The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “No violence main goal, SL exec says” plus 9 more

The director of the company that operates the embattled SL Garment factory suggested yesterday that he would comply with a government order to reinstate 19 union representatives and activists involved in a deadly months-long strike.

In an interview at the factory in Meanchey district, Joseph Kee Leung Lee, director of Singapore-based SL International Holdings, refused to directly say whether his company would accept back the 19 workers but said he supported the government's intervention to end the dispute, which saw a bullet claim the life of a bystander during a clash between strikers and police last week.

"If they come back and that is the order of the government, I have no choice," he said. "I support the government in stopping the strike and calming down everyone."

Lee would not comment in detail on the 19 workers – members of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU) – saying to do so while SL was trying to sue them would be "contempt of court", but said it would be difficult for them to show up to work again.

"These 19 people have beaten our workers," he said. "Do you think they will come back and face those they have beaten before?"

But Lee, who is based in Canada, said the factory would welcome back the hundreds or even thousands of others who have been on strike, provided there was no more violence.

"If [they] can work properly without damaging the factory, without threatening other workers … why not? We need workers," he said. "We've already lost $15 million. How can we do business?"

The Council of Ministers, following approval from Prime Minister Hun Sen, issued a letter on Friday, giving SL bosses until the end of this month to rehire the 19 workers the factory claims are responsible for the huge economic losses the strike has caused.

The directive followed a violent clash in Meanchey district between SL workers and police last Tuesday.

One woman, a 49-year-old rice vendor who was not involved in the strike, was shot dead during the clash after police opened fire on the crowd, some of which were hurling rocks.

Only one person out of 38 arrested that day was an employee of SL and all but two have since been released without charge.

In subsequent negotiations, C.CAWDU and SL could not agree on the reinstatement of the 19.

Lee yesterday took aim at the media for showing only "one side" of the violence that has involved SL protesters.

"You've come here too late," he said. "[Strikers] attacked us with stones and sling shots [and] burned our cars and motorcycles," he said, referring to clashes at the factory. "They beat one team leader in his house.… They hit his pregnant wife."

In one case, C.CAWDU members, Lee claimed, barricaded "hysterical" Chinese staff inside a building, resulting in them calling the Chinese embassy and their families in their home country.

During yesterday's interview, Lee brought out a young man, a worker at the factory, who had lost one of his eyes, allegedly after being fired at with a slingshot by strikers.

Lee said management had treated workers well, and he denied problems between staff and manager Meas Sotha, who strikers say hired military police some months ago to intimidate them.

"Yes, we had military police here," Lee said. He added, however, that this was only because a security firm guarding the factory had called authorities after one of their staff was beaten by workers.

Lee also said it was not conclusive that police had fired the bullet that killed rice vendor Eng Sokhum, 49, despite witness accounts saying otherwise.

"It is very easy to find which kind of bullet is inside the victim," he said. "Police said the victim was not in the operation area. You cannot [yet] say she was killed by police. Check the bullet. It's very easy."

Ath Thorn, president of C.CAWDU, yesterday denied strikers had perpetrated the violence Lee accused them of.

"The employers of SL and I have never had conflict before this [strike]," he said. "We've had a good relationship. The problem came when Meas Sotha became involved in the company – they blocked our negotiations."

Thorn added that the company would "face court" and workers would "rally again" if it refused to reinstate the workers.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday he was not aware if SL had responded to the government's letter.

Cambodia will not rush Thailand to begin negotiations over the implementation of the International Court of Justice's November 11 judgment on land surrounding the Preah Vihear temple, Minister for Information Khieu Kanharith said yesterday.

Responding to journalists' questions after a meeting with Chinese ambassador Bu Jianguo, Kanharith said the government wished to allow Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra some breathing space as she copes with domestic pressures.

Yingluck has faced massive anti-government street protests over the ICJ verdict, a controversial political amnesty bill and proposed changes to the Thai constitution.

"Now that we have won [at the ICJ], we don't want the Thai extremists to use this issue to [further] pressure the government of Ms Yingluck," Kanharith said yesterday.

