KI Media: “Thai Spies?” plus 24 more |
- Thai Spies?
- Cambodia's oil must not be the slippery slope to corruption and catastrophe
- Cambodia, China Red Cross renew co-op deal
- Chinese vice president meets Cambodian deputy prime minister
- Cambodia a capital success [... only for the rich and powerful]
- Frenchman jailed 6 years for Cambodian child porn
- ECCC: Case 002 starts amid criticism
- Cambodia: When genocide trials turn personal
- Q+A: Row casts cloud over Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal
- Conflict in Cambodia Court as Pol Pot henchmen face trial
- Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Shadow Theater
- "Selected Not Elected": Khmer Guardian
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Greetings to Vietnamese-Military Viettel (Metfone), Online, EZECOM, DiGi
- ECCC Law
- UN employee [Seng Kunakar] walks free
- CLC Invitation for Press Conference 21/06/11
- CCHR welcomes the UN resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity (“SOGI”), and releases a Khmer translation of the Yogyakarta Principles
- Press Release of ECCC, June 21, 2011
- Gold potential for Cambodian mine positive for Astra Mining
- Voice of Khmer Nationalist leaflets distributed in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham
- Activist names alleged Case 004 crime sites
- East Sea disputes: Vietnam can’t expect kindness of others
- CCHR Media Alert - Public Froum on Human Rights and Development
- Cambodian PM says 24 Cambodians killed in border clashes with Thailand since 2008 [-That's 24 TOO MANY!]
| Posted: 21 Jun 2011 09:21 AM PDT June 21, 2011 By Luke Hunt The Diplomat The animosity between Phnom Penh and Bangkok just keeps getting deeper. Thai belligerence and its sovereign claims over long-recognized Cambodian territory have inspired antagonists on both sides of the border into unwanted and occasionally nasty posturing. Lately, that posturing has moved from the battlefields to the courts. No sooner had the shooting subsided around the stone ruins and temples at Preah Vihear, than allegations of spying emerged. Neither side is totally pure. The charges are being used by both to feed domestic nationalist sentiment, with the Cambodian government under fire for its handling of aspects of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, while the Thai leadership is bracing itself for an unwanted but promised July 3 general election. At the centre of the dispute is Thai national Suchart Muhammad, 32, Cambodian Ung Kimtai, 43, and Nguyen Tengyang, 37, from Vietnam, who were recently arrested in Thailand's Sisaket Province near the Cambodian border and accused of spying on Thai paramilitary bases. Similar charges have been laid against Thai nationals in Cambodia. Last February, a court found Veera Somkwamkid, coordinator of the Thai Patriots Network, and his secretary, Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, guilty of espionage. Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term, while Ratree was jailed for six years. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has rebuffed suggestions from Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya that the two countries should entertain the idea of a prisoner swap. Hun Sen sees the notion as tantamount to admitting that the three seized in Thailand – including a Thai and Vietnamese national – were on his government's espionage payroll, a charge dismissed as ridiculous by the Cambodian foreign ministry. Importantly, any swap could be construed as a victory for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is under fire from Phnom Penh for his handling of the Preah Vihear dispute, and is fending off a leadership challenge at home from the sister of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Forty-three-year-old Yingluck Shinawatra is standing for the Pheu Thai Party, and is holding up well in the polls despite accusations – which have much substance – of corruption against her brother, who has lived in self-imposed exile ever since the 2006 coup. Not forgotten in this equation is Thaksin's tight friendship with Hun Sen and the possibility of redemption if his sister's succeeds at the ballot box. This was no doubt on the minds of those in the Thai foreign ministry when Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister, said the issue of the three arrested in Thailand could be raised in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It was a legal tactic. The ICJ recognized Cambodian sovereignty around Preah Vihear way back in 1962, and Cambodia has both stunned and upset Bangkok by seeking a clarification on the ruling from the ICJ, of which it is a full member. Any member of the ICJ must accept its rulings. Thailand, in contrast, isn't a member, isn't bound by ICJ rulings, and can reject its findings even if it seeks arbitration on a dispute. As such, threats of taking Cambodia to the court over spying allegations are at best hollow, while the politics around Preah Vihear – where fierce fighting has left 28 people dead this year – have a long way to run with no genuine resolution in sight.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia's oil must not be the slippery slope to corruption and catastrophe Posted: 21 Jun 2011 09:12 AM PDT
Tuesday 21 June 2011 By Julian Boys guardian.co.uk Cambodia must get a fair deal for its natural resources, and the revenues should go towards improving the lives of its people Emerging from genocide and decades of civil war, Cambodia's discovery of oil raised hopes of faster development for the country – but also fears that the "resource curse" might strike again. Oil production will come on line next year and local campaigners are racing to prevent Cambodia going the same way as countries such as Nigeria, where the industry has fuelled corruption and environmental catastrophe. Things got off to a bad start, according to Global Witness. In 2009 it reported that oil exploration licences had been granted largely in secret, while the mining sites it investigated were all owned by the country's political and military elite. Since then, the public has not been consulted about the drafting of new laws governing extraction of natural resources. Perhaps the lack of democratic values isn't surprising in a country where the prime minister has been in power for almost three decades. But despite the difficulties, grassroots organisations are pushing for Cambodia's oil to be managed in ways that allow citizens to see what the government does with the resulting revenues – and to hold it and oil companies accountable for their actions. As the organisation Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT) has said: "Open public discussion and access to information will help citizens of Cambodia to have access to processes of the company and financial information, and this will enable them to meaningfully participate in the debate on how revenues should be used and the types of development projects that matter to their lives." There is some cause for hope – for instance, the ministry of economics and finance's disclosure on its website of information about the rental income it receives from the extractive industries for land usage. CRRT has called the move "a significant step in the right direction". NGOs have also cautiously welcomed the government's attempt to require officials to reveal their own financial assets, a step that would significantly limit the scope for corruption. Whether this information will be independently audited and how it will be made public are as yet unanswered questions. Of course, corruption is not just about officials accepting bribes – it also involves those paying them. A clause in America's recent Dodd-Frank Act requires all US-listed oil, gas and minerals companies to publish their payments to governments around the world, following intense pressure from the Publish What You Pay coalition. This kind of transparency would help Cambodians to hold their politicians to account, and make it harder for outsiders to buy off political elites. But there are other ways to loot a country of its resources, which remain open to rich and powerful global players. Christian Aid estimates that tax dodging by multinational companies costs developing countries around $160bn (£99bn) a year. A UNDP report last month found that illicit financial outflows from Cambodia related to trade mispricing amounted to $406m over the three years from 1999 to 2001. International groups with powerful teams of accountants and lawyers can easily shift profits into tax havens, at the expense of under-resourced tax authorities in poor countries. One company accused of moving profits out of developing countries is commodities giant Glencore and its Zambian subsidiary Mopani Copper Mines. An unpublished audit report accused Mopani of shifting profits out of Zambia and into low-tax Switzerland, where Glencore is based. Glencore denies the allegations and has said it will consider revealing its tax payments in the countries where it operates. But if corporate transparency is to be anything more than a PR exercise, such reporting must be mandatory and standardised. Only then will countries like Zambia and Cambodia be able to get a fair deal for their