The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Monks enter forest fray” plus 9 more

Months ago, Chinese engineers were posting markers for a hydropower dam opposed by villagers in Koh Kong province's Areng Valley. This week, in marked contrast, monks draped trees in iconic saffron sashes as they blessed the very forest the dam would destroy.

The saffron robes of 40 monks who on Monday carried 80 metres of cloth made for striking visuals as the group walked through the jungle of one of the most isolated parts of Cambodia.

The procession was part of efforts by the monks – who travelled from Phnom Penh – to save the Areng Valley from a long-proposed dam.

Venerable But Buntenh, an increasingly prominent dissident monk, came with a simple message to the locals.

"You are not alone. There are many monks with you," he said.

In explaining his opposition to the project, Buntenh said that any profits that come from the dam, reported to be 100 or more megawatts in power, "will not reach the hands of the people".

Traditionally, monks have been discouraged from engaging in politics. During the recent national election, their superiors warned them not to protest in the streets.

But Buntenh, who has been building a network of young like-minded monks around him, has dared to say that things don't have to be this way.

The proposed Stung Cheay Areng dam, on the edge of the Central Cardamom Protected Forest, will impact one of the last and most biologically diverse areas of wilderness, left in Southeast Asia, environmental groups say.

The dam was planned by a Chinese company, China Southern Power Grid, and then shelved in 2010.

Another Chinese company, China Guodian Corporation, took over the project almost immediately. Despite this, confusion remains over if and when construction will start.

"To me, the Chinese engineers said there's no money to be made because the generators will not generate enough electricity," said Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, a co-founder of NGO Mother Nature Cambodia, who helped organise the monks' trip.

"One guy from some ministry in Koh Kong was saying it's been approved, but something else needs to be sorted," he continued. "But then it hasn't been approved because if it's approved, it's made public – and the parliament hasn't approved it."

Two weeks ago, company officials had visited the area, Gonzalez-Davidson said.

"Everyone got really, really scared, but they didn't get any information out to the people."

When contacted this week, Sun Dara, the deputy governor of Koh Kong, said the provincial "authorities have not yet got official comment or advice from the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Energy" for the dam.

Adding to confusion about the dam's current status, in April last year, the Post reported Cambodian People's Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap as saying "that which the government has already granted to the company we cannot withdraw".

Journey of the monks
To reach the valley, the monks travelled by bus and car for nine hours before setting out on foot for the last 30 kilometres. The walk turned into a gruelling test of endurance as the monks – many only wearing sandals – struggled through the dark jungle for six hours.

About four hours into the walk, while crossing a small ad-hoc wooden bridge, a tired young monk turned and laughed.

"This is my first time and my last time," he said.

About eight kilometres short of the final destination, motorbikes began ferrying the monks and tired journalists. A stubborn group struggled forward on foot, finally reaching the pagoda at about 1:30am.

The next morning, after blessing trees under the watchful eyes of local authorities, the monks headed across the valley for an afternoon swim – with armed police in tow.

"I feel compassion for even the police with their guns. We try to make good communication with them because they're also Cambodian people," said monk Ngin Saosam Khan.

Just a few kilometres downstream from where the monks swam, the locals say there are regular sightings of the Siamese crocodile, a critically endangered species, which according to NGO International Rivers, is already extinct across 99 per cent of its original habitat range.

Other rare animals that environmental groups say will be affected by the dam include tigers, elephants, pileated gibbons and the Asian arowana, a prized freshwater fish.

It's not just the animals that are endangered. For some 1,500 people living in or on the edge of the proposed 20,000-hectare dam, forced relocation is certain should the dam go ahead.

Despite the area being the villagers' ancestral lands, it wouldn't be the first time they have been forced to leave.

In 1979, the Vietnamese moved families from their valley after pursuing a policy of regime change against the rulers of Democratic Kampuchea. When the locals were finally able to return – in the early 1990s – small bands of Khmer Rogue fighters still roamed the hills.

Welcoming party
When the monks made their journey through the village, police armed with AK-47s monitored the procession and took photographs. Later, they entered the pagoda to speak with organisers.

