KI Media: “Maid retracts rape claims [... under pressure?]” plus 24 more

A maid working in Malaysia has retracted claims made through her mother this week that she was raped twice by a member of her employer's family, as an agreement that will allow her to come home was brokered.

At a press conference held yesterday at National Police headquarters in Phnom Penh, a letter was released in which the woman apologised to both her employer and recruitment agency Champa Manpower Group Ltd stating that she "was not raped" and her mother had "misunderstood".

The letter, dated April 5, was signed by a representative of the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia.

The woman's 66-year-old mother, Srey Sophal, also apologised yesterday and said that the rape did not occur.

On Monday, the widow from Svay Rieng province fronted a press conference held by opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Mu Sochua where she claimed that her daughter had been raped and abused in Malaysia and requested government intervention.

"Before, I had got phone call from my daughter that she was raped but she called to me again that she was not raped," said Srey Sophal yesterday.

Huy Pichsovann, program officer at the Community Legal Education Centre, said that he had received a phone call on Tuesday in which Srey Sophal said she had been talking to Champa Manpower over a possible compensation deal.

"Her mother told me that [her daughter] decided to reach the [compensation] agreement because she is afraid that the Malaysian authorities would not allow her to return to Cambodia," he said.

"I think she is signing the agreement under pressure."

Yesterday, managing director of Champa Manpower Group, Van Sakrany, confirmed at the conference that his company would pay for Srey Sophal's daughter to return to Cambodia. When asked if dropping the rape allegations was related to compensation, Srey Sophal repeated that she had "misunderstood" her daughter and was following what her daughter wished.

Judges at Cambodia's war crimes tribunal have ruled that a royal pardon granted to Ieng Sary in 1996 is no bar to the former Khmer Rouge foreign minister's prosecution in the court's looming second case.

Ieng Sary received the pardon, signed by then-King Norodom Sihanouk, upon defecting to the government in 1996. Sihanouk pardoned Ieng Sary in relation to his 1979 conviction in absentia at the People's Revolutionary Tribunal, where he was sentenced to death in absentia along with regime leader Pol Pot, and granted him amnesty from prosecution under the 1994 Law to Outlaw the Democratic Kampuchea Group, which criminalised membership in the Khmer Rouge.

The issue of this pardon's scope and its effect on proceedings at the tribunal has been raised by observers and defence lawyers, as has the question of whether the current case against Ieng Sary could constitute double jeopardy in relation to his 1979 conviction. In a decision dated Monday, however, the court's Pre-Trial Chamber dispensed with these issues.

"The amnesty granted to Ieng Sary was confined to the specific sentence pronounced in 1979," the judges said in a unanimous decision.

"In the context where it is related to a sentence, the sole effect of the amnesty was to 'abolish' and 'forget' the 1979 sentence, thus ensuring that it would not be put into effect.

"It had no effect on the possibility to institute future prosecutions as the amnesty was not related to the 'acts' allegedly committed."

The judges further noted that the text of the pardon provides amnesty only in relation to the 1994 legislation, not for the charges under domestic and international law that Ieng Sary currently faces at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is formally known.

Ieng Sary has been charged with a raft of offences including genocide and crimes against humanity in a case that is set to go to trial within the next few months. He will be tried alongside former Khmer Rouge Brother No 2 Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan and Social Action Minister Ieng Thirith, none of whom received similar amnesties upon their defection to the government.

Officials from the United Nations and the Cambodian government were clearly aware of the issues surrounding Ieng Sary's prosecution as they drafted regulations for the court.

"There has been only one case, dated 14 September 1996, when a pardon was granted to only one person with regard to a 1979 conviction on the charge of genocide," the 2003 agreement establishing the tribunal states.

"The United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia agree that the scope of this pardon is a matter to be decided by the Extraordinary Chambers."

Anne Heindel, a legal adviser with the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said the defence arguments touched on a "hugely important issue in international law" – namely, the question of whether pardons for grave crimes are sometimes necessary to end conflicts.

