KI Media: “Cambodia shows soft policy with Thailand” plus 23 more |
- Cambodia shows soft policy with Thailand
- Khmer envoy is the first to congratulate Yingluck [-Hun Xen tries to "woo Yingluck" ... will it work?]
- Puok Sva Nov Ter Chea Sva - "Monkeys will be monkeys": Poem in Khmer by Kaun Khmer
- Kingdom of Wonder: "The HE"
- Interview between Soy Sopheap and De-chor
- “Supply and demand: exposing the illicit trade in Cambodian antiquities through a study of Sotheby’s auction house” by Tess Davis
- Playboy's interview of SIHANOUK - Translated from Khmer by Angkor Borei New
- COMFREL Release the Result of Workshop on Voter's Voice in Remote Areas; Phlov Tuk, Kampong Leaeng, Kampong Chhnang province
- Press Statement and Launching the report “Tearing Apart at the Seams: How widespread use of Fixed Duration Contract threaten Cambodian workers and the Cambodian garment industry”
- Speak Truth To Power (Courage Without Borders) Series in KI-Media - Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) “Microcredit”
- China's overreach is discomforting
- Brain Food for Greedy Local Elites Who Steal for a Living
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Brain Food for Local Elites Who Steal for a Living
- UN Convention Against Corruption
- Prasat Banteay Srey
- Kingdom of Wonder No More: Win-Win Strategy for Xmer, Lose-Lose for Khmer
- Banteay Srey Temple after the rain on 09 August 2011
- Don't leave your friends on bike behind! (National Road No. 6)
- Indian American Philanthropist Sponsors Buddha Statue in Cambodia
- TV show reunites families torn apart by KRouge
- World Bank freezes funding to Cambodia over evictions
- World Bank halts new Cambodia loans over evictions
- U.S., Cambodia partner for civil military assistance mission
| Cambodia shows soft policy with Thailand Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:26 PM PDT By Meng Bill PHNOM PENH, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is trying to show its soft policy with Thailand as much as possible, a motivation aiming to avoid tense and military confrontation along the two countries' border areas. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had made a quick sending of congratulation letter to Yinluck Shinawatra, dated August 5, soon after she was elected by the Thai House of Representatives as the Prime Minister of Thailand. However, such a letter was not officially announced or made available to the media until Tuesday. When reached for comment, Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said Prime Minister Hun Sen's quick sending of the letter was a gesture of a leader in the neighboring country who wants to express sympathy and to live in peace and harmony. He said referring to the troublesome border conflict with Thailand since it first erupted in 2008, and thus Cambodia desires to avoid further military confrontation that will risk the lives of the soldiers as well as the lives of the civilians. However, Phay Siphan said that Hun Sen had made the same gesture with former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. "Prime Minister Hun Sen was making the same such quick approach to Abhisit Vejjajiva soon after he was elected as a prime minister," he said, adding that "as always Cambodia shows soft and friendly approach to Thailand." Sources who attended the weekly cabinet meeting unveiled Tuesday that Hun Sen had told his government members last Friday that he had worked hard with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on resolving the border problems, but it did not work well. Now, with the new government to be formed and to be led by Yingluck Shinawatra from the Pheu Thai Party, Hun Sen expressed his optimism that there will be a more conducive environment for the two countries to resolve the border problems. Obviously, in the letter to Yingluck, Hun Sen said "I am very optimistic that, with our shared determination, Your Excellency and I will be able to restore the bonds of traditional and fraternal friendship, good neighborliness and productive cooperation between our two peoples." He further said "I look forward to working very closely with Your Excellency to serve the interest of our two nations and peoples and to resolve all problems peacefully, thus upholding harmony between our two nations and contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region." From the Cambodian side, many Cambodians strongly hope that Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of the ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Hun Sen's friend, will carry out a more positive and peaceful approach with Cambodia on the border issues. Cambodia has been working hard on the issues, fearing it cannot challenge with Thailand, a richer, stronger and bigger neighbor; therefore, it has approached the regional and international intervention. In the region, Cambodia has approached the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); at the same time, it asked the United Nations Security Council and lastly the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for help. Now, the ball is in the hand of the new Thai prime minister to handle -- that is the implementation of the order by the ICJ on July 18 on the withdrawals of both sides' troops from the newly defined demilitarized zone surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple. For Cambodia, Hun Sen has made it clear that his country is ready to comply with the order whenever ASEAN observers are available to witness and secure the ceasefire in the so-called " disputed area" near the Preah Vihear Temple. In 1962, the ICJ ruled that the Preah Vihear Temple belongs to Cambodia, but failed to specify the surrounding area, leaving Thailand to claim 4.6 square kilometers, the root cause of the conflict until today.  | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 04:21 PM PDT