natural resources. The EU is currently considering legislation similar to America's "publish what you pay law", but this would not capture the kinds of tax abuse alleged in the Glencore case. To uncover tax avoidance, the EU must require companies to publish not just their payments to governments, but financial information like profits, sales and costs on a country-by-country basis. Another opportunity for the international community to challenge financial secrecy will be at the G20 meeting in November. A commitment to country-by-country reporting for the extractives sector, along with pressure on tax havens to share information with other countries, would make corruption and tax dodging much more difficult. Cambodia currently depends on aid for around half of its national budget but natural resources such as oil could be the basis for the country to take charge of its development and improve the lives of its people. For that potential to be realised, though, governments must throw light into the shadows where corruption and tax avoidance can thrive. • Julian Boys is economic justice researcher at Christian Aid  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia, China Red Cross renew co-op deal Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:56 AM PDT 2011-06-21 Xinhua PHNOM PENH - The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) and the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) on Tuesday renewed another five-year-cooperation agreement from 2011-2015, aimed at providing mutual help in humanitarian activities. The agreement was signed between CRC's president Bun Rany, wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and RCSC's visiting vice president Hao Linna. Speaking after the signing ceremony, Hao Linna said Cambodia and China Red Cross have made mutual cooperation since 2001 and the cooperation agreement has been renewed every five years. "The agreement signed today aimed at intensifying humanitarian cooperation between the two countries," she said, adding"through it, there will be visit exchange, information exchange and mutual help in humanitarian work and in case of disasters". Meanwhile, Bun Rany expressed profound thanks to China for her active participation to help Cambodia in both humanitarian and economic development activities. "The generous assistance from China to Cambodia in all circumstances has been inscribed in the hearts of Cambodian people," she said, adding"day to day, the relations and cooperation between our two countries are closer and they will be flourished forever". Later in the day, China's Huawei Technologies, a leading global telecommunications solutions provider, made a donation of $300,000 to the CRC for its humanitarian work. The donation was made between Chen Rui, chief executive officer of Huawei Technologies (Cambodia), and Bun Rany. "The contribution from private companies to the CRC is very important to assist Cambodian people who are the most in need of help,"she said. Huawei Technologies opened a branch in Cambodia since 1999.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese vice president meets Cambodian deputy prime minister Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:52 AM PDT
BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh and called for cultivating relations between the two countries and their armed forces to a higher level. Xi, who is also vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the Chinese and Cambodian peoples and highlighted the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two nations that has reached a new level. The Chinese government highly values its ties with Cambodia and is ready to work with Cambodia for the healthy and stable development of the partnership, Xi said. The vice president also noted that China, as a good neighbor, friend and partner of Cambodia, will unswervingly back the southeast Asian country's efforts to maintain its national solidarity and continue to offer necessary assistance to help the country's economic and social development. Xi said military cooperation forms an important part in the bilateral relationship, calling on the two armies to further their exchanges and cooperation in a bid to push forward bilateral relations. Echoing Xi's views, Tea Banh expressed his appreciation for China's long-term aid, pledging that the Cambodian army would continue to work hard in cooperation with its Chinese counterparts in various fields. During his China visit, Tea Banh is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Defense Minister Liang Guanglie. Tea Banh previously visited Beijing last September.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia a capital success [... only for the rich and powerful] Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:47 AM PDT Jun 22, 2011 By Julie Masis Asian Times Online PHNOM PENH - Cambodia's capital today is unrecognizable compared with five years ago. Then the tallest structure was a seven-story hotel and vast areas of the city would have appeared dark due to a lack of reliable electricity. Now there are nine buildings of 20 or more stories and 55 structures of between 10 and 19 stories, according to the city's department of construction. More high-rises are on the way: projects have been approved to build at least 200 additional buildings with more than 10 floors, including a 60-story skyscraper. New apartment blocks are proliferating and land prices are soaring, to as high as US$3,000 a square meter from around $100 five years ago. The building spree has propelled Cambodia's recent fast economic growth, the second-highest in Asia after China over the past decade, and increased consumer spending power. Prime Minister Hun Sen has presided over the country's rapid capitalist transformation after decades of debilitating civil war - although about one third of the population still subsists under the poverty line. Jean-Michel Filippi, a university professor who leads guided tours of Phnom Penh, says that when he first arrived in the city it looked like "a giant village". Streets were unpaved and muddy; chickens, pigs, and ox carts roamed freely across the city; residents often threw their garbage right out of their windows; there were few motorbikes and even fewer cars. His impression was that the city than was populated with "non-urban dwellers" who "reproduced the structure of the village in an urban place". This was not far from the truth. In 1975, when the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh, the radical Maoists expelled the city's population to the countryside to build an agrarian utopia. Nearly two millions lives were lost in the process over the next four years. After the Vietnamese invasion ousted the regime, Phnom Penh was repopulated with people who had never lived in a city. In recent years, Phnom Penh has been transformed into a bustling urban metropolis. Ox carts have disappeared and dusty roads have been paved and are regulated by traffic lights. Once quiet streets are now packed with rush-hour traffic jams. The number of vehicles in Cambodia has tripled in the past five years, reaching more than 1.5 million for the country's nearly 15 million population, according to the government. The vast majority of those vehicles have been registered in the capital. Every day about 80 new cars are registered in Phnom Penh, compared with only one car per day in all of Cambodia's provinces, according to Ung Chun Hour, director general of transport at the ministry of public works and transport. "The number of motorbikes and cars is still going up, and it's going up faster in Phnom Penh than in the provinces," he said. The growing gridlock is indicative of rising prosperity. Annual growth of around 9% over the past decade has been driven by services and manufacturing, centered around the capital. "If we look at the drivers of growth - mainly garment exports - the factories are based around Phnom Penh or in Phnom Penh," says Neak Samsen, a poverty specialist at the World Bank office in Cambodia. "There's a lot of development in Phnom Penh City compared to other parts of the country." Until recently, Phnom Penh's economy was entirely cash-based. The first ATM machine in Cambodia opened here in 2004. Now there are more than 500, with one on almost every corner of the city. Of the 35 different banks that operate here, only three maintain branches outside of the capital, says World Bank economist Huot Chea. For the city's residents, the rapid development has translated into a significant improvement in their standard of living. While the average income in Cambodia is still around $1 a day, the average monthly income in Phnom Penh is three times higher, or about $100 per month, according to National Institute of Statistics' Cambodia's Socio-Economic Survey for 2010. While around 30% of the population still lives under the poverty line (defined by the government as subsisting on a little less than 75 cents per day), fewer than 1% of Phnom Penh residents are poor by this definition, according to a joint World Bank - National Institute of Statistics Study. Heng Sinet, a Phnom Penh college student, said that 10 years ago her family had no phone or computer, and relied on an old black and white television