KI Media: “Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy on land-grabbing in Phnom Penh” plus 23 more

KI Media: “Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy on land-grabbing in Phnom Penh” plus 23 more

Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy on land-grabbing in Phnom Penh

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 08:24 AM PDT


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVRjwQGqcDs&feature=channel_video_title

Women Building Democracy – Is it our Business?

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 08:20 AM PDT

April 3, 2011
By Mu Sochua
Originally posted at: http://sochua.wordpress.com

When watching and hearing about the revolution that is shaking decades of dictatorship in the Arab world, I ask myself : When in Cambodia?

I have been in this business of building democracy for more than two long decades. Is there hope for change?

When is not the first question to ask.

I believe that the first question is: How?

Is the How happening?

I believe that the How is the grassroots movement which is happening on a small scale here in Cambodia, but independently in different parts of the country. When our farmers can walk over 200kilometers from the North-West to the city to lodge their complaints, I think the government sees this as the beginning of a big movement. This explains the cracking down on demonstrators- almost always with violence and even against women and children.

We must nurture these movements by fighting for liberties and freedoms. Women have a huge part in this fight as women are first to be affected by injustice, violence and discrimination.


We must join our sisters at Beung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh whose families have been totally destroyed along with their homes and belongings, because of the so called 'development' which mainly consists land grabbing by the state. we must join the 10,000 residents of this community when they demonstrate. We have been silent and watching from afar.

Next time they are demonstrating, let us join them by the thousands!

For those who have access to internet and are active on Facebook, make the change happen faster by listening to Women's Voices-Women's Choices, every Sunday from 11Am-12PM on 93.5FM. Express your opinion, make yourselves heard. Give the young women producers and staff your support.

Change cannot happen when we are comfortable inside the safety of our homes. Make yourself heard!

Sochua

Proposed Cambodian NGO Law Fundamentally Flawed and Should be Abandoned

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 08:04 AM PDT

Washington April 1, 2011
Source: Freedom House (USA)

Cambodia's proposed law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) contains provisions that place troubling restrictions on the ability of NGOs to organize and function effectively. Freedom House calls on the Cambodian government to abandon the law in its current version as it is fundamentally flawed.

A second draft of the proposed law, which has been in the works for some months, was unveiled by the Cambodian government late last week. The latest version of the law still contains a mandatory registration provision, which would ban all activities of organizations that are not officially registered with a signed memorandum of understanding with the government. The draft is also vague in scope and contains ambiguous language that could make it easier for the government to arbitrarily shut down civil society groups or deny registration. Additionally, the current draft has no option for an appeals process—which had been present in the original version—leaving an organization with no recourse once it has been rejected by the government.

"The proposed law, in its current form, undermines the very basis of an independent and vibrant civil society and would have a chilling effect on democratic development in the country," said Paula Schriefer, Freedom House director of advocacy. "While we understand that all governments have a legitimate interest in preventing criminal activity and regulating organizations that become legal entities, these regulations should not be used as a tool to undermine fundamental freedoms related to association, expression, and assembly. Such rights are protected under the Cambodian Constitution and under the international treaties to which the Royal Government of Cambodia is a signatory."


Last Tuesday, select NGO and association representatives met with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to raise concerns about the latest version of the law, which failed to incorporate their recommendations that the law be more transparent and consistent with existing constitutional protections.

"Despite the willingness of civil society groups to engage in good faith with the government when the first draft was first released last year, the process of consultation has been pure window dressing with recommendations from the NGO community blatantly ignored," Schriefer continued.

Cambodia is ranked Not Free in Freedom in the World 2011, Freedom House's survey of political rights and civil liberties, and Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2010.

A strange birthday celebration

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 07:58 AM PDT

Sat Apr 2, 2011.
J.D. Kindle
East Oregonian

It's not often that one gets to celebrate his birthday in a foreign country. Since Brian and I were in Cambodia for mine, our attitude was to try to pack it with as much as we possibly could.

My birthday ended up falling on our first day in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Our tuk-tuk driver Chomm, whom we had arranged for the previous evening, met us at the cafe in front of our guesthouse in the morning. I asked him what Cambodians do to celebrate their birthday, to which he replied the standard of cake and presents. When I informed him it was my birthday he became giddy and claimed he could take us out for the evening to where his friends could sing me "Happy Birthday," but in the meantime we would take in some of the major sights and activities in the city.

Sold.

Our first stop was the shooting range. Cambodia has become somewhat notorious for the proliferation of shooting ranges created by leftover weapons from years of civil war and lax government oversight. Travelers who want to play Rambo for a day can try their hand at an array of assault rifles, machine guns and even hand grenades.


Since it was my birthday, I had to treat myself to a hand grenade. The director of the shooting range led me over to a large pond. He picked up a handful of rocks from the ground and tossed them into the pond in order to show me the the correct throwing distance. After I made a few correct practice throws myself, he stuffed a grenade in my hand and pulled the pin. It's hard to keep your cool knowing you're holding a device that could obliterate your presence on earth, which is seconds away from exploding, so I frantically tossed it in the pond like a hot potato. The ensuing explosion in the water was impressive.

Apparently thrill seekers were once allowed to toss grenades on the bare ground, but the government felt that it was too dangerous a practice and now restrict it to the ponds. It's nice to know the Cambodian government has some say in how munitions are discharged around here...

Getting the excess out of our system, our next stop was a more sober affair: viewing The Killing Fields near Phnom Penh. Though there are many killing field sites around Cambodia, the one near Phnom Penh was the most prolific, where an estimated 20,000 people were murdered by the Khmer Rouge. The visit was enough to put us especially after viewing the memorial stupa containing bones and pieces of clothing from bodies excavated from the site.

After a brief rest in the afternoon, we met back up with Chomm for a night out. Our first stop was one of the many beer gardens spread throughout the city.

