KI Media: “Than Shwe tells new cabinet to end corruption [... April fool is in the horizon!!!]” plus 24 more

KI Media: “Than Shwe tells new cabinet to end corruption [... April fool is in the horizon!!!]” plus 24 more

Than Shwe tells new cabinet to end corruption [... April fool is in the horizon!!!]

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:59 PM PDT

Burma's Senior General Than Shwe has announced his retirement, but has not set a date. Photo: Mizzima

Monday, 28 March 2011

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Retiring Burmese junta leader Senior General Than Shwe has advised outgoing and newly elected cabinet ministers in Naypyidaw to tackle corruption, according to sources close to the government.

In a farewell speech at military headquarters on Saturday, the 78-year-old junta leader said that bribery and corruption must end, and he acknowledged for the first time that Burma was below Laos and Cambodia in gross domestic product.

Sources said the comments were particularly noteworthy because of the admission that Burma is essentially at the bottom of all Southeast Asian economies.


The date of the final handover of executive power to president Thein Sein has not been announced. Than Shwe invited ministers to seek his consul and it is rumoured that he will retain an office at an unknown location.

A source close to the government said that the oath of office for the ministers of the new government will be taken on Tuesday, March 29. Earlier, lawmakers said the ministers would be put into office sometime during the first week of April.

Burma shares with Afghanistan the second to last place after Somalia in the world's corruption index report by Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Cambodian garment workers clash with police

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:36 PM PDT

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH, March 28 (Reuters) - At least eight female garment workers were injured on Monday in clashes with Cambodian riot police, who used shields and electric shock batons to end a protest over a factory closure, witnesses and a union said.

Some demonstrators were pushed to the ground and shocked with batons when police with guns and riot gear were deployed to forcibly end a road blockade by an estimated 1,000 female workers who were demanding unpaid wages and compensation after a local factory went bankrupt.

The clashes were the latest setback for an industry that forms a vital part of Cambodia's fledgling $10 billion economy. The garment sector was badly hit during the global economic slump from 2008 and more recently has been plagued by strikes over low pay and working conditions.


"Police were ordered to beat up workers, some were hit in the heads and shoulders and others were pushed to the ground," said Chhoeun Chanthy, a 30-year-old garment worker . "We were not afraid, we were peaceful."

Chea Mony, president of the Cambodia's Free Trade Union (FTU), told Reuters the total number of injured was unknown and some workers were being held in police custody.

"This is very serious. These workers were only in dispute with employers," Chea Mony said. "This violence is not justified," he said, adding that a government committee tasked with dealing with such disputes was "useless".

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth declined to comment and a legal representative for the factory was unavailable.

Garment manufacturing is Cambodia's third-biggest currency earner after agriculture and tourism. About 30,000 jobs were lost in 2009 after a drop in sales to the United States and Europe.

The downturn led to a strike by more than 210,000 garment factory workers last year and more mass strikes have been threatened over a controversial move by the government to regulate trade unions.

Cambodia exported garments, textiles and shoes to the value of $2.3 billion in 2009, down from $2.9 billion in 2008. According to the World Bank, the sector is in recovery and exports grew 24 percent in 2010 after a 20 percent contraction.

An estimated 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people work in the sector and send vital cash to impoverished rural villages where many people live on less than $1 a day.

Cambodian factories produce clothes for many Western brands, including Gap Inc , Nike Inc , Marks and Spencer Group PLC , Tesco PLC , H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Puma , Next Plc and Inditex , the world's biggest clothing retailer and owner of Zara.


(Editing by Martin Petty)

Need answer on Cambodian extortionate hospital system

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:32 PM PDT

Hi,

I am a frequent reader of your posts as well as your partners blog. Today I am writing because I want to know the policy of Cambodian hospital and its staffs member. My relative was sick and admitted himself in the hospital in Phnom Penh. He paid them each time they present a bill to him and so the staffs there treat him well. When he is nearly out of money, he told them honest that he have no money left to pay them and wished to go home with just medicine so he can take care of himself at home but they say it is ok for him to get the full medical treatment in the hospital. So he stays there for almost a week and he gets better until he ask again to go home and also told them that he need to find money to pay them.


The doctor who treated him know very well that he is short of money. So yesterday they argued over the bill because they want him to pay them which is fine, he will pay but he need to get out of the hospital to find the money however, they won't release him out until he pay them in full which is ridiculous! How can a person find the money while in the hospital? He told them he need to go out to find the money and pay them when he can, just give him times to make the money but the doctor and his team won't listen. They demand he pay now but how can he?! Now they want to sue him for not paying and this is outrageous policy!

My relative is willing to pay but he need to get discharge from the hospital to work and make money to pay back. How can these group of medical team expect him to pay them when they keep him in the hospital?

Is this common in Cambodia? Do Dr and hospital sue patient who cannot pay immediately all the time? I just need to find justice for my relative. The doctor is writing up report that he is a disruptive patient, causing trouble to their work etc which is so untrue! How can a professional be so unreasonable? Now my relative is stress over this and he is still in the hospital but they won't give him any more medicine or treat him at all. They are ignoring his pain. I know that my relative is at fault for not paying but circumstance make him unable to pay because he runs out of money and need to get back to work to make money and pay. Why don't they understand? Are there any organization or anything I can do to help him out to win this case because tomorrow Monday morning, they are going to the police station to sue him.

Thank you for reading my complaint and I hope to hear back from you soon.

Rea

----------

Dear Rea,

It is sad that Cambodian hospital system is so corrupt that doctors and hospital staff have so often become predatory and extortionate toward their patients. In the West, doctors and medical staff have been trained to observe the medical ethics strictly- meaning the life and the health of the patients come first before money.

As far as I know, this practice is common, but it is not a hospital or the government's policy, but have been rampantly practised by corrupt and unethical doctors and medical staff.


I don't know if any NGOs can help, but you can try the Cambodian Human Rights Centre (Ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org ) or Licadho (Licadho@camnet.com.kh) or go to one of the ruling or opposition MPs to ask them to intervene.

Appeal gets under way for former Khmer Rouge security chief

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:22 PM PDT

Monday, Mar. 28, 2011
By ROBERT CARMICHAEL - dpa

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia The prosecution at the international war crimes court on Monday rejected as baseless the grounds for acquittal sought on appeal by Comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge's former security chief.

