KI Media: “Bangkok continues to reject Indonesian observers; Claim that Jayavarman VII is “THEIR” king” plus 24 more

Bangkok confirmed its stance to reject Indonesian observers to be stationed within the 4.6-square-km zone. It also claimed that King Jayavarman VII was their king.

Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva told the news media that Bangkok does not welcome the presence of Indonesian observers in the 4.6-square-km zone if there is no prior new discussion. Abhisit's declaration was met by Cambodia's disappointment again and again.

Hor 5 Hong, the Cambodian minister of Foreign Affairs, told reporters last Saturday, following the border meeting between the two countries in Bogor, Indonesia, that the Thai government has no intention of resolving the dragging border dispute between the two countries. The General and the Joint Border Meetings held on 7-8 April were not attended by Prawit Wongsuwam, the Thai minister of Defense, nor by Kasit Piromya, the Thai minister of Foreign Affairs. Only Tea Banh, the Cambodian minister of Defense, and Hor 5 Hong, the Cambodian minister of Foreign Affairs, were sitting lonely in the meeting room.

Recently, Thai TV channel 5, a station owned by the Thai army, commented by saying that King Jayavarman VII was a king of the Thais who built many temples, including those along the border. In the similar vein, in 2003, a Thai star allegedly claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand. That alleged claim led to protest in front of the Thai embassy and the burning down of several Thai commercial buildings in Cambodia, the damages amounted to $50 million.

When one of the largest shoemakers in Korea invested $19 million in a manufacturing plant in Qingdao, China in 1995 with a hefty contract from Nike in hand, its future, and that of the new plant, looked bright.

However, China's fast rising wages soon forced the firm to re-evaluate its China strategy.

Just last year, the company closed the Chinese plant and opened one in Indonesia. The new $25 million facility started production in January this year.

A T-shirt manufacturer found itself in a similar boat so it too closed down its operations in China and set up shop in Cambodia.

With strengthening labor laws and increasing wages, Korean companies are running for the exit in China, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).

Other Asian nations are increasing their minimum wages but they are still much more competitive than in China's, according to the trade-Investment body. China boosted the minimum wage by 20 percent last year for Chinese companies and another 150 percent for firms invested with foreign capital. As a result, a rising number of foreign companies are shifting their production from China to other parts of Asia.

In Indonesia, 87 textile, sewing and shoemaking companies invested $356 million in 2008. That jumped to 143 companies and $299 million in 2010, according to figures compiled by Kotra.

A significant number of those companies have left China. In Cambodia, the number of textile, sewing and shoemaking companies that moved from China between 2008 and 2010 was 53, worth $189 million in investments.

Kotra, however, advises caution. It highlights risks in non-Chinese markets, saying they are also susceptible to rising wages and labor-management disputes. It suggests procuring legal advice and utilizing its Korea Business Centers.

Kotra added that companies should employ human resources departments, improve employee benefits and reach out to local communities.

"Although Southeast and Southwest Asian countries are also capable of raising labor costs and having labor-management disputes, it is important to find ways to do business in these areas in the long run," said Kwak dong-woon of Kotra.

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It has been reported that the Thai authorities have used cluster munitions in Cambodia. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented: "If these reports are true, this is a very serious matter."

According to reports, Thailand used cluster munitions in February this year in connection with a border conflict with Cambodia. Norwegian People's Aid, which works in both Thailand and Cambodia, recently visited the area around the disputed Preah Vihear temple. The NGO has now reported that cluster munitions of the type M42/M46 and M85 have been found. Several people are believed to have been killed or injured in the conflict, and many fled from the area. Now that people are returning to their villages, the unexploded ordnance puts them at serious risk.

"Norway condemns all use of cluster munitions. These weapons kill and maim civilians and have unacceptable humanitarian consequences long after they are used," said Mr Støre. "South East Asia is a region that is already badly affected, and the incident on the border between Cambodia and Thailand demonstrates clearly why this weapon is now prohibited.

