Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Two decades after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge, Siem Reap is finally regaining its footing as one the most popular destinations on earth.

Siem Reap is undoubtedly Cambodia's fastest growing city, welcoming over 100,000 international tourists every year and gaining recognition from locals as the 'tourist town'. The city comprises of over 116 hotels with continuing developments, a far cry from its mere two properties just three years ago.

Angkor Night Markets

Tuk tuk's are the best way to get around the city, drivers often knowing exactly where you want to go so long as you say it slowly. In some cases, drivers even have translation cards for major landmarks or tourist areas.

If you wander around independently, you will find that the most activity is in the Old Market Area (Psah Chas) which runs alongside the Siem Reap River. There, streets are filled with restaurants, spas, hotels, markets and bars. In particular, Pub St (where the name speaks for itself) turns into a hub of tourist activity at night, clubs pumping foreign pop and rock music while tuk tuk drivers scramble to grab the next customer stumbling out of a bar.

Traditional Apsara Dance

Apart from Pub St, the best place to be at night is at the Angkor Night Market, where over 200 huts showcase some of the best traditional Cambodian handmade products such as clothing, silk art, jewellery, scarves, wood and stone carvings and other handicrafts. If your feet are sore from shopping, head to the back of the market to get a US$2 foot massage or go to the market's Dr. Fish stall and have fish nibble the dead skin off your feet and legs!

Cambodian banana flower salad

But tourists simply cannot say they've been to Siem Reap if they haven't visited its biggest claim to fame - Angkor Wat. Built in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat is one of few UNESCO world heritage listed sites and Cambodia's most valuable monument. Angkor Wat is breathtaking, to say the least, and Siem Reap owes its booming tourist numbers to this majestic site.

With Angkor Wat standing as a reminder of such a grand past, it's no wonder that Siem Reap has picked up the pieces so diligently and drawn in the world once again.

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Burma not happy with Hun Sen [... and Thailand is even more furious with Hun Xen]

26/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Burmese people are not pleased that Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen likened fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with their opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
After arriving at Hua Hin Airport to attend the15th Asean Summit on Friday, Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters that the ousted premier was a victim of political persecution like Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi.

His comment caused a group of Burmese politicians, students and villagers to gather near the Thai-Burmese border at Tak's Mae Sod district on Monday morning.

"Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 14 years, is an unconditional fighter for democracy, has never thought of fleeing the country and is not fighting for personal interest. She cannot be compared with Thaksin," a Burmese student said.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya's secretary, Chawanon Intharakomansut, said the Foreign Ministry had not asked the government to consider downgrading its diplomatic ties with Cambodia in response to Prime Minister Hun Sen's comment that his country would not extradite Thaksin.

"We'll have to observe Cambodia's stance for now after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called on the Cambodian premier to reconsider this issue carefully and focus on bilateral ties and benefits to both countries instead of one person's personal interest.

"The Thai government would find new measures to bring back Thaksin to Thailand if the Cambodian government refuses to extradite him," he said

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Thaksin has much to offer Cambodians

26/10/2009
Saritdet Marukatat
Bangkok Post
COMMENTARY

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has made the right decision to eagerly see his friend in exile Thaksin Shinawatra as his economic adviser. In fact, Thaksin has more than just economic nous on offer for the Cambodian leader.
With six years in power as the government leader before being unseated by the military coup, Thaksin has lots of experience under his belt to help him advise the Cambodian strongman. Hun Sen has held power longer than Thaksin. But his Thai friend could impress him with the way he and his now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party administered Thailand.

If appointed as adviser, Thaksin can show Hun Sen how to zigzag around government budgets to make sure the prime minister keeps full control of government coffers.

The former prime minister is well versed in that already. His government at the time juggled most of the taxpayer money so it stayed in the central budget, leaving pocket change for the ministries and other government agencies. By doing so, he put himself in direct command of the budget to serve his policies and popularity.

Thaksin can give Hun Sen tips on how a government leader can reduce cabinet members to mere good listeners.

The ministers under the Thaksin premiership were known for turning his orders into practice. In cabinet meetings, they were told what to do. Debate and arguments were rare and those who dared to do that opened themselves up to trouble. The same situation was applied to government officials in all agencies. If they wanted to survive, they had to keep their arguments to themselves or air their frustrations with colleagues only.

