KI Media: “Cambodia-Thailand border dispute at UN court” plus 22 more

 THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia traded barbs Monday at the United Nations' highest court, accusing each other of launching illegal cross-border attacks around a historic temple in a disputed border region.

The competing claims came as Cambodia appealed to the International Court of Justice to order Thai troops away from Preah Vihear temple — Thailand responded by claiming the court has no jurisdiction to intervene.

Opening the hearing with an emotional speech, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong claimed Thai forces had mounted "murderous armed incursions" into Cambodian territory.

Thailand's ambassador to the Netherlands, Virachai Plasai, hit back by alleging that unprovoked Cambodian attacks on Thai territory amounted to "a blatant and deliberate violation of" the rules of war.

"This portrayal of Thailand as a big bad wolf bullying the lamb of Cambodia is totally wrong," Plasai said.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand's objections.

In a fresh attempt to settle the dispute that has simmered for decades, Cambodia is asking the world court for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave it control of the temple.

But Thailand's lawyer James Crawford said the 16-judge panel has no jurisdiction to intervene now because Thailand accepts the 1962 ruling that the temple is on Cambodian territory. He said the border dispute is not part of the ruling.

He was responding to Hor Namhong's assertion that Thailand is using an erroneous reading of the 1962 ruling "to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory."

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the two countries are still in talks to settle the border dispute.

"We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism" for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.

The court could rule on Cambodia's request for a Thai troop withdrawal order within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying dispute if it accepts it has jurisdiction.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months, in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

"Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia's sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions," Hor Namhong said.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva "is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation."

Talks mediated by Indonesia's president in early May between the two countries' prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

"The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment," Hor Namhong told the judges. "It is time for international law to speak loudly."

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Referring the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should not be equated with Asean's failure to solve the issue.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr Marty Natalegawa said what was important was that the parties involved would solve the matter peacefully rather than resorting to violence.

He told reporters this at the 25th Asia-Pacific Roundtable here Monday.

The minister noted that the row had previously been brought to the attention of the United Nations Security Council and Asean, and now ICJ.

"But this doesn't mean that the diplomatic process has been exhausted, as various measures are being taken to solve the issue, including the legal process, diplomacy and others," he said.

The ancient Preah Vihear temple has been at the centre of the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

In 1962, the ICJ granted the temple to Cambodia, but Thailand claimed much of the surrounding land.

Tensions mounted a few years ago following Cambodia's bid to have the temple listed as a World Heritage site.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — "Murderous armed incursions" by the Thai military around a historic temple in a disputed border region form a "grave threat" to regional peace and security, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the U.N.'s highest court Monday.

Fighting between the two nations has cost some 20 lives, wounded dozens and sent tens of thousands fleeing since 2008, when the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status, overriding Thailand's objections.

In a fresh attempt to settle a dispute that has simmered for decades between the Southeast Asian neighbors, Cambodia is asking the International Court of Justice for a new interpretation of its 1962 judgment that gave Cambodia control of the temple.

Hor Namhong said Thailand is basing its recent military action on an interpretation of the 1962 judgment that is "both erroneous and unacceptable."

Thailand, he said, is using its reading of the ruling "to provide legal cover for armed incursions into Cambodian territory."

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said his nation does not dispute Cambodian ownership of the temple, but said the two countries are still involved in talks to settle a border dispute in the region, which he argued was not covered by the court's 1962 decision.

"We do not understand why we have to come here when there is already an existing mechanism" for negotiating a border, Kasit told reporters outside the courtroom.

Monday's hearing was focused on Cambodia's request for the court to issue an emergency order to Thailand to withdraw its troops from the disputed region. The court could make a decision on the request within weeks, but will likely take years to settle the underlying border dispute.

Tensions along the border have been exacerbated in recent months in part by pressure from influential Thai nationalist groups that have protested in Bangkok, urging the government to take back disputed border territory. Hardcore nationalists insist a 1962 World Court ruling awarding the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia was unfair.

The flare-up also comes as the Thai military raises its profile in domestic politics ahead of a general election scheduled for July 3.

"Thailand does not merely challenge Cambodia's sovereignty in this region, but is imposing its own interpretation by occupying this zone by murderous armed incursions," Hor Namhong said.

According to its World Heritage listing, the temple dedicated to Shiva "is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation."

Talks mediated by Indonesia's president in early May between the two countries' prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

"The two armies confront one another on a daily basis and new Thai aggression could arise at any moment," Hor Namhong told the judges. "It is time for international law to speak loudly."

THE HAGUE — Cambodia on Monday launched a bitter legal battle before the UN's highest court, asking it to order an immediate Thai troop withdrawal around the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, scene of heavy clashes earlier this year.

"We will ask the court to swiftly provide the provisional measures to protect the peace and avoid an escalation of the armed conflict in the area," said Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, who represents Cambodia.

"Cambodia is asking the court to implement measures to prevent further destruction of the temple and the area around it," he told a 16-panel of judges before the International Court of Justice based in The Hague.

In February the UN appealed for a permanent ceasefire after 10 people were killed in fighting near Preah Vihear, but fresh clashes which broke out in April further west left 18 dead and prompted 85,000 civilians to flee.

The court ruled in 1962 that the temple itself belonged to Cambodia.

