BANGKOK — Thailand's new government on Friday vowed to crack down on what it described as online insults against the revered monarchy, despite widespread criticism of the country's strict lese majeste rules.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said insulting Thailand's royals was "unacceptable" and identified an online campaign as an immediate priority.

"The first thing I must tackle as a matter of urgency are those lese majeste websites. They are not allowed during this government," he told reporters in comments that come within weeks of the new Thai government's taking power.

"I will set up a war room, a working group to take care of this immediately, starting today. It must be done as soon as possible."

Under Thailand's lese majeste legislation, anybody convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison.

The laws have come under heavy criticism from rights groups, which have expressed concern that they were used to suppress freedom of expression under the last government, considered close to the establishment.

Soon after winning the July 3 election, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the rules should not be abused.

But in a sign she did not want direct confrontation with the country's powerful elites, Yingluck stopped short of saying she would reform the legislation.

Tens of thousands of web pages have been removed from the Internet for allegedly insulting the monarchy in recent years.

Discussion of the monarchy's role is a long-standing taboo in politically divided Thailand.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 83, the world's longest-reigning monarch and revered as a demi-god by many Thais, has been in hospital since September 2009.

More than 150 villagers from Kampong Cham province's Chamkar Leu district gathered at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh yesterday morning to protest against a plan to relocate them from three villages they say they have lived in since 1979 to make way for a rubber plantation.

A company owned by prominent businessman An Marady was behind the plan, they said, urging Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene on their behalf.

Staff from the company had asked families in three villages in Bos Knor and Ta Ong communes to accept new 10 by 20 metre plots and US$600 in compensation for relocating to a new site, protester Sun Tuoch, 52, said. "My home has a well and electricity, and is near a road, school and hospital," he said. "I don't want to move."

Hong Sreng, 38, said villagers were afraid they would be evicted.

As is customary, officials from the premier's cabinet received a thumb-printed petition from the group and promised to relay their concerns directly to Hun Sen.

The petition says the families have lived on their land since 1979.

It tells the prime minister they already have a school, a hospital, wells and electricity. It also tells him it is easy for them to earn a living, especially because they live near a road which makes transport easier, and it asks for his help.

An Marady could not be reached for comment yesterday. Heng Bin Yin, director of Kampong Cham's Department of Agriculture, said his office had not been consulted about the economic land concession granted to the company, and the decision had been made by the provincial hall.

Long Lim Hai, director of administration at the provincial hall, declined to comm-ent yesterday.

25 August 2011

The SRP bylaws call for the holding of an ordinary Congress every three years. The last - and fourth - ordinary Congress having been held in 2008, our Party Permanent Committee has recently decided to hold the fifth ordinary Congress on Sunday, 11 September 2011.

As usual, our next Congress will take place in Phnom Penh, at the same place as before, meaning at House # 71, Sothearos Boulevard, with the permission of the premises' owner, Vice-President Kong Korm.

As usual, in compliance with the SRP bylaws, I will preside over the Congress and will lead the debate in my capacity as Party President. But given the present circumstances, I will do it through video conference and other modern communication tools.

Some 3,000 delegates will participate in the Congress. Each delegate, who is himself/herself a locally elected official, will represent possibly hundreds ordinary citizens from the grassroots level (from his/her village or commune).

The Congress will allow our Party to:

The organization of such a Congress represents a heavy financial burden for our Party. We will have to cover expenses related to transportation and food for a large number of delegates coming from all the Kingdom's provinces. We also plan to distribute rewards to young participants who have been most active and effective in the young voter registration campaign, so as to encourage and to accelerate the ongoing campaign.

I appeal to the generosity of SRP members and supporters in all countries and ask them to help us meet expenses related to the organization of our next Congress.

Please send your contribution through the SRP branch geographically nearest to you, or directly to our Phnom Penh Headquarters by bank transfer (see references below).

Thank you for your solidarity and generosity towards our dedicated activists in Cambodia.

Bank references of the Sam Rainsy Party in Phnom Penh:

Beneficiary: Sam Rainsy Party

Account No.: 800-03-2 15931-6

Bank: Cambodian Commercial Bank Limited

Swift Code: SICOKHPP

Address: 26 Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh , Cambodia

Telephone: (855).23.426 145

Fax: (855) 23 426 116

Email: CCBPP@online.com.kh

------------

Le 25 août 2011

Les statuts du PSR prévoient la tenue d'un Congrès ordinaire tous les trois ans. Le dernier (qui a été le 4ème) Congrès ordinaire ayant eu lieu en 2008, le Comité Permanent de notre Parti a récemment décidé de convoquer le 5ème Congrès ordinaire pour le Dimanche 11 Septembre 2011.

Comme d'habitude, notre prochain Congrès se déroulera à Phnom Penh, au même endroit, c'est-à-dire au 71, Boulevard Sothearos, avec la permission du propriétaire des lieux, notre Vice-Président Kong Korm.

Comme d'habitude, en conformité avec les statuts du PSR, je présiderai aux travaux du Congrès et je dirigerai les débats en ma qualité de Président du Parti. Mais compte tenu des circonstances, je le ferai par vidéo conférence en utilisant tous les moyens modernes de communication.

Environ 3.000 délégués participeront à ce Congrès. Chaque délégué, qui est lui-même un élu local, représentera plusieurs centaines de militants de base (niveau du village ou de la commune).