Is Hun Sen worried about the role of independent organisations to annoy him? No problem. Thaksin can easily help him out there. The solution to make them inactive is not that difficult. Simply putting your own men in neutral bodies is the answer.

Thaksin is also an expert on land deals. If Hun Sen wants tips on this issue, he will be ready. Just look at the Ratchadaphisek case. He knew how to make sure that the deal for that prime land would go to his wife at the time, Khunying Potjaman.

But this issue has to be carefully handled. Thaksin learned his lesson as he was sentenced to two years in jail for abuse of authority by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

Once Thaksin is appointed adviser to Hun Sen, other countries can expect Cambodia to be the centre stage of Asia. One thing Thaksin failed to get going when he was at Government House was the Asia Cooperation Dialogue.

The forum was to bring together Asian countries to join hands for prosperity for Asia. Buoyed by pressmen calling him a new leader in Asia, Thaksin overestimated Thailand's clout to do that. It turned out only a few countries were keen on the idea.

Thaksin can convince Hun Sen to follow up on it.

The most precious advice Thaksin can give to Hun Sen is not to trust the military top brass even though they were handpicked in each arm of the forces. Another thing is, don't leave the country if it's not necessary.

Military leaders always guarantee their loyalty to you when they meet you and even ensure that staging a coup against you is impossible. But once you are away from the country, they can act quite differently.

Thaksin knows this lesson well. He left for the United Nations in September 2006 as prime minister to address the UN General Assembly. The address in New York never happened. Instead, he had to redirect his route from Bangkok to London and return to Bangkok later as an ousted premier.

And ''as a friend from afar'' Hun Sen should have some suggestions to Thaksin, too, if he decides to take the Cambodian leader's offer of a temporary house in Cambodia and a new job as an economic adviser.

The Cambodian leader should strongly recommend to Thaksin that on his way from Dubai to Phnom Penh not to forget to make a two-year stopover in Thailand first.

Saritdet Marukatat is News Editor, Bangkok Post

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Cambodia to Import Korea Mobile TV Technology

Oct. 26, 2009
Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)

Korea is to export its mobile TV technology to Cambodia. Korea Communications Commission chairman Choi Si-joong visited Cambodia last week and signed agreements to collaborate on broadcast contents and terrestrial DMB infrastructure.
Under the agreements, if at least 10 percent of the production cost of broadcasting content is shared between the both parties, the product will be recognized as co-produced so that there is no limit on import, distribution and screening in either country.

The KCC also plans to launch a test run of DMB based on Korean technology in Cambodia within the year, providing the system and terminals. "These agreements will help Korea's export of DMB and necessary facilities as well as relevant software packages."

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Former top Cambodian anti-drug official charged

October 26, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

The former head of the anti-drug trafficking bureau in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, has been charged for possessing 100-thousand US dollars worth of methamphetamine. Touch Muysor has been suspended after a joint investigation by local authorities and America's Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Presenter: David Boyle
Speakers: Kea Chhay, defence lawyer; Son Chhay, Opposition Sam Rainsy MP; Dr Anand Chaudhuri, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime



BOYLE: Touch Muysor once held one of the highest positions in the Cambodia police force... Now he's facing drug and corruption charges. $US100,000 worth of methamphetamines was found in Touch Muysor's office. He's the second senior police officer this month to be charged with drug related offences. His lawyer, Kea Chhay, says his client was just doing his job.

KEA CHHAY: "I think he keeps the drugs in his office so I think he was working at his judicial office - it's part of his work".

BOYLE: Kea Chhay refused to br drawn further on the case but said Touch Muysor denied any wrong doing. The charges are a result of an extensive investigation by the FBI and local law enforcement. It will be alleged Touch Muysor received bribes from local drug dealers. Opposition Sam Rainsy MP Son Chhay says corruption problems are entrenched in local authorities and he's welcomed American involvement in investigations.

