FOX News : Health

31 December, 2009

In Southeast Asia, Unease Over Free Trade Zone

The New York Times
December 28, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR — When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, China and 10 Southeast Asian nations will usher in the world’s third-largest free trade area. While many industries are eager for tariffs to fall on everything from textiles and rubber to vegetable oils and steel, a few are nervously waiting to see whether the agreement will mean boom or bust for their businesses.


The New York Times

Trade between China and the 10 states that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has soared in recent years, to $192.5 billion in 2008, from $59.6 billion in 2003. The new free trade zone, which will remove tariffs on 90 percent of traded goods, is expected to increase that commerce still more.

The zone will rank behind only the European Economic Area and the North American Free Trade Area in trade volume. It will encompass 1.9 billion people. The free trade area is expected to help Asean countries increase exports, particularly those with commodities that resource-hungry China desperately wants.

The China-Asean free trade area has faced less vocal opposition than the European and North American zones, perhaps because existing tariffs were already low and because it is unlikely to alter commerce patterns radically, analysts say.

However, some manufacturers in Southeast Asia are concerned that cheap Chinese goods may flood their markets, once import taxes are removed, making it more difficult for them to retain or increase their local market shares. Indonesia is so worried that it plans to ask for a delay in removing tariffs from some items like steel products, textiles, petrochemicals and electronics.

“Not everyone in Asean sees this F.T.A. as a plus,” said Sothirak Pou, a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Asean and China have gradually reduced many tariffs in recent years. However, under the free trade agreement — which was signed in 2002 — China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei will have to remove almost all tariffs in 2010.

Asean’s newest members — Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar — will gradually reduce tariffs in coming years and must eliminate them entirely by 2015.

Most of the goods that will become tariff-free in January — including manufactured items — are currently subject to import taxes of about 5 percent. Some agricultural products and parts for motor vehicles and heavy machinery will still face tariffs in 2010, but those will gradually be phased out.

In recent years, China has overtaken the United States to become Asean’s third-largest trading partner after Japan and the European Union. The overall trade balance has shifted slightly in China’s favor, although there are significant differences among Southeast Asian countries’ trade balances, said Thomas Kaegi, head of macroeconomic research for the Asia-Pacific region at UBS Wealth Management Research.

Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have only small trade deficits with China, while Vietnam’s has grown substantially in recent years. In 2008, Vietnam exported items worth $4.5 billion to China but imported about $15.7 billion worth of Chinese goods.

In Indonesia, the textile and steel industries are particularly nervous about the lifting of tariffs, prompting the government to say that it would ask for a delay on some provisions. No time frame for submitting the request was given, but the Asean secretariat said it had not yet received an official request.

While competing with more Chinese imports may pose new challenges for Asean manufacturers, analysts say increasing their access to the 1.3 billion people of China could produce significant benefits.

Rodolfo Severino, who was secretary general of Asean from 1998 to 2002, identified Malaysia — which already exports palm oil, rubber and natural gas to China — as one of the countries that might benefit most from the removal of tariffs.

But nations like Vietnam that focus on the production of cheap consumer goods are more likely to be hurt, said Mr. Severino, head of the Asean Studies Center at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Those countries may need to look for new export products and identify new niche markets, he said: “This is the nature of competition.”

Song Hong, an economist, expects that China will import more agricultural goods, like tropical fruit, from countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam when the trade area takes effect. That could hurt Chinese farmers in southern provinces like Guangxi and Yunnan, said Mr. Song, director of the trade research division at the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

Mr. Sothirak, who was Cambodia’s minister of industry, mines and energy from 1993 to 1998, said the removal of tariffs might help increase Cambodia’s agricultural exports to China. Cambodia needs to diversify its export markets because its exports to the United States and Europe have declined, he said.

While he does not hold much hope that Cambodian textile exports would be able to compete with China’s highly developed garment industry, he said he believed the free trade area might entice more Chinese garment factories to set up operations in Cambodia, where production costs and labor are cheaper.

Pushpanathan Sundram, deputy secretary general of Asean for Asean Economic Community, acknowledged that there would be “some costs involved” for some countries when the free trade area took effect, but he said he believed China and Asean would “mutually benefit.”

Despite the expectations for increasing trade, Mr. Severino predicted that the introduction of the trade zone would not be a “breakthrough event” setting off a dramatic surge in commerce come January.

“There are many factors that traders and investors consider, and the trend has been going this way anyway,” he said. “What this does is to send out good signals and show the determination of governments to make things easier.”

Groups Continue Opposition of Seizure Law

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
30 December 2009

Rights and housing advocates on Wednesday continued to rail against a new law on imminent domain that they say will make it easier for people to lose their land.

The Law on Expropriations passed through the National Assembly on Tuesday, allowing for authorities to move people from their land in the name of national development, such as the construction of an airport or the widening of a road.

The bill had the support of 76 lawmakers from the Cambodian People’s Party and was opposed by members of the opposition Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties.

“When the law on expropriation is enforced, it will allow the government and the authorities, in the capital and in the provinces, the full ability to easily expropriate real estate of citizens, under a pretext for the sake of fundamental infrastructure,” Ny Chakrya, lead investigator for the rights group Adhoc, told reporters in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia’s poor have faced increasing pressure, from both legitimate authorities and unscrupulous officials and businessmen, in recent years, as the country experienced a boom in land prices. Some people have been evicted by the government or had their land taken, creating a source of unease for many and, critics warn, potential unrest.

“There was the confiscation before the draft law passed without reasonable compensation,” said Kem Sokha, president of the Human Rights Party. “And because of this law, the government will have more ability to confiscate the land of citizens.”

However, Ouk Rabun, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who defended the bill in the National Assembly this week, said the law was suffering from “negative interpretations.”

“In this case, the government will do the expropriation,” he said. “We must distinguish between legal expropriation and violence and abuse” in land disputes.

The law, which has eight chapters and 39 articles, allows the state to seize land for development in the national interest. That can mean for ports, power structures or an energy network, but it can also mean for security or national sovereignty.

Opponents of the law say it is not clear enough and could allow the government to evict people from their land before a case has been arbitrated. They also warn the law makes no provision for fair market values; instead, compensation will rely on a decision by a national committee.

Ny Chakrya said rights and housing groups sent recommendations for the law to the National Assembly and the government, but they were not heeded.

Cheam Yiep, a CPP lawmaker, said some of the recommendations may find their way into subdecrees when the law is promulgated.

30 December, 2009

Somchai:Thaksin to advise Sri Lanka

Bangkok Post
30/12/2009

Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia, is in preparing to appoint former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra its economic adviser, former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat revealed on Wednesday.

Mr Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law, said the government should not worry because Thaksin's role as adviser to Sri Lanka, as well as to Cambodia, would do no harm to Thailand.

Thaksin has already been appointed economic adviser to the Cambodian government and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Sri Lanka is one of the countries where Thaksin was reported to have frequently visited while on the run after being sentenced to a two-year jail term in the Ratchadapisek land case.

Banteay Chhmar temple wins American preservation grant

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 30 December 2009 15:03
Jacob Gold


Efforts to preserve the Angkorian-era ruins of Banteay Chhmar temple in Banteay Meanchey province have received a substantial boost courtesy of a new grant from the US.

ONGOING conservation efforts at the dilapidated Banteay Chhmar temple complex in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province have received a substantial boost in the form of a site-preservation grant from the Archeological Institute of America (AIA), the organisation announced.

Heritage Watch, the grant recipient, is a partner of the Global Heritage Fund, which launched restoration efforts in 2008 in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and several other NGOs.

In a press release, the AIA said: “With new road improvements, the site is expected to become a major tourist attraction for those travelling from Thailand to Cambodia’s major archaeological attraction, Angkor Wat,” making it essential to advance conservation efforts quickly, as well as to establish community-based enterprises that “protect the site, rather than destroy it”.

Conservationists also fear that the road improvements, particularly National Highway 6 linking Siem Reap with Poipet, will accelerate the looting of Banteay Chhmar. The temple’s proximity to Thailand means that antiquities can disappear undetected into the jungles across the border.

The Angkor-period temples have already lost a number of significant features, including six of the eight massive bas-reliefs depicting Buddhist divinity Avalokitesvara.

Ok Sophon, director general of heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and head of the ministry’s efforts at Banteay Chhmar,
acknowledged that the looting issue was grounded in the relationship of the temple and its surrounding communities.

Despite increased security, Ok Sophon said, his team found 100 holes around the site dug by hopeful antiquities hunters. On one occasion, police tracked down five men seen taking material from the site.

Part of the Angkor-era ruins of Banteay Chhmar temple, which are being conserved thanks in part to a new grant from the Archaeological Institute of America.

“We went around to the villages in the area and people knew who they were. When we found them, we explained that this was wrong and told them that if they were caught again it would be jail,” he said.

The exact figure for the AIA grant was unavailable on Tuesday, but the maximum award offered under the institute’s Site Preservation Grant is US$25,000 over the course of one to three years.

Partial vote on seizures stokes fears

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 15:03 Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

Law may increase evictions of poor communities, critics say.

THE National Assembly voted Monday to approve the first articles in the controversial draft Law on Expropriations, despite concerns voiced by opposition members and NGOs that the law could be used to dispossess people with legitimate land claims.

The draft, approved by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, sets out procedures for the expropriation of land from property owners for use in public infrastructure works or other projects deemed to be in the “public interest”.

During its session on Monday morning, the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated Assembly voted to approved the first five of the law’s 39 articles without amendments.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the government should take more time to review the law in order to ensure its fair implementation, given the current wave of land ownership disputes across the country.

“I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that when this becomes law it will be very difficult to change,” he said.