Duch headed the notorious torture and execution center known as S-21. The tribunal last year sentenced him to 35 years for his role in the deaths of at least 12,272 detainees from 1976 to 1979.

Earlier on Monday, lawyers for Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, said the U.N.-backed tribunal lacked jurisdiction over their client since he was not a senior Khmer Rouge cadre and had merely followed orders.

But prosecutor Chea Leang argued that the defense challenge to the court had come far too late and ought to have been made at the start of the trial in early 2009.


She added the court had previously ruled Duch fell within its remit as one of those "most responsible" for the regime's crimes.

"In addition, Duch himself frequently acknowledged his responsibility for crimes committed within the framework of S-21 as chief of the center," Chea Leang said.

Monday marked the start of Duch's appeal against his conviction of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His sentence was reduced to 19 years for time already served and as compensation for being held illegally prior to trial.

The appeal was scheduled to last three days, with a verdict expected in June.

Defense lawyer Kar Savuth gave an address in which he called for his client to be acquitted since he claimed the court did not have jurisdiction over Duch and had erred in prosecuting and convicting him.

"And during the Khmer Rouge regime, there was no law - the Communist Party line was used in its place," he said. "And if there was no law, then there was no crime."


Anne Heindel, a legal adviser for DC-Cam, a genocide research organization in Phnom Penh, said the defense's tack was unconvincing.

"They keep making the same argument over and again that Duch does not fall within the category of senior leaders and those most responsible," Heindel said. "I don't really think that the judges will find any of (those arguments) compelling."

She said it was likely that the 68-year-old defendant would end up with a longer sentence, something the prosecution has sought.


Duch is the first person the international court has found guilty of crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia between 1975-79.

The tribunal was established to try surviving senior leaders and those considered "most responsible" for crimes committed by the ultra-Maoist regime. Duch has been prosecuted in the latter category.

Duch's nine-month trial in 2009 saw him mount a spectacular turnaround when in its final days he reversed his "guilty but sorry" plea, and asked to be acquitted and released.

His appeal comes months ahead of the start of the second - and possibly final - case that the Khmer Rouge tribunal will hear.

Four senior former Khmer Rouge leaders are set to face trial on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in the deaths of up to 2.2 million people from execution, disease, starvation and overwork.

All four deny the charges.

The four are: Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue; head of state Khieu Samphan; foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith.

The Khmer Rouge's most senior leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Prawit [Wongsuwon] does U-turn on Bogor meeting

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:16 PM PDT

Prawit Wongsuwon
29/03/2011
Bangkok Post

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has made a U-turn by agreeing to attend next month's General Border Committee meeting on the dispute with Cambodia - on the condition that host nation Indonesia does not get directly involved in the talks.

Gen Prawit had originally vowed to stay away from the talks, set for Bogor, Indonesia, on April 7 and 8, as he objected to the involvement of a third country in an issue which he says can still be resolved bilaterally.

However yesterday he said he had "no problem" with the location, so long as Indonesia did not take part in the forum.

Gen Prawit and Cambodian Defence Minister Teah Banh will co-chair the meeting.


A key issue in the talks between the two generals is the plan of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to despatch Indonesian observers to both sides of the disputed border area near the Preah Vihear temple, which has been the site of recent military clashes.

Gen Prawit insisted security problems at the border would be "able to be discussed" between the two countries without outside interference.

People contacts and border trade ties showed no ill-effect from the border tensions, he said.

Gen Teah Banh reportedly proposed the GBC talks be held in parallel with the next Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) meeting.

However, Gen Prawit rejected the proposal and insisted that the JBC forum be organised first.

The JBC was formed to demarcate the border between the two countries under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Bangkok and Phnom Penh in 2000.

The GBC's mission is to thrash out security issues between the two countries.

The next round of the JBC is subject to joint parliamentary approval of the documents in Bangkok.

Senators and MPs will resume discussions on the issue today amid continuing protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

PAD key members yesterday filed a letter asking MPs not to accept the three JBC documents, in what was the group's third push to derail the approval.

PAD spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan and key member Praphan Koonmee filed the letter signed by alliance core leader Chamlong Srimuang with the parliamentary secretariat.

The letter argues that the 2000 MoU had not received the consent of parliament and His Majesty the King, so it was unconstitutional and the JBC was thus void.

Mr Parnthep also dismissed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's recent remark that if the Thai parliament did not accept the documents, border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia might become multilateral issues.

Mr Parnthep said even if Thailand rejected the documents, it would be impossible for Asean and the United Nations to get involved in the border spat.

As the parliament will consider the issue today, a government source said the prime minister had urged his coalition partners during the cabinet meeting yesterday to have their MPs vote for parliamentary acceptance of the JBC's proceedings today.

"WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?" US screening dates in April

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 04:12 PM PDT

WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA?
US screening dates in April

For details on all screenings see

HONOLULU - Friday April 1
AAS-ICAS Film Expo 2011

BERKELEY - Wednesday April 6
University of California at Berkeley

SAN JOSE - Thursday April 7
Khemara Rangsey temple

SEATTLE (1) - Saturday April 9
Harambee center, Renton

SEATTLE (2) - Tuesday April 12
University of Washington

LONG BEACH (1) - Thursday April 14
Art Theatre of Long Beach

RIVERSIDE, California (between April 8 and 17, exact date TBA)
Riverside International Film Festival

LONG BEACH (2) - Saturday April 16
Mark Twain Neighborhood Library

LOWELL - Tuesday April 19
Lowell National Historical Park

MINNEAPOLIS - Sunday April 24
Minneapolis-St Paul International Film Festival

ST PAUL, Minnesota - Tuesday April 26
Macalester College

ATHENS, Ohio (between April 22 and 28, date TBA)
Athens International Film Festival

For details on all screenings of Who Killed Chea Vichea?

Sinatoons: The Preah Vihear Shield

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 03:57 PM PDT

Cartoon by V. Sina

CCHR Press Release - Consultati​on on draft NGO law is neither open nor meaningful (in Khmer)

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:37 AM PDT

Former Khmer Rouge security chief Duch appeals conviction

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:30 AM PDT

Mar 28, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh - The prosecution at the international war crimes court on Monday rejected as baseless the grounds for acquittal sought on appeal by Comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge's former security chief.

Duch headed the notorious torture and execution centre known as S-21. The tribunal last year sentenced him to 35 years for his role in the deaths of at least 12,272 detainees between 1976-79.