Should the ECCC disregard the 1996 pardon and amnesty, the defence argued in their appeal against Ieng Sary's indictment, it could "have a severely detrimental impact on attempts to end future conflicts all over the globe".

"Those taking part in hostilities who are willing to negotiate for peace will be unlikely to trust that any amnesty offered would later be judged valid," the lawyers said.

Heindel said, however, that this issue was ultimately irrelevant because the language of Ieng Sary's pardon and amnesty is limited, touching only on the 1994 law and his 1979 genocide conviction.

"Ultimately, if Ieng Sary wanted a better amnesty or pardon, he should have hired a lawyer to draft the text," she said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, then serving alongside Norodom Ranariddh in a coalition government, said in 1996 that Ieng Sary's pardon and amnesty had been specifically tailored to allow for future prosecution.

"If you study the wording of the Royal [amnesty], you will see that there is still the possibility to try the crimes committed by Ieng Sary," Hun Sen said. "We paid much attention to the wording of the pardon … there are no words in it which ban the accusation of Ieng Sary in front of a court which may be formed in the coming times."

The Pre-Trial Chamber judges also said in their decision Monday that Ieng Sary's impending prosecution will not constitute double jeopardy in relation to his 1979 trial because those proceedings were "not conducted by an impartial and independent tribunal with regard to due process requirements".

The People's Revolutionary Tribunal, formed shortly after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, has long been viewed as a show trial. The PRT president told reporters that the defendants were guilty before the trial had even begun, and a lawyer for the defence made a witness statement on behalf of the prosecution.

The Pre-Trial Chamber's decision is not subject to appeal, though Ang Udom, a lawyer for Ieng Sary, said yesterday that the defence would likely raise these issues again when the case goes before the Trial Chamber.

Based on two separate on-site investigations, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) has concluded that Thailand used cluster munitions on Cambodian territory during the February 2011 border conflict. Thai officials confirmed the use of cluster munitions in a meeting with the CMC on April 5.

This is the first use of cluster munitions anywhere in the world since the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force and became binding international law. The CMC, of which the Jesuit Refugee Service is an active member, condemns any use of cluster munitions, and urges Thailand and Cambodia to immediately accede to the global treaty banning the weapons.

In February and April of this year, CMC members conducted two separate missions in cluster-munition contaminated areas in Cambodia including in Svay Chrum village, Sen Chey village and around the Preah Vihear temple hill. Members found unexploded submunitions, as well as fragmentation damage caused by cluster munitions. Norwegian People's Aid confirmed that unexploded M42/M46 and M85 type DPICM submunitions have been found.

"These cluster munitions have already robbed two men of their lives, two more have lost their arms and a further five were injured. The area must be cleared immediately to prevent more suffering. Cambodia must make every effort to ensure the safety of civilians", said Sr Denise Coghlan, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Cambodia, who took part in the first mission.

"It's appalling that any country would resort to using cluster munitions after the international community banned them. Thailand has been a leader in the global ban on antipersonnel mines, and it is unconscionable that it used banned weapons that indiscriminately kill and injure civilians in a similar manner", said Laura Cheeseman, director of the CMC.

In a meeting on 5 April, the Thai Ambassador to the UN in Geneva confirmed the nation's use of 155mm Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munition (DPICM) cluster munitions. The Ambassador said Thailand used cluster munitions "in self-defence" as a response to the alleged heavy use of rocket fire on civilians in Satisuk, the Khun Khan district of Thailand by Cambodian forces.

The ambassador alleged Thailand's use of cluster munitions were used according to the principles of "necessity and proportionality and were in compliance with the military code of conduct".

"There are around 5,000 people living in Sen Chey village that are at risk from these unexploded weapons. Thailand must supply information to help clear affected areas and make them safe for civilians to return home", said Atle Karlsen of Norwegian People's Aid.