“I’m very happy that we will all benefit from development, but I am worried for the 34 percent of people who are living under the poverty line. I am worried for the many thousands of people who lost their land and homes from illegal land seizures.”

He added that the law should apply to all parties equally, and that Article 3 of the draft law, which states that private agreements between the government and foreign investors will supersede the new law, should be extended to encompass all development projects.

But CPP lawmakers said the draft law adheres to its stated purpose, which is to regulate expropriations and the payment of fair compensation for land taken in the public interest.

“We have made this law to defend private ownership. If we enforce this law and it affects [people’s interests], the government has the ability to give compensation for the land that was seized for development,” National Assembly President Heng Samrin said during the session.

Ouk Rabun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Finance, said that when the state needs to develop a plan that affects the public, there must be proper mechanisms in place to guide the expropriations.

“In our country, besides the [2001] Land Law, which officially recognises [land] ownership, we have not had an expropriation and seizure law conforming to Article 44 of the Constitution,” he said.

He added that the law would see people compensated for legal land expropriations with replacement housing.

Key suggestions ignored
Civic groups, however, expressed concerns that without the inclusion of key amendments, the law could worsen the state of land tenure for those most vulnerable to evictions.

In a statement released on Thursday, a coalition of civic groups released a series of 14 recommended changes to the law, one of which – Article 2 – would extend its protections beyond those holding land titles to the thousands of poor Cambodians with “legitimate possession rights” under the 2001 Land Law. Article 2 was passed at Monday’s session without the recommended change.

“We are very concerned about whether the government will incorporate our comments and recommendations into the law,” said Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre.

Without the necessary changes, he said, many poor Cambodians will be vulnerable to land seizures described as in the public interest, leading to the proliferation of evictions in Cambodia.

“There are going to be big problems,” he added.

Hang Chhaya, director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, said it was “unfortunate” that civil society recommendations were not taken into account by the Assembly.

“The way such laws have been passed and debated previously has been very consistent: There has been no debate, and no comments have been taken into consideration,” he said.

“We just have to keep working and hope that we can get the parliament to do something honourable.”

The debate on the draft law is set to continue at the National Assembly today.

Partial vote on seizures stokes fears

Tuesday, 29 December 2009 15:03 Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

Law may increase evictions of poor communities, critics say.

THE National Assembly voted Monday to approve the first articles in the controversial draft Law on Expropriations, despite concerns voiced by opposition members and NGOs that the law could be used to dispossess people with legitimate land claims.

The draft, approved by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, sets out procedures for the expropriation of land from property owners for use in public infrastructure works or other projects deemed to be in the “public interest”.

During its session on Monday morning, the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated Assembly voted to approved the first five of the law’s 39 articles without amendments.

Yim Sovann, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the government should take more time to review the law in order to ensure its fair implementation, given the current wave of land ownership disputes across the country.

“I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that when this becomes law it will be very difficult to change,” he said.

“I’m very happy that we will all benefit from development, but I am worried for the 34 percent of people who are living under the poverty line. I am worried for the many thousands of people who lost their land and homes from illegal land seizures.”

He added that the law should apply to all parties equally, and that Article 3 of the draft law, which states that private agreements between the government and foreign investors will supersede the new law, should be extended to encompass all development projects.

But CPP lawmakers said the draft law adheres to its stated purpose, which is to regulate expropriations and the payment of fair compensation for land taken in the public interest.

“We have made this law to defend private ownership. If we enforce this law and it affects [people’s interests], the government has the ability to give compensation for the land that was seized for development,” National Assembly President Heng Samrin said during the session.

Ouk Rabun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Finance, said that when the state needs to develop a plan that affects the public, there must be proper mechanisms in place to guide the expropriations.

“In our country, besides the [2001] Land Law, which officially recognises [land] ownership, we have not had an expropriation and seizure law conforming to Article 44 of the Constitution,” he said.

He added that the law would see people compensated for legal land expropriations with replacement housing.

Key suggestions ignored
Civic groups, however, expressed concerns that without the inclusion of key amendments, the law could worsen the state of land tenure for those most vulnerable to evictions.

In a statement released on Thursday, a coalition of civic groups released a series of 14 recommended changes to the law, one of which – Article 2 – would extend its protections beyond those holding land titles to the thousands of poor Cambodians with “legitimate possession rights” under the 2001 Land Law. Article 2 was passed at Monday’s session without the recommended change.

“We are very concerned about whether the government will incorporate our comments and recommendations into the law,” said Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre.

Without the necessary changes, he said, many poor Cambodians will be vulnerable to land seizures described as in the public interest, leading to the proliferation of evictions in Cambodia.

“There are going to be big problems,” he added.

Hang Chhaya, director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, said it was “unfortunate” that civil society recommendations were not taken into account by the Assembly.

“The way such laws have been passed and debated previously has been very consistent: There has been no debate, and no comments have been taken into consideration,” he said.

“We just have to keep working and hope that we can get the parliament to do something honourable.”

The debate on the draft law is set to continue at the National Assembly today.

Thaksin advised to play cool

Bangkok Post
30/12/2009

House Speaker Chai Chidchob on Wednesday called on fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to play cool as there could be an issuance of amnesty law to pardon all parties to pave way for national reconciliation.

“New year is coming and therefore Thaksin should keep cool and wait for his time. Bhumjaithai Party is ready to support the amnesty bill.

“At that time, the ex-premier will not be jailed and the leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy who led the crowds to surround two main airports in Bangkok late last year will be cleared from criminal charges.

“There are ways to create national unity. All parties-the government, the opposition, Thaksin and anti-Thaksin groups must talk it over via peace talks mediated by suitable impartial mediator”, Mr Chai said.

He was confident that the conflict can be peacefully ended via talks. However, he admitted that he did not see the suitable person to act as the mediator at the moment.

The House Speaker suggested the government to stop war of words against the opposition camp and Thaksin and focus on performing duty instead. The government should also ignore criticism by Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

29 December, 2009

Policy shift on HIV vital: NGO

The Phnom Penh Post
Tuesday, 29 December 2009 15:03 Mom Kunthear


HEALTH NGO workers this week said they doubted the government would be able to meet its new goal of eradicating mother-to-child transmission of the virus that causes AIDS by 2020 in the absence of substantive policy changes.

Dr Mean Chhi Vun, director of the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs, said Sunday that the government had adopted the goal “late this year”.

There is limited data on mother-to-child transmission in the Kingdom, though Mean Chhi Vun noted that approximately 3,500 of the more than 36,000 patients receiving HIV/AIDS treatment as of September were children, most of whom contracted the virus from their mothers.

The Ministry of Health will likely funnel more money towards the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in future budgets, Mean Chhi Vun said, adding that he did not know how much would be allocated.

He said new policies designed to make the goal attainable would go into effect in mid-2010. Asked what those new policies were, he said the government would encourage pregnant women to take blood tests and, if they test positive for HIV, undergo antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Expanding ART for HIV-positive pregnant women is already a target under the Millennium Development Goal pertaining to AIDS.

Cambodia has aimed to increase the percentage of HIV-positive pregnant women “receiving a complete course of antiretroviral prophylaxis to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission” from a 2002 baseline of 2.7 percent to 50 percent in 2015.

Mey Sovannara, communication and advocacy coordinator for the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, said he believed the new goal could be met, but only with new government-led policies, including those that would increase the effectiveness of provincial health centres.

“The government has to be the leader on this,” he said. “If the government does not have a strong commitment to this, then it will be a failure.”

Chan Theary, executive director of the Reproductive and Child Health Alliance, echoed this idea, saying, “Whether this is realistic or not depends
on the ministry’s commitment, and its partners’ ability to actually do this work.”

China-ASEAN Free Trade Area to be launched on Friday

Dec. 29, 2009 (China Knowledge) - The free trade area between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is scheduled to be officially launched on Jan. 1, 2010.

The FTA, the first of its kind, will allow more than 90% of China and ASEAN products to enjoy zero tariff, and the four new ASEAN members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, will join the FTA in 2015. Meanwhile, China will grant the three non-WTO ASEAN members, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, the most-favored-nation status.

Covering a total population of 1.9 billion, the China-ASEAN FTA will certainly help promote the development of trade and economic ties of the region, and is expected to become a new engine to drive the growth of the world economy amid the global financial crisis.

The bilateral trade between China and ASEAN member countries has been growing rapidly in recent years, and China has become the ASEAN's third-largest trade partner in 2008, with a total trade value of US$230 billion.

Suthep: Reshuffle not discussed

Bangkok Post 29/12/2009

There was no discussion of a cabinet reshuffle during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday after Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai announced his decision to step down over alleged irregularities in implementing the Thai Khem Kaeng ecnommic stimulus, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said.

The matter would be discussed only after Mr Witthaya submits his resignation letter, Mr Suthep said.

Mr Witthaya is an appointee to the cabinet under the Democrat Party quota.

He announced on Tuesday morning he would accept responsibility as minister and would tender his resignation from the cabinet on Wednessday.

Mr Suthep is secretary-general of the party.