Whereas most American beer companies utilize sexual displays of women in their advertising arsenal to sell alcohol to potential customers, beer makers in Cambodia push it one step farther. Instead of a bartender serving your drinks, there are many "beer girls," each one representing a different brand. If you are in the mood drink a particular brand then you should seek the corresponding beer girl out, otherwise you should just pick a beer girl that seems the most charming because chances are she will invite herself to sit at your table, partake in whatever beer you just ordered, possibly flirt with you, then coerce you into buying another round.

As a beer-selling strategy, it works quite well and at $2 per jug, it doesn't hurt your pocket book that much either.

Later we migrated to a Cambodian discothèque. Brian and I came across as novelties in the club being the only Westerners there, but the young club-goers seemed to enjoy our presence, smiling at us the entire time and offering us plenty of toasts. After a while, the typical international blend of electronic music subsided, and the DJ played a set of more contemporary Cambodian folk-pop. The style of dance shifted from a free-form style to the crowd slowly stepping around in a mass circular pattern while making expressive movements with their hands. Some of the younger dancers even had choreographed steps and hand movements that were as impressive as any kind of Western line dancing back home.

I feel like I made a college try at the Cambodian dance style. Chomm told me I was dancing just with the best of them. Of course he could have just been trying to make me feel good.

It was certainly not an average birthday and one that won't be forgotten anytime soon.

James Dean Kindle is a local musician and an infrequent (but frequently enough of a) world traveler. When not abroad he is busy making music with his band The Eastern Oregon Playboys and working as a GIS technician in Pendleton.

"Sambork Khang Krao" a Poem in Khmer by Lim Chamroeun

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 07:00 AM PDT

Long Beach New Year Parade 02 April 2011

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 02:00 AM PDT

All photos courtesy of P. from Long Beach. Additional photos on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?fbid=122251104516806&id=100001957502363&aid=24191
or on Flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61342119@N07/sets/72157626292483241/

Sara Pol-Lim, Parade Grand Marshall

United Methodist Church of Long Beach

Peter Chhun (standing next to the parade car) of Hearts Without Boundaries

Bunlak Song looks apprehensive next to his sister. He was the latest boy brought to the US for heart surgery by Peter Chhun's Hearts Without Boundaries

Khmer Girls in Action
Cambodian beauties (sorry, I don't remember their names)
Sichan Siv and Martha Siv, former Bush appointees
Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF)
Khmer Labokator demonstration
Khmer Labokator
Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF)
Khmer Student Coalition
Too handsome to be real cyclo drivers
Khmer Art Academy

Prakas Chhkuot Chhkuot - "The crazy announcement": Poem in Khmer by Khmer Sachak

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 12:37 AM PDT

Politicians continue to drag down ties with Cambodia

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 12:35 AM PDT

April 3, 2011
The Nation
Editorial

Problems in Parliament hindering bilateral talks and peace on border

The Thai-Cambodian problem, it seems, will hound the Abhisit government until the prime minister dissolves the House of Representatives and beyond. The domestic political hiccups that have prevented the Thai Parliament from approving minutes of a meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission are casting fresh uncertainties on bilateral efforts - or lack thereof - to solve a long-standing border conflict that recently erupted into fierce exchanges of shelling. Thai politicians, however, can hardly blame the Cambodians for these latest developments.

Whether or not the Thai government can go ahead with the planned next JBC meeting with Cambodia in Jakarta next week, following repeated failures to get parliamentary approval of the minutes of the earlier meeting, has become an issue of blown-up importance. The Constitution Court has virtually played down the significance of parliamentary approval, which, moreover, was never the case in the past. But nothing seems able to remove the big curse cast upon this bilateral feud and efforts to end it.

Even if next week's JBC meeting can take place as planned, only extreme optimists can see light at the end of the tunnel. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is expected to dissolve the lower House and call a snap election within the first week of May, meaning that whatever is agreed, tentatively or not, at the Jakarta meeting could be made vulnerable by Thailand's domestic political unpredictability during the election campaign and after the poll. The election timing will also complicate another major bilateral meeting on the border issue at the end of May.


The JBC's role in solving border demarcation problems between Thailand and Cambodia has faced difficulties since the contentious issue of Preah Vihear Temple was given priority a few years ago. Before that, both countries' negotiators were working under a philosophy that required them to put hard issues aside and tackle easier ones first. Maybe the switch of priorities was inevitable, as it coincided with Cambodia's acceleration of its World Heritage campaign for Preah Vihear.

With a World Heritage Committee meeting coming up in June to address the explosive question of whether or not Cambodia can unilaterally manage Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site, the Thai-Cambodian stand-off will once again be tied to Bangkok's domestic politics. The ruling Democrats' rivals, the Pheu Thai Party, are known to care even less about nationalistic sentiment led by the yellow shirts. Therefore, if the Pheu Thai Party comes to power, the Thai-Cambodian border conflict could be in for more troubled times.

While Pheu Thai's rise to power could benefit Cambodia, it could make the domestic situation more volatile when border issues are concerned. Phnom Penh's close ties with Thaksin Shinawatra and alleged support or sympathy for red-shirted leaders are certain to come back and amplify future Thai-Cambodian controversies.

Over the past few months, we have seen bloody border clashes and the arrest of Thai activists and MPs as well as their imprisonment in Cambodia. Nationalism has flared on both sides of the border. Troops have been killed. Villages have been burnt. Two neighbouring nations whose border residents share affection for the same actors and actresses are now looking at each other with mistrust and bilateral diplomacy is becoming more and more impossible.

The General Border Commission, the JBC, their minutes of meetings and all the memorandums of understandings are concrete proof that both neighbours have been trying to address the thorny issue of territorial sovereignty in a peaceful way. Considering that, there must still be hope. The current problems dragging both countries away from this track are testing decades of tolerance and attempts to understand each other even at the most trying times. If we take all those efforts to settle the conflict peacefully into account, we will see that at stake is not a temple or piece of border land, but something far more important.

