The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Rally to include capital” plus 9 more

The Cambodia National Rescue Party has said it plans to expand the mass demonstration already slated for Tuesday in Siem Reap to include another large rally in the capital.

The CNRP announced late last month it was moving its first in a series of new rallies to Siem Reap to allow civil society easier access to City Hall permits for their own demonstrations in the capital on International Human Rights Day.

In an apparent about-face, the CNRP sent a letter on Tuesday to Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong including details of the Phnom Penh march to the National Assembly building, which showed that three groups of demonstrators, led by CNRP president Sam Rainsy and deputy president Kem Sokha, will head towards parliament.

Protesters will march from the CNRP headquarters in Meanchey district's Chak Angre Leu commune, the former headquarters of the Human Rights Party in Tuol Kork district's Toek La'ak I commune and from Russey Keo district along National Road 5. City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said yesterday that he had received the letter from the CNRP, but that a decision to allow the march to take place would not be made until representatives of Phnom Penh municipality had met with opposition leaders.

CNRP lawmaker and rally organiser Yim Sovann confirmed the change of plans yesterday, adding that the group marching from Russey Keo district would make a stop outside the headquarters of Sokimex Group, which Rainsy accused of being Vietnamese interlopers during a July stump speech in Siem Reap.

"We will split into three groups.… Also, the people from National Roads 5 and 6 will gather in front of the Sokimex company building," he said, adding that the party expects at least 15,000 supporters to turn out.

As of yesterday, civil society groups intending to hold rallies on Tuesday had not been granted permission to gather in Freedom Park, Suon Bunsak, executive secretary of the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), said.

CHRAC was due to meet with municipal authorities this afternoon to discuss its members' plans, he added.

Despite the shift in focus back to the capital, the CNRP still intends to hold a mass demonstration in Siem Reap in the Angkor-Gyeongju area, opposition lawmakers said.

Siem Reap provincial authorities yesterday moved to stop plans for the marches to pass through the Angkor Wat temple area, issuing a ban due to fears such a rally could hurt tourism.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said the ban was imposed because a march through the World Heritage Site would be unconstitutional.

"Angkor Wat is a place of worship. The constitution does not allow anyone to do politics there," he said.

In a pre-election visit to Siem Reap on July 24, Rainsy played into local supporters' apparent anti-Vietnamese sentiment, saying he would take back the Angkor Wat complex from the Vietnamese if elected – most likely a reference to Vietnamese-Cambodian businessman Sok Kong, whose Sokimex firm operates the tourism hot spot. Sokimex representatives did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Seemingly unperturbed by the prospect of the rallies, Prime Minister Hun Sen downplayed the political crisis that has developed since July's elections in an interview with Kyodo News on Tuesday.

"A solution to our problem here is only a matter of time. It's an old problem, not a new one," Hun Sen told the Japanese news agency.

Three men were arrested on Tuesday over the alleged gang rape – involving 10 men – of an 18-year-old woman in Banteay Meanchey province, police said yesterday.

Prom Then, chief of the provincial military police's anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection unit, said the three men – students from Malai district aged 18 and 19 – were arrested at 9:30am by combined police forces and will be sent to court.

"There are 10 suspects. We have arrested three and seven escaped," Then said. "We are searching for the rest in order to bring them to justice.

"The [three arrested] suspects are being detained temporarily at a military police base, and documents are being prepared for the court," he said.

Then said the attack occurred Friday night when the victim was returning home by motorbike from a pagoda in Malai district at about 10:30pm.

During the victim's journey home, her bike broke down near a school, forcing her to stop. She was then approached by the group of 10 young men, who raped her before fleeing, Then added.

"The victim was sent to the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center."

Then said a complaint was filed to police on Monday and authorities arrested three of the men in O'Chrou district the following day.

According to a UN report released in September, one in five Cambodian men has committed rape, but more than 44 per cent of them have never faced legal consequences. Although almost half of them have been arrested, barely 28 per cent of perpetrators have been imprisoned, often due to issues of impunity, the report adds.

