ids cambodia

Cambodia Rejects Extradition Request for Thaksin

2009-11-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

Cambodia has officially rejected a Thai extradition request for its ousted premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, who arrived in Phnom Penh Tuesday as a new economic adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Thaksin faces a two-year prison sentence if he returns to Thailand, but Hun Sen has said he considers the case against him politically motivated, exempting Cambodia from its extradition obligations to Thailand.
Hun Sen told reporters Wednesday that he met with Thaksin at his house in Kandal province, just outside Phnom Penh, and that Cambodia had officially denied an extradition request issued through the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh.
Removed from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, Thaksin is a politically divisive figure in Thailand, and the tacit support shown him by the Cambodian administration has created a deep diplomatic rift, including the mutual withdrawal last week by ambassadors on each side.
In an official letter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited a provision of its treaty with Thailand that exempts extradition in politically motivated cases.
Thai officials in Phnom Penh declined to comment Wednesday, but Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was quoted in Thai media saying he had ordered his the Thai Foreign Ministry to revise its cooperation with Cambodia.
A Cambodian government spokesman said Thaksin had arrived on a small, private airplane at Phnom Penh’s military airbase Tuesday and was escorted into the capital in a convoy of vehicles under tight security.
In a statement carried by Cambodian state-run TVK Wednesday, Thaksin said he meant no harm to Thailand, and he urged Thais to continue to work for the economy and poverty reduction.
Hun Sen was expected to host Thaksin for dinner Wednesday night. On Thursday, Thaksin is scheduled to give a speech to more than 300 officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The row over the former prime minister, who lives in exile but maintains a following in Thailand strong enough to upset the ruling party, has deepened an ongoing crisis over border areas near Preah Vihear temple, where soldiers form each country have been entrenched since July 2008.
It has also potentially damaged an agreement over offshore oil blocks. Thailand has threatened to cancel an existing agreement on an overlapping 26,000 square kilometers of sea area thought to harbor oil reserves.
Cambodian officials say it would be difficult to cancel the agreement, made in 2001, which has allowed progress on offshore oil exploration that would be potentially lucrative for the country.

Thaksin Visit Marks Low in Bilateral Relations: Analysts

2009-11-13T03:16:00.000-08:00

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Original report from Phnom Penh12 November 2009
The presence of Thaksin Shinawatra in Phnom Penh is pushing a political battle between Cambodia and Thailand to one of its worst points in years, analysts said this week.
The visit of the ousted prime minister has caused the mutual withdrawal of ambassadors, the potential scuppering of an offshore oil agreement, and the threat of closed borders, and could lead to chronic disputes between the neighbors, analysts say.
Thaksin addressed a gathering of Cambodian officials Thursday, taking on his first duty in a controversial role as economic adviser to the government. Cambodia has strong potential in agriculture, tourism and oil, Thaksin said.
Speaking to more than 300 officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Thaksin noted Cambodia’s rapid economic growth rate in recent years, before the financial crisis brought a shrinking of 2.5 percent this year.
In order to counter the crisis, he said, Cambodia must act fast to improve its products and services. Cambodia could also consider working together to promote tourism with Burma, Laos and Thailand.
Thaksin said he would be willing to sit down with a small group to discuss how to improve the tourism industry, including joint promotions with other countries, especially, he said, with Thailand.

Okada vows Japan 's support for Mekong, calls for democracy in Myanmar (2nd Lead)

2009-10-12T18:35:00.001-07:00

SIEM REAP, Cambodia , Oct. 3 KYODO -- (EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE DETAILS) Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Saturday that Japan is preparing to boost economic assistance to countries in the Mekong region, which the country describes as a priority area for cooperation. ''We would like to make greater contributions than ever to the Mekong region,'' Okada said in a meeting with his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, who urged North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs and swiftly return to the six-party denuclearization talks. Okada also pledged that the new Japanese administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan will actively engage in diplomacy with Asian countries with its ''long-term vision'' to create an ''East Asian community.'' Underlining its policy direction for the region, Japan also insisted that a paragraph on the need for democracy in junta-ruled Myanmar be included in the chairman's statement wrapping up the foreign ministers' meeting. Myanmar, whose draconian regime has long been a thorn in regional relations with other countries, had tried to have all reference to the country's political system and repression of dissidents such as democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi expunged from the chairman's summing up of the meeting, but sources close to the meeting told Kyodo News that Japan refused to participate in a whitewash. The sources said Myanmar made both written and verbal protests over mention of its political situation, claiming the ''primary objective'' of Mekong-Japan cooperation is to promote ''regional development, friendship and mutual understanding'' and the meeting is ''not a forum for political dialogue.'' But Japan , the sources said, allowed only a slight softening of the language in the chairman's statement, insisting that the meeting call for free and fair elections in Myanmar . The final statement says: ''On the situation in Myanmar , the ministers believed that the upcoming general elections in 2010 would be transparent, democratic and inclusive. The ministers welcome recent positive steps taken by the government of Myanmar in its democratization process, including the release of more than 7,000 prisoners.'' A mention of Suu Kyi, who has been in jail or under house arrest in Yangon for most of the past two decades, was left out of the final version, but Okada made clear in a joint press conference with other foreign ministers that her release is part of Japan 's vision for the region. Okada said he discussed issues related to Myanmar in the meeting with his Mekong counterparts and told them Japan would ''look forward to seeing free and fair elections,'' promised for next year, with the participation of all political parties and ''the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.'' The Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex in northwestern Cambodia , was also aimed at laying the groundwork for a summit meeting between the leaders of Japan and the five Mekong region countries, which they agreed Saturday to hold in Tokyo on Nov. 6-7. The Mekong countries reaffirmed their support for Japan 's pledge to aim for a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 from 1990 levels and the country's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
KyodoOctober 03, 2009

New Japanese government pledges to continue aid Cambodia

2009-10-12T18:34:00.002-07:00

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Oct. 3 KYODO
New Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada assured his Cambodian counterpart Saturday that despite a change of government in Japan, policy toward Cambodia remains unchanged, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said after meeting with Okada. Hor Namhong, also deputy prime minister, said the pledge was made by Okada during bilateral talks on the sideline of the second Mekong-Japan foreign ministerial meeting in Cambodia 's northern province Siem Reap. In a separate press briefing, Kazuo Okada, press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, said the foreign minister touched on several issues during his meeting with Hor Namhong, including the Khmer Rouge trial, Japanese official development assistance, investment, removal of land mines and Japanese nongovernmental organizations working in Cambodia . On demining, Okada said Japan is planning to provide 1.1 billion yen for removal of unexploded ordnance, while at the same time Japan is committed to continue supporting the trial process of former leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, according to the press secretary. Japan has been the leading donor to Cambodia after the signing of the Cambodia Peace Agreement in 1991.
KyodoOctober 03, 2009

U.S. examining Cambodian request for relief, foreign minister says

2009-10-12T18:34:00.001-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Oct. 1 KYODO
The United States has accepted and is taking into consideration a request for debt relief by Cambodia , Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said Thursday shortly after returning from New York . He said he raised the issue of debts owed by Cambodia for 37 years during bilateral talks with U.S. Secretary of States Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Hor Namhong added he also proposed that if the United States could not cancel the debts outright, it might replace it as being grants for development in education and health. Cheam Yeap, chairman of National Assembly's Economic Commission and a senior member of the Cambodian People's Party, told Kyodo News recently the Lon Nol government borrowed from the United States $162 million in 1972 but due to interest compounding for the last 37 years, the debts have doubled to more than $300 million. The United States backed the Lon Nol government that ruled the country from 1970 until it was toppled by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. According to Cheam Yeap , China , from which the Khmer Rouge government borrowed more than $200 million, has already written off those debts and Hungary has written off some $3 million. He said the International Monetary Fund canceled Cambodian debts of $82 million. Cambodia is also seeking debt relief from Russia , to which it owes $1.5 billion. That money was borrowed by the then People's Republic of Kampuchea in the 1980s, but no official reply on the matter has yet been received, Cheam Yeap said.
Kyodo October 01, 2009　

8 people killed, 12 injured as typhoon Ketsana hits Cambodia

2009-10-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 29 KYODO -- At least eight people died Tuesday as typhoon Ketsana lashed central Cambodia and destroyed at least 30 houses, a local official said. Chea Seath, director of Provincial Red Cross in Kompong Thom Province, said 12 people were injured as the typhoon pummeled the Sandan district in Kompong Thom, about 240 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. The bodies of those killed were found inside damaged houses in Kompong Thom, Chea Seath said. Rattanakiri Province was also hit by the typhoon but it is not immediately known whether there were casualties there.
Kyodo
September 29, 2009

Cambodia seeks seat at UNESCO

2009-09-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 10

Cambodian government will soon apply its candidacy to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for a seat in the World Heritage Committee.
Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Office of the Council of Ministers said Thursday that Cambodia will formally apply to the UNESCO.
He said the application will be taken shortly because the elections are scheduled to take place on October 23-28 in Paris , and adding that if Cambodia is elected, Cambodia will serve only four years from the original terms of six years.
He said the move to take less years is to allow other state parties to have opportunity to be part of the committee.
Following Cambodia ’s application for the seat at the World Heritage Committee, Teruo Jinnai, UNESCO’s office chief in Cambodia said he welcomed Cambodia ’s move seeking to be on board.
Until now, UNESCO has registered Cambodia ’s two historical sites as the World Heritage, namely Angkor Wat Temple and Preah Vihear Temple in 1992 and 2008 respectively.
Also, in 2003 UNESCO listed Cambodian Classical Dance as another World Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Phay Siphan said Cambodia has thousands of heritage sites, preservation projects as well as cultural sites.

Sale of Pol Pot belongings attracts 'ghost' money bid

2009-08-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , May 21 KYODO

Belongings of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot that are up for sale have attracted a single bid of $790,000 in fake money, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

According to the report in the English-language Phnom Penh Post, Pok Leak Reasey offered to buy the pair of shoes and two cameras with $790,000 in ghost money used in funeral rites in many parts of Asia . ''The reason why I've offered the money in ghost notes is because I want to say that all material remaining from the regime is worth nothing,'' Pok Leak Reasey was quoted as saying by the paper.

Pok Leak Reasey lost eight members of his family during the regime, including his father, grandparents and siblings.

The seller of the belongings, a former photographer at Tuol Sleng prison, Nhem En, said he was not angry with the offer, but is still offering the belongings with a starting price of $1 million, according to the report. As many as 16,000 men, women and children are believed to have been tortured at Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh before being executed.

The prison's chief, Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, is currently on trial at a U.N.-assisted genocide tribunal, while four other senior former Khmer Rouge leaders will be tried sometime next year.

Pol Pot died in 1998.

KyodoMay 21, 2009

N. Korea defiant despite pressure from U.S., Japan over nuclear issue

2009-08-05T18:15:00.000-07:00

N. Korea defiant despite pressure from U.S., Japan over nuclear issue
(EDS: UPDATING WITH CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT)
By Miya Tanaka and Puy Kea
PHUKET, Thailand, July 23 Kyodo

North Korea blamed Washington for the current standoff over its nuclear program during an annual regional security dialogue on Thursday, defying calls from the United States, Japan and other countries for it to return to the stalled six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing Pyongyang, officials who attended the gathering said.

North Korea explained its position at an international gathering attended by officials from all six countries involved in the nuclear talks for the first time since its second nuclear test in May.

In apparent protest at international pressure over its recent nuclear test and missile launches, North Korea did not send its foreign minister, Pak Ui Chun, and instead sent an ambassador-level official.

Adding further pressure, the chair's statement issued on the ASEAN Regional Forum said the ministers of several countries ''condemned the recent nuclear test and missile launches'' by North Korea and ''strongly urged'' all U.N. members to ''commit themselves to fully implement'' a new U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution adopted in response to the nuclear test.

But North Korea ''totally rejected'' the resolution and told the meeting that ''the ongoing aggravated situation on the Korean Peninsula is the product of the hostile policy of the United States'' against the country and ''stated that the six-party talks have already come to an end,'' the statement said.

The six-party talks involve North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone told reporters later that North Korea's remarks ''were far apart from the awareness of the international society.'' ''The atmosphere of the venue indicated that North Korea cannot win support from other countries with this kind (of position),'' he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a separate news conference criticized such arguments by North Korea and said that the country has ''no friends left'' to protect it from moves toward its denuclearization.

As for incentives for North Korea to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, Clinton said at the forum that the United States will promise a peace treaty, the restoration of good relations at the six-party talks and the development of peace on the peninsula, according to senior sources who attended the gathering.

The 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum wrapped up a series of meetings involving the 10-member ASEAN and its dialogue partners, as well as other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The ARF is the only regional security dialogue forum usually attended by North Korea's foreign minister, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. It was established in 1994 to promote dialogue and cooperation on regional security issues and North Korea became a member in 2000.

Participants in the gathering also discussed the issue of Myanmar, where pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi remains detained, and many expressed hope over progress on democratization, according to Japanese Foreign Ministry official.

While encouraging the military government for free and fair elections in 2010, the foreign ministers called on the government to ''release all those in detention,'' including Suu Kyi with a view to enabling them to participate in the elections, the chairman's statement said. Meanwhile, the ARF adopted a statement outlining the forum's vision through 2020, the Japanese official said.

Under the ''Vision Statement,'' the forum, in order to achieve its goal of enhancing the regional security environment, reaffirmed its three-step evolutionary approach -- starting with the promotion of confidence building and moving toward preventive diplomacy before eventually developing conflict-resolution mechanisms.

How to cooperate in dealing with large-scale disasters was also an important issue that was discussed in the forum, given the cyclone devastation in Myanmar and the deadly earthquake in China's Sichuan province, both of which occurred last year.

Indonesia expressed its willingness to host an ARF disaster exercise and Japan offered to cooperate on co-hosting the event, the official said. The first such Voluntary Demonstration of Response was held in the Philippines in May during which more than 500 personnel participated.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They form the ARF together with Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, the United States, the European Union and others.

Kyodo

U.S. consolidates ties with Lower Mekong countries

2009-08-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea PHUKET, Thailand, July 23 Kyodo -

The United States and the four Lower Mekong nations of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam consolidated relations Thursday through the holding of their first-ever ministerial meeting.

At the five-nation talks, held on the sidelines of ASEAN-organized meetings on the Thai resort island of Phuket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of the four Southeast Asian countries reached agreements on U.S. assistance and cooperation in the areas of environment, health and education.

A joint statement said participants discussed such issues as fighting infectious disease, expanding the use of technology for education and development, and tackling climate change, for which the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Congress for a seven-fold increase in funding for Southeast Asia. Clinton underlined the importance of the Lower Mekong region to the United States and stressed the U.S. commitment to advancing peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia as a whole.

Also, the participants reached an agreement between the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission to pursue a ''sister river'' partnership to share expertise. In recent years, the Lower Mekong countries have voiced concerns over the building of hydropower upstream in China, but sources said that issue was not discussed in the inaugural ministerial meeting.

The meeting took place a day after Clinton declared that ''the U.S. is back in Southeast Asia,'' suggesting the region had been neglected by the previous administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush. She said she and Obama believe that ''this region is vital to global progress, peace and prosperity'' and vowed the United States will ''fully engage with our ASEAN partners on the wide range of challenges confronting us: from regional and global security to the economic crisis to human rights and climate change.''

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam ASEAN diplomats said that both Laos and Cambodia had wanted Upper Mekong countries China and Myanmar, regarded by Washington as a pariah state, included in Thursday's ministerial meeting, but they finally agreed with having only Lower Mekong countries involved.

Some observers suggested the United States was hoping to bolster its influence in the Lower Mekong subregion by excluding China, which is already a major player there.

Kyodo

Amnesty says ASEAN's consensus principle may undermine rights body

2009-08-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea

PHUKET, Thailand, July 21 KYODO

Amnesty International said Tuesday the ''consensus'' principle adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations may paralyze or weaken the 10-member organization's human rights body, due to be launched later this year.

According to Amnesty, the body's newly adopted terms of reference, which allow for decisions by consensus only, would mean each ASEAN member could reject any criticism of its own human rights record by veto.