Art & About: Wrapped around rainbow

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 12:05 AM PDT

2011/04/02
LUCIEN DE GUISE
luciendeguise@yahoo.comShare |

Cambodian tie-dyeing offers a sometimes mysterious snapshot of local life (National Museum of Cambodia)
Sumatra has its colourful rendering of plangi (Islamic Arts Museum, Malaysia)
The Malay peninsula tends to opt for sombre colours in plangi (Islamic Arts Museum, Malaysia)

Green reminds the eager audience about plangi Tie-dyeing is cheap and cheerful, and there are many fine examples

Sunday, April 03, 2011
New Straits Times (Malaysia)

TALK is cheap, as they say, but art talks go one step better thanthat: They are usually free.

This is, of course, unless they are held in countries such as Britain, where demand is so high that museums can get away with a more entrepreneurial approach.

When events are held by enterprises such as Intelligence Squared, the cost of a ticket can go up to well over RM100 when it's held in London. Prices are more reasonable in Hong Kong, where this popular entity has now set up shop, at just RM100 a ticket. For that, you get big names such as the Swiss auctioneer Simon de Pury and Stephen Bayley, described as the "smartest man in Britain".

And for the biggest talks and debates, it's got to be London or New York, where you can see the likes of Arianna Huffington, away from her post. The Intelligence Squared formula has yet to reach Malaysia, which is probably a good thing as it means nobody is going to consider charging here.


An award should go to the National Textile Museum for the most valiant effort in trying to engage the public. A while ago, I wrote about a presentation there which explained the intricacies of tying a sarong. It attracted a good crowd, but perhaps not as large as the most recent occasion. This one featured the art of tie-dyeing under the microscope.

Gillian Green of Sydney University provided an overview of the "plangi" technique that was scholarly without being dry. It was made all the more exciting by including the sort of details that audiences want to know about: how to avoid being conned when buying supposedly old pieces.

As usual with any event that involves textiles, the audience was overwhelmingly female. It's great to see such a large turnout at any art talk, but why are textile arts so much more exciting to women than they are to men?

I once had the privilege of showing a prominent collector of Southeast Asian textiles around the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. This Australian lawyer, with a crocodile-wrestling sort of masculinity, was almost overcome with joy on seeing a group of men crowding round the museum's songkets. He told me that he had once been to a textile conference where he had been the only male out of a few hundred delegates.

Green was at the National Textile Museum to shed some light on the more neglected traditional fabric arts of the region. Plangi, or pelangi which means rainbow, is, as the name suggests, colourful. It should perhaps have been adopted by Malaysia as its national branding if South Africa hadn't got there first.

It seems that even if the Tourism Ministry missed out on this opportunity, the National Textile Museum didn't. One of its galleries is called Pelangi, but it has less to do with the technique than with what the museum calls "Malaysia's different ethnic groups who are rich with their respective textile treasures".

Tie-dyeing is a technique familiar to many. Cheap, cheerful and usually available near beaches or hippie communes, it has not aroused the same excitement as more regal weaving such as Malay songket and ikat or Javanese batik.

But being the fabric of less illustrious society doesn't make it any less dazzling as a canvas for the creative craftsman or more typically craftswoman. It's something of a folk art, and that should not be an impediment to success in an age where royal products are sometimes considered a bit stiff and fusty, in need of the Kate Middleton touch.

Whether it's Khmer fabrics with their beguiling but rather obscure narratives, or their Malay cousins with a more geometrical approach, plangi has a spontaneity that cannot be found in more formal textiles. The Cambodian works from the early 20th Century show boats, temples and big splashes of colour that could, according to Green, represent the fireworks that are such a significant part of life there. More mundane aspects of life are also included, including a seemingly minor traffic incident between a car and trishaw.

Green explored some interesting cross-currents of influence between Mainland Southeast Asia and the islands to the south, where motor accidents were less important. The plangi technique appears not to have a long history in the Malay peninsula, at least according to British educationist R.O. Winstedt in a 1925 publication that describes in detail the skill of tie-dye preparation in Terengganu.

"Last and latest of the processes practised in the peninsula is a method introduced apparently at a recent date into Singapore by Boyanese craftsmen and thence copied by the nimble fingers of Terengganu craftsmen."

Although the skill is waning in Malaysia, plangi cloths are still produced in Cambodia, where alarmingly convincing new versions of old cloths are being churned out. Best of all, Green allowed the audience to rummage among an assortment of these that she had brought along. This is a rare opportunity at any sort of talk, and it was a relief to see visitors doing their hands-on appraisals before getting down to the impressive spread of coffee, cakes and cookies.

The writer is curator of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. You may write to him at
luciendeguise@yahoo.com.

Mighty Mekong to Be Dammed?

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 11:17 PM PDT

04/ 1/11
Peter Bosshard
Policy Director, International Rivers
Posted on The Huffington Post

The mighty Mekong River is about to face its greatest test. This month, the governments of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam will decide whether to give approval to the first ever dam planned for the lower Mekong mainstream, the Xayaburi Dam.

Much is at stake in this decision. The Mekong River is the world's largest freshwater fishery, providing the main source of protein for 60 million people in the lower Mekong basin. The amount of fish caught here is staggering -- about 2% of the world's fish catch is caught from this one river basin each year.

The Mekong's strong currents and scenic rapids in the remote province of Xayaburi in Northern Laos are important spawning grounds of several important migratory fish species, including the critically endangered Mekong Giant Catfish. This riverine cornucopia is now at risk. Since 2007, Ch. Kamchang, a large Thai construction company, has been planning to build the massive Xayaburi Dam on the Mekong's Kaeng Luang rapids.


