Cambodia's IT Strongman touts e-gov in a country where not many people have Internet access?

Cambodian PM touts e-government

23.01.09
Trend News

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced plans to install video-conferencing facilities at key military headquarters throughout the country to promote e-government, national media said on Friday.

The move would reduce government spending on transportation and improve national security, English-language daily newspaper the Phnom Penh Post quoted him as saying.

"We are moving towards e-government, and we will continue to install video-conferencing systems at all regional military headquarters for commanding soldiers," he said.

"With video conferencing, we can reduce costs and work faster," he said, noting that military and civilian officials would need to attend fewer meetings in person.

In terms of national security, the technology will facilitate communication with military officials stationed far from Phnom Penh, as the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of National Defense will use the technology, he added.

After returning from a trip to Kuwait last week, the premier participated in a video conference with 23 provincial governors, an experience that convinced him of the benefits of investing further in the technology, Xinhua reported.

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Part of Cambodia would be vulnerable from climate change: Study

Jakarta ‘most at risk’ of climate change

Fri, 01/23/2009
Adianto P. Simamora
The Jakarta Post

Of all cities in Southeast Asia, Jakarta is the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, a study reveals.

The Singapore-based Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) ranked Central, North and West Jakarta at the top of a list of administrative regions prone to climate change, followed by Mondol Kiri province in Cambodia and East Jakarta.

The report, prepared by economists Arief Anshory Yusuf and Herminia A. Francisco, reveals Jakarta is vulnerable to all types of climate-change related disasters except for tropical storms.

“It is frequently exposed to regular flooding but most importantly, it is highly sensitive because it is among the most densely-populated regions in Southeast Asia,” said the report released Wednesday.

Arief is an environmental economist at Padjadjaran University in Bandung.

The EEPSEA assessed Jakarta’s history of exposure to five types of natural disaster —floods, landslides, drought, sea-level change and tropical storms — in the period from 1980 to 2000, along with those of 530 other areas in Southeast Asia.

The results were drawn up by considering each area’s exposure to disasters and its ability to adapt to such threats, and comparing those findings with the vulnerability assessment framework of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Other vulnerable areas in Indonesia include West Sumatra and South Sumatra, the study says.
The study also reveals that all regions in the Philippines, Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta, Cambodia, North and East Laos and Bangkok are vulnerable.

“The Philippines, unlike other countries in Southeast Asia, is not only exposed to tropical cyclones, but also many other climate-related hazards; especially floods, landslides and droughts,” it said.

In Malaysia, the most vulnerable areas are the states of Kelantan and Sabah.

Thailand and Malaysia are the most capable of adapting to the impacts of climate change, according to the report.

“Overall, the areas with relatively high adaptive capacities are in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam whereas areas with relatively low adaptive capacities are mostly in Cambodia and Laos,” the EEPSEA said.

The EEPSEA was established in 1993 to support research and training in environmental and economics studies. It is supported by the International Development Research Center, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Canadian International Development Agency.

A study by the State Ministry for the Environment revealed earlier that flooding, combined with a rise in the level of the sea could permanently inundate parts of Greater Jakarta, including Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

International activists have branded Indonesia the world’s third biggest polluter after the United States and China, mostly due to widespread forest fires.

Developing nations, including Indonesia, have repeatedly called on rich nations to provide financial assistance to enable them to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

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Solar eclipse can be seen over Southeast Asia on Jan 26

First Solar Eclipse Of 2009 On Jan 26

Fri, 01/23/2009
Submitted by Darpana Kutty
TopNews.in (India)

A partial solar eclipse would be visible in south-eastern parts of India on January 26.

The eclipse would be total in island groups Sumatra and Borneo of Indonesia. It would also be visible from southern Africa, northwestern Antarctica, Australia and Southeast Asia.
The eclipse would begin at 10.27 am IST. The eclipse would end at 4:31 pm IST when the moon’s shadow finally leaves the earth at local sunset point very close to south of Cambodia in the south China sea. The best time to watch the eclipse in India will be between 3 pm and 3.30 pm.

While talking about this, Varah Mihir Scientist Heritage and Research Centre's Astronomist Sanjay Kethwas said, “A total of four solar and lunar eclipses will occur this year.” Kethwas added that a lunar eclipse would be occurred on December 31 this year but as it will start appearing after mid night so technically it will recorded in January 2010.

The sun, moon and earth are placed in a line during an eclipse, which is categorised as total, partial or annular depending on the distance between the moon and earth.