This ''could lead either to paralysis or to the adoption of weak positions based on the lowest common denominator,'' the London-based group said in a statement. It suggested that the ASEAN human rights body be empowered to investigate human rights abuses and receive complaints of abuses, saying, ''Without such powers the body will not be able to address serious human rights situations in the region, for example in Myanmar.''

The statement was released one day after ASEAN's foreign ministers decided by consensus to set up an intergovernmental commission on human rights later this year to promote and protect human rights in a region that includes military-ruled Myanmar .

Amnesty said its other key concerns include the body's lack of a clear protection mandate, lack of binding requirements for independence and expertise of its members, and an emphasis on ''regional particularities'' and ''noninterference'' in internal affairs, which it said could undermine respect for universal human rights standards.

ASEAN was urged to ensure a transparent mechanism to select independent expert members to the human rights body with representatives from civil society.

On Sunday, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who is the current ASEAN chair, said that after a review period of five years from the time the human rights body comes into operation, its terms of reference will be amended to strengthen its mandate and function on the promotion and protection of the human rights.

ASEAN groups Brunei , Cambodia , Laos , Indonesia , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

Kyodo

Hun Sen says 29 rockets exploded near his residence

2009-08-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , June 30 KYODO

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that 29 rockets exploded near his residence Sunday night in an accident that he blamed on human error. The premier said he was playing chess at home when the explosions started at 7:30 p.m. and his bodyguards advised him to move to a safer place within the compound of his residence, located south of Phnom Penh .

The rocket blasts panicked many villagers living nearby and made many wonder what was actually happening there. Hundreds of police blockaded the surrounding area, restricting the flow of traffic. Hun Sen said the blasts happened after one of his military men used a cigarette lighter to get a better look at spilled gasoline from a truck loaded with rocket launchers and ammunition that was bound for a border area disputed with Thailand .

Two military personnel were injured by the blasts, he said. Also Tuesday, Hun Sen said that during talks last week at his residence with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, he insisted Thai troops withdraw from the disputed area and warned that Thai military aircraft overflying Cambodian territory might be targeted by ground-to-air missiles.

KyodoJune 30, 2009

Khmer Rouge prisoner survived by painting Pol Pot portraits

2009-08-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, July 1 KYODO

A survivor of a Khmer Rouge torture center in Phnom Penh in the late 1970s testified Wednesday that he survived only by painting portraits of then Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. Bou Meng, 68, the third victim to testify in the U.N.-backed trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders, said that shortly after his arrest and incarceration at the S-21 torture center in 1977, he offered his painting skills to the center's chief Kaing Guek Ieu, better known as Duch, in exchange for his survival.

Duch, who is now on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity, told him he would be killed and used as fertilizer if he failed to paint a good enough portrait of Pol Pot from a small photo presented to him. ''My life is saved until today because of my paintings of Pol Pot portraits,'' he told the presiding judge when asked how he was able to escape the fate of most of those who were incarcerated at the center.

Vann Nath, 63, another victim told the court Monday that he also survived by painting. On Tuesday, Chum Mey, 76, said he was spared because of his usefulness as a mechanic. Bou Meng said he painted four Pol Pot portraits as well as those of a number of other foreign leaders including China 's Mao Zedong. He said Duch also ordered him to paint a caricature of the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh.

Bou Meng was arrested along with his wife, who subsequently disappeared and is believed to have been killed. He asked Duch to help him find out where she might be buried so that he could collect some soil from that site to use in praying for the repose of her soul in the Buddhist way.

In response, Duch referred the question to one of his former subordinates who will appear in the court at a later date, saying that person directly handled the movement of prisoners from place to place. Duch wept as he spoke about Bou Meng's wife. Like the other two victims who have already testified in the court, Bou Meng said he was shackled and tortured. He said interrogators accused him of being a CIA or KGB spy.

''I felt such pain at the time and I have had many scars on my back and shoulders as of now,'' he said.

In his concluding statement at the court, Bou Meng said he wants justice rendered to him and all other Khmer Rouge victims.

Duch is the first of five Khmer Rouge leaders to be tried at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. He has admitted that he was responsible for the deaths of at least 12,380 prisoners while S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng, was under his command. The Khmer Rouge are blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in the late 1970s.

Kyodo July 01, 2009

Khmer Rouge survivor recounts 'inhuman act' under the regime

2009-08-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , June 29 KYODO

One of more than a dozen Khmer Rouge survivors of a torture center in Phnom Penh recounted Monday that at the prison where he was incarcerated were ''inhuman'' and the food given him was less than that for the animals. ''The conditions were so inhumane and the food was so little.

I even had thought of eating human flesh,'' said Vann Nath, one of 14 Khmer Rouge survivors believed to have escaped from S-21 torture center. ''Even with animals, they would give enough food to eat,'' he said, adding he was given only three spoons of porridge ''and the spoon was as small as coffee spoon.'' Vann Nath, 63, is the first Khmer Rouge survivor to testify at a U.N. backed court where the former chief of S-21 prison Kaing Guek Ieu, known as Duch, is on trial for crimes against humanity.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia plans to call at least nine witnesses and victims who survived S-21 during the course of Duch's trial, which is expected to end by the end of this year. Duch is one of the five Khmer Rouge leaders to be tried at the ECCC for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Vann Nath said he spent a year in the prison, first as a prisoner and later was a painter during which time he said he saw some of the torture committed by the security guards under Duch's command. Duch, 66, has admitted his role and responsibility for the deaths of at least 12,380 prisoners and has several times apologized to the public for his cruelty.

He has added, however, he did everything on orders of his superiors. The Khmer Rouge are blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in late 1970s.

KyodoJune 29, 2009

Cambodia rejects U.S. ambassador's statement on corruption

2009-08-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , June 2 KYODO

The Cambodian government took issue Tuesday with corruption charges made by U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Carol A. Rodley over the weekend, saying the accusation defames and discredits Cambodia .

The accusation, which Rodley made in a speech at the Clean Hands Concert in Phnom Penh , does ''not reflect the reality and may cause misunderstandings among the national and international circles,'' the Council of Ministers said in a statement. Rodley, speaking at the concert on Saturday, said corruption costs Cambodia up to $500 million per year in terms of forgone state revenues that could otherwise be spent on education and healthcare, jobs for Cambodian youth and other public services.

The amount ''is equivalent to the cost of constructing 20,000 six-room school buildings or the ability to pay every civil servant in Cambodia an additional $260 per month,'' she said. Rodley said corruption has ramifications across society. ''Countries that govern justly and democratically and are actively combating corruption will feel fewer effects of the global recession and will recover and return to prosperity more quickly,'' she said.

The Cambodian government argues it has taken measures to combat corruption through reforms in administrative affairs, public finances, legal and judicial matters and the management of natural resources.

Rodley said every year 250,000 young Cambodians enter the workforce but cannot find employment, and the deepening global economic recession is another burden hitting Cambodia as foreign investment shrinks and exports decline.

Rodley urged the Cambodian government to deliver on its promise to enact the anticorruption law.

The draft of the long-awaited anticorruption law is being revised by the Office of the Council of Ministers and it will not be enacted unless the penal code is first adopted, for which no date has yet been set.

More than 1 million Cambodians have demonstrated their support for passage of the anticorruption law through the Million Signature Campaign.

KyodoJune 02, 2009

ASEAN, EU foreign ministers to condemn N. Korean nuclear test

2009-08-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea

PHNOM PENH, May 28 Kyodo

oreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union who are in Phnom Penh for a two-day meeting will send a strong message Thursday condemning North Korea for its recent underground nuclear test and missiles launch, an ASEAN diplomat said.

The diplomat quoted a draft co-chairmen's statement to be released late Thursday as saying, ''Bearing in mind the need to maintain peace and stability in the region and the international nonproliferation regime, the ministers condemned the recent underground nuclear test and missiles launches undertaken by ( North Korea ).'' It claims Pyongyang 's moves ''constitute clear and continued violations'' of the six-party agreement and the relevant resolutions and decisions by the U.N. Security Council. ''Ministers strongly urged the DPRK to comply fully with the UNSC resolutions and decisions and refrain from further actions which could exacerbate the situation.'' DPRK is the acronym for North Korea 's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea .

The condemnation of North Korea by ASEAN and the European Union comes amid mass condemnations from around the globe, including by the five permanent U.N. Security Council members plus Japan and South Korea who are now considering financial sanctions in a resolution they are working out in response to North Korea 's second nuclear test.

Cambodia is co-chair with the Czech Republic , as the current EU president, of the 17th ASEAN-Europe Ministerial Meeting, a forum for direct dialogue among the 10 ASEAN members and the 27 countries in the European Union. The two-day gathering began Wednesday to focus on the global economic crisis, political security, climate change, food and energy security, terrorism and transnational crimes.

In opening remarks, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, ''In my view, there is no doubt that the convening of this ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting is very much timely and highly relevant when our two regions, let alone the world at large, are confronted by numerous global challenges, in particular the current international economic and financial crisis.'' The foreign ministers also are touching on Myanmar .

''In the light of the concern about the recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the ministers exchanged views on the issue. In this regard, the ministers called for the early release of those under detention and the lifting of restrictions placed on political parties,'' the diplomat cited the draft statement as saying. The ministers also took note of the briefing by Myanmar on the recent internal developments and Myanmar 's emphasis on noninterference in its internal affairs, he added.

In a 14-minute presentation, Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint rejected the meeting's criticism. ''The legal accusations against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and (the American) Mr. John William Yettaw are internal legal issues and are not political and human rights issues, so we don't accept the pressure and interference from abroad. I expect the 'excellencies' from abroad, especially the EU, to get more understanding about Myanmar ,'' he said.

Kyodo

Thai premier cancels visit to Cambodia

2009-04-20T02:15:00.000-07:00

Thai premier cancels visit to Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, April 13 Kyodo - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva canceled a visit to Cambodia set for Saturday, a Cambodian government official said Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong told Kyodo News the cancellation notice came via a diplomatic letter.

He said Thailand expressed regret at the cancellation but gave no specific reason for the change. But Koy Kuong said there was little no doubt that internal problems in Thailand, where antigovernment protesters forced postponement of Asian summit meetings last weekend and are disrupting daily life in Bangkok, were a factor in Abhisit's decision.

He had been scheduled to make a one-day official visit to Cambodia on Saturday to strengthen bilateral relations and discuss border issues that have flared into violence several times over the past nine months.
Kyodo

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the

2009-04-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to inform the national and international publics of the incidents occurred in the area of the Temple of Preah Vihear as follows:
On 02 April 2009, one Thai soldier stepped on a landmine in the area of Veal Intry situated about 500 meters from the borderline inside Cambodian territory. After the incident, a group of well-armed Thai soldiers walked in the direction of the incident site, but they were stopped by Cambodian soldiers and asked to withdraw. As a result, both sides agreed to meet again at 09:00 am of the following day with promise from Thai side of returning without carrying weapons along.
But, at 06:40 am on 03 April 2009, the Cambodian forces encountered a group of Thai soldiers fully armed entering the Cambodian territory. At 07:12 am, the Thai soldiers opened fire on the Cambodian armed forces lasting approximately 7 to 8 minutes at the area of Veal Intry, which is the location of the said landmine explosion. The second intrusion of the Thai troops within these two days is in violation of terms agreed by both sides on 02 April 2009. This incursion happened without notice to the Cambodian side as promised a day earlier.
On 03 April 2009, at 11:45 am, negotiation between the commanders of the two sides took place at Keo Sikkha Kiri Svara pagoda. Both sides promised to resolve the issues without recourse to the use of forces and with patience. Afterward at 14:00 pm, thai troops launched another attack lasting about thirty five minutes at the area of Veal Intry.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wishes to clarify as follows:
• The location of the landmine explosion on 02 April 2009 is situated in the area of Tasem, Veal Intry on point VA 649307 which is deeply inside Cambodian territory according to the international map of 1908 and the Convention of 1904, which have also been agreed by both sides in the MOU 2000. On the other hand, it has been well-known that all these landmines were laid during the period of three decades of war and the areas have not yet been cleared.
• The location of the armed clashes on 03 April 2009 in the areas of Phnom Trap on point VA6392, Tasem, Veal Intry and in the area in front of the Preah
Vihear Temple, is situated entirely in the territory under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
During these armed clashes, the Thai forces fired rounds of DK recoilless rifles, 12.7 heavy machine-guns, B 40 Rocket launchers, M79 launchers and other weaponries destroying the office of the Preah Vihear Authority, which is located inside the premises of Preah Vihear Temple, hitting the main staircases in front of the Temple, burning the market in front of the Preah Vihear Temple. Some shells fell in the surrounding areas of the Temple of Preah Vihear. In this exercise of self-defense rights to protect the Cambodian territorial integrity, there was no casualty of Cambodian soldiers as reported by some media.
The Royal Government of Cambodia expresses its deepest regret that Thai armed intrusions continue to occur repeatedly in the same areas; namely Tasem, Phnom Trap, Veal Intry and in front of the Temple of Preah Vihear. These acts of violation forced the Royal Cambodian Armed Force to use its self-defense rights to protect the territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and national heritage which has been listed recently as the World Heritage Property. As always, the Thai armed forces intruded the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia based on the unilateral line drawn at its own will without any legal basis.
The Royal Government of Cambodia strongly believes that all the incidents along the Cambodian-Thai border should be resolved through negotiations. Cambodia has good will and exercises utmost restraints in order to find peaceful resolution to the border issues with Thailand through bilateral mechanism. However, Cambodia adheres to self-defense rights to totally protect the national territorial integrity. Cambodia hopes that the Thai side also has goodwill in order to put an immediate and definite end to the border disputes.

Phnom Penh 03 April 2009
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation

Hun Sen terms Friday border battle with Thai troops 'small clash'

2009-04-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , April 4 KYODO

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday two short-lived border battles between Cambodian and Thai troops Friday near the ancient Preah Vihear Temple was not a precursor to war ''but small clash.'' The premier made the statement while meeting with Cambodian military veterans southern Kampot Province .

He added Cambodia deserved to use ''self-defense'' after Thai troops entered Cambodian territory. Hun Sen said no Cambodian combatants were killed or wounded during the border clashes. In Thailand , Thawatchai Samutsakorn, deputy commander of the Second Army of Thailand, told reporters three Thai soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded during the two gun battles Friday. Hun Sen urged neither side to escalate the confrontation and to, instead, exchange ''dried fish rather than gunfire.'' Also Saturday, Gen. Pol Saroeun, Cambodia 's military commander-in-chief, said the situation along the Cambodian-Thai border has ''returned to normal.''

In a press statement released late Friday, Cambodia said a brief skirmish between Cambodian and Thai troops occurred at 7:12 a.m. and lasted for 7 to 8 minutes, after which another larger battle began at 2 p.m. and lasted for 35 minutes. It said Thai soldiers opened fire first in both incidents, but Thailand blamed Cambodia for making the first moves. Phay Siphan, a spokesman for Cambodia 's Council of Ministers, said fighting took place at three places on the border, an area known as Eagle Field, an area 2 kilometers to its west known as Phnom Troap and in an area 2 km to the east of Eagle Field near the disputed Preah Vihear Temple . Despite the incidents, Phay Siphan said the planned meeting of the Joint Border Commission between the two countries will go ahead, and will be held in Phnom Penh next Monday and Tuesday. Also, he said Hun Sen will attend the summits of the association of Southeast Asian Nations and its dialogue partners next Friday through Sunday in Pattaya , Thailand .
KyodoApril 04, 2009

Cambodia, Thailand clash along disputed border+

2009-04-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

5TH LD: Cambodia, Thailand clash along disputed border+ (EDS: UPDATING WITH CAMBODIAN CLAIM 4 THAI SOLDIERS KILLED, THAI CONFIRMATION OF 2 DEATHS)

By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH, April 3 Kyodo

Cambodian and Thai troops clashed along their disputed border Friday, exchanging artillery, mortar and automatic weapons fire which resulted in the deaths of at least two combatants. Cambodia's chief government spokesman Khieu Khanarith told Kyodo News that four Thai soldiers killed and 10 were captured in the fighting, but no Cambodians died. Earlier in the day, he had cited unofficial reports as saying two Cambodian soldiers died. A spokeswoman of a Thai army hospital in the border area told Kyodo News that two Thai soldiers were killed and another two seriously wounded, while another eight had less serious injuries. Phay Siphan, a spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers, told Kyodo News that following a brief skirmish between Cambodian and Thai troops in the morning, ''full battle'' erupted shortly before 2 p.m. and lasted for over an hour. He said the afternoon fighting took place at three border locations -- in an area known as Eagle Field, in an area 2 kilometers to its west known as Phnom Troap and in an area 2 km to the east of Eagle Field near the disputed Preah Vihear Temple. Negotiations between regional commanders of the two sides ended the fighting at 3:07 p.m., he said. A seller of souvenirs at a Cambodian market located along a stretch of road leading from the Thai border to the main gate of Preah Vihear Temple told Kyodo News the market was burned down by mortar fire. Gen. Srey Dek, Cambodia's frontline commander in the area, told Kyodo News by telephone that he held talks with his Thai counterpart for about two hours following the morning skirmish that lasted only about 5 minutes, ending around 7:15 a.m. He said he told him Cambodia will not ''intrude even 1 inch'' into Thailand but ''neither will it retreat 1 inch'' from its current positions unless Thai troops return to the positions they held before July last year when border tensions first boiled over.

