Hong Kong, China — On May 16, 2006, a petition with over 1 million signatures and thumbprints was presented to the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, calling on the assembly to urgently enact an anti-corruption law. The sheer number of people –one out of every 14 Cambodians – who supported the petition campaign with their signature or thumbprint in a period of just over five months, revealed the gravity of corruption in the country and the urgent need for government leaders and lawmakers to take action.
Corruption in Cambodia was already rife, affecting every walk of life, toward the end of the communist regime in the late 1980s. It was and still is prevalent in every public institution everywhere and at every level: in schools, hospitals, fire services, the police, the army, the civil service, the judiciary, the government and the Parliament. It has also ravaged foreign aid given to the country.
In the early 1990s when the communist regime ended, the public called on the government to tackle the problem. In the mid-1990s, civil society began to organize seminars to highlight the issue and urge the government to enact an anti-corruption law. Many national seminars were held, at times presided over by prime ministers or their colleagues, not to mention many smaller meetings.
There were study tours for concerned senior government officials and lawmakers to countries in the region, including Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which are renowned for their effective anti-corruption laws and agencies. In 1998, the newly elected government promised to fight corruption and enact a law against it.
For their part, international donors began to feel the gravity of corruption and its negative impact on the aid they had given to Cambodia, to the tune of some US$500 million a year since the early 1990s. In 2002, together with the Cambodian government, they made the fight against corruption and the enactment of an anti-corruption law one of the benchmarks for the flow of aid.
Under such pressure the government finally submitted to the National Assembly an anti-corruption bill – which had been drafted and redrafted many times, well before the adoption of the U.N. Convention against Corruption in 2003.
Shortly after, this bill was withdrawn, to be redrafted again to bring it up to the convention’s standards. Meanwhile, deadlines set for the enactment of that law have repeatedly passed and the final draft has not yet seen the light of day.
In parallel with the pressure on the government to enact an anti-corruption law, successive studies were undertaken to look into corruption in Cambodia. A 2004 study conducted by the U.S. Agency for International Development in Cambodia showed that corruption cost the government between US$300 million and $500 million in revenue every year, an enormous sum for a poor country.
Another survey conducted two years later by the Economic Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh showed that in 2005 the private sector paid “unofficial fees”—that is, bribes – to public officials amounting to US$330 million, an amount it said was “2.5 times higher than that of official payment” and “represented also about 50 percent of the total government budget revenue in 2005.”
A more recent survey conducted by Transparency International showed that 72 percent of Cambodians reported paying a bribe to receive a public service in 2007, a percentage which was then the highest in the Asia-Pacific region and second only to Cameroon (79 percent) internationally. The same survey also showed that the judiciary and the police were viewed as the most corrupt institutions in the country. It should be added that in 2007 Cambodia ranked 162 out 179 countries in the TI Corruption Perceptions Index.
Corruption has affected not only the Cambodian people but also foreign donors on whom Cambodia very much depends. In 1999 there was a corruption scandal at the Cambodian Mine Action Center, an internationally funded government landmine clearance organization. That scandal led to the suspension of foreign aid to CMAC for some time.
In 2003, the World Bank discovered the misuse of funds in a project to demobilize 30,000 soldiers, and forced the Cambodian government to repay the missing money. In 2004, the World Food Program found that US$1.2 million of its aid had gone missing, and forced the Cambodian government to make up for it. In 2006, the World Bank discovered fraud and corruption in three of the projects it was funding. It suspended its funding for these three projects and requested the Cambodian government to make prompt repayment of the missing funds.
In early 2007, within six months after its creation, the internationally funded Khmer Rouge Tribunal encountered allegations of corruption in its human resource management. These allegations led to the introduction of corrective measures for better management.
These are a few of the cases known to the public and acknowledged by the government. Yet in all corruption cases very few, if any, suspected government officials have been brought to justice and made accountable for their corruption. Generally, they have simply been disciplined and removed from office and then, when their cases are no longer in the public mind, they have been reappointed to other, sometimes higher, positions.
Enacting an anti-corruption law and setting up an anti-corruption body may not end what is a common practice in Cambodia. It is nevertheless a significant step toward that end. The Cambodian government must not let its officials indulge in corruption with impunity. It must not continue to break its promises to its people and its foreign donors. It must heed the petition presented to the National Assembly and submit the long promised anti-corruption bill for adoption without further delay.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)
By LAO MONG HAYColumn: Rule by Fear
http://upiasiaonline.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Prosecution seeks $19M in pyramid scam case
Prosecutors plan to seek a 13-year prison term and $19.1 million in restitution today from a Rhode Island man who helped swindle hundreds of Cambodian immigrants out of some $30 million.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns is set to sentence Christian Rochon of Warwick, R.I., on mail fraud and other charges related to Canton-based World Marketing Direct Services Inc.
Rochon, 57, the company’s ex-president, pleaded guilty last year and agreed to testify against ring leaders James Bunchan and Seng Tan, whom a jury later convicted.
Defense lawyer James Krasnoo said he plans to seek home confinement instead of prison for Rochon, who claims to suffer from numerous health problems.
A court has already sentenced Bunchan and Tan, who are married, to long prison terms. Bunchan also faces charges for allegedly trying to hire a hitman to kill Rochon and other witnesses.
World Marketing billed itself as a vitamin and beauty-supply company, but prosecutors say the firm was simply a “pyramid scheme” that targeted Bunchan and Tan’s fellow Cambodian immigrants.
The company promised $300-a-month payments for life to people who invested $26,000, and many victims refinanced homes or raided 401(k) plans to participate.
But authorities say the ring spent much of the money on houses, cars and high-stakes gambling trips. World Marketing then used cash from new victims to send early investors monthly payments until the scheme collapsed.
Scammers partly used memories of Cambodia’s 1970s “Killing Fields” era to advance the scam.
Tan reportedly told would-be investors she had fought the communists who took over Cambodia in the 1970s and killed some 2 million people. One victim also told prosecutors that after challenging the ring, Tan told people the man was “lucky he was not back in Cambodia or else he would have disappeared already.”
By Jerry Kronenberg
http://www.bostonherald.com
ECONOMY-CAMBODIA: Resource Curse or Blessing?
PHNOM PENH, May 28 (IPS) - Cambodia is facing a natural resource boom, prompting donors and non-government organisations (NGOs) to warn that without measures to improve financial transparency, promote better governance and curb corruption, the potential windfall could be squandered.
In addition to significant oil reserves off Cambodia’s coast, there are major deposits of natural gas, as well as minerals such as gold, copper and bauxite, mainly in the northeast of the country.
"The risk of a resource curse is there," said Jo Scheuer, country director for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in an IPS interview. "Included in this is the issue of corruption and funds disappearing."
At the same time Scheuer is keen to stress that Cambodia "has a great opportunity to avoid mistakes that have been made in other countries,’’ and translate the benefits to all Cambodians to ‘’create a resource blessing’’.
"The government says it is a little early to start to talk about revenue because the resources are still underground," said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum in Phnom Penh. "We think it is important for us to be prepared for the new situation and challenges."
NGO Forum is one of a number of local organisations behind a new coalition, yet to be formally launched, that wants to ensure the potential financial benefits from the country’s resource windfall are managed in a socially responsible manner.
The Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption Perception Index ranked Cambodia 162 out of 179 countries, making it the most corrupt country in Asia after Burma and among the worst globally.
"I think the concern is the past experience," continued Sam Ath. "A lot of natural resources have been extracted often under concessions, but the revenue that has gone into the budget has been less than expected."
"It is generally accepted that poor governance, lack of transparency and corruption are serious problems for Cambodia," said Sek Barisoth, director of the Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption for Equity Programme with PACT Cambodia, another supporter of the emerging coalition.
While observers say the Cambodian Government is verbally committed to the fight against corruption, there has been little action. A proposed anti-corruption law, developed in early 2005 with technical assistance from PACT, remains in draft form. It would establish an independent anti-corruption commission and provide a better legal definition of corruption.
Oil is the current focus of the resource boom, with exploration well underway in the waters off Cambodia’s cost to determine the extent of the country’s reserves.
How much oil is there? "We do not know," said UNDP’s Scheuer. "The standard answer is that no one has done any work on exactly how much oil and gas there is."
Two years ago, U.S. oil giant Chevron, the lead partner in Block A, where exploration has gone the furthest, announced "significant" oil and gas reserves. Scheuer said the company is expected to announce the results of its exploration sometime after Cambodia’s July national election.
With the price of a barrel of crude currently hovering around 130 US dollars and some analysts expecting it to reach 200 dollars by the end of the year, the financial gains for Cambodia are significant.
"It is a potentially huge windfall for a country if invested wisely in the long-term development objectives such as health, education and expanding the labour market," said Scheuer. His organisation has been one of the key donors working to help the Cambodian government deal with the threats and opportunities presented by the oil boom.
It is collaborating with the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority to build its capacity, and earlier this year cooperated with the government to organise a major international conference on oil and gas.
"It is not necessarily a blessing for a country to be endowed with petroleum resources," Arne Walther, a Norwegian diplomat said at the conference. Norway, one of the poorest countries in Europe until the discovery of oil and gas off their coast in the mid-sixties, is cited by many as a success story in terms of how to handle the issues raised by an influx of petro dollars.
"It is how governments arrange for their resources to be extracted and how revenues earned are used that determine the success or failure of being a petroleum endowed state," Walther said. "I believe Cambodia faces a challenging task in planning and developing its petroleum sector and developing policy and instruments for channelling the future oil and gas revenues in a best possible way for the benefit of Cambodians. It is actually a momentous task."
"We realise the opportunities that petroleum revenues may afford us to improve the livelihoods of the Cambodian people," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told the gathering. "The translation of the capital value of oil reserves into the stored capital value of our people through improved health and social conditions and education is very important for the long term prosperity of Cambodia."
"While some technical people in the government are concerned that the Nigerian experience is not copied in Cambodia it is unclear how high up this goes," said Barisoth.
"The concerns are valid," agreed Scheuer. "It is still too early to make a judgement and we are cautiously optimistic that they will get it right," he says of the government’s efforts.
The threat of corruption is not the only factor bearing on Cambodia’s efforts. "It is extremely difficult for a country like Cambodia, with its capacity, to develop a petro industry because everything is so complicated," said Scheuer.
The appropriate contractual arrangements and tax regimes are just two of the complex issues the country faces. Other countries, including developed countries, have encountered unexpected economic difficulties in developing their resource wealth, often dubbed ‘Dutch Disease’.
This refers to the problems associated with dumping large amounts of resource revenue into an economy and the distorting impact this has on other sectors such as agriculture. It originated in the Netherlands after the rapid flow of funds from the discovery of North Sea gas led to significant structural changes, including price increases and the de-industrialisation of many sectors of the economy.
The key message from the conference earlier this year was that Cambodia should take time to develop the industry and get the policy fundamentals right.
"In Norway it was ten years from the first drilling to first revenue coming on stream. Their advice is not to rush it," said Scheuer. "The main point now is to get the governance and policy frameworks right. If they get it right with Block A it will flow onto the other blocks."
The other idea being suggested by donors and experts with experience in the sector is for Cambodia to set up a fund to store revenue from oil and invested appropriately. Similar funds already exist in Norway and East Timor.
"We need to learn more about this fund but in general we would support a transparent process for the resource revenue," said Sam Ath from NGO Forum. He is one of two Cambodian NGO people who are closely studying East Timor to look at how the fledgling state is handling its revenue from natural gas.
Timor was selected from among several countries because of its similarities to Cambodia. "It is very important to build capacity and learn from them how civil society can engage with the government over the distribution of natural resources," said Sam Ath. "NGOs are open and happy to work with the government. We are not working to oppose them but to help them make the most effective use of the revenue from oil and gas."
NGOs and donors are also keen that Phnom Penh sign up to the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative supported by a coalition of governments, companies and civil society organisations aimed at ensuring companies disclose what they pay and governments what they receive.
By Andrew Nette
http://www.ipsnews.net
In addition to significant oil reserves off Cambodia’s coast, there are major deposits of natural gas, as well as minerals such as gold, copper and bauxite, mainly in the northeast of the country.
"The risk of a resource curse is there," said Jo Scheuer, country director for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in an IPS interview. "Included in this is the issue of corruption and funds disappearing."
At the same time Scheuer is keen to stress that Cambodia "has a great opportunity to avoid mistakes that have been made in other countries,’’ and translate the benefits to all Cambodians to ‘’create a resource blessing’’.
"The government says it is a little early to start to talk about revenue because the resources are still underground," said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum in Phnom Penh. "We think it is important for us to be prepared for the new situation and challenges."
NGO Forum is one of a number of local organisations behind a new coalition, yet to be formally launched, that wants to ensure the potential financial benefits from the country’s resource windfall are managed in a socially responsible manner.
The Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2007 Corruption Perception Index ranked Cambodia 162 out of 179 countries, making it the most corrupt country in Asia after Burma and among the worst globally.