The CMC has urged Thailand to provide detailed information on the results of its inquiry, specifically including the location of all cluster munition strikes. With such information, civilians can be adequately warned of the dangers and steps can be taken to remove submunition remnants, which are as dangerous as landmines.

Cambodia and Thailand are not among the 108 countries that have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions. However, both joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and participated in the "Oslo Process" to negotiate the Convention on Cluster Munitions and attended its First Meeting of States Parties in neighbouring Lao PDR in November 2010.

"This conflict should spur both countries to take urgent action to denounce the weapons and join the ban treaty," said Cheeseman.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force as binding international law on 1 August 2010, banning the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, while requiring states to destroy stockpiles, clear contaminated land and assist victims and affected communities. Of the 108 countries that have signed the Convention since it opened for signature in December 2008, 55 states have already ratified.

Background

Both Thailand and Cambodia possess stockpiles of cluster munitions, but little is known about their status or composition. The Cambodian government has in the past cited an ongoing review of its defence and security situation as the reason for a delay in joining the treaty. Thailand has cited concerns over its ability to destroy its stockpile as a roadblock to joining the Convention, as well as security concerns. Thailand announced in 2008 that it had no intention of using the weapons in the future.

Cambodia and Thailand are States Parties to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and Cambodia will host that treaty's 11th Meeting of States Parties in November 2011.

Southeast Asia is more heavily contaminated by cluster munitions than any other region after the United States dropped large numbers of cluster bombs on Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha will travel to Jakarta to meet Indonesian military leaders on Monday.

Among the topics likely to be discussed is the possibility of allowing Indonesian observers to enter the Thai-Cambodia disputed border area around the Preah Vihear temple complex.

A source at the Defence Ministry said Gen Prawit and Gen Prayuth will also meet the Indonesian defence minister.

Gen Prawit and Gen Prayuth learned of the trip only on Wednesday, according to the source. He said it was possible Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who attended the Joint Boundary Committee meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, last week, arranged the meeting to discuss what steps should be taken to send Indonesian observers to the disputed area.

LOWELL, MA —April 2011, Lowell National Historical Park, in collaboration with several other organizations in Lowell, will host a series of community events focusing on the Southeast Asian community

We are honored to host the culminating event commemorating Cambodian New Year: Year of the Rabbit. The auspicious morning will begin with Buddhist monks blessing and chanting, followed by traditional music, food, and dance inspired by the youth of the Children of Basaac, led by Master Artist Ieng Sithul and Artist-In-Residence Kimhan Meas from the Royal University of Fine Arts. These visiting artists grew up in a slum in Phnom Penh. For them, the arts and preservation of culture have transformed their lives opening opportunities for education, employment and travel. The tour will mark the group's debut American performance, following their international successes in Japan, Australia and Great Britain.

Presented by: Angkor Dance Troupe, Cambodian Living Arts, Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, Coalition for a Better Acre, Light of Cambodian Children, Lowell Alliance for Families and Neighborhoods, and Lowell National Historical Park.

Three men have received 20-year jail sentence for murder even though the South Australian Supreme Court heard it was likely they were not the ones who stabbed the victim.

The men were found guilty of murder by a jury after prosecutors alleged they were part of a joint enterprise to harm the victim.

Thea Kheav was held down and stabbed at a party in Adelaide's northern suburbs in 2007.

Justice Chris Kourakis said the identity of the stabber was not known beyond reasonable doubt, but it was most likely a man who had since fled to Cambodia.

The court heard the men went to the party seeking out the victim and stood watch to prevent others going to his aid.

On March 30th this year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a frail looking 68-year old former math teacher, Kang Kek Lew, had his appeal against a 35-year sentence for crimes against humanity, murder and torture rejected by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The man in question, better known by his nom de guerre Comrade Duch, ran the infamous S-21 prison camp between 1975 and 1979 during which time an estimated 15-20,000 people were tortured and killed.

