DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Thai Government pushes big lie on Preah Vihear in the 21st Century: Commentary” plus 9 more

Phnom Penh, 27 May 2011-While Cambodian and Thai delegations are gathering in Paris for the preparatory meeting for the forthcoming 35th session of the World Heritage Committee from 19 to 29 June, the Thai government became even more flagrant in its efforts to intoxicate and mislead the world regarding its invasion of Cambodian territory and the damage it caused to the Temple of Preah Vihear.

On 26 May, the Bangkok Post reported, under the headline "PM says Thai troops didn't fire at the Temple": " Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has rejected allegations by Phnom Penh that the ancient Preah Vihear Temple was attacked by Thai troops in recent border armed clashes ".

At the meeting of the Thai and Cambodian delegations with UNESCO in Paris, Thai Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Suwit Khunkitti, according to a source close to the Thai delegation who requested anonymity, repeated the same falsehood and lie, and claimed that there had been no damage to the Temple.

The leaders of the Thai government must think that the rest of the world has also a good memory. In early March 2011, the Thai government loudly objected when Cambodia organized a visit to the Temple by military attachés from 12 countries, who were able to see for themselves some of the damage caused by more than 400 Thai artillery shells, including cluster munitions, fired from 4 to 7 February.

Will Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suwit now tell the world that the visit they objected to didn't take place and that the attachés did not see the damage they saw?

The Cambodian National Authority for Preah Vihear has sent a report on stone damage to the Temple, which was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2008, to UNESCO. The Cambodian government has prepared several documentaries showing some of the damage, which the Cambodian delegation to the preparatory meeting has shown to interested delegates. These documentaries are available to the Thai delegates if they can bear to see evidence that the chief of their delegation is out of touch with reality.

Of course, it would be better if national and international experts could visit the Temple in person to inspect the damage. But the Thai government objects to such visits as too dangerous. But what danger is there if the Thai military is not firing at the Temple?

Therefore, the international community must not fall into the Thai incessant tricks and this big lie in the 21st century. It is also an imperative for the world community to help the restoration and the preservation of this sacred Temple, especially to prevent a renewed military attack by Thailand.

By: Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers

MANAGUA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 15,000 jobs were created and at least 120,000 people were directly benefited in Nicaragua during past five years under a U.S.-funded program that ends Thursday, the program's head said.
The Challenge Account of the Millennium (CRM) program, including projects such as road infrastructure, regularization of properties and business promotion, has been implemented in 23 towns of two provinces in western Nicaragua, CRM general director in Nicaragua Juan Chamorro said at a press conference.
The program, with a total cost of 113 million U.S. dollars, was aimed at boosting development in livestock, agriculture and forest sectors, and cutting poverty.
U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua Roberto Callahan said his government is ready to sign a new agreement with Nicaragua to carry out more similar programs, but under certain conditions related to "promotion of democracy."

BELGRADE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on Thursday  said here that Serbia had "breathed fresh energy" into its EU integration process with the arrest of Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic.
Ashton was in Belgrade, the first stop on a two-day tour designed to extend EU support for the ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. As part of process of regional cooperation, the talks are aimed at improving the lives of ordinary citizens.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after almost a decade of UN administration. Although most leading EU countries and the U.S. have recognized Kosovo, Serbia asserts its sovereignty over what it maintains is its southern province.
Ashton is scheduled to visit Pristina on Friday.
"We have always been certain that the future for Serbia and Kosovo is in the EU," said Ashton."We operate within the limits set by the Security Council, the EU ... Where will it take us, will be the subject of future conversations."
Serbian President Boris Tadic said he understood the EU's strategy of striving to resolve regional disputes before they become internal conflicts within the EU. However, the arrest of the war crimes fugitive Mladic, wanted for genocide and crimes against humanity, eclipsed the discussion of pragmatic solutions for Kosovo.
Asked whether Serbia -- as a result of the arrest -- could anticipate candidate status for EU membership by year end, Ashton replied that despite the political importance of Mladic's capture, the technical aspect of Serbia's integration would continue.
Tadic said the arrest of Mladic had heightened expectations that Serbia's EU candidacy would be accelerated. Mladic's arrest was widely regarded as a major pre-condition to Serbia's EU integration process. An upcoming report to the UN Security Council by Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was expected to be highly critical of Serbia for failing to capture Mladic.
"Today's step is a proof that Serbia is a just state," said Tadic, adding that the further reforms of the legal system would continue. Tadic said that cooperation with the ICTY was not only a pre-condition for EU integration, but "above all a moral and international legal obligation."
Tadic said that Serbia needed a start date for negotiations for EU membership because it would be a tremendous step forward for Serbian political and civil society, which would contribute to the Western Balkan region.