"I think the concern is the past experience," continued Sam Ath. "A lot of natural resources have been extracted often under concessions, but the revenue that has gone into the budget has been less than expected."
"It is generally accepted that poor governance, lack of transparency and corruption are serious problems for Cambodia," said Sek Barisoth, director of the Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption for Equity Programme with PACT Cambodia, another supporter of the emerging coalition.
While observers say the Cambodian Government is verbally committed to the fight against corruption, there has been little action. A proposed anti-corruption law, developed in early 2005 with technical assistance from PACT, remains in draft form. It would establish an independent anti-corruption commission and provide a better legal definition of corruption.
Oil is the current focus of the resource boom, with exploration well underway in the waters off Cambodia’s cost to determine the extent of the country’s reserves.
How much oil is there? "We do not know," said UNDP’s Scheuer. "The standard answer is that no one has done any work on exactly how much oil and gas there is."
Two years ago, U.S. oil giant Chevron, the lead partner in Block A, where exploration has gone the furthest, announced "significant" oil and gas reserves. Scheuer said the company is expected to announce the results of its exploration sometime after Cambodia’s July national election.
With the price of a barrel of crude currently hovering around 130 US dollars and some analysts expecting it to reach 200 dollars by the end of the year, the financial gains for Cambodia are significant.
"It is a potentially huge windfall for a country if invested wisely in the long-term development objectives such as health, education and expanding the labour market," said Scheuer. His organisation has been one of the key donors working to help the Cambodian government deal with the threats and opportunities presented by the oil boom.
It is collaborating with the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority to build its capacity, and earlier this year cooperated with the government to organise a major international conference on oil and gas.
"It is not necessarily a blessing for a country to be endowed with petroleum resources," Arne Walther, a Norwegian diplomat said at the conference. Norway, one of the poorest countries in Europe until the discovery of oil and gas off their coast in the mid-sixties, is cited by many as a success story in terms of how to handle the issues raised by an influx of petro dollars.
"It is how governments arrange for their resources to be extracted and how revenues earned are used that determine the success or failure of being a petroleum endowed state," Walther said. "I believe Cambodia faces a challenging task in planning and developing its petroleum sector and developing policy and instruments for channelling the future oil and gas revenues in a best possible way for the benefit of Cambodians. It is actually a momentous task."
"We realise the opportunities that petroleum revenues may afford us to improve the livelihoods of the Cambodian people," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told the gathering. "The translation of the capital value of oil reserves into the stored capital value of our people through improved health and social conditions and education is very important for the long term prosperity of Cambodia."
"While some technical people in the government are concerned that the Nigerian experience is not copied in Cambodia it is unclear how high up this goes," said Barisoth.
"The concerns are valid," agreed Scheuer. "It is still too early to make a judgement and we are cautiously optimistic that they will get it right," he says of the government’s efforts.
The threat of corruption is not the only factor bearing on Cambodia’s efforts. "It is extremely difficult for a country like Cambodia, with its capacity, to develop a petro industry because everything is so complicated," said Scheuer.
The appropriate contractual arrangements and tax regimes are just two of the complex issues the country faces. Other countries, including developed countries, have encountered unexpected economic difficulties in developing their resource wealth, often dubbed ‘Dutch Disease’.
This refers to the problems associated with dumping large amounts of resource revenue into an economy and the distorting impact this has on other sectors such as agriculture. It originated in the Netherlands after the rapid flow of funds from the discovery of North Sea gas led to significant structural changes, including price increases and the de-industrialisation of many sectors of the economy.
The key message from the conference earlier this year was that Cambodia should take time to develop the industry and get the policy fundamentals right.
"In Norway it was ten years from the first drilling to first revenue coming on stream. Their advice is not to rush it," said Scheuer. "The main point now is to get the governance and policy frameworks right. If they get it right with Block A it will flow onto the other blocks."
The other idea being suggested by donors and experts with experience in the sector is for Cambodia to set up a fund to store revenue from oil and invested appropriately. Similar funds already exist in Norway and East Timor.
"We need to learn more about this fund but in general we would support a transparent process for the resource revenue," said Sam Ath from NGO Forum. He is one of two Cambodian NGO people who are closely studying East Timor to look at how the fledgling state is handling its revenue from natural gas.
Timor was selected from among several countries because of its similarities to Cambodia. "It is very important to build capacity and learn from them how civil society can engage with the government over the distribution of natural resources," said Sam Ath. "NGOs are open and happy to work with the government. We are not working to oppose them but to help them make the most effective use of the revenue from oil and gas."
NGOs and donors are also keen that Phnom Penh sign up to the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative supported by a coalition of governments, companies and civil society organisations aimed at ensuring companies disclose what they pay and governments what they receive.
By Andrew Nette
http://www.ipsnews.net
Ban promises UN probe of sex abuse by peacekeepers
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday the United Nations will investigate allegations by a leading children's charity that U.N. peacekeepers are involved in widespread sexual abuse of children.
The report by Save the Children UK, based on field research in southern Sudan, Ivory Coast and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers and international relief workers against children as young as 6.
It said some children were denied food aid unless they granted sexual favors; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.
"The report shows sexual abuse has been widely underreported because children are afraid to come forward," Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children UK, told Associated Press Television News.
"A tiny proportion of peacekeepers and aid workers are abusing the children they were sent to protect. It ranges from sex for food to coerced sex. It's despicable."
Calling the sexual exploitation of minors a "very serious issue," Ban reiterated to reporters that he has a "zero tolerance" policy for such acts by U.N. personnel.
"I think that the report is very valuable and does give us some good points to which the United Nations should continue to address this issue," Ban said. "On all these cases which have been raised, we will very carefully investigate" and will take "necessary measures" where appropriate.
Earlier, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas had welcomed the report. "It's fair, and I think it's essentially accurate," she said.
Abuses have been reported in peacekeeping missions ranging from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East Timor, West Africa and Congo. The issue was thrust into the spotlight after the United Nations found in early 2005 that peacekeepers in Congo had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money.
Several month later, Jordan's then U.N. ambassador, Prince Zeid al Hussein, wrote a report that described the U.N. military arm as deeply flawed and recommended withholding salaries of the guilty and requiring nations to pursue legal action against perpetrators.
In response, the U.N. adopted a "zero tolerance" policy toward sexual exploitation and abuse and a universal code of conduct. It requires training for all peacekeepers, but punishment for wrong-doers is left to individual countries.
Montas said the report states the United Nations has already undertaken steps designed to tackle the problem, from establishing conduct and discipline units in all U.N. missions to strengthening training for all categories of U.N. personnel. She said the United Nations also needs to strengthen its investigative capacity.
The study was based on research, confidential interviews and focus groups conducted last year. The charity emphasized it did not produce comprehensive statistics about the scale of abuse but did gather enough information to indicate the problem is severe.
The report said that more than half the children interviewed knew of cases of sexual abuse and that in many instances children knew of 10 or more such incidents carried out by aid workers or peacekeepers.
The Save the Children UK researchers, who met with 129 girls and 121 boys between the ages of 10 and 17, and also with a number of adults, found an "overwhelming" majority of the people interviewed would never report a case of abuse and had never heard of a case being reported.
The threat of retaliation, and the stigma attached to sex abuse, were powerful deterrents to coming forward, the report said.
Ann Buchanan, an Oxford University expert in statistical attempts to quantify rates of child abuse, said the topic is so taboo it is virtually impossible to come up with reliable numbers. But she said the new report provides a useful starting point.
"This will never be a statistical study," she said. "We'd call it a pilot work exploring the start of an issue. All the research shows kids don't make it up."
Buchanan, who directs the Oxford Center for Research into Parenting and Children, said the biggest obstacle to accurate numerical studies of child sexual abuse is the reluctance of children to come forward and tell adults they have been taken advantage of.
"Sexual abuse is a hugely difficult, sensitive area and it's not something that you can usually do surveys about because kids feel terrible shame and are afraid to say what's happened to them," she said. "Given what we know about underreporting of sex abuse, I would say this report is probably true. They've gone about it as sensitively as you can."
Save the Children spokesman Dominic Nutt said U.N. peacekeepers are involved in many abuse cases because they are present throughout the world in such large numbers. But he praised the United Nations for improving its reporting and investigative procedures regarding sex abuse.
"We're not singling out the U.N. In some ways they do a good job. It's all peacekeepers and all aid workers, including Save the Children," that are involved in sexual abuses, he said.
The report says several Save the Children workers were fired for having sex with 17-year-old girls in violation of agency guidelines.
In its report, Save the Children UK makes three key recommendations: establish a way for people to report abuse locally, create an international watchdog agency this year to deal with the problem, and set up a program to deal with the underlying causes of child abuse.
Tom Cargill, Africa program manager at the London think tank Chatham House, said there is no "magic bullet" that can solve the problem quickly.
"The governance of U.N. missions has always been a problem because soldiers from individual states are only beholden to those states," he said. "So it's difficult for the U.N. to pursue charges and difficult for the U.N. to investigate them."
By EDITH LEDERER
The Associated Presshttp://www.mlive.com
Rice Futures Drop to Two-Month Low on Increased Global Supplies
May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Rice futures plunged for a third day to a two-month low as producers resumed exports, boosting global supplies, and a report showed improved crop conditions in the U.S., the world's fourth-biggest supplier.
The July contract on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped as much as 5.5 percent to $18.52 per 100 pounds, the lowest since March 24, after declining by the daily limit for the past two days. Cambodia lifted an export ban this week, and Vietnam said May 21 it will remove a ban on new overseas shipments in July.
The staple for half the world has lost as much as 26 percent since reaching a record last month, when it was buoyed by export curbs from China, Vietnam and India. Record prices for food, including wheat, corn and palm oil, have stoked concern about shortages and caused unrest from Haiti to Egypt.
``We will see more supplies in the coming months as producers in Southeast Asia harvest their crops,'' Kazuhiko Saito, strategist at Interes Capital Management Co. in Tokyo said today. ``Producers may try to sell as much as possible following record price levels.''
The July contract fell 74.5 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $18.855 per 100 pounds at 9:23 a.m. Singapore time, after declining by the daily limit of 75 cents yesterday. The price is still 78 percent higher than a year ago.
In the U.S., about 72 percent of the rice crop was in good or excellent condition, up from 65 percent a week earlier and 67 percent a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday in a report. About 94 percent of the U.S. crop was seeded as of May 25, compared with 84 percent a week earlier and 97 percent at the same time in 2007, it said.
To contact the reporter for this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net
By Jae Hur
http://www.bloomberg.com
Cambodia's fuel subsidies to cost 300 mln USD in 2008
PHNOM PENH, May 28, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- -- With discontent growing over rampant inflation, the Cambodian government has claimed it will spent 300 million U.S. dollars on fuel subsidies in 2008, local media reported Wednesday.
"We are trying to control inflation which is a phenomenon that influences Cambodia from outside by subsidizing gasoline," Keat Chhon, Cambodian Minister of Economics and Finance, was quoted by the Mekong Times newspaper as saying.
Keat Chhon predicted the subsidies would cost the state 300 million U.S. dollars by year's end, the newspaper said.
The government still imposes the same tax on oil - 309 U.S. dollars per ton for gasoline and 267 U.S. dollars for diesel - despite the fact imported oil has currently increased price to over 1,000 U.S. dollars per ton, Keat Chhon said.
"Currently, we do not take tax freight and insurance even though the oil price is rising," he added.
The Cambodian government claimed last month it had spent 29 million U.S. dollars on gasoline subsidies so far this year.
BY http://www.tradingmarkets.com
Rice tumbles as Cambodia lifts ban on exports
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Rice futures slumped by their daily limit of 50 cents for a second day on Tuesday after Cambodia, one of the world's top 10 rice exporters, said it will lift restrictions on exports.
Cambodia will resume rice exports Tuesday after a temporary two-month ban, the country's Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Monday, according to the Associated Press. Rice futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade tumbled 50 cents to below $20 per 100 pounds.
Futures prices also slumped by 50 cents on Friday. Trading was closed on Monday in observation of Memorial Day.
Cambodia's move, however, may have a limited effect on the long-term world rice market, according to a U.N. rice expert, because the ban had already been somewhat lifted.
Cambodia has limited milling facilities, said Concepcion Calpe at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. The country has to export rice to two neighboring countries, Thailand and Vietnam, to get milled. Cambodian rice will then be re-exported from these two countries.
"They had lifted bans in a number of neighboring provinces along the boarder," said Calpe. Officially ending the ban will "make things a little easier, but there won't be much difference because rice has already been flowing through the boarder."
Export restrictions
Rice futures have almost doubled this year, touching a record high of $24.46 per 100 pounds in April, despite estimates that the world rice production is to hit a record high in the next crop season. The culprit is export restrictions among leading rice producers, analysts said.