Experts had already warned people not to look at the eclipse without protecting their eyes. According to them, a good way to observe the eclipse is to create a pinhole camera that is pointed at the sun and its image projected onto a darkened screen.

Solar filters can also be used to observe the eclipse. They also feel that it is not safe to use photo-negatives, X-ray photos, sunglasses or stained glass to observe the eclipse.

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We seek a new way forward,' Obama says

Written by AFP

Thursday, 22 January 2009

America's leader takes office - stewardship of an uncertain world with a promise that a different political age has dawned. Photo by: AFP Former US president George W Bush applauds as US President Barack Obama waves after being sworn in Tuesday as the 44th US president in Washington. In his often sombre inaugural address, President Obama avoided crowd-rousing oratory, emphasising instead the importance of hard work in the face of tough times.

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Expats watch Obama's oath

Written by Brett Worthington

Thursday, 22 January 2009

Hope and heckling on display at ‘Bye Bye Bush Bash', hosted by Democrats Abroad Cambodia to mark the inauguration of America's 44th president. Photo by: Tracey Shelton With eyes glued to the many TVs, revellers mark the inauguration of US President Barack Obama at Gym Bar Tuesday. THE American flag and red-white-and-blue decorations competed Tuesday night with more than a dozen television sets, all tuned to CNN, for space on the walls of Gym Bar where at least 150 people turned out to celebrate the inauguration of new US President Barack Obama. Hope and change, two words that figured prominently during Obama's improbable campaign to become the 44th president, dominated conversations at the "Bye Bye Bush Bash", hosted by Democrats Abroad Cambodia. "Tonight is a sign of change and hope, not just for Americans but for anyone who has ever been discriminated against or faced hardships," said California native Teresa Dunbar. "This shows anything is possible, and it is inspiring to see the underdog getting a happy ending." Democrats Abroad Cambodia Chairman Wayne Weightman said, "People are excited about the hope. The cloud has been lifted, and although there are difficult times ahead, we have hope in our new steward."

Despite Obama's call for Americans to embrace "the better angels of our nature", the running commentary accompanying the live CNN feed was filled with a great deal of partisan rancour.

Out with the old
The evident disdain with which Democrats in attendance regarded president Bush manifested itself in cries of "See ya", "Good riddance" and other jeers whenever his image graced the screen. Vice president Dick Cheney, who pulled a muscle in his back Monday while moving boxes, fared no better, with many laughing when CNN showed him being steered to his seat in a wheelchair.

Cheers of approval and outright joy filled the room when the cameras turned to Obama particularly when, during a performance by a quartet featuring the violinist Itzhak Perlman and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the network noted that at noon in Washington (midnight in Phnom Penh) Obama had officially assumed the position of president despite not yet having recited the oath of office.

While most people at the bar were apparently cheering for their preferred candidate, a handful of McCain supporters also turned up to witness the transfer of power.

"I liked McCain, and I like Republican policy," said Tong Soprach.

"But I now will support Obama. I hope he can help change the world and help Cambodia to keep developing."

Philip Shepard, a doctor from Seattle, said he had voted for Obama despite his Republican leanings.

"McCain was the same old, same old and the Republicans in their pandering to the religious right again put forward another loser vice presidential candidate," he said.

A quick scan of the crowd - which, along with many Americans included revellers from Australia, New Zealand, England and France - underscored the international interest in Obama's election.

Parroting a campaign slogan, Canadian-born Zuza Lipa said, "It's the change we have needed. There will be more thinking, more meeting of people's needs. Obama is someone who reflects people's values both locally and internationally."

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Court to probe union slaying

Written by Chrann Chamroeun and Sebastian Strangio

Thursday, 22 January 2009

On fifth anniversary of Chea Vichea's killing, those close to slain unionist are calling on government to ensure independence of new investigation. Photo by: Heng Chivoan Suspect Born Samnang offers thanks upon his release from prison on December 31. FIVE years after the murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea - and three weeks since the release of the two men imprisoned for the crime - Phnom Penh's Court of Appeal is set to reopen investigations into the circumstances surrounding the killing. But in the run-up to a commemorative march scheduled for early this morning, court monitors and others close to the slain union leader called on the government to ensure a fair and open investigation into his death.

On December 31, the Supreme Court ordered the provisional release of previously convicted suspects Born Samnang, 24, and Sok Sam Oeun, 36, citing contradictory evidence in their previous trials and turning over the case to the Appeal Court and Ministry of Interior for further investigations.