Earlier on Monday lawyers for Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, said the UN-backed tribunal lacked jurisdiction over their client since he was not a senior Khmer Rouge cadre and had merely followed orders.

But prosecutor Chea Leang argued that the defence challenge to the court had come far too late, and ought to have been made at the start of the trial in early 2009.


She added that the court had previously ruled Duch fell within its remit as one of those 'most responsible' for the regime's crimes.

'In addition, Duch himself frequently acknowledged his responsibility for crimes committed within the framework of S-21 as chief of the centre,' Chea Leang said.

Monday marked the start of Duch's appeal against his conviction of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His sentence was reduced to 19 years for time already served and as compensation for being held illegally prior to trial.

The appeal was scheduled to last three days, with a verdict expected in June.

Defence lawyer Kar Savuth gave a rambling and repetitive address in which he called for his client to be acquitted since he claimed the court did not have jurisdiction over Duch and had erred in prosecuting and convicting him.

'And during the Khmer Rouge regime, there was no law - the communist party line was used in its place,' he said. 'And if there was no law, then there was no crime.'

Anne Heindel, a legal advisor for DC-Cam, a genocide research organization in Phnom Penh, said the defence's tack was unconvincing.

'They keep making the same argument over and again that Duch does not fall within the category of senior leaders and those most responsible,' Heindel said. 'I don't really think that the judges will find any of (those arguments) compelling.'

She said it was likely that the 68-year-old defendant would end up with a longer sentence, something the prosecution has sought.

Duch is the first person the international court has found guilty of crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia between 1975-79.

The tribunal was established to try surviving senior leaders and those considered 'most responsible' for crimes committed by the ultra-Maoist regime. Duch has been prosecuted in the latter category.

Duch's nine-month trial in 2009 saw him mount a spectacular turnaround when in its final days he reversed his 'guilty but sorry' plea, and asked to be acquitted and released.

His appeal comes months ahead of the start of the second - and possibly final - case that the Khmer Rouge tribunal will hear.

Four senior former Khmer Rouge leaders are set to face trial on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for their alleged roles in the deaths of up to 2.2 million people from execution, disease, starvation and overwork.

All four deny the charges.

The four are: Nuon Chea, the movement's ideologue; head of state Khieu Samphan; foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith.

The Khmer Rouge's most senior leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Lawyers appeal for release of ex- Khmer Rouge leader Duch

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:27 AM PDT

Both defence and prosecution appealing against Duch's punishment (Reuters/ECCC/Handout)
Monday, March 28, 2011
RFI

Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch have called for his release arguing that he was only acting under orders when he oversaw the deaths of some 15,000 people at the Tuol Sleng prison in the late 1970s.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was sentenced to 30 years in jail in July by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was the first Khmer Rouge official to face an international tribunal and both the defence and prosecution are appealing against the sentence in a three-day hearing at the court.

His lawyer claims that Duch had only the very lowest rank in the communist party and was simply following orders from his superiors. The 'superior orders' defence was most notably used during the Nuremberg trials after World War Two when it was ruled that it did not absolve Nazi war criminals of responsibility for their actions.


His defence team say that the tribunal had no right to try Duch because he was not of the regime's senior leaders and have called for him to be aquitted.

At his trial, the 68-year-old Duch was initially given 35 years in jail, but the sentence was reduced for the years spent in illegal detention. Given time already served, he could walk free in less than 19 years.

The prosecutors, whose own appeal will be heard on Tuesday, want Duch's sentence increased to life to be communted to 45 years for time served in unlawful detention. A ruling on the appeals in expected in late June.

Four more of the Khmer Rouge regime's former members are due to go on trial later this year and Duch is expected to appear as a witness in the case.

Khmer Rouge jailer appeals war crimes conviction

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:22 AM PDT

By Suy Se

PHNOM PENH, March 28, 2011 (AFP) - Lawyers for former Khmer Rouge prison chief Duch called for his release on Monday, arguing at an appeal that he was only following orders when he oversaw the deaths of some 15,000 people.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, was sentenced to 30 years in jail in July by Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role at Tuol Sleng torture prison in the late 1970s.

He was the first Khmer Rouge cadre to face an international tribunal, and both defence and prosecution are appealing against the punishment in a three-day hearing at the court.


During his trial, the jailer repeatedly apologised for overseeing mass murder at the prison -- also known as S-21 -- but shocked the court by finally asking to be acquitted in November 2009.

Duch's lawyer Kar Savuth told the Supreme Court Chamber that his client had only the "very lowest rank" in the communist party and was simply following orders from above.

"Duch was just a minor secretary who had no real authority to make decisions or to do anything contradictory to the direction or the order from the upper echelons," he said.

The "superior orders" defence was most notably used at the Nuremberg trials after World War II, when it was ruled that it that it did not absolve Nazi war criminals of responsibility for their actions.

The Duch defence team argued that the tribunal had no right to try their client because he was not one of the regime's senior leaders, nor one of those most responsible for the crimes committed.

"Duch was just a tool used by those people and he should fall outside the jurisdiction of the (court) for this reason," Savuth said. "If there is any doubt (about jurisdiction) then the accused should be acquitted and not found guilty."

Duch, wearing a white jacket and a powder-blue shirt, said the main point of his appeal was the court's jurisdiction to try him, rather than questions of fact.

"So this is purely a legal matter," he said, before returning to his seat.

At his trial the 68-year-old was initially given 35 years in jail but the sentence was reduced for the years spent in illegal detention.

Given time already served, Duch could walk free in less than 19 years, to the dismay of many victims of the 1975-1979 hardline communist movement.

Clair Duffy, a court monitor with the Open Society Justice Initiative, said it was "a risky time" for the defence to be raising the jurisdiction issue "which would usually have to be raised... at pre-trial stage at the latest".

The prosecution urged the court to dismiss the defence appeal.

"Duch is the most responsible person for the crimes committed within the framework of S-21," said co-prosecutor Chea Leang.

The prosecutors, whose own appeal will be heard on Tuesday, want Duch's sentence increased to life, to be commuted to 45 years for time served in unlawful detention.

A ruling on the appeals is expected in late June.

For Norng Chan Phal, a former child survivor of S-21, the acquittal request proved too much.

He stormed out of the courtroom on Monday afternoon, throwing his water bottle on the ground in anger.