India, the third largest exporter of the grain, banned the export of non-basmati rice in March. Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai on Tuesday said that the country won't follow Cambodia and ease curbs on export restriction, Reuters reported.
India's "export restrictions spread to other suppliers and lead to urgent efforts by rice importing countries to secure supplies -- at any price -- in a thin global market," said Tom Slayton, an economist at Center for Global Development, a Washington-based nongovernmental organization, in a note.
Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter, reportedly may lift restrictions on rice exports in July. But the country lowered this year's export target to between 3.5 million and 4 million tons from last year's 4.5 million tons.
Other countries such as Argentina, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have also placed additional taxes or restrictions on exports of grains, rice and other products.
Export restrictions in some countries were driven by political reasons, Slayton said. India is facing a parliamentary election in May 2009 and "the government does not want to face further criticism."
To secure grain supplies, consuming countries have been encouraging imports by reducing or eliminating tariffs. Mexico on Sunday eliminated import tariffs on staples including corn, rice and wheat, according to Reuters. 
Moming Zhou is a MarketWatch reporter, based in San Francisco.
'India not considering easing rice export ban'
NEW DELHI: India is not considering relaxing its ban on exports of rice, Trade Secretary Gopal Pillai said on Tuesday, despite the promise of a bumper crop in 2008. India, like other Asian rice exporters, had in March banned exports of non-basmati rice after a series of earlier partial restrictions, in a bid to boost supplies contain inflation that is at 3-½ year highs.
It has since hinted that it may ship some rice to neighbours, while a local paper reported on Monday it was considering limited exports to some "strategically" important West African nations. On Monday, Cambodia lifted a ban on rice shipments it imposed two months ago, the first major Asian exporter to roll back such curbs.
by Reuters
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
It has since hinted that it may ship some rice to neighbours, while a local paper reported on Monday it was considering limited exports to some "strategically" important West African nations. On Monday, Cambodia lifted a ban on rice shipments it imposed two months ago, the first major Asian exporter to roll back such curbs.
by Reuters
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
11 parties finally approved to join parliamentary election of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia confirmed that 11 out of the 12 political parties applying to join the general election on July 27 are eligible to vie for seats at the National Assembly, said a press release received Wednesday.
NEC made the ultimate decision, after the Constitutional Council inspected and rejected the application of the Khmer Popular Society Party, said the committee in its release.
Earlier last week, NEC preliminarily denied the party's application and sent its document to the council for further inspection.
The approved participants included the major ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), the co-ruling Funcinpec Party, the royalist Norodom Ranariddh Party, as well as the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and Human Rights Party.
During the previous general election in 2003, 23 political parties vied with each other for the 123 seats in the Cambodian National Assembly. In that year, CPP led by Prime Minister Hun Senwon 73 seats, Funcinpec 26 seats, and SRP 24 seats.
by Editor: An Lu
http://news.xinhuanet.com
Rice falls to daily limit for 2nd time
Rice futures tumbled by their daily limit for the second session as producers eased export bans, alleviating concerns that global supplies will fail to meet demand.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that an export ban has been lifted, Chan Tong Yves, deputy head of the farm ministry, said yesterday by phone from Phnom Penh. Vietnam and India said earlier this month they may ease export curbs.
The staple for half the world, which reached a record $25.07 on the Chicago Board of Trade on April 24, slumped as much 50 cents. The record prices for food, including palm oil and wheat, have stoked concern about shortages and caused riots from Haiti to Egypt.
"The Cambodian news has damped market sentiment," Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst with Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co, said by phone yesterday. "With major producers in Southeast Asia braced for harvesting bumper crops in the next couple of months, the global market sees more supplies."
Rough rice for July delivery fell as much as 2.5 percent to $19.85 per 100 pounds, and traded at that level at 3:27 pm Singapore time. The price is still 88 percent higher than a year ago. The Chicago market, which fell 50 cents on May 23, was closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Cambodia would produce 6.8 million metric tons of unmilled rice this year after sufficient rains, compared with 6.7 million tons last year, the farm ministry's Chan Tong said.
The country has more than 1 million tons of rice available for sale overseas, the Financial Times said yesterday, citing the Cambodian premier. The ban on exports was put in place in March, the report said.
Global forecast
Global output of milled rice in 2008 will be 445.3 million tons, up 2.3 percent from last year's record 435.2 million tons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on May 22. Consumption will rise 2.4 percent, the agency said.
The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, has failed this year, to fill state tenders for the grain, driving prices higher last month. The country imports about 2 million tons a year to plug a supply deficit.
A Philippine food company was the sole buyer today at a rice tender for private companies in Manila, the National Food Authority said. Uni-Agro Native Products Inc was seeking 500 tons out of the total 141,440 tons of tariff-free imports on offer, Assistant Administrator Conrad Ibanez told reporters.
Source:China Daily/Agencies
http://english.people.com.cn
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that an export ban has been lifted, Chan Tong Yves, deputy head of the farm ministry, said yesterday by phone from Phnom Penh. Vietnam and India said earlier this month they may ease export curbs.
The staple for half the world, which reached a record $25.07 on the Chicago Board of Trade on April 24, slumped as much 50 cents. The record prices for food, including palm oil and wheat, have stoked concern about shortages and caused riots from Haiti to Egypt.
"The Cambodian news has damped market sentiment," Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst with Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co, said by phone yesterday. "With major producers in Southeast Asia braced for harvesting bumper crops in the next couple of months, the global market sees more supplies."
Rough rice for July delivery fell as much as 2.5 percent to $19.85 per 100 pounds, and traded at that level at 3:27 pm Singapore time. The price is still 88 percent higher than a year ago. The Chicago market, which fell 50 cents on May 23, was closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Cambodia would produce 6.8 million metric tons of unmilled rice this year after sufficient rains, compared with 6.7 million tons last year, the farm ministry's Chan Tong said.
The country has more than 1 million tons of rice available for sale overseas, the Financial Times said yesterday, citing the Cambodian premier. The ban on exports was put in place in March, the report said.
Global forecast
Global output of milled rice in 2008 will be 445.3 million tons, up 2.3 percent from last year's record 435.2 million tons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on May 22. Consumption will rise 2.4 percent, the agency said.
The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, has failed this year, to fill state tenders for the grain, driving prices higher last month. The country imports about 2 million tons a year to plug a supply deficit.
A Philippine food company was the sole buyer today at a rice tender for private companies in Manila, the National Food Authority said. Uni-Agro Native Products Inc was seeking 500 tons out of the total 141,440 tons of tariff-free imports on offer, Assistant Administrator Conrad Ibanez told reporters.
Source:China Daily/Agencies
http://english.people.com.cn
SMEs need access to world market data
Local small and medium-sized enterprises need better access to information on changes in international trade regulations if they are to prosper, according to local experts.
Nitinant Wisaweisuan, an economist at Thammasat University, said small firms would face increased difficulties coping with changing trade-related standards such as health and environmental regulations in Europe.
Local companies already face many non-tariff trade barriers, such as hygiene requirements for poultry products or rules on chemicals and waste management in industrial products.
''Local electrical appliance producers are faced with tough requirements on chemical and electrical waste management. Furniture producers have been told to switch to 'E zero' glue that must be imported from Germany from the 'E20' currently used,'' Assoc Prof Nitinant said at an economics conference yesterday.
''Such measures will keep evolving as people become more conscious of health and environmental issues.''
Western importers were more likely to switch suppliers to, say, Thailand or the Philippines if shortcomings are found in products produced elsewhere, such as China, she said. ''In such an environment, large firms will be able to adjust, but smaller firms may not.''
She said such regulations would not pose a problem so long as producers had the information available to make adjustments.
Databases are also important for local companies looking to invest abroad, as they need to be prepared to comply with foreign tax, labour and other regulations.Sorachon Boonsong, a partner with the law firm Baker & McKenzie, agreed that local firms lacked access to information on the rules and laws of other countries.
Meanwhile, Thailand's relatively high corporate tax, complicated state licensing requirements and uncertainties regarding the Foreign Business Act were disadvantages for the country in the competition for foreign investment.
''For instance, if a foreign investor wants to open a new hotel, he will have to do a lot of paperwork to secure permission from the government, such as construction permits, liquor sales permits, as well as the need to comply with cultural issues,'' Mr Sorachon said.
He said that Thai antitrust law, enacted seven years ago to prevent small companies from being at a disadvantage to larger companies, was toothless because of the lack of supporting legislation.
''If local firms want to invest abroad, they need to comply with antitrust law in all those countries. Thai law is backward in this sense,'' Mr Sorachon said.
Even access to information for neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Laos was difficult for many Thai small firms, he said, let alone information about the European market.
by PARISTA YUTHAMANOP
http://www.bangkokpost.com
Plane crashes in southeast Cambodia - official
PHNOM PENH, May 27 (Reuters) - An airplane has crashed in the remote province of Kampot in southeast Cambodia, a local military commander said on Tuesday.
"I can confirm there was a foreign plane that crashed in Cambodia in the province of Kampot this morning. We don't have any details," deputy Kampot military commander Kung Mony told Reuters.
Villagers in one district told Reuters they had heard a loud explosion. Soldiers and police were searching the area.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Sanjeev Miglani)
by http://www.reuters.com
"I can confirm there was a foreign plane that crashed in Cambodia in the province of Kampot this morning. We don't have any details," deputy Kampot military commander Kung Mony told Reuters.
Villagers in one district told Reuters they had heard a loud explosion. Soldiers and police were searching the area.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Sanjeev Miglani)
by http://www.reuters.com
UPDATE 1-U.S. corn, wheat futures fall as oil prices retreat
SEOUL, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. grain futures, led by soybean and wheat, extended overnight losses to fall more than 1 percent in early Asian trading on Wednesday as a retreat in crude oil prices dampened demand for grains used to make biofuels.
A firmer U.S. dollar also weakened sentiment for the commodities, which are used by many large institutional investors to hedge against a weaker U.S. currency and inflation risk.
July corn futures
Soybean futures were slightly lower, supported by supply concerns, as farmers in Argentina, one of the world's major soy exporters, announced their third strike in over two months against higher taxes on grain exports.
After the U.S. markets were closed, Argentine farmers said they would halt grains exports until June 2 to protest a sliding-scale export tax. [ID:nN27314388]
July soybean futures
U.S. oil prices
CBOT July rice futures tumbled to two-month lows on signs that global rice supplies were likely improve and expectations that Vietnam would lift export curbs from July to follow Cambodia, which decided on Monday to lift a two-month rice export. [ID:nHAN11484]
July rice futures
Opinion: A hungry world tests skills of peacemakers
The food price crisis is threatening to plunge millions back into poverty and if not handled properly can blow out of proportion and spark global problems affecting economic growth and political security, writes MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS.
So what happens when people are driven to kill one another for food? It's a critical question to ask as the world faces a sudden and unexpected food price crisis that is threatening to plunge millions back into poverty.
The sharp spike in food prices this year has already generated violence. Food riots in parts of Africa and the Caribbean have created social and political instability. In rice-growing countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand hoarding has begun, with export bans already in place creating inter-state friction. Myanmar's rice-growing capacity has been devastated by cyclone Nargis, which will add to price pressures in the coming months.
This is largely a crisis born of inflation and other market factors, rather than fundamental shortages. Prices for the benchmark Thai variety of rice, a food staple across much of Asia, have increased threefold in a year, reports the Asian Development Bank. Meat prices have risen by 60 per cent in Bangladesh in the year ending in March, and by 45 per cent in Cambodia and 30 per cent in the Philippines. With this sharp increase in the price of basic staples people are already hoarding, stealing and fighting over scarce supplies. The World Food Programme calls it a "Silent Tsunami".
Hunger causes conflict when people feel they have nothing to lose and are willing to kill their neighbours over scarce resources. The peasant wars of the late 20th century in Central and South America and the wars that sprung from famine in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sudan are grim reminders of man's most basic instinct, which is to fight to survive.
The trouble is that in terms of resolving conflict, we have come to rely less on material remedies and more on political artifice. Many of the internal conflicts that have been peacefully resolved in recent years only superficially addressed the material seeds of conflict. Peace agreements have been elite affairs where leaders of armed groups and governments reached an understanding on how to share power within a common state.
This approach is a sensible first step toward conflict resolution: by convincing those inciting violence to lay down their arms, it becomes possible to start designing a wider range of policies addressing socio-economic issues. However, typically, the socio-economic changes and the economic reconstruction and development the public was expecting trickled down slowly, if at all. Aceh remains one of the poorest parts of Indonesia, as does Mindanao in the southern Philippines -- two areas of Southeast Asia where peace has been negotiated.
When hunger drives people into conflict, we might presume that peacemaking will simply be a question of providing food. We would be mistaken. In fact, the experience of humanitarian aid agencies in the 1970s and 80s in Africa was that food aid tends to fuel conflict as the combatants seek to harness the supply of nutrition to the goals of war.