MATERNAL HEAlTH: Cash given over claim of negligence

Monday, 28 December 2009 15:02 Mom Kunthear and Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

MATERNAL HEAlTH
A widower who blames staff at a prominent Phnom Penh hospital for the death of his wife during child birth has settled for monetary compensation in exchange for dropping a criminal complaint against staff at the hospital. Ly Kok Meng said he agreed to receive 4.5 million riels (US$1,079) arranged by Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Court officials brokered the deal with representatives from the Cambodian-Russian Friendship Hospital last week. Ly Kok Meng said he felt he had no choice but to take the money after court officials urged him to compromise. “I don’t feel happy at all with this small amount of money,” he said. “It can’t compensate for the death of my wife, but I must accept it because I know I can’t keep on pursuing legal action.” His wife, Ban Rany, 23, died in early November after hospital staff injected her with a serum as she was going into labour. Ly Kok Meng said the doctors and a midwife acted carelessly. Hospital staff members said that Ban Rany died from an unpreventable allergic reaction to the serum. Say Sengly, the hospital’s director, could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Seizure law may hurt public welfare: HRP

The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 28 December 2009 15:03 Meas Sokchea and Rebecca Valli


AS the National Assembly gathers today to debate the government’s draft Law on Expropriation, opposition parties and rights groups have reiterated serious concerns that the law will “negatively affect” the public well-being.

In a statement released last week, the Human Rights Party contended that the draft law lacks the proper means of protection for citizens and gives powerful groups opportunities to abuse the rights of property owners to wrongfully seize land.

“Some points in the draft are not completely clear; the wording is vague. That could encourage individuals with power to use the law as they wish and damage the national interest and people’s rights,” the HRP statement read.

SOME POINTS IN THE DRAFT ARE NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR; the WORDING IS VAGUE.


The proposed law, approved by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, gives the government the right to seize land for infrastructure works or any other projects deemed to be in the “public interest”.

The statement pointed at five important details to be revised in the current version of the law, including better assessment of property ownership rights, market-price compensation for the loss of land and guarantees that the expropriated communities find decent relocation sites.

In a joint statement released last Thursday, a coalition of local and international NGOs appealed to the National Assembly “to minimise the potential negative impacts of expropriation procedures where they are necessary and improve the legal protections offered individuals affected by such operations”. The statement also lists 14 recommendations to be introduced during today’s parliamentary debate.

Hang Chhaya, director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, said that unclear wording in the current draft could pave the way for serious injustices, denying people the protection they deserve.

But he also expressed his satisfaction with the open discussion taking place between the government and NGOs on the issue.

“It is an honourable thing to have a heated debate. To find solutions that help the people on such crucial circumstances is the reason for a civil society to exist in the first place,” he said.

Given the government’s record on forced expropriations and insufficient compensation, he said, a “proper law that takes all parties involved into account could also do some good in cleaning up the government’s image”.

Ou Virak, executive director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, agreed that the ongoing debate over the law is a positive sign.

“We are making suggestions and pushing for changes in the draft in a way that was simply not possible before,” he said, but warned that the language used in the draft should be clearer and “more calibrated with the law’s core intentions”.

Cheam Yeap, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, said that opposition groups had the right to voice their opinion, but that the decision now depends on the Assembly.

“Opposition groups are never satisfied anyway. They wanted this law from the start, and now that it is on the table, they oppose it,” he said, but added that having a draft is better than not having any regulation at all.

27 December, 2009

PM claims Thais seek to oust him

The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 25 December 2009 15:04 Cheang Sokha and James O’toole

Hun Sen says note implicates Thais in bid to destabilise govt.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Thursday accused the Thai government of attempting to stage a coup in Cambodia, referencing Thai government documents that he said had been obtained recently.

Speaking at the opening of a new fertiliser factory in Kandal province, Hun Sen said the “secret” documents indicated that plans to oust his government were already in motion.

“I tell you to stop dreaming because I know who is planning this. Just take care of your own country; don’t interfere in Cambodia,” the prime minister said.

Hun Sen added that the documents revealed a plot to kill fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and said Thai agents had already begun working to destabilise the Cambodian government.

“This is a bad plan … there is no other government that has ideas like this,” Hun Sen said. “We know all about what [Thailand] wants to do – you’re trying to create a bad scenario to cause war against Cambodia.”

On Tuesday, Thaksin posted a three-page document on his personal Web site in Thai and English that he said had been sent on November 16 by Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The document referred to Thaksin as the “main threat” against the government of Thailand, adding that “eliminating the main threat” was imperative to maintaining political stability. The prospect of military action against Cambodia was mentioned in a “worst-case scenario”.

The document was originally distributed to reporters in Bangkok last week by Jatuporn Prompan, a parliamentarian from the Thaksin-aligned Puea Thai party. Hun Sen said Thursday, however, that he had obtained his information prior to the revelations in Thailand.

Cambodian officials could not confirm whether the documents in Hun Sen’s possession were the same as those distributed by Jatuporn and Thaksin, though Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said this was likely the case.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a bad plan.... there is no other government that has ideas like this.

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Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said criminal charges had been filed against Jatuporn in connection with the information leak, acknowledging that the document did appear to have originated from the Thai government.

“From the information that we have received, the documents that ... Jatuporn disseminated and read out seem to be official documents, but his interpretation, a lot of it was taken out of context or misinterpreted,” Thani said, declining to comment on Hun Sen’s remarks.

The Thai government is still considering whether to file charges against Thaksin as well, Thani added. Thaksin went into self-imposed exile last year to avoid a jail term for corruption after being ousted from the premiership in a 2006 coup, and Cambodia has refused to extradite him during his controversial visits to the Kingdom as an economic adviser.

According to the English-language document posted on Thaksin’s Web site, Kasit urged caution in dealing with Cambodia but contemplated the possibility of an escalation in tensions.

“The Government’s objective should be normalisation of Thai-Cambodian relations, not regime change,” the document read. Military force, it added, should be considered if Thaksin and Hun Sen “create any incidents which cause any loss of life” or establish a government-in-exile for Thaksin.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanyagorn said Wednesday that an investigation was being launched to determine if and how Jatuporn had come into possession of secret documents. He heavily qualified his statements as he called for patience pending the investigation’s outcome.

“We hope that, in the meantime, countries that are perhaps allegedly involved or allegedly stated in the so-called classified documents would evaluate the situation like we do – with caution,” he said.

Power supplies a common interest

VietName Net Bridge
26/12/2009


VietNamNet Bridge - Power generation is set to be a main plank for future Vietnam and Cambodia bilateral cooperation.

Under the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries on the occasion of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit to Cambodia last week, Vietnam committed to continue giving its support to Cambodia in power generation, and exploration and exploitation of natural resources, particularly focusing on power supplies and bauxite exploitation.

In May 2009, the state-run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) signed a contract with Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) to provide between 900 million and 1.4 billion kilowatt hours of power each year from 2010 to help ease Cambodia’s power shortages.

Strengthening ties in marine transportation, trade and investment are also areas to be focused on. Vietnam and Cambodia have targeted to bring two-way trade revenue to $2 billion in 2010 from more than $1 billion this year.

According Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Cambodia is seen as having a large market for Vietnamese firms to accelerate exports, particularly garment and textiles, processed food, plastic products, fertiliser, home electrical appliances and mechanical products.

Last week, the MoIT and 12 Vietnamese enterprises participated in the Cambodian import-export goods fair opened on December 15 in Phnom Penh.

The MoIT and Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong province authorities prepared for a trade conference between Vietnam and Cambodia scheduled to be held in Phnom Penh in December.

“Cambodia is considered a priority for Vietnam to accelerate bilateral trade and we will make an overall plan for trade promotion with the country in the time to come,” said Dao Tran Nhan, general director of the MoIT’s Department for Asia-Pacific Market.

According to MoIT data, Vietnam exported $910.5 million worth of goods to Cambodia in the first 10 months of this year and imported $136.1 million worth of Cambodian products.

As of September 2009, Vietnamese businesses had invested about $650 million in Cambodia, including $400 million committed in August, 2009 alone for production of fertiliser, rice, sugar, ethanol, thermal power and construction stone.

Vietnam’s Vietel is the largest telecommunication service provider in Cambodia that accounts for a 60 per cent market share for ADSL services and a 50 per cent market share for fixed telephones. Vietnam’s other large-scale investment projects include Vietnam Rubber Group’s 100,000 hectare rubber tree plantation and the construction of the Se San hydro power plants by EVN.

This is the second official visit made by Party General Secretary Manh to Cambodia since March, 2005.

VietNamNet/VIR

Thai-Cambodian ties not improving

Bangkok Post
27/12/2009

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government wanted the Thai-Cambodian diplomatic relations improved but it could not disregard the country's sovereignty and pride.

"I admit that the Thai-Cambodian ties have not been smooth but the government must prevent it from troubling public members from the two countries," Mr Abhisit said during his weekly broadcast on Sunday.

In response to criticisms that the government was using diplomatic measures against Cambodia, the prime minister said calling back the Thai ambassador to Phnom Penh was a very light one.

"Taking a diplomatic measure is better than using other methods as they may affect the trade situation and lead to clashes along the border area," he said. "I also feel sorry that some Thai people have laid out more conditions and given certain information to Cambodia, causing the Cambodian leader to continuously criticise the Thai government."

He said if the Cambodian government revised different issues surrounding the Thai-Cambodian row, the Thai government was willing to consider sending back its ambassador to Phnom Penh.

The government has no policy to resort to violence against its neighbouring countries, and also has no policy to intervene in their politics, he said.

26 December, 2009

Where Gods and Soldiers Tend the Border in Cambodia

The New York Times
View Original Source
By DANIEL ROBINSON
December 27, 2009

IN the wet season, the roads through the northwestern region of Cambodia turn into an undulating sea of muck, with potholes the size of cars and ruts as deep as truck axles. To figure out which routes were least likely to leave me wet, muddy and stranded, I buttonholed a dozen long-distance taxi drivers before settling on the toll road from Dam Dek, which had the added attraction of passing by two out-of-the-way Angkorian temples, Beng Mealea and Koh Ker.