"This is crazy," yelled the man, who was about nine years old when he walked out of Tuol Sleng.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the Khmer Rouge wiped out nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population through starvation, overwork and execution.

S-21 in Phnom Penh was at the centre of the regime's security apparatus and thousands of inmates were taken from there for execution in a nearby orchard.

Duch has been detained since 1999, when he was found working as a Christian aid worker in the jungle. He was formally arrested by the tribunal in July 2007.

Four more of the regime's former members -- including "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea -- are due to go trial later this year and Duch is expected to appear as a witness in the case.

Defense Calls For Acquittal of Khmer Rouge War Criminal

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:20 AM PDT

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Comrade Duch, center, who ran the notorious Toul Sleng, a top secret detention center for the worst "enemies" of the state, looks on during his appealing at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 28, 2011 (Photo: AP)

Robert Carmichael, Voice of America
Phnom Penh March 28, 2011

Defense lawyers for Comrade Duch, the former head of the Khmer Rouge's notorious S-21 prison, have asked the UN-backed war crimes tribunal to repeal his prison sentence.

Comrade Duch, the Khmer Rouge's former chief jailer, appeared at the war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh Monday seeking his acquittal.

Last year, the United Nations-backed tribunal sentenced Duch to 35 years in prison after ruling he was responsible for the deaths of more than 12,000 detainees at S-21 prison, which heheaded between 1976 and 1979.

The sentence was reduced to 19 years because of time served and other factors.


The Khmer Rouge used the S-21 prison to detain and torture thousands of perceived enemies of the revolution, before executing them.

But on Monday Duch's lawyers told the court their client should be set free since he was not a senior member of the Khmer Rouge movement, and had merely been following orders.

The defense's appeal centered on its argument that the court lacked the jurisdiction to try Duch. But the one-hour speech delivered by Duch's lead lawyer was rambling and repetitive, and ultimately unconvincing.

Anne Heindel, a legal advisor with the genocide research organization DC-Cam, was present at Monday's hearing.

Heindel says she would not be surprised if Duch ends up getting a longer sentence on appeal, not least since the prosecution has a much stronger case.

"Based on what the prosecution says, because they've laid out a number of very compelling arguments," Heindel said. "And based on what we've seen this morning I'd be surprised if the defense actually has any arguments to counter them."

The tribunal has a mandate to try senior surviving leaders and those considered most responsible for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge movement's rule of Cambodia.

The prosecution says that means there are two categories of potential defendants - senior leaders and those most responsible.

But the defense says there is just one category - senior leaders who are also most responsible. And since Duch was not a senior leader who devised policy, the court should not have tried him.

Legal experts do not consider that to be a strong argument, but it is a sign of how weak Duch's position is.

Duch has admitted his role in the deaths of thousands of people.

The judges did ask the prosecution to justify the conclusion that there were two categories.

International prosecutor Andrew Cayley told the court that the United Nations and the government had agreed on that approach.

"The U.N. Group of Experts prior to the agreement in 1999 stated very clearly there were two types of individuals who should be prosecuted - namely senior leaders with responsibility over the abuses, as well as those at lower levels who are directly implicated in the most serious atrocities," said Cayley.

Cayley said legislation enacted by the Cambodian government subsequently confirmed the division of suspects into two categories.

Additionally, the prosecution said, Duch's defense lawyers did not challenge the court's jurisdiction until the close of the trial - which was far too late.

Duch's appeal is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday and represents his last chance for release.

The court will deliver its verdict in June.

Prawit: Border talks must remain bilateral

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 08:16 AM PDT

28/03/2011
Bangkok Post

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon agrees that Thailand and Cambodia can discuss their border disputes in Indonesia, but insists that any such talks must be bilateral and Indonesian authorities must not be involved.

Gen Prawit was responding on Monday to a report that his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh proposed that the next meetings of the Thai-Cambodian General Border Committee (GBC) and of the Thai-Cambodia Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) be held together in Indonesia.

Gen Prawit said Gen Tea Banh had not informed him of his proposal yet.

He said the next meeting of the GBC and JBC should not be held at the same time.


The JBC meeting should come first because the GBC meeting's agenda is security along the Thai-Cambodian border and was ''discussable''. There should not be a problem, the defence minister said.

At the next GBC meeting the two sides will discuss problems in implementing agreements over the disputed border area, security along the border, illegal labour, drug smuggling and other crime.

When Gen Prawit was asked by the reporters what he would say if Cambodia insisted the meeting take place in Indonesia, he said Thai authorities would have no problem with that, but both sides would need to talk first.

However he insisted the GBC meeting must be bilateral.

'' Asean (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has agreed that Indonesia will take part only in the news conference and will not attend the meeting. We have no problem if things remain this way,'' Gen Prawit said.

The general reiterated his previous position that the Thai-Cambodian border dispute does not affect the travel or trade of people in either country and the two sides can still sit around a table and negotiate,. There, there should be no need to hold the JBC and GBC meetings in a third country.

Meanwhile, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) spokesman Panthep Puapongpan has filed a petition with the House of Representatives, again demanding that parliament refuse to endorse the three JBC memos under the 2000 MoU regarding border issues.

The PAD claims that parliamentary endorsement of the three memos, which were signed in 2009 and in 2008 by the Joint Boundary Commission, would result in a significant loss of territory.

The government will table the three memos in parliament tomorrow.

No need for border meeting in third country: [Thai] Defence Minister

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 07:40 AM PDT

BANGKOK, March 29 (MCOT online news) - Thai Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan on Monday stood firm that there is no need for the Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to meet in a third country, emphasising that the border conflict is a bilateral issue between the two neighbours.

The Thai defence minister expressed his stance following reports that his Cambodian counterpart Gen Tea Banh said the upcoming JBC meeting will be held in Indonesia, which is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Gen Prawit said the Cambodian defence minister has not yet talked to him about the matter but said the two countries have no need for the border meeting to take place in a third country as the dispute can be solved at the bilateral level.


"I look at the overall situation, the people of the two countries can still cross the border normally and border trade is still business as usual with no border closure," Gen Prawit said. "Thais can cross the border to Cambodia while the Cambodians can also visit Thailand. So why can't we hold the meeting in the two countries?"

Tension along the Thai-Cambodian border was renewed after clashes between soldiers of the two countries erupted near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on Feb 4, leading to casualties among the troops and civilians from both sides, as well as forcing the evacuation of villagers living on both sides of the disputed area.