SON CHHAY: "It is a really complicated kind of business to deal with in Cambodia due to corruption, due to the kind of gang or group of business involved in drug in this country who have linked themselves to the very high ranking officials in government. It would not be easy for even a good official who works in combating drugs to be able to do anything. Thanks to the FBI and others who have been working with the department authority, combating drugs authority, who have been pushing that the government must do something. "

BOYLE: The National Authority For Combating Drugs is the key instrument Cambodia's government uses to prevent drug trafficking. Radio Australia was unable to contact the Cambodian government, but the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Dr Anand Chaudhuri, says the arrest of Touch Muysor is evidence that Cambodia is now taking drug prevention very seriously.

CHAUDHURI: "This is evidence of the police capacity of enforcing drug prevention - they're not even leaving their own kind. You see it's a very good example of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister taking an active interest, not today, but over a long period of time."

BOYLE: Dr Chaudhuri has heaped praise on the Cambodian Government's adoption of radical new strategies in tackling drugs, which he says are unique within mainland South East Asia. He says foreign partners like the Australian Federal Police have been instrumental in helping the government improve their drug policy.

CHAUDHURI:"There's no reason to leave out the importance Australia has placed in the Asia Pacific region as a whole on this matter and the role of Australia in supporting government to look at this problem. It's a completely new direction. Now, they're switching gears and going in for a three year action plan in which they are considering drug users as victims. Now this is a very, very important milestone in Cambodia. Cambodia is probably one of the only countries with no harm reduction policy, but still having needle syringe exchange programs going on in their capital city. They want to observe the results and they are very happy with the Australian Narcotics Control Department - the ANCD's report on needle exchange programs. They, the royal government of Cambodia, had a five year action plan which is ending this year and that action plan was targeting the supply of drugs, and they've done an efficient job on that."

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Does Hun Sen want to play in our [Thai] political sandbox?

26/10/2009
Veera Prateepchaikul
Bangkok Post

Friends and supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's iconic democracy crusader, may have felt insulted by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen when he tried to compare her with his so-called "eternal friend", exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Many people are talking about Mrs Suu Kyi of Burma. Why can't I talk about the victim, Thaksin?" said Hun Sen during his face-off with the media on Friday when he arrived in Hua Hin for the Asean summit.

The Cambodian prime minister's attempt to liken Thaksin to Mrs Suu Kyi as both were victims of separate military coups in Thailand and Burma was simplistic and ignorant of the huge difference in characteristics and dedication to democracy between the two people, not to mention the political backgrounds leading to their overthrow.

"Without the coup d'etat in 2006, such a thing would not have happened," said Hun Sen.

But what would have happened without the coup then? No one then seemed to have the right answer although they agreed that the political stalemate would drag on until either side in the conflict - the Thaksin government on one side and the People's Alliance for Democracy on the other - lost their patience. Then what, bloodshed? But would Hun Sen care?

I don't think he would as the only thing he cares about is that he lost a powerful friend in Thailand who seemed to have done him and his family a lot of favours to the point that his wife had tears in her eyes when she learned about Thaksin's fate.

Hun Sen insisted his remarks about Thaksin did not constitute interference in Thailand's domestic affairs. He was quoted to have said: "This is just moral support from me. As one million Thai people of the red shirt group support Thaksin, why can't I, as a friend from afar, support Thaksin?"

But I beg to differ. His first remark, which was first conveyed to the Thai people by former prime minister and Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and then repeated upon his arrival here for the Asean summit, amounted to direct interference in Thailand's internal affairs. They also demonstrated his complete lack of any diplomatic decency and statesmanship.

Hun Sen's remarks should have pleased the Puea Thai Party and the red shirt people. In the meantime, they have incensed the yellow shirt people as well as many non-partisan Thais who despise a foreigner like a Cambodian interfering in our worst politically divisive issue.

It has been widely known that Hun Sen and Thaksin have had a close relationship through their business dealings and it was believed that the fugitive ex-premier had, on various occasions, slipped into Cambodia. But then why did the Cambodian premier choose to make public his sympathy and support for Thaksin now - at first through Gen Chavalit and then by himself at the Asean summit - despite the fact that the coup which toppled the Thaksin regime took place more than three years ago?

Was it intended to embarrass Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva? The answer was already loud and clear as Mr Abhisit appeared to be disturbed by Hun Sen's remarks and hit back at the latter. "What is the purpose of Prime Minster Hun Sen coming to Thailand?" said Mr Abhisit during a press conference on Friday. Was he coached by Gen Chavalit whose one-day visit to Phnom Penh, which came two days ahead of the Asean summit, seemed quite untimely if not suspicious?