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Delegations from Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania are expected to meet in New York's Long Island for the next round of informal talks on the Western Sahara conflict in early June, a UN spokesperson told reporters here on Thursday.
The parties to the conflict will gather for a seventh round of informal talks from June 5 to 7 in Greentree, Long Island, UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said at a daily press briefing.
"This meeting will take place at the invitation of the personal envoy of the secretary-general for Western Sahara, Mr. Christopher Ross, within the mandate provided by the UN Security Council for UN-led negotiations," Nesirky said.
As previously agreed, the parties will "further deepen their discussion of their respective proposals on a settlement and will also examine possible measures of conciliation and the avoidance of acts of provocation," Nesirky noted.
"They will also have the opportunity to review the status of confidence-building measures, engage in a preliminary examination of the specific topic of demining, and identify additional innovative approaches and specific topics for future discussion," he added.
In April a resolution was adopted by the UN Security Council, which recognizes the importance of protecting human rights in Western Sahara, but stopped short of creating a human rights enforcement mechanism to be used by the UN mission there.
The resolution stressed the importance of "encouraging the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant obligations under international law."
The parties to the conflict -- Morocco, which has had control of Western Sahara since the 1970s, and the Polisario Front, which favors independence of the territory -- have been trying to negotiate a solution in UN-led talks for several years.
The parties to the conflict last met for informal talks in Malta in March.

BELGRADE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic signed an agreement on security procedures in Belgrade on Thursday, reported the Serbian news agency Tanjug.
The agreement will stipulate procedures for the exchange and protection of classified information, and opens the door for the Serbian military and police to participate in European Union (EU) peacekeeping missions.
"This agreement represents a further sign of Serbia approaching the precondition for the EU and EU security policy," said Dacic after signing the document.
Belgrade is the first stop of Ashton's two-day tour designed to extend EU support for the ongoing dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. As part of the process of regional cooperation, the talks are aimed at improving the lives of ordinary citizens.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after almost a decade of UN administration. Serbia strongly rejected the move and insisted Kosovo remains its southern province.

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Day of UN Peacekeepers will be marked with several events here Friday, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here Thursday.
"Events at UN headquarters include a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of fallen peacekeepers overseen by Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro," Nesirky said.
The ninth annual international day will serve as an opportunity to highlight the work of UN peacekeeping forces around the world, while commemorating those who have perished in the line of duty.
"Ms. Migiro will also preside over a ceremony during which Dag Hammarskjold Medals will be awarded posthumously to the military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives in 2010 while serving in peacekeeping operations," said Nesirky.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in France to attend the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries.
A total of 173 UN peacekeepers were killed in 2010, with more than 100 of these deaths occurring due to the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. So far in 2011, two tragedies in quick succession -- the attack on a UN compound and a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -- have cost the lives of peacekeepers and staff.
Nesirky said that Alain Le Roy, UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, will be presenting medals to military and police that are currently serving in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).
"A multi-media exhibit will also be unveiled, highlighting efforts to enhance rule of law in peacekeeping operations," he added.
The exhibit is titled "Law. Order. Peace" and will open in the Visitors Lobby of UN headquarters.