"Thailand is under obligation to withdraw any troops in the area around the temple," the Cambodian representative said.

He said that although there had been clashes in the past, Thai aggression substantially increased after July 2008, when the UN's cultural body UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage site.

"It's time for the voice of international law to speak loudly," Hor Namhong said, calling the ICJ "the guarantor."

That is why we brought this dispute here -- it has been going on too long," he said.

Thailand was expected to make its first public submission later Monday.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Thailand's caretaker Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya denied Thailand ever questioned the court's 1962 ruling.

"We have never contested or disputed the court's decision on the temple," he told reporters.

He said Thailand's dispute was specifically over the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area surrounding the complex.

"That's different," Kasit said when asked about the disputed territory. "The court did not have the jurisdiction to rule about that."

But he said Thailand's view "has been our position for the last 50 years."

"We do not understand why we had to come here," he said.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters in Bangkok that it was "unncessary" for the court to consider Cambodia's petition.

"The request violates the previous ruling. ... We will fight based on the court's jurisdiction and facts. When Cambodia won the last case, the Thai government followed the ruling and has done so since 1962."

The 11th-century complex has been at the centre of an ongoing legal wrangle between Thailand and Cambodia -- which took its southeastern Asian neighbour to the ICJ in 1958.

The UN court ruled in 1962 the 900-year-old Khmer temple belonged to Cambodia, but both Phnom Penh and Bangkok claim ownership of the surrounding area.

Cambodia last month asked the ICJ to explain that ruling, with the ICJ saying it would rule on a clarification at a later stage.

The ICJ has set down two days for public submissions after which judges will convene and give a ruling, said a source close to the court who asked not to be named. Two more hearings for submissions are also scheduled for Tuesday.

Residents facing eviction from Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh are expected to re-submit their plans for on-site relocation today after a proposal introduced on Friday by City Hall was deemed inadequate.

Nine representatives for residents met with Phnom Penh deputy governor Nuon Sameth on Friday to discuss a plan for on-site housing proposed by the city and Shukaku Inc, the company run by ruling party Senator Lao Meng Khin that is developing the 133-hectare site with China-based Erdos Hung Jun Investment Co.

Tol Srey Pao, a Boeung Kak community representative, said the offer fell short of expectations and resembled much-derided on-site relocation housing opened last year in Prampi Makara district's Borei Keila.

"Each family wants a 4x16-metre house at the ground level with strong construction, not a building such as Borei Keila that has five storeys. If they construct a building that's the same as Borei Keila, we cannot accept it," she said after the meeting.

Tol Srey Pao said residents had already adjusted a proposal they had submitted in March that would have set aside 15 hectares of land from the development for relocation housing but that was dismissed by the city. Last month, they submitted a request for 4x16-metre houses for villagers with "small" plots of land, and two or more such homes for residents with "large" plots.

"We will hold a protest again on Monday, because the result of the meeting is negative," Tol Srey Pao said.

Officials at Phnom Penh Municipal Hall could not be reached for comment after the meeting. Sia Phearum, secretariat director of NGO Housing Rights Task Force, said the city's plan for 7x7.5-metre flats in six-story buildings had been designed without input from the community. Residents have pushed for ground-level housing so that they can operate businesses from their homes.

"If they stay on the sixth floor, they will lose their income," Sia Phearum said yesterday.

Although the meeting ended inconclusively, he welcomed the negotiations and urged both sides to continue the talks. Residents have been tasked with re-submitting their plans today, he added.

Sia Phearum said growing international pressure over the project, which rights groups say will ultimately displace over 4,000 families, as well as upcoming local and parliamentary elections, could be weighing on the minds of local officials.

"What we understand now is that the [city officials] want to resolve this problem because Boeung Kak lake is a very bad image – its development violated the people, the human rights," he said.

"I just encourage the [city] to work cooperatively very well with the residents and then restore our image in the world."

Prime Minister Hun Sen's daughter Hun Mana claimed on Saturday that someone had opened a Facebook account in her name and requested the immediate removal of the account by its creator.

In a statement published by Khmer-language daily newspaper Kampuchea Thmey, Hun Mana, who owns the newspaper, thanked the creator for comments about her work as a "humanitarian activist" but requested that the account be removed.

"I appeal to whoever created the Facebook account to remove it, because it is not mine," Hun Mana said in the statement. "I do not have a Facebook account."

The 30-year-old added that her father, Hun Sen, also is not on Facebook but that someone has created an account in his name as well.

A screenshot on Kampuchea Thmey's website shows that the account in Hun Mana's name currently boasts 627 Facebook "friends", while an account in Hun Sen's name has netted 4,961.

Ministry of Information Cabinet Chief Chhum Socheath said yesterday that it was not appropriate for people to create Facebook accounts in the names of others.

"If people love technology, they should not use technology to affect someone, especially leaders," he said.

"They should use their own name to avoid damaging someone's honour," he added, noting that people who create fake accounts sometimes use "bad pictures".

UNESCO's director-general has expressed "disappointment" after three days of talks between Cambodia and Thailand on the protection of Preah Vihear temple ended in no result, while an international court is set to hear related arguments in The Hague today.

In a statement issued on Friday, UNESCO said its director-general, Irina Bokova, had "voiced her disappointment at the fact that no agreement was reached" on "concrete steps" to preserve the temple ahead of an upcoming World Heritage Committee session slated for June 19-29.

