KI Media: “Implications of French Supreme Court’s Decision on Hor Namhong’s Case for The Khmer Rouge Tribunal and Cambodia’s Diplomacy” plus 24 more |
- Implications of French Supreme Court’s Decision on Hor Namhong’s Case for The Khmer Rouge Tribunal and Cambodia’s Diplomacy
- Cambodian refugees call for International help
- Thailand: TOP intellectual property PIRATE and also TOP PIRATE of Khmer temples
- Prawit ready for border talks
- Cambodia files application to int'l court over temple dispute
- France Calls for End of Border Hostilities
- China Has 'Highly Repressive' Press: Poll
- "Never Doubt" by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth
- Many Local Muslims See bin Laden Death as a Curative
- Majority of Thais are worried about Thai-Cambodia border dispute after Parliament is dissolved: Poll
- Surin, Buriram gradually close evacuation centres as border situation eases
- Time for ASEAN Peacekeeping Force
- Thai-Cambodian border clashes may affect trade, investment: KRC
- Thais head home as Cambodia border clashes ease
- Evacuees head home as Thai-Cambodia tensions ease
- [Thai] PM : no date for meeting with Cambodia’s PM during ASEAN summit
- Tens of thousands of villagers who fled Thai-Cambodia military clashes return home
- Thailand-Cambodia: Villagers return as clashes ease
- Cambodia denies leaving 2 dead soldiers in the field
- Hun Sen's war calculations
- SRP to distribute Vichea film
- Case 003 deemed a 'charade'
- Who push the Siamese' aggression on Cambodia? Op-Ed by Khem Khieu
- Standing with Workers to Defend Rights
- Some refugees decided to return home
| Posted: 02 May 2011 07:26 PM PDT  Click on the control below to listen to Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy's interview IMPLICATIONS OF FRENCH SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON HOR NAMHONG'S CASE FOR THE KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL AND CAMBODIA'S DIPLOMACY In a recent radio-broadcast interview, opposition leader Sam Rainsy elaborated on the decision by the French Supreme Court related to the most recent defamation lawsuit filed by Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong in Paris. There have been a series of similar defamation lawsuits initiated by Mr. Hor Namhong against his political opponents before the French tribunal. Twenty years ago, on 23 January 1991, Mr. Hor Namhong won such a lawsuit against former King Norodom Sihanouk. But in 2011 he finally and definitely lost his lawsuit against Sam Rainsy. How the controversial past of Mr. Hor Namhong would affect the ongoing work of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh? Will more light be shed by the Tribunal on Mr. Hor Namhong and other CPP leaders' association with the Pol Pot regime? Could Mr. Hor Namhong decently continue to represent Cambodia in vital negotiations with neighboring countries? Has Mr. Hor Namhong become a dangerous liability for Cambodia? Some of these issues are addressed in the 17-minute interview available at: SRP Cabinet  | ||
| Cambodian refugees call for International help Posted: 02 May 2011 05:24 PM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yior1nzk3Yg&feature=player_embedded  | ||
| Thailand: TOP intellectual property PIRATE and also TOP PIRATE of Khmer temples Posted: 02 May 2011 04:50 PM PDT
3/05/2011 Bangkok Post The US Trade Representative once again has put Thailand on its list of top pirates of intellectual property, known as the Priority Watch List. The annual Special 301 Report said 42 of 77 nations reviewed were either actively aiding intellectual piracy, or were doing too little to fight it. Thailand is on the "dirty dozen" list of alleged top violators, along with China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan and Venezuela. The report says that Thailand has "shown a continuing commitment to improving protection and enforcement," but has "failed to make substantial progress." According to the US report, the big complaint is that Thailand has failed to pass laws demanded by Washington, especially one to ban the use of video cameras in cinema to record movies. The USTR also said that enforcement against piracy in general is both weak and non-deterrent. "Piracy and counterfeiting, including illegal downloading of pirated works from the Internet, and the theft of cable and satellite signals, remain rampant in Thailand," the report claimed. The annual naming of Thailand as a top pirate theoretically opens the country to punitive trade measures, but so far, no action has ever been taken against Thailand because of the piracy.  | ||
| Posted: 02 May 2011 04:37 PM PDT
3/05/2011 Wassana Nanuam and Thanida Tansubhapol Bangkok Post
Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says he wants Thai-Cambodian border conflict talks to be held this month. Defence spokesman Col Thanathip Sawangsaeng said Gen Prawit was ready to meet his Cambodian counterpart on the condition that Cambodian soldiers stopped firing at Thai troops. Gen Prawit had ordered the Thai military to contact Cambodian authorities to advance the bilateral General Border Committee meeting from June to this month as he wanted the panel to meet as soon as possible. He said yesterday he had not yet arranged a meeting with Cambodian Defence Minister Gen Tea Banh as he wanted to ensure a truce was honoured. "Now there is nothing to talk about. A truce must happen first. I believe there is a positive sign," Gen Prawit said. Lt Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, commander of the 2nd Army, who attended a meeting of the Internal Security Operations Command in Bangkok yesterday, said cross-border shellings by heavy artillery from both sides had stopped. Although fighting with small firearms has continued, he believed peace would return to the border soon. A military source said army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha had ordered army deputy chief-of-staff Sirichai Ditthakul, who heads the army outpost in Surin, and army assistant chief-of-staff Wilas Arunsri to closely monitor and assess the situation and work out a long-term border solutions. The Thai defence minister said Gen Prawit had discussed the border problem with Chinese authorities during a visit to China last week. He denied Gen Prawit had lobbied China for support. "Gen Prawit did not make any request for China to negotiate with Cambodia because China will not intervene in the affairs of other countries. China supports bilateral solutions," Col Thanathip said. He said Thailand and China agreed to continue with joint weapon development and large-scale military exercises. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has received Cambodia's petition to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the ministry's Legal and Treaties Affairs Department is studying it. Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said the ICJ sent Cambodia's request for legal clarification to the 1962 ruling on the Preah Vihear temple. He said the Legal and Treaties Affairs Department is studying the measures which were mentioned in the Cambodian statement issued last Friday. The ICJ will consider whether to accept Cambodia's request and might interpret the ruling at the same time. Mr Thani said the ICJ would inform Thailand at an appropriate time when to send information to defend the case. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on Sunday night flew to Paris to meet three legal advisers from France, Canada and Australia to discuss Cambodia's move.  | ||
| Cambodia files application to int'l court over temple dispute Posted: 02 May 2011 04:25 PM PDT