After the negotiations ended, the general said, he had been under the impression that tensions had been defused, but subsequent events show that was not the case. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters that his government would rather continue negotiations with Cambodia than engage in confrontation with it. He said the latest incident might arise from a misunderstanding which should be resolved through negotiation. Troops from both sides have been facing off along the border near the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, since July last year. Fighting in the area last October left dead and injured on both sides.

Last Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had given a ''green light'' to his military commanders to take action, without seeking his permission, if Thai troops encroach into Cambodia's territory.

Kyodo

Cambodia says 'full battle' on with Thailand in border area+

2009-04-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

Cambodia says 'full battle' on with Thailand in border area+ (EDS: UPDATING, INCORPORATING EARLIER URGENT STORY WITH SAME HEADLINE)

By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH, April 3 Kyodo

Cambodian and Thai troops are engaged Friday afternoon in a ''full battle'' with exchanges of artillery, mortar and automatic weapons fire in a disputed border region between the two countries, a Cambodian government spokesman told Kyodo News. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said renewed, and escalated, fighting broke out shortly before 2 p.m. between forces ranged on both sides of a border area known as Eagle Field and near disputed Preah Vihear Temple that has been a Thai-Cambodian flashpoint since last July.

Only moments before the ''full battle,'' Gen. Srey Dek, Cambodia's frontline commander in the area, had told Kyodo News by telephone he met for two hours with his Thai counterpart and thought the tensions that had spilled into gunfire at 7:15 a.m. Friday had been defused. So far, there are few details from the battlefront, but it appears the afternoon fighting was completely unexpected. Eagle Field is about 2 kilometers west of the temple and was the site of the early morning firefight in which Gen. Srey Dek said he had been told that two Thai soldiers had been killed and three were wounded.

Cambodia has reported no casualties. In Bangkok early Friday, the Thai defense minister and army chief told reporters Thailand had had no casualties during the early morning skirmish. Both men also called the morning incident a ''misunderstanding'' and said Thailand had ''no intention'' of provoking a battle. In Phnom Penh on Friday morning, Phay Siphan said the early skirmish lasted about 5 minutes after Thai troops intruded into Cambodian territory.

But Sansern Kaewkumnerd, a Thai army spokesman, told Kyodo News in Bangkok the incident began when about 20 Cambodian soldiers crossed to a spot where a Thai soldier was badly injured by a land mine last Thursday. He insisted that position is inside Thai territory. Phay Siphan had said Thursday that a land mine left over from the time of the Cambodian civil war had exploded about 600 meters inside Cambodia, injuring a Thai soldier on his left leg.

He said about 30 Thai soldiers intruded into the area but returned to their previous position soon after the injured soldier was evacuated in a Thai military helicopter.

Gen. Srey Dek, who earlier told Kyodo News the tension had eased, said he told his Thai counterpart Friday that Cambodia insists it will not ''intrude even 1 inch'' into Thailand, but ''neither it will retreat 1 inch'' from its current position unless Thai troops return to positions they held before July last year when border tensions first boiled over.

The Thai side argues the Cambodian troops are now in Thai territory, while the Cambodians argue the Thai troops are in Cambodia. Both sides have refused for months to back away from their positions.

Kyodo

Cambodian, Thai troops exchange gunfire on border (Lead)

2009-04-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, April 3 KYODO

(EDS: UPDATING) Cambodian and Thai troops briefly exchanged gunfire in Cambodian territory known as Eagle Field on Friday morning, a government official said. The skirmish occurred at 7:15 a.m. for a few minutes after Thai troops intruded into the area, Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said.

But Sansern Kaewkumnerd, a Thai army spokesman, told Kyodo News in Bangkok the incident began after about 20 Cambodian soldiers crossed to a spot where a Thai soldier was badly injured by a land mine Thursday. He said that position is inside Thai territory.

Both sides said there were no casualties in the Friday morning firefight. Phay Siphan had said Thursday that a land mine left over from the time of the Cambodian civil war exploded about 600 meters inside Cambodia , injuring a Thai soldier on his left leg. He said about 30 Thai soldiers had intruded into the area but returned to their previous position soon after the injured soldier was evacuated from the area in a Thai military helicopter.

Gen. Srey Dek, the Cambodian field commander in the area, said the tension has eased since early Friday but remains ''cautious.'' He added that he expects to speak directly with his Thai counterpart later in the morning to seek ways to defuse the situation.

Eagle Field is about 2 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple , an ancient Cambodian temple on the Cambodian side of the border with Thailand that has been at the center of a tense standoff between Thai and Cambodian troops since the middle of last year.

KyodoApril 03, 2009

Thai foreign minister apologizes to Hun Sen for 'gangster' gaffe

2009-04-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, April 2 KYODO

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has apologized to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen for describing him as a ''gangster,'' it was learned Thursday. In a letter addressed to Hun Sen, a copy of which was seen by Kyodo News, Kasit said, ''Do kindly accept my deep apology for such an unfortunate incident and the unintentional cause of misunderstanding.'' In the letter dated Wednesday, Kasit said that the word he used in the Thai language means ''a person who is lion-hearted, a courageous and magnanimous gentleman.'' The letter of apology follows criticism by Hun Sen of Kasit for using ''hardly accepted words'' against him and a request for a clarification or apology. ''He insults me by calling me a gangster,'' Hun Sen said in Sihanoukville on Tuesday. ''I'm not angry with you, but please use dignified words.'' Kasit was accused by the Thai opposition of calling Hun Sen a ''gangster'' during an antigovernment protest in December. Kasit, however, later replied by rephrasing his comments to call Hun Sen ''a gentleman who has the heart of a gangster.'' Also Thursday, in a letter of response, Hun Sen said he was relieved by the letter of apology from Kasit.

KyodoApril 02, 2009

Cambodia says Thai soldier injured by landmine in its territory

2009-04-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , April 2 KYODO

The Cambodian government said Thursday that a Thai soldier was injured in a landmine explosion in Cambodian territory in the morning.
Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Council of Ministers, told Kyodo News that the landmine, left over from the country's civil war, exploded at 8:20 a.m. around 600 meters inside the border with Thailand.
Phay Siphan claimed the explosion occurred when some 30 Thai soldiers intruded into the area known as Eagle Field.
Col. Chan Sokhon of the Cambodian military said the Thai soldier, who suffered an injury to his left leg, was flown out of the area by a Thai military chopper at 9:20 a.m., and the other Thai troops also returned to their previous position soon after.
There was no immediate reaction or comment from the Thai government or military.
On Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had given the ''green light'' to military commanders to take action if Thai troops encroach into Cambodia 's territory.
Eagle Field is located about 2 kilometers west of an ancient temple on the border, which sparked a tense standoff between Thai and Cambodian troops last year.
==Kyodo

April 02, 2009

Thai soldiers pull back from encroachment into Cambodia (2nd Lead)

2009-03-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, March 25 KYODO

(EDS: UPDATING WITH THAI TROOPS PULLING BACK) A tense standoff between Thai and Cambodian troops ended late Wednesday afternoon when as many as 100 fully armed Thai soldiers pulled back from Cambodian territory near a disputed border temple. Gen. Yim Pim, commander of Cambodia 's Brigade 43 in the area, told Kyodo News the Thai troops returned to their previous position around 5 p.m., about four hours after crossing into Cambodian territory.

The general said that after negotiations between the two sides the Thai troops agreed to leave the dispute up to a joint Cambodian-Thai border commission.Earlier Wednesday, Phay Siphan, spokesman for Cambodia 's Council of Ministers, told Kyodo News the Thai troops crossed into Cambodia at 1:45 p.m. at a site known as Eagle Field where the Cambodian and Thai militaries had a tense confrontation last year.

Eagle Field is about 2 kilometers west of the disputed Preah Vihear Temple . Initial reports said the Thai troops planned to reoccupy the area, but the Cambodians wanted them to return to their previous position about 800 meters away.

In Bangkok , Thai army sources rejected Cambodia 's version of the incursion. In late February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with his Thai counterpart on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Thailand , during which the two leaders reaffirmed their intent to solve the seven-month-old border dispute, but they set no deadline.

The area near Preah Vihear Temple was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces that left several dead on both sides. The situation has since eased, but the military presence remains.

The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops are deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone. Since the border issue erupted last year, many rounds of talks at different levels, including at the defense and foreign ministerial levels, have been held but a concrete agreement or solution has proved elusive.

KyodoMarch 25, 2009

Cambodia says Thai soldiers again encroach on Cambodian soil (Lead)

2009-03-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, March 25 KYODO

(EDS: UPDATING) As many as 100 fully armed Thai soldiers have entered Cambodian territory near a disputed border temple, a spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers said Wednesday. Phay Siphan told Kyodo News the Thai troops crossed into Cambodia at 1:45 p.m. at a site known as Eagle Field where the Cambodian and Thai militaries had a tense confrontation last year.

Eagle Field is located about 2 kilometers west of Preah Vihear Temple . Initial reports said the Thai troops plan to reoccupy the area, but the Cambodian side is trying to convince the Thai troops to return to their previous position about 800 meters away. However, Thai army sources in Bangkok rejected Cambodia 's accusation.

In late February, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met with his Thai counterpart on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Thailand , during which the two leaders reaffirmed their intent to solve the seven-month-old border dispute but set no deadline. The area near the temple was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces that left several dead on both sides.

The situation has since eased but the military presence remains. The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops have deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone. Since the border issue erupted last year, many rounds of talks at different levels including defense and foreign ministerial levels have been held but a concrete agreement or solution has proved elusive.

KyodoMarch 25, 2009

Cambodia says Thai soldiers again encroach on Cambodian soil

2009-03-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, March 25 KYODO

As many 100 fully armed Thai soldiers have entered Cambodian territory near a disputed border temple, a spokesman for Cambodia's Council of Ministers said Wednesday. Phay Siphan told Kyodo News the Thai troops crossed into Cambodia at 1:45 p.m. at a site known as Eagle Field where the Cambodian and Thai militaries had a tense confrontation last year. Initial reports said the Thai troops plan to reoccupy the area, but the Cambodian side is trying to convince the Thai troops to return to their previous position about 600 meters away. Thailand and Cambodia have yet to fully demark their common border and a dispute last year over ownership of a World Heritage-named temple in Cambodia spilled into violence several times before settling into a tense border standoff.

Kyodo

Sacked Cambodian military leader named as deputy premier

2009-03-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, March 5 KYODO

Cambodia's recently sacked top military leader Gen. Ke Kim Yan will be made a deputy prime minister and oversee the operations to counter drug trafficking, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday. The general, a loyalist of Cambodian People's Party President Chea Sim, was sacked in January as military commander-in-chief, a position in which he had served for 10 years, and replaced by Hun Sen's close ally Gen. Pol Saroeun in a surprise move that prompted rumors of a rift in the ruling party. Hun Sen had earlier said the removal of Ke Kim Yan was merely part of military reforms, though officials later suggested the general had been sacked for using his position to profit from shady land deals, something said to be rife in the military. There was also speculation that it might have had something to do with the general's performance during Cambodia 's military standoff with Thailand along the disputed border last year. But some analysts saw the move as Hun Sen consolidating his grip on power. The CPP is widely believed to have two main factions, one comprised of Hun Sen's loyalists and the other one of loyalists of Chea Sim, who doubles as party president and Senate chairman. According to veteran political analyst Chea Vanath, the naming of Ke Kim Yan to another position of power was likely done to ensure unity in the CPP. Once Ke Kim Yan's appointment is approved by parliament, the number of deputy prime ministers in the government formed after last July's general election will reach 10.

KyodoMarch 05, 2009

ASEAN agrees on using military assets for disaster relief

2009-03-25T01:37:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PATTAYA, Thailand , Feb. 26 KYODO

Defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Thursday to use military assets and capacities in humanitarian and disaster relief as well as in non-traditional security threats.

Thai Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon, who chaired the meeting, said such use of military assets will not be commenced until a new task force is formed.

Gen. Prawit told reporters shortly after the meeting that the agreement on the matter was necessary so as to ensure security in the Asia-Pacific, especially in the ASEAN region. In the meeting, the defense ministers focused on the establishment of a special force to provide humanitarian assistance for member countries which are affected by natural disasters.

The participants also exchanged ideas on expanding security operations with countries outside ASEAN, but in the Asia-Pacific Rim region. Moving forward on the matter, the defense ministers signed three concept papers including the ASEAN Defense Establishments and Civil Society Organizations Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security to counter new security threats.

According to one of the concept papers seen by Kyodo News, military personnel deployed in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations will not carry weapons while performing official duties, unless otherwise agreed. The defense ministers cited experiences gained from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar last year and the recent earthquake in China as motivations for the use of military assets and capacities. The meeting, however, did not touch on the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia nor the issue of Myanmar migrants, according to officials.

According to a security source, the border and illegal migrant issues were excluded from agendas, since the defense ministers decided to resolve those problems via bilateral cooperation. The meeting was held ahead of the 14th ASEAN summit, to be held in the beach resort of Hua Hin from Friday to Sunday. ASEAN groups Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

KyodoFebruary 26, 2009

Cambodian, Thai leaders pledge to resolve border dispute

2009-03-25T01:36:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
HUA HIN, Thailand , Feb. 27 KYODO -- Top leaders of Cambodia and Thailand reaffirmed Friday their intent to solve a seven-month-old border dispute but set no deadline. After a half-hour meeting in Thailand 's Hua Hin resort with his Thai counterpart, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told Kyodo News that the two countries agreed to use all existing mechanisms to solve the border problem peacefully. The premier did not mention a time frame for finding a solution, but suggested it was good and fruitful discussion. It was the first time for Hun Sen to meet with Abhisit since the latter came to power last year. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 14th ASEAN summit.
In a separate statement, Abhisit said both countries had agreed to set up a panel of technical experts to work on the overlapping maritime border, particularly, in the disputed oil and gas area.
“Out understanding has been improved a lot recently and we are looking into possibilities to start our energy cooperation,” he told reporters.
The territorial dispute between the two countries stems partly from the use of different border maps, and the military standoff began soon after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July last year. The area near the temple was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces. The situation, however, has eased but the military presence remains. The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops have deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone. Since the border issue erupted last year, many rounds of talks at different levels including defense and foreign ministerial levels have been held but a concrete agreement or solution has proved elusive. Hun Sen said the two countries will use the memorandum of understanding made in 2000 as a basis for resolving the conflict. Hun Sen is on a three-day official working visit to Thailand during which he is attending the 14th summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN groups Brunei , Cambodia , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore , Thailand and Vietnam .