My destination was an even more remote Angkor-era complex: Preah Vihear Temple, awesomely perched 1,700 feet above Cambodia’s northern plains, near the country’s border with Thailand. Designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008 — not without some international controversy — it makes an adventurous alternative to far-better-known Angkor Wat. While several thousand foreign tourists visit the temples of Angkor on a typical day, Preah Vihear Temple gets, on average, just five.

I was traveling with my friend and driver, Hang Vuthy, in a 1991 Toyota Camry with a surprising New York past: according to a window sticker, it had once belonged to a member of the Yonkers Police Captains, Lieutenants and Sergeants Association. Imagining the car in a mid-Atlantic blizzard, it occurred to me that wet-season driving in outback Cambodia is not entirely unlike navigating unplowed snowy side streets. Indeed, for much of our journey we avoided the most treacherous stretches of mire and snaked around potholes of indeterminate depth by religiously following a single serpentine track rendered navigable by earlier cars and trucks.

Preah Vihear Temple — the name means Mountain of the Sacred Temple — is the most spectacularly situated of all Angkorian monuments. Built from the ninth to the 12th centuries atop a peak of the Dangkrek Mountains, it occupies a triangular plateau rising from the Thailand border to a prow-shaped promontory.

An ever-changing architectural, mythological and geological panorama unfolds as visitors progress along the temple’s 2,600-foot-long processional axis, up a series of gently sloping causeways and steep staircases through five gopura, or pavilions, each more sacred than the last.

I began my visit at the bottom of the Monumental Staircase, which, according to the Angkor scholar Vittorio Roveda, “symbolizes the laborious path of faith needed to approach the sacred world of the gods.” The 163 gray sandstone steps, partly carved into the living rock, are flanked by statues of lions and, near the top, two magnificent nagas (seven-headed serpents) facing north toward Thailand. Also intently watching Thai territory were several AK-47-toting Cambodian soldiers in camouflage.

The first structure I came to, called Gopura V by generations of archaeologists, was an airy cruciform construction once topped by wood beams and a terra-cotta tile roof. Many of the stones have tumbled over, but the delicately balanced eastern pediment has survived to become Preah Vihear’s most recognizable icon, appearing on publicity posters, patriotic T-shirts and the new 2,000-riel banknote.

In centuries past, this pavilion was where pilgrims from the plains of Cambodia, having just climbed the steep, mile-long Eastern Staircase (mined and inaccessible for decades but soon to reopen), met their counterparts from what is now Thailand, who had completed a rather less-taxing ascent from the Khorat Plateau.

Alongside a group of saffron-robed monks, I continued north on a majestic, sandstone avenue, 800 feet long, to Gopura IV. There, I came upon a particularly vivid bas-relief depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, a Hindu creation myth in which gods and demons churn the primeval waters to extract the ambrosia of immortality.

Although most of the splendid decorative carvings at Preah Vihear, including this one, depict Vishnu, the temple was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. In later centuries, it was converted to use as a Buddhist sanctuary, and today many of the visitors are Buddhist pilgrims.

As I continued my ascent, I walked under exquisite lintels and tympanums depicting more scenes from Hindu epics like the Mahabharata, and beneath richly carved double pediments adorned with finials and upturned gable ends — calling cards of Cambodian and Thai architecture to this day. Ancient inscriptions in Khmer and Sanskrit, bearing cryptic details about the history of the temple and the Angkorian kings who built it, were hidden here and there under a patina of lichen.

The temple’s culminating point, geographically and symbolically, is Gopura I, whose mandapa (antechamber) and Central Sanctuary, now a jumbled pile of carved sandstone blocks, are surrounded by galleries that call to mind a French Gothic cloister, except that here the windows are rectilinear and the galleries covered by corbelled vaults. (The Khmers, for all their architectural genius, never mastered the keystone arch.)
The entire structure is inward-looking, its outer walls almost devoid of openings despite the sweeping views just outside. Scholars speculate that while the site was considered holy in part because of its spectacular situation, the ancient architects may have believed that picture windows would distract both priests and pilgrims from their sacred tasks.



As I approached the rocky tip of the promontory, just beyond Gopura I, a breathtaking panorama came into view. Cambodia’s verdant northern plains extended majestically toward the horizon, and in the distance I could just make out Phnom Kulen, about 65 miles to the southwest, where the Khmer Empire was founded in A.D. 802. (Angkor itself lay hidden in the haze, 88 miles away.)

To the east, toward Laos, and the west, the Dangkrek Mountains stretched into the distance in a series of serrated bluffs. Looking north, almost everything I could see was in Thailand, rendered remote and mysterious by its inaccessibility.

Thailand ruled much of northwestern Cambodia, including Preah Vihear Temple, from the late 18th century until 1907, when the French colonial administration forced the Thais to withdraw to the current international frontier; Cambodian sovereignty over Preah Vihear was confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

Thailand, despite unresolved land claims, initially supported Cambodia’s Unesco bid for World Heritage status, but the temple soon became a pawn in Thai and Cambodian domestic politics, unleashing nationalist passions in both countries.

In July 2008, according to Cambodian authorities, Thai soldiers intruded into Cambodian territory near the temple. The Thai government denied that any border violations had taken place. Since then, a total of at least seven soldiers from both sides have been killed in intermittent exchanges of fire, according to local news reports. At the time of my visit, though, the frontier had been quiet for several months.

Curious about what the standoff actually looked like, I asked my guide, conveniently a moonlighting army officer, if I could get a glimpse of the Thais. He took me to the bottom of the Monumental Staircase, where I could hear the distant sounds of war — air-raid sirens and shooting — but the combat was taking place on a tiny television, which off-duty soldiers were watching with rapt attention.

We walked along a forest trail past a volleyball court and trenches, passing soldiers in hammocks with their wives stealing a moment of intimacy in an encampment with little privacy, to a forest clearing with a bamboo table at the center.

About 20 yards in front of us stood a line of neatly built bunkers; uniformed men could be seen among the dark green sandbags. “So those are Cambodian soldiers?” I asked, trying to get my bearings. “No,” my guide answered, “those are Thais. Over there” — he turned 180 degrees and pointed to a line of bunkers 20 yards in the other direction — “are Cambodians.” The table, I realized, marked the midpoint of no-man’s land.

The Cambodians’ front-line bunkers, made of disintegrating sandbags sprouting grass, were shaded by blue and green tarpaulins and surrounded by orderly gardens. Their raised observation post, topped by a thatched roof, looked as if it might have been on loan from “Gilligan’s Island.” I was in the middle of a very un-Korean Panmunjom, a laid-back, tropical version of Christmas 1914 on the Western Front.

I soon learned that the Cambodian soldiers stationed there call the site Sambok Kmom, or beehive, because, they say, the area’s many wild bees leave Cambodians unmolested but set upon any Thai who encroaches on Cambodian land. Moved by national feeling, domestic tourists wearing krama (traditional checked scarves that serve as something of a Cambodian national symbol) wandered by, distributing cigarettes and other morale-boosting gifts to the soldiers who were deployed to help the bees protect Cambodian sovereignty.

Around the clearing, soldiers from both sides, unarmed and without body armor or helmets, were relaxing in front of their own front-line bunkers. Cambodian officers seemed to find the bamboo table, shaded by trees tall enough to let breezes through, especially congenial. A few paces away, the Thais had strung a hammock between trees, and one soldier, lounging in a white T-shirt, black combat pants and black military boots, was engrossed in a cellphone call.

Despite the apparent tranquillity, I knew that if the order were given, the men on both sides of the invisible line would not hesitate to shoot. In fact, many of the Cambodian troops stationed around Preah Vihear are battle-hardened former Khmer Rouge fighters. For now, though, relations are casual and, I was told, some wary friendships have developed.

The best staging point for a visit to Preah Vihear Temple is Sra Em (also spelled Sa Em), 19 miles by road from the temple. Two years ago, it was a sleepy crossroads hamlet with a single grimy restaurant and one rundown guesthouse. These days, in the wake of the area’s military buildup, it feels like a Gold Rush boomtown, with haphazardly parked four-wheel-drives instead of tethered horses; karaoke bars sporting pink fluorescent lamps and colored lights, instead of saloons; and the gleanings of Cambodia’s recently doubled defense budget, instead of gold nuggets glinting in the stream. Armed men in camouflage uniforms abound.

Sra Em’s accommodation options are rudimentary, to put it politely. My room’s star amenity was a cold-water spigot for filling the plastic bucket used both to bathe and to flush, and below the cheap plastic mirror and its public access comb, dust bunnies had formed around the hair of guests past. Each time I returned to my room, I found a dead cricket, a new one every day, hinting, perhaps, at the presence of some sinister insecticide.

Preah Vihear Temple is, obviously, not quite ready for mainstream tourism. During the two days I spent at the temple in October, I saw only four other Westerners, including an unhappy German couple whose day trip from Angkor Wat had been rather more trying than expected, and perhaps 50 or so Cambodian tourists. But intrepid travelers who brave the diabolical (though improving) roads, substandard accommodations and alarming government travel advisories are richly rewarded.

For 40 generations, Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims have trekked to this temple, seeking to ascend toward the holy and the transcendent. Today, the awe-inspiring nature of this Angkorian masterpiece, accentuated by the challenges of getting there, confer on every trip the aura of a pilgrimage.

NAIL-BITING TAXI TRIPS AND A VOLCANO AT YOUR TABLE

GETTING THERE

With the visa-free crossing from Thailand closed for the foreseeable future, getting to Preah Vihear Temple requires battling Cambodia’s famously potholed roads, which are at their worst during the wet season (about June to October).

