The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Culture of silence” plus 9 more

This culture of silence so often demonstrated by the international community or United Nations bodies often ignores corruption for the sake of diplomacy.

At the end of each year, we ponder life's great mysteries. Why do men have nipples? Why do Asian males have bushy pubic hair, but rarely need to shave their face?

Why are there so many statues of Lenin, but none of Bert Weedon?

The latter topic has resonated recently in our region after a towering bust of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, aka Lenin, was destroyed by protesters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on December 8.

The outrage was particularly felt in Bangkok and Singapore, which have endured rioting of their own this month, and even more so in Hanoi which has its own vulnerable Lenin statue.

In Kiev, the protesters were enraged because, in their eyes, Lenin's edifice symbolised their country's continued domination by Russia.

They had naively hoped that Moscow's shackles had been severed when the Soviet Union collapsed, but they had ignored the possibility of another imperialistic, Lenin-like figure arising.

Then along came Vladimir Putin, who forced Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich to retreat from forging closer ties with the European Union.

Horrified, the people rose up. And down came Lenin.

Carved from blood-red granite and standing outside the city's famous Besarabsky Market, the statue was a splendid sight and its destruction is rather tragic.

Still, there are plenty of other Lenins around the world, often in rather odd spots like Bologna, London and Tiraspol.

Among the most impressive is one in Seattle, which shows the great communist revolutionary striding forcefully forwards under the Aurora Street bridge in the funky Fremont district.

Formerly in Slovakia, it was rescued from a scrapyard in Poprad by an eccentric American teacher, who mortgaged his home to ship it to the United States.

In this region, the best known Lenin stands in a small park in central Hanoi, near where a crowd gathered on the morning of December 9, 2007.

At a signal, the people moved en masse to the adjacent Chinese Embassy and unfurled Vietnamese flags and began yelling insults against Beijing's aggressive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

It was an amazing sight, and like the recent protests in Bangkok, neither the police nor the security services interfered in any way.

Given such seething outbursts, and knowing the population's antipathy to the Vietnam Communist Party, Hanoi's leaders rightly fear what might happen to their Lenin statue in the future.

That, of course, is why reports of Lenin's dismemberment in Kiev were banned in Vietnam.

Initially, the news was available online and the BBC reported that "it went straight to the most read spot, proving even more popular than coverage of the death of Mandela and protests in Thailand".

Then the censors swung into action and expunged every reference to the smashing of Lenin's statue in Kiev.

It was not unexpected, given that in November, the National Assembly in Hanoi approved a new constitution reaffirming the VCP as the country's only allowable political party.

Those who criticise that decision or suggest moving to a multiparty system are given lengthy jail terms.

Blogger Nguyen Van Hai is serving 12 years for writing about government corruption and protests against China over the maritime disputes.

Indeed, the authorities have become so nervous that Hanoi's popular Communism Café has been put under surveillance due to its "blasphemous" decor.

The café, which features VCP posters and Ho Chi Minh artefacts, has its menus written on pages copied from Lenin's collected works.

Hanoi's leaders are not amused. As the state-owned media reported: "This café has trampled on our ideological values, the moral basis of leaders like Lenin and especially Ho Chi Minh."

Well, while this does not exactly answer any of life's great mysteries, it does allow us to come to two solid conclusions.

Firstly, when the VCP is overthrown, Ho Chi Minh City will joyfully reclaim its rightful name of Saigon, and secondly Bert Weedon may well be a contender to replace whatsisname in Hanoi.

A Royal Group subsidiary has signed a deal with two Vietnamese firms to import fertiliser, a senior official with the company said yesterday.

Among several deals agreed to during Prime Minister Hun Sen's trip to Vietnam this weekend, Nitrogen Chemicals and Fertilizer Cambodia Ltd, the subsidiary of Royal Group, will distribute fertiliser from Dap Vinchen Limited and the Petrovietnam Fertilizer & Chemicals Corporation of Vietnam.

The head of Royal Group, Kith Meng, was on the trip with Hun Sen and signed the deal.

The subsidiary's financial manager, Chhun Kim, said the company plans to import three types of fertiliser, but declined to go into specifics about the cost and when the imports will start.

"We are not sure yet. The company will have experts in fertiliser from Vietnam to study what kind of soil needs what kind of fertiliser, and then we will decide. We cannot just immediately import," he said.

Kim said the company is licensed to import 190,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser per year.

Yang Saing Koma, the president of agricultural organisation CEDAC, said imported fertiliser will help farmers increase crop yields, "but they will also have to spend more".

