The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Just protecting” plus 8 more

We will withdraw the army when Sam Rainsy stops calling on people to protest en masse and when the situation is normal. We are just protecting security in the country.

The number of Cambodian labourers legally working abroad dropped 30 per cent, from nearly 17,000 in the first six months of 2012 to about 12,000 for the first half of this year, according to government statistics.

Notably, there were declines in Thailand and South Korea, where the vast majority of legal migrants work, a report from the government news site Agence Kampuchea Presse said.

Thailand's figures declined by 30 per cent, from 10,583 to 7,420 workers, while the number of Cambodians employed in South Korea dropped by 27 per cent, from 6,187 to 4,503.

The government attributed this to improved working conditions in Cambodia.

"In addition to garment factories, we have got new flows of electronics and automotive manufacturers. Those are demanding many workers and providing higher wages," Oum Mean, secretary of state of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, said.

The real picture of labour migration, however, may be more difficult to quantify.

Malaysia, for instance, saw a dramatic 59 per cent decrease in workers over the given period, according to the stats. But the well-documented abuse of Cambodian maids at the hands of their Malaysian employers was not offered as a potential cause for the drop-off.

Then there is the challenge in assessing movements of illegal or irregular workers. Mean said the number of these migrants working outside Cambodia was difficult to calculate, but said he'd observed a decline, as workers were more aware of risks associated with illegally migrating abroad.

"In Thailand over the past 10 years, they have had windows for irregular migrants to get regular status. In the past couple of years these windows have been open," said Max Tunon with the International Labour Organization in Bangkok, referring to Thailand's national verification process, under which Cambodian migrants can be granted valid work permits in Thailand.

"That provides some incentives for migrants to use irregular channels rather than the licensed recruitment agencies."

In January, Thailand nationalised its minimum wage, granting workers anywhere in the country, as opposed to just in urban areas, a minimum daily pay of $10. The move, Tunon said, provided an incentive for those who didn't want to migrate lengthy distances for a better wage.

Cambodian microfinance institution (MFI) Sathapana Limited will receive $15 million in loans to provide additional support to small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), which make up the vast majority of the country's businesses.

The loan comes courtesy of German Investment and Development Company DEG, a subsidiary of Germany development bank KfW.

Speaking during the signing ceremony at the Raffles Hotel le Royal in Phnom Penh yesterday, Sathapana CEO Bun Mony said the loan has to be paid back within seven years, at an interest rate of about 6 per cent.

The money helps Sathapana expand into the SME sector by providing long-term financing, with a maximum borrowing period of up to 48 months.

"This agreement also reflects that Sathapana's reputation and image have been improving due to outstanding performance and effective operational management, meeting high international standards," Mony said.

As of August 1, Sathapana registered outstanding loans of $143 million in the hands of 72,600 borrowers. The number of deposit customers, or those who use the MFI like a savings account, reached 54,334. Taken together, clients stowed away $70 million.

"Sathapana Limited plans to have 175,000 clients with a total loan portfolio of $500 million in the next five years. It hopes to reach out to 250,000 clients with a total loan portfolio of $1 billion in the next 10 years," Mony said.

The MFI operates in all provinces and cities in Cambodia, has 101 offices and employs about 2,000 people.

KfW has been implementing financial assistance projects in Cambodia since the mid-1990s, according to the German Embassy in Phnom Penh.

Herbert Jaeger, senior investment manager of the DEG Representative Office in Bangkok, said DEG stepped into the business in Cambodia more than 10 years ago. Last year, DEG provided a $15 million loan to Cambodia's largest MFI, PRASAC.

"DEG has [supported] the private sector in Cambodia with about $100 million and we will extend further," he said yesterday, adding: "We will add our finances to other MFIs in the future."

Opposition party president Sam Rainsy issued a call on Tuesday evening for the government to halt its post-election mobilisation of armed forces to avoid inciting "fear" in the population.

Rainsy, who has been in the United States for his daughter's wedding and is due back today, posted the short message on his official Facebook page along with an iconic 1967 picture of a Vietnam War protester holding a flower towards the guns of US national guard soldiers.

"We call on the government to stop the military build-up and to stop moving the armed forces around so as to stop creating fear among the population," Rainsy wrote.

"We appeal to policemen and soldiers to refrain from using violence against any citizens because we all are Khmers, peaceful Buddhists, and love our country."

Ruling party lawmaker and spokesman Cheam Yeap responded in a tit-for-tat yesterday, saying troops would be withdrawn if Rainsy would only stop calling for mass demonstrations.

"We will withdraw the army when Sam Rainsy stops calling on people to protest en masse and when the situation is normal. We are just protecting security in the country," he said.