"I appeal to both countries to pursue efforts towards achieving a common agreement before the World Heritage Committee session in June in a spirit of cooperation and constructive dialogue," Bokova said.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who headed the Cambodian delegation to the Paris talks, and his Thai counterpart Suwit Khunkitti, Bangkok's Minister of Environment, both attempted to put a positive spin on the meeting.

"There was no actual result, but it was fruitful preparation for the upcoming meeting at which UNESCO will examine the state of conservation [at Preah Vihear]," Sok An told reporters at Pochentong airport upon his return yesterday.

Sok An said he had presented evidence of damage to the 11th-century temple and had rejected a request by Thailand to withdraw Cambodia's proposed management plan for the World Heritage site.

"We saw that all the requests by Thailand [to UNESCO] were not successful," he claimed. "Thailand seems to be defeated from the meeting."

Suwit, however, said Cambodia and Thailand would meet bilaterally to consider the management plan ahead of next month's World Heritage Committee meeting, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday. Suwit said consideration of the management plan for the temple should be postponed until the border is fully demarcated by the countries' bilateral Joint Border Committee.

In related news, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong left on Friday to attend hearings on the border dispute at the International Court of Justice scheduled for today and tomorrow, ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said yesterday. The ICJ ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Earlier this month, Cambodia asked the ICJ to reinterpret this judgment to bear on the surrounding territory, and in the interim, to order all Thai troops to withdraw from "those parts of Cambodian territory situated in the area" of the temple.

Deadly clashes that killed at least 10 people broke out between the two sides in February near Preah Vihear. Clashes broke out again along the border near Oddar Meanchey province last month, killing at least 18.

Although tensions in the area have largely eased, a Thai soldier was arrested in Oddar Meanchey province on Thursday and accused of spying on Cambodian artillery positions along with an alleged Cambodian accomplice, a military intelligence official yesterday.

Chea Samrach, an official at the Banteay Ampil district intelligence unit, said he had apprehended the two men on Thursday after they had tried to escape by motorbike, adding that the Thai suspect had been identified as a military official.

An Oddar Meanchey police official who declined to be named said the suspects had been sent to the provincial military office, though he refused to provide any further details.

British co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley has fired back at the Khmer Rouge tribunal's investigating judges, calling their order for him to retract a public statement he made earlier this month on the court's controversial third case "unreasonable, arbitrary and of no effect".

The judges announced the conclusion of their Case 003 investigation last month, but in response, Cayley said the case had "not been fully investigated". In making his own statement listing a series of additional investigative steps he planned to ask the judges to perform, Cayley effectively exposed their inaction over the 20 months that the investigation was open.

The judges later ordered him to retract this statement, saying he lacked legal basis to make it and had violated the court's confidentiality rules. In an appeal made public on Friday, however, Cayley branded this order "both unfair and unreasonable".

The order "implies that a court of law may simply censor parties' public statements of legal opinion with which it disagrees", Cayley wrote. "In this regard, it is virtually unprecedented in the jurisprudence of courts dealing with cases of mass crime."

The spat between the prosecutor and co-investigating judges Siegfried Blunk and You Bunleng comes as the pair are facing mounting criticism over their handling of the third case and accusations that they deliberately botched their investigation in the face of opposition to the case from the Cambodian government. In listing the additional investigative steps he believed were still required in his statement earlier this month, Cayley revealed that the judges had not even questioned the suspects in the case over the course of the investigation, nor had they examined a number of potential crime sites.

The suspects in Case 003 remain officially confidential, though court documents reveal them as former KR navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met.

The judges were clearly irked by Cayley's statement, ordering him to publicly retract it "within three working days" after previously having considered initiating contempt-of-court proceedings against him, according to a court source.

In his appeal, however, Cayley noted the illogic of this request, as the retraction order itself quotes extensively from his offending statement.

"The retraction order restates in full the very information whose retraction it directs, thereby repeating the supposed confidentiality breach," Cayley said, calling the order "an abuse of discretion" and "a capricious judicial act designed to publicly reprimand the international co-prosecutor".

In making his statement earlier this month, Cayley said he sought both to provide victims with much-needed information and restore public faith in the work of the tribunal, noting that "public confidence in the effective conduct of the judicial proceedings in Case 003 appeared to be seriously undermined".

This confidence has been especially harmed by the fact that the investigating judges have been so secretive about their Case 003 investigation, said Anne Heindel, a legal adviser at the Documentation Centre of Cambodia.

"This practice has always led to a concern that the co-investigating judges were not carrying out their activities appropriately, and whether they were or they weren't, the point is this lack of information has contributed to that perception," she said.

"Everything that's been made public about Case 003 makes it seem that they are not doing their job in a thorough fashion, and that they're trying to hide that from the public."

The co-investigating judges have shown signs that they are sensitive to such criticism, hitting out last week at an article in the International Justice Tribune in which court observers said infighting and alleged political interference in the court's third case had left the tribunal "in danger of collapse".

The judges dismissed this claim as "nonsensical", adding: "The Co-Investigating Judges have worked independently from outside interference, will continue to resist all such attempts, and are resolved to defend their independence against outside interference, wherever it may come from."