KyodoFebruary 27, 2009

Brother No. 2 ordered all prisoners killed, says defense lawyer

2009-03-25T01:35:00.001-07:00

Brother No. 2 ordered all prisoners killed, says defense lawyer
By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH , Feb. 18 KYODO -- A defense lawyer for a notorious Khmer Rouge-era prison jailer charged Wednesday that Nuon Chea, known as Brother No. 2, ordered all prisoners killed four days before the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia toppled Jan. 7, 1979.

Kar Savuth, a Cambodian co-lawyer for Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, 66, said on the last day of an initial hearing against his client that ''S-21 received an order from Nuon Chea on 3 January 1979 to kill all prisoners, including children.'' The lawyer, however, did not say how many were killed on the order of Nuon Chea that day or the following days.

It is the first time the accused, through his lawyer, revealed to the public that Nuon Chea, now also being detained at U.N.-backed court facilities, was one of the top Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of the prisoners. Duch was the chief at Tuol Sleng Prison in central Phnom Penh , codenamed S-21, from 1976 to 1979. He is blamed for the deaths of between 13,000 and 16,000 prisoners.

During the one-and-a-half day initial hearing, Duch appeared in the courtroom but was not allowed to give any statement because the hearing is designed for the five judges, including three Cambodians, to consider motions from the two sides, the case profile, legal and procedural issues and to finalize the scheduling of witness and experts to be heard at a full trial at a date yet to be set.

Duch is one of the five Khmer Rouge figures being at a detention center of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a special tribunal set up with U.N. blessing and the participation of two foreign judges. The Khmer Rouge are blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians in the late 1970s. Concluding the last day of the hearing, Nil Nonn, president of the Trial Chamber, said decisions resulting from the hearing will be handed down soon, but no specific date was given.

But Helen Jarvis, chief of the ECCC public affairs section, said she expected the decisions to be announced in one to two weeks. By then, the exact date for Duch's full trial should be set. On Tuesday, a defense lawyer said Duch will ask for forgiveness from the victims, likely during the trial. In a separate statement Wednesday, defense lawyers rejected a co-prosecutor appeal to incorporate two new films taken by a Vietnamese military cameraman that aimed to impose further blame on their client. The defense lawyers argued the films were fabricated by Vietnam , with ''political motivation.''

They pointed out eight parts of the films are contradictory to fact, including using the designation ''Tuol Sleng Prison'' instead of ''S-21'' as used by the Khmer Rouge at least until Jan. 7, 1979. The motion will be decided by the five judges of the Trial Chamber.

KyodoFebruary 18, 2009

Vietnamese cameraman, Khmer Rouge victim reunite ahead of trial

2009-03-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Feb. 16 KYODO -- A former Vietnamese military cameraman who was the first outsider to document the horrors of a Khmer Rouge prison and torture center after the regime fell in 1979 was reunited over the weekend with one of four child survivors. Ho Van Tay, 76, who arrived in Cambodia on Saturday ahead of a pre-trial hearing for the former prison chief, met Sunday with survivor Norng Chan Phal, 39, for the first time in three decades. Appearing with Tay at a press conference, Norng Chan Phal said he was happy to meet with the man who had helped him and his younger brother leave Tuol Sleng prison in central Phnom Penh after the invading Vietnamese army took it over while capturing the city.

Both said they would both attend Tuesday's initial hearing for 66-year-old Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw the deaths of between 13,000 to 16,000 Cambodians while the prison was under his command from 1976 to 1979, historians say. Duch is the first of five detained Khmer Rouge figures to be tried by the U.N.-backed tribunal for their roles in the regime that is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979.

When asked about his onetime tormentor, Norng Chan Phal said, ''It's a right time for Duch to be on trial because he was a direct killer of many Cambodians in Tuol Sleng prison.'' He said Khmer Rouge soldiers took him, his mother and his younger brother to the prison, a former schoolhouse located in the center of the city, several months after his father was first taken there in 1978. Neither parent survived. Norng Chan Phal and his younger brother were among five child survivors. One of them, however, died of malnutrition shortly after the prison was liberated.

Tay, who is in Cambodia at the invitation of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nongovernmental organization that documents Khmer Rouge atrocities, has offered to help it with its activities, including identification of victims.

In late December, the Vietnamese government donated to Cambodia archival footage, largely taken by Tay , that will be used as one of the key pieces of evidence in the trial of Duch. Duch, a former mathematics schoolteacher, has been indicted for his direct or indirect role in crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and enslavement, and other violations of domestic and international law. Tay spent seven years in Cambodia from 1979, making documentary films that reveal the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. He traveled with Vietnamese troops to various parts of the country to take the footage.

KyodoFebruary 16, 2009

Symbolic killer of Cambodia 's genocide to face trial 30 years later (FOCUS)

2009-03-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Feb. 2 KYODO -- The notorious Khmer Rouge prison jailer commonly known as Duch goes to trial at a hybrid international court in the next two weeks in Cambodia for his role in the systematic genocide of Cambodians 30 years ago.
The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal set Feb. 17 as a date for the initial hearing on Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch. He is one of five Khmer Rouge figures being detained at a detention center of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Although Duch is considered a symbolic killer as he was in charge of the most prominent of many prisons established in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime, some Cambodians question why he will be the first to be tried.
The answer is simple -- Duch was the first one arrested in 1999 and has been detained at and investigated ever since.
He was transferred to the ECCC in 2007 and was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The other four suspects were arrested and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity only in late 2007.
They are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after Pol Pot, Khieu Samphan, who was its head of state, Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister, and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith, who was social affairs minister.
Duch, 66, was chief of Tuol Sleng Prison in central Phnom Penh , code named S-21, from early 1976 through 1979.
Scholars and historians claim Duch was responsible for the deaths of more than 13,000 Cambodians while the prison was under his command.
Beyond the question ''Why Duch first?'' some also wonder why the court is going after someone who was not a senior Khmer Rouge leader.
''Duch's hearing will generate more questions than clarifications,'' said Chhang Youk, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, a nonprofit organization that archives Khmer Rouge atrocities.
Some others, however, support the court's move, saying it is finally on track to long-awaited justice for the victims.
Chum Mey, one of only three surviving victims from Duch's time at the S-21 torture center, said he will be satisfied only once Duch and the other four are tried and convicted.
Chum Mey, 76, who was jailed and tortured for more than three months from late 1978 until the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed on Jan. 7, 1979, said he is ready to question Duch during the upcoming trial on why he committed the crimes and who was behind the orders.
Chum Mey said he had his toenails pulled out, was beaten ''uncountable'' times with rattan canes and subjected to electric shocks while in Tuol Sleng.
He added the tortures were designed to force confessions of spying for the U.S. or then Soviet Union intelligence services even though many prisoners did not even know those agencies existed.
The co-investigating judges of the ECCC have said that of the more than 13,000 men, women and children detained at Tuol Sleng prison only a handful are still alive.
The judges have also said Duch has ''recognized his responsibility.''
He has declared S-21 ''was run directly by the Central Committee,'' the judges have said.
Duch added he primarily dealt directly with Son Sen and ''Person J,'' both of whom he believed to be acting for the leadership.
Son Sen, minister of security in the Khmer Rouge regime, ''perished'' in 1997, apparently killed on the order of Pol Pot who accused Son Sen of being a traitor.
It is unclear to whom ''Person J'' refers, but some researchers suggest it could be Nuon Chea.
According to the judges, Duch has regularly expressed remorse for the victims and their families and also for the S-21 staff under his command.
''He stated that none of his personnel volunteered, or were proud of what they had done, but rather were terrorized and constantly in fear for their lives,'' the judges have said.
Pol Pot, believed the mastermind of the ''Killing Fields,'' denied until his death in 1998 he was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million Cambodians under his rule from 1975 to 1979.
He claimed number of deaths was ''fabricated'' by ''outside enemies.''
Similar denials have come from the four Khmer Rouge leaders who are charged and detained at the ECCC facilities.
Duch, however, has said he spoke out in 1999 because ''it was impossible not to tell the truth about S-21'' after he had heard ''Pol Pot denied the existence S-21 and claimed it was an invention of the Vietnamese.''
Duch was arrested in May 1999, less than a month after he was found in Cambodia 's northwestern Battambang Province by an American journalist who and obtained a partial confession from him.
Duch said, ''I joined the Khmer Rouge in order to liberate my people and not to commit crimes,'' but ''from 1971 onwards, when I was forced to supervise M-13 (a security organ), I became both an actor in criminal acts and also a hostage of the regime.''
Duch also said that on Aug. 15, 1975, Son Sen called him to a meeting at the Phnom Penh Train Station to plan the establishment of S-21.
S-21 was unique in the network of security centers given its direct link to the Central Committee and its role in the detention and execution of cadres of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.
While millions of Cambodians still want to see justice, many also express disappointment that the three Khmer Rouge accused of being the architects of the brutal regime -- Pol Pot, Son Sen and Ta Mok, better known as ''Butcher'' -- are already dead.
Of the four remaining senior leaders, Ieng Sary, 85, and Nuon Chea, 83, are watched by doctors daily because their health is precarious, and Kheiu Samphan and Ieng Thirith are said to be frail.
The ECCC has not said when those four will be tried and some Cambodians fear only Duch will ever be prosecuted, the others dying before they are brought to trial.

KyodoFebruary 02, 2009

Cambodia, Thailand affirm commitments to solve border issue

2009-03-25T01:30:00.002-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Jan. 26 KYODO -- Cambodia and Thailand reaffirmed Monday to solve their six-month-old border conflict peacefully and amicably, without setting a deadline.

After a one-and-a-half-hour meeting in Phnom Penh with his Thai counterpart, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told reporters that border issues are often complicated and not easily solved, thus time and patience are needed.

However, he warned that Cambodia still reserves the right to seek the intervention of a third party such as the international court if bilateral negotiations fail. Echoing the remarks, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said he hopes the similar culture and tradition enjoyed by the two countries plus commitments taken by the new Thai government will help resolve the problems. Hor Namhong said both governments had scheduled a meeting of a joint border committee for Feb. 2-4, followed by a defense ministerial-level meeting on Feb. 6 on redeployment of troops at Keo Sikhakiri Svara Pagoda and the area near Cambodia 's ancient Preah Vihear temple.

The area around Preah Vihear temple, which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July last year, was the scene of a tense standoff between Cambodian and Thai armed forces in recent months. The Cambodian government insists that Thai troops have deployed on Cambodian soil, while Thailand says its troops are only in a disputed zone.

According to military sources based at Preah Vihear temple, there remain about a dozen Thai soldiers at Keo Sikhakiri Svara Pagoda. The territorial dispute stems partly from the use of different border maps. Kasit is on a two-day visit to Cambodia , his first since he came to office last month. He is to return to Thailand later Monday.

KyodoJanuary 26, 2009

Cambodia's Hun Sen to attend ASEAN summit in Thailand

2009-03-25T01:30:00.001-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Jan. 11 KYODO

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will take part in next month's summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand even though he had earlier suggested skipping it, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong said Sunday.
Last Thursday, Hun Sen expressed his dissatisfaction with the arrangements by Thailand as day after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva suddenly announced a change of the meeting format and venue, leaving out back-to-back meetings between ASEAN leaders and those from Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand as is normally the case.
Hun Sen argued the change means he would have to visit Thailand at least three times this year, including the ASEAN summit now set for Feb. 27 to March 1 in the Thai beach resort Hua Hin and again in late April for the meetings with leaders of ASEAN's dialogue partners in a location yet to be announced.
Sources close to Hun Sen told Kyodo News he changed his mind after he received phone calls from the Thai prime minister urging him to attend.
The ASEAN summit was originally set for Bangkok last December, but massive antigovernment protests in the Thai capital prompted the Thais to change the venue to the northern city Chiang Mai.
Then, on Dec. 2, the government postponed the summit indefinitely.
The Cambodian-Thai relationship has worsened in recent months, particularly after fighting erupted along disputed areas of their border last year.
ASEAN also includes Brunei , Indonesia , Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar , the Philippines , Singapore and Vietnam .
KyodoJanuary 11, 2009

Japan to provide another $21 mil. for Khmer Rouge trial

2009-03-25T01:28:00.002-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 11 KYODO -- The Japanese government pledged Sunday to provide another $21 million to the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal, brining its contributions since 2005 to $45.5 million. Announcement of the new pledge was made Sunday by Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone during a one-hour meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh .

Eang Sophalet, a spokesman for Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting that the $21 million pledged will be used by the U.N. side of the court, not the Cambodian side. He added that Hun Sen was also seeking financial assistance for the Cambodian side and that the request will be considered by the Japanese government. Japan is the top financial contributor to the Khmer Rouge trial process. It provided $21.6 million to the U.N. side in 2005 and $2.95 million to the Cambodian side in 2008.

According to sources close to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Cambodian side of the court needs an extra of $5.3 million for its work from April through the end of this year. Of the current five suspects, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who is accused of having a leadership role in the deaths of 14,000 people in Tuol Sleng prison during Khmer Rouge rule, is expected to be tried in the first quarter this year.

The four other former Khmer Rouge figures charged and detained at ECCC facilities are Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy after leader Pol Pot; Khieu Samphan who was head of state; Ieng Sary who was the regime's foreign minister; and Ieng Sary's wife Ieng Thirith who was the social affairs minister.

The Khmer Rouge leadership is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during its rule.

Also, during his visit to Cambodia , Nakasone signed agreements providing Cambodia grants of up to 255 million yen for a dam project and infectious disease control. He also attended a ceremony to deliver three Japanese demining vehicles to Cambodia . Nakasone is to visit Laos later Sunday before returning to Japan on Monday. Before arriving in Cambodia on Saturday, Nakasone met with Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Bangkok .

KyodoJanuary 11, 2009

Co-prosecutors dispute charging more Khmer Rouge suspects

2009-03-25T01:28:00.001-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 5 KYODO

The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal released a statement Monday revealing disputes between Cambodian and international co-prosecutors over whether or not to charge more suspects beyond the five now being detained. According to the court, international co-prosecutor Robert Petit filed Dec. 1, 2008 a note concerning the appropriateness of opening new judicial investigations against additional suspects for crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge, while the Cambodian co-prosecutor filed a response last Monday objecting to the filing by her colleague.

On Dec. 1, 2008, the international co-prosecutor proposed filing two new Introductory Submissions and one Supplementary Submission, saying the crimes were committed, the crimes are within the jurisdiction of the Court, and those should be investigated by the Co-Investigating Judges. He said the charges would lead to a more comprehensive accounting of crimes that were committed under the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea regime during 1975-79, according to the statement.

He added he did not believe that such prosecutions would endanger Cambodia 's peace and stability. But, Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang said investigations should not proceed on account of Cambodia 's past instability and the continued need for national reconciliation, the spirit of the agreement between the United Nations and Cambodia , the spirit of the law that established the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the limited duration and budget of the ECCC.

She said the ECCC should instead prioritize the trials of the five suspects already detained. When asked how many new suspects being identified by the international co-prosecutor, Reach Sambath, spokesman for the ECCC, said he didn't know but an ECCC source suggested the number could be six. Of the current five suspects, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, who is accused of having a leadership role in the deaths of 14,000 people in Tuol Sleng prison during Khmer Rouge rule, is expected to be tried in the first quarter of this year.

KyodoJanuary 05, 2009

Cambodians debate Vietnam 's military presence 30 years later (FOCUS)

2009-03-25T01:26:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Jan. 5 KYODO

Ahead of the 30th anniversary on Wednesday of the entry of Vietnamese forces into Cambodia to fight the Khmer Rogue, arguments still rage here over its historical significance.

Sam Rainsy, leader of his self-named opposition party, objects to the move by the ruling Cambodian People's Party of Prime Minister Hun Sen to signify the day as the second birthday for millions of Cambodians. Hun Sen and his party have been claiming that without Jan. 7, 1979, Cambodia would not have been able to achieve anything that it has achieved since and that they never forget the help from Vietnam .

