KI Media: “Sacrava' Political Cartoon: Xmer Stock Exchange” plus 24 more |
- Sacrava' Political Cartoon: Xmer Stock Exchange
- Don't mess with my 70-year-old Grandma!
- COMFREL Will Conduct Several Women Public Forums at Day and Night Time in Kampong Cham from July to November 2011
- A Quick Death vs a Slow and Painful Death: Opinion by Khmer Guardian
- Cambodian Youths and Democracy - Opinion by James Sok
- Sam Rainsy in Tunisia to prepare People Power in Cambodia
- [Thai] PM: Observers after troops leave [-Thailand is doing all it can to contradict Cambodian plan]
- Yellow Shirts reject World Court ruling on Thai-Cambodian border dispute
- Youth Knowledge of Democracy Lacking: Survey
- UN study shows Cambodia's youth failing to take part in civic life
- Overwhelming Cambodian youth say country moves on right direction: UNDP study
- Cambodia Stock Exchange Opens
- Cable Dump Reveals Vetting of Cambodians for San Diego Military Ops
- U.S. Anxiety Over Rising China Aired in Cambodia WikiLeaks
- Politiktoons No. 170 : "My Humble Day"
- Oil dispute optimism
- FYI (Urgent!): at least around 1000 residents of Boeung Kak Lake protesting in village 22
- Hamill’s lawyers on warpath
- Brain Food
- TED - Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself
- Brain and Soul Food
- ECCC Law
- Brain Food
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- ICJ decision gives the same treatment to the thief and the owner: Sam Rainsy
| Sacrava' Political Cartoon: Xmer Stock Exchange Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:17 PM PDT
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| Don't mess with my 70-year-old Grandma! Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:13 PM PDT
   http://www.box.net/shared/z4u3xftomi8s9a1ya9qm  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:59 PM PDT Dear all, We are very please to inform you that COMFREL will conduct several Public Forum at Day and Night time in Kampong Cham province. The forum will strengthen women network to advocate, able to speaking in public, able to solve the domestic violent, women and children health care, human and children trafficking. etc. The forum be start from the end of July to November 2010. Please see the attached document for details. FYI : If you need releases or articles related to workshop on voter's voices, elections reforms, democracy/political reforms, decentralisation and governance, please feel free to visit our website: Best regards, COMFREL http://www.box.net/shared/uab32ht5orsv1ky89nxe  | ||
| A Quick Death vs a Slow and Painful Death: Opinion by Khmer Guardian Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:37 PM PDT | ||
| Cambodian Youths and Democracy - Opinion by James Sok Posted: 21 Jul 2011 04:26 PM PDT   | ||
| Sam Rainsy in Tunisia to prepare People Power in Cambodia Posted: 21 Jul 2011 10:51 AM PDT  SAM RAINSY IN TUNISIA TO PREPARE PEOPLE POWER IN CAMBODIA Opposition leader Sam Rainsy arrived today in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, in North Africa, for a three-day visit during which he will meet with local and international activists from various political and social backgrounds who have successfully fought for a regime change in this country through an unprecedented popular uprising that triggered the Arab Spring or Jasmine Revolution seven months ago. The ongoing peaceful transition towards freedom and democracy in Tunisia is an inspiration for the whole world, especially countries under dictatorship such as Cambodia that is awaiting a Lotus Revolution with the same historical results. In his address at a Congress of Liberal International on 19 June 2011 in Manila, The Philippines, Sam Rainsy was quoted as saying, "The worst regimes in terms of crimes and impunity are those whose autocratic leaders have been in power for the longest period of time," and he then reportedly called for the formation of a "Peoples' alliance for the removal of multi-decade dictators." He associated Cambodia's Hun Sen (32 years in power) with Tunisia's Ben Ali (removed after 24 years in power), Egypt's Hosni Mubarak (removed after 30 years in power), Libya's Muammar Gaddafi (to be removed after 42 years in power), Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh (to be removed after 33 years in power) and Syria's Bashar al-Assad (to be removed after 40 years of dictatorship including his father Hafez al-Assad's 29-year reign). SRP Cabinet  | ||
| [Thai] PM: Observers after troops leave [-Thailand is doing all it can to contradict Cambodian plan] Posted: 21 Jul 2011 10:05 AM PDT 21/07/2011 Bangkok Post Indonesian observers would not be allowed to enter the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple ruins until Cambodian troops had left, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday - the exact opposite of Phnom Penh's stand on the matter. "Thailand and Cambodia have different positions on this issue and therefore talks between the two sides are needed. "Meetings must be held to discuss procedures to prevent any misunderstanding from occurring," Mr Abhisit said. The prime minister said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered an immediate troop withdrawal by both sides. Jessada Katawethin, deputy director-general of the Department of Information at Foreign Ministry, said state agencies, including foreign and Defence ministries, must meet to discuss the IJC ruling before there was any compliance with the ICJ order. Mr Jessada expected an initial meeting would be held early next week, after the Thai team at the court hearing returned from The Hague, in the Netherlands. Police chief Wichian Potephosree on Thursday flew by police helicopter to the No 224 Border Patrol Police unit in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, to update himself on the the situation along Thai-Cambodian border. He was accompanied by Army Region 2 commander Lt-Gen Thawatchai Samutsakorn. Pol Gen Wichian said he would order appropriate security measures to ensure the safety of people living along the border and their property. Asked whether border patrol police might be deployed to replaced troops along the border withdrawn under the ICJ order, the police chief said the situation had not reached that point yet. He would await orders from the prime minister. Lt-Gen Thawatchai said the situation in Si Sa Ket border area remains calm and without any tension. He said Thai troops would not be pulled back from the border. The army would wait for orders from the new government. Pol Gen Wichian and Lt-Gen Thawatchai the boarded passenger vans heading for Pha Mor E Daeng in Khao Phra Viharn National Park. Reporters were not allowed to join the trip.  | ||