Nonetheless, observers and other officials within the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, as the tribunal is formally known, remain concerned about the broader consequences of a failure by the judges to fully investigate the third case, a concern raised by Cayley in his appeal. In defending his claim that crimes alleged by the prosecution are legally required to be investigated, Cayley said a contrary approach "would undermine the structural integrity of proceedings before the ECCC".

"It would enable the [judges] to simply ignore or dismiss cases initiated by the Co-Prosecutors, a position that is both untenable and inconsistent with the principles underpinning the creation of the Court," he said.

On behalf of the orgnizers, CHRAC and Human Rights Center- University of California at Berkeley, I would like to inform that on 08 June 2011 from 7.30 am to 12. noon, we will organize a presentation workshop of a population-based survey on "Cambodians' Attitudes about the Khmer Rouge Tribunal" at Sunway Hotel, Phnom Penh.

You are invited to have lunch at the place after the closing of the workshop.

The invitation and agenda will be soon sent to you. Please find attached our preliminary announcement of the workshop.

Vientiane - Laos and Cambodia have agreed to discuss border issues, including surveying and addressing drug trafficking in the remote area, the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper reported Monday.

The two governments agreed to more work related to border surveys and demarcation, the daily said.

Other measures included improving collaboration between border agencies and improving border facilities to help maintain order and make legal crossings easier.

The countries share a 540-kilometre border in a region where the Mekong River flows from Laos into Cambodia.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Thailand and Cambodia will face off at the United Nations' highest court Monday, in the latest move to settle a decades-old battle for control of a disputed border region that has erupted into deadly military clashes.

Cambodia is asking the International Court of Justice to order Thailand to withdraw troops and halt military activity around a temple at the center of the dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors.

The conflict involves small patches of land along the border that have been disputed for more than half a century.

Fighting has repeatedly broken out since 2008, when Cambodia's 11th-century Preah Vihear temple was given U.N. World Heritage status over Thailand's objections.

Talks mediated by Indonesia's president earlier this month between the two countries' prime ministers failed to hammer out a lasting cease-fire.

Fighting around the temple has cost about 20 lives and sent tens of thousands fleeing.

Cambodia is asking for an "interpretation" of a 1962 ruling by the court that the temple is on its territory and warns that if the intervention request is rejected and clashes continue, "the damage to the Temple of Preah Vihear, as well as irremediable losses of life and human suffering ... would become worse."

The dispute has stirred nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border. But analysts say domestic politics may also be fueling the conflict, especially in Thailand, where the military that staged a coup in 2006 could be flexing its muscles ahead of July 3 elections.

Cambodia said in April that a written explanation of the 1962 judgment "could then serve as a basis for a final resolution of this dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means."

Hearings Monday and Tuesday will not deal with the substance of the case, which will be debated at a later date, only the Cambodian request for the court to order a halt to military action.

PHNOM PENH, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is scheduled to inaugurate the long-awaited Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) on July 11, according to the statement of the finance ministry released to the media on Monday.

And the first securities trading will begin towards the end of 2011, added the statement dated on May 26.

The ministry explained that the above two different dates being planned are based on the experience of some countries, which scheduled the start of the securities market operator first, in order for this operator to have enough time in preparing the process of the first securities training.

The CSX is a securities market operator, a securities clearing and settlement facility operator, and a depository operator.

The head-office of the CSX is located in the kingdom's tallest building, Canadia Tower in Phnom Penh.

Three state-owned enterprises--Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Telecom Cambodia and Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority--have been preparing IPO (Initial Public Offering) to list in the upcoming CSX.

The plan to open CSX was initiated by Korean Exchange in 2007.

Thailand's legal team is well prepared to present the country's position on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today and tomorrow, interim Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Monday.

The Thai team will argue that the ICJ, based in The Hague, has no jurisdiction to decide the borders of countries.

The Cambodian government last month asked the court to explain its ruling in 1962 that the 11th century Preah Vihear temple is located in Cambodia.

Thailand argues that the verdict covers only the ancient ruins, not the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre surrounding area.

"Thailand is ready to contest Cambodia's claim on any stage and I want Thai people to be confident that the government can protect the country's best interests," Mr Abhisit said.

The suggestion by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (Unesco), which earlier approved Cambodia's application to declare Preah Vihear a world heritage site, that its world heritage committee delay consideration of Cambodia's plan to manage the immediate surroundings of the ruins is the best solution and this argument carries a lot of weight, he said.

Thailand's legal team will now explain its case to all the committees of Unesco, he added.

Yesterday, Cambodian cabinet minister Sok An said Phnom Penh was confident Unesco would accept its Preah Vihear management plan.

"Cambodia has enough legal documents, that are internationally recognised, to support the temple management plan in Cambodian territory," Mr An said.

Ngo Menghorn is a typical student in Phnom Penh. Like many 23-year-olds in the Cambodian capital, he owns a motorbike, more than one mobile phone and goes through SIM cards like they're going out of fashion.

'I don't remember how many SIMs I've used because I always change them out,' he says, adding that he has probably brought at least 40 in his two years as a mobile user.

His preferred network Mobitel—currently number two by market share—sells SIM cards for less than the value of credit each provides. Mobitel sells SIMs for 5,500 riels each ($1.35) loaded with $6 in call credit amid fierce competition for customers. The catch is credit is only good for a week unless the user upgrades to a more expensive call plan.