Share-taxis, which have no set schedule and depart when full, link Sra Em with Siem Reap via the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng ($7.50 a person; 130 miles; three hours) and with the provincial capital of Tbeng Meanchey ($6.50; 65 miles; two hours). The U.S. dollar is widely accepted.

The taxis, usually “jacked-up” Toyota Camrys, carry six or seven passengers in addition to the driver, so if you want the front seat to yourself you’ll have to pay two fares. Ante up six times the single fare and you’ve got yourself a private taxi.

From Sra Em, a ride to Kor Muy on the back of a motorbike will run about $3.75. Then the three-mile ride up the mountain to Preah Vihear Temple, on a concrete road whose gradients will impress even San Franciscans, is $5 by motorbike or $20 to $25 by four-wheel-drive pickup.

WHERE TO STAY

Glassless windows, sinkless bathrooms, towels with the absorptive capacity of a plastic bag, fans that run only when a generator is sputtering outside your window (usually from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and laissez-faire housekeeping are, alas, the norm in Sra Em’s guesthouses. I should have stayed at the 25-room Tuol Monysophon (855-99-620-757), which opened this year. A brown, barn-like structure topped with a red tile roof, it has basic rooms downstairs with private baths, mosquito nets and wood-plank floors, for $10; smaller upstairs rooms with shared facilities are $7.50. To get there from the triangular crossroads, head west (toward Anlong Veng) for 500 yards.

WHERE TO EAT

The Preah Vihear area’s best restaurant, hands down, is Sra Em’s Pkay Prek Restaurant (855-12-636-617), an unpretentious complex of open-air, fluorescent-lit pavilions with plenty of geckos. The specialty is phnom pleoung (hill of fire; $3.75), a meat and veggie feast you grill yourself at your table on an aluminum “volcano” suspended above glowing coals.

SAFETY

Before setting out to Preah Vihear Temple, check the Phnom Penh Post (phnompenhpost.com), the Cambodia Daily or other reliable sources to make sure that Thai-Cambodian tensions are not rising.

According to the Cambodian Mine Action Center (www.cmac.org.kh), the immediate vicinity of the temple is now safe, having been cleared in recent years of more than 8,800 anti-personnel mines. However, nearby areas are still heavily mined, so do not, under any circumstances, wander off the footpaths.

WHAT TO READ

The most useful guidebook in English (and Thai) to the temple’s architecture, symbolism and history is “Preah Vihear” by Vittorio Roveda (Bangkok: River Books, 2000), but it may be difficult to find.

Ousted PM's popularity knows no boundaries

Bangkok Post
26/12/2009

Cambodians living across the border from Thailand's northeastern provinces idolise ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a study shows.

The initial findings of the research conducted by National University of Singapore senior lecturer Peter Vail for the Thailand Research Fund were unveiled on Tuesday.

They show border people in Cambodia, due to their geographical proximity to Thailand, are impressed with the former prime minister and the populist policies implemented when he was in power.

"They [survey respondents] also enjoyed discussing polarised Thai domestic politics and we could see several effigies in these areas slandering Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva," said Mr Vail, who is also attached to the Mekong Sub-region Social Research Centre at Ubon Ratchathani University.

The northern Cambodians related to the red shirt group and found the yellow shirts were backward-looking people who wanted to steal Cambodian land and artefacts, he said, adding that they might also want to talk about Cambodian politics but they could not.

"They simply said they did not like [Cambodian Prime Minister] Hun Sen but wanted Hun Sen to introduce populist projects like Thaksin did to Thailand," the researcher said.

Northern Cambodians also disapproved of the Thai-Cambodian spat over Phnom Penh's campaign to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

"They just want to do business and make money," Mr Vail said. "They simply want better livelihoods, helped by border trade."

His research project, due to be completed in April, targets different groups of Cambodians such as those with employment experience in Thailand, those working for Thai enterprises in Cambodia, those with Thai kinship connections, former refugees who returned home, and monks and teachers.

The research, titled "Cambodia Discourse on Thailand in their Social and Cultural Daily Life", is based on field trips to Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces. The first two Cambodian provinces are opposite Ubon Ratchathani, Si Sa Ket and Buri Ram. The temple is on Cambodian soil opposite Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket.

"The first group of interviewees based their conflicts with Thailand on Khmer culture authenticity, history and ownership," he said.

He said Thais living along the border provinces with Cambodia could play a role in correcting mistrust and building a culture of understanding between the two peoples.

PM denies coup charge from Hun Sen

Sat, Dec 26, 2009
The Nation/Asia News Network

The government denied Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's accusation of plotting to stage a coup to topple the government in Phnom Penh.

"The Thai government will never do such a thing," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said, and added his government had a policy to maintain good ties with neighbouring countries.

He said the Thai government would not interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs and had never criticised Cambodian politics.

Relations between Thailand and Cambodia plunged after Hun Sen appointed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as his adviser. The two countries downgraded diplomatic relations and there are no moves to normalise ties.

Prime Minister Abhisit turned down Indonesia's offer to mediate, saying he had already explained his side of the story to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and hoped that such an explanation could help.

However relations look unlikely to improve in the near future. Hun Sen was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying in a speech at a provincial ceremony on Thursday that he had seen a secret Thai government document outlining a plan to mount a coup.

"You have outlined bad scenarios, including preparing to wage war against Cambodia," Hun Sen said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said Cambodia might have received incorrect information from ousted prime minister Thaksin.

Suthep insisted the Thai government had never thought of intervention in Cambodian politics and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was a champion of democracy who would never stoop to destroy the neighbouring country through other means.

The information Cambodia has received from Thaksin and opposition Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Promphan is incorrect and it might have misled the Cambodian leader, Suthep said.

The Foreign Ministry on Thursday lodged a complaint with the police, charging key leaders of the anti-government red-shirt group with publicising confidential documents and libel following a leak of the ministry's classified document on relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

Army chief Anupong Paochinda said he did not expect any Thai people would be involved in politics in the neighbouring country.

Red shirts alleges Thai govt plans to "get rid of" Thaksin

Thu, Dec 24, 2009
Asiaone News
The Nation/Asia News Network

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan yesterday alleged the government was hatching a secret plan to "get rid of" fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra - backing up his allegation for a second time by disclosing a classified memorandum prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Repeating his claim of last week, Jatuporn said a memorandum on Thai-Cambodian ties, classified as secret and sent from Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, was purportedly a plot to assassinate Thaksin.

"The term "get rid of" is a codeword for killing," he said, claiming such a codeword is commonly understood by MFA officials.


At yesterday's press conference, Jatuporn focused on the five-page annex to the main document which he touched on last week.

The annex outlined responses of varying intensity to the prime minister of Cambodia, he said.

The 18 measures included a ban on Thai citizens visiting Cambodian casinos, cancellation of the extradition treaty, reinforcement of troops along the borders, and cancellation of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on maritime boundaries.

He said the MFA analysis shed light on the dilemma of memorandums of understanding previously signed with Cambodia.

In one case, the MFA urged cancellation of the 2001 MOU on maritime boundaries in order to smear Thaksin for conflict of interest, he said.

But an anticipated adverse impact might have led to the questioning of the MOU on land borders, signed in 2000 by Democrat MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, he added.

He claimed the debate about the MOUs raised two interesting facts - first, Thaksin had no conflict of interest but the government wanted to smear him; and second, the 2000 MOU highlighted the loss of sovereignty around Preah Vihear Temple, but the Democrats did not want to concede their mistake.

The two MOUs have remained in effect and Thailand will not be better off by meddling with them, he said.

The entire memorandum was 12-pages long and should be made public in order to stop the alleged plot to kill Thaksin, he said.

He insisted disclosure of the classified memorandum would neither be harmful to Thai interests nor beneficial to Cambodia.

"The memorandum is illegal with the aim to take Thaksin's life," he said, shrugging off the threat of litigation on unauthorised disclosure of classified information.

He said he might file a counter lawsuit charging the MFA with abuse of power for undertaking illegal actions.

He vowed to use the classified memorandum as a major rallying point for the red shirts to resume street protests next month designed to oust the government.

He also said he planned to censure Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu for intimidating the judiciary to relocate the construction site for a court in Pai, Mae Hong Son.

Reacting to Jatuporn's claims, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said he would allow legal experts to determine appropriate counter-measures.

Suthep said the government had not planned on taking out a contract on Thaksin's life as alleged. Even though he had no access to the memorandum in question, he assumed it was just an outline of a general plan for responses to anticipated measures from Cambodia, he said.

Because of the leak, the MFA might have to rethink and redraw the plan, he added.

He said there was virtually nothing he nor the government could do to improve the bilateral ties with Cambodia since its prime minister was fully committed to supporting Thaksin in his attempts to undermine the Thai government.

The House committee on foreign relations plans to launch a hearing and will call on Kasit to testify on the classified memorandum, committee chairman Tophong Chaiyasarn said.

Meanwhile, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said yesterday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was preparing to take legal action against Jatuporn for making public the classified documents.

A fact-finding committee has been set up to investigate the leak of the documents, according to a ministry source.

The panel, headed by deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs Piyawat Niyomroek, has questioned almost 20 people but still has not yet completed its work, the source said.

Clothing sector targets $10 bn exports in 2010

Fibre 2 Fashion
December 25, 2009 (Vietnam)


Textile and garment sector of Vietnam has targeted to generate over US $10 billion through its exports in 2010, around 12 percent more than that of current year, said Mr. Le Quoc An, Chairman of the Vietnam Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex).

The industry entrepreneurs are optimistic about achieving this target as it has witnessed demand surge from two of its major markets, US and EU. Almost every enterprise in the clothing sector has signed orders for upcoming two quarters of next year.