Like Laurent Gbagbo of The Ivory Coast, who was captured by French and UN forces today (April 11), one of the most striking things about such figures is how ordinary they look once they no longer exercise the authority they had. This notwithstanding, Gbagbo's arrest and Duch's appeal both raise the difficult issue of how to deal with former leaders accused of committing atrocities against their own citizens. In the case of Gbagbo the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis Moren-Ocampo, has already been in negotiations with African states about a referral of recent events to the ICC. In the case of Duch, he remains the only person so far convicted for the horrific events known as the Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields refers to the period between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979 when Cambodia was ruled by the Communist Party of Kampuchea, better known by their moniker the Khmer Rouge. Led by Pol Pot the Khmer Rouge instigated a radical program of cultural, social, political and economic reform largely modeled on China's failed Great Leap Forward (1958-61). Glorifying the 'heroic role' of the peasant (the 'old people') the Khmer Rouge aimed to create a classless society by depopulating the country's cities and forcing the urban population (the 'New' People) into agricultural communes. Most dramatic was the forced emptying of the capital Phnom Penh. Home to approximately 2.5 million at the time of the revolution, the city, including its hospitals, was forcibly evacuated. History and society would begin again from a Year Zero in which 'Democratic Kampuchea' would forge its own glorious revolution. However like previous attempts at total revolution the revolutionaries soon became mass murderers.

In the three years and nine months the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia approximately 1.7 million died, 21 per cent of the country's population. Of these it is estimated that half were executed while the rest died of starvation or illness. What differentiates the Cambodian genocide from its counterparts is that the killings were instigated by the country's own government against its own population. For this reason the term autogenocide was coined in order to distinguish the horrific events from episodes where a particular ethnic or religious group was the target of systematic extermination. Justice and retribution for these exterminations however, would wait nearly three decades.

Between 1979 and1989 the vagaries of the Cold War intervened. Defeated by a Vietnamese army that ostensibly claimed to be liberating the Cambodians from their oppressor, the Khmer Rouge were shamefully supported as a guerilla force by Western governments to 'balance' Soviet influence in Indochina. Peace talks were finally concluded in 1991, which brought an end the civil war and transferred authority to a United Nations Transitional Authority. Two years later power was transferred to an elected government and it was this government that four years later in 1997 called upon the United Nations to assist the country in creating a judicial body and process to try the leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

Despite this it would take another eleven years before hearings at the ECCC would begin. The intervening decade was beset with fractious squabbles between the government of Cambodia and the UN over the thorny issue of sovereignty. Initially the United Nations proposed the creation of an international tribunal modeled after the International Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The Cambodian government rejected such proposals seeking instead to insert national legal institutions into any such organization, while in 2001 the UN pulled out of negotiations because it concluded that the conditions did not exist for a fair and independent trial. Eventually in 2003 the two sides agreed to the creation of a hybrid body comprising both national and international judges. However, further delays resulted due to the alleged inability of the Cambodian government to finance the tribunal. Critics have argued that the real reason for the obstruction and delay was the fact that the government of Cambodia under prime Minister Hun Sen included several former Khmer Rouge defectors.

The ECCC presents an interesting case study of the difficulties in dealing with atrocities conducted and committed by officials of a former, usually authoritarian or military, regime. Political transitions rarely result in a complete replacement of one ruling elite by another. Instead they are often messy and muddy compromises in which the issue of impunity from justice is often dealt with behind-the-scenes. Nevertheless, however such compromises are made, and why, society as a whole often clamors for punishment and retribution. The argument is made that punishment is both an appropriate response to moral atrocity, and necessary to deter future actions. In addition, others hold that it is a necessary condition to ensure long-term peace, national unity and democratic consolidation.

Whether you accept these premises or not recent history is replete with responses that "have ranged from historical amnesia to intermediary strategies of amnesty and truth telling to limited purges (lustration) and trials" (Amstutz, 2004). Ultimately the scope, successes, or failures of such attempts will always be dependent on the specific constellation of power in each relevant country and the wider geopolitical framework. What might be possible in Yugoslavia, may not be possible in The Ivory Coast, Libya, Indonesia or Cambodia. In the case of Cambodia however complete justice will never be fully attainable since the architect of the country's horrors, Pol Pot, died of heart failure on April 15th 1998. He unlike Kang Kek Lew will never be held to account.