Since leaving the valley on Tuesday, Gonzalez-Davidson said he has been approached three times by police. Upon returning to a guesthouse in Koh Kong town, he was told that officers had visited three times asking questions about him.

A provincial immigration official, Khon Mara, returned to the guesthouse on Wednesday and, according to Gonzalez-Davidson, told him that foreigners could be deported if they were security threats.

When contacted, Mara said he simply wanted to check Gonzalez-Davidson's passport and visa.

The day before, Post staff and three other photographers were asked to provide their names and passports after leaving the same area.

The good life
Walking through the spectacular valley, Lucky, a young resident, spoke about the people's "connection to their homeland" and the good quality of life.

The people who inhabit the eight villages that environmental groups say would be flooded by the dam have lived in Areng Valley for generations. Between the forest and river, the area provides an abundance of food.

The concerns of these residents are consistent.

Yung Pun, 57, was born in Pralay village.

She had heard the authorities would move them and felt villagers had no choice but to go.

"I don't want to move.… We'll lose our animals, forest … the house," she said. "The new site that the government is moving people to is very difficult to live in. It's a damp forest and has lots of mean wildlife like tigers and elephants, and has no rice fields."

She claimed the site also lacks schools, access to water and fish and is far from sources of income.

"I would like to say to the world: please try to stop the government from doing this."

But not all those affected have the same level of opposition.

Some 300 recent migrants to the valley, who have settled on the slopes and would only be temporarily moved, are resigned to, if not supportive of, the dam, after being promised a desperately needed health centre, according to Gonzalez-Davidson.

Despite the valley providing a rich life in terms of food and tradition, it doesn't provide healthcare or adequate education.

The teacher at the local school, Sok Sa Rasmey, who has only a grade three education himself, sat in a single-room school with large holes in its walls.

He is opposed to the dam and instead wants to see the development of educational opportunities for his students.

"After hearing about the project, I am worried and deeply concerned of its effects on our livelihoods. And although we will be relocated, we worry that the new location is not good. Living here gives us happiness, and we see nature and animals," he said.

People's movement
The blessing of trees by 40 monks may appear unlikely to stop a Chinese company building a dam, though a recent case gives them hope.

A nearby titanium mine was cancelled in 2011 "due to the concerns of the impact on the environment, biodiversity and local livelihoods", according to a press release from Prime Minister Hun Sen's office.

Gonzalez-Davidson said this decision was the result "of eco-tourism and NGOs and a strong movement by the people".

The coming together of dissident monks, youth groups and locals, though at an embryonic stage, is a potentially potent mix.

The increasingly media savvy and assertive Cambodian youth had a huge, and unexpected, impact on the recent national election.

If the company cares only about the dam project in terms of its utility in aiding a more profitable project, it may only need to see its plan pushed across the ledger from an asset to a liability to consider abandoning it. And it is this thought that is informing the strategy of those seeking to prevent the dam's construction.

The group of monks, led by Buntenh, plan to march on the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh, seeking to pressure the publicly listed company.

At a time when the government is under unprecedented political pressure, time will tell how many monks break with the orders of their superiors and follow.

Either way, Buntenh's call to action extends far beyond the Cambodian clergy.

"Now I'm calling on the whole world to join us to prevent and protect our forest, because I always think of and call myself the same life as the forest."

More than $600 million flooded out of Cambodia's entire banking system during the third quarter of this year, as fears of post-election chaos set off panic and mass withdrawals, new figures from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) reveal.

The figures, obtained yesterday, were the first system-wide indicators of how the banking sector fared since the July 28 poll awarded the election to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. The results triggered allegations of foul play from the opposition, creating a tense stand-off marked by protests and go-nowhere negotiations.

National Bank of Cambodia Deputy Director General Chea Serey said yesterday that the sharp decline was expected every five years due to elections, but that this time around, it "probably" was the largest dip ever.

"When there are elections there is a bit of uncertainty," she said. "After all, this is a young economy, there have only been five elections," she added, referring back to the UN-backed poll in 1993.

Tensions have been high since disputed voting results came in months ago. Though largely peaceful, subsequent demonstrations by the Cambodia National Rescue Party were met with a heavy security presence in the city, and one man was shot and killed after authorities descended on a bridge to quell protestors in September.