Export turnover of the industry has reached to $9.1 billion, which is almost equivalent to that of previous year, said Mr. An.


Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

Vietnamese garment and textile industry grows despite global crisis

Dec 23, 2009,
Monsters and Critics


Hanoi - Vietnam's garment and textile industry kept growing despite the global crisis, an official said Wednesday.

'We will certainly meet the annual target by the end of this year because companies are exporting big orders this month,' Le Quoc An, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said. 'We expect to grow at least 1 per cent compared with last year.'

An said the country planned to earn 9.1 billion dollars from garment and textile exports this year.

The state-run An Ninh Thu Do newspaper said the country's garment exporters faced declining markets and a slump in prices, resulting in a sharp decline in earnings in the early months of the year. Vietnam's garment industry earned 8.2 billion dollars in the first eleven months of 2009.

'Export growth will recover sharply next year so we plan to export [goods worth] about 10.5 billion dollars next year, a 12-per-cent increase compared with this year,' An said.

The biggest importers of Vietnamese garments and textiles are the United States (57 per cent), followed by the European Union (18 per cent) and Japan (9 per cent).

Apparel industry jittery over government’s firm EU stand

The Sunday Times
Sunday December 20, 2009
By Leon Berenger

The apparel industry facing withdrawal of concessionary tariffs from the European Union (EU) hit out at the government for the aggressive response.

External Development and Internal Trade Minister Progessor G. L. Peiris said the matter will be taken to an international tribunal, saying the EU was acting in a biased manner by holding out on human rights abuses in the country when the actual ground situation was different.

The Sri Lanka apparel industry, jittery over the European Union’s possible withdrawal of concessionary export trade tariffs, is critical of the government’s firm stance over the GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) Plus issue and its determination not to bend to EU pressure.

Industrialists say that taking the European Union “head on” over GSP Plus and Sri Lanka’s human rights record was not helping the Sri Lanka garment industry. “At this point, the government should be acting in good faith and working towards meeting the EU’s demands in the two-month grace period the EU has given,” Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) chairman S. Sukumaran told the Sunday Times.
“This is a sensitive issue, but the government is handling it in the wrong way. This is an issue that directly affects some 275,000 full-time workers and another one million who are indirect beneficiaries of the apparel industry,” Mr. Sukumaran added.

The apparel industry will not feel the impact of the EU ban until around April next year, the time when garment orders start coming in. “However, the industry is expecting the worst. We may be forced to start reducing manpower and taking other cost-cutting measures if the government remains inflexible in this matter,” Mr. Sukumaran said.

Trade unionists are also concerned, warning that the industry was heading for disaster if the government maintained its stubborn stance. According to Free Trade Zone Apparel Union president Anton Marcus, employers and the authorities should be working together to resolve the problem.
“The industrialists are non-committal and allowing the government to handle the matter,” Mr. Marcus said. “The government should come up with a road map and let the international community know what its position is.”

In the past six months between 50 and 75 apparel factories have closed down. Among other things, the European Union is demanding the implementation of the 13th and 17th Amendments to the Constitution and the formation of a Constitutional Council.

S. Liyanagama, Secretary to the Ministry of External Development and Internal Trade, told the Sunday Times that the government’s position has not changed, but declined to elaborate.

UN official welcomes European Union approval of Internet copyright treaties

UN News Centre

14 December 2009 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with safeguarding intellectual property rights today welcomed the European Union’s ratification of the so-called Internet Treaties.
Noting that the EU plays a leading role in promoting use of the Internet and in developing on-line content, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General Francis Gurry said the step would positively influence the growth of creativity within the digital environment in Europe and beyond.

All 27 EU Member States have now implemented the European directive incorporating the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), which establish the basic standards of protection for copyright and related rights of digital material.

In 2000, the EU and its members took the formal decision to ratify the WIPO Internet treaties, bringing the number of signatories for the WCT to 88 and 76 for the WPPT.

The treaties update the legal principles underpinning international copyright protection and the rights of performers and phonogram producers on the Internet and other digital networks.

Thaksin popular in Cambodia, too

Bangkok 25/12/2009

Cambodians living across the border from Thailand's northeastern provinces idolise ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a study shows.

The initial findings of the research conducted by National University of Singapore senior lecturer Peter Vail for the Thailand Research Fund were unveiled on Tuesday.

They show border people in Cambodia, due to their geographical proximity to Thailand, are impressed with the former prime minister and the populist policies implemented when he was in power.

"They [survey respondents] also enjoyed discussing polarised Thai domestic politics and we could see several effigies in these areas slandering Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,'' said Mr Vail, who is also attached to the Mekong Sub-region Social Research Centre at Ubon Ratchathani University.

The northern Cambodians related to the red shirt group and found the yellow shirts were backward-looking people who wanted to steal Cambodian land and artefacts, he said, adding that they might also want to talk about Cambodian politics but they could not.

"They simply said they did not like [Cambodian Prime Minister] Hun Sen but wanted Hun Sen to introduce populist projects like Thaksin did to Thailand,'' the researcher said.

Northern Cambodians also disapproved of the Thai-Cambodian spat over Phnom Penh's campaign to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

"They just want to do business and make money,'' Mr Vail said. "They simply want better livelihoods, helped by border trade.''

Thai Army chief says it's impossible for Thais to plot coup in Cambodia

December 26, 2009
The Nation


Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paochinda said Friday that it is impossible for Thais to plot a coup in Cambodia.

"I think it's can't be done," Anupong said, referring to allegations by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that the Thai government had planned to stage a coup to topple the Cambodian government.

Anupong said the Thai government would not get involved in politics of a neighbouring country.

Thailand rejects Cambodian allegation of coup plot

Friday, December 25, 2009
AFP



BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Friday rejected an accusation from his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen that Thailand is hatching a plot to stage a coup in the neighbouring nation.

The Cambodian premier made the allegation on Thursday as diplomatic relations between the governments sunk to a new low.

Hun Sen said he had seen a secret Thai government document outlining the plan to mount a coup, but Suthep, who is in charge of national security, said the charge was groundless.

"We have no reason to do such a thing. My government has a clear policy to maintain good relations and we don't need to resort to violence or disrupt bilateral trade," Abhisit told reporters.

"Thailand would not interfere in Cambodia's internal affairs and Thailand never criticises domestic Cambodian politics," he said.

Relations between the countries, which have fought a string of deadly gunbattles on their border since last year, plunged last month when fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra became an economic adviser to Cambodia.

Both recalled their ambassadors in November and diplomatic tensions were further raised when Phnom Penh refused to extradite Thaksin during his first visit as adviser last month.

Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, is living abroad, mostly in Dubai, to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption handed down by a Thai court in August 2008.

Caught in the crossfire between Cambodia and Thailand

Sivarak Chutipong speaks to media after a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, Dec. 14, 2009. Sivarak, a Thai engineer working for Cambodian air traffic control who had been found guilty of spying for leaking fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra's flight details to the Thai embassy, was ultimately pardoned after a request to Cambodia's king from Thaksin. (Chor Sokunthea/Reuters)



Convicted of spying earlier this month, Sivarak Chutipong became the latest casualty in the political drama between Cambodia and Thailand.

December 25, 2009
By James O'Toole — Special to GlobalPost

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — It has been an eventful six weeks for Sivarak Chutipong.

When he left for work on Nov. 10, the 31-year-old Thai native was an anonymous expatriate who had lived and worked peacefully as an airport engineer in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh for seven years. In the weeks since, he has met prime ministers, been pardoned by a king, and seen his picture splashed across the front pages of newspapers, caught up in the latest round of feuding between his native country and his adopted home.

Sivarak was convicted of spying in a Cambodian court earlier this month after relaying the flight information of fugitive ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. Thaksin arrived in Cambodia on Nov. 10 for an intensely controversial visit, the fallout from which has attracted international attention and dominated news coverage in Thailand and Cambodia ever since.

Never exactly role models for peaceful co-existence, relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been especially strained since last year, when disagreements over territory surrounding an 11th-century temple near the Thai-Cambodian border erupted in a series of military clashes that left at least seven dead. Neither country’s leaders have been shy about exploiting this antagonism for domestic political points, and Sivarak’s arrest and Thaksin’s visit allowed Cambodia to take up the nationalist offensive against the government of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, as officials in Phnom Penh accused Bangkok of orchestrating an espionage plot and disrespecting Cambodian sovereignty.

A bitter rival of the Abhisit administration, Thaksin is the only elected Thai prime minister to have served a full term in office, scoring overwhelming victories in 2001 and 2005. In 2006, however, he was ousted in a military coup and later indicted on corruption charges. He went into self-imposed exile last year to avoid a two-year jail term and has been globe-trotting ever since.

Abhisit was incensed by Thaksin’s arrival in Cambodia, the closest the former leader has come to his homeland since going into exile. While Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has referred to Thaksin in recent weeks as his “eternal friend,” their relationship is evidently forward-looking; in 2003, when Thaksin was still in power, Hun Sen caused a diplomatic crisis by egging on anti-Thai rioters who subsequently burned down the neighboring country’s embassy and attacked the Phnom Penh offices of Shin Corporation, owned by Thaksin’s family.

Time, however, heals all wounds (or perhaps the more appropriate adage is “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”); in any case, Thaksin and Hun Sen used the November visit to showcase their amicability while lodging a steady stream of criticism at Abhisit right on his doorstep. Thaksin, despite his conviction, still harbors ambitions of returning to politics, accusing the current Thai leadership of “false patriotism” during his inaugural speech as an official Cambodian economic adviser.

Sivarak had the misfortune of being drafted into a leading role in this diplomatic drama, as Thaksin and Hun Sen charged that on orders from the Thai Foreign Ministry, the young engineer had stolen secret information that put Thaksin’s life in danger.