'It's hard to contact me because I always change my SIM card,' admits Menghorn, adding he has taken advantage of promotions on eight different Cambodian operators.

Emptying his pockets, three SIM cards fall out, not including the one in use in his pink Nokia handset. Menghorn's mobile usage habits in a market of eight operators—this in a country with a population of 15 million people who have an average annual income of just $650, according to the World Bank—are typical.

'(Before) when companies had promotions…they distributed SIMs for free,' says Seng Bopha, whose family runs two mobile phone shops in central Phnom Penh. It's a business model that attempts to attract customers with cheap tariffs in the hope they'll stay loyal. And although many users stick to the same network used by friends and family members to take advantage of low in-network rates, constantly rotating SIMs, cost-conscious users like Menghorn switch between networks on an almost a weekly basis.

With so many operators competing just to stay alive, attractive promotions are never ending. Typical off-network rates outside of special offers range from $0.05 to $0.08 per minute, but call rates are meaningless because callers rarely pay them. Just over four years ago in-network calls cost $0.20 per minute in Cambodia prior to an influx of new operators in early 2009.

'Most observers say Cambodia is the most competitive (mobile phone market) in the world,' says Simon Perkins, CEO of Hello, a Cambodian subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based operator Axiata.

Only neighbouring Laos, with four operators and a population of six million, and Hong Kong with its six operators competing for nearly nine million people, come close to Cambodia in terms of mobile phone markets in the region, analysts say.

Although Posts and Telecommunications Minister So Khun claims 86 percent penetration in Cambodia based on the data submitted by the country's operators, most industry observers agree there are anywhere between five and six million active users, more like about 37 percent usage. With so many SIMs floating around as operators remain motivated to inflate user statistics to attract buyers and mergers—and boost their share price in a bid to survive—Cambodia's mobile numbers simply don't add up.

Market leader Metfone—owned by Vietnamese military-run Viettel—reported 2.37 million users in October last year, but by the end of December this figure had jumped to 4.22 million. The firm's public relations department in Phnom Penh didn't respond to questions on its customer base.

'The reporting of customer numbers in Cambodia is a problem, with some operators choosing to inflate their numbers to fuel their own rubbish,' says Perkins, who estimated there are six million active users in the country.

The result of all this is a market losing millions of dollars every year where SIMs, market share and brand names struggle to gain relevance. Mfone, a local subsidiary of Thaicom, lost more than $13 million in Cambodia in 2010 amid 'a price war and intense competition in the market.' Beeline, owned by New York Stock Exchange-listed Vimplecom, has racked up losses in Southeast Asia for every quarter since launching in Cambodia in May 2009, its latest financial results showed. And Excell, the lowest-placed operator in Cambodia by users, was registering a market share of zero percent by the end of last year as the Telecoms Ministry calculated data to just one decimal place. Meanwhile, Perkins says average revenues per user (ARPU) have now fallen to $3 or less per month in Cambodia when the 'nonsensical user numbers' are factored in. India, considered to have among the lowest ARPU rates in Asia, registers about $7 for every user each month.

So just how did things get so bad for business in Cambodia's mobile industry? After all, the country's economy grew 6 percent in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund, and is forecast to accelerate to about 6.5 percent GDP growth this year.

'The government didn't price spectrum,' says one long-time observer of Cambodia's mobile industry, requesting anonymity. Instead, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPTC) simply doled out operating licences as part of a closed, opaque process, he says, adding that this has left the government facing accusations of corruption.

In March, Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay acknowledged one of his advisers served as a paid representative of a company that transferred a 3G licence to a Hong Kong-based firm from which he had been accused of receiving bribes. His case has been brought to the attention of Cambodia's new Anticorruption Unit.

'The policy of the government is to increase usage and decrease the price of mobile phones,' said Telecoms Minister So Khun in response to allegations of government corruption. 'The procedures for bidding are different from one country to another.'

As operators search for solutions and users enjoy among the cheapest call rates on the planet, Cambodia's mobile industry is now entering a critical shake-up. Two smaller firms, Smart Mobile and Star Cell, merged in January, bringing the number of operators down to eight. Meanwhile, So Khun says the government might in June finally pass a telecoms law that has been stuck in the drafting phase for about a decade amid disagreement within the government and with the private sector. The new legislation would establish a separate regulator and detail rules on mergers and acquisitions, which some operators complain have remained hazy for too long, stalling market consolidation.

'(M&A) policy from MPTC is still unclear,' says Thaicom's Managing Director of International Business Atip Rithaporn.

Once the market does start to consolidate it's anyone's guess how many operators will survive. So Khun predicts 'about six' would be left, while the market observer previously mentioned suggested 'two to three is the maximum long-term.'

With newly-merged Smart Mobile, Mfone, Hello and Beeline all claiming the number-three spot in the past year, and new 4G network Emaxx launching in 2012, the stakes in Cambodia's feverishly competitive mobile phone market couldn't be higher.

Steve Finch is a Phnom Penh-based freelance journalist. His articles have also appeared in The Washington Post, TIME.com, Foreign Policy, The Phnom Penh Post and The Bangkok Post.

Following my recent judicial victory over former Khmer Rouge prison director and current foreign minister Hor Nam Hong before the French court, I decide to initiate, reactivate or accelerate new and ongoing criminal lawsuits in democratic countries with independent courts against Cambodia's current prime minister Hun Sen.