As a shrewd politician who has survived in Cambodian politics for decades while many of his arch-rivals have all lost out or faded into oblivion, I don't think Hun Sen needs coaching. After having deliberately made unprovoked inflammatory remarks against Thailand on various occasions, including his order for Cambodian troops at the border to shoot any Thais who trespass on the disputed territories or his recent announcement to Cambodian students that he would tear up the Thai map pertaining to the Thai-Cambodian border if it does not correspond with the one held by Phnom Penh, Hun Sen, this time, may think that he wants to have a hand in Thai politics. And he has chosen to take Thaksin's side probably believing that the fugitive ex-premier will definitely be able to stage a political comeback in the not too distant future.

Even Thaksin himself is not certain whether or when he will be able to return in triumph.

Since Hun Sen has laid out his hand, it remains to be seen whether Thaksin and his Puea Thai Party will join hands with Cambodia to fulfil the fugitive ex-premier's wish for a political comeback.

Veera Prateepchaikul is a former editor, Post Publishing Co Ltd.

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Chavalit: In the hot seat

RAISING EXPECTATIONS: Gen Chavalit at Puea Thai Party headquarters.

The former prime minister is now chairman of the Puea Thai Party, but what does that mean for the future stability of the country?

25/10/2009
Bangkok Post

Former premier Chavalit Yongchaiyudh recently decided to join the opposition Puea Thai Party as its chairman amid criticism that his mission was to bring Thaksin Shinawatra home without the convicted former prime minister having to serve his jail term. But Gen Chavalit says his motivation is to save the country from being torn apart by political turmoil. The following are excerpts from a recent interview with Bangkok Post reporters at his aide's riverside residence in Nonthaburi.
Q: Can you tell us why you decided to re-enter politics and join the Puea Thai Party?

A: Well, the rift in society has been there for five to six years and it will remain as I don't see that what they [the government and the opposition] are doing will solve the problem. Everybody seems to focus on amending the charter, as if once the charter is amended it will become "God" to solve all the problems and conflicts. But for me, I don't pay attention to that. If the charter can help reconciliation, then why have we had so many charters since we changed the system in 1932?

People in society are losing patience. So, I fear that if the rift is not settled peacefully very soon, then there might be an uprising and change through violent force.

Q: In your view, what is the cause of the rift and are you confident you will be able to solve it?

A: The cause is that people believe some groups of people were treated unjustly, and they want such injustice to be eliminated. To tackle this problem, a specially designed government has to be formed because we are now in a critical condition, so, a government will have to be specially designed to enable it to solve the problem.

But before that, the first step must be forgiveness. What I want to see is all conflicting parties forgive each other. Those banned from politics would be pardoned to form a national government of all parties.

Q: Do you mean you want Thaksin pardoned?

A: What I said has nothing to do with the criminal offences, and only involves political punishment.

Q: Then do you mean if there is a general election soon, and if Puea Thai wins the most seats in the House, you would offer all parties the opportunity to form a coalition government?

A: Exactly, you get it.

Q: And you will become prime minister?

A:I don't mean that. I am now the super prime minister. Anybody can be the new prime minister but the national government must be formed first.

Some argue that a national government will become dictatorial and not be democratic. I would like to ask "Are we democratic now"?

Q: Do you think your idea will be accepted?

A: It is the only solution to solve the current conflict. I don't see how it will be solved any other way.

Q: And what is the best way to resolve the conflict between the red and yellow shirts?

A: I call it "spark the fire in the field" theory. It means you start settling the conflict between small groups, here and there, like you spark small fires scattered in a field. Eventually, the whole field will be alight.

Q: Did Thaksin have any pre-conditions on you joining the Puea Thai Party?

A:No. I didn't deal with Mr Thaksin. It was the public's call for me to join this party. People in many provinces asked me to re-enter politics and help solve the country's problem.

Q: Gen Prem [Tinsulanonda, the president of the Privy Council] instructed you to think carefully before you decided to join the Puea Thai Party otherwise it could end up as "an act of betrayal" against the country. Your decision [to join the Puea Thai Party] means that you had already thought carefully, didn't it?