The JBC meeting was scheduled to be held in Thailand in February but was deferred after the deadly clashes.

Meanwhile, key leaders of the 'Yellow Shirt' People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on Monday submitted a letter to lawmakers at the Thai Parliament to oppose the possible approval of the minutes of three JBC meetings scheduled to be considered in the joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate tomorrow.

PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongphan said the movement decided to lodge a third complaint letter regarding the three JBC documents. The group accused Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of distorting information on the case and of trying to convince the legislators to endorse the documents.

Mr Panthep however said it was unnecessary for the PAD supporters to stage rally at Parliament tomorrow, but the group will closely monitor the joint sitting.

Another Yellow Shirt leader, Prapan Koonmee, said the PAD legal team will discuss its next move if the minutes of the three JBC meetings are finally approved by Parliament.

The PAD has opposed parliamentary endorsement of three previous memos by the JBC, claiming they may end up in the loss of Thai territory adjacent to the ancient temple. They also demanded revocation of the MoU signed with Cambodia in 2000.

The International Court of Justice in 1962 ruled that the 11th century temple belongs to Phnom Penh, and UNESCO named it a World Heritage site in 2008 after Cambodia applied to register the status. Both countries claim a 4.6-square-kilometre strip of land adjacent to the cliff-top temple.

RI still wanted and needed in border dispute, Marty says

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 07:36 AM PDT

Mon, 03/28/2011
Mustaqim Adamrah
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia is confident that Thailand and Cambodia remain committed to settling their border dispute despite reports that the Thai military is opposed to a proposal to have a team of Indonesian military experts observe the disputed area.

"To date there has been no formal communication from either government that suggests a change of position," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

"On the contrary, the consent — both written as well as informal communication — that we received is of continuous hope and expectation that Indonesia, current chair of ASEAN, will continue to play its good role."

At an Indonesian-brokered ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 22, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to accept a team of Indonesian observers to the disputed border area adjacent to the ancient Khmer Hindu temple of Preah Vihear, where heavy fighting erupted in February.


Indonesia also called for meetings of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC) and Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Committee (JBC) on March 24 and 25, but later postponed them to April 7 and 8 in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.

But more than a month later the observer team remains in Jakarta and Thailand's military now says it is not needed.

Indonesia said Thursday that ASEAN's plan to send Indonesian military observers to the disputed Thai-Cambodia border had stalled, as it was awaiting approval from Bangkok and Phnom Penh, particularly concerning the exact coordinates where the observers should visit.

"While the terms of reference of the team have yet to be finalized and while the observation team has yet to be deployed, we must not lose sight of the big picture: Through our engagement, the situation at the border which before saw exchanges of gunfire, exchanges of artillery, bombings, displaced persons, now has become more stable," he said.

"After all, it is not Indonesia asking to be there. They are the ones who have asked us to be there."

He also said it was up to Thailand and Cambodia to preserve the border negotiations and approve the dispatch of the observation team.

"We have no particular preference; where the meeting should take place, whether it's in Phnom Penh, whether it's in Thailand; whether it involves Indonesia or does not involve Indonesia. That's for the parties to decide," Marty said.

Thai army chief Gen. Prayut Chan-O-Cha said last Wednesday the observers were not wanted in the disputed area, which is near an 11th-century temple, because it was too dangerous and they would only complicate matters, Thai media reported last Thursday.

Thai media also reported that Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban had voiced support Thursday for Gen. Prayuth's opinion that no third party should be involved in the GBC meeting as it was a bilateral issue.

He said Indonesia, in its capacity as ASEAN chair, or any other country, should not meddle in the border committee meeting.

Gen. Prayuth said he and other Thai military commanders intended not to attend the GBC meeting in Bogor proposed by Indonesia and agreed to by Cambodia.

"This written statement comes from certain individuals in Thailand — something that's interesting but does not really affect our position," Marty said.

Cambodia's Disabled Fight Poverty, Inequality

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 07:31 AM PDT


Landmine explosions/casualties still affect thousands

Monday, 28 March 2011
Written by Catherine Wilson
Asia Sentinel

Cambodia remains littered with millions of unexploded devices left over from 30 years of civil war, the brutality of the Khmer Rouge and conflict with Vietnam.

The government itself believes that as many as 2 percent of the country's 14.7 million people are disabled with landmine casualties a significant proportion.

Poung Mai, who lost both legs when he stepped on a landmine, is one of those victims. He and Chhum Sopheap, who has suffered from polio, are seated on the ground in the midday sun next to the ticket kiosk inside the entrance gates to the National Museum in Phnom Penh with a basket of books to sell, each one carefully wrapped in plastic to lessen the inevitable damage from perpetual sun and dust.


They are among more than 60,000 physically disabled in Cambodia who struggle against poverty, discrimination, unequal access to education and employment and an under-funded and under-resourced state support system.

Cambodia is one of the poorest and most landmine contaminated countries in the world and the challenge of achieving economic inclusion, education and rehabilitation of the disabled is considerable. Numerous demining organisations, such as the Cambodian Mine Action Center, are steadily working to clear the country of millions of unexploded bombs and ordnances in rural regions, especially in the northwest close to the border with Thailand.

With 80 percent of the population residing in rural provinces, the prevalence of landmines has significantly reduced access to agricultural land, forests and water resources, and led to one of the highest rates of disability in the world as people in farming communities are maimed and killed as they go about their daily lives.

According to the Cambodia Mine Victim Information System (CMVIS), there were 286 landmine casualties in 2010, an increase on the 244 reported in 2009 and 271 in 2008, with 15 new casualties in January this year. It estimates that since 1979 there have been 63,821 mine casualties, which corresponds to 39 landmine deaths and injuries every week for 31 years, with about 44,000 survivors.

Poung Mai is from Prey Khmoa village in Prey Veng province where his family were rice farmers.

"During the civil war in Cambodia, the government [Khmer Rouge] arrested me and I was made to work in forestry, woodcutting," he said, "and then I stepped on a landmine." He was 28 years of age when both legs were amputated.

"After I stepped on the landmine, it was difficult," he continued, "I went around begging everywhere, at the market, to feed my family."

Poung has seven children. In 1990 he was removed by authorities to a center that provided food and shelter, but no prospect of livelihood. He subsequently left and found his way to Phnom Penh, where he continued to beg until he joined the Angkor Association for the Disabled in 2009, an organization of people with disabilities founded by Sem Sovantha, who suffered double amputation by a landmine, to provide shelter and training to members and campaign against discrimination.