AMSTERDAM, May 2 (Reuters) - The International Court of Justice on Monday said Cambodia had filed an application over a temple dispute with Thailand, and has asked it to order the Thai military to withdraw from the area. The fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops over the 12th century Preah Vihear temple has turned into Southeast Asia's bloodiest border dispute in years, resulting in several deaths and forcing more than 50,000 to seek safety in evacuation centres. The ICJ, based in the Hague, ruled on the dispute nearly 50 years ago, in 1962, awarding the temple to Cambodia, but both countries lay claim to a 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mile) patch of land around it. The temple was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008, a decision fiercely opposed by Thailand on the grounds that the land around Preah Vihear was never demarcated. The ICJ said on Monday that the filing of the application gives rise to the opening of a new case. Cambodia said it is seeking an explanation from the ICJ over the meaning and scope of its judgment, and that the explanation, "which would be binding on Cambodia and Thailand, . . . could then serve as a basis for a final resolution of this dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means". "Serious armed incidents are continuing at the time of filing of the present request, for which Thailand is entirely responsible," Cambodia said, asking the court to order an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Thai forces from Cambodian territory in the temple area. Preah Vihear has been a source of tension for generations, and the two countries. Many experts consider the fighting to be fuelled by political interests as the two governments seek to discredit each other. Thailand says it wants a bilateral solution to the dispute, whereas Cambodia is seeking international mediation and independent monitors in the disputed area as agreed by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta in February. Sovereignty over the ancient, stone-walled Hindu temples -- Preah Vihear, Ta Moan and Ta Krabey -- and the jungle of the Dangrek Mountains surrounding them has been in dispute since the withdrawal of the French from Cambodia in the 1950s. Thailand says the temples perched on an escarpment in landmine-laid terrain are in its Surin province according to a 1947 map. Cambodia says they are on its territory.  | ||
| France Calls for End of Border Hostilities Posted: 02 May 2011 04:22 PM PDT  Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Phnom Penh Monday, 02 May 2011 The French Foreign Ministry urged both sides to show "restraint and responsibility" and to "settle their disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law." The government of France on Monday called for the "immediate cessation of hostilities" between Cambodian and Thai troops on the border, as fighting for the 11th-straight day ended with a rising death toll. Neither side has been able to honor a tenuous ceasefire agreed to by commanders on the ground last week. At least 17 people have been killed under artillery shelling, mortar attacks, rocket fire and small arms skirmishes since April 22. In a statement, Bernard Valero, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, urged both sides to show "restraint and responsibility" and to "settle their disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law." France supports Indonesia's Asean role to help broker a peaceful resolution and wants observers deployed to the border "soon," the statement said. Fighting has occurred at Ta Muan and Ta Krabei temples in Oddar Meanchey province and in areas near Preah Vihear temple, sending tens of thousands of civilians fleeing. The leaders of both countries are expected to address the clashes at an Asean summit scheduled in Jakarta this weekend.  | ||
| China Has 'Highly Repressive' Press: Poll Posted: 02 May 2011 04:17 PM PDT
Radio Free Asia Cambodia's score also deteriorated due to an "aggressive use of disinformation and defamation legislation against journalists, as well as a reduction in media diversity following the closure of an opposition newspaper," Freedom House said. Asia suffers a modest decline in an annual media freedom survey. The level of press freedom in the Asia-Pacific region has fallen, with conditions in China "highly repressive" and with extensive state and Communist party controls also evident in Laos and Vietnam, U.S. human rights group Freedom House said in an annual survey Monday. The region is also home to two of the survey's poorest performers, Burma and North Korea, it said, citing a modest decline in the average score for the Asia-Pacific in the group's latest annual media freedom index assessing the degree of print, broadcast, and Internet freedom. Only five percent of the region's population had access to free media, while 46 percent live in "partly free" and 49 percent in "not free" media environments. "Conditions in the world's largest poor performer, China, remained highly repressive in 2010," Freedom House said in its report, Freedom in the World 2011, released in conjunction with UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day. Chinese authorities increased censorship and Communist Party propaganda in both traditional and online media, with a focus on politically sensitive issues like the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo in October, it said. "Detailed party directives—which can arrive daily at editors' desks—also curbed coverage related to public health, environmental accidents, deaths in police custody, and foreign policy," the report said. Dozens of activists, dissidents, and journalists remained in jail for their writing at year's end, with minority language journalists facing "special persecution." Test limits Nevertheless, Freedom House said, journalists and bloggers continued to test Beijing's limits of permissible expression by exposing official corruption, circulating underground political publications, and engaging in imaginative efforts to circumvent China's comprehensive Internet filtering system, the so-called Great Firewall. In the region, the social-networking website Facebook remains unavailable in China and Vietnam. "What we see in both countries, I believe, is a sort of cat-and-mouse game where there is obviously severe control over news media and the media content, but where people are trying to push back against these very repressive boundaries," said Freedom House senior researcher Karin Karleka. "So there are definitely controls in place by both governments to hold onto the news agenda. But I would say that activists in both countries are pushing back." The two countries were among the worst performers worldwide. Cambodia's score also deteriorated due to an "aggressive use of disinformation and defamation legislation against journalists, as well as a reduction in media diversity following the closure of an opposition newspaper," Freedom House said. In Burma, Freedom House saw "marginal improvements" after a new civilian government took over from the military junta after elections in November 2010. The "improvements" stemmed from "somewhat more open media access" to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi following her release from house arrest last year. Status changes The region featured two important status changes in 2010. South Korea, which had long hovered at the low end of the "free" range, slipped to a "partly free" designation. Contributing factors included an increase in official censorship as well as government attempts to influence media outlets' news and information content. Over the past several years, an increasing number of online comments have been removed for expressing either pro–North Korean or anti–South Korean views. The current conservative government has also interfered in the management of major broadcast media, with allies of President Lee Myung-bak receiving senior posts at large media companies over the objections of journalists. Also in 2010, additional pressure on the media in politically turbulent Thailand led to a status downgrade to "not free" from "partly free." Key factors included the use of the restrictive new Computer Crimes Act to punish online expression, a continued increase in lèse-majesté prosecutions, and periodic violence between political factions that caught journalists in the crossfire and led to censorship of media outlets. Freedom House said the proportion of the world's population that had access to a free press declined to its lowest point in over a decade in 2010, as repressive governments intensified their efforts to control traditional media and developed new techniques to limit the independence of rapidly expanding internet-based media. Reported by Parameswaran Ponnudurai and Richard Finney.  | ||