The climate of fear extended to the financial sector, where many mistrusted the level of security maintained at banks. Deposits fell from $7.2 billion at the end of June 2013 to $6.6 billion at the end of September.

That means that account holders withdrew close to $630 million, or 8.7 per cent, of the total number of deposits held in Cambodia's 34 commercially registered banks.

While large, the decrease did not astound observers, who have seen the same during the past several months with other financial institutions.

Acleda, the country's largest bank, reported last month that customers withdrew $200 million in the period around and following the election.

Confident that customers would return, Acleda president and CEO In Channy said at the time that the bank had regained close to $186.5 million in little over a week after the quarter ended.

Industry leaders and economists echoed Channy's positive outlook yesterday, pointing out that Cambodia's banking system could even build trust with consumers by showing that it can weather a storm.

Charles Van, president of the Association of Banks in Cambodia, said the industry had made it through the withdrawal frenzy, and he did not expect any lingering effects.

"It always happens in the country during the election process. The money is withdrawn but then over a period of time the money comes back."

Independent economist Chan Sophal said he had not seen any severe impact on other parts of the economy, as "the banking sector was able to absorb the shock", he said. "It could even increase confidence in the future because of this precedent."

Serey at the NBC agreed that there were no clear economic ripples bubbling, but that Cambodia's economy always needed to be monitored.

"As regulators, as a central bank we would always be on the watch, whatever the situation. If it is not something that happens here it is something that happens outside that can spill over on us," she said.

Not all believed the economy had turned the corner. Kang Chandararot, director of the Cambodia Institute of Development Study, said that as long as the political stand-off continues (the opposition is still boycotting parliament, the ruling party isn't giving in on their demands) the cost of investing in the country could increase.

"The longer it holds, the worse the economy," he said.

Government officials were still tight-lipped about the 2014 draft budget yesterday, though some details did continue to trickle out, such as the announcement of a sizeable increase in national defence spending.

Cambodian People's Party lawmaker and banking and finance committee member Cheam Yeap said yesterday that the Standing Committee of the National Assembly would put the draft budget up for debate in a full session of the assembly – "likely next week".

While the complete contents of the budget would not be made public until the full session convened, he added, the budget does contain a 17 per cent boost in the $400 million spent last year on defence.

"We have to establish a proper uniform for the armed forces such as shoes and headgear, which is necessary to have appropriate armed forces to ensure the stability of peace and territorial sovereignty," Yeap said, maintaining the money was not for buying weapons.

Of the proposed $468 million in military spending, he added, 72 per cent would be to pay servicemen's salaries. However, the presence of so-called "ghost soldiers" has long been a target of opposition criticism, and Cambodia's relatively large standing army has even been the subject of donor-funded "demobilisation" schemes that have largely proved unsuccessful.

Though Yeap refused to offer further specifics, unconfirmed local media reports cited some notable figures, such as a 20 per cent increase in education funding over last year, and a more than 10 per cent increase in agricultural spending.

Despite the lack of complete figures, the potential for issues with the national debt has raised concerns in some corners.

The International Monetary Fund said in January that Cambodia's risk of "debt distress" – that is default, or imminent default – would remain low as long as there were continuing reforms.

However, this year's $3.5 billion budget represents a nearly 35 per cent increase over 2012's, and Cambodian Institute for Development Study director Kang Chandararot maintained yesterday that reforms are only part of the picture.

"Reforms are tool[s] to increase revenues, not indicator[s] for debt level," he said in an email. "You can make many efforts (reforms), but sometimes [with] no success (increase in revenues). Revenues serve the source of repayment, not just reforms."

"We will have difficulty in servicing debt and [gaining the] trust of the private sector on [government] economic management," he added. "The economy will suffer when repayment [is] due."

The National Election Committee yesterday announced a date for the election of district and city-provincial council members, a vote that will only be open to current commune council members.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha took the opportunity yesterday to outline the polling procedures for the May 18, 2014, vote, but observers dismissed the election as undemocratic, maintaining it violated the spirit of representative democracy, and was furthermore a waste of time given that the voting pool entirely comprises of people already affiliated with a party.