But Sam Rainsy compared the day to what had happened to most Eastern and Central European countries after Stalin's Red Army invaded them to ''free'' them from the Nazis. ''When the Vietnamese communist army invaded Cambodia to 'free' us from the Khmer Rouge, we quickly realized that we were caught between Scylla and Charybdis,'' Sam Rainsy said. He said that without April 17, 1975, the date of the Khmer Rouge takeover and the beginning of the Cambodian genocide, there would have been no need for Jan. 7, 1979. And without the Vietnamese and Chinese communist intervention in the early 1970s to help the Khmer Rouge, the latter would not have been able to seize power and there would have been no April 17, 1975.

He said therefore April 17 and Jan. 7 are inextricably associated, calling them ''communist Frankensteins.'' ''Celebrating Jan. 7 without keeping in mind a broader historical perspective is playing into the hands of the current Phnom Penh regime whose only raison d'etre was to 'free' the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge with communist Vietnam 's decisive but not unselfish help,'' he said.

This week, ignoring criticism, the CPP celebrates the country's second-largest event marking the day as a liberation day from the genocidal regime with some 50,000 participants. It held the largest event in 1985 with some 70,000 participants. Just days before the event is to take place, a nongovernmental organization, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said it was concerned about people being forced to celebrate the anniversary. ''The people are being forced to pose with Cambodian flags outside their houses to show support for the ceremony,'' said Ou Virak, president of the CCHR. ''They force people to support them. This is a communist style like in North Korea . No democratic countries do this,'' he said.

But Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, a senior member of the CPP, said no one was being forced to take part and that the event was merely being staged in a disciplined manner. Khieu Kanharith said money spent by the CPP on the event will come entirely from the CPP's coffers. Bun Pov, a high school teacher, said some 5,000 students and 130 teachers from his school, one of six selected high schools in Phnom Penh, were chosen to take part in the event. He said each participant will be given 6,500 riels (about $1.6) and a CPP cap and T-shirt. Other critics, however, said Jan. 7 marks the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia .

''The Khmer People Committee for Freedom considers Jan. 7 the date of Vietnam 's invasion of Cambodia , the date of their plundering of Cambodian wealth, and their total occupation of Cambodian land,'' it said in a statement. It suggested that Oct. 23, 1991, the date of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords which brought national reconciliation, should instead be celebrated. But Khieu Kanharith argued that if there were no Jan. 7, 1979, there would not be Oct. 23, 1991, either. ''Jan. 7 doesn't belong exclusively to the CPP, but to all the Cambodian people,'' he added. Sorn Samnang, a Cambodian historian and president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that without Jan. 7, 1979, he would have been killed along with millions of other Cambodians.

He added that some 50,000 Vietnamese soldiers were killed or died during Vietnam 's 10-year presence in Cambodia , and billions of dollars were spent. Vietnamese troops came to Cambodia in 1979 and remained here until 1989.

KyodoJanuary 05, 2009

Cambodia to seek support until 2010 for land mine clearing

2009-03-25T01:25:00.002-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Dec. 18 KYODO

Cambodia said Thursday it will seek international support to extend its land mine-clearing operations until 2020. In a roundtable discussion organized by the Club of Cambodian Journalists, Som Sotha, secretary general of the Mine Action Authority, said that due to the number of mined fields remaining in the country an extension is a must.

He said Cambodia began to clear landmines in 1992 and since then more than 800,000 land mines and 1.5 million pieces of unexploded ordnance strewn across 500 million square meters have been cleared. According to the Ottawa Convention, of which Cambodia is a signatory, Cambodia was supposed to clear its land mines and the unexploded ordnance by January 2010, 10 years after it signed the convention.

But with mines and other explosives still in more than 2,000 square kilometers, Cambodia will need at least until to 2020, he said. Millions of land mines have been planted in Cambodia since 1967 and accidents caused by land mines and unexploded ordnance are still common, killing or maiming about 400 people every year. Still, about 50 percent of the land covered by land mines and unexploded ordnance has been cleared and many Cambodians have become among of the world's most experienced demining experts.

KyodoDecember 18, 2008

Cambodia looks to Japan as its next market for garment exports

2009-03-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Dec. 1 KYODO

Cambodia 's garment industry is now looking to Japan for its next targeted market after winning orders in the United States and European Union, a senior garment industry official said Monday. Van Sou Ieng, president of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, told Kyodo News that Japan is the world's third largest garment importer. He said the United States, which buys about 70 percent of Cambodia's textile exports, has been hit by the economic slowdown and that has meant fewer purchase orders are coming to Cambodia. Data from the GMAC showed about 30 factories have been closed this year and some 20,000 workers have been laid off in Cambodia .

Still, at a summit of trade leaders from the world's poorest countries held in Cambodia 's northern province of Siem Reap on Nov. 21, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia 's garment sector has so far had no ''serious impact'' from the global financial crisis. But new markets are needed, and Van Sou Ieng led an industry delegation on a five-day visit to Japan through Sunday that resulted in a trade deal between the two countries. ''In a move to begin our trade exchanges with Japan , we will export 10,000 jackets and 100,000 pairs of shoes in early 2009,'' he said, adding, ''We hope Japan will make more purchase orders afterward.'' But, he said, it is clear Cambodia has to improve the quality of its products because Japan demands high quality in all imports. Cambodia 's industry, therefore, will dispatch garment entrepreneurs and union workers to Japan for study the quality needs firsthand.

According to government data, there are 319 garment factories employing 380,000 workers in Cambodia .

And garments are Cambodia 's biggest export earners, with exports last year worth $2.9 billion. According to Van Sou Ieng, Japan currently buys about 90 percent of its imported garments from China .

KyodoDecember 01, 2008

Thailand political crisis costs Cambodia $1 mil. a day in tourism loss

2009-03-25T01:24:00.001-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Nov. 29 KYODO

The ongoing political crisis in Thailand is costing Cambodia some $1 million a day in lost tourism revenue, Cambodian Tourism Association President Ho Vandy said Saturday. Antigovernment protesters in Thailand have occupied Bangkok 's Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports, and three airlines -- Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways and Air Asia -- have canceled 10 daily flights between Cambodia and Thailand .

Echoing the revenue loss in Cambodia 's tourism sector, Sathol Miura, head of the Japanese travel agency APEX in Cambodia , said the cancellations of international flights through Thailand are affecting hotels, guesthouses, tourist guides, taxi drivers and restaurants in Cambodia .

But Miura said the unrest in Thailand has had little impact on Japanese tourists traveling on APEX tours to Cambodia , saying they normally fly to Cambodia through Vietnam . ''Some 65 percent of Japanese tourists come to Cambodia through Vietnam ,'' he said. Miura said more than 2,000 Japanese tourists have visited Cambodia on APEX tours in November, a figure comparable to previous years.

KyodoNovember 29, 2008

Millions gather in Phnom Penh for annual Mekong boat race

2009-03-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Nov. 11 KYODO

Cambodia's water festival, a three-day annual event featuring boat races on the Mekong River, kicked off Tuesday with an estimated 2 million people flocking from the countryside into the capital Phnom Penh. Chea Kean, deputy secretary general of the National and International Festival Committee that gave the estimate, said 424 boats with 26,000 boat racers from across the country are taking part in the races, held to recall Cambodia 's long history of repelling invaders using boats. Many boats participating in the race are named after top government officials, with Prime Minister Hun Sen's name being the dominant one every year. King Norodom Sihamoni presides over the races, which are attended by the foreign diplomatic corps and government leaders, including the prime minister. The 1,700-meter race course is located just in front of the Royal Palace on the Mekong River in the capital.

KyodoNovember 11, 2008

Cambodia, Thailand agree to survey border markers pillars by yearend

2009-03-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
SIEM REAP, Cambodia , Nov. 11 KYODO

Cambodia and Thailand agreed Tuesday to conduct a joint field survey of border markers placed along the two countries' land boundary more than a century ago. Var Kimhong, chairman of Cambodian National Border Commission, told reporters after a meeting with his Thai counterpart that the two sides agreed to conduct the joint survey work by the end of the year. He said the joint survey of 73 old pillars would be followed by a survey of other boundary pillars, especially in a hotly disputed area near Cambodia 's ancient temple of Preah Vihear . Var Kimhong made the statement after a nine-hour meeting with his Thai counterpart Vasin Teeravechyan in Cambodia 's northern province of Siem Reap. He said that despite some progress achieved in the meeting, many issues remain to be solved such as those relating to military redeployment and topographical, technical and legal matters. The area around Preah Vihear Temple , which was inscribed as World Heritage Site on July 7, has in recent months been the scene of a tense standoff between the two sides' militaries, which twice last month erupted in fighting that left dead and injured on both sides. Since then, numerous meetings have been held at various levels, including foreign ministers and prime ministers, but the dispute remains unresolved with Cambodia insisting Thai troops remain on its soil and Thailand saying its troops are only in the disputed zone. The territorial dispute stems partly from the use of different border maps.
Cambodia has been using the 7 maps as agreed upon by France and Siam ( Thailand ) in 1904 and 1907 and the judgment of the International Court of Justice in 1962, but Thailand insists to use its unilaterally drawn map with the U.S. assistance in late 1960s and early 1970s.

KyodoNovember 11, 2008

Cambodia's police chief dies in helicopter crash

2009-03-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Nov. 9 KYODO

Cambodia 's national police chief Hok Lundy died in the crash of a helicopter in eastern Cambodia on Sunday, the chief government spokesman said. Khieu Kanharith told Kyodo News that all three others aboard the helicopter were also killed in the crash which occurred around 8 p.m. in Rumduol district, Svay Rieng Province, about 120 kilometers east of the capital Phnom Penh.

The three are Gen. Sok Saem, deputy military commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and two copilots.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the helicopter took off around 7:20pm from Phnom Penh Airport and lost a radio contact about 15 minutes later. Both spokesmen said bad weather may have caused the crash.

Kyodo

Thailand rejects Cambodia's accusation of damaging temple

2009-03-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Oct. 26 KYODO

The Thai Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a statement denying Cambodia's accusation that Thai troops damaged an ancient temple during a recent border clash. Cambodia said Saturday that it had filed a complaint with the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization alleging Thai soldiers damaged statues and a staircase at Preah Vihear temple with rocket launchers. However, the Thai ministry's statement said it received an explanation from the Thai military about the Oct. 15 clash that Thai troops did not use rockets or heavy weapons in the clash. The ministry added that Cambodian troops attacked Thai troops with rockets on the day, wounding two soldiers. During the just-ended Asia-Europe Meeting summit in Beijing, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen held a bilateral meeting on the border conflict and vowed to solve this issue in a bilateral framework.

Kyodo

LEAD: Fighting breaks out on the Thai-Cambodian border: Cambodian military

2009-03-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH, Oct. 15 Kyodo

Fighting erupted Wednesday between Cambodian and Thai troops along a hotly disputed stretch of the two countries' border, Cambodian military officials said.

Two officials at the border told Kyodo News separately that the fighting broke out shortly before 2:30 p.m. in the disputed area near Cambodia's ancient Preah Vihear Temple, which has been the scene of tense confrontations between the two sides since mid-July. Sounds of explosions could be heard over the telephone. The fighting involves rifle firing and rocket firing by both sides, one of the officials said. Thailand on Tuesday deployed more troops and weapons to the disputed area, saying it was in response to Cambodia's beefing up of its own forces in the area.

On Oct. 3, the border standoff boiled over into a brief firefight that caused injuries on both sides. The latest fighting comes two days after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned that the disputed area would become a ''life-or-death battlefield zone'' if Thai soldiers who he alleged had crossed about 1,000 meters into Cambodian territory Monday morning were not withdrawn. On Tuesday, Hun Sen gave Thailand a noon deadline for it to redeploy its troops to their previous position, saying, ''Even at any cost, Cambodia will not allow Thais to stand in our land.''

Thailand, which claims the disputed 4.6-kilometer area in question as its own, has denied that its troops ever crossed into Cambodian territory. The heads of Thailand's armed forces, under Supreme Commander Gen. Songkitti Chakkabatra, issued a joint statement Tuesday saying Thai troops will not be withdrawn from the disputed border with Cambodia despite Hun Sen's ultimatum. ''The three armed forces reaffirmed that we are ready for any confrontation, both in terms of forces and weapons to protect our territorial integrity,'' it said. But the statement went on to say that ''resolving the conflicts by dialogue would be better and Thailand is ready to continue the dialogue.''

KyodoEEEE

Cambodian king grants amnesty to Prince Ranariddh

2009-03-25T01:12:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 25 KYODO

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday granted amnesty to Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in jail for breach of trust. The amnesty paves the way for the prince to return home any time he wishes to do so. According to a royal decree signed Thursday by the king, the amnesty was made following a request from Prime Minister Hun Sen. Suth Dina, spokesman of the Norodom Ranariddh Party, said the prince will arrive in Cambodia on Sunday and is planned to meet with reporters on Oct. 2.

Ranariddh, 64, who has lived in self-imposed exile for nearly two years and is currently in Malaysia , was not available for comment. Ranariddh, a former prime minister and a son of retired King Norodom Sihanouk, was sentenced in absentia to 18 months in jail by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in March 2007 for breach of trust in connection with the sale of his former party's headquarters. The prince had acknowledged the sale of FUNCINPEC's headquarters in Phnom Penh to a private company for $3.6 million in 2005, but claimed it was done with the consent of the party's members. Ranariddh was a president of the royalist FUNCINPEC until he was ousted in 2006 by the party. After his ouster, the prince turned the property into the headquarters of his newly found Norodom Ranariddh Party. Ranariddh and Hun Sen were co-prime ministers from 1993 until the prince was ousted by Hun Sen in 1997.

KyodoSeptember 25, 2008

Cambodia allows Muslim students to wear headscarves in school

2009-03-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 12 KYODO

The Cambodian government this week issued a directive allowing Muslim students to wear their traditional headscarves in school. The directive signed Wednesday by Prime Minister Hun Sen advised all public and private schools to allow Muslim students to wear headscarves if they wish to do so. The premier said in the directive that allowing Muslim students to wear the hijab, or headscarf, was in conformity with the country's Constitution, which states that all Cambodians have the same rights under the law, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, belief, or language. The Cham ethnic group, Cambodia 's Muslim minority, represents some 4 percent of the Buddhist country's 13.4 million people.

Unlike as in neighboring Thailand , there are no religious tensions in Cambodia . Zakariya Adam, secretary of state of the Cults and Religion Ministry, said the move was warmly welcomed by the Cham community. He said some Muslims, especially females, have dropped out of school because the school uniforms go against their beliefs.

The government's move comes as Cambodia is having closer ties with Muslim countries, especially those in the Middle East . Since the start of this year, leaders of oil-rich nations Qatar and Kuwait have paid visits to the country, and Hun Sen is planned to pay official visits to the two countries early next year. But Zakariya Adam said the directive was made as a response to Cambodian Muslim community's request.

KyodoSeptember 12, 2008

Iraqi demining soldiers visit Cambodia for experience

2009-03-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 8 KYODO

A delegation of Iraqi demining soldiers is making a 10-day visit to Cambodia to get experience, a senior Cambodian demining official said Monday.
Kem Sophoan, director general of Cambodian Mine Action Center , told Kyodo news that the 14-member delegation from Iraqi Mine Risk Education arrived in Cambodia on Sunday and will make visits to at least four provinces and municipalities with areas covered by land mines and unexploded ordnance.
He said during their visit, which is organized by the center and UNICEF, the Iraqis will learn how Cambodia manages to clear the land mines and unexploded ordnance and how it divides demined land among local residents for crop production, among other things.
While visiting mined areas, they will get field experience in clearing land mines.
Kem Sophoan said it is the second time that Cambodia has received such a demining delegation from abroad.
Last year, a similar delegation consisting of people from nine mine-affected countries -- including Angola , Mozambique and Ethiopia -- visited to Cambodia to learn from its demining experience.
Due to long decades of civil war, millions of land mines have been planted in Cambodia since 1967 and accidents caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance are still common, killing or injuring about 400 people every year.
Some 40 percent of the land covered by land mines and unexploded ordnance has been cleared. As a result, many Cambodians have become among of the world's most experienced demining experts.
KyodoSeptember 08, 2008

Cambodia advances 15 places in Doing Business 2009 rankings

2009-03-25T01:08:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Sept. 10 KYODO -- Cambodia moved up 15 places to 135th in the ranking of the ease of doing business around the world, according to a report released Wednesday by International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. Cambodia 's significantly higher standing is the result of reforms that make it easier for businesses to get credit and to close a business. ''These are very encouraging results,'' said Stephane Guimbert, senior country economist for the World Bank in Cambodia .