Chhum Sopheap, also from Prey Veng province, came to Phnom Penh in 1997, sleeping on the streets until he started selling books at the National Museum in 2007.

Both say that the very small income they earn from selling books, on average $4.00 per day, enables them to rent a room and leave behind homelessness, which is often accompanied by alcoholism, mental ill-health, hunger and disease. Belonging to a disabled organization has also marginally improved their experience with the public, they say.

"When they are not with an association," Sem Sovantha explained, "there is a problem with the authorities. When they have an association, people will accept them and talk to them."
However, negative social attitudes and discrimination toward the disabled, such as physical harassment, social ostracism and economic exclusion, remain widespread.

Chhum claims that he mostly receives a positive response from visitors and tourists at the National Museum, "but the official in the area is not so happy about us, because he thinks it is not appropriate for us to be selling to tourists."

Local tour guides also attempt to dissuade visitors from being patrons.

"The customer would like to buy," Chhum explains, "but the customer believes the tour guide when he says 'no, no', because at another shop the tour guide will get a commission."

According to a 2009 ILO report, "People with disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups in Cambodian society. They lack equal access to education, training and employment. While many workers with disabilities have considerable skills, many have not had the opportunity to develop their potential."

The Cambodian government introduced a Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2009 to support the right to employment without discrimination, and in the same year adopted a National Plan of Action for Persons with Disabilities, including landmine survivors, in order to better address needs and provide services. The stated priorities of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation include strengthening and expanding welfare and rehabilitation services for the disabled, but, according to the Cambodian Disabled Peoples Organization, lack of human and financial resources has hindered real progress toward these goals, although the work of NGOs has resulted in the provision of more vocational training courses.

"Social acceptance and social attitudes toward disabled people and landmine amputees can be improved step by step through the Royal Government having a Disability Law and National Plan for persons with disability," a CDPO spokesperson said, "The problem in Cambodia is that we have the laws, but no budget to implement them."

In the meantime, Chhum Sopheap and Poung Mai strive to sell their books, many of which are biographies and stories of Cambodians, like themselves, who have struggled through the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge era and are determined to not only survive, but live to see a better future.

Police beat Cambodian garment workers

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 07:27 AM PDT

At least eight female garment workers were injured on Monday in clashes with Cambodian riot police, who used shields and electric shock batons to end a protest over a factory closure, witnesses and a union said.

Monday, March 28, 2011
Reuters

At least eight female garment workers were injured on Monday in clashes with Cambodian riot police, who used shields and electric shock batons to end a protest over a factory closure, witnesses and a union said.

Some demonstrators were pushed to the ground and shocked with batons when police with guns and riot gear were deployed to forcibly end a road blockade by an estimated 1,000 female workers who were demanding unpaid wages and compensation after a local factory went bankrupt.

The clashes were the latest setback for an industry that forms a vital part of Cambodia's fledgling $10 billion economy. The garment sector was badly hit during the global economic slump from 2008 and more recently has been plagued by strikes over low pay and working conditions.


"Police were ordered to beat up workers, some were hit in the heads and shoulders and others were pushed to the ground," said Chhoeun Chanthy, a 30-year-old garment worker . "We were not afraid, we were peaceful."

Chea Mony, president of the Cambodia's Free Trade Union (FTU), told Reuters the total number of injured was unknown and some workers were being held in police custody.

"This is very serious. These workers were only in dispute with employers," Chea Mony said. "This violence is not justified," he said, adding that a government committee tasked with dealing with such disputes was "useless".

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth declined to comment and a legal representative for the factory was unavailable.

Garment manufacturing is Cambodia's third-biggest currency earner after agriculture and tourism. About 30,000 jobs were lost in 2009 after a drop in sales to the United States and Europe.

The downturn led to a strike by more than 210,000 garment factory workers last year and more mass strikes have been threatened over a controversial move by the government to regulate trade unions.

Cambodia exported garments, textiles and shoes to the value of $2.3 billion in 2009, down from $2.9 billion in 2008. According to the World Bank, the sector is in recovery and exports grew 24 percent in 2010 after a 20 percent contraction.

An estimated 300,000 of Cambodia's 13.4 million people work in the sector and send vital cash to impoverished rural villages where many people live on less than $1 a day.

Thailand reported near submarine deal with Germany

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 01:16 AM PDT


Mar 28, 2011
DPA

Bangkok - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has approved a plan for the Royal Thai Navy to purchase six secondhand submarines from Germany for 7.7 billion baht (257 million dollars), a newspaper reported Monday.

The U-206 Class subs, which are intended for missions in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, would constitute Thailand's first submarine fleet, to be commanded by Rear Admiral Suriya Pornsuriya, the Bangkok Post said.

The Thai navy has had submarines on its wish list for many years. It commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the HTMS Chakri Naruebet, in 1997.


The submarine purchase is part of a long-term plan by the Abhisit government to buy weapons for the army, navy and air force over 10 years at a total cost of more than 500 billion baht.

Military budgets in Thailand have skyrocketed since the army overthrew the government in 2006. Since then, the military has reasserted its pivotal role in Thai politics although civilian governance was restored in 2008.

Previous plans to deploy submarines have been criticized on the grounds that the Gulf of Thailand was too shallow for their effective use.

The U-206 Class sub was first deployed in the 1970s and is one of the smallest attack submarines in the world with a displacement of about 500 tons. It is said to be particularly effective in depths of about 20 metres.

It runs on diesel engines and electric motors and is tasked for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, mine-laying and reconnaissance.

With a crew of 22, the sub can be armed with eight torpedoes and 24 mines.

The German navy has operated the subs for more than 30 years but is in the process of decommissioning them.

The submarine purchase was expected to be proposed to the Thai cabinet for formal approval in the near future.

Libyan woman muzzled after accusing Gaddafi's troops of rape: Silencing dissenters, the ideal method of dictatorial regimes incl. Cambodia

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:28 AM PDT


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8W6PwhFkLk&feature=relmfu

Libyan Rebels Reclaim Oil Centers in Sweep West

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:24 AM PDT


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zeYxjWBX7o&feature=player_embedded

Libyan Rebels March Toward Qaddafi Stronghold

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:22 AM PDT

March 28, 2011
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and KAREEM FAHIM
New York Times

TRIPOLI, Libya — American and European bombs battered Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's most important bastion of support in his tribal homeland of Surt on Sunday night, as rebels seeking his ouster capitalized on the damage from the Western airstrikes to erase their recent losses and return to the city's doorstep.