Cluster munitions are area weapons that do not distinguish between military and civilian targets, and they cause great suffering among civilians both during and long after conflicts.

"The report, which was drawn up by the Cluster Munition Coalition and Norwegian People's Aid, shows how important it was to establish the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of these weapons. Continued efforts are needed to persuade even more countries to join. I urge both Thailand and Cambodia to become parties to the convention as soon as possible and to cooperate on preventing more people from being killed or injured by these weapons," said Mr Støre.

Together with various humanitarian organisations and the UN, Norway contributes to the clearance of unexploded ordnance and support for victims of cluster munitions, land mines and other explosives all over the world.

Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon has rejected claims that Thailand used cluster bombs in breach of an international agreement during border clashes with Cambodia in early February.

Fine; we should never use these weapons, which are such a major threat to civilians that 107 countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, banning their use.

But Thai ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Sihasak Phuangkertkeow, reveals that the Foreign Ministry is encouraging the Army to sign the convention so Thailand can receive assistance to destroy these bombs.

The Army should not be the decision-maker. The armed forces should not again follow Mao Tse-Tung's principle, "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Rather they should follow their oath and obey the orders of the duly elected government. It is we the people, acting through our elected representatives, who should be in charge - not the military. Give the soldiers' point of view a fair hearing, then if the government holds that it is in our country's interests to sign the convention, do it.

Bangkok

SHELBY, N.C. -- The family of a missing Cleveland County woman wants at least $750,000 in compensatory damages.

A judge hearing the case Monday said the family is entitled to pain and suffering as well, but that judge did not rule or award dollar amounts.

Mouy Tang had a hard life. She was a refugee from Cambodia who escaped violence and starvation along with her brother Tong.

"We all miss Mouy very much," he said.

She also battled severe schizophrenia and diabetes. Tang ended up at Unique Living, an adult care operation in Fallston, where a fee of $1,000 per month was supposed to buy her healthcare and safety.

On September 3, 2008, she walked away, never to be seen or heard from again.

"They didn't care about supervision," said Tang family attorney Neal Rodgers. "They cared about earning the money and once they earned the money they allowed these mentally impaired patients to basically fend for themselves."

That's the crux of Rodgers' negligence claim against Gary Jacobs and Jacobs Enterprises LLC, who Rodgers says ran the day-to-day operations at Unique Living when Tang disappeared.

"Yeah, she was free to move in and out, but she should not have been leaving the facility, opening the doors and walking out without supervision," Rodgers said.

The doors Rodgers refers to are doors that Jacobs had promised to repair, according to testimony from Cleveland County DSS employees on Monday.

They say he promised a state of the art facility. What patients and employees got was one problem after another. The water and electricity was shut off and a refrigerator was repossessed.

"We were there at least a couple times a week," testified Rebecca Johnson with Cleveland County DSS.

She says she pushed for the state to shut Unique Living down. The state did shut it down a week after Tang's disappearance.

Tang's family says Jacobs should pay up for damages, emotional distress and unfair trade practices.

"To have things happen to her the way it happened is just devastating to the family."

When it comes to defending Jacobs, his LLC and Unique Living there are two empty chairs in the courtroom.

Mouy Tang was never found. Given her diabetes problem, her doctor says Tang would have gone into diabetic shock within hours since she did not have her medication. The family attorney thinks Tang may have walked into the woods and died.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlZHnqb6cXk&feature=player_embedded

A two-week trip to her mother's home country turned into a year-long journey of personal discovery for Lisa Ho.

The Blockhouse Bay resident spent a year volunteering at a charity called Tiny Toones in Cambodia in 2009.

Now she is running children's hip hop classes in New Lynn and donating all the profits to Tiny Toones.

Miss Ho has a background in dance and studied commerce at the University of Auckland.

She travelled to Cambodia in December 2008 to find out more about where her mother grew up.

"She had told me bedtime stories about running away from soldiers and eating spiders but I didn't know very much about the country."