The Xayaburi Dam would have a capacity of 1,260 megawatts, comparable to the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. According to an independent review, it would directly affect 202,000 people and put at least 41 fish species -- including the Mekong Giant Catfish -- at risk of extinction. The Xayaburi Dam could also open the floodgates to further dam building on the river. It is the first of a total of 11 dams on the lower Mekong mainstream under consideration.

A healthy Mekong is priceless, and local communities are fighting the Xayaburi and other proposed projects. In 2009, more than 23,000 people signed a petition appealing to the governments of the region to keep the Mekong flowing freely. Ten days ago, 263 environmental organizations from 51 countries sent a letter to the prime ministers of Laos and Thailand calling for the Xayaburi Dam to be canceled.

Around the same time, affected communities and local civil society groups held spiritual ceremonies and public events to protect the Mekong. "As local people have already suffered from dams built upstream in China and watched the ecosystem change, we are afraid that the Xayaburi Dam will bring more suffering to our livelihoods," said Kamol Konpin, the mayor of Chiang Khan municipality, at a local event in Thailand. "Our lives and livelihoods depend on the health of the Mekong River."

Alternatives to the destructive projects exist. Thailand, the main market for the electricity to be generated by the Mekong dams, has other ways of meeting its energy needs. In a report, environmental organizations documented that the country has a renewable energy and cogeneration potential of more than 15,000 megawatts. Making existing power plans more efficient could provide 7,700 megawatts, and demand-side management, 2,500 megawatts. The capacity of the Xayaburi Dam pales in comparison.

Official sources have confirmed the concerns of local communities and environmental organizations. In October 2010, a scientific report commissioned by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) recommended that any decisions about dam building on the Mekong mainstream be deferred for 10 years because of the huge impacts to the river's fisheries and people's livelihoods. The MRC brings together the four governments of the lower Mekong basin.

A few days ago, the MRC secretariat published a review of the Xayaburi Dam's environmental impact assessment and other project documents. The review confirmed the grave social and environmental harm that the project would cause, and identified considerable information gaps that still need to be addressed. "If any delusional fantasies remained that mainstream dam building could be sustainable, the Mekong River Commission's new independent technical review of the proposed dam has surely dissolved them," comments Ame Trandem, International Rivers' Mekong campaigner.

The governments of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam will decide about the construction of the Xayaburi Dam on April 21. Will they give in to the short-term interests of a well-connected Thai corporation? Or will they listen to the voices of local communities and scientific experts?

More on PINPEAT without Pin (harp) and Khser Deav musical instrument​s at Angkor

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 11:10 PM PDT

E-mail from Lok Michel Tranet to Lok Bora Touch:

Yes, you're right, ពិណ is supposed to correspond to what is called a harp in English and this kind of harp is still played in Burma.

However I wonder how wrong Samdech Chuon Nath was. It might be possible that ពិណ was later on used to call the lute when the harp was no longer in use. I came to this opinion when I bought in Surin in 1992 two tapes (the date on the tapes is 2534, i.e. 1991) of a story about a bitch given birth to two children who are human beings and who later reject their mother because she's not human. The story is about ungratefulness. The singer's name is ไทยรุ้ง (ថៃ​រុង). What is written on this tape in Thai is เจรียงพิณ (so if translitterated into Khmer characters: ច្រឿងពិណ for ច្រៀង​ពិណ). However, it's entirely sung in Khmer (Surin dialect) and in Khmer the singer says ច្រៀង​ចាប៉ី, not ច្រៀង​ពិណ. He also recalls the names of two famous Cambodian chapey singers: ពូថៅ​ដៃ and ចង្កូម​ប្រាំបី. One of my students I had last year, and who is also studying musicology, listened to the biginning of the tape. He was a bit surprised as he told the me that the sound of the instrument is different from the ចាប៉ី he heard in Cambodia, but it's nonetheless a string instrument.

Best,

Michel.
--------------------
Lok Michel,

Thank you. Would the Khmer Pin became the Khem as we know it? Here are some more.

Burma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_7UtuSnP00&feature=related




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT3kX-hSto0&feature=related

Pin/Harp fusion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gupxeIsxkfc&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcADjrpbeoU&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJDujJLXsrk&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOhRUnRleNY&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMROre57y18&feature=related

Regards Bora

An artist's imaginatio​n of the Angkorian Khmer Pin/harp playing

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 10:58 PM PDT

An artist's imagination of the Angkorian Khmer Pin/harp playing - W. Robert Moore, Angkor, Jewel of the Jungle, National Geographic Society (1960, pp. 517-569)

Information provided thanks to Lok Bora Touch, Esq.


Aeroflot to Have Direct Flight To Cambodia

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 10:49 PM PDT

Friday, 01 April 2011
Source: Bernama

With a growing demand from Russian tourists visiting Cambodia, Russian airlines Aeroflot will have direct flight to Cambodia sometime this year.

Tith Chantha, director general of Ministry of Tourism said that Cambodian government had discussed with Russian government and Airline Aeroflot on promoting tourism sector including the direct flight between Moscow and Phnom Penh. He said he had joined a Cambodian delegation to Russia last week, led by Thong Khon, minister of tourism during which a memorandum of understanding on tourism was inked and discussion on having direct flight between Moscow and Phnom Penh was exchanged.


Tith Chantha said Russian people are potential to many tourists ' destinations around the world these days and millions of them travel abroad for tourist purpose.To Egypt alone, he said, Russian tourists accounted at 2.5 million last year.According to statistic of ministry of tourism, there were 34, 170 Russian tourists visited Cambodia in 2010, an increase of 76 percent compared with 2009 which recorded at 19,395.

Tith Chantha said Cambodia hopes to see about 100,000 Russian tourists visiting Cambodia by the year end and the estimate number will be higher once the Aeroflot is on service.He added that Aeroflot is now in deep discussion with Cambodia' s Civil Aviation Authority on the matter.