set for news and information. Now, her seven-member household owns two computers and nine mobile phones. Sovan Chanrathana, another Cambodian college student, said that in 2003 she just had one pair of shoes, two shirts and two skirts to last her a whole year - and bought her clothing second-hand. Now she purchases new clothes, owns three pairs of shoes, rides a motorbike instead of a bicycle, and can afford to go out to eat. "Before, when I went to school, I never bought something to eat," she said. "Now when I'm hungry, I eat out." New businesses, meanwhile, have mushroomed to meet rising consumer demand. Air-conditioned supermarkets, 24-hour convenience stores attached, and high-end restaurants and clothing boutiques have sprung up over the past five years. The past year has seen an explosion in Western style coffee-shops offering up wireless Internet, $3 iced coffees and freshly baked pastries. Ten years ago most people in Phnom Penh didn't even know what a muffin was, says Dana Langlois, who owns Cambodia's first American-style cafe, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary earlier this year. She estimates that the city is now home to at least a hundred upscale cafes and says all the new competition has not hurt her business. "Now the market is times ten," she says. "Before you were dealing with 10,000 expatriates, now you've got a million Cambodians as a potential customer." Julie Masis is a Cambodia-based journalist.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frenchman jailed 6 years for Cambodian child porn Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:43 AM PDT 2011-06-21 Associated Press A Cambodian court has sentenced a Frenchman to six years in prison for taking pornographic photographs of eight girls. Judge Sin Visal of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Mathias Cassar, 35, after the court found him guilty last week of taking photos of eight girls aged 5-13 for sale. Cassar, who was arrested in March, was also ordered to pay $1,000 in compensation to each victim. His Cambodian girlfriend, Doung Davy, 30, was also sentenced to six years on the same charges. Defense lawyer Don Vibol said his client accepted the sentence and agreed to pay the compensation. Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement, but in recent years authorities have increasingly targeted sex offenders.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ECCC: Case 002 starts amid criticism Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:41 AM PDT Thirty-two years after the fall of one of the 20th century's bloodiest regimes, a tribunal in Cambodia will begin trying the four most senior Khmer Rouge leaders still alive. But the trial commences under a cloud of controversy, with observers questioning the UN-backed court's independence. 21 June 2011 Jared Ferrie By International Justice Tribune On June 27, the Trial Chamber will begin a four-day "Initial Hearing" to decide on the final witness list and to hear preliminary objections. Witnesses and suspects are due to take the stand in August. The suspects in the court's second case, known as Case 002 are: Nuon Chea, the regime's chief ideologue, known as "Brother Number Two"; former foreign minister Ieng Sary; his wife, Ieng Thirith, who was Minister for Social Affairs; and Kheiu Samphan, the regime's former head of state. Last summer, in Case 001, judges sentenced torture centre chief Kaing Guek Eav, better known by his revolutionary name, "Duch". He has filed an appeal. Prosecutors have built two more cases – known as 003 and 004 – against an additional five suspects. But the Cambodian government has told the UN it will not allow those trials to go forward. And the investigating judges have been accused of bowing to political pressure by failing to properly investigate Case 003, thereby examining no evidence that would necessitate bringing the politically sensitive case to trial. Observer groups were dismayed when the co-investigating judges announced on April 29 that they had concluded their investigation even though neither they nor their staff conducted interviews with the suspects or visited crime scenes that may contain mass graves. Several UN-employed members of the Office of the Co-investigating Judges (OCIJ) legal team have since resigned in protest, including Stephen Heder, who is considered one of the world's leading Khmer Rouge historians. In his resignation letter, Heder said the OCIJ ended the investigation into Case 003 "effectively without investigating it". His letter, addressed to Siegfried Blunk, the German co-investigating judge, characterized the working environment at the OCIJ as a "toxic atmosphere of mutual distrust". Blunk and his Cambodian counterpart, You Bunleng, issued a statement in response saying they "welcomed the departure" of employees who questioned their "sole responsibility" to make decisions regarding Case 003. In a previous statement they lashed out at "disloyal" staff who leaked confidential court documents. Although the OCIJ has kept Cases 003 and 004 hidden behind a veil of secrecy, confidential documents reveal the identities of the suspects and some of the evidence against them. The suspects in Case 003 are Khmer Rouge Navy Commander Meas Mut and Air Force Commander Sou Met. In addition to their military roles, both men held influential political positions within the regime. Case 004 involves three mid-level Khmer Rouge leaders: Ta Tith and Ta An were both second in command to Khmer Rouge officers who controlled areas where massacres took place. The third suspect is Im Chaem, a former district chief who prosecutors say oversaw construction of the regime's biggest irrigation project, which involved the forced labour of thousands of people. The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) has called for an inquiry by the UN into alleged political interference and the conduct of UN officials, including the investigating judges, who are sworn to "act independently, and not upon the instructions of any government or any other source. These recent developments threaten the Court's legacy for Cases 001 and 002, for Cambodia's rule of law, and for the ongoing fight against impunity," the group said in a report released June 14. In response to such criticism and "media speculation" that there had been an internal decision to not to try Cases 003 and 004, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement June 14 defending the co-investigating judges. "The co-investigating judges are not under an obligation to provide reasons for their actions at this stage of the investigation in Case 003," said the statement, noting that the decision to close the case is subject to "further consideration." International Co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley has asked the Pre-trial Chamber to order the OCIJ to reopen the investigation into Case 003. But OSJI noted that chamber judges have tended to split along national versus international lines. With the chamber containing more Cambodian than international judges, OSJI said the Pre-trial Chamber is "unlikely" to send case 003 back for further investigation.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cambodia: When genocide trials turn personal Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:28 AM PDT
Many former Khmer Rouge fighters say they are worried that the U.N.-backed tribunal will start to cast a wider net. June 21, 2011 Sebastian Strangio Global Post
SAMLOT, Cambodia — On June 27, at the war crimes tribunal in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, four former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime will finally face the music. More than three decades since the regime's fall, former KR foreign minister Ieng Sary, head of state Khieu Samphan and minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith, along with "Brother No. 2" Nuon Chea, are being tried on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the 1975-79 regime, which led to the death of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians. Coming on the heels of last year's conviction of Kaing Guek Iev (alias Duch) for his role in the deaths of up to 16,000 people at Phnom Penh's notorious S-21 prison, the trial holds out the promise of justice long delayed. But hundreds of miles away in Ta Sanh Cheung, a small village along the Thai border, the trials have proven a tough sell. The hamlet lies in Samlot district in Cambodia's west, a former stronghold of the KR movement. Residents here, many of them former communist fighters, say they are worried that the U.N.