Although court monitors praised the release of the two men as possible evidence of a flowering of independence in the Kingdom's notoriously corrupt judiciary, Chea Vichea's brother Chea Mony told the Post that there was no guarantee the investigation will be seen through to a just conclusion.

"It was very mysterious that the Supreme Court released the two innocent men on bail temporarily and turned the case over to the Court of Appeal," he said.

"It isn't yet known how the process of the investigation will be organised."
Minister of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Sok Sam Oeun's defence lawyer Hong Kim
Suon said he expected investigations to begin in the coming weeks.

"The case documents are now being prepared to be filed to the Court of Appeal to conduct an investigation which, according to judicial procedure, takes at least a month," he said. "I don't know whether the case is now in the hands of the Court of Appeal."

Five years on
To mark the fifth anniversary of Chea Vichea's killing, the Cambodian Confederation of Unions organised a commemorative parade that was to march this morning from the union headquarters in Boeung Keng Kang 3 to the site near Wat Lanka where Chea Vichea was gunned down in 2004.

Chea Mony said that the event, in addition to marking his brother's life and work, was a plea for "an independent court to conduct a reinvestigation into the killing with numerous witnesses of whom former Phnom Penh police chief Heng Pov is [among] the [most] important".

It isn't yet known how the process of the investigation will be organised.


Freed suspect Sok Sam Oeun said he and his father would be attending the ceremony, requesting that the government "hunt for the real killers so they can be punished thereby ending the charges against me".

"I don't feel any concerns or worry for my safety since I am innocent," he added.

However, some observers are more pessimistic about the possibility of an independent investigation into the trade unionist's murder.

On Tuesday, the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party - now operating under the banner of the Democratic Movement for Change - issued a joint statement saying that the release of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun was an admission [by the government] of their innocence and that a fair investigation was unlikely to ensue.

"The release on bail of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun ... further demonstrates that the government of Cambodia is certain of their innocence but refuses to stop its travesty of justice," the statement said.

Human Rights Watch's Sarah Colm was similarly sceptical, telling the Post on December 31 that "one case doesn't make or break a long pattern of deeply entrenched impunity".

But Ham Sunrith, deputy director of monitoring and protection at local rights group Licadho, was more optimistic, saying that the authority of the Supreme Court could force the investigation ahead.

"The Court of Appeal was appointed by the Supreme Court to find more witnesses and more evidence in this case," he said, adding that the court had already set a good precedent by releasing the two suspects on bail - something that is mandated by the Criminal Code, though rarely observed.

"This is a good model for other courts," he said.

"The Supreme Court is a high court and it has [already] set a good precedent that suspects be released pending investigations."

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HRW decries Khmer Krom abuse

Written by Brendan Brady and Neth Pheaktra
Thursday, 22 January 2009

THE Vietnamese government should immediately free Khmer Krom activists in prison or under house arrest for demonstrating, New York-based advocacy organisation Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday.

The 125-page report, "On the Margins: Rights Abuses of Ethnic Khmer in Vietnam's Mekong Delta", documents what the group calls a persistent, often violent campaign by Vietnam to stifle the rights and distinct identity of ethnic Khmers in the south of the country. It also accuses the Cambodian government of abbeting its "close ally" in the suppression of ethnic Khmers - known locally as Khmer Krom - who have fled across the border to Cambodia and proposes greater freedoms for their communities.

Human Rights Watch says it drew on witness interviews in both countries and internal Vietnamese government documents in its research, which it says reveals that "Khmer Krom in the Mekong Delta face serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, association, information and movement".

"This is bare-knuckled, indefensible political repression," said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director, in an email interview with the Post Wednesday, adding that the grip of both states on activists has tightened over the last year.

Publication of the report coincided with news of the release from prison of five activist ethnic Khmer monks in Vietnam. According to a statement from the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, a Phnom Penh-based association, the Vietnamese government has still prohibited the men - all of whom were defrocked following their incarceration - from travelling, being re-ordained or stepping foot in Buddhist temples.

Ang Charith, head of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Human Rights Organisation, welcomed international attention on the issue.

"The rights of the Khmer Krom to practise their religion and live in peace is always abused by the Vietnamese state," he said. "And for the Khmer Krom who flee to Cambodia, their rights have also been violated and their security is uncertain."