Cambodia's rich in beautiful beaches, cultural sites like Angkor Wat temple along with attainment of full security, peace and stability of the country--is now attracting millions of foreign tourists every year.Aeroflot used to have direct flights between the nations' capitals in 1980s and early 1990 with twice flights per week.

Cambodia's ancient temples by helicopter

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 10:40 PM PDT

Seeing Angkor's temples from the air offers a unique viewpoint. (Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy/Getty)


April-2-2011
By:Jade Bilowol/AAP with AG staff

Take in the splendours of the ancient and sprawling city of Angkor from a totally different perspective.

IT'S ONE THING SEEING Cambodia's ancient Angkor temples up close and personal. It's something else capturing a bird's-eye view of this once-thriving kingdom from the height of a helicopter. We've strapped ourselves in and put on our headphones, which fail to completely suppress the 'whump, whump, whump' of the chopper's blades, which are slicing the air and whirling us into the clear, blue sky.

The voice of our Aussie pilot, Phil Butterworth, crackles through our earpieces: "You've chosen a great day to fly. The weather conditions are pretty much perfect". He outlines the itinerary of our brief flight. We'll eyeball seven temples amid this UNESCO World Heritage Area, including the jewel in the crown, Angkor Wat.

No sooner have we taken off from the international airport at Siem Reap, the charming, French-influenced town at the doorstep of the temples, when Angkor Wat - reportedly the world's largest religious building - looms into our sights.

Surrounded by a moat, it sits on top of a 1 sq. km mound of earth cut into the thick green foliage. Built in the early part of the 12th century by then Angkor ruler Suryavarman II, this Hindu temple looks deceivingly miniature from the air. The sheer beauty of its architecture emphasises just how sophisticated the Khmer Empire was for its time. During its peak, it was arguably the most advanced kingdom in the world.

THE ANGKORIAN ERA stretches more than six centuries from the early AD 800s. The number of ruins is contested, but there are said to be up to 1000 known sites ranging from stony rubble to the magnificent Angkor Wat.

The Cambodians believe there are more majestic treasures yet to be uncovered beneath the dense vegetation. The temples scattered through the region only hint at the vastness of this former behemoth that, at its most powerful, was home to one million. At the same time London's population nudged just 50,000.

One of Angkor's many Buddhist monks takes in the spectacular view from on high (Credit: Robert Churchill/Getty).
Due to the Khmer settlement's sprawling nature, the city of Angkor is devoid of an official boundary. Its size has been compared to modern Los Angeles, yet it didn't enjoy the luxuries of cars and electricity.

Angkor Wat is the most famous of the temples. So much so that I find it surprising to learn it's one of a great many temples here.

OUR PILOT PHIL pulls us away, the helicopter gravitating towards some of Angkor's lesser known attractions, including Prasat Krayan, Prasat Bat Chum, Srah Srang, Prasat Pre Rup, Eastern Mebon and Prasat Ta Som. In their varying sizes, shapes and stages of decay or restoration, each of the temples is awe-inspiring.

Albeit a more expensive way to see Angkor Wat, I have opted to fly by helicopter, as it's a quicker way to cover more ground. I also hope this sky-high view orientates me and enables me to gauge the distance between the structures.

Phil reveals his pick of the bunch - Prasat Pre Rup - which he explains is featured as much as Angkor Wat in many documentaries and film shoots.

It's easy to see why. Its outer galleries are neat borders, ascending towards four towers guarding its large, innermost tower. It seems to be a royal tomb. "It's best at sunset. Go down there with a few beers and relax," Phil advises before we continue on to East Mebon.

On our way back to the airport we once again hover near Angkor Wat. From the opposite direction it cuts a darker, silhouetted marvel, backlit by the sun.

As we touch down, Phil tells us Siem Reap has changed dramatically over the past few years, as hotels and resorts sprout up everywhere. But its centre remains intact with quaint, French shop fronts, a sophisticated restaurant scene and leafy streets.

A boy leaps into the cooling waters at Angkor. Can it support growing numbers of visitors? (Credit: Paula Bronstein/Getty).
THE NEXT DAY we immerse ourselves in the thick of the temples at ground level, battling the sweltering, stifling heat. Before Victoria Gate, en-route to Bayon Temple, our tuk-tuk bounces along a bridge lined with statues. I can't help but notice the old bodies of men and gods with new heads. We learn the heads were lopped off by the Khmer Rouge during their four-year reign of genocide.

We reach Bayon Temple, which proves impossible to capture in one photo, no matter how far back you step. It features more than 200 stone faces, their facial expressions ever-changing depending on the sunlight's direction. Another highlight is Ta Prohm, its slabs of limestone pushed out of place by the power of huge tree roots. One of its claims to fame is being the backdrop to Angelina Jolie in the movie Tomb Raider.

We are shocked at how scores of tourists are able to simply crawl all over these archaeological gems. Surely the damage caused day-in, day-out is not sustainable? At Angkor Wat alone, 1.7 million people visited in 2006, and tourism numbers have been growing at around 30 per cent a year.

The distance between temples via tuk-tuk really hits home the immensity of this temple trail. It's all much easier to navigate by helicopter. Only rivalled by the likes of the pyramids and Machu Picchu in Peru, this ancient marvel is one to be admired from a distance. Not man-handled and further deteriorated.

Jade Bilowol writes for publications including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Associated Press.

IF YOU GO:
• You will need to catch a flight from Australia to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, as there are no flights from Australia to Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.

• Flights between Australia and Vietnam are available with a variety of airline carriers including Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Jetstar and Qantas. Once in Ho Chi Minh City, you can fly direct to Siem Reap with Vietnam Airlines.

• Helistar Cambodia flights start from $90 per person for an eight minute flight. For further details, visit www.helistarcambodia.com.

