the respect of the Cambodian voters, it must be seen as democratic in nature and more tolerant of divergent views and dissenting voices. It must also practises what it had preached: democracy and openness. The SRP must bear in mind the words of the UN Envoy on Human Rights in Cambodia, Prof. Surya Subedi, that "criticism is not a crime".

Organisation representing hundreds of NGOs and associations yesterday came out strongly against the second draft of the government's controversial NGO law, some threatening political fallout, while the government defended the law.

Three umbrella groups, which have represented hundreds of organisations in closed-door negotiations with the government in recent weeks, said they saw "no progress" in the second draft.

"The [majority] of the changes are minor and fail to address the fundamental concerns raised by [civil society organisations]," Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said in a statement released by the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, NGO Forum and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee.

"The most significant problem remains at the heart of the law: Registration is still mandatory," the groups said.

Several networks representing dozens of community groups and associations also denounced the law yesterday, saying at a press conference in Phnom Penh that they had been deceived by the government.

"The latest draft is more restrictive for civil society organisations, which is contrary to the response that the Ministry of Interior gave to us by telephone, that they had accepted the majority of our proposed points," the groups said in a statement.

"The latest draft law is a law to control civil society rather than to promote the rights of citizens in creating and forming organisations and associations."

Several of the networks said there would be political fallout if the law was not changed significantly.

"We will not vote for the government if the ruling party does not respect our will. We have more than 1,000 local associations.... Therefore, the effective judgment over the Government's policy is through the upcoming elections," Vorn Pao, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association, said yesterday.

Um Mech, a representative of ethnic minority groups in Kampong Thom province, said lawmakers would be held accountable for their votes on the law.

"We are the voters. If the law is adopted without protecting our benefits and our rights, we will not vote for the government," he said. "We voted for our representatives in the National Assembly because we need them to protect us, and now if they will approve the law without thinking about our interests ... This is the way of democracy."

Um Mech said high rates of illiteracy among indigenous people would make the law's registration and reporting requirements "a huge obstacle" to his organisation's work. He also expressed concern about his ability to take on politically sensitive issues.

"Before this law, at least 30 people have been imprisoned for claiming their own land. If the law is adopted, there will be more people imprisoned," he said.

The draft legislation has been roundly criticised for setting out vague and arbitrary government authority, mandatory registration and reporting requirements deemed burdensome for small organisations.

The second draft also contains no explicit right to appeal government decisions, either to the courts or ministries.

The newest draft created a registration exception for "mass organisations", also translated as "community-based organisations", but did not define the term.

Nouth Sa An, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, defended the law.

"The allegation that we have not changed the draft is unacceptable. We have adopted about 90 percent of the changes requested by civil society," he said yesterday.

Nouth Sa An said he did not know when the law would be submitted to the Council of Ministers, though he reportedly told NGO representatives in a meeting on Tuesday the deadline was the end of the week.

"We are waiting to see an approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the requests to change the draft law," he said

Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment yesterday, and spokesman Koy Kuong said he did not know about the matter.

In an analysis of the law released yesterday, local rights group Licadho said the new draft contained the same flaws as the first and would "further disempower Cambodian communities".

The Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology said on March 31 that a radioactive cloud from the quake-damaged Fukushima reactor explosions in Japan is forecast to disperse over Southeast Asian region.

The ministry said that the main part of the cloud is forecast to be divided into small parts, dispersed and fly sparsely over the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In the next few days, small clouds are forecast to arrive in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. However, as the radioactive trace level is small it is difficult to discover their impacts on the radioactive background in Vietnam.

The ministry, citing discoveries from observation stations of the Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology and the Da Lat Nuclear Institute, affirmed that radioactive iodine-131 trace level found in Vietnam's air is low and does not pose a threat to the environment and human health.