The UN study, which surveyed more than 2,000 men and women in Cambodia, also found that more than half of the Kingdom's rapists were younger than 20 when they committed the crime.

For most of the countries surveyed – the report focused on the Asia-Pacific region – gang rape comprised about one to two per cent of cases listed. In Cambodia, however, that figure was more than five per cent.

Ly Vichuta, director of Legal Support for Children and Women, said yesterday that Cambodian society still lacked awareness of rape and the damage it was causing.

"Discussion about rape is still very limited," she said. "There's stigmatisation and [discrimination] that says rape comes [about] from the victim.

"If we pay less attention to rape, it can increase."

More campaigning was needed, Vichuta said, to show that rape is a criminal act and that those who perpetrate it must be dealt with properly by the courts and sent to prison.

"[Awareness] may change the mind-sets of people [to believe] that they can eliminate the stigmatisation and the discrimination. I urge the government to pay more attention [to] violence against women … and to better provide legal aid to support victims of rape. Not many organisations are able to provide legal aid."

Lim Mony, deputy chief of the women's and children's rights section at Adhoc, said she was not aware of the incident in Banteay Meanchey, but added that she had dealt with "similar cases".

"It is forceful and it is violent – it's a serious crime that the authorities must work together to prevent," she said.

As of last month, Adhoc had recorded 192 cases of reported rape this year, Mony added. Almost three-quarters of those cases involved victims aged between 5 and 17.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights recorded 229 reported cases in 2012.

The government in May held back on implementing widely unpopular rules that would have raised the price of mobile phone calls so as to not upset consumers – and potential voters – just months ahead of the national election, according to Cambodia's independent telecommunications regulator.

"Before the election this happened, but the government and the minister of telecoms said you have to delay this because it's just before the election. You cannot put this floor price and regulation to the operator," Lay Mariveau, first member of the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC), said yesterday.

The floor price was introduced in 2009 to prevent the demise of telco operators in what is considered an oversaturated market. It sets a minimum charge of 4.5 cents per minute for calls made within a network and 5.95 cents per minute for calls made between different networks. But it was often flouted by operators, who charged much lower and sometimes zero rates through enticing promotions.

The TRC tried to reimpose the rules in April in an agreement signed by all but one operator – Smart mobile – to abide by the laws governing the market intervention. But after an outcry from consumers, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications ordered the telecom regulator to withdraw it just weeks later, citing the need to consult with operators to see if the rules were appropriate.

It was that outcry, so close to the election, that caused the withdrawal, according to Mariveau.

In retrospect, it's easy to see why such a move made sense. According to government statistics, there were 19 million mobile phone subscribers in 2012 (with a population of close to 14.6 million, many users have more than one mobile phone). Though the numbers aren't broken down by age, many of those subscribers were likely eligible to vote.

Neither the former minister of posts and telecommunications, So Khun, or the new minister, Prak Sokhon, could be reached for comment to confirm the alleged logic behind the withdrawal.

This week, more than four months after the July 28 poll, which the ruling Cambodian People's Party won by a slim margin in the face of widespread allegations of voter fraud, the floor price was reinstated – unchanged from the attempt in April.

Political analyst Kem Ley critiqued the timing of delaying the imposition of price rules, saying that the government needs to change "from the benefit of the government to the benefit of the consumer".

Opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party whip Son Chhay was more incensed.

"If you are serious about the country and you are the government you don't produce that policy and then delay it for the purpose of gaining support, for the benefit of the election," said Chhay, whose party is still boycotting parliament over poll results.

Chhay added that the government's claim that reinstating the rules would generate more revenue through taxes was false, as the mechanisms to set up collection were not yet in place.

Like Chhay, Cambodian Economic Association president Srey Chanty was "confused" by the claimed economic benefits of the latest intervention this week.

"It's a free-market economy, we are promoting that and then the government says you have to fix this price and the consumer is the loser," he said.

Larger operators Mobitel and Smart could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In a remote part of Ratanakkiri, Lan Yorn ekes out an existence mining for gems.

In his quest to provide for his family, Yorn engages in highly dangerous work illegally digging mines as deep as 12 metres with only the most basic of equipment.