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Members of the U.S. Congress on Thursday introduced bipartisan resolutions in both chambers calling on the federal legislature to formally acknowledge and express regret for banning Chinese immigration and other violated rights of the Chinese settlers in the turn of the 20th century.
The resolution in the House was introduced by Rep. Judy Chu and Rep. Judy Biggert, co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Coffman. It calls on Congress to formally acknowledge and express regret for the passage of several laws between 1882 and 1904 that "violated the fundamental civil rights of Chinese-American settlers."
In the Senate, a similar resolution was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein and Scott Brown.
"A century ago, the Chinese came here in search of a better life. But they faced harsh conditions, particularly in the halls of Congress. Congress passed numerous discriminatory exclusion laws that barred the Chinese from accessing basic rights given to other immigrants. These laws engendered hatred, bigotry and prejudice in the minds of Americans towards Chinese," said Chu, the lead House co-sponsor as well as the first Chinese American Congresswoman.
"It is long overdue that Congress officially acknowledges these ugly laws, and expresses the sincere regret that Chinese Americans deserve. The last generation of settlers impacted by this legislation are leaving us, giving Congress a short window to make amends to those who were directly affected," Chu said at a press conference announcing the measure.
"The enactment of Chinese exclusionary laws is a shameful part of our history that must not be forgotten. I hope this resolution will serve to inform those who may not be aware of this regrettable chapter in our history, and bring closure to the families of immigrants who lived through this difficult time," said Senator Feinstein in a press release.
The Chinese Exclusion Laws involved legislation Congress passed between 1870 and 1904 that explicitly discriminated against persons of Chinese descent based on race. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which imposed a 10-year moratorium on Chinese immigration and naturalization of Chinese settlers. The law was later expanded several times to apply to all persons of Chinese descent, each time imposing increasingly severe restrictions on immigration and naturalization. Although the Chinese Exclusion Laws were repealed in 1943 as a war measure after China became a World War II ally of the United States, Congress has never formally acknowledged that the laws singling out and ostracizing Chinese were incompatible with America's founding principles.
Chu and her co-sponsors hoped to put this bill to a vote this year, and they urged the Chinese Americans to support the bill in asking their representatives in the Congress to support it.

MINSK, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A Belarusian court sentenced two more former presidential candidates to jail on Thursday. Nikolai Statkevich and Dmitry Uss were sentenced to six and five-and-a- half years in a high-security prison respectively for organizing mass protests during the December presidential elections.   Statkevich and Uss were among seven opposition candidates who were arrested along with about 700 protesters after police dispersed a demonstration that protested fraud in last December's election.
President Alexander Lukashenko was declared winner with nearly 80 percent of the vote but other candidates don't believe the official figures.   Earlier three other former candidates were sentenced to prison terms. Andrei Sannikov was sentenced to five years in a high- security prison, Vladimir Neklyayev received two years in prison with a two-year deferral, while Vitaly Rimashevsky received a two- year suspended sentence.
The European Union and the United States have condemned the convictions and called for the immediate release of all protesters.

BELGRADE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The news of the capture of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander wanted for war crimes, was received by delight, shock and surprise in Serbia.
For those in government and political parties with a pro-EU orientation, the prospect of removing the constant impediment of meeting the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) requirements has all but fallen away.
Cedomir Jovanovic, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Serbia, congratulated Serbian President Boris Tadic for bringing the process of reconciliation in region ever closer, reported the Serbian daily 'Blic.'
Jovanovic said Tadic had continued the task initiated by assassinated Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic with the extradition of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2001.
"This arrest means we have met the huge responsibilities which we have as a country to ourselves, to our neighbors and the future of Serbia," said Jovanovic. "Bringing Mladic to justice is not just satisfaction to the victims... but also an opportunity for our society to remove a heavy weight under which we have lived more than 15 years."
Mladic was charged with genocide and crimes against humanity by the ICTY in The Hague, most notably for the summary execution of captured Bosnian Muslim soldiers after the fall of the UN protected zone of Srebrenica in 1995. He was the most high-profile fugitive still at large, dating back to the civil conflicts that erupted during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He had been in hiding since 1996.
Jovanovic added that a war crimes trial would strip away Mladic ' s heroic facade, which anti-Hague and anti-European Union political forces in Serbia maintain.
"By dismantling the nature and the mechanism of political crimes, the majority of people in Serbia will finally get a real opportunity to realize that Mladic is not our hero, but our national disgrace," said Jovanovic.
However, Tomislav Nikolic, leader of Serbia's opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) told the Serbian news agency Beta that he was surprised by the arrest and that its timing opens more questions.
"Who was it who saw that man yesterday, and recognized him?" asked Nikolic. "Is it perhaps that Serbia knew the entire time the location of Ratko Mladic? What factor determined that he would be arrested today?"
Nikolic, whose party has a strong nationalistic following, said that Tadic owed the Serbian people an explanation for the arrest of Mladic, who although vilified by the ICTY was not perceived as a villain domestically.
"The vast majority of Serbian citizens, along with us, do not today know how to react or what the consequences mean for future life in Serbia," said Nikolic.
As for the Mladic family, they are in a state of shock according to family lawyer, Milos Saljic, reported the Bosnian news agency Srna. The family had no forewarning of the arrest, said Saljic.
A year ago the family asked for Mladic to be officially declared dead by a court in Belgrade, explaining they had had no contact with him in seven years and assumed he was dead due to failing health.