Two pilots who allowed their passenger jet to overshoot its destination by 150 miles last week have told investigators that they lost concentration because they were using their laptop computers in the cockpit.
In an admission that will strike fear into the heart of frequent flyers everywhere, the men in charge of Northwest Airlines flight 188 from San Diego to Minneapolis revealed that they were operating the machines during a discussion about crew scheduling.
As a result, the plane, which was carrying 147 passengers, lost contact with air traffic control for over an hour. It had passed Minnesota and was drifting over Wisconsin at 37,000 feet before anyone on the flight deck noticed.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is compiling a report into the incident, said both pilots vehemently denied speculation that they fell asleep, and instead insisted that they had simply "lost track of time" while working out their new work timetables.
"There was a concentrated period of discussion where they did not monitor the airplane or calls from [air traffic controllers] even though both stated they heard conversation on the radio," said the Board, after interviewing the pair for five hours on Sunday.
Homeland Security was closely tracking the Airbus A320 during the incident amid fears that it had been hijacked, and four National Guard jets were put on standby to shoot it down should it venture near to a major conurbation.
However the two pilots, who are both said to have been in the job for many years, only realised they had overshot their final destination when an air hostess knocked on the cockpit door and asked what the flight's estimated arrival time was.
Realising the extent of their mistake, the men immediately contacted air-traffic controllers for permission to turn around, saying during radio conversation that they had suffered "cockpit distraction". The plane then landed without further incident in Minneapolis.
They were both suspended from duty, pending the outcome of investigations said Delta Air Lines, which recently bought Northwest. Customers are unlikely to be reassured by the fact that the takeover in question is said to have led to the introduction of the new staffing rota that prompted the pilots to both get their laptops out.
Delta added in a written statement the use of laptops or "engaging in activity unrelated to" flying violates company policy. Both men could eventually be fired, a spokesman added.
Pilots who flew 150 miles past airport were using laptops
Monday, October 26, 2009Author Chantha Tan Announces Publication of 3 New Books
Chantha Tan Announces Publication of 3 New Books Describing a Magical and Divine Experience. The River of Wisdom Books
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 23, 2009 – Vero Beach, FL - From the midst of the forgotten people seeking to flee the Killing Fields of Cambodia to a posh California neighborhood of the stars, author Chantha Tan has traveled many roads. Immigrating to the United States at the age of 17, she quickly learned the ways of her adopted country, became a successful business woman, married well, and bore two healthy and happy children.
Change descended on Chantha’s hard won privileged and orderly life with the onset of a persistent and debilitating headache for which numerous medical tests and doctor’s visits could produce no diagnosis. In excruciating pain that left her body curled up in a fetal position, unable to focus or function, Chantha was forced to turn over her work to others, step back, and attempt to regain her equilibrium through an extended rest period.
Chantha’s headache vanished one sunlit summer morning in California as quickly as it had onset. “My lesson about life wisdom started on that day in my backyard.” Chantha explains in her first book River of Wisdom: Process to Living Under Grace, published by AuthorHouse and available at booksellers or online at www.riverofwisdom.net . The headache was replaced by a deep and pure consciousness that flowed into Chantha’s mind and heart, startling and refreshing her with its powerful truths.
“I sat by myself and the life wisdom just flowed through me. I asked a question when there was something I didn’t understand. The answer and explanation would arrive, usually right away, and something letting me know where to find it,” Chantha writes.
In October of 2008, Chantha was called to write a book containing the newfound wisdom that channeled through her. “I still had no clue how I was to write a book about this subject matter. I’ve never written a book before. English is my second language,” she reveals.
Within a month, Chantha’s life was further disrupted when it became clear to her that the new life wisdom she was receiving required her to vacate California immediately and move to Florida. Deciding to move in January when her children’s school exams would be finished, her decision was confirmed by the sudden re-location of a tenant, who had been renting a home she owned in Florida.
Chantha had purchased her Florida rental property on a whim and only actually seen it for a few hours when she signed the purchase agreement. Nevertheless, she packed up her life in California and flew East with her children to Florida. The three weary travelers arrived at the remote Fellsmere farm property, with no furniture or water turned on, late one evening via rental car. They had only a couple of sleeping bags and the clothes carried in their suitcases.
“Our first day on the property we woke up surprised, greeted by two horses and one very large pig. We were scared and had to call the sheriff to rescue us from the greeters. It turned out to be a very adventurous first day on the farm. We had never lived on a farm before isolated from big suburbs,” Chantha writes.
In March of 2009, Chantha received the inspirations that led her to begin writing River of Wisdom, her first book. During the six month period that followed, Chantha completed River of Wisdom and wrote two more books, Humanity Under Siege in the 21st Century & Why? and Heaven is for Sale Now!: Since Hellven is on its Way Out in the 21st Century Period!
In addition to the books, Chantha offers free classes and is available for speaking engagements for those interested in learning more about the life wisdom that has touched her life. For further information contact (772) 202-0887, email info@riverofwisdom.net or go to www.riverofwisdom.net.
Press/Media Contact
River of Wisdom Team
(772) 202-0887
prteam@riverofwisdom.net
http://www.riverofwisdom.net
# # #
River of Wisdom publishes books and gives classes to help all humanity. All books and teachings are by author Chantha Tan.
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Government Considers Reducing Military, Police [-Eliminating Brigade B-70 is essential!]