"I have no choice. I have to do it," he said yesterday, adding he has a family to support in Bakeo district and no other source of income. "My job is very dangerous. If you dig carelessly, the ground will collapse and crush you to death."

That was the fate that befell a 31-year-old man in Battambang province on Monday, who was killed when a gold mine, also illegally dug, collapsed.

Government officials say that unlicensed mining in search of minerals is a problem among rural villagers desperate to make money.

Those villagers, the authorities say, lack the training required to handle the dangers that come with mining.

But that hasn't stopped dozens of people from rushing to Yorn's district in Ratanakkiri. At last count, he knew of 50 individual miners in the area.

In his time mining, Yorn has known of others killed. When that happens, fellow miners are left to retrieve their bodies.

"The authorities don't come and tell us not to mine here. We ourselves know we have to take care."

Chhay Sarath, a former director of an organisation that monitors the mining sector, believes villagers have the right to mine for a living and deserve assistance from the government to help make their work safe.

"Many don't have a choice and must mine to make [a living]," he said. "And I personally think they should have access to natural resources."

As it stands, though, many lack the training and equipment to ensure their practices are anything but dangerous, he added.

Rather than keep individual mining illegal, Sarath said, it should be reclassified as informal employment.

"The government tries to track down illegal miners, but they do not give them any other options," he said. "The government should give them basic training."

Combined with the government's encouraging miners to form joint ventures that could help them collectively buy better equipment, the training would greatly improve practices, Sarath added.

In Kampong Thom province's Sandan district, Oung Sam Oeun, 54, mines for gold with family members.

More often than not, they are left to do their work, but it doesn't always play out that way.

"The authorities don't come to tell us not to mine – they just come to get money from us," he said.

A benefit of working together is that the family has been able to buy equipment that enables them to pump mud, meaning they don't have to dig as deep as they did in the past.

It has also greatly reduced their risk of injury, Sam Oeun said, meaning that for now, they can carry out their work with less fear for their safety.

Officials from the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Energy could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Siem Reap provincial authorities are shuttering more than 40 internet cafés in Siem Reap district this week after parents repeatedly lodged complaints with authorities that children were wasting time gaming online, authorities said yesterday.

Tith Narong, Siem Reap town police chief, offered no timeline for how long the crackdown would last but noted that police began closing the internet cafés on Monday.

"We have received many complaints from the parents of children because many of these [internet] shops have online gaming [programs] that children get really absorbed in," Narong said, adding that constant computer games were distracting youth from studying, according to their parents.

Narong told the Post yesterday that a committee of provincial authorities was created to investigate shops blamed for stirring up all the parental angst, but could not remember exactly when the committee was formed.

Siem Reap Deputy Governor So Platong confirmed that any shop owners intending to ignore the crackdown by continuing to offer online gaming would be disciplined.

"[Shop owners] have to ask our permission to [reopen] and we will make sure they no longer provide online game services in their shops," Platong said.

At Asia Net, an internet shop in Siem Reap district, an employee who was not authorised to speak to the press told the Post that she was yet to hear about the crackdown.

"I don't know about this matter. My shop just has normal internet service where my customers can check their email. I have no idea why they would want to close us."

A semiannual study of defendants' rights in Cambodian courts released this week found an alarming prevalence of pre-trial detention in cases involving juvenile suspects, who are routinely blended with adult prison populations.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights' sixth semiannual report of trial rights, which cited 354 criminal cases in Phnom Penh, Banteay Meanchey and Ratanakkiri courts in the first half of 2012, found that the majority of defendants under the age of 18 were placed in custody before their trial.

"We have a major concern regarding the implementation of the law with juvenile cases," Duch Piseth, a CCHR project auditor, told the Post yesterday. "We don't see any protective measures judges take to protect juveniles on trial."

Of the 42 juvenile cases reviewed, defendants were put in pre-trial detention 92 per cent of the time in Phnom Penh and 90 per cent of the time in Banteay Meanchey, the study found. None of the Ratanakkiri cases involved minors. CCHR found no indication that any of the Phnom Penh juvenile defendants in custody were kept separate from adults, and only two were known to have been segregated from adults.