| Yellow Shirts reject World Court ruling on Thai-Cambodian border dispute Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:55 AM PDT BANGKOK, July 20 (MCOT) - Thailand's yellow-clad protest movement, the People' Alliance for Democracy (PAD), on Wednesday issued a statement opposing the ruling of the United Nation's highest court ordering both Thai and Cambodian troops to withdraw from the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple. PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul read the group's statement saying the July 18 ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) puts Thailand at a disadvantage as Thai troops must withdraw deeper into their own territory despite Cambodian communities, Cambodian-constructed buildings and roads still occupying Thai territory. "Thailand can solve this problem by rejecting the ICJ order, refusing to withdraw its troops, at the same time pushing the Cambodians back to their country and urgently restoring ties, especially with members of the United Nations Security Council." Mr Sondhi stated. The PAD has staged prolonged rallies against the stance of Thai government on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute and urged it to revoke the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Cambodia in 2000, which it claimed put Thailand at risk of losing territory. Another key PAD leader, retired-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, condemned the army for not doing its duty to protect the country's sovereignty and urged the troops not to withdraw from the disputed border as ordered by the World Court. The ICJ on Monday ordered Thailand and Cambodia to immediately withdraw all military personnel currently present in the provisional demilitarised zone, as defined by the court, and to refrain from any military presence within that zone, and from any armed activity directed at it. Thailand was ordered to not obstruct Cambodia's free access to the temple, and to not prevent it from providing fresh supplies to its non-military personnel. The court also said both countries must continue to cooperate within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and, most pointedly, allow ASEAN-appointed observers to have access to the provisional demilitarised zone. PAD leader Pibob Thongchai read a statement calling on the new government led by the Pheu Thai Party to continue protecting the kingdom's sovereignty and announced its opposition to the court's order. Mr Pipob also urged the next government to speed up help for two Thai activists of Thailand Patriots Network, Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, both jailed in Cambodia on spying charges, as soon as possible. A Cambodian court on Feb 1 ruled that the pair were guilty of espionage, illegal entry, and trespassing in a military zone. Mr Veera was sentenced to an eight-year jail term while Ms Ratree was handed a six-year jail term.  | ||
| Youth Knowledge of Democracy Lacking: Survey Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:50 AM PDT Only three-quarters of Cambodian youth surveyed in 2010 had heard of parliament, but of those, only two-thirds knew what it does. Thursday, 21 July 2011 Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
UNDP officials said Thursday that Cambodia's youth lack knowledge of the country's democratic institutions and their roles, following a nationwide survey last year. The UNDP and BBC World Service Trust interviewed some 2,000 Cambodian youth in November 2010 to assess their knowledge of Cambodian democracy. "Many young people find it difficult to explain the role of important democratic institutions, such as parliament," Elena Tischenko, UNDP country director, told reporters Thursday, announcing the results of the survey. While many of the 14- to 24-year-olds who were surveyed said they would optimistic of the direction of the country, many said they lacked meaningful participation in the democratic process or civic engagement. "A lack of knowledge and understanding of democratic processes and difficulties expressing issues of concern are among the obstacles to greater youth participation as citizens," a report of the survey said. "Respondents' knowledge of democratic institutions and their roles was very limited, particularly of elected bodies such as the parliament and commune councils," it said. Only three-quarters of those surveyed had heard of parliament, but of those, only two-thirds knew what it does. While nearly all of the youths had heard of commune councils, nearly a third did not know what they do. About half of those surveyed who were eligible to vote in commune elections in 2007 actually did, the survey found, and only one in five eligible young voters were registered. Awareness of human rights, democracy and civic engagement was "mixed," the survey found. "Many young people who had heard the terms did not know how to define them." The survey cited "community life, safety, and security" as main concerns of the young, "followed by concerns about poverty, natural resources, land conflicts and traffic accidents, but to a much lesser degree." "If our youth lack the knowledge of democratic institutions, our youth do not really participate in national construction," said Soun Sovan, project manager of good governance at the Khmer Institute for Democracy. "And the democratic process does not progress for the better." Tith Sothea, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the survey reflected the "opinion" of a donor organization, but he added that the government was working to promote better understanding of democracy, human rights and law through TV.  | ||