Brigade B-70: Several thousands troops just for the protection of one man!By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
26 October 2009
Cambodia is preparing to retired 3,000 soldiers this year, in a bid to continue the reform of its security forces, a senior official said Thursday.
“There has been some preparation, and there is the possibility we will do it this year,” Defense Minister Tea Banh told VOA Khmer.
Cambodia hopes to eventually reduce its forces from 200,000 to 80,000.
About 100,000 soldiers are ready to retire, Tea Banh said, but the government lacks the budget to fund their retirement.
Rank, title and other details for the retirees have not been publicly released.
An infantry officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about 1,600 infantry personnel due to be retired, from either disability or age. About 20 military advisers are due to be retired soon, the official said.
The latest defense White Paper, published on the Ministry of Defense’s Web site, says the government has largely completely the demobilization of army personnel.
“Although 15,000 personnel, the number intended for demobilization in phase two, remain to be demobilized, the current figure represents a significant reduction compared to the approximately 165,000 personnel serving before1999,” according to the White Paper.
The five-year plan of the government calls for the demobilization of 30,000 soldiers, starting in May 2000, with a budget from donors of $45 million, but the plan was delayed until mid-2003.
Tea Banh said this year’s retirement is not budgeted through donor assistance.
The infantry officer said many soldiers want to retire, in exchange with an offer of land and money from the government.
In years past, Cambodia spent up to 30 percent of its budget for defense and national security. In 2009, defense was budgeted for $160 million of a total $1.8 billion
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Cambodia Ranked 117 in Press Freedom, a Slight Improvement
By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
26 October 2009
Cambodia was ranked No. 117 of 175 countries, an improvement from its No. 126 position last year, which came from the murder of an opposition journalist and his son ahead of a national election.
However, at least one opposition journalist was jailed in 2009, following reporting on corruption within the powerful Council of Ministers.
Journalists worldwide suffer from murder, imprisonment and the threat of revoked license, Reporters Without Borders said. In countries like Burma, China, North Korea and Vietnam, still restrict access to the Internet, the group said.
The report confirms a statement made by Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of the Washington Post, earlier this month.
“Some governments inevitably attempt to the unnatural and try to suppress the growth of journalism,” he said. “The Russian government has forced most of its news agency operations into the government’s hand, and many, far too many, good journalists have been assassinated with impunity.
“Until recently, Zimbabwe intimidated, imprisoned and induced to leave the country both foreign and local journalists and may still up to date,” he continued. “In Cambodia, a journalist and his son were murdered after writing critical articles of the government and a publisher was imprisoned and fined for disinformation and for dishonoring public officials.”
However, Pen Samithy, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists, said journalists in the country are still able to do their work.
“According to my observation, the overall concern that journalists have does not prevent them from reflecting the truth,” he told VOA Khmer. “This means that every day journalists work with a higher responsibility to making improvements in the quality of journalism in Cambodia.”
Meanwhile, journalists who perform their jobs in the face of oppression have not gone unrecognized.
Peter Mackler, a former journalist for Agence France-Presse, died in June 2008 at 58, suffering an apparent heart attack after working in journalism for more than 30 years. As a reporter and editor, Mackler covered the Gulf War in 1991; conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan; the Palestinian intifada; the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York; and George W. Bush’s presidency.
He trained journalists in some developing countries like Lebanon, Iran, Malaysia and Cyprus. He also trained VOA Khmer staff.
In memory of Mackler’s work, his family and friends set up the “Peter Mackler Award” to honor courageous and ethical journalists. The first winner was a Sri Lankan journalist sentenced to 20 years in jail for inciting “communal disharmony.”
“I am delighted to hear that you are honoring Peter’s legacy by recognizing courageous and ethical journalists with the Peter Mackler Award,” former US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice said in a letter to organizers. “Throughout his distinguished thirty-three year career in journalism, Peter was a champion of the freedom of the press who fought tirelessly to defend the rights of reporters to publish stories without fear of retribution.”
In Cambodia, Hang Chakra, publisher of the opposition Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, remains in jail for an article dishonoring a senior government official.
Reporters Without Borders has also appealed for his release.
This year’s ranking puts Cambodia above neighboring Thailand, which was ranked No. 130.
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Cambodian PM 'was misinformed'
October 27, 2009
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
"I understand that Prime Minister Hun Sen made such remarks because he was misinformed about Thaksin and the whole situation in Thailand, so we have to give him the facts," Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.
Hun Sen said upon his arrival at the Asean Summit that he would offer Thaksin refuge in Cambodia and appoint him as an adviser. He said Thaksin was a victim of political changes in the wake of the 2006 coup.
"We will tell him what happened in Thailand over the past three years and that his many trials have nothing to do with the coup," Kasit said.
The letter would not be an argument or condemnation of Hun Sen but just a plain description of Thaksin, the political situation and Thailand's justice system, he said.
Many criminal cases arose before the coup and asset concealment actually took place only within Thaksin's family, he said.
Hun Sen's invitation to Thaksin threw more fuel on the fire after the two countries have faced off over the controversial Preah Vihear Temple for over a year.
The government had Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban explain the matter to Hun Sen during his two-night stay in Thailand.
The foreign ministry would make the clarification and send it through diplomatic channels to him again within a week to make sure he gets the right picture, Kasit said.
While declining to interpret Hun Sen's move, Kasit said his government would simply regard the incident as the Cambodian premier, who is an old friend of Thaksin, just getting the wrong idea.
