KI Media: “Evictions, NGO Law High Among Donor Concerns” plus 24 more |
- Evictions, NGO Law High Among Donor Concerns
- Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Money for the Poor
- The Khmer Rouge break into a cold sweat when they are called Khmer Rouge
- Cambodian-Americans wishes for Cambodia: Democracy, Good leaders, No more land-grabbing, No more foreign encroachments
- Mr. Hun Xen, even Fidel Castro couldn't stay in power until 90 ... when will YOU learn your lesson?
- Mu Sochua Shares Cambodia’s Food Culture with Anthony Bourdain
- Access to Social Media Necessary for Democracy in Cambodia
- Mean Phlov Kom Boss Bong - "Don't abandon the road": Poem in Khmer by Sy Salen
- M'hob Chh-nganh Khmer - "Delicious Khmer Food": Peom in Khmer by Sy Salen
- Corruption in Hun Xen's Cambodia and the regime's hope for $1 BILLION in foreign handout
- Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Democrats Rd.
- Dung return to visit the Cambodian colony ... by invitation of Xen, the Viet minion
- Decrease in Japan Aid ‘May Be Inevitable’: Ambassador
- Repression Increasing Chance of ‘Bursting’: Beehive Radio
- CITA's letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen regaring the Apsara Authority's unfair rule on people living in Banteay Srei
- Unimaginative lightweight-cum-political spoiler
- Rainsy accuses HRP of trying to ‘break’ SRP
- Speak Truth To Power (“Courage without Borders”) Series in KI-Media - Sister Dianna Ortiz (Guatemala/USA) “Torture”
- Silencing political opponents – The case of Sam Rainsy
- Cambodia still remains an authoritarian state ... The constitution is only a decorative façade.
- AHRC: 2010 the State of Human Rights in Cambodia (Excerpt from AHRC report)
- Foreign donors' STUPID ineptitude is showing up year after year ... when will they wake up and smell Hun Xen's STINKY injustice?
- One-way trade deficit with Vietnam on the rise during Q1
- The stalled battle for the future of the Mekong River
- Laos, Neighbors Face Off on Mekong River Dam Dispute
| Evictions, NGO Law High Among Donor Concerns Posted: 20 Apr 2011 05:32 PM PDT
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Cambodia's donors on Wednesday raised a chorus of concern for forced evictions and a controversial law to regulate NGOs, as they met with government partners to discuss upcoming aid packages. The groups met in Phnom Penh to discuss development plans, foreign aid pledges and Cambodia's development needs for 2012. Donors pledged more than a billion dollars in aid to Cambodia last year. Qimiao Fan, country manager for the World Bank here, said in statement that land issues, epitomized by the forced eviction of thousands of urban poor from a development area in Phnom Penh, continued to vex Cambodia. "With rapid urbanization, the resumption of fast economic growth and the increasing interest from investors in large-scale commercial farming, land issues will become only more challenging, as exemplified in Boeung Kak lake area," he said. The World Bank found fault with its Cambodia operations earlier this year after a Bank program failed to issue land titles to residents of Boeung Kak ahead of a massive development scheme undertaken by the city. Fan acknowledged that progress had been made in some government land titling programs, but he said the government should establish resettlement policies that follow the law and fairly award resettlement costs to residents caught in such developments. Donors also remain worried about an impending law to regulate the NGO sector that critics say is unnecessary and potentially harmful to development. "Development partners would be interested in discussing the possible impact of the draft NGO law on the delivery of development assistance in the country," Fan said. Flynn Fuller, USAID's Cambodia director, said the agency "remains concerned about the necessity of the draft NGO law and the related implications for civil society organizations to operate freely in Cambodia." USAID has partnerships with more than 100 local organizations, he said in remarks at Wednesday's meeting. "An excessively restrictive NGO law will hinder the ability of these partnerships to support achievement of critical development objectives in Cambodia," he said. UK Ambassador Andrew Mace urged the government to reconsider the law altogether, echoing requests from international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who have come out against the law. Local groups continue to push for further consultation on the law, rather than having it scrapped. Lon Borithy, executive director of the Cooperation Committee of Cambodia, a conglomerate of local NGOs, said Wednesday that the Ministry of Interior, which is drafting the law, needs to discuss it further before forwarding it to the Council of Ministers for approval. Minister of Economy Keat Chhon said in the meeting that not all NGOs agree on the draft law, but said he would bring their "concerns" to the weekly Cabinet meeting. "I completely believe in the leadership of [Interior Minister] Sar Kheng in making the draft NGO law," he said. He said the particular case of the Boeung Kak villagers was being resolved by City Hall. The rights group Adhoc recorded nearly 200 land disputes last year and 24 forced evictions. The groups lead investigator, Ny Chakriya, said Wednesday that donors had raised the right concerns at the meeting.  | ||||||
| Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Money for the Poor Posted: 20 Apr 2011 05:11 PM PDT
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| The Khmer Rouge break into a cold sweat when they are called Khmer Rouge Posted: 20 Apr 2011 05:03 PM PDT
By Pech Bandol Free Press Magazine Online Translated from Khmer by Soy Click here to read the original article in Khmer The declaration made by Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy on 17 April, during the commemoration of the 36th anniversary of the takeover of power by the Khmer Rouge, saying that the current regime in Cambodia is the Khmer Rouge regime No. 2, has attracted the ire of officials from the ruling regime. Some even went on to threaten with incitation on the people to demonstrate against the opposition party, while others threaten to sue Sam Rainsy. All these reactions came at a time when the public clearly know that these officials were indisputably Khmer Rouge. Nguon Nhel, the 2nd vice-president of the NatAss (National Assembly) from the ruling CPP, threatened that his group were the ones who liberated the people from the KR regim, and he added that Sam Rainsy's accusation could lead to a demonstration opposing the latter. Nguon Nhel went on to boast his bosses, saying that only the three Samd-achs [Hun Xen, Chea Xim and Heng Xamrin] were the ones who liberated the people from the Khmer Rouge on 07 January 1979, and they also pushed the KR leaders to trial. Cheam Yeap, another CPP MP from Prey Veng province, expressed his anger, saying that calling the current regime as the Khmer Rouge regime No. 2 is defamation, and he threatened to sue [Sam Rainsy]. In fact, these CPP officials do not want anybody to say that the CPP was involved with the atrocious Khmer Rouge regime. This is so because it would make it easier for them to sustain their false propaganda and obtain support from Cambodians who do not know the CPP's dubious origin. In reality, what they are doing is to shamelessly try to hide the historical truth, it is like someone trying to hide a dead elephant with one's bare hands. Hun Xen, Chea Xim and Heng Xamrin readily admitted publicly that their group consisted of former KR commanders who used to fight and topple the Lon Nol regime – which they labeled a regime supported by the Imperialist US – in order to achieve the KR victory on 17 April 1975. Therefore, this clearly shows that the CPP leaders were Khmer Rouge, they are no different from any other KR leaders who share their responsibility in the killing of almost 3 million Cambodians, in the destruction and separations, and in the destruction of social fabrics in Cambodia. Given these facts, how could they be so angry when they are called Khmer Rouge? Under this situation, the CPP officials should know and clearly understand that historical fact cannot be manipulated at their will – like what the KR did in the past – just because they hold on to power.  | ||||||
| Posted: 20 Apr 2011 04:10 PM PDT  Click the control below to listen to the RFA program in Khmer:  | ||||||
| Mr. Hun Xen, even Fidel Castro couldn't stay in power until 90 ... when will YOU learn your lesson? Posted: 20 Apr 2011 03:38 PM PDT
Fidel Castro officially removed as head of Cuban Communist Party The end of an otherwise extraordinary congress sees senior party stalwarts appointed to top posts and leaves the Politburo little changed. April 20, 2011 By Tracy Wilkinson Los Angeles Times Reporting from Mexico City— It became official Tuesday: Fidel Castro was formally removed from the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party for the first time since its formation nearly 50 years ago. But despite expectations that the new party leadership would begin to usher in a younger generation, senior stalwarts were appointed to the top posts. The moves came at the end of an extraordinary congress of the ruling party in which participants also endorsed a potentially far-reaching package of economic reforms. Cuban President Raul Castro, as expected, was elected first secretary of the Communist Party, replacing his ailing brother. But for the second slot, Castro named an 80-year-old hard-line communist official long seen as his right-hand man, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura. In fact, by one count, the new 15-member Politburo, only slightly changed from the previous one, has just three members younger than 60; half are in their 70s. New