August 9, 2011 The Nation The envoy was among eight ambassadors lining up to meet the first female prime minister of Thailand at the Pheu Thai Party headquarters. You Ay also presented to Yingluck official congratulatory notes from Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong. The ambassador was quoted as telling the PM that both countries should separate political conflicts from economic cooperation and that they should strengthen all aspects of cooperation. Yingluck told You Ay that her policy would create peace and reconciliation between the two countries and that the countries would cooperate more under the framework of Asean and Asean Economic Cooperation. Under the government of Yingluck's predecessor Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand and Cambodia have had rocky relations on all issues, with border conflicts escalating several times into clashes resulting in deaths of both soldiers and civilians. However relations between Cambodia and Yingluck's brother, convicted exPM Thaksin, are much better. Cambodia's PM Hun Sen once appointed the exiled Thaksin as his government's economic adviser. Abhisit government was furious and ordered withdrawal of its Thai and Khmer ambassadors and downgraded diplomatic ties. After You Ay, it was turn of Indonesian ambassador Mohammad Hatta who read out congratulatory message from his President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Thailand and Indonesia have enjoyed strong relations and cooperation for a long time and last year celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. Hatta also said his president is looking forward to meeting Yingluck at the Asean Summit to be held in Bali in November. Indonesia would like to invite Yingluck to make an official visit to the country, Hatta said. After that Yingluck met with the ambassadors of Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Chile and Panama.  | ||||||||
| Puok Sva Nov Ter Chea Sva - "Monkeys will be monkeys": Poem in Khmer by Kaun Khmer Posted: 09 Aug 2011 03:29 PM PDT   | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:18 PM PDT A true story by Anonymous A Kampuchean delegation visited New Zealand and stayed at a posh five star hotel. A relative of one of the delegates living in New Zealand went to see him. Upon arriving at the hotel, she asked the receptionist to check for her relative who was a client there. The Hotel receptionist tried very hard to find the name of her relative. In desperation, the receptionist told the Cambodian woman: "I couldn't find your relative, Madam. Even though we have a long list of Cambodian visitors staying in our Hotel, all of them have the same surname, the HE*! " ---------- *HE = His Excellency. Honorific commonly used by Cambodian VIPs to inflate their rank.  | ||||||||
| Interview between Soy Sopheap and De-chor Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:15 PM PDT   | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:35 PM PDT | ||||||||
| Playboy's interview of SIHANOUK - Translated from Khmer by Angkor Borei New Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:25 PM PDT | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:23 PM PDT Dear all, COMFREL is please to release its press release on the result of workshop on voter's voice in remote areas; Phlov Tuk commune, Kampong Leaeng district, Kampong Chhnang province was held on July 21, 2011. 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/143i24hdor1okamxcb5o  | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:03 PM PDT Press Statement August 9, 2011 On Wednesday August 3, 2011 Yale Law School released a report on the detrimental consequences for labor rights caused by the extensive use of Fixed Duration Contracts in Cambodia. The report, "Tearing Apart at the Seams: How widespread use of Fixed Duration Contract threaten Cambodian workers and the Cambodian garment industry" demonstrate that the use of Fixed Duration Contracts often lead to violations of fundamental labor rights, including amongst others the right to maternity leave and freedom of association; denial of legal entitlements such as seniority bonuses; and make workers vulnerable to forced overtime work. On behalf of Cambodian labor unions, labor rights support groups and other concerned stakeholders, we would like to announce press conference on Fixed Duration Contracts to be held at the Royal University of Phnom Penh at the Cambodia-Japan Corporation Center, Phnom Penh-Tokyo room 09 from 8.30 to 11.00 AM on Wednesday August 10, 2011. The purpose of the meeting is to highlight the findings of "Tearing apart at the Seams" and discuss potential ways to restrict the use of Fixed Duration Contracts in order to improve labor rights in Cambodia. For further information please contact Ath Thorn: 012 998 906 Rong Chun: 012 930 706 Vong Sovann: 012 785 890 David John Welsh: 077 222 020 Moeun Tola: 012 921 961 ------------ Full Report both in Khmer & English can be downloaded at the links below: "Tearing Apart at the Seams": http://www.box.net/shared/oobdyu6b90q7qvac5du5 "សំពត់រហែកជាយ": http://www.box.net/shared/y2kxh8o62mfqcm4ul304 NGETH Moses Communications Coordinator Community Legal Education Center Office: #54, Street 306, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kang 1, Khan Chamka Morn, Phnom Penh Kingdom of Cambodia. P.O. Box 1120 Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: (855) 23 215 590 Tel/Fax: (855) 23 211 723 Email: moses@clec.org.kh website: www.clec.org.kh  | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:52 PM PDT | ||||||||