Ce Congrès permettra à notre Parti de:

L'organisation d'un tel Congrès représente une très lourde charge financière pour notre Parti. Il nous faudra couvrir les dépenses de transport et de nourriture pour un grand nombre de délégués venant de toutes les provinces du Royaume. Nous prévoyons aussi de distribuer des récompenses aux jeunes participants qui se sont montrés les plus actifs et les plus efficaces dans la campagne d'inscription des jeunes sur les listes électorales, et cela pour encourager la poursuite et l'intensification de cette campagne.

Je lance donc un appel aux membres et sympathisants du PSR dans tous les pays du monde pour qu'ils nous aident à faire face aux dépenses liées à l'organisation de notre prochain Congrès.

Veuillez SVP envoyer votre contribution par l'intermédiaire de la section géographique du PSR la plus proche de chez vous, ou directement par virement bancaire en utilisant les coordonnées ci-dessous.

Merci pour votre solidarité et générosité envers nos militants au Cambodge.

Coordonnées bancaires du Parti Sam Rainsy à Phnom Penh:

Beneficiary: Sam Rainsy Party

Account No.: 800-03-2 15931-6

Bank: Cambodian Commercial Bank Limited

Swift Code: SICOKHPP

Address: 26 Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh , Cambodia

Telephone: (855).23.426 145

Fax: (855) 23 426 116

Email: CCBPP@online.com.kh

Lowy Institute of International Policy
22 August 2011

Sat in a coffee shop on Phnom Penh's Street 240, by the fence of the Supreme Court, 53-year-old Chan Dara played several forgotten songs composed during the Khmer Rouge era to a dozen assembled friends.

As music echoed through the cafe, the supporter of King Father Norodom Sihanouk and collector of Khmer Rouge songs spoke passionately about the tunes he first listened to as a teenager after the downfall of the Lon Nol Era.

Just a few days after the Khmer Rouge soldiers took over Phnom Penh in April 17, 1975, Dara heard the music of the regime played through loudspeakers. The songs, at first, helped him to understand Communist ideology and installed in him a commitment to work hard and belief that the corruption of the past government was over.

"My first impression of many of the forgotten songs composed during the Khmer Rouge period was that were good lessons on learning good governance and on how to be a good person and leader – but I realised those thoughts were completely wrong when leaders of the Khmer Rouge started killing," said Dara.

As the population of Democratic Kampuchea was sent into the fields to carry out forced labour, Dara would listen to the songs in rice fields, while constructing dams and as members of his family died around him.

But despite his suffering, and the 1.7 million to 2.2 million people estimated killed under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 to 1979, Dara still listens to the old music and is attempting to collect every song he heard during that time.

Since 1993, he has collected about 30 CDs of the forgotten songs from friends and music sellers. "I now listen to the KR songs to make me to remember what happened during the period of three years, eight months and 20 days in which at least six members of my family were killed," Dara said.

Experts on the era have helped collate the songs, in hope they will help as an aid to national reconciliation – with citizens taking ownership of their past.

Director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia Youk Chhang says the 300 songs that DC-Cam has re-mastered are becoming popular and have been copied and put on sale at markets in the capital. An estimated 80 percent of the 3,000 teachers trained by the DC-Cam on KR history have also asked for the music from the era.

"The Khmer Rouge killed many artists and intentionally indoctrinated Khmer culture, arts and way of life. But they failed to eliminate the artistry of the Khmer people because it is in our blood. We continue to sing today, including songs written by the Khmer Rouge," he said.

But for some, that can be an emotional experience. One artist – 53-year-old Kay Noeun from Kampong Thom province – performed the songs again, after singing them as a 13-year-old during the Khmer Rouge regime, for a DC-Cam event last year.

"It was my first time to re-perform the songs last year and made me remember my brother, who was killed during the regime," said Noeun.

"When I sang all the songs, it was with a feeling of suffering."

While some campaigners have expressed concern over the trend. President of Center for Cambodian Civic Education Theary Seng said that she believes and hopes the growing interests in these KR-era songs stems from curiosity.

"I think listening to them can be informative. However, a steady diet of these songs as a norm of entertainment raises concerns as the lyrics in many of these songs glorify blood and gore, violent revolution and class warfare," she said. "I hope it is just plain curiosity, which is healthy."

A Cambodia migrant worker who was at times threatened at knifepoint, tied up or punched in the head by her employer yesterday revealed her chilling experience of the labour recruitment industry.

Following her testimony via video link, broadcast at Sam Rainsy Party headquarters, opposition parliamentarian Mu Sochua slammed the Ministry of Labour for allegedly protecting recruitment companies that repeatedly sent employees into such "incredibly serious" situations.

Hak Srey Mao, originally from Kampong Speu province, told a conference of about 20 local and international reporters the employer she had been sent to work for "put a knife to my neck, tied me with a rope, hit me over the head, made me work until 1am and hardly gave me anything to eat".

"Whatever the employer gave me, the agency took from me. I have never received any money for my work," the 27-year-old, who lives in a Malaysian shelter, said.

Another abuse victim, 30-year-old Mao Vesna, said via video link that she had successfully sued a former employer who dumped her at an airport after refusing to pay her for two years' work.

After the Nyuong Pak agency, which had sent her to the abusive employer, withdrew its legal support, Mao Vesna represented herself and successfully argued that a pay slip bearing her signature was a fake.

"I decided to go to court without legal representation, and I defended myself with my broken English [showing] that I had enough proof that I did not sign the documents and that the signature was falsified," she said.

But Mao Vesna remains stranded in Malaysia without a cent of compensation, as a court order has denied her the right to leave the country because of an impending appeal.

Also watching the women's talks were families searching for their loved ones who had been sent abroad.