| UN study shows Cambodia's youth failing to take part in civic life Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:46 AM PDT Jul 21, 2011 DPA Phnom Penh - Young Cambodians have little understanding of their country's democratic institutions and struggle to get involved in issues that affect them, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said Thursday. A new survey commissioned by the UNDP found fewer than one in three young people were interested in politics. And while three-quarters had heard about parliament, 62 per cent of that number had no idea how it functioned. Two in three Cambodians are younger than 25. The survey, which was carried out by the BBC World Service Trust, the charitable arm of the UK broadcaster, also found that four-fifths of young people felt Cambodia was moving broadly in the right direction. The Trust's Colin Spurway, who led the study, said the fact that young people - particularly women - did not know about local issues or take part in solving them was 'very striking.' 'Young people are not thinking of themselves as having a responsibility at their local or national level,' he said. 'Cambodia needs to look at the fact that young people don't feel it's their responsibility to know what is going on.' The nationwide survey, which questioned 2,000 people aged between 15-24 and divided equally by gender, sought to discern attitudes to civic participation, democracy and electoral participation. Cambodia has local elections scheduled for 2012 and a general election planned for the following year. Spurway said the Trust had found one of the major barriers for young people taking part in civic life was older people. 'Older people say: 'We just don't believe they are ready yet',' Spurway said of attitudes towards the young. Among the other findings were that more than 90 per cent of Cambodia's youth either own a mobile phone or have access to one. The UNDP and the Trust will next year launch a national television programme aimed at trying to get young people more involved in civic life. Cambodia has the youngest population of any of the 10 states in the regional Association of South-East Asian Nations. The nation's skewed population is largely a consequence of the policies of the Khmer Rouge movement which ruled the country between 1975-79 when as many as 2.2 million people - more than a quarter of the population - died.  | ||
| Overwhelming Cambodian youth say country moves on right direction: UNDP study Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:39 AM PDT
PHNOM PENH, Jul 21, 2011 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-five percent of Cambodian youth is optimistic about the overall direction their country is taking, but face challenges on the way to a meaningful participation in the political and socio-economic life of Cambodia, said a new study released by the United Nations Development Program-Cambodia (UNDP) on Thursday. A lack of knowledge and understanding of democratic processes and difficulty to express issues of concern are among the obstacles to greater youth participation as citizens. The study, titled "Youth Civic Participation in Cambodia", involved face to face interviews with 2,000 youth aged 15-24, of them 20 percent are urban dwellers and 80 percent are rural residents. It showed that respondents' knowledge of democratic institutions and their roles was very limited, particularly of elected bodies such as the parliament and commune councils. "Ninety-two percent of youth had heard of commune councils; however, nearly a third of those respondents did not know what they do," said the study. "Parliament was the least familiar to youth, with just three quarters having heard of parliament, and two -thirds of these people did not know what parliament does." Youth are the key to democratic participation in Cambodia with two out of three people in Cambodia being under the age of 25 years old and more than 30 percent of the country's 14.3 million population aged between 10-24 years old. However, about 95 percent of Cambodian youth said they are proud of being Cambodian and the direction the country is taking by valuing to history, cultural heritage, democracy, and political leadership and feel that all Cambodians are respected equally, stated the study. On the media consumption side, the study found that about 90 percent of Cambodian youth have consumed to broadcast services such as radios and television. It added that roughly 93 percent had access to a mobile phone and 42 percent had their owned phone; however, on the internet side, the amount of young internet users is still very limited -- only 6 percent.  