MP, Mu Sochua is in Washington this week to meet with US officials and civil society to raise human rights issues in Cambodia.

Mu Sochua met and congratulated Secretray Clinton for the US State Department 2010 Report on Human Rights in Cambodia that reveals a worrying trend of systematic abuses and violations of human rights. "The Cambodian government seems to be determined" says Sec. Clinton when referring to these abuses and violations.

Former Cambodian Minister of Women's Affairs Mu Sochua met with a senior U.S. official this morning at a gathering of international women leaders in Washington, DC. She asked Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy Judith McHale how the U.S. nurtures grassroots movements, especially in reaction to the revolutions in the Middle East. Under-Secretary McHale said, "I took this job because I felt our government was not communicating to people in the marketplace. The world has changed and people have an expectation to be part of the dialogue." She added that the U.S. government was using new social media, especially Twitter, to understand what issues are most important to people on the ground.

"We have to strengthen those ties. Before, if you were not part of the economic or political life of your country, we would miss you. But now we are listening and we are learning. We have to have a conversation with people at every level of society." The Vital Voices Global Leadership Network Retreat gathers women parliamentarians, activists and leaders from countries all around the world for a two day retreat to share ideas, stories and strategies towards the promotion of women and their rights.

Speaking privately with Under-Secretary McHale, Sochua expressed the dissatisfaction of many Cambodians with their lives. She emphasized the struggles of farmers, union workers, and trade workers. She urged the Under-Secretary to continue her efforts to engage with the people's movement on the ground.

Vital Voices Global Leader Mu Sochua is in Washington, DC with an invitation-only group of women parliamentarians, businesswomen, leaders and activists for the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network Retreat. Hailing from every region of the world, the women gathered at the retreat are sharing best practices, stories and networks to celebrate the success of women in all spheres. "Vital Voices has tremendous resources to connect people and help women collectively take action," said one attendee. "The protection of women against violence is not just a Russian issue, but it is also a global issue," added another.

Vital Voices is co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who met with Sochua and the other Vital Voices Global Leaders at Vital Voices' award 10th Anniversary of the Global Leadership Award, at the Kennedy Center on 12 April, 2011. The event was attended by 2,400 people. Other presenters included United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, Melanne Verveer, American news personalities Tina Brown, Wolf Blitzer, Michele Norris, and Cokie Roberts, and other public figures. "It is an honor to be part of this incredible group of women. Vital Voices continues to give us access and opportunity," said Sochua.

The New Year of the Rabbit will start on the 11th Day of the Waxing Moon of the month of Chetr, i.e. Thursday 14 April 2011, at 1:12PM. The new year angel is Princess Kereney Devi, the 5th daughter of Brahma.

While Indonesia has managed to show leadership in paving the way toward a border dispute settlement between Thailand and Cambodia, it seems that Indonesia itself is not free from border issues.

On the day Indonesia was hosting a meeting between Thai and Cambodian delegations in Bogor, an incident took place in the border area of the Malacca Strait. The April 7th incident involved Malaysian-flagged vessels, Indonesian patrolling officials from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and Malaysian helicopters.

An Indonesian patrol team identified two vessels allegedly fishing illegally in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). When the two vessels were seized, Malaysian helicopters came along demanding that the two vessels be released. Convinced with what they were doing, the Indonesian officials went on and disregarded the demand.

The two vessels were brought to Belawan Port and the fishermen operating the vessels were detained. In Indonesia, as anticipated, the issue was highly debated and easily made it into news headlines.