Mam Pech, of Kratie province, said she had not heard from her daughter Ros Saruen for seven months, after she was sent to Malaysia by the recruitment firm T&P Co Ltd.

Neang Vanna, from Kampong Thom province, said she had lost contact with her daughter, Kea Samach, after T&P sent her to Malaysia three years ago.

T&P has been connected to a litany of reported abuses including the death of a woman in one of its training centres early this year, followed days later by an escape attempt from the same facility in which a woman jumped from a three-storey building.

No labour recruitment firm has ever had its licence suspended or revoked in Cambodia.

Mu Sochua said yesterday government authorities such as the ministries of labour, interior and foreign affairs had turned a blind eye to companies like T&P because they were big businesses with powerful influence.

"It's money, and the owners of these agencies are very highly placed and protected. Some of them are Okhnas [tycoons],'' she said.

"How do you tackle a situation when the government really is protecting [them]? Who is the real owner of T&P? This kind of information must be transparent."

Mu Sochua also decried new Cambodian legislation regulating the labour recruitment industry as "a sub-decree for the sake of a sub-decree", claiming it legitimised the government while addressing no core issues.

Oum Mean, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Labour, said yesterday Mu Sochua should write a letter to the ministry outlining detailed allegations against T&P, at which point they would take action.

T&P could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Liva Sreedharan, project officer at the Malaysia-based rights group Tenaganita, told the conference that 50 per cent of the 54 Cambodian domestic servants her organisation had saved this year were victims of "immense violations" and had been physically assaulted.

"A staggering percentage were sexually abused, starved and their salaries were not paid at all," she said, adding that none had written contracts and most of the women's passports had been taken from them.

All showed signs of anxiety and some were clinically depressed. Most were wary about returning to Cambodia, despite a deep longing for their homeland, because they felt they had failed their families.

China criticized an annual U.S. report on its military, with the state-run Xinhua News Agency citing William Shakespeare in calling it "much ado about nothing." A military spokesman said it "severely distorted the facts."

The Pentagon report, released Aug. 24, said China's military continued to improve its capabilities for a potential conflict with Taiwan "even as cross-Strait relations have improved." The goal is "to deter Taiwan independence and influence Taiwan to settle the disputes on Beijing's terms," the report said.

Yang Yujun, a spokesman for China's defense ministry, said the report played up China's threat to Taiwan. "China unswervingly adheres to the path of peaceful development, and its national defense policy is defensive in nature," Xinhua cited Yang as saying.

The report to Congress is an annual point of tension between the world's two biggest economies, whose leaders have pushed to improve military ties. The U.S. has the world's biggest military budget, with more than $600 billion in annual spending. China's defense spending ranks second in the world. This year China plans to spend 601.2 billion yuan ($94.1 billion) on defense, the government announced in March.

"For many in China, it is weird that the Pentagon, whose expenditures reached nearly 700 billion U.S. dollars and accounted for over an appalling 40 percent of the world's total in 2010, routinely points its finger at China, whose military only spends a small fraction of what the Pentagon consumes every year," the Xinhua commentary said.

The commentary called U.S. claims that China's naval expansion had implications for regional power balances "utterly cock-and-bull."

As of December, the People's Liberation Army had deployed between 1,000 and 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles to units opposite Taiwan, said the Pentagon report, including "missiles with improved ranges, accuracies and payloads."

"Relations have continued to improve over the past couple of years, but, despite this political warming, China's military shows no signs of slowing its effort to prepare for a cross- Strait contingency," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Michael Schiffer told reporters at the Pentagon on Aug. 24.

China's military, besides its Taiwan focus, is expanding its capability for missions as far away as the Indian Ocean and further into the Pacific region, according to the Pentagon.

"China's sustained military investments have allowed China to pursue capabilities that are potentially destabilizing to regional military balances," the report said.

In the past year, "China made strides toward fielding an operational anti-ship ballistic missile, continued work on its aircraft carrier and finalized the prototype of its first stealth aircraft," the report said.

The report said the anti-ship missile, the DF-21D, has a range exceeding 1,500 kilometers and a maneuverable warhead designed to provide "the capability to attack large ships, including aircraft carriers, in the western Pacific."

Tensions rose last year after the U.S. announced plans in January to sell $6.4 billion of missiles, helicopters and ships to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province that should be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary.

China broke off military-to-military talks with the U.S. until late 2010, ahead of visits by Gates to Beijing in January this year and Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the U.S. that same month.

Chinese General Chen Bingde, chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, visited the U.S. in May, further driving efforts to improve ties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20SYkYXCbIM&feature=player_embedded

The 15th annual Southeast Asian Water Festival got under way in Lowell, Mass., last weekend, with a monks' blessing, prayers and a race of eight boat teams.

As it has in the past, the festival opened with blessings to chase away evil spirits, bad karma and ill luck, followed by traditional and rap music performances.

Some prayed for their health, safety and long life, while others wished for peace and the safety of Cambodian and US soldiers.

"Life is vulnerable and uncertain," prayed venerable monk Ajahn Mang Kone, of the Buddhahavana pagoda in Lowell, which is home to a large Cambodian-American population. "So while we are still on our life path, we need to do good things, good deeds. I would now invite all of us to pray together for safety, peace and happiness."

After the prayer, celebrants followed the monk to a nearby canal, to release floating bowls called "kantoung" meant to ward away evil spirits and bad luck. The bank of the canal was slippery, however, so those who wished to send off their kantoung passed them to monks and park rangers for their release.

"I prayed for good health and happiness for myself and my relatives near and far," said Amrong Chey, a resident of Virginia who came with her aunt to visit relatives here. "And I also prayed for Cambodian soldiers stationed near and around Preah Vihear temple, as well as soldiers fighting in Iraq. I prayed for their safety and hope they can come back and be reunited with their families."