Kasit rejected a demand by a group of senators to retaliate against Hun Sen since the two governments have promised to jointly develop their countries and not to bring up internal politics.
"We don't allow a minor thing to jeopardise the entire relationship," he said.
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Ball is in Cambodia's court, PM says
October 27, 2009
The Nation
His remark suggests it's up to Prime Minister Hun Sen to strengthen bilateral ties or allow them to suffer after the verbal spat between him and Abhiisit over the weekend.
Speaking to Nation Multimedia Group's editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon on the World Pulse TV show - being aired nationwide this evening, Abhisit said there would be no diplomatic protest or recalling of Thai ambassadors at this point in time.
Diplomatic relations went into a tailspin last week after Hun Sen said his "old friend" Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai PM, would be welcome to live in Cambodia.
Hun Sen said he would not extradite Thaksin to face prison terms in Thailand because he considered his crimes were political in nature. He later said he would make the fugitive premier an economic adviser.
Hun Sen made the statement shortly after arriving in Thailand to attend the 15th Asean Summit in Cha-am over the weekend.
Abhisit said Hun Sen needed to hear all the facts before any conclusion could be reached. The Cambodian needed to know what laws Thaksin had violated and then decide as to whether the former PM should be sent back to Thailand, if and when he arrives in
Cambodia.
Abhisit dismissed suggestion that Hun Sen's remarks spoiled the Asean Summit, hosted by Thailand in Hua Hin and Cha-am over the past weekend. The PM said he was satisfied with the outcome of the summit.
No other leaders at the summit asked about Hun Sen's statement, Abhisit said.
When asked about Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's trip to Phnom Penh, which sparked Hun Sen's remarks, Abhisit suggested the Pheu Thai politician needed to re-evaluate whether his actions had hurt or helped relations with Cambodia.
Abhisit said he was willing to talk to Thaksin about national reconciliation provided the fugitive premier returned to the country and accepted findings from the country's justice system, which had convicted him of fraud and corruption.
"If he is not willing to abide by our law then what's the use of talking to him?" he asked.
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What is Hun Sen fishing for?
October 27, 2009
By Avudh Panananda
The Nation
The Heenes family grabbed worldwide attention by floating an odd-looking balloon and making the spectacle of a six-year-old boy trapped inside it.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen used Pheu Thai Party adviser Chavalit Yongchaiyudh as a conduit to talk about his buddy-buddy ties with fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The balloon boy incident was exposed as a sham as soon as the balloon ran out of hot air. The brouhaha about the political threesome will not outlast the hot air coming out of Hun Sen's mouth.
Unlike the balloon-boy incident, which ended up as a joke, Thai and Cambodian citizens may find themselves in the predicament of a dealing with a sick joke that causes unwarranted concern over the mutual interests of the two neighbouring countries.
Thaksin, Chavalit and Hun Sen have undoubtedly tried to gain their respective advantages. But are they striving to serve Cambodia and Thailand or individual agendas?
It is a myth that the Thaksin-Hun Sen ties go back decades. The two were never close before Thaksin came to power in 2001.
Chavalit, though a self-proclaimed expert on Cambodian affairs, has never had a personal bond with Hun Sen. He relied on his aide Wichit Yathip to arrange his trip last week to Phnom Penh.
Wichit, in turn, works through Defence Minister Tea Banh instead of directly dealing with Hun Sen.
Because of Thaksin's personal touch to push for Thailand Inc diplomacy, Hun Sen looked to Bangkok in a favourable light to further the interests of Cambodia.
The Thaksin administration tried to advance the joint development of the overlapping sea boundaries and cross-border projects coinciding with the promotion of Thai satellite business.
Then, and now, Hun Sen's motive is consistently benefit-driven and not his personal ties with Thaksin.
At the peak of Thaksin's popularity in 2003, Hun Sen wanted to lessen Thai domination in the wireless commnunications business. He pushed for the granting of an operating licence to a Japanese operator.
This led to a failed coup in Phnom Penh. Cambodian leaders, particularly those in the Hun Sen camp, had lingering doubts about the involvement of certain Thai figures. Soon after, Hun Sen fanned the Cambodian backlash on a Thai television actress. This in turned led to riots and the torching of the Thai Embassy.
To this day Thaksin and Hun Sen still cast suspicion on one another although they have been boasting about their buddy-buddy ties for mutual gains.
It is noteworthy that Thaksin posted a profuse thank-you note on Twitter but made no mention about accepting Hun Sen's offer for an exile haven.
In light of Hun Sen's temperamental wrath as shown in 2003, Thaksin is justified in being cautious. He should doubly be on guard because he has yet to deliver a lucrative deal for Koh Kong development using the investment funds from the Gulf countries.
The deal was reportedly brokered in Phnom Penh during a round of golf after he was ousted from power.
If Hun Sen and Thaksin both are truly buddies, then the exile in Phnom Phen should have already happened.
Hun Sen's remarks on his undying friendship were designed to grab publicity. Chavalit and Thaksin managed to inflate their international stature in the eyes of the red shirts.
What's in it for Hun Sen? As a big fish in Tonle Sap, the Cambodian prime minister may want to flex his might in the uncharted waters of the Chao Phya.
It is no secret that he feels restless over the stalled talks on the overlapping sea boundaries. But transplanting himself into the thick of Thai politics is guaranteed to get a flak instead of achieving anything favourable for Cambodia.