-backed tribunal will soon start to cast a wider net. Tith Ron, a 59-year-old former KR soldier who joined the movement in the 1970s at the age of 19, defended the regime's actions, and criticized instead the American carpet bombing of Cambodia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. "The Americans killed more Cambodian people more then Pol Pot did," he said, referring to the regime's "Brother No. 1," who died on the Thai border in 1998. "If they want to sentence us they should also bring the Americans, because they dropped 7 million tons of B-52 [munitions] onto our heads. We were Cambodians saving Cambodians — how can they sentence us?" Locals were particularly worried after recent radio broadcasts named an elderly local resident as a war crimes suspect in the tribunal's potential third case. The man named was Meas Mut, the former commander of the KR navy, who defected to the government in 1999 in return for a cushy military post and a peaceful retirement in Ta Sanh Cheung. Along with Sou Met, the ex-head of the KR air force, leaked court documents accuse him of the torture, killing and the forced labor of tens of thousands of people under the regime. A 2001 paper by historian Stephen Heder and legal expert Brian Tittemore said the pair played a direct role in the arrest and transfer of purged cadres to S-21 prison, where many were subsequently tortured and killed. Meas Mut's home stands at a quiet end of Ta Sanh Cheung village, a three-story wooden structure topped with satellite dishes. On a recent Saturday, he was asleep in a hammock strung up over a wooden platform outside his home, his mouth hanging open and one leg dangling over the side. A book of Buddhist parables lay on a nearby chair, a slip of paper marking the page. Discarded skins of the rambutan fruit lay in a pile on the planks below. Since his KR days, Meas Mut — now a hunched man with thinning, ash-grey hair — has reinvented himself as something of a Buddhist patriarch, bankrolling the construction of a new pagoda in the village and showering local villagers with sagely aphorisms. ("If you give someone happiness other people will give you happiness back," he said). It is a strange — maybe cynical — turn for a senior member of a regime that banned religion and put tens of thousands of Buddhist monks to work in massive labor camps. However, Meas Mut flatly denied any involvement in mass atrocities, saying his responsibility was to protect the country's coast from foreign invasion. "I was a lower officer who was willing to protect Cambodia's independence and neutrality, and prevent Cambodia from being controlled by foreigners. I was not a Khmer Rouge leader," Meas Mut said, fashioning home-grown tobacco into a stubby facsimile of a cigarette. "If I did bad I couldn't sleep here in a hammock. Somebody might throw a stone at me or sometime might take a knife and kill me. But I am living in safety." Despite being banned by the KR, he added, Buddhism continued to live on "in his mind" under the regime. Locals described the accused war criminal as a "good Buddhist" and a patriot who pedals advice about everything from farming and business to spiritual matters. Another former KR soldier, Toch Pha, 54, said villagers were angered by the accusations against him. He said, "If they come to arrest him we will not allow them to take him out of the village." But whatever the evidence against him, Meas Mut will probably never see the inside of a courtroom. In recent months, the tribunal — known officially as the Extraordinary Courts in the Chambers of Cambodia (ECCC) — has been plagued by suspicions, internal rifts and a flurry of resignations over the issue of whether to pursue the case against Meas Mut and Sou Met. Critics have accused judges of moving to quash the case, known as Case 003, which has long been opposed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who last year told visiting U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon that indictments beyond the current case were "not allowed." Observers say Cambodian judges on the hybrid court have parroted Hun Sen's line, calling into question the court's independence. The issue came to a head in April when the ECCC's two co-investigating judges — You Bunleng of Cambodia and Siegfried Blunk of Germany — announced the hasty completion of their investigation into Case 003. Critics say the judges conducted a perfunctory probe as a prelude to burying the case. "The judges have a duty — it's not an option — to investigate," said Theary Seng, a human-rights activist and victims advocate. "They have failed in their duty to investigate and they have failed to inform the public." The co-investigating judges have also remained silent about Case 004, a further case involving three mid-ranking KR officials. The tribunal's credibility continues to ebb. Four Western legal staff from the investigating judges' office have reportedly resigned over the handing of Case 003, with one of them describing the atmosphere in the office as "toxic." There have also been calls for an official U.N. investigation into political interference at the court. Though Geneva has rejected the call, asserting the ECCC's continued independence, observers say the court's credibility is on the line. "It could be incredibly significant," Anne Heindel, a legal adviser for the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which researches Khmer Rouge history, said of the Case 003 controversy. "If the court is seen as not fulfilling its procedure — as not adhering to the rules — then it will taint the entire process, including Case 001 and Case 002. There's no way you can separate Case 003 out from what's come before." While Hun Sen may squash the possibility of further trials, Theary Seng, who blames Meas Mut for the death of her own parents during the Pol Pot regime, said such an outcome would compromise the current case and deepen the cynicism of ordinary Cambodians. "It's not surprising he should deny his role, but he can't deny the weight of evidence. He can't deny the testimonies that run into the tens of thousands," she said of Meas Mut. "There's no magic number as to how many should be prosecuted and should be indicted. But the current five are not sufficient for the crimes that took the lives of 1.7 million Cambodians."  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q+A: Row casts cloud over Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal Posted: 21 Jun 2011 08:05 AM PDT Tue Jun 21, 2011 By Martin Petty BANGKOK (Reuters) - The United Nations-backed court trying those "most responsible" for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians under the 1970s Khmer Rogue regime is embroiled in controversy in the run up to its most high-profile case next week. Several court staff have resigned in recent weeks following a decision by co-investigating judges not to indict a third case despite what prosecutors say is strong evidence implicating more former Khmer Rouge cadres in atrocities. Below are some questions and answers about the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). WHO HAS BEEN INDICTED OR CONVICTED SO FAR? Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, was last year found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his role in the deaths of more than 14,000 people at a torture center he ran during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge era. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, reduced to 19 years, and has appealed against the verdict. The next case, 002, gets under way on Monday, with four infirm senior cadres facing various charges ranging from war crimes and crimes against humanity to murder and torture. Many Cambodians fear they will die before their case concludes. The four are ex-president Khieu Samphan, former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife Ieng Thirith, a former Shakespeare scholar known as "the Khmer Rouge First Lady," and "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, the right hand man of Pol Pot, the French-educated architect of the ultra-Maoist movement, who died in 1998. WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING CASES 003? The identity of the two individuals in case 003 has never been disclosed officially, but they are widely reported to be two senior military commanders of the regime who experts say could be responsible for thousands of deaths. The Open Society Justice Initiative, an independent legal advocacy group, said there was sufficient evidence to bring cases 003 to trial and claimed two judges, one Cambodian and one foreign, were blocking the investigations. Although the cases are still technically open, there have been no closing orders leading to an indictment. Open Justice Initiative, which has followed the tribunal closely, has called for the U.N. to investigate its own judges, saying there were "serious questions of judicial independence, misconduct and competence." Several court officials have quit in recent weeks and international co-prosecutor Andrew Cawley has filed motions asking judges to reopen the investigations. HOW HAS THE U.N. RESPONDED? A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on June 14 rejecting what it said was media speculation that the U.N had instructed the court to dismiss case 003. It said judges, at this stage, were not required to provide reasons for their actions and reiterated that the U.N. would not comment on issues that were the subject of judicial consideration. WHY HAS THE PROCESS TAKEN SO LONG? The U.N. and the international community set up a tribunal more than a decade ago, but the government sought to retain control of the court and the plan languished for years. The ECCC was given the go-ahead in 2005 but was delayed by bail hearings, appeals and pre-trial machinations. The process is extremely bureaucratic and painstakingly