faces included Mercedes Lopez Acea, 46, head of the Communist Party in Havana, and, significantly, Marino Murillo, 50, a former economy minister recently placed in charge of the broad economic reforms that Raul Castro, 79, has made the centerpiece of his government. The congress endorsed those reforms, which are believed to include issuing more licenses for small businesses, slashing bloated state payrolls and allowing, for the first time, the buying and selling of private property. But Castro, in Tuesday's closing speech, said it could take five years for the new measures to be enacted, a timeline that some experts say is too protracted to save Cuba's flailing economy. "We are not under the illusion that … [the measures] by themselves are the solution to all the problems that exist," Castro said. "Updating the economic model is not a miracle that can be achieved overnight, as some people think." The text of the speech was made available by the Havana-based news agency Prensa Latina, and video of Castro delivering it was broadcast by Granma, the official Communist Party news service. Castro has also proposed limiting party and government officials, including the president, to two five-year terms. That had been a taboo topic in a country where either Fidel or Raul have ruled for half a century. Both have also held the two top posts in the Communist Party since it was formed in 1965. As for his brother's decision to leave the party leadership, Raul Castro said Fidel did not need a formal title to validate his position as the historic father of the revolution. As if to underscore the point, Fidel Castro, 84, made a surprise appearance at the congress' closing session, helped to the dais by an aide as delegates gave him a sustained standing ovation. Fidel Castro recently revealed that when he fell ill in 2006, and nearly died, he not only relinquished the presidency but also his party role. "I knew the state of my health was grave," he wrote this week to explain his decision. "But I was at peace. The revolution would go on."  | ||||||
| Mu Sochua Shares Cambodia’s Food Culture with Anthony Bourdain Posted: 20 Apr 2011 03:28 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWACYZG4CQk April 21, 2011 By Mu Sochua Originally posted at: http://sochua.wordpress.com/ American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain traveled to Cambodia last May to sample its seafood and learn about the deep historic and cultural underpinnings of Cambodian cuisine. He met with Mu Sochua in Kampot to discuss her story and what Cambodia means to her. Reflecting on her lunch with Bourdain, Sochua said, "My daughters thought I was joking when I told them about the filming of this show. I had no idea who Anthony was. Tears strolled down my cheeks when watching these images of yester years. Madam Kech talked about her youth in the most elegant and eloquent way. We are many years apart but my youth is also revealed through her description of the past." "Anthony Bourdain brought the past life of Cambodians as well as the present fight for justice. He gives us a chance to speak the same language: food and justice and democracy," she added.  | ||||||
| Access to Social Media Necessary for Democracy in Cambodia Posted: 20 Apr 2011 03:15 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_FLyOixRWU&feature=player_embedded By Mu Sochua Originally posted at: http://sochua.wordpress.com/ This development with social media in Asia and the countries mentioned in this interview is worth noticing for those of us in Cambodia. The critical mass of users of social media will be reached in Cambodia as well. This is not just a trend but a fundamental need to practice and enjoy our freedom of speech, our freedom to receive and to exchange information. Like any freedom, full access to social media should be protected and encouraged. Let us not allow dictatorship to invade our lives through its censorship. We see the the blocking of KI Media by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (orders made by an official at the ministry as evidence). I still can not have access to KI Media, although it is accessible by others. As it is said in the interview, any blocking is a violation of the the Trade Agreement. Vietnam is well aware and is behaving. Use social media as much as we can, spread it as far as we can. This is the tool by which change can happen and we have seen it happen in the Arab world and the wind for change is not stopping there.  | ||||||
| Mean Phlov Kom Boss Bong - "Don't abandon the road": Poem in Khmer by Sy Salen Posted: 20 Apr 2011 03:00 PM PDT   | ||||||
| M'hob Chh-nganh Khmer - "Delicious Khmer Food": Peom in Khmer by Sy Salen Posted: 20 Apr 2011 02:58 PM PDT   | ||||||
| Corruption in Hun Xen's Cambodia and the regime's hope for $1 BILLION in foreign handout Posted: 20 Apr 2011 01:28 PM PDT
Click the control below to listen to RFA's Yun Samean's report in Khmer  | ||||||
| Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Democrats Rd. Posted: 20 Apr 2011 09:33 AM PDT
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| Dung return to visit the Cambodian colony ... by invitation of Xen, the Viet minion Posted: 20 Apr 2011 08:52 AM PDT  PM Nguyen Tan Dung due to visit Cambodia 20/04/2011 (VOV) - A Vietnamese government delegation led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Cambodia on April 23-24. The visit will be made at the invitation of his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen. While staying in Cambodia, the two government leaders will co-host the second conference on Vietnam-Cambodia investment promotion.  | ||||||
| Decrease in Japan Aid ‘May Be Inevitable’: Ambassador Posted: 20 Apr 2011 08:48 AM PDT Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Japan's ambassador to Cambodia warned on Wednesday that aid to Cambodia in the future will likely decrease as a result of the 2010 tsunami. Japan has had to revise its fiscal budget in the wake of the calamity, Ambassador Masafumi Kuroki told VOA Khmer at the side of a donor meeting in Phnom Penh Wednesday. "It may be inevitable," he said. Japan generally provides more than $100 million each year to Cambodia on a range of projects, but the country is still grappling with the enormity of the March earthquake and tsunami, which killed 25,000 people and displaced nearly half a million more. Cambodian leaders and members of the NGO community said they worried reductions in aid would come to pass, but at the time Kuroki said aid would not immediately be affected. Now, though, the Japanese government is working on a supplemental budget for the reconstruction of the hardest-hit areas, Kuroki said. "The question is, how much impact will be on the new budget of development assistance?" "It's still under consideration," he said. With Cambodia's own budget in the spotlight at Wednesday's meetings, some officials said the potential loss of some Japanese aid should be a warning for Cambodia's reliance on assistance. "That's why we have urged the government to fight against corruption and to take care of state revenue, to save our resources for development," said Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party. "I don't see any preparations made by the government to prevent such an incident from happening," said Koul Panha, executive director of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections.  | ||||||
| Repression Increasing Chance of ‘Bursting’: Beehive Radio Posted: 20 Apr 2011 08:40 AM PDT
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer Washington, DC Wednesday, 20 April 2011
The space for free expression in Cambodia is shrinking, a prominent radio director says, leading to increased discontent among the general public. In an interview with VOA Khmer, Mam Sonando, director of the independent Beehive radio station, said it has become harder to gain listeners, as some people have become too intimidated to listen to his station. "I find it hard to express my opinion," he said last week. "And some authorities don't allow people to listen to Beehive." Threats occur both in Phnom Penh and the rural areas, he said, because the programs he broadcasts come from civil society and political parties, on issues ranging from human rights to democracy. The government has meanwhile refused to grant him a TV license or to have relay stations, he said. "This is a violation of the people's rights," he said. "I have a broadcasting station too, but I have no right to broadcast as much as what the people want." He is also forbidden to air some issues, he said. "Our freedom is restricted to not criticizing the government and on sensitive issues like the borders or any subject that affects the policy of the ruling party," he said. In its annual human rights report, the US State Department said recently the government had contributed to restricted freedoms of speech and press through criminal defamation and disinformation lawsuits. Despite this, Mom Sonando said he continues to do his work. "As for me I respect the law, and I'll do whatever I see as beneficial for my country and people," he said. "My radio station has to bring the truth. I'm not only educating ordinary people, but government officials who violate those rights." The repression of rights led to this year's uprisings in the Arab world and can contribute to revolutions, he said. "I think there will be a serious bursting of something, and that is the thing I don't ask for in the future," he said.  | ||||||
| Posted: 20 Apr 2011 08:27 AM PDT   | ||||||
| Unimaginative lightweight-cum-political spoiler Posted: 20 Apr 2011 03:27 AM PDT Definition of SPOILER (Merriam-Webster) 1 a : one that spoils b : one (as a political candidate) having little or no chance of winning but capable of depriving a rival of success