Should Hun Sen want results in dealing with Thais, he ought to emulate the example set by Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein. In contrast to Hun Sen's megaphone diplomacy, Thein Sein tactfully sent a bouquet of flowers with a get-well message to His Majesty.
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Suthep sets out case for ending spat
27/10/2009
Bangkok Post
Mr Suthep also clarified that Bangkok had allowed Sam Rainsy entry to Thailand in his capacity as leader of the Cambodian opposition. He said this should not be compared with Thaksin's position as Mr Rainsy was not a political fugitive wanted by Phnom Penh.Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has used his personal connections with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to defuse a potential diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Mr Suthep yesterday said he met the Cambodian leader for two hours on Saturday after a gala dinner hosted by Thailand for leaders attending the Asean summit.
The meeting was made necessary by Hun Sen's reiteration soon after arriving in Thailand last Friday, that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was welcome to stay in Cambodia without fear of repatriation.
Mr Suthep's mission was to make the Cambodian leader understand the real situation in Thailand, particularly concerning the legal cases against Thaksin.
He explained that Thaksin was unlikely to return to Thailand any time soon and that the Democrat-led government was not "a temporary" administration.
Mr Suthep also clarified that Bangkok had allowed Sam Rainsy entry to Thailand in his capacity as leader of the Cambodian opposition. He said this should not be compared with Thaksin's position as Mr Rainsy was not a political fugitive wanted by Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen criticised Thailand on Friday for allowing his political rival to use the Kingdom to attack his government.
Mr Suthep earlier offered Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva his services in helping mend ties with Cambodia after Phnom Penh was angered by Thailand's protest against the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
He visited Hun Sen before the Democrats came to power and twice since.
Mr Suthep was appointed chairman of the Joint Technical Committee, a position normally headed by the foreign minister, based on his close ties with the Cambodian leader.
The Joint Technical Committee has the role of demarcating the overlapping maritime boundary in the Gulf of Thailand and jointly developing areas where the issue of sovereignty cannot be settled.
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Chavalit draws govt ire
PM slams Puea Thai chairman's 'tactics'
27/10/2009
Bangkok Post
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban met Hun Sen on Saturday to discuss issues involving Thaksin.Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has sparked a furious backlash from the government by insisting he will embark on trips to Burma and Malaysia in the wake of his remarks about ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being welcome "any time" in Cambodia
Hun Sen promised to stop saying anything that might damage Thailand, Mr Suthep told reporters yesterday in Cha-am district in Phetchaburi.
The government, which insists Gen Chavalit discredited the Thai administration by his visit with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, has made it clear the opposition party politician should not meddle in diplomatic affairs.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya yesterday asked Gen Chavalit to put the national interest before personal benefits ahead of his plans to visit other countries.
The government had no authority to block his travel plans but it would not succumb to pressure from other countries as a result of his visits, the prime minister said. Gen Chavalit will visit the lower South on Nov 3 followed by unscheduled trips to Malaysia and Burma, his close aide, Lt Gen Piratch Swamiwas, said yesterday.Gen Chavalit's first foreign trip after assuming the chairmanship of the opposition party was to Cambodia last Wednesday. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told him he welcomed Thaksin to Cambodia.
Hun Sen also said on Friday after coming to Thailand for the Asean summit that the Cambodian government would not hand over Thaksin if Thailand sought his extradition.
Mr Abhisit responded by asking Hun Sen to decide between personal relations and bilateral benefits with Thailand.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban met Hun Sen on Saturday to discuss issues involving Thaksin.
Hun Sen promised to stop saying anything that might damage Thailand, Mr Suthep told reporters yesterday in Cha-am district in Phetchaburi.
Mr Kasit also sent a stronger message to Gen Chavalit in his bid to have the Puea Thai chairman reconsider his diplomatic strategy.
"You should ask Gen Chavalit whether his visits to neighbouring countries will benefit Thailand," the foreign minister told reporters. "He should ask himself about what he is doing. Is it serving somebody?"
After the talks on Saturday between Mr Suthep and the Cambodian leader, the Foreign Ministry will submit evidence to Phnom Penh regarding the legal action taken against Thaksin.
It would be "factual" regarding the legal process the government was taking on the ousted prime minister, the foreign minister said.
Mr Kasit said he hoped that after the formal explanation, there would be no conflict between the two countries over Thaksin.
Lt Gen Piratch shrugged off the government's criticism and insisted Gen Chavalit had no plan to scrap his visits to Burma and Malaysia.
"He will meet leaders and will criticise no one," the aide said. "What Gen Chavalit is doing is not for anybody in particular. He used to give suggestions to the government but the government never listened to him."
Gen Chavalit said last week he would use his personal connections with leaders of neighbouring countries to clear their misunderstandings about Thailand.
He claimed the foreign policy under the Democrat-led government had caused strains.
The Cambodian prime minister's remark favouring Thaksin continued to upset a group of 40 senators who urged the government take a tougher diplomatic line on Cambodia.
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A big bully next door and traitors in the house
The Wimp (Abhisit), The Bully (Hun Sen) and The Traitor (Chavalit): Characters for a new Thai-Cambodian soap opera?October 27, 2009
By Sopon Onkgara
The Nation
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva tried hard not to be perceived as a wimp after his Cambodian counterpart, big bully Hun Sen, stole the thunder before the Asean Summit over the weekend, with an affirmation that he would provide refuge to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The first slap in the face was felt. Then came another blow to the other cheek. Hun Sen insolently declared that he would not abide by the extradition treaty agreement with Thailand. Interpretation of the pact would be based on his own opinion.