''These positive results show important reforms are being introduced leading to substantial improvement in Cambodia 's ranking this year,'' he said. ''These results are consistent with the survey of 500 firms that we are just completing to assess the investment climate in Cambodia .'' The IFC-World Bank report, Doing Business 2009, which compares 181 economies, uses 10 indicators of business regulation such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

The rankings are derived from reviews of laws and regulations, and in-depth interviews with business service providers such as accountants and lawyers. Doing Business surveys, however, do not assess such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. Cambodia 's showing this year is a result of two reforms. The first is passage of the Law on Secured Transactions in 2007 that makes it possible for a business to use its moveable and intangible assets as security for a loan, and the second reform was the passage of the Law on Bankruptcy.

''Enabling banks to accept moveable assets as collateral is a major improvement in access to finance in Cambodia ,'' said Trang Nguyen, IFC's head of Advisory Services for the Mekong Region. She added a successful small and medium enterprise that has valuable moveable assets but lacks land and buildings to use as collateral can now get financing needed to improve its business.

''This, in turn, should enable SMEs, which represent over 99 percent of Cambodia 's firms and 45 percent of employment, to expand, create more jobs, and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction,'' she said. Creating jobs is especially important given the nearly 250,000 young people who are reaching working age and joining the labor market every year, she added. The statement said Cambodia has also improved indicators on trading across borders by reducing the time required to export from 37 to 22 days and import times from 46 to 30 days.

KyodoSeptember 10, 2008

Cambodian transgender lodges complaint with Khmer Rouge court

2009-03-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 3 KYODO

A Cambodian transgender woman on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal alleging she was a victim of gender-based crimes during the country's Khmer Rouge regime.

Sou Sotheavy, 68, said at a press conference that she was persecuted for being a transgender and was raped by Khmer Rouge officials and soldiers during the 1975-1979 regime. Sotheavy said she was punished for having committed ''moral offences'' and for behaving as a woman and placed several times in re-education camps as well as in prisons.

''I was raped by Khmer Rouge prison chiefs and other soldiers and forced into an arranged marriage with a woman whom I had only 10 days with,'' she said. Her lawyer, Silke Stuzinsky, said the application of Sotheavy's complaint was submitted to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on Wednesday and hoped that her client's case will be processed by the court. Sou Sotheavy is now the director of a local nongovernmental organization, CNMWD, which fights for the rights of sex workers and sexual minorities.

Sou Sotheavy's action is the first complaint before the ECCC concerning sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge regime. In her complaint, she said she is not seeking compensation but to tell her story to the world on how sexual violence was committed during the Khmer Rouge era. ''I am representing many transgenders who suffered like me during the period, but most of them were already killed or died,'' she said.

The ECCC said that, to date, investigations into sexual violence have not been included for the reason that there is a lack of sufficient evidence. But Sotheavy's complaint will be a step that would encourage other victims of such crimes to come forward and demand acknowledgment and justice for their suffering, which has largely been ignored until now.

''I hope my case will help more victims of sexual violence to speak out and can also help transgenders, other sexual minorities and sex workers in other countries to speak out for their rights and to have serious crimes committed against us recognized by international courts,'' she said. The ECCC was established to bring former senior Khmer Rouge leaders and those responsible for crimes committed in late 1970s.

KyodoSeptember 03, 2008

Cambodia seeks listing of genocide archives in UNESCO register

2009-03-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Sept. 3 KYODO

Cambodia has applied for historical materials from a former Khmer Rouge prison and interrogation center in Phnom Penh to be included in an international register as part of a UNESCO-run program to preserve the world's documentary heritage, a government official said Wednesday. Tan Theany, secretary general of the Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, told Kyodo News that Cambodia formally submitted its application to UNESCO last Friday in the hope that UNESCO will include it next year in its Memory of the World Register.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives elucidate the fate of over 15,000 prisoners who were held at Tuol Sleng, a former schoolhouse, during the 1975-1979 reign of the Khmer Rouge. Few of them survived the ordeal. The archive materials listed in Cambodia 's nomination form include photographs of prisoners taken before and after they were killed, documents containing biographical records and ''confessions'' extracted under torture, and various torture instruments.

According to the form, the archives constitute the ''most complete existing documentary picture'' of the Khmer Rouge prison system, ''which was a fundamental part of the regime under which perhaps 2-3 million people (25-30 percent of the population) lost their lives in a period of 3 years, 8 months and 20 days.'' ''Its significance as a part of the Memory of the World stems from its testament to man's inhumanity to man and its documentation of one of the most extreme examples of crimes against humanity in the 20th century with a major impact on world history.''

The archives are currently being mined for evidence used in the pre-trials and trials of surviving senior Khmer Rouge leaders at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which was established in 2006 with U.N. backing. The archives were earlier this year accepted for inclusion in a regional UNESCO register covering Asia and the Pacific. But Tan Theany said Cambodia wants them listed also in the international register of the Memory of the World Program, which UNESCO says is intended ''to guard against collective amnesia'' by preserving and disseminating valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide.

KyodoSeptember 03, 2008

Cambodia's population grows 8.5% in 10 years to top 13 million

2009-03-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Sept. 3 KYODO
Cambodia 's population has increased by nearly 2 million over the past decade to reach 13.4 million, according to the government's provisional census data released Wednesday.

The census data, collected in March, put the population at 13,388,910, for an increase of 1.95 million or 8.54 percent since 1998 when the country had 11,437,656 people. Cambodia 's first census, which was held in 1962, had put the population then at 5.7 million. The next census was not until 36 years later.

The country's annual population growth rate during the last decade averaged 1.54 percent, higher than the average growth rate of 1.3 percent for Southeast Asia as a whole. Population density during the same period increased from 64 to 75 people per square kilometer, significantly lower than the current average of 126 for Southeast Asia as a whole.
KyodoSeptember 03, 2008

Cambodia's first lady visits disputed border area

2009-03-25T00:58:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 KYODO -- Cambodia's first lady on Friday led a huge delegation to visit an ancient temple on Cambodia's tense border with Thailand, amid an ongoing military standoff between the two countries in an area adjacent to the temple. Bun Rany, wife of Prime Minister Hun Sen, was accompanied to the temple of Preah Vihear by spouses of other government leaders and more than 1,000 others, including military and government officials, police, bodyguards, civilians and Buddhist monks, said Hang Soth, director general of National Authority for Preah Vihear.

Hang Soth told Kyodo News by telephone that the two-hour ''religious event'' at the temple, which is perched atop a 600-meter cliff in the Dangrek Mountains , was dedicated to peace and stability. He said the visitors prayed for nonviolence and for the departure of some 400 Thai troops from adjacent land that Cambodia claims as its own. Bun Rany presented mosquito nets, medical supplies, instant noodles and canned fish to soldiers and police stationed in the Preah Vihear area and to residents of the area, the official said.

She also stopped briefly at Keo Sikha Kiri Svara Pagoda, the hotspot of the military standoff between Cambodia and Thailand , another military official said. The visit by Hun Sen's spouse comes nearly a month after Preah Vihear temple was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site over Thailand 's objections. The military standoff between the two countries began July 15 after Cambodia detained three Thai activists who Cambodia authorities allege illegally crossed into Cambodian territory.

Since then, both Thailand and Cambodia have been building up their forces in the area adjacent to Preah Vihear. Thailand and Cambodia both claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometer area adjacent to Preah Vihear temple, which was built between the mid-10th and early 12th centuries and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. In talks last Monday, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed in principle on redeployment of troops out of the disputed area and concurred that both countries ''should exercise utmost restraint to avoid the possibility of armed confrontation, so that the current problem may be settled through peaceful means.'' But the two sides' troops have not yet been withdrawn.

KyodoAugust 01, 2008

Standoff continues on Thai-Cambodia border as Hun Sen weighs in (Lead)

2009-03-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, July 17 KYODO -- A standoff between hundreds of Cambodian and Thai troops along the two countries' disputed border continued for a third day Thursday as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen sent his Thai counterpart a letter urging the withdrawal of Thai troops from what he claimed is Cambodian soil.

In his letter to Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Hun Sen said Thai troops began encroaching on Cambodian territory Tuesday and have since then ''increased in number rather than withdrawing.'' ''The deteriorating situation is very bad for the relations between our two countries, and therefore, I would like to ask Your Excellency to take measures to ease the tensions and order the Thai troops to withdraw,'' he said. Hun Sen said he was pleased to hear that Samak has agreed to meet with Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh next Monday in Thailand 's Sakao Province to discuss the issue. Cambodian officials said Thursday that some 400 Thai troops are now on Cambodian territory, an increase of some 200 from Wednesday.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Cambodia has not increased its troops in the area but has other troops on standby in case any ''worse situation might erupt.'' He added, however, that Cambodian troops will not use force unless first attacked. Thailand insists it has no troops in Cambodia but only in an undemarcated area of the border near the Cambodia-controlled Preah Vihear temple, which has been at the center of a bitter 50-year dispute between the two countries.
Kyodo
July 17, 2008

Cambodia says Thai troops on its soil increase to about 200

2009-03-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea PHNOM PENH, July 16 KYODO

Cambodia on Wednesday claimed that more Thai troops entered its territory overnight, with the figure increasing from 170 late Tuesday to about 200 Wednesday morning. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told a press conference that some 380 Cambodian soldiers are deployed in the same area, near the Preah Vihear temple that has been at the center of a bitter 50-year dispute on the Thai-Cambodian border. The government spokesman said the Cambodian side does not intend to resort to use of force, as it would be counterproductive for bilateral relations, and hopes the Thai side is of the same mind.

If Thailand were to launch a military attack, he said, it would be strongly condemned by the international community and such action would also damage the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which both countries are members. Cambodia will use all bilateral and diplomatic channels to avert fighting, he said, adding that representatives of two governments will soon meet in Thailand.

Cambodia claimed Tuesday that some 30 Thai soldiers had entered its territory in the vicinity of the temple -- just hours after Cambodian border authorities detained three Thais around 9 a.m. for illegally entering the temple, which is under Cambodian control. The three -- a Buddhist monk, a clergyman and a clergywoman -- were released later in the day and returned to Thailand. The ancient cliff-top temple was last week inscribed as a World Heritage site, capping seven years of efforts by Phnom Penh over Bangkok's objections. Thailand had occupied the area from 1949 when Cambodia was a French protectorate, but Cambodia won possession of the temple through an International Court of Justice ruling in 1962.

Kyodo
July 16, 2008

Cambodian journalist from opposition newspaper shot dead

2009-03-25T00:51:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , July 12 KYODO

A Cambodian journalist working for an opposition newspaper has been shot dead along with his son in the capital Phnom Penh , police and witnesses said Saturday. Khim Sambor, 47, who worked for the Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience) newspaper, which is allied with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, was attacked along with his 21-year-old son by a pair of motorbike-riding assailants at around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Police sources and witnesses said the journalist was shot in the back as he was riding on motorbike driven by his son Khat Sarin Theata after they had left a sports stadium where they had been exercising. A gunman riding pillion on the assailants' motorcycle then shot the son in the chest as he was going to the aid of his father and telephoning for help.

The Sam Rainsy Party issued a statement Saturday calling the killing of Khim Sambor an ''assassination'' and ''a political threat,'' while expressing doubt that his killers would be apprehended. ''When one who dares to write or argue against those with absolute power is assassinated, the perpetrators behind the killing are never found nor tried according to the law. This clearly demonstrates the nature of those in power,'' it said.

The Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper has been involved in disputes with the government led for almost three decades by the Cambodian People's Party, most recently one that led to the arrest and detention last month of its editor-in-chief Dam Sith. Dam Sith, a senior Sam Rainsy Party member and parliamentary candidate, was charged with defamation and disinformation and sent to prison for pre-trial detention after Foreign Minister Hor Namhong filed a complain against him for printing allegations that the foreign minister had ties to the Khmer Rouge. The charge was later dropped under international pressure.

The killing of Khim Sambor comes amid the month-long official campaign season for the July 27 general election, which opened June 26. In its statement, the Sam Rainsy Party urged the international community to push for investigation of a series of assassinations in recent years, including those of Chea Vichea, leader of the Cambodian workers' trade union, Om Rasadi, a former parliamentian, ''as well as countless numbers of journalists, political activists and others.'' It also sought protection for Oum Sara, the party's information officer, who it said faced an assassination attempt on July 6.

Meanwhile the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee issued a statement on the incident, saying the security and safety of journalists and human rights workers in Cambodia is being ''seriously threatened'' ahead of the election. It said the motive for Khim Sambor and his son was most likely related to his work as a journalist, and it called for the culprits to be arrested so that the incident does not make voters fearful ahead of the election.

KyodoJuly 12, 2008

Court denies bail for ex-Khmer Rouge minister

2009-03-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , July 9 KYODO

The U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia dismissed Wednesday a bail request by former Khmer Rouge Cabinet minister Ieng Thirith. Presiding Judge Prak Kimsan said the request was denied to ensure her presence at trail, and protect her personal safety. Ieng Thirith, 76, made the appeal for bail May 21. She was minister of education and of social affairs during the Khmer Rouge reign from 1975 to 1979.

Ieng Thirith, who is the wife of former Khmer Rouge Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, was charged with crimes against humanity in November last year. Ieng Sary, 83, is also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ieng Thirith was the third of the five Khmer Rouge leaders who are in detention awaiting trial whose appeals for release have been denied.

The court earlier dismissed appeals by Kaing Kek Ieu, known as Duch, chief of Tuol Sleng torture center and Nuon Chea, known as Brother No. 2. No decision has yet been rendered on Ieng Sary's appeal. Tribunal ECCC sources said Duch will be the first person to be tried, sometime in August or September. The trials of the others -- Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and former head of state Kheiu Samphan -- are not expected before next year.

The Khmer Rouge regime is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during their rule.

KyodoJuly 09, 2008

Cambodian temple becomes World Heritage site over Thai objections

2009-03-25T00:48:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , July 8 KYODO

After seven years of efforts by the Cambodian government, the cliff-top temple of Preah Vihear on the border with Thailand was inscribed as a World Heritage site on Tuesday over Bangkok 's objections. The application received the unanimous approval of the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee, meeting in Quebec City , Canada , the government said in a statement. ''The inscription of the Sacred Temple of Preah Vihear on the World Heritage List is a matter very dear to the hearts of all Cambodians as it represents one of the great triumphs of Khmer civilization,'' said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, who headed a Cambodian delegation to the meeting.

The committee's approval followed two weeks of controversy surrounding the position of the Thai government concerning the proposed listing. The Khmer temple, built between the mid-10th century and early 12th century, sits atop a 600-meter cliff in the Dangrek Mountains on the Thai-Cambodian border. Cambodia won possession of it through the International Court of Justice in The Hague and regained it in 1962 from Thailand , which had occupied it from 1949 when Cambodia was a French protectorate.

Thailand had been hesitant to see the temple become a World Heritage site since the two countries have not yet arrived at a demarcation agreement on land around the ruins. Last month, Thailand and Cambodia signed a joint communique in which Thailand agreed to actively support World Heritage listing for the temple, after receiving assurances the move would not affect Thailand 's claims to territory around the temple.

In a sudden turnabout, however, the Thai government later the same month withdrew its support for the move following antigovernment protests demanding annulment of the endorsement. Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama subsequently traveled to Canada in a failed attempt to persuade the committee to postpone its vote. Welcoming the committee's decision Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen released a statement calling it another source of pride for Cambodia .

It marks the second Cambodian site to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, following the famed temples of Angkor , inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992. In addition, Cambodia 's classical dance was listed as a World Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2003.