| China's overreach is discomforting Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:40 PM PDT Aug. 10, 2011 A. Gaffar Peang-Meth PACIFIC DAILY NEWS China's activities in Cambodia appear to impede Cambodian democrats' struggle against autocracy.  China's rising power is a fact, but the "Chinese Century" is still a matter open for debate. An examination of Chinese courses of action should tell us of China's foreign policy goals and national interests as defined by her leaders.Interestingly, whereas American Thomas Jefferson's self-evident truths -- that "all men are created equal ... with certain unalienable rights" -- are ideals envied by the world's peoples, many of whom hope to see them emulated in their own nations, the billions of U.S. dollars spent and the thousands of U.S. soldiers lost have not made Americans popular in Afghanistan or Iraq. However, Chinese businessmen and engineers are doing well in business there, and Chinese oil companies have acquired bigger stakes in the oil industry in those countries than have U.S. companies. Headlines about China's rising influence and quiet power grab, and of Asian countries facing an increasingly intimidating China are numerous: China's navy is second only to the U.S.; China in dispute with neighboring Southeast Asian nations over the Spratlys; China seeking domination over the South China Sea. Covering some 3.5 million square kilometers, the South China Sea is considered by China as her "core interest" -- other nations see it as an international waterway. About a third of commercial maritime traffic passes through it. China's control over the waterway will, at a minimum, have leverage which, if exercised, could disrupt the flow of goods around the world. China believes that over 200 billion barrels of oil lie beneath the China Sea floor, providing the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East. Consequently, the current status quo under which Taiwan, China, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia each occupy some territory in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, becomes a source of contention for China. The 1994 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, considers a country's territorial waters -- a belt of coastal waters extending 12 nautical miles from the baseline or low-water mark -- as its sovereign territory. Innocent passage by foreign ships is allowed. Article 56 gives a coastal state sovereign rights in the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone for "exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources" -- but not state ownership. Since 1995, China's flag has flown above a Chinese-built structure on Philippine-claimed Panganiban (Mischief Reef), about 135 miles from the Philippine coast of Palawan, but some 800 miles away from China's southernmost Hainan Island. The disputed Spratly group is located about 650 nautical miles south of China and 300 miles east of Vietnam. Last year, the Center for a New American Security senior fellow Robert D. Kaplan wrote, "While we're bogged down in Afghanistan, look what's happening in the South China Sea." He warned of China's ability to "redirect its naval energies" beyond the first island chain from Japan to Australia, to the second island chain (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands) and to the Indian Ocean. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum wrote: "We still haven't realized that the scariest thing about China is not the size of its navy or the arrogance of its diplomats. The scariest thing is the power China has already accumulated without ever deploying its military or its diplomats at all." Last month, the anti-secrecy organization Wikileaks released online 777 diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh about U.S concerns over China's rising influence in Cambodia. Cambodians' preoccupation with the Vietnamization of Cambodia has actually overshadowed the "Sinocization" of the country -- to the detriment of Cambodian democrats' struggle for freedom. In April 2006, the U.S. Embassy was stirred by Premier Hun Sen's praise for the $600 million unconditional Chinese aid package during Chinese leader Wen Jiabao's visit. A U.S. cable described the aid as "a slap" in the face of other aid donors who demanded accountability, reform and transparency. Time Magazine's Douglas Gallison described China's "new apogee" in relations with Cambodia as not just "Cambodia's 'Year of China'" but a "'Century of China.'" A Chinese pledge of $256 million in aid -- "the highest single-donor-country contribution to Cambodia ever," said U.S. Ambassador Carol Rodley -- accompanied an announcement of "$55 million in aid and $1 billion in pledged commercial investment" on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Cambodia's diplomatic relations with China in 2008. Though Chinese aid came as loans for infrastructure projects -- roads, bridges, hydropower dams -- invested in or built by Chinese companies, Gallison reported America's view that China provided Cambodia with a "blank check." Gallison said that in 2009 it became clear that China's aid "without strings" cultivated a relationship that finds Cambodia has capitulated to "heavy pressure from Beijing" as the 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 they faced execution for deadly riots in China's Xinjiang region." "Within 48 hours," Gallison wrote, "China had pledged $1.2 billion in assistance to Phnom Penh as an apparent reward." Perhaps Phnom Penh Post's Thomas Miller summed up U.S. anxiety over China's rising influence in Cambodia best: China's rising influence "would fuel corruption, inhibit progress on human rights and challenge the ability of other donors to sway the government on difficult issues." China's overreach in the South China Sea is discomforting for the region's future. China's activities in Cambodia appear to impede Cambodian democrats' struggle against autocracy. A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.  | ||||||||