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:33 AM PDT  By Luke Hunt The Diplomat With just a little fanfare, Phnom Penh has finally opened the doors to its stock exchange. As expected, no shares were traded. But the opening was telling for the country's often difficult bid to secure economic development alongside long-term peace. Three decades of conflict – including the 1975-79 rule by the Khmer Rouge, which abandoned money and all but obliterated the country's economy, cultural life and a third of the population – left Cambodia in the wilderness, and consigned its people to an uncertain future. That is changing fast. The Khmer Rouge tribunal has started in earnest and Phnom Penh is flourishing despite a notorious reputation for corruption. Amid this, the Cambodian stock market's humble start was typical. Vietnam had an all-too similar beginning more than a decade ago, and Laos hardly set international investors alight when it launched in January with two listings. Cambodia's low key start was no different, and most analysts agree its stock market will need five to 10 years before cementing itself as a genuine cornerstone of the economy. Between now and then, about half-a-dozen companies will earn their place as the market's benchmarks. Three state companies – Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), Telecom Cambodia and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port – are preparing listings. Several private companies, including Post Media, owners of The Phnom Penh Post, have also signaled their intention to list. Of the these, PPWSA is the standout. Shortly after the historic 1993 UN-sponsored elections, Co-Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Ek Sonn Chan, a Killing Fields survivor who believed he had been spared the worst of Pol Pot's holocaust to fulfill a mission, as head of the PPWSA. He went to work on a collection of leaky old pipes that partially fed the city contaminated water for just 10 hours a day. Raising the quality of Phnom Penh water to standards normally associated with Singapore proved a long and sometimes difficult road, but battling ingrain perceptions and convincing people that it's safe to drink out of a tap here was even trickier. This was despite routine independent tests by PSB Corporation in Singapore that consistently delivered the PPWSA a clean bill of health. 'People have trouble believing that it's clean,' a slightly indignant PPWSA Director Ek Sonn Chan once told me. Then, in 2004, the Cambodia Beverage Company (CBC), the exclusive bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company, came to the party and were happy enough with their own tests that it substantially expanded its operations. The same year, the Asian Development Bank awarded Sonn Chan its Water Prize, and two years after that he won a highly prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, and has been declared a hero by Hun Sen. Cambodians know their country has problems. But every now and again, as with the opening of the stock market, this country's peace dividend pays off.  | ||
| Cable Dump Reveals Vetting of Cambodians for San Diego Military Ops Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:29 AM PDT July 20, 2011 By Matt Potter San Diego Reader (USA) Wikileaks, continuing to release its trove of purloined U.S. diplomatic cable traffic, has posted an unclassified message dated February 23 of last year to the U.S. State Department from the American embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It discusses the need to check out the human rights record of a pair of Cambodian generals set to arrive in San Diego the following month "to attend the US Military Installation for Civil-Military Operations and Army Training." "To comply with the Leahy amendment relative to U.S. sponsored training," the cable says, "the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh has conducted local human rights vetting for the following individual to attend the US Military Installation for Civil-Military Operations and Army Training, March 15-April 5, 2010 in SAN DIEGO, California." The cable goes on to name a major general and a brigadier general in the Cambodian ministry of National Defense, adding, "U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh has reviewed its files and finds that, as of this date, it possesses no credible information of gross violations of human rights by the above individuals. "Action request: Please verify whether the Department possesses any credible information that the individual named above have been implicated in gross violations of human rights."  | ||
| U.S. Anxiety Over Rising China Aired in Cambodia WikiLeaks Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:25 AM PDT
By Douglas Gillison / Phnom Penh Time Magazine (USA) For the world's small cadre of Cambodia scholars and journalists, the WikiLeaks disclosures offered rare dish. As they had in other countries, American diplomats had privately recorded downright catty descriptions of public figures, describing the foreign minister as "sclerotic" and labeling the businessman Kith Meng, a ranking member of the Khmer oligarchy, as a "ruthless gangster," while saying Beijing's relations with King Father Norodom Sihanouk, the father Cambodian independence, were "more or less the 'property of China' and will revert to the PRC upon Sihanouk's death," just like the residence China's leaders had built for the former King in Beijing. Like a roving picaresque novel, the WikiLeaks diplomatic cables have been released since November in chapters, focusing on specific countries and distinct themes. When the anti-secrecy organization turned its focus to Cambodia last week — dumping nearly 800 missives from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh online in 24 hours — the public was at last treated to a candid record of U.S. efforts to grapple with the rising influence of China here — and by extension in Southeast Asia as a whole. When the Obama Administration took office in 2008, it was keen not to present itself as China's direct strategic adversary. Instead, officials said they were reviving American diplomacy in Asia while maintaining an aversion to "competition and rivalry" which could thwart cooperation with Beijing thirty years after it normalized relations with the U.S. But if it isn't competition and rivalry on display