"If she can deal with these matters, she might not suffer the same fate as her brother [ousted former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra]. We won't rush and put pressure on Thailand, because we know that we have already won the case."

Last week's ICJ judgment clarified Cambodia's sovereignty over the entire promontory that the 11th-century temple sits on.

Both nations still need to agree on how to demarcate this "vicinity" area on the ground. Minus the promontory, the remainder of the 4.6-square-kilometre area is still in dispute and will also have to be resolved either bilaterally or through ASEAN mechanisms.

The Thai government has said it has yet to officially accept the ICJ ruling and will not withdraw until both sides meet.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee welcomed Kanharith's words yesterday. "I think that it reflects exactly what our two foreign ministers announced on October 28," he said.

"That first, Cambodia and Thailand have to go through internal processes, and we both understood [that] … on the Thai side, given the open democratic society, there would be various viewpoints on the outcome of the judgment. [Cambodian Foreign Minister] Hor Namhong said he completely understood this."

Wannamethee added that a Thai government committee would convene today to "study and analyse the judgment", while an official Thai translation of the verdict was still being approved.

Local political analysts, however, slammed the Cambodian government's stance yesterday.

Dr Sok Touch, political scientist and the rector of Khemarak University, said all UN member states were obliged to abide by ICJ verdicts.

"This is a resolution dealing with integrity and sovereignty, so there is no need to give any time to Thailand to resolve its internal matters," he said.

"If Thailand fails to respect [the verdict] … Cambodia has the right to use any means … to enforce the ICJ decision.

"Politicians should not be sentimental, whether for personal or family connections, with matters concerning the national interest."

Prime Minister Hun Sen is close friends with Thaksin, who is widely believed to pull the strings behind his sister's government from exile.

Political analyst Kem Ley said that although the vicinity border line would need to be established by the joint border commission, the Thai government had no reason to wait to withdraw troops from the temple area.

"The troops and all the border guards should withdraw completely, and they must respect the [judgment] … this is the voluntary will of the Thai government to do this," he said.

"[The Thais] must solve internal conflicts by themselves…otherwise nobody would respect the ICJ or the UN."

Crocodile farmers should let their baby reptiles grow to capture the increasing demand of crocodile skins in the global market, government officials and industry bodies said yesterday.

Since 2005, the government has been encouraging farmers to halt the export of baby crocodiles in favour of selling the skins when the reptile has matured. But a lack of money, infrastructure and technique means that progress has been slow, according to Heng Sovannara, the chief of Crocodile Development Division of the Fisheries and Administration.

"No matter how much crocodile skin we produce here, [it] will not be able to supply the market enough," said Sovannara.

Crocodile skins, used to produce luxury goods like hand bags, fetch a much greater price than baby crocodiles sold to neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam.

A baby crocodile is sold for $12 to $14. It takes three years until a crocodile is big enough for their skin to be sold, but can bring in significantly depending on the quality.

A pilot-exporting project launched in 2012 brought the Association of Cambodian Crocodile Farm Development to Siem Reap (ACCFDSR) to encourage farmers to breed crocodiles for skin export.

More than 20,000 crocodile skins have been exported to Thailand since November 2012, according to Sen Rith, deputy president of ACCFDSR.

Rith, who owns two hectares of crocodile farm himself, said Cambodia cannot keep up with the pace of market demand.

"For the Thai market alone, the demand is more than 100,000 crocodile skins. We are able to supply around 20,000," he said.

The Angkor Association of Crocodile Feeders in Siem Reap was established in early 2012, hoping to also export to Thailand.

Vice president of the recently founded association, Ung Visal said they expect to produce ten to twenty thousand skins in the next two years.

With 10 years of experience in crocodile business, Visal said that farmers still have a long way to go to produce a high standard of skin for export.

"The lack of technique and capital to invest remain the obstacles," he said.

Some 357 crocodile farms are registered with the Ministry of Fisheries and Administration. About 50,000 baby crocodiles were exported in 2013.