slow. Khmer Rouge victims have the right to a lawyer, to call witnesses and to ask questions and some lawyers have tied up proceedings with repetitive or irrelevant questions. HOW MUCH HAS BEEN SPENT SO FAR? According to the ECCC, it spent $109.1 million from 2006 to the end of last year, $85 million of which was by the U.N. and $24.1 by Cambodia. It has a budget of $40.7 million for this year alone and estimated total expenditure by the end of this year is $149.8 million. Major donor countries are France, Germany, Britain, Australia the United States. The ECCC says Japan is the biggest donor, providing about half of all international contributions. HOW POLITICISED ARE THE CASES? Many former Khmer Rouge members have been reintegrated into Cambodian society and the civil service and top levels of provincial and national government. Allegations of political interference in the court have been made and Cambodia's government has been in no hurry to speed up the hearings. Long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla who says he defected to the regime's eventual conqueror, Vietnam, has warned of a potential civil war if the court indicts more suspects and told U.N. chief Ban that there would be no further indictments. (Editing by Alex Richardson)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conflict in Cambodia Court as Pol Pot henchmen face trial Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:58 AM PDT Tue Jun 21, 2011 By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A United Nations-backed court trying the masterminds of Cambodia's bloody Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields" revolution is embroiled in a conflict of its own as it prepares to hear its most complex and high-profile case next week. The multi-million dollar court is mired in infighting and deep suspicion over the apparent reluctance of top judges to indict more suspects beyond the five former Khmer Rouge cadres already brought to trial by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). At least five foreign staff have resigned following the hybrid U.N.-Cambodian tribunal's June 7 decision to reject a third case, known as 003, despite what international co-prosecutors say is strong evidence of atrocities by two suspects. It comes as the court opens its next case involving "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, former President Khieu Samphan, ex-Foreign Minister Ieng Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, a former Social Affairs minister, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, among other charges. An estimated 1.7 million people died during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 ultra-Maoist revolution that wiped out a quarter of Cambodia's population through execution, disease, starvation or overwork under the leadership of top commander Pol Pot, known as "Brother Number One," who died in 1998. The court has so far spent $100 million and delivered just one ruling since it was inaugurated five years ago, handing down a 35-year jail term, reduced to 19 years, to Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who was found guilty last year of war crimes and crimes against humanity while chief of Phnom Penh's S-21 torture centre, where more than 14,000 people died. Critics accuse Cambodia's government of political interference and are demanding a U.N. probe into the independence and competence of its judges over their rejection of case 003, believed to involve two former Khmer Rouge military commanders. 'SEVERELY UNDERMINED' "It is abundantly clear that if the court continues to give the appearance of having succumbed to political interference in case 003, the legacy of the ECCC will be severely undermined," Open Society Justice Initiative, an independent legal advocacy group, said in a report published last week. A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on June 14 rejecting what it said was media speculation that the U.N had instructed the court to dismiss case 003. It said judges, at this stage, "were not under an obligation to provide reasons for their actions." Cambodia's government has long been accused of stonewalling to prevent the ECCC widening its net and pursing cases that could implicate members of his government in the atrocities. Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rogue cadre, has made no secret of his disdain for the court and last year told U.N. chief Ban that further indictments were "not allowed." David Chandler, a historian and author of a book on the Khmer Rouge, said the Cambodian government was unlikely to change its stance and the court's failure to pursue further cases suggested it had "lost, or has abdicated some of its independence." The reduced sentence Duch received angered many Cambodians, most of whom lost relatives during Pol Pot's pursuit of a peasant utopia. There are an estimated 5 million survivors of the regime. Many believe justice and closure over one of the darkest chapters of the 20th Century will remain elusive and fear the four defendants, who are elderly and in poor health, will die before a verdict is delivered and others cadres accused of atrocities will never see a courtroom. "There should be more trials because these people have done so many bad deeds, said Chan Dara, a 40-year-old motorcycle taxi driver in Phnom Penh. "My father was killed by the Pol Pot regime, if the government says that they want to end this, it probably means they want to forgive these people." Construction worker Sum Ny, 45, who lost a sister and brother to the Khmer Rouge, said: "I'm happy with what the court has already done but I want the remaining people on trial." (Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty in Bangkok; Editing by Alex Richardson)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Shadow Theater Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:49 AM PDT
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| "Selected Not Elected": Khmer Guardian Posted: 21 Jun 2011 07:44 AM PDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convention on the Rights of the Child Posted: 21 Jun 2011 05:23 AM PDT Convention on the Rights of the Child Ratified by UNGA in Nov. 1989, entered into force 1990 Cambodia ratified this Convention on October 15, 1992 PART IArticle 101. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family. 2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall have the right to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional circumstances personal relations and direct contacts with both parents. Towards that end and in accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, States Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or her parents to leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own country. The right to leave any country shall be subject only to such restrictions as are prescribed by law and which are necessary to protect the national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Convention.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Greetings to Vietnamese-Military Viettel (Metfone), Online, EZECOM, DiGi Posted: 21 Jun 2011 05:11 AM PDT Vietnamese-military-owned Viettel (Metfone) has been constant in its censorship of KI-Media, with the other ISPs more sporadic. But now EZECOM, Online, DiGi internet service providers have also succumbed. Viettel who within a matter of 2-3 years took over 45% share of the telecommunications market by undercutting prices and setting up connections in all the villages across Cambodia, may also own some of the other ISPs using a front. No country in the world, except for Cambodia, would permit this overt breach of national security. BAN THESE AGENTS OF REPRESSION Viettel EZECOM DiGi Online Also, greet them warmly should you pass them on the streets.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 21 Jun 2011 04:55 AM PDT Law on the Establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed During the Period of Democratic Kampuchea ("ECCC Law") with inclusion of amendments as promulgated on 27 October 2004 CHAPTER VIII INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY Article 29 Any Suspect who planned, instigated, ordered, aided and abetted, or committed the crimes referred to in article 3 new, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this law shall be individually responsible for the crime. The position or rank of any Suspect shall not relieve such person of criminal responsibility or mitigate punishment. The fact that any of the acts referred to in Articles 3 new, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of this law were committed by a subordinate does not relieve the superior of personal criminal responsibility if the superior had effective command and control or authority and control over the subordinate, and the superior knew or had reason to know that the subordinate was about to commit such acts or had done so and the superior failed to take the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators. The fact that a Suspect acted pursuant to an order of the Government of Democratic Kampuchea or of a superior shall not relieve the Suspect of individual criminal responsibility.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UN employee [Seng Kunakar] walks free Posted: 21 Jun 2011 01:35 AM PDT