In awe of ancient AngkorBy Jojie Alcantara

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:54 PM PDT

Entrance to Bayon Temple (photo by Jojie Alcantara)

April 2, 2011
Manila Bulletin

Long before Angelina Jolie made Angkor Wat a thrilling destination to visit through her movie Tomb Raider, I was dreaming of seeing this mystical location in the dense jungle of Cambodia. How to get there didn't occur to me.

As if teased by fate, early this year, my two buddies and I finally found ourselves packing for a trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the ASEAN Tourism Forum. We figured that by leaving a day before the opening ceremony, we could travel back and forth in a day from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. You see, we figured a lot of things. We thought that Angkor Wat could be done in a day. And so we found out that Phnom Penh is six hours away from Siem Reap.
So we planned an elaborate itinerary that meant long bus rides from border to border.

Here's how we got to Angkor Wat: We boarded Cebu Pacific from Davao to Manila, then to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) so we could stay the night and experience Vietnam for a day. Luckily, Cebu Pacific gave us a connecting flight of Davao-Manila-Saigon with the convenience of unloading our baggage in Vietnam.


Making sure everything is well-documented, I packed two cameras, two lenses, my laptop and My Passport portable hard drive (Western Digital's one terabyte capacity assures me of quick backup and safe transfers). I figured this thingy will cope with my trigger happy shooting for 24 hours daily, given that I suddenly decided to ambitiously embark on filming video as well (eagerly planning to launch a cinematographer's career on YouTube).

From Vietnam, we bought bus tickets ($12 dollars) at Mekong Express office for a long 7-hour ride next day to Phnom Penh, the biggest and most progressive city in Cambodia. On board the air-conditioned bus with toilet and video, we realized how much they loved Angelina Jolie from a marathon of movies that included Tomb Raider, The Tourist, and Salt throughout the trip and back (with inserts of your Cambodian videoke MTVs).

In between border stopovers, bags in tow, we went through a line in the Vietnam immigration departure area. Mekong Express staff collected our passports and facilitated for us so we were lucky. Others in line must have waited eternally as they rode on cheaper buses. We just waited for our names to be called (which weren't pronounced clearly) and off we went. After a few minutes, we went through the same process as we entered Cambodia (hauling luggage once more). Restaurant stopovers along the way were good and cheap, and so were snacks in the bus. This was the start of my craving for spicy frogs' legs, but that's another story.

In Phnom Penh, we again bought tickets at the Mekong Express for a 6-hour trip to Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor Complex. Surprisingly, the once sleepy town is a beautiful and modern place to stay (think Raffles Hotel for the high end or choose Hotel dela Paix, a uniquely stunning boutique hotel, where we stayed). Around the province, temples are scattered from a few kilometers away (Angkor Wat, 7kms) to as far as 55kms away in the Kulen Mountain.

With only the whole afternoon to roam the famous ruins, we got ourselves ticket passes at $20 for a day ($40 for 3 days and $60 7 days) at the entrance office and hired a tuktuk ($12 for a day) whose driver patiently waited while we traversed the safe (cleared from mines) and touristy paths.

Angkor, the capital of Khmer empire from 9th to 13th century, once governed territories of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. Khmers built hundreds of temples and Buddhist monasteries throughout Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. In 819 A.D. King Jayavarman II (802-850) made Siem Reap province an administrative center of Khmer empire when he moved his settlement there.

The kingdom began to crumble after frequent attacks and army invasions from all sides. From the early 15th century until late 19th century, the jungle swallowed the remnants that time forgot. Only the Buddhist monks stayed and slept there, making Angkor the largest religious building in South East Asia.

Although the ruins of Angkor have been documented as early as the 16th century, French naturalist Henri Mouhot's discovery and travel accounts in the 19th century heightened the world's interest of the hidden wonders, and prompting the French government to launch a restoration program. Archaeological research halted during the Khmer Rouge political upheaval (70s-90s). Despite signs of barbaric pillaging, broken statues and stolen artifacts, most of the ruins remained intact and have withstood the test of dangerous times. In the 90s, Angkor was opened to the world again, and restoration continues to this day.

The Angkor golden age is said to have lasted six hundred years, over several sovereignty and religions (from Hinduism to Buddhism), with hundreds of temples built, placing a few kings in history more prominently than others for the more ambitious structures, like vast waterworks and majestic shrines. Viewing this immense UNESCO World Heritage Site the first time defies description. It was shock and awe, transporting me back to a lost time when a seemingly advanced civilization once prospered in power. Nothing can prepare you for its magnificence.

With little time left before sundown, we were only able to visit three most popular temples. The wind was chilly as we passed through huge tree-lined roads in view of bikers and ancient sanctuaries peeping from forest hills. Everything was dreamy and surreal, setting you back in a time warp.

Ta Prohm was the site Tomb Raider was first filmed so you hear guides incorporating it in their tales proudly ("this is where Angelina Jolie ran across…"). Here giant silk cotton trees mysteriously wrapped their mammoth roots like claws onto temple structures, twisting and slithering like snakes engulfing their prey, making the scene an untouched wilderness of immense artistry. King Jayavarman VII was said to have built this elaborate shrine for his mother in the 12th century. Another popular must-see temple he has built is Bayon in Angkor Thom, an ancient city complex with five sophisticated entrance gates (gopuras), columns of demon and god statues all lined up, and intricate carvings monumental history. Bayon has an exceptional architecture of 214 smiling giant faces on the towers, said to be replicas of the King.

Angkor Wat (meaning "City Temple"), the famous temple complex and a magnificent showcase of Khmer architecture, was originally built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the country's top tourist attraction, it has become a powerful pride and symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag. Its breathtaking, massive scale of advanced construction feature bas relief carvings of war and life, triumph and celebration, gods and beliefs, giving us glimpses to a rich empire that has left many visitors awestruck.