Their swift return, recapturing two important oil refineries and a strategic port within 20 hours, set the stage for a battle in Surt that could help decide the war.

There were unconfirmed reports early Monday that rebel forces had routed pro-Qaddafi defenders in Surt, but there was no corroboration. Even so, rebels in Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising, drove through the streets, blaring horns and firing weapons into the air to celebrate.

News reports on Monday said some military vehicles and dozens of civilian cars loaded with personal belongings were seen heading west from Surt toward Tripoli, 225 miles west. The city itself was said to be quiet.


The ease of the rebel march west along the coast underscored the essential role of Western airstrikes, now focused mainly on Colonel Qaddafi's ground troops, in reversing the rebels' fortunes. But it also framed anew the question of how the poorly equipped and disorganized rebel forces might fare against Colonel Qaddafi's garrison in Surt, where air cover may be less useful.

As Western warplanes again bombed sites around Tripoli and other Qaddafi strongholds, NATO agreed at a meeting in Brussels to take over the mission. The decision effectively relieved the United States of leading the fight, and ended a week of squabbling.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the change, pushed by the United States, would allow the military to begin reducing its presence.

In interviews on Sunday, Mr. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton left open how long the American commitment would be.

President Obama plans to address the nation on Monday night about the American role in Libya amid continuing questions about its objectives and duration.

An official with the Pentagon said Sunday that it was already beginning to reduce the number of American warships involved in the operation. The official said that at least one of the Navy submarines that had fired Tomahawk missiles into Libya had left the area, and that a further naval pullout was likely.

Mr. Obama will be able to cite some early success, as the airstrikes have lifted the rebels back from the brink of defeat in the eastern city of Benghazi and enabled them to rush west along the coast past their farthest gains of their previous peak weeks ago.

After clashes with government forces overnight near the town of Al Uqaylah, rebel fighters met little resistance on Sunday as they pushed from the city of Ajdabiya past the oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, recapturing the two important refineries. By the evening, they had pushed the front line west of Bin Jawwad, according to fighters returning from the front.

"There wasn't resistance," said Faraj Sheydani, 42, a rebel fighter interviewed on his return from the front. "There was no one in front of us. There's no fighting."

In Tripoli, the explosions of about 10 large bombs near the city were heard downtown on Sunday night, followed by barrages of antiaircraft fire and cascades of tracers. At a news conference, a short time later, Musa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, declined to comment on the exact location of the battle lines. But he argued that Western powers were now attacking the Libyan Army in retreat, a far cry from the United Nations mandate to establish a no-fly zone to protect civilians.

"Some were attacked as they were clearly moving westbound," he said. "Clearly NATO is taking sides in this civil conflict. It is illegal. It is not allowed by the Security Council resolution. And it is immoral, of course."

In western Libya, however, the rebel-held city of Misurata was still under siege by loyalist forces. By Sunday evening, rebels were again reporting street fighting in the center of the city as well as renewed shelling and mortar fire from Qaddafi tanks and artillery from west and northwest of the city.

Allied airstrikes outside Misurata had kept up through the previous night, rebels said, destroying a major ammunition depot that exploded in a blaze of light. It was still burning 13 hours after the initial blast, said Muhammad, a rebel spokesman there whose full name was withheld for his family's safety.

Speaking over a satellite hook-up and hospital generator, he contradicted statements from the Qaddafi government that it had restored power and water to the city. He said that rebels had used a local generator to restore electricity to about half the city. But he said that water remained cut off and that residents were using a small supply from a desalination facility there. The reports were impossible to confirm because the Qaddafi government has prevented journalists from reaching the city.

Muhammad said he believed the airstrikes had not killed any civilians in the area, but had struck barracks and airfields, killing many Libyan soldiers. "Thousands of them, I hope," he said.

In Tripoli on Sunday, most stores were closed. Usually busy streets were deserted. Officials said the port had been closed to ships carrying refined fuel as well as food and other goods. Gasoline was in increasingly short supply, and lines of cars at gas stations stretched for several blocks. Some motorists said they had turned out before dawn for a chance to fill up, or waited in line for more than two hours to reach the pump.

Residents also stood in long lines for bread at bakeries, mainly because the migrant workers Libyans rely on to bake and do other service jobs have fled the country.

The NATO agreement was announced Sunday evening by its secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He said that "NATO will implement all aspects of the U.N. resolution. Nothing more, nothing less."

He said the decision would take "immediate effect," but it may take up to two days for the transfer to be completed.

NATO had agreed to take on the no-fly zone late last week, but the decision on Sunday expanded its command to the entire military mission, including the air campaign. Until now, the bombing campaign has had no central command, although the United States has been coordinating the effort.

The alliance was divided over the issue, because France did not want to cede control to NATO, arguing that it was American-dominated and therefore an uncomfortable brand for another war in an Arab country. But other countries like Italy and Norway said that their participation depended on NATO running the war under the political control of its governments. Turkey also insisted on NATO control.

The Security Council resolution, adopted 10 days ago, authorized a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. The coalition has interpreted the protection of civilians to include attacking Qaddafi forces.

But the resolution also calls for an arms embargo that applies to the entire territory of Libya, which means that any outside supply of arms to the opposition is being done covertly.

The military campaign will be led by Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, a Canadian who is the deputy to an American commander and serves under the supreme commander, Europe, who is also an American.

In interviews in Tripoli under the close supervision of Libyan government minders, several people complained about the Western airstrikes. But even under those circumstances several people voiced their dissent. One person waiting for gas volunteered that he blamed Colonel Qaddafi's rule for the shortages.

"Please, I want to say something to the world," another man said in a store nearby, pointing to a group of six men. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we all don't like Colonel Qaddafi. We like Libyan freedom."

One member of the group, who outside the store moments before had told a particularly florid story about the evil of the international airstrikes, abruptly walked out the door. "Dangerous," he muttered as he left.

In Green Square, the site of a continuous pro-Qaddafi rally for more than a month, the crowd was unusually small and subdued; some said Qaddafi supporters had shifted their energies to a rally inside his compound, where his supporters say they have gathered as civilian shields against Western bombs.