"Children should be . . . placed [outside of] pre-trial detention, because pre-trial detention is the last resort," Ly Soklay, an attorney with NGO Protection of Juvenile Justice, said in an email. "There are no available rehabilitation programs and/or vocational training for child inmates in the most Cambodian prisons."

Two teens are currently being held in connection with a November riot in Meanchey district after a Phnom Penh judge denied them bail, Yeng Virak, head of the Community Legal Education Centre, said.

Juvenile defendants' privacy was also widely overlooked, the report found. While 33 of the cases were not posted on a public notice board, no measures were taken to keep members of the public out of the courtroom during juvenile cases.

Problems mainly arise from a lack of specific guidelines concerning juveniles, Piseth said.

"It is hard for judges to consider non-custodial [sentences], because there is no clear option," Piseth said.

Two people who were quoted in a report implicating tycoon Try Pheap in illegal logging have been issued fresh summonses to appear in Kandal Provincial Court on defamation charges.

Sen San and Ouk Sambo were originally scheduled to appear in the court last Friday, but San was granted a postponement until Tuesday because his lawyer could not attend proceedings.

The charges stem from quotes contained in a report issued last month by the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force, which found evidence Try Pheap had grown rich from exploiting the illegal timber trade.

"I am afraid they will make up a story and frame me to put me in jail, because they are powerful," San said yesterday. "If I am thrown in jail, it will be so shameful, because I have done nothing wrong at all."

Try Pheap, his company representatives and Sam Rithy Veasna, the prosecutor at Kandal Provincial Court, could not be reached yesterday.

Japan-based UD Trucks Corporation is planning on selling its new heavy duty transport vehicle, the 2013 UD Quester, in Cambodia.

"UD Trucks will launch in Cambodia soon with the 2013 UD Quester. We also hope to have nice corporation partners in our business," UD Trucks senior vice president Loic Mellinand said.

Mellinand added that "at the moment in Cambodia, the market to sell UD truck products is small. But I'm optimistic that in the future it will be better."

The trucks are used in on- and off-road driving, mining, construction, distribution and long-haul transportation.

Volvo Group-owned UD Trucks also launched the latest versions of the UD Quon, UD Fuel Demonstrator, UD Quester and Volvo FH at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013 last month.

Among other features, the Quester comes with a computer system providing constant analysis of gear, engine revolution and speed to drivers.

At this moment, when thousands of volunteers are helping in the Philippines to face the dreadful impact of Typhoon Haiyan, the world realises that the power of volunteerism goes beyond simple acts of kindness: it often makes a difference between life and death.

Every year on December 5, the International Volunteer Day, the world celebrates one of the most basic expressions of solidarity and social cohesion: volunteerism.

Often arising out of long-established traditions of sharing and reciprocal exchanges, volunteerism is a universal phenomenon that transcends boundaries, religions and cultural divides.

Facing challenges of global economic downturn, youth around the world turn to volunteerism to gain much needed skills and experience.

"Only graduating from university is not enough," says Pal Sophol, Youth Star volunteer working in a small community in Kampong Thom.

"After I graduated, I went for some interviews, but I didn't have any experience to demonstrate to potential employers. Now, when I am working as a community volunteer, I am applying the knowledge from the university into the real world and helping others at the same time," said Sophol.

One of the main objectives of the joint field visit of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program and Youth Star Cambodia last week was to see the impact of volunteerism not only for the communities but also for the individual volunteers.

While volunteers deployed far from their family often face challenges in their work and new environment, their message is clear: being a volunteer changed their life and allowed them to help people, develop their skills and become better persons.

Today, more than 500 Cambodian and international volunteers will convene at the National Institute of Education, near Independence Monument, for a full day event starting at 8am to call attention to the development impact they make, under the motto "Be a role model, be a Volunteer!" in line with the global theme this year: "Young. Global. Active."