| Brain Food for Greedy Local Elites Who Steal for a Living Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:37 AM PDT He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature. - Socrates  | ||||||||
| UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:32 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 381. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. 2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities. 3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest. 4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.  | ||||||||
| Brain Food for Local Elites Who Steal for a Living Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:30 AM PDT The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. - Book of Proverbs (the Hebrew Bible)  | ||||||||
| UN Convention Against Corruption Posted: 09 Aug 2011 08:22 AM PDT United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) In accordance with article 68 (1) of resolution 58/4, the United Nations Convention against Corruption entered into force on 14 December 2005. A Conference of the States Parties is established to review implementation and facilitate activities required by the Convention. Cambodia acceded to the UNCAC on 5 September 2007 The States Parties to this Convention, Concerned about the seriousness of problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law, Concerned also about the links between corruption and other forms of crime, in particular organized crime and economic crime, including money- laundering, Concerned further about cases of corruption that involve vast quantities of assets, which may constitute a substantial proportion of the resources of States, and that threaten the political stability and sustainable development of those States, Convinced that corruption is no longer a local matter but a transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies, making international cooperation to prevent and control it essential, Convinced also that a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach is required to prevent and combat corruption effectively, Convinced further that the availability of technical assistance can play an important role in enhancing the ability of States, including by strengthening capacity and by institution-building, to prevent and combat corruption effectively, Convinced that the illicit acquisition of personal wealth can be particularly damaging to democratic institutions, national economies and the rule of law, Determined to prevent, detect and deter in a more effective manner international transfers of illicitly acquired assets and to strengthen international cooperation in asset recovery, Acknowledging the fundamental principles of due process of law in criminal proceedings and in civil or administrative proceedings to adjudicate property rights, Bearing in mind that the prevention and eradication of corruption is a responsibility of all States and that they must cooperate with one another, with the support and involvement of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as civil society, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, if their efforts in this area are to be effective, Bearing also in mind the principles of proper management of public affairs and public property, fairness, responsibility and equality before the law and the need to safeguard integrity and to foster a culture of rejection of corruption, Commending the work of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in preventing and combating corruption, Recalling the work carried out by other international and regional organizations in this field, including the activities of the African Union, the Council of Europe, the Customs Cooperation Council (also known as the World Customs Organization), the European Union, the League of Arab States, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Organization of American States, Taking note with appreciation of multilateral instruments to prevent and combat corruption, including, inter alia, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, adopted by the Organization of American States on 29 March 1996,[1] the Convention on the Fight against Corruption involving Officials of the European Communities or Officials of Member States of the European Union, adopted by the Council of the European Union on 26 May 1997,[2] the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, adopted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on 21 November 1997,[3] the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 27 January 1999,[4] the Civil Law Convention on Corruption, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 4 November 1999,[5] and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union on 12 July 2003, Welcoming the entry into force on 29 September 2003 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,[6] Have agreed as follows:  | ||||||||