in the cables disclosed last week, it is something very near to it. Though the picture offered by the WikiLeaks archive is incomplete, with the bulk of material generated since 2006, the dispatches show a growing anxiety among U.S. officials about the inroads that Beijing is making in Cambodia. (Watch a video of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange on China.) Beginning in 2006, the embassy began paying increasingly detailed attention to Beijing's relations with Phnom Penh. In April that year, the embassy was irked when Prime Minister Hun Sen praised a $600 million Chinese aid package announced during a visit by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao as coming "without strings." According to an unclassified cable, this was "a slap" at other aid donors, who, unlike China, placed conditions of accountability, reform and transparency on aid. "Despite all the hoopla... much of the assistance is old news and announced more than a year ago," said the cable. (Hun Sen has repeated this view in the years since.) Four months later, the embassy briefed the State Department's human trafficking office after sending a Chinese-speaking intern and an official of Asian descent from its political/economic section to pose as customers at "sex establishments catering to the Chinese" where they queried managers, staff and Chinese businessmen. "Prices range from USD 20 to USD 150 depending on the type of service and ethnicity of the girl," a cable said. "At one bar, the manager tried to sell her daughter to" embassy officials. By 2008, celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Cambodia's diplomatic relations with the People's Republic really caught the U.S. Embassy's attention. In late December, less than a month before President Barack Obama took office, the embassy cabled Washington with a breathless inventory of Chinese activities here. Describing a crescendo of lavish attention and warmth, the cable said China was set to achieve a "new apogee" in relations with Cambodia and the region: "Cambodia's 'Year of China' looks to become its 'Century of China.'" That year, King Norodom Sihamoni attended the Beijing Olympics and the Chinese Embassy hosted a royal banquet. China pledged $256 million in aid, mostly in soft loans, "the highest single-donor-country contribution to Cambodia ever." Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had visited in February, announcing $55 million in aid and $1 billion in pledged commercial investment. New Chinese roads and dams proliferated, with China as the leading planner and financier of Cambodia's ambitious hydropower program that will have potentially devastating environmental consequences. Though Hun Sen had claimed China's beneficence came with "no strings," it became clear in 2009 that the Chinese could call in extraordinary favors. That year, the Americans watched in dismay as, under heavy pressure from Beijing, Cambodian authorities flagrantly violated international law by wresting 20 ethnic Uihgur asylum seekers out of the U.N.'s hands and bundling them off to China where the faced execution for deadly riots in China's Xinjiang region. Within 48 hours, China had pledged $1.2 billion in assistance to Phnom Penh as an apparent reward. The U.S. Embassy swung into high gear, recording minute-by-minute the movements of Cambodian police, the apparent failures of the local and regional U.N. refugee agency officials and private confrontations with the Cambodian government. Last year, the U.S. Embassy staged a week of cultural events celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations of Cambodia. In a cable prior to the festivities, the embassy said it hoped Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would attend to help demonstrate "that our commitment to Cambodia is not eclipsed by the growing influence of China." Clinton did not attend, but she did visit Cambodia in October as part of a regional tour three months after the celebrations. During her visit, the Chinese took the opportunity to announce $600 million in financing for a new rail link to Vietnam. "The list of Chinese visitors is so long that the Chinese Embassy's political and economic officers complained to [embassy officials] that they never get any rest," said a cable in 2008, before the Uighur deportations. The upshot was that the Cambodians maintained a "steely pragmatism by which Cambodia balances China with others, including the U.S." but uses China as a "blank check." A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy, which sits prominently on a Phnom Penh thoroughfare named for Mao Zedong, said the events of 2008, at least, were perhaps misread by the U.S. Embassy. "China is a good neighbor of Cambodia. A lot of aid and a lot of help for a good friend is traditional," said Yang Tian Yue, director of political affairs. "To help the friend does not mean not to give the opportunity for the other friend of Cambodia." Indeed, to all appearances, U.S. relations with Cambodia have not suffered as a result of the country's growing ties with Beijing. The new U.S. Embassy, a sprawling two-hectare campus completed in 2006, has its own prominent spot in the capital directly opposite Wat Phnom, the hilltop pagoda from which Phnom Penh takes its name. The U.S. has expanded the nations' military ties, multiplied the number of high-level visits and sought Washington lawmakers' approval to devote a growing share of the U.S. aid budget to health, human rights and rule-of-law programs in Cambodia. At her initial meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen in January 2009, current U.S. Ambassador Carol Rodley noted, according to a classified cable, the warmth of her reception was a sign of the importance Cambodia placed on its relations with Washington. "Gushingly," the cable said, the premier