Such a hostile gesture is so unbecoming of a guest invited to participate in a significant meeting, attended by Asian national leaders, including from major powers such as China and Japan. Hun Sen himself might not find it easy to rub shoulders with people from the civilised world after spending half his life in jungles and around the Khmer Rouge killing fields. That's why, when the opportunity came, he tried to make the most of it, making his presence felt, if not shocking fellow Asean members and especially dialogue partners.
Those familiar with Hun Sen's unwashed manners have not been surprised. His act was fully intentional and prepared well in advance, with a team of news reporters tipped in advance about his willingness to exhibit his flair for bullying.
Abhisit just tried to put on a brave face. During their formal handshake, he failed to conceal his current view of Hun Sen. The younger man, groomed with finesse at Eton and Oxford, tried hard to put up with the Cambodian leader, a cut-throat in his own right from his years with the Khmer Rouge.
Hun Sen offers to provide protection to Thaksin, who can live in a luxury mansion in Phnom Penh and do whatever he pleases. The Cambodian leader regards the Thai fugitive as an eternal friend indeed, whose personal significance outweighs Cambodia's overall relations with Thailand.
Thaksin is a billionaire. Such a man will be welcome in a not-so-civilised society that respects money more than honesty and clean hands. As the saying goes, there is no honour among thieves, and this particular case provides proof of that.
Abhisit had to show what he felt about Hun Sen's confident remarks. But instead of a direct strike at the Cambodian leader, Abhisit chose instead to criticise Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyud for his role in subverting national security by acting as a dangerous liaison to enable Thaksin to stay in Cambodia - just a stone's throw from the Thai jail to which the disgraced billionaire has been sentenced by the Supreme Court.
Hun Sen's offer to provide refuge to Thaksin is a display of contempt for the Supreme Court's verdict.
Abhisit was too soft on Hun Sen, despite the insult. It isn't certain whether he wants to be Mr Manners, with complete diplomatic nicety, or just a confirmed wimp, as jeered by his critics.
Maybe Abhisit needs more time to muster enough courage, and also to seek a prudent way in which to deal with this rough man. Hun Sen does not care about diplomatic civility when he wants to get messages across to neighbours. But Abhisit should not take longer than is necessary to reply, now that the country's dignity has been trampled over by the Cambodian hotshot.
Hun Sen might not have been this arrogant if it were not for some sort of assurance given during his huddling with Chavalit, who visited Phnom Penh prior to Hun Sen's arrival in Thailand for the Asean Summit. The former Thai prime minister had been warned by General Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council, that he should be careful about his political role, as he could be perceived as a traitor in some quarters.
Not long after the echo of that warning had faded, Chavalit did exactly what he was warned against - not caring about what people say or think about him. A public opinion poll showed a high rate of disapproval. But this is a time when many people could be regarded as traitors, especially with more than 50 retired generals becoming members of the Pheu Thai Party, commanded by Thaksin.
They are retired military men who have turned themselves into soldiers of fortune. They cannot resist the smell of Thaksin's money. Never mind their earlier pledge about loyalty to the nation's revered institutions. The Thaksin crowd openly sides with Hun Sen, forgetting that they are Thais and supposed to be loyal to the country of their birth.
What we can expect from now on is a messy future in the political, economic and social sectors. Chavalit's pack of old soldiers and politicians loyal to Thaksin, and the red shirts, will engage in a dangerous power game with the Abhisit government. The coalition has become a direct target for toppling by whatever means possible, via the power of Thaksin's money.
Hun Sen is laughing in Phnom Penh. The episode confirms his belief that not just Cambodians have been perceived as traitors; some old soldiers and politicians in Thailand are just as bad themselves.
Abhisit is fighting a war on two fronts. The most dangerous enemies are the ones who also live in this land.
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[Thai] PM asked to formally counter Hun Sen
26/10/2009
Bangkok Post
A small group of senators on Monday called for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to issue a formal response to Cambodian leader Hun Sen's ''unethical'' action in using the Asean summit forum to show his personal support for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Senators Paiboon Nititawan, Khamnoon Sithisamarn and Sumon Sutaviriya said at a press conference that the prime minister's verbal responses were not enough. He should also issue a formal statement on the Cambodian prime minister's unethical use of the international forum in Hua Hin.
Mr Khamnoon said the PM's statement should adhere to diplomatic principles but at the same time clearly show Thailand's standpoint regarding Thaksin.
He urged the government to announce an indefinite delay of parliament's consideration of three memoranda of understanding on Thai-Cambodian border talks over the 4.6-square-kilometre area in dispute around the Preah Vihear temple, as required by Article 190 of the constitution, to show its dissatisfaction with the Cambodian leader.
Mr Khamnoon said most people were very unhappy with Hun Sen's announced stance, which had sowed the seeds of conflict between the Thai and Cambodian people.
Therefore, the prime minister should counter Hun Sen's action with a formal statement..
Mr Paiboon called on the government to adopt a tough policy with Cambodia and give more importance to national integrity and existence than to trivial economic interests.