Boeung Kak residents have expressed their deception after their discussion with Kep Chuktema, the Phnom Penh city governor, on Wednesday afternoon to resolve the 15-hectare land dispute was unsuccessful. Mrs. Mey Sina, a 52-year-old resident of village 24, was extremely deceived when she heard the news from Mrs. Ly Mom, her representative, telling her that Kep Chuktema rejected the request of 15-hectare of land by the residents to develop onsite. Kep Chuktema indicated that there will be no more discussion on this 15-hectare land plot.

At least 3 people have been killed and six others are reported missing as mudslides swept away villages and heightened the southern flooding crisis. The overall death toll has risen to at least 15.

Mountain run-off and landslides hit villages in tambon Na Khao in Krabi's Khao Phanom district yesterday and washed away up to 50 homes, provincial governor Prasit Osathanont said.

Hours after the landslides struck, rescue workers were still sifting through the mud in a desperate search for other victims.

Earlier it was reported that as many as 200 villagers were missing, but Mr Prasit said rescue workers who struggled to reach the devastated villages had confirmed that so far only three bodies had been found. About 300-400 people lived in the areas hit by the landslides.

News of the disaster came as 12 people were earlier confirmed dead in the heavy floods that have hit eight southern provinces.

The eight provinces are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Surat Thani, Trang, Chumphon, Songkhla, Krabi and Phangnga.

Seven victims were confirmed dead in Nakhon Si Thammarat, four in Surat Thani and one in Phatthalung.

In Samui, hundreds of stranded travellers scrambled for air tickets at Samui International airport, after two planes managed to take off for Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Narabuet and two smaller vessels, HTMS Sukhothai and Gor911, plucked stranded visitors from the islands of Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui.

But it was in Krabi where the floods exacted their highest toll yesterday, as mudslides and mountain runoff descended on villages, washing away residents and their homes.

The worst-hit areas were Moo 6 of Ban Huay Kaew, Moo 7 of Ban Ton Harn, and Moo 10 of Ban Khlong Haeng where some 40-50 houses were buried in mud. Supoj Chanakij, chief of Khao Phanom district, said Moo 7 was the worst hit.

"It was the first village to be hit by runoff from Phanom Bencha mountain. The torrent was so fierce, it swept away houses," he said.

Mr Supoj said the death toll could go higher.

"It happened so fast. The villagers were caught off guard," he said.

The bodies of the victims were moved to Khao Phanom temple while survivors were evacuated to temporary shelters set up at several temples.

A villager who was identified only as Winai said run-off from the mountain started sweeping in on Tuesday morning.

"When I was watching the flood, I heard a loud noise coming from the mountain and the water rushed down and swallowed whole houses.

"I managed to flee with my mother and my wife. Our relatives were trapped and their houses covered with mud," he said.

Santi Yuttanant, director of Khao Phanom Hospital, said 39 people had sought medical treatment. Seven were critical. He said villagers were traumatised by the disaster.

"Two children told me their parents were swept away in front of their eyes," he said.

Several areas were still inaccessible, with supplies of fresh water, food and electricity running low.

Persistent rain and strong river currents dampened joint rescue efforts by the military, police and local administrations.

The Department of Mineral Resources said landslides were still a potent threat.

It warned of possible runoff and mudslides in all 14 southern provinces over the next two days.

The national flood relief centre yesterday warned of possible landslides in three districts of Phangnga, three districts in Surat Thani and one district in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

It said seven reservoirs in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Trang provinces had reported flooding.

However, the centre said the inundation in the region was expected to ease in the next 5-7 days if there was no further rain.

Other southern provinces were still suffering from severe flooding. Surat Thani has declared all 19 districts disaster areas with about 200,000 people evacuated.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday about one million people had been affected by the floods.

PHNOM PENH—Clad in a blue shirt under a cream jacket, Kaing Guak Eav sat back, seemingly relaxed to the point of boredom. The judge, prosecution and defense debated the finer points of the relationship between Cambodia's penal code and the tribunal set up to examine crimes committed under Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1978. Meanwhile, the man known as Comrade Duch, sitting alone two rows behind his legal team, punctuated an impassive stillness with the occasional bout of fidgety restlessness.