Vietnamese embassy spokesman Trinh Ba Cam rejected the report, saying that the Vietnamese government did not discriminate against any of its 54 ethnic groups, so there is "no need to analyse the situation in detail".

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Please help the filmmakers of "Who Killed Chea Vichea?"

Brad with Samnang and his mom
Sam Ouen

Request from filmmakers of "Who Killed Chea Vichea?"
22 January 2009

Help make history

History isn't what has happened. History is what is known to have happened.

Five years ago today, Chea Vichea, the outspoken leader of Cambodia's garment workers, was shot down on the street in Phnom Penh. Within minutes, Bradley Cox was there with his camera as police swarmed the scene.

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were arrested only days later, and Brad was there. The framing of these two innocent men started his five-year journey to record history as it happened.

"Who Killed Chea Vichea?" isn't even finished yet, and it's already having an impact. Samnang and Sok Oeun were released by the Supreme Court three weeks ago, after five years in prison. And again, Brad was there to film it.

While it's impossible to know for sure why Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were released, many observers have told us that the film must have played a big part in the decision. The government was well aware of it, and the government relies on foreign aid.

But their names have not been cleared. The case against them has gone back to the appeals court. Meanwhile the real killers are still out there. The same is true of the killers of human rights advocate Om Radsady, radio announcer Chor Chatharith, actress Piseth Pilika and many others who have found themselves on the wrong side of power in Cambodia.

As long as these crimes go unpunished inside Cambodia and unknown outside Cambodia, fear will continue to rule. This film is meant to help change that fact.

We need your help now to finish this film and make history.
Click here to donate

A typical documentary of this scale costs $400,000 to $600,000. We are making our film for half of that. Beyond putting in our personal resources and countless hours of work, we are making every additional dollar count.

Why? Because like you, we're passionate about the truth. We're passionate about this case and we're passionate about human rights in Cambodia and around the world.

While we are receiving public television funding, it is not enough. We are only a few months away from finishing the movie but we still need to raise money to help pay for a small office space in New York, to help pay for an editor, for graphics and sound mixing, and more. For example:

* $50 pays for a typical festival entrance fee
* $200 pays for a hard drive, or for the rights to a video clip
* $500 pays for one day's shooting
* $1000 pays for screening the film for workers in Cambodia or another garment-producing country

Will you help us?
Click here to donate

If you can donate $200 or more we will list you as a donor on the big screen, on the home DVD and in the TV version if possible. In any case we will list your name on the web site. (Thanks again to those who are already there!)

Thank you for your support. May the new year bring justice and joy.

Rich Garella,
Jeffrey Saunders
and Bradley Cox

PS:
We received this note recently from one of our translators in Cambodia; for his own safety he doesn't want his name used:

"This work made me more determined to fight in this highly unbalanced war. Compared to Vichea my sacrifice is much much less. How can I remain idle for Vichea's cause? Once again thanks for your help for the cause of my country. Your work has an incredible value."

One day, we will be able to give him the credit he deserves, along with all the other Cambodians who risked their own safety to help make this film. Your support now can bring that day closer.

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Recovering the roots of a family

Suree Pritchard with her mother, Sin Simath. (Photo by: Chris Pritchard)

Thursday, 22 January 2009
Written by Chris Pritchard
The Phnom Penh Post

Australian photojournalist Chris Pritchard recounts the improbable journey that led his wife to reconnect with a mother who was feared lost to the violence of the Khmer Rouge regime.
THE map, hand-drawn on a scrap of paper, resembled those in corny movies that lead the hero to buried treasure. Tears of joy and giant tropical raindrops quickly combined to make it more abstract art than an accurate guide, but this map kindled a love affair with Angkor Wat's grand antiquities that still endures.

My wife and I were handed the map back in 1991 in the Thai frontier town of Aranyaprathet. It was here that Aunt Sopee raised my wife Suree.

Aunt Sopee was Cambodian but, gazing over her shoulder into a tragic land, she determined her future was Thai. She did not conceal her family's Cambodian origins but always said no one else in the family was alive. "Forget about Cambodia," she would opine in Thai. "Nothing but trouble. Make your future here in Thailand."

Suree moved to Australia, where she worked as a photographer in the late 1970s but kept in close contact with her irascible aunt. In Aunt Sopee's final years during the late 1980s, her rambling recollections acquired intriguing new details.

Mapping the way home

While Suree's father had indeed lost his life in the 1950s during a burst of domestic and violent political turmoil, her mother was alive.