Beyond the imagination of mankind
26/10/2009
Mirror.co.uk
Thirty years ago, the Daily Mirror's JOHN PILGER revealed to the world the horrors of Cambodia. Two million people had died in Pol Pot's killing fields and hundreds of thousands were starving. Pilger's awardwinning reports warned there was just six months "to save three million people". Mirror readers raised enough money for a plane load of aid, and the reports kickstarted a global humanitarian response. Here he recalls his horrifying trip into a country that had been closed to the outside world for four years.
The aircraft flew low, following the Mekong River west from Vietnam. Once over Cambodia, what we saw silenced all of us on board. There appeared to be nobody, no movement, not even an animal, as if the great population of Asia had stopped at the border. Whole villages were empty. Chairs and beds, pots and mats lay in the street, a car on its side, a bent bicycle. Behind fallen power lines lay or sat a single human shadow; it did not move.
From the paddies, tall, wild grass followed straight lines. Fertilised by the remains of thousands upon thousands of men, women and children, these marked common graves in a nation where as many as two million people - or more than a quarter of the population - were "missing".
At the liberation of the Nazi death camp in Belsen in 1945, The Times correspondent wrote: "It is my duty to describe something beyond the imagination of mankind." That was how I felt in 1979 when I entered Cambodia, a country sealed from the outside world for almost four years since "Year Zero".
Year Zero had begun shortly after sunrise on April 17, 1975, when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrillas entered the capital, Phnom Penh. They wore black and marched in single file along the wide boulevards. At 1pm, they ordered the city be abandoned.
The sick and wounded were forced at gunpoint from their hospital beds; families were separated; the old and disabled fell beside the road. "Don't take anything with you," the men in black ordered. "You will be coming back tomorrow."
Tomorrow never came. An age of slavery began. Anybody who owned cars and such "luxuries", anybody who lived in a city or town or had a modern skill, anybody who knew or worked with foreigners, was in grave danger; some were already under sentence of death. Of the Royal Cambodian Ballet company of 500 dancers, perhaps 30 survived. Doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers were starved, or worked to death, or murdered. For me, entering the silent, grey humidity of Phnom Penh was like walking into a city the size of Manchester in the wake of a nuclear cataclysm which had spared only the buildings. There was no power, no drinking water, no shops and no services.
At the railway station trains stood empty. Personal belongings and pieces of clothing fluttered on the platforms, as they fluttered on the mass graves beyond. I walked along Monivong Avenue to the National Library which had been converted to pigsty, as a symbol, all its books burned. It was dream-like. There was wasteland where the Gothic cathedral had stood - it had been dismantled stone by stone. When the afternoon monsoon rains broke, the deserted streets were suddenly awash with money. With every downpour a worthless fortune of new and unused banknotes sluiced out of the Bank of Cambodia, which the Khmer Rouge had blown up as they fled.
Inside, a cheque book lay open on the counter. A pair of glasses rested on an open ledger. I slipped and fell on a floor brittle with coins. For the first few hours I had no sense of even the remains of a population. The few human shapes I glimpsed seemed incoherent, and on catching sight of me, would flit into a doorway.
In a crumbling Esso filling station an old woman and three emaciated infants squatted around a pot containing a mixture of roots and leaves, which bubbled over a fire fuelled with paper money. Such grotesque irony: people in need of everything had money to burn. At a primary school called Tuol Sleng, I walked through what had become the "interrogation unit" and the "torture and massacre unit". Beneath iron beds I found blood and tufts of hair still on the floor. "Speaking is absolutely forbidden," said a sign.
Without milk and medicines, children were stricken with preventable disease like dysentery. It seemed that the very fabric of the society had begun to unravel. The first surveys revealed that many women had stopped menstruating. What compounded this was the isolation imposed on Cambodia by the West because its liberators, the Vietnamese, had come from the wrong side of the Cold War, having driven America out of their country in 1975. Cambodia had been the West's dirty secret since President Richard Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger ordered a "secret bombing", extending the war in Vietnam into Cambodia in the early 70s, killing hundreds of thousands of peasants. "If this doesn't work, it'll be your ass, Henry," an aide heard Nixon say to Kissinger. It worked in handing Pol Pot his chance to seize power. When I arrived in the aftermath, no Western aid had reached Cambodia. Only Oxfam defied the Foreign Office in London, which had lied that the Vietnamese were obstructing aid. In September 1979, a DC-8 jet took off from Luxembourg, filled with enough penicillin, vitamins and milk to restore some 70,000 children -- all of it paid for by Daily Mirror readers who had responded to my reports and Eric Piper's pictures.
On October 30, 1979, ITV broadcast Year Zero: The Silent Death Of Cambodia, the documentary I made with the late David Munro. Forty sacks of post arrived at the ATV studios in Birmingham, with £1million in the first few days. "This is for Cambodia," wrote an anonymous Bristol bus driver, enclosing his week's wage. A single parent sent her savings of £50.
People expressed that unremitting sense of decency and community which is at the core of British society. Unsolicited, they gave more than £20million. This helped rescue normal life in a faraway country. It restored a clean water supply in Phnom Penh, stocked hospitals and schools, supported orphanages and reopened a desperately needed clothing factory. Such an extraordinary public outpouring broke the US and British governments' blockade of Cambodia. Incredibly, the Thatcher government had continued to support the defunct Pol Pot regime in the United Nations and even sent the SAS to train his exiled troops in camps in Thailand and Malaysia.
Last March, the former SAS soldier Chris Ryan, now a best-selling author, lamented in a newspaper interview "when John Pilger, the foreign correspondent, discovered we were training the Khmer Rouge [we] were sent home and I had to return the £10,000 we'd been given for food and accommodation".