| Posted: 09 Aug 2011 03:09 AM PDT Warning: We are not responsible if you sprain your neck after watching the following video!  | ||||||||
| Kingdom of Wonder No More: Win-Win Strategy for Xmer, Lose-Lose for Khmer Posted: 09 Aug 2011 03:01 AM PDT Average tattered Khmer dwelling in Siem Reap, located a few miles from the Amansara Hotel where the average cost per night is a mere .... $1,500.    | ||||||||
| Banteay Srey Temple after the rain on 09 August 2011 Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:49 AM PDT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdJOsSPwq7s  | ||||||||
| Don't leave your friends on bike behind! (National Road No. 6) Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:04 AM PDT | ||||||||
| Indian American Philanthropist Sponsors Buddha Statue in Cambodia Posted: 09 Aug 2011 01:57 AM PDT    By LISA TSERING indiawest.com SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — Sulata Sarkar, a philanthropist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, has watched proudly as her latest project, the carving of a huge sandstone Buddha in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is nearing completion. In 2005 on a trip there, Sarkar was moved by the plight of the Cambodian people who were victimized by the brutal regime of dictator Pol Pot. "We talked to local people through our guide, Mr. BoBo, on what we could do to help local people relieve their past pain and suffering," Sarkar told India-West in an e-mail. After meeting with local religious and civic leaders as well a UNESCO representative and India's ambassador to Cambodia, Aloke Sen, she came to decide that "a large stone Buddha statue depicting peace and harmony would be most appropriate for a gift from my family funds for the local people who have suffered a lot from Pol Pot's regime." Sarkar, a native of Kolkata, first commissioned the ambitious project in May 2006. Now, after a few delays, she expects the seven-meter-tall work of art to be unveiled in December of this year. The 80-ton statue is ma de out of pink sandstone and sits atop a lotus stand, which is situated on a large pedestal, and was carved by a handicapped former soldier-turned-stone-carver, 78-year-old Him Tour. "I was first offered a site at the Angkor Wat complex, but this was not suitable because they shut the area early in the evening and I want this statue given to the public so they can enjoy it any time they want," she told the Phnom Penh Post. So she accepted a donation of land in Siem Reap from a Japanese company working there, and kept in close contact as the construction was assisted by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, known as the Apsara Authority. The Phnom Penh Post has followed the construction of the statue from the beginning, and covered a colorful ceremony last December marking a construction milestone. "The pedestal was completed in November 2010 and we invited Hindu priest Pt. Monomohon Mukherjee from the Livermore temple in California to bless the pedestal with vedic rituals and Antram," she told India-West. "By the first week of January 2011 the installation of the lotus and Buddha was completed. The Apsara Authority is putting a roof and water pond around the pedestal and completing the pavement and garden around it. "We expect everything to be completed by the end of December 2011."  | ||||||||
| TV show reunites families torn apart by KRouge Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:48 AM PDT
By Sor Chandara PHNOM PENH, August 9, 2011 (AFP) - The cameras were rolling and a studio audience looked on but the emotional reunion of a daughter and her father, torn apart 30 years ago by Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime, was no act. Sem Savoeun sobbed as she embraced the father she thought was lost forever on the new Cambodian hit reality show "It's Not a Dream". And she did not mind the intrusion -- in fact without the programme, she said they never would have met. "I tried to find my dad but I never had much hope. I never expected this moment," Sem, 42, told the slick young host of the popular show, in an episode that aired on commercial station Bayon TV in July. "I feel overjoyed to have a dad again." Her family is one of hundreds of thousands in Cambodia that were separated during the Khmer Rouge's rule of terror. Modern society was dismantled and family ties were of no importance to the hardline communist movement. Sem's father Saing Va said he made several attempts to look for his daughter, but he failed to track her down after she was sent to live with an aunt and then got lost in the chaotic final days of the brutal 1975-79 regime. "I didn't know where she had gone, whether she was dead or alive," the 65-year-old farmer told the audience, wiping away a tear. Sem was just a child when the regime came to power, emptying cities, abolishing money and schools and forcing much of the population to work in labour camps in a doomed bid to create an agrarian utopia. Up to two million people died from starvation, overwork or execution before the regime was ousted from the capital by Vietnamese forces. Many survivors have spent decades trying to locate missing relatives, often with little to go on besides their own memories after the Khmer Rouge destroyed reams of official documents. Sem was separated from her father in 1977, not long after her mother succumbed to an unknown