Palm sugar (Skor Thnot) production season

A Cambodian man climbs up a palm tree for collecting palm juice at Lar Peang village, Kampong Chhnang province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Traditionally, some rural people spend time to collect the palm juice to produce palm sugar to earn extra income after the rice harvested season. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian man sits on the top of a palm tree as he collects palm juice at Lar Peang village, Kampong Chhnang province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Traditionally, some rural people spend time to collect the palm juice to produce palm sugar to earn extra income after the rice harvested season. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian baby girl helps her mother make a fire to produce palm sugar from palm juice at Lar Peang village, Kampong Chhnang province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Traditionally, some rural people spend time to collect the palm juice to produce palm sugar to earn extra income after the rice harvested season. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian woman stirs palm sugar in a pan as her daughter eats a little at Lar Peang village, Kampong Chhnang province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Traditionally, some rural people spend time to collect the palm juice to produce palm sugar to earn extra income after the rice harvested season. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Cambodian men weigh palm sugar before selling to buyer at Lar Peang village, Kampong Chhnang province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. Traditionally, some rural people spend time to collect the palm juice to produce palm sugar to earn extra income after the rice harvested season. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

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Cambodia will raise the Preah Vihear issue with Thailand at the Asean summit

12th January, 2009
By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia
Reported in English by Khmerization

Cambodian government spokesman, Mr. Khieu Kanharith, said on Monday that Prime Minister Hun Sen will raise the Preah Vihear issue with Thailand's prime minister, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, at the Asean Summit.
Mr. Kanharith told reporters: "I wish to inform you that, after the Asean Summit, there will be a bilateral talk. Normally, the Asean Summit has their own agenda. We have to respect the international norm and discuss what is in the meeting agenda. But Cambodia reserves the right to , first, discuss the Preah Vihear issue with the Thai prime minister. And second, if the talk has not resulted in any positive outcomes, Cambodia reserves the right to inform the international press about the situation in Preah Vihear."

The Asean Summit will take place on 27th February and ends on 1st March, 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Thailand's prime minister, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, told Thai media in Bangkok yesterday that he hopes that the Cambodian prime minister will not raise the Preah Vihear issue at the Asean Summit.

He added that, in principle, regarding the border issues, Thailand has agreed with everything, that is to use the 2000's Memorandum of Understanding as a base for the negotiation.

Dr. Sok Touch, Cambodian professor of political science said that Thailand does not want the world to know about the Preah Vihear disputes with Cambodia because in the last few decades Thailand continues to have numerous border disputes their neighbours such as with Laos, Burma and Malaysia.

Cambodia and Thailand planned to demarcate the borders around Preah Vihear in December 2008, but due to political turmoil in Thailand the demarcation works have been postponed.

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Opposition Parties Meet in Effort to Unify

Sam Rainsy (L) and Kem Sokha (R) (Photo: SRP)

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
13 January 2009

Leaders of the opposition Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties began two days of meeting Tuesday, as they sought to bring the two parties under a united front against the ruling party.
The merging of the parties was necessary to compete with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, HRP President Kem Sokha said, following a first round of meetings at Sam Rainsy Party headquarters in Phnom Penh.

The initiative comes six months after 2008’s national election, where the Sam Rainsy Party won 26 National Assembly seats and the Human Rights Party won three.

The CPP won a significant 90 seats, giving its parliamentarians a strong advantage to pass legislation in the National Assembly.

“The experience of the last election made us think about the union, to facilitate voters in choosing the right party,” Kem Sokha said. “We will merge into a united party, but we don’t know yet what the process we will choose.”

The main goal of the unity is to “change the governance of the nation,” he said.

Sam Rainsy did not comment following Tuesday’s meeting, saying only both parties would release a statement Wednesday and hold a joint press conference Thursday.

Both parties had hoped to align or join in the months ahead of national elections in 2008, but failed to find a compromise in leadership, party structure and other factors.

Kem Sokha said Tuesday officials would discuss the name of a unified party and action plan for a new party.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the ruling party did not consider the merging of the two parties a threat, but said the party was “confident” it could win the next election.

Ny Chakrya, head of investigation for the rights group Adhoc, said Tuesday the merger of the parties was a little late for the last election, but could make both parties stronger than their current situation as the country moves toward 2013 elections.

The merger would only work, he said, if the two parties do not betray each other, as has happened in the past with the Sam Rainsy Party and Funcinpec.

Such an “opposition coalition” could encourage people to turn out to vote, he said.