Thomas Miller and Tep Nimol The Phnom Penh Post
An employee of the United Nations World Food Programme walked free yesterday after serving a six-month prison term for incitement, in what some have called an ongoing campaign of intimidation against UN staff by the Cambodian government. Seng Kunakar, who worked as a logistics officer at a WFP warehouse in Russei Keo district at the time of his arrest, was released from Prey Sar prison at midday, his lawyer Chou Sokheng said yesterday. "I took a release letter to the prison and he was freed," Chou Sokheng said. Seng Kunakar was arrested on December 17 and, in a rapid-fire trial less than 48 hours later, was convicted of criminal incitement for sharing printed articles from the anti-government website KI-Media with co-workers. Government officials later said the articles had branded Prime Minister Hun Sen and other senior officials "traitors". Seng Kunakar was charged under the Kingdom's new penal code, which went into effect only weeks before his arrest. His conviction attracted condemnation from local and international rights groups, who warned that more such prosecutions could follow as a result of the code's provisions on political speech. Pung Chhiv Kek, founder and president of Licadho, said yesterday that Seng Kunakar's conviction had been "groundless" and called for amendments to the penal code that would decriminalise defamation, disinformation and incitement. Other observers said the conviction's timing raised questions about potential political motivations on the part of the government. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said yesterday that the incident was "clearly" part of an "ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation by the government against the UN". "There is a larger government initiative to intimidate the UN system – to get them to back off, and become less willing to protect civil society and human rights defenders," he said. The arrest of Seng Kunakar came just days after Hun Sen lashed out at a media report that cited WFP as saying that Cambodia was at risk of food insecurity. Following a directive from Hun Sen to clarify the issue, Finance Minister Keat Chhon met with WFP country head Jean-Pierre DeMargerie on December 13. In a letter dated December 18, the day after Seng Kunakar was arrested, DeMargerie apologised to the premier about the reported characterisation of Cambodia's food security situation. This controversy followed a call from the prime minister in October for the expulsion of Christophe Peschoux, the outspoken former head of the local UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights who departed last month. Earlier last year, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong threatened to expel UN resident coordinator Douglas Broderick after comments he made concerning the passage of the Kingdom's anti-corruption law. Government officials adopted a defiant pose following Seng Kunakar's conviction in December. "He deserves to be in jail," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said at the time. "Do you want to be in jail too? If you want to be in jail, do like him, and we'll put you in jail right away." Yesterday, he denied that the government was seeking to intimidate the UN. "We hold a partnership with the UN," he said, pointing to the agreement with the UN that established the Khmer Rouge tribunal. "We don't put pressure on anyone, but we expect everyone to be our partner." Phay Siphan said the government did not mind criticism. "But insult, harassment, we don't need that." Keo Remy, a spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said yesterday that civil society organisations had the right to criticise Seng Kunakar's arrest, though he warned them not to commit "incitement affecting social stability and safety". Robertson said Seng Kunakar was "being used as a political pawn" by the government against the UN. "The message was, 'We can go after any of you'. Not only to WFP, but also to the Cambodian staff who work with the UN agencies," Robertson said. "The sad part is that the UN country team has not found the collective spine to stand up and say, 'We're here as international civil servants and we have a set of principles… and we will not be intimidated.'" The reluctance of the UN to speak publicly about Seng Kunakar's case, he said, foreshadowed only further intimidation. "They're being pushed around because they're allowing themselves to be pushed around," Robertson said. Casey McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the UN resident coordinator, said yesterday that the UN "welcomes" the release of their employee, noting that DeMargerie had visited Seng Kunakar twice in prison. "We look forward to him being able to resume his duties as a logistics officer at the earliest possible opportunity," McCarthy said.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CLC Invitation for Press Conference 21/06/11 Posted: 21 Jun 2011 12:34 AM PDT Dear All: As Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) president, I would like to invite you for press conference on 21/Jun/2011 at the General Department of Labour of Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training from 3:30pm. CLC have an official appointment with the representative of Ministry of Labour to discuss about the actions taken by government on labor rights and union register in Cambodia. I would like to confirm you that in the International Conference of ILO (ILO, ILC), 2010, Labor Standard Committees raised many cases related to Cambodia. Those cases included killing, dismissal, suspension, and other union discriminations. For those cases, Royal Government of Cambodia has not pushed companies to solve yet. ILO Labor Conference's report pushed government to guarantee the Freedom of Association, accept those workers to work include Naga World case, Absara Angkor Case, and other cases in textile and garment sectors. Recently, Ministry of Labor has refused to register many independent local unions with unacceptable reasons which are the bad affect on Freedom of Association. Royal Government of Cambodia has not taken actions yet, and then it leads to this discussion. The discussion will be from 2:00pm to 3:30pm, and then there will be the press conference about the result of the discussion which will start from 3:30pm at the General Department of Labour (Ground Floor) of Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. Thus, I would like to invite you to participate and take detail information for this crucial event. For more information please contact:
ATH THORN CLC/C.CAWDU's President  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 21 Jun 2011 12:04 AM PDT    CCHR PRESS RELEASE, Phnom Penh, 21 June 2011 CCHR welcomes the UN resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity ("SOGI"), and releases a Khmer translation of the Yogyakarta Principles The Cambodian Center for Human Rights ("CCHR"), a non-aligned, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia, welcomes the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (the "Resolution"), which supports equal rights for all people regardless of sexual orientation. The Resolution was narrowly passed on 17 June 2011 with a 23-19 majority, and is the first ever United Nations resolution that addresses the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ("LGBT") people. Cambodia did not support the Resolution. As part of its efforts to promote the human rights of LGBT people, CCHR today releases its Khmer translation of the "Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity", adopted in November 2006 and initiated by the International Commission of Jurists and the International Service for Human Rights, on behalf of a coalition of human rights organizations (the "Yogyakarta Principles"). The Yogyakarta Principles are a set of international legal principles; their aim is to affirm binding international legal standards with which all states must comply, and their vision is of a different future in which all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Yogyakarta Principles (in English and Khmer) are available on CCHR's human rights portal, Sithi, at www.sithi.org/temp.php?url=view_law.php&&id=183. Phok Sokuntheary, Project Co-ordinator for CCHR's SOGI project, commented: "Both the Resolution and the Yogyakarta Principles are sure to have a positive impact on Cambodia and the way in which LGBT people are viewed. However, I believe that for such legal initiatives to fulfil their potential and have maximum impact, it's vital that the Cambodian government voices its support for them and for the LGBT community in Cambodia, which will otherwise continue to suffer discrimination, violence and other human rights violations. It is high time that the government recognized the prevailing winds of global tolerance towards LGBT people, and took positive steps to end discrimination in Cambodia." - END - For more information, please contact Phok Sokuntheary via telephone at +855 (0) 78 64 09 00 or e-mail at sokuntheary@cchrcambodia.org.