Word of this survival leaked across the porous border even before the xenophobic Khmer Rouge were overthrown in 1979, but Aunt Sopee had for a long time kept this news to herself. Then, one day, shortly before her death, she ripped the corner from a piece of wrinkled wrapping paper, drew a rudimentary map and handed it to Suree. "That's where you'll find your mother," she promised.

That was in 1990. We took this precious paper to Cambodia in 1991, and travelled from Phnom Penh to Battambang. It was the rainy season and the road trip of nearly 300 kilometres along a rutted road with numerous temporary bridges took 12 hours.

"SOPEE WAS CAMBODIAN BUT, GAZING OVER HER SHOULDER INTO A TRAGIC LAND, SHE DETERMINED HER FUTURE WAS THAI."

On arrival, we took out our smudged map and began our needle-in-a-haystack search, but became increasingly pessimistic. Next day, we grew suspicious of a solicitous man, a distant relative of Suree, who said he knew Suree's mother. He said he would fetch her from the outskirts of Siem Reap where she now lived.

We continued to search and, using the scribbled map, found the family house.

It was inhabited by two of Suree's elderly aunts who confirmed that my wife's mother indeed now lived in Siem Reap. They also said the cousin who had gone to Siem Reap would indeed return with Suree's mother, so we spent the rest of the day waiting at the hotel.

Then, just before dusk, we were standing outside the hotel when a diminutive woman in her mid-60s slid from a motorcycle pillion. She was dripping wet and caked in mud. Mother and daughter collapsed in each other's arms. Over the next few days, amid much weeping, a story tumbled out that filled gaps in an exceptionally minimalist sketch.

Rediscovered family

My mother-in-law had three children. After her husband had been shot dead, she could not support them all. She decided Suree, the middle child who was then three years old, would be raised by Aunt Sopee, whose departure for Thailand was imminent.

Suree's siblings, a brother and sister, later perished during the Khmer Rouge era.

Suree's mother, Sin Samath, remarried. We travelled back to Siem Reap with her and met her daughter, Sok Kanthea, and grandchildren.

In this way Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat, became an enriching element in our lives. We go roughly once a year, strengthening bonds with a rediscovered family.

Home turned out to be a large, sturdy timber dwelling on stilts beyond Siem Reap's bustling New Market and about four kilometres from town.

Rice fields extended from a cluster of a half-dozen houses off a road heading to the Rolous group of temples.

Circumstances back home in Australia meant we skipped two years before returning recently to discover Siem Reap had changed.

Suree's mother had lived in the countryside - but last year we discovered her living in town. She hadn't moved. But Siem Reap had spread dramatically.

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Cambodia opposition seeks Obama's help in murder probe

Cambodians remember the 5th anniversary of the death of labour leader Chea Vichea (Photo: AFP)

Thursday, January 22, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodia's opposition leader Thursday urged US President Barack Obama to help find the killers of a prominent union boss, as hundreds of people gathered to mark five years since his murder.
Chea Vichea, who headed the country's largest labour union and was a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government, was gunned down at a Phnom Penh newsstand on January 22, 2004.

The daylight murder shocked Cambodia and badly fractured the country's nascent workers' movement. It was condemned by rights groups as a brutal attempt to silence opposition-linked unions.

"I beg US President Barack Obama to help Cambodian people find the criminals to bring them to justice," opposition leader Sam Rainsy told a crowd Thursday at the spot where Chea Vichea was shot.

The politician marched through Phnom Penh with some 300 garment workers and unionists to place wreaths and light incense sticks at the newsstand.

Sam Rainsy criticised authorities for failing to arrest the real culprits, but said he hoped that a "push from outside" would bring "change" in the case of Chea Vichea's murder over the next year.

Cambodia's highest court late last month provisionally released two men convicted of killing Chea Vichea and ordered the case to be re-tried, citing unclear evidence.

The two men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, had been arrested just days after the union chief's 2004 death, convicted of murder and quickly sentenced to 20 years each in prison.

The United States and UN welcomed the decision by the court to order a retrial. International and local rights watchdogs had called the conviction and trial deeply flawed and said the true perpetrators remained at large.

But two other labour leaders have also been murdered since Chea Vichea's killing, in an escalation of attacks against workers' rights advocates.

Their deaths cast a pall over Cambodia's key garment industry, with several major clothing labels warning the government that swift justice was needed for their continued presence in the country.

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