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Accused Killer Calls for Proper Investigation

Sok Sam Oeun (Center) (Photo: AFP)

Hong Kim Suon, lawyer of recently released suspect Sok Samoeun, who is facing an appeals hearing in coming months with a second suspect, Born Samnang.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
13 January 2009

One of the men released in the murder case of Chea Vichea on Monday called for Cambodian authorities to conduct thorough investigations before arresting the “innocent.”
“In prison it’s not easy,” Sok Samoeun, who is awaiting an Appeals Court hearing on murder charges against him, said on “Hello VOA.” “It’s something that has more suffering than I can say.”

Sok Samoeun stands accused, along with Born Samnang, of the murder of union leader Chea Vichea, in January 2004, but both men are widely considered innocent.

They each face 20-year prison sentences, but were released earlier this month when the Supreme Court ordered the Appeals Court to rehear their case.

Since his release, Sok Samoeun has entered a pagoda as a monk.

His lawyer, Hong Kim Suon, said Monday the police should conduct a credible investigation into the killing.

“If they can’t find the real killer in the future, they can’t put my client back in jail for an exchange,” he said.

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Official denies delay of opening Cambodian stock market

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian official denied media reports that the opening of stock exchange market has been delayed indefinitely due to the worsening global economic slowdown, English-language newspaper the Cambodia Daily said Tuesday.
"We didn't declare postponement of the stock exchange. I am sure it will open in 2009," Mey Vann, director of the Department of Finance Industry of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, was quoted as saying.

"We are working on it and there is no delay," he said, but decline to discuss the exact date.

On Monday, another English-language daily The Phnom Penh Post quoted Mey Vann as saying that "Cambodia has been affected by the global financial crisis, especially in terms of real estate and garment exports. Therefore, the plan to open our own stock market has been postponed, and no specific schedule is set for it."

The launch of the stock exchange market was originally scheduled for last September, with the South Korean Exchange providing funds and technical support.

As Cambodia's economy, one of the region's most vibrant, slowed to single-digit growth last year, the exchange's future was put in doubt, said The Phnom Penh Post.

Cambodia enjoyed consistent double-digit economic growth rate from 2005 to 2007, which fueled the government's ambition to upgrade its financial and capital market, and the establishment of a stock exchange market was just one of its major plans in this regard.

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Hun Sen: Celebrating the 1991 Paris Peace Accords is meaningless

12 Jan 2009
KI-Media

On Saturday 10 January 2008, at a bridge inauguration in Pursat, Hun Sen announced that celebrating the anniversary of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia
cannot be done as Cambodia has too many holidays already. While several opposition parties have requested the celebration of this event rather than the celebration of 07 January, Hun Sen was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying: “People want to celebrate 23 October, but I said that it is meaningless.” Claiming that Cambodia has too many holidays already (currently there are 25 national holydays in Cambodia), Hun Sen claimed that investors will not come to Cambodia if there are too many holidays. Hun Sen also indicated that when the opposition parties lead the government then they can do away with the 07 January celebration. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that Hun Sen refuses to mark the Paris Peace Accords anniversary because the CPP lost the 1993 national election which resulted from the Paris Peace Accords.

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Witness List Passed to Tribunal Judges

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 January 2009

Prosecutors have sent a list of witnesses to the Trial Chamber of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, officials said Monday, a key step in moving closer to a trial for jailed prison Duch.

By having the list of witnesses, judges can now chose who will appear in an upcoming trial. This will also help set a definite time-table for the trial of Duch, 66. wjp os charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and homicide for his role as the head of Tuol Sleng prison, known to the Khmer Rouge as S-21.

The trial for Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, is expected to begin in earnest in March. The Trial Chamber is expected to hold a two-day meeting later this week to fix a date for the trial. Duch’s trial will mark the first for the tribunal, which has been beleaguered since its inception, with organization, management, funding, and allegations of corruption.

A source close to the tribunal said a list of more than 30 witnesses was sent to the Trial Chamber earlier this month. Among those listed are survivors of Tuol Sleng, family members of prisoners killed in there, and previous staff of the prison, where at least 12,000 people were tortured and later executed.

“It is clear that the first trial will allow witnesses to come and tell their stories, their experiences, which will permit them to shed light on what happened,” said Robert Petit, an international prosecutor for the tribunal.

The process will help some people understand better the regime, but the topic of the hearing would be focused only on the prison, he said.

The list includes an array of witnesses who will paint several pictures of the prison.

“There are, on one hand, survivors, and there are people who have worked in Tuol Sleng,” said Silke Studzinsky, a lawyer for civil party participants in the tribunal. “So there are of course witnesses that are very important and who are able to talk about the conditions in court.”

Tribunal judges could not be reached for comment Monday.

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Hong Kong Residents Lend Helping Hand

Hong Kong residents and Cambodian orphanages tour Angkor Wat.