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Press Release of ECCC, June 21, 2011 Posted: 20 Jun 2011 11:32 PM PDT STEPS FOLLOWING CLOSE OF INVESTIGATION In accordance with ECCC Law, Agreement and Internal Rules within the framework of the Civil Law system, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia follows the steps listed below after the notification of conclusion of investigation by the Co‐Investigating Judges , as recently done in Case 003. 1. Notification of Conclusion When the Co‐Investigating Judges decide that they have enough evidence, they notify that they have concluded the investigation. (Rule 66.1) 2. Request for Further Investigation The Parties (for example the Co‐Prosecutors) have 15 days to request the Co‐Investigating Judges to carry out further investigations (such as interviewing more witnesses, visiting crime sites). (Rule 66.1) 3. Further Investigation or Reasoned Order Upon a valid request, the Co‐Investigating Judges can either carry out further investigations, or else explain why they think that they already have enough evidence. The explanation is given in an Order. (Rule 66.2) 4. Appeal to the Pre-Trial Chamber If the Parties do not agree with the Co‐Investigating Judges' Order, they can appeal the Order to the Pre‐Trial Chamber within 30 days. (Rule 66.3) 5. Return of Case File After any additional investigations have been carried out (or any appeals have been decided by the Pre‐Trial Chamber), the Co‐Investigating Judges send the case file (including the evidence) to the Co‐Prosecutors. (Rule 66.4) 6. Final Submission The Co‐Prosecutors review the evidence and can suggest within 3 months (if a suspect is not in detention) whether the Charged Person(s) should be indicted or the case be dismissed. This suggestion is called the Final Submission. The Co‐Investigating Judges do not have to follow the suggestion. (Rules 66.5) 7. Closing Order The Co‐Investigating Judges issue a reasoned Closing Order either indicting the Charged Person(s) or dismissing the case. (Rule 67.1) 8. Appeal to the Pre-Trial Chamber The Closing Order is open to Appeal. (Rule 67.5) Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah - empty, vacuous recitation of principles and law! In the Clinton presidential days, It's the economy, Stupid! Here at the ECCC, It's the implementation, Morons! ------------------------------ ECCC Expenditures
Source: ECCC Budget and Finance Offices (May 2011) * Note: Above figures for the revised budget are exclusive of contingency ["exclusive" of the other US$100,000,000 in contingency not included in this table - Open Society Justice Initiative estimates total of USD 200,000,000 since the establishment of the ECCC Agreement in 2003.]  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold potential for Cambodian mine positive for Astra Mining Posted: 20 Jun 2011 11:21 PM PDT Tuesday, June 21, 2011 By Astra Mining Astra Mining, an Australian diversified mining company, has received its first report on a gold exploration lease in Cambodia showing the area has the potential to host a significant gold deposit. The 222 square kilometre lease in the Ratanakiri Province of Cambodia is part of Astra's global portfolio of exploration interests. Astra Mining CEO, Dr Jaydeep Biswas, says while the report is preliminary and assay data from samples collected in the field are yet to be received, early indications are that a small tonnage of high-grade ore is immediately accessible for processing. "The site inspected by our consultant geologist indicates an extensive system with the potential for large tonnage economic gold deposits," Dr Biswas says. "Preliminary estimates are 750 tonnes of gold-bearing ore for every 50 metres to a depth of 15 metres. "No indication of the grade of the 'high grade' portions could be ascertained in the field, however we have seen some evidence of a range from between six and 33 grams of gold per tonne." The samples studied comprised grab samples from mine dumps, channel samples, composite rock chip samples and samples of ore from small crushing mill. Astra considers Cambodia to be one of the few remaining countries in the world that has favourable geology in under-explored areas containing high potential for world class, undiscovered gold and copper ore bodies. "Cambodia is considered a last frontier region for ore deposits, with virtually no coverage by modern exploration techniques," Dr Biswas says. "A viable, 'company maker' mineral deposit for us will require an open-cuttable resource delivering between one and three grams of gold per tonne. "While early indications are that this is certainly achievable, all information is currently subject to verification as part of our due diligence process involved in the option to purchase the lease." Astra Mining's global portfolio includes gold and tin interests in south east Asia and southern India, coal mines in Australia, iron ore in India, and the production of a new high-strength steel technology. Astra has also confirmed its plans to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the end of August. For more information visit www.astramining.com or email investor-relations@wedgewoodcommunications.com About Astra Mining Astra Mining is an Australian diversified mining company.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voice of Khmer Nationalist leaflets distributed in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham Posted: 20 Jun 2011 11:09 PM PDT Dear Readers, An anonymous reader sent us this leaflet which was distributed in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham. We were informed that "[t]he authorities are angry with the leaflets and they are looking for the distributors". Thank you   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Activist names alleged Case 004 crime sites Posted: 20 Jun 2011 11:08 PM PDT The Phnom Penh Post James O'Toole, June 20, 2011 Local activist Theary Seng, who has courted controversy in recent weeks with her public statements on the court's third and fourth cases, issued a statement today details what she says are the crime sites involved in the court's Case 004 investigation. Victims hoping to join the case as civil parties must prove that they suffered as a result of crimes committed at one of the sites in the investigation, and Theary Seng has urged prospective applicants to come forward and put pressure on the judges to investigate the case properly. The statement, which can be read in full here, is excerpted below: "Case 004 Filing Through my own research and conversations, I have come into this very trusted information which should assist you greatly in filing against Im Chaem, Ta Tith and Ta An: Central Zone (Ta An) Purge of the Central Zone Wat O Trau Kuon Security Center Wat Batheay Security Center Met Kor (Sop) Security Center Wat Phnom Pros Security Center Kok Pring Execution Site Chamkar Svay Chanty Security Center Anglong Chrey Dam Forced Labor Site Genocide in Kampong Cham Province Wat Srange Security Center Tuol Ta Phlong Prison and Execution Site Wat Kandal Security Center Wat Baray Chan Dek Security Center Northwest Zone (Ta Tith, Im Chaem) Purge of the Northwest Zone Wat Kirirum Banteay O Ta Krey Execution Site Banteay Treng Security Center Wat Thoamayutt Security Center Wat Kandal Security Center Wat Samdech Security Center Wat Po Laingka Security Center Wat Banteay Neang Security Center La-Ang Phnom Kuoy Yum Execution Site Wat Chamka Khnol Security Center Prison No. 8 Tuol Purchrey Execution Site Phnom Trayoung Security Center Phum Chakrey Security Center Wat Preah Neth Preah & Chamkar T Ling Trapeang Thma Dam Spean Spreng & Prey Roneam Dam Southwest Zone (all three came out of Ta Mok's clan of the SW, but mainly Ta Tith) Wat Pratheat Security Center Tram Kak East Zone Purges and War with Vietnam Purge of Svay Rieng Purge of Prey Veng Genocide of Kampuchea Krom and of April 17 New People War with Vietnam"  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Sea disputes: Vietnam can’t expect kindness of others Posted: 20 Jun 2011 10:50 PM PDT