As head of the S-21 torture camp, Duch—pronounced "Doik"—oversaw the torture of around 16,000 prisoners at the former school, now the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Most of the detainees were later murdered at Choeung Ek, one of the country's thousands of mass graves or "Killing Fields," around 15 miles from Phnom Penh's city centre. S-21 was only one of over 190 similar detention, torture and murder camps set up all over Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge era.

Duch was not part of the Khmer Rouge leadership and is the only one of the five accused to have expressed remorse for his crimes, offering at one point to face a public stoning and to allow victims to visit him in jail. But he made a u-turn on the final day of his trial in November 2009, asking to be acquitted and freed, which left many wondering if his contrition was sincere.

After being sentenced to 35 years in prison last July, both defense and prosecution launched appeals, the former saying the sentence is too long, and the latter claiming an unwarranted leniency. In effect the sentence means that Duch will serve around 18 years, or roughly 11 hours jail time for each person killed at S-21.

"We reiterate our request that the sentence be increased to something more appropriate to the crimes committed," said prosecution lawyer Chea Leang, speaking in Khmer.

The hybrid nature of the tribunal is reflected in the bilingual proceedings, with international lawyers and judges speaking in English, while Cambodians use Khmer. The 300 or so people in the public gallery wore headsets, listening to the translation in their preferred language, as security berated some of the high school students in the gallery for nodding off during the densely legalistic arguments.

Duch's defense says that the sentence should be reduced, due to time served already, and referred back to "mitigating circumstances" discussed during the previous trial. "Any reference to international courts such as Rwanda or Yugoslavia is not appropriate," said lawyer Kar Savuth, adding that "psychological evaluation shows that Duch can re-enter society."

Duch says that the crimes he committed and oversaw were carried out under duress from the Khmer Rouge leadership, a defense similar to that used by Nazis at the post-World War II Nuremberg trials. "Duch tried to isolate himself from the crimes at S-21", claimed the defense. "What would you or anyone have done in his shoes, it would be like trying to disobey orders from the SS."

At the Toul Sleng museum, meanwhile, a copy of a 1976 letter handwritten by Duch stands in one of the cells through which thousands passed to their deaths, upstairs from the torture implements used at the compound. Exhorting the use of gruesome punishment at S-21, it signs off with "therefore, you Comrade can employ hot torture methods with force for long periods … even if it may cause death."

Lead prosecution lawyer Andrew Cayley said that the case ultimately comes down to the fact that Duch "is a man who got up every day for work, for over three years, and murdered over 12,000 people."

Only seven people are known to have survived S-21, where visitors can see gruesome photos of murdered prisoners taken by Vietnamese army photographers after the compound was liberated by troops sent in by Hanoi.

"That is what this is all about," Cayley concluded, after describing Duch as "selective and opportunistic" in his cooperation with the court, and that his case "did not meet the standards for mitigation."

Discussing the appeal, for which a verdict is expected in June, Khmer Rouge survivor Youk Chhang said that "if the sentence is reduced, it will be a slap in the face for the victims." However he cautioned against any public anger, adding that "we must also respect the rule of law."

Sitting among a mountain of books and documents covering the history of Khmer Rouge rule, Chhang spoke at his office at the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which has contributed to gathering evidence against the Khmer Rouge.

Despite concerns about the Duch appeal, he says the "more important is Case No 2," referring to the impending trial of the four senior surviving Khmer Rouge top brass—"Brother No. 2" Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Thirith and Ieng Sary. They will come before the tribunal later this year.

Along with Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader who died in 1998, the four are regarded as among the top decision-makers during the Communist reign of terror in Cambodia, which was ended by a Vietnamese military invasion in 1979. An estimated 2 million Cambodians—a quarter of the population—were killed by the Khmer Rouge, with an estimated 5 million of the country's present-day 15 million population listed as survivors of the era.

Moussa Koussa flew into Britain and told Foreign Office staff he was "no longer willing" to serve the regime.