Koma said training farmers to deploy natural fertiliser was a better long-term solution, adding that "using natural fertiliser will help them [farmers] to get more revenue".

Tuk-tuk, motorbike and taxi drivers were among hundreds of workers from Cambodia's "informal economy" who called on the government yesterday to cap fuel prices at 4,000 riel ($1) per litre, amid claims that the current 5,000 riel price leaves them unable to cover any more than daily living costs.

The group rallied outside the Ministry of Economy and Finance, a short walk from Freedom Park, where opposition party supporters protesting against July's election and garment workers demanding higher wages converged yesterday.

Vorn Pao, the president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association, led the splinter demonstration. Pao said people who work in the informal sector – mainly transportation – suffer greatly when fuel prices rise, as they subsequently drive up the cost of food and everyday necessities.

"We are spending a large percentage of income on gasoline. Higher gasoline prices are a key factor in the price of other goods. So, with higher priced goods, low-income earners cannot afford to buy goods from the market," Pao said.

He added that the association will submit an official letter to the ministry over the coming days, putting its demands in print. Pao's claims come a month after the Cambodian government ordered customs officials to apply official taxation rates to imports, reportedly causing a 30 per cent price increase on some items.

Several tuk-tuk drivers who were at the protest said gasoline price jumps have become more regular, and many have come to simply expect paying more every time they fill up, despite earning less on the job.

"Since the price of gasoline is high, I can only cover daily expenses. I can't save for my family," said Srun Phalla, a 28-year-old tuk-tuk driver who attended the protest yesterday.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia imported 871,013 tons of gasoline during the first half of the year from Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. The total value was $825 million.

Chou Vichet, secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in the first 11 months this year the government has subsidised $83 million worth of fuel to stabilise gasoline prices.

He would not confirm any future price reduction.

"We need to study what goods should be taxed at a higher rate and what goods should be taxed at a lower rate to facilitate living conditions," he said. "[We need to know] which goods are necessary and which are not."

The opposition yesterday criticised a local news website's posting of photos comparing Cambodia National Rescue Party president Sam Rainsy to Adolf Hitler, saying it is "not appropriate at all".

On its website on Saturday, Cambodia Express News posted a picture of Rainsy pointing his arm into the air during a recent opposition rally. Alongside it is a picture of Hitler, the former Nazi Party leader responsible for millions of deaths, giving the infamous Nazi salute.

Also featured are photos of those giving the salute at a Nazi rally and the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.

Nguon Serath, who works for CEN's website, defended the post yesterday.

"We received the picture from a reader. Raising the hand, it is kind of a funny activity," he said. "It is our freedom to publish it."

But CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said the comparison "is not appropriate at all".

"Rainsy is a democrat. He is a clean leader. And he is respected. Do not compare him to Hitler," he said.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called for renewed talks between the opposition and the ruling party on Saturday, going on to say that the discussions should include not only the two parties but civil society representatives as well.

Speaking to reporters at Cambodia National Rescue Party headquarters, Rainsy suggested negotiations be set for the first three days of January, and said a wide range of issues would be up for discussion – not just the current political stalemate.

"We want to have a big meeting to talk, to solve the nation's problems. Now we have seen that at the end of this year, the nation's problems are increasingly serious. It is not only political deadlock, but it is also about the problem of salary demands by workers.

"We should meet and talk about the problems that the country is facing.

"We should bring some new ideas; if we still have old ideas, it is maybe not progressive," he added.

When reached yesterday, Rainsy declined to outline his party's demands going into the negotiations, but said that the talks should take the form of "a kind of congress, a people's congress".

"They should include any topics of public concern. Cambodia is in turmoil now, so we should discuss the workers' demands for a wage increase. We should discuss land-grabbing, the issue of deforestation," he said. "All the people who have been voiceless should be given a voice."

Focusing solely on joining the National Assembly, he said, "would be premature, putting the cart before the ox".

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann, however, said the party would likely be hewing closely to its current calls for electoral reform and a new election.

Prum Sokha, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior who has represented the ruling Cambodian People's Party in past negotiations, said the CPP welcomed talks and blamed the stalling of previous rounds on a lack of will on the opposition's part.

"Since last time, the [CPP] has always wanted to have negotiations – anywhere, anytime, at any level," Sokha said, while declining to comment on the possible participation of civil society.