claimed "he spends more of his time with the American ambassador than with any other members of the diplomatic community." So far, most of the Cambodian establishment appears to have greeted the disclosures with equanimity. However, Hor Namhong, the foreign minister, on July 14 summoned the embassy's new deputy chief of mission to denounce a classified 2002 cable as "full of unacceptable maligned indictment" because it repeated allegations that the minister had in the 1970s committed crimes at a Khmer Rouge labor camp for "intellectuals" and returnees, at least 16 of whom were exterminated by Pol Pot's secret police. (Hor Nahmong has repeatedly sued over the accusations but flouted a summons in 2009 to testify before a special tribunal investigating the Khmer Rouge regime.) For the world's small cadre of Cambodia scholars and journalists, the WikiLeaks disclosures offered rare dish. As they had in other countries, American diplomats had privately recorded downright catty descriptions of public figures, describing the foreign minister as "sclerotic" and labeling the businessman Kith Meng, a ranking member of the Khmer oligarchy, as a "ruthless gangster," while saying Beijing's relations with King Father Norodom Sihanouk, the father Cambodian independence, were "more or less the 'property of China' and will revert to the PRC upon Sihanouk's death," just like the residence China's leaders had built for the former King in Beijing. Virtually all Southeast Asian nations are eager to maintain good relations with both China and the U.S., which serves as an alternative to the growing muscle flexed by Beijing. But, according to Sophie Richardson, an expert on Chinese foreign policy and Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, the U.S. response to China's growing clout here has been uneven. "In some key instances, the U.S. appears to be engaging with China in a race to the bottom, not an effort to uphold real and rhetorical commitments to human rights and political reform," she said. "On other occasions, however, the U.S. has on principle vocally defended key human rights issues in Cambodia that neither Phnom Penh nor Beijing cares much about... Cambodia is just one of several countries in which the U.S.'s apparent uncertainty about how to grapple with rising Chinese influence is playing out."  | ||
| Politiktoons No. 170 : "My Humble Day" Posted: 21 Jul 2011 09:09 AM PDT
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| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 08:59 AM PDT Thursday, 21 July 2011 James O'Toole and Tom Brennan The Phnom Penh Post THE election of Puea Thai has made a solution to the disputed Overlapping Claims Area in the Gulf of Thailand more likely, experts say. Petroleum companies say they are ready to explore the 27,000 square kilometre region, which is claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia and is thought to contain significant reserves of oil and gas. The area still remains largely unexplored a decade after the two countries signed a Memorandun of Understanding stipulating joint management of its petroleum resources. In 2001, Cambodia and Thailand agreed on joint development of the southern portion of the disputed area, with the northern portion to be divided by a defined maritime border. Thailand, however, cancelled the agreement in 2009 after ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was appointed an economic adviser to the Cambodian government. But with prime minister-elect Yingluck Shinawatra's victory in Thailand's July 3 elections, Cambodian government officials have expressed optimism that a solution can be found. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Phnom Penh looked forward to working with the incoming Thai administration to solve the dispute. "We'd love to see [an agreement on] the overlapping area in the sea implemented so that we can figure out how to share it," he said. "We still consider that co-operation in the economy or trade sector is most important, and that both countries need it." The disputed area could contain 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, along with unknown quantities of oil, market intelligence firm CLC Asia says. Firms granted exploration licences in the area yesterday expressed hope the dispute over petroleum management would soon be solved. Total Exploration and Production Asia-Pacific vice-president for China, Vietnam and Cambodia Yves Le Bail said: "Total is ready to start exploration as soon as possible after the two countries solve their dispute." Le Bail, who called the area "potentially interesting", said Total had paid a bonus for a promise of some explorat-ion rights in the area as long as the two countries reached an agreement on joint management of the OCA "within a limited period of time". He declined to define that period of time, citing confidentiality agreements. Le Bail said Total had been in discuss-ions with Cambodia about the OCA, but a large part of the final solution would come from direct discussions between the two countries. Nobody knew when that solution would come, he said. In past years, Cambodia and Thailand have granted overlapping exploration rights in the area to oil companies including Total, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Japanese giant Idemitsu Kosan. Revenues from the area could "revolutionise" impoverished Cambodia, Chevron general manager for exploration Gerry Flaherty is quoted as saying in a February, 2008 diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Phnom Penh released by anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks. Flaherty is also quoted as saying the OCA is "one of the best areas for exploration in the world", according to the cable. An agreement about the OCA was close to being reached just before former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's