The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “See what they did” plus 9 more

I want to see what they did, but I do not really attribute much value to this report.

It was the tragic final act of US military operations in Indochina in the 1970s, coming only 12 days after the chaotic rooftop evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon.

The botched rescue attempt of the crew of US container ship Mayaguez from Koh Tang, 43 kilometres off the coast of Sihanoukville, left 41 US marines and airmen and numerous Khmer Rouge fighters dead.

Since the 1990s, ongoing efforts to recover the remains of those killed in the assault on Koh Tang and Sihanoukville – including three marines who are thought to have been left behind, tortured and executed by the Khmer Rouge – have thus far failed to identify the missing.

An internal memo released last week by the Stars and Stripes newspaper suggests efforts to identify the mortal remains of several marines and airmen have been plagued by "a pattern of malfeasance of duty and abuse of scientific ethics".

The 2011 memo, from forensic anthropologist Jay Silverstein to the then-Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) chief Army Major General Stephen Tom, points to "a clear violation of standard procedures" and "a failure to meet the standards and responsibilities" for "the accounting of missing Americans".

The memo describes how investigators left no written records of their excavations.

"Such voids in our record seriously hamper current and future efforts at recovery and have and will result in the outlay of resources to redo and record work that had already been done," Silverstein wrote.

The "failure to fully record work executed", he went on, "may cover the only evidence thus far related to the possible fate of one of those that was left behind".

The US embassy yesterday referred questions to JPAC, which had not responded to requests for comment at the time of going to press. Silverstein could not be reached.

In December 2010, the Ministry of Commerce issued a 99-year lease to Monarch Investment – a consortium of Russian investors – to turn Koh Tang into a $1 billion tourist resort, complete with five-star hotels, a church and a dock to accommodate cruise ships.

The development could complicate future attempts to carry out further excavations.

Brigadier General Kheng Tito, spokesman for the military police, was with JPAC officials on their first mission to Koh Tang in 1998.

"In 1998, I joined this team to research US missing in action at Koh Tang," he said. "Now, I don't know [what will happen], but if any firm does this business at Koh Tang, maybe [it will] jeopardise [future excavations]."

A representative of Monarch Investment declined to comment on the ongoing development of the island and efforts to recover the fallen soldiers, adding that the company's directors were on a business trip in Russia.

In 2000, a former Khmer Rouge platoon commander on Koh Tang told the Post: "If we'd known the Americans would have come back some day to look for the bodies, we would have put all the bodies in one easy-to-find place."

More than 80 factory workers were injured yesterday when a truck carrying about 100 had a flat tyre and overturned on National Road 1 in Svay Rieng town.

Twelve female workers were taken to the provincial hospital with broken limbs and head injuries, while the rest suffered cuts and bruises, said Hout Vantha, deputy police chief in Svay Rieng town.

"Many workers were injured and we do not have all their names yet, but some have broken arms and legs and blacked out because many people piled up when it overturned," he said. "I just know they were going to work in factories in Bavet town's Special Economic Zone."

Chan Dara, a director of the provincial referral hospital, said those seriously injured were operated on.

Sar Mora, president of the Cambodian Food and Service Workers' Federation, said medical bills should be covered by the national insurance scheme.

"In the past, such cases were paid for by the National Social Security Fund," Mora said.

Starting later this month, 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses will be queried as part of a Japanese government-backed economic census intended to take a snapshot of activity across the private sector.

Beginning on February 23 and running through to March 31, Cambodia's National Institute of Statistics (NIS) will conduct the survey with help from Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to a joint agency statement released yesterday.

Respondents will be selected from 25 provinces, drawn from a much larger group of more than 500,000 businesses first interviewed in Cambodia's landmark economic census in 2011.

NIS employees will visit the establishments in person and questions will focus on, among other items, business registration details, legal status, hours of operation, number of personell and financial health of the enterprise. Final results are expected in March 2015, while preliminary data may be ready as early as August.

Khin Sovorlak, deputy director general of the NIS, said he was confident businesses will comply with the questionnaire. As for the results, he predicted an increase in the number of people employed by private enterprises.

"This survey, along with last year's [separate] agricultural census, improves reliability and quality control over the handling of statistical data," he said.

After the first economic census some three years ago, this "inter-censal" survey will mark a midway point before another mass effort gets underway in 2021.

According to the joint statement, "since the interval of two decennial economic censuses is very long, 10 years, it is indispensable to conduct an inter-censal economic survey to collect updated information on the constantly changing economic situation of Cambodia."