There are more than 300 city-provincial council members and 2,800 district council members in the current first mandate, said Nytha, but a precise number for the second mandate has not yet been set.

However, Koul Panha, executive director of the election monitor Comfrel, said restricting a vote to elected officials only works in societies in which the general population votes for specific candidates – in whom they place their trust – rather than simply voting for parties, as they do in Cambodia.

"[Other countries] use non-universal election systems too, but the voting is for individuals," he said. "This means that [voters] are content with someone they vote for, even though that [person] is in a party. But when we use a non-universal system, and vote using the proportional system and vote for a party, it is meaningless."

Cambodian Center for Human Rights president Ou Virak maintained that in a strict party system like Cambodia's commune council members will simply stick to party lines, making the actual poll pointless.

"I think it's a waste of time and money," he said. "You have parties voting for parties, basically, so if you do basic math, you can see how many parties will have how many seats.

"Unless there's vote buying," Virak added. "You have less numbers to buy than in the general population."

Yem Ponharith, a spokesman for the Cambodia National Rescue Party, said his party was preferring to focus on the still-disputed national election.

Cambodian People's Party official Ork Kimhan declined to comment on observers' criticisms of the vote's structure.

Prime Minister Hun Sen made a surprise appearance on television last night, issuing an urgent appeal for all Cambodians to remain calm when the International Court of Justice hands down a verdict on Monday.

In a 10-minute speech, the premier stressed that Cambodia's 2011 request to the ICJ to reinterpret a verdict on the sovereignty of the Preah Vihear temple was not meant to provoke Thailand.

"I would like to reaffirm to all venerables and all compatriots that the reason that the [government] asked the [ICJ] to interpret the 1962 verdict is not to stoke the fires of the dispute or out of any ambition to grab land," he said.

"On the contrary, the Royal Government believes this action is a means to end this issue peacefully and respect the spirit of international law, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the maintenance of good relationships with our neighbour."

An eco-tourism initiative in Mondulkiri hit a snag this week when authorities asked management to vacate overnight guests while provincial officials determine whether the project is properly licensed to operate a guesthouse.

Guests of the Elephant Valley Project (EVP), which is located in a Forestry Administration-protected area in Mondulkiri's Sen Monorom town, have been temporarily moved from the onsite guesthouse to another guesthouse in town while staff resolve the matter with local officials, said Jack Highwood, manager at EVP.

"The government has just asked us to stop hosting people overnight and we are having a series of meetings next week," he said, adding that visitors are still allowed to tour the grounds during the day.

The local government's move came after it received more than five complaints from elephant tourism operators and guesthouses that say Elephant Valley has been siphoning off tourism income since its establishment in 2005, said Phou Rin, commune clerk of Sen Monorom's Romnea commune.

Investigating the matter, Rin said, officials found that guesthouses must be licensed by the provincial Ministry of Tourism. But the ministry cannot license guesthouses on Forestry Administration land because it falls under the Ministry of Agriculture's jurisdiction.

EVP has been operating under an agreement with the Forestry Administration and works closely with local government, Highwood said. But a current lack of legislation regarding eco-tourism complicates the matter.

Tension between EVP and other tourism operators have existed since EVP opened, promoting itself as an ethical alternative to elephant riding tours.

Tourists at EVP are allowed to observe elephants – many of which are sick or injured and being cared for by project staff – as they roam the grounds.

Elephant tour guides have complained that EVP unfairly portrays their operations, which often include elephant rides, as cruel to the animals.

Despite the complaint being withdrawn, the Preah Vihear Provincial Court is pursuing land-clearing charges against three defendants.

Last month, the provincial Forestry Administration lodged a complaint against Veng Eam, 45; Ngoy Yean, 51; and his wife, Huon Kim Ay, 39, alleging they illegally bulldozed state land.

The Forestry Administration last week agreed to drop charges if the three stopped bulldozing, said Un Chenda, Preah Vihear's deputy governor.

Chenda said he expected that when the defendants went to court yesterday, they would thumbprint documents that would put an end to the case. Instead, the trio was questioned by the court, Eam said.