| "Never Doubt" by Dr. Gaffar Peang-Meth Posted: 02 May 2011 03:37 PM PDT  Dear Friends,I invite you to take about two minutes to watch a slide show I've put together on Youtube titled "Never Doubt." The slides illustrate a chronology of military events in northwestern Cambodia between 1980 and 1989. I was present as a member of the Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces opposing Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and personally captured most events on camera. The background music is provided by Dr. Kang Kem. I hope you find the presentation informative, the photos and the quotes inspirational, and will feel that the time spent watching the slides was worthwhile. Sincerely, Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqs0bKxraYc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL  | ||
| Many Local Muslims See bin Laden Death as a Curative Posted: 02 May 2011 10:46 AM PDT  Phnom Penh Monday, 02 May 2011
A number of Cambodian Muslims welcomed news that Osamba bin Laden was killed in Pakistan Monday, and some said they hoped it would improve religious rifts that followed the terror attacks in the US nearly a decade ago. US President Barack Obama confirmed bin Laden's death at the hands of an American strike team late Sunday night on the East Coast, as huge crowds gathered in jubilation in front of the White House in Washington and at Times Square and Ground Zero in New York. The announcement came Monday morning in Cambodia, which has been a willing ally in US counter-terrorism efforts since 9/11 and after it was discovered a major Southeast Asian terrorist leader, Hambali, found haven here in 2003. Cambodian Muslims have said in the years since they felt unfairly stigmatized, despite some US efforts to engage the community, particularly through radio programs and diplomatic efforts. Les Sos, a 37-year-old Muslim living in the Russei Keo district of Phnom Penh, said he hoped bin Laden's death would mark an end to the fear of terrorist attacks around the world and reduce violence in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. He also said he hoped it would mean a "stronger belief in each other" among Muslims and those of other faiths. "The threat of terrorist acts under the leadership of Osama bin Laden can be reduced or eliminated," said Rorni Atam, 26, a Muslim student at Preah Kussomak University. "With the architect of terrorism and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden dead, his organization will fade." Sun Dara, 23, said he worried the killing would bring on retributive strikes from Al Qaeda, which has not been eliminated. Chhith Tok, a 24-year-old student, called the killing "real justice" for the terror acts committed under bin Laden's banner. The killing marked "a victory for the United States and the world for advancing peace and prosperity," he said. "I think that the terror war happened greatly in Osama bin Laden's time, but after Osama bin Laden's death, the terror war will be reduced toward a low level." Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said the loss of bin Laden would weaken global terrorism. "I hope that the United States will increase its respect of human rights more and more," he said. Am Sam Ath, head investigator for the rights group Licadho, said the US had restricted some freedoms in the wake of bin Laden-led terror attacks. With bin Laden's death, he said, "I think the United States will largely reopen people's rights and freedoms."  | ||
| Majority of Thais are worried about Thai-Cambodia border dispute after Parliament is dissolved: Poll Posted: 02 May 2011 10:37 AM PDT Poll: People do not believe Thai politics will improve after elections BANGKOK, MAY 1 2011 (NNT) - Suan Dusit Poll of Suan Dusit Rajabhat University revealed survey results that majority of the people are worried about the Thai-Cambodia border dispute and expensive goods after the House of Representatives is dissolved as they are worried that the government will not put much effort into solving the issues. The people also believe that after House dissolution Thai politics will not change. The survey was conducted among 1,856 people nationwide during April 26-30 on the people's fear before and after the dissolving of the House. The survey results showed that 57 percent of the respondents believe that the House will definitely dissolve because Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said it himself and there has been a lot of movement among different political parties. Whereas 24 percent of the respondents are not sure, as things always change. 12 percent of the respondents believe that the House will not dissolved as the country is still not yet in a stable situation due to the Thai-Cambodia border dispute. Meanwhile, 73 percent or majority of the respondents are worried about the Thai-Cambodia border dispute after the House is dissolved as they fear that the government will not put much effort to solve the issue. Furthermore, 79 percent of the respondents said that they were worried about expensive goods after the House dissolution as the government's priority would change from solving the issue to campaign for the upcoming election. When asked whether dissolving the House would help improve Thailand politics or not, 66 percent of the respondents believe that it will remain the same. Whereas 21 percent of the respondents believe that it will improve as it would be a fresh start and the people are able to choose the best candidate themselves. 13 percent of the people believe things will be worse saying that even though it's a new election but it's the same politicians who are corrupt and undisciplined.  | ||