Miss Ho was shocked by what she saw when she arrived.

"It's another world, it's very lawless," she says.

The 25-year-old discovered Tiny Toones, a non-government organisation which works with underprivileged youth in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

She liked what the group was trying to achieve through dance and education and jumped on board as an administrator.

Miss Ho returned to New Zealand in December 2009 because she missed her family.

"It's still the best thing I've ever done," Miss Ho says.

"I couldn't see myself climbing up the corporate ladder."

She now works as a fundraising co-ordinator for Amnesty International but wanted to keep contributing to Tiny Toones in some way.

"I thought it would be good to start up something that could generate a revenue stream for the organisation," she says.

She decided to use her dance background and experiences of hip hop dancing in Cambodia to start some classes here.

They have been running since the beginning of February and Miss Ho hopes more people will sign on to the classes.

They are held at the New Lynn Sea Scouts Hall, 37 Margan Ave on Fridays.

They are $8 per session.

The classes are held from 4pm to 5pm for six to nine-year-olds and from 5pm to 6pm for 10 to 14-year-olds.

Call 021-1135-074 or email zyondance@gmail.com.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia as you celebrate the Khmer New Year in the coming days. The Khmer New Year is an opportunity to gather with family, friends and neighbors to honor Cambodia's rich traditions and culture.

During my visit to Cambodia last year, I was encouraged by the optimism of the next generation of leaders, the opportunities for our two countries to deepen and grow our relationship, and the enduring spirit of all Cambodian people. Our two countries are already cooperating on a range of issues – from curbing public health concerns to expanding international peacekeeping efforts – and we remain committed to finding new ways to strengthening our partnership to benefit the people of both of our countries.

As you celebrate the new year, know that the United States is committed to the people of Cambodia and we extend our warmest wishes for a peaceful, prosperous, and happy New Year.

Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, is still waiting for an answer from Thailand on sending its observers to the border disputed areas near the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear - while many government officials in Bangkok remain without a consensus on where the observers should be placed.

Thailand is still studying the Indonesia-proposed term of reference (TOR) for the observation, said Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa.

Marty was in Bangkok yesterday for an informal meeting of Asean foreign ministers in preparation for an East Asia Summit.

Border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia was one issue discussed by the Asean ministers, but no clear solution emerged to settle the dispute.

Indonesia, as requested by the United Nations Security Council, would implement the permanent cease-fire plan between Thailand and Cambodia by dispatching a group of Indonesian observers to the disputed areas.

Phnom Penh said earlier it was ready to welcome the observers and would place them at the border disputed areas near Preah Vihear - but Thailand hesitated to honour the plan saying observers should not be placed in the 4.6 square kilometres area surrounding the Preah Vihear, as it absolutely belongs to Thailand.

Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong earlier expressed his disappointment over the Thai hesitation to receive the observers.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday the Indonesian observers should not be military officers, although they were unarmed.

National Security Council Secretary Tawin Pleansri said Thailand had not yet made a decision on the Indonesian observers since the issue was too sensitive.

"We have a clear stance on not allowing foreign observers to go into the 4.6 square kilometre area (adjacent to the Preah Vihear)," Tawin told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Thailand and Cambodia have been at loggerheads over the Hindu temple for years. The Preah Vihear, ruled by the International Court of Justice since 1962, is situated in territory under the sovereignty of Cambodia, but Thailand argues the surrounding area belongs to it. Cambodia in turn claims the area is under its sovereignty, creating an overlapping area of 4.6 square kilometres.

The conflict at Preah Vihear led to a military clash in February, which claimed some 10 lives including civilians on both sides. Cambodia brought the issue into discussion with the UN and Asean.

Indonesian foreign minister Marty reaffirmed yesterday the observer team is not a major goal, but just an instrument to ensure stability at the border between Thailand and Cambodia.

Indonesia's concern is based on its role as Asean chair. The situation between the two countries is improving, which made the meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) in Bogor last week possible, he said.

However Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong told Cambodian local media after the Bogor meeting that he considered the JBC meeting a failure as the body could not achieve any significant move toward land boundary demarcation.

The JBC merely looked at some technicalities on the boundary survey - such as the preparing of a technical team to search for border pillars numbered 1 to 23, aerial photos looking for old border posts, and the opening of Stung Bot border crossing in Banteay Meanchey province, he said.

The JBC moved at a snail's pace as Thailand proposed to wait for the approval from its Parliament of the minutes of the JBC meetings in 2008 and 2009, he added.

BANGKOK (Xinhua) - Marty Natalegawa, Indonesian Foreign Minister and current ASEAN chairman, admitted on Monday that the recent conflict between Thailand and Cambodia could have a short-term, negative impact on creating ASEAN community.

However, in the longer term, if the problem would be addressed with the engagement of ASEAN, it would have positive impact on other cases when dispute between ASEAN members arise.

"I think, in the short term, my answer would be it is troubling, it is creating special challenges for ASEAN but, in the longer term, if we could get it right, it will have a huge positive impact," Marty said at Special Informal ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on East Asia Summit in Bangkok.

He said this is the first time that ASEAN country members tried to settle this kind of conflict directly.

"It shows ASEAN for the first time addressing an issue of this type directly and not simply producing documents," Marty said.

ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has traditionally followed a policy of non-intervention in its members' internal political problems.

As for the progress of Indonesian observers to be deployed along the two countries' border to ensure ceasefire, the Indonesian Foreign Minister said the countries have not yet agreed on the 'area of coverage'.

"We have one key remaining, pending issue, namely the so called 'area of coverage' where the observer team, member team would be assigned," said Marty.

Besides, he also addressed that the observer team will be unarmed unit and not wearing military uniform, and therefore, the team should be 'assigned' not 'deployed'.

He unveiled that Thai government had recently come up with a new proposal on where the observers would be assigned. He pointed out also that although the Indonesian observer team had not yet been assigned, the situation between Thailand and Cambodia had grown more stable.

"The border situation today is far more stable than it was last February. It would be with more ideal if we have the observer team on the ground. I would say that we are up to making a good progress on the issue," said the chairman.

In the informal ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 22, at the invitations of Thailand and Cambodia, Indonesia agreed to send its 30 observers to the disputed border areas near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple soon in order to monitor the ceasefire between the two nations.

Thai-Cambodian relations have been volatile since July 2008, when UNESCO's World Heritage Committee added Preah Vihear temple to its list of world heritage sites, despite Thai objections.

The sand stone Hindu temple, perched on a cliff in the Dangrek mountain range between the two countries, has frequent been a subject of contention for the past five decades.

In 1962 the International Court of Justice decided the temple belonged to Cambodia, but failed to rule on a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8 sq miles) plot of surrounding land that both countries claim.

The most recent border conflict, which occurred on February 4-7, claimed at least eight lives of both civilians and soldiers on both sides and caused massive evacuation of the people living along the border area during the fighting.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa insists his country will not send military observers into the disputed area on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Mr Marty said Indonesia had not yet assigned anyone to observe the Thai-Cambodian border conflict because it had to take a look at what relevant countries thought about the matter.

"A key remaining issue is where the observer team would be assigned. It is a team, not a military mission. They are unarmed; they are not going to be wearing military uniforms," Mr Marty said yesterday during a press conference on the sidelines of the Special Informal Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting on East Asia at Bangkok's Shangri-La hotel.

Mr Marty said Indonesia's stance not to to send military observers to the dispute was arrived at after he met with his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya in Jakarta last Saturday on the sidelines of the Special Asean-Japan Meeting on giving assistance to disaster-hit Japan.

The two foreign ministers discussed the terms of reference on the despatch of Indonesian observers.

The Thai side reiterated its position that the Indonesian observers must be unarmed and be considered members of the Indonesian diplomatic mission.

It would not allow the Indonesian military observers to enter the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area around the Preah Vihear Temple.