Did the incident really take place in Indonesia's EEZ? What about maritime boundaries between Indonesia and Malaysia in the Malacca Strait? What can be done to solve the issue? Before answering these questions, it is good to remember how coastal states are entitled to maritime areas and why they need to share the areas with neighbors.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) governs that coastal States such as Indonesia and Malaysia are entitled to several zones of maritime jurisdictions including territorial seas, contiguous zones, EEZs and continental shelves, the breadth of which are measured from baselines (usually coastline during low tide). In reality, it is impossible, however, to find a situation where a state can claim the full suit of maritime jurisdiction zones without dealing with its neighbors.

Due to their geographical configuration, many states are relatively close each other and overlapping maritime entitlement inevitably occurs. Coastal states need to share maritime areas through a delimitation process. Indonesia and Malaysia, too, need to draw maritime boundaries between themselves in the Malacca Strait.

In 1969, Indonesia and Malaysia established a seabed boundary (continental shelf) in the Malacca Strait. For some reason, this boundary line lies closer to Indonesia, not precisely in the middle of the two states. It is worth emphasizing that the line divides only the seabed, not the water column.

Accordingly, the division of the seabed and resources therein (oil, gas, sedentary species) has been made clear, but the water column and its resources (fish) remains unclear. It seems that the negotiation have yet to achieve significant progress. In conclusion, there has been no agreed-upon EEZ boundary in the Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia. Animation for the incident is available at www.borderstudies.info.

Even though an agreed-upon EEZ boundary is missing, Indonesia and Malaysia have unilaterally claimed EEZ boundaries. Indonesia proposes the use of a median line, while Malaysia suggests the use of the 1969 seabed boundary as an EEZ boundary, which lies closer to Indonesia. Considering that UNCLOS requires parties in question to achieve an "equitable solution" in delimiting EEZs, one might say that Indonesia's proposal is more acceptable. Even though a median line is not necessarily "equitable", it can certainly serve as an equitable solution in the absence of any special circumstance.

The two different proposals of an EEZ boundary in the Malacca Strait generates an area of EEZ claimed by both parties, an overlapping claim. Unsurprisingly, each state refers to the overlapping area as its own and enforces laws based on that unilateral claim.

If Malaysia's fishermen enter the area, Indonesian officials will undoubtedly consider it as an infringement and vice versa. This is, in fact, what happed in the Malacca Strait on April 7, 2011.

What the Indonesian patrol team did in the Malacca Strait was correct according to Indonesia's unilateral position. Likewise, Malaysian helicopters were also performing their duty based on the assignment given pursuant to Malaysia's unilateral claim.

It was also anticipated that each government would state that "the incident took place in our EEZ," as this is what a state will normally do to strengthen its position. This is critical to show consistency that will benefit a state at the negotiating table. Unfortunately, this kind of statement and political stance can obscure people's view of the real issue.

What to do next? First and foremost, Indonesia and Malaysia need to accelerate the delimitation process. As Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa once asserted, Indonesia is ready to negotiate with Malaysia at anytime.

The incident should be a wake-up call for Malaysia to work hand in hand with Indonesia, swiftly but carefully. And not only in the Malacca Strait, as they have yet to finalize delimitation in the Strait of Singapore (waters off Tanjung Berakit), South China Sea and Sulawesi Sea (Ambalat). It is worth noting, however, that settling maritime boundaries is by no mean an easy task.

Second, as highlighted by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman of Malaysia, both states need to translate high-level consensus in dealing with fishing activities in the overlapping areas into technical procedures in the field. Each party has to make sure that patrolling teams in the field perform their job in accordance with an agreement that has been previously achieved in a higher level of authority.

This can also lead to an option of joint-patrol between Indonesia and Malaysia. Undoubtedly, this will require both parties to acknowledge that the area is in fact an overlapping area. In short, they have to start with "agreeing to disagree" on each other's claims.

The third option is to sterilize the disputed area from any activities conducted by any parties for a certain period of time. Meanwhile both parties need to establish confidence-building measure before stepping into delimitation process. Options are there; what required is willingness from both sides for a solution. Whatever the approach is, Indonesia and Malaysia should be aimed at reaching a peaceful resolution.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Geodetic Engineering, Gadjah Mada University. His research interest is in technical/geodetic and legal aspects of maritime delimitation. This is his personal opinion.