Political analyst Chea Vannath said yesterday that the CPP agreeing to negotiations was a promising sign, even if it didn't ultimately agree to call a new election, and that the opposition may find itself in a more advantageous position this time around.

"I think [they] might not have any difficulty to find common ground because of the reform policy of the government," Vannath said. "[The parties] are going the same direction, so it can be negotiated."

What's more, she said, the ongoing demonstrations that have taken root in Freedom Park may pay off. "I think the CPP is under great pressure to solve the problem, especially because this affects foreign investment. This is a political problem, so I think the CNRP is in a better position for negotiations."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHANE WORRELL

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde should have taken a stance against the endemic corruption plaguing the Kingdom during her visit this month if "the IMF's message on corruption is to be more than rhetoric", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.

In an opinion posted on the New York-based rights watchdog's website, senior researcher on international financial institutions Jessica Evans said Lagarde failed to "even obliquely" address the Kingdom's issues with corruption during her first visit heading the IMF, a visit that came during an ongoing political crisis.

"Lagarde missed a major opportunity in Cambodia to highlight governance problems, but she can right this by speaking out when she returns to headquarters," Evans said.

The opinion points out that the IMF's silence is particularly noticeable considering the country's ranking in the annual global index released by Transparency International, which pegged Cambodia's public sector as the most corrupt in ASEAN.

Indeed, in a blog post published on the IMF's global economy forum just a day after her departure, Lagarde applauds authorities' efforts.

"I believe they are resolved to stay on the road of macroeconomic stability and economic growth, to invest in skills and education, and to lay down a firm foundation of good governance," she wrote at the time.

That sort of muted response to the Kingdom's endemic corruption, affecting nearly every strata of society, does more harm than good, independent analyst Kem Ley said yesterday.

"This culture of silence so often demonstrated by the international community or United Nations bodies often ignores corruption for the sake of diplomacy instead of [taking a public stance] advocating for stronger government transparency and accountability."

More than 300 monks and civilians yesterday took to the capital's streets with a list of demands, including the resignation of Ministry of Cults and Religion chief Min Khin, prompted by the theft of artefacts from a stupa at Oudong Mountain earlier this month.

In the second protest led by the Independent Monks Network for Social Justice (IMNSJ) in as many weeks, the banner-wielding crowd delivered a petition to Phlok Phorn, secretary of state, who accepted it outside the offices of the Ministry of Cults and Religion.

The petition signed by monks from 10 provinces calls for the unconditional resignation of Khin within 14 days.

"Lately, [Khim] has paid no attention to the loss of Buddha relics, nor taken any precise action or asked the government to help bring the perpetrators to justice," the petition states.

Since the relics, among them an urn said to contain the cremated ashes of the Buddha, were stolen on December 11, authorities have charged four security guards from the site along with a local villager
police said was drinking with them the night of the theft.

Venerable But Buntenh, leader of the IMSJ, said the organisation had a three-pronged plan but declined to reveal a specific timeline for fear of a potential police crackdown.

"First, we will protest outside the Ministry of Cults and Fine Arts, calling for the minister to cooperate in locating the [stolen] relics. Secondly, we will protest outside the Chinese Embassy, because of a Chinese company's involvement in building the Stung Cheay Areng hydropower dam [in Koh Kong]. Thirdly, we will hold a pilgrimage to Oudong to further publicise the loss of the relics."

Khim Sorn, chief of Phnom Penh's monks, said yesterday that the hunt for the stolen relics was ongoing, though not under the oversite of the nation's clergy.

"We are not the managers [of the relics]. We must work with authorities to take care of them. Consequently, the government must try its best to find the relics, because they belong to all of us."

Law and order in Cambodia this year has been a strange mix of the brutal and the bizarre.

From horrific murders to the police's decision to deliver crystal meth to phony hostage-takers during a bank heist, crime has continually made headlines in a year when the election has otherwise saturated coverage.

In an offbeat start to 2013, what was first thought to be a hostage situation at an Acleda Bank branch in Kampong Cham turned out to be an elaborately planned bank heist by some employees.

This discovery was made only after a 30-hour stand-off with police, during which the "hostage-takers", purporting to be drug addicts, insisted that officers deliver them crystal meth – a demand that was agreed to.

"Really, there were no hostages," said provincial police chief Chhay Kimson only hours later. "All of them are perpetrators."

In February, the first of several high-profile attacks on foreigners took place in Kampot.

French tourist Ophélie Begnis, 25, was murdered after last being seen leaving her guesthouse on a bike. Her naked body was later found floating in an estuary.