removal from power in 2006, according to a separate cable from the US embassy in Phnom Penh in 2007. The cable sources the claim to Cambodian foreign ministry secret-ary of state Kao Kim Hourn, who reportedly said "an additional six months of negotiations would have settled the matter". Keo Kim Hourn last week told the Post that he "didn't remember" those discussions. But experts have said the election of Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra is a good sign that talks between the two kingdoms would recommence. "I believe their policy will follow in her brother's footsteps," Chheng Kimlong, business and economic lecturer at the University of Cambodia, said, adding that the impending exploration would benefit both countries. He also pointed out that although Thailand claimed to have cancelled the 2001 memorandum of understanding, the contract might still be legally enforceable. If anything, it merely suspended the memorandum for a brief period, he said. "An already-signed MoU is not easily cancelled. What's important is that our country has not cancelled."  | ||
| FYI (Urgent!): at least around 1000 residents of Boeung Kak Lake protesting in village 22 Posted: 21 Jul 2011 08:56 AM PDT FYI (Urgent!): At least around 1000 residents of BKL are protesting in front of sand pumping in village 22 with fire the wheels for demanding to stop pumping sand cause flooding Mrs. Heng Mom house. (9.48PM)  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 08:53 AM PDT
Thursday, 21 July 2011 Thomas Miller The Phnom Penh Post Attorneys for former Olympic rower Rob Hamill have appealed against what they describe as an "absolutely shocking" decision by the Khmer Rouge tribunal's co-investigating judges to reject his application for civil-party status in the court's controversial third case. Civil party lawyer Lyma Nguyen said in a statement yesterday the co-investigating judges' grounds of rejection were "absolutely shocking, drafted very poorly and completely surprising". She urged the international community to hold the court accountable for the "poor legal quality" of the order and the "blatant contempt depicted against victims and civil party applicants by the co-investigating judges". Hamill, a New Zealander, was accepted as a civil party in Cases 001 and 002. His brother Kerry and two other foreigners were captured by the Khmer Rouge in 1978 after accidentally sailing into Cambodian waters. Kerry was tortured and later executed at the notorious S-21 prison. Nguyen said yesterday Hamill's application for civil-party status was "clearly in the scope of investigations" for Case 003. According to a statement by international co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley, alleged crimes in the case include the "capture of foreign nationals off the coast of Cambodia and their unlawful imprisonment, transfer to S-21 or murder". The suspects in Case 003 remain officially confidential but court documents show them as former KR navy commander Meas Muth and former KR air force commander Sou Met. Hamill "demonstrated the requisite direct and personal harm that was necessary" for a successful civil-party applicat-ion in the case, Nguyen said. In an appeal to the Pre-Trial Chamber made public last week, Hamill's lawyers quoted from the decision by judges You Bunleng and Sigfried Blunk, who ruled that Hamill had failed to show that his psychological suffering was a "direct consequence" of the death of his brother. The appeal also alleged that the judges had failed to meet their legal obligations to victims and the public and used faulty legal reasoning that evidenced political influence. "Had this incredible ground of rejection been applied in Case 001 against Kaing Guek Eav, 86 out of 90 applicants would have been rejected, since only four were considered by the Trial Chamber to be immediate survivors ('direct victims')," the appeal stated. "The CIJs' rejection on this ground very clearly indicates that there was no proper legal application of rules and principles, but that there were political considerations and influences involved." Hamill's lawyers also argued that the ruling was inconsistent with previous decisions, noting that You Bunleng had admitted Hamill as a civil party in Cases 001 and 002. You Bunleng and Blunk were quoted in the appeal brief as saying Hamill's acceptance in Case 002 was "non-binding" for his application in Case 003, and claimed that they "cannot follow the reasoning" of his acceptance in Case 001. Although the United Nat-ions, international donors and the government have claimed the Khmer Rouge tribunal would be a "model" for Cambodian courts, Hamill's lawyers said the actions of the co-investigating judges in Case 003 "have made that model one of reckless impunity, sett-ing a dangerous precedent . . . for victims' rights". "The standard set by the CIJs in Case 003 has been a lack of investigation, succumbing to political influence, lack of transparency, mistreatment of victims and denial of civil party application," they claimed. A total of 318 victims have applied for civil-party status in Case 003. Nguyen said Hamill's appeal would be a "test case for the Pre-Trial Chamber". In June, the Pre-Trial Chamber admitted an additional 1,728 victims as civil parties for Case 002, overturning decisions by the co-investigating judges that had rejected the applicants. The co-investigating judges' rejection of Hamill's applicat-ion for civil-party status has been cited as yet another sign that the court has decided to scuttle Cases 003 and 004 amid political pressure. The judges apparently did not even interview the suspects before declaring the investigation closed at the end of April. Nor did they sol-icit victim complaints or civil- party applicants, as had been done in previous cases. Court spokesman Lars Olsen said he could not comment on Hamill's appeal as it was "pending a judicial decision".  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:55 AM PDT Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. - Confucius  | ||