| Surin, Buriram gradually close evacuation centres as border situation eases Posted: 02 May 2011 10:24 AM PDT BANGKOK, May 2 (MCOT online news) - Surin and Buriram, two Thai provinces bordering Cambodia, have gradually closed their evacuation centres for local villagers centres as the residents are returning home as the border situation has eased, with no heavy weapons clashes taking place between Thai and Cambodia troops. While Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ordered the army to high alert at the Thai-Cambodian border as Cambodia is still using tactics to incite [incidents] and making sporadic attacks with small arms. He added that the sniping and inciting by Cambodian troops could eventually lead to intensified clashes anytime so that the army must closely monitor situation. Surin Governor Serm Chainarong said the province had closed 35 evacuation centres and provided transportation for some 44,000 villagers to return to their homes after the situation returned to normal. He said that during the last four days, there were no heavy weapons in action on the Cambodian side. In Buriram, Governor Thani Samartkij closed three evacuation centres following the clashes between Thai and Cambodian troops at Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district had eased with only small weapons fire being heard. Villagers who fled the fighting to shelter at centres in Ban Kruat and Prakhon Chai districts have gradually returned to their homes. The province has closed three centres and six remaining centres are expected to be closed on Monday. Mr Thani said six villagers were wounded from the fighting. Two homes were destroyed and 14 homes were damaged. Meanwhile, minister attached to the prime minister's office Ongart Klampaiboon reiterated that during the border clashes between April 22- May 2, eight Thai soldiers were killed and 131 were wounded. One civillian was killed in the while three died from congenital diseases at hospital in Surin, he said. Mr Ongart said he has instructed Surin governor to build 169 additional bunkers in at-risk areas in the province.  | ||
| Time for ASEAN Peacekeeping Force Posted: 02 May 2011 10:11 AM PDT May 2, 2011 By Fuadi Pitsuwan The Diplomat The latest clash between Cambodia and Thailand has underscored the need for a regional peacekeeping force. Indonesia should push for one now. The latest clash between Thai and Cambodian troops over a disputed area surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear temple along the two countries' border should be a wake-up call for ASEAN. Years of negotiations have proved ineffective in resolving the crisis as Thailand's insistence that the issue is a bilateral one has been sharply rejected by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen's response has been to call for UN peacekeepers to be deployed to the area, a call that raises an interesting question—is it time for ASEAN to seriously consider a peacekeeping force? Ad hoc ceasefire agreements reached after each clash have been too fragile and prone to being breached by both sides—every time a skirmish has broken out, each side has been quick to blame the other. Political efforts to find a solution, meanwhile, have been complicated by the domestic politics of both countries. Hun Sen has been accused by his political opponents of exploiting the border dispute to maintain his tight grip over his country, while Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is expected to dissolve the Thai parliament in early May, is loathe to appear weak heading into an election. All this is complicated by the close relationship between Hun Sen and the de facto leader of the Thai opposition, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Indonesia, as chair of ASEAN, has played an outstanding role in trying to broker a resolution to the dispute, but it can only do so much. For example, it put proffered the suggestion of dispatching a team of Indonesian observers to monitor the disputed area to avoid further clashes. This proposal was reportedly actually agreed on by the political leaders of both sides in the dispute, but there have been suggestions that objections from the Thai military, which feels uneasy with the idea of having a third party present in the conflict zone, have meant the idea is still on hold. The latest clash started late last month, and many observers believe it is the most serious so far. At the time of writing, the official death toll stood at 17, although this is expected to increase. A temporary, fragile ceasefire was reached between the two militaries last Thursday, but quickly broke down after only 10 hours, leaving a tense situation and the prospect of war looming over the border. What can ASEAN do to prevent all-out conflict? It could start by pooling the resources of all member states—including Thailand and Cambodia—to establish and deploy a peacekeeping force at the first opportunity. This wouldn't be the first time such a force has been considered. Back in March 2004, Indonesia's then-Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda moved to propose the establishment of a regional peacekeeping force. Indonesia's current foreign minister, Marty Natalegawa, voiced his support back then, saying: 'ASEAN countries should know one another better than anyone else, and therefore we should have the option for ASEAN countries to take advantage of an ASEAN peacekeeping force to be deployed if they so wish.' However, the idea was opposed by a number of other foreign ministers, who noted ASEAN's stated principle of non-interference in countries' domestic affairs. The problem with Wirajuda's proposal at the time is that it was akin to planting a seed without soil and water—there was really no immediate benefit that ASEAN member states could see from engaging in such cooperation, meaning the environment just wasn't right. But with the ASEAN Charter, a legally-binding document signed in 2007, calling for ASEAN to become an economic, socio-cultural and political-security community, the time has come for the idea of an ASEAN peacekeeping force to be put back on the table. The inaugural ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting, along with eight other dialogue partners (ADMM+) in October last year, has provided an excellent foundation for a bolder form of security cooperation among ASEAN member states. Indeed, the ASEAN Political and Security Blue Print, which supplements the Charter, already has language backing peacekeeping cooperation. It eyes: '(Establishment of) a network among existing ASEAN Member States' peacekeeping centres to conduct joint planning, training, and sharing of experiences, with a view to establishing an ASEAN arrangement for the maintenance of peace and stability, in accordance with the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) 3-Year Work Programme.' The African Union, which in many ways looks to ASEAN for inspiration as a successful regional bloc, has already formed the African Standby Force (ASF), to be deployed as a preventive measure aimed at averting conflict. Although still a work in process, it's designed to consist of five brigades with 4,500 personnel, 350 vehicles and four helicopters per brigade. The ASF has engaged in exercises with significant assistance from the EU and the United States. ASEAN member states currently have deployed 5,000 personnel worldwide as part of various UN Peacekeeping operations, yet these forces have no presence in their own backyard. The benefits of an ASEAN peacekeeping force would go beyond resolution of the Thai-Cambodian border conflict. Any region must have its own processes and mechanisms for ensuring confidence and stability to maintain economic growth and sustainable development. ASEAN has made a remarkable transition into a formidable player in Asia and beyond, and a regional peacekeeping force would build on this progress and contribute to a greater sense that the region can take care of itself in times of crises—manmade or natural. Of course, there's bound to be opposition to any such development. Back in 2004, Singaporean Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar was quick to dismiss the idea, arguing that: 'ASEAN is not a security or defence organization…Perhaps sometime in the future there may be scope for such an organization.' Yet it should be clear that that future has now arrived, and as chair of ASEAN this year, Indonesia should again explore the possibility. If it is to have legitimacy in the current spat, any force would clearly need to consist of an equal number of Thai and Cambodian troops, stripped of their respective national military uniforms in favour of one bearing the ASEAN flag. To ensure neutrality, an Indonesian four-star general could serve as commander. If Indonesia was somehow to make such a peacekeeping force happen, it could well be the country's single most important contribution to the future of ASEAN during its chairmanship. It will, of course, inevitably have to keep pushing to bring the idea to fruition and overcome opposition from some of its neighbours. But the country is the only member of ASEAN with sufficient political capital and respect to put forward a proposal for such a paradigm shift in ASEAN's security cooperation. The ASEAN Summit to be held this weekend in Jakarta presents a timely opportunity for Jakarta to really step up. Fuadi Pitsuwan is an associate at The Cohen Group, a strategic advisory firm headed by former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and an adjunct research scholar at Georgetown University's Asian Studies Department. The views expressed here are his own.  | ||