In addition, they would have to follow strictly any recommendations of the Thai side, and must not undertake any action which would be contrary to the Thai constitution or violate Thai sovereignty.

Indonesia, as this year's Asean chair, asked Thailand and Cambodia to allow its observers to enter the disputed area at the Informal Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting on Feb 22 to resolve the border dispute after fighting broke out between Feb 4 and 7.

Indonesia, which offered to be a facilitator, at the same time asked the two countries to resume bilateral Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) talks, which ended last Friday in Bogor, Indonesia.

Mr Marty said there had been much more progress on the two countries' discussions on the despatch of Indonesian observers.

"The border situation today is far more stable than it was in February. It would be a bit more ideal if it would have an observer team on the ground," he said.

"We are progressing on this issue".

Mr Marty said the Thai government had issued a new proposal on where the observers would be assigned and he told both Thailand and Cambodia that the observers should not be too legally perfect and precise.

He said the observer team will be sent sooner or later.

Mr Marty said he hoped the border situation between Thailand and Cambodia would remain stable and free of armed conflict in the longer term.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva chaired the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) yesterday, which also discussed the Indonesian observers issue.

NSC secretary general Thawil Pliensri said the Foreign Ministry had taken the opinion of the Defence Ministry to discuss with relevant agencies that Thailand did not want Indonesian military observers to enter the disputed area because the issue was sensitive.

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast President-elect Alassane Ouattara, plans to start judicial proceedings against rival Laurent Gbagbo, who was captured today after French and UN forces laid siege to the presidential residence.

In a televised speech, Ouattara said Gbagbo and his wife "will be treated with dignity and their rights will be respected." A truth and reconciliation commission to investigate human rights violations may be established, he said.

Ouattara's Republican Forces are guarding Gbagbo and his wife at the Golf Hotel, which Ouattara used as a base after the disputed Nov. 28 elections. The capture may signal an end to the violent four month impasse that left Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the election, unable to take office.

Ouattara also called on pro-Gbagbo youth militias to lay down weapons and urged Ivorians to refrain from vengeance.

"To the youth turned into militias, they must understand that their struggle no longer has sense," he said. "In these historical moments for our country, I invite you to exercise calm and restraint. I ask all my fellow citizens to do everything so as peace resumes for good in our country."

--Editor: Tim Smith, Victoria Richards

Op-Ed by Khmerization
11th April, 2011

Thailand has employed dirty and dishonest diplomacy for flip-flopping and reversing its agreement with the Asean and Indonesia, and to a certain extent with the UN Security Council, to allow the deployment of Indonesian observers in the "disputed border" near the ancient temple of Preah Vihear.

Thailand's dishonest conduct and backflip has reinforced Cambodia's stance and insistence for multilateral engagements rather than bilateral talks insisted by Thailand. If Thailand is not afraid to dishonour its agreements with the Asean and the UN, then Thailand will not be afraid to dishonour any agreements reached during future bilateral talks with Cambodia. Cambodia's claim that Thailand is untrustworthy and cannot be trusted has been vindicated because of its repeated backflips over too many agreements with Cambodia as well as its agreements with the Asean and the UN over the Cambodia-Thai border dispute.

For the last three years since Thailand invaded the Preah Vihear surrounding areas in 2008, both sides had reached three major agreements during the many bilateral talks during the course of three years negotiations, which required Thailand to withdraw its troops from the "disputed area". However, Thailand failed to implement those three agreements, using an excuse that they have to be ratified by the Thai parliament, which in turn has shelved it indefinitely. On 22nd February 2011, Thailand had agreed in front of 10 Asean foreign ministers to allow the deployment of Indonesian observers in the areas deemed "disputed". Its latest turnaround is nothing short of dirty and dishonest. With these records of backflips, can Cambodia, or any other nations, trust Thailand enough to continue any bilateral dealings with Thailand?