Hun Sen (real name Hun Nal) was a former Khmer Rouge army commander in the Eastern region who served the Pol Pot regime from April 1975 to July 1977 before fleeing to Vietnam. Moreover, as a top-ranking official of the Vietnamese-installed communist regime since 1979 and prime minister since 1985, he is responsible for many most serious crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hun Sen's hands are covered with blood following

The above crimes have been documented by independent historians and researchers and respectable institutions such as the United Nations Human Rights Office in Cambodia.

From France and other democratic countries, on several occasions, in public speeches and in numerous writings, I have accused both Hun Sen and Hor Nam Hong of their well-known crimes. Only Hor Nam Hong dared to file a defamation lawsuit against me and he finally and definitively lost. Hun Sen is much more cowardly than Hor Nam Hong because his crimes are more serious and more easily exposed.

This explains why Hun Sen is so apprehensive of any progress in the work of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh, which he wants to block at Case 02. Beyond that, his crimes and those of his most prominent colleagues in the ruling CPP would likely be fully exposed.

I sincerely believe that suing Hun Sen with the assistance of competent lawyers in independent courts, including the ICC, for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other most heinous crimes he has committed, would decisively help put an end to a despised regime which, like Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's, is killing its own people with systemic corruption, land grabbing and ever increasing human rights abuses.

Elected Member of Parliament

Inside: CCHR's findings on instances suggesting that despite legislative provisions for differentiated treatement of juveniles during the criminal justice process, there is a gap between the principles set out in domestic and international law and the application of law by the courts, particularly the case with regard to pre-trial detention and incarceration at sentencing.

Figure 1 indicates that between January and June 2010, 96% of all juveniles tried were held in pre-trial detention and between July and December 2010, it was 87.5% of all juvenile tried.

Figure 2 sets out the data collected by CCHR in relation to the sentencing of juveniles between January 1 and December 31 2010. The chart shows that of the 94 trials monitored involving juveniles an acquittal was monitored in one trial, while in 61 trials the juvenile accused was incarcerated. In none of the trials involving juveniles monitored during this period was a non-custodial sentence utilized. Two cases were reinvestigated, while information about verdicts and sentencing were unavailable in 30 of the trials.

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Please find attached a copy of this newsletter in Khmer and English.

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The Cambodia-Thailand territorial dispute and violent conflict has remained a widely discussed topic, not only during the recent ASEAN summit, but also at the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN Peoples' Forum (APF).

The growing concern is due to the fact that the quarrel between the two neighboring countries has marred the image of the organization and may destabilize the region, not to mention its impacts on civilians who live near the disputed area.

As reported, the discussion of this issue during the summit was not an easy process. Both parties disagreed over many alternatives of peaceful settlement offered by members of the group.

Yet in the end they finally agreed that Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN would play a role as an observer and mediator.

Without any intention to underestimate the effort and role that the Indonesian government, in particular the Foreign Ministry, has played so far, we have to realize that there will be many limits for Indonesia to carry out its job.

Those obstacles arise due to the nature of observer's role itself and the fact that Indonesia is the only one playing the role. In the end, these limitations may also determine the success or failure of this process.

To begin with, in a spectrum line which represents the role, authority and equipment of peacekeeping efforts, an observer is located at the far left of the line, with peacekeeping missions in the middle and peace enforcement forces at the far right.

As the role of peacekeeping operation is to maintain a cease-fire by creating a buffer zone between both conflicting sides and peace enforcement to compel disputants to a cease-fire, an observer has neither the role nor authority.

Its role is purely to observe and report the situation without any intention to create a buffer zone. This is also due to the fact that an observer mission usually has no military equipment whatsoever that can be used to defend itself, let alone force both sides to stop fighting.

Moreover, unlike peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions whose members are mostly military personnel, an observer mission at most times consists of civilians.

Even one person can act as an observer because there is not really much to do in this role.

Such characteristics will by default become the flaws of any observer mission, including in the case of Cambodia-Thailand. While Indonesia's observer team was not established, let alone present, it barely could do anything when the skirmish between troops erupted last April.

Beside its lack of capacity to urge both sides to lay down arms, the observer's mandate would not permit it to do so either. Another limit is the lack of consent from both Cambodia and Thailand in Indonesia's mediation role.

The initial stance of both sides in resolving the conflict demonstrated a hesitance toward the adoption of a regional mechanism.

Cambodia, at first, bypassed its co-members of ASEAN and called for attention from the UN Security Council to intervene.

Thailand, on the contrary, was very eager to resort to bilateral negotiation. Those initial preferences reflected the parties' lack of trust in the middleman. In a business of resolving conflicts, trust from the mediated parties is vital. A lack of trust, therefore, will be a major complication toward the peace process.

In this case, the lack of confidence in Indonesia might be a result of the perception that the country was a dominant actor in the region but its ability to manage domestic conflicts was in doubt.

For the parties to trust a third party, they first must be sure on its neutrality. Being neutral does not only mean favoritism on one side, but also freedom of interest.

Naturally, a third party will always be suspected of hiding vested interests. Such suspicion will loom larger when the third party is a "big power", assuming that it would have more interest in the conflict.

It explains why in most cases around the world where a third party was involved, be that as an observer, peacekeeper, or peace enforcer, major powers such as the US seldom took part.