A: I did not have to think because it's the people's call. I think he [Gen Prem] might have obtained some inaccurate information [about the Puea Thai Party].

Q: And what do you think about Gen Prem's instruction?

A: I'm not in a position to interpret what was in the mind of the phuyai.

Q: You quoted Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as offering Thaksin the opportunity to stay in Cambodia despite the fact he is a fugitive from Thai justice. Do you think that in terms of diplomacy it was an improper course of action?

A: Cambodia is an independent country and has its own sovereignty. It can make its own decision on what to do or what not to do.

Q: Would you be happy if you were the government and the opposition did the same as you are doing?

A: If I were the prime minister, then everything would have been solved smoothly.

Q: Can you say whether incidents such as the bloodshed on Oct 7 would not be repeated if you are in government? [On Oct 7 last year, the government of Somchai Wongsawasdi, with Gen Chavalit as deputy prime minister, was blocked by yellow shirt demonstrators as it tried to enter parliament give its policy address. Police were ordered to clear the area which lead to the death of one young woman and injuries to scores of others, prompting accusations of brutality.]

A: It would not [be repeated] if it was a national government comprising all parties.

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Thaksin’s Cambodia gambit

Sunday October 25, 2009
BEHIND THE HEADLINES WITH BUNN NAGARA
The Star Online (Malaysia)

Chavalit himself is also an old friend and business associate who, as Thai premier, was jointly implicated in illegal logging in Cambodian forests.
...
Hun Sen himself mentioned two other differences he had with Thailand: the recent appearance of Cambodian opposition politician Sam Rain­sy, who condemned Hun Sen’s government from Thailand, alongside other criticism of the Cambodian premier on Thai television.

THIS was supposed to be another try at the same thing: hosting an Asean summit in a southern Thai resort, but without the disgraceful violence of last April.
This time they succeeded. But what made it possible, as the summit winds down today, are the different tactics adopted by the government and the red-shirted protesters that neither would rush to acknowledge.

The Democrat government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is disinclined to pass laws that could be seen as draconian. But it had to resort to an Internal Security Act applicable in certain areas, like conference venues Cha-am and Hua Hin, to keep the mob away.

The pro-Thaksin red shirts found things were stacked against them this time, such as police determination to enforce a security cordon. All they could manage was a dignified-looking protest letter delivered to conference representatives, apart from claiming that they could have entered the conference grounds if they wanted to.

Meanwhile, their PR front claimed they should not be blamed for April’s rampage, since things only happened to get out of hand. Whoever manages to convince is beside the point, because the real issues have moved beyond the Thaksinoid red shirts.

Bangkok’s problems revolve around fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed in a 2006 coup and convicted of corruption, seeking to return to power from self-imposed exile. In the latest phase of his campaign, the red-shirted protesters are revealed again as pawns.

Last month, retired general and former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh talked privately to Thaksin via videolink, and an understanding developed between them.

Chavalit, a one-year premier who had to quit as a result of the 1997 financial crisis, hopes to return to a position of some influence. Thaksin’s latest incarnation of a political party, Pheau Thai, was badly in need of a credible front man with good contacts in the political and military establishments.

Result: Chavalit became Pheau Thai chairman, without soiling his hands by running the party as official leader – everyone knows how Thaksin mud can stick. Chavalit had no wish to be seen as a Thaksin stooge, not being a rough gruff Samak Sundaravej, and instead wanted to display some gravitas.

First he claimed to be a mediator, then when he joined Pheau Thai he posed as a Thaksin adviser. A key piece of advice was supposed to be that Thaksin should change his approach by toning down his aggressive style.

That meant the red shirts would no longer cause street violence, at least for now. It also meant Thaksin should try opening another front from an unexpected quarter: Cambodia.

Just days before the Asean summit, Chavalit visited Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thaksin’s behalf. That caused the chess-playing Cambodian leader to announce that Thaksin was welcome in Cambodia, with Chavalit adding that Hun Sen also offered Thaksin a grand house to live in.

When Abhisit responded with the prospect of extraditing Thaksin should he move to Cambodia, its foreign ministry denied that Thaksin had been offered a house. Amid Cambodian government claims that any extradition request would be rebuffed, Hun Sen said he would appoint billionaire Thaksin as his economic adviser.