(Oxford) nouna person or thing that spoils something. - (especially in a political context) a person who obstructs or prevents an opponent's success while having no chance of winning a contest themselves. (The Kingdom of Wonder) Kem Sokha, amateur lightweight in political rink   | ||||||
| Rainsy accuses HRP of trying to ‘break’ SRP Posted: 20 Apr 2011 01:06 AM PDT  April 20, 2011Meas Sokchea The Phnom Penh Post OPPOSITION leader Sam Rainsy has accused the Human Rights Party of trying to "break" his own Sam Rainsy Party and steal its members, even as the two parties remain in talks about a potential merger. In a letter dated Monday, HRP president Kem Sokha wrote to Sam Rainsy to inquire about the terms of such a merger, which has been under discussion for months. Kem Sokha asked whether Sam Rainsy supported an option entailing the merger of the HRP and SRP under a new banner, or a second option in which the SRP would subsume the HRP. "We support the first option and see that this is an opportunity for a union of patriots and democrats to arrange a democratic movement for change," Kem Sokha wrote. In response, however, Sam Rainsy wrote in a letter to his own supporters that the HRP was using the same "tricks" employed by the ruling Cambodian People's Party to undermine the SRP and induce defections. Sam Rainsy has lived abroad since 2009 to avoid a lengthy jail term handed down against him last year in connection with a protest he staged along the Kingdom's eastern border against alleged Vietnamese encroachment. In recent weeks, Kem Sokha has appealed for SRP members to join the HRP, declaring last month that "the HRP will become the biggest opposition party in Cambodia if Sam Rainsy cannot return". Such rhetoric, Sam Rainsy said in his letter, is counterproductive in the face of the parties' merger talks. "Before choosing any FORMULA for a union, we must first show the required SPIRIT for a genuine and sincere union," Sam Rainsy wrote. "In fact, by adopting the CPP's attitude toward us, the HRP is - willingly or not - serving the CPP interest and they have become a CPP de facto ally, at a time when the SRP is the main target for the CPP in the face of very serious national problems." In the 2008 national elections, the SRP won 26 seats while the HRP netted just three. Both opposition parties were dwarfed by the ruling party, which won 90 seats in parliament and serves as an effective rubber stamp for Prime Minister Hun Sen. During a visit to the Kingdom last year, United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton encouraged the SRP and HRP to put aside their differences and form a united opposition against the ruling party.  | ||||||
| Posted: 20 Apr 2011 01:01 AM PDT | ||||||
| Silencing political opponents – The case of Sam Rainsy Posted: 20 Apr 2011 12:42 AM PDT  Excerpt from "The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2010" by AHRC The restricted freedom of expression for media workers also applies on political opponents, which the dreadful case of Sam Rainsy, the main opposition leader, clearly exemplifies. Rainsy went into self-exile on February 3, 2005 after a vote in the National Assembly removed his parliamentarian immunity along with two other party members. Rainsy was charged with criminal defamation for his accusation of corruption between the CPP and Funcinpec in the formation of the current coalition government. Moreover he accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of involvement in the murder of Chea Vichea in 2004. He was tried in absentia on December 22, 2005 and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment along with a fine of $14,000 as compensation. However, on February 5, 2006, at Hun Sen's request, Rainsy received a Royal Pardon by King Norodom Sihamoni and returned to Cambodia on February 10, 2006. In October 2009 Sam Rainsy led a protest against alleged border markings at the Vietnamese border, which Cambodian villagers are said to have lost land to. Vietnam condemned Rainsy's actions and urged the Cambodian government to protect the treaties and agreements between the two countries. Soon after Rainsy faced a sentence of 2 years imprisonment as the court found him guilty of destruction of property and racial incitement for uprooting markers along the Vietnam border. Rainsy fled to On January 1, 2010 the court issued an arrest warrant after Rainsy failed to appear in court due to his exile. On September 23, 2010, Rainsy was sentenced to 12 years additional imprisonment on forgery and disinformation charges for publishing a map on his party's website of the alleged Vietnamese border encroachment. He also received a fine of more than $15,000 as reparation since he, according to a judge, had posted the map as an act to damage the image of the Cambodian government. The verdict has been condemned by the international community. However the Government attorney Ky Tech defends the absurd verdict explaining that "the damage