KyodoJuly 08, 2008

Former Khmer Rouge foreign minister appears in court for 1st time

2009-03-25T00:47:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , June 30 KYODO -- Former Khmer Rouge Foreign Minister Ieng Sary appeared Monday in a U.N.-backed court to appeal for his release on bail, in what marked his first appearance in court and before the public since his arrest late last year. Ieng Sary appeared in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia in front of five Cambodian and foreign judges and several hundred spectators, including Khmer Rouge victims and their relatives as well as dozens of local and foreign journalists. His lawyer Ang Udom told reporters earlier that Ieng Sary is innocent of the charges against him -- crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge in the latter half of the 1970s. He also argued that the ECCC has no jurisdiction to investigate or prosecute Ieng Sary because the defendant was already prosecuted, tried, convicted and sentenced to death in absentia in 1979, only to later be amnestied by the government for breaking away from the Khmer Rouge and leading a mass defection in August 1996. But the prosecution argues that the ECCC is not bound by domestic pardons, even if validly granted, saying a national amnesty for international crimes like genocide and crimes against humanity cannot bar prosecution before an internationalized tribunal. Ieng Sary, 83, is one of the five suspects identified by the court set up to bring former Khmer Rouge leaders to trial for crimes committed during the 1975-1979 genocide in which at least 1.7 million Cambodians died. He was arrested in November along with his wife Ieng Thirith, who was a social affairs minister in the Khmer Rouge government. One week before their arrest, Ieng Sary told Kyodo News at his home in Phnom Penh that he had ''never ordered anyone killed'' during the reign of the Khmer Rouge and that he was merely in charge of foreign affairs.

Kyodo June 30, 2008

Jailed Cambodian publisher appeals for release on bail

2009-03-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , June 13 KYODO

The jailed publisher of a Cambodian opposition newspaper has appealed for release on bail, saying his detention is not according to law, a journalists' group said Friday. Club of Cambodian Journalists said a five-member delegation made a visit Friday to Dam Sith in Prey Sar Prison, where he has been detained since Sunday after being charged with ''disinformation, defamation and insult'' by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. ''Through the Club of Cambodian Journalists, Mr. Dam Sith has appealed to Phnom Penh Municipal Court to expedite legal procedures so he can be released soon,'' the Club said in a statement.

In a separate statement released just hours after Dam Sith's arrest Sunday, the CCJ said that according to the press law a lawsuit shall not be filed against a newspaper whenever the newspaper quotes ''politicians, lawmakers or senators.'' Dam Sith, 39, is the publisher of Moneaksekar Khmer and was charged for running an article quoting Sam Rainsy, leader of his self-named opposition party, that allegedly accused Hor Namhong of having been a Khmer Rouge official. Hor Namhong has denied any involvement with the regime during his time as a prisoner at the Boeung Trabek camp in Phnom Penh .

He has successfully sued people in the past after they accused him of Khmer Rouge links. Dam Sith, is also standing as an opposition candidate in next month's parliamentary election. In the wake of his arrest, local and international human rights advocacy groups, in addition to media groups, have expressed concern over the press freedom ahead of Cambodia 's general election set for July 27 and called for his release.

They said the arrest betrays the Cambodian judiciary's ''continued disregard for the civil provisions of the 1995 Press Law.'' The Southeast Asian Press Alliance, a coalition of press advocacy groups from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, joined the Cambodian groups in calling for Dam Sith's release and urged the government to allow free expression and press freedom.

KyodoJune 13, 2008

WFP extends breakfast program for poor Cambodian students

2009-03-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , June 10 KYODO

The U.N. food agency said Tuesday that a popular breakfast program for poor Cambodian children which was suspended last month due to a budget shortfall has resumed.

Thomas Keusters, country director of the World Food Program in Cambodia , told Kyodo News that the WFP headquarters in Rome extended the program by infusing $5.4 million, allowing the program to feed children until July 5, the end of their 2007-2008 school year.

His agency decided to suspend the program on May 1 due to the soaring cost of rice.
Keusters along with many teachers across the country had expressed concern that the suspension would affect some 450,000 schoolchildren across the country.

The program was considered to play an important role in attracting children to school and helping them pay attention in class.

The WFP earlier explained that the program was suspended because of a budget shortfall in the wake of the price of rice shooting up to about $630 per ton in March this year compared to $265 per ton in March last year.

The breakfast consists of 100 grams of rice supplemented by 25 grams of yellow split peas from the United States , 20 grams of canned fish from Japan or Thailand , 10 grams of vegetable oil and 3 grams of salt. The ration, which the WFP launched in 1999, was delivered to 1,344 out of some 6,500 elementary schools across the country.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the region, with some 35 percent of its 14 million people earning less than $1 a day.
KyodoJune 10, 2008

Cambodia on Tier 2 in 2008 human trafficking: U.S. report

2009-03-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , June 5 KYODO -- The United States released its annual report Thursday on 2008 trafficking in persons and placed Cambodia on the Tier 2 Watch List. The report, released by the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh , said Cambodia had made some improvements and increased engagement in combating the continued, serious problem of trafficking in persons.

The report recommends Cambodia continue implementation of anti-trafficking legislation and improve the number of prosecutions and convictions among others. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng said he welcomed the report and hoped Cambodia will not fall back in its classification to Tier 3 or Tier 4, instead, he said Cambodia will catch Tier 1 in the future.

In a separate 2008 TIP Report, released by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Wednesday, it said Cambodia is a source and destination country for trafficked persons. ''Women and girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Thailand and Malaysia . Some Cambodian women who migrated to Taiwan as the result of brokered international marriages were subsequently trafficked for prostitution,'' it said.

''Sex trafficking of women and girls, including ethnic Vietnamese, occurs within the country, from rural areas to the urban areas of Phnom Penh , Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville,'' the report added. '' Cambodia is a destination for Vietnamese women and girls trafficked for prostitution. Cambodia is also a destination country for foreign child sex tourists, with increasing reports of Asian men traveling to Cambodia in order to have sex with underage virgin girls,'' it said.

Countries determined to have a significant number of trafficking victims are assigned to one of three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the ''minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking'' are classified as Tier 1.

And countries assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to meet those minimum standards, are classified as Tier 2, whereas countries assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3.

KyodoJune 05, 2008

Khieu Samphan released hospital, returns to court detention

2009-03-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, June 5 KYODO

After a two-week stay in hospital, ailing former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan was sent back to U.N.-Cambodia tribunal facilities, a tribunal official told Kyodo News on Thursday. Helen Jarvis, chief of public affairs of the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia , said he returned to the ECCC detention center at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

''His health condition allows him to return to the ECCC,'' she quoted doctors as saying. Khieu Maly, his daughter, confirmed her father was taken back to the ECCC on Thursday afternoon while she was together with her mother at the hospital.

On Wednesday, a senior doctor who is in charge of Khieu Samphan's health at Calmette Hospital told Kyodo News that Khieu Samphan's health has improved ''step by step.'' The 76-year-old was hospitalized after suffering high blood pressure on May 21. Khieu Samphan was nominal head of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in the late 1970s and has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes by the ECCC.

He is one of the Khmer Rouge's five prime suspects who have been charged and detained at the ECCC. The other four are: Nuon Chea, better known as the Khmer Rouge's Brother No. 2; Kaing Khek Ieu, alias Duch, head of the Tuol Sleng torture center in Phnom Penh ; Ieng Sary, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and his wife Ieng Thirith, education and social affairs minister. The Khmer Rouge is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during their rule from 1975 to 1979.

KyodoJune 05, 2008

Doctors consider taking Khieu Samphan back to tribunal facility

2009-03-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , June 4 KYODO -- Doctors said Wednesday that they were considering sending former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan back to U.N.-Cambodia tribunal facilities after a two-week stay in hospital, saying his health has improved over the past few days. A senior doctor who is in charge of Khieu Samphan's health at Calmette Hospital, but preferred not to be identified, told Kyodo News that Khieu Samphan's health has improved step by step and that the hospital leadership is considering sending him back to the detention center at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts in Cambodia, likely Thursday or soon thereafter, if his condition remains stable. The 76-year-old was hospitalized after suffering high blood pressure on May 21. So Socheat, his wife, confirmed to Kyodo News that her husband's health has improved since her husband suffered a mild stroke. He also had mild stroke in November last year. She said her husband still cannot get up on his own and still needs help moving his left arm and leg. She added that a few days after he was taken to hospital his health deteriorated, but now ''he is becoming better.'' Khieu Samphan was nominal head of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in the late 1970s and has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes by the ECCC. He is one of the Khmer Rouge's five prime suspects who have been charged and detained at the ECCC. The other four are: Nuon Chea, better known as the Khmer Rouge's Brother No. 2; Kaing Khek Ieu, alias Duch, head of the Tuol Sleng torture center in Phnom Penh ; Ieng Sary, deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and his wife Ieng Thirith, education and social affair minister. The Khmer Rouge is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during their rule from 1975 to 1979.

KyodoJune 04, 2008

WFP cuts breakfast program for poor Cambodian students (FOCUS)

2009-03-25T00:37:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PEANI VILLAGE , Cambodia , May 13 KYODO --
Soaring rice prices have forced the U.N. food agency to indefinitely suspend its popular breakfast program for underprivileged Cambodian schoolchildren. The suspension, which began May 1, may affect some 450,000 schoolchildren across the country, said Thomas Keusters, country director of the World Food Program in Cambodia . He said the program was suspended because of a budget shortfall in the wake of the price of rice shooting up to about $630 per ton in March this year compared to $265 per ton in March last year.

Keusters, warning that the scale of the impact is a ''silent tsunami,'' said the program played an important role in attracting children to school and helping them pay attention in class. The timing of its resumption will depend on donor countries, he added. In a nearly two-hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh , Moeun Danith, a 6-year-old student of Peani Elementary School , said he had no energy to study in class after the free breakfast stopped. ''I'm not feeling well. I feel weak and hungry,'' the boy told Kyodo News.

The school is located in Kompong Chhnang Province , some 60 kilometers north of Phnom Penh . School principal Kim Sophoeun said that since breakfast stocks ran out on May 3 at his school, some 30 percent of 448 students aged 6 to 14 have been absent from class, and between two and three children faint every morning. The breakfast consists of 100 grams of rice supplemented by 25 grams of yellow split peas from the United States , 20 grams of canned fish from Japan or Thailand , 10 grams of vegetable oil and 3 grams of salt. The ration, which the WFP launched in 1999, was delivered to 1,344 out of some 6,500 elementary schools across the country.

The WFP said Australia , Japan , the United States , Germany , Canada , the United Arab Emirates , and Spain were the major contributing donors to the agency in 2007. In its 2007 annual report, the WFP said less than half of Cambodian children complete grade 6 of their schooling, and in remote areas, the figure is only 31 percent. An estimated 1.4 million children of school age are economically active. The report added that childhood malnutrition in Cambodia has been a silent emergency, with over 630,000, or 37 percent of all children, under the age of 5 stunted, 36 percent underweight and 7 percent wasted, while 62 percent of children aged between 6 and 59 months are anemic.

Keusters said the WFP spent some $16 million on the program for the school year 2007-2008. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the region, with some 35 percent of its 14 million people earning less than $1 a day. Keusters said that in early 2007, the WFP experienced a funding crisis and virtually all food distributions had to be stopped for about two months, during which some 25 percent of schoolchildren dropped out of school.

The full impact of the latest suspension will not be known until June, when an assessment will be conducted, he said. According to the WFP, in 1999, 11.9 million children in 52 countries were beneficiaries of the WFP's school meal programs, and the number grew to 21.7 million children in 2005 in 74 countries.

KyodoMay 13, 2008

Cambodian opposition parties threatened ahead of election

2009-03-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , May 8 KYODO

A coalition of some 30 Cambodian nongovernmental organizations expressed concern Thursday over the ruling party's use of the judiciary against opposition parties ahead of Cambodia 's general election to be held in July. The coalition, called ''Action Committee,'' said the judiciary is being used ''to prevent politicians from participating in the elections, especially those who compete with the present ruling party.'' ''There has been insufficient political space for non-ruling parties in the pre-election period to ensure their free and equal participation,'' it said in a statement. Court cases are currently pending against the two opposition leaders, including a criminal lawsuit filed against Prime Minister Hun Sen's longtime political nemesis Sam Rainsy by Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, a leading member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party who also serves as Hun Sen's deputy.

Sam Rainsy, leader of the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party, is being sued for defamation of character and disinformation for disparaging remarks the opposition leader allegedly made at an April 17 public rally. The other case involves Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former leader of the FUNCINPEC party, the CPP's junior partner in the coalition government, who now heads the Norodom Ranariddh Party.

FUNCINPEC has filed a criminal lawsuit against the prince for breach of trust, accusing him of mishandling the party's assets when he was its leader. Hun Sen has made continuous efforts to marginalize the prince from Cambodian politics. On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said he was concerned the suit filed against Sam Rainsy by the foreign minister could have an affect on the general election in July.

''As a general principle, the United States strongly believes that defamation and disinformation should never be criminal cases,'' he said in remarks carried by Voice of America. If found guilty, Sam Rainsy could face a fine for defamation but imprisonment for disinformation. Cambodian veteran political observer Lao Mong Hay, currently a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong, said it is widely known that Cambodia 's courts are politically controlled and almost all judges and prosecutors belong to the CPP.

''It seems that the courts are again being used to cripple political opponents,'' he said. ''It is hard for both Sam Rainsy and Norodom Ranariddh to expect any prompt or fair trial so they might win their cases and freely and fully lead their respective parties to compete in the election.''

''This use of courts as instruments of political oppression could mar the whole of the electoral process. It could impair the fairness of the forthcoming election and undermine the legitimacy of the new government,'' he added.

Kyodo May 08, 2008

Cambodia's 1st KFC fast-food outlet opens

2009-03-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , April 29 KYODO

International fast-food restaurant chain KFC Corp. has opened its first branch in Cambodia and plans to open more within the year, its investors said Tuesday. The outlet was officially launched Monday at the Asia Hotel complex in the capital Phnom Penh , said Debasish Pattnaik of the Royal Group, a Cambodian investment and development company that holds a 35 percent stake in the KFC joint venture. He said the joint venture plans to open three more KFC branches in Phnom Penh by the end of the year along with one in the northern tourist hub of Siem Reap and another in the southern beach town of Sihanoukville .

''I am sure it is going to be a big hit with all Cambodians,'' said Tan Sri Dato' Muhammad Ali Hashim, chairman of QSR Brands Bhd., the Malaysian majority shareholder in the venture with a 55 percent stake. QSR already operates 407 KFC restaurants in Malaysia , 72 in Singapore and seven in Brunei . According to KFC, more than a billion of its ''finger lickin' good'' chicken dinners are served annually in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.