That rubbed salt into Abhisit’s wound, particularly as summit host, and Thaksin pounced by telling him not to offend his Cambodian guest. Abhisit’s democratic credentials in treading softly once more did not help his image as an inexperienced lightweight lacking “political heft”.

Hun Sen says his old friendship with Thak­sin triggered his hospitality. Chavalit himself is also an old friend and business associate who, as Thai premier, was jointly implicated in illegal logging in Cambodian forests.

The charge was denied, but the personal connections remain. Hun Sen and Thaksin also share a personal, power-based approach to governing quite at odds with Abhisit’s urbane, idealistic world.

At root, it is the differences between Hun Sen’s Cambodia and Abhisit’s Thailand that determine much of the discord between them. Rival claims to the Preah Vihear temple on disputed territory lingers. Although the dispute predates Abhisit’s premiership, Thaksin appears to have found new leverage on this score through Chavalit, who has favoured a less vocal Thai approach.

Hun Sen himself mentioned two other differences he had with Thailand: the recent appearance of Cambodian opposition politician Sam Rain­sy, who condemned Hun Sen’s government from Thailand, alongside other criticism of the Cambodian premier on Thai television.

These point to differences in the two countries’ polity and governance. Cambodia is unlikely to see any opposition leader berate government officials on television, much less critical commentary on incumbent leaders, whereas in Thailand, government critics can overflow onto streets to paralyse cities.

There is also the difference over state-military relations. In Cambodia there is no doubt who commands whom, but Abhisit is drawn more to issues like the chain of command and the separation of powers.

Ultimately, while Thailand is bigger and stronger than Cambodia, Hun Sen by invoking national sovereignty in extending privileges to Thaksin is saying that he is a bigger and stronger prime minister than Abhisit.

Given all this, Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s vital role in calming the waters is crucial. That explains his rare public appearance on Friday even while undergoing treatment in hospital.

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Evictied lands in Cambodia are offered to South Korean businessmen for profit: UN's Raquel Rolnik

Housing Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, next stop CCNV in DC

At UN, Rights Reports Overshadowed by Climate Change and Sex, Evictions, Films and UNU

Sunday, October 25, 2009
By Matthew Russell Lee
Inner City Press

Inner City Press asked Rolnik about her entreaty to the governments of Cambodia and Nigeria to stop their mass evictions. In the Cambodian case, the cleared site is now being offered to South Korean businessmen for profit. The news is not good, Ms. Rolnik said.

UNITED NATIONS, October 24 -- There are only two big issues, a major human rights group told Inner City Press on Frday, in the UN's Third Committee: Gaza and the gays. The reference was to Richard Goldstone's report on Gaza -- which now seems destined not for the Committee but the full or plenary General Assembly -- and a forthcoming report by Martin Scheinin which touches on the lesbians, gay, transgendered and bisexual issue.
This is sure to draw fire from Egypt, Syria and other countries which last year when a motion for decriminalization of homosexuality was proposed, countered with amendments referring to bestiality. Only at the UN.

Blocked out by these two super charged issues are appearances of the UN's other special rapporteurs, who travel the globe, from rural Russia to Brazil to yes, the South South Bronx to assess government's compliance with the treaties that they sign. On Friday Raquel Rolnik, the special rapporteur on housing, told the Press how climate change will mostly hurt the poor.

Inner City Press asked Rolnik about her entreaty to the governments of Cambodia and Nigeria to stop their mass evictions. In the Cambodian case, the cleared site is now being offered to South Korean businessmen for profit. The news is not good, Ms. Rolnik said. She said evictions have also continued in Angola, where UN HABITAT claimed to have gotten a commitment to the contrary.

Ms. Rolnik is a law professor in Brazil, so Inner City Press asked for her views on President Lula's much touted plan to limit land use for ethanol. Ms. Rolnik said as a Brazilian she might be biased, then said the problem goes beyond ethanol to all of agri-business. She noted that Brazil grows the soy beans to feed cattle all over the world. One wanted to hear also about the favelas, and recent surge of violence. Next time.

Rapporteur Manfrek Nowak spoke, not only about torture but also imprisonment. He said that in Uruguay, people were kept in metal boxes called las latas, but later were released. Inner City Press asked if he'd look into the two UN system staff in Sri Lanka who reportedly were tortured by the government. Not personally, he said. Doesn't charity begin at home? Said otherwise, if the UN system can't even defend its own people, what can it do for others?