In April, police arrested former guesthouse owner Oliver Van Den Bogaert, 40, a Belgian national, over the murder.

After his client had spent four months in pre-trial detention, Van Den Bogaert's lawyer said authorities had failed to mount a case against him, while he claimed to have 10 witnesses ready to support his innocence. He was denied bailed and is yet to go to trial.

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Japanese national Kosei Kitakura, 44, was shot in front of an apartment complex on Street 288 in Phnom Penh in the early hours of March 3. He died on the way to hospital. Sok Na, 28, was one of four people arrested and police allege that he later confessed to killing a Chinese man in a separate robbery.

In May, a Christian community in Kampong Speu province's Chbar Mon district was thrust into mourning after Singaporean pastor and teacher Wendy Ng, 55, was stabbed to death during a suspected burglary.

Four suspects were later charged with murder after a court heard they were construction workers building a new home for Ng.

Katherine Ann Grgich, a 55-year-old American, disappeared on September 28. Two days later, her body was found three kilometres away from the guesthouse she was staying in on Koh Rong, off Sihanoukville. Nearly a month later, police declared it a murder, though no arrests have been made.

Other murders have included those of children, another school teacher and a chief abbot.

In a year in which a UN report found that on average, one in five men in Cambodia had raped, the Kingdom experienced a number of horrific gang rapes.

In March, 10 men were accused of raping a 13-year-old girl multiple times in separate incidents over the course of a few days in Kampong Chhnang province. One of the 10 men – all said to be between 18 and 21 – was arrested soon after.

In a similar story, 10 men allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman in Banteay Meanchey early this month. Three of them were arrested days later.

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In yet another case, five men raped a 20-year-old woman in the capital's Russey Keo district in March. One was later arrested and charged.

Lieutenant General Mok Chito, chief of central justice at the Ministry of Interior's police department, said yesterday that despite what the headlines suggested, rape and murder cases had decreased.

"Felonies that have decreased include murder, robbery, theft and rape," he said.

Chito could not provide statistics, but insisted the number of foreigners murdered or attacked this year had also fallen.

In between dishing out heavy sentences for drug trafficking, Cambodian courts also dealt with cases involving a number of colourful personalities.

David Chanaiwa, a disbarred lawyer, was arrested in March for allegedly beating up 10 journalists as they filmed the scene of a car wreck he had just walked away from.

It was reported that the attack was caught on video, and Chanaiwa was later convicted and sentenced to three years in jail, despite the journalists having withdrawn their complaints.

The former lawyer was denied bail, but in December, the Court of Appeal ordered the case reinvestigated.

The year began with stories about Russian tycoon Sergei Polonsky, the eccentric owner of a private island off Sihanoukville, who had been arrested some days earlier over allegations of violence against six boatmen.

Complaints were soon dropped, but charges remained.

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Polonsky was released on bail in April, but rearrested again in November over a failed $176 million development in Moscow, and will spend the final day of 2013 in court fighting an extradition charge.

Often making the news were reports of police storming into houses and arresting rooms full of foreigners involved in extortion and online gambling.

Major Y Sok Khy, chief of the Ministry of Interior's anti-terrorism police department, said yesterday that police had been successful in cracking down on such crime and many arrested had been sent back to their home countries, China or Taiwan.

"Cambodian police will continue to strengthen our police officers' abilities to research and investigate where these people are setting up," he said, adding that 2014 would bring closer cooperation with "relevant local authorities, especially the courts".

While 2013 was undoubtedly full of crime reports without a happy ending, the story of 18-year-old Kov Sreyleak being reunited with her stolen baby was a heartwarming exception.

Hours after being born in October, Sreyleak's baby was abducted from hospital in the capital's Meanchey district.

After the story made the news, a man reported that he had seen his neighbour suddenly clutching a newborn baby, despite her not having been pregnant.

The woman – accused of disguising herself as a nurse – was soon arrested and the baby returned to her mother's arms.

"I am very delighted. Nothing could compare to the return of my baby," Sreyleak said.

The body of a Canadian national was discovered floating in Ratanakkiri's Yeak Lom lake by villagers yesterday afternoon in what police are calling a case of murder.

Lewis Ross, 63, was found with his neck broken, said Teng Savuth, deputy chief of the Banlung district police.

"This is a murder. His neck was broken and there were rocks placed in his backpack, which was tied to his body with nylon rope."

Savuth said that Ross was a tourist who had spent the past two months in the province. Police are now attempting to gather information from the various guesthouses he had visited.