caused by Sam Rainsy was very big." The new sentence of Sam Rainsy will obviously deprive Cambodia of its main opposition leader and therefore weaken the opposition up to the 2012 election. The case illustrates the government's systematic use of the courts to silence critics and political opponents. It furthermore illustrates the arbitrary use of defamation and disinformation laws. The increased criminalization of defamation and disinformation confirms the fear of a decline in the right to freedom of expression and the right to association and assembly in Cambodia. The government along with state officials seem to have developed a hypersensitivity to criticism as the control of the individual freedom and the political climate for free debates has tightened. Ironically, while perpetrators of serious crimes remain unpunished, political opponents and dissidents keep facing absurd and severe sentences ruled by court.  | ||||||
| Cambodia still remains an authoritarian state ... The constitution is only a decorative façade. Posted: 20 Apr 2011 12:32 AM PDT  Cambodia's legal system Excerpt from "The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2010" by AHRC Cambodia still remains an authoritarian state despite of it having a constitution based on liberal democracy and holding periodic elections. Liberal democracy was never a reality due to the nature of the Cambodian judicial system. The Cambodian "judicial system", which was created with the advise of Vietnamese experts during 1980-90 period remain intact, despite numerous trainings of judges on liberal democratic principles. The over 84 The state of human rights in eleven Asian nations - 2010 all system does not allow practice of such principles, the judiciary is expected to be under the complete control of the executive. The actual model of administration of the country is not based on the constitution introduced in 1993, but it based on a model of administration created during the earlier administration 1980-1993, in which the executive had the complete control over the system. The executive exercised his control through the party. The system of administration controlled by the executive and assisted by the ruling party is what still exists today, as the real political stem of Cambodia. The constitution is only a decorative façade. The thought control of the "judicial system" is essential to the very survival of the actual political system in operation. All political activity is controlled through "the judicial system." All opposition party members who deviate from the unwritten rules of the system are punished through the court system. The development of opposition parties is thus controlled by the sanctions that are being imposed through the courts. Therefore possibility of a fair trial does not exist within the system. Outcomes of trials are predetermined. Any judge that may try to deviate from this limitation on the power of courts will suffer the consequences. The "Judiciary" quite well understands this situation and therefore deviations have been few and far between them. Besides, deviators have paid for their transgressions. Limitations imposed on the Supreme Council of Magistracy and Constitutional Council are not accidents but are of a political nature. These institutions are expected to be of subservient nature of the executive. The reforms of such institutions are not possible as long as the existing model of political administration remains in operation. Most Western "reformers" have refused to acknowledge the actual nature of the political administration and often try to make the constitution work. Naturally, nothing comes out of such efforts except frustration. Enactment of new laws do not make much of a difference to this system neither. Law is not an important ingredient of administration. The administration has its own operational rules. Misuse of the New Criminal Code for the purpose of imprisonment of the opponents of the government is warning for wanted attempts to reforms of the system by such means. What is required for any reform is the understanding of the actual system, as it exists today and the weakness of that system. An international debate on the system based on an actual understanding of it, is more likely to produce results facing real challenges to the rule of law and democracy, than ad hoc activities introducing new laws and different kind of training. The Cambodian people, who suffer under the system of tyranny, do understand its nature and the limitations. One can hope that they will become capable of articulating their tribulations and finding ways to overcome them.  | ||||||
| AHRC: 2010 the State of Human Rights in Cambodia (Excerpt from AHRC report) Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:59 PM PDT | ||||||
| Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:48 PM PDT Foreign donors, Cambodian officials meet over development aid dialogue April 20, 2011 Xinhua Cambodian government officials, representatives of foreign development partners and civil society met here on Wednesday to revise the development progress under the foreign aid pledged by those donor countries and to hear Cambodia' s needs for 2011. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 18th meeting of the Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee on Wednesday, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, minister of finance, said that most of the activities for 2010's social and economic development have been implemented and achieved the goals despite some challenges in resource constraints. "Cambodia is on the right track to develop its economy, and ie expected to see growth of more than six percent in 2011 with almost all sectors," (sic!) he said. The World Bank Country Manager, Qimiao Fan, said, "Development partners are pleased to note that the majority of the Technical Working Groups are on track to achieve their Joint Monitoring Indicator (JMI) targets and the overall good performance of the JMIs." Cambodia has the potential to maintain sustainable, long-term growth at 7 to 8 percent a year and the government is hopeful to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth by following its comparative advantages, he said. He added that the development partners believed that it is in Cambodia's best interests to establish national policies. Donors pledged 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 for Cambodia's social and economic development, it is unknown how much the aid pledge will be this year from those donors to Cambodia. The government has sought financial support from donors to ensure sustainable financing and effective implementation of the National Social protection Strategy for the Poor and Vulnerable ( 2011-2015), which passed by the government last month.  | ||||||
| One-way trade deficit with Vietnam on the rise during Q1 Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:42 PM PDT Exports to Cambodia on the rise in first quarter April, 20 2011 Vietnam News HA NOI — Two-way trade turnover between Viet Nam and Cambodia reached U$$626.4 million in the first three months this year, up 45 per cent over the same period in 2009. According to the General Department of Customs, Cambodia's imports from Viet Nam surpassed $498 million (up 44.3 per cent) in the review period, accounting for 2.1 per cent of Viet Nam's total export turnover. In the recent years, Viet Nam's commodity export value to Cambodia has been growing at a double digit rate.  | ||||||
| The stalled battle for the future of the Mekong River Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:38 PM PDT
20 April 2011 By Guy DeLauney BBC News, Phnom Penh The BBC's Guy Delauney on the risks and rewards of building more power plants on Mekong River The Mekong River is at the heart of many of the countries through which it flows. Now it is the focus of an epic power struggle, pitching South East Asia's hunger for electricity and development against concerns for the environment, food security and millions of livelihoods. Damming the mainstream of the lower Mekong would allow countries to generate vast amounts of electricity not only for their own people - but also neighbouring countries. But the potential downside is enormous - massive changes to the ecosystem across the Mekong basin. Cashing in For Laos, the equation is relatively simple. It is one of the world's least developed countries, and hydro power offers it the opportunity to use its abundant natural resources to generate much-needed income. It has already built dams on tributaries of the Mekong. The largest of them, Nam Theun 2, opened at the end of 2010 and provided a graphic illustration of why Laos is so keen to develop more hydro power projects. Almost all the electricity generated by Nam Theun 2 goes directly to neighbouring Thailand, via pylons and transmission lines which head up over the hills above the power station whose turbines hum as water released from the recently-created reservoir flows through. That power brings hard cash. Over a 25-year period, the government of Laos is hoping to receive around $2bn (£1.2bn) from Nam Theun 2 alone. And it is keen to promote the benefits that dams can bring. At the launch of Nam Theun 2, Sivixay Soukkharath, a government worker in charge of resettling villagers affected by the dam, painted a rosy picture. "The government will give people education, healthcare and infrastructure - and it will allow us to protect the environment throughout the country," he told the BBC. Rights concerns Nam Theun 2 was a model project, funded by international donors including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The developers took steps to mitigate the dam's effects on local communities and the environment, creating wildlife reserves and new villages with mains electricity and modern facilities.