Many people in Tripoli, including those supporting Colonel Qaddafi and those opposing him, said they were focused closely on the battle for Surt.

David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Tripoli, and Kareem Fahim from Ajdabiya, Libya. Steven Erlanger contributed reporting from Brussels, and Mark Mazzetti from Washington.

Sam Rainsy will not ask his lawyer to defend his case

Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:11 AM PDT

28 March 2011
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Soch

Yesterday, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that he will not ask his lawyer to defend him in the defamation and disinformation lawsuit against him. The lawsuit was brought by Hor 5 Hong, the minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on an event taking place in 2008. The court hearing is scheduled for 05 April. In an email sent yesterday, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that he will not ask his lawyer to participate in the hearing because it is the same case as in the past, and the case will end up with the same sentence as in the past. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy who currently lives in self-exile in Paris said: "According the law and the justice system, a person could not be sentenced twice for the same case (i.e. no double jeopardy)."

Mercy dash to save 'eaten' jaw bone

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 11:59 PM PDT

Cambodian girl Sovanna Kak, who is estimated to be 15, will undergo surgery in Brisbane to remove a tumour on her jaw bone (seen in her x-ray inset).
March 28, 2011
Courtney Trenwith
Brisbane Times (Australia)


A Cambodian teenager will undergo surgery in Brisbane tomorrow to remove a tumour that is eating away her jaw bone.

Sovanna Kak has suffered the painful growth for several years, although she only complained to a doctor a few months ago.

Sovanna, who does not know her date of birth but has been given an estimated age of 15, is from a rural community in Kandal province, about 30 kilometres from the capital Phnom Penh. She arrived in Brisbane on Saturday.


Advertisement: Story continues below Oral and maxillofacial surgeon John Arvier, who will voluntarily perform the surgery at Wesley Hospital, said the benign tumour was destroying the right side of teenager's face.

"It's made an awful mess of the jaw from the corner of the jaw to just below the joint in front of the ear," Dr Arvier said.

"It's quite sore, she can talk all right nd still eat fairly well but ... it's steadily chomping away at her.

"It's eaten away the inside of the jaw, pushing the jaw out, almost to the point where it's eaten the whole jaw bone."

The bone is so badly decomposed Sovanna risks breaking her jaw if she so much as bumps into someone.

Dr Arvier said Sovanna first presented to a doctor in her home town in rural Cambodia and was referred to a dentist, who then sent her to a dental hospital but the job was too complicated to be carried out in the former Khmer Rouge heartland.

A Cambodian doctor alerted the Australian and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons who, with Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children and Wesley Hospital, brought Sovanna to Australia.

The girl's mother and the Cambodian doctor are also in Brisbane, as well as a Cambodian student doctor who will learn the procedure with the hope of performing it in the developing country.

Dr Arvier said the tumour was not uncommon, including in Australia, but rarely progressed to such a debilitating point as Sovanna's condition had.

He said while the three-hour surgery was relatively straight forward, it would have a large impact on Sovanna's life and health.

A metal plate will be inserted to replace the bone that has been eaten away. If bone did not regrow, bone graft may have to be inserted, Dr Arvier said.

"She's very, very nervous," he said.

"[The tumour] was just bad luck. This is one of those things that can develop for no special reason."

Sovanna is expected to remain in Australia for several weeks and is staying with a Cambodian pastor.

Former sex slave speaks

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 11:45 PM PDT

Monday, March 28, 2011
By Kelsey Wells
Staff Writer

A person's past does not necessarily determine their future, Cambodian human rights activist Somaly Mam said in a lecture Friday afternoon in the State Farm Room of the Business and Aerospace Building.

As the keynote speaker for the annual Global Discourses in Women's and Gender Studies conference, Mam discussed how she spent much of her early life as a sex slave but has dedicated the rest of it to helping others escape the abuse and illness she grew up with.

Mam said she was sold in slavery when she was a young teenager by a man posing as her grandfather. Even today, she said she does not know exactly how old she is or who her parents were. She also does not know her real name.

Her owner forced her to live in a snake and scorpion infested brothel with other young slaves, she said.


Even though she was beaten and starved, Mam said she did not consider running away at first because, in the brothel, she at least had people surrounding her. Outside, she said, she had no one.

It was only after the owner killed her best friend in front of her that she escaped.

Since then, Mam has made it her life's work to help other girls escape from slavery and learn to move on with their lives.

In 2007, she established the Somaly Mam Foundation, a worldwide organization that has thus far helped more than 7,000 girls break the bonds of slavery.

"I teach them forgiveness," Mam said. "Not to forgive them, but yourself – so you can be happy."

Tina Johnson, director of the university's Women's and Gender Studies Program, said sex trafficking is a "very important issue in women's studies." Though males are also often victims of slavery, women and girls are more vulnerable to sex slavery, she said.

"She did not stop to think about the girls she left behind," Johnson said. "She is a tower of strength."

Mam, who has no formal education, said she admires the girls she helps. One is now attending law school, she said.

"I just have a heart," Mam said. "They have brains. They're my heroes."

Worldwide, sex slavery is an annually $32 billion industry, Johnson said, adding that it is estimated four to five million people are living as slaves and two million of those are children.

Extreme poverty is one of the main reasons children are sold as slaves, Mam said.

Cambodia is divided between the "very rich and the very poor," she said.

Clare Bratten, a professor of electronic media production, said this divide is not only found in Cambodia. People from "poor countries are being sent to rich countries," she said.

Mam said more research is needed to determine other causes of sex slavery and better ways to combat it in a global setting.

"Life is love," she said. "Love costs you nothing."

My Maman - by Norodom Sihanouk

Posted: 27 Mar 2011 11:35 PM PDT

Translated from French by La Poule Mouillée
My Maman
Undoubtedly, her soul remains with me.
(Signed) N. Sihanouk

In the royal residence in Beijing (P.R. of China), I have 3 photos of her (one on the Buddha and the ancestors' altar, the second one on my desk and the third one (of her wearing her "daily" jacket, in full family intimacy) on top of my TV in my living room-bedroom.)

It is this last photo of my Maman (H.M. Queen Preah Sisowath Kossamak) dressed like the "Khmer People" which remains with me most of the time.

I look at her and salute her each day, each afternoon and each evening – each night.

When I look at this last photo, I feel myself serene.

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