After the ceremonies, a boat race was set for Saturday. Some competitors gave money to monks as they hoped for a victory, with eight teams competing.

"I hope to win," said one man from the Mekong Rower team. "We have a pretty good shot. But this year, several strong teams have come to compete."

In the end, it was not the Mekong Rower team but the Khmer Krom team that won, earning $1,000 cash.

Rady Mom, a representative of this year's festival, which was sponsored in party by the Lowell Cultural Council, said it has gotten better each year. When it began, the festival was only meant to be a celebration for Cambodians, but over the years it has grown to encompass other communities with roots in Southeast Asia.

"I've seen the festivities continue to develop," Rady Mom said.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

Around 60 policemen from around the country took part in a training workshop on Thursday to help them combat illegal human trafficking.

The two-day training came as Cambodia approved a measure to tighten controls on Cambodian migrant laborers.

Cambodia is facing dual problems of human trafficking and an increase in the number of laborers who legally seek work abroad, some of whom have reported serious abuses as a result.

Thursday's training included a closer look at the laws already on the books to prevent trafficking, as well as further methods to prevent it.

"Fighting human trafficking has many challenges and many activities," said Chu Bun Eng, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior, who spoke at the opening of the session. Not all of those activities are easily recognizable, she said. "But we clearly see there is activity in bringing persons from one place to another."

The government has also issued a new subdecree to help control the flow of migrant laborers through recruitment agencies.

Such agencies have vastly increased over the last year, seeking to bring in young women for domestic labor in Malaysia, where demand is high. However, the agencies are poorly regulated, and media reports have surfaced of young women facing poor conditions at recruitment centers and suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of employers in Malaysia.

The new regulation gives the Ministry of Labor more control over such practices, with the aid of the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs.

Both the training and the new measure were welcomed by rights workers as a step toward improving enforcement of labor and anti-trafficking practices.

"We are still worried about the human trafficking situation," said Sawada Chan Krisna, who heads a protection unit for women and children at the rights group Adhoc. The group received 28 separate complaints of human trafficking so far this year.

Ya Nuth, president of the Caram Cambodia, a protection group, said they had received 20 different complaints of human trafficking in the first seven months of 2011.

"The training of these enforcement officers is a good thing to push the implementation of law in reducing the human trafficking and it effects," he said.

PHNOM PENH, Kingdom of Cambodia — Marines from Okinawa traveled to Cambodia to refresh their skills and increase combined-joint interoperability by providing support for a U.S. Army jumpmaster course here Aug. 14-21.

Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, conducted training, while providing support to soldiers with 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), during the course.

"The communication (was) really smooth on our end, and the Army's as well," said Marine Capt. Chad Magro, a pilot for VMGR-152.

The training helped prepare U.S. and host nation service members to work together in future humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts or contingencies.

"The purpose of combined-joint exercise training is to work with host nation forces and build rapport to better understand the area of operations that special forces work in," said Sgt. 1st Class Jose Castro, communications staff noncommissioned officer in charge, 1st Bn., 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne).

"We get a better understanding of their unit breakdown and their day-to-day activities," he said.

During the training, soldiers participated in a static line personnel jump and free fall with nearly 40 members of the Royal Cambodian Army.

A static line is a cord attached from an aircraft to the top of an individual's parachute. The static line mechanism opens the parachute automatically once the passenger jumps from the aircraft.

"You perform jumpmaster parachute inspections before they can jump to ensure they rigged their parachutes properly," said Sgt. 1st Class Vince Tracy, a parachute rigger with 1st Bn., 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). "You have to control the actions inside the aircraft to ensure that everything is done safely for the paratrooper to exit the aircraft and most importantly, to instill confidence in the jumper."

VMGR-152 Marines also conducted internal aerial delivery training while in Cambodia, including cargo and military freefall to prepare their Marines for future deployments to Afghanistan and to meet annual readiness requirements.

The communication between Marines, soldiers and the Royal Cambodian Army was beneficial in all aspects of the training, according to Magro.

"It was great working with the Cambodians," said Tracy. "They are very professional. They took what we had, incorporated it into their airborne operations and showed us different ways of doing things. Hopefully it can help us improve our operations and strengthen the relationship between our two countries."

A very moving press conference via skype.

The women's cry for help can only be heard when concerned governments do not look at this issue as just human trade.

Families from provinces were also present at the press conference seeking for their lost daughters.

Government Sub-decree passed on 17 July, 2011 empty on protection and promotion of human rights of domestic workers, abolition of forced labor and debt bondage. Very weak measures for prosecution and safe repatriation and social re-integration of the survivors.

មន្ត្រី​បក្ស​ប្រឆាំង​នៅ​កម្ពុជា និង​មន្ត្រី​អង្គការ​ក្រៅ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​នៅ​ប្រទេស​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី បាន​បង្ហាញ​ថា ថៅកែ ឬ​ម្ចាស់​ផ្ទះ​ជា​ជន​ជាតិ​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី ដែល​ជួល​កម្មករ​ខ្មែរ​ធ្វើ​ការ​បម្រើ​តាម​ផ្ទះ បាន​ធ្វើ​បាប​ទាំង​ផ្លូវកាយ និង​ផ្លូវ​ចិត្ត បំបិទ​សិទ្ធិ​សេរីភាព។

ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ស្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​ចេញ​ទៅ​ធ្វើការ​បម្រើ​តាម​ផ្ទះ​នៅ​ប្រទេស​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី មាន​នារី​លើស​ពី ៥០% បាន​រង​គ្រោះ​ដោយ​កា​យាយី​ផ្លូវ​ភេទ​ពី​សំណាក់​ថៅកែ ឬ​ម្ចាស់ផ្ទះ និង​មិន​បាន​ទទួល​ប្រាក់​ឈ្នួល។


ថ្លែង​នៅ​ក្នុង​សន្និសីទ​កាសែត​ផ្សាយ​បន្ត​ផ្ទាល់​តាម​វីដេអូ ឬ​ហៅ​ថា វីដេអូ ខនហ្វើរិន (Video Conference) ក្នុង​ទីស្នាក់ការ​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​២៥ ខែ​សីហា នាយិកា​អង្គការ តេនាហ្គានីតា (Tenaganita) មាន​ទីស្នាក់ការ​នៅ​ទីក្រុង​កូឡាឡាំពួរ ប្រទេស​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី លោកស្រី ស្រ៊ី ដារៀន (Srie Dharan) បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា ក្នុង​ឆ្នាំ​២០១១​នេះ លោកស្រី​បាន​ជួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​ស្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​ចំនួន ៥៤​នាក់​រួច​មក​ហើយ​ដែល​បាន​រង​គ្រោះ​នៅ​ប្រទេស​នេះ។


លោកស្រី​បន្ត​ថា ស្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​ដែល​ទៅ​ធ្វើការ​បម្រើ​តាម​ផ្ទះ​បាន​ទទួល​រង​ការ​បង្ខំ​ទាំង​ផ្លូវ​ចិត្ត និង​ផ្លូវ​កាយ បំបិទ​សិទ្ធិ​សេរីភាព ហើយ​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​ដក​យក​ឯកសារ​សម្គាល់​ខ្លួន​ផ្សេងៗ និង​លិខិត​ឆ្លង​ដែន​ជាដើម។ ក្រៅ​ពី​នោះ ពួក​គេ​ធ្វើការ​ពេញ​១​សប្ដាហ៍ ហើយ​មិន​បាន​ចុះ​កិច្ច​សន្យា​ការងារ​នោះ​ទេ។

ស្ត្រី​ពលករ​ឈ្មោះ ស្រី ម៉ៅ អាយុ ២៧​ឆ្នាំ មាន​ស្រុក​កំណើត​នៅ​ខេត្ត​កំពង់ស្ពឺ ដែល​បាន​ជួយ​សង្គ្រោះ​មក​ដល់​មណ្ឌល​ស្ដារ​នីតិសម្បទា បាន​ឲ្យ​ដឹង​តាម​រយៈ​វីដេអូ​ផ្សាយ​ផ្ទាល់​ពី​ប្រទេស​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី ថា នាង​ទៅ​ធ្វើ​ការ​នៅ​ប្រទេស​នេះ​ចំនួន ៥​ឆ្នាំ​ហើយ ដែល​នាង​បាន​រង​គ្រោះ​ដោយ​ម្ចាស់​ផ្ទះ​វាយ​ធ្វើ​បាប និង​មិន​បាន​ទទួល​ប្រាក់​ឈ្នួល​សោះ​រហូត​មក​ដល់​ពេល​នេះ។

អ្នកស្រី ម៉ម ប៉ិច ពលរដ្ឋ​នៅ​ខេត្ត​ក្រចេះ បាន​ដាក់​ពាក្យ​ប្ដឹង​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​នាំ​ពលករ ធី អេន ភី (T&P) ទៅ​អ្នក​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី បាន​ថ្លែង​ថា កូនស្រី​របស់​អ្នកស្រី​បាន​បាត់​ដំណឹង​ជាង ៣​ឆ្នាំ​មក​ហើយ​នៅ​ប្រទេស​ម៉ាឡេស៊ី ហើយ​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​បញ្ជូន​ពលករ​ពុំ​មាន​ការ​ទទួល​ខុស​ត្រូវ​ពី​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​នោះ​ទេ។

ឆ្លើយ​តប​បញ្ហា​នេះ លោកស្រី ជូ ប៊ុនអេង រដ្ឋលេខាធិការ​ក្រសួង​មហាផ្ទៃ មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៧ ខែ​សីហា រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ទើប​បាន​អនុម័ត​អនុក្រឹត្យ​ស្ដីពី​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​លើ​ការ​បញ្ជូន​ពលករ​ខ្មែរ​ទៅ​ធ្វើ​ការ​នៅ​បរទេស​តាម​រយៈ​ទីភ្នាក់ងារ​ជ្រើសរើស​ឯកជន ជា​ចំណែក​មួយ​ក្នុង​ការ​លើក​កម្ពស់​សិទ្ធិ​ពលករ។ ប៉ុន្តែ​លោកស្រី​សុំ​ឲ្យ​មាន​កិច្ច​សហការ​ល្អ​ពី​ក្រុម​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល។

លោកស្រី មូរ សុខហួរ អ្នក​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​មណ្ឌល​កំពត គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី បាន​មាន​មតិ​ថា អនុក្រឹត្យ​ស្ដីពី​ការ​គ្រប់គ្រង​លើ​ការ​បញ្ជូន​ពលករ​ខ្មែរ​ទៅ​ធ្វើការ​នៅ​បរទេស​តាម​រយៈ​ទីភ្នាក់ងារ​ជ្រើសរើស​ឯកជន ដែល​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ទើប​បាន​អនុម័ត​កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៧ ខែ​សីហា នោះ នៅ​មាន​ភាព​ខ្វះ​ចន្លោះ​ចំណុច​មួយ​ចំនួន ដែល​នៅ​ក្នុង​អនុក្រឹត្យ​នេះ​មិន​បាន​និយាយ​អំពី​ការ​ផ្ដន្ទាទោស​ដល់​ភាគី​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​នោះ​ទេ។