The UNV program and its partners are highlighting the contributions that youth volunteers are making to build the future we want. There are more than 1.2 billion youth in the world today, the largest group of young people in history with incredible power.

Cambodia's young people, who comprise 70 per cent of the country's total population, have enormous potential to make a difference in contributing to the development of this country.

Volunteering is one way to harness that potential – and also build their skills and social responsibility.

The Year 2011 was an important milestone for volunteerism worldwide with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers.

In Cambodia, the National Committee for Promoting Volunteerism was established, gathering governmental and non-governmental partners as well as United Nations Agencies.

Volunteerism was integrated into the Cambodian National Youth Policy, demonstrating the commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia to promote volunteerism. Since then, these key actors join forces every year to carry the momentum forward.

On December 5, today, the third National Forum on Volunteerism brings together volunteers from the provinces as well as from Phnom Penh, celebrates the importance of voluntary action and the difference it makes to the development of Cambodia.

During the National Forum, volunteers will be able to engage in discussions with the private sector and representatives of the ASEAN Youth Volunteer Programme.

Recognising the contribution of volunteers is important. Thousands of people in Cambodia give their time and share their skills, driven by a desire to contribute to the well-being of this country and its people.
They have no expectation of material reward, and their efforts promote civic values and social cohesion.

During the International Volunteers Day we celebrate and recognise the volunteers and demonstrate that volunteerism is one of the best ways to harness the energy and creativity of youth towards peace, the eradication of poverty and significant reduction of inequalities and exclusion.

Let us honour the power of volunteerism to build the future we want and express gratitude to the thousands of volunteers around us.

Claire Van der Vaeren is the United Nations Resident Coordinator.

Seventh seeded Ivo Klec of Slovakia saved a match point in a nervy third set tie-break on his way to a hard fought 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over Russian qualifier Alexander Zhurbin to reach the quarter-finals of the Cambodian $10,000 ITF Futures for the GLF Cham Prasidh Cup at the National Training Center yesterday.

Klec, 33, whose 13th career singles title at this level came at the Kuwait F2 this year, made a superb net approach to deny the Russian left hander the crucial point that would have given him a big win. The Slovak then produced a deep forehand to put his much younger rival out of stride and out of the pre-quarters.

There was an interesting three-set battle involving two qualifiers on Court 3. The hard-hitting Wichaya Trongcharoeunchaikul of Thailand saw a stoic Soon Jae Cho of South Korea doubling his effort after losing the first set.

The Korean's splendid rearguard action began midway in the second set and he kept tightening his grip as the match wore on to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

But for another South Korean, life was hard on Court 1. Up against the tournament's top seeded Tsung Hua Yang of Taiwan, Hyun Woo-nam, who had beaten Cambodian Davis Cupper Mam Phalkun without conceding a single game in the first round, found the going real tough from the outset.

The top seed breezed through his second round 6-0, 6-2 to be the first to make the last eight, the same stage he was beaten last week in the Ford Cup by Thailand's Danai Udomchoke.

Sixth seeded Josh Goodall of Great Britain came through a first set tie break against Taiwan's Chieu Fu Wang before settling down to play an exquisite second set for a 7-6, 6-3 verdict.

India's Ramkumar Ramanathan got past Soichiro Moritani of Japan 6-3, 7-5.

In other pre-quarter-final matches, second seeded Hiroki Kondo beat his compatriot Takashi Saito 6-0, 5-7, 6-0, third seeded Robin Kern of Germany, who made an early exit last week, served his way to a 6-1, 6-4 win over Robin Olin of Sweden while Yusuke Watanuki of Japan got past Colin Van Beem of Netherlands 6-2, 7-6.

Today's quarter-finals playing from 9:30am sees Tsung Hua Yang face Josh Goodall, Ramkumar Ramanathan up against Soong Jae Cho, Yusuke Watanuki meet Robin Kern and Ivo Klec battle with Hiroki Kondo.

In the second round of the men's doubles yesterday, Cambodia's Bun Kenny and Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia failed to convert four match points in the super tie-break and went down to the Taiwanese pair of Tsung Hua Yang and Chieu Fu Wang 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.