The move was welcomed in Whitehall where fears have been growing that poorly organised Libyan rebels cannot defeat Gaddafi without being given arms or training on the ground.

"We encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya that allows political transition and real reform that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people," a Foreign Office spokesman said.

David Cameron had earlier admitted that the Government was considering arming the rebels following talks in London with Libyan opposition leaders.

Rebel forces were forced to retreat again and surrendered several towns in the face of heavy resistance from troops loyal to the regime.

However, there are fears that any move to provide arms could lead to "mission creep", dragging Western ground forces into the civil war. It also emerged that:

Five Libyan diplomats were expelled from Britain amid concern they could pose a threat to national security;

Senior defence sources disclosed that British and American forces had destroyed more than 40 Libyan arms dumps and "chopped the legs off" Gaddafi's supply route;

Uganda announced that it was prepared to offer the Libyan leader exile under an Italian plan to remove him;

The UN or EU may ultimately have to send a humanitarian force to help civilians in rebel–held areas.

The British and other governments are increasingly worried that rebel troops will not be able to advance on Tripoli or other Libyan cities without external help.

Arming them is thought to have been discussed by Britain's National Security Council and Mr Cameron, President Barack Obama and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy have begun openly considering the idea. Last night it was reported that Mr Obama had signed a secret order authorising covert US support for the rebels within the past two or three weeks and that CIA and MI6 operatives had been in the country for some time.

It is understood that Libyan opposition leaders have requested anti–tank weapons and other equipment, which could be provided by a Middle Eastern country, such as Qatar, in return for oil.

Yesterday, Mr Cameron said that Britain was not "ruling out" arming the rebels, despite having previously indicated that this may not be possible under the terms of sanctions imposed on Libya. The Prime Minister told MPs: "It is an extremely fluid situation but there is no doubt in anyone's mind the ceasefire is still being breached and it is absolutely right for us to keep up our pressure under UN Security Council 1973. As I've told the House, the legal position is clear that the arms embargo applies to the whole territory of Libya.

"But at the same time, UNSCR 1973 allows all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian–populated areas. Our view is that this would not necessarily rule out the provision of assistance to those protecting civilians in certain circumstances. We do not rule it out but we have not taken the decision to do so."

Mr Cameron's statement echoed comments by Mr Obama in a television interview on Tuesday night.

Russia and other countries have strongly condemned any such provision. It would be highly controversial and may be blocked by MPs in Britain.

However, Mr Koussa's defection holds out hope that the regime might still crack from the inside, relieving the pressure for further military measures.

Mr Koussa flew from Tunisia, where he had been on a diplomatic mission, to Farnborough airport before being shuttled to London for immediate talks with high–ranking Foreign Office officials.

A close confidant of Gaddafi for 30 years, he was linked by intelligence sources to the Lockerbie bombing and played a lead role in securing the release of the bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al–Megrahi.

Yesterday, senior defence officials said there was "more to do" to prevent further loss of civilian lives but reiterated that no British ground troops would be used. A chaotic picture emerged on the ground where the Gaddafi regime ambushed rebels outside the leader's home town of Sirte, precipitating a disorderly retreat as far as Ajdabiyah.

Moussa Koussa, 61, took a sociology degree at Michigan State University. He was appointed ambassador to Britain in 1980 but expelled for threatening to kill opponents.

He was accused of organising terrorism on his return to Libya where he headed the Libyan spy agency from 1994 and was described by a senior figure in George W Bush's administration as "chief fingernail puller".

He has been named as the possible architect of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, but brokered Libya's promise to give up weapons of mass destruction in 2003 and was made foreign minister in 2009.

According to a communiqué from the press office of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Hun Xen will come the ACU office at 04 PM on 01 April to declare his wealth as stipulated by the anti-corruption law. Keo Remy, ACU spokesman, said that Hun Xen's trip sets an example for all government officials whose obligation is to declare their wealth. The ACU sets 07 April as the cutoff date for wealth declaration.

Former king Norodom Sihanouk could be a valuable asset in the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, a Cambodian historian says.