លោកស្រី មូរ សុខហួរ បាន​សម្ដែង​ក្ដី​បារម្ភ​ចំពោះ​ស្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​ប្រមាណ ៣​ម៉ឺន​នាក់​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​២០១១​នេះ បាន​ចំណាក​ស្រុក​ទៅ​ធ្វើ​ការ​បម្រើ​តាម​ផ្ទះ។ ចំនួន​នេះ​ក្រុម​អង្គការ​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​កំពុង​មាន​កង្វល់​ដែរ ថា ជា​ចំនួន​ដ៏​ច្រើន​ដែល​ស្ត្រី​ខ្មែរ​ចេញ​ទៅ​ទាំង​ប្រថុយប្រថាន និង​តែងតែ​រង​គ្រោះ៕

The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) recognizes that free flow of people is an aspect of the globalization process which should be encouraged and protected. The movement of people for the purpose of employment, in particular, brings about benefits not only to the migrant workers and their families, but also to the sending and destination countries.

CALD believes that both the sending and destination countries have the responsibility to promote the welfare of migrant workers and to ensure the protection of their rights.

CALD is gravely concerned by the severe maltreatment of many migrant workers from Asia and from other parts of the world. Reports by the police, family members and organizations involved in the protection of migrant workers reveal a situation that deserves immediate attention of all concerned governments.

CALD is alarmed by the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable, young and women workers from Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Burma and Indonesia who left their countries to work as domestic helpers in other Asian countries and elsewhere.

CALD is particularly concerned by reports of exploitation of under-age workers and young women coming from the most disadvantaged families living in rural Cambodia and now working as domestic helpers in neighboring Asian countries. It urges the Cambodian government to institute and implement measures to guard against such exploitation.

CALD also calls on all concerned governments to take immediate measures to revise mechanisms for proper and strict monitoring of employment agencies responsible for the placements of migrant workers. Training of embassy officials and dissemination of information to migrant workers are also needed in order to prevent violation and abuse.

CALD urges these governments to adopt and to fully implement the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189 on Domestic Work that guarantees full benefits to domestic workers, including weekly day-off, minimum wage, and the workers' right to keep their passports, a vital document while living and working abroad.

CALD supports the full investigation and prosecution of violators of migrant workers' rights, and calls for a safe and timely repatriation of migrant workers, particularly women and children, with support services in case of trauma until their full recovery.

For the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats:

Chairperson

Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats

Secretary General

Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats

A TORQUAY family trying desperately to get their little girl home from Cambodia are keeping their fingers crossed that the Federal Government will let their daughter visit while they fight for a permanent visa.

Meagan and Michael Paterson's request for a visa for Pisey was officially knocked back by the Australian Government after the family found themselves trapped in a legal loophole.

The family is now hoping they will be able to secure a temporary visit visa for Pisey which will allow her to come to Australia while the family waits to have their case heard at a Migration Review Tribunal which could take up to 18 months.

Mr and Mrs Paterson are also pleading with the Attorney General to give Pisey a permanent visa.

Their request comes after Minister for Immigration Chris Bowen reviewed the case and ordered a change to inter-country adoption law that will assist other families in the same situation in the future, but not the Patersons.

The Patersons returned to Australia before they applied for the visa that would allow Pisey to join them here.

They acted after the Australian Embassy in Cambodia informed them they could receive a visa on compassionate grounds, as they were forced to return home due to family illness, before Pisey's adoption was complete.

When they returned to Australia, Pisey's visa was refused and the little girl is living in a rape crisis centre while her family wait for the case to be heard.

Mrs Paterson said the wait was heartbreaking.

"We are hoping the Attorney General will listen to our case and apply a discretionary decision now the law that is keeping Pisey from us is to be changed," she said.

The rape crisis centre Pisey is living in is set to close.

Her grandfather Bill Welsh is in Cambodia trying to find alternate accommodation.

In this discussion on youth, education, and Cambodia's future, topics in vogue today, I would like to introduce some brief theoretical concepts about perceptions and reality; follow with what some regular Cambodians (whom I have not met) write; and examine some observations and survey results by several organizations. My purpose is to provoke discussion about the present situation in Cambodia.

Our unique political socialization; the information we've acquired; our cognition, experiences, values and beliefs acquired from different sources, do influence our perceptions and cause us to evaluate the same experiences differently from one another.

From childhood to adulthood and to the end of our lives, we never stop learning. As a child we learn from our parents and those dearest to us. As we go to school, we learn from our teachers and from books. As we grow up, friends and peers, and our surrounding, influence our behavior. I never understood what my father meant when he told me endlessly as I was growing up, "Live with cow, sleep like cow. Live with parrot, sleep like parrot." In college, I learned that political socialization shapes and molds our characters.

Our values and beliefs are learned. The newspaper we choose to read, the magazines on our coffee tables, the books we read and television shows we watch; the job we hold; the special events we encounter, all contribute to molding our personality. Some of us are unconscious of our learning.

Two quotes I like: "Learning without thought is labor lost," said Chinese teacher Confucius (551 BC-479 BC); and American futurist Alvin Toffler's assertion that the "illiterate" of the 21st century will be "those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

To learn is to think. But all thinking is not of the same quality. An opinion – which changes from occasion to occasion – is not a thought based on careful observation, reflection, and analysis. It's not what we know but the quality of our thinking that determines the quality of what we do, and the quality of our life. Thought leaders urge us to think objectively, positively, creatively, and critically, and to never stop intellectual inquiries, because our future depends on it.