21/06/2011 Vietnam cannot help put an end to the Preah Vihear Temple dispute if Thailand and Cambodia do not want it. [KI-Media: A warning to Hun Xen?] VietNamNet Bridge – "History shows that it is a mistake to expect the strong's goodness. It is the biggest mistake, which is not allowed to make, in defending national sovereignty. There is no way than saving ourselves by our own", Dr. Giap Van Duong wrote. Divided ASEAN While tension in the East Sea is escalating, the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) – the major forum which is expected to help solve the East Sea disputes in peaceful manner – is facing many burning issues that can cause inner disunity. The recent two incidents – Binh Minh 02 and Viking II – have stirred up tension in the East Sea. During this time, Thailand and Cambodia were busy with bringing the Preah Vihear Temple dispute to the international court. Not long ago, Laos' plan to build the Xayaburi hydro-power dam on the major flow of the Mekong River, with investment from Thailand, caused deep worries of experts and people in the reason for its possible harms to the water resources, the environment and ecological system of the Mekong River. ASEAN is now divided in many significant issues that directly influence the development, stability and security in Southeast Asia, particularly the East Sea disputes, which is anticipated to become further complicated and a hot spot of the region and the world. The East Sea disputes occur between China and some member countries of ASEAN, including Vietnam. For that reason, ASEAN is considered a regional forum for solving the disputes peacefully. However, Myanmar – a member of ASEAN – shows its support for China in the East Sea disputes, while some other countries only released general statements because they do not have direct interests in the East Sea. ASEAN's unity is being challenged seriously. The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, signed in 2002 between China and ASEAN, is not very effective. Meanwhile, China, with superior potential in terms of economics and military, is increasing comprehensive pressure in disputes through sending its fishery administration and patrol ships to harass the waters of ASEAN member countries, and using check diplomacy and military assistance in relations with the ASEAN member countries that do not directly involve in the East Sea disputes to control and divide ASEAN. Save ourselves What should Vietnam do in this situation? Expecting kindness from China, which makes tensions in the East Sea by claiming up to 80 percent of the East Sea, or saving itself before it becomes too late? The history shows that it is a mistake to expect the strong's goodness. It is the biggest mistake, which is not allowed to make, in defending national sovereignty. There is no way than saving ourselves by our own. But how? There is no way to build up our strength and draw friends, allies and those having the same interests and concerns to our side. How to build up our strength? There is no way to make unity among the people and win the people's trust. To make that, leaders have to be good examples, to have firm stuff, great hearts and talents and more importantly, they must place the national interests and the people above all. Because people, on any age, always look at their leaders to behave. The people must be respected and protected, must be listened to and informed of every important development of the country and they will not be afraid of any sacrifice to defend the country. In the legal war, research works of the East Sea, which are published on international magazines and newspapers, will be decisive factors. The government, therefore, needs to encourage and assist universities and institutes to conduct research works on the East Sea, to develop the contingent of scientists who research the East Sea in various fields to build legal foundation for solving disputes in the East Sea. How to draw friends and allies? For ASEAN, due to difference in religion, culture and political institution, member states cannot reach agreements in everything. Vietnam cannot help put an end to the Preah Vihear Temple dispute if Thailand and Cambodia do not want it. Vietnam cannot make decisions for Laos in canceling the Xayaburi project. The most possible thread to link ASEAN countries is the prospect to build a region of security, prosperity and sharing common interests through cooperation. For the East Sea, the common interest is peace, free navigation and ensuring legal interests of nations under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Among five countries involving in the East Sea disputes with China, four are ASEAN members – Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia (including Brunei if the U-shaped line is mentioned). China's plot to occupy the entire East Sea, showing through the U-shaped line in its map which was submitted to the UN on May 7 2009, threatens the legal interests of the above five countries. This is one of significant factors to unite ASEAN countries in the struggling against China's plot to monopolize the East Sea. Apart from ASEAN, some countries like the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc. , which have direct interests through free navigation in the East Sea, have good reasons to stand on the side of ASEAN against China's ambitions. Vietnam needs to highlight these common interests, not only through the government's activities but also through people-to-people diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, scientific, educational, sports exchange, etc. Vietnam, as the country that highly suffers from East Sea disputes as well as the exploration of the Mekong River, needs to be more active in uniting ASEAN, first of all for its direct interests and then for peace and stability for the entire region. In addition, Vietnam needs to make public information accurately and transparently. For example, related to the incident on May 26 2011, initially Vietnam said that this is not the first time China harassed Vietnam's oil exploration ships, but then it said that this is the first time. It made observers confused and some questioned why Vietnam had not made public the previous incidents, but this incident? A transparent and consistent information policy is essential in defending Vietnam's sovereignty and legal interests. In fact ASEAN is being divided. Vietnam needs to be active in implementing people-to-people diplomatic strategy in parallel with strengthening government diplomacy. In other words, the Vietnamese government and each Vietnamese need to take initiatives in uniting ASEAN to defend their legal interests and to maintain peace and security in the region. Dr. Giap Van Duong (The author thanks Le Vinh Truong, Pham Thu Xuan, Du Van Toan and Nguyen Duc Hung for contributing their ideas to this article)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CCHR Media Alert - Public Froum on Human Rights and Development Posted: 20 Jun 2011 09:47 PM PDT   Phnom Penh, 21st June 2011 Media Alert Public Forum on Human Rights and Development Hundreds of residents from Stung Treng Province and Kratie Province whose rights has been violated will attend the forum, organized by the Cambodian Center for Human Right (CCHR). A number of private companies that have been granted economic land concession started their operations, which affects thousand hectares of land and forest enjoyed by the villagers. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights organizes the forum in order for residents living in remote areas and whose rights has been violated to express their opinions and raise their concerns, requests and questions to their parliamentarians, local authorities, and other stakeholders so that peaceful resolution can be reached. Parliamentarians from Cambodian People Party, Funcinpec Party, Sam Rainsy Party, Norodom Ranarith Party, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery and the Ministry of Environment, and especially local authorities will be guest speakers at the forum. The forum start is on 23 June 2011 from 8.00 am to 11.30 am in Chang-horb Village, Kbal Domrey Commune, Sambo District, Kratie Province. For further information, please contact Mr. Chhim Savuth, Project Coordinator, at +855 12 89 98 58 or savuth@cchrcambodia.org and Mr. Suon Bunthoeun, Project Officer, at +855 12 48 35 46 or bunthoeun@cchrcambodian.org.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Jun 2011 09:33 PM PDT June 21, 2011 Xinhua Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday said 24 Cambodian people had been killed in four-time armed clashes with Thailand over border conflict since 2008. Speaking during celebrating the 4th anniversary of Cambodian Veteran Day, the premier said the fighting between Cambodian and Thai troops over the border dispute near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in October, 2008 and April 2009 had killed 3 Cambodian soldiers, and the clashes on Feb. 4 to 7, 2011 killed 8 Cambodians including 4 soldiers, 2 police and 2 civilians. Also, the latest clashes from April 22 to May 3 at Ta Mon temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province killed other 13 Cambodian soldiers, he said. "Cambodia is deeply sorry for their deaths in the cause of national defense," said the premier. "We hope that there will be no further armed clashes and Cambodia is trying all its best to seek peaceful solution on Cambodian and Thai border conflict," he said. Cambodia and Thailand has border conflict just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Thailand claims the ownership of 4.6 square kilometers of scrub next to the temple. Since then, both sides have built up military forces along the border and periodic clashes have happened, resulted in the deaths of troops and civilians on both sides. Cambodia raised the issue to the United Nations Security Council in February and the UNSC held the meeting on Feb. 14 and tasked ASEAN to mediate the two countries' border conflict. On Feb. 22, the ASEAN foreign ministers held a meeting in Jakarta to mediate the conflict. At that time, Cambodia and Thailand agreed to accept Indonesian observers to monitor a ceasefire on their respective border side, but the deployment was always delayed because Thailand demanded that Cambodian soldiers and locals be withdrawn from the disputed area of 4.6 sq km near the temple first.  |
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