Lurking in the still waters by the banks of a Cambodian lake is a silent killer.

However, the Siamese crocodile is itself in grave danger.

Less than 100 years ago, this large reptile was abundant in much of Southeast Asia.

But today Siamese crocodiles are listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered with fewer than 250 adults left in the wild, almost all of which are in remote parts of southwest and northeast Cambodia.

Sam Han is the Cambodian Forestry Administration Project Officer of the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Project set up in 2000 to help save the Siamese crocodile from extinction.

He explains the threats that could consign this reptile to the history books:

"In the past the big threat to crocodiles was from villagers hunting them either to sell or to keep them in a crocodile farm. But now the biggest problem is hydroelectric dams being built in the crocodile areas."

That's why crocodile hunters from Australia are in Cambodia rounding up the crocs in peril. It's a dangerous business, not for the faint-hearted.

These guys learned their trade at the Australia Zoo with the legendary, and fearless, Steve Irwin - the TV celebrity, wildlife expert and conservationist, known simply as The Crocodile Hunter.

The crocs may not look too pleased but today's crocodile hunters are here to airlift the Siamese crocs to safety, away from habitats threatened by massive dam building projects.

One of the dams is the Stung Atay Hydropower Project deep in the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia's rugged southwest.

The area is heavily targeted by foreign investors looking to profit from huge untapped resources. The Cambodian government last week (April 8) halted plans, previously approved, for a Cambodian company to develop a controversial titanium mine in the environmentally sensitive Southern Cardamom Protected Forest. The area is home to Cambodia's biggest population of wild elephants and more than 70 endangered species, according to the Washington DC-based Wildlife Alliance.

Stung Atay is one of 14 large scale hydro-power dams proposed in Cambodia since 2003, including five in the Cardamoms.

Construction began in 2008 after the government signed an agreement with Chinese company, Sinohydro.

Once completed, the dam will have a capacity of 120 Megawatts, and a reservoir greater than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres).

The site is believed to contain up to 15 adult Siamese crocodiles trapped in a 750 metre stretch of river located directly downstream from the construction site.

As Brian Coulter, Head of the Rescue Unit at Australia Zoo explains, a high tech airlift is the only way out:

"This is the problem we're facing. You see with the dam wall here the crocodiles can't go upstream, but that massive waterfall downstream means the crocodiles can't go down and in the middle they're trapped between all this construction. So, they don't have much hope. We're going to try to get them out of there."

The team from Australia Zoo's Wildlife Rescue Unit spent two years in preparation for the rescue with Flora International's (FFI) Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Project. Their experience is essential for such a delicate and dangerous operation.

Adam Starr, FFI Project Manager, spotted the danger two years ago:

"We had determined in 2009 that the dam site B of this hydro dam project was actually about 150 metres upstream from where this population of animals that we've been working with for ten years is situated. So we realised there was a dire need to get those animals out of there, do some form of mitigation with the government to make sure that these animals could be saved."

Before travelling to the dam site, the team worked with local staff on crocodile capture methods developed by the late Steve Irwin.

Once on location, the head of the Rescue Unit, Brian Coulter, explains the mission.

The team patrol the area in boats looking for any signs of the shy creatures.

They also train locals how to safely catch the crocodiles using baited nets instead of snares which can cause serious injuries.

Training local people how to safely trap the crocodiles is an important part of the strategy.

Aerial monitoring should help protect new site, says John Moloy, Chief Communications Officer with the Wildlife Alliance who regularly patrol the area:

"This area, now that the Siamese crocodiles are being released here, will benefit from our ability to have ranger patrols and aerial monitoring to check out the area and make sure it stays preserved and protected."

In a country renowned for rampant deforestation and loss of wildlife habitat the fate of the Siamese crocodile - and many other endangered species - will be dependant of the work of agencies like the Wildlife Alliance.