Further, a court clerk called them last night, Kim Ay said, claiming the case would only be dropped if each defendant paid $500 to the court.

"The court did not end the case and still questioned us because we refused to pay," Kim Ay said.

Chhum Kanika, a clerk at the court declined to comment.

Teachers across Cambodia are insisting pay raises aren't just an election year issue.

More than 30 representative teachers gathered for the start of a three-day seminar in Phnom Penh yesterday to continue demanding living wages.

"Teachers cannot live on their current salary and have to find other ways and other jobs to make enough money to live," said Ke Dararoth, education program manager at the NGO Education Partnership.

The teachers are asking for $250 per month, according to seminar director Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association. The figure represents a huge increase; the Education Partnership estimates teachers on average earn $50 a month.

"The biggest concern of the teachers is the low salary that makes it difficult for us to live," said Kim Darany, a Pursat primary school teacher. "I have worked as a teacher for 32 years, but I receive only 320,000 riel [about $80] per month."

Chhun said he will try to meet with newly appointed Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron to share issues raised by teachers.

"We never give teachers a chance to talk about their problems, but here they will have time to talk about the situation they are facing and what they want the government and the education minister to do for them," said Chhun.

Chuon Naron could not be reached for comment.

The opposition party wants to deliver its political message directly into the homes of ordinary Cambodians, and it appears it is prepared to adopt shrewd measures to obtain the broadcasting licences that would allow it to do so.

Cambodia National Rescue Party spokesman Yim Sovann said yesterday that as the party was unlikely to receive a TV licence if it applied for one directly, it could move to set up a private company with sympathetic investors which would apply for a licence on its behalf.

"We don't know yet, [but] if [Minister of Information] Khieu Kanharith blocks us, it is very easy for us to ask somebody to create a company and then apply for the licence," he said.

"Like what the [Cambodian People's Party] has done [in the past], we have to do similar.… The Ministry of Information has granted licences to CPP-affiliated [companies], so why not for the CNRP?"

Although Sovann insisted that a number of well-heeled businessmen would be prepared to back such a venture, he declined to name them.

A demand for television and radio licences was one of 10 opposition requests adopted at a "People's Congress" last month.

All TV stations are either controlled by or aligned with the ruling party and will allegedly not sell airtime to the CNRP.

Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said via email yesterday that Beehive Radio had made statements supporting the CNRP and "thus, the CNRP [has] its own radio already", and said that it was "too late" in response to whether the opposition could obtain a TV licence.

Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap struck a different tone, however, saying that it was the "right" of the CNRP to run a TV station if it followed the law and were granted a licence.

"I think that there will be no problem for them if they have a private company that sponsors them," he said.

The opposition this week launched CNRP TV, which it bills as an "online TV station", but which has thus far simply released interviews with lawmakers and videos of press conferences.

CNRP public affairs head Mu Sochua said yesterday that the CNRP TV was still under trial but that both it and any future TV station would provide balanced coverage.

"If we want to bring in money from [the] private sector, that's exactly why we have to be balanced and show professionalism and credibility and [not be] a party TV."

Sochua could not say whether any future station would retain the name "CNRP TV".

Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, said the CNRP could "slip through the licencing process" by using a private company if it kept its political affiliations quiet – something that spokesman Sovann said it would not do.

"If [the government] knows that the station is aligned with the opposition party, they will not allow this station to open," Chhean Nariddh said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHHAY CHANNYDA AND VONG SOKHENG

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for urgent fortification of Cambodia's resistance to climate change, singling out recent flooding as evidence of the severe consequences the country faces.

But at a press conference yesterday, opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua accused the prime minister of weakening Cambodia's capacity to respond to environmental change.

"All these effects of climate change are because of logging that Prime Minister Hun Sen has allowed," she said.

In May, Hun Sen boasted that Cambodia could soon have a rubber industry bigger than Vietnam's in the same week that a report found rubber firms responsible for deforesting large swathes of the country.

The report, from UK watchdog Global Witness, accuses Vietnamese rubber firms awarded huge economic land concessions by the government of perpetuating a "land grabbing crisis" and engaging in large-scale illegal logging.