Today, Pol Pot is dead and several of his elderly henchmen are on trial in a UN/Cambodian court for crimes against humanity. Henry Kissinger, whose bombing opened the door to the nightmare of Year Zero, is still at large. Cambodians remain desperately poor, dependent on often-seedy tourism and sweated labour.
For me, their resilience remains almost magical. In the years that followed their liberation, I never saw as many weddings or received as many wedding invitations. They became symbols of life and hope. And yet, only in Cambodia would a child ask an adult, as a 12-year old asked me, with fear crossing his face: "Are you a friend? Please say."
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CCHR Issues Report On September Attack By Thai Military On Cambodian Loggers
CCHR's Report: "Oddar Meanchey, Kingdom of Cambodia - Legal Analysis of the Events of 11 September 2009 that resulted in the Death of Yon Rith and Severe Injury to Mao Kleung" is also available in PDF format by clicking here. Due to the graphic nature of the photos included in this report, readers' discretion is advised - KI-Media
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
PRESS RELEASE
Phnom Penh, 26 October 2009
CCHR ISSUES REPORT ON SEPTEMBER ATTACK BY THAI MILITARY ON CAMBODIAN LOGGERS
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) today expresses its concern towards the ongoing mistreatment of the logging communities on the Thai- Cambodia border by Thai military, and specifically the recent events of 11 September 2009 that resulted in the tragic death of 16-year-old Yon Rith. Following an investigation into these events the CCHR issues an independent report titled Oddar Meanchey, Kingdom of Cambodia - Legal Analysis of the Events of 11 September 2009 that resulted in the Death of Yon Rith and Severe Injury to Mao Kleung. The story published in the Phnom Penh Post regarding the alleged killing by Thai military of Sim Bun Chen on Wednesday 21 October 2009 established that the murder of Yon Rith was not an isolated incident, rather, it is indicative of the pervasive mistreatment of Cambodian loggers operating on the Thai-Cambodia border. The CCHR commends the restraint shown by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) in its reaction to the killing of Yon Rith but beseeches it to follow the recommendations in our report in order to establish a precedent whereby these kind of actions on the part of the Thai military are not tolerated.
Following our independent investigation and assessment of the events of 11 September 2009, the CCHR concludes that it is extremely likely that Yon Rith was burnt alive by Thai military who have committed several breaches of international human rights law and principles as a result. The findings of our investigations as well as our recommendations are contained within our report which we today submit to the RGC for its urgent consideration regarding violations by the Kingdom of Thailand and its soldiers of Cambodian, Thai and international law. The Report is not intended to be a conclusive examination of the events leading to the death of Yon Rith rather it is starting point for further investigations into and analysis of those events by a bilateral, regional or international body. The Report is not confidential and will be made publicly available through our website - www.cchrcambodia.org.
The ongoing behaviour of Thai military on the roughly demarcated and highly contested Thai-Cambodian border are of serious concern to the CCHR. Thai investigations into the events of 11 September 2009 have inadequate and half-hearted. Moreover, the Thai Government continues to use Preah Vihear as the focal point of the nationalist fervour that brought it to power. The CCHR calls for an end to Thai military mistreatment of and attacks against Cambodian citizens and implores the RGC to follow the recommendations of our report so as to ensure justice for Yon Rith and his family and to guarantee that Cambodians living on the Thai border need no longer live in constant fear of their neighbours.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ou Virak, President, CCHR
Tel: +855 12 404051
email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org
Climate shift 'victimises' Cambodia
Local officials say the sheer volume of water dumped by typhoon Ketsana in September pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong river
Chea Sarin and her family now survive by selling fruit to tourists from a makeshift shackMonday, October 26, 2009
By Steve Chao in Katot, Cambodia
Al Jazeera
The village of Katot is a rather unremarkable place. It only ever gets mentioned in passing by tour guides as they take their busses, packed with vacationers, along the dirt road from Cambodia's border with Vietnam.
It is the road, or rather the fact it has been submerged in two meters of water for more than a month, that has now gained Katot some extra attention.
Cambodia's press has labeled it the latest "victim" of climate change. And while the small collection of families, a little more than a dozen, who call Katot home say they have never heard of the term, they can certainly talk about the dramatic shifts in weather that have destroyed much of what they own.
"We've got little to nothing left," says Chea Sarin, a villager who, with her husband, was forced to flee their home when floodwaters began to suddenly rise.
Cambodians are long used to the wet season. And homes built on stilts dot the landscape as testament to the people's resilience to floods. But in Katot, this year was unlike any other in recent memory.
As typhoon Ketsana rolled through the region in late September, the Sarin's watched the bulletins on a small television set in their one-room wooden hut. Weather forecasters warned that the mighty Mekong, the heart and soul of the country, could flood its banks.
"We thought we were safe," says Sarin, "after all, our house is 10km from the river."
Water levels 'still rising'
Wading through waist-high water, Chea's husband, Thoeurn, tries to give us a glimpse of his home. We get within eyesight, but it gets too deep to go further.
"The water came up out of the ground, we don't ever get that much flooding here, we're farmers, so depend on knowing the way the weather works, we really don't know what happened,” he tells us.
Local officials say the sheer amount of water dumped by the typhoon pushed floodwaters several kilometers into the plains around the Mekong. In Katot, four weeks on, the levels continue to rise. Thoeurn points to the lake that now forms his backyard.