Experts tell us that farmers will eventually adjust the supply of food to cope with higher demand so that prices stabilise. More encouragingly, there are signs that decades of improving co-operation between states is stimulating a collective urge to resolve the crisis. The sharing of technology is key says former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan. He believes that farmers in Africa could double food output in five to 10 years if rich countries partner them in a "Green Revolution" for a long-term solution to the continent's food crisis.
But realistically, trade agreements and technological advances are slow-moving transformations. In the meantime, officials in India warn that the food price crisis could plunge millions of people into poverty in a country that is already battling an internal Marxist insurgency that draws support from impoverished and landless peasants. In Bangladesh, where the soaring cost of staples has forced the marginally poor to give up meat and rice, there is a significantly increased risk of conflict in an already fractured polity.
The immediate challenge, therefore, is to prevent and resolve conflict arising from the food crisis. This places a significant burden on the international community to swiftly respond to outbreaks of violence. But if people driven to war by hunger are less inclined to compromise this makes the task of peacemaking rather more challenging.
For one thing, conflict fuelled by hunger will be more widespread, exerting strain on international agencies involved in peacekeeping and humanitarian work. Food security is already fragile in many African countries and protracted conflict tends to drift across borders, as we have seen in Sudan and Congo.
Peacemakers need to be more aware of the socio-economic roots of conflict. They should incorporate in peace agreements remedies for the population's grievances and to enlist the international community's support behind their implementation. Such remedies should include pledges by leaders to address in a meaningful manner contentious issues such as land distribution, job creation, and racial and ethnic discrimination leading to socioeconomic inequality.
The ethnic and religious wars of the last half of the 20th century have perhaps lulled us into a false sense of security. We have grown accustomed to resolving conflict by forging political accommodation and compromise in situations where protagonists had much to lose materially if they kept on fighting.
But in a world where environmental and market pressures can triple the price of staple commodities in the matter of a few months, it is harder to find the grounds for compromise. This calls for more effective negotiating skills both domestically and internationally, bilaterally as well as multilaterally, to resolve these crises. Markets must be kept open to assist with the flow of goods to crisis situations, and in affected countries solutions must be found that address both elite and popular grievances.
The writer is Asia regional director for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
by http://www.nst.com.my
Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin
EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions. Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3. While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures. NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said. The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission. Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25. :Victims of the Cambodia accident were sucked under a pontoon by undercurrents. Still the fact that they were not wearing life jackets came under the spotlight at the time. Safety recommendations expected from the inquiry panel’s report include the compulsory donning of life jackets in all competitions. While vests are mandated for meets held here, this is not necessarily the case overseas :— even in some events conducted to the International Dragon Boat Federation’s standards. But the schools are not taking chances. The NUS advises its paddlers to wear life jackets, while the NTU team wears them during all training sessions and competitions. The Singapore Dragon Boat Association said its affiliates should consult the association prior to any overseas races. “We will draw their attention to anything that is unusual, for example, fast currents (at the race venue) or unusual equipment required,” said its president Rear-Admiral (Ret) Kwek Siew Jin.
Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin Neo Chai Chin EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions. Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3. While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures. NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said. The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission. Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25. :Victims of the Cambodia accident were sucked under a pontoon by undercurrents. Still the fact that they were not wearing life jackets came under the spotlight at the time. Safety recommendations expected from the inquiry panel’s report include the compulsory donning of life jackets in all competitions. While vests are mandated for meets held here, this is not necessarily the case overseas :— even in some events conducted to the International Dragon Boat Federation’s standards. But the schools are not taking chances. The NUS advises its paddlers to wear life jackets, while the NTU team wears them during all training sessions and competitions. The Singapore Dragon Boat Association said its affiliates should consult the association prior to any overseas races. “We will draw their attention to anything that is unusual, for example, fast currents (at the race venue) or unusual equipment required,” said its president Rear-Admiral (Ret) Kwek Siew Jin.
chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg
Findings on dragon boat tragedy due Friday, asregional races begin Neo Chai Chin EVEN as the inquiry panel’s long-awaited report on last November’s Cambodia dragon boating accident is due out on Friday, many local teams are already steaming ahead with preparations for upcoming regional competitions. Some teams began planning more than two months ago. Next month, the Safra Dragons will compete in Nanning, China, while the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) team will compete in Macau. Teams from NUS, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National Junior College and other organisations will also take part in the Club Crew World Championships cum ADBF Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Penang from August 1 to 3. While some may question the wisdom of committing to overseas competitions before the release of inquiry findings on the accident in Cambodia — which killed five national paddlers :— the schools told Today they would stick to tried-and-trusted safety procedures. NUS’ student athletes competing overseas are insured and will be accompanied by their coach and at least one team manager, said a spokesperson. A crisis management plan with “proper response procedures” is also in place, she said. The NTU team decided to race in Penang because of its confidence in the Penang Dragon Boat Association and because it has competed there since 2002, said a spokesperson. But paddlers below the age of 21 will need their parents’ permission. Dragon-boaters told Today the tragedy in Cambodia had not dampened their competitive spirit. “Going overseas to train and compete exposes us to a different level of competition,” said NTU student Tan Hanming, 25. :Victims of the Cambodia accident
by Neo Chai Chin
http://www.todayonline.com
chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg
by Neo Chai Chin
http://www.todayonline.com
Monday, May 26, 2008
Cambodia provides $250,000 to help cyclone-hit Myanmar
PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will provide additional 250,000 U.S. dollars to help Myanmar after the cyclone disaster, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced here on Monday.
"Including the 50,000 U.S. dollars that Cambodia has already provided, we will provide up to 300,000 U.S. dollars to Myanmar," Hun Sen said while addressing an inauguration ceremony at the National Institute of Education.
"The amount of money is from our honest heart to help Myanmar but it is still little because we are also poor," he said.
He added that Myanmar used to help Cambodia with 500 tons of rice seeds in 2000 when Cambodia suffered from floods.
by Editor: Bi Mingxin
China view
http://news.xinhuanet.com
"Including the 50,000 U.S. dollars that Cambodia has already provided, we will provide up to 300,000 U.S. dollars to Myanmar," Hun Sen said while addressing an inauguration ceremony at the National Institute of Education.
"The amount of money is from our honest heart to help Myanmar but it is still little because we are also poor," he said.
He added that Myanmar used to help Cambodia with 500 tons of rice seeds in 2000 when Cambodia suffered from floods.
by Editor: Bi Mingxin
China view
http://news.xinhuanet.com
Cambodia frees up vital rice surplus
Cambodia has lifted a ban on rice exports to reduce global concerns over supplies of the grain.The prime minister, Hun Sen, imposed the ban in late March in a bid to halt the staple food's spiraling prices.Saying the country has enough rice for its own needs, the premier says the lifting of the ban would also help reduce global concerns over supplies of rice.But to maintain the nation's reserves, he says exports must go through the government system and will be limited to 1.6 million tonnes.
by ABC
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au
by ABC
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au
Ex-Thai PM Thaksin plans 'modern city' in Cambodia: official
PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is planning to build a "modern city" in neighbouring Cambodia, replete with a financial district and port, an official said Monday.
The businessman, who owns English football club Manchester City, told Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen of his plans for Koh Kong province, near the Thai border, during a meeting on Friday in the capital Phnom Penh.
"He did not say how much money will be invested, he just told Prime Minister Hun Sen about his plan," Hun Sen's spokesman, Eang Sophalleth, told AFP.
Thaksin, joined by other Thai investors, told Hun Sen that the planned city would include a financial centre, hospital, schools and housing, he said.
A port to be used for fixing broken ships would also be included, he said.
Eang Sophalleth said Hun Sen welcomed the plan, asking Thaksin to work on his project with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
Thaksin was toppled in a military coup in September 2006 and went into self-imposed exile in Britain.
The 58-year-old former Thai premier returned to Bangkok in late February after his allies swept back into power in elections late last year.
by AFP
http://afp.google.com
The businessman, who owns English football club Manchester City, told Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen of his plans for Koh Kong province, near the Thai border, during a meeting on Friday in the capital Phnom Penh.
"He did not say how much money will be invested, he just told Prime Minister Hun Sen about his plan," Hun Sen's spokesman, Eang Sophalleth, told AFP.
Thaksin, joined by other Thai investors, told Hun Sen that the planned city would include a financial centre, hospital, schools and housing, he said.
A port to be used for fixing broken ships would also be included, he said.
Eang Sophalleth said Hun Sen welcomed the plan, asking Thaksin to work on his project with the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
Thaksin was toppled in a military coup in September 2006 and went into self-imposed exile in Britain.
The 58-year-old former Thai premier returned to Bangkok in late February after his allies swept back into power in elections late last year.
by AFP
http://afp.google.com
Children not getting breakfast because of aid cuts
KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia (AP) - At dawn in a ramshackle elementary school in rural Cambodia, the children think of only one thing: their stomachs. They anxiously await the steaming buckets of free rice delivered to their desks.
But by the end of the month, they will no longer get free breakfast from the U.N. World Food Program. About 450,000 Cambodian students will become the latest victims of soaring global food prices.
Five local suppliers have defaulted on contracts to provide rice because they can get a higher price elsewhere, program officials say. Prices of rice have tripled on the global market since December.
Faced with a shortfall of more than 14,000 tons of rice, and with more pressing needs to meet, the World Food Program stopped the free breakfasts in March. The schools' remaining stocks are expected to run out in the coming days.
That will leave students without what was often the best meal they got all day.
``I feel hopeless,'' said Boeurn Srey Leak, a 15-year-old in sixth grade.
Rich countries have pledged $469 million for food aid to address what is expected to be a $755 million deficit, due to food prices that have risen 76 percent since December. The U.S., already the largest provider of food aid, is expected to contribute almost a third of that money. If Congress approves, the U.S. will contribute $770 million more to be available after Oct. 1.
But the money will not arrive in time to save some food programs from being cut or ended.
``I don't think there is a single program that doesn't have some kind of concerns because they have to scale down,'' said Susana Rico, an official of the World Food Program which feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children. ``The majority of countries will suffer some kind of cutbacks in rations or programs in the next three to five months.''
The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.
Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.
Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people - nearly a quarter of the number it serves - because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.
In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 40 miles west of the capital, Phnom Penh.
``They are more focused on lessons, and their reading ability has improved subsequently,'' he noted.
But principals at many such rural schools don't have the money to replace the breakfast program. Girls in particular will be at risk of dropping out because families need them at home to work in the fields or help raise siblings, said Thomas Keusters, the World Food Program's Cambodia director. Children in Cambodia often start school late and repeat grades a lot, he said.
``It's not uncommon to have a girl in grade five or six who is already 15 or 16 years old,'' Keusters said. ``We are paying them to come to school. I'm very concerned about them because I have no rice.''
About six miles away from Choumpou Proek school, the students of Sangkum Seksa school devour hearty portions of rice, peas and sardines in the morning. The school has only 10 rooms, housed in two faded yellow concrete buildings. Some students go barefoot.
``I can only feel pity for them,'' said the principal, Tan Sak. ``I have no solution for them after the current stock is used up.''
Before the free breakfasts, many students left school before noon so they could eat lunch at home.
``I had difficulty sitting in the class because my stomach was growling,'' Rim Channa, a 13-year-old fifth-grader.
Now, once again, all they will have for breakfast is the tart fruit from the nearby tamarind trees.
---
Associated Press Environmental Writer Michael Casey contributed to this report from Bangkok, Thailand.
---
On the Net:
World Food Program: http://www.wfp.org/english/
By KER MUNTHIT and MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press Writers
But by the end of the month, they will no longer get free breakfast from the U.N. World Food Program. About 450,000 Cambodian students will become the latest victims of soaring global food prices.
Five local suppliers have defaulted on contracts to provide rice because they can get a higher price elsewhere, program officials say. Prices of rice have tripled on the global market since December.
Faced with a shortfall of more than 14,000 tons of rice, and with more pressing needs to meet, the World Food Program stopped the free breakfasts in March. The schools' remaining stocks are expected to run out in the coming days.
That will leave students without what was often the best meal they got all day.
``I feel hopeless,'' said Boeurn Srey Leak, a 15-year-old in sixth grade.
Rich countries have pledged $469 million for food aid to address what is expected to be a $755 million deficit, due to food prices that have risen 76 percent since December. The U.S., already the largest provider of food aid, is expected to contribute almost a third of that money. If Congress approves, the U.S. will contribute $770 million more to be available after Oct. 1.
But the money will not arrive in time to save some food programs from being cut or ended.
``I don't think there is a single program that doesn't have some kind of concerns because they have to scale down,'' said Susana Rico, an official of the World Food Program which feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children. ``The majority of countries will suffer some kind of cutbacks in rations or programs in the next three to five months.''
The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.
Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.
Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people - nearly a quarter of the number it serves - because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.
In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 40 miles west of the capital, Phnom Penh.