The Association of Cambodian Crocodile Farm Development in Siem Reap is expecting to produce more than ten thousand skins for export next year and will be ready to expand the supply to China in the next two years, if negotiations between the two countries are approved.

For the third year running, the cancellation of the Water Festival in Phnom Penh has had a devastating effect on many local businesses that have traditionally relied on the surge of income from the annual event, small-business owners and industry bodies said yesterday.

The biggest losers from the absence of this year's festival have been the many food vendors who ply their trades and cater to the thousands of visitors who normally pack the city's streets.

"This year is simple; sales are even less than on [normal] weekends," said Lin from behind her pork-and-rice cart on Preah Sisowath Quay, near the Himawari hotel.

The government announced last month that this year's festival was cancelled in the wake of nationwide flooding that has taken more than 100 lives.

The festival is a traditional annual event that attracted crowds of more than one million to Phnom Penh for celebrations. It was held during a national three-day holiday. Business would rise sharply, with street vendors like Lin seeing their profits peak.

During previous festivals, Lin would be busy up until 1am, but yesterday – the last day of the intended three-day celebration – business was slower than most normal days and she was finished by 1pm. Lin served only three customers.

Ray Vuthy, another food vendor located nearby, said profits were down compared with a normal weekend let alone the influx of business missing from the festival.

Serey Chakriya, a drinks vendor on Diamond Island, was struggling to offload her regular stock.

"I just have a small amount of goods to sell, but still cannot sell it all," she said.

Food and drink vendors are not the only ones hurting.

Vorn Pao, president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDIEA) representing both street vendors and tuk-tuk drivers, said normally the festival is a windfall for some of Cambodia's smallest businesses, but the cancellation has left many members with less than their daily income.

"They [tuk-tuk drivers] can at least earn 300,000 riel [$75] during the three days of the Water Festival, but this year it is nothing," Pao said.

"It is even worse than on normal days because many city residents left to visit resorts in the provinces."

The Water Festival has not been held since 2010, when more than 300 died in a stampede on a bridge at Diamond Island. More than 700 were reportedly injured at the time.

In 2011 flooding was also the reason for cancellation.

Last year the event was not held out of respect for the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, who passed away the month before the event was to be held.

In years gone, Cambodian tourists would flock from the provinces to the capital to watch boat races on the Tonle Sap in front on the Royal Palace.

Ho Vandy, co-chairman of the tourism private sector working group, said that most domestic tourists now during the holiday period visit Siem Reap and the costal areas like Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.

On the question of impact on international tourism, Vandy said that although "a few of them were upset" to miss out on the boat races, they would be forgiving when they understood why it had been cancelled.

Luxury hotel brand Rosewood is coming to Phnom Penh, seeking to occupy the top 14 floors of the Vattanac Capital Tower by 2015, the company said in a statement yesterday.

"Rosewood Phnom Penh will offer a panoramic view of the city and the fabled Mekong River from its position within the tallest building in the capital, whose architectural form takes the fluid shape of a rising dragon oriented towards the East," Rosewood said in the statement.

Boasting some of the largest hotel guest rooms in Phnom Penh, the 148-room hotel will include 27 luxury, serviced residences for long-stay visitors, meeting facilities, dining options and a sky bar. The luxury brand also brings in a spa with five treatment rooms, a 20-metre swimming pool on the 33rd floor and a fully equipped fitness centre, according to the statement.

Property developer Vattanac Properties appointed Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to manage Rosewood Phnom Penh, yesterday's statement said.

Rosewood declined to comment on a specific date or investment figure for the project.

In Cambodia, luxury travel is still a new segment of the tourism industry.

According to Ho Vandy, co-chair of the government-private sector working group on tourism, promoting luxury tourism in Cambodia is still a challenge faced by the government and the private sector.

However, he said he had faith in luxury hotel investors in Cambodia, adding that "they know the trend well".

Earlier this month, the senior vice president of Sofitel Asia Pacific, Markland Blaiklock, told the Post that Sofitel was interested in a beach resort property in the country.