In the context of the Preah Vihear conflict, Indonesia's stature as the "regional big power" can weigh in negatively towards its acceptance by Cambodia and Thailand.

Although Indonesia clearly has no particular interest in the disputed territory, it is understandable that the parties may suspect Indonesia is looking for a bigger political leverage within the organization by, for instance, working in favor of one side.

Additionally, Indonesia's initiative may also be perceived as a breach of sovereignty and a violation of the ASEAN sacrosanct principle of non-interference. Doubts over the Indonesian government's ability to solve domestic conflicts may also be the root of this trust deficiency.

Although Indonesia managed to resolve major conflicts such as the Aceh rebellion, recent developments at the national level indicate a decline in the government's ability or will to address conflicts such as separatism in Papua.

With those problems at hand and the ambition to maximize its role as the current ASEAN chair, what Indonesia should do is look beyond the Cambodia-Thailand conflict.

That is to say that instead of focusing only to resolve this conflict, Indonesia must seek to design a proposal for a dispute settlement body. The idea to set up the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation is a positive move. However, the institute needs more authority in resolving conflicts instead of issuing recommendations.

For example, it gets to decide which dispute settlement mechanism is to be applied in certain cases, including, when needed, whether observers or a peacekeeping mission are necessary to be sent.

Furthermore, to ensure its impartiality, the institute has to consist of neutral representatives from all ASEAN countries; for instance, academics, prominents of the civil society movements and former diplomats whose experience has been proven but no longer have direct ties with their respective governments.

Intervention in the form of sending peace missions to end the violence and maintain cease-fire is essential because only in that way both sides can start peace talks.

And last but not least, such an intervention is pressing to protect civilians from falling victim to armed conflicts or being affected in any way directly or indirectly. That is, of course, if ASEAN really cares about its people.

The writer is an assistant lecturer in international relations at the University of Indonesia.

LONG BEACH — The four older Cambodian women walked along Anaheim Street and greeted passersby and talked with a sense of purpose to shop owners.

Refugee women survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide, are not typically known for such forthright and outward displays, but here they were united and strong.

The four women, accompanied by local activist and Cal State Long Beach professor

The effort by the women, whose names are being withheld for their protection, comes in the wake of growing indications that the United Nations-backed court will close down after its upcoming trial slated to begin in late June.

While two cases are pending with five unnamed defendants, progress has stalled in the face of Cambodian government opposition.

But that hasn't stopped the U.S. women from insisting on being heard.

"These women embodied the quest for justice," Nou said. "They know the court may reject them but they wanted to to fight the fight, not only for a symbolic purpose but for future generations."

Nou said several of the women, who are in their 60 s and 70 s, told her they were willing to continue to the ends of their lives.

To date they have gathered 763 signatures of supporters urging the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia to continue investigating leaders in the genocide that left about 2 million dead between 1975 and 1979.

The attempt to prosecute senior leaders believed to be most responsible for the deaths has been a process that has consistently been hampered by allegations of corruption, government interference, lack of funds and bickering through the years.

Many leaders of the Khmer Rouge, including its leader Pol Pot, have died. More are in failing health.

In the ECCCcourt's first case, Kaing Geuk Eav, or Duch, was found guilty of a number of crimes.

In the second case, which is about to get under way, four defendants face charges.

Court observers were stunned recently when judges abruptly closed investigation of the third case, despite what one prosecutor said was sufficient information.

Worse for survivors and victims, who had been allowed to petition to be plaintiffs in the first two cases, the abrupt halt left them with little time to apply to be part of the case.

Nou, whose Applied Social Research Institute of Cambodia has been the foremost organization in registering plaintiffs from the refugee community, and her associates were able to get five plaintiff applications in before the deadline.

Judges have not responded to requests to extend the deadline for complainants to file.

Despite the seeming indifference by the court, Nou says interest in the diaspora is strong and there remains a thirst for justice against believed perpetrators.

"I would say 99.9 percent of the people we approached signed," Nou said of the petitions she and the women circulated.

Nou said the process of going into the Cambodian community and rallying the people seems to have changed the women.

"They were energized by the fight for justice," Nou said. "They said it was among the happiest days of their lives."

Those who want to petition the ECCC to continue investigate can do so online at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cambodiansurvivorsseekjustice/

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

CHANLOUNG — Sitting in the shade of a large tree and surrounded by a group of women, Cambodian midwife Ly Siyan holds up a colourful poster displaying a range of contraception options.

She patiently waits for the giggles to subside when she points to a condom, aware that the two dozen women in the village of Chanloung in northwest Siem Reap province have rarely experienced such an open discussion about sex.

Once the 37-year-old has their full attention again, she talks about long-term contraceptive methods and debunks some of the more persistent myths about their side-effects.

For mother-of-two Beun Chem, 27, who wants to hold off having more children so she can focus on running her small shop, the midwife's explanations are eye-opening.

"I am happy to learn about contraception and reduce some concerns I had. Now I want to try the implant."

She said she first heard about the device -- which is inserted under the skin of a woman's arm and can prevent pregnancy for up to five years by releasing hormones into the bloodstream -- on television.

But "I didn't know where they would put it", she said, laughing.