``They are more focused on lessons, and their reading ability has improved subsequently,'' he noted.
But principals at many such rural schools don't have the money to replace the breakfast program. Girls in particular will be at risk of dropping out because families need them at home to work in the fields or help raise siblings, said Thomas Keusters, the World Food Program's Cambodia director. Children in Cambodia often start school late and repeat grades a lot, he said.
``It's not uncommon to have a girl in grade five or six who is already 15 or 16 years old,'' Keusters said. ``We are paying them to come to school. I'm very concerned about them because I have no rice.''
About six miles away from Choumpou Proek school, the students of Sangkum Seksa school devour hearty portions of rice, peas and sardines in the morning. The school has only 10 rooms, housed in two faded yellow concrete buildings. Some students go barefoot.
``I can only feel pity for them,'' said the principal, Tan Sak. ``I have no solution for them after the current stock is used up.''
Before the free breakfasts, many students left school before noon so they could eat lunch at home.
``I had difficulty sitting in the class because my stomach was growling,'' Rim Channa, a 13-year-old fifth-grader.
Now, once again, all they will have for breakfast is the tart fruit from the nearby tamarind trees.
---
Associated Press Environmental Writer Michael Casey contributed to this report from Bangkok, Thailand.
---
On the Net:
World Food Program: http://www.wfp.org/english/
By KER MUNTHIT and MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press Writers
Cambodian orphans melt ex-pat
Donelle McLeod tries not to get too attached to the children at the Rainbow Bridge Happy Tree Aids orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, but says it is difficult not to.
Ms McLeod, formerly of Cambridge and with family still in Waikato, is based in the Cambodian capital working for ANZ, and is a regular visitor to Rainbow Bridge, an orphanage specifically for children with HIV/Aids.
She was back in Hamilton for a short stay last week, and spoke to members of Hamilton's Wesley Methodist Church about her connection to the orphanage and how donations from parishioners had helped the facility.
"You can't get too connected to them (the children) or you just want to take them all home. They certainly get connected to you," said Ms McLeod, who plays with the children for a few hours each week.
"But you have fun you make water bombs, kick a ball around, read books, that sort of stuff."
The orphanage is home to more than 60 children.
Ms McLeod regularly donates clothing, toys and linen to the orphanage, and insists any friends coming to Phnom Penh to stay with her do the same as payment for their stay with her.
Food, shelter and clothing are covered by government grants, but all other goods and services are paid for with donations.
Donations from Hamilton people have enabled orphanage staff to vaccinate the children, who range in age from babies to 19-year-olds.
While she had been a little sceptical of what percentage of charity donations actually reached the communities they're intended for, Ms McLeod said having direct contact with Rainbow Bridge staff reassured her donations were definitely being used to benefit the children. Ms McLeod added her own money to make up the donations to US dollar value, a popular currency in Cambodia.
Ms McLeod was introduced to the orphanage through a work colleague and said her involvement over the past 12 months "has become bigger than Ben Hur".
She is contracted to work in Cambodia until next May.
Her role involves bringing Cambodian banks up to international standards.
By JEFF NEEMS - Waikato Times
Ms McLeod, formerly of Cambridge and with family still in Waikato, is based in the Cambodian capital working for ANZ, and is a regular visitor to Rainbow Bridge, an orphanage specifically for children with HIV/Aids.
She was back in Hamilton for a short stay last week, and spoke to members of Hamilton's Wesley Methodist Church about her connection to the orphanage and how donations from parishioners had helped the facility.
"You can't get too connected to them (the children) or you just want to take them all home. They certainly get connected to you," said Ms McLeod, who plays with the children for a few hours each week.
"But you have fun you make water bombs, kick a ball around, read books, that sort of stuff."
The orphanage is home to more than 60 children.
Ms McLeod regularly donates clothing, toys and linen to the orphanage, and insists any friends coming to Phnom Penh to stay with her do the same as payment for their stay with her.
Food, shelter and clothing are covered by government grants, but all other goods and services are paid for with donations.
Donations from Hamilton people have enabled orphanage staff to vaccinate the children, who range in age from babies to 19-year-olds.
While she had been a little sceptical of what percentage of charity donations actually reached the communities they're intended for, Ms McLeod said having direct contact with Rainbow Bridge staff reassured her donations were definitely being used to benefit the children. Ms McLeod added her own money to make up the donations to US dollar value, a popular currency in Cambodia.
Ms McLeod was introduced to the orphanage through a work colleague and said her involvement over the past 12 months "has become bigger than Ben Hur".
She is contracted to work in Cambodia until next May.
Her role involves bringing Cambodian banks up to international standards.
By JEFF NEEMS - Waikato Times
Cambodian gov't warns island developers over breaches of contract
PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Cambodian official has told investors developing islands to speed up their projects, warning that they must not divide their land concessions into plots for resale, local media reported Monday.
"Investors should not construct houses or villas for sale. They have to establish hotels or resorts to attract tourists to Cambodia," Keat Chhon, Cambodian Minister of Economics and Finance, was quoted by the Mekong Times as saying.
"We will not allow companies to violate their contracts," he warned.
The Cambodian government has granted permission for private firms to construct resorts worth billions of dollars on 10 islands off the coast of Sihanoukville and Kampot.
However, only a few sites are currently under construction, with rumors that companies are violating their contracts to build luxury residences for sale.
Sihanoukville governor Say Hak has previously warned that investors will lose their deposit and have their islands confiscated if development is too slow.
by
www.chinaview.cn
"Investors should not construct houses or villas for sale. They have to establish hotels or resorts to attract tourists to Cambodia," Keat Chhon, Cambodian Minister of Economics and Finance, was quoted by the Mekong Times as saying.
"We will not allow companies to violate their contracts," he warned.
The Cambodian government has granted permission for private firms to construct resorts worth billions of dollars on 10 islands off the coast of Sihanoukville and Kampot.
However, only a few sites are currently under construction, with rumors that companies are violating their contracts to build luxury residences for sale.
Sihanoukville governor Say Hak has previously warned that investors will lose their deposit and have their islands confiscated if development is too slow.
by
www.chinaview.cn
Newlyweds lend a hand in Cambodia's struggle against war, poverty
SIEM REAP, Cambodia -- Let's be honest: It was the specter of tigers, temples and tom yam soup that led my husband and me to honeymoon in Southeast Asia. We wanted an adventure to remember, on a continent where neither of us had been.
But as I researched our trip, I realized that we should spend at least a little time giving back to people who are still struggling for the basics after decades of war and poverty.
We found a way to have it all in Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the ancient temple complex Angkor Wat -- and Ponheary Ly, a tour guide who considers it her mission to help educate as many Cambodian children as possible.
I found Ly, a Siem Reap native and survivor of dictator Pol Pot's labor camps, through the Asia message board on Fodors.com. Ly, 44, is a veteran guide who has arranged private tours of Angkor Wat and other Siem Reap attractions in both English and French -- languages she learned in secret during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia -- since 2000.
A former English teacher, Ly has also worked for seven years to enroll children in Cambodian schools. While public school in the country is ostensibly free for the first three years, many rural children do not have the $12 necessary for shoes, school supplies or uniforms, she said.
''As a teacher, I knew about the difficulties of the kids and families who couldn't send the kids to schools,'' she said. ``Also, I found that the kids are smart, but they don't have any occasion to show how smart they are. To build the country, we have to build the education for all people, especially the kids.''
It's a message that Ly's clients -- mostly Americans who prefer independent travel with native guides to packaged tours -- could support. In addition to touring the temples, more and more visitors asked Ly whether they could visit the schools and donate money for bicycles, supplies and uniforms.
Lori Carlson, formerly of Austin, Texas, was one such convert. When she visited here in 2005, Carlson was struck by Ly's dedication. On her return to the States, she founded the Ponheary Ly Foundation (www.theplf.org), a registered nonprofit that channels money directly to the schools.
By last December, Carlson, 48, had raised $90,000 for five schools -- and quit her job to move here to work full time with Ly. She formed a board of directors for the PLF, which distributed school supplies to 1,955 children last fall.
''I believe the travelers who go to visit the temples at Angkor Wat understand they bear at least some of the responsibility to gently nudge these children toward school rather than reinforce the idea that it's good to stand on the corner and beg dollars from tourists,'' she said.
With such strong advocates, Don and I were excited to meet Ly and do our part. We arrived here to find a city undergoing massive change. The number of tourists visiting Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, has exploded in recent years, spurring an increase in hotels, shops, restaurants and other businesses.
While the influx of dollars has been good for many Cambodians (merchants prefer U.S. dollars to the Cambodian rial), it's disconcerting to see barefoot bicyclists ride past $800-a-night hotels. Young children hawk maps, books and trinkets near the temple grounds; tuk-tuk drivers fight over $1 fares.
That's not to say that Don and I eschew luxury (it was our honeymoon, after all). We turned down a $20 room at Ly's simple guesthouse, primarily because it didn't have a pool, which we considered essential to deal with the area's crushing humidity. At $95, our poolside room at Bopha Angkor was spacious yet not ostentatious, and the package included daily breakfast, a traditional Khmer dinner and a massage.
Just a few hours after we landed, we went to Angkor Wat with Ly's brother Dara as our guide. There are more than 300 temples in the complex, but Dara steered us to the ones that would provide the most interesting backdrops for my husband, the photographer.
As we sweated in the 90-degree heat, I asked Dara about his family's experience under the Khmer Rouge. He told us that his father, a teacher in Siem Reap, was among the first wave of educated people to be killed under Pol Pot's regime. As a result, Dara and his siblings were sent with their mother to the countryside to work.
It's a sobering tale, and we heard more from Ly over the next few days. Ly, who was 13 when the Khmer Rouge came to power, and her siblings survived, mainly because villagers would leave food for them at night.
''We were given this much rice,'' Ly told us, holding up the tip of her finger. Dara would ''crawl out on all fours, like a cat'' to get extra food; sometimes, actual cats or monkeys would have gotten to the rations instead, she said.
Still, the extra nourishment kept the family alive -- and the Khmer Rouge noticed. Officials asked her mother why her children were still alive when so many other youngsters had died, Ly said. When her mother refused to answer, she was horribly beaten.
Such atrocities were common in the Pol Pot years. Yet most Cambodians don't like to talk about the time under the Khmer Rouge, Carlson said. It's rare to find it discussed in schools, primarily due to the country's Buddhist beliefs, which hold that people -- even war criminals -- are responsible for their own karma.
Ly is different, Carlson said. She understands that it's important to talk about the past so it doesn't happen again. We were talking in Ly's van, on our way to deliver lunch to the 476 children at Knar school, out in the Cambodian countryside. On the road, we saw men on bikes toting crates filled with piglets and open huts with children playing in the dirt.
Cambodian families expect all children, no matter how young, to contribute economically, Ly told us. Which is why even the kids who are lucky enough to go to school attend for a half day; at home, they are needed for chores, farm work or other money-making ventures.
In addition to a donation made before our trip, we gave Ly $40 for lunch, which buys two noodle packets for each child. That's essential, Carlson said, because if the child received only one packet, he or she would take it home to the family instead of eating it. The school tries to feed the children at least once a day to make sure they have enough energy to learn, Carlson said.
We arrived at Knar School, which consists of several one-story classrooms. As Don carried the boxes of noodle packets into the rooms, the children's eyes grew wide. They straightened in their seats and thanked us by pressing their hands together and bowing.
Carlson and Ly showed us around the school and talked about the improvements that have been made. Incentives such as bicycles, uniforms and extra noodle packets show the families that there are tangible benefits to their children attending school, Carlson said.
''I would like to have my country be the same as the other countries,'' Ly said, with Cambodian children able ``to have good education to work well to get out from the poor life.''
The children seemed to love school, showing off their uniforms and books. An impromptu game of soccer ensued, with Don in the thick of it. It was an emotional sight for me, which sparked later discussion: Although we had been together several years, Don and I had never talked about the greater good we could accomplish as a couple.
It's a conversation that all newlyweds should have, wherever their honeymoon takes them. For us, road-testing our fledgling marriage in an underdeveloped country not only gave us the adventures we sought, but also set the course for a more permanent path. And that's definitely a trip worth taking.
IF YOU GO
There are no direct flights to Siem Reap from the United States. You can fly there from various Asian cities, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
We stayed at Bopha Angkor (www.bopha-angkor.com), booking the ``Poolside Evasion package.''
We booked Ponheary Ly as a guide by e-mail (ponhearyyahoo.com). Ly charged us $145 for 2 ½ days of touring, which included three half-day sessions at Angkor Wat, the visit to Knar School and a visit to the floating village on Tonle Sap lake.
Information: Ponheary Ly Foundation, www.theplf.org; www.tourismcambodia.com; www.angkorwat.org
BY CHRIS GRAY
Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.miamiherald.com
But as I researched our trip, I realized that we should spend at least a little time giving back to people who are still struggling for the basics after decades of war and poverty.