Vattanac properties could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts manages 18 luxury properties in nine countries.

The opposition has scheduled two mass demonstrations for next month following a bloody clash between garment workers and security forces last week and ahead of an ultimatum set by the Cambodia National Rescue Party for dialogue with the government, a party spokesperson has said.

Opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua said the first demonstration would be held in Freedom Park on December 10 to demand an investigation into the death of 49-year-old street vendor Eng Sokhum, who was killed when police opened fire on protesters from the SL Garment factory after they charged a police line on November 12.

CNRP president Sam Rainsy, however, said yesterday that the protest – due to be held on UN Human Rights Day – would be "for all people who have suffered human rights abuses" in the country.

The second demonstration, Sochua added, would be larger, last for longer than one day and include marches through the capital's streets in a similar vein to a mass rally held in August.

Rainsy and CNRP vice president Kem Sokha have been rallying support for the protests in Phnom Penh and Kampot since late last week, making special appeals to workers to join in the demonstrations, which they said will be held across the country.

"[The Cambodian] People's Party knew that it lost, so it is forcing us to accept the result that [the CPP] won.… This time, [we] will hold a very big demonstration; nationwide," Rainsy told a crowd in Kampot province's Angkor Chey district on Sunday.

However, there appeared to be some confusion over the details of the plans yesterday, with senior CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann denying that the party had officially agreed to hold rallies in December.

"There's no decision made yet by the standing committee," Sovann said.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said while demonstrations were permitted, they should not disrupt public order.

"If a demonstration is held to express political will or freedom of expression it does not matter. But if a demonstration is to occupy public assets and roads, that is illegal," he said. "The royal government does not allow [anyone] to do anything as they please."

The CNRP met CPP officials on November 5 to try to break the political deadlock that followed July's disputed general election. The talks failed to make any headway and the CNRP issued an ultimatum to the CPP: if dialogue yields no results by the end of the year, there would be no more talks.

The chances of overcoming the impasse before this deadline seem slim, with Rainsy yesterday saying there would be no more talks unless the CPP agrees to a full investigation of election irregularities.

An independent investigation has been the cornerstone of opposition demands since the immediate aftermath of the July 28 poll.

"We insist on an investigation. So long as there's no proper inquiry [there will be no talks]. It depends on the attitude of the CPP," Rainsy said.

Two military officers stationed at the Preah Vihear temple were found shot dead while on duty at a checkpoint in Choam Ksan district on Sunday night.

Police officials said they were not allowed to investigate the scene and Preah Vihear authorities declined to provide further information.

The two men were known to not get along, according to an officer stationed at Preah Vihear who asked not to be named. He added that he saw eight spent shell casings when he went to check the scene.

"I think it was not caused by an argument but something else," he said. "They checked tickets in the daytime, but at night they did other jobs such as checking rosewood. It is very difficult to evaluate."

One victim, identified only as Seyla, was shot by an AK-47 in his hammock, and the other, Khlot, was found on the pavement, said Mey Put, deputy police chief of Choam Ksan district, who was denied permission to investigate.

"The two bodies have already been cremated," he said.

A military general imposter who was arrested by police on Saturday has escaped from a hospital in Koh Kong.

Australian-Cambodian suspect David Sim, also known as Khlin, 38, was taken to a district hospital while in police custody on Sunday after he complained of migraine headaches he claimed needed daily medical attention, according to a military official.

Five officers escorted Sim to the hospital around midnight and stood guard outside.

"But he escaped, successfully, after the military police [who escorted him] uncuffed him so he could enter the hospital room," said an officer from the Koh Kong Provincial Military Police Headquarters who asked not to be named.

"Our military is now working hard to seek his re-arrest in order to bring him to the court," he said.

Sim was arrested following a complaint filed by Koh Kong villagers asserted that a military man was encroaching on their land and claiming to have bought the plot from another villager.