KyodoApril 29, 2008

Audit finds no evidence of kickbacks related to Khmer Rouge trial

2009-03-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, April 25 KYODO -- A U.N. audit group found no ''conclusive evidence'' of kickbacks being paid in relation to a special court set up in Cambodia to try former Khmer Rouge leaders, a U.N. official said Friday.
At a press conference Friday in Phnom Penh , Jo Scheuer, the U.N. Development Program country director, told reporters that the review team found ''no conclusive evidence'' for allegations that Cambodian officials were demanding kickbacks from Cambodians assigned to the special court.
''The team has found that the human resource management practices of the ECCC national side are robust and ready to take on the challenges of the next phase of operations,'' Scheuer said.
''Based on audits conducted from 2006 to present, there have been no questionable financial transactions, no misallocated resources, and no incomplete or missing documentation in support of disbursements made by the ECCC. All of their financial transactions have passed audit scrutiny,'' he added.
The ECCC is the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a joint Cambodian-U.N. tribunal set up to bring former leaders of the Khmer Rouge to trial for genocide and crimes against humanity during the group's 1975-79 rule.
Early last year a New York-based legal watchdog called for an investigation into allegations kickbacks were being paid in exchange for positions related to the tribunal.
The Open Society Justice Initiative had said, ''Corruption allegations leveled at Cambodian judges and court officials at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia must be investigated thoroughly, fairly, and quickly.''
But Sean Visoth, director of administration of the ECCC, said at the Friday press conference the allegations were found to be ''baseless.''
Five suspects are currently held in ECCC detention awaiting trial before the tribunal -- Nuon Chea, better known as Brother No. 2 in the Khmer Rouge hierarchy; Kaing Khek Ieu, alias Duch, who headed the Tuol Sleng torture center in Phnom Penh; Khieu Samphan, head of state in the Khmer Rouge regime; Ieng Sary, the regime's foreign minister; and Ieng Thirith, who was its social affairs minister.
KyodoApril 25, 2008

Siriporn wins decision over Ebata in defense of title

2009-03-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , April 26 KYODO

Thai boxer Samson Sor Siriporn successfully defended her WBC junior flyweight crown by decision over Japanese challenger Kayoko Ebata on Saturday. The pair exchanged blows in an exciting bout throughout the 10-rounder but the Thai champion's technique eventually prevailed over her Japanese opponent in a 2-0 victory. One judge scored the match even at 95-95. The bout was the first world title bout by a Japanese woman since the Japan Boxing Commission sanctioned women's professional boxing last November.
Um You Ran, president of Cambodian Boxing Federation said it was the first time for Cambodia to host such international boxing event with WBC title.
KyodoApril 26, 2008

Court puts off hearing of ex-Khmer Rouge leader over language debate

2009-03-25T00:30:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , April 23 KYODO -- A U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal postponed a hearing Wednesday on the former Khmer Rouge head of state's request for bail, citing a controversy over language. Chea Leang, co-prosecutor of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, told reporters the court put the hearing off, but no new date has yet been set. She said the judges in the pre-trial chamber made the decision after Jacques Verges, a French lawyer for Khieu Samphan, made an argument about foreign language difficulties. Verges, 83, made his reputation defending some of the world's most notorious figures, including former-Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie and terrorist Carlos the Jackal. He argued that 16,000 pages of court documents have yet to be translated from Khmer into French, making it hard for him to study the charges and defend his client. Verges appeared angered and told reporters any hearing against his client must be ''null'' as long as the documents are not translated into French, one of the ECCC's official languages. Chea Leang admitted the lack of translations, but she said Verges should not use that as a tool in arguing for bail. ''This is a case of an appeal for release on bail. It's not the evidence bearing on the charges against his client,'' she said, adding that even if he wanted to use that argument he ''should have complained prior to the hearing.'' The United Nations and Cambodia agreed that Khmer, English and French shall be used as official languages for the ECCC. Verges, who arrived in Cambodia on Monday, said he will file a suit with the United Nations and the administration in France charging French was ignored or discriminated against by the U.N.-backed court. Verges also expressed his anger over the court's judges who had asked Khieu Samphan to change his lawyer. He said it was the first time in more than 50 years ''wearing his advocate's robe'' to be asked by the court to get ''changed'' through his own client. Khieu Samphan, 76, nominal head of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in the late 1970s, was charged in November last year with crimes against humanity and war crimes by the ECCC. The court ordered his provisional detention at the ECCC facilities since then. The court has, so far, dismissed appeals for bail by two of the five suspects who are presently in provisional detention. Those appeals were mounted by Nuon Chea, better known as the Khmer Rouge's Brother No. 2, and Kaing Khek Ieu, alias Duch, head of the Tuol Sleng torture center in Phnom Penh . The other two being held are Ieng Sary, who was the regime's foreign minister, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who was its social affairs minister. The Khmer Rouge is blamed for the deaths of at least 1.7 million Cambodians during their rule from 1975 to 1979.

KyodoApril 23, 2008

Fire hits casino complex in Cambodia 's capital

2009-03-25T00:29:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , April 12 KYODO

Cambodia 's biggest casino complex in the capital Phnom Penh was hit by fire Saturday, but there was little damage because of a rapid response by firefighters, a government official said. Nhim Vanda, vice chairman of Cambodia 's National Committee for Disaster Management, told Kyodo News the casino fire began at 7:30 a.m. and was completely extinguished in about three hours. He said no serious damage or casualties were reported as the fire hit only a part of ongoing construction at the yet-to-be-completed complex. On Friday, some 450 wooden and concrete houses in a slum community in northwestern Phnom Penh were destroyed by fire, but no human casualties were reported there either.
The victims often express their anger at the authorities, alleging that the firefighters demand money before they would extinguish the blaze.
Nhim Vanda blamed both blazes on hot weather and possible negligence. The fires hit just days before Cambodia 's New Year, which will run Sunday through Wednesday. April is the hottest month in the Cambodia 's dry season.

Kyodo
April 12, 2008 14:55:21

Cambodia bars marriage to foreigners, claims human trafficking fear

2009-03-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH, April 4 KYODO

Claiming to fear human trafficking and exploitation, Cambodia has halted all marriages to foreigners, according to a government letter, a copy of which seen by Kyodo News on Friday. The letter signed by Sar Kheng, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, and sent out to all country's 24 provincial and municipal governors and foreign embassies, said the temporary halt in allowing marriage to foreigners was needed to ''prevent any negative acts and aims to uphold the honor of the nation and the Cambodian women.'' The letter, dated March 29, said some marriages were properly and legally arranged for being a husband and a wife, but some others were ''fake, deceitful,'' and were managed by brokers. ''Some networks of brokers or matchmaking business companies have brought Cambodian women to foreign countries to work as housemaids, or forced (them) into prostitution,'' Sar Kheng said in the letter. You Ay, secretary of state for Women's Affairs, said the temporary suspension of the paperwork allowing foreign marriages were mainly applied to foreign men who are willing to marry Cambodian women. ''We have temporally halted all visas for Cambodian women to get married to foreign men,'' she said, adding that all foreign embassies have been informed of the government's action. You Ay, however, said the government will re-permit such foreign marriages soon after Cambodia has completed a new rule or legislation dealing with the issue that ministries such as interior, foreign affairs, and women's affairs are now working on. She, meanwhile, acknowledged there have been some positive benefits for Cambodian women who marry foreign men, but the government has learned of some irregularities and negative impact, mainly in Taiwan and South Korea . After a fact finding mission in Taiwan last year, the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center, a Cambodian nongovernmental organization, said in a report that 5,219 Cambodian women were living in Taiwan , some of whom had been trafficked outright and many of whom it claimed were enduring some kinds of abuse. Last month, the International Organization for Migration released a report warning that many Cambodian women went to South Korea through matchmaking brokers. The report said that over the past four years some 2,500 Cambodian women have married South Korean men in which each man would pay up to $2,000 to marry a woman, but only half the amount went to a bride's family and the rest went to brokers. Following the government move, the South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh announced it had already suspended the issuance of the marriage visas. The embassy said it had issued 1,759 marriage visas in 2007, up from only 72 in 2004.

KyodoApril 04, 2008

Cambodia entertainment industry bans 3 songs to safeguard morality

2009-03-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , March 17 KYODO

Cambodian entertainment watchdogs have blacklisted three songs, fearing that they affect morality, such as by encouraging women to pursue other women's husbands. The blacklisted songs were identified as ''If I Can't be Your First Wife, Can I be Your Second?'' ''I Love Another's Husband'' and ''May I Have a Piece of Your Heart?'' The Khmer Arts Association and the Cambodian Television Association together explained the move in an open letter sent out last week, in which they said the songs are demeaning to women. ''The songs are meant to put down women and their dignity,'' KAA President Ieng Sithol told Kyodo News on Monday. ''As lovers of the arts, artists should act properly or we will be criticized by the public.'' He said artists have been instructed not to perform or sing the three songs at concert performances or on radio and television. The associations also advised radio and television stations to examine the content of songs before allowing them to be performed, while it asked songwriters and musicians to exercise better judgment. Some music lovers have called it unfair that the banned songs all target female singers, while similar songs sung by men are still allowed, such as ''How beautiful! Whose Wife is She?'' and ''Even If She is Someone Else's Wife, That's OK.'' In response, Ieng Sithol said his association will continue examining songs that may undermine social morals and human virtue, regardless of whether they are sung by men or women. In 2006, Cambodia passed a law on monogamy that says if married any Cambodian citizen takes a second spouse or lover, it will be viewed as a criminal act. Adulterers can be fined from $50 and $250 and spend between a month and a year in jail, according to the law.

KyodoMarch 17, 2008

General surprises many Cambodians by holding wedding for pythons

2009-03-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , March 5 KYODO -- The decision by a Cambodian general to have two pythons that live under his villa ''joined in marriage'' has surprised Cambodians, a local newspaper reported Wednesday. Rasmei Kampuchea said Gen. Neang Phat held a wedding ceremony -- replete with Buddhist monks, traditional music and a reception for some dozens celebrants -- for the pair on Tuesday at his new villa about 25 kilometers east of Phnom Penh. The paper quoted the four-star general as saying the pythons, a male that arrived at the villa Friday and a female who arrived the next day, had made their home at his home since January. He decided to give them a proper wedding ceremony after he dreamed of powerful spirits telling him to take good care of the pythons as they would help guard his family and the whole village. The male python has been Prosperous Friday and the female Lucky Saturday to mark the days they arrived at his villa.

KyodoMarch 05, 2008

Thai premier backs inclusion of Cambodian temple in UNESCO list

2009-03-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH, March 3 KYODO -- Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told Cambodia on Monday his government does not object to its move to have the border temple of Preah Vihear, which has long been involved in a territorial dispute between the two countries, included on the World Heritage List, a Cambodian government spokesman said. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told reporters the visiting Thai premier, who arrived Monday for a two-day visit, offered the assurances in a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. It comes in the wake of reports that Thailand was objecting to Cambodia's move to have the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization inscribe Preah Vihear temple on the World Heritage List because the two countries have not yet arrived at a demarcation agreement on land around the ruins. The Thai News Agency quoted Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama as saying Monday that while the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia , ''the move by Cambodia to push the temple on the UNESCO World Heritage List should neither affect Thailand 's rights in the overlapping zone nor at the border.'' The temple, built between mid-10th and early 12th centuries, is located in Cambodia 's northern province of Preah Vihear, just opposite Thailand 's Sisaket Province . Khieu Kanharith said UNESCO is expected to accept Cambodia 's application, originally made in October 2001, when its World Heritage Committee meets in Quebec , Canada , in July this year.

KyodoMarch 03, 2008

Foreign investment in Cambodia in 2007 down by nearly half

2009-03-25T00:19:00.001-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Feb. 27 KYODO -- The Cambodian government said Wednesday that total foreign investments in 2007 were $2.7 billion, a figure barely half that of 2006's $4.3 billion.
Sok Chenda, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said the decline did not mean that last year's investment climate in Cambodia was worse than the previous year.
''Due to a huge project registered in 2006 by a South Korean company in building a new city that is known as CAMKO City, Korea stood first among foreign investments in 2006 with its fixed assets amounting to $1 billion while last year South Korea ranked third after China and Thailand,'' he told reporters at a round-table discussion organized by Club of Cambodian Journalists and that sponsored by German Konrad-Adenauer Foundation.
He added that although the amount of investment was down, the number of investment projects in 2007 was higher -- 142 projects in 2007, 118 projects in 2006.
Sok Chenda also said Cambodia 's economic growth relies heavily on three main industrial pillars -- the garment, tourism and construction industries.
From 1994 to 2007, industry shared 34 percent of incoming investment, followed by services at 32 percent, and tourism at 27 percent. The rest went to agriculture.
In 2007 alone, of the $2.7 billion in investment, $1.2 billion went to tourism, $708 to infrastructure and others, $374 million to industry and manufacturing, and $363 million to agriculture and agro-industry.
China topped the foreign investors in 2007 with investments worth $461 million, followed by Thailand at $174 million, and South Korea at $152 million.
KyodoFebruary 27, 2008

Cambodia begins restoration of decades-old railway

2009-03-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

By Puy Kea
PHNOM PENH , Feb. 18 KYODO

Cambodia began Monday restoring a 652-kilometer stretch of its decades-old railway system to enhance domestic and international trade, reduce transport costs and ease road traffic. The $73 million rehabilitation project is expected to be completed in 23 months, according to Sun Chanthol, Cambodia 's minister of Public Works and Transportation. Of the outlay, the Asian Development Bank has provided $42 million in concessional loans, $13 million came from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as a grant, $2.8 million from Malaysia for iron materials and $15.2 million from the Cambodian government, he said. The launch was presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen and Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the ADB. ''This is one of the last steps in the creation of a regional railway that will stretch from Singapore to Beijing ,'' Kuroda said at the inauguration ceremony in Sisophon near Cambodia 's border with Thailand . ''Soon, trains will be running from Singapore to Sihanoukville.'' The project will rehabilitate two existing railways, 386 km from Phnom Penh to Poipet on the border with Thailand and another 266 km from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville on the southwest coast. The two routes were built in 1931 and 1960, respectively. Railway services in Cambodia are now intermittent and unofficial trolleys with bamboo floors operate along portions of the railway. The new project will rehabilitate 604 km of track and reconstruct another 48 km near the Thai border that was destroyed during wartime. A statement by the ADB said in addition to supporting the repair of tracks and bridges, the bank is providing technical assistance to Cambodia to restructure the railway by appointing an international railway firm to operate, maintain and invest in the railway over the next 30 years. ''Investing in rail upgrade, maintenance, and better service delivery will help revitalize Cambodia 's railways, enhance internal commerce and international trade, reduce transport costs, and ease road traffic,'' the ADB said. The railway project is a vital component of the Greater Mekong Subregion's southern corridor that links Thailand , Cambodia and Vietnam . Sun Chanthol said that once rehabilitation is completed, trains will operate with a speed of at least 50 km per hour. Currently, Cambodian trains operate at speeds as low as 15 kph.

KyodoFebruary 18, 2008

17th century Japanese village uncovered in Cambodia

2009-03-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Feb. 13 KYODO

A site of a Japanese village dating back to the 17th century has been found in the outskirts of Cambodia 's capital Phnom Penh , a Japanese archaeologist said Wednesday. Hiroshi Sugiyama, chief research fellow at Japan 's National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, said that based on research since 2004 and analyses of excavations and documents, the site in Ponhea Lueu Commune, about 25 kilometers north of Phnom Penh , is a Japanese village dating back to the 17th century. Based on on-site research, excavations and historical documents, Japanese people came to Cambodia aboard ships between 1601 and 1635, he said. ''There were about 100 Japanese living in the village during that period of time, and most of them were engaged in religious affairs and trading,'' Sugiyama said in a lecture on his findings to about 100 Cambodians, many of them university students, at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center in the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Sugiyama showed objects such as ceramics and kilns which were excavated from the claimed site, as well as sketches of a Shuin-sen (Japanese ship with Shogunate license) that is 45 meters in length and 8.1 meters in width with capacity of boarding about 300 people. He said that in the 17th century, some Japanese people cruised to Southeast Asia to engage in trading of wax, sugar, carpets, peacock feathers and jaguar skins. A Japanese Embassy official said the embassy plans to install a pole or mark for Japanese tourists to stop at during visits to the site. Sathol Miura, head of the Cambodian branch of the Japanese travel agency APEX, predicted that once the Japanese village becomes known in Japan , more Japanese tourists will travel to Cambodia and visit the site. Last year, 161,973 Japanese tourists visited the country, according to official statistics.

KyodoFebruary 13, 2008

Foreign visitors to Cambodia reach 2 million in 2007

2009-03-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH , Feb. 12 KYODO
About 2 million overseas tourists visited Cambodia in 2007, an increase of 18.53 percent from the previous year, the government said Tuesday. South Koreans topped the list at 329,909, followed by Japanese at 161,973, Americans at 137,539 and Vietnamese at 125,442, according to government statistics. Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat temple complex, attracted 1,120,586 foreign tourists in the year, an amazing growth of 30.83 percent from the previous year's 856,510. Tourism Minister Thong Khon told Kyodo News on Tuesday he hopes Cambodia will receive about 2.4 million tourists this year. He said that in 2007, income from the tourism sector was about $1.4 billion, contributing around 10 percent to Cambodia 's gross domestic product. He added tourism is the second-biggest sector in the GDP, after the garment sector. The garment industry contributed about $2.9 billion to GDP last year. Thong Khon said the annual growth in tourism was due to the political stability, strengthened services, better infrastructure and easier transportation along with promotions made by both the government and private sectors.
KyodoFebruary 12, 2008