Lord Gautama Buddha taught 2,500 years ago, "We are what we think … With our thoughts, we make the world." Statistically, 95 percent of Cambodians claim affiliation with the Buddhist faith. Buddha's teaching should be natural for Cambodians. Is it?

Recall some psychological experiments that revealed "one in three persons" follow what the majority claim, even if these persons believe the claim is incorrect. Generally, one laughs with the group even without understanding what the laughter is about, and one changes one's stand if it is unpopular with the crowd. That's frightening, but coincidental with the Cambodian aphorism, "Thveu doch ke doch aeng," or "do like others do."

Although genes we inherit from our parents do shape our attitudes and behavior powerfully – apples don't fall far from the tree – I believe our attitudes and behavior are influenced more by our long term socialization, which begins since birth and ends only in death.

To people who belittle Confucius's words, "You cannot open a book without learning something," is Confucius's answer: "Surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."

There are two types of reality. One is tangible: roads, bridges, buildings. The other is what we perceive as real: these are opinions based on our perception and analysis. It's quantitative versus qualitative.

Last month, a Cambodian expatriate on regular visit to Cambodia circulated an e-mail: "I am in Cambodia now. A lot of Khmer youths have no guidance." He alleged the government's half-hearted effort on television to "promote democracy" is less attractive to Khmer youth drawn more to advertisements on "beer, beer, and more beer; and then whiskey, whiskey, and more whiskey"; after alcohol, the youth go for "hard cheap drugs … such as YA BA, and then heroin." The expatriate called on Cambodians "anywhere around the world to return to Cambodia to help reduce the pain of the Khmer youth who have lost their soul without realizing it."

Some university students in Phnom Penh who saw the e-mail, admitted to the alcohol advertisements on TV, but criticized the blanket statements about Khmer youth.

Also last month, another e-mail was sent by another expatriate, after "the first visit since my birth in refugee camp" at the Khmer-Thai border. He said he had just returned from Cambodia where he traveled the countryside and "reached out" to the poor. "I was sad and shocked to see their overwhelming poverty and despair. They have to deal with their miserable life without [care] from the current Cambodian leaders."

He charged, the "new settlers" [read, Vietnamese immigrants] in Cambodia enjoy "better life and advantages" than the poor Khmers; his e-mail appealed to Cambodians to forget their political affiliation for the moment to unite to "save our people and our country before it is too late."

Within the same month, an e-mail from a reader, a manufacturing coordinator who lives on America's West Coast, landed in my box. I never met him. He described himself as "a Killing Field survivor in the US since 1985" who has visited Cambodia three times, the last trip some six months ago.

"From my personal observations, Cambodia is better today than she [has ever been]: more children attend schools, infrastructures are modernized." He described his travels to border provinces, where roads are built, and power lines are up: "Travel which took me more than half day in 2007, now takes me only 2 hours; that is progress."

"I am proud to be Cambodian today than I have ever been," he wrote. He criticized the US that he said "never cared much about Cambodia and her people"; the US "realized China's influence in the region, especially Cambodia," only recently.

The e-mails bring to mind results from a survey of Cambodians by the International Republican Institute (related to the US Republican Party), released in January 2011 that showed 23 percent of respondents believe Cambodia is headed in the wrong direction – citing corruption, joblessness, poverty, inflation – while 76 percent are satisfied with the direction Cambodia is headed – citing infrastructure improvements such as roads, bridges, buildings, schools, health clinics.

Ironically, it was also in July that a different kind of e-mail reached my box from Cambodia from a young Khmer, an Internet reader of my columns – I called him Sambath for his security. He is a Bachelor's degree holder in political science from a foreign country. He used to write in his e-mails while he was in school that "the education of political culture and socialization of Cambodians is necessary to bring change."

He had been silent for some time, until last month. He graduated, has returned to his home village in Cambodia's northwest, has been helping his 74-year-old grandmother and his parents plant rice, and lived in a pagoda when he visited Phnom Penh.

"Life is hard for the poor," he wrote. He described farming as "hopeless" because of the lack of fertilizers; he was surprised there are "twin" vegetables at many markets – grown by Khmer (more expensive) or imported from Thailand or Vietnam (less expensive). In the northwest, he found ginger, onion, sweet chili pepper imported from Thailand. In Phnom Penh, at Tuk Laak, he found meat and other products from Vietnam; one kilo of Khmer ginger costs 12,000 riels ($3), a kilo of Vietnamese ginger costs, 7,000 riels ($1.6), making Vietnamese vegetables more popular. He lamented how Khmer growers can ever support themselves.

"Many people talk more about Vietnamese immigrants flooding into Cambodia than about Vietnamese products flowing freely into the country and becoming much sought after as they are cheaper than Khmer products," he wrote and expressed concerns over what this alone can do the state of the Khmer economy, Cambodians' welfare, and the future.

Sambath was matter-of-fact. He claimed most people in his village are "indebted to Micro finance institutions"; they sell their land, cows and buffaloes to the better privileged Vietnamese immigrants; and sadly, many use the money for "gambling, alcohol, new phone, motorbike." Many villagers engaged in "A Pao'ng" and card games; many young people are "now good at drinking; to pure palm juice they add 'kduoch' poisonous herb to make the drink strong."