They can only hope that the Cambodian government will heed the calls to slow down development in environmentally sensitive and supposedly protected areas like this.

As a decision nears for Mekong River countries over approval of a hydroelectric dam in Laos, Cambodian civic groups say they have been given few chances to have their voice in the matter heard.

Laos is proposing to build a dam along the Mekong in Xayaburi province, but it needs the approval of other Mekong countries, including Cambodia, in a meeting scheduled in Laos next week. Critics of the dam say it will hurt ecosystems in the river that provide a major source of fish for Cambodians.

Sun Mao, executive director of Kratie province's Cambodian Rural Development Team, told "Hello VOA" last week that many people still do not understand the dam project or the process for its approval.

"No member of the affected communities were present at the [Kratie] consultation," he said of a meeting held in the province in February. "But local authorities were invited instead to represent these communities.

The Kratie consultation meeting was the first of two held on the dam. The second was held in Preah Sihanouk province later in February.

The Xayaburi dam is a proposed 810 meters long, 32 meters high and expected to produce 1,260 megawatts of power. The Mekong River Commission, which is made up of committees from all Mekong River countries, will decide on the project April 22.

Sun Mao said there is still little understanding of the dam's likely impact on a variety of factors, including fish migration and safety concerns in a quake-prone region. The impacts have been "understudied," he said, "and the dissemination of information on the environmental, social, and cultural impacts, etc. has not been adequate to either civil society groups or affected communities."

At the February consultations, participants were briefed on the designs of the dam and the decision-making process for its construction, but Sun Mao said the environmental impact report was not distributed.

A Mekong River Commission official recently told VOA Khmer that Cambodia could lose as much as 63 percent of the total regional fisheries loss, if six proposed dams went ahead in Laos. The Xayaburi dam would be the first of those.

International Rivers, an environmental group that opposes the dam, said recently that consultations took place in Thailand and Vietnam over the proposed dam, but it is unclear whether any took place in Laos.

In March, 263 non-governmental groups from 51 countries submitted a letter to leaders from Laos and Thailand, which will derive power from the dam, asking that they scrap the Xayaburi project.

Sun Mao said more studies are necessary, especially now that Cambodia's own civic groups have a better understanding of the issue.

"If there is construction of a mainstream dam, we are certain that we will be affected," he said. "The scale of this we do not know."

More than 300 local and international organizations have now joined cause in opposition to a controversial draft law to regulate NGOs.

The groups said in a statement the law threatens civic freedoms and could curtail the activities of NGOs that are critical to the development of the country.

"NGOs and Associations stand ready to use our democratic rights to express our discontent through democratic and peaceful means," the groups said. "The draft law we now see before us is unacceptable, and we cannot support it in its current form."

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other major international groups have called on the government to spike the law entirely, and US officials say they fear it is "unnecessary" and could curb basic freedoms.

Government supporters of the law, which is being drafted by the Ministry of Interior, say it is necessary to regulate a huge sector, where thousands of NGOs operate.

Opponents say the draft opens organizations to legal attack without redress for government dissent and could hurt smaller groups that want to form associations.

"We would like to point out three main areas of concern in the current second draft Law," the groups said in their joint statement. "Registration is mandatory and complex, rather than voluntary and simple. There is no appeal process for the denial of registration and key terms in the law are left undefined, and many sections are vague."

"I think that it can affect the freedom in the establishment of associations that is guaranteed by the constitution and the freedom in expression that is guaranteed by the constitution," said Sok Samoeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project.

NGOs say their recommendations made during a consultative process were not given credence and that new drafts did not address their concerns.

In their statement, the 300 groups did not call for a scrapping of the law altogether, but urged the government to "reconsider" their key requests and redraft the law.

Nouth Sa An, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, said he was accepting recommendations before sending the draft for approval from Interior Minister Sar Kheng. After that, the law will be sent to the Council of Ministers for approval before debate.