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
12 January 2009

A group of citizens recently joined together to raise funds, clothes, stationary and toys in Hong Kong to be sent to an organization in Siem Reap before taking a holiday to see Angkor Wat.
Together the Hong Kong residents gathered nearly 150 kilograms of clothes, toys, pens, and books, along with $1,600, which they hoped to send to 34 orphanages through the Working for Children organization.

“So many donations,” said Lingli Minji, who found the organization through an Internet search ahead of a trip and helped gather the donations. “We had to use the post office to send them in boxes. It is 150 kilograms, which we could not bring with our carry-on suitcases.”

Once in Cambodia, the group rented a bus to drive children to visit Angkor Wat and other temples, something the orphans had not had a chance to do before.

Minji said she and the others felt pity for the orphans, who lack opportunities and enough food to eat, compared to children in Hong Kong. She also admonished the Cambodian government for failing to provide for the children and their education, “because they are the future for their country.”

“This should be organized systematically, because they are very peaceful kids and we are getting worried about their education in the future,” she said. “They are so talented, but we don’t know what is going to happen in their future.”

Minji and her group were not the first from Hong Kong to lend aid to Cambodia. In mid-2007 and early 2008, a group of students from Hong Kong University helped students in Battambang province by digging wells for villagers.

Lingli Zhan, a Hong Kong-French citizen who also raised funds for the Working for Children orphanages, said she planned to raise money and stationary supplies for Cambodian children every year.

“When we were there, we gave them envelopes with addresses in France so that we could keep in touch with those kids,” she said.

Siem Reap Governor Sou Phearin told VOA Khmer he strongly supported the spirit and goodwill of the Hong Kong donors.

Education for all Cambodian children, including orphans, was a priority for the provincial authority and the national government, he said.

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Changes In Drug Treatment, Commercial Sex Work Could Contribute To Spread Of HIV In Cambodia

A report showing a change in the use of drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation services throughout Cambodia has raised concerns about drug-related HIV transmission in the country's rural communities,
the Phnom Penh Post reports. The report, released Monday by the National Authority for Combating Drugs, shows a decrease in the number of drug users accessing treatment and rehabilitation services at 10 state health centers, from 1,719 people in 2007 to 1,005 people in 2008. Additionally, Lour Ramin, NACD general secretary, said that there has been an increase in injection drug use in Cambodia despite a decrease in overall drug use in 2008. Officials "worry" about the impact that the trends will have on the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence, particularly in rural areas, he said, adding that in 2007, 35.1% of injection drug users in Phnom Penh were HIV-positive. Teruo Jinnai, the Cambodian representative for UNESCO, said the report highlights a need to engage high-risk populations, like IDUs, in HIV/AIDS education efforts. He said that IDUs have a "very high risk" of contracting the virus "because their level of understanding and consideration are still low" (Leakhana, Phnom Penh Post, 1/8).

In related news, Cambodian officials say brothel-based sex work has shifted to relationship-based sex work, which is contributing to the spread of HIV in the country, the Post reports. The Post reports that "sporadic but often violent crackdowns" on brothels have led many customers to begin meeting with regular partners at beer gardens and karaoke bars. Tia Phalla, deputy director of the National AIDS Authority of Cambodia, said government data show that condom use also has dropped in correlation with the closing of brothels. He said the findings "also show that 53.7% of entertainment workers have never suggested condom use with their sweetheart, ... although around 70% of them do not know their sweethearts' HIV/AIDS status." Teng Kunthy, secretary-general of the National Authority on HIV/AIDS, said that about half of the men who regularly visit the same commercial sex worker or "sweetheart" do not use condoms, "so it is much more dangerous" than visiting a brothel (Titthara/ Leakhana, Phnom Penh Post, 1/8).

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Four Cambodian men charged in failed bomb plots

Monday, January 12, 2009


Mon, 12 Jan 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh-Cambodian police charged four men with attempted murder and terrorism Monday in failed bomb plots against the Ministry of Defence and state-owned television in the capital early this month. The four men were arrested last week for allegedly planning the foiled January 2 attack, in which two small TNT bombs were laid outside the ministry and the TV3 headquarters in central Phnom Penh.

All four men appeared in court and were also charged with crimes relating to the illegal recruitment of armed people.

Prosecutors argued the men were members of small rebel group, which they said had links to other militant organizations and planned the attacks to destabilize the government and attract international attention.

Police said last week that the apparent leader of the group, Som Ek, had also confessed to ordering a thwarted bomb attempt at the Cambodian-Vietnamese friendship monument on one of Phnom Penh's main boulevards in July 2007.

Police also alleged Som Ek, also known as Ti To, had told them his group received funding from international supporters.

Som Ek is a dual Thai-Cambodian citizen and was a military policeman during the early 1990s, police said.

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