During the first day of a week-long training course for census officials held yesterday in Phnom Penh, Minister of Planning Chhay Than stressed the need for reliable statistical data and called on all businesses to provide accurate survey responses, according to national news service AKP.

Cambodia's economy continues to expand at a steady clip each year, with the International Monetary Fund most recently forecasting 7.2 per cent growth for 2014.

Operating revenue at the partly state-owned mail service, Cambodia Post (CP), rose more than 10 per cent last year compared to 2012, according to a senior government official.

Ork Bora, CP's general director, said that revenue reached $4.56 million, an increase of 12.54 per cent from the previous year. The increase was driven by package services and money transfers.

"One important thing is that we are trying to build customer confidence, because they can use our track and trace system online so they can see where their products are," he said, referring to a tracking service for packages on the Cambodia Post website.

He added that economic growth, flow of foreign direct investment, a widening tourism base and higher numbers of Cambodians going to live and work abroad also contributed to the hike in revenue. Most products are shipped from and to Korea, France, USA, Malaysia and Thailand.

When Friends International, one of Cambodia's best known NGOs, opened its doors in 1994, the country had just emerged from its years under the UNTAC administration and was still reeling from decades of war and Vietnamese occupation. Poverty was rife, families were separated and employment scarce. For many children, opportunities were hard to come by.

This year, as Friends International celebrates its 20th anniversary, the organisation employs 500 staff around the world, working directly with 60,000 children in countries including Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as here in Cambodia, where it was founded.

Speaking from his new office in Chamkar Mon district south of Mao Tse Tung Boulevard, Phnom Penh, executive director Sebastien Marot said: "Friends is really a Cambodia project that has become international, and for me that's very special and tickles me inside.

"The opening of the first restaurant in 2000 was very special because it really pushed the vision I had for Friends forward, having the official training, mixing business and NGO – at the time it was quite new, very few people were doing that kind of thing, so that was very exciting," he added.

Marot also cited putting 2,500 children back into public schools in 2012 as a major achievement as well as having trained approximately 500 young people with invaluable vocational skills in their restaurants and shop.

Friends International, which provides vocational training and skills to disadvantaged young people in order to maximise their opportunities, will mark its achievements with a series of events this year, beginning with a picnic featuring live music on Saturday.

Looking to the future, Marot said Friends plans on further international expansion to countries such as Vietnam. It will also open new training restaurants in Laos and Thailand, he said.

Friends' vision remains the same as it always was, and for Marot, it can be summarised in three parts. He said: "The first is that children and young people have a fair chance for their future and that no kid is left behind. The second is that local people take ownership for the protection and support of kids in their community. My last dream is to have to close Friends, because we're not needed any more."

Friends Acoustic Picnic will take place between 2pm and 6pm on Saturday, February 8 at #215, Street 13. Entry is $3 and free for children under 12 years of age.

Another gameweek of the Cellcard Fantasy League relatively plush with scores, although no side managed to break the four-goal ceiling.

Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, favoured by less than one in a hundred of fantasy managers, notched a memorable brace past London rivals Crystal Palace to push his side back to the top of the table, in doing so topping the chart with 16 points.

The player's tally was matched by another English midfielder in West Ham's Kevin Nolan, who also smashed in a double to seal victory over Swansea.

Stoke's game winning centre half Charlie Adam (15 points) would've joined the pair on 16 had his team kept a clean sheet against Man United.

Southampton forward Rickie Lambert, meanwhile, netted one and set up the other two in their 3-0 whitewash of a hapless Fulham to also amass 15 points.

In the weekly competition, Ivan Kun should count himself lucky as his team, The Saint, was blessed with the best total of the round despite having made no squad changes since gameweek 8.

The 77 points for Ivan were in no small part due to a captain choice of Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge for 18 points as well as picks of Nolan and Adam. Ivan could even afford to field the suspended Loic Remy of Newcastle and five players who earned just two points each.

Nevertheless, Ivan will collect the Cellcard prizes of a US$20 phone voucher and T-shirt.

The concurrently run facebook competition saw a winner selected from a lucky draw after five users correctly answered the first part of the question – What will the full-time score between Man City and Chelsea be and who will score first?

Five guessed the result would be 1-0 to Chelsea, although no one proposed Branislav Ivanovic as the decisive scorer. Thus Rathana Bee was picked out of the hat as the winner of a $20 phone card after last week's $10 prize was rolled over.