As monarch, Norodom Sihanouk led Cambodia's bid to regain Preah Vihear temple from Thai occupation in 1962 through the International Court of Justice.

The court determined the temple belonged to Cambodia, but Thailand continues to dispute the ownership of land nearby, an issue that has led to a prolonged, deadly military standoff.

Michel Tranet, a history professor in Cambodia, told VOA Khmer in an interview that Norodom Sihanouk is a living witness to those events and could shed light on the court's decision and the border standoff.

"Before he is gone, we should make a request to him asking his opinion," Tranet said.

Both sides remain at odds over the disputed area, with the most violent clashes, in February, followed by a peace effort led by Asean and its president, Indonesia.

Officials are scheduled to meet in Indonesia next week to hammer out the details of a potential Indonesian monitoring mission to the border to help ensure a ceasefire.

Tranet said it was regretful the former king's knowledge has not yet been tapped in dealing with the standoff, even as Cambodia prepares a legal request from the international court on the 1962 decision.

"The most regretful thing is that his great merit was not thought of," Tranet said of th former monarch, who relinquished the throne in 2004. "I remember that His Majesty fairly said that even a hand-span of land we would not lose. And he achieved this effective goal."

Son Soubert, an advisor to the former king whose father helped prepare the legal case for Preah Vihear in the 1960s, said Norodom Sihanouk, now 88, could advise on the current dispute.

"He has a lot of experience in diplomatic affairs, legal affairs, and all of this," Son Soubert said. "Because indeed it's a national issue. It is not the issue of any political party or individual. There must be unity, all together, to solve our land problem."

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the former king does at times advise the government, including letters of support in the Preah Vihear issue. However, he said, the current dispute is not the same as the historical case.

Residents of the Boeung Kak lake area say they are still angry at the city government's policy, which they say favors development over the needs of people in the capital.

Up to 1,500 families have had to leave the lake area to make way for a massive commercial and residential development undertaken by a company linked to a ruling party senator.

"Their development is a development for a company, not for the people," said Tep Vanny, a lakeside community representative, as a guest on "Hello VOA" Monday.

Residents have requested 15 hectares of land from the 133-hectare development, a request Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema denied in a meeting with residents on Wednesday.

The city leased the land to the developer, Shukaku, Inc., without consulting the people, Tep Vanny said. "They did not ask the people if this land belonged to the people," she said.

Many of the residents say they have lived on the land for years, making them eligible for title, a claim the city denies.

"We legally hold the ownership, and we have voted for them for three terms," said Ly Srey Mom, another resident and guest of "Hello VOA," referring to city officials for the Cambodian People's Party.

Kong Chantha, a third guest, said she was beaten unconscious in a recent protest by residents and she remains concerned about her health in the future. She criticized the city for resorting to violence instead of negotiation and vowed to continue to protest the development, where nearly 4,000 families remain.

Representatives from NGOs again requested that officials at the ministries of interior and foreign affairs accept changes to a second draft of the government's contentious draft NGO law during a closed-door meeting yesterday, but found limited success.

Officials said it would be "the last consultation" with them on the law, following a large public meeting in January and several smaller private meetings since, said Chith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum.

Lun Borithy, executive director of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, said relations between the government and NGOs were "very tense".

"We're not hopeful," he said.

"It was a very tense meeting, and it did not really live up to our expectations as being a truthful and meaningful dialogue."

Lun Borithy said several "sticking points" were raised. "But there was no real concrete promise that they will be taken fully on board."

NGOs have raised numerous concerns with the law, arguing that it would violate freedom of association and expose the vast sector to arbitrary governmental authority.

Seng Soheng, a representative for Community Peace-building Network, said the second draft was unacceptable and included few changes from the first.

"We cannot accept this law, because they put much pressure on local and international NGOs operating in Cambodia," said Seng Soheng.

NGOs have said mandatory registration would violate the freedom to associate and impose requirements too burdensome for small organisations. That provision has been retained, and officials rejected appeals to remove it, participants said.