As one of Cambodia's first and only mobile midwives, Siyan has criss-crossed Siem Reap province on her motorbike to give these sex education talks to women in remote areas.

Her efforts are part of a new project called "midwives-on-motos" which currently operates in five provinces.

Launched by Marie Stopes International, a non-profit reproductive health organisation, the programme aims to improve family planning in Cambodia by travelling to where the services are most needed.

According to the most recent Cambodian government survey, a quarter of married women in the impoverished nation have unmet family planning needs.

For some women, especially in rural areas, it can be easier to get an abortion than seek out contraception.

Abortion rates are high as a result, with 56 percent of Cambodian women aged 15-49 reporting at least one abortion, official figures show.

"Rural and remote areas of Cambodia remain with limited access to reproductive health services," said Nesim Tumkaya, officer-in-charge of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the country.

"In Cambodia, abortion is legal, though we would like to see it minimised by ensuring that every woman and man has access to contraception," he said.

But simply improving access to services is not enough, said Siyan.

Another key challenge is to get women in this modest and traditional country to open up about their sexual health concerns.

"Younger girls especially can be very shy," the experienced midwife said. "They do not talk openly to us but they chat with their friends and that's how misunderstandings spread. So I try to get them to open up by sharing my own experiences."

Even in Cambodia's towns and cities, where health services are easily available, timidness and privacy fears remain a barrier to seeking help with unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

"Our traditions and customs make women feel shy talking about sexual health or reproductive health," Cambodian Women's Affairs Minister Ing Kantha Phavi told AFP.

"Sometimes, a mother doesn't dare broach the topic with her daughter. This can be dangerous because the girls lack information on protection and prevention."

And as Cambodian youngsters are increasingly having sex before marriage, more education was imperative, the minister said.

"Our society is developing and we should focus on educating girls about sexual and reproductive health in the family and in school programmes... so that they can take care of themselves."

Sex education is not compulsory in Cambodian schools and teachers often give students only the most basic information.

Given the cultural sensitivities, organisations like Marie Stopes also train women from all walks of life, from sex workers to office workers, to act as peer educators and give advice to friends or colleagues about safe sex and treatment options.

The UNFPA said this approach was "very effective".

"Peers have easy access to their friends or community members and they can relate their experiences in a convincing and friendly way," Tumkaya said.

One of these peer educators is Sar Ousa, 24, who works as a waitress in a beer garden in Siem Reap, a bustling tourist town in the eponymous province that is home to the famed Angkor Wat temples.

"If the girls have a question, they come to me. They know who I am," said Ousa.

She has on occasion accompanied colleagues, some of whom supplement their meagre salaries by sleeping with customers for money, to get tested for HIV.

But even popular Ousa can't convince everyone to come to her for help.

"Many girls want to keep their problems private," she said.

"So they go to hidden places because they don't want anyone to know they might be pregnant or have an STD," which puts them at risk of unsafe treatment from unqualified carers or unregistered clinics, she explained.

Ing Kantha Phavi said she shared those concerns but was encouraged by the efforts made by trailblazers like mobile midwives and peer educators.

"I believe that little by little Cambodia can change the habits that bring danger to women," she said.

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - Cambodia is firmly confident that the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee (WHC) will officially accept the management plan of Preah Vihear temple proposed in the 35th WHC meeting in Paris on June 19 to 29, said a top government official on Sunday.

"In the next month's meeting, the World Heritage Committee will make the official decision on the management plan of Preah Vihear temple, which Cambodia submitted in the last year's annual WHC meeting," the cabinet minister Sok An, Chairman of the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, said Sunday at Phnom Penh International Airport upon his arrival from Paris, where he held talks with Thai Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suwit Khunkitti on Preah Vihear temple issues under the mediation by the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.

"Cambodia has enough legal documents, which are internationally recognized, to support that the temple's management plan is done in Cambodian territory," he said, adding that the plan has also been admired by UNESCO for its good and standardized preparation in the last year's committee meeting.

However, the Bangkok Post online newspaper reported on Sunday that Suwit Khunkitti said the UNESCO has not made decision yet on whether the WHC will debate Cambodia's management plan.

Suwit Khunkitti said that Thailand and Cambodia would hold more talks over Cambodia's management plan for the disputed 4.6-square-kilometer area around Preah Vihear temple ahead of the 35th WHC meeting next month.

In response, Sok An said that Cambodia welcomed more meetings with Thailand under the UNESCO arrangements prior to the next month's WHC meeting in June.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia in 1962 and the temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008.

Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulting in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides.

Suwit, who has just returned from France, said Unesco did not want to see more casualties in the Thai-Cambodian conflict revolving around Preah Vihear Temple, which was unilaterally listed by Cambodia as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Thailand also has proposed hosting the next meeting, as have Cambodia and Russia.

However, Cambodia was against the postponement and wanted the Preah Vihear management plan to be discussed at the upcoming meeting from June 19-29.

Thailand's position is that the management plan should be discussed only when the Thai-Cambodian border demarcation is done. Suwit said a further delay is in Thailand's interest and it would take some time to complete the border demarcation if both countries join hands to do that.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya will soon hand documents and other evidence to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to defend Thailand after Cambodia asked the court to interpret the 1962 ruling on Preah Vihear Temple.

Kasit said Unesco appeared to have a good understanding of the issue, as the border has not yet been agreed on.