Gameweek 25 will play out at the weekend with the dazzling opener of Liverpool v Arsenal. Swansea also host Cardiff in another tantalising clash of the Welsh clubs.

Q: Sovantha, you became famous as CNRP activist. Why do you think Sam Rainsy or Kem Sokha would be better leaders of Cambodia than Hun Sen?
A: Hun Sen has been in power for 34 years. It is time to change the leader and see who is better for the development of the country.

Q: What exactly is the difference between the two parties except for the leaders?
A: Since the CPP are in power many trees are gone from Cambodia and many Vietnamese came to live in our country.

Q: How do you feel about many Vietnamese people are discriminated against in Cambodia these days?
A: Not all Vietnamese people are bad except for the ones who took our land. The latter many Cambodian people call Yuon.

Q: How did you get to join the CNRP rallies? Do you have friends in the CNRP?
A: No, I didn't know anyone. I first got in touch with the CNRP youth because like them I volunteered at the NEC. First they thought that I was a spy because they didn't understand why I started to hang out with them.

Q: Why did people in the CNRP youth say you were a spy?
A: Several people said that because I always took many pictures with my iPad to post them on Facebook. But then I told them how I felt about CNRP and they let me participate.

Q: But you are no CNRP member and do your own charity and awareness projects. What to you want to achieve?
A: I want to raise money for community service. First I spread awareness of a project over social media. If people want to support a community service project they give me the money and then I take the money and help the needy; people whose houses were destroyed in the flooding for example. This has nothing to do with the CNRP. But I tell my supporters the reasons why the needy are needy and very often it is because of what the current leadership allowed to happen – like the Boung Kak evictions. With my charities however I want to show our neighbor countries Thailand and Vietnam that Khmer people are able to love each other and Khmer people help Khmer people.

Q: 'Khmer people help Khmer' people seems to be your motto. Can you elaborate that?
A: We have CNRP and CPP supporters in Cambodia. But it is not good when they are fighting because we are Khmer all the same and there are good people in both parties. I want everybody to be open about whom they support and then they can discuss. We need to choose a leader and when we chose a leader the people who did not vote for that leader have to accept the majority's decision. But I think the last elections were not fair and they have to be done again.

Q: If you believe that all Khmer people should be more tolerant of each other's political opinions and there are good people in CPP and CNRP – why don't you stay neutral and side with the CNRP instead?
A: The media attention on TV and radio is still mostly on the CPP as well as all the power in the country and this is not fair. So I support the CNRP in social media to make their chance fairer to become the leaders of the country.

Q: In some pictures on your Facebook profile one can see you driving a LEXUS 330. At the same time you raise a lot of money from people (so far $ 50.000 according to Sovantha)…Do people sometimes ask you if all the money you raise goes to charity?
A: Yes, some people said I used the money from the donations to buy myself a LEXUS. But I have had this car for two years already and I only started raising money seven months ago. So how does that work?

Q: What do your parents do for a living?
A: They import fabrics from China and sell them.

Q: For a while you were part of I love Cambodia Hot News. How come you are not anymore?
A: There was a lot of confusion. In the beginning I was posting a lot about the election together with Phe Sovannarith. He was acting as a CNRP supporter and made many people believe in him but then he turned to the CPP and many people got angry with him. First he posted three videos in that he burned pictures of Jul Sovann (Police chief) and Hun Sen and a Thai flag and I supported him in that. I thought it is good if young people saw that braveness. But then Sovannarith posted negative comments about Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy…

Q. We also heard rumors that you were a couple because you went to a workshop in Singapore together?
A. We have never been a couple and went to Singapore in a group of 30 people but attended the workshop at different times. In fact, we did not meet each other over there. I am not in a relationship with him at all. We only communicated online about the website.

Q: Now Sovannarith is running with the CPP?
A: I don't know that. All I can say is that I support all youth who do something good for our country no matter if they are CPP or CNRP. Not all CPP members are bad.

Q: But because you initially supported Phe Sovannarith you had to leave the I love Cambodia Hotnews?
A: No, I left because I wanted to start my own news site on Facebook. It is better for the formation of public opinion to have many channels.

Q: Do you a get a lot of fan mail?
A: Yes, and also a lot of hate mail when people say very insulting things to me on Facebook. But I never care and answer them politely and with smileys. They don't know better and I try to explain them why I support the CNRP.