Chith Sam Ath said it was "difficult to say" whether the law was acceptable.

The legislation is expected to be submitted to the Council of Ministers soon, perhaps as early as the end of the week.

Nouth Sa An, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, and Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said NGOs could still work with the law but would face limitations.

"Even if this does not change, we can work under this law," he said. "But we [will] not have much freedom."

Resident of the Boeung Kak lakeside said yesterday that they would organise protests if a meeting scheduled for today with Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Kep Chuktema did not achieve a resolution to their alternative development plan for families threatened with eviction.

City Hall on Monday issued a letter confirming the meeting between Kep Chuktema and five villager representatives to discuss a request for the allocation of 15 hectares of land for villagers at the site of a commercial and residential development project on the Boeung Kak lakeside.

Huot Muth Dy, a resident of Village 20 in Daun Penh district's Srah Chak commune, said that she hopes the meeting will end in a victory for potentially displaced villagers.

"I hope that the result of the discussions will be positive and bring an end to the dispute between villagers and authorities and Shukaku Inc," said Huot Muth Dy.

Nop Phearom, a resident of Village 1, said that the representatives should reject any offer from authorities that does not support villagers' requests.

"If it is negative, we will make a stronger protest than before," said Nop Phearom. "To reach this step, we have agreed not to accept financial compensation or any other developments in other places."

More than 100 lakeside villagers had prepared on Sunday to assemble at City Hall for a meeting with Kep Chuktema before being informed by Daun Penh District Deputy Governor Sok Penhvuth that the meeting had been delayed until today.

Villagers demanded written confirmation from officials that the meeting would in fact take place. They then received the letter on Monday from City Hall Administration Chief Ly Saveth.

In 2007, Kep Chuktema signed a 99-year lease for Shukaku Inc – a development firm owned by ruling party Senator Lao Meng Khin, and Chinese firm Erdos Hong Jun Property Development Co – to develop a US$79 million commercial and residential project on 133 hectares of land around Boeung Kak lake, which rights organisations estimate will lead to the eviction of at least 4,000 families.

Prominent television personality Soy Sopheap was summoned to Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday to clarify defamation accusations alleged by Son Soubert, a political analyst and former member of the Constitutional Council.

Ek Chheng Huot, deputy prosecutor at the Municipal Court, said yesterday that Soy Sopheap, director of Deum Ampil News and a presenter for Bayon TV, faced a complaint by Son Soubert on February 4 over accusations of defamation stemming from comments suggesting that Son Sann – Son Soubert's father and former prime minister – sold land located near Preah Vihear temple to Thailand in the 1980s.

"Soy Sopheap was accused with defamation of Samdech Son Sann who is the father of His Excellency Son Soubert. He has already appeared in court and clarified about his accusations yesterday and I have not decided whether he will be charged or not yet," Ek Chheng Hout said yesterday.

Soy Sopheap said in court that he was confused and had made a mistake in his political commentary regarding Son Sann and had pleaded for a pardon from Son Soubert with regard to the comments. He said he had also made a correction publicly on Bayon TV shortly after the incident.

"I am responsible about what I had said related to Samdech Son Sann, and I have also recognised that I had been confused about this. I hope that the court will not take any legal action against me because I have begged for a pardon from Son Soubert already," he said, adding that he plans to publicly beg for a pardon and reiterate his corrections on Bayon Television tonight.

"There is a culture of responsibility for journalists when they have made mistakes [in publications] and it is also in the press law," he said.

Son Soubert claimed in court yesterday that Soy Sopheap had not yet pleaded with him for a pardon regarding his political commentary against his father, except for praising his father's courage.

"I think that Soy Sopheap's accusation was very bad for my father's reputation ... so I could not accept his words that just praised my father's heroism but did not withdraw his wrongful commentary against him."

He added that he will consider withdrawing his complaint against Soy Sopheap if he accepts that he had made a mistake, makes a correction and condemns his previous characterisations of Son Sann.