"He was posing as a fake brigadier general of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, [but] he did not have any position in the Ministry of National Defense," said Major Nuon Vutha, commander of Khmrak Phumin Town Military Police.

On Saturday, military officials in Khemrak Phumin Town investigated the accusations that Sim had removed pillars demarcating villagers' land. After Sim failed to produce land title documents or a military ID number, officials arrested him and confiscated his Land Cruiser, complete with army flags.

Investigating officials said that Sim is an unemployed resident of Phnom Penh, but they did not know his address or any family contact.

Military police are now trying to locate the escaped suspect.

Five men who broke out of Ratanakkiri's provincial court last week while awaiting trial for robbery, murder and sexual assault, also remain on the loose.

For Ung Nget, 29, the closing day of Cambodia's annual Water Festival yesterday evoked painful memories of a night he was lucky to survive.

In the three years since the Koh Pich bridge stampede killed more than 350 people in the capital, Nget has not been able to shake the images of dead bodies and the cries of the dying that surrounded him.

"When someone mentions the Water Festival, it reminds me of Koh Pich bridge … and the sound of victims screaming for help," he told the Post yesterday.

Nget, who was crossing the bridge for the first time that night, jumped into the water to free himself from a pile of bodies he feared he would be crushed under.

In doing so, he injured his legs and was taken to hospital. "I don't want to remember this, but I cannot avoid it. It's in my mind forever until I die," he said.

"Until only recently, I was dreaming about it almost every night. I don't dream about it now, but I can't forget it."

Rather than suppress those painful memories, Nget will be one of many survivors who will join the families and friends of those who died for a memorial service at a stupa near where the tragedy occurred this Friday.

Among those attending will be Yang Pit, whose grandson, Chheum Vandy, 23, died in the stampede.

Pit spent the final day of the Water Festival yesterday paying tribute to Vandy with monks and neighbours he had invited to his house in Kampong Speu province's Kong Pisey district.

"I am marking the third anniversary at home for my grandson today," he said.

Pit will travel to Phnom Penh to mark the calendar anniversary of the tragedy, which falls this Friday.

"I will go … to the stupa where my grandson's name is etched," he said. "We do this every year in order to pray to his spirit. I'll never forget that event."

City Hall officials have made a point of inviting those who lost someone in the stampede to the memorial.

"The ceremony will be held by [municipal] governor Pa Socheatvong, who along with city hall officials, nine district officials and all departments will offer food to 108 monks," a statement from City Hall says.

After an investigation, officials said the stampede was caused by overcrowding, panic and the bridge swaying. Many fainted and eventually suffocated.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said in the aftermath of the stampede that no government officials would be held personally accountable for what had happened, calling the tragedy unexpected and an accident.

That decision came amid widespread accusations of negligence on the part of officials and calls for key individuals to resign.

A group of 40 villagers in Kampong Cham's Tbong Khmom district filed a complaint with commune authorities on Sunday against a local firm which they claim has caused flooding in their village by dredging sand from a nearby river, causing the riverbank to collapse.

Kim Chun, the Tonle Bit commune chief, told the Post that villagers had asked commune officials to temporarily stop the Thary Commerce Company from dredging the river – situated a mere three metres from their homes – until the company drains water from their village and pays for damage to a school wall.

"The company negotiated [yesterday] with the villagers by promising to drain the water out of the village, which they have begun doing already," Chun said, adding that the school wall would be fixed once the waters receded.

Village representative Pho Sophal, 48, said floodwaters had receded a few days ago but then inundated the village again after the company resumed dredging operations.

"We protest against this company so that they will temporarily stop pumping the sand in order to avoid long-term flooding, which affects the safety, living and work [of villagers]," he said.

"We will stay quiet after the company drains the water and fixes the school's walls," Sophal said.

Chhoun Thary, the owner of Thary Commerce Company, rejected the villagers' complaints – claiming the school wall had been damaged by regular yearly flooding – not company operations.

"The villagers are all exaggerating. However, I already solved the problem with [officials] by agreeing to drain the water from the village," Thary said yesterday.