We found a way to have it all in Siem Reap, Cambodia, home of the ancient temple complex Angkor Wat -- and Ponheary Ly, a tour guide who considers it her mission to help educate as many Cambodian children as possible.
I found Ly, a Siem Reap native and survivor of dictator Pol Pot's labor camps, through the Asia message board on Fodors.com. Ly, 44, is a veteran guide who has arranged private tours of Angkor Wat and other Siem Reap attractions in both English and French -- languages she learned in secret during the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia -- since 2000.
A former English teacher, Ly has also worked for seven years to enroll children in Cambodian schools. While public school in the country is ostensibly free for the first three years, many rural children do not have the $12 necessary for shoes, school supplies or uniforms, she said.
''As a teacher, I knew about the difficulties of the kids and families who couldn't send the kids to schools,'' she said. ``Also, I found that the kids are smart, but they don't have any occasion to show how smart they are. To build the country, we have to build the education for all people, especially the kids.''
It's a message that Ly's clients -- mostly Americans who prefer independent travel with native guides to packaged tours -- could support. In addition to touring the temples, more and more visitors asked Ly whether they could visit the schools and donate money for bicycles, supplies and uniforms.
Lori Carlson, formerly of Austin, Texas, was one such convert. When she visited here in 2005, Carlson was struck by Ly's dedication. On her return to the States, she founded the Ponheary Ly Foundation (www.theplf.org), a registered nonprofit that channels money directly to the schools.
By last December, Carlson, 48, had raised $90,000 for five schools -- and quit her job to move here to work full time with Ly. She formed a board of directors for the PLF, which distributed school supplies to 1,955 children last fall.
''I believe the travelers who go to visit the temples at Angkor Wat understand they bear at least some of the responsibility to gently nudge these children toward school rather than reinforce the idea that it's good to stand on the corner and beg dollars from tourists,'' she said.
With such strong advocates, Don and I were excited to meet Ly and do our part. We arrived here to find a city undergoing massive change. The number of tourists visiting Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, has exploded in recent years, spurring an increase in hotels, shops, restaurants and other businesses.
While the influx of dollars has been good for many Cambodians (merchants prefer U.S. dollars to the Cambodian rial), it's disconcerting to see barefoot bicyclists ride past $800-a-night hotels. Young children hawk maps, books and trinkets near the temple grounds; tuk-tuk drivers fight over $1 fares.
That's not to say that Don and I eschew luxury (it was our honeymoon, after all). We turned down a $20 room at Ly's simple guesthouse, primarily because it didn't have a pool, which we considered essential to deal with the area's crushing humidity. At $95, our poolside room at Bopha Angkor was spacious yet not ostentatious, and the package included daily breakfast, a traditional Khmer dinner and a massage.
Just a few hours after we landed, we went to Angkor Wat with Ly's brother Dara as our guide. There are more than 300 temples in the complex, but Dara steered us to the ones that would provide the most interesting backdrops for my husband, the photographer.
As we sweated in the 90-degree heat, I asked Dara about his family's experience under the Khmer Rouge. He told us that his father, a teacher in Siem Reap, was among the first wave of educated people to be killed under Pol Pot's regime. As a result, Dara and his siblings were sent with their mother to the countryside to work.
It's a sobering tale, and we heard more from Ly over the next few days. Ly, who was 13 when the Khmer Rouge came to power, and her siblings survived, mainly because villagers would leave food for them at night.
''We were given this much rice,'' Ly told us, holding up the tip of her finger. Dara would ''crawl out on all fours, like a cat'' to get extra food; sometimes, actual cats or monkeys would have gotten to the rations instead, she said.
Still, the extra nourishment kept the family alive -- and the Khmer Rouge noticed. Officials asked her mother why her children were still alive when so many other youngsters had died, Ly said. When her mother refused to answer, she was horribly beaten.
Such atrocities were common in the Pol Pot years. Yet most Cambodians don't like to talk about the time under the Khmer Rouge, Carlson said. It's rare to find it discussed in schools, primarily due to the country's Buddhist beliefs, which hold that people -- even war criminals -- are responsible for their own karma.
Ly is different, Carlson said. She understands that it's important to talk about the past so it doesn't happen again. We were talking in Ly's van, on our way to deliver lunch to the 476 children at Knar school, out in the Cambodian countryside. On the road, we saw men on bikes toting crates filled with piglets and open huts with children playing in the dirt.
Cambodian families expect all children, no matter how young, to contribute economically, Ly told us. Which is why even the kids who are lucky enough to go to school attend for a half day; at home, they are needed for chores, farm work or other money-making ventures.
In addition to a donation made before our trip, we gave Ly $40 for lunch, which buys two noodle packets for each child. That's essential, Carlson said, because if the child received only one packet, he or she would take it home to the family instead of eating it. The school tries to feed the children at least once a day to make sure they have enough energy to learn, Carlson said.
We arrived at Knar School, which consists of several one-story classrooms. As Don carried the boxes of noodle packets into the rooms, the children's eyes grew wide. They straightened in their seats and thanked us by pressing their hands together and bowing.
Carlson and Ly showed us around the school and talked about the improvements that have been made. Incentives such as bicycles, uniforms and extra noodle packets show the families that there are tangible benefits to their children attending school, Carlson said.
''I would like to have my country be the same as the other countries,'' Ly said, with Cambodian children able ``to have good education to work well to get out from the poor life.''
The children seemed to love school, showing off their uniforms and books. An impromptu game of soccer ensued, with Don in the thick of it. It was an emotional sight for me, which sparked later discussion: Although we had been together several years, Don and I had never talked about the greater good we could accomplish as a couple.
It's a conversation that all newlyweds should have, wherever their honeymoon takes them. For us, road-testing our fledgling marriage in an underdeveloped country not only gave us the adventures we sought, but also set the course for a more permanent path. And that's definitely a trip worth taking.
IF YOU GO
There are no direct flights to Siem Reap from the United States. You can fly there from various Asian cities, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
We stayed at Bopha Angkor (www.bopha-angkor.com), booking the ``Poolside Evasion package.''
We booked Ponheary Ly as a guide by e-mail (ponhearyyahoo.com). Ly charged us $145 for 2 ½ days of touring, which included three half-day sessions at Angkor Wat, the visit to Knar School and a visit to the floating village on Tonle Sap lake.
Information: Ponheary Ly Foundation, www.theplf.org; www.tourismcambodia.com; www.angkorwat.org
BY CHRIS GRAY
Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.miamiherald.com
Cambodian government ends 2-month ban on rice exports
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - The Cambodian government said it will resume rice exports after its two-month ban came to an end Monday.Prime Minister Hun Sen said there was no rice shortage in Cambodia and that the ban, imposed March 26 to ensure a stable supply of the country's staple food, had helped stabilize
domestic prices.Beginning Tuesday, rice exports can be resumed for some 1 million tons of milled rice Cambodia has in excess of its needs for domestic consumption, he said.Cambodia produced a surplus of nearly 1.6 million tons of milled rice from last year's farming season, he said. But he added that exports must not exceed the total amount of surplus until the new harvesting season begins in December.Hun Sen said that more than 500,000 tons had already been exported before he imposed the two-month ban.The export ban primarily stopped rice from flowing to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam. Since the end of the harvest early this year, Cambodian farmers living in provinces bordering the two countries have been selling rice in large quantities across the borders, attracted by high prices.In Phnom Penh markets over the weekend, a kilo of low-grade rice was selling for between 1,800 riel (US$0.45; ¤.29) and 2,000 riel (US$0.50; ¤.32), little changed from before when the ban was imposed. Earlier this year, rice of this quality cost about 1,300 riel (US$0.30; ¤0.19) a kilo.Cambodia is a minor rice exporter, shipping about 450,000 tons of milled rice last year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate. Neighboring Thailand exported 8.5 million tons, it said.Hun Sen's government has also advocated creation of a cartel of rice-exporting countries with Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. But the idea appeared stalled after Thailand dropped out.
by AP
http://www.pr-inside.com
domestic prices.Beginning Tuesday, rice exports can be resumed for some 1 million tons of milled rice Cambodia has in excess of its needs for domestic consumption, he said.Cambodia produced a surplus of nearly 1.6 million tons of milled rice from last year's farming season, he said. But he added that exports must not exceed the total amount of surplus until the new harvesting season begins in December.Hun Sen said that more than 500,000 tons had already been exported before he imposed the two-month ban.The export ban primarily stopped rice from flowing to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam. Since the end of the harvest early this year, Cambodian farmers living in provinces bordering the two countries have been selling rice in large quantities across the borders, attracted by high prices.In Phnom Penh markets over the weekend, a kilo of low-grade rice was selling for between 1,800 riel (US$0.45; ¤.29) and 2,000 riel (US$0.50; ¤.32), little changed from before when the ban was imposed. Earlier this year, rice of this quality cost about 1,300 riel (US$0.30; ¤0.19) a kilo.Cambodia is a minor rice exporter, shipping about 450,000 tons of milled rice last year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate. Neighboring Thailand exported 8.5 million tons, it said.Hun Sen's government has also advocated creation of a cartel of rice-exporting countries with Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. But the idea appeared stalled after Thailand dropped out.
by AP
http://www.pr-inside.com
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Cambodia becomes first rice exporter to lift curbs
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Cambodia became the first rice exporter on Monday to lift a ban on foreign shipments imposed by some Asian countries in the last six months to protect domestic supplies in the face of soaring international prices.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said the southeast Asian nation, a small exporter compared to neighboring Thailand or Vietnam, clearly had enough rice for its own needs and was also short of its own long-term storage space.
"The ban on the rice exports is being lifted from now on," he told students in the capital, Phnom Penh. "We still have over one million tons of rice that need to be exported. We don't have any shortage."
Rice production in Cambodia is finally getting back on track after decades of civil war and upheaval.
It produced a record 6.4 million tons in its 2007-08 crop year, giving it a 2.6-million ton surplus for export, although Hun Sen imposed a two-month ban on foreign sales on March 27 to safeguard domestic supply.
At the time, he blamed surging overseas demand for a near trebling of domestic rice prices from $0.35 a kilogram in January to $0.92 kg in March.
The ban, which followed similar moves by India at the end of last year and Vietnam, was seen as another indicator of rapidly tightening supplies in Asia, pushing prices to record highs and raising concerns about the continent's ability to feed itself.
A week ago, state media in communist-run Vietnam, which vies with India for the mantle of the world's second-largest exporter after Thailand, said the government might lift its export ban in early July.
Hun Sen said Cambodia's next harvest was looking like a good one.
"It seems we have plenty of rice to come. We need more warehouses to store our rice," he said.
by Reuters
Prime Minister Hun Sen said the southeast Asian nation, a small exporter compared to neighboring Thailand or Vietnam, clearly had enough rice for its own needs and was also short of its own long-term storage space.
"The ban on the rice exports is being lifted from now on," he told students in the capital, Phnom Penh. "We still have over one million tons of rice that need to be exported. We don't have any shortage."
Rice production in Cambodia is finally getting back on track after decades of civil war and upheaval.
It produced a record 6.4 million tons in its 2007-08 crop year, giving it a 2.6-million ton surplus for export, although Hun Sen imposed a two-month ban on foreign sales on March 27 to safeguard domestic supply.
At the time, he blamed surging overseas demand for a near trebling of domestic rice prices from $0.35 a kilogram in January to $0.92 kg in March.
The ban, which followed similar moves by India at the end of last year and Vietnam, was seen as another indicator of rapidly tightening supplies in Asia, pushing prices to record highs and raising concerns about the continent's ability to feed itself.
A week ago, state media in communist-run Vietnam, which vies with India for the mantle of the world's second-largest exporter after Thailand, said the government might lift its export ban in early July.
Hun Sen said Cambodia's next harvest was looking like a good one.
"It seems we have plenty of rice to come. We need more warehouses to store our rice," he said.
by Reuters
Cambodia to Remain the Focus of Leader Universal
CAMBODIA will continue to be the focus of Leader Universal Holding Bhd's power generation business as the Penang-based company looks to clinch downstream power-related jobs there.
Managing director and chief executive officer Sean C.H. H'ng said the company is eyeing power distribution and transmission activities in Cambodia where it has been present for more than a decade.
"We are also still pursuing our plan to list our power generation business but the timing is now uncertain, given the fact that the regional equity market is not performing well currently," he told reporters after the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Penang yesterday.
GA_googleFillSlotWithSize("ca-pub-5440138744487553", "News_Main_300x250", 300, 250);
Last year, LUH had announced plans to float its power generation business and was targetting to do so by the middle of this year. It was mulling a listing in either Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai.
Apart from power generation, Leader makes and sells cables and wires for the power and telecommunication industries. It also develops properties.
The company, via 60 per cent-owned Cambodian Utilities Pte Ltd, is the first independent power producer (IPP) in Cambodia, where it began operations in 1996.