At sundown in Angkor Wat, we felt a newfound respect for mankind's achievement. I highly recommend brushing up on history before your trip to prepare yourself for this people's culture and identity. There is just no short cut to learning so many fascinating things. I bought a few books with colorful illustrations at $5 from young teens selling outside locations. I was hooked over Khmer history, its glory, downfall and mystery, of devatas and apsaras (dancing nymphs so prominently etched on walls), manmade reservoirs and moats that were built to protect them. If I go back again, I would want to stay longer and soak up in sunsets and sunrises at different vantage points, perhaps earlier than the growing throng of tourists who flock in thousands to spoil the serene view. I will most likely visit the least popular temples hidden in the jungle, despite warnings of mines.

Presently, the Apsara Authority which manages the complex, has announced that 1.15 million people visited Angkor Wat in early 2010, up by a 24 percent increase in tourist visits from the previous year. So if you want to explore the ancient architectural marvel, now is a good time before a million more people will think about it.

* * * *
Jojie Alcantara is a travel photographer and lifestyle columnist in Davao City, who explores off-the-beaten paths that she loves to share through her stories and images. Her articles and photography are featured in Mabuhay Magazine, and other publications. View them in www.pbase.com/jojie_alcantara

Hands off in Thailand

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:46 PM PDT

Apr 3, 2011
Sunday Times (UK)

HANDS OFF: The Thai government is planning to bar foreigners aged over 50 from marrying Thai women. Interior Ministry officials said statistics showed that many older foreigners were marrying young Thai women, which they described as "inappropriate". If the new law is passed, Thailand will be following Cambodia, which has already outlawed marriages between foreigners aged over 50 and local women, according to The Nation.

Myanmar warns no 'decadent' dress for New Year's [-Sounds like Cambodia's morality squad...]

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:41 PM PDT

April 2, 2011
It said that a special committee will supervise what people are wearing and will use CCTV cameras to videotape crowds.
PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Revelers who wear "decadent" clothing during Myanmar's upcoming New Year's celebrations can face up to a month in prison, a news report said Sunday.

The four-day festival begins April 13 and marks the traditional New Year on the lunisolar calendar that is also used in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. It's one of the few times when Myanmar's citizens can cut loose under the watchful eye of the repressive regime.

Revelers in the impoverished country splash one another with water and dance in the streets, despite annual warnings of proper etiquette from the government. Myanmar was under military rule for 50 years.

Following elections last year, the junta was officially disbanded and handed power to a nominally civilian government, but the rules for partying during the New Year's celebration remain unchanged.


The News Watch journal, a weekly magazine, issued the government's warning for merrymakers to "avoid wearing dress that is contrary to Myanmar culture."

It said that a special committee will supervise what people are wearing and will use CCTV cameras to videotape crowds.

Those caught "wearing decadent attire" can face a fine and up to one month in prison, the weekly reported. It did not specify what clothing was banned, but government warnings in the past have called on women not to wear skimpy tank tops and short shorts. Past warnings have also told revelers to avoid making remarks that could hurt national unity, not to honk horns and to avoid horseplay that could injure people, like throwing bags filled with ice.

A more detailed list of this year's rules is expected to be printed in state-run media in the coming days.

Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is also known as Burma, held its first elections in 20 years in November, though there has been little indication since of real democratic changes. The elections were widely criticized as a sham.

Cambodia rules out meeting demand [by Thailand]

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:36 PM PDT

3/04/2011
Wassana Nanuam
Bangkok Post

Cambodia will attend a General Border Committee meeting in Indonesia regardless of whether Thailand sends its delegation, Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh says.

Gen Tea Banh, also a Cambodian deputy prime minister, said his country is ready to attend the meeting and he will travel to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Gen Tea Banh reiterated his rejection of a proposal by his Thai counterpart, Prawit Wongsuwon, that the eighth GBC meeting be held either in Cambodia or in Thailand.

Gen Prawit objects to the meeting being held in a third country because he believes the Thai-Cambodian border dispute can be settled bilaterally.


Gen Tea Banh said the United Nations Security Council and Asean have agreed Indonesia will be allowed to play a role as a mediator.

"Therefore, there will be no GBC meeting either in Cambodia or in Thailand. It must be held in Indonesia only,"he said.

Gen Tea Banh added that he had not discussed the border issue directly with Gen Prawit. They had only communicated through military attaches.

He said Cambodia will not remove its military presence from the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area while no talks have been held to address the issue.

Gen Tea Banh said Cambodia has the right to claim the 4.6-square-kilometre area surrounding the Preah Vihear temple and talks must be held to demarcate the land, but he insisted military ties between the two countries remain healthy.

Film tracks Cambodian baseball

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:24 PM PDT

A poster for the film "Rice Field of Dreams," which will be shown in Long Beach on April 13

04/02/2011
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)

LONG BEACH - Although filmmaker Daron Ker had only flickering memories of his homeland, he still felt a special kinship to Cambodia.

The flickering Ker best remembered were of films being shown on white bed sheets at the Thai refugee camp where he and his family lived before being relocated to California.

Those memories have endured and sustained Ker through the years as he grew up in the United States and earned a degree in film and television from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco.

When he finally got a chance to tell his first Cambodian tale on film, it was through the most American of pastimes - baseball.

The result is "Rice Field of Dreams," a documentary filmed in Cambodia and Thailand about the Cambodian national baseball team and the run-up to and through its first international competition in 2007 in Thailand.

The movie will premiere April 13 at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.

While there have been many films and documentaries based on the horrors of the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s and its sad and continuing hard aftermath, Ker wanted to tell a different story.

"My philosophy is forget about the past and focus on the future," said Ker, who directed and produced the film on a shoestring.

In 2005, Ker learned about the curious tale of Joeurt Puk, or Joe Cook as he is known, and his quixotic quest to bring baseball to Cambodia.

Himself a refugee and survivor of the Killing Fields era, which left upwards of 2 million Cambodians dead, Cook had an epiphany when he returned to his homeland for the first time. He would bring the sport he had grown to love to his country.
What started off as a feel-good story soon became clouded with suspicions of corruption, abuse of players, erratic behavior by Cook and other issues.