“If we did not act in advance then for sure at this time, at this hour, Thaksin would be dead or jailed in a Thai prison,” Hun Sen said of the case, cleverly omitting the fact that Thaksin’s arrival was broadcast live on local television that morning.

Despite protests that he was not involved in politics and that Thaksin’s arrival was public knowledge, Sivarak was found guilty in a one-day trial on Dec. 8 and sentenced to seven years in jail.

As images of Sivarak’s tearful mother were beamed out from the Phnom Penh courthouse, critics in Bangkok accused Cambodia of manipulating the case for political ends. These charges were amplified when, just three days after his conviction, Sivarak received a royal pardon that Cambodian officials said had been brokered by Thaksin. Sivarak’s mother, to the delight of the Thaksin allies in Thailand’s opposition Puea Thai party, explained that her family could not trust Abhisit to handle the matter in the face of his acrimonious relations with Cambodia.

Following his release last week, Sivarak was invited to Hun Sen’s Phnom Penh residence for a stage-managed event in which, as photographers and Puea Thai leaders looked on, the Cambodian premier greeted him warmly and presented him with a copy of the pardon.

Thaksin, believed to be spending most of his time in Dubai, flew back to Cambodia on the eve of Sivarak’s release and visited him in prison. In an impressive feat of doublethink, he told Hun Sen he considered Sivarak “a political victim of the Thai government,” according to local television reports.

Sivarak himself had little to say on the day he was freed, wearing a guarded expression as he played out his role in the political theater.

“I feel very happy that I have freedom again,” he said.

25 December, 2009

PM denies plan for coup in Cambodia

Bangkok Post 25/12/2009


Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insisted on Friday that his government has no plan to bring about a military coup in Cambodia to topple the Hun Sen government.

“My government has a clear policy to tighten ties with Cambodia and to refrain from the use of force in settling disputes with a nieghbouring country,” Mr Abhisit stated.

The premier said it was not necessary to explain his government's position to the Cambodian leader.

He said the ongoing misunderstanding by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was caused by him receiving misguided and inaccurate information from a political camp in Thailand.

Asked about Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's offer to mediate peace talks, Mr Abhisit said he personally hopes that Mr Yudhoyono can help improve communication between Thailand and Cambodia.

Suthep: Hun Sen being misinformed

Bangkok Post 25/12/2009


The Thai government has no plan to support a coup in Cambodia as the country's leader, Hun Sen, claims, Deputy Prime Minister for security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday.

Mr Suthep was responding to a report that the Cambodian prime minister had forwarded a copy of a confidential Thai Foreign Ministry document he said outlines a plan to topple his government to Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.

“The Thai government has no thought of interfere with the internal affairs of our neighbouring country. Hun Sen might have received incorrect information,” Mr Suthep said.

He insisted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also has no ill-intentions towards the Cambodian government.

Mr Suthep said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had expressed concern about the ongoing diplomatic row between Thailand and Cambodia and hoped the dispute could be settled as soon as possible.

The deputy premier has just returned from a trip to Indonesia to discuss ways to stabilise the prices of rubber and palm oil.

Football greats seek to score Millennium Development Goals in UN charity game

UN News Centre
10 December 2009 – An international roster of football stars meet SL Benfica of Portugal in Lisbon next month in a United Nations ‘Match Against Poverty,’ with soccer greats Ronaldo of Brazil and Zinédine Zidane of France playing on the same side for the first time in a symbolic demonstration of the urgency of working together to fight the global scourge.

The shots that the two stars, both UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassadors, take this time aim not so much at landing the ball in the net as on scoring a different kind of goal, the eight UN Millennium Goals (MDGs) that seek to slash a host of social ills, ranging from extreme poverty and hunger to maternal and infant mortality to lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015.

“No one is a spectator in the struggle to end poverty,” Ronaldo, who now plays for Corinthians in Brazil, said of the 25 January match, the 7th in an annual series, half the proceeds of which will benefit UNDP anti-poverty programmes. “It is only through working together, on the same team, that we will achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”

Zidane, who retired from active football in 2006 but continues to play in the annual Match Against Poverty, echoed Ronaldo. “We must score the eight goals through commitment, willpower and teamwork,” he said.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said this year’s match takes on special importance as it comes five years before the MDG deadline. “The MDGs are enormously important targets, the achievement of which would mean a huge improvement to peoples’ lives,” she said.

“Achieving them will require strong partnerships, enough dedicated resources, unwavering political leadership, and a long-term strategy to ensure that how we develop and grow is sustainable in every sense.”

SL Benfica chairman expressed his club’s pleasure at being associated with UNDP. “Football is a great way to get people together for a good cause,” he said.

The other half the proceeds will go to the SL Benfica Foundation, targeted at social development projects in Portuguese-speaking African countries.

Proceeds from the previous six matches have benefited anti-poverty initiatives ranging from support to female entrepreneurs to the construction of sports centres for street children and the disadvantaged throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The game is the latest in a long list of cooperation between the UN and international sports that has seen the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) team up with the European Swimming League in “a race against time” to prevent deaths from unclean water; the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partner the WTA Tour of women’s tennis to promote gender equality; and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) launch “Cricket Against Hunger” with England and Wales to draw attention to the plight of 400 million chronically hungry children around the world.

23 December, 2009

Vendors in Preah Vihear criticise relocation

The Phnom Penh Post
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:03 Rann Reuy

SIEM REAP PROVINCE
ABOUT fifty street vendors in Preah Vihear province’s Srayong commune will be forced to move to a new market site by Friday, officials said Tuesday.

The decision comes from the district and provincial government and has been taken out of concern for traffic safety and public order, said Sath Sy, chief of Srayong commune.

“It is not acceptable that at Phsar Chas [the current market] vendors sell on the street,” he said, adding that the new site is only 300 metres from the old location, and that vendors will receive a stall free of charge for the first year.

But vendors at Phsar Chas say the new site is inconvenient and that they are concerned the relocation will hurt their business. Khiev Tam, 64, owns a piece of land rented by six vendors at the current market site. She said the new site is actually a kilometre away from Phsar Chas.

“I get money from the sellers, but now authorities force the vendors to move. I will lose income,” she said.

Kun Muy, a 49-year-old sweets vendor, added: “We are worried that there will be only sellers and no buyers if we move.”

Thai miltary killing Cambodian loggers

Source: UPI Asia.com
By Chak Sopheap
Guest CommentaryPublished: December 23, 2009

Niigata, Japan — Phorn Sarith, a 37-year-old Cambodian logger, died when Thai soldiers reportedly fired indiscriminately on 25 loggers working in the Dangrek mountains in Oddar Meanchey, a Cambodian province on the Thai-Cambodian border, last Saturday.
Since September Thai soldiers have killed six Cambodian loggers, wounded several more and arrested others. While loggers are warned by authorities in the province not to stray across the porous border into Thailand, most end up crossing it to earn more money from illegal logging, in order to feed their families.

Although such cases have increased, the Thai government has done little to understand the situation or conduct proper investigations into the cross-border intrusions.

According to an October report released by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, several cases of killings and mistreatment of Cambodians by the Thai military were reported in the three-month period from August to October. One case mentions that 12 Cambodians, reportedly missing for nearly a month, were later found to have been arrested and detained by Thai soldiers in August 2009 on suspicion of illegal logging. Two other allegedly illegal loggers were found dead in the same month; the Thai military claimed to have shot them in self-defense.

In another case, 16 Cambodian loggers were arrested, tried and handed prison terms ranging from three months to nine years by the Ubon Provincial Court in Thailand, for illegal logging. The sentences were excessive and Thai authorities reportedly mistreated the loggers. Some were brought to court with their hands and legs chained and shackled, the CCHR report said.

In another case, Thai soldiers burned 16-year-old Yon Rith to death during an illegal logging mission with other villagers in September. Although the Thai government denied the cause of death, evidence shows that soldiers killed him.

Such cruel killing by the Thai military, which enjoys impunity, was seen in a number of incidents during the late 1970s and 1980s. While the killings have not stopped, the Cambodian government has also been negligent in its role to prevent citizens from illegally crossing over to neighboring Thailand.

Although the media and human rights organizations have reported many incidents of Cambodians killed by the Thai military after illegally crossing the border, there has been no satisfactory explanation by the Thai government. Instead, it has proclaimed that the rule of law prevails in the country and that it has an independent judiciary.

Thai authorities have also failed to employ preventive measures to stop illegal crossings of its border. The issue has been overshadowed to some extent by border disputes and military skirmishes between the two nations.

The continuous arbitrary killing and mistreatment of Cambodians are clear violations by the Thai government of U.N. rights conventions and of basic principles of human rights, including the right to life, the right to a court hearing on criminal charges and the right to be protected from cruel punishment, as guaranteed by the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Thailand is a signatory.

Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture precisely defines the term “torture” as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind.”

Article 2 of the CAT also asserts that “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.”

As a signatory to CAT, the Thai government must take immediate and unconditional steps to fulfill its legal obligation to respect human rights, especially as it says that the rule of law prevails in the country.

If the Thai government says that it has an independent judiciary, then it must end impunity for those who kill and mistreat civilians, including Cambodian illegal loggers or any such immigrants.

At the Bangkok launch of the United Nations Development Program’s report on “Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development,” on Oct. 5, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proudly impressed audiences by saying that Thailand respects migrants’ rights.

“We realize that the most effective way to protect these migrants is to legalize their status and bring them into the formal labor market,” he said. “The migration is simply an expression of the freedom and desire of each individual to seek better opportunities in life.”