Last year, Leader won a bid to develop its second power plant, a 200 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant which will be located in the port town of Sihanoukville.
Leader and its Cambodian partner, MKCSS Holdings, has signed a 30- year power purchase agreement.
"With the signing of the power purchase agreement and implementation agreement with the Cambodian authorities, construction works are expected to commence in early 2009, with commercial production targeted to begin in 2012," he added.
by Source: New Straits Times
http://www.redorbit.com
Managing director and chief executive officer Sean C.H. H'ng said the company is eyeing power distribution and transmission activities in Cambodia where it has been present for more than a decade.
"We are also still pursuing our plan to list our power generation business but the timing is now uncertain, given the fact that the regional equity market is not performing well currently," he told reporters after the company's annual shareholders' meeting in Penang yesterday.
GA_googleFillSlotWithSize("ca-pub-5440138744487553", "News_Main_300x250", 300, 250);
Last year, LUH had announced plans to float its power generation business and was targetting to do so by the middle of this year. It was mulling a listing in either Singapore, Hong Kong or Dubai.
Apart from power generation, Leader makes and sells cables and wires for the power and telecommunication industries. It also develops properties.
The company, via 60 per cent-owned Cambodian Utilities Pte Ltd, is the first independent power producer (IPP) in Cambodia, where it began operations in 1996.
Last year, Leader won a bid to develop its second power plant, a 200 megawatt (MW) coal-fired plant which will be located in the port town of Sihanoukville.
Leader and its Cambodian partner, MKCSS Holdings, has signed a 30- year power purchase agreement.
"With the signing of the power purchase agreement and implementation agreement with the Cambodian authorities, construction works are expected to commence in early 2009, with commercial production targeted to begin in 2012," he added.
by Source: New Straits Times
http://www.redorbit.com
Food wars and the challenge for peace-makers
War and hunger are inseparable: long experience has shown the close relationship between economic distress and the outbreak of conflict. But the solutions the international community tends to apply are mostly political and rarely address material needs.
Everyday concerns of the population rarely reach the negotiating table, in part because the economic and social problems in conflict-ridden societies are extremely complex, involve many actors and can only be resolved in the long term.
So what happens when people are driven to kill one another for food? It's a critical question to ask as the world faces a sudden and unexpected food price crisis that is threatening to plunge millions back into poverty.
The sharp spike in food prices this year has already generated violence. Food riots in parts of Africa and the Caribbean have created social and political instability. In rice-growing countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand, hoarding has begun with export bans already in place, creating inter-state friction.
Burma's rice-growing capacity has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which will add to price pressures in the coming months.
This is largely a crisis born of inflation and other market factors rather than fundamental shortages. Prices for the benchmark Thai variety of rice, a food staple across much of Asia, have increased threefold in a year, reports the Asian Development Bank. Meat prices have risen by 60% in Bangladesh in the year ending in March, and by 45% in Cambodia and 30% in the Philippines.
With this sharp increase in the price of basic staples, people are already hoarding, stealing and fighting over scarce supplies. The World Food Programme calls it a "silent tsunami."
The threat of conflict is real, both within societies where the numbers impoverished by higher grain prices is already high, and also between states as the trend towards commercial liberalisation and conglomeration is suddenly reversed and replaced by subsidies, price-fixing cartels and export curbs.
In Indonesia, retired general recently warned: "If students demonstrate it's not a worry, but if hungry people take to the streets, now that's dangerous."
Hunger causes conflict when people feel they have nothing to lose and are willing to kill their neighbours over scarce resources. The peasant wars of the late 20th century in Central and South America and the wars that sprung from famine in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sudan, are grim reminders of man's most basic instinct, which is to fight to survive.
The trouble is that in terms of resolving conflict, we have come to rely less on material remedies and more on political artifice. Many of the internal conflicts that have been peacefully resolved in recent years only superficially addressed the material seeds of conflict. Peace agreements have been elite affairs where leaders of armed groups and governments reached an understanding on how to share power within a common state.
This approach is a sensible first step toward conflict resolution: by convincing the people inciting violence to lay down their arms, it becomes possible to start designing a wider range of policies addressing socio-economic issues.
However, typically, the socio-economic changes and the economic reconstruction and development the public was expecting trickled down slowly, if at all. Aceh remains one of the poorest parts of Indonesia, as does Mindanao in the southern Philippines - two areas of Southeast Asia where peace has been negotiated.
When hunger drives people into conflict, we might presume that peace-making will simply be a question of providing food. We would be mistaken. In fact, the experience of humanitarian aid agencies in the 1970s and '80s in Africa was that food aid tends to fuel conflict, as the combatants seek to harness the supply of nutrition to the goals of war.
Experts tell us that farmers will eventually adjust the supply of food to cope with higher demand so that prices stabilise. More encouragingly, there are signs that decades of improving cooperation between states is stimulating a collective urge to resolve the crisis. The sharing of technology is key, says Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general. He believes that farmers in Africa could double food output in five to 10 years if rich countries partner them in a "Green Revolution" for a long-term solution to the continent's food crisis.
But realistically, trade agreements and technological advances are slow-moving transformations.
In the meantime, officials in India warn that the food price crisis could plunge millions of people into poverty in a country that is already battling an internal Marxist insurgency that draws support from impoverished and landless peasants.
In Bangladesh, where the soaring cost price of staples has forced the marginally poor to give up meat and rice, there is a significantly increased risk of conflict in an already fractured polity.
The immediate challenge, therefore, is to prevent and resolve conflict arising from the food crisis. This places a significant burden on the international community to swiftly respond to outbreaks of violence.
But if people driven to war by hunger are less inclined to compromise, this makes the task of peace-making rather more challenging.
For one thing, conflict fuelled by hunger will be more widespread, exerting strain on international agencies involved in peace-keeping and humanitarian work. Food security is already fragile in many African countries and a protracted conflict tends to drift across borders, as we have seen in Sudan and Congo.
Peace-makers need to be more aware of, and recognise, the socio-economic roots of conflict. They should incorporate in peace agreements remedies for the population's grievances and to enlist the international community's support behind their implementation.
Such remedies should include pledges by leaders to address in a meaningful manner contentious issues such as land distribution, job creation, and racial and ethnic discrimination leading to socio-economic inequality.
The ethnic and religious wars of the last half of the 20th century have perhaps lulled us into a false sense of security.
We have grown accustomed to resolving conflict by forging political accommodation and compromise in situations where protagonists had much to lose materially if they kept on fighting.
But in a world where environmental and market pressures can treble the price of staple commodities in a matter of a few months, it is harder to find the grounds for compromise.
This calls for more effective negotiating skills, both domestically and internationally, bilaterally as well as multilaterally, to resolve these crises.
Markets must be kept open to assist with the flow of goods to crisis situations, and in affected countries solutions must be found that address both elite and popular grievances.
------
Michael Vatikiotis is Asia Regional Director for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
by THE SILENT TSUNAMI
MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS
http://www.bangkokpost.com
Everyday concerns of the population rarely reach the negotiating table, in part because the economic and social problems in conflict-ridden societies are extremely complex, involve many actors and can only be resolved in the long term.
So what happens when people are driven to kill one another for food? It's a critical question to ask as the world faces a sudden and unexpected food price crisis that is threatening to plunge millions back into poverty.
The sharp spike in food prices this year has already generated violence. Food riots in parts of Africa and the Caribbean have created social and political instability. In rice-growing countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand, hoarding has begun with export bans already in place, creating inter-state friction.
Burma's rice-growing capacity has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which will add to price pressures in the coming months.
This is largely a crisis born of inflation and other market factors rather than fundamental shortages. Prices for the benchmark Thai variety of rice, a food staple across much of Asia, have increased threefold in a year, reports the Asian Development Bank. Meat prices have risen by 60% in Bangladesh in the year ending in March, and by 45% in Cambodia and 30% in the Philippines.
With this sharp increase in the price of basic staples, people are already hoarding, stealing and fighting over scarce supplies. The World Food Programme calls it a "silent tsunami."
The threat of conflict is real, both within societies where the numbers impoverished by higher grain prices is already high, and also between states as the trend towards commercial liberalisation and conglomeration is suddenly reversed and replaced by subsidies, price-fixing cartels and export curbs.
In Indonesia, retired general recently warned: "If students demonstrate it's not a worry, but if hungry people take to the streets, now that's dangerous."
Hunger causes conflict when people feel they have nothing to lose and are willing to kill their neighbours over scarce resources. The peasant wars of the late 20th century in Central and South America and the wars that sprung from famine in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sudan, are grim reminders of man's most basic instinct, which is to fight to survive.
The trouble is that in terms of resolving conflict, we have come to rely less on material remedies and more on political artifice. Many of the internal conflicts that have been peacefully resolved in recent years only superficially addressed the material seeds of conflict. Peace agreements have been elite affairs where leaders of armed groups and governments reached an understanding on how to share power within a common state.
This approach is a sensible first step toward conflict resolution: by convincing the people inciting violence to lay down their arms, it becomes possible to start designing a wider range of policies addressing socio-economic issues.
However, typically, the socio-economic changes and the economic reconstruction and development the public was expecting trickled down slowly, if at all. Aceh remains one of the poorest parts of Indonesia, as does Mindanao in the southern Philippines - two areas of Southeast Asia where peace has been negotiated.
When hunger drives people into conflict, we might presume that peace-making will simply be a question of providing food. We would be mistaken. In fact, the experience of humanitarian aid agencies in the 1970s and '80s in Africa was that food aid tends to fuel conflict, as the combatants seek to harness the supply of nutrition to the goals of war.
Experts tell us that farmers will eventually adjust the supply of food to cope with higher demand so that prices stabilise. More encouragingly, there are signs that decades of improving cooperation between states is stimulating a collective urge to resolve the crisis. The sharing of technology is key, says Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general. He believes that farmers in Africa could double food output in five to 10 years if rich countries partner them in a "Green Revolution" for a long-term solution to the continent's food crisis.
But realistically, trade agreements and technological advances are slow-moving transformations.
In the meantime, officials in India warn that the food price crisis could plunge millions of people into poverty in a country that is already battling an internal Marxist insurgency that draws support from impoverished and landless peasants.
In Bangladesh, where the soaring cost price of staples has forced the marginally poor to give up meat and rice, there is a significantly increased risk of conflict in an already fractured polity.
The immediate challenge, therefore, is to prevent and resolve conflict arising from the food crisis. This places a significant burden on the international community to swiftly respond to outbreaks of violence.
But if people driven to war by hunger are less inclined to compromise, this makes the task of peace-making rather more challenging.
For one thing, conflict fuelled by hunger will be more widespread, exerting strain on international agencies involved in peace-keeping and humanitarian work. Food security is already fragile in many African countries and a protracted conflict tends to drift across borders, as we have seen in Sudan and Congo.
Peace-makers need to be more aware of, and recognise, the socio-economic roots of conflict. They should incorporate in peace agreements remedies for the population's grievances and to enlist the international community's support behind their implementation.
Such remedies should include pledges by leaders to address in a meaningful manner contentious issues such as land distribution, job creation, and racial and ethnic discrimination leading to socio-economic inequality.
The ethnic and religious wars of the last half of the 20th century have perhaps lulled us into a false sense of security.
We have grown accustomed to resolving conflict by forging political accommodation and compromise in situations where protagonists had much to lose materially if they kept on fighting.
But in a world where environmental and market pressures can treble the price of staple commodities in a matter of a few months, it is harder to find the grounds for compromise.
This calls for more effective negotiating skills, both domestically and internationally, bilaterally as well as multilaterally, to resolve these crises.
Markets must be kept open to assist with the flow of goods to crisis situations, and in affected countries solutions must be found that address both elite and popular grievances.
------
Michael Vatikiotis is Asia Regional Director for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
by THE SILENT TSUNAMI
MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS
http://www.bangkokpost.com
New road will benefit Trat, Koh Kong
KOH KONG, CAMBODIA : Tourism between Thailand and Cambodia is expected to flourish now that road transport has been improved, said Sasithara Pichaichannrong, the permanent secretary of Tourism and Sports Ministry.
Work was completed last month on the route known as the Southern Coastal Sub-corridor, linking Thailand's Eastern Seaboard provinces and Trat with Koh Kong and Sihanoukville in Cambodia, and onward to Nam Can in Vietnam.
According to Ms Sasithara, foreign visitor numbers are also expected to increase because Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to offer a single visa for travel to both countries.
However, tourism flows between Thailand and Cambodia could grow more if immigration procedures were relaxed by the Thai government, said Bun Beav, director of the tourism unit at Koh Kong province.
Cambodian visitors to Thailand totalled 108,776 last year but only 35,796 Thais visited Cambodia.
He proposed that the Thai government allow Cambodian visitors who hold border passes to travel in Trat province. Currently, Cambodian visitors must seek a visa in Phnom Penh if they want to travel to Trat. According to Mr Bun Beav, the improved road increased the number of foreign daily visitors to Koh Kong by 50% in April from an average of 400 a day in March. Koh Kong has six hotels and 12 guesthouses with a total of 780 rooms.