Thailand has done all it can to stifle any attempts by Cambodia to find a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the conflict. It has blocked Cambodia from seeking international and regional diplomacy, as well as blocking Cambodia's attempt to take the case to the International Court of Justice. If Thailand wanted a diplomatic and peaceful solution as it has consistently claimed, why then Thailand has done all it can to block any attempts to bring about these sorts of solution? If it claims that the "disputed land", which is currently controlled by Cambodian troops, belong to Thailand, why then it is afraid of the International Court of Justice, why then it is scared of the Indonesian observers and the mediation from the United Nations?

Thailand has been dishonest with Cambodia all along during the course of bilateral talks in the last three years. While the Thai government was dealing with Cambodia on the diplomatic front, behind the scene it has used other Thai institutions to sabotage any agreements reached between the Cambodian and Thai governments. First, it used the Thai parliament to dishonestly block the implementation of any agreements with Cambodia by not ratifying those agreements. It has used the Thai army on the war fronts, with all sorts of military intimidation, while its government was dealing with Cambodia on the negotiating tables. Now, the Thai government is saying one thing while the Thai Army is saying another thing. First, the Thai government said it would allow the Indonesian observers into the territory it controlled, but now backed down because of the opposition from the Thai Army. Not only Cambodia, but any other nations around the world, will not be able to deal with any nation that is so cunning and as dishonest as Thailand. And for this reason, Cambodia must not fall into Thai trap, but must make great efforts to engage the international community, as well as international diplomacy and international legal channel such as taking the case to the UN and the international court of justice.

A 2555 Khmer New Year Message from Hon. Thach Setha, Executive Director of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, KKC.

Hon. Thach Setha expresses a profound appreciation to Your Venerables, You and our compatriots for all the supports.

Hon. Thach Setha would like to reiterate the importance of [our] historic Khmer Krom struggle for complete human rights, religious rights and freedom for our Khmer Buddhist monks and people in Kampuchea Krom.

Khmer Krom opened a new chapter at the beginning of the new millennium by continuing our historic struggle with a legacy that left by our heroic Buddhist monks and heroes of the past. With our strong determination, a Khmer Kampuchea Krom international recognition into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), the Transnational Radical Party (TRP) and the dragon boat race is just part of our on-going struggle.

As long Khmer Buddhist monks and people have not fully achieved our human and religious rights and freedom, a struggle continues for as long as it takes.

The United States has said that Burma had far more to do to improve human rights after freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, in a report that also aired concern over Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines.

In an annual survey on human rights, the State Department pointed to "severe" abuses in Burma including frequent killings, rapes and forced labour of ethnic minorities at the hands of the country's powerful army.

Burma freed pro-democracy icon Suu Kyi in November. The military leaders have officially ceded to civilians as part of a political transition, although outside observers consider the step cosmetic.

"We continue to be very concerned about the situation in Burma, especially, I would say, the continued detention of more than 2,000 political prisoners," US official Michael Posner said as he presented an annual human rights report.

"We continue to call for their release, but also [to end] the very harsh and unreasonable restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. So we have a long way to go," said Posner, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour.

President Barack Obama's administration is expected shortly to name a special coordinator on Burma policy, an appointment which Posner said would help the United States engage on issues including human rights.

The report also pointed to human rights concerns elsewhere in Southeast Asia — particularly Vietnam, where it said that at least 25 political activists were arrested.

"The government increased its suppression of dissent," the report said. "Police commonly mistreated suspects during arrest or detention."

The report said that historic discrimination persisted against ethnic minorities, although it also pointed to efforts by Vietnam to address grievances in the Central Highlands by improving education and infrastructure.

Human Rights Watch, a private US watchdog, in a recent report said Vietnam was stepping up repression of the Montagnard people, forcing hundreds to renounce their religion.

The State Department report also raised concerns about Cambodia, saying that security forces "committed arbitrary killings and acted with impunity," often abusing detainees to extract confessions.

The survey said that Cambodia restricted freedom of speech and press and pointed to efforts seen as weakening non-governmental organizations, which have been active in the country since its recovery from war.