| Thai-Cambodian border clashes may affect trade, investment: KRC Posted: 02 May 2011 09:48 AM PDT BANGKOK, May 2 (MCOT online news) - The ongoing Thai-Cambodian border clashes, if continued, will tend to lower the market share of Thai goods in Cambodia despite the continous growth of trade between the two countries, according to the Kasikorn Research Center (KRC). The leading think tank said the situation may affect, at a certain level, the confidence of Thai exporters and investors having businesses in Cambodia. They may be pressured by investors from other countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially Vietnam. Trade and investment between Thailand and Cambodia has risen continuously risen from US$1.4 billion in 2007 to US$2.5 billion last year, with Thailand gaining the positive balance of trade. The two countries' border trade counts about at least 70 per cent of overall trade. In this year's first quarter, trade between both countries increased to Bt16 billion, or counting for 14.3 per cent, year-on-year. However, the export volume in March grew only slightly. Thailand held the biggest market share among Cambodia's imported goods in 2008-2009 although the figure dropped from 34.9 per cent in 2008 to 29.9 per cent in 2009 following border clashes. As a result, more merchandise from Vietnam entered the Cambodian market, rising from 19.5 per cent in 2008 to 23.7 in the following year, while Vietnam's exports to Cambodia last year increased 35.3 per cent, counting about US$1.5 billion. The value of exports rose again 44.3 per cent in this year's first quarter, compared to that of Thailand at 31.1 per cent. Vietnam is also the biggest investor in Cambodia with its accumulated investment value about $49.5 million, followed by Thailand at US$47.2 million and Singapore with US$24.9 million respectively. Thai investment in Cambodia decreased significantly from US$30.7 million in 2008 to only US$1 million last year.  | ||
| Thais head home as Cambodia border clashes ease Posted: 02 May 2011 09:41 AM PDT May 02, 2011 BANGKOK (AP) - Tens of thousands of Thai villagers who fled fighting along the border with Cambodia have begun returning to their homes. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Monday that with combat winding down to exchanges of small arms fire instead of artillery duels, people could safely leave makeshift refugee camps. A total of 16 soldiers and one civilian from both sides have died since the fighting began on April 22. A decades-old dispute over small patches of land along the border has been the trigger for combat, but nationalistic posturing for domestic political purposes on both sides has heightened tensions.  | ||
| Evacuees head home as Thai-Cambodia tensions ease Posted: 02 May 2011 09:37 AM PDT 5/2/2011 By Agence France-Presse Thousands of civilians who fled the deadliest fighting in decades on the Thai-Cambodian border have returned home as tensions ease on the disputed frontier, officials said Monday. Although sporadic skirmishes continued, the situation had improved enough for many of the 85,000 people who authorities said sought refuge in temporary camps or temples on both sides to return to their villages. "People started returning home after the authorities analysed the situation and established there is not likely to be any problem," said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. "The military will monitor the border. We will remain very careful," he added. In northeast Thailand, evacuation centres along the border were reported to have begun closing as civilians headed home following more than a week of cross-border artillery shelling. In Cambodia, the deputy president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, Nhim Vanda, said more and more evacuees on that side of the frontier were also returning to their villages. "The situation is good now. People are less worried." The neighbours have come under increasing international pressure to end the violence, which has left 17 people dead since April 22. An attempted truce announced on Thursday after military-level negotiations proved short-lived, but the fighting has since subsided and appears to be confined to a smaller area away from areas populated by civilians. Ties between the neighbours have been strained since the 900-year-old temple Preah Vihear was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008. The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area. On Friday Cambodia said it had asked the World Court to clarify that ruling. The most recent deadly clashes have been mainly centred around two temple complexes about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Preah Vihear. Seven Thai troops and nine Cambodian soldiers have died in the exchanges of artillery shells, grenades and small arms fire. Bangkok has said a Thai civilian was also killed and some homes were damaged on both sides.  | ||
| [Thai] PM : no date for meeting with Cambodia’s PM during ASEAN summit Posted: 02 May 2011 09:33 AM PDT 1/5/2011 Source: http://media.thaigov.go.th/pageconfig/viewcontent/viewcontent1e.asp?pageid=472&directory=1944&contents=57154 The Prime Minister reiterated the government's position to protect national interests and public safety in resolving Thai-Cambodian border issues. On 28 April 2011, at 16.15 hrs. at the Parliament Building, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva discussed the progress of the negotiations with Cambodia on the clashes on Thailand-Cambodia border. The Prime Minister said that we enter the process of observing the situation. Thailand will also have to perform its duties, preventing problems from arising and avoiding disadvantages. On the fact that Cambodia has strengthened its armed forces along the border, the Prime Minister said that Thailand needs to monitor the situation closely. However, there have been some discussions which are a positive sign, although Thailand still has to be watchful and monitor the situation. On Cambodian Prime Minister's comment that he was ready to negotiate on the bilateral basis and that a third party was needed in resolving Phra Viharn temple issue, the Prime Minister said that this is what Cambodia has already prepared to do, but it is possible to negotiate and settle disputes. However, if there is an attack from Cambodia, Thailand will follow standard responses, which all parties have recognized, as it has been doing. On Cambodia's preparation regarding the world heritage issue, the Prime Minister already discussed with Mr. Suwit Khunkitti, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, to take care of it. Besides, the Prime Minister said that there has been no schedule to meet with Cambodian Prime Minister during the ASEAN summit in early May. He said that it depends on the situation. The Prime Minister reiterated that positions on this issue are not needed to be announced all the time as we should give relevant people the opportunity to work. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister ensured that the government will protect national interests, giving top priority to sovereignty and security of people in the area. On 29 April 2011, the Prime Minister gave an additional interview to the press regarding Cambodia's request with the International Court of Justice to reinterpret the 1962 ruling, saying that Thailand has prepared a team to respond to the matter and fight any case. ************** Government Spokesman Bureau Foreign Relations Division  | ||