Sakol Sunate of the Trat Tourist Association said Thailand would gain the most benefit from the route because visitors from Phnom Penh liked to travel to Trat and other eastern provinces in Thailand.
He agreed that the Thai government should consider issuing visas on arrival for Cambodian visitors at the border of Bann Haad Lek in Trat. The two countries also should allow tourist buses to cross the border, he said.
Currently, caravan tours are allowed to drive in the cities but general tourists are required to change buses at the border.
Mr Sakol said Trat had potential to become the gateway for foreign visitors from third countries to Cambodia. However, the Thai government should consider attracting longer-stays in Thailand, rather than just transit at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Tourism packages to link eastern Thailand and Cambodia thus needed to be developed, he added.
by CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
http://www.bangkokpost.com
Work was completed last month on the route known as the Southern Coastal Sub-corridor, linking Thailand's Eastern Seaboard provinces and Trat with Koh Kong and Sihanoukville in Cambodia, and onward to Nam Can in Vietnam.
According to Ms Sasithara, foreign visitor numbers are also expected to increase because Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to offer a single visa for travel to both countries.
However, tourism flows between Thailand and Cambodia could grow more if immigration procedures were relaxed by the Thai government, said Bun Beav, director of the tourism unit at Koh Kong province.
Cambodian visitors to Thailand totalled 108,776 last year but only 35,796 Thais visited Cambodia.
He proposed that the Thai government allow Cambodian visitors who hold border passes to travel in Trat province. Currently, Cambodian visitors must seek a visa in Phnom Penh if they want to travel to Trat. According to Mr Bun Beav, the improved road increased the number of foreign daily visitors to Koh Kong by 50% in April from an average of 400 a day in March. Koh Kong has six hotels and 12 guesthouses with a total of 780 rooms.
Sakol Sunate of the Trat Tourist Association said Thailand would gain the most benefit from the route because visitors from Phnom Penh liked to travel to Trat and other eastern provinces in Thailand.
He agreed that the Thai government should consider issuing visas on arrival for Cambodian visitors at the border of Bann Haad Lek in Trat. The two countries also should allow tourist buses to cross the border, he said.
Currently, caravan tours are allowed to drive in the cities but general tourists are required to change buses at the border.
Mr Sakol said Trat had potential to become the gateway for foreign visitors from third countries to Cambodia. However, the Thai government should consider attracting longer-stays in Thailand, rather than just transit at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Tourism packages to link eastern Thailand and Cambodia thus needed to be developed, he added.
by CHATRUDEE THEPARAT
http://www.bangkokpost.com
Food aid programs in Asia, Africa cut because of rising food prices
KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia (AP): At dawn in a ramshackle elementary school in rural Cambodia, the children think of only one thing: their stomachs. They anxiously await the steaming buckets of free rice delivered to their desks.
But by the end of the month, they will no longer get free breakfast from the U.N. World Food Program. About 450,000 Cambodian students will become the latest victims of soaring global food prices.
Five local suppliers have defaulted on contracts to provide rice because they can get a higher price elsewhere, program officials say. Prices of rice have tripled on the global market since December.
Faced with a shortfall of 13,000 metric tons (14,330 US tons) of rice and more pressing needs, the World Food Program stopped the free breakfasts in March. The schools' remaining stocks are expect to run out in the coming days. That will leave students without what was often the best meal they got all day.
"I feel hopeless,'' said Boeurn Srey Leak, a 15-year-old in sixth grade.
Rich countries have pledged US$469 million (euro300 million) for food aid to address what is expected to be a US$755 million (euro486 million) deficit, due to food prices that have risen 76 percent since December. The U.S., already the largest provider of food aid, is expected to contribute almost a third of that money. If Congress approves, the U.S. will contribute US$770 million (euro454 million) more to be available after Oct. 1.
But the money will not arrive in time to save some food programs from being cut or ended. The World Food Program feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children.
"I don't think there is single program that doesn't have some kind of concerns because they have to scale down,'' said Susana Rico, a World Food Program official. "The majority of countries will suffer some kind of cutbacks in rations or programs in the next three to five months.''
The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.
Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.
Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people -- nearly a quarter of the number it serves -- because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.
In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh.
"They are more focused on lessons, and their reading ability has improved subsequently,'' he noted.
But principals at many such rural schools don't have the money to replace the breakfast program. Girls in particular will be at risk of dropping out because families need them at home to work in the field or help raise siblings, said World Food Program Cambodia director Thomas Keusters. Children in Cambodia often start school late and repeat grades a lot, he said.
"It's not uncommon to have a girl in grade five or six who is already 15 or 16 years old,'' Keusters said. "We are paying them to come to school. I'm very concerned about them because I have no rice.''
About 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from Choumpou Proek school, the students of Sangkum Seksa school devour hearty portions of rice, peas and sardines in the morning. The school has only 10 rooms, housed in two faded yellow concrete buildings. Some students go barefoot.
"I can only feel pity for them,'' said the principal, Tan Sak. "I have no solution for them after the current stock is used up.'' Before the free breakfasts, many students left school before noon so they could eat lunch at home.
"I had difficulty sitting in the class because my stomach was growling,'' Rim Channa, a 13-year-old fifth-grader.
Now, once again, all they will have for breakfast is the tart fruit from the nearby tamarind trees.
by the star online
But by the end of the month, they will no longer get free breakfast from the U.N. World Food Program. About 450,000 Cambodian students will become the latest victims of soaring global food prices.
Five local suppliers have defaulted on contracts to provide rice because they can get a higher price elsewhere, program officials say. Prices of rice have tripled on the global market since December.
Faced with a shortfall of 13,000 metric tons (14,330 US tons) of rice and more pressing needs, the World Food Program stopped the free breakfasts in March. The schools' remaining stocks are expect to run out in the coming days. That will leave students without what was often the best meal they got all day.
"I feel hopeless,'' said Boeurn Srey Leak, a 15-year-old in sixth grade.
Rich countries have pledged US$469 million (euro300 million) for food aid to address what is expected to be a US$755 million (euro486 million) deficit, due to food prices that have risen 76 percent since December. The U.S., already the largest provider of food aid, is expected to contribute almost a third of that money. If Congress approves, the U.S. will contribute US$770 million (euro454 million) more to be available after Oct. 1.
But the money will not arrive in time to save some food programs from being cut or ended. The World Food Program feeds almost 89 million people worldwide, including 58.8 million children.
"I don't think there is single program that doesn't have some kind of concerns because they have to scale down,'' said Susana Rico, a World Food Program official. "The majority of countries will suffer some kind of cutbacks in rations or programs in the next three to five months.''
The numbers are grim. In Burundi, Kenya and Zambia, hundreds of thousands of people face cuts in food rations after June. In Iraq, 500,000 recipients will likely lose food aid. In Yemen, it's 320,000 households, including children and the sick.
Private aid agencies based in the U.S. also said food price hikes are hurting their projects.
Mercy Corps will likely distribute 20 percent less food to Iraqi refugees in Syria and serve 12 percent fewer Colombian families fleeing violence in the countryside. World Vision may stop helping 1.5 million people -- nearly a quarter of the number it serves -- because of rising food prices and pledged donations not yet delivered. At least a third are children.
In Cambodia, the free breakfasts that started in 2000 have made children visibly healthier, said Nheng Vorn, the principal of Choumpou Proek School, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh.
"They are more focused on lessons, and their reading ability has improved subsequently,'' he noted.
But principals at many such rural schools don't have the money to replace the breakfast program. Girls in particular will be at risk of dropping out because families need them at home to work in the field or help raise siblings, said World Food Program Cambodia director Thomas Keusters. Children in Cambodia often start school late and repeat grades a lot, he said.
"It's not uncommon to have a girl in grade five or six who is already 15 or 16 years old,'' Keusters said. "We are paying them to come to school. I'm very concerned about them because I have no rice.''
About 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from Choumpou Proek school, the students of Sangkum Seksa school devour hearty portions of rice, peas and sardines in the morning. The school has only 10 rooms, housed in two faded yellow concrete buildings. Some students go barefoot.
"I can only feel pity for them,'' said the principal, Tan Sak. "I have no solution for them after the current stock is used up.'' Before the free breakfasts, many students left school before noon so they could eat lunch at home.
"I had difficulty sitting in the class because my stomach was growling,'' Rim Channa, a 13-year-old fifth-grader.
Now, once again, all they will have for breakfast is the tart fruit from the nearby tamarind trees.
by the star online
Land-locked Laos has history of isolation, unrest
Through a combination of history, geography and politics — and with the exception of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma — Laos may be the least known to the outside world of any country in Southeast Asia.
To begin with, it’s landlocked — bounded by China on the north, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Myanmar and Thailand on the west — so access to tourists as well as traders historically has been relatively difficult.
Besides that, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is one of the world’s few remaining traditionally communist nations; the Pathet Lao took control of the country in 1975 from its royalist government two years after the departure of the United States military from Vietnam, and kept the country pretty well closed to outside influences until about 10 years ago.
In the eighth century, after hundreds of years of Chinese and Indian influence, the country now known as Laos became home to the Lao people, who began to migrate into the area along with other Thai groups and Hmong-Mien hill tribes.
These groups set up separate principalities that lasted for the next 500 years, until they consolidated to withstand the threat of invasion by Kublai Khan’s Mongol army.
In the mid-14th century, a strong warlord in the area of the present-day city of Luang Prabang further consolidated his power, but centralized control disintegrated into three separate kingdoms in the early 1700s.
Friction between what is now Thailand and Vietnam over the area continued until Laos became a French protectorate — part of the vast holdings known as Indochina — in 1893, which ushered in nearly a century of unrest, semi-autonomy, civil war and unification followed by more war.
French control ended in 1953, when Laos became an independent monarchy, which lasted until the 1975 Pathet Lao takeover.
Of all the countries in Southeast Asia, Laos suffered the heaviest bombing during the U.S.-waged Vietnam War because the Ho Chi Minh Trail ran down the eastern slopes of its mountain valleys, linking communist North Vietnam with Cambodia and South Vietnam.
More than 100 people die each year in Laos from inadvertently setting off unexploded bombs left from the Vietnam War.
With a land area of about 91,000 square miles, Laos is nearly the same size as Oregon, which has 96,000 square miles. However, its population, estimated at about 6.5 million, far exceeds Oregon’s 3.7 million.
Vientiane, the capital city, has about 700,000 people.
The mainly agricultural economy depends primarily on the health of its rice, sugar cane, tobacco, coffee and fruit crops, as well as cultivation of silk for turning into textiles. Tourism has become an important part of the economy during the past 10 years, although travel to remote areas remains difficult.
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard
To begin with, it’s landlocked — bounded by China on the north, Vietnam on the east, Cambodia on the south and Myanmar and Thailand on the west — so access to tourists as well as traders historically has been relatively difficult.
Besides that, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is one of the world’s few remaining traditionally communist nations; the Pathet Lao took control of the country in 1975 from its royalist government two years after the departure of the United States military from Vietnam, and kept the country pretty well closed to outside influences until about 10 years ago.
In the eighth century, after hundreds of years of Chinese and Indian influence, the country now known as Laos became home to the Lao people, who began to migrate into the area along with other Thai groups and Hmong-Mien hill tribes.
These groups set up separate principalities that lasted for the next 500 years, until they consolidated to withstand the threat of invasion by Kublai Khan’s Mongol army.
In the mid-14th century, a strong warlord in the area of the present-day city of Luang Prabang further consolidated his power, but centralized control disintegrated into three separate kingdoms in the early 1700s.
Friction between what is now Thailand and Vietnam over the area continued until Laos became a French protectorate — part of the vast holdings known as Indochina — in 1893, which ushered in nearly a century of unrest, semi-autonomy, civil war and unification followed by more war.
French control ended in 1953, when Laos became an independent monarchy, which lasted until the 1975 Pathet Lao takeover.
Of all the countries in Southeast Asia, Laos suffered the heaviest bombing during the U.S.-waged Vietnam War because the Ho Chi Minh Trail ran down the eastern slopes of its mountain valleys, linking communist North Vietnam with Cambodia and South Vietnam.
More than 100 people die each year in Laos from inadvertently setting off unexploded bombs left from the Vietnam War.
With a land area of about 91,000 square miles, Laos is nearly the same size as Oregon, which has 96,000 square miles. However, its population, estimated at about 6.5 million, far exceeds Oregon’s 3.7 million.
Vientiane, the capital city, has about 700,000 people.
The mainly agricultural economy depends primarily on the health of its rice, sugar cane, tobacco, coffee and fruit crops, as well as cultivation of silk for turning into textiles. Tourism has become an important part of the economy during the past 10 years, although travel to remote areas remains difficult.
By Randi Bjornstad
The Register-Guard
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