Q: Last week, supposedly a passport authority leaked a personal document of yours onto Facebook which among other highly personal things, reveals where you live. What are you going to do about that?
A: First of all, that this happened to scare and threaten me only shows that this current government is by far too powerful and in power for too long. This is antiquated style from 30 or 40 years ago. I am not afraid though and I want to know exactly who did this and that this person is brought to justice. I am working on a complaint and also plan to seek help from an NGO.

Q: Would the situation in Cambodia be better if the CNRP was in power?
A: If they were in power I would also be concerned about what they do. We cannot know that they would be better. We can only hope. We can only judge them by their actions.

Q: You are very young and still go to school. How come you already have such developed political opinions?
A: Because of my parents. Sometimes they would meet with friends at our house, close the doors and then also talk critically of Hun Sen and politics in Cambodia. I was secretly listening to them. Then I started to read books on Cambodian history and politics, and different political leaders of other countries.

Q: Who is your favorite political leader?
A: I like Abraham Lincoln because he came from a poor family and worked his way up. My family is mostly about business and don't want to involve in politics. But I thought I could have a chance to be like Abraham Lincoln. He shows that we can do everything from ourselves.

Q: Are you afraid that your political activity could harm your parents' business activity?
A: The fact that Hun Sen is in power means that their business is already affected in a bad way as well as everybody else in the country. This is why I support the opposition.

Q: You have become very popular over the last months. Do many people try to be your friends?
A: Everybody is my friend and welcome to support me. I love them all because I want to be fair. But I don't have close friends.

Q: Do you sometimes wish to have close friends – when you are sad for example?
A: No, I enjoy my life as it is. All the people on Facebook are my friends. When I am sad then I can turn to my teacher or my father. They act as my close friends then.

Q: Have you always kept people of your age on relative distance?
A: Before I moved to Phnom Penh from Kampong Cham at nine years old I had close friends. When my family arrived in Phnom Penh we were very poor compared to the Phnom Penh people so the children in my new school never talked to me. But I was not angry at them and I stayed quiet – and even when my family became successful I enjoyed being quiet and on my own. This way I always felt fair and free.

Sreng Mao: ACE/IDP
The UK is one of the world's top study destinations with an education history of over 800 years. Through the years, UK universities have trained students who have become global financial leaders, leading politicians, thinkers and professionals, and have had a significant influence on the world.

A UK qualification is a mark of quality, recognised and respected globally. UK graduates are in high demand from corporations globally. The UK has been the recipient of the second highest number of Nobel prizes in the world.

All state schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland follow a national curriculum set by government. Education is compulsory to the age of 16 to GCSE level. Scottish students leave with Standard Grades. Vocational qualifications offer more practical learning than traditional academic programs. The UK system is designed to enable students who have studied vocational qualifications to move into higher education.

International students may also enrol in foundation or access programs if the secondary education in their country is not recognised to meet the equivalent UK requirements. These programs are usually 9 months to 1 year long and upon successful completion will allow entry into an undergraduate degree. For undergraduate degrees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, students usually enroll in a 3-year honours degree which can be extended by doing a sandwich course (additional year in industry). Postgraduate courses are defined as either 'taught'or 'research' programs and will usually require students to have completed a first degree to be eligible for entry. Taught master's courses are one year in length.

The average international tuition fee structure allows students to study with relatively great value for money with fees ranging between £10,500 per year for Undergraduate Arts and £15,100 per year for an MBA.
Students on full time courses lasting 6 months or more are eligible for treatment from the National Health Service (NHS) which means medical treatment is free.

The average monthly cost of living (which includes accommodation, food and personal expenses) ranges between £800 per month for Inner London and £600 outside. University students on a Tier 4 Student Visa can work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations while they are in the UK.

IDP (Cambodia) counsellors are trained to support you from the first step of personalised counselling right through to your arrival in the UK. If you are interested in studying in the UK, visit an IDP Study Abroad Resource Centre today for free counselling and processing of your application and visa.

A 5-year-old boy has tested positive for avian influenza, making the toddler the first reported case this year, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization said yesterday.

The boy, from Kampong Thom province's Stung Sen district, was confirmed positive for the H5N1 virus on Sunday, the statement said.

The boy is in a stable condition after being admitted to the Jayavarman VII Hospital in Siem Reap town.

A government investigation into the case revealed that 200 chickens had mysteriously died in the boy's village in mid-January, after which his parents had prepared the expired birds to eat.

"I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry and prevent them from playing with chickens or ducks," Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said in the statement.

At least 22 cases of bird flu were recorded in Cambodia last year, according to the Ministry of Health.