illness under forced labour in the southern province of Takeo. "After my mother died, my grandfather took me from Takeo province to live with my aunt," Sem told the show's presenter. "That was the last time I saw my father." Her time with her aunt in the southwestern province of Preah Sihanouk abruptly came to an end shortly before the fall of the regime as they fled the fighting between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese troops who had entered the country. "When I was told to move, I just kept running until I realised I had lost my aunt," she said. "After that, I was without any relatives. I went from place to place living with people I didn't know." Sem, who now runs a small shop in Preah Sihanouk province, went on to get married and have six children of her own, but she said she always felt lonely not knowing any of her relatives. She had been too young to have much knowledge about her past and after countless search efforts she finally decided to reach out to the TV show. "I was just seven or eight years old at the time. I didn't remember exactly where my village was," she said. As Sem told her story, a screen behind her showed how the programme's researchers tracked down her father. The team travelled from village to village in Takeo, talking to elderly people who might remember Sem's family and checking the records of local authorities. Eventually, they found not only Sem's father but also her aunt, who joined Sem on stage for the one-hour show's second emotional reunion. Backstage at the studio in the Cambodian capital, the producer of "It's Not a Dream", Prak Sokhayouk, told AFP she was "so excited" to see Sem's happy ending. Since its inception last year, the show has received hundreds of requests to help find missing persons dating back to the Khmer Rouge era, she said. "We have successfully worked on 10 cases already," she said, adding that the idea for the show came from a Vietnamese programme that helped locate people who had disappeared in the Vietnam war. Youk Chhang, head of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam) which researches Khmer Rouge atrocities, said it was still common for Cambodians to be looking for relatives they lost track of during the regime. "Family is the strength of Khmer culture and many don't want to believe their relatives are dead," he said. Besides the "It's Not a Dream" show, Cambodians also regularly use radio or state television broadcasts to put out a call for those still missing. The DC-Cam is compiling a list of the names of those confirmed to have died under the regime. It has collected nearly a million names already and plans to publish them online and in print by 2013. Youk Chhang, himself a Khmer Rouge survivor, said it was important for Cambodians to know the fate of their loved ones, "so they can really begin to heal and move on". After the televised reunion, Sem spent a few days visiting her new-found father and relatives. Getting to know her family has changed her life, she told AFP. "I have a happy life now. Before, I had no one. But now, after finding my father, I have hope for the future."  | ||||||||
| World Bank freezes funding to Cambodia over evictions Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:37 AM PDT  Aug 9, 2011 DPA Phnom Penh - The World Bank said Tuesday it had frozen new funding to Cambodia over evictions linked to a controversial development project. The announcement follows the forced evictions of thousands of people in recent years from the Boeung Kak lake area in the capital. The lake is being filled in for a controversial 2-billion-dollar development of the 133-hectare site. Country director Annette Dixon said the World Bank had last loaned money to Cambodia in December. 'Until an agreement is reached with the residents of Boeung Kak lake, we do not expect to provide any new lending,' she said. The development is being carried out by the company of a prominent ruling party politician and a Chinese firm called Erdos Hong Jun Investment. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Phnom Penh was not concerned at the announcement. He said the bank was using the issue of Boeung Kak lake as an excuse for its decision, adding that the organization had overstepped its mandate. 'It is a lending institution and (does not have) extra power to exercise beyond that,' he said. Phay Siphan said the government's obligation to the bank was solely to repay the loans. Earlier this year the World Bank, which was previously involved in a nationwide land titling programme, said the evictions had caused 'grave harm' to lakeside residents. Few if any of the lake's residents have been able to get land title documents from the local authorities, despite legal experts saying many are entitled to them. Dixon said the World Bank was 'continuing to encourage the government to reach an agreement to provide on-site housing for the remaining residents.' 'Discussions between the government and residents are ongoing and we look forward to an early resolution of this issue,' she said. Earlier this year the bank's own assessors found significant failures with its handling of the 24-million-dollar land-titling scheme. The government cancelled the titling project in 2009 after the World Bank raised its concerns about evictions. The investigation found key failings by its own management, and said the evictions of thousands at the lake had violated the bank's policy on involuntary resettlement. It also found that residents had been denied due process in having their claims assessed, and had been evicted by authorities in violation of agreed procedures. In recent years land prices have rocketed as the economy has strengthened, with tens of thousands of people driven off their land by the powerful and well-connected. Cambodia's land tenure system was destroyed during decades of conflict. Around 1.6 million households have received land title documents since the programme began in 2002.  | ||||||||