Posner said the push against NGOs was part of a worldwide trend by governments to make life difficult for critics.

"The law makes it very hard for NGOs to register, especially small ones, and I think it does not do a service to the Government of Cambodia to keep pursuing this law," Posner told reporters.

In the Philippines, the State Department report said that extrajudicial killings were "serious problems" and also pointed to harassment of leftist and human rights activists and arbitrary arrests.

"Members of the security services physically and psychologically abused suspects and detainees, and there were instances of torture," it said. On Laos, the State Department said that the one-party state restricted freedom of speech and at times freedom of religion.

Phnom Penh - A trade union leader said Monday the mass fainting of workers at a factory making shoes for German sportswear giant Puma was likely due to exhaustion from pre-New Year's partying.

Cambodia's New Year holiday begins on Thursday, but many factories close early as hundreds of thousands of people visit their families in the provinces.

Chuon Momthol, president of the Cambodian Union Federation that represents all 4,000 workers at the Huey Chuen factory, said they were at the factory collecting their wages on Saturday when several collapsed. Others then started feeling faint.

'They saw three or four get sick and fall down, and then they panicked and became unconscious,' he said, adding that workers had told him their illness was not due to chemicals or contaminated water.

'They just said they cannot breathe, and then they fell down,' he said. 'There is no proper reason.'

He said the same thing happened on Sunday when other workers collected their wages. Around 200 workers were affected on each day.

Police and Ministry of Labour officials said they would investigate, but Chuon Momthol said he had yet to hear their results.

'But I was at factory at the time and I didn't feel anything,' he said. 'Before it happened some of the workers were dancing and putting powder on each other's faces.'

'I think that this is due to it being the New Year season,' he said. 'Everybody spends a lot of time dancing at night, and I think they didn't have enough sleep.'

Chuon Momthol said Puma ensured the factory had good working conditions and a good environment for employees.

Garment manufacturing is the country's largest foreign exchange earner and employs around 300,000 workers. Last year, Cambodia exported 3 billion dollars worth of garments, mostly to the United States and the European Union.

As a child welfare expert who has worked amid bullets and bombs in some of the world's toughest war zones, Jennifer Morgan is not someone easily shaken. But even she admits she was shocked by some of the orphanages she visited recently in Haiti.

'Outside it is a sunny day. Then you step inside the walls of an orphanage and realise that the children there have been exposed to rapes, severe beatings, emotional and mental trauma,' she said. It was even more disturbing, she added, than the damaged children she came across amid the deadly mayhem of Darfur.

But perhaps the most troubling thing is that these tragic scenes in Haiti are not unusual. In dozens of places around the world, unregulated orphanages have become a boom business trading off Western guilt. Our desire to help is backfiring in the most dreadful fashion.

Morgan, whose job is to reunite children with their families, was even screamed at one day by the director of an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. 'Stop reuniting children with their families,' he shouted. 'You're destroying my business.'

We need to wake up to the emergence of this vile industry. In tourist hotspots and disaster zones from Asia to Latin America, children are being abused and exploited to raise money from well-meaning aid groups, volunteers and holidaymakers.

Westerners seek to help abandoned children but have ended up creating a grotesque market that capitalises on their concerns. Misguided pity is piling on misery, creating and fuelling an industry that separates children from families and drives many into slave labour, sexual abuse and terrible trauma.

Now the Cambodian government has announced an inquiry into the country's orphanages after the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) voiced concerns. The number of orphanages has nearly doubled in five years, as has the number of children in care – yet almost three-quarters of them have at least one living parent.

I first became aware of the issue travelling around Africa and Asia. Going into schools and orphanages made me wonder about unchecked visitors encouraged to mingle with young children.

My concerns crystallised during investigations into 'voluntourism', the fastest-growing sector of one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet. Insiders admitted that packages including voluntary work in orphanages sold the best, whether to gap-year teenagers or middle-aged professionals with a romantic desire to do good during their holidays.