An event sponsored by UN University featured the Bruce Jencks of the UN Development Program bragging about UNDP's work with local entities like Catalonia. He apologized for not speaking Spanish, much less Catalan. But one wondered if UNDP likewise has an agreement to work not only with northern Sri Lanka, but South Ossetia, and if not, why not. Madrid gives a lot of money to UNDP, and is said to not be happy with the UN's hype of Catalan. But to actually oppose it would be bad politics at home. And so UNU goes forward, webcasting to the world.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, herself from Sri Lanka, hosted a film screening early in the week. To make a film about the brutal lives of child soldiers cannot be easy. The Dutch production "Silent Armies," based on a thinly veiled Lord's Resistance Army, is far from a perfect film. But it aims high, or low, to confront the audience with children being forced to kill their own parents, children blown up by casually mislaid bombs, and a United Nations more concerned with the "big picture" of working with governments than the fate of children pulled into the bush and a hellish life. Sounds about right.

In an attempt to draw in European audiences, "Silent Armies" plays up a Dutch restauranteur who son befriends an African boy the same age. While the Dutch boy mimics machine gun killings on Play Station, the African boy has a wooden console carved by his father in a wheelchair. Regardless, the screening of this film at the UN was more appropriate than the one slated for October 25, when the UN is given to Disney to put on Tinker Bell, who -- or which -- will be named a "Goodwill Ambassador of Green." For the green?

Footnote: An argument being advanced for taking the Goldstone report straight to the full General Assembly is that it will somehow show the United States respect. "They took the leap to join the Human Rights Council in Geneva," one insider said. "We don't want their first time in the Third Committee on this to be overshadowed by Goldstone, which we know they'll have to oppose. Let them have their moment." Really? To be continued.

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CAMBODIA: Climate Fight an Uphill Battle, But All’s Not Lost

A farmer ploughs his field 20 kilometres outside the capital Phnom Penh in Cambodia, a country particularly vulnerable to climate change. (Credit:Robert Carmichael/IPS)

By Robert Carmichael

PHNOM PENH, Oct 25 (IPS) - As one of the world’s poorest nations, Cambodia is by definition one of those least able to protect itself from the effects of climate change. As an agrarian society, it is one of those most susceptible to climate change.
To compound the problem further, Cambodia is unlikely to get sufficient assistance from the rest of the world to meet those challenges.

So says Dr Tin Ponlok, the national project coordinator in the Ministry of Environment’s climate change office. But that does not make Cambodia special, he says: That is how things are for most developing countries.

"Poor nations suffer, but they are not the cause of the problem – so what?" he asks, referring to former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan’s comments about the developing world picking up the bill for the rich nations. "How much power do [poor countries] have? Not much. How much commitment [is there in the developed world]? How much do they give and how much do they support? Not much."

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen made a similar point at the country’s first National Forum on Climate Change on Oct. 19, when he said that developed nations must do more for their poorer cousins.

"The rich countries should be more responsible, as they have more resources to settle this matter," Hun Sen said. "Cambodia is not the country responsible for climate change, but is the victim."

On the final day of the forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia issued its draft position ahead of December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. As a developing country, Cambodia said it would do "its utmost" to reduce greenhouse gases; in return the rich world must provide cash and technology.

But Cambodia is not just a victim. It is also one of those most at risk from climate change. That was the finding in September by a British research consultancy, Maplecroft, which said the South-east Asian kingdom was the 27th nation most vulnerable to climate change out of 166 countries surveyed.

The index assessed nations on their current vulnerability and their preparedness to deal with climate change. Cambodia fared badly — it is the only country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that is in the bottom 30 states on the index, and its vulnerability is rated as ‘extreme’. Laos is the next closest at 37. Of those lowest-placed 30 states, 23 are in Africa.

Dr Tin says that Cambodia’s problems in respect of climate change are many, varied and in some cases unique. Firstly, it is a post-conflict society in which perhaps one-quarter of its population died under the Khmer Rouge rule of the late 1970s. That has had knock-on effects in many areas, including in terms of the number of skilled people able to deal with climate change.