| World Bank halts new Cambodia loans over evictions Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:32 AM PDT
Tuesday, August 09, 2011 AFP PHNOM PENH — The World Bank will not provide any new loans to Cambodia until it resolves a dispute about a mass eviction from a lakeside area in the capital, according to a statement seen by AFP on Tuesday. A private company headed by a ruling party politician is filling in a lake in central Phnom Penh for commercial development, a controversial project that will eventually displace some 4,000 families. "Until an agreement is reached with the residents of Boeung Kak lake we do not expect to provide any new lending to Cambodia," said World Bank country director Annette Dixon in a statement sent to AFP by the bank on Tuesday. The bank admitted in March it had failed to protect the lake dwellers while working on a land titling project in the country a few years ago, and offered to help the government find a solution for the residents. At the time, the bank also warned it would reconsider its work in Cambodia if the government failed to stop the forced relocations. It now appears to have followed through on the threat, with Dixon saying its most recent loan to Cambodia was in December 2010. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said the government had already stated late last year that it "no longer appreciated" the loans from the World Bank. "The bank is not a proper help to Cambodia in the cause of development," he told AFP. More than 3,000 lakeside families have already left the area, often after their homes were flooded with mud as the lake was filled in, and had to accept what little compensation was on offer, according to housing rights groups. The remaining families, who have held frequent protests in recent months, are holding out for a plot of land on the same site or adequate compensation and are currently in talks with city officials and the company. "Discussions between the government and residents are ongoing and we look forward to an early resolution of this issue," Dixon said, adding that the bank's existing programmes in Cambodia would continue as normal. The bank currently has more than 20 active projects in Cambodia to which it has committed over $400m, according to its website. Cambodia has faced mounting criticism in recent years from rights groups and the United Nations over a spate of forced evictions around the country that have displaced tens of thousands of mostly poor people. Land disputes have been a major problem in the country since land ownership was abolished during the 1975-1979 rule of the communist Khmer Rouge and many legal documents were lost during that time.  | ||||||||
| U.S., Cambodia partner for civil military assistance mission Posted: 09 Aug 2011 12:23 AM PDT
By Capt David Herndon PACAF Public Affairs (US Pacific Air Forces) 8/9/2011 - KOH KONG, Cambodia -- U.S. Airmen are partnering with their Royal Cambodian Armed Forces aircrew, engineer, and medical counterparts this week for a combined civil military assistance mission in Koh Kong Province, Cambodia, scheduled to run through Aug. 12. The mission, known as Operation Pacific Angel 11-1, is part of a series of joint and combined humanitarian assistance partnership engagements led by host nation military units, local non-governmental organizations and Pacific Air Forces Airmen assigned to 13th Air Forces. Approximately 60 U.S. Airmen from Active Duty, Guard and Reserve units are teaming with RCAF personnel and local NGOs for Health Services Outreach engagements, an Engineer Civic Assistance Program, and Health and Airfield Subject Matter Expert Exchanges. "As part of Operation Pacific Angel 11-1, the [United States] and Airmen who are on the ground this week are committed to supporting and partnering with the RCAF and people of Koh Kong Province," said Lt. Col. Al Alana, Pacific Angel Cambodia 11-1 mission commander, permanently assigned with the Hawaii Air National Guard's 109th Air Operations Group. "This will be an exciting week and we look forward to an exchange of ideas and practices that will ultimately better our ability to respond together." The colonel continued that Airmen from North Carolina and Idaho National Guard units, Air Force Reserve Command, and all nine U.S. Pacific Air Forces bases traveled great distances and are energized and ready to partner with the people of Cambodia. Officially in its fourth year, Operation Pacific Angel supports U.S. Pacific Command's capacity-building efforts by partnering with other governments in the Pacific to provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering assistance to their citizens. "The relationships that we will build and sustain through this military operation with help tremendously in future humanitarian efforts and in preserving peace and stability in the region," said the colonel. According to the Pacific Angel planners, since 2007, U.S. military members, together with host nation military personnel throughout the region, have improved the lives of tens of thousands of people through operation execution.  |
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