"Those were our wheat fields," he says. "We borrowed three hundred dollars to plant them. We were just weeks away from harvest. Now we have nothing for the new year to eat."
One of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, most of Cambodia's farmers grow crops not to sell, but to simply feed themselves.
This year was supposed to see a bumper crop of rice and wheat. But an estimated 30,000 hectares throughout the country have been destroyed.
Groups like Oxfam are warning of a looming food crisis, with international aid too slow to come.
"These are usually called the hunger months right before harvest," says Francis Perez of Oxfam. "People were depending so much in terms of their livelihood on this harvest. The typhoon came at the most vulnerable time for many farmers in Cambodia."
The experiences of those in Katot offer a snapshot of what the government fears will be the impact of climate change on the country in years to come.
Compensation demand
"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but... Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most" - Navann Ouk, Cambodian climate council member
In the capital Phnom Penh, authorities this week held the country's first-ever conference on climate change, chaired by Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen.
"Poor countries are the ones most affected from the crisis that was originated elsewhere, because they have very little resources to cope with climate change," said Hun Sen at the opening of the Climate forum.
Studies by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) show that the temperature along the Mekong river has risen between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees celsius over the last 50 years, and is predicted to rise another 2 to 4 degrees celsius by the end of the century.
The WWF warns this will lead to even more severe weather changes, from increased flooding to drought. The group also warns that tens of millions of people throughout the Mekong river basin will be forced from their traditional lands.
Cambodia, a nation that only a few years ago reached a level of production making it able to feed itself, is worried by the devastating affects of climate change.
To help it cope, authorities are demanding wealthy nations provide hundreds of millions of dollars to fund programmes to help people and wildlife adapt.
"Cambodia didn't cause climate change but, in fact, we've received a lot of impact from it," says Navann Ouk, a member of Cambodia's climate council.
"Because we have a very limited adaptive capacity, our people don't have enough resources, so our people will suffer the most."
Homeless, facing hunger
"We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?" - Chea Sarin, displaced farmer
On the only patch of high ground beside the main road which the Sarins use as a temporary shelter, sodden blankets and wet clothes hang under a makeshift tarp, meant to keep the constant rain from making an even wetter mess of their remaining possessions.
The rain is another anomaly they tell us.
"The wet season was supposed to be over a few weeks ago but in recent years it has continued to stretch later and later," says Thoeurn.
Living in one of the most remote parts of Cambodia, the Sarins know that aid won't likely reach them for some time to come.
And so they use what they were able to scavenge from their home to set up a small roadside stand, selling tea and fruit to the groups of tourists that must now walk a few hundred metres on foot, as their busses try to navigate through the flood.
"It will help pay for some things, but we're still heavily in debt" Chea Sarin says. "We have no way to pay for seeds to plant a new crop. What will we do?"
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Hun Sen has slapped Thailand in the face
26/10/2009
THAI RATH COLUMNIST LIKIT JONGSAKUL
Bangkok Post
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has slapped Thailand in the face by expressing his total support for deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who faces a two-year jail term in Thailand.
In published remarks made during a recent visit to Phnom Penh by ex-premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Hun Sen said he felt Thaksin was not fairly treated in Thailand.
He then offered the ex-premier a temporary home and a position as an economic adviser.
Thaksin will also be safe in Cambodia, as Hun Sen will reject any request from the Thai government to extradite him to Thailand.
I wonder how Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will resolve this matter with his Cambodian counterpart.
Indeed, former premier Thaksin has scored political points, while the Abhisit government has been caught off-guard.
The Hun Sen controversy also coincides with the opposition Puea Thai Party's stepped up attacks on the government's performance.
More anti-government rallies will also be made by the red shirt supporters of Thaksin, with the aim of pressuring the government to dissolve the Lower House and call an early general election.
[Thai] Govt to monitor Thaksin's SMSs
26/10/2009
Bangkok Post
The government plans to closely monitor the SMS messages that ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra plans to send directly to his supporters, to see whether they represent a threat to national security, Prime Minister's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said on Monday.
Mr Sathit admitted it was not easy to control text messaging.
The government would also check the programme content of satellite broadcaster PTV, operated by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), following complaints that the programmes gives misleading information.
The political movement backing the fugitive politician was getting more vigorous, he said. He pointed to Thaksin's use of a leader of a neighbouring country to pressure the government last week, and the stress it caused.
Last Wednesday, Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh paid a one-day visit to Phnom Penh and met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He said latern that Hun Sen was willing to host Thaksin if he wished to stay in Cambodia.
Gen Chavalit said Mr Hun Sen was full of praise for Thaksin and expressed sympathy for the "political injustice" he suffered in Thailand.
On arrival in Thailand on Friday to attend the Asean summit, the Cambodian leader said Thaksin was welcome to serve as his economic adviser and his government would not allow his extradition to Thailand.
SRP Kathen to Wat Ang Romdenh along the Vietnamese border in Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province
On 25 October 2009, opposition leader Sam Rainsy and SRP leaders organized a Kathen procession to provide for Buddhist monks in Wat Ang Romdenh Pagoda, located Koh Kban Kandal, Samrong commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng province
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy leads the Kathen procession (All Photos: SRP)
Sam Rainsy greeted by numerous local villagers
Sam Rainsy greets the local villagers
The Kathen procession arriving at Wat Ang Romdenh PagodaRead more!
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