| Tens of thousands of villagers who fled Thai-Cambodia military clashes return home Posted: 02 May 2011 09:26 AM PDT Monday, May 02, 2011 By Sinfah Tunsarawuth, The Associated Press BANGKOK — Tens of thousands of Thai and Cambodian villagers returned Monday to homes they fled since military clashes flared on the border more than a week ago. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other officials from both countries said with combat winding down to exchanges of small arms fire instead of artillery duels, people could safely leave makeshift refugee camps. One Thai civilian and a total of 16 soldiers from both sides have died since the fighting began April 22. A decades-old dispute over patches of land along the border has been the trigger for combat, but nationalistic posturing for domestic political purposes on both sides has heightened tensions. Serm Chainarong, the governor of Thailand's northeastern province of Surin, where most of the recent clashes took place, told reporters he has allowed 44,000 villagers evacuated from the combat zone to return home from 35 makeshift shelters. Pech Sokhen, the governor of Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province opposite Surin, said 90 per cent of the 43,000 refugees on his side of the border had returned to their homes from 33 temporary camps, leaving behind just 250-300 families whose houses were in the immediate area of the fighting. "These people have returned to their houses because the situation now is calm," he said. "I hope that the fighting between the two side will keep decreasing over time." Local commanders for both countries last Thursday held talks that led to a de facto cease-fire, which did not actually end the clashes but reduced their intensity. A Cambodian field commander, Col. Suos Sothea, said from the front-lines that Thai soldiers had carried out shelling with artillery and mortars from late Sunday through early Monday morning, with no casualties. Thai field commanders said the two sides exchanged automatic weapons fire Sunday evening but did not use artillery. A Cambodian defence ministry statement released Monday "welcomed the discussion at front-line commander levels to build up confidence to reach the cease-fire resolutely and effectively." ___ Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, contributed to this report.  | ||
| Thailand-Cambodia: Villagers return as clashes ease Posted: 02 May 2011 09:14 AM PDT
2 May 2011 BBC News Civilians who fled fighting between Thailand and Cambodia have begun returning home, as 10 days of border clashes eased. Tens of thousands of villagers had been staying in temporary camps and temples as troops exchanged artillery fire in jungle areas both sides claim. A truce agreed on 28 April did not end the fighting but reduced its intensity. The clashes, which began on 22 April, have killed 17 people, including one civilian. "These people have returned to their houses because the situation now is calm," said Pech Sokhen, the governor of Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province. "I hope that the fighting between the two sides will keep decreasing over time." Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed people were returning to their villages. "The military will monitor the border. We will remain very careful," he said. The fighting has not stopped completely. A Cambodian commander said Thai shelling continued on Sunday night, while a Thai commander said the two sides exchanged automatic fire - but reports say it is confined to smaller areas. It has centred around the two temples of Ta Moan and Ta Krabey, which sit in a hilly jungle area that both sides say belongs to them. Clashes were also reported last week at the hill-top temple of Preah Vihear, a flashpoint for the dispute. Parts of the Thai-Cambodian border have never been formally demarcated, spurring nationalist sentiment in both countries. Fighting took place three years ago in the run-up to a general election in Cambodia, and this latest outbreak comes with the Thai government due to call an election in the coming days.  | ||
| Cambodia denies leaving 2 dead soldiers in the field Posted: 02 May 2011 02:32 AM PDT Excerpt translated by KI-Media In response to an earlier report published by the Bangkok Post, the RCAF issued the following denial: The RCAF rejects poisonous information published by Thai public news media which falsely claimed that there are 2 remains abandoned in the battle field. These are information and pictures made up entirely for political gain. RCAF's soldiers who are injured or who sacrificed their lives are always immediately saved and [for those who died,] traditional religious ceremonies are organized for them - this is the utmost honor for the Cambodian people. Up to now, there are no Thai flags flying over Ta Moan temple or over Ta Krabei temple.     | ||
| Posted: 02 May 2011 02:13 AM PDT May 3, 2011 By Sebastian Strangio Asia Times Online Hun Sen has also clearly welcomed the ongoing conflict with Thailand as a chance to rally support and further marginalize his political opponents. PHNOM PENH - Fighting along the Thai-Cambodian border continued over the weekend after two agreed ceasefires broke down last week. At least 17 people have been killed and 50,000 evacuated on both sides of the border since the latest round of armed skirmishes and diplomatic salvos commenced on April 22. Some analysts now wonder whether the sustained armed clashes could eventually escalate into full-blown war. As with past clashes, both governments have accused each other of instigating the conflict. In a statement on April 27, the Cambodian Council of Ministers denounced Thailand for its "naked and blatant aggression" that had resulted in "immense misery and suffering" for the Cambodian people. A day earlier, the Thai cabinet passed a three-point resolution authorizing "retaliatory military action" to push Cambodian troops out of disputed areas. While it may be impossible to know who fired the first shots, many analysts agree that the conflict is an outgrowth of political turmoil in Thailand, reflecting an attempt by the Royal Thai Army to cement its position at the center of Thai politics ahead of elections set to be held by July. What is less clear are the factors driving decision-making on the other side of the border, where Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) have long maintained a stranglehold on domestic politics. Since the military coup that overthrew former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, Cambodia's strongman has played a cameo role in Thailand's unfolding domestic drama, alternatively courting and sniping at a succession of Thai leaders. Occasionally he has taken center stage, as when he appointed Thaksin as an economic advisor in late 2009, plunging relations with Bangkok to their lowest point in years. At the time, some analysts speculated that the wily leader was backing Thaksin and his proxies in a future election, laying the groundwork for a more solid bilateral relationship further down the road. Hun Sen has also clearly welcomed the ongoing conflict with Thailand as a chance to rally support and further marginalize his political opponents. Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights and a Phnom Penh-based political observer, said the contested Preah Vihear temple - a potent symbol, like Angkor Wat, of Cambodia's nationhood - has already been a source of much political capital for Hun Sen. After the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization announced its World Heritage Site listing on July 7, 2008, over Thai objections the government trumpeted its "achievement" with a massive free concert at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium. The patriotic sentiment boosted the CPP in that month's national elections, which it won in a landslide, clinching 90 of the National Assembly's 123 seats. Billboards featuring a photo of Preah Vihear temple sitting under a Cambodian flag have since become a common sight across the country. "Hun Sen has played pretty well with the national sentiment and he benefited quite a lot during the 2008 election. That was the beginning," Ou Virak said. He added that with each fresh outbreak of fighting, Cambodians tended to "look to the strongman" for protection. Some have argued the fighting has also provided an opportunity for Hun Sen to boost the political credentials of his son Hun Manet, who he is reportedly grooming as a powerful military ally and possible prime ministerial successor. Hun Manet, a West Point graduate who was this year promoted to deputy commander of the Cambodian infantry, was reported to have commanded troops at Preah Vihear during February's clashes. There is no clear evidence that he was involved in the latest round of hostilities, though the Bangkok Post reported on May 2 that Hun Manet had spoken on radio in Anlong Veng and Samrong, two districts close to the border, offering "a house and five rai [1,600 square meters] of land" to anyone willing to join the military and fight against Thailand. Superior firepower Given Thailand's overwhelming military superiority - in 2009, Bangkok spent US$2.9 billion on its military compared to Cambodia's $191 million, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute - Hun Sen is walking a fine line. The prime minister is playing a "very high stakes game" with a powerful neighbor, Ou Virak said, and had to be careful not to let the border situation get out of his control. In a statement last week, self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote that Cambodia risked war because of "the aggression from Thailand associated with the incapability of the Hun Sen government to peacefully resolve a border conflict". The Sam Rainsy Party president said the simmering conflict with Thailand helped mask more pressing domestic issues, such as persistent rights abuses and corruption, and drew attention away from alleged border incursions by Vietnam along the country's eastern border. "We must not allow the Hun Sen government to use the conflict with Thailand in the west as a political ploy to divert the attention and the anger of the Khmer people from the aggression by Vietnam in the east," wrote Rainsy, who has been sentenced to a total of 12 years in jail on charges stemming from his campaign to expose the alleged incursions by Hanoi, the CPP's long time political patron. Another problem, Ou Virak pointed out, is that Hun Sen and the CPP are taking considerable risks for what amounts to a series of diminishing returns: the party already maintains a stranglehold on power, and faces an opposition that is increasingly divided and cowed by legal assaults and political maneuvering. Few doubt that the CPP will again prevail in next year's commune council elections and national polls set for 2013. Given his fundamentally weak position vis-a-vis Thailand, Hun Sen's recent public speeches on the issue have mixed his trademark fiery rhetoric with calls for negotiations to end the conflict. In an address on April 27, Hun Sen proposed that ceasefire talks be held during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta on May 7-8, but could not help back-ending the speech with some invective against his Thai counterpart, Abhisit Vejjajiva. "I have never met a Thai prime minister as bad as Abhisit. He was cruel, ordered the attack on Cambodia and threatened to take control of Cambodia," the Phnom Penh Post quoted him as saying. The premier then ended with a warning in an aphorism: "Cambodia is poor and small but our weapons are not like a slingshot, and don't forget that the ant can hurt the elephant." Puangthong Pawakapan, an analyst based at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said Hun Sen might also be bidding to force Thailand to accept third-party mediation to the Preah Vihear conflict, with the ultimate aim of safeguarding the country's UNESCO listing - something the Abhisit government has said it will try to have reversed. "I believe his main concern was to have the Thai government stop interfering with the temple inscription and development plan," she said, suggesting that may also have prompted Hun Sen's controversial appointment of Thaksin as an advisor. "He probably believed that as long as Abhisit remained prime minister, it was hard for Cambodia to solve the issue with Thailand." Given the nationalistic forces at play on the Thai side, however, even the formation of a stable, pro-Thaksin government after the scheduled elections is unlikely to bring an end to the border conflict. Puangthong said that the nationalistic People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest group will be waiting in the wings, ready to take to the streets if they fear the government is failing to defend Thai territory. "As long as Thai politics is highly polarized and no government could gain trust and respect from all major political factions", she said, "a peaceful solution for the border dispute is difficult to achieve". Sebastian Strangio is a journalist based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He can be reached at sebastian.strangio@gmail.com.  | ||
| Posted: 02 May 2011 01:59 AM PDT
MONDAY, 02 MAY 2011 MEAS SOKCHEA AND MARY KOZLOVSKI The Phnom Penh Post