He hypothesized perhaps poverty and low education, have led to "poor morality of teenagers and adults, and people become selfish." He was sad to see "many old people" left to work in the fields while many teenagers and adults left for Thailand for work, and females leave Cambodia for Malaysia.

Sambath's father is an elementary school teacher whose monthly salary is about "$80 to feed 7 children." His uncle has a son, now in grade three. The child cannot read even the alphabet. Sambath claims that students now copy exam answers from each other, buy exam questions in grades 9-12, bribe examiners to pass exams, and can buy a high school diploma for $400-500. A young man from a wealthy family in Phnom Penh, who never finished high school, ordered a high school diploma and a grade sheet to enter a university abroad to study computer science.

"We do understand very well many developments are only for the rich as the poor are struggling," he asserted. Yes, there are more buildings, Sambath admitted, "but one year after construction, some buildings like my old schools, and most national roads … go broken in some parts because they were constructed or built not according to standard."

Sambath said to connect for power to the Chinese hydropower dam at Kravanh Mountain, his family must spend $150-200 for connection service and an additional 3,000 riels per kilowatt hour of electricity – money his parents don't have. So, there stands the dam, and there live most villagers without electricity.

"Let me assure you that many Cambodians I talked to in the capital and the rural areas do understand the hardships they faced, the hardships that don't have to be, but they are not brave enough to talk publicly," Sambath wrote.

"I do believe one day, with a brave and honest person leading the fight for freedom, Cambodians will wake up!!" Sambath expressed sorrows that the most popular democratic opposition leaders, Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha, and Kem Veasna, who espouse the same democratic principles, whose political goals are similar, are not only unable to unite to oppose the same enemy but fall into their enemy's trap of "divide and rule" tactics by "colorfully" accusing each other. Worse still, he said, they divide the people, prospective voters, into three different parties!

Youth is the future of a country. And the future is built upon what young people are doing today. Tomorrow must take care of itself. People usually look at yesterday to explain today's happenings. Some even get stuck in the past and neglect to use today to prepare for tomorrow. I am never tired of repeating Lord Buddha's words, "Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." The future begins today.

Readers may recall the recent release by Wikileaks of 777 diplomatic cables from the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. Among the cables released online last month was Ambassador Carol Rodley's "Cambodia's Burgeoning Youth Population Increasingly Seduced by the 'Perfect High'," dated 2009, about a "recent uptick in drug use," ice or methamphetamine "preferred by Cambodia's urban elite." Rodley spoke of "'drug parties', domestic violence, rape, and gang activity," and "spoiled children" spending $1,000 a month on drugs "in a country where the average family lives on less than a dollar a day."

The cable reported how Cambodia's rich families are secretly sending their drug-addicted children for treatment at private clinics in China or Australia under the pretext of the children going abroad to "visit family or study."

Others have written about the culture of bribery that is prevalent among Cambodian youth from elementary schools to university level. Today these reports appear even in Cambodia's English language newspapers. What Sambath wrote in his e-mail is substantiated in public media. It spreads nationwide. One may not like what Stanford University Professor Joel Brinkley wrote in his book, "Cambodia's Curse," about Cambodia's culture of bribery, but I recommend people to read the book. It is very instructive.

Last month, the United Nations Development Programme released the November 2010 survey of 2,000 Cambodian youth, a survey UNDP conducted with the BBC World Service Trust.

Briefly, Cambodia has the youngest population of any of the 10 member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations. Two out of 3 Cambodians are under the age of 25; and more than 30 percent of the country's 14 million are between 10 and 24 years old. The survey found Cambodia's young people understand little about democratic institutions: Three-quarters of youth interviewed had heard of parliament and 62 percent of that number had no idea what it does; a third of those interviewed did not know what commune councils do; and fewer than one in three young Cambodians was interested in politics.

Yet, the survey found 95 percent of Cambodia's youth are proud of being Cambodian and of the direction in which Cambodia is headed.

While the UNDP reported that some 300,000 young Cambodians who enter the domestic labor market every year often don't have the skill sets required by private sector employers, the August 12th Cambodia Daily reported on Cambodia's Ph.D. degree inflation: While there are 2,000 Ph.D. candidates in the small kingdom, Cambodians seek Ph.D. honorary degrees from non-accredited institutions to improve their job prospects and social status.

If youth is the future of the country and education is a sine qua non element of a country's development, without change in the status quo ante, Cambodia's future will be anything but bright.

It is the government's responsibility to end the current situation and bring about change. If the government cannot do that, a new government should replace it.

The more the reason Cambodians of different political persuasions must work hard for change.

Cambodian Buddhists have access to an historical culture that can provide a foundation for catalyzing personal and collective change. Broad-based application of Buddhist values and principles can help Cambodian society make its way to a future those on the current path may never find.

……………

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A journalist in Vietnam has been sentenced to seven years in prison for blackmailing a cement company.

The state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper says Phan Ha Binh, who works for the Tien Phong newspaper, was convicted of extortion at a one-day trial Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Friday's report, Binh told the judge he wrote three negative stories about the cement company in 2010 and that he told the company he wouldn't write additional stories if it paid him $10,000. He told the company that for another $3,000, he'd write positive stories.

The company reported the story to police, who caught Binh receiving $11,000 from the company at a restaurant last October.

Tien Phong often runs investigative stories and is one of the communist country's most popular newspapers.

COMFREL is please to release its press release on the result of workshop on voter's voice in remote areas; Krosang commune, Chong Kal district, Uddor Meanchey province was held on August 19, 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 : 

COMFREL is please to release its press release on the result of workshop on voter's voice in remote areas; O Soam commune, Veal Veng district, Pursat province was held on August 16, 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 :