Even so, the project attracted criticism from some conservation and human rights groups. They raised questions about the sustainability of the mitigation efforts and warned of a severe impact downstream. The prospect of dams on the mainstream of the lower Mekong has roused an even more passionate response. "It could be a disaster," says Chhith Sam Ath, the executive director of the NGO Forum On Cambodia, an umbrella organisation which represents dozens of community groups concerned about the impact of mainstream hydro power projects. Laos wants to build the first mainstream dam at Xayaburi, and once again export the electricity to Thailand. It is keen to portray hydro power as "clean and green", good for the environment as well as the national coffers. But countries downstream - particularly Cambodia and Vietnam - are far from convinced that their smaller neighbour has studied the possible impact on them. "Millions of people base their livelihoods on the Mekong," says Chhith Sam Ath. "80% of Cambodian people's protein intake comes from fish. But based on experience from other dams, building a mainstream dam would have a negative impact on fish migration." At a fishing community on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, people are all too aware of the fragility of their situation. For them - and millions of other Cambodians - fish provide a source of income as well as protein. "This river is very important to our community," says Sen Salim, as fellow fishermen untangle their nets at the water's edge. "When there are many fish it helps us to make a better living. When there are fewer fish it is bad news for us." Deadlock These concerns have led to the current stand-off at the Mekong River Commission. Its four member countries - Vietnam and Thailand as well as Cambodia and Laos - are supposed to agree on all major decisions, and carry out a thorough consultation process before taking action. Laos insists that the consultation process is complete and that there is no reason to delay construction of the Xayaburi dam. But at a special meeting to discuss the project, Laos met strong opposition from its neighbours. Vietnam called for a 10-year moratorium on mainstream dam projects to allow for studies of possible negative effects. Cambodia and Thailand both agreed that the existing environmental impact assessment for Xayaburi was inadequate. With the MRC deadlocked, it is now up to the four countries' governments to resolve the dispute. And the stakes could hardly be higher. If the Xayaburi project goes ahead, it would open the door to other mainstream Mekong dams. Cambodia has proposed two, and Laos nine. If they were all built, the Mekong would become a formidable source of power in the region. But it might no longer be the food resource upon which so many people rely.  | ||||||
| Laos, Neighbors Face Off on Mekong River Dam Dispute Posted: 19 Apr 2011 11:13 PM PDT
Bangkok April 19, 2011 Countries along the Mekong River have disagreed with Laos on its proposal to build the first hydropower dam on the main stream of the lower river. Laos says the dam will cause no serious problems, while its neighbors say more information is needed about its environmental and economic effects. Delegates from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam postponed a decision Tuesday on Laos's plan to build a hydropower dam on the lower Mekong. At a meeting of the Mekong River Commission in the Lao capital, Vientiane, Laos insisted the Xayaburi dam go ahead, saying it will be up to international standards. The Lao delegate said the dam likely would not affect the environment of its neighbors. However, Te Navuth, chairman of the MRC's Joint Committee, said Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have doubts. "The three countries want additional information while Laos... Laos wishes to have the process completed after six months." Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam want a comprehensive assessment of cross-boundary environmental effects. The four countries agreed to hold a ministerial-level meeting later this year to come to an agreement. Under the commission, the four neighbors consult each other on projects along the river, but do not need each other's permission Vietnam was the most critical of the project and proposed that all plans for dams on the Mekong's main stream be put on hold for at least 10 years. Cambodia and Vietnam are concerned the dam, one of 11 planned for the Mekong, could affect fish stocks and rice production. One commission study concluded the dam would affect fish migration and could drive endangered species, like the Mekong giant catfish, to extinction. Thailand raised concerns about the sustainability of the $3.5 billion project. It is expected to produce 1,260 megawatts of electricity, 95 percent of which would be sold to Thailand. A commission report said the dam could lose up to 60 percent of its operating capacity in 30 years, though, because of sediment building up in the reservoir. About 60 million people depend on the Mekong for their livelihoods. Laos, an impoverished and land-locked state ruled by a communist party, says the dam is necessary to raise revenue. The only dams built on the Mekong's main channel so far are up stream in China, where it is known as the Lancang river. Beijing built four dams without consulting neighbors, and plans to build four more in the coming decade. The deadlock follows reports this week that Laos started road construction last year for the project. Te Navuth said the commission has asked for clarification from Laos.  |
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