LAWMAKERS from the Sam Rainsy Party plan to distribute copies of a controversial documentary about the murder of labour leader Chea Vichea, the Khmer-language version of which premiered yesterday at SRP headquarters in Phnom Penh. SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said at the screening, which drew a crowd of more than 100 people yesterday, that the party would distribute copies of the film to "whoever wants it" for a token 500 riel (US$0.12). "We will make thousands of copies, people are asking me for copies… and we will make them because the people have to come out of this level of fear," Mu Sochua said. The 2009 documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea?, by American director Bradley Cox, investigates the 2004 murder of former Free Trade Union leader Chea Vichea. It examines charges against two men initially accused of the crime and suggests that government officials may have helped to plan the murder. Previous attempts to show the film publicly have been thwarted, with screens torn down after government officials labelled the film an "illegal import". Mu Sochua said the government had not interfered with yesterday's screening because the SRP headquarters is private property. "I think [the government] calculated very clearly that it would not be to their advantage to stop it," she said. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan declined to comment on the film screening. SRP president Sam Rainsy spoke at the event via videoconference from Paris, saying that government officials and factory owners wanted workers to "forget" yesterday's holiday, International Labour Day. Rainsy claims legal victory Sam Rainsy also claimed yesterday that he had won an appeal in the French Supreme Court to overturn a 2008 ruling that found he had defamed Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. In the original ruling, Sam Rainsy was handed a symbolic fine of one euro by a French civil court for alleging in his autobiography that Hor Namhong had headed the Boeung Trabek prison camp under the Khmer Rouge. "I confirm that Mr Hor Namhong finally and definitively lost his defamation lawsuit against me before the French tribunal," Sam Rainsy said. Court officials in France could not be reached to verify the judgment. Phay Siphan, meanwhile, declined to comment on the case. "Cambodia is completely different from France. I understand the motivations are completely different and the law is completely different," he said. Hor Namhong could not be reached for comment. Last week, a Cambodian criminal court found Sam Rainsy guilty of defamation over the same allegation and sentenced him to two years in jail. He faces a combined 14 years in prison should he return to Cambodia. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAVID BOYLE  | ||
| Posted: 02 May 2011 01:48 AM PDT  Monday, 02 May 2011 James O'Toole The Phnom Penh Post
THE investigating judges at the Khmer Rouge tribunal have concluded investigations in the court's controversial third case, a move some observers say is a prelude to its long-planned dismissal. In a document posted to the court's website on Friday, co-investigating judges You Bunleng and Siegfriend Blunk notified prosecutors that they "consider the investigation has been concluded" in Case 003. The judges added in a press release that the 003 case file contains "more than 2,000 pieces of evidence, comprising more than 48,000 pages". According to the court's internal rules, prosecutors now have 15 days to review the case file and decide whether to request additional investigative steps. If they decline to make such requests, they then have three months to prepare a final submission to the judges regarding suspects and crime sites in the case. Upon receiving the prosecutors' final submission, the investigating judges will then issue a "closing order" – dismissing the case or taking it to trial. In introductory submissions for Cases 003 and 004 in 2009, prosecutors identified five potential suspects, the identities of whom remain confidential. Friday's notification relates only to Case 003. "We have no public information about how many suspects are in Case 003, but obviously it's not five," United Nations court spokesman Lars Olsen said. Former Khmer Rouge navy commander Meas Muth and air force commander Sou Met have been widely suggested as suspects in the court's third and fourth cases. Olsen described Friday's notification as "a formal procedural step that the investigating judges are required by the rules to make … when they deem that they have concluded the investigation of the facts set out in the introductory submission by the co-prosecutors". The announcement comes amid speculation that the judges may ultimately be planning to dismiss Cases 003 and 004, which have run into opposition from Cambodian court officials and members of government. During a visit by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to the Kingdom last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said these cases "will not be allowed", and that the court would conclude its operations after the upcoming trial in its second case. In contrast to the conclusion-of-investigation notice the investigating judges issued last year in Case 002, Friday's notice invited only prosecutors to make further investigative requests, and did not mention civil party or defence lawyers. Individual lawyers have not been assigned to the five unnamed suspects in Cases 003 and 004. The court's Defence Support Section has appointed Cambodian lawyer Kong Sam Onn to work on all the unnamed suspects' behalves, though he has not been given access to case files 003 and 004. Olsen said the suspects would be entitled to lawyers "if they were to be questioned as a witness or if they were to be charged with crimes". Clair Duffy, a trial monitor with the Open Society Justice Initiative, said the lack of defence counsel at this stage in the proceedings indicated that the suspects themselves had not even been questioned over the course of the investigation, and that a dismissal of the case had been planned from the start. "How can you close an investigation into the commission of mass atrocities without actually questioning the people in these allegations themselves?" she said. Prospective civil parties, meanwhile, have not been given any indication of the scope of investigation in Case 003, nor direction in filing complaints that could aid in the prosecution of the suspects. "People need to come forward about the fact that this is a charade, because it calls into question the whole legitimacy of the institution," Duffy said. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHEANG SOKHA  | ||
| Who push the Siamese' aggression on Cambodia? Op-Ed by Khem Khieu Posted: 02 May 2011 12:19 AM PDT | ||
| Standing with Workers to Defend Rights Posted: 02 May 2011 12:06 AM PDT        Sam Rainsy Party elected members of parliament joined over 3,000 workers on the 125th Anniversary Labor Day, 1 May, 2011. The SRP continues to stand with workers to defend their fundamental rights. SRP appeals for a minimum wage of US$100 to helpp workers and civil servants meet the high cost of food, fuel, transportion and housing. Workers are entitled to free public services including health care. Decent life starts with decent wages and safety and security at the work place. SRP calls on the government to withdraw its proposed draft Union Law. if adopted by parliament, the law will severely limit the freedom and rights of trade unions as stated in the existing 1997 Labor Law. SRP continues to demand the identification and the prosecution of those responsible for the assassination of Chea Vichea, the leader of the workers' movement in Cambodia, on 22 january, 2004. SRP calls on the Cambodian Courts to drop charges and release union leaders charged and detained unjustly for crimes their did not commit. Phnom Penh 1 May, 2011  | ||
| Some refugees decided to return home Posted: 01 May 2011 11:43 PM PDT 02 May 2011 Everyday.com.kh Translated from Khmer by Soch Nhim Vanda, the chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, indicated on 30 April that a small number of refugees have returned home. However, the return is voluntary as the authority has difficulties preventing them from doing so. Nhim Vanda said that these people are able to evaluate whether their homes will face attack from the Thai army or not. These refugees miss their homes, their domestic animals and their farmlands. In Samrong district, a large majority of people have returned home and some have already restarted their businesses. As for schools, because they are still closed, children do not attend them yet.  |
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