The increasing number of orphanages matches rising levels of tourism. Many are clustered in the most popular destinations, with holidaymakers bombarded by offers to visit privately-run centres and donate time or money.

With a population of less than 100,000, the town of Siem Reap, gateway to the famous ruins of Angkor Wat, has 35 orphanages. One even parades children late at night behind placards reading 'Support Our Orphans' as visitors drink and dine. Typically, the websites show pictures of happy children. Once inside, visitors are greeted with wide smiles and tales of abandonment. But the children may have been stolen, rented from their parents or tricked from impoverished rural villagers with false promises of wealth, education and healthcare.

Some orphanages are fronts for child labour and sexual abuse – the British owner of one orphanage in Siem Reap was jailed earlier this year for assaulting several children in his care. Others are kept deliberately squalid, the children starved to look more needy. Little wonder Unicef says it wants to see most shut down.

The same trade that turns children into commodities has sprung up elsewhere.

In Bali, the number of orphanages has doubled in less than a decade, despite two-thirds of the children having parents. Scouts lure cute children from poor families with promises of food and schooling. Some are then forced to work from dawn to dusk on building sites, making jewellery or selling street food. Malnutrition is common.

Brenton Whittaker, founder of local charity Bali Kids, says the worst directors – who live in large houses and educate their own children abroad – sell on all donated goods, even medicines. 'The conditions are shocking,' he said. 'They run these orphanages as a business, spending as little as possible on food, health and education for the kids in order to make the most profits.'

In Sri Lanka, another popular tourist destination, a study found that 92 per cent of children in orphanages had one or both parents living. In Ghana, a government investigation after the rape of an eight-month-old boy in an orphanage found that up to 90 per cent of the 4,500 children in orphanages had at least one parent. Unicef officials said children's welfare was secondary to profit – and it is estimated that less than a third of income goes on child care.

Not all orphanages in the developing world are bad. There are many excellent centres with dedicated staff. But researchers found that even at the better ones, children are left traumatised by short-term volunteer projects, forming emotional bonds with visitors who then disappear suddenly.

Just as in the West, experts say there should be thorough checks on all visitors and stress that children are nearly always better off with their families. The number of orphanages also soars after disasters. As aid money flows in, images of lost children can be profitable.

There have been big rises after several recent major emergencies, although Save The Children found the number of abandoned children is far lower than imagined. Some 'orphans' are even traded for adoption, despite having families.

In Haiti, there were already 600 orphanages before last year's earthquake, with scores more springing up. The country's police chief said many are fronts for criminal organisations taking advantage of people left homeless and hungry.

One aid worker saw babies left unsupervised on chairs, in danger of rolling on to the floor. Another official found all the children were painfully thin, so asked the director if they were short of money. The reply was chilling: 'We have lots of money. But if we keep the children thin, when we send pictures to church groups, they send more money.'

The desire to help needy children is laudable. But good intentions can lead to bad outcomes – as we have seen with foreign aid, so corrosive in so many countries, and the dumping of free goods, which devastates local industries and leads to a dependency culture.

There are times, sadly, when you must be cruel to be kind.

JAKARTA (Xinhua) - ASEAN countries plus China, Japan and South Korea will provide 720,000 tons of rice reserve this year to cope with the impact of rising foods prices, Indonesian Agriculture Minister Suswono said here on Monday.

The so called Asean+3 Emergency Rice Reserve will kick off in October when the countries sign the agreement during the 32th ASEAN agricultural and forestry ministerial meeting in Cambodia, Suswono said.

The biggest contributor to the reserve is Japan with 220,000 tons of rice, followed by China and South Korea each with 200,000 tons, said Suswono, adding Indonesia would offer 14,000 tons.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa said that Indonesia planned to boost rice stockpile by over 2 million tons.

Soaring rice and chilli prices has led inflation to 21-month high in January with 7.02 percent year on year. Inflation eased to 6.65 last month.