"Also, this is an agrarian country where 80 percent of people live in the rural areas, and most of them depend on agriculture," says Dr Tin. "That leaves Cambodia quite exposed to climate change."

He says Typhoon Ketsana, which recently swept through the Philippines and Vietnam before devastating parts of northern Cambodia, highlighted the dangers associated with climate change.

"I don’t say there is an absolute correlation [between Ketsana and climate change], but there is some link between what happened," he says. "I think there is a scientific basis – we have never seen that kind of thing before."

He says that until Ketsana, which killed 43 people here, Cambodia was protected from the worst effects of typhoons by the Cardamom Mountain range in the southwest and the Dalat plateau in central Vietnam.

"That is not enough to protect us any more," he says.

Other risks for Cambodia include increasing frequency and severity of extreme climate events, such as floods, drought, windstorms and seawater surges.

These are all problems in search of a solution. In late 2006 the government released its National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change, or NAPA, which lays out the approach to dealing with climate change in the areas of agriculture, water resources, coastal zone effects and human health.

Among the items on the list of 20 high-priority projects are rehabilitating dams and waterways, planting vegetation to protect from floods and storms, aquaculture, and improving disaster response preparedness in communities.

But three years on, just two of the 39 projects in the NAPA have received funding. Dr Tin says that is standard for developing countries, since rich nations that pledged money to a central fund have failed to deliver.

"The most important thing is that so little funding is available from the international community for those projects," he says.

Despite the lack of progress, Cambodia’s NAPA did elicit some important findings. One was that villagers in almost every province told researchers they suffered from both floods and droughts. That explains the mixed (and as yet unmet) focus on the NAPA’s high-priority projects.

Flooding presents the more significant problem in terms of food security. It caused 70 percent of the loss of rice production between 1998 and 2002.

And although drought was responsible for just 20 percent of the loss, it still affects many Cambodians: Four-fifths of people interviewed suffered from a lack of water for farming during the year, and slightly more than half lacked enough water for personal use. Coping mechanisms were intriguingly mixed – the government paper notes that one in four people "simply organise religious ceremonies in the hope that these will bring rain".

The Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), the country’s main non-governmental agricultural organisation, is helping to raise awareness of climate change. It is running a project that has trained 80,000 rural families across the country on ways to adapt to the expected increasing severity of droughts, floods and higher numbers of agricultural pests.

Kim Than, CEDAC’s director of field programmes, says the NGO decided to add a pilot module to raise awareness about climate change among around 1,000 of those 80,000 families when teaching them how to adapt to the expected challenges they will face. He found that awareness levels were low.

"I have been running the climate change project [to educate people] for two years now – so it is a new thing," he says. "But I find that people rarely know about this climate change problem, so I always make sure to educate them about it and to encourage them."

The project teaches people how to mitigate the effects of climate change and to improve their livelihoods by diversifying away from relying on one crop, typically rice. Kim Than says the looming threat of climate change means that educating farmers about rice intensification – growing more rice on the same amount of land with less water – is key, as is creating multi-purpose farms.

"In that way people won’t just plant rice, they’ll also raise some chickens, or a pig and some fish, and they can plant a vegetable garden," Kim Than says. "We also teach them how to dig a channel that can hold water as well as fish when there is a drought."

He also tells them about techniques on disaster reduction as well as the importance of planting trees, "because it’s important to reduce greenhouse gases," referring to gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.

It all sounds ideal for a mainly rural, developing country, but there is not enough money to roll it out across the country. If and when the funding comes, Kim Than hopes to reach the approximately three million families across Cambodia.

CEDAC’s experience reinforces Dr Tin’s point about a lack of cash to implement solutions. But he admits that is not the only problem. Dr Tin says that three years after the country signed off on its NAPA, other challenges remain.

"Coordination needs to be improved," he says. "Climate change is a cross- sectoral issue, so we have to work together. It’s not just a lack of funding and support from the international community – we need to respond better at a national level."

It seems an almost insurmountable challenge for a country like Cambodia, given the lack of funding, a lack of awareness in rural areas, high vulnerability and few technical skills, among other things. But Dr Tin maintains he is not pessimistic.

"We need to be optimistic – even if sometimes you know you’re fighting a losing battle, you still have to fight," he says.

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