| TED - Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:48 AM PDT By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh I Am Series Actor Thandie Newton tells the story of finding her "otherness" -- first, as a child growing up in two distinct cultures, and then as an actor playing with many different selves. A warm, wise talk, fresh from stage at TEDGlobal 2011. Why you should listen to her:Filmgoers first encountered Thandie Newton in the 1991 film Flirting, a tender and skin-crawlingly honest film about young love and budding identity. In her career since then, she's brought that same intimate touch even to big Hollywood films (she was the moral center of Mission: Impossible II, for instance, and the quiet heart of the head-banging 2012), while maintaining a strong sideline in art films, like the acclaimed Crash and last year's adaptation of Ntozake Shange's For colored girls ... "Thandie Newton can boast that rarest of combinations - leading-actress looks with a character-actress CV." Telegraph  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:41 AM PDT Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. - Jesus Christ  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:37 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") the inclusion of amendments as promulgated on 27 October 2004 CHAPTER XIII: STATUS, RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES Article 41 The foreign judges, the foreign Co-Investigating Judge, the foreign Co-Prosecutor and the Deputy Director of the Office of Administration, together with their families forming part of their household, shall enjoy all of the privileges and immunities, exemptions and facilities accorded to diplomatic agents in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Such officials shall enjoy exemption from taxation in Cambodia on their salaries, emoluments and allowances.  | ||
| Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:33 AM PDT Be careful, lest in fighting the dragon you become the dragon. - Friedrich Nietzsche  | ||
| Convention on the Rights of the Child Posted: 21 Jul 2011 05:30 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 221. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties. 2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they consider appropriate, co-operation in any efforts by the United Nations and other competent intergovernmental organizations or non-governmental organizations co-operating with the United Nations to protect and assist such a child and to trace the parents or other members of the family of any refugee child in order to obtain information necessary for reunification with his or her family. In cases where no parents or other members of the family can be found, the child shall be accorded the same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily deprived of his or her family environment for any reason , as set forth in the present Convention.  | ||
| ICJ decision gives the same treatment to the thief and the owner: Sam Rainsy Posted: 21 Jul 2011 02:31 AM PDT  20 July 2011By S. Botum The Free Press Magazine Translated from Khmer by Soch Click here to read the original article in Khmer Contrary to the government's view which considers the ICJ order as being just and fair, on Wednesday 20 July, Cambodia's opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that the ICJ's decision is extremely unfair to Cambodia. Sam Rainsy compared the situation to the ICJ giving the same treatment to the thief and to the owner. In a live interview from Paris on the Candle Right radio, Sam Rainsy indicated: "I am very disappointed. This decision is not fair at all. This decision gives the same treatment to the thief and to the owner." Sam Rainsy indicated that Cambodian holds the right to Preah Vihear temple. Furthermore, the temple's ownership was clearly recognized by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but now, the ICJ gives equal treatment to the owner and to the thief. Sam Rainsy explained: "It's like a thief wanting to take over somebody else's house, the house owner takes the case to court, but the court turned around and decided that both the owner and the thief must vacate the house in order to give time to the court to decide whom it will hand out the house to." The ICJ temporary decision was issued on 18 July 2011, it ordered the Cambodian and Thai governments to remove their troops out of Preah Vihear temple, i.e. the disputed zone which is now considered as a demilitarized zone. The ICJ decision came under criticisms from some Cambodian quarters as it called the area a disputed zone, whereas in reality, it is an area where the Thai government brought in their troops to aggress Cambodia since 15 July 2008 up until now. Nevertheless, the Cambodian government agreed to the ICJ decision and it indicated that the decision is in agreement with what Cambodia wants. Hor 5 Hong, the Cambodian minister of Foreign Affairs, declared this morning that this decision will bring peace to the temple area. However, the opposition indicated that the ICJ is the sole option adopted by the ruling party. Sam Rainsy indicated Cambodian territories were not just lost along the western border alone, but the loss of territories along the eastern border could be even larger. According to Sam Rainsy, the most efficient and unique way to resolve this issue is to bring it up to the council members of the 1991 Paris Peace agreements on Cambodia, however, the current regime gives precedence to the Yuon and it is afraid to affect the Yuon interest.  |
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