The decision to pull troops out of Phnom Penh would be up to the prime minister or the interior minister, Yeap added.

"We will do whatever we need to against a mass demonstration that creates confusion and fear in Cambodian society. We cannot accept it," he said.

Rainsy took a softer tone in his message compared to a post last week in which he urged supporters to persuade deployed troops to switch loyalties and join with the CNRP to bring a "change of leaders".

Those comments landed him in hot water with the government, with Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith saying at the time that Rainsy's words could be considered as an effort to incite military
rebellion, a move that could attract criminal charges.

Last week at a fiery rally at Freedom Park, Rainsy promised "mass demonstrations" if preliminary results were not revised to reflect a CNRP victory.

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng sent a letter to Rainsy a week ago emphasising that leaders would be held personally liable for any adverse consequences resulting from a demonstration.

Since Rainsy's initial promise of a protest, CNRP leaders have said a mass demonstration would be a "last resort if election irregularities are not properly investigated".

On Monday, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs, wrote to Rainsy and called on the CNRP to come to a "swift" agreement with other parties to investigate election irregularities, according to the letter disseminated yesterday.

"In the current situation, it is critical that all parties maintain a peaceful and democratic spirit conducive to strengthening the democratic process in Cambodia," Ashton wrote.

Yesterday, more than 500 civil society and NGO representatives, students, laypeople and monks gathered outside Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace in a demonstration to pray for peace and non-violence.
Organisers say they will continue to meet weekly to call for a peaceful resolution to the political stalemate.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHHAY CHANNYDA

Police in Svay Rieng town on Tuesday evening arrested the wife of a microfinance institution staffer – who was found brutally murdered near his home a few days ago – after finding bloodstains and a possible murder weapon in the victim's bedroom, police said.

Svay Rieng province deputy police chief Hem Saban said police initially suspected that the man had been murdered after going out drinking with friends, but after the investigation yielded no evidence, they turned their suspicions on the victim's family, finally settling on his wife, Ku Chandany, 21.

"We took two to three days to investigate by examining the body, the evidence, and analysing the suspect's answers," he said. "She lied to us, but we stuck to our skills."

Saban added that the couple often fought over the husband's drinking, and that Chandany had lost interest in the marriage.

Ku Sarom, the suspect's father, said on Sunday that he had found victim Sean Pensry's body early on Sunday morning, after Pensry had told his wife he was going out drinking with friends the night before. His wife had tried to call him about 3am, but Pensry's phone had been turned off, and when the body was found, the phone and a $1,000 diamond ring were missing, he said at the time.

According to Saban, police found the ring in a wardrobe in Pensry's house along with a bloodstained knife, and the phone was discovered at the bottom of a nearby pond. Pensry is survived by a 14-month-old daughter, he added.

Chandany was sent to court yesterday afternoon after being interrogated by police.

Svay Rieng town police chief Prak Chut said that according to Chandany's confession, Pensry had indeed gone out drinking with friends, but had returned home at about 2am. The two began arguing, with Pensry reportedly slapping Chandany.

Angered by the slap, Chut continued, Chandany allegedly grabbed a cleaver and chopped the victim in the neck, then proceeded to hack him 11 times in the head. She then allegedly took an electrical wire and shocked the victim on the left ankle until he died. After that, he said, she dragged the body out of the house and left it to mislead police.

Russian authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of property tycoon Sergei Polonsky – who is believed to be in Israel after skipping bail in Cambodia – over allegations he defrauded investors in a Moscow construction project of $176 million, Russian media has reported.

Various news agencies in Polonsky's home country late on Tuesday quoted court and government officials as saying the warrant had been issued after charges were laid in June and discussions between Russia and Interpol had taken place.

"Sergei Polonsky has been placed on the international wanted list," news agency Interfax quoted Alexei Krivoruchko, a judge in Moscow, as saying.

Other reports said Russia may ask Israel to extradite Polonsky once his tourist visa expires next month. Polonsky has reportedly applied for Israeli citizenship.

The enigmatic businessman, 40, was arrested near the island he owns off Sihanoukville in late December for allegedly forcing his hired boat crew to jump overboard at knifepoint.

The boatmen later withdrew their complaints – for $20,000 – but the charges remained, and Polonsky languished in prison until his release on bail in April.

Despite international reports that Cambodian authorities are "furious" that Polonsky is no longer in the Kingdom, officials the Post spoke to yesterday gave the impression they either did not know he was abroad or they did not consider his likely escape an issue worth inquiring about.

"He has to report to local authorities once a month, and if anything happens out of the ordinary, they have to report this to the investigating judge," Preah Sihanouk prosecutor Huot Vichet said.