If what Abhisit said is true, then the Thai government must acknowledge the rights of the poor Cambodian loggers who cross into Thailand looking for better opportunities to sustain their families. As a civilized nation, the Thai government must fulfill its commitment and obligation to respect human rights.

--

(Chak Sopheap is a graduate student of peace studies at the International University of Japan. She runs a blog, www.sopheapfocus.com, in which she shares her impressions of both Japan and her homeland, Cambodia. She was previously advocacy officer of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.)

UN to launch labour rights contest for Cambodian garment workers

UN News Centre
22 December 2009 – Garment workers in Cambodia will have to know their rights to compete in a radio contest being launched by the UN labour organization, with the winners to be announced on International Labour Day in May next year.

The competition is organized by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) ‘Better Factories Cambodia’ project which, with support from the Government of Cambodia, monitors and strives to improve the conditions in Cambodian garment factories.

“The basis of a sound industrial relation system, which is a key ingredient of healthy and sustained economic growth, is set in a wide understanding of the labour law and the institutions that implement it,” said Catherine Vaillancourt-Laflamme, Training Specialist for Better Factories Cambodia.

“With this garment workers’ competition, Better Factories Cambodia wants to increase the knowledge that Cambodian workers have of the labour law, while promoting the importance, for workers, workers representatives and employers, of respecting the national legal framework, especially in times of economic hardship,” she added.

The competition is open for free to all current and former garment workers who apply before the 22 January deadline. Twelve finalists will be selected to debate with one another in front of a panel of judges during a live radio broadcast on 20 February.

The three winners will be announced on the International Labour Day, observed on 1 May 2010. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third-place winners.

Thais reportedly shoot logger, 55, near border

Tuesday, 22 December 2009 15:02 May titthara and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

A 55-year-old Cambodian man was shot to death by Thai soldiers while on an illegal logging expedition across the border from Oddar Meanchey province, provincial officials said.

The dead man, Kampot province native Phorn Sarith, was part of an expedition of 25 people who crossed the border from Oddar Meanchey’s Trapaing Prasat district to Thailand’s Sisaket province on Saturday. Trapaing Prasat district police Chief Keo Tan said the man had been cremated in the Dangrek mountains on Sunday.

Van Kosal, Trapaing Prasat district governor, said deaths of Cambodians logging illegally across the border at the hands of Thai soldiers have become a serious problem over the past few months.

“We have tried our best to educated them about the negative impacts of crossing into Thailand for logging, but they never care,” he said.

Oddar Meanchey officials have reported three incidents since the start of November in which they say Cambodian loggers have been injured or killed by Thai troops. In September, officials say, 16-year-old logger Yon Rith was burned alive by Thai troops.

On Monday, Thai and Cambodian military commanders stationed along the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple met to discuss the logging issue, according to a Cambodian soldier who attended the meeting but requested anonymity, explaining that Thai troops requested that the discussion remain confidential.

Srey Doek, commander of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Division 3, told the Thai troops that Cambodian forces would be happy to cooperate in preventing illegal logging by Cambodians in Thailand, though he added that the Thais must stop using lethal force in such incidents, the source said.

22 December, 2009

World Bank criticises land project

Monday, 21 December 2009 15:03 James O'Toole and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

THE World Bank has expressed further concerns about the efficacy of a donor-funded land-administration project run jointly with the government, with a decision pending on whether to launch a formal investigation into the programme.

The World Bank’s Washington-based inspection panel on Wednesday issued its response to a September investigation request from villagers of the Boeung Kak lakeside community with the support of local housing-rights advocates.

In the request, villagers say the World Bank did not adequately supervise the Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP), a US$38.4 million effort begun in 2002 to disseminate land titles and create an “efficient and transparent land administration system” for the Kingdom.

In fact, villagers said, the programme was ineffective in the face of a marked increase of forced evictions and failed to grant tenure rights to vulnerable residents. More than 4,000 families are facing eviction from the lake to make way for a 133-hectare development project.

The government terminated its partnership with the World Bank land-titling project in September. Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the time that the organisation demanded “too many conditions”.

While the inspection panel defended elements of the project’s legacy, noting that it had issued more than 1.1 million land titles in the past seven years, it acknowledged significant problems in LMAP’s overall approach.

“The unavoidable complexity of the project and the backdrop of political and administrative inefficiency (ranging from a lack of competence through to corruption) necessarily meant that the project was a risky undertaking,” the panel said.

Among the problems in LMAP’s implementation, the panel said, was an undue focus on the “incremental titling process” that failed to develop a larger vision for land management and engage with the government on the issue of forced evictions. Local concerns, it added, were often neglected.

“Residents were not adequately involved in the titling process, and they did not have access to a fair and independent dispute resolution mechanism regarding their claims,” it said.

David Pred, director of the group Bridges Across Borders, said at the time of the complaint’s filing that a World Bank investigation could have ramifications beyond the realm of land rights. “If the government is unwilling to live up to its end of the bargain, then there needs to be a serious reassessment of the way donors engage in Cambodia,” he said.

Be Pharom, a Boeung Kak lake resident representative, said that though residents had made overtures to the World Bank about earning titles through the LMAP project, the government had stepped in to stop them.

“The World Bank told us that when they asked the government to register us through the LMAP project, the government told them not to interfere in Cambodian politics,” she said, adding: “Everything was stuck when the government stopped working with the World Bank on this project.”

The inspection panel will decide whether or not to recommend a further investigation of the project by March 31 next year, but despite its criticisms of the government, the panel emphasised the importance of engaging with local officials.

“The actions that would have the greatest impact for the communities … require a committed engagement from the government,” it said.
Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun could not be reached for comment.

Thaksin drags Hun Sen into a new treacherous game

December 22, 2009
By Sopon Onkgara
The Nation

This is more than just a simple patriot game. For the first time in Thailand's history, we are witnessing anti-government elements declaring publicly that they intend to topple the state and revered institutions. They do not even wince when branded as traitors.

What's more, Cambodia has become more than a thorn in the side of Thailand. The country's leader, Hun Sen, provides shelter for Thaksin Shinawatra, ignoring Thailand's call for extradition and a request through Interpol for his capture.

The elements comprise the Pheu Thai Party, its remnants of ex-MPs from two party dissolutions, the red shirts and their cohorts, including retired army officers engaged in political activities in exchange for income from the wealthy fugitive.

They plan an all-out battle to oust the Abhisit government next month, abolish the present Constitution, do away with the monarchy, and bring Thaksin back under full amnesty together with a return of his assets currently frozen by the state.

Violence cannot be ruled out. The red shirts are dreaded for their unruly behaviour and are spoiling for blood. They staged a riot in April this year in a bid to pave the way for Thaksin's homecoming. The non-lethal crackdown by troops under an emergency decree restored peace.

Those culprits responsible for the violence in the city have yet to face charges and trial. The leniency and complacency of the government have emboldened the red shirts and Thaksin to continue destabilising the state through media, threats and treacherous acts - with full cooperation from Hun Sen.

Traitors under Thaksin's tutelage no longer have the shame to hide their acts or themselves. In all sorts of campaigns, the Thaksin loyalists play a hypocritical game, with total disregard for national security.

Thaksin has regained confidence after taking refuge in Phnom Penh to plot against his home country. Hun Sen has become a tyrant oblivious to the echelons of power in his country. The despot is arrogant enough that he needs no consultation with the lower rungs of the political and military leadership since heading on the collision course with Thailand.

Hun Sen's belligerent and despicable behaviour has caused serious harm to Cambodian interests. The country loses income from tourism, border casinos, trade, and the chance to register the Preah Vihear temple ruins with the World Heritage Organisation, and the exploitation of offshore petroleum deposits. This must have caused some degree of resentment from Cambodian people, businesses and interest groups. But they cannot move against Hun Sen.

Hun Sen has blatantly interfered in the internal affairs of Thailand, given safe haven to Thaksin, and engaged in activities considered as serious threats that have yet to be responded to fully by the Abhisit government. So far, there has been periodic verbal provocation by Hun Sen, with some lukewarm reaction from the Thai government.

The Cambodian tyrant has uttered aloud that he will not be happy as long as Thailand has Abhisit as prime minister and Kasit Piromya as foreign minister. This open, hostile act must be viewed by fellow Asean countries with unease, if not deep concern.

As the conflict edges close to possible confrontation, it can be seen that the problem exists between Hun Sen, Thaksin and the people of Thailand, while the Cambodian people have no part in the crisis, as it only undermines their livelihood. Yet, those living in the hinterland with no broad access to news and information believe that what Hun Sen has been doing is in the national interest.

Hun Sen's stake lies with Thaksin's success in regaining political power through his continuing instigation of the red shirts to go all out in their protest rallies expected next month. It's also Thaksin's last-ditch attempt and, mostly likely, his last hurrah before his force is eventually subdued. He is under the illusion that rural support remains extensive.

Not anymore. His hideous plan to join hands with ex-communist guerrillas to end the monarchy has not fooled the rural people, while many red shirts have also abandoned the anti-monarchy campaign now that the Thaksin elements have shown their true colours and treacherous activities.

Abhisit still takes things in stride. Instead of launching campaigns to educate the public, especially the rural grassroots, those responsible for national security and the state-owned media remain complacent, putting their faith only in sheer luck, ignoring prepared responsive measures.

The nation is in dire straits due mainly to the ignorance and incompetence of those in charge of security affairs, and lack of cooperation from the police, while military leaders have been passive in countering the anti-monarchy campaign.

Maybe they believe that luck will be on their side if Thaksin and his miscreants create new havoc. The people don't like what is happening because too much damage has been done to the country with nobody showing full accountability.
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