As Ker says in the film, "Life and Joe Cook have a way of complicating feel-good stories."

There is something about Cambodia, its people and its culture that can seem, if not star-crossed, at least, well, "complicated" from a Western perspective. And so it is with Cook.

In 2009, Patrick Hruby of "ESPN The Magazine" wrote a story with the headline "Field of Schemes?"

Early on Hruby writes, "Cook is my protagonist. And possibly my Kurtz."

You can guess where it goes from there.

In the wake of the media backlash, Cambodian baseball nearly unraveled, but Cook rebounded and after a hiatus, his team is back on the field in a new facility. The team hopes to play in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, if it can up with the financing.

Ker says he plans to send proceeds from the movie to support the team in its quest to play in the SEA Games in November.

For his part, Ker thinks the ESPN story and others that followed were unfairly critical of Cook and may have relied too much on scandalous rumor.

"You're in a country where kids will say anything about you," Ker said. "Granted, (Cook's) not educated and he's got a big mouth, but you can't believe everything you hear."

Ker says his film is more about the game and the journey of the Cambodian national baseball team to the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

"(The film) is 50 percent Western, 50 percent Cambodian. That's what makes it fascinating. It's a cross-cultural film," Ker says. "These kids are amazing. Their story is inspirational."

Ker made the film in his first trip back to his homeland, making the project his own journey as well as about that of the team.

The movie begins in 2007 as the team is preparing for the SEA Games and follows it through the competition.

As the team progresses, so does Cook's frustration, leading him to fire a team of Western coaches mid-tournament and take charge.

The film is then a curious blend of baseball and one man's obsession and where the two meet.

The Cambodian national team didn't win a game in that inaugural tournament, gave up 88 runs in five games and didn't get its first hit until the fourth game. However, it was competitive in its penultimate game, giving the team hope.

Two years later, in the eighth annual Asian Baseball Cup, Cambodia rallied to beat Malaysia 20-8 for its first international win.

For Ker, who has also done films about the Fryed Brothers biker rock band and the Doobie Brothers, "Rice Field" was a chance to connect with his homeland. He now hopes to do a full-length narrative film titled "Holiday In Cambodia," which he says will look at the issue of deportation.

As for the debut of "Rice Field," in Long Beach Ker says, "I just want to introduce myself to the community and hopefully they'll embrace me back."

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Khmer New Year Greetings by CRC Fresno

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:14 PM PDT

Latest update in Cambodia Watch Australia blogs

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 09:12 PM PDT

Hello Everyone,

We hope you have enjoyed your weekend or whatever you are doing.

Cambodia Watch Australia would like to provide below the latest articles from our blog that should be interested to you.

We encourage you to post some comments or debate any concerned issue(s) rigorously and constructively.
This week we want to focus on the issue of corruption in Cambodia and whether the recent declaration of Assets secretly by PM Hun Sen and over 25000 Govt officals ( as required by Anti Corruption Law) will be transparent enough.How effective will be the Anti Corruption Law? There may be other questions requiring more answers as debates kick in.

http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/cambodias-ancient-temples-by-helicopter.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post_02.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/hun-sen-declares-assets.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/overview-of-corruption-in-cambodia.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/cambodia-anti-corruption-law-english.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/history-of-khmer-new-year.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/bandam-ta-meas.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/04/chikreng-rebellion-coup-and-its.html
http://camwatchblogs.blogspot.com/2011/03/is-blogging-still-popular-in-cambodia.html

Best Regards,

Cambodia Watch Australia Team

Soul Food

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 07:17 PM PDT

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rob Hamill at TEDx New Zealand: Enlightened Compassion

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 07:03 PM PDT

By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh
Expanding our Mind Series

A moving remembrance of his brother Kerry tortured and killed by Khmer Rouge in 1978 by marathon champion, Olympian rower Rob Hamill of New Zealand.





Rob Hamill made sporting history as a New Zealand International rowing representative for 16 years, with accomplishments that include World Championship silver, Commonwealth gold, and a world record on the indoor rowing machine. At TEDxChCh, however, he'll be speaking about something altogether different.

In 1978, a charter yacht under the command of Rob's "brother number one" Kerry strayed into Cambodian waters. Kerry was subsequently imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the Khmer Rouge. Rob has since travelled to Cambodia to find answers for his family and, reaching beyond personal pain, for Cambodia. In July this year he watched as his brother's jailor was sentenced to 35 years in prison. "I just want to understand him", says Rob.

Rob consistently demonstrates discipline and mental focus; he represented New Zealand at the Atlanta Olympics and published 'The Naked Rower' on how he and Phil Stubbs captured headlines around the world winning the gruelling and inaugural Atlantic Rowing Race in 41 days. Sir Peter Blake described their incredible achievement as "an extraordinary mental and physical effort – something very, very special." Rob went on to lead successful defences of the title in 2001 and 2003 and helped the 2005 entry that withdrew after a shark attack and boat capsize.

He is co-organiser of 'The Great Race', an annual rowing 8s clash between Waikato and Cambridge/Oxford/Harvard/Washington Universities on the Waikato River, and he recently put together the rematch between Mahe Drysdale and Beijing Olympic champion Olaf Tufte. His latest project is a rowing race across the Tasman Sea.

Celebrating the Dignity, Rights, Contribution of Women

Posted: 02 Apr 2011 06:46 PM PDT

CEDAW

signed by Cambodia in 17 Oct. 1980, acceded to on 15 Oct. 1992

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

PART V
Article 18

1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for consideration by the Committee, a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the present Convention and on the progress made in this respect:

(a) Within one year after the entry into force for the State concerned;

(b) Thereafter at least every four years and further whenever the Committee so requests.

2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of fulfilment of obligations under the present Convention.

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