He would not say, however, whether Polonsky had fulfilled the requirements even once.

The investigating judge, Sar Lina, could not be reached for comment, while court president Mong Monichakrya said he was not aware Polonsky had left the country.

Even Keo Vanthan, director of Interpol Police at Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, did not say where Polonsky was suspected to be, but added he had not received a red notice from Interpol related to his charges in Russia.

About 4,000 employees at one of Asia's largest garment-processing factories have stopped work, as union workers demand the company sever ties with a shareholder who ordered a military police presence there.

Workers at SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd began demonstrating on Monday, about two weeks after shareholder Meas Sotha ordered military police to stand guard inside the factory, said Kong Athit, vice-president of the Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), which represents employees at SL.

"[Sotha] guaranteed the owner that he can destroy C.CAWDU," Athit, who insisted the military police presence was an effort to intimidate union workers, said.

He added that along with seven other demands, workers want the military police to leave and for SL to sever all ties with Sotha.

Defending their presence, Sotha said military police were brought to the factory to maintain the workers' safety.

"They came to protect the workers and the company," Sotha said, adding that he had no intention of expelling C.CAWDU from SL. "I never consider the workers and union officials to be my enemies."

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, yesterday said that only about 500 workers were demonstrating, but they blocked another 3,500 from entering.

"The owner of the factory has every right to utilise whatever security forces it has access to," Loo said.

Five men and one woman stood trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday on allegations of illegally trafficking 25 packages of methamphetamines in January.

The accused were identified as Ngoy Socheath, 20, Nour Sineath, 31, Heng Ponna, 32, Yim Sovannara, 24, Som Oun, 24, and Tan Mary, 20.

"Sovannara, Mary and Oun were arrested in Sen Sok district on January 6, and after their arrest, police seized eight small packages of methamphetamines from them," presiding judge Kor Vandy said.

"Socheath, Sineath and Ponna were arrested in Daun Penh district's Chaktomuk commune five days later, and police seized 17 small packages of drugs from them."

All six denied the accusations, claiming they were drug users but not traffickers.

Socheath claimed he bought the 17 packages of meth to use recreationally with friends.

"I am not a drug trafficker, only a user. I bought these drugs for my own use, not to sell or distribute to people," he said.

Sovannara provided a similar story, although he said the drugs belonged to a man named Moeng, who escaped during the police raid.

Judge Vandy said the court will not issue a warrant for Moeng's arrest because they do not have enough information or evidence to identify him.

The verdicts will be handed down on August 30.

The Cambodian team's first ray of sunshine at the 2013 Homeless World Cup in the Polish city of Poznan came in freak weather conditions as their match against South Korea on Tuesday, which was temporarily abandoned due to a deluge of rain and hail, ended 6-5 in favour of the Kingdom's men.

According to Hermann and Marisa Schlenker's match report on the official website (www.homelessworldcup.org), it was the first time in 11 years of competition that play had been suspended because of rain.

The match, played on the west bank of Poznan's picturesque Lake Malta, was hit by a severe storm to force a five-minute stoppage with Cambodia 1-0 up.

Returning to a slippery and slick surface, the Koreans were spurred on by a vociferous travelling fanbase made up of members of partner organisation Daehoon Kang, but the side went into the break 2-1 down.

Goals continued to leak out for both sides in the second session, with South Korea converting a penalty to tie things up at 3-3. Two quick-fire strikes for Cambodia were in turn cancelled out by goals for Korea, but a late winner by Chey Makara, which completed his hat-trick, sealed their first win of the campaign.

Cambodia went on to lose by a single goal in a fiercely contested battle against the United States in their evening kick-off.

According to Cambodia coach Jimmy Campbell, both teams came out firing from the off with goals flying in at either end. Cambodia keeper Bunlav Chhun made some great saves to keep his side in the game, as they grew in confidence and began to control more of the game.

Cambodia held a 7-6 lead up until the last 30 seconds when the US squeezed in two late strikes to run away with an 8-7 victory.

"I couldn't have been happier with the players' attitude in [Tuesday's] games," Campbell told the Post by email.

"The team is growing game by game. As the tournament progresses, we seem to be adapting to the conditions and the style of play of our opponents. If they continue with the same attitude, it could bring more success."

Tuesday's results left the Kingdom in fifth spot in Group F, one place above table-footers South Korea, who were yet to claim a point.

The group table was topped by reigning champions Chile with an impressive 47 goals amassed during their perfect run of five wins from the group stage.

The secondary phase kicked off its first of three days yesterday, as Cambodia faced Hong Kong in the new Group F bracket. Other opponents in the five-team group include Croatia